floating world

a teal vest

The vest is finished and I'm really happy with it. I love the teal blue, especially with Ali's eyes, and it is very easy to get on and off, and soft and snuggly.  I made the same size as in the pattern, and it is perfect: not too big to wear now, but a little roomy, so it should hopefully fit for the rest of winter and into spring.

Thank you so much to Sooz for sharing the pattern. The details of my vest are all over on Ravelry, and there is a photo of it being modeled here.

And thanks for the comments on the last post, it made me feel much better about the stroller situation!

this is..... my best op shop find (& some other things)

This is a recent discovery: Last Saturday Mark, Ali and I were pottering around in Camperdown, enjoying the sunshine, when we stumbled on a clearance auction house. There were all manner of treasures inside: vintage tea sets, old postcards, retro furniture... all piled high and covered in dust. The thing that caught our eyes straight away was this dolls house. I left an absentee bid and by Tuesday it was mine for a paltry amount.

It is nice chunky wood and beautifully made - all it needs is a bit of a polish and maybe some new curtains. I'm not sure just how Ali will play with it (right now it is a useful support as he does wobbly laps around the room, holding on to furniture) but I'm hoping it will be part of lots of imaginative playtime in the future.

Thank you to Three Buttons for organising "This is..." and to Lino Forest for this week's topic. It's always fun to play along.

***

Right now it is a gorgeous sunny Sunday morning, Mark and Ali are sleeping in upstairs and I am making the most of the quiet to drink coffee, play on Ravelry, read the paper and hang washing out in the sun. Later we are planning to head to Cockatoo Island to see some of the Biennale. Days like this make me think Sydney is a fantastic place to live... I can't believe it is midwinter and I can go out in a skirt and no tights and not be cold.

Update: Cockatoo Island was fantastic, highly recommended. There are free ferries there from in front of the MCA for the duration of the Biennale (until Sept. 7). I am keen to (i) go back and see more of the art, we saw a bit today but we spent more time just exploring the island and (ii) camp there for the weekend once the Biennale is over and the days get a little longer.

***

A brief aside - usually this is my happy space and I don't like to dwell on bad things or daily irritations, but I would just like to say "Bad Karma to you!" to whoever took my stroller this week. And, Sydney residents, if you should see anyone pushing a stroller with a liner that looks like this please shake your fist at them and shout "Boo! Hiss!"

***

And, since this is already the randomest post ever, here are a couple of blogs I have started reading lately and love.
Garance
Yarned
The Toy Society

brighter

When I was pregnant with Ali I did a bit of research into prams and strollers, and decided to get a Maclaren Vogue. It was light, compact and inexpensive, and according to the almighty Choice they are safe and reliable. Overall I have been really happy with the stroller - we've used it since day 1, it doesn't take up too much room in the boot and Ali seems comfy in it.

However, I have one gripe. It is very, very grey.

I'm not a fan of all the orange and lime fluro baby gear, but I do like a bit of colour. I've been thinking about making a stroller cushion like this for months, ever since reading Kat's post about strollers, but kept putting it off due to lack of naps and other distractions. Once I bit the bullet and sat down to make it, it took all of 90 minutes, so I wish I'd started earlier. This one was made from Ikea fabric, a bit of wadding and some bias tape. Now I've worked out the measurements I have plans for more... perhaps a patchwork one from Cloth scraps? It is the perfect way to use up bits of fabric and bigger prints. I love it when a sewing project works out just how I imagined it, and all the better when it's as quick and simple as this one.

(What I think Maclaren really needs is a Pimp My Ride-style makeover option, to equip the strollers with leopard-print seat covers, sub woofers, flashing lights and disco balls. It would be fabulous, no?)

knitting in the rain

It's been wet all week here, which makes keeping an energetic 9 month old entertained challenging. So far we've been staying (mostly) sane with trips to Gymbaroo and the library. Our local library is great - it has nursery rhyme sessions for babies several times a week, and a great toy section. Yesterday we picked up a xylophone / piano thing for Ali, which he has been bashing away at enthusiastically, and some knitting books for me. The one I'm most excited about is Natural Knits for Babies and Mums - there are some really lovely projects, including a cushion that looks perfect for using up my scraps of Blue Sky Alpacas Cotton and a very sweet boys kimono.

Other rays of sunshine: I am knitting away on Ali's version of Wil's vest. The pattern is fabulous and I love working with the cashmerino. It is especially pleasing that the colour matches so nicely with my knitting bag, which was made by the very talented Allison. And Ali had a massive nap this morning so I had time to sort out my knitting stash, and organise it all on Ravelry - very satisfying. And I cooked lamb shanks for dinner last night, which is perfect wet weather food. And I'm reading Three Cups of Tea, which is amazing and inspirational and puts any gripes I may have into perspective. And Momo is being very cuddly, and is currently asleep on my lap. So despite the weather life is pretty good.

sleeping sack

Another, larger sleep sack from Burda pattern 9640; the ones I made when I was pregnant are outgrown now. The sleep sacks are a key element in my campaign to encourage more consistent sleeping from Ali, so I think I'll make a couple more. I totally recommend this pattern - it's so easy to put together, and it means that the sleeping bags cost almost nothing, whereas if you buy the Grobag ones they're about $60 each. I do like feeling thrifty (it doesn't happen very often).

The fabrics are from Sprout Design and Ikea, and it's lined with an old shirt of Mark's. The shirt was one he had made in KL when we were there on a stop-over years ago, and I think it's Zegna fabric... anyway, it's very soft and feels lovely. And there is a flannelette layer, cut out of an old sheet and sandwiched inside for added cosiness.

I used Amy's bias tape method, which is great, although I made it hard for myself by accidentally buying the super-thin bias tape... not ideal when you are trying to trap 3 layers together. And I had a breakthrough with the zipper... I have always had a phobia of zips, and this was the first one I'd done on the new sewing machine. I followed the instructions in the Janome manual exactly and even though the diagrams are really confusing it all made sense and turned out much tidier than any zip I had done previously. Very exciting! If I do a few more to practice I may actually stop avoiding zips and getting stressed by them. And then maybe I'll finally get around to making myself some clothes. 

top stitching in action

The top stitching photo from the last post was a close up of these pants - pattern M from this book again. Made up in a soft browny/grey Japanese cotton I bought at Tomato before we left Japan. The red top stitching is down the side seams and around the hem.  Nice and simple and soft and crawling-friendly.

this post is brought to you by kleenex, sudaclear and panadol

The baby and I have been struck down by a cold, and neither of us are impressed. Ali is outraged because his nose is running like a tap, he doesn't know how to blow it and hates me wiping it. He keeps gagging on mucus and he's totally off solids. So sad. I am unimpressed because it's the first time I've been sick since I had a baby, and I'm realising that my previous get-well strategy of curling up on the sofa to watch Oprah, read trashy magazines and feel sorry for myself is not an option anymore. I have become a human hankerchief... my top looks like a snail crawled all over it, but it is from a 7-month-old nose. So we have been all about panadol, tissues, and the sudaclear plug in vapour thing here.

On the plus side, being housebound gave me the chance to finish off Ali's hoodie - I really loved this pattern (Knitting Pure & Simple baby tunic), you can literally cast off and put it straight on the baby, there is no seaming at all. And how cool is Kitchener stitch? I had never used it before, and was so excited to work it out. I keep finding that all these intimidating-sounding knitting things are actually not too bad when I try them. (I realise I am sounding like a total knitting geek here. Apologies to all non-knitting readers)

The pants are ones I made a few weeks ago, from a pattern in this book. Most of the stuff in there is for girls, but there are some nice unisex pants, shorts and overalls too. Having found a pattern for crawling-friendly pants at last, I'm going to be making a few more pairs the same to keep Ali's knees cosy over winter. But not just yet. Right now I am going to try and convince Ali to have a nap so I can too. Please send end-of-cold wishes our way...

baby proofing

In antenatal class I remember they talked about baby proofing and suggested doing it before the baby was born. "Pah!" I thought. "Babies don't move for ages. I have heaps of time to baby proof."

Well, the last six months has gone in an absolute flash and we suddenly have a baby who commando crawls, pulls himself up on things and opens draws and cupboards. He seems to have a homing instinct for all things dangerous, and is magnetically drawn to electronic equipment, bins, power cords and sharp corners.

After a few days of torturing myself with visions of him toppling out of the cot and drinking nail polish remover I decided it really was time to baby proof. So, we are now the proud owners of stair gates and cupboard latches. The cot mattress is lowered and the medicine box has been relocated. I drew the line at bump proof corners, toilet latches and those thing you put in electrical sockets, but it is hard to know exactly where the line between reasonable caution and not becoming a victim of the mother guilt industrial complex falls. I am not so worried about Ali breaking plates and things, but I want to make sure he can't do to much damage to himself. Any tips or suggestions are welcomed. There is so much to think about, I hadn't even realised stuff like dishwasher powder was poisonous. This parent thing keeps you on your toes... just when I think I'm on top of it Ali starts doing something new and everything changes.

I suspect this will continue for some time...

hand knits for lazy knitters

Not much knitting has been going on lately, apart from the never-ending scarf. I'm getting really sick of it, but force myself to do a few rows here and there. I know that I'm a very slow knitter but, honestly, this scarf has no place in a book called Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

So to break up the tedium I decided to start on a baby tunic in cotton yarn. I'm hoping that a small project will help my limited attention span. I've had the pattern for this since before Ali was born (I was inspired by the one Sooz made), the yarn since December, and I've finally tracked down needles and cast on... so hopefully there might be a finished object before too long.

But since it will be at least a few weeks, and Ali is short of jumpers that fit in the meantime, I visited the Red Cross shop on Clarence Street. It stocks things made and donated by Red Cross volunteers, including a lot of handknit jumpers, baby blankets and cardigans. Most of them seem to be from vintage patterns, and the knitting is far daintier and more complicated than anything I ever aspire to. For just $20 I bought the stripey one above for Ali - it is a tiny bit too big but the cuffs mean the sleeves stay up so he can wear it already. I can't believe that something brand new, one of a kind and handmade can be bought for so little. It seemed even cheaper because I had just spent $28 at Tapestry Craft on the needles I need for the baby tunic. So at least my baby gets to wear handknits, even if they're not all hand knit by me, and I get to feel virtuous for supporting the Red Cross instead of berating myself for being such an unproductive knitter.

new pants

It's hard to believe that in just half a year this little bundle...

has transformed into this

Ali is 6 months old today, and he's sitting up (with wobbles), eating rice cereal (with limited enthusiasm) and almost-crawling (with great enthusiasm). Even though I do dream about the days when I could sleep for more than 4 hours at a time, he is so much fun, and I love watching him change and grow.

When it was cold in Sydney last week I realised he'd outgrown nearly all his pants, so I made this pair from some blue linen and leaf-print cotton. They're very baggy, and need rolling up, so hopefully they'll fit him for a while. I'm having fun planning a winter wardrobe for him... I'm thinking maybe a handknit jumper and cardigan, a few more pairs of pants and some Nature Baby bodysuits. Of course, this is all (apart from the bodysuits) totally dependent on naps and I am the world's slowest knitter, so we'll see how much of it actually materialises.