creative space

yippee!! It's Thursday morning and the rainbow child is at kinder, the milo boy is sleeping. The house is a mess, but it is peaceful and quiet. Some crafting time for me!!! I'm knitting, which is probably no surprise. What precisely?  An Oriental Lily for my Lily.  Of my designs, this is probably the one I've knit the least.  And now that the original one is well and truly too small, she's getting a couple of new ones.  This one is going to be dress length with long sleeves and is knit from some gorgeous yarn cafe Four Bags Full merino in the 'Maia Jade' colourway.

It looks a little like this so far....

I have 300g of the 4BF and I knit the sleeves first out of the 100g ball just in case the skeins weren't closely matched. But 100g wasn't quite enough for the top of the bodice and the length for Lily's long long arms so I had to use some of the 200g ball. I was really really pleased it was a perfect match and even the pooling matches. Which is pretty incredible for hand-dyed yarn!!!

I've used Heirloom Color Works 8 ply to work the obi and the cuffs. It is an absolutely perfect match, if you put a strand of the blue from the maia jade and a strand from the Color Works next to each other, you cannot tell the difference. Exact same shade!!!

Other things going on in my creative space at the moment is some sewing!!!! Shock horror! I have dusted off the machines and have been busy puttering away on the machines. I am indeed a patient and putter sewer, definitely not a whip it up quickly time of gal. I am patience and precise.  Apart from some secret chick business, I am working on a little elephant.  A little elephant from Jodie from Ric Rac's pattern, Parsley and Beet.  What is even more astonishing is that I only bought this pattern on Sunday at the Stitches and Craft Show and I am already using it!!! That really is pretty unheard of for me, you have no idea how many patterns I have sitting here I have bought and still not used. Actually, you probably do. I think it's a common crafting trait.

Lily chose the fabric for those one, which is a test run until I dye the doctor's flannel I also bought form Jodie to make a spesh one.  

All was going swimmingly with this yesterday, until Toby decided to empty a cold cup of tea over the fabric mountain he and Lily had created from my quilting fabric box (the distraction method I employed for some sewing time) EEK!!!  frantic rush to the washing machine ensued, and luckily it was only one load of fabric that was affected, and nothing sacred.  I pinned this together with Toby sleeping on my lap and then sewed it with him sitting on my knee.  The tiny little circle feet do make for challenging sewing with an 18 month old helper who has a different idea as to what tension I should be sewing at. This afternoon after kindy, Lily and I will stuff and finish her off. Then we shall make her a dress.

Other scores from the S&C show included some essential Ink and Spindle and Kristen Doran fabric and a purse kit from Nicole Mallalieu.  How good am I for not breaking my fabric buying ban!!! (Disclaimer: hand printed fabric does not count as fabric buying)

And a lovely softie pattern and some yarn from Kate who masquerades as both Two Little Banshees and One Fat Slug.

more creative spaces over at Kirsty's.