Holidays and making days

Term one is over and with Easter the holidays have started…

We spent Easter Sunday with family and a trip to the beach. In between eating chocolate that is.

After the second tropical cyclone in as many weeks, the weather was superb, and the beach laden with treasures for the finding.

The children and my brothers made a beach hut over three days. It was a architectural feat and a sight to behold!

It was ALMOST warm enough for swimming. For me it was perfectly warm enough for photography 🙂

There’s been plenty of making taking place now school’s out. The children have been making some very nice mice... these are much tidier than the slime they spent yesterday concocting!

This is a lovely free sewing pattern from Ann Wood, lots of fun and suitably small and cute!

They look pleased with their efforts don’t they?

Billy doesn’t look so happy with his new make… Maia lovingly crafted this finger knitted scarf just for him (matches the mice!).

In other projects at our house, my Hygge is coming along well:

I really enjoy making the cross stitch on crochet. I’ve never cross stitched before, but its very relaxing (once you get the stitches in the right place that is). The single crochet is getting a little mind numbing, but easy to work on in front of the TV after work in the evenings 🙂

What are you working on, any good holiday projects for kids you can recommend?

Daisy

For those of you who follow me on Facebook you will have seen progress of a little doll I am making for Maia.

She is rather cute, and has been named Daisy… which suits her, I think 🙂

The pattern is a free one; Yun Shu… you can find it here on Ravelry. She is very easy to make, the pattern is lovely and clear with lots of photos. I made a few modifications to her so I could make her clothes that Maia could take on an off rather than crocheted in place.

I am working on making her a bedroom box – inspired by this lovely creation made by the incredibly talented Beth from By Hook By Hand, and Im also slowly making progress on her wardrobe. More on that soon…

Any crafting (including sock progress!) has been a bit slow going because we have had lots of bugs in our house of late, the children and I have all been sick for what seems like weeks. It’s mid winter here so I guess that’s just par for the course, but it doesn’t make it any more enjoyable. Fingers crossed we are on top of it now and will be able to enjoy the coming (and last) week of the school holidays.

So what’s happening in your world? What are you working on?

J xox

Distractions…

I’m feeling a little lonesome tonight, my daughter Maia is away at a school camp. She will be there for three nights, coming home Friday. I am worrying about all manner of (unlikely) things that could happen to my precious nine year old while she is away and so thought a blog post was in order – to distract me from my overactive imagination.

Here’s a little bit of what I’ve been up to…In between sock knitting, yes, still on that knitting jag! I’ve been crocheting small woodland creatures;

A squirrel for Carter, pictured here with much loved lion…
And a fox for Maia…
And since its autumn, today is in fact the last day, I’ve also made a few of these cute crochet acorns…Which make lovely little necklacesAll of these patterns come from Genuine Mudpie, if you’ve been visiting for a while you will know I’ve made a number of Trish’s patterns, always with great success.

What have you been up to? What’s your favorite distraction pastime? J xox

Knitted socks

I’ve finished my socks 🙂

Im so happy with how they have turned out, the colors are beautiful and they are so soft, squishy and warm !If you don’t knit, or haven’t in a long time, I’d recommend giving these socks a try. They are relatively easy once you get your head around how they come together, and using a short circular for the majority of the knitting is nothing short of a miracle tool. All your stitches are held together on one needle with two ends, which means less opportunity for dropped stitches.

As I mentioned in the last post, you can find the tutorial I used – which is really excellent – right here. Thanks Christine, I couldn’t have done it without you!

Xox Janette

Some coloring and lavender crochet mittens

Mixing up the weekend crafting…

First a little coloring in and then finishing off these crochet mittens, which I think Ill give to one of the children’s teachers for an end of year gift. You can find the free crochet pattern here.

What are you working on? Jxox

Green Doily Ta Da

I managed to get some shots of my newly completed doily in the  sun this morning…

I think it turned out well, the pattern is good (a few very minor mistakes, but obvious enough if you have been crocheting a while), I’d definitely still recommend it! It’s a free pattern (my favourite kind) and you can find it here.

I was particularly pleased with how the green contrasts with our rimu table and the lovely Cherise of this orchid which I have managed to coax into a second year of flowering…

I’m now working on some fingerless mitts for a Christmas present. What are you working on? Any nice doily patterns to recommend – I’d like make more 🙂 Jxx