Twelve times round the sun....

 Wow, just wow ...she is TWELVE!

She is so grown up and beautiful, clever, bright, silly, funny, quirky, fit, healthy, fun, loving, tall! and deliciously wonderfully herself. I do love her so.

She put it a request for a Ferrero Rocher Croquembouche cake... I think I may have actually had a panic attack just before construction began but you know what? Melted chocolate is my friend - it didn't hurt that we are deep into autumn and the weather was quite cool.

I made dozens of little 'roses' out of the chocolate wrappers and added some thin toffee shards to make it pretty - She was delighted, I was pretty pleased. It tasted divine!

I made a dozen little cupcakes too - one can never have too much chocolate cake.

Little fox...

Once upon a time there were three little foxes
Who didn’t wear stockings, and they didn’t wear sockses,
But they all had handkerchiefs to blow their noses,
And they kept their handkerchiefs in cardboard boxes.

And they lived in forest in three little houses,
And they didn’t wear coats, and they didn’t wear trousies.
They ran through the woods on their little bare tootsies,
And they played “Touch Last” with a family of mouses.

They didn’t go shopping in the High Street shopses,
But caught what they wanted in the woods and copses.
They all went fishing, and they caught three wormses,
They went out hunting, and they caught three wopses.

They went to a Fair, and they all won prizes –
Tree plum-puddingses and three mince-pieses.
They rode on elephants and swang on swingses,
And hit three coconuts at coconut shieses.

That’s all I know of three little foxes
Who kept their handkerchiefs in three little boxes.
They lived in the forest in three little houses,
But they didn’t wear coats and they didn’t wear trousies,
And they didn’t wear stockings and they didn’t wear sockses.

A. A. Milne
 

I've been knitting again. This time for Mrs Bloom who lives in a place where she really doesn't need such things but well.... it is cute, yes?

The pattern is the mini fox stole from the highly talented and whimsical Tiny Owl Knits

little snippets of craftiness

I think that at some point soon I will be free to come back and more than just dabble in blogland... this year has just been a little crazy - just had a lovely image of myself in a full circle skirt, spinning around and around!

I have managed a little craftiness lately - for little people birthday gift requests, It was fun, I do wish I had more idle time...

This little duck was for a first birthday gift. I haven't blown the dust off my scroll saw for such a long time, I was a bit nervous! I drew a nice gentle curved 'thing' to ease myself back into it and only broke one blade.

My cousin's daughter coveted a knitted horse at kindergarten so with the swift inbox arrival of one of Linda's magic patterns, this little fella trotted into her life for her 5th birthday.

Making Pretty Girl Skirts

I have been gone so long from this space.. I've been doing stuff, lots of stuff - it did my head in a bit but I think I've got it together now...

Yesterday I made a couple of little skirts. The wee one had a little birthday party to go to, which required a gift and well, she wanted one too.

I had a long denim skirt which I didn't wear much, too long for this town (weather wise ... I have no idea about style wise!) so I cut it up. Bonus is that I got a 'new' skirt too.

I kept the bottom edge as the new bottom edge so I only had to do one seam, and it was wide enough to make two skirts (in size 3). Along the hem of each I used cotton yarn to crocheted a pretty edge, added 'bits' and then overlocked on a cotton lycra waistband.

The purple edging I made first by using the idea from a tutorial by Heidi Bears. Heidi uses a really simple back stitch technique to create a place to crochet into. The stitches I used are very simple - sc, 3dc, sc.. Heidi has a step by step tutorial for that too which she created for a little fabric heart.

After I was in the swing of it I did a picot edge on the green one - 3sc, chain 3, slip stitch into third chain from the loop, 3sc.

Was fun, and EASY... might make some more... might crochet edges on the big girl's shorts!

Tween in the house

My big girl is now a tween.. I had a little cry - a crazy happy can hardly believe it type cry. Her birth was an absolute stand out incomparable moment in my life, so many emotions and sensations crammed into seconds and then the mothering began..

 

So last Saturday, about an hour short of exactly 11 years since I first heard her voice, I raised a glass full of fine Australian Sparkling, met her daddy's eyes, took a sip and smiled.

 Happy birthday sweetheart. x

reading and knitting along (tho not at the same time)

I've decided to join in the yarn along with Ginny and others inspired with needles and hooks over at Small Things.

My big girl declared she would like a cowl for her 'mother made' birthday gift (three weeks til she is legs 11), so a cowl she shall have.

A friend lent me the book, tis by David Gillespie a once fat, Australian Lawyer (who is still the latter I think) anyway he was quite keen on sugar. I quite like sugar too, especially maple syrup and quite revoltingly I love snickers bars... anyway tis no more, sugar is not good for me.

I wasn't feeling the love of my resolve yesterday when I was grumpy, had a headache and no matter what (non sugar) thing I put in my mouth there was just no satisfaction AND snickers were on sale at the supermarker for 81 cents each! All par for the course apparently - I'm in withdrawal.

Moving on. The cowl is called Botanical, a freebie by Megan Goodacre and because I hardly ever follow instructions, even tho I hardly know what I am doing, the yarn is 'Scrumptious' 70% angora 30% silk from kollage yarns...because it is deliciously soft, not itchy and was on sale for $10!

Lessons in colour part 2

Even though I did a test 'swatch' it was with plenty of nervous energy that I dropped the shawl, I have been knitting for the last two weeks, into the simmering pot of red dye.

But I am SOOOOoo glad I did it!

 Let me just show you what it looked like finished in the old colour scheme

and now...

The first picture up the top shows the actual colour better than these last couple (late afternoon, poor light, high ISO bla, bla). 

I am feeling very pleased with the result and am delighted that I can wrap up this gift and give it to a beautiful friend next week when she turns 40... She says she is not celebrating but I think she will like it all the same.

Gifts cast off the needles and a whole lotta tulle

My sister calls the months of June and July the birthday tusnami; there are eight immediate family members in those two months and at least as many friends... July 30 brings a break for us, for a week. Ha!

In my cleverness I finished a milo vest for the wee girl some weeks before her birthday and forgot to give it to her! I woke in the middle of the night a few days later thinking "where did I put it?"

Found it! and this afternoon had just enough chill in the air.

My mum (who is beyond clever) knitted her a delightful turtle; she has named him Ollie.

 

He is everso snuggly, I think she loves him. The pattern is from the fabulously fun book Knit and Purl Pets by Claire Garland (I am quite keen on the chamelon; I think my
sister is too).

July 30 is a friend's little girl's fourth birthday. I was her midwife and I remember the day her sweet baby girl chose to make her grand entrance so well; it is magic that birthing business.

Anyway her mum tells me these days she is quite a fairy princess and loves to twirl and preen. I bought tulle (a couple of metres of it) and spun it into a skirt interlaced with satin ribbon and stars.

 

Every fairy needs a wand right? I gave it a little wave before packaging it to post. When she touches it it will bless her with joyful birthday wishes and have someone plant four little kisses.

Birthday cakes and balloons

I LOVE cake, it is one of my very favourite things to eat... and there is just something so very good about butter icing (and I don't like butter..well not in its raw form but whip it with sugar, bake it, toast it, saute' in it). And I love making birthday cakes; I fill them full of love and can't wait to share them with family and friends.

This year I made extra cakes, little felt party cakes in lieu of lolly bags... two years olds don't need lolly bags.

They were fun to make (a little stressful because I left it to the last few days but worth it). I will do a little tutorial sometime... maybe in spring, after the school fair.

The wee girl got some lovely gifts... these are a few of my favourites (all from me... My mother made her the most delightful knitted turtle I will take a picture soon and show you).

The little Alice in Wonderland was made by Cynthia who blogs The Fairies' Nest and sells her stunning creations through her etsy shop. The swiss cheese, felted mice and painted silk play scape were made by Lori of Beneath the Rowan Tree I snaffled it as soon as she posted it on her blog; she has a beautiful etsy shop too. The little owl fabric in the background is a cotton and linen satchel made by a talented friend Helen, her brand name is Asher and I think she will have an online shop soon. Harriet you'll drive me wild! is another of my favourite Mem Fox books (I'm sure we had a copy but for all the looking I did on the too crowded bookshelves I could not find it).

She had a lovely day. Thank you all for your happy words and wishes.

My baby 's been round the sun, my baby's been round the moon...

Two years ago today, today

My wee one slid down the rainbow to stay

She came to bring laughter and joy to the earth.

Good people and midwives attended her birth,

So let us join in singing, with joyful birthday bells ringing

Happy birth day to my girl, happy birth day to my girl....

My little budda babe (she was huge!)

has transformed into a magical, delightful toddler.

We sat together today and watched her birth day 'video', she loves the "baby" and waits patiently for her to emerge "soon" and shouts "horray" along with the voices on screen when she is born...then she asks "again?" and so we watched her birth, again, and again. I cried everytime; I am so grateful she chose to share this lifetime with me. Happy birthday my sweet girl. x

A tent for play and shade

This morning I finished sewing together some pretty old curtains into a play tent for my wee girl who turns two next week. Brisbane has turned on another spectacular winter's day so Mia and I popped outside to take a few pictures; he thought it was lovely breezy fabric, played with it for a while and then held it down for me.

 I quite like the view from the inside best.

I based my sewing loosley on a lovely tutorial by 2 Little Hooligans. Loosley because I used three single curtains and some scrap fabric rather than 3 double sheets, my hoop was smaller and I made a rod pocket for the hoop to slide into rather than ties on the inside. All the pretty bows on the outside are the curtain ties - it was all a bit too easy really.

While I was sewing the girls rearranged my pins... and I was tut tutted quite a few times for poking the wrong pin in the wrong cushion!