Show (off) and tell...

Has it really been two weeks since my last post? How remiss of me! I can assure you that the lack of posts has not meant that things are quiet on the hausfrau front for Suzy. I can hardly believe I've been on maternity leave for six months, I'm only just getting into the swing of it really.

For today's post I'll show (off) and tell a blanket for the girl-child...complete with willing model. You may recall the road travelled for this blanket, firstly my melt-down in Spotlight when I found out the price of the wool - I since doubled the size of the blanket and hence wool requirements, so those initially fears have definitely been put to bed. Then I learnt a new stitch for the foundation (not less...in house joke!) row of the blanket and voila! The pattern is from Ravelry and I did make it to fit mademoiselle's cot so it is a LOT bigger than suggested. The pattern was a bit patchy in instructions for the first row of the border, it kept making the edges curly even after several attempts. I particularly chose this pattern for it's flat and simple look so I didn't want a frou frou edge. I used Paton's Merino Deluxe basically just because I fell in love with the colour. It was a wonderful yarn to work with, and I'm as proud as punch of the result. Told you I was showing off........

Happy Easter!

Did you crack an egg or two...or three...or four........????

And for some crochet

There's been progress on the girl-child's cot blanket. A few weeks ago I made a start on this project found here on Ravelry with some gorgeous Merino Deluxe from Patons. My initial reservations about the price per ball were quickly put aside every time I ogled the dusty pink colour.

I was having some trouble with what the creator of said pattern called "foundationless crochet", which I've since found out to be foundation double crochet after a call-out via this blog. Thanks to Michelle for her help in both sorting out what the hell it was, and then for the demo at our last Brown Owls get together. This new stitch is the go for me I think as I always chain too tight for the initial row and then the whole blanket is in danger of becoming a semi-circle. Here is a close-up of the stitch...

It's so great to find crafty mates...I use to feel like a bit of an outsider, never admitting my crafty tendencies for fear of being labelled a freak...belonging to a weird counter-culture ... "Hello my name is Suzy and I like to crochet, sew, make jam, grow vegies, embroider, and...and...."

Easter tree....*&%$@$!

I'm happy to be convinced otherwise, trust me I'm a sucker for another excuse to do something fun with the little ones, but is there really such a tradition as an Easter Tree? Some bloggers who shall remain nameless cite German and Austrian Easter traditions as including a tree!

So reservations aside, we dyed the eggs on the weekend with some food colouring, vinegar and hot water. On some of them we created some little pictures, and letters on with white crayon before colouring, not an easy task to hand a 3 year old, writing on an empty egg that is. But he championed through it.We've hung our eggs from some foliage from the garden, and what "tree" would be complete without a nest, made from pipe cleaners and beads from my crafting stash..........sometimes being a mum is just an excuse to do some fun crafting!

PS: Excuse the crappy shots here, I've had to use my old snap'n'shoot as I STILL don't have a macro lens for the SLR!

Enough of the dreaming already...

I think I've exhausted the dreaming and research phase of my sewing extravaganza. Hours and hours of internet searching and planning have occurred. I've ordered an Ottobre subscription for the wee-kiddies and lookie here....all the bewdiful patterns for moi!

It cost me about $75 AUD for 10 Vogue patterns, which I can tell you is a bargain. The RRP for each is around $20 USD. I subscribe to Club BMV Club BMV and have access to Vogue, Butterick, McCalls and more and I never have to wait too long for a sale. Last week was it $5.39 USD per pattern, and if you get a few at a time, the postage really pays for itself. Plus I'm impressed at their turn around time, these were ordered last Wednesday.

So enough dreaming for Suzy, now for some action....