collaboration

My obsession with applique on children's tops (ie. fast easy projects) continues. But now, I have a very special helper. Two-and-a-half year old Olive has progressed from random scribbles to drawing things. In order to preserve (and show off!) her best efforts I have been tracing then reproducing the drawings as applique. I give you ...

whale

person (with eyes and legs)


Baby Bear - He's sad. Who has broken my chair?

Goldilocks "asleeping in the bed". I'm not sure why she has pink hair, but the designer insisted.

We are so proud :)

knitted fruit and vegetables

In preparation for Olive's birthday (it's not until the 12th of April but the plan is to induce her little sister around the 31st of May, so I'm guessing I won't have much time closer to the date), I have been busily knitting. She always plays with the plastic play food at playgroup and childcare but I couldn't bring myself to buy any of that plastic crap so I have been making knitted versions instead. The best thing is, with thanks to Ravelry, I was able to find all of the patterns for free.

So, with an excited little drum roll, here are the results!



Pear, apple and lemon patterns were from Peachcake Knits. And the orange was made by adjusting the apple pattern.

The banana was made using Allison Judge's Baby Fruit & Veggie Rattle patterns. The shape is great but it is remarkably small compared with Australian bananas.

The three strawberries are from PezDiva. So very, very quick to make!



Corn and mushroom patterns are by Kimberly Chapman.

The carrot, cucumber and eggplant were all made using Allison Judge's Baby Fruit & Veggie Rattle patterns. I love the cucumber and eggplant but the carrot is in definite need of a bit more tapering.

Pumpkin pattern is available as a Ravelry download by Jan Lewis.

The cute (but giant!) pea pod is courtesy of Hannah Kaminsky. Although I did lengthen the pod by an extra 10 rows so that I could fit in an extra pea.

The teeny tiny summer squash is by Gerwerken. Don't miss the correction, too.

The avocado is just a dark green pear as above but wihout the stem and leaf.

And lastly, the tomato was my own pattern.


Perhaps I am a little crazy for having knitted so many of these, but I am sane by comparison with the contributors to the fabulously funny Why would you knit that? My pick for the craziest knit is the placenta, but I have to admit that I find the knitted dissected lab rat and frog strangely beautiful ...

free knitted egg pattern

This pattern was originally based on curlypurly's colourful egg but I had trouble understanding the instructions so I made my own then adjusted them, adjusted, and adjusted until finally by my sixth egg I had something that I'm happy with.

Materials
Yarn: I used 8 ply (DK). Only a very small amount is required.
Needles: 4.0mm (US size 6) dpn's
Stuffing
Darning needle

Gauge: Doesn't matter, just make it tight

Abbreviations
CO = cast on
K = knit
K2tog = knit 2 together
Kfb = knit into front and back of next stitch
st = stitches

Instructions
CO 6
Tuck tail upwards so that it will be hidden inside the egg.
round 1: [K1, Kfb] to end of round (9 st)
round 2: [K2, Kfb] (12 st)
round 3: [K1, Kfb] (18 st)
round 4: [K1, Kfb] (27 st)
round 5: K
round 6: [K8, Kfb] (30 st)
rounds 7-12: K 6 rounds
round 13: [K8, K2tog] (27 st)
round 14: [K7, K2tog] (24 st)
round 15: [K6, K2tog] (21 st)
round 16: [K5, K2tog] (18 st)
round 17: K
round 18: [K4, K2tog] (15 st)
round 19: K
stuff
round 21: [K3, K2tog] (12 st)
round 22: K (12 st)
round 23: [K2tog] (6st)
Cut off and run thread through stitches, pulling tightly. Hide tail inside egg.

free knitted tomato pattern

Yay!! My first ever knitting pattern!

Materials
Yarn: I used 8 ply (DK) in red and green. Only a very small amount is required.
Needles: 4.0mm (US size 6) dpn's & crochet hook
Stuffing
Darning needle

Gauge: Doesn't matter, just make it tight

Abbreviations
CO = cast on
dpn = double pointed needle
k = knit
k2tog = knit 2 together
kfb = knit into front and back of next stitch
st = stitches

Instructions
CO 6 stitches onto a single dpn
round 1: without turning (as if making an i-cord), kfb every st onto 3 needles (12 st)
Tuck tail into centre.
round 2: k
round 3: k1, kfb (18 st)
round 4: k
round 5: k2, kfb (24 st)
round 6: k
round 7: k3, kfb (30 st)
round 8: k
round 9: k5, kfb (35 st)
rounds 10-16: k 7 rounds
round 17: k5, k2tog (30 st)
round 18: k
round 20: k3, k2tog (24 st)
round 21: k
round 22: k2, k2tog (18 st)
round 23: k
Stuff.
round 24: k1, k2tog (12 st)
round 25: k1 in green, k1 in red
Cut and tie off red yarn and tuck into centre.
round 26: k2tog in green (6 st)
Cut off green yarn, leaving long tail.
Using darning needle, thread tail through remaining stitches and tie off.
Thread yarn through centre of tomato to base and back again to give an indentation at the top. Knot again.
Crochet a chain of about 5 stitches to make a stalk.
Using darning needle, thread yarn back down stalk and into tomoto. Cut off.
You're done!

nesting tree

So here it is: The first thing I have made to give to the new baby.

I used this pattern from Knitty but changed the colours and pocket design to make it less girly and more forest kawaii.

I have started nesting in proper, getting up in the middle of the night to craft.
I have another reason for crafting like crazy too - it keeps my mind off the fact that I've hit the scary 30-week mark of the pregnancy. There is a peak danger period for stillbirth between 30 and 34 weeks and Millie died at 33 weeks. There is no particular reason why it would happen to us again but then again, there is no reason why it wouldn't. Please be okay, baby.

new softies and dresses for sale

At long last, it is time for an obligatory shop update announcement.

I have re-stocked my etsy store with new corduroy baby dresses and softie rattle friends. Won't you please take a look?

sewing up a storm

I'm in the midst of a crafting overload at the moment. Perhaps the nesting instinct has hit me?

I've also been trying to improve on Christmas, when only about half the gifts I gave were handmade. Birthdays will be better!

So here are the latest toddler gifts I have made.

Pencil rolls.


Why do I have the urge to put names on everything I make? Is it the wanna-be librarian in me, putting labels on everyone?

Appliqued t-shirts.




And a matching hair clip.

Happy birthday, kids.

knitting back on track

Well. Sort of.


I'd like to introduce you to Mr Dangly.
He was made using a free pattern by Hannah Simpson of Cakeyvoice.

And he's very cute!


He will serve as a present to be given from the new baby to Olive.
So while I still haven't made anything for new bubs, at least I have started preparing for her arrival.

applique attack

How to revitalise hand-me-downs?

APPLIQUE!!

Bye bye butterflies!

Later, love hearts.







I went a little crazy with this idea (I have only shown a few of those completed) but how could I resist such a quick-fix sewing project?

flying turtles

I spent a couple of evenings this week preparing a custom order for a new baby living in Hong Kong. The specs were for a dress that was fairly plain on the outside but with an animal theme.

Voila! Green cotton dress with turtle lining, trim and buttons.

[Yes! I do custom orders! If you like my style but don't see anything suiting your needs on etsy, please contact me! :-) ]

mini model

My sister is studying digital photography at TAFE and was asked to complete a "model shoot". Forgetting the (very wise) advice to avoid working with animals and children, she decided to photograph some of the dresses that I am selling in my etsy store, using Olive as the model.

After two separate sessions with lots of bribery and chasing, these are some of the cutest photos.



These first two photos were rejected on the basis that the background is too distracting. I guess it's true - when I look at them I see the vintage lino in Olive's room and the old Snow White book she's reading.







See my etsy store for pictures that actually showcase the dresses!

little lost land

I have been very busy! As a result, I am happy to be able to report that some of my wares are now available in a real live shop. Little Lost Land is a new store selling a mix of vintage, imported and handmade clothes and accessories, including loniemay dresses, bibs and onesies. Find Little Lost Land at 300 Carlisle street, Balaclava, here in Melbourne.

One of the appliqued onesies.

A selection of bibs. All are made with plastic coated fabric that I bought whilst in Japan and are great for starting solids because they wipe clean.


All of the dresses are made from corduroy with cotton lining. They feature coordinating buttons, applique or sashes.

This blue dress is lined with the same floral fabric that is featured on the front. It was originally a vintage pillowcase and is deliciously soft.

And in a lovely coincidence, a friend from high school is selling her baby blankets there too. They're handmade from gorgeous soft Japanese fabrics and can also be found online at her FunkyGrammy store.

Update: Little Lost Land is establishing itself well with lots of lovely clothing and accessories for adults but babywear is not its niche, so you will no longer find my wares there. Ah well, you will have to await news of my next outlet!

apron's away

As promised, here is the sassy apron that I made and have sent off (Only one day late. That's not bad, is it?)

Even though I left the construction to the last minute and I have never made an apron before, I decided to make do without a pattern. I also wanted to use this project to push myself to mix fabrics and add more embellishments than I normally would. And just to complicate things further, I thought that a double sided apron would be a good idea so that I could double my chances that my swap partner would like it.

Funnily enough, none of these factors were as troubling to me as the theme. With 4 degree mornings and days of endless fog, I had real difficulty making anything fit for summer. Ah well, while I'm not entirely happy with the end result I do think that it turned out better than it might have! I was also amused that while I was busy sewing the apron, my partner was watching The Stepford Wives.

This was my first swap and will probably be my only swap for a little while, but only because the end of semester is looming and assignments are due. After that, watch out! You may just be partnered with me...

Oh. And while I'm on the topic, I thought I may as well show you some of my favourite aprons. The orange one is thrifted but the other two are hand-me-downs from great aunties. They make me happy :)

this is ...my way of recycling

Finally, a nice easy "this is" whose answer immediately sprang to mind.
I have a bit of a thing for old bedding. I am currently lining some little girls' dresses with vintage sheets and pillow cases. They are so pretty and soft.
But what really makes me excited is a good bedspread, which becomes a skirt once I get my hands on it.

toadstool hat

Back during Vintage Children's Book Ilustration Week I spied some adorable toadstool hats from the Red Tops books on the excellent Bird Bath blog. I was all inspired and as soon as I had finished my mammoth knitting UFO, got out my needles to make a similar hat for Olive.

Well, it doesn't look much like the hats from the pictures, nor does it come even close to fitting Olive's head. But I might get some use out of it myself on cold days when I am feeling a bit silly.

And in a moment of synchronicity, after photographing my new hat this afternoon I went to the local Vinnies and found my very own copy of the Red Tops!

TGIF - thank god it's finished!

You may remember that quite some time ago, I vowed to get serious about my UFOs. They had spilled out of the "finishing" box and onto my desk and the floor, where they had taken up permanent residence.

This was one of the worst: a knitted sampler blanket that I started after Millie (my first baby) died to provide myself with a distraction on the train to work each day instead of crying the whole way. It did prove to be good therapy for me, I used up most of my leftover yarns and I learnt lots of new stitches along the way but

I ran out of enthusiasm when it came to sewing all of the samples together, which instead spent close to two years in a pile on the living room floor.


Until now!



I am so happy to have it finished.

pint-sized parties

After a very shaky beginning last weekend when I came down with gastro on Olive's first birthday and had to postpone her party (I didn't even remember to sing her happy birthday, poor poppet), we finally got our act together this weekend. So on Saturday we went to our nephew's third birthday party in a play centre - very noisy but fun. I gave him a pencil roll, which I really enjoyed making. Maybe because of the anal-retentive suggestion that you always have to line your pencils up according to the colour wheel.



And today was the grand event, an afternoon tea party for Olive in our back yard. She has no idea that the fuss was all for her but did enjoy having so many people and so much food around. Now, where to store all of her new toys?