Fair Isle

So back to the Isabel Green wardrobe and a Fair Isle tank top to wear over the 1940's dresses. Fair Isle is one of the small islands off Scotland that make up the Shetlands and is where the 'Fair Isle' knitting technique originated. Yes that's right, not only are they responsible for the very cute little ponies, but also the gorgeous geometric knitting pattern. Imagine what a quaint little place it must be, everyone running around in cosy cardies on miniature ponies!

 

I sense that there has been abit of a Fair Isle comeback in the fashion stakes (we often miss these in Tasmania) and I have to say I want to jump right on that band wagon. I'm really loving the whole 1940's wartime look thanks to the Nanny McPhee inspiration.

 

So when Mum said that she wanted to knit something, I was just a little bit thrilled about the prospect of picking my very own Fair Isle cardy or tank top pattern and then she found this amazing website called The Vintage Knitting Lady where you can buy copies of old knitting patterns in pdf format. Mum currently has one on the go for Maggie (the 1st picture) and I can't wait for my turn.

Mum also joked that maybe Kim would like one too. But that really would be way too Sullivans!!!!

A Tom Baker Dr Who Scarf

Can you Adam and Eve it? The mister has put in a 'handmade' request! Watching me knitting one night, he declares that he has a need for a Dr Who scarf. I beg your pardon I reply, a Dr Who scarf for you? Yeh like that long stripy one he says. I start feeling all warm inside and start planning colours, taking my mind back to sitting in front of the telly as a ten year old, glued to our Mr Tom Baker. After all there was only ever one Dr Who for me.

A perfect little project to take along camping, to playgroups, trips to the park/beach, surf trips and boys weekends (maybe). I still can't believe that the mister asked me to make something for him, after all Baby Boudoir isn't exactly his style hey. Just not roughty toughty enough.

Have a lovely weekend all. We're all off camping again this weekend on the wild west coast of Tasmania at Marrawah and Sandy Cape and there's gonna be heaps of us going. Can't wait. We're just gonna nip to our favourite cafe Bruce's for a leisurely brunch before picking Maggie up from childcare on our way.

Stitch and Bitch Weekend March 2010

It's here, no more sleeps. In a couple of hours I'm off on the Stitch and Bitch weekend in Port Sorrell and my poor little car is stuffed full with all my bits and bobs. I'm gonna take several projects, mainly those that need finishing but also one special project - a skirt. Having never attempted dress-making before I thought I'd take the plunge and take advantage of the fact that they'll be so many lovely ladies with a multitude of talents who I'll be able to turn to for help when I get stuck. With a 'to-do wish list' as long as the great wall of china, it was so hard to decide what to do, but I've decided on these:

• A-line ankle length skirt - based on my longtime favourite skirt (which really needs to go for rags). It's gonna be tough as I will have to make the pattern and sew stretching fabric....yickes!!!!
• The final part on the baby quilt - hand sew the binding.
• Make some flower embellishments for applique on some new bags.
• Fix a seam on a favouite pair of shorts (my 5 min. saturday morning hangover task).
• I've also taken some knitting for night-time.

And this is my paking list which I managed to squeeze into my car:

1. Sewing machine.
2. Sewing baskets containing threads, needles, pins, pens, scissors, craft knives, rotary cutter, lippy, tape measures, colour chart etc etc
3. Cutting mat, meter rule, set square, compass.
4. Drawer of trimmings, embroidery threads, lace, buttons, beads, zips, bias binding etc etc
5. Ironing board and iron.
6. My big basket of fabric scraps.
7. Fabric for skirt and skirt I'm copying.
8. Gin, tonic, lemons, nibbles and a Victoria sponge I whipped up this morning.
9. Clothes, quilt, towel (mmm should I take my bikini, there's a pretty cool beach on the doorstep). I will, hang-on i'll just go and get it..........ok, got it:)
10. Outfit for tonight, we're going to see a Fleetwood Mac tribute band - can't wait for that :)
11. Camera.

Sorry there's no photos on this post, I've packed the damm camera right at the bottom!!!!! hehehehe But I will take heaps during the weekend, promise. In the meantime, thought this pic was pretty funny. Gotta go for hair appointment now. Bum gonna be late. Pop back Monday for the all goss :)

When a Girl Can't Sew.......

..........she knits! I feel that there has been a distinct lack of Baby Boudoir creations on my blog of late so I would just like to explain. My sewing room is sometimes disguised as a spare bedroom and when mum comes to stay my sewing room becomes 'grandma's bedroom'. Since mum comes to stay for several months at a time, I try to not invade her sapce too often as she is so good at respecting ours. Therefore my projects are limited to those that I can manage on the kitchen table or whilst sitting in front of the TV. So after a good deal of thumb twiddling I decided to pick up some old knitting needles and see what would become of it.

After some help casting on I was knitting full steam ahead. "What's it going to be?" mum asked, I replied "a scarf" - of course, what else would a novice knitter knit! Then the knitting started to get wider, and wider. Mum comments "it's a funny shaped scarf", I reply "actually it's going to be a hat now" and start demonstrating how it would sit on my head in that french beret kind of way. After a great deal of unconvinced laughing mum suggested that maybe it would work better as a fluffy pair of undies!!!! Either way scarf, hat or undies it started to look abit 'bodgy'. Now I don't do bodgy, everything has to be pretty perfect in my world so I went back to the drawing board and started to create these little bags. Not bad for a bodgy bit of knitting hey?

My Makes

It seems that I may be a somewhat shy blogger!!!! Each time I attempt to write a post, words seem to fail me. For someone who is not usually short of a word or two this feels a little weirdorama. Maybe that's it, maybe I just have too much to say and don't know where to start. Nevermind, until I find the confidence and feel comfortable about revealing my thoughts, creations and aspirations to the world, pictures of 'my makes' that I have for sale will have to suffice.

The bag pictured above is one of the many different coloured bags I have for sale. Made from recycled wool, buttons, beads and beautifully handmade fabric/felt flower embellishments. Great for little girls to carry their own bib, wipes and spoon when meeting friends for lunch.
Below is Florrie-Blue and Violet from my softie range. Made from recycled stock. I use all the same fabrics for bunting, softies and quilts for a fully co-ordinated baby's boudoir. (See quilts and bunting on the right hand side of the page).
this is sunny...........
and this is Florrie and Maggie.

So there's a few of my little makes for you to ponder over. Baby Boudoir is a very new venture for me and I'm very excited about seeing how it develops. One thing I have discovered recently is how many very talented ladies there are busy in their homes creating wonderful handmade treasures. We need to get together, share ideas and inspiration. I would love to hear from you all, particularly if you are local to NW Tasmania and would be interested in selling your creations in "a winters eve artisans market" that I'm hoping to organise over the winter where people can come to sell, buy, chat, hang-out and have coffee and cake. Look forward to hearing from you.......and don't forget to follow me, sign up over there on the left.