muppinstuff

more knitting and sewing, could I be turning into a craft blog?

I've finally figured out how to do moss stitch again and I find it mesmerising, obsessive and infuriating all at the same time. This week I've been knitting in the tea room at work, knitting in front of the telly, outside in the sun, in the back room and beside the heater in the kitchen in spare moments.  I'm making a scarf, in deep red fine mohair with some acrylic in it. Reds, pinks and dark greens, all with a good dose of black, these are the colours ringing my bells at the moment. Combinations that I used to really like twenty years ago. I'm using my favourite green needles from the opshop with the black ends, which just happen to be the right size and I'd show you a picture but my monitor is away being fixed (again, what is it with my beautiful computer? is it too clever by half?) and I can't be bothered setting up to down load my camera onto G's computer.  Anyway the effect on the needles is quite pleasing. The knitting is coming up quite lacy and sits nice and flat, which is good for a scarf. Indeed, I'm considering pulling the other green one out and re-doing it in moss or garter stitch because the way stocking stich curls into a big glob is irritiating around my neck. But anyway, I'm not that far along with the red scarf because each time I lay it on the table and marvel at how I'm making a fabric, looking at all the intertwining strands, I notice a mistake twenty rows down, crack the shits and pull it all out. Funny thing is I don't care, it's been a stressful week and knitting is mediative, better than continual comfort eating or pacing the floor. Especially when I force myself to focus on each stitch and concentate on technique.

A house we like is being auctioned tommorrow, and let's just say that this week I've learnt alot about how realestate works in a soggy market. Quite a different ballgame from last year. So, if for whatever reason, we don't buy this house tommorow, that's my lesson. In other news, the car has sprung a dodgy clutch and has to be taken to the mechanics, and he's saying that it might be expensive. Although he's one of those lovely mechanics that has quite a conservative view of expensive and I'm almost never shocked by the bill. And Gerard's going away for a few days next week to do some work for a friend, so it's not the most convenient time to be carless. But I don't care. With mum's help, we'll manage and I have my knitting.

Did some sewing today too (after shopping and the hour and a half small child dressing session complete with ear splitting screams just on case one thinks that I'm living the ideal craft life). I made a green wool skirt and might have used the wrong pattern. A simple a-line would have been better, I think. There was lots of unpicking while watching Pingu and getting jumped on and wrestled by Grace. Both of us nearly got a quick unpick up our eye at one stage. Never mind, I think I've finished it, except for a final adjustment at the waist.  Maybe I won't like it and I'll have to make up the other piece of green material I have and salvage this for something else.

OK time to go and do a row or two before bed....

ps I'm probably not going to turn into a proper craft blog. Next weeks obsession might be the tree dahlias or one hundred ideas for small bathrooms. Just been thinking about it a bit because I realised the other day that I've been blogging for over two years now and I thought it would be all about craft. Because I thought I'd be living this blissful sunshiney craft filled life. Now life's pretty good, but a different kind of good. Gosh, time files doesn't it.

more sewing

I'm on a bit of a sewing campaign at the moment. Maybe it's the possibilty of moving house and having to pack up all my material and set up another workspace, or indeed maybe not having even a semi-dedicated workspace for a while. Not that anything has happened yet, we're still at the if and when stage. Still I can see that establishing a new home is going to cut into my sewing time, such that it is. For sure.

So far, I've made two pairs of trousers, neither of which I thought were a great success. However I put them through the wash the other day and was certain that one pair was destined for the opshop, but I wore them today and really they weren't too bad. I think I'll keep them afterall, with some tightening in the back, I think they'll be quite good even. Grace on the other hand has decided that the skirt I made her is for other childrens and has to go in the opshop. Can't even get her to try it on, even with the promise of a biscuit. I realise that perhaps the material was a bit weighty to have that much gather around the waist, but I wouldn't have thought that it would be uncomfortable over a singlet. It has several features I thought she would like; pink, stripes, a ruffle and pockets.  The trousers in the same fabric but with butterfly pockets that she loves, except that they're on pants, have had even less of a look in. Although she did wear the smock (pink with butterfly fabric raglan arms and a pouch pocket) I made her for painting the other day. So I'm told.

Sewing or shopping for Grace is such a minefield. I can't predict what she'll consent to wearing, even when she came to the shop with me and chose it herself. And getting her to wear something she is determined not to wear is extremely difficult. Even with closed choices, ie the red skirt or the pink skirt. So I don't really want to spend too much time or money on her wardrobe, but on the other hand I want her to be warm and comfortable and as much as I hate to say it, look stylish in some way. I wasn't keen on the butterfly fabric, it's a gary pink with badly printed butterflies on it, but Grace loves it. But even that wasn't working. Oh well, maybe in another year we'll be able to work out together what she'd like me to make her.

My next project is a dark green sort of a-line skirt out of some wool crepe I found at the opshop back in the day when the brotherhood had a fantastic fabric table. And a pair of heavy weight black cotton but not denim pants. When those are finished, I have a really fabulous piece of back wool suiting with 5% elasticene for some stretch. For pants. If I get them right, they'll be the mainstay of my winter wardrobe for years to come. You know, the pants you can wear almost anywher, that are warm and comfortable and wash well. And after that some tops for me and Grace. Ambitious, but I guess planning it is half the fun. Truth is, I'd feel pretty happy to get at least half of it actually done.

Have also started knitting at night. Very remedial. I made a short scarf from some wool my mum gave me and I'm pretty impressed that I managed to put a hole in the middle, by design. And that I figured it how to do this. Not so impressed that I couldn't knit in moss stitch which I thought I'd done before. Anyway, we have someone staying tonight, who said she's teach me, so I'd better stop being anti-social (or unwinding from a tough day at playgroup depending on your point of view) and go out there and knit.

time off for good behaviour

Not that I think of my life as a prison sentence, indeed far from it. However as I walked out of my morning GP appointment (liver now doing fine, yay!) into a brand new day with nothing much in it that I had to do, that phrase "time off for good behaviour" popped into my head. Normally on a Tuesday, I sleep too late (yeah I know, so much to complain about), rush round like a chook with my head cut off for the rest of the morning doing sundry domestic tasks while also trying to sneak in some blog reading and general loafing around before a rushed lunch and heading off to playgroup with Grace. Which I do really enjoy. Especially the playdough. And the walk, yeah I love the walk. Holding hands and talking. But it's also nice to have a break from routine. So G took Grace to playgroup today and I went shopping. 

The other day I realised that all, bar one, of my winter t-shirts pre-date Grace by at least two years. And one of those has hair dye on it. So that's my fashion goal for this year, to try and replace some of those really old and tatty clothes. Unless of course, I still really like them. Shopping was more or less succesful, some t-shirts and a kind of modern looking vesty thing, which I hope will make me look less daggy at work and stop me getting cold. Would have liked to have bought some pants as well, but in the only style that looked remotely like something I might wear, there was only a really big or really small size left. I tried on the really big pants in true dysmorphic fashion and they were really, really big. I have to remind myself that plus size sizing is a wild beast without reason and that in this brand I am generally at the smaller end of the middle range. So it's back to trying to make some pants. I'm now on my second pair. The first have been abandoned as a lost cause and the second are kind of OK but have a funny bag in the middle of the leg below the knee (which I might be able to fix by making the waist sit better or taking in the sides). Although I'm pretty proud of the fly front (normally I just do elastic waists which I'm tired off), I'm yet to decide whether I like them enough to wear.

Also tried to find some new bras and some tights. My favourite bra is rarely in stock in my size, today was no exception, and why oh why isn't there an opaque tight on the market that's a real plus size and long enough for a tall woman? With all the crap that you can buy out there, you would think that these things wouldn't be so hard. And why are this year's winter ranges full of short sleeved tops? Not just vesty things, but like t-shirts? One shop assistant told me it was to do with layering, but I couldn't see it. Not without the actual layering piece. Which seemed to be something one would have to already own. Or perhaps magic out of thin air.

So what else did I do? I had spicy eggplant and crunchy chicken with rice for lunch at my favourite food court. Coffee before I went home, although I still haven't found a good coffee spot in the city where you can sit and watch the people go past. Myer food hall used to be my quick stop of choice but now it's gone and replaced with a useless tights department. Pity, because there's demolition going on, which would have provided endless watching, eventhough it's a bit sad. And I went to the camera shop to get a remote control thingy and then looked at expensive lenses, asked lots of questions and displayed my ignorance more than once. But it was quiet and the sales people didn't mind. It was quite fun really. And I saw  a woman cross the road and then seeing an old lady in a red coat hesitating at the crowds coming towards her, offer to escort her across. The old lady accepted the offer of help and it was one of those heartwarming moments you just see every now and then. And now I should really go to bed, because it's work tommorrow.

slow days of autumn

Have obviously packed away my summer clothes too soon. It's been glorious, balmy weather, with just the faintest chill at night. Definitely too hot to wear my boots and skirt look to work. It's also apparent that I'm a bit lacking in the transeasonal type apparel that works really well at this time of the year. Some new pants are being made, but oh what a slow process it is, because I've decided that I really can't do any sort of complicated sewing at night. Too much unpicking. Too much black unpicking. Not enough light, leading to a vicious cycle of swearing and frustration. So I'm trying to go slowly and make fewer items, but well.

Last night in the soft night I walked to the council meeting. Brunswick council chamber is 1920s or 30s with wood panelling and a few modern touches from the 60s or 70s. Proceedings started with a buzz of excitment, much shuffling of paper and settling. There were a lot of questions about public toilets, especially the self cleaning ones, which don't seem to be self cleaning well enough. How hard would it be to provide more public toilets and a better regime of cleaning? Anyway, there were lots of pool people there, and many questions were asked. All in preparation for budget time. There was also a big clock right behind me that startled me with the clicking, clunking sound of the hand moving. After questions, there's a little break before the council moves on to all their big agenda items (must stay for that sometime) and we repaired to the beer garden of a nearby pub for conversation and I realised that two beers is one too many. Pfff, cheap drunk. Still it was a rather good night out.  I walked home and it was still warm. I watched Oceans Twelve on telly long after G had gone to bed saying it was rubbish, thinking this is not an action movie, it's a chick flick. Then I stopped feeling pissed and went to bed.

Today was still slow and silky. But I had this moment at work today, after I had worked through a particular situation with a complicated interplay of policy, procedures and how the computer system works, and fixed something when I thought, I think my brain might be returning. Goodness. It's a happy feeling.

ps The photo is of my favourite blue wall on the way to the supermarket (taken last weekend). I wish I knew how to prevent the green shadow with this camera. I'm thinking it might be fun to sit there for half an hour one day and take pictures as people go past. With the big, reliable camera of course. Although nobody takes you seriously with a small orange point and shoot. Which kind of has advantages too.

of cows and clouds

I do believe I may have a type of bloggers block. Ye olde compose fantastic posts in my head but unable to write them down sort block. Or perhaps, afternoon naps on languid afternoons and telly on balmy nights are seducing me into idleness. Although I have started purging our possesions again; there's possibly a car load to go back to the opshop piled on the verandah. Yep. And when I can get to my computer, I've been working on my photos and wondering why I take so many. Like with material clutter, it takes me ages to sort through them. I'd like to have an easy knack of keeping only the really, really good ones, but that must take a relentless discipline. A bit like people who have a capsule wardrobe of perfect matching outfits that fits into a small suitcase. That they update and maintain in a measured and planned way. Sigh.

So anyway, the beach holiday feels a long time ago. Life has slotted back into the Melbourne groove. I was going to show you some cows and clouds, and talk about this and that, but I've forgotten exactly what so I might just move right onto the craft weekend. It was excellent. And this time, I remembered to take my sewing machine pedal. The great plans I had of sewing many outfits didn't exactly come to fruitition, but some things take longer than you expect. And really like always, the best part of all was the company of fabulous women; Sooz, Suse, Di, Lauren, and the blogless but just as fabulous Cath, Jody, Maria and Stephanie. Working and talking, looking at fabric and yarn, eating fantastic food (extra special mention and gratitude here to Maria, who spent most of Saturday cooking - as her craft!).

 

As for the crafting, I finished the doll's quilt that was going to be my holiday handsewing project until I worked out that I don't enjoy hand quilting. Dolly also had some new stuffing inserted and received a new outfit. A dress and some underpants (something I'd like Grace to aspire to). Anyway both the outfit and the quilt have been very well recived. I'm also halfway through a top for me, from some quite nice Nana silk I bought at the opshop last year. Hopefully I'll finish it before Christmas. While we're on matters craft related, I was kissed by the Craft Fairy just before we went away and received a package of some lovely fine cotton yarn. Thank you Craft Fairy! I'm yet to work out a project for this, but maybe I should have a go at some knitting? My knitting is very basic, but I have to learn sometime. I think this would be nice to knit with? As opposed to crochet, which would also be nice.

Coming home from the craft weekend was the end of my big holiday. It was hot. So hot that going back to work was almost a relief.  And evenings were spent in the heat battling (or giving up) the hundred and one things that take up your time when your computer has had all the programs reloaded. Like learning a newer version of my photo software, just when all I really wanted to to do was get my photos done. In the heat. Oh, I could have cried. As it turns out, once I started with the new program, I realised it's way better than the old one, no more using photoshop just to straighten a horizon line. Have also had to get Dad to help make my outlook work again, what no address book? Anyway it's all done. I'm back online. Properly. Now I just have to figure out why the Flickr uploadr isn't working well like it used to. I tried the new version, it kept crashing and when it worked, was very slow. Which is a pity, because it looks quite the business. So I went back to the old one, which is having issues I've never had before. And why the Feedburner email subscription form isn't working properly on the pool site. There, that'd be a list almost... I do belive the block is gone now.

And it's raining. Real rain !!! With thunder! There's a whole lot of washing on the line, but who cares?! Rain....

the tale of how we bought horsey and I redicovered the joy of sewing

I went opshopping three times last week! How delightful. First there was after the beach on the Tuesday. An opshop I remember from visiting my grandmother by train and bus maybe twenty years ago. And it's still pretty much the same. I do enjoy an old fashioned opshop. We bought quite a few books, my favourite being a Rudyard Kipling tale of elephants with beautiful illustrations. And a funny top for Grace which she loves because it's pretty and cute, and insists on wearing over her singlet. Which amuses me a little because it's hard to get her to wear anything other than dackies and just singlet. I also found the crochet bedpread there, for eight dollars! It's handmade from beautiful soft cotton and I have visions of it being Grace's summer bedspread in our new house (when and if). And a lovely piece of silk (pretty sure, although have yet to do burn test). I worried that the design might be a bit busy or too nana for me, but it's such gorgeous soft, light fabric. And just wouldn't leave my hands.

It's now in my sewing pile. For after I finish this binge of work clothes sewing. Two skirts and a slightly dodgy refashioned top this weekend. Considering that we also went and looked at houses, did shopping and other weekend hoohah, I'm pretty pleased with that. No photos because I was too busy cutting, faffing and sewing. Unfortunately when I washed the other skirt I made, it lost so much colour and sheen that it now looks very worn in. Not in a totally bad way and I still really like it, but I think it's a weekend and going to the beach kind of skirt.

Anyway, mid week we dropped a load off at the brotherhood. And came home with more yet more stuff, but still less overall. Which is good. Nothing too exciting there, just some old magazines. The real haul was on Friday after I went for my (should be more) regular thyroid function blood test. Grace was very good at the doctors, played with the toys in the waiting room and then sat on the little stool next to me while the nurse slapped my arms around and tried to remember which vein she used last time. Afterwards at Savers, I took Grace into the changerooms with some summer clothes we selected together and she told me they were all too big or too small, give to bubby-lee. Even dresses or tops that fit well. Sigh. I think she's still too young to help select her clothes, which is a pain because if she really doesn't like something, it involves no end of drama to get her to wear it. I try to pick things that are practical, that she will like and offer limited choices and pick my battles but, as far as I can see, there's no reasonably reliable laws as to what she does and doesn't like. Even the aforementioned dackies and singlets can be tricky.

After hanging the rejected items on the return rack we found some books and I did a deal that if she came up the back with me to look at tea towells and fabric, then on the way back she could play with the toys. Which we did. She started playing with a slightly older girl and it was all going well until the older girl got down a plastic dolls pram. That Grace instantly decided she wanted. I said no, because she already has a dolls stroller. There was howling and the other little girl was kind of egging her on. I looked away and noticed a felt horse. I pulled it from the shelf and realised it was a homemade hobby horse. Not great felt, but kind of kooky and charming. I gave it to the girls to play with. Grace liked it, but the other girl raced away with it, riding all around the shop. In the end, I told Grace that we had to go home now, or we'd be late for lunch and that as the other girl was playing with horse we weren't going to buy it today. More howling and some kicking and screaming. After the storm abated, I sat her up on the bench and she looked all woebegone, horsey come home with Grace? The Savers lady looked at me, did you want the horse? She didn't think the other woman would buy it and went to see. Now, tantrums don't as a rule get results around here, but I would have bought the horse anyway, if the other girl hadn't run off with it.

Grace rode horsey all the way back to the car (except for crossing the road) and has been telling me all about girl play horsey, lady in shop get horsey, thank you lady, horsey come home. On Sunday, horsey had lunch (salad) and then had a afternoon sleep on the sunroom floor with blanket over her. While I sewed and Grace played with my buttons. The buttons are no longer sorted according to kind in little plastic dealer bags but a big joyful muddle. Which gives me a precious thrill. Especially since when I came home from work (aargh) tonight, Grace asked, mummy do sewing and play with mummy's buttons? I see so much more sewing in the future.

Thinking about another houses post. There was a fabulous one, which even though it probably won't be ours, was great to visit, but haven't processed either the pictures or my thoughts yet. One thing at a time.

blue and green

The other day I made a new skirt from an old one I bought from Savers last year. I rather liked the eighties material and had planned on just easing out the waist a bit. Trouble is, circular skirts with gathered waists make larger ladies look even more like sacks of potatoes. My first remake, which involved fitting a new waist band and redoing the pleats, didn't work. Then I remembered a pattern my sister Betty uses alot. It's basically a bias cut at the back which comes to the side front then has a straight panel centre front. Sits a bit like an a-line skirt. So I took a deep breath, channelled Molly Ringwald (the scene in Pretty in Pink where she remakes the prom dress -  although I think she wrecks it) and got out the scissors. The pop buttons down the front went, as did the pleats and the original hem. I had to join a piece for the front panel and then just went crazy with squares wrong way and right way up. Enjoying the way the light fell on them.  I attached a loop of ribbon (saved from t-shirts that always have this useless bit of ribbon in the shoulder seam) to the waist from which to hang my ID tag in case I wear it to work. Which I think I will, perhaps with something blue. Because I love blue and green together. Especially in summer.

It's a bit hard to see, but Grace is wearing sandals. We've finally found some shoes she'll wear and it makes such a difference. I'm wearing my stinky birks, which I'm going to wash before I go back to work and some comfy trousers my sister Betty made for me year before last. With a chainstore t-shirt which I think is a bit low cut in the neck. The scarf to hold back my hair is in favour again, especially when sewing or cooking. I'm on a bit of a wardrobe improvement binge at the moment, sewing, shopping, fixing and sorting out. The last bit of hot weather saw me scraping for acceptable work outfits, but given my current state of mind, I'm aware that I could be being a bit neurotic about it all. Especially given the slack dress standard at work. Ah well. Nonetheless, I am pretty pleased with how this skirt turned out.

Peek through other wardrobes here.

p.s. I did change the photo this morning. Just matched the words better I think. Old one here. 

we love it

Last Thursday when I got home from work and before we headed off to Hobart, there was a a parcel waiting for me. It was very exciting, a welcome break in a trying and busy day. Grace helped me with unwrapping and the first thing she said was, we loove it. I'm trying to catch her particular intonation here, because it's very serious, yet also funny and cute. The next two things she said were; it's Grace and then it's Grace's? And I said no, it's for mummy, from one of her friends on the computer.

Grace was OK with that because what's mine is generally hers too, and we put it up on the shelf in the kitchen for everyone to enjoy, next to the yellow rabbit eggcup and blue tea cannister. In the longer term, it's a toss up whether to put this painting above my desk or in the back room near my sewing shelf and where the light falls in particularly pleasing ways. It's a present from Sue at fiveandtwo. A while ago, Sue asked for a photo, and to be honest, I was quite chuffed to be asked. And it prompted me to start learning how to print my pictures. Something that ended up taking quite a few weeks but that I've been meaning to do for ages.

So thank you Sue, we love it!

pleasant sunday at home

We didn't buy the house this weekend and apart from attending two auctions with mum for a look see, I took the weekend off. The last house put me (and us) in such a state of tension and anxiety that I really didn't feel I could think straight. Let alone make a sensible decision about something so big. It's OK though, I think we've narrowed down the area we're looking in. We'll be able to look at fewer houses in a more relaxed and ordered state of mind. It still astounds me the price that a modest house on a smallish block will go for in these parts, but looking at the newspaper, I realise that it's not quite as crazy as on the other side of town.

Today I relaxed, took Grace to the park in the morning which was fine. Only three tantrums, including a really good one on the service station floor because I bought her a lindt ball rather than a sherbet lolly as part of the deal for walking all the way from the park. Then on the way home she told me how much she likes chocolate, yummy. After lunch, G went to visit our friend Steve in hospital and while Grace was napping, I bumbled around doing the odd chore, put a whole lot of Grace's soft toys from the opshop through the washing machine, tidied my desk a bit and cleaned out my sewing area alot. And then started a project. Fun sewing, rather than the boring dark grey work pants I was planning to make. This photo made me realise how tatty the cushion on the chair of mank had become. But I'm rather partial to this cushion cover and had been in denial about how bad it was getting.

So I decided to use some material from my second stash, the unofficial one in the laundry, and make old into new. I'm rather pleased with how it's turning out. The light went before I could take a picture of all the over sewing, but it has a roughly quilted like effect. I'm going to use some red buttons I bought in a garage sale about ten years ago on the back and I'm hoping there will be nice frayed edges once it goes through the wash and that the effect will be restrained and deliberate tatt rather than lazy/slack tatt. Or I could call it shabby chic, I suppose.

Anyway as I was sewing, the lovely light came in through the sunroom windows and Grace played on the floor, feeding dolly a pinecone and giving a newly clean tinky tinky his medecine from something she found in the wastepaper basket. It was rather lovely and I reflected on how much I sometimes enjoy quiet domesticity on the weekend. Today, even hanging out some washing and doing the dishes was pleasant. It isn't always, of course, but today it just was.

The 'putie wrap is finished

Sort of. I learned a very valuable lesson with this project. And it's this; work your ends in as you go. All of them, without fail. That way when you crochet the next row, you anchor the ends in and they stay in. That's what Kay (my mum) said as I tried to work in some strands that had come loose for about the fifth time. And don't cut them off so short, she added. Not to worry, it's done. Even if it will need some ongoing attention.

In case you hadn't guessed, it's a wrap to wear while I'm on the computer and it's cold. In fact I'm wearing it now and I'm feeling rather cosy. The cat likes to sleep on it too. Yes, that's my computer and my side of the study. I haven't changed my screen saver since last time I took a picture in here.

It took a little longer to make than I orginally thought, because after I'd pieced it all together and done at least five rows of edging, I decided that it really wasn't big enough to be truly snuggly. So I pulled the edging out, re-jigged the squares, made a few more and then re-edged it. I'm glad I did, because as G says once it's finished, you don't think about the extra work it took to get it right. Whereas if it really isn't what you wanted, you would think about that all the time.

The wool is from my oddment pile, which I think might have come from Kay a couple of winters ago when I was going through a hat making phase. It ranges from four ply to eight ply so it's a bit bumpy in places. At one stage I thought I would buy some wool for the joining and edging but that seemed against the spirit of the project, so I used what I had. And as I'm hoping we'll be getting a mortgage later this year, I'm being fairly tight. Not so tight that I'd give up broadband internet but I'm trying not to buy stuff I don't need. It's possible that I could crochet from my Mum's stash for many, many years to come but I do think that one day I'd like to make a rug in planned colours. Next year maybe. I think I have enough projects to keep me going until spring.