Bucket Hat

I got obsessed with making myself a sunhat last week. We have a work excursion coming up and were told to make sure we brought a sunhat. That reminded me that I didn’t have a nice sunhat (my current one is splattered with housepaint from our DIY over Christmas), which ensured that I would not rest until I had made myself one.

Behold, my new bucket hat:

Pattern from here but slightly resized to fit my big head! I also constructed it slightly differently so it could be reversible. I made a linen prototype first to get the fit right. That linen prototype became the lining. The black and white fabric is “Lily” by Joel Dewberry. I had originally planned to use some Lara Cameron fabric, but wanted to make sure the hat looked OK before I chopped into my precious stash. It turns out I like this hat just fine, despite the brim being a bit wonky. And I probably don't need to make myself two sunhats right at the end of summer...

Oh and if you were wondering about the amount of fabric needed, I only had a fat quarter of the Lily fabric and wasn't sure I had enough. Turns out you CAN get a hat (or the outside at least) out of a fat quarter IF the pattern is multi-directional. And you trace before you cut!

Edited to add:
It occurred to me that if any of you are going to attempt this pattern, you might like to know the changes I made.

The modifications I made to the sizing of this pattern was to add 1cm to each end of the brim and crown pieces (when I cut the paper shapes out the brim and crown pieces seemed too short for the top circle piece. Equally if your head was a bit smaller than mine, you could make the top circle piece smaller in diameter. My head usually fits a size 59cm hat.

I also made the brim narrower by about 2cm and the crown height shorter – I did this once I had sewn all the pieces together and tried it on for fit. I guess it is about trial and error until you get something that looks ok and fits your noggin!

To assemble the hat I assembled the entire outside and the entire lining, and then sewed them together around the brim edge, right sides together, leaving a gap for turning. I then closed the gap with a line of top stitching on the brim edge.

Another Baby Gift

So as I said in my last post, all our friends are having babies at the moment. This is a gift for Nicholas, who was born 11 days ago. Yesterday we got to meet him for the first time and have newborn cuddles. He was so sweet - I love that new baby smell.

The shoes are made using a modified version of this pattern (I construct them differently to make them reversible). The bibs are made from Amy Karol's great pattern in Bend The Rules Sewing. The dots and stripes fabric are both Amy Butler, the vegetable fabric is Michael Miller.

A few people have asked me about how to make the shoes reversible. I was going to do a tutorial, but someone else in the Flickr Cloth Baby Shoes group has made one already. You can find it here. It is similar, but not exactly the same, as the method I use. I warn you though - they are fiddly and you will swear lots making your first pair! But they do get easier. I am going to modify the fit of the pattern further after trying this pair on baby Nick yesterday. They were way too big for his foot, but by the time his foot is long enough to fit them, the opening in the shoe will be too small. Hopefully I am getting closer to a design I can sell...

Mary-Jane booties

This project has been a WIP for a wee while, but I finally got around to buying some teeny tiny buttons to finish them off.


I used a free pattern from Shes Crafty and then added some crochet flowers made with the 100-flower scarf pattern here. The yarn is some brand new baby wool I picked up for a song at our local op-shop. All up I probably spent less than $2 on materials for these but I think they look pretty special.

This was my first time knitting 4ply wool and I discovered it takes a long time to produce much of anything when you are knitting on small needles with fine yarn - I'm usually a DK girl. I knitted these hoping to give them to some friends who had a baby last week, but they had a boy and I'm not sure they'd appreciate pink and white knitted cuteness! I'm hoping my friend who is due in early March is having a girl, otherwise these will have to be added to the gift box. I'm at the age where friends are having babies all the time so they will eventually go to a good home.

I Heart Mirabel

Yesterday I finally got around to the fun task of making a couple of hearts for the I Heart Mirabel fundraiser being run by Meet Me At Mikes in Melbourne. You can read more about the fundraiser on the Mikes blog here. If you want to make a heart for the I Heart Mirabel appeal, there is still time. They need to arrive by 8th March.

The fronts of the hearts are made from pieced together scraps from my stash. I used a coordinating stripe fabric for the back of each. A little while ago I bought a whole lot of designer scraps on TradeMe (New Zealand version of eBay), including some Amy Butler offcuts which were put to good use in these hearts. I used a heart template I found online and stuffed them with polyfil. They ended up about 14cm across.

Lots of crafting planned for this week. I’ve decided to take the plunge and start an etsy shop. I am working on a few bag designs and also some baby shoes. Pictures to come soon.

Petone Fair tomorrow

If you're in the Hutt tomorrow, come along and check out the Petone Fair on Jackson St from 10-4. I had originally planned to maybe have a stall at it this year, but I didn't get organised in time. It's usually a fun day out with a reasonable number of craft stalls and plenty of homemade fudge. Here's a photo I took at the 2006 fair.

My advice would be to come early to make sure you can get a parking spot and avoid the rain that is forecast for later in the day.

Fish on a Line

I finally finished the knitting WIP I showed you a couple of weeks ago.

This is a mobile made from a pattern in Knitted Toys by Zoe Mellor. It's for a friend whose baby is due in early March (I'm pretty sure she doesn't read this so I'm safe posting here). The pattern was a lot more fiddly than I'd anticipated. The fish are knitted from a chart which I found a little tricky at first. Once the fish were finished there were a whole heap of ends to weave in and then they had to be stuffed and threaded onto the cord (a lot harder than it sounds as the cord was pretty thick). But in the end I think it turned out pretty cute.

The fish by themselves were also fun to play with - they would make neat Christmas ornaments or cat toys. And the mobile concept could quite easily be converted to a hanging toy to string across a pram. Hmmmm, maybe next time.

Hummus

We go through a LOT of hummus in our house. One thing that bothers me about buying hummus ready-made is that it comes in a container made of plastic that is not recyclable. I've been meaning to try making my own for ages and last week I finally bought some tahini (the vital ingredient I was missing from my cupboards).

I know it looks a bit gross, but trust me, it is deeeelicious. Nice and garlicky with a bit of lemony tartness.

The recipe I used was one from the back of a can of chickpeas. I did use canned chickpeas this time because I wanted results fast, but next time I'll plan ahead and soak and cook some dried chickpeas. I'd also like to try it with sundried tomatoes or olives blended in.

Here is the recipe if you want to give it a go:

1 390g can of Chickpeas, drained and rinsed

juice of 2 lemons

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon of salt

100g of tahini paste

salt and pepper to taste

Drain and rinse chickpeas thoroughly and place in blender. Add next 4 ingredients. Blend to a smooth paste. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper. If required, thin down with lemon juice or water. Makes approximately 500g.

Embroidery Inspiration

I have been doing a bit of embroidery these past few days and remembering how much I enjoy it. I started out as a cross-stitcher - always on 14-count aida cloth, but more recently I have been doing some petit-point (half crosses) on evenweave linen. Next I'd like to tackle some simple designs on ordinary linen and cotton, perhaps in a single colour. Here are some photos from flickr that have inspired me lately:

1. Lil Critter, 2. Flowery Smock embroidery, 3. PB080146, 4. embroidery, 5. embroideries, 6. detail, 7. Embroidered flowers, 8. redwork, 9. pillow case 2, 10. owl in trees embroidery, 11. Birdcage, 12. blue trees embroidery, 13. red birds, red tree, 14. leaf sample, 15. Bunny with pink sweet peas

Plum Jam

OK, so I was being a bit ambitious with all my weekend plans in my last post. I did get a few things accomplished, but not everything. One thing I did do was make plum jam.

This is the 5th batch of jam I've made with plums from our tree and I am still amazed how the combination of just plums, sugar and a little water can produce delicious jam. Especially when the plums are small, really sour and basically inedible in their raw state. For the first two years we lived in this house I left the plums to the birds to eat because they were so sour. It never occurred to me to make them into jam until I was talking to a friend who said they might be damson plums. Since then the birds only get the plums that I don't want! I have some more plums in the freezer waiting to be made into chutney using this Delia Smith recipe. I made some last year and it is divine and well worth the effort (though this year I will cook it outside on the barbeque - it needs to be simmered for about 3 hours and last year the house smelt of chutney for weeks!).

A Busy Weekend

The renovations I mentioned a couple of months ago are finally complete, so I now have a crafty area in our house to call my own:

It's pretty small and is really only a porch area that you walk through to go outside or to the laundry (through the sliding door), but it's better than what I have now (sewing machine and craft stuff packed away under the window seat in our bedroom). Now I get the fun task of buying some furniture and setting up the space. I'd like an old wooden table to sew on and maybe a chest of drawers to store my fabric in (shelves would be ideal for my fabric but this room gets a lot of sunlight and I don't want to risk my precious fabric getting faded). Trips to the recycling places and second-hand furniture shops are planned for this weekend.

Also on the to-do list this weekend:

• Go to the Martinborough Fair on Saturday and pick up lots of crafty inspiration
• Resist the urge to spend too much at the above fair
• Finish the knitting WIP I posted the other day
• Finally make some jam and chutney with the plums I picked off our tree over a week ago (they are currently in the freezer)
• Go and see some of the fantastic movies that started this week (Juno tonight and maybe The 11th Hour or No Country for Old Men or Michael Clayton later in the weekend)
• Make a start on my contribution to the We Heart Mirabel initiative being run by Meet Me At Mikes
• Go for at least one long run (I've signed up for a 10km event next weekend and am VERY unprepared)

Hmmm, looking back at my list, I'm thinking I might be being a bit ambitious. Lucky we have a public holiday next Wednesday...

Hope your weekend is a good one.

I've been tagged

I have been tagged by the Stitching Surgeon to write seven random things about me. This is the first time I have been asked to do this particular meme, so I have taken the opportunity to tell you a few more things about me so we can get to *know* each other better...

1. I have the same model of sewing machine as my Mum - an Elna Air Electronic SU, circa 1978. I learnt to sew on her machine when I was about 4 or 5, and then when I was 8, I was given my own second-hand Elna Lotus machine – great for beginners as it only does straight stitch and zig-zag. A few years ago I decided it was time to buy a machine that had a few more functions and when I found a second-hand model of my Mum’s machine for sale, I knew that was the machine for me!


2. I am a vegetarian and have been so for just over two years. I am an animal lover and have always felt slightly uncomfortable about eating meat. On New Year’s Day 2004 my husband and I stopped eating red meat. Two years later we stopped eating all meat. We still eat free-range eggs and vegetarian cheese. The non-vegetarian food I miss the most is marshmallows.


3. I don’t like raw tomatoes. It is a texture and acidity thing. I will happily eat them if they are cooked (like in a pasta sauce), or raw but mushed up with other things (like in guacamole), but I cannot stand them in sliced up in salads or sandwiches and will pick them out. Luckily my husband loves tomatoes and is always willing to eat the tomatoes I have picked out of whatever I am eating.


4. I am currently reading Pride and Prejudice for the first time. I own the BBC series on DVD (Colin Firth is divine as Mr Darcy!) and have watched it many times, and read other Jane Austen novels, yet I have never read Pride and Prejudice. I wish I had done so years ago – so much is lost in the translation from text to small screen!


5. I am a cat person. Ever since I was quite little, I have had a pet cat. I like to give my cats “human names” – we have had Sam, Sally, Frank, Lucy, Molly. I think it makes them feel more like part of the family. Although you have to be really careful you don’t use up a name that you might want to use for a future child!


6. My favourite bird is the native New Zealand fantail (or Piwakawaka). I love the little “cheep cheep” noise they make and the way they follow you when you walk through the bush, dipping and diving, looking for bugs that you might have disturbed.


7. My breakfast of choice, regardless of the season, is a steaming hot bowl of porridge. I make my porridge in the microwave, sometimes with dates or berries cooked in with the oats. I like to mix in a little yoghurt once it’s cooked and top it with sliced banana. Yum yum.

Rules for tagging:
1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I would like to tag the following kiwi craft blogs:

Ben and Lottie

Tales of the Red Haired Devil Child

Spinning A Yarn

Anemone

Lovestitches

Seven Stitches

Cherry Berry

I think your blogs are great and I try and check them most days. Some of you I have been reading for a while and others are relatively new discoveries for me, so I would love to find out more about you. I apologise if you have been tagged before. And I will not be at all offended if you don't participate!

And just so I can post a photo, here is a knitting WIP. Getting closer to having something to show you. Can you guess what it's going to be?

Patons Bazaar

Last year when I was visiting my Mum, she gave me a couple of knitting and crochet books that had belonged to my grandmother. She is now in her 80s and has failing eyesight which prevents her from crafting any more, but in her younger years she was a great crafter and I remember her sewing and knitting lots of clothes and toys for me when I was a child. She, along with my mother, also taught me to knit, which I am immensely grateful for.

Here are a few images from one of the books that used to belong to her. It is a Patons Bazaar book (#178), printed in Great Britain. It is not dated, but I assume from the pictures that it is from the 60s or 70s. The book is a collection of knitting and crochet patterns for things to make for fairs. Obviously when this was printed, fundraising fairs were a common enough occurrence to warrant a whole book of patterns dedicated to them.


There are an awful lot of patterns in here that I would never make, but there are also some gems, like this set of tea-cosies (I especially like the knitted windmill one):


And the crocheted black bag with the flowers on it on the back cover:



I also quite like the granny square hot-water bottle cover in this photo:

I only learnt to crochet last year, so my skills aren't up to crocheting a whole granny square afghan yet, but I think I could manage enough squares for a "hottie bottle" cover. Don't know about the green crochet tie just above it though...

If you are interested in some more vintage goodness, I have scanned all the colour pages from this book and put them on Flickr.

A Perfect Day

Today was a public holiday in Wellington. The weather was fine and pretty hot – it reached 28deg C (82.4F), which is pretty rare for us. I had a near-perfect day: a sleep-in followed by a long run along the beach near our house, brunch (at Sweet Mother's Kitchen) and a movie (The Darjeeling Limited) with my love, and then an afternoon and evening of crafting accompanied by a glass or two of NZ Sauvignon Blanc. If only everyday could be as sweet.

Here’s a project that has been on the to-do list for a long time. I finally got around to it this afternoon:


So simple I almost feel guilty posting it. I stretched some Lara Cameron fabric over an artist canvas and secured it with a staple gun. It’s now hanging above the bed in the spare room. I like it so much I might have to move it to our bedroom instead…

I also got some knitting done on a WIP that is not quite ready to post yet. Maybe next week.

Backyard Bounty

The lovely hot weather we have been having over the past few weeks has had a great effect on our vege garden.

The runner beans have now taken over the flimsy trellis I built them, and I have had to attach wire netting to the fence behind them to allow them to grow even taller.


We have had a few good crops of beans off the plants now. There is nothing like stir-fry with beans straight out of your garden!


The roma tomato plants are starting to produce baby tomatoes. Let's hope I can keep the pests away long enough for them to ripen. Looking forward to fresh pasta sauce.


Damson plums on our tree, ready to be picked and made into jam and chutney and maybe even Damson Gin (I've never made the gin before so any tips would be welcome - I hear it is divine).


Lettuce plants conveniently located by the back-door for last-minute picking..

Dishcloths and another tote

I'm back at work this week and we're getting busy again, so I only have time for a quick post.
Here are a couple of finished projects, completed in the last week or two.


Two more knitted dishcloths. Made using Sirdar Just Bamboo. The front one is made using the Pear dishcloth pattern found here. The other one is another Grandmother’s Favorite dishcloth. The latter is made from two different colours of yarn because I ran out halfway through and the LYS didn’t have any of the same colour left when I went back. For future reference, one skein of the Just Bamboo made 2 ½ dishcloths so it pays to buy more than one skein! Apologies for the skewed shape of the Pear one. I didn’t block it and took the photo quickly because I wanted to start using it straight away.




This is another leafy tote, almost identical to one I made for a Christmas gift, except the newer tote has an internal pocket and shorter straps. The main body of the bag is black cotton drill with an accent of Japanese craft cotton. It is lined in a natural coloured homespun. The straps have a contrast lining of the leaf fabric. This one is a birthday gift for my sister-in-law to be (my brother-in-law proposed on Christmas Day!) who lives in Melbourne. They are getting married in November in Melbourne – I am already making a list of craft stores and markets to visit while I’m there!