Day 118 - Neck warmer / Mini Scarf

My inspiration today comes from the frosty mornings which have been fairly common around where I live recently. I have really enjoyed these crisp starts to the day, listening to the crackle of the melting frost as the morning sun melts the ice. I'm not usually a person who enjoys the cold, but the simple beauty of this has inspired me and somehow made me feel more alive.

I still had some of the cable knit sweater left from my earlier project (sweater pants) http://365crafty.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/day-116-sweater-pants.html so I decided to make a mini scarf or neck warmer. Not really sure what you call these things?

I started off by cutting a strip off the bottom.

Then I sewed the strip into a tube by folding it in half and sewing along the length, then sewing each end closed.

Then I just added some cute buttons, of course.

Day 117 - Party Day

It's party day today! I'm exhausted. Here's a glimpse of what went on. Keep in mind that I am not an artist :)

Scary pirate pinata.

Decorated pinata whacking stick.

Pinata cake that smashes open.

Party food.

Day 116 - Sweater Pants

A few years ago one of my gorgeous (70 plus year old) neighbours at the time gave me a hand knitted sweater for my son Liam. It was a gorgeous cable knit but was basically unwearable. The shape was short and wide and the arms were outrageously long.
Because she has knitted it I didn't want to give it away, so I have held onto it for years. Today was the day for it's transformation.

I think these sweater pants turned out out absolutely adorable and I will be making something with the middle section of the jumper too. Here is a look at how to make them - so, so simple.

Here is the starting point.

First step is to cut off the arms.

Second step was to cut down the inside seems of the two arms about 10cm to create the crotch.
You can measure this using a pair of pants you already have and adding a couple of cm's to create the elastic casing later.

Then you turn one arm inside out and put the right side out arm inside the other one, matching the newly cut sections. Now sew these raw edges up and it will look like this.

The wool can be quite thick to sew so I then overlocked (serged) the top edge and then turned it over once to create an elastic casing. Then I added the elastic.

Here's the result. Just adorable. These are slightly too long so I have rolled the cuffs up. I love them.

 

Day 115 - Hot Water Bottle Cosy

I have to confess that I'm a bit of an addict. There are a few things I'm addicted to, but one of my heaviest addictions is to sleeping with wheat heat bags. I sleep with 2 every night. We have a terrible microwave so each one takes 4 minutes to heat and I never remember to do it in advance. Then at 11:30 at night I have to heat them up. Tonight I bought a hot water bottle so I'm going to test to see which one stays warmest and is quicker/easier. I made a little cosy for it tonight - don't really like the idea of resting my feet on rubber.

I've also been working on a couple of other things today but they'll be revealed in the next couple of days.

I do think the addition of the owl will help me sleep, and make me wiser. Night all! Or possibly good morning, wherever you are.

Day 114 - Button Play

Today we played around with buttons again. It's school holidays and the weather is fairly terrible so it seemed like a good way to spend the afternoon. Every time I get out my button tin the kids spend ages pouring over the buttons deciding which are the most interesting or the 'coolest'. Just playing with them seems to be enough.

I made a button bracelet, Juliet and I made a button love heart together, and as usual Liam started a project (button necklace) but didn't finish it. Little A sorted and sifted his buttons, and ran through the pile creating his usual chaos.

It was a lovely quiet day, with a workshop in the morning and the kids creating their own comic books in the afternoon. I do love school holidays.

Day 113 - Birthdays

Birthdays are such a special time for children, but since I became a Mum I've also realised how very special they are for parents. I love the ritual of making a birthday cake the night before, and reflecting on the lives of my 'little people' and how much I have been able to learn from them already. I always get a bit emotional the night before one of my kids is turning a year older, and last night was no exception.

We rarely buy wrapping paper in our house so today's craft is wrapping related. We wrapped the presents with plain white craft paper that we have a huge roll of, and then I made some potato stamps to decorate the paper. I made a card for the birthday boy in the shape of a paper hat, decorated with pirate stamps. Then I added a little flag using a toothpick and some paper.

Here's the cake.

And the yucky green potato being converted into a stamp.

The paper pirate hat.

Then Miss Juliet wanted a pirate hat too, so I showed her how to make one, and she added her usual level of bling to it.

Lastly, here's a naughty breakfast muffin. Well, it's only once a year.

Now I'm off to play with fire engines and superheroes. Have a fantastic day everyone.

Day 112 - Car rest stop

Tomorrow is my little Aidan's third birthday. I have 4 children and all of them are equally wonderful, but that little man is always my sunshine on a rainy day. He has the happiest disposition and most easy going nature of all of my children and I can't help but laugh and be happy when he's around.

Today I made him a little resting place for his cars, who are his favourite toys - characters in plays he creates and acts out on a daily basis. He can rarely be found without a car nestled into one of his chubby little hands, even when sleeping.

I have made him this fabric car pocket wall hanger to hang in his bedroom and house his little cars. The main fabric is a car fabric I found at a thrift store (op shop), the backing is a fleecy knit someone gave me, and the pockets are a beautiful soft pure wool felt in lovely bright colours.

Love you to bits Little A.