Those photos I promised

Decided it would probably be easier to add pics in a new post than to update the other one. So, here are pics of what I've been working on. Minus a couple, like the little purse I sewed from a recent "Handmade" magazine but can't find right now and the doll I was happily crocheting until I snapped the plastic crochet hook I was using and unsure where in my stash is another 5mm one. I've never broken a hook before and actually attempted to continue crocheting with the 1.5" stub but it hurt my fingers. Was possible though, I finished off some of the dolls dress with that stub!! Crazy I know. Yay for the life of a bored person. Anyway, the pics.....

A little doll dress I started. As you can see, it's far from finished! I used hemming tape for the hem. My sewing machine is really touchy about tension. I have to finish the neck and back, including the buttons or some other closure. Not sure if I will finish it. Just isn't working for me right now. I planned to do some applique or embroidery on the front, not to mention the matching bloomers. Maybe one day!

I used a pattern to make this little sun suit for Kristina. The pattern was actually for swimmers but hey.. It's a little too wide at the hips and wasn't quite tall enough for the baby bjorn doll. I fixed the height by hand sewing on the purple lace, which I then added to the legs as well for some continuity. I'm really pleased with it! I chose purple and green to work with some of the items I crocheted.

A little halter and some shorts. Of course, my own designs. One leg of the shorts seems a tad smaller, and take no notice of that little gape in the crotch.. It's just not there, ok?! *lol* I like the halter, though it seemed to drag on forever! Such a little doll too. This is why I am no good at wearables for people.. far too impatient. You can't really see the little flower but it has a yellowy-pearlesque button in the middle. Again, these are my own designs.


A little skirt (teamed up with the halter from above) and some shoes. The skirt is still waiting on a green belt and a top to match. I can't find either of those yarns at the moment, buried under a pile of books I think. The shoes were interesting to make. I wrote down what I did but not sure if it really "works" as a pattern. Might have to ask LeAnna to test it for me. All my own designs. You should expect no less ;)

I love, love, LOVE the little hat I made!! Just a basic round with fpdc and bpdc details. It just looks so cute!! Probably not the bext photo. The little ribbon flower worked better than I expected. The mittens look huge, these dolls have their hands in bizzare poses so to make it fit they had to be biggish. I just tied them with ribbons to match the hat, but sewed one end to the mittens so the ribbons wont fall out and get lost etc. The blanket is some polar fleece and a panel cut from this really cute Sunbonnet Sue type fabric I bought in Perth earlier in the year, for 50c a metre!! The place was relocating so they sold everything totally cheap rather than move it. How lucky to be there at the right time *happy dance* I got something like 24m of fabric, or maybe it was 48m, I don't recall... Anyway, the diagram had little yellow "stitches" around the girl, the dog, and the inside of the patchwork border, so I hand sewed on those lines around the doll. It's given it a nice, raised, quilted effect so I think I will do the same around the dog then perhaps machine sew the rest, possibly in a bold pink or something. Might add some ribbons. Who knows. It's only for the baby bjorn doll afterall!! Hope Kristina loves all this :)

I sewed this yesterday and I really quite like it!! It was intended as a pencil case for Shania as part of her xmas present. I'm not sure yet. Maybe a 10yr old will think school supplies is the suckiest present ever. I tried to make it have some width in the bottom and had no idea what I was doing. Of course, today, I find out how easy it should have been so I will likely fix it. The flower is 5 ribbons cut to about 2" and sewn with a few stitches once folded, then the button to cover all the mess. I couldn't get one length of ribbon to fold how I needed it to do it all in one piece. Random blue buttons just for some more depth. The pink ribbon was also used as a little tab/pull on the zipper. It just works. The pink really brightens the whole thing. If I did it again I think I'd use a wider ribbon for a bigger flower. Otherwise, I am happy!

A double scrapbook layout that just ISN'T working for me. I think that it's far too busy. But, seeing the photo, I might actually like it. The righthand photo is a collection of other pics I want to include, hence the huge frog tag which is destined to become a little album to stash all these pics. And to think, the eldest girl (left) is 13 this year!! Sharyn's (elder girl) photo is so much darker than Amanda's which is making it a little frustrating to make this layout work. I am a bit stumped by it for the moment so have walked away. Will return in a few days and see how I feel. Have already drawn out some scallops on a plain blue paper to use somewhere on this layout.

A vintage pattern for a dress I am crocheting for Jessica. I FINALLY got some Bendigo Woollen Mills cotton and I am loving it!! Perfect for wearables, so soft and slightly fluffy. Not at all tough and rough. The colour is "light teal". Jess likes it so far which is fabulous! This is front/back (both are identical) and maybe 1/3 of the length it needs to be. Fast to crochet just tedious as it's just repeating and counting (5dc, 1dc, 5dc, 1dc etc). I do like it a lot and will finish it up soon. It may be too warm for her to wear in summer.

A scarf for Kristina's younger brother Deegan. Still in the works. No pattern just random rows of knit and purl. I like that the thick/thin yarn is giving it a textrure it would otherwise be without. I originally bought this yarn to make Deegan a comfort blanket but his mum (Nichola) bought one before I had the chance. After I told her I had the yarn! I also used this yarn to make a hat for her new baby Nate. I gifted that before getting a pic as she was heading off to have him. I'll try get a pic of him in it when they come home. The book is from the library and probably overdue...

Back in March was our local race day (horses) and for whatever reason I was bit with the sewing bug the day before, sometime around 2pm. I sewed this in record time and Jessica loved it!! I used some cheap earrings on the ends of the ribbon tie for fun, bought a hair clip to go with it (would have made that too but was threading the ribbon just before walking out the door! She got blue fairy floss (cotton candy to my USA friends) on it. It probably wont hold up, the seams are finished and such. It was just so sweet! Has matching bloomers underneath from the print fabric. It was from a 1970's sewing pattern. I had to fold the neck and tack open as it was just too high for her. She looks so sweet and got a ton of compliments on the day.

A minute to breathe, at last!

Finally I can update my blog. It seems like I update less and less, but not through a lack of wanting. I like writing here it’s kind of therapeutic in a way only I always feel so tired, or I am playing some game for hours on end to try avoid thinking about things. A lot has been happening as usual. Things I wish had never happened. My friend tried to hurt herself, Jessica spent 3 days in hospital and I had to fight the dr and nurses the whole time. I need to see the dr tomorrow and I really don’t want to. The less I see of that guy the better!

They made me see an asthma nurse yesterday. Implying (imho) that I knew nothing about asthma and that I was perhaps over reacting about Jessi (the dr didn’t want to hospitalise her, he was sending her home even with her oxygen saturation at only 92%). So.. I went along to see the asthma nurse yesterday. Least I could do since the poor guy travelled 1.5hrs to see me. Besides, it’s better to stay informed about these things. Steve, the nurse, was so nice. He asked what I knew (finally someone who doesn’t treat me like a 5yr old) and we discussed Jessica’s hospitalisation in the lead up to and time we were there. He was dumbfounded I was sent to him. The nurse here who arranged it just said she had a mother who needed asthma education and he had none of our notes or anything so was very surprised at what I knew and said to me “you know as much about it as I do”. He said I asked all the right questions and had appropriate expectations. He wasn’t happy at the way things were handled but said as this isn’t his jurisdiction its hard for him. For him to speak up he’s walking on treacherous ground. Well that was annoying! As I said to him, what’s the point of me being educated/informed on these things if it still means nothing when I see the dr or take Jess to ER.

I cut Jessi’s hair the other week. It had been annoying me for aaages and said to her one night “next time we’re in Kalgoorlie I will have to make you an appointment with the hair dresser” she replied “you can cut it mummy” as I had asked her only a week or so before to cut it and she looked horrified. Not at the prospect of having it cut, but at me doing it *lol* Well, while she says do it I wasn’t wasting any time. Couldn’t find my hair scissors so we went straight to nannas and chopped it off. It’s not perfect, one side looks a little longer than the other, and there is about 6 whole inches gone, but it looks SUPER CUTE!!!!

Before and after


I crocheted her a very sweet little wrap top from the lionbrand website in Bernat Cottontots. She looks absolutely adorable in it, and loves wearing it. The cottontots is surprisingly warm so perfect for this time of year. Such a fast little thing to crochet too, took me maybe 12hrs on and off. I hated sewing up the seams though.



On the craft front I have been dabbling. Doing a little bit of this and a tiny bit of that. Crochetville is holding it’s Holiday in July Random Act of Kindness (raok) lists and I have been tatting for that. A lot of people ask for handmade ornaments or anything handmade. It’s something I can post relatively cheaply as most things have to go over seas. I’ve done a snowflake from a pattern then just made up a couple more, a tatted angel, tatted bookmark (see that hugely obvious mistake?), and a dragonfly I did when I was teaching myself split rings that I somehow over looked photographing before now.


I’ve also knitted a little rose which is really cute but was quite tricky to knit, a few crochet flowers and some tatted ones. All were just something to do at the time cos I have no plans for them. I do love the knitted rose, and the crochet one. The crocheted ones are so quick and easy!


I attempted some knitting and am at a complete standstill! I was given a whole set of a 1980’s collectors series called “Get Knitting”. You had to buy one a fortnight from the newsagency. I found a few patterns in there that were cute (and literally only 6-8 from over 100) and decided to make this for Jessi. Using bigger yarn and needles. It was all going along well until I had to decrease and pick up a stitch repeat without instructions. I guess it was written for an experienced knitter. That I am not. I have had some good help just haven’t got back to it yet. I think I will run out of the yarn before finishing too. Again it’s Bernat Cottontots and Jessi loves the colour! She really wants me to finish this.



Right now I am crocheting a mermaid outfit for Barbie. The stitch I am using looks like scales which is so cool. Slow going though. The colours are blocking which is not what I was after and I am pretty bummed about it. Will see how it looks when I am done. Might even be another RAOK. If Jessi doesn’t claim it first.

I have netball tonight, it’s so cold, I am getting a flu and Jessi already has one. Fun fun. Wish we had an indoor sports centre!! Oh, my mum moved back to town too!! It’s so nice but I am sad for her. Things didn’t work out how she hoped which must be hard for her. Jessi is rapt to have her back!

I stopped procrastinating.. for once!

Well, no promises that this isn't an isolated incident!! But for a very long time now I have said "I know how to knit, I just don't *get* knitting". With my lil miss having a birthday on Feb 18 (she'll be 4) I asked her what she wants. It went something like this..
"bub, what do you think mummy might like to get you for your birthday?"
"umm.. but I am just getting a Dora cubby house" (Dora the Explorer playhouse)
"yeah but babe daddy is getting you that, what might mummy get you? what would you like?"
she looks long and hard at me crocheting, unawares to her that I am making Barbie clothes as part of her present
"hmm..." she says and thinks some. she looks so cute when she thinks! Then crochet in sight she pipes up quite happily and very cheerily "a new scarf"
She looked so proud of herself! I just looked at her bewildered
"a new scarf? you want a new scarf??"
Jess gives me a "yes" with that 'don't be so silly mummy' tone of voice with a little hint of 'are you deaf?' thrown in there too! Right.. a scarf.. It's mid summer and averaging 40C every day and Jessi wants a scarf?! Ok, so I can crochet a scarf yeah? Of course! What do I decide to go and do? Knit one!!

I've barely touched knitting needles since I was 12yrs old. I was alright at knitting back then. I suck nowadays! But Shell had asked me to find her a nice pattern for some cashmere she wants to use and I found one or two I really like. I think knitted lace looks soooo much nicer sometimes. Late Tuesday evening I decide to make Jessi a knit scarf, using one of the patterns I found when linking Shell. It had eyelets and all. I didn't bother reading through the pattern, I just opened Lion Brand's how to knit pages and sat it side by side with my pattern and hopped to it. I had to frog my first attempt after only 7rows. I kinda missed the whole 'yo' thing in row5!! I started again and made sure I actually read the row this time. I had to copy and paste the pattern to a Word document and throw in all the lines they bunched up and had completely out of order (what was with that?).

It is far from perfect. I had to drop a stitch here and there, there is an extra eyelet here and there and some of the cats paws aren't too great, my tension changes and my cast off was a bit sloppy at first. Overall I am extremely pleased! I mean really, all these years of not knitting and I pick up a pattern like that and just do it. Ok, so I should be accustomed to my ability to just do things, but knitting has given me hell the last few years! What's best is that I can now try all those gorgeous lace patterns I have wanted to for so long. Not sure when as my wrists are sore from knitting for the last 3 days. And even that was sporadic! I want to get back to Barbie for a while too. Knitting is interesting when you only have 2 pair of needles to select from!! *hehe*

I have purchased a new Barbie doll, some clothes, some Kelly dolls and hope to get a furniture set for her soon too. My plan is to give Jessica my bedroom and move myself out into the "craft" room that has been unused for months and months as I just craft in the living rooms. The craft room is just as big as my bedroom, so it gives Jess more space for all her STUFF! That child has soooo much stuff. Plus I want to give her my Barbie house (yes, from when I was a child) as part of her birthday present. She is really into Barbie and playing house and the like so i think she will really appreciate it. I saw a new Barbie house in a toy shop the other day and it was $250. As much as I would love to get it, I just don't have the $$ to buy her anything at the moment and shouldn't have bought the dolls and clothes I did. I just couldn't bare the thought of buying her nothing. I wont eat well for a week, like that is something different for me! I know she will love the clothes I make just as much as the ones I bought, but it is mummy's issue not hers. I am sure she will treasure the doll house too, especially as it was mine. She is very intuitive like that. So grown up for a little girl and wise beyond her years. My baby has been on this earth before, I swear it.

While I am on the whole my-baby-is-the-best kick, I was setting up the climbing frame my mum bought her for xmas on Wednesday (mum had to bring it back from Perth and we only just got it). I was getting extremely irate at the silly thing and cussing a bit. Jessi had on foot on the seat of her seesaw and one foot on the bar of it and says to me "mummy will you be quiet! I am trying to concerntrate". Right then and there I was ready to bop her, I was pretty annoyed at having no help and her being a little smarty-pants so I very nearly told her to shut up. Looking back on it later that day when all was calm and nice again all I could do was laugh. Such a cheeky monkey!!

**Jessi's scarf was knitted with Panda Regal 4ply cotton in a deep purple-pastel purple variegate on 4mm needles, eyelets are threaded with cream double faced satin ribbon. Scarf measures roughly 78cm long (30.5") and about 10cm wide (4"). There are 13 cat paws, and I have no idea if it is going to fit! It needed bigger needles to get the effect seen on the pattern page, but I like it all the same. The recommended needle size for the 4ply cotton is 3.25mm. I used about 2/3 of a ball so cost is well under $3 for the scarf. Funny how I can crochet a whole top for the child in just over 1 ball and yet wouldn't get more than 1 scarf from a ball!