Miss Aine

Two jersey tops quickly pinned together, with a little ribbon tied around the middle. Now I just need to find some time to sew them together!

A little sewing project now - Funny Bunny. I used some Cath Kidston fabric (the stars) and cut up a blanket that I got in Aldi.  I did change the legs from the pattern as I didn't like how they looked sew together in their photo tutorial.  So I just drew my own legs instead.  He's lovely and cute and cuddly, if a little mental looking.

I got the pattern for this lovely mittens from the email webletter (?) that I get from Classic Elite Yarns. Lush Lovely Lacey Mitts This was a very fast knit and looks really nice.  I was only using a dk weight yarn so mine is a little lighter than the one in the actual pattern. This are a little gift for my mam.  She got me to knit a pair of gloves for a friend's birthday prior to Christmas, and then actually paid me from them even though I told her not to. So the left-over yarn is now made in to lovely mittens!

Another little foray into the world of crochet.  I am starting the gain in confidence slightly with it.  Definitely think I'm better going round and round in circles, not so much over and back! This little guy is for baby Sam who was born a few weeks ago.  We still have to visit him and welcome him to the world but there's a threat of maybe chicken pox from Emily's playschool at the moment so no visiting newborns for us! The pattern is a free pattern from Lion Brand Yarn - Georgina the Giraffe .  I'm definitely going to download a few more of their crochet patterns.  They are easy to follow, and this little guy is just so darn cute.

Not much blogging of late as I've been trying to just sort out a routine for myself around the house.  This whole 'two kids' lark is hard work! First up was to set out what cleaning tasks need to be done on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.  This makes sure that everything is getting done, and nothing gets forgotten.  And it has made a bit of a difference to how our house looks.  It does mean I'm knackered though as I've loads to do every day, as well as minding the sproglets.  I have nice little lists written out in a diary so that I can cross off each task as its done.  Makes it so much more satisfying - I love crossing things off lists! Next up was some organising of my craft stuff.  As I mentioned before, Oliver has agreed to share his little box room with me for the time being (!)  I got a few shelf units and packed as much stuff in as possible.  I also got a tool-storage unit for the wall with lots of little boxes so that will take...

It's DH's birthday today so myself and Emily made a cake. Emily was chief decorator! (Isn't she getting big. So grown up)

When I finished Emily's hat I realised that her old tatty pink mittens wouldn't cut in beside the new bright hat, so a little pair of mittens just had to be knit.  One project always seems to lead onto another doesn't it! I found this pattern on Ravelry that used DK yarn and had a multitude of sizes.  To make it easy and quick, and not too tight, I decided to just do stripes instead of matching fairisle. I think she likes them! Now on to knitting something for me!! I saw a cool pattern for a cabled cape just before Christmas and I think its time I made something for me.  Plus its done with super bulky wool and 10mm needles so it shouldn't take too long.

Disregard the face, she does like the hat! I love it!  The pattern is from the supplement that came with Issue 89 of Simply Knitting.  I wasn't totally happy with how the pattern was written and found a few errors and confusing points but I muddled through and got there in the end.  I also found the crown of the hat a bit short so I added an extra few rows to lengthen it, and made it the 8-10 years old size (my poor daughter and her giant head!).  The picture doesn't show too well but there are heart buttons on the top of the hat, and knitted hearts at the end of the ties. The two kids in their sort-of-matching hats!

This is supposedly a 4-6 year old hat which I had started to knit for Emily.  Once I had finished the main body of the hat though I just knew the crown was too small.  She does have a particularly large head! So I just crocheted a little border around the hat and donated it to Oliver (he doesn't mind that it has a few hearts on it!) So now I've started on another version for Emily, but in different colours so they're not too matchy-matchy! And for those wondering, I have found a temporary solution for my craft supplies, and am starting to sort of get my head in order, as well as all my stuff!!  Pics to follow when I have it all organised.  Poor little Oliver just has to share his bedroom with me for the time being!

I think this needs to be my motto for 2012 - see Johanna's post on OneRedRobin. It will definitely be hard.  I've been finding it particularly tough at the moment to try and retain some piece of me.  Two kids is a lot of work, and the time for crafting is severely reduced.  Jesus, the time to just shower and  get dressed is reduced so knitting and sewing can't be the priority anymore. It has also been made harder by the fact that I now have no space for my crafting supplies.  We had to separate the kids at night so all the bedrooms are now in use.  So now I have to find little spots all over the house to hide my stuff - and there is a lot of stuff.  Maybe I should just spend the next few months making toys from what I have and trying to sell them to clear some space, rather than making new patterns.  It would help clear some space, and maybe clear my head too!

This time for my friend's baby, who was born just before New Year's. Welcome to the world Baby Matthew!

A customer on Dwanda recently bought two bunny patterns in error, thinking they were buying the toys.  After some communication (in french - thank goodness for Google translate!) it was settled that I'd knit the toys. Two little bunnies, one with a red coat, one with a blue coat. I think they're pretty cute!