sugarlemon

Little Posers

Posted on May 20, 2009 | 8 comments

I’m not going to admit how many hours of potential sleep I squandered last night, because it is downright foolish. However, I am going to show you the result. Finn is off on a school excursion today to experience what life was like in “the olden days” (for the record, he thinks the olden days were when 1 and 2 cent coins were used, haha*)

Students were encouraged to dress the part, so I hit the op-shop yesterday and dug up a checked shirt for a couple of dollars, and hit the sewing machine late last night to create this waistcoat (pattern is from Ottobre 3/09). Throw in a pair of (non-authentic, Esprit brand, also op-shop purchased) blue jeans and some elastic sided boots, and he should fit right in. Just don’t look too closely at the handiwork, ok, because late-night, sleep deprived sewing makes me incredibly sloppy. When will I learn not to leave things ’til the last minute?! Anyhoo, from a suitable distance it looks good – and don’t you love the model poses?! (Check the pinch-grip though – he’s so tense when being photographed!)

Not to be outdone, here’s another poser – Niamh has recently had a bit of a growth spurt which has allowed her to fit into this tunic a little better (it’s still big though – she should get heaps of wear from it).

I love the second pose – it’s her ‘ooh heck, there’s a bee’ look :giggle:

*For my non-Aussie readers, 1 and 2 cent coins were used from 1966 until 1992!

8 Comments

Posted in Other Craft, Sewing, The Kids

Tagged ottobre magazine, sewing for children

My Creative Space

Posted on May 15, 2009 | 10 comments

I know, I know, Kirsty’s Creative Space meme is for Thursdays, but I did take this yesterday, so it counts! I just wanted to let you all know that I’m here, still alive, and even still managing a little bit of creative this’n’that. Yesterday’s space was captured while I waited in the car outside school – Niamh had bombed out in the back seat on the way back from the shops (a rare occurrence, but the nap was much needed), and Rohan decided he needed cuddling to fall asleep (a frequent occurrence, nap also much needed). So I pulled out my new ‘car project’ to work on for half an hour. I’m playing copycat and making a patchwork ball, much like Christie’s. Look – it even (unintentionally) matches his outfit!

I have retro-blogging to do – pics of Rohan from his first month – it’s been a rollercoaster, but he’s adorable enough to forgive – and a recount of (the perfect) Mothers’ Day. But since I only seem to be able to grab 5 minutes here and there (gee, wonder why!), don’t go holding your breath!

10 Comments

Posted in Family, Other Craft, Sewing, The Kids

Tagged crafting, crafting for children, my creative space, new baby, paper piecing

Or….. Not!

Posted on April 16, 2009 | 25 comments

View from my seat…

This was yesterday. The day when I should have been in hospital having a C-section! Instead, baby and I decided to stick it to the man, and I gave birth early Saturday morning following a fairly fast and furious labour. Sans epidural, what’s more. Owwie.

So everybody please put your hands together for young Rohan Patrick. Born April 11th, 2009, at 3.23kg (or 7lb 2oz). I am so grateful to him for deciding to arrive in such a trouble free/surgery free way. I’m feeling significantly better than if I had just had a C-section, that’s for sure. And I’m finally on some antibiotics for that other troublesome problem, so everything’s coming out for the better. Unfortunately someone seems to have misplaced my order for “one who sleeps at night”, so as soon as we get that sorted out, it will all be good :giggle:

Nothing untoward is going on here – this is just Rohan grooving to some tunes – his routine hearing test in the hospital (which he passed). I just think it’s a cute pic!

25 Comments

Posted in Family, Pregnancy, The Kids

Tagged newborn baby

T Minus 5

Posted on April 10, 2009 | 8 comments

…and counting.

Did you know I’m having a baby next week? In five days, actually (though I still haven’t completely given up on the “if not before” part of that).

Mostly, this pregnancy has been smoother than the other two, but it has had its moments. Opening gameplay with a scary high blood pressure reading (which ended up happening only the once) wasn’t a sterling way to begin. Breaking my wrist at 19 weeks wasn’t great either. Diagnosis (again) of gestational diabetes at week 27, and the really tricky time I’ve had getting on top of my blood sugars without insulin has been a bit of a bitch. (Though on the brighter side of that, I currently weigh 7kg less than I did at week 0, and I’m not sure what I’ll have to wear at all, post-birth). But the worst really has been this last several days. That gastro I mentioned last post? Well it just wouldn’t stay gone – I’ve been up and down for two weeks now, and my energy is pretty much sapped. I’m currently waiting on pathology results to see if something can be done about this before the big arrival, but as things stand at the moment (and I’m trying hard not to introduce the gory details), a second VBAC is looking pretty unlikely for me. So from his mother’s womb untimely ripped it will be for my second boy as well. At this point, I think I’ll welcome the moment.

Have a happy, chocolate filled Easter for me, would you? I have another day or so without the kids (they’re off camping with their grandad and lots of other family) – my one Easter wish is that I get to spend more of that time on the couch or in bed than in the bathroom. :ill:

8 Comments

Posted in Family, Pregnancy

Tagged Pregnancy, sickness

Green & Blue

Posted on March 29, 2009 | 6 comments

Green & Blue… have been showing up in my Flickr Favorites a bit of late – along with complementary browns and hits of red.

Photo Credits: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12]

Green & Blue… have been showing up in my own sewing as well – probably as a result of the above.

Green & Blue… are how I’ve been feeling this past few days. For the record, I really Do. Not. Recommend getting Gastro when one is 37 weeks pregnant. Ugh.

6 Comments

Posted in General Ramblings, Other Craft, Pregnancy

Tagged craft inspiration, illness

Recent Bits

Posted on March 21, 2009 | 10 comments

I mentioned a recent streak of creativity yesterday. Yesterday’s post was going to be much fatter, in fact, and show you all these goodies. But then I went and did some fancy cutting and pasting and accidentally lost a whole slab of bloggity-goodness. Swear words were muttered, and the ‘executive decision’ was made to split the post in two.

So yes, I have been making a few bits and pieces. Several weeks back I went along to Nikki’s sew-along for the Rainbow Comfort Pack effort (goodies for kids affected by the recent bushfires). I spent the afternoon cutting out pieces for bags, but not sewing. It was enough to get the bug again anyway, and in the next week I made up 5 of these cutie pie recycled-woollen-jumper bunnies:

The pattern is a freebie from Betz White, find it here. Four of these went off for the Comfort Packs, but the one above is staying here with us, for the Wee Bairn, whenever he should make his appearance. I think I had a little bit of guilt creeping in, because up until the bunny, there had been no crafting whatsoever for the new addition.

Next up was this lovely Puzzle Ball, which I’ve been wanting to make for a while now. It wasn’t quite as difficult as I had imagined. Tricky, yes, and I wish I’d worn a thimble for those last connecting stitches, but not super difficult. This pattern comes from Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts. There is a similar free pattern here, which Christie has made to great success, but I think I prefer this more ‘solid’ version.

I also succumbed to a pattern in the latest issue of Ottobre magazine, and made up this tunic top for Niamh. It should fit her in… um… about 2011 or so. Whoops! I did measure her, I swear. I decided to make the next size up, since I didn’t want her to grow out of this the moment I made it. Unfortunately, Ottobre kids’ patterns are graded by height, and since Niamh is fairly slight in build, I would have been better to go with the smaller size but increase the overall length. Ah well. Eventually she’ll fill this one out. Meanwhile it’s still hanging on the wall where I took the photograph – it’s an interesting artwork 🙂 And just how adorable is that ric-rac trimmed heart pocket?

Finally, finally, something for me, me, meeee. This Wildflower Pincushion has been calling my name for a while. It’s a pattern by Anna Maria Horner, and can be found on the Better Homes and Gardens (US) website, here, should you wish to make your very own. Again, fiddly, but not too bad. I probably made it a little bit trickier for myself by reducing the size by about 25%, since I didn’t want a whomping great pincushion. This is just the right size. Love it – it looks like some freaky spore-flower from outer space.

10 Comments

Posted in Family, Other Craft, Pregnancy, Sewing

Tagged cashmere bunny, crafting for children, pincushion, puzzle ball, sewing

Fabric With Intent

Posted on March 20, 2009 | 7 comments

I’m not quite sure how it actually happened. The stars aligned, or something. For ages I’ve been dithering about maybe possibly sometime making a quilt. Dithered and done nothing about it. Actually, I do have a few quilting books around the shelves. Also, a kit for a baby (girl) quilt, which Mum bought for me, and which I was supposed to make up for my niece (oops). But so far, I’ve essentially done nothing about the urge. Then I started to get a (late-pregnancy induced?) creative streak going, and then this started up, and then Amitie decided to have a sale, and so naturally the urge struck once more. So I hopped in the car today and headed out with a purpose. Some hours later (Amitie is quite the hike from here, and my poor heavily-pregnant lower back does not thank me for all that extra time in the car), I returned, bearing the goodies above. I’m not going to suggest that I’m 100% happy with my choices, but I am pretty close. The best bit is that I chose these, they didn’t come as part of a kit, they aren’t even all from the same range (though three of the prints are from ‘Another Iota’ by Robert Kaufman). For someone who considers herself pretty terrible at colour-pairing, I’m pretty happy with the outcome. Also, there were the contributing factors of a) having Niamh with me, and b) being restricted to one hour by my car park. (Actually, since Amitie has a dolls’ house and assorted goodies, Niamh wasn’t really the limiting factor). In the end, I decided to stop questioning my choices and just go with it. Now to get on and actually start cutting/sewing, and hopefully it will all turn out the way I envisage.

PS. The fabrics are better in real life than they look here on my screen. I fiddled the colours as much as Picasa would let me, but in reality they are richer, more vibrant than this. Better photos once the sewing is in process, I hope. Can’t seem to get any decent light into this house.

7 Comments

Posted in Other Craft, Sewing

Tagged quilting, sewing

Marching On

Posted on March 4, 2009 | 13 comments

What’s that? I can’t hear you. La la la la la. It is definitely not March already. No way no how.

So then, do you think it’s too late to do a Christmas recap? Well too bad. I never did quite get around to showing off our crafting efforts for Christmas 2008, which is very sad, considering the effort that we (and particularly Dermot, since I was all broken-wristed and what have you) went to. Christmas, it goes without saying, came hand-in-hand with a little bit of family drama. Gift-making and giving became the subject of argument, so I was left feeling a bit flat about the effort we had gone to. Que sera sera. I’m over it now. Much of the enjoyment is in the making anyway, I find. And I did offer to keep the gifts we had made for the prime grumbler, but that offer was (strangely) refused!

Our ‘theme’, if you like, for Xmas 2008 was ‘Paper’. We put together a bunch of photo albums – these are Japanese stab bound, just like the album I made for Nichola.

These are A5 sized…

With black album pages…

And glassine interleaves…

We also put together some smaller notebooks, more conventionally hard-bound…

Pretty pretty on the inside…

And some more…

And I found that Gocco-ing is not so difficult with only one hand…

So I printed up a bunch of these notecards (graphics are from, um… Clipart.com, I think)…

And my favouritist thing of all, some lovely bookplates (some were blank like these, others had names already printed on)…

Finally, we printed up these Mibo calendars (freebie found via Steph) and had them bound at Officeworks. I love the graphics on these, not sure why we didn’t do ourselves one…

Whew! When all of that was done (in the two short weeks before Christmas, mostly), some of us were plum tuckered out…

(Not that she had much to do with the crafting, mind you. Perhaps she just grew tired of waiting for Mum and Dad to pay her some attention!)

When all of this was in the planning stages, and there were two wholly-limbed adults going to be taking part, it all sounded good. When a good slab of the cutting and binding came down to Dermot after the chair incident however, I don’t think he was so impressed. I heard a lot of ‘I told you that you should get started earlier’, I can tell you 🙂 . I’ve promised that 2009 will be my year to do all the work… so I’d better get started, hey?

13 Comments

Posted in General Ramblings, Other Craft

Tagged christmas, crafting, handmade, japanese stab binding, Mibo calendar

How To Help

Posted on February 10, 2009 | 2 comments

Cindy from Bug and Pop commented on my previous post, asking if I would help her get the word out about Handmade Help, the blog she has assembled to bring attention to various auctions by crafty peoples, the proceeds of which will all go to those affected by the Victorian bushfires.

There are plenty of other ideas building up around the crafty blogging community – Cam at Curly Pops has put together a nice collation of some of these. One of my favourite ideas is Beyond Pink & Blue’s plan of putting together small care bags for children affected by the fires. The Toy Society are also collecting handmade softies for distribution to the children.

These are obviously longer term goals – the most pressing need for the survivors in the very short term is for money. The Red Cross Appeal page is here. Most (if not all) banks are also collecting monetary donations. Also, blood for the burns victims: the Blood Bank are no longer requesting urgent blood donation, but are requesting new registrations to ensure supply in the weeks and months to come.

Please. Do what you can. The death toll is shocking enough, and still rising, but with over 5000 left homeless, it is vital we take care of the survivors.

2 Comments

Posted in General Ramblings

Tagged Add new tag, bushfires 2009

Words Cannot Say

Posted on February 9, 2009 | 6 comments

Images from The Age. More.

I feel like the soul is being ripped out of our state. Some of the fires have been not quite far enough from home for comfort, but far enough that I cannot begin to understand the devastating losses suffered by so many.

Red Cross Appeal.