The Great Green Birthday Quilt!

A labour of love! But finally finished and in time for the big day on Friday. I have never made quilt before and it is a task I really struggled with. Precision, straight lines and me, don't mix! And binding!! Oh my goodness - Thankyou YouTube ;)

When all is said and done, I am really happy with how it turned out and I am absolutely sure that Roman will love it.

I've decided that a mama made quilt will be a lovely 6th birthday tradition. So I've got until 2017 to get my courage back up and do it all again.

x Shara

Ps: I used a machine binding tutorial on you tube from The Missouri Star Quilt Co. They have heaps of tutorials and the videos are so well presented. I would definitely reccommend starting there if you're a beginner like me!

Warmth

Waldorf education talks about warmth so much because warmth needs our attention. Warmth holds a very special place in the life of the developing child, because it works throughout the entire spectrum of human experience. There is physical warmth, emotional warmth—the warmth of love, of generosity, of true morality—and all of these “warmths” pour over and merge with each other. Perhaps most importantly, warmth is the essential ingredient in transformative work. Without warmth we cannot change, and the life of the small child is consumed with processes of growth and adaptation. Warmth helps us be healthy human beings on many different levels.

From whywaldorfworks.org

{ Milo Vest by Tikki Knits

Size 9 months

Cleckheaton Country 8ply Acid Green }

I love this one, particularly the colour. It's a warm hug from Mama!

x Shara 

Bonnet Attempt #2 (almost, not quite)

After last fortnights attempt to make a bonnet for Caspian, resulted in 2 too small bonnets, I thought I would try something different. 

I went with the Cozy Winter Hood from Oliver & S "Little Things to Sew". I've made this one before, some years ago, and it's a lovely easy pattern. Thinking ahead though, I decided to go with size small, rather than extra small. I used some lightweight denim for the outer and upcycled navy flannel for the lining. Knitted navy icords for ties as opposed to ribbon ties.

I absolutely love it, except for the fact it's way to big for Caspian! 

All was not lost though, Roman has claimed it for himself!

Third times a charm, right? I hope so!

x Shara

Happy Feet

There are still 13 sleeps until Roman's Birthday, but I feel one step closer today, after finishing this gift for him! I just adore this Penguin and we love any books by Oliver Jeffers. I'm pretty sure this gift will be a winner!!

The penguin pattern came from the book Hop, Skip, Jump and I made the beanie red to match the penguin dorm the book. The green chevron inside the wing is a nod to green being Roman's favourite colour.

Tonight, with the little ones in bed, Roman and I are watching Happy Feet and eating popcorn. I'm getting in a bit of knitting on his birthday vest.

Pinch and a punch for the first of the Month!

x Shara

Caspian's Boots

Oh so cute! A little pair of felted boots for little baby feet! 

Please excuse the somewhat blurry photos, it is rather difficult to capture wildly kicking feet.

These crocheted up very quickly, about an hour, and then took a couple of goes through the machine to felt up nicely. 

They're still a tad large, but should fit well by the time the cold weather sets in.

As you can see by his outfit though, the temperatures did drop considerably overnight! A welcome relief from a week of hot 30's. And rain! Oh the rain was very welcome too. 

Pattern: Simple Felted Kids Slippers by Sarah Lora

Wool: Bendigo Rustic 10ply in Cinder Fleck

Mods: I added 5 rounds of HDC to each cuff to fashion them into boots.

Have a wonderful week!

x Shara

Sewing Pants

4 new pairs of pants for Roman. All thrifted fabric, apart from the blue stripy pair and the patterned pocket pieces, which were all in my stash. I lined them all in flannel (sheets that I thrifted) so they'll be warm and comfy during winter.

4 new pairs of pants for Leo. All thrifted fabric except for the blue birds, which I bought on sale a couple of years back. (I bought many many metres of it because at $2 p/m how could I not!). These are all lined too.

Amazingly, even though there are 3 years between these boys, I used the same size pattern. Just took a bit of length off for Leo and added a bit of length for Roman.

These pants are part of my quest this year to buy no new clothes. Of course Leo and baby Caspian have got stacks of hand me downs. Roman definitely needs some extras, size wise he isn't getting bigger, but his arms and legs are getting longer! So I'm going to try my hand at sewing long sleeve t-shirts for him. It's a bit daunting, but I know if I put my mind to it, I can do it.

x Shara

PS: I had to bribe the boys with a chocolate frog each, to model winter clothes in summer ;)

8 Bandana bibs for a very drooly Caspian! These were such a fun, quick project and now he has one for every occasion ;)

How handsome does Roman look in this vest? Pity I forgot to add the seam allowance and it's way to small for him or Leo! Back to square one! 

In other news, Leo pulled a wrought iron bed frame on himself last Thursday afternoon, which saw us taking a trip into the medical centre. Thankfully nothing serious, no stitches, just a huge bruise! 

He's so full of rough and tumble energy, this almost 3yr old boy. I'm so exhausted by days end and have been reading up on parenting the strong willed child. Any tips or book suggestions?

x Shara

Selfish Crochet

So, my 'no crafting in January' resolution didn't work out! I lasted 4.5 days. 

Then, a lady on Instagram let me in on a delicious idea - January is #selfishknitting month! Isn't that great? 

Now I've been spending my days working on projects just for me. I'll share my knitting project another day, because I finished this hat today and wanted to show it off!

Another lady on Instagram suggested it needed a Pom Pom.

(Roman modeling for me!)

I'm so very happy with how it turned out. I found a basic tutorial on Pinterest, but added 2 more increase rounds to fit my noggin.

2 rows of single crochet to finish it off and of course a big, fluffy Pom Pom.

How about you? Any selfish projects happening at your place?

x Shara

Handmade; at the last minute...

For my Dad: A Neck Sock to use while motorbike riding in Winter. Pattern is Cowl'd and Frosty Morning, available for free on Ravelry. I used Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 10ply 'Slate'.

For my Mother-in-Law: Felted Nesting Bowls. Totally improvised crochet project, but it turned out really well! I used Bendigo Woollen Mills Murano.

I've been doing a bit of felting lately, can't wait to show off something I've been working on for the kids!

I've been reminded once again, that I need to get started on handmade gifts much earlier in the year, else Christmas Eve feels a little stressed!!

X Shara

Gratitude Gifts

... For Roman's wonderful Prep teachers. 

A hand rolled beeswax candle (made by Roman), and a Dentelle Scarf from me. 

3 of the loveliest ladies we could have ever hoped for, guiding Roman (and indeed, us) through his first year of school.

Mr E is currently away on long service leave, so we'll have to wait til we see him back at school in February, to give him his gift.

X Shara

Little Red Pilot

My cheeky Leo. He's finally started saying his own name this past week. But he's taking the long way and saying Wee-o-nardo! It's adorable.

I needed a quick knit this week, something that was easy and didn't require much concentrating.

I love the Little Turtle Knits Pilot Hat, and in my favourite red (brick from Bendigo Woollen Mills), I couldn't go wrong!

I can't believe the end of the year is so close. Roman only has 12 days left of school! He's really looking forward to the long Summer break and so am I!

x Shara

This weeks crafty news...

I joined in to a washer swap on Facebook at the last minute, so only had a few days to make something. 

First I made the LEAFY WASHCLOTH but it was to small to be used in the swap! So after trying a few other knitted patterns, I decided to go with a simple crochet washcloth. EVERYDAY WASHCLOTH by Linda Permann.

I used Patons Cotton Blend 8ply in Fresh Green and Petrol (for the border)

In the middle of that, I finally decided on how to display my first ever needle felting project (they've been sitting in a drawer for close to 12 months). I crocheted over a big garden stone and then hand sewed the toadstools to it. I popped it in the little glass bowl and Voila!

Next up, I'll keep working in Leo's new hat and the last 2 gifts for Roman's teachers!

X Shara