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.
   

A New Toy!

Today I purchased myself a new toy....
AN OVERLOCKER!! (or serger if you're from the USA)
I requested that some of my birthday presents a few weeks ago would come in the monetary form as I am not in NEED of anything in particular. My family were very obliging and I ended up with a lovely mix of hand chosen gifts and money.
The reason for asking for money rather than gifts?
Aha! A great question......
I have been saving up for an overlocker without much success, but now.......
I have my very own one.
Found it on Trademe (NZ version of Ebay) for a reasonable price and the lady lived less than 10 min away. Yay! It works and is about to go in for a service now that I've had my first little play with it.
Now I would add a photo for your perusal but the camera is playing hide and seek with me so may have to add that one in later.
Right....off to play some more.

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.

Nappy Sewing

I have caught the nappy sewing bug.
I think I might blame Sharon after viewing her creations and finding a great pattern to use.
I've fought a little with the old sewing machine, wished for an overlocker and started to sharpen up on the self taught, limited sewing skills and I think I'm offically addicted........esp judging by the LARGE stack of material sitting to the left of my dining room table.
Here are a few of creations thus far......

It started with a fitted nappy and cover for our LJ. The nappy is made from Flannelette and hemp, cover is made from PUL. He did a great job at modeling for me! Need to go up a size in the nappy for him or make the wings longer.






Then I had a baby shower to attend so I made a newborn fitted from cotton velour and hemp, a PUL cover and 4 little cloth wipes. Lots of fun!!

An open view of the fitted nappy, it has an extra soaker inside that can be removed so that it all dries quickly!!! Very important with the dank, cold weather we've been having. Bring on summer I say!







I hope to make a set of velour fitted nappies for our up and coming little one along with some PUL covers and some knitted soakers. With the JK I used disposables completely and with LJ I didn't start using cloth till he was about 2 months old....my aim is to get into those cloths as soon as those icky meconium poos are over with.
Check back for more photos later!

Bag-erific!!

One day the itch to make a bag came upon me.
So in true "Laura-Motivation" style, it was done on that very day!!
I used the Tutorial from Tiny Happy and was very happy with the results.
Fun and reasonably fast to make to...all things I love!




















I gifted that one to my sister Emma who loves a bit of vintage in her life.

The great thing about it was the denim on the outside of the bag was given to me by Emma and the flower fabric on the inside was a good find at the local Salvation Army Thrift shop. In fact I got a few goodies that day including vintage bark cloth with a Horse-themed print all over it....I know a little sister who would just LOVE to have a tote bag made from that!!!

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.....