Hot Choc Buns

These may look like little rock cakes, but they are actually yummy Hot Choc Buns. I really don't like sultanas, I'll eat them in fruit toast and Hot Cross Buns (and sometimes I won't depending on my mood), but that is it. So this year I made Hot Choc Buns, same recipe, but no candied peel or sultanas and no crosses. I think they may have looked a bit better with a glaze.
Amelia didn't seem to mind what they looked like.
Grace ate some in between jumping on the bed and doing some Grease Lightning dancing.

Finished Softies

We have had the most perfect autumn weekend here. The weather is beautiful. Mum has been up helping for the weekend so Chris and I went out last night without the girls. We were still home about 10.30, but we had a great time and it was so nice to be out doing something different.
The girls had their appointment with the speech therapist on Friday. I had been dreading it a bit, but everything seems to be ok. They were referred about 5 months ago as they were not talking that much and it took this long to get an appointment. I think they were worried that they were talking a lot to each other and they were understanding each other, therefore they really didn't have to speak a lot of English. It seems to be all right though, they have really improved in that time, they still talk in their own way to each other, but their English has improved.
Mum is out in the garden and the girls and Chris have gone to get ice-cream so I have an hour to finish some sewing.
Here are some echidnas, wombats, a giraffe and pigs I have finished in the last week or two.

Sock Bag

I really needed a little bag for my socks, big enough for my dpns and for 2 balls or wool. This is what I came up with. Pencil case style but with a tote like bottom so it can stand up. It is a pretty rough first go I was only able to snatch a few minutes here and there yesterday, but I'm pretty happy with the size and design.

Here is a peak at what is in the bag. Embossed Leaves Sock from Interweave Knits in Koigu. I really hope I have enough wool. I've crossed my fingers.

Embroidery

Not a lot happening here this week - little bits of sewing, lots of loud playing, the girls have taken up drumming with anything they can get hold of, a little bit of knitting, walking and a little cooking.
Here are some fabulous images from a great 70s embroidery book/leaflet called Cushions for all Seasons by Coats Sewing.

I am so glad I managed to get some of these fantatstic cards from Tiel!

Scarf

I finally finished a scarf for my sister, I had started making a shawl, but that ended badly and Kidsilk Haze is not to be messed with. I love this stuff, it is so soft, but I'm not sure I like knitting with it and when you make a mistake you just want to cry. So a scarf it ended up being, based on the one in Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

Turning Two

I think I have nearly recovered from the weekend and the house is nearly back in order. It was a bit warmer here than I thought it would be and combined with a lot of coloured icing it( there was some healthier food too) created a bit of chaos by the end.
Amelia insisted on wearing all her new hair clips and Grace's too, the first time she has ever kept them in. Grace excelled at present openeing by the end of the day.
It is hard to believe that two years ago they were this tiny.

More Sewing

I have been trying to clean up and get rid of some piles of sewing around here as Chris' Mum is coming to stay and she needs somewhere to sleep so I finished this bag and some platypuses. I have had this vintage canvas for over a year and could not bring myself to cut into it, but finally did as I know there is some more left for a bag for me. This one is in the shop and the platypuses will be there too.
Now I need to go and clean the rest of the house and somehow organise a birthday party for the girls for tomorrow. I can't believe they will be two!

Echidna

Poor Chris has been sick all week with tonsillitis, so the girls and I have tried to be very quiet. No, I have tried to be quiet and keep the girls quiet, so they have been allowed to watch a little more Wiggles than usual and I can see Wiggle withdrawal coming on - which is not a pretty thing.
A new echidna, this time in pillow form. Managed to finish it yesterday while the girls were napping.

Petula the Pig Pillow

The girls are still obsessed with pigs and it being the year of the pig I thought I'd make a new one. This is a kind of shabby chic pig pillow - very cuddly. I think I see an echidna pillow happening today.

Toys for Your Delight

I thought I'd share some pictures from a book I found recently called Toys for Your Delight. It's not a great pattern book, but has wonderful embroidery ideas for decorating toys.


I thought I'd also share a great project with you. My friend Emma has recently started a project trying to make 1000 fairy ducks to send to Africa. Check it out here.

Orange

Why is it the more I seem to clean the more I seem to make little piles of things to do? And why does there seem to be orange in every pile? It seems to be my favourite colour at the moment and it seems to go with everything, although I'm not going to start wearing it, the one thing it doesn't go with is my skin.

A couple of finished things from this week, another alien/giraffe.
A bag from some very cool canvas I found at Spotlight last week.

Fixing sewing machines

I finished the dress/smocks/tops yesterday. Typically the test buttonhole was perfect and then somehow the first one on the dress messed up. So no dress close ups. The girls weren't in the mood to be photographed yesterday afternoon. Amelia is wearing the pink and Grace is wearing the blue and green one I made from a thrifted old sheet which unfortunately didn't get softer with age.

I think both my sewing machines need a service. I managed to fix the tension on one yesterday after reading this article. I know though it will be so much better once it has a proper clean out. I know that they will be gone for a couple of weeks so that is why I have two machines, one can go now and one can go when the other comes back.

Smock Tops

I think the girls will be wearing a lot of smock/tops/dresses this winter. I love the idea of making something that can be worn as a dress and as they grow it can be worn as a top or over shirts depending on the weather. Thanks to a friend Emma for this inspiration.

Here is my first one, sans buttons. I always get stressed about buttonholes and put them off. I'm telling myself I am really waiting to get a few more done and then I'll do all the buttonholes together. This is made from an Ikea pillowslip in hideously bright pink and red. I love it.

My Aunty Irene made these wonderful quilts for the girls when they were born and the girls just love them. The back of them is minkee dot and the girls love to read and play wrapped in them. It doesn't really matter to them that it has been hot all week.

Minifashionista

Minifashionista has opened and you can find these creatures and dolls there. I just love the twins/multiples section, such a good idea.

Yummy Yarn

It's going to be another really hot day today, it seems funny knowing that as I sit here in a jumper, but I guess that is March for you. We had a pretty relaxing Sunday - can't say the same for Saturday, we went to Bunbury and freakily enough had as much fun as Amanda did. I am just really glad I didn't go by myself earlier in the week like I was going to.
I did discover another good thing about twins though. If you are carrying one screaming child around people just look at you like you are a horrible parent and have a horrible child, but if there is two of you carrying identical screaming children people smile at you and say "aren't they cute".
So here are some lovely pictures
Sock yarn from The Knittery.

Roving from Ewe Give Me the Knits. Both in Australia. Yeh!!

Zinnias

I thought I would try something new yesterday and do the shopping without the pram and use the leads/harnesses we bought ages ago. Might not do that again for a while. A friend described walking with his twin grandaughters as like herding cats and that desciption was so apt. They would not both go the same way and it rained yesterday morning so they both had to jump in every little puddle. We managed to buy the milk and went home. I was exhausted. It was one of those days when I felt like I was waiting forever for a respectable time so I could have a scotch.
Luckily the zinnias have flowered which made me smile.

There has not been much crafting this week. I have spent a bit of time downloading music for my Dad for his birthday - way easier than teaching him to use itunes as this would involve teaching him how to use a computer. So then I had to find some music for me which ended up being a lot of dodgy 80s stuff. I really needed some more Neko Case and Sufjan Stevens, but don't think I'll admit to the rest of it. I did finish this little bag though for a 2 year olds birthday. Hopefully there will be some sewing time over the long weekend.

Finished Gloves

A pair of finished Fetching gloves. Using one skein of Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed.
A few pictures from the weekend. My Nan Noma proving she can still play mini golf.
Amelia and Grace helping out.

Noma's Bag

This is the bag I made for my Nan Noma who is 90 today. You'd never guess it. She lives by herself, drives the car - her mind is as sharp as ever, maybe its getting sharper with age - she doesn't miss a thing.
We had a great day with her yesterday and my parents to celebrate Dad's birthday. The girls were so excited to see her, they were so hyped last night they wouldn't go to bed and they were straight out of bed looking for her.
This bag is very Noma, we seem to come from a blue loving family, we all like and collect blue china and pottery. So we'd better go and get ready as we are all off to a winery for lunch.
I just noticed this on ebay. Pamela Peake's Dragons and Dinosaurs. I have only seen this book once before and I bought that copy. So if you like Pamela Peake have a look.

Knitting, sewing and mail

It was 4 degrees here the other night - and I'm sitting here in the air conditioning now which I think is pretty normal for this time of the year, but I felt the need for fingerless gloves the other morning. So I started on the Fetching gloves from Knitty. I'm using Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed - my favourite combination of wool, silk and cashmere and very warm. So far so good, I think the thumb might be a bit tricky, but I think I can do it.

I have seen some very cute wristlets around lately and thought I'd adapt my bag pattern to make one for myself. I really love this fabric - I'm glad I bought a huge bit of it so I can use it for lots of different things.

This weeks mail has been good! I first read about Fabric Tales from Melly and Rosie and held off as long as I could, but I gave in and I'm so glad I did.

I have definitely saved the best for last. Celine and I organised a magazine swap and this is the amazing parcel I recieved yesterday. I love these little stuffed letters for the girls - such a cute idea. This magazine collections is amazing, what is it about French craft magazines that makes me weak at the knees. Thankyou so much! I think I could burst with inspiration. Check out her Celine's very cute sheep quilt.

More Wombats

I wasn't planning on making wombats this week, but we are off to a first birthday this weekend and all one year olds need a wombat and this Freshcut Fabric keeps screaming wombat to me. So now I need to go and make a bag for my Nan as she is 90 this Sunday and coming down here for the weekend. My Dad's birthday is also this weekend so we are all off for a big Sunday lunch.

I think I'm beginning to have a computer problem and think I'd better take it to be fixed before it becomes really serious. So hopefully it won't be away too long.