Mandy in Oz

just a quickie, no pictures tonight. I've been having quite a productive week, with a little bit of everything going on :) I've finally finished the sewing portion of the pinnie/smock for Lily that has been languishing in my project bar forever :P It's a lovely fuschia linen, sewn from a vintage pattern - so simple, I love the lines of it. I'm planning on doing a little stencilling on it, so hopefully that works out. Just have to design and paint now! I've also sent Karen's package off to her - I hope that she likes it. An applique and a little something extra. I've been having a few woe is me moments lately, because I've discovered (finally!) that the ongoing and very painful skin problems on my hands are caused by an allergic reaction to lanolin. Very upsetting, as I love to work with wool. No more sheep for me, I'm afraid. Which in turn means that my woolen wet bags are going to be a 'very' limited edition item lol. Speaking of w...

Yep - it's been one of those fortnights....sigh. I've had a terrible flu, as have most of the family. However, I'm recovering (finally), so thought I'd do a post about some more dyeing I've been doing and the longies that Sharyn knitted for me (no action shots yet - elastic has to be put in). Here's a peek! I'm really happy with the way the colours knitted up (look ma - no pooling!). Here is some dyeing I've been doing - from back to front they are wool, wool, rayon/cotton/silk blend, 100% cotton and wool. The wool was kettle dyed with food colouring and the cotton and cotton blend was dyed with procion, using the low water immersion technique (I find it almost as enjoyable as kettle dyeing!). I just love the way that the different fibres took different colours in this yarn - my girls dubbed it 'Seaweed'. This one has been called 'Jaffa' - I've now balled it up and will be teaching myself to crochet with it (washcloths, anyone? :P) Th...

so off we went today, down the road to the bikeways and park! We had a great time, with Lily insisting on going on the swing forever :P and the big girls test driving their new wheels.

Now that I know it has been received, I can post pics of Carmens new laptop sleeve :) She approached me a little while ago about making this for her, to which I replied 'sure!'. Then realised that I had no clue what I was doing, lol! Thus ensued some creative thinking on my part and with the help of some dimensions from Carmen, I created a pretend laptop, from a breadboard and towel, to help me envisage what it was I needed to do. Here is the results of my efforts.

It was a great day - first a stop off at the post office to post some swaps off (not yours Carmen, but that will happen soon!) then a jaunt to the local op shops. I picked up some great material - red with white polka dots and a green batik. I also found a great pattern for a cheongsam style dress, or top and skirt. So, into the queue goes that pattern - Nadine wants a skirt :P Nothing much else happened today.....hoping to get a little knitting time in tonight and make the longies progress bar look a little more respectable.

Yes! That special project for Carmen - done! :) An executive decision on closures was reached, with a little input from the lovely Carmen herself. So, it's all done, ready to be packed up and sent. Now, I've got a terrible case of the what ifs. What if the size is wrong? What if she despises it and is too polite to say so? What if, what if, what if? Ack. I think it's pretty special - hopefully she will think so too! No surprise spoiling here either - pictures will be posted once I know it has been received.

Well, as you can see in my project bar, my special project for Carmen has been receiving my undivided attention....hence, it is ever so close to being done! A little hand embroidery to go now....and the closures. Herein lies my dilemma. Do I use buttons, or snaps? Snaps would probably be more practical, but hunting for just the right vintage buttons would be ever so much more fun and if the placement isn't quite right, buttons are far easier to move than snaps. Plus, with buttons there won't be any hard snap caps on the inside. Ahhh, the drama :P Must think about this some more.......

Yep - kettle dyeing again! This time, 200g of treliske organic merino - the wonderful Sharyn of Virgo Knits is knitting this up for Princess Lily. I must admit, I was thinking 'argh, what have I done!' when I looked at my wool in the pot. I still wasn't feeling terribly happy when I took it out of the pot to rinse and dry. However, once I'd balled it up I was pleasantly surprised with the results :) Quite a soft and girly colourway I think, just right for some longies for my little girl. Now, a special project update - my custom for the lovely Carmen is still moving along - the creative work is done! Just need to hit the machine and get it all together now. I must admit, I'm having moments of self-doubt. It's quite nerve-wracking really, doing a custom. I take my hat off to all the wahms who primarily do custom work - you must have nerves of steel! I'm also currently working on a (late!) gift for my sister Amy, who is celebrating her birthday today :) Happy ...