Luke's jammies

I'm going to make pjs for the kids this year. The tops I am making are made from stretchy knit fabric, and since I've never worked with that kind of material before- and since Luke was low on nightclothes after a recent growth spurt- I decided to have a practice run.

The attempt was fairly successful, but I am glad that I did do a practice, since there are a few things I will change when I make the Christmas pjs. Sewing knit fabric is not too scary, but mine did stretch a bit in the bottom hem, making it look kind of wobbly. I plan to remedy that by adding a kind of binding to the bottom, wth gap at the sides so that it still has some give.

We'll have to wait and see how it turns out, but for now, I'm happy to have overcome the fear of knits!

Chunky booties

I made these for Lainey- they're so warm and snuggly, and very, very quick and easy to make! The pattern is here, though I think I need to tweak it somehow to help them stay on baby's feet. Maybe I will add some elastic or something.

Dice games

Here's a really easy and inexpensive Christmas gift idea. I thought of it for a relief society activity we were doing, but we ended up doing something else instead.

All you do is buy a wooden box from the craft store, you know those unfinished ones, they come in all shapes and sizes. Mine has a hinge so the lid stays on.

Paint it in any colour you like, using whatever paint you choose (I used the cheap craft paint and did two coats). Then, add scrapbook paper, chipboard letters, and any embellishments you fancy! I'm not very good with glue so I cheated and used some very handy self-adhesive scrapbook paper.

I didn't get a photo, but I also painted the inside, and then lined the bottom with felt for a really professional look. Then I filled it with a set of six dice, and instructions for several dice games. You could google 'dice games' or something.

I think it would be a fun present to give to newlywed couples, too.

Luke crafts!

Look at what Luke and mummy made! We've hung them in his bedroom window for all to admire!

I just downloaded some shapes (you could draw freehand) traced them onto thick paper and cut them out. Then Luke got to work painting them. He didn't completely cover them, so I went over the white bits with crayon. Mounted them on coloured paper, and all done!

If you are looking for fun ways to involve your children in crafts, I have found The Crafty Crow to be a great source of ideas.

dishy dishy!

Hardly groundbreaking stuff, I know, but I do feel a tinsy bit proud of my first dishcloth. It's a cool wavy stitch that I learnt (basically knit one row, then the next row you knit, slip, knit, slip etc. Knit next row, the knit knit slip, knit slip knit slip etc. And repeat!) So easy!

And the back of the cloth comes out all nubbly and textured, which I'm sure will be effective on those left-from-last-night dishes which I seem to find in my kitchen quite frequently these days.

If you are interested in making your own, just google 'knit dishcloth patterns', you will get lots of sites to check out. Or how about these knitted dishtowels? I think they look just lovely, and I'd love to know how absorbent and practical they are.

Last year's halloween

Please humour me for just a moment. I know that I posted about this costume last year, on my other blog, but I just feel like it deserves another 5 minutes of fame. I mean, it barely even got seen last year, since we didn't really go to any parties or trick-or-treating.



I just love how it turned out, especially since I didn't have a pattern, and basically just dreamed it up in my own crazy little brain.

This year, I have something fun planned for the kids to coordinate. I don't want to give it away, but let's just say, Luke's gonna be a REAL boy :-)

Chair

Remember this chair? Trev and I designed and made it ourselves! The top part, that is. It sits on a barstool that we had lying around. I posted about it a while back and mentioned my plans to paint it green.




Well....here she is in all her glory! I really love the way it turned out. The green paint was a free sample I ordered a while ago, and I just happened to have a suitable fabric on hand to make the seat pad and ruffle.

It's really easy to wipe clean, and throw the fabric bits in the washing machine when needed. I love it lots!

By the way, I wish I could take credit for the ruffle, but I can't. My mum did it for me while she was visiting last week. It is held in place with Velcro.