stitch . knit . cockadoodledoo

Finally! back from the massive hiatus I had to take, graduation, job hunting and a myriad of life's other little demands stole me away and left my little corner(s) of the internet neglected.

Where should I start... hmmm... I finally finished the bunny rug I've been working on, and its all ready for a friend's baby shower this Saturday!
I'm really pleased with how it turned out... that was until the trouble I had with the binding *sigh* oh well, I'll just have to keep practising till I get it perfect :)

In other news I've finished knitting a pair of baby booties... I just did them out of some 'practice' wool and on needles a fraction bigger than those suggested in the pattern, but they still look cute. I'll probably take some pics of 'em later. I'm so grateful that the pattern was 'the idiots' version otherwise I'd probably be as stumped as I am most of the time with knitting patterns, since I have to be self-taught. But I'm hoping to use my new found skill at knitting a pretty mean garter stitch to make some booties for cousins and friends who are expecting. Hopefully I'll get round to these projects, since they don't seem to take up too much time and they're something I can work on whilst watching telly. ;)

I had to get rid of my chicken, Queenie... because she turned out to be a he and the crowing was sure to ruffle the neighbours' feathers :D So he was sent to a big farm out of state where he can run around and herd hens to his heart's content - seriously - the farm is real!

At least we still have the other three. I love how much more trusting and friendly they are since Queenie left though.

Stitchery

I spent today creating a pot-holder from some random fabrics in my sister's stash. It features my first attempt at binding; which is only a little wobbly around the back, so I'm thinking its not too bad :D

I've also been working on the prototype of a sewing pattern, just to see if what was in my head could be realised in fabrics... so far, so good. I'll be building a second prototype later, featuring padding and quilted panels to get more of an idea. I was wanting to find a free pattern for a sewn Easter basket; however, after searching online, all I could find were a few pictures of what I was thinking of and a small number of etsy stores selling made versions. So (after way too much 'How I Met Your Mother') I thought "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!" and began work on my own Easter Basket.

Inspiration:

I Want to DIY

I love covering folders that I need to use, so that they're unique and... well... me :D Anyway, I used an awesome bright red & white polka dot fabric and some batting to cover this folder.

I wanted to cut down on the magazines I've acquired so I've complied the saved pages into sections: recipes, craft/diy, gardening and inspiration. I still have about 15 magazines to sort through and then I will have regained a pile of shelf space - yay! I've enjoyed seeing how clean the shelves look, even at this point.

In recent news, last night some friends of mine & I went to see 'Gnomeo & Juliet' - it was alright (not like 'Tangled' which I wanted to see again as soon as the credits had finished rolling) but it was an enjoyable evening :)

Also, I'm graduating (prayerfully in March) - yayayayayayayayayayayayay! sooooo excited :D

Jet Setting II

Well, The trip to Melbourne was substantially more fun this past weekend than it was the last time we went. We organised things to do, such as going to the see the 'Dreams Come True: The Art of Disney's Classic Fairy Tales' at ACMI. It was fantastic to see the original drawings, concepts and cells; the sheer talent was breathtaking! (I bought the book as we were leaving :D)

And later that evening we took in a play that was showing in one of the surrounding towns. It was 'The Shoehorn Sonata' - it was performed wonderfully, and I have to admit, I got misty eyed and some parts were hard to see performed.

My cousin's wedding was lovely and intimate, at the botanic gardens with a small group of relatives and close friends. It was great to catch up with family we hardly see, and to welcome a new member to the family fold.

And it will be off to Sydney tonight for the engagement party of a friend, so much travelling... it's no wonder I'm completely exhausted.

Tangled

SO TOTALLY LOVED THIS FILM (I'm buying it the minute its out on DVD).

I want to go see it again... only this time, not in 3D; though I think we'll end up watching 'The King's Speech' instead.

new vacuum

image sourced from google images.
Ah ha! I am almost more excited over the lovely new vacuum mum & I bought today than I was over all the fantastic things I got for Christmas.

So lets start there. Firstly, I've been sick for weeks (since a fortnight before Chrissy and I'm still sick now, even my antibiotics are being slack). Christmas was nice, its the first one that we've ever had in my life where it was just the six of us (Mum, Dad & the siblings)... so it was quiet but enjoyable. We did Secret Santa again this year in another attempt to lessen our Christmas spending, however, because we've never enforced price limits I still spent almost $100.⁰⁰ on my person and my SS definitely spent heaps on my lovely bundle of gifts!. I received a lovely wooden sewing box and a 'sewing project' bag, which fits all my fabrics and patterns with heaps of room to spare!

There was a whole Santa Sack of goodies, but I'm really too lazy to blog about all of 'em ;)

Now on to the vacuum. The reason we needed one so terribly was that my brother decided to clean up the mess he'd made in the lounge room drilling and what-not so he plugged in our vacuum and it combusted into flames - not entirely his fault; since the vacuum had been on the fritz the day before and we hadn't got around to repairing it. But mum had only warned us girls about the vacuum, not counting on the good deed that was being hatched to surprise her with... so that brought us to the sudden need to buy a vacuum.

So I spent last night researching vacuums and once I found the brand with the most positive reviews I began a search and discovered several large shops were having sales, and the one where we could get it cheapest ended today! so early in the morning I accosted mum over a cup of tea and we made an outing into the wide world of vacuum cleaners and after trekking all the way to Fyshwick we finally obtained the vacuum we wanted & got it discounted further ;) I'm so happy... BEST.VACUUM.EVER

It's just so... slurpy! yay!

Secret Santa

This year some friends of mine & I decided to do secret santa. This is what I gave away :)
A jar full of M&M Cookies mix.
A handmade stocking courtesy of Camille's 'Merry' pattern. {I used 'Clermont Farms' Moda Jelly Roll for the body of the stocking and another Moda red & gold star fabric for the cuff.}
and...
'Patches' the Zhu Zhu guinea pig + outfit (the pet for the girl who can't buy a pet since she's movin' out soon). haha, even 20+yr olds can enjoy electronic rodents :D

Oh, and what did I receive I hear you ask?! - a jumbo gingerbread house :D mmm, yummy :)