Try Again
I'm trying to post the photos of my first quilt again. Lets see them

This is the back of the quilt, I used four different fabrics, though I'm pretty sure that they were all cotton. The green flowery fabric used to be a single sheet, and the two types of plaid used to be pairs of Hubby's shorts. Thanks for the recycling Hubby! The other materials were just what I had been given ages ago and put aside to use someday.


Here is the quilt laid out on Daughter's bed. The hardest bit for me was working out how to close the edges of the quilt. I ended up sewing by hand a strip of different coloured material around the edge very carefully hiding the stitches. Next quilt might be different in the binding, I may turn the quilt inside out to put the binding on and then only hand sew the remaining edge.


Here is a closer photo of the top, or front of the quilt, I just did the simple diagonal pattern with some quilting of different things. I think I put a snail, love heart, whale, seal(which I think you can see in this photo),flower, and some squiggly patterns here and there. Daughter likes it, so I'm happy about that. It measures 28 by 25 inches, so good size for the buggy on Daughter's lap. I'm collecting up flannelette fabrics off old pyjamas to make a nice soft snuggly quilt, though I might make it a bit bigger so I can use it too.

Here is some art I did a few years back, all acrylic paints. Sorry about the photo quality! It's hard to get good photos of these.

Bike Ride

Been making another skirt on the sewing machine, and it's just an experiment really. I saw a really neat skirt on the net the other day that someone had made from some mens dress pants, and they looked so cool. You could wear something like that out at night or to work. I'm just seeing if I can hack a pair of pants apart and put them back together as a skirt. It's worked out kind of okay so far.

I've put aside the cabled sweater I'm making for myself almost without thinking about it. I'm just busy doing other crafty stuff at the moment, and with 28C degree weather I don't need it finished for another couple of months!! I do want to work on the crochet shawl I started ages ago. It's bri-nylon though, so it's not the greatest material around. I also want to knit myself another pair of socks out of wool before summer is over. And start on another quilt project. Oh yes, I'm trying to keep as busy as I can! I did finish the first quilt, just forgot to post about it. I finished this on the 8th November, and it is a good lap quilt for Daughter when she is riding in the buggy. I would show it here, but the image hosting site I use is not working this morning. Darn! On this page on Tuesday 17th, there is an unfinished photo where I'm still quilting the top.

So I got a bike the other day, and I've been on a few rides now, one Friday, one today. Today I checked my heart rate while I was riding, and it was between 140 and 152 each time I did it. I rode for 20 minutes, and then walked slowly around the house three times to warm down. Man my legs feel like jelly when I get off the bike, but I like the fact I'm getting fit.
Go and check out what Ralph Fiennes is up to, he's Voldemort in the new Harry Potter movie. Can't wait to see that!

Of Making And Living

So yesterday daughter didn't go to kindergarten. We all slept through the alarm and by the time I woke her up it was really late. She said she was too tired to go. Fine with me, we had a quiet time at home - it was a rainy cold day until the afternoon. We did some sewing, which I forgot to take photos of. One was for Aunty of a flower, and the other was for Uncle of a train. Aunty and Uncle came over after lunch and Daughter gave them the sewn squares. They were a little bit like mini quilts I suppose. I also made two skirts. One which Daughter has on right now at Kindy, and this one...



Used to be a pair of trousers. Got the idea of the Craftster forums.

Got a copy of Billy Boyd in the Taggart episode Dead Men's Chest and here are a few screencaps


About a young man with Aspergers Syndrome (Billy) and into Pirates who witnesses or helps solve a murder. I'm not sure because I've only got the parts with Billy in them."What's in the chest? what's in the chest?"

I can't remember which website I got it from but there are other video clips of Billy here.

Oh, and I still haven't blocked the second sleeve of my sweater, I can see it will be a while before I get that done. Mmm.

Where I Slept In The Long Weekend

Wow, Sister came over and did some respite for us, so I got two really good sleep-ins. I needed that! Sister also knitted on the Ladybird Blanket for her grand-baby-to-come. She's got three months to finish and she's almost halfway there. Knit faster!



We had Pepi over the long weekend and we all enjoyed him immensely, even Hubby who at first was sceptical over all the mess - seeds, feathers and poo scattered onto the floor. We were able to keep the lounge relatively tidy though, and he never poo'd on you unless it was a mistake. Pepi was sooo cute when he would give Son kisses and fall asleep on his shoulder. He did it to Hubby as well. Here's a pic of Pepi falling asleep in his cage with his head wedged between the toy and the perch, that's what he did on Son and Hubby's shoulders, between their head and shirt. So sweet!



The weather over the weekend was pretty good, with a summer storm thrown in just for fun. Son and Daughter enjoyed running around outside in the heat. Here Son is skating around and doing well at turning around and not falling over.



He was being Batman I think, and the cape helped him "fly" around. I actually sewed him and Daughter masks on Sunday morning, so I'll have to get a photo of them both wearing them to record here. They didn't turn out too bad actually, and both children were wearing them for ages.

Oh, and Billy Boyd has signed on for a couple more films too, Ecstasy and Chancers. You can see the info on one of the websites dedicated to him here at B O Y D I S M - now SMILE!

Then She Finished Her Socks And Walked

So I finished my first toe up socks the other day using various different yarns. They are nice and comfy, though they look odd. Now I know I like this way of knitting socks I can get some of all the same colours.




Yesterday on the way home from school we went past the New World and got some afternoon tea and sat outside under the shade of a tree to eat. Then we walked around to the library and played on the playground, then went inside to play on the computer for a while before heading home at five o'clock. Lots of sunlight left in the day, and the children are still confused at why they are going to bed at daytime. Here's a pic of the park..



Saw some of the Europe MTV Awards show last night, but missed James Blunt getting Best New Artist. Go James!! Liked Robbie Williams "Trippin", and the fact he got away with crowd surfing. Funny guy. There are heaps of sites on Robbie Williams on the Google search engine.

Busy Busy

Been busy. Hot weather, dentist, school, kindy, meals, dishes, washing clothes. No time for garden. Trying gauge on some old stash yarn for a new sweater pattern just to keep my fingers busy when I'm not doing any of the above. Show weekend coming up, so might get a bit of a break then. Maybe.

If I'm lucky.

Feeling thirsty, walking alot. Losing weight probably. Probably need to anyway.

Listening to James Blunt still! Really music I like at the moment for the moment.

Trellis Is Done
So I finished the baby sweater aka Trellis on Friday. It looks great but would fit a two year old better than Daughter who is four. She said her Aunty could have it for the baby box she is filling with knitted things. I forgot again to take a photo of the ladybird blanket Sister is knitting - it looks amazing! It is a real love-filled gift as it takes so much effort just to get the ends sorted to knit across one row of the ladybird pattern. Here is Trellis...



And a close up of the buttons...



This was a great knit to finish up and I will knit it again for Daughter for next winter in something a little warmer than the acrylic I knitted this one in.

I finally rented Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind which has Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Elijah Wood and Kirsten Dunst(that I know of) in it, on Saturday but still haven't watched it. Also rented Hide and Seek which we watched - with Dakota Fanning and Robert DeNiro. It was okay, but we had guessed what was happening so it kind of ruined it - it was obvious with some things, but it wasted some time before bed so that was okay.