Busy Nesting

Ahhhh! The nesting bug has gotten me!
I have

• knitted
• cleaned and tidied random stuff
• reorganised
• sorted
• oh yes and knitted
• sewn stuff

and I still haven't done 1/2 my list but we're making progress and that's the main thing.

It's 4 more weeks till my scan date (technically my due date was the week just gone.....after all this is Laura we are talking about and the last 2 just turned up when they were good and ready, yes 2 and 3 weeks later).
I'm feeling good! Not too incapacitated by the large basketball protruding out the front and enjoying this little person moving around inside my belly.
The boys are showing lots of interest in bubba and JK has taken to commenting at least once a day "I wonder if it's a boy or a girl?". LJ's fav comfort thing is to lift up my shirt and put his head on my puku (tummy), talk to the 'bubby' and rub my stomach like it's magic. All very cute! Oh yes and speaking of cute, my darling hubby has been bonding with his next child too.

So here are some of the projects that I have completed and attached photos of

1. Emma's Apron! This is an 'Emmeline Apron' from a pattern by Sew Liberated (formally Montessori By Hand). This special apron has been sent of to my darling sister who is on the Mission field in Ethiopia. Oh and it's reversible! She chose the material herself before she left so this is totally her style.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Sarah's Mei Tai. This was great fun to make as it is so simple and quick esp once you have all the pieces cut out.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Knitted Baby Soakers and Longie. One girlie coloured one, just in case we have a little girl!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Calorimetry. My first attempt at one of these in this cool wool. It was easy to knit and a great instant gratification project. I think I didn't check the gauge carefully enough (i'm just lazy) so it's a little wider than it should be.....thinking I might give it a bit of a hotish wash to size it down a bit.
   
   
   
   
   
5. One toddler sized longie for LJ. This was the first one I have ever knitted. Am so proud of the new skills I learnt along the way. Knitted in Tekapo Landscape.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Another 2 Dishcloths... One went all the way to Ethiopia for my Mum and the other to my sister Marcella....opps no photos of these.
   

Winter Busyness

It's that wonderful time of year when the evenings are long and the need to be in close contact with great colours and textures is paramount. It has been rather chilly over the last month and very wet so lots of time to be indoors working on projects etc. I think it's not only the weather but also my pregnancy that motivates me to be home....even when I'm offered an evening out, I am happy-as-larry to be home keeping my hands busy with a new challenge.

Here are some of the things that are happening......and it's not just me but the kids too!

Jordan and Levi with hammers, nails, softboard and wooden shapes.....they LOVE it.



And then there's Mummy's projects.....

The Wheat Sacks requested by my Ken and Dad, they have been divided into 3 compartments to stop the wheat travelling from one end to the other and just a little bit of lavender to keep it smelling yummy.










I knitted a baby beanie from leftover wool to add to a small pile of baby gifts that I'm trying to gather for my own and all those up and coming. It was a quick satisfying project (anybody get the feeling that I need quite a bit of instant gratification!!).



The following knitted item is not my work...you can tell cause it's not very simple looking!!.....my Oma in Holland knitted it for our new bubba.



For my twin sister's birthdays I made them each a messenger bag to take with them on their year long family adventure to serve on the mission field in Ethiopia. They have magnetic closures and the fabrics were esp chosen for each twin. Just in case you don't guess.....one of them is a bit horse crazy. Here are photos of the bags I made.

Bag #1 was made from denim and cute cherry print cotton with an appliqued flower on the outside for a bit of fun.





Bag #2 (sorry no close up photo yet....am doing some adjusting to the strap length....what a mare!!!.....hehe no pun intended) Made from vintage bark cloth picked up at the local sallies and lime green lining. This one even has a pocket on the inside.



And then of course you need to have something sitting to the side to do when ya finish the projects currently on the go (pjs for JK, nappies, flannels, baby cardy, baby hats etc etc) so I purchased 2 patterns from Sew Liberated (formly Montesori By Hand). The apron will be part of my little sister's 21st pressie and the Mei Tai carrier for a friend who is having her first bubba any day now.

Making Dishes Interesting

I tried my hand at knitting a dishcloth!
What a great little project to do when you need a change of scene from a more ongoing WIP.
So heres my hot-chocolate-with-marshmellows dishcloth....

AND....here's the pattern for those who aspire to more unique and interesting
dishcloths in their kitchen.

co4, k 1 row
Next row, k2 inc in next st, k1
Next row, k2,yo,k to end of row
Repeat the k2, yo, k until you have 45sts on the needle
Next row, k1, k2Tog, yo, k2Tog, k to end of row
Continue to do this , decreasing each row until 5 stitches are left. Then, k2, k2Tog, k1.
Bind off the 4 sts.

U.F.O's and Other Craftyness

Just in case you're wondering what the UFO stands for..........Unfinished Objects.......... haha if you didn't know....now you do!

Right I thought I might just blog all my works in progress ( some have more progress than others). It has a double purpose..

1. For me to SEE what I need to acheive before starting ANY other projects!!
2. To share my little success ( and I promised Jess from OH MY that I would take photos of what I have been up to).
   

Well here it is.....hmmmm where shall we start!

KNITTING

I knitted my first soaker in the round!!! The i-cord (also a new skill) is a bit thick and the leg cuffs need to be finished (I undid the one I did as it was a BIT small). I also discovered that size M is a bit on the tight side for my LJ. So this one will be given to someone who needs (and uses) them. I love the colour!! A bit girly for my boy but HEY it's underneath. If you want it or would use it.....drop me an email and i'll send it to you. kenzilandlauz AT gmail DOT com




So on that note I've started a size L...in a less girly colour........ Tekapo Wool by Ashford is my FAVOURITE! This one is Storm..........


I am also 1/3 the way through knitting a cardy/jacket for LJ from Tekapo Landscape. It's knitted as a whole piece.....very cool and i'm learning lots of little skills on the way. The colours look a bit wrong on the photo, it's a bit bluer than it looks.


KNITTING RELATED.....BUT MORE LIKE BEADS!

I made my first set of stitch markers for my fabulous friend Jess. I used art beads, celestial crystal cubes and little metal beads. I loved doing these. They are SO classy......well I think so!


SEWING.........BUT ALSO KNITTING RELATED

For my Mum's Birthday I made her a knitting needle Pouch thingee
I chose all NZ fabrics. It is almost finished it just needs 2 buttons and button loops added on the outside to hold it all together. I added French knots to the appliquéd panels on the cover for a bit of depth. I had fabulous fun making it and am quite happy with the result.
Mum loves it which is just what I hoped for.






So there you have it! I've been a busy gal!

And here are 2 photos of SUPPLIES for my future projects.
1) Hemp fabric for fitted nappies 2) More wool for a hat for JK and another soaker and.....

She's Back!

Right, hubby is back at school and life is slowly returning back to it's usual routines and groove.
I like my routines....life feels manageable with them and I'm a bit of a list person..helps me to SEE what I have acheived that day/week/month.
So now....I need to start my attempt at keeping my goal to Blog twice a week.

What's new and exciting at our place?

• We have come to the crossroads as far as our car is concerned.... Our trusty little Toyota Corolla was my first car 7 years ago and has done us well except now it's too small. Two carseats on the back seat and there is no room for anyone else (us being such social people need room for more ;-) ) and going away with a pram and portacot etc......basically it just doesn't fit!! We definitely want more babies so we are taking the leap to the 'People Mover' stage. We have given a wish list to my brother-in-law and he is on the hunt for one through the Japanese auctions. That will definitely help us keep the cost down. So.....in near future you may see us zipping round town in a....wait for it...yip...you guessed right....a Toyota Estima.
  
  
• oooo I finished knitting my first Nappy Soaker!! It wasn't knitted on the round (as i'm not that skilled...yet...) but I'm stoked with my first attempt at knitting something other than a square. On to the next project....I think I might attempt one on the round... i like a bit of challenge
  
  
  
  
• hmmm I'm contemplating options for a quilt for JK or a pseudo quilt in the form of a duvet cover. I've seen quite a few patterns/designs that I like...now it's just a case of waiting till I finish LJ's quilt which after much unpicking and feeling like I could just throw the sewing machine through the window (Nooooo I don't have a short fuse....haha), my hubby and I have decided that I can get LJ's quilt machine quilted professionally (cost about $40). I feel like I'm cheating a little BUT then if I get really stuck it'll just end up in the cupboard unfinished and that is SUCH a waste. Then I was thinking about one for our bed....maybe done in the Tivaevae style (Cook Island quilting technique). In other words....so many ideas, just not enough time.
  
  
• On the weekend Emma (my little sister) and I are doing a market at Pirongia. A bit nervous about the whole thing as it's the first face-to-face test of the stuff I make, I'm highly critical of my own jewelery as it's never as good as I want it to be.....and people have the nerve to call me perfectionist...hummmph! Emma makes really cool 3D cards so her and I are in the cahoots together as we start our own little homemade biz under the name Esta Creationz. Our Dad is setting up a website for us (www.estacreationz.com) so we can sell our creations through that avenue. I had an idea last night to makeup some cool gift baskets using handmade items sourced from all you lovely NZ ladies who 'do it yourself'. I reckon there might be something in this!
  
  As much as I could go on forever, this must be it for today....more later on in the week....otherwise I might just end up doing a Postarama like Karen!!
  
  
  
  To finish off today....here is a lovely photo of my big boy JK at the park on the weekend.