from the mending basket

 I hadn't really felt much like sewing over Summer. A few halfhearted attempts ended in a couple of disasters, so I thought it better not to try to push it while my heart wasn't in it. I knew that eventually I would feel like sewing again, that the interest and enjoyment I once felt would return. It always does eventually, doesn't it? As Summer turned into Autumn and life calmed down somewhat, I did feel that pull to get back to the sewing machine.

The biggest hurdle was that darn mending basket sitting at the entrance of my bedroom as a glaring daily reminder. So one rainy day I tackled it. It took about 3 days on and off, and then it was done. Not so hard afterall, but the seemingly unsurmountable sewing hurdle has been accomplished.

After the usual sock and tiny hole t-shirt mending (what is with t-shirts these days?), there were a few patches  (you might recognize the fabric from here) to sew on some jeans for Violet, an adult dress and skirt to convert into skirts for Violet, and a dress for myself to take in. I couldn't resist the $5 dress sale at the local op shop and I had a feeling this dress would be easy to take in. I don't know about you, but I just can't pass up a good floral. With no zipper, and only the bodice being lined, it was thankfully quite easy to take in. But I'm still wondering if I can get away with a dress that short.

My quilt had long been waiting for some kind of closure. Poor thing had been sitting in the mending basket for some time. Me being the lazy sewer that I am, popped a few lace ties on, rather than time consuming buttonholes. As I hadn't had it on the bed for so long, it feels like a new quilt again.

I also came a across a whole bundle of half finished dish drainer towels (last batch seen here). I'd started them about 6 months ago and I had wondered if they would ever get finished. I had roughly put together some vintage tea towels backed with old towels. Isn't it funny the drama you can have with the simplest of things? I guess that's what happens when you don't measure properly and try to skip the pins. The first one I finished I had to unpick an entire row and broke two needles. Not fun. But after that things went pretty smoothly and I finished them before school pick-up.

My mental sewing space now appears to be cleared and I feel ready to move ahead with some bigger and better (hopefully) projects.


Does this happen to you? Do you too suffer from mending basket/unfinished project guilt?


What projects are you working on?

Or have you been taking a break too?

meanwhile

Just to let you all know that we are still alive and kicking. A little tired, yes, at least on my part, but still here and well.

I wasn't intending to neglect this space for so long. But you know how life happens, and certain things just get put on the back burner.

So what's been happening in the meanwhile? Swimming lessons, soccer, sewing lessons, calf feeding, cow milking, two birthdays (Luca's 11th and Violet's 3rd), a gun license safety course, breastfeeding finished as well as bed sharing done with (yes I still can't quite believe those last 3 things). Plus all the other thousand and one things that you can probably relate to. You know how crazy it gets at this time of year right? All those things that throw you out of your normal routine?

 
I'm afraid I'm so terribly disorganized this year that christmas is going to be a last minute affair. I haven't done christmas shopping, I haven't sent cards out yet and I haven't even put in my christmas ham and pork order. I know, what is the world coming to? But I am optimistically hoping that it will all fall into place with minimum effort (perhaps a little too optimistic!) Please tell me I am not the only one!

While we see the end of daily swimming lessons today, and school finishes up next week, not to mention the extra hours Daniel has been working to wrap up his business for the end of the year, we are hoping that things will go down a notch in the next week or so.

Afterall, it can be easy to get caught up in the whole "getting everything done just right" before christmas, but what really matters is relaxed time together, some good, not necessarily complicated food and a few simple presents. I've let go of the online shopping for christmas this year and I will be shopping locally for presents. In the past I have thought it was the right thing to buy online from ethical companies, and I still believe this can be a good thing. But I have seen local small businesses struggle in our small town, with many closing, and while they may have the general Made in China products for the main part, it somehow feels right this year to be supporting the local shops.

Our christmas tree only went up this week, and although this is usually my domain, and I am sadly a little controlling about how the tree should look, I let Julia take the reigns this year. So yes, our plastic white (that is beginning to yellow) tree is decorated to the hilt this year, complete with tinsel and every decoration that we own, but I'm loving it in all it's tacky glory.

I had grand plans to knit dishcloths for teacher's gifts and gift fillers this year, but the cotton is still sitting there and I don't think I'm going to get that done this year. But you never know. Otherwise I guess it's not too late for a few biscuit batches?

In the world of craft I actually managed to finish a few things of late. Okay, only one actually finished. I have almost finished Luca's cardigan, bar the zipper, so let's hope it still fits come next season. I think it will. I will hopefully get to Ravel it soon enough. The other completed project is another Wiksten tank (the last one I made is blogged here, and I wear it to death), made up with some op shop cotton voile. I love this pattern. It is fairly quick and easy and such a great cut. I added the pocket this time. Certainly quite forgiving on muffin tops.

All three of our bovines are doing well. Bessie's steer calf is perhaps doing a little too well, and at 4 months now we are contemplating weaning him over the holidays. We're getting a little greedy for some more milk, especially since Shirley enjoys her little share every day, mixed with her milk replacer. Speaking of Shirley, she is doing quite well, and at almost 7 weeks now, has settled into our house and our hearts. Who knew cows could be so cuddly? She is still in her straw covered watertank/firewood pen, and she is being taught to lead and be tethered on the grass.

So that's about it. I promise I will try to get to this blog a little more often as I do miss it when I'm away too long.  I hope you are all well and coping with this considerably more busy time of year. If there is one lesson that I am learning myself of christmas this year, it is to let go of unrealistic expectations. Do what you can with what you have (I read that saying recently somewhere, but I can't remember where?) Christmas will still happen.

pictured

With all the busyness that the school holidays brought - kid's friends over, Bessie the cow and more kid's friends over, I'm afraid it all passed by in a bit of a blur. I can't pretend that I'm not a little relieved that school went back today. A little more organization the night before and this morning, enabled the drop off and milking routines to go fairly smoothly. It was nice to arrive home to a quiet house with a full milk can. A small bowl of popcorn is sometimes what it takes to gain ten minutes of quiet with a cup of coffee with no little person jumping all over me. 

Today is set to be a cleaning catch up day. The floors need mopping and the outside of the kitchen cupboards are not their best. Washing needs hanging out and sheets need changing. School holidays tend to wreak a little havoc, and they are certainly not the time to attempt any Spring cleaning. Which makes me wonder if I will even get to any Spring cleaning this time around.

I emptied out the camera the other day. There weren't many photos from the past few weeks. I believe the battery was flat on my camera for the half the holidays while I was looking for the charger. Time was not on my side these holidays. There is nothing very eventful here, just a few pictures taken around the house last week.

 

 While it has warmed up, we are still having cold days. Particularly early morning milking (Violets op-shopped hand knits)

Making lard.

First pig-tails.

Tea from Pop's old tea-pot.

Luca's Deckard. Picking the needles back up after an unintended knitting break.

Quilts and reading piles.

Bessie's milk cream line.

The Home Creamery, a book I have had for some time, is proving even more useful now. Last week it was ricotta and I would like to attempt the Farmer's cheese soon.

Dishes. Not a pretty sight, but it was a constant reality during the holidays. Some days you just feel chained to the sink. At such times I almost wished I had a dishwasher.


***

I could not end this post without saying how supported and truly moved I felt after reading your encouraging, heartfelt comments from my last post. It has made me feel that I do want to continue in this space, after a period of time that had me questioning whether I really wanted to continue or not. Sometimes there is a bigger picture at hand here, and if my little ramblings here brighten another person's day, encourage them to try something new, or make them feel that they are not the only square peg in a round hole, then that will make it all worth it.

So thank you, those that come back time and again, even waiting patiently when the posts are few and far between. I am afraid I am terribly slack and time poor as regards to replying to questions and emails, but please be assured that I value each and every comment and email that someone has taken the time to reach out with. I am truly thankful that your voices have helped make this space what it is.

nituna

It took a few weeks of sewing, mostly in the evenings and late at night, but finally Julia's Nituna is finished and hanging in her wardrobe. Julia chose the pattern (Figgy's Nituna) and the red wool from my stash of fabrics. I am hoping this will help increase the wearability factor. This sturdy red wool has certainly done double duty. You might remember this skirt?*  For the lining I found a red floral quilting weight cotton, also an op shop buy. (See Daniel, all those stored fabrics do come in handy sometimes!) The buttons were a market buy last year.

*skirt update - I finally wore it out for dinner a few weeks back.

The pattern pieces came together well, but I did have a few issues with the welt pockets.You don't see the welt pockets? That's right, I just couldn't get my head around the instructions, so I changed it to the patch pockets. The first patch pockets I wasn't happy with, so I ended up making a new pair and lining them, which wasn't in the pattern instructions. But I'm learning that sometimes in sewing you just have go with your gut feeling. And who knows, perhaps one day I will tackle the elusive welt pocket.

I probably wouldn't recommend this pattern to a beginner sewer. Though the cut of the pattern is quite good, there were some gaps in the instructions and a few diagrams that might have come in handy, but for the most part it wasn't too hard to put together. Next time I will remember the dangers of late night sewing, as it never seems to work very well for me. This time I sewed the buttonholes on the wrong side. By the time I realised it was too late.

Overall though, I am happy with this little project. It is the first time I have sewn anything in the realm of coats or jackets, and I quite enjoyed the challenge. It felt like I was dipping my toes into the world of tailoring.

a few little things

A few little things brightening up life right now:

Nut loaf from Coming Home To Eat. Baked with spelt flour, sweetened with honey (speaking of honey did anyone else catch this story?) and I replaced the dates with dried apricots. Pretty good! Though I'm trying not to eat too much because it was made for a lunchbox treat afterall. I'm thinking the freezer option may be a good idea.

I received a parcel this week filled with the most beautiful handmade little clothes for Violet. Many of you will know the lovely Lea, and she was so very kind to pass these on. Aren't they just wonderful? Thank you Lea!

I finally made my first batch of playdough. It seems to be a hit, although the pink, red and green has now blended into a giant blob of funny brown. I do hope my crochet rug (cold frosty morning!) fared okay.

Slow but steady progress is being made on the Nituna jacket for Julia. She selected the pattern and the fabric (from the stash), while I chose the lining.  Hopefully it will be finished before Spring hits. I really should start sewing and knitting a season ahead!


What little things have been brightening your day lately?

simple little bags

 
I stayed up last night into the early hours of the morning. Sewing.  Which will probably not surprise you. Not tackling a project I needed to do (There's certainly plenty of them.) Of course not. But sometimes you need to break away from the invisible crafting list and just create a little something for the sake of it.

In the back of my mind I had been meaning to make a little bag for Julia to take her (always small) projects to and from sewing classes. So last night, after Offspring had finished, after the kids were in bed, I plugged in the sewing machine and set to work. It was good to be back! I'd been finding it hard to get any sort of motivation going in the way of sewing lately, and I think a small project like this was just the thing I needed. While I was at it I thought Violet may like a slightly smaller similar version.

 

I love the chance to mix and match old fabrics, and so I teamed a strong old linen tea towel with a mix of scrap florals, all (except the grey lining) originally from the op shop. I cut two squares for each bag, adding a pocket to the front and some lining. I used to be scared of lining. Until I discovered that it can actually be easier to line than to zig zag all the unfinished edges. Besides being a perfect excuse to add another fabric into the mix.

To finish off I quickly embroidered an initial on each. No too carefully because I was getting quite tired by this stage. Such is the way of late night sewing. In my experience late night sewing is really only suited to those free style projects with room for error. It was good that this project was one of those.

It turns out the girls are happy and ended up wearing them most of the morning. Stuffed with an assortment of books and small toys. The only problem was getting a decent picture amongst the school holiday chaos and dim lighting, and I didn't quite succeed with that. But not to worry, I think those simple little bags are just what we all needed.

Because we all know it's not just about the sewing.

big skirt little skirt

I think it was the pieces of lace and velvet ribbon that hatched the idea for these little winter skirts. A recent op shop visit had revealed a rather large stash of old cottons and haberdashery pieces, and so of course I had to come home with some (but not all, I am slowly teaching myself to share the op shop love around).

Sometimes the most enjoyable projects are centred around the smallest of details, and I think that was the case here.

A rummage through the stash of fabrics I had revealed a possibly suitable fabric, a vintage plaid, a mixture of which I believe to be wool and cotton. It was just a touch too thin for our cold wintery conditions, and I really did want this to be a winter skirt.  I luckily found a complementary cotton print, an Anna Maria Horner one that I had been waiting to use for the right time. I used this as the underskirt.

It all sewed up quite quickly with the two pieces of skirt being attached within the elastic casing. Carefully pinning this part was a must. I used one selvedge piece for Violet's skirt, while Julia's was about one and a half pieces. I originally used two selvedge pieces for Julia's, but I had to change that because it became way too thick and bunched up. So there was some unpicking and cutting involved.

But all is well that ends well, and I think the girls are both happy to have matching little skirts for winter. I was never one much for the matching thing, but it is sweet to see every now and then, and certainly one that the girls seem to enjoy, for now, anyway.

life and knitting

Somehow, here and there, between the many days out last week, the temporary single parenting and then the virus going around that had me in bed most of Sunday, I managed to find a little time to squeeze some knitting in. It seems I cannot put my mind to sewing when life is a little bumpy, but I can somehow manage to squeeze in a little time for knitting. My Tea Leaves cardigan, though started last year and then abandoned at the start of the warmer weather, is coming along slowly. I even justified buying another basket at the op shop just for this project. (Where do they all go?) Proof that you can never have too many baskets. I am enjoying the predictable stockinette stage of this project, and not really having to think about it for now. Knitting can be a soothing constant in life, kind of like hitting that pause or re-set button in amongst the daily chaos.

Because I am easily distracted I am also thinking of starting a cowl, and I was rather struck with this one. The cold weather has me reaching for scarves daily, and I'm getting a little tired of the two that I always wear. By now I think everyone in town must be able to identify my red floral scarf (which is not particularly warm anyway). I haven't bought any new yarn this season, as I'm trying to use up what is in the stash, staying away from those tempting websites with richly coloured yarns.

Most projects to date have been for the kids, but this season will hopefully see me adding a few things to my own wardrobe. Perhaps a scarf, a cowl and a hat. Just a few simple, but practical items. If I can manage to make them from the stash so much the better, but easier said than done.

What knitting plans do you have for this season?
Are you going to or are you already making something for yourself?
Do you have a favourite scarf, cowl or hat pattern?

mini me pyjamas

I hope you will forgive me for being a little obsessed with pyjamas this week. After sewing up the first pair, I quickly cut out and sewed another pair for myself. Not usually being one for the matching thing, so I'm not sure what came over me, but I soon had the energy to whip up another three sets of pyjamas, but this time in miniature.

I used two old single flannelette sheets in all, with some left over. Julia's pair were traced from her existing pyjama pants, adding seam, hem and elastic allowances, but I added more width in the leg to match my pair and a few extra inches on the length. This is a very easy thing to do and with something like pyjamas there is no precise measurements required, and a little more room for error. I first read about this method in The Creative Family. I then took one of her old tops, that was a little marked, and used a few flowers from the pattern over the marks, attaching with a zig zag stitch.

As for Violet's, you may remember her two pairs I made last year. The tops have been well and truly outgrown, but the pants are still hanging in there. To make the new pants I simply traced around the old pair as above, but I added a few extra inches in length. I think I took the original pattern from tracing around her Quick Change Trousers. The second pair I used a piece of "new" flannel from the op shop. I then took a few hand-me-down tops and added a pocket on one and a few simple applique hearts on the other.

I really had fun making these, and it was a very quick and easy project, all completed within one day and really only spending a few hours. Sadly very "mini me", and feeling a little Sound of Music-like, but it is all in good fun. Not to mention rather practical too.

And for now these girls are quite happy for us all to be matching.