the cat that won't leave me alone!

Honestly, this boy won't let me do anything without him!

This is him, plonked on my knee, whilst I peruse my favourite blogs.  He's probably trying to tell me that I spend too much time doing this particular activity!

I haven't crafted much this week, Aimee is home from school, and time seems to be scarce around here.  Can't wait until Saturday, when I finally get some free time at a little crafty retreat...

sew mama sew fat quarter swap...

Well, I've received all the fat quarters now, and it's time for the big reveal;

from Terri | Terri's Notebook

She included a neat little case, some buttons and some yarn.... I just LOVE the colours and the fat quarter!

from Maren

I just LOVE paisley and red too! I wish we had a Joann's store in NZ - I know I'd spend up large...

from Regan | Stitch In My Side

She wrote me a note all about the fabric, and I just LOVE the red Dia de los Muertos fabric... It's so cool, my 12 year old daughter has her eyes on that one!

from Jacqui | Hazelnuts

These were the first fat quarters I received for the swap, and I love them! I am especially glad to have found Jacqui's blog too! It's a goodie, and to think she lives in the same city as I do...

from Deb | Works in Progress

Deb not only sent me a fat quarter, but she also included some spotty ribbon, which I'm sure I'll put to good use. :)

from Catherine

Gotta love foodie fat quarters, and I now have enough to make a quilt or something. Although a couple of pot holders would probably be better... LOL!

And last but not least, another foodie fat quarter:

from Viv | Highway Cottage

Who doesn't like strawberries, brings me great reminders of summer and Christmas...

I truly loved being a part of this swap and making new friends, and I loving getting to know people through their blogs, if they have them... :) If you're reading this Maren and Catherine and have blogs, please let me know and I'll add your details.

Thanks to all of the people who swapped fabric with me, I think this was the best swap I've ever joined in, as the postage costs were minimal!

I had lots of difficulty photographing the fabric, because I had a little helper:

I kid you not, he climbed up every time I set the next lot of fabric onto the table! He is currently cosying up on my knee whilst I try to type. I guess he want's some attention, huh!

They do say cat's and crafting go together.... ;)

a new addiction...

I am loving making these little flower brooches, such fun, and I can't stop thinking of new ways in which they could be used! Think; hairclips, bag embellishments...

I am also loving discovering how easy it is to make fabric covered buttons! They look so much better than many of the buttons in my vast collection and it's great how you can personalise them by using your favourite fabric!

Friends made...

Ilove the blogging community. I've made some fantastic "friends" and my daughter Bree has even made a little penpal with one of them - Marion's daughter Barbie.

Today,we had a fantastic surprise when the courier van drove up just before we left for school. We wondered who would have sent something from the UK, and when we saw on the note it was from Barbie - Briahna was super excited. She loves Polly Pocket and is busy playing with her new toys as I type... :) Thanks so much Barbie!! Briahna loves the stamps and did a talk at school about her new little penfriend and what she got her for her birthday!!!

Busy, busy
I'm finally getting around to reading the Shack, after being recommended it by a couple of different sources. So far I'm enjoying the read. Next I hope to read Chocolat and then The Friday Night Knitting Club... Just as well I've got a few good books to read, as I've got a couple of doctor's appointments coming up and will be spending a little bit of time in waiting rooms.

Talking of knitting clubs, tonight is craft group night again. Not sure what I'll be making, but I do want to make some more flower brooches and a felt cover for my tape measure. We're planning a little crafting retreat for next Saturday night and so that should be fun. Think four grown woman making pyjama's and laughing/talking into the wee hours... :D Heaven to me!

Oh well, the laundry folding is calling me, as is dinner prep., so I better take my leave...

D.

pot scrubbing...

Boy, do I hate scrubbing pots! But, when you cook your dog's food think, stuck to the bottom rice! You know that someone's gonna have to clean the gunk, and in my house it's probably going to be me...

In the interest of being frugal and handmade, last year I made a knitted pot scrubber. Boy it was hard on the fingers, and I never want to knit one again! I never knew knitting could hurt so much! It's the tulle - you see.

So I decided that I would try crocheting one... It's super easy, and works even better than the knitted one!

I just crocheted a little circle with some cotton yarn and some strips of tulle - it's not so pretty, and bare in mind this is my first one!

I don't think I could write out the pattern, because I'm no crochet expert, but it's a fairly basic circle. :)

Now, I'm off to scrub that pot!

Cloth of the month | March 2009

I decided to deviate from my usual circular short row cloths this month, and I've made a octagonal cloth.  It is similar to the average granny cloth to knit up.  Very easy!

March Cloth

Octagonal Cloth

I used a bamboo yarn that I picked up from Spotlight...   It knits up looking like army camo!  I used 4mm needles.

CO 21 sts.
*Knit one row.
then; increase at each end of the next row, by knitting into the front and back of first and last stitches.* 
Repeat until you have 45 stitches on your needles.
Knit 30 rows without increasing or decreasing.
*then; decrease at each end of row, by knitting two stitches together.
Next row; knit row.*
Repeat until you have 21 stitches on your needles.
Bind off and sew in the ends.

For easy printing, I know how hard it can be to print from a blog, go here to download this pattern as a PDF file. :) Free Dishcloth Patterns from sew-funky.blogspot.com.

© SewFunky 2009
http://sew-funky.blogspot.com
etsy store: sewfunkynz.etsy.com

oh, the possibilities...

goodbye to the old...

hello to the new!

Yesterday, we picked up the new car, a little european opel vita. She's cute and a whole lot smaller than the old beast! Can you see me smiling at being able to say goodbye to the chariot?! Of course we can only just fit the family in the vita! But as we are trying to conserve petrol and the planet wallet, I don't think it will cause too many problems that we can't get over easily! Hehehe!!!

Look at the damage the wee costly nose to tail caused to our car... It's scary how quickly and easily damage can be done!

Space is at a premium in our new wee car, so look what I made as soon as I got home!

I'm gonna make another one for the other seat, too. I made a boxed bottom and a hidden pocket so that the kids can stash their stuff when we're in the car!

and because Honey is just so photogenic, I couldn't help but add another pic to the post...

Already, Aimee's used it to stash her current read, Roald Dahl's BFG! So looks like it's gonna be handy! :)

Postscript...
New dishcloth for the cloth of the month will be posted either today or tomorrow. It's been designed and is just waiting for me to type up the pattern and photograph the proto-type! The beginning of the month has gotten away on me, what with the excitement of birthdays and new cars...

Birthday Photos

Singstar.

Make Up Session.

Opening Presents.

Dinner time.

Hubbies Birthday cake.