Recycled super soft Angora into new born beanie

Well, today was sunny and spring is definitely on the way. In autumn I bought a 100% angora (rabbit) jersey. Unpicked it, washed it and reballed it. (if you click on those words you will see it was not such an easy job). Then I knitted a new born to 3 month old hat. It has been sitting in my knitting bag ever since. Not sewn up and no tassel. Finally last night I pulled it out and finished it. Why is it that when winter is on the way out that I get around to all the winter jobs?

This is a pattern that I developed years ago from an idea of the sleeve of a jersey I made (it had the ribbed look). In the last few years I can see that lots of commercial patterns are using this kind of ribbing too. Just when you think you are original!!

Anyway I now have bundles of wool, knitting needles and patterns all kitted up with this supersoft angora.
I will be listing it in my shop soon, I just want Alex to model it for me first.

Today I have been busy reclaiming more of the garden for my vege patch. Looking good but would like it to happen faster!!

Happy Chooks

I am loving the sunshine we have been getting. I have been thinking that the chooks could do more work for us in the garden. So my sister Anna gave me some old fencing she had. I put it around the dug out strawberry bed for the chooks to fossick in. Jakob got all uptight that the chooks would escape from it, Morris barked and barked, even when I put him inside, he was just too excited about the chooks being where they should not.
The chooks loved it!!! (But I did not own up to Jakob that two escaped in the two hours:). I will have to keep an eye on them and not just leave them in it). Anyway chooks are great at clearing out and fertilising gardens. When I look at the photo I realise that I it is a bit lackadaisical so will fix it up a bit tomorrow. So if the weather stays fantastic then I will fence another area off. Am starting to get the excited, ready for planting feeling!!!.

I had a lovely couple of hours out in the sun after work, starting mulching my big pile of clippings.

My PJ quilt got featured

Wow - here I was checking out other blogs I follow and one of them Domesblissity featured me on her link up blog today. Wow  

Make a patchwork quilt by just sewing straight lines

This quilt is just the easiest patchwork in the world to make. You only have to be able to sew straight seams. No maths involved and it looks amazing.

1. First cut out a pile of squares of your chosen material. These can be any size you want. The ones shown are 6.5 inches just because we had a ruler that size.

2. Chose 9 of the squares and lay them out to your satisfaction

3. Sew the squares together in the order you want. 

4. Cut through the halfway point of the centre row horizontally

5. Cut through the halfway point of the centre row vertically

6. You will then have four pieced squares looking like this.

7. If you want a regular pattern then always have the centre square the same. 

Once you have made a lot the blocks can then be sewn in rows and then those rows together.

There are some amazingly good examples and tutorials on Youtube for making this. It is called the split nine patch. My favourite quilting tutorials are done by the Missouri Quilt Company. Lovely clear videos and easy to understand. - they call this block the disappearing nine patch as they put it together randomly (as I have done here) Click here to link to their tutorial

Spring blooms

A bit of sunshine, some early spring flowers and I feel positive about everything. After 6 weeks of rain, cloud, rain, more cloud etc we have had a couple of hours sun. Oh spring is on it's way. I parked the car on our section after work and saw our first Iceland Poppy right beside the bunch of traditional daffodils that are out. Glorious colour, heralding spring. Oh I want to go camping!!!

Sunday stitching

The beginning of Margo's first quilt

Today I had my mother in law over and she started stitching her first ever quilt. We did the cutting on Friday night and she started the blocks today. She is doing a split nine patch quilt. The great thing about this quilt is that you don't have to do a 1/4" seam to get it right. A lot of older machines don't have the quarter inch mark so you have to tape your machine or mark the needle placement. But the split nine patch will work perfectly so long as you stitch the entire patchwork top using the same machine and the same foot.

My totally recycled quilt

I made a random split nine patch for Hope Homes but Margo is doing a repeat pattern version.

I continued on with my 100% eco quilt. Great afternoon on a gray day.

The boys were all off having a game of street soccer and cricket at their old home. The power is now discommected so we are expecting it to be demolished anytime soon. They were in the middle of the horror area for the September 2010 earthquakes - see here.

Friday night sew in

The oozing lava cake

The caramel

My Friday night sew in was all about teaching my Mother-in-law how to use a rotary cutter and cutting squares. As well as eating Chocolate Lava Cake.

Margo has decided to make a patchwork quilt for her spare bed and asked me to teach her. So Friday night the cutting boards and rotary cutters were out in force cutting lots of 6.5" squares.

Amazing amount of cut squares

I had watched Rachel from The Little Paris Kitchen (my new most favourite programme) earlier in the day and made her Lava pots. Oozy caramel in the middle of amazing chocolate cake. Yum. I was proud of myself making my own caramel (I only had to discard one burnt lot!!!)

See my links page for the Friday linky parties I join.

A great Op Shop trip

I had a great 20 minute stop at the Salvation Army Opportunity Shop yesterday.
1. new gumboots for me - $2
2. new gumboots for Jakob - $2
3. new lunchbox for Aaron - $2
4. gorgeous hand embroidered tray cloth - $1
5. 100% wool green tunic for me - $2

One of the best trips I have had in a while. I have worn the tunic the last two days. I have stayed away from that fashion until now as have been worried that at a larger size tunics would either make me look pregnant or my rear view hideous!. But I love it. Yesterday I wore it with a white skivvy and today I had a cerise merino underneath.

I just could not get a good photo of me in the mirror! Ignore the hideously untidy room.

I have great plans for the traycloth - turning it into a zip bag.

Made - 1 Boys Merino Hoodie

The merino jersey before.

The finished product

Yes I am still in the recycling / upcycling mood. This merino hoodie was long in the making! The adage of measure twice and cut once was not adhered to. So a lot of unpicking and making do. It started as two ladies merinos. The light blue one was all stained down the front so only good for bits. The black one was a size 14!!! It was long enough in the body and arms but it would have to be a pretty skinny 14 as I did not need to adjust the width at all. I just chopped a bit off the bottom.

I measured the arms etc and thought they looked short - cut anyway and yes way too short. Thankfully I was doing new cuffs so that he could have the semi-glove look at the end of the sleeve, I just had to make that add on a bit longer than intended. The pocket was sewn and unpicked as I put it too high up the body, so had to take it down to a reasonable level. When cutting the polo neck off I mistakenly cut the shoulder seam too with the overlocker, so that had to be fixed. The hood was right the first time.

All that is needed is some domes on the placket.

Jakob loved being the model and has been pestering me for ages for one as he picked the colours in autumn, now we are only 2 weeks from spring (not that you would guess it from the weather we have been having).

Eli's one last year - here- only took me 1 1/2 hours. This took me two nights with a gap of three in-between as I got frustrated with the mistakes.

A Quilt made from 8 business shirts

The big quilt and the cushion cover

The shirts before cutting.

I was in the Op Shop a few months ago and they had all menswear at 1/2 price. In the rack all coordinated and calling to me were 7 business shirts. I had no idea what to do with them, being very plain bold fabrics, but had to have them for my stash. At $2 for 100% good quality cotton how could I resist?

Then I started the remodel of Jakob's room and realised that the colours would fit perfectly. Then the pattern decision. Well I have seen a few cross patterns out on the internet, all made from squares, and thought that would do. Of course I did not do what everyone else has done and that is to have squares so that each cross takes 5 squares to do. I just cut big strips and then cut some into squares and some into longer rectangles that are the equivalent to 3 squares. Why have more seams than you need? I cut heaps out and just used my eye to guess how much I needed. I was worried that I would have enough fabric but I actually have way too much.


Then it was just a matter of laying it all on the floor and sewing it. The laying and sewing only took me about 31/2 hours. I started at 9pm and finished at about 12.15pm. But was so awake that I then started cutting smaller strips for a matching pillow!


So what you see is just the patchwork top cut in 6.5inch strips and the matching cushion cover which was cut in 2 1/2 inch strips. (And I have way too much fabric left over!!!).

Jakob's remodeled room

Once I get around to sandwiching it then I am going to practice quilting by doing each cross in individual patterns. (that is the plan at the moment anyway).

And doesn't it match the colours in Jakob's room!!! I am thrilled with it, especially as it really looks more boy like.

Linking up here.  

Crazy kids and quilts

 

After a busy morning with soccer and present buying we trotted off the see Mieke, the birthday girl. Well the boys had been amazingly good all day. No arguments, no worries, occupied themselves outside with lots of fun while putting all the pruning into a pile for us to put through the mulch-er. But we got to Jess and Stephens and then it all went riot. Mieke had an amazing party in the morning and then only slept about 1 hour so she was getting hypo, which encouraged my boys. They wanted to play in her pink tent. Eli practically tried on every bit of fairy princess gear that Mieke had. First he came out with a headband, then a necklace, then some lacy thing, then wings and on it went until he was quite done up. Mieke thought her cousins were crazy. But good old Alex just slept through it all - model child trying out his new quilt.
I was lucky to have him sleep on me for about 3/4 hour till we had to go. There is NOTHING that can compare to having a new baby sleep and snuggle into you. Bliss.

Jess insisted that I not take her photo - just Alex. Sorry Jess. (nah not really). But I as the boys were today's photographers they obviously didn't listen to that instruction.  The picture of the megasketcher was what Jakob was writing. He followed Mieke around and wrote down everything she said.