Crunchy Crafter

Word Art

2010-08-11T14:55:00.003+12:00

I have been redecorating our lounge over the past few months and have finally got into the fun parts - the ART.

First off is this piece.

I bought the canvases from Tanjis which seemed like a really good price and speedy delivery. The letters and numbers are from Spotlight.

Was pretty simple but very effective. Have been thinking of adding to it.

2010-08-09T11:08:00.001+12:00

IMG_1809, originally uploaded by Rebecca Gunn.

A long while.

2010-08-09T11:01:00.001+12:00

IMG_1806, originally uploaded by Rebecca Gunn.

Well, after a big break I am back.

We have been renovating our house and so the creating has been thrown on the back burner.

The last couple of weeks i have found a fantastic pattern from Sam Lamb. She has some beautiful and free vest patterns. Here is Miss2 modeling hers.

2010-08-09T10:55:00.002+12:00

Pretty damn SLACK

2009-05-13T09:03:00.012+12:00

WOW - My last post was at the start of the year! How terrible.

It has been pretty hectic this year, with a bit of craft thrown in but mostly work. One thing that has caught my attention is socks. Yes socks seem to be the new fad that is sweeping the globe. They are sooo easy to transport and pretty darn quick to knit up.

I have been doing a bit of dyeing too.... A bit of sewing..... But to be honest, mostly working and bring up my two beautiful girls.

These here are my first socks. They were supposed to be Mermaidia - BUT for a sock and lace virgin i think i bit off more than i could chew. So after a few pattern repeats, I went plain. Sorry Christine - I really wanted to add to the projects on Ravelry!

Then of couse i needed to buy a cone of naked yarn from Vintage Purls to have a go at dyeing sock yarn... With varied results.

Here is an updated pic of the two other WIPs. Aren't they cute!?!

I dyed the above yarn from a taupe base, with Cake powder dyes. LOVE the intense colour that the powders give. Below is my WIP socks - I have used the seven of hearts DK heart lace panel, but on a 4 ply toe up sock pattern. Is knitting up really well.

Well, hope to be back to update sooner this time!

Time poor!

2009-01-05T11:03:00.015+13:00

First of all, Merry Christmas everyone and happy New Year!!!

I have been very slack at keeping up with this blog. Life has just exploded, and I am finding it hard to keep up with recording all my projects. BUT I have taken photos of most of them - so please bear with me as I write a mamoth post today.

First up - I bought this pattern off Ravelry a couple of months ago - Itty-bitty Bolero. A really nice, easy knit. A bit of a learning curve with the old dpns - BUT we got there in the end. Next time i think i will knit the sleeves flat and seam them.

This is the 3-6month size on my average sized 10 week old.... The pattern is a little on the small side. Knitted in Patons smoothie. Took about 2/3rds of a ball.

Can't say that i made the flower *blush* - The Warehouse had them on special for 30c each!

Remember this??

I offered my skills to some friends with daughters..... Here are a bunch of skirts that i made.

A wee hat to go with the above ladybird skirt. I embroidered a wee ladybug with a button the the body, on the reverse white side. It looked very cute.

This is my beautiful, big girl. We had some photos taken at my hubby's work, just before Christmas.........

........And me and the little one.

I needed some timeout yesterday - my 2.5yo was driving me batty - So i dyed some 3ply baby wool. It is self striping yellows and blues. Cannot WAIT to finish the other singlet i am knitting, so I can see how this knits up. Watch this space....

This was a handmade gift for my best friend, Heidi. The wee bag is for her knitting, a dishcloth and some hand dyed yarn for her to knit a hat for her wee man.

One of the reasons that i have ben sooo time poor, is that I have started up a new design label and blog..... Rebecca Gunn designs. Here are a couple of photos from over there. January is all about the kitchen.... I am going to have themed months. I take custom orders - but also make up bits and pieces to sell. Go have a nosey.

Two hand oven mitt.

The watermelon dress.

Anddddd - last but not least... A wee pic of my littlest. She is sporting a beautiful Boheme that my friend Natalie made for her and some lovely watermelon capris that KJ made for her. Thank guys!

Well, it is about time for an update.

2008-11-17T08:03:00.006+13:00

WOW, October has come and gone already!?!

Well, I have been rather busy, this is wee Catherine Olive Briar Gunn. She came a week early on the 8th of October. She is a really good wee thing. Sleeping lots and now smiling away to the world.

All these photos are a little outdated - i must admit that the camera has been dead for the last two weeks. SHAME on me. Some updated ones to come soon.

A race against the clock.

2008-09-30T18:56:00.005+13:00

So I have finally finished the Amy Butler crib set for the baby. I also made some cushions and covered the change table mat.

I imported the fabric from fabric.com - it worked out to be 30% cheaper... which is quite a bit when you are buying 12 yards.

I scored this chair at the Sallies down the road for $35.00. I managed to find the fabric to cover it at Spotlight for $4.00 pm!!! YAY. It made for a very cheap feeding chair!

AND Poppy's room. I did this up a few weeks back, but kept forgetting to photograph it.

A little outfit.

2008-09-12T13:50:00.003+12:00

Over the last week I have transformed half of the pastel watermelon into some garments.

I made this wee dress, loosely following the Rainbow Tikki dress pattern in NB.
Instead of the M1 increases I did KF&B - I find that i make eyelets when I M1 - and didn't really want holes all through the dress. :-)

I made increases every 7th row.

The wee hotpants are NB too - and think the two together will be really sweet.

The GREAT to do list!

2008-09-06T20:21:00.008+12:00

With just over a month until I give birth, I have had a bit of a list of things to get through.

There have been quite a number of things that i have promised to friends... but also projects like Poppy's summer wardrobe etc that need doing. I have finally finished her new room (photos to come), now I just have the baby's room to complete (EEEEK).

I whipped up these pedal pushers the other day for Poppy.... SOOO easy to make - and all the fabric was from stash ( read: CHEAP). I have about 30 panels of different cotton fabrics to make into summer skirts for her.... but so far I have only made one up.

I FINALLY made up a pair of pants for Anthea. These have been on my to do list for some time..... I think it was the fear of the unknown that made me not want to start them. BUT I did start them and i finished them. GOLLY i hope they fit, as I felt like a junkie by the time I had finished - I had stuck myself with far too many pins!

The next project on my list is a flower girl dress for Poppy. Friends of ours are getting married in Queenstown the week after I am due. They have asked Poppy to be their flower girl...... SO I said that i would make the dress. I have made the mock up..... Just waiting on approval from Christine before we buy the fabrics for the real thing.

AND the last thing on my list is the Baby's cot set. I found an Amy Butler book called 'Little things for little ones' at a wonderful new bookshop in town called Minerva. (OMG if you haven't been there and live in Welly, DO IT NOW!). I purchased the fabrics from fabric.com the other day and they are being brought over by Lynn, a good friend of ours. I was budget and didn't want to pay the $49.95US to have it shipped here (OUCH!)

Here is what i have purchased - Amy Butler Lotus series.

I have also bought quite a few metres of plain fabric to screen print to this theme.... It will be my first proper screen printing venture - so wish me luck!

And this is the pattern....... AWWWW - I may make a hammock too, BUT i may just stick with our Nature Sway one if i run out of time!.

Licorice allsorts

2008-09-06T19:58:00.006+12:00

A couple of posts ago, I was talking about the great TNN yarn swap.

Well, my swap arrived this week!!!!

The theme was 'Licorice allsorts'

I received some beautiful things.

100g of DK wool, in the most divinely bright colours!
A birthday cake book - but not just any cake book, Mum used to have this book when i was growing up, and i used to spend H.O.U.R.S planning my cakes for years in advance.
A wonderful recipe for 'Martian biscuits' - Little green gingerbread men with licorice allsorts as decorations.
A crochet hook and buttons
Licorice allsorts + a cookie cutter
A pattern for a crocheted baby cardigan.

WOW!

On closer inspection of the pattern, the smallest size takes 160g of wool..... So I will be on the lookout for something to use this wool for. BUT for now, I had to make up a little crochet swatch to see what the yarn would look like:

Losing my marbles

2008-09-06T19:40:00.005+12:00

Okay, maybe not my marbles - but my knitting needles. I spent a few hours the other afternoon making this holder...... The fabric is from a couple of fat quarters that i bought from Nancy's embroidery the other day. I used some bamboo fleece as batting.

I made the circular needle holder on the left - but then realised that they would just get in the way..... So the circulars now live in the pockets too.

Mike asked me why I hadn't put a flap on it - so the needles don't fall out - gaaah! I didn't think of that! - There may be a version 2..........

Another swap!

2008-09-06T14:32:00.006+12:00

This one was a secret santa..... although I got found out faaaar too quickly! LOL.

The people i had for this were two little girls. Jasmine and Bella. Jas is 3.5 and Bella is 2. Their Mum had told me that they fought over many toys, so i decided to do matching gifts.

I enjoyed the themed yarn swap soooo much that i decided to theme this one too.

The theme: Domestic goddesses

I had a lot of fun buying little bits and pieces for these gifts....

Headbands

High heels

Cupcake cases

Sprinkles

Tea towels

Mixing bowls & spoons

Cake mixes

I also made them semi matching aprons..... I reckon they WILL look like little goddesses - BUT Nicole may not think so when it comes time to clean up!

The great TNN yarn swap.

2008-09-06T11:18:00.013+12:00

I took part in a wonderful themed yarn swap a few weeks back.

The swap needed to have a theme..... Within that theme you needed to give the following:

100g of hand dyed yarn.

A piece of knitting bling.
A food recipe.
A small gift.

Unfortunately, the person i had hasn't posted pictures of what i made for them :( - I didn't take any photos of the full swap before i sent it to them BUT...... I do have photos of the yarn :).

The theme that i chose was: 'The desperate housewife's romance kit'.

I made them a working yarn holder, to stop little fingers (or claws) tangling their wool. I blogged about the start of this project here.

The recipe was for my famous caramello brownie mmmmmm.

The gift was some red bamboo yarn & a clutch of Toblerones (cause we always know chocolate doesn't let us down!).

The knitting pattern was a free fingerless gloves pattern off Ravelry, Called 'Berry hill'. Aren't they beautiful!

The yarn that I chose to use was 8ply, 100% wool in a scrummy light rose colour. I thought I would have a go at self striping wool..... MY way! What a laugh AND what a headache!!!!!!!!

Here are some pics of the process.......... I used a beer bottle and wound the yarn around it 20 times, then tied each bundle up with an acrylic yarn so i knew which thread to cut once it was dyed.

I had to be VERY careful that i kept the mini balls in order at all times! Imagine trying to untangle wet smelly wool...... EWWWW.

Once it was dyed (and still wet) I wound it into a hank on my swift, then I washed it with wool wash and dried it etc......

I LOVE the small parts where i tied it into mini balls that it stayed the pink..... As these will be uniform specks i am thinking that it will work a bit like Opal.

I really hope i get to see a FO of this yarn....... Watch this space.

Mmmmmm pastel watermelon

2008-08-26T14:57:00.004+12:00

After getting sidetracked from work...... I decided to do a quick dying mission. It was all Razz's fault, I saw a beautiful dress she had knitted up with some yarn that Lou had dyed.

YUM - my fave wool in pastel shades..... I dyed it with a mixture of colours and media. Cool Aid in Cherry and black cherry..... Wilton cake gels in Rose, Christmas red and leaf green.

Now what will i make with it. The yarn is Utiku, Natural 8ply and there is 200g. Plenty to have a good play with!

My first bag and felting mission

2008-08-20T15:04:00.003+12:00

Before felting.

We have a wonderful midwife, who almost caught Poppy 2 years ago and is our main midwife this time around. She is a little green fingered like me, so I wanted to make her a gift to say thank you. As you all know, time can be very sparse when a new arrival turns up, so this time i wanted to be prepared.

I am going to line it with fabric, I just don't know what type yet.

It is knitted in 12ply Cleckheaton spun Merino, which has a minor nylon content. I knew that it would felt well, as I made Poppy a pair of shorties in it last year and they accidentally went through the washing machine and shrunk!

After felting.

The Opps-dessa

2008-08-20T14:56:00.002+12:00

So...... Everything was going great, I was speeding along being ahead of time for my sister's birthday. Then I realised that I had missed a YO (a full 108 stitches ago) - WAAAAAAAAH!!!! It is now sitting here semi frogged waiting for someone to help me pick up all the different stitches. I am so mad!!!!!!

When the kid is away......

2008-08-09T17:03:00.006+12:00

My darling big sister came and took Poppy away for the afternoon. I was very thankful, as i had a few wee projects that needed my attention... AND i want to blog some of my recent projects.

Firstly, i sat down and sewed up 12 small pocket nappies for the bump. I remember Poppy growing through the NB, S and M sizes at lightening speed and i found it hard to keep up. This time i am prepared!

It is a shitty day in Wellington today..... So i thought it would be a perfect time to wash all the nappies in the house...... hmmmm where is my logic in that???? i don't know! lol.

I filled the 8.5kg washing machine 1.5 times! OMG that is a LOT of nappies.

The next job on the list was to re cover a wee foam chair that my sister Jo, had scored at the local hospice 2nd hand store..... It was looking well loved and well..... quite manky.

BUT not anymore. With some left over curtain fabric and a panel of minky *drool* I looks just like new!

A year ago...........

2008-08-09T16:23:00.012+12:00

I sat down with my Mother in law and she taught me how to knit. I had knitted in garter stitch when i was younger - but really didn't know what i was doing.

Here is my first project..... a little NB hat - It took me forever, and it still doesn't have the ends sewn in.

Since then, knitting has become on of my favourite pass times. I am still very much a novice, but am trying new things all the time.

Here are a few things that have come off my needles in the last couple of weeks. I am trying to be a good 3rd trimester preggy woman and have my feet up relaxing..... you don't have to relax your hands do you?

I made my MIL a pair of fingerless gloves, she lives in Waipara which is at the northern end of Christchurch. I thought they would come in handy at this time of year.

The beret next to it was a knit for me...... i have hardly taken it off, but i wouldn't really call it a beret - It is more like a large Rastafarian beanie.... the Utiku wool has stretched a bit too.... time for a wash and shrink i reckon! Both the patterns are from my new Louisa Harding book .

I have finally finished the Annoukish pinafore...... well i think i have finished - watch this space..... i don't feel like it is finished yet..... hmmm may need some very cute wooden buttons on the pink tabs.... but am still unsure. The lovely Christine taught me how to picot crochet. It is really easy once you know what you're doing!

Aren't these tiny coat buttons cute!!!! AND i bought them at Spotlight!!! Normally their wooden button selection sucks.

The last two evenings i have been making these, for our soon to be born baby girl. I used the Pimp my longies pattern, lovingly crafted by Jen. It is a very nice and easy pattern to follow. For these ones though i didn't do the short rows in the bum..... which has given it a nice and even stripe body.

There goes that picot crochet again!

And..... on the needles now........ a little NB hat to match the longies. Awwwwww

So, i think i have got a little hooked on the knitting thang..... but would like you all to know, that all of these projects have come out of my stash and not bought for! WOOT!

The finished hand warmers.

2008-07-26T22:13:00.003+12:00

Not really my fave pattern OR yarn... BUT they are done...... Now on to ones done on DPNs - i hate sewing up, as i suck at it!

Sooooo purrrddddyyy

2008-07-26T22:05:00.002+12:00

Looky at this! YUM! My hands are still pink..... 24 hours later.

This is 12ply that i purchased at last years Knitworld sale. It is for a few projects... including my TNN yarn swap.

Had a lot of fun. I used Wilton cake dyes from a woman on Trade me. Was a great deal.

Something new!

2008-07-21T21:18:00.006+12:00

So.... It is Dad's birthday on August the 1st, and the poor man ALWAYS gets forgotten about by me cause his birthday is next month . It creeps up real quick.

So, this year i am prepared! Dad plays a lot of croquet all year round, so i thought that a pair of fingerless gloves for the colder months would come in handy.

I found a nice and easy pattern knitted on flats when i was in Nancy's embroidery the other day. I also grabbed some Noro, 100% wool.

I also purchased some more Knitpick DPNs - and used them for this.... just cause they are sooo nice. Here are some progress shots.... i have actually finished them - but need to photograph them. It's a great pattern as you can do a glove in an evening! my kind of knitting, lol.

Wedding plans!

2008-07-15T20:19:00.002+12:00

Well..... FINALLY! I have booked our venue.

Mike and I are getting married at 'The Gear Homestead', which is out the back of Porirua.

We have chosen this beautiful place, as back in my cheffing days it was my favourite place to work when doing weddings.

It is owned by the Porirua City Council so is available to the public. YAY!

So...... 22 Feb, here we come!

Pukekura park

2008-07-14T13:13:00.005+12:00

A few weeks back, Poppy and I went up to New Plymouth to stay with my best friend Heidi. She and her partner Scott had a wee babe called Thomas in March.

On one of the days we went to Pukekura park. It is a really beautiful place, I have fond memories of visiting the 'Lights in the park' during summer when i used to live there.

Heidi took this beautiful photo of Poppy and i feeding the ducks, and spying on the ENORMOUS eel that was swimming below the surface!!! EEEKKK

A mini stash

2008-07-10T10:51:00.002+12:00

Well, after Esther giving me the wonderful cuts of PUL a few weeks back... i just HAD to get more to make a full set for the *bump*. There is enough here for 44 nappies..... Will make Poppy some matchings ones too.

Isn't it pretty!!!! you can buy this from Megan at Little buttons.

The next new project

2008-07-10T10:46:00.002+12:00

Well..... i can't really say what this will be.... as it is for a swap..... BUT i just had to tell you about this FANTASTIC wool! I was given it a few months ago in a secret santa. I am in LOVE!

I feel terrible using it in another swap, but i love it sooo much that i will be replacing it and using the same type to make my first pair of fingerless gloves... the project that will happen after this.

The wool is 'Freedom spirit, by Twilleys'... 100% wool. YUMMO!

The wee dress - Update!

2008-07-10T10:02:00.003+12:00

Last night i finished all that I can do on the wee dress......

I need to pop over to the very creative Christine's so she can teach me how to picot crochet the bottom of the moss part. I have done a foundation row and am all set.

Am also wanting to know if i can Kitchener the left top shoulder.... At this point i haven't looked into *how* to Kitchener the 8 stitches of moss stitch that are in the row to be joined.

I have found this REALLY enjoyable to knit... and once i have finished and blocked it, i will show you where i got the inspiration from. This dress will fit *bump* when she is about 3months old... so am thinking i want to make another in NB size.

The least enjoyable part was picking up the 180 stitches for the rose under frill.... I think i will have to see if there is a crochet attachment for my Denise interchangeables - as it was a very drawn out process of picking the stitches up with my crochet hook then threading them with a darning needle and waste yarn. THEN sliding them onto my Denises. It would have been WAY faster to have a crochet attachment to the circulars.....

We had a photoshoot.

2008-07-09T17:17:00.005+12:00

A couple of weeks ago, Poppy and i went up to Auckland and had a product photoshoot for Ecobubs.

Here are a couple of Poppy... Miss 22.5mths. She hardly stood still, i am surprised that Benita even got these ones!

The great stash tidying project

2008-07-09T17:11:00.005+12:00

So..... I started knitting about a year ago..... and in that time i have created a rather large stash of yarn.... TERRIBLE!

So the other day i pulled all the yarn out from between the couch and the coffee table, and found lots of things that i had forgotten about. Mike poppd out to Mitre10 Mega and bought me some containers. It is all now in order.... YAY!!!

The little green dress.

2008-06-26T18:44:00.003+12:00

This is my current WIP. I sent the cream cardy off to Mum's - after mucking up the front and having to redo the back (pattern was very small) i had lost ALL motivation for it..... my knitting mojo had gone..... i needed something exciting to get me going again.

While Gabes was up we went out wool shopping. I purchased some moss green and soft rose pink wool to make up a stunnng wee dress.

Here are some progress shots. I have nearly finished the back of the pinnafore...

After that - i need to pick up the 140 stitches at the bottom to make a frill..... then i have to pick up stitches under that to make an under frill in the rose pink.... Wish me luck!!!!

Some more wee nappies for the bump.

2008-06-22T22:29:00.006+12:00

Well, have nearly finished the NB fitteds..... i *think* that i am up to just under 30...... Here are a few.

These are shar's NB fitted, very similar to the Rosie's fitted that i LOVED so much with Poppy.

Check out how TINY these are! Talk about C.U.T.E!!!!!

Today, i started on the *size small* stash..... these beautiful nappies are made to Esther's hip snap pattern. She was very generous and gave me a few cuts of her new print poly PUL. I will have to repay her for her generosity.

A lovely surprise!

2008-06-22T22:21:00.004+12:00

Last weekend i had Gabes & her youngest Mihi come and stay (sweet p knits). We had a really lovely time... trawling the craft stores... shopping and chilling out.

The day after she left, there was a knock at the door.... A wonderful box of treats for us, as a thank you for having her. Awwww - was blown away.

You are VERY naughty Gabes! (but it was very enjoyed!)

20 weeks today!

2008-05-28T16:02:00.002+12:00

WOW - that has gone sooooo fast!!!!

A little dressing gown

2008-05-13T12:14:00.005+12:00

Since the weather has got a little colder, i have been looking in the shops for a cute wee dressing gown for Poppy. There were a few but they were between $30-40 which i didn't want to pay for a simple gown.

When i was in Spotlight i found this beautiful fleece... it just screamed at me to make it into a little dressing gown..... And Poppy loves it! I made the pattern up as i went..... and it worked PHEW!

Wool wool woooooool

2008-05-13T12:03:00.002+12:00

I had a wee play with dying some wool.

I wanted to do a play on 'teal', but it didn't really turn out like that.....

Not sure what i will make with it - but i think it will make a nice winter cardy for Poppy or bump.

How to Saturday - Binding a neck... Tee style.

2008-05-10T20:41:00.011+12:00

Cut a strip of fabric on the bias (diagonally) about 3-4cm wide.

Fold it over widthways. and match the edges up with the right side of the neck edge.

Over lock edges together - taking no fabric off (no seam allowance apart from the stitching)
Stretch the binding slightly to give the sewing some stretch when it's a garment.

This is what it should look like.

Fold the overlocking away from the binding and top stitch (while slightly stretching the fabric) or coverstitch.

One finished envelope top.

More little tops

2008-05-10T20:31:00.006+12:00

Just a few more wee tops for Miss Poppy. I had a wee play with screen printing. I went to the library and found a book on birds.. copied a wee Wax eye and made it into a stencil.

For the little dribbler

2008-05-10T15:44:00.002+12:00

I have a friend who has a wee boy, who is teething and dribbling like mad! So i made him some cute wee bibs.

I bought the heavy cotton from 'The Cotton Store' and have sandwiched it with a thirsty cotton fleece and a waterproof aqua PUL back.

I think she will love these!

An Edmonds afternoon

2008-05-10T14:37:00.006+12:00

After having a lazy day yesterday, i thought i better get off my chuff and make a few wee treats for the pantry.

So i pulled out the trusty old Edmonds cookbook and started to decide.

First i made a date loaf, no pics of this one, it went up to Otaki for Mum, for mother's day.

Then i made Afghans and Ginger crunch, both are a hit in this household.

And here is how they turned out:

After making those, i made some mousetraps, which were all eaten this morning, Poppy loved them, as did I!

Just like Madder & Rouge

2008-05-10T13:58:00.003+12:00

Poppy and I had a girly day on Thursday. Our first stop was Cafe Laffare' for brunch. Next door there is a wonderful wee shop called 'Madder & Rouge' , I had peered into there a few times, but it was never open when i was passing... But it was on Thursday.

They had some wonderful french striped fabrics... But at $180 p/m were a little pricey for me, and they didn't sell offcuts. So, i had a wonderful look round their wee store and something caught my eye...... They were selling toddler aprons in denim with appliqued designs on the front in their funky fabrics.

I just HAD to give this a go.... and with many birthday presents needed these days, it has already got a home to go to!

I sewed the applique on about 5mm from the edge. It will fray, but that is the look I was trying to get.

The funky carrots!

2008-04-28T13:33:00.003+12:00

Instead of growing borrring orange carrots this year - i decided to grow a rainbow! There is red/purple, coral and yellow. We had our first meal of them last night and they were great!

Now - I just need to convince the inlaws that rainbow carrots are more fun than orange.......

Longies for Poppy.....

2008-04-26T17:33:00.004+12:00

Started these at the start of the month.... am still getting there slowly.... i can see WHY Gabe's fave size is NB! lol.

They are knitted in Utiku Tropicana (Lime, Grape etc) 8ply, with a cream Tekapo top. Unfortunately The Wool Co are not making Tropicana anymore :-(

A Roman blind!

2008-04-26T17:12:00.008+12:00

When we moved into our house in November, it had been done up to sell. Lots of crap finishings and the most budget curtains. So.... we were going to pay someone to make roman blinds for the whole house... but then in a late night decision last night, i decided to give it a go.

So here we go.......

Am looking forward to tackling the other bedrooms now!

Some winter tops

2008-04-25T17:25:00.005+12:00

Just whizzed these up this afternoon for Poppy, really like how quick sewing is compared to knitting.

It's times like these that i love my coverstitch!

I made this too - but its too small - grrrrr.... Ahhh well will have to gift it on to someone with a smaller girl than mine. Outer is a thick poly velour and the inner is minky.

The bright BRIGHT longies!

2008-04-25T16:41:00.007+12:00

<- front

Back ->

These are the second pair of longies i have made 'in the round'. It definately has its advantages seeing as you don't have to sew anything together at the end (my most dreaded part!).

When i had finished them the colour to me was just too bright.... We also do not know what flavour we are having (due October) so i wanted to keep them neutral.

So i had a play around with some cake dyes.....

I did a strand test with some 'Witon teal' an LOVED it!

The wee dye test!

2008-04-25T16:29:00.006+12:00

When i was up visiting Rochelle - we went through and did a stock take... whilst pulling all the boxes apart and counting i came across a wee cream hoody which needed pimping!

I forgot to take before photos - but it was just plain cream. I knew who it was going to but i had to wait till the baby was born to see if it was a girl or boy.....

So here it is:

Last time is was in Auckland, Rochelle and i went and had a look in Ponsonby, i went into Milly's (here is the link right to buy the dyes AND you can buy them online)and found some cheap wilton cake dyes.... only $4.95 each! - as that is the cheapest by FAR that i had found them anywhere, i stocked up. I used 'christmas red' for the above colour - but didn't use enough to make it red (i really did want a vibrant pink instead). I 'dip dyed' the bottom, then after about half an hour i plopped the hood and sleeves into the dye too to give it a mottled look. Was a lot of fun!

And here is the beautiful miss wearing it! isn't she just scrummy!!!???!!!

Our new winter range....

2008-02-28T12:58:00.003+13:00

Have spent since last November working on our winter range for Ecobubs. It has been a lot easier this time around.... knowing the suppliers..... the patterns etc - all helps to make a smooth bump free road. All of our clothing is made around the Wellington area. We have 7+ contract sewers now, which makes for a bit of a logistical nightmare sometimes.

As much as it is 'work' i really love designing our clothing and choosing the notions etc......

Here are a few wee photos of what has taken up my time. You can view our whole range at: www.ecobubs.co.nz

Some little knickers

2008-02-28T12:53:00.003+13:00

The idea was blatantly snaffled from Lou - but they looked like such fun!!!!

These were a little tight on my wee lass's chubby thighs... so passed them onto a friend of mine.

Have gone one to make some for myself - and they are definate winners!

A little gift

2008-02-28T12:45:00.004+13:00

I made this wee vest from a pattern a friend passed on. I modified the neck a little as it said only to do two rows. This didn't look like enough... so did about 8+ rows instead.

It is made with 8ply Moda Vera bamboo cotton.

I sent this to Jess, who had a bootyful wee boy called Mikko. Here he is modelling it... Isn't he just sooo cute!!!

The next project

2008-02-21T19:59:00.002+13:00

I have cord and minkee....... watch this space!

Some widdle nappies

2008-02-21T19:50:00.000+13:00

Made these to add to the new stash.

they are sooo tiny!!!!

The little cardy.... Its a bear!!!!!

2008-02-21T19:43:00.000+13:00

Have just started on a NB cardy, made with Utiku, Orchard. It was knitting up like a chinese flag...... but in the end it looks like a teddy bear...... Now, do i embroider a face onto it, or leave it?

Hmmmmmm

A dress for my princess

2008-02-17T22:25:00.001+13:00

I made this dress out of quilting fabric, which was on special.

It is an under dress and pinnfore.

A little hoody.

2008-02-17T22:23:00.000+13:00

This is a 6-12mth size hoody, in 'utiku Amber 8ply'

I managed to knit quite a bit of it in the car, driving to and from New Playmouth.

A little blue outfit

2008-02-17T22:20:00.000+13:00

I made this out of Utiku 'Ocean' 8ply.

It is for my best friend up in New Plymouth. She is due on the 24th of march.

My first homemade hammock

2008-02-17T22:17:00.000+13:00

I made this Hammock last night, it is for a friend that is due with her second baby at the start of March.

My friend Esther shared her pattern with me.

All these babies

2008-02-17T22:13:00.000+13:00

So many of my friends are having babies at the moment. Here are a few things that i have made this year.

It's about time for a blog!

2008-02-17T22:11:00.000+13:00

Hey ya!

Welcome to my blog, where I show off all the little bits and bobs that i make in my spare time.

Lets hope i can keep it up!