Monday, June 30, 2008

vested

hi! I kind of dropped off the radar there for a while, I've been dealing with lots of snot and sore throats, and the odd ear ache, but everyone is well again now (touch wood), so I have time to think again. Last week was spent mainly indoors, trying to shelter the babe (and myself) from a ferocious wind that came along without invitation. The wind and I, we are not good friends. So, in the few brief moments that the wee one actually slept, I got to inventing, and came up with the vest. Perfect for windy days that are still sunny and warm. Green cord lined with vintage flanelette for extra snuggliness. I'm loving the hood. it's a little large, but I think that's better than being a little small. He was only too happy to model it for a photo shoot.
here he is doing his best austin powers face, whilst showing off the lining. This was one of those projects that nearly didn't come to fruition. I almost gave up half way through when I had to unpick the outside stitching on the hood and hand stitch it instead. It was a case of, do I persevere and call it a learning experience, even if it doesn't work out, or do I stop wasting my (very limited) time and go and make something fail-safe. One of those times when perseverence proved successful, and we have something wearable to show for it. Oh, and the best part? The nearly-eight year old comes along and says, "I'd wear one of those mum". So, it's back to the drawing board I go, for two more of these babies.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

drool catchers

what to do when you've done everything else and there's still half an hour before you have to pick up the kids? Why, applique some bibs, of course. Yes, I'm loving that orange one, all the better to hide smeared pumpkin with. It seems that some days I manage to do very little, and some days, I do a lot. It does help, of course, when someone decides to sleep for the better part of the day, leaving the mamma free to do as she pleases...I was really over the whiteness of all of jasper's clothes. I mean, really, who came up with the idea to make baby clothes in all manner of pale shades? So, now they're all blue. Oh yeah, and so is some of my stuff. I have had several attempts at dyeing over the years, but have never really had any success. I've always opted for black in the past and it's never actually turned out black, probably because I have realised after getting started that you need "fixer", and have been too lazy to go back to the shops, so have gone ahead with just the dye anyway, and ended up with a nice collection of grey clothes which I invariably never wear again. Why can't they just make it easy and sell the fixer with the dye? So, this time I had all the gear, even the rubber gloves, which are handy when dyeing. After seeing what a great colour it was ("riviera blue"), I of course started to look around to see what else I could throw in. I even considered going and buying some more white stuff, just so I could dye it. I especially love the way the stitching stays white, and also that sweet little border on the collar of the bonds suits. I always think he looks like a little prince with that collar. Well, he looks like a little prince all the time really.
not much sunshine in the last week, but this little piece arrived in the mail for me last friday, and instantly brightened my day. Oh how I love surprises in the letter box. Thanks, jodi.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

effelant walk

these two cuties just walked (very slowly) into my shop.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

small faces

I've been thinking about "deleting" the bears for a while, as I was finding them a bit boring, but after receiving an order for one, I decided I might just try to make them a bit more special, because they are kind of fun. So now they have faces. I'm pretty happy with them, although the general concensus around here was that they look a bit like a teletubbie. I'm just going to ignore that one.
It's been pretty rainy around here, so there's been lots of time spent indoors, fitting in little bits of crafting here and there. I decided that I couldn't live with a plain white shirt for the babe, so this morning a mushroom was added. Now you're going to have to put up with cute baby photos.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

rainy day

had a home day today, with the boys. No school due to nasty weather and coughs. Now, usually, this would spell chaos, as fin and willow always end up fighting at some stage, especially when cooped up in the house, but for some reason, today was different. No fights, no screaming. They even managed a bit of crafting together, a bit of dinosaur doco-viewing, and a bit of lego. It was the little one who was a ratbag, although I did manage to put him to sleep with the soothing sounds of the vacuum cleaner. Apparently, he likes it, so there's no more excuses for not vaccuuming now. He slept long enough for me to finish this order, which has been hanging around for a while.
I'm still getting used to the idea of having three children. Sometimes I forget, and then it's like, "oh, there's three of them, where did they all come from?" and it has occurred to me that it's easier to misplace one, the more you have. It was easy with two, we had one each, but now I'm finding that I have to be more on my toes. The other day, we caught up with some friends at the local oval, where the kids could run off some energy after school, and after chatting to the other mums for a little while, I realised that willow was missing (if anyone is going to go missing, it will be willow). After a few brief moments of panic, I caught sight of his sunny little face in the middle of a tree some distance away. Mental note: don't rely on small children to hang around listening to intriguing adult conversation when there are trees to be climbed.