WIP Wednesday

The crochet hook has been picked up a little more lately, and hence there are a few WIP's lying around at the moment. Perfect for the cold evenings here. The sewing machine is kind of hiding amongst boxes of flooring and tools for a while, which is rather sad, but that's ok. I did manage to squish in and finish off  the Maisy floor cushion cover though! That was a rather must, so it can go back in a suitcase to Canada.

and completed with a handmade card from the littlest lady.

We have been having a few crisp mornings and late afternoons. My feet and my hands suffer at the moment and cannot get warm. Mittens didn't appeal to me as I still wanted to be able to carry out my housework... or craft... or driving. After a quick search on ravelry I downloaded and printed this pattern. First attempt at cable too with crochet. (never tried it with knitting either though!) The pattern is for advanced beginners and didn't take long to work up.

Cabled wrist warmers. In 100% wool 8ply charcoal classic from bendigo. 

Pattern from here on Ravelry.

 And then there was this acrylic that I had kept turning away from, untill it jumped off the shelf and into my basket. I actually love how it is working up. Another blanket in hdc's.

 And lastly, this colourful as-you-go blanket  coming along nicely. I really loved working the star stitch out (the light pink, 3rd from top). All yarn for this blanket is from the classic range from bendigo and using a 5mm hook.

The house is still a major WIP. That is for another post.

L.

house update {twelve}

The house is still plodding along slowly. We have now removed most of the old kitchen and the island bench is in and up and running. The current fridge recess and cupboards will be the last to go. We are currently waiting for the other side kitchen that will go along the wall (see photo below) where the stove is currently being a real-freestanding stove. 

 The front elevation has been base-coat plastered. We need to wait till really dry weather before applying the top coat to match the pod and also the porch. At least it isn't so patch work anymore!

  
L.

WIP Wednesday

Colour overload!
Linking up with Bec from over at handmadeandhome. Always a little bit of time here and there for a bit more progress.
This week I have finally made some headway on the quilt from the previous post, and another book-based floor pillow made it to the cutting board. The scrap-busting granny stripe has also grown and we have received part of the yarn order for the as-we-go-stripey blanket. (this looks like a fun blanket to do, involving different stitches and colours each row.)

This maisy material was gifted to me some time ago. So happy to have finally put it to use. It's nearly done, and super cute. Check back soon!

Last night I put my daughters maths to the test. 

77 clusters of 3 trebles makes the length of the granny stripe = 231 plus 1 for the starting/finishing treble. = 232 trebles per row. 

double that for each colour = 464 trebles per colour. 

times that by 26 colours = 12064 trebles so far on the blanket. 

That's a lot of yarn overs and pull throughs :) 

Dare you to do the maths on your current blanket.

L.

crochet: grannystripe

In amongst all the rubble and building supplies, there has been a little bit of time here and there to sit and crochet for a few minutes. While waiting till I could decide on what next big blanket pattern and yarn to use, I wound up all my scraps of 8ply acrylics and started on a nice bright and colourful, 150cm wide granny stripe blanket.

The sewing room also very quickly became a storage room, but with the need for the boxes of winter clothes it has slowly come to life again. I have a birthday in 4 weeks, and there is a quilt that should be finished. Nothing better then a race against the date. And then the next girlys birthday is 4 weeks after that. And her quilt should be finished too. And I should get the pins back to their rightful owner. I had better get busy.

I had better get busy.

L.

House Update {eleven}

It has been a year almost to the day, that the major house renovations started, with the removal of our old roof and the addition of the second storey pod. With last house update back in November, here are some more progress photos. In the heat of summer, the three front windows were pulled out and replaced, enjoying alfresco dining for a day.

The lounge and dining room have all been gyprocked and flushing in progress.

Goodbye kitchen of 13 years.

Hallway starting to appear.

Lovely lino from underneath the cupboards. When we first bought the house, they had this lino covered in a red carpet. In the kitchen of all places.

How we currently use the kitchen while we wait for the new one. Fridge and cupboards haven't been moved. Coffee facilities are in the pantry ;) No fancy meals coming out of here for a while.

Studframe love notes. 

Rebuilding the old bathroom into my pantry. We took out the old window and gyprocked all the walls, and put in some powerpoints.

Rather then disposing of a still-very-useable benchtop, we shortened it a little and placed it in the pantry, along with the chest freezer. 

And that is the end of this update.

L.

Sewing: duffle bag

Back before school swimming lessons started, I followed this tutorial and made missy muffet her own duffle bag. Not too big, and not too small. The tutorial uses laminated cotton for the outside, pockets and lining, but I opted for just a laminate cotton for the outside, and a cotton for the lining and ruffle pockets.

Links:

Web: Family Ever After Blog.com

Pin: it on pinterest

Thursday: blogspiration {hobbyhorse}

This Thursday I would like to share a very nice and colourful website.  mellyandme has a range of patterns available for purchase, either online or even at your local craft store*. Kit packs are also available. This past week I used one of her patterns for the hobby horse and enjoyed sewing two. They are well written with a nice colourful photo on the front - and what's even better, she is an aussie crafty mum. :)

Helpful hints:
*  Following the advice from another mum who has previously sewn these, I used wide ribbon for the bridal and reigns. So much easier then trying to interface little strips and turn them out the right way.
*  I purchased a set of furniture wheels and attached them to the bottom of the pole. After one day of playing with her horse, the material had started to wear at the point of pole vs floor contact. (attaching these wheels requires the use of an electric drill)
*  I also knotted the middle colour section only, of the mane. I found they just hung in clumps otherwise and hid the other strips from view.
*  use of a saw and drill are also required for pole length and attaching to the head.

A bright and fun sewing project, and little miss? she is quiet. She has the purple one. The red one is for a gift. I am sure I won't see her for the rest of the day. Go on, pop over and have a look at her blog and website.

Here is the link again: mellyandme. 

Have you made one of her projects? I would love to know. I have one more pattern sheet in my draw that I have been meaning to do too. But I will save that for another post.

*only at selected craft stores. I know my local textile traders carries her patterns.