Use the force.... and the sewing machine

My dear son is going through a 'Star Wars' phase.  

I happened to stumble on this material on one of my rare trips to Spotlight. (If you go cold turkey and throw out all their promo material you can survive surprisingly well with out Spotlight... who knew.)

 This was my favourite material.  Not his, but now that I've made them up I can't get them off him.  They're supposed to be pjs, but he wore them out for dinner the first night. 

 I'd better sew the next pair before these ones get too smelly.

The pattern is one that has just 'evolved' over time.  I only cut two pieces and once I've ironed all the hem allowances it takes about 15 minutes to sew up.  I made these ones quite a bit bigger than he needs so that they'll last for next year too, I think they may have worn out before then.

It has been a while...

....sorry if you have been waiting for new photos and some more creative stuff.  It's not that I have stopped being creative, I am frequently creative, just not always in ways that can be photographed and posted here.

A couple of years ago (some days it seems like years and years and some days like only yesterday) I started a Masters Degree in Primary School teaching, by distance education.  I have only 2 more trimesters to go.  It has sapped a lot of that excess creativity I had running around, and anything that was left over was poured into being a creative teacher, or at least creatively fulfilling my assignments.

My white blanket sits in a large bag taunting me daily as I have only about 4 squares to go before I join it together.

I have made lots of pjs for the kids.  My daughter is not quite so keen on homemade stuff now but she still likes the pjs if I make them.  My son is quite happy to head to the shops and pick his own material!

I have a thermomix now and cook a lot.  My kids love home cooked anything.  Currently I have been making home made vegemite and cheese scrolls.  They get eaten as quickly as I can churn them out.

I have a couple of photos of a scarf I managed to get made last winter......
...........here he is.

Cute hey?  He's a bit scratchy but I actually like wearing him.

I have lots of white squares finished so I'll try and get them photographed (while I am procrastinating for uni).  Fingers crossed I can get the rest finished soon, I'd love a new blanket this winter.

Starting the year with some squares

While down at Mum and Dad's for Christmas I decided I'd pick up my white blanket again (by the time I finish I'll have to call it The Decade Blanket) and do a few more squares.

Circle Flower - a pattern I designed after starting another pattern that just didn't work for me.

 Pretty Petals

 Double Framed Lace

 Popcorn flower - another one I made up

 Kata Also one of mine, finally got around to making a version for this blanket

 Poinsettia - another original pattern

 On the road again - another pattern I made up

 Not sure what this one is

 Snowfall Square

 Manny Ann's square

 Cygnus

 hmmm, another mystery one

 Majesty Square

I have documented the patterns I made up in a little more detail than I usually do so they are on my very large 'to do' list to get them written out and tested.

Crafting is taking a back seat to University work for a while, so maybe towards the end of the year.

Swapping

 Sometimes I wonder why I do swaps.  I get stressed out and often just flop in a heap or have a panic.

Then I get a beautiful parcel like this and I feel really lucky.

 I forgot how much I love matryoshka dolls until I got this box (on the left) the ribbon and the lovely material.

 Aren't these crochet doilies beautiful?  I think I might find some nice frames and put them on the wall of my craft room - or  I might put them on the front of some project bags, I can't decide.

And then this shawlette is just stunning.  In my favourite colour and in cotton too, I love it.

Beautiful Christmas presents.  Maybe I will do one or two more swaps this year, just remind me to do them when I'm on semester break!

Christmas PJs

 I may have mentioned before that I make lots of pairs of pyjamas that don't ever make and appearance here.  My kids love their handmade pjs - why they won't wear other things I make is still beyond me.

Here are a couple of pairs that I made for Christmas.

Master 4 is still going through his Kenny the Koala phase (will it ever end?) and I found this cute Christmas Koala material in Spotlight before Christmas.  

It's just a light cotton but perfect as the nights cool down.

 I tried to applique a koala on the tshirt - it looks a bit better in real life.

 Miss 7 loves shiny material (Master 4 hates it) so she got scotty dogs and a bone on her tshirt.

 The only problem with the satin ones is that she's so active in them the seams come apart even with over locking and running two or three rows of stitching down them.

Sticky Gee's

For Christmas 2011 we made lots of biscuits.  

I tried out a new recipe from Bakerella - basically it was this recipe before we tinkered with it.

And tinkering we did.  

 My dear daughter doesn't eat brown chocolate (and neither should I but she doesn't like it and I suspect it would do to her what it does to me) so we put in white chocolate and marshmallows.

 The problem (as I saw it) was that we put in too many marshmallows and they came out gooey and sticky.  With the white chocolate they also came out super super sweet, but dear daughter loved them.

So in her honour they were named 'Sticky Gee's'.

We made up other jars of cookie recipe to give to friends and I even made her another jar of cookie recipe full of dried fruit and nuts which she calls 'Breakfast Bar Cookies'.

It's a very easy recipe and although I've had to add more liquid in most of the versions I've made they've all turned out pretty yummy.  We made some for the beginning of school with dried fruit (the mix that has dried mango, craisins and dried blue berries) and white chocolate.  It would be extra nice with nuts but we can't take nuts to school.  They are yummy and seem to give DD the energy hit she needs during the day.

Vogue 1250

 I got hold of Vogue 1250 when Lincraft were having a half price sale on Vogue Patterns.  I had read on other blogs where people said it was an easy sew and worked up  nicely.

This was my first attempt.

 

Yes, I really am that white! I finished it in time to wear to the inlaws Christmas celebration. (Although my dear husband did say 'Are you sure you can sit down?'.... thanks!)

 The material was from Spotlight and is a stretchy cotton - off the top of my head I can't remember what it was.

 I made the facing of the neck larger as some suggested but I don't like the way the neck sits at the moment.  The material has stretch but not nice drape at the neck.

 Apart from that I like the rest of it.

Now that I've made one the next one will be easier - when I can find the time and the space in my craft room.