search for a supermodel, d'ya think?

We've had the Olympics on the tv a bit so I've been noticing some of the really crap tv shows being advertised, and the whole premise of this one just makes me cringe.  But when I asked Lily to model her new trousers for me I couldn't but help being reminded of it. Check out the petulance!!  She thinks she's pretty funny when she does this!!!

I love this one, it's just a picture perfect runway pout!!

The pockets on these pants 'Lily Pads' comes from fabric designed by the very talented Kristen Doran.  

cute cute cute ~ the newborn stash

How bloody gorgeous are these!!!!

Cute little adorable cloth nappies from the gorgeous Leah of Kidz in Cloth fame. I recently did a trade with Leah, I made this pinnie  for her little girl and also sent her a pasta maker we weren't using and she came up with these little things!! 

How cute cute cute!!! Our little bub will be nappied in all cloth, just like Lily was. Seriously I don't know why anyone would take the ugly plastic landfill option over these.  Cute and environmentally friendly versus chemical plastic petrochemical stuff  that sits for hundreds and hundreds of years in landfill.  They're really easy to use too ;) Don't be fooled by ridiculous stories of soaking etc. 

Lily loved them so much too that she took them over and told me I wasn't allowed to touch them as they were for her .... fairies!!! Cheeky tot!!

computer geeks ~ the good, the bad....

Some days I love those with that close affinity with the way computers work. I'm definitely not one of those people which is probably why my laptop met an unfortunate  end saturated in a wee spillage of lager just before Christmas.  Lucky for me, while my dodgy laptop was beyond repair the computer techies at Andy's work were able to access the harddrive and copy everything on it to CD.  This has been sitting here since then, and I haven't been able to access it as my laptop was an IBM and we only have Macs here.

Then last night when I was knitting a Mini Wonder Soaker I realised I had lost the page that contains the crucial leg decrease instructions. I might have sworn... a bit.  My download on the pattern had expired so I was a bit annoyed at myself.

Then it dawned on me, it's a pdf file, maybe the Mac could still read it... yep, it can!!! And it could also access all my photos and all my other knitting pdfs. Yay!!!

Yesterday, I worshipped the computer geeks!!

Today, my Mac geek husband decided he needed to do something flashass to his new laptop to make it work better. It does, but he also lost all my emails. GRRR!  And hence my address book too.

He's been away so I haven't checked my emails since Thursday night so have no idea what emails I may have received since then.

Tonight I curse the computer geek!

girls' weekend

Lily and I had a lovely long girls' weekend just gone, the one she calls The Prince was off at some ridiculously early hour Friday morning (4 am *gasp*) filming for the weekend. He didn't get home until nearly midnight last night. So we had lots of lovely mummy and daughter time, no different from the rest of the week but without the break that Daddy walking in the door after work affords.

Lily missed her daddy something crazy and told him this morning she didn't want him to go away on a trip ever again. something about it being a weekend and her knowing her dad was away did make her more demanding on my time than she normally is; I played all sorts of "fun" princess, doll, mermaid and fairy games. Read about a billion books. Dressed a thousand paper dolls. And was quite worn out by the end of it. 

 Last night despite my Chinese Olympic protest, I relented and turn them on for some respite. I thought Lily might like the swimming, which she did, but she LOOOVED the gymnastics and was hilariously trying to copy their moves!!!

I did manage to finally finish off  a few pieces that I've been slowly working on.  Things are slow now we're in the third trimester.

So some fleece longies for the shop, they shall go up this evening :)  The red ones are little little little!!!! 

this is ... my trade secret

Well, I'm getting my ass into gear and getting back into the "this is" game.  This week's topic comes from Amelia. 

I did think about posting my "trade secrets" LOL for machine appliquing and how to get nice rounded curves and lovely flat satin stitching on all different fabrics, including stretches but decided that probably needed some in action shots and... well, it's amazing I'm remembering to blog this!!

so I decided on some other tips, that I'm often surprised sewers don't know. Not really trade secrets by any stretch of the imagination but hopefully helpful to someone just the same.

1. Needles 

I can't express how important it is to use not only the right type of needle but also the right size needle for the fabric and task you're sewing.  It will give you a much better finish every time, and really it only takes a couple of seconds to change a needle.  When I'm making a pair of my pants that I sell, I use three or four different size/type needles.  

If you're not sure what needle to use, check the users guide that came with your machine; good machines will generally have a table or some instructions in there to help you out :)

And change your needles regularly, eight hours of sewing time is plenty for any needle.  This little tomato thing helps me keep track of how many hours I've used my different needles for.  I like to begin a new special project with a fresh needle too. 

2. Time

is precious and often in short supply when you're a mum sewing but.. taking your time on a project and paying attention to the little details wields much better results. You might be able to whip up a pair of pants in an hour, but put in a bit more time and deliberate over each step and you'll have a well made pair of pants that you'll be proud of.  It can be the difference between something you'd only let your child wear around the house, or something you want to show off. 
3. Scissors

Growing up we all knew in our house that Mum's sewing scissors were only for cutting fabric. Great rule to have, only use your sewing scissors for fabric... nothing else! 

green

the colour theme continues....

and some more knitting.

This is a cute little kimono jacket for the unborn one. But I have to confess I started knitting this November last year, it's knit from a slight variation of the Clementine Baby Kimono in pear tree 4ply yarn in acacia, which gauges more like a 3 ply I think.  My plan was to knit two as a gift! OMG!!! what was I thinking, all that ribbing on 3.25mm needles was insane and I just couldn't face another one.  Actually, I couldn't even face seaming it up once I finished it so it has sat unfinished since January. I finally got around to seaming it last week and it has been added to the little bub's stash of woollies.

some more green knits. these are going into a parcel that will be sent of to my little nephew Asher this week. 

three pairs of longies for the gorgeous little man; two revamped, with extra leg length added, defluffed and relanolised in the gorgeous sonnet wool care from the yarn cafe.
And one new pair, a belated birthday gift. Beautiful Monsterknits 8ply BFL dyed by the master dyer Lily Rainbow.  He will look adorable in these with his cute little glowing red curls. 

Today we went to a family christening for our darling little niece Emily. Coincidentally, the priest in the church overseeing the ceremony (Catholic) was wearing bright green robes; a very pretty green indeed. Lily asked on the way home, "why was the man at the christening wearing a dress?" That's a hard one to answer in three year old terms, Andy started talking about tradition and stuff LOL 

In the end, she got the simple answer that sometimes for important occasions like christenings, weddings, etc. men like to wear dresses.  She could understand this as there is a photo at home of Andy in a kilt from a wedding where he was a groomsman.  

The Rainbow Dress ~ smaller sizes!

Finally I have gotten around to writing this up in some smaller sizes. Some of the figuring comes compliments of the knitting brain of Katherine from StitchyMama Handknits who sells dresses knit from this pattern if you're looking for one to buy. Check out her store, she makes some absolutely beautiful stuff!  Sue and Nat of Woolly Butts also sell from this pattern, and run another woolly store that is chock a block full of drool worthy woolliness! 

You may wish to refer to the full pattern for better instructions; these instructions may not be as detailed as the original due to trying to squeeze so many sizes in here.

PLEASE NOTE: the sizings here are based on the calculations of a 27 week pregnant woman wielding a calculator and some brain straining maths skills. They have been test knitted but inevitably, I still expect some errors, so any feedback would be most welcome :D 

Oh look, different pics of Lily in her rainbow dress LOL 

PLEASE NOTE: the rainbow dress pattern is no available as a free pattern, please visit either Ravelry, my ozebaby store or click on the side bar to purchase a copy of the updated and muchly improved rainbow dress complete with a whole plethora of options for you to choose!!!