teacup sock monkey

hello. it's been a busy month. actually i think that life is going to get busier and busier each month as my children get older. they are all at quite different stages and all need attention all of the time. it's exhausting. regardless of that i have somehow still been sewing almost every day. most of the time it's in the evening after all the kittens are tucked up in bed. something that i get asked all the time is 'how do you have time to sew with three young children?!' well i don't get to sew as much as i used to obviously and i certainly don't get a chance to carry out any big time consuming projects like quilts. i grab whatever time i can. sometimes washing doesn't get done (shock horror!) and gracie and harrison will often take their naps at the same time while lachie is at kindy. that time is spent getting shop orders ready, photographing stuff and all the other computer stuff. i received the best gift any crafty person with children could ever ask for a few christmas' ago - SLOW COOKER. bung it all in together in the morning, forget about it for the rest of the day and by dinner time all the work is done, your house smells divine and your family think you're a star. no more 'what's for dinner sweetie?' 'ummmmm nothing.... but look what i've sewn up!'

it's my daughter gracie's very first birthday tomorrow. the time has flown but in many ways she is still like a 6 month old baby. she's tiny still. still wears infant size huggies and 00's and she is in no hurry to get mobile which is just fine with me! after having two boys it's funny to be buying girly wrapping paper and seeing girly birthday cards around the house. i realised on friday while picking out wrapping paper that i hadn't even made her anything for her birthday. it didn't seem right to only have store and op shop bought gifts. unheard of in our house. she doesn't have a sock monkey, i made her a sock bear for when she was born. so it seemed the obvious choice to make her a sock monkey. as i was searching through my sock stash i came across the sweetest tiniest pair of purple stripey baby socks. i ended up staying up til after midnight on friday to get them done but a mini sock monkey was born and i love her.





a bit fiddly you ask? let's just say by the time i was finished i'm pretty sure my eyes were bleeding. oh yes, and she has her own special cosy sleeping bag with built in pillow, naturally. this is the kind of thing i would have loved as a child, ok who am i kidding? i still do. tiny things with tiny accessories make my heart sing.





i have made similar sized sock monkeys before but this is by far the best as far as proportions and cuteness go. i forgot to measure her before i wrapped her but i think she's about 3.5" tall. i think gracie will love squishing her in her tiny hands and later on she will enjoy popping her in and out of her sleeping bag. cute? i will absolutely be making some special little guys n gals like this one for my madeit shop.

did you have a lovely easter?

we had a lovely easter despite some delays on sunday due to farm dramas. we enjoyed lunch with family followed by egg decorating, an easter egg hunt and a visit to the farm to see the day old chicks that have just arrived, just in time for easter, awwww.









the rest of my long weekend was filled with all sorts of crafting. sewing, crochet, hair clip making and cake baking. gracie has grown enough hair to clip back so i've been playing around with ribbons, felt and glue. i really don't like glue. it's not my sensory preference.



the bunny hair clips i made for gracie and my nieces amy and eleanor were inspired by this post.



the ribbon bow clip turned out so cute that i made a few for my madeit shop. my poor shop is getting rather empty looking. i was trying to keep 50 items in there. there's 12 now. hmmm. fail.

granny square blanket complete

i finished it! woo hoo! it's rather small but awfully sweet all the same. it sure puts the 'granny' in granny square blanket i think. tee hee.



i actually found joining all the squares up and doing the border more enjoyable than crocheting the squares themselves. funny because i was dreading the joining part. so my first ever granny square blanket is complete and it feels good, literally.



i also found the wrap jumper for harrison which wasn't quite finished. i finished it and it fits him with growing room. instead of ties i sewed on some little leather buttons for a more manly look. i took a heap of photos but harrison wasn't in the mood for playing model and my camera doesn't like people that constantly move.



and then i modified the pattern a bit and made one for the dolly. it was supposed to be for lachie's teddy but it fitted this doll perfectly.



not the nicest colours by dolly loves it and she doesn't mind the cheap acrylic yarn one bit! if you would like to make one the pattern i used was written by susanne visch and can be found here. and if that 'here' link worked then i have to thank cinti from my poppet for telling me how to do that high-tech stuff. and she can be found.. wait.. i'm gonna do it again.. here!

in other news i have become an active commenter. yep, i'm throwing comments on peoples blogs left right and centre and even 'following' them. so brave! maybe i'll even gain a few more followers myself. can i possibly get to five followers one day? one can only hope. then i'll know i've really made it. :) i don't get a lot of comments on this blog but i have had a few lately and it's such a lovely feeling so i thought it's about time i commented a bit more on other peoples blogs instead of quietly stalking them anonymously. if you read my blog and you have your own blog please comment below because i would love to have a look!

Hooray for Crochet!

i love this time of the year and not just because it's my birthday later this month :) my favourite kind of weather is cool/sunny. i love autumn. and as the days start to cool off my stubby little fingers start to get restless and yearn for the soft feel of yarn running through them. lets not go in to the hand tingles, sore wrists, blurry eyes (need glasses much?), headaches (need glasses much?) and blisters. i forget all about that at the beginning of crochet season. last year i started making granny squares purely to use up my ever growing stash. they are fairly random, not even particulary nice colours but the idea was to tie them all in together by using the blue for the first and last rows. the plan is then to join them all together with the red. it should end up a nice size for gracie to use in the pram. i let gracie sit on the pile and test it for softness. she approves. she enjoyed throwing them off the desk and wiping them on my face. i hope she wont be too sad when they're all joined together. the jumper gracie is wearing was crocheted by me during the many appointments and hospital stays i had to endure whilst being pregnant with her. i don't do pregnancy well. i was very excited to discover that it fits her now and there's plenty of growing room left. it looks far cuter on her than i imagined. she had another one for when she was born, plus one my mum made which she wore home from the hospital. i've also made one, at least i think it's finished, for harrison. must dig that one up sometime.

La Petit Baby Ankles

i was inspired to make these ankle thingys this morning after reading a post on prudent baby. they took around 15 mins to make. she's been wearing them for about half an hour and hasn't tried to pull them off yet.

and as you can see gracie just loves them!

so are they cute or not really? i think they'd be much cuter in brighter fabric. or maybe they just need to be totally different all together..?

thrifty treasures

found these beauties at the oppy shop yesterday. last time i popped in there they had no doilies at all so i was almost hyperventilating while going through the big pile. they all need a good wash and press obviously. how lovely is this green?!...



... and embroidered butterflies and flowers



... pretty crochet border



i'm looking forward to creating lovely things with those. i'm having a quiet day with gracie today and i've just been clearing a space for some cutting and maybe even some sewing if i get time. i only have a small room which i share with stu for my sewing and it gets cluttered up very quickly. yesterday i was desperately searching for a ruler when lachlan kindly suggested that perhaps if i tidy up my things i might be able to find it. well what could i say to that!? he was right. i should definitely practice what i preach.

some nice things for my girl

a little tee and knickers set for gracie....



also made her doily bunting for her room but it's not hanging up yet so here's a horrible photo of it on the dining table instead:



it was a bit scary chopping those doilies in half let me tell ya. i had horrible pictures in my head of them just falling to bits before i could sew them in to the binding. they didn't. it was fine. i made bias binding out of grandmother's flower garden by japanese fabric manufacturer lecien. i love the process of making binding. i find it extremely satisfying.



and now i am drinking lovely red wine, eating nice chocolate and being a sloth in front of the computer. enjoy your weekend peeps.