crafty bits and pieces

So i have been wanting to make another rug out of tarn, But i want to make a circular one this time so i thought i would try my hand at crocheting one. however i could not find a crochet hook big enough around here and didn't want to order one o the net. So what's a girl to do?

I read a post once where someone had whittled there own so i thought i would give it a go. I found a nice fat stick in the backyard and armed with a sharp kitchen knife, a piece of emery cloth, and no whittling know-how at all i went to work.

And here is the finished result!



Not bad for someone with no experience hey?

Also i joined a quilt block a month activity over on the ravelry group from trash to tresure I don't have a sewing machine, and i am not the best hand sewer so the lines are a little wonky, but i am quite proud of the result!

It will be made in different shades of pink and yellow for my daughter.

Kiddy craft: Storage boxes for crafty odds and ends

Walking through my daughters room the other day i noticed that her craft table is overflowing with bits of paper, yarn, toilet rolls etc. A total mess!

So i thought to myself there has to be something we can do to organize it a bit better. Looking over at the kitchen bench i noticed we had a wine box waiting to be recycled and wallah! A new craft activity for my daughter to do.


First we cut the top flaps off the wine box, and glued one of them to the inside to patch up the hole the tap makes.




Next we covered it in white scrap paper so we had a nice blank canvas to work with.




Then she grabbed some of her crafty odds and ends and went crazy! Here is the finished result!



I think she did a wonderful job! Now we just need to transform a few more boxes and her craft table will be well in order!

Crafty things i would like to do this year

So getting my internet back has resulted in me browsing crafty project ideas for the last few days and I now have a list of new things i want to try!

Here it is:

Make a bead privacy curtain for my daughters (Lana) room using beads we make from old newspapers and magazines.

I found a pattern to crochet a tic tac toe board, but the instructions were quite confusing so i want to make a (mostly) knitted one.

Make a bookshelf from some of the scrap timber next door.

My fiance and i have been making some wooden blocks for Lana out of wood offcuts, I would like to get these finished.

Knit a sampler blanket for jellybean (nickname for the bub i am expecting in sept yay!:)

Make Lana a new scarf.

Make a paper mache pen holder for the desk.

Weave a bathmat from tarn (yarn made from old t-shirts)

Knit a table runner.

Knit place mats.

Make a magazine bowl.

decoupage my craft tubs.

Make some needle cushions.

Sew a quilt for lana.

Finish of the marriage blanket.

Braid a rug from tarn.

Knit my brother the doctor who scarf i promised him for xmas last year oops.

Make a wall hanging from toilet paper rolls.

Make a small loom.

Learn to crochet granny squares. (Done today!)

I can haz internetz?

So i blew up yet another computer. This one took us months to be able to afford to replace it, but finally i have net access again!

So what is in the works at the moment?

Well I have a beautiful little niece due in July so i am madly knitting away for her.














This is the blanket all nicely finished.

The wedding is 5 weeks away so i am madly making bouquets centerpieces etc, will post pics once its all done.

And miss Lana is off sick today and disappointed about missing her Easter hat parade, so we had a crafty day today to cheer her up.

First off we finished up her Easter basket.














Made by paper macheing (sp?) over a balloon so it is shaped like an Easter egg and then painting it.

And then we got inspired by a post over on ravelry so we made some paper beads, which she painted and then turned into a necklace.



Yay for craft days!

Look what i got at the Op-Shop!

So i had a fantastic time trawling the op shops today! I went looking for a new soup pot (which i didn't find) but I got some great yarn scores.

This was all in a big zip lock bag. The colour doesn't show up very well, its a lovely dark reddy brown 100% nz wool $5 for the lot yay!














A whole bunch of novelty yarns, including silver and gold YAY more tinsel for the tree $1 for the lot.














I'm not sure what this one is meant to be for storing. Socks or toys maybe? Anyhoo its huge and perfect for storing most of my yarn oin so its not living in plastic bags next to my side of the bed anymore 50 cents.


















And some pretty yellow lace, about 3 metres of it for 20cents.



















Now i know i am supposed to be saving, and i was meant to be shopping for a soup pot, but this finishes off the last of the yarn i need for knitting up the christmas pressies (aside from my little brother, still no idea there)I also got 4 xxl t shirts for a dollar each which will get turned into tarn for my dads rug, and i went to the $2 shop and bought a ball of caramel coloured acryllic for lana's doughnut's and cupcakes.

79 day till christmas, 178 days till the wedding

ugh another night with no sleep! between stressing out about christmas and trying like all hell to try and figure out a honeymoon that we can afford, and madly trying to get my christmas knitting all done in time there is just not enough hours in a day.

Godfuckingdamnit why does everything have to be so bloody expensive? So This morning i have a few things sorted.

1 I can afford the wedding, but i can't afford a honeymoon that eveyone is happy with.

2 I reallly really really need to get a job or two. Someone who can work around Dale (my man) shifts cause we cant afford a babysitter, not when they charge what we earn an hour.

3 i was hopeing to have a little money for christmas as Dale doesn't like anything knitted (I'm hopeing the wedding present is the exception to the rule)so i could buy him a present, but if i want to get married in april thats not a possibility. Now i have no idea what to give him.

4 the present list... well mostly anyway.

* My sister garter stitch scarf 100% done














* My step-dad's red yarn vomit scarf 60% done














Pattern can be found here Yarn Vomit Sarf

* Lana assorted knitted foods for her dolls to have picnics with. Not started yet. I also have some dvd read along books i got on special for $3 that i have stashed away. Would really like to get her a bike from santa, but i just don't think its feasable. Maybe ii could ask the grandparents to be santa this year?

* My step mother Party lace scarf Not started yet, not sure if i can afford new yarn for it, it needs lace weight and i dont have anything close to thin enough.
Pattern can be found here Party lace scarf

* My dad rug made from t-shirt yarn. Not started yet.

* My little brother I would love to make him a doctor who scarf, but once again i dont think i can afford the yarn

* littlest step brother NO IDEA!!!

* Mum i cant deecide between a mobius scarf and a chunky braided scarf. I'll probable leave it till last and llet time dictate which one i choose

And thats the list!

Christmas decorations done so far:

knitted tinsel.



Pattern is very easy one ball of eyelash yarn, size 10 1/2 us dpn's.

CO 3 stitches, (5 for thicker tinsel) and knit i-cord until tinsel is the desired length. weave in the ends. TADA! i think it would look extra christmasy in metalic eyelash yarn (if such a thing exsists, but i have yet to find any.)


And Bows for the presents upcycled from old magazine pages.



Instuctions can be found here Gift Bows(warning can become addictive)

A knitted christmas

so christmas this year is going to be really tough financially.

Not that i have ever had oodles of money for christmas but this one is looking pretty dire. As in we cant even afford to buy decorations. (I'm not even going to go into what happened to my box of decorations *darn kitten* But there was no survivors)

Now i have bags and bags of yarn sitting around the house and i thought, why not knit the decorations??? It was discussed by the family, (where lana and i were going yeah yeah!!! and i got disinterested grunts and no lights we cant afford them out of the fiancee)and it was decided.

How ever now i have realised that i have christmas decorations for the apartment to knit, presents for the family, as we cant afford to buy any this year and not much time to do it. Also no idea of what decorations to make. I have one pattern found on the net for little knitted stockings and i have an idea for making some tinsel but other than that nada, zip and zilch.

Why oh why did i ever decide that knitting hristmas would be a good idea????

Peace out
Tai