fifty-two

eight hundred and ninety-eight // her first gig... hairy maclary and friends

one hundred and nine // his arm waving is so much more purposeful now... it's amusing to watch the attempts to guide and then stuff the captured object into his mouth

lessons to teach your children

please don't walk home alone... ever.

even if you don't want to disturb a loved one late at night.
even if it's 'just a short walk'.
even if you think you know the area.
jill was only a few hundred meters from home.

a pattern // simple chunky lace cowl

this is such a simple project and the 'lace' is so basic that you can pick it up and put it down again whenever you want without fearing you'll lose track of where you are. i've even included some additional help with working out where you're up to and directions on how to graft garter stitch, just check out the bottom of the post.


it's also easily adjustable... make it longer or wider or knit it as a scarf instead of a cowl. you could also change the look by increasing or decreasing the garter stitch sections between the lace or even inserting the lace at random intervals.

kids clothing week challenge

i committed to doing elsie marley's kids clothing week challenge before i realise that it's smack bang in the middle of our moving house fortnight (october 8–14)… i'm still going to give it a go in an attempt to de-clutter both the house and my mind of a few things that have been laying about partly conceived or half finished for a while.

i've pinned a short list from my board of ideas for m. to try to keep me on track and one or two easy things for s. he's growing so quickly that i don't feel like making him something he won't fit into in a month. anyway, i'm rambling… go sign up if you're keen, i can't wait to see what everyone creates.

nature table

i've recently noticed myself collecting little treasure to bring home for m. to look at when we're out and about on walks.

she's usually not particularly interested in them for too long (aside from pulling them to pieces and spreading them from one end of the house to the other!), but i'm hoping that as she gets older we can start to look at them together, and maybe work out what they are if i don't already know.

i'd also like to get her a magnifying glass so that she can start to look at them in more detail... most things are much more interesting when you look at them very closely.

colour // brushcetta

 

ham // betroot // olive // sourdough // labneh

overheard

to herself: don't worry m-lanlan, you'll find mummy

fifty-two

eight hundred and eighty-eight // we don't let her have dessert unless she finishes most of her dinner... i think she thinks we don't notice some nights that daddy eats more than his fair share.

ninety-six // i love it when he's so relaxed he can't help falling asleep. i love the way his little legs flap bonelessly against my belly as i carry him to bed to tuck him in.

in progress // i have a perfect body poster

typographic sketching for a poster to put up in m.'s room. based on lyrics from regina spector's song folding chair, i can't help but smile when i hear. if it turns out well it may end up in the etsy shop.

i'm playing along with everyone at my creative space.

mispronunciations

some current favourites

senon (seven)

ninak (echidna)

flalos (flowers)

balooloon (balloon)

baby sunny (her name for s.)

ones she's grown out of

palapoli (caterpillar)

bli (milk)

lalo (water)

colour // hips

rose hip // new growth // bluestone

sumo peach

casually discussing how best to prepare and eat our son... we reckon the little man would make some pretty good crackling

interesting things

really!? i just had to laugh that there is a fully referenced wikipedia article on toilet paper orientation

this map of the internet blows my mind a bit

thought provoking reading about having it all

fabric burn testing crafty usefulness

videos of cpr for kids... something i really should get some training for

we'd like to teach m. french, but would need to learn it ourselves first... this is
an interesting way of approaching it i found while wandering around the net

fifty-two

ninety-two // he learned to roll over this week.

eight hundred and eighty-three // i used to stress about how fussy m. was. now she seems to eat pretty much anything 

(except mashed potato... as long as it's served in picnic format).

a tutorial // neon cross stitch patched pants

i bought this pair of pants from gap and after two wears and one wash the fabric at the knee died. it was going to be way too much of a pain to take them back for a refund so i decided to patch them. i think i actually like them better now!

you will need:

1 // a pair of holey pants
2 // fabric to patch the hole
(choose something that matches the stretch level of the item you're patching)
3 // a small embroidery hoop
(it needs to fit down the leg of the pants)
4 // embroidery cotton in your chosen colour
5 // some safety pins that i thought i'd need but didnt...

1 // cut your patching fabric slightly larger than the inner circle of the embroidery hoop.

2 // sandwich the pants and patch fabric between the hoops and tighten enough that you can still tug the fabric layers to get them straight and firmly stretched. once you've done this tighten the hoop all the way up.

3 // attach your thread from inside the pants.
catch a few threads of the patch fabric only, draw your needle through leaving a tail and then take the needle back through the same holes to give you a loop. pull your needle and thread through the loop to tighten.
(if that's a bit hard to follow there is a quick tutorial here).

4 // start stitching.
i chose to do + shaped crosses, but you could do the standard x shape or lines or stars... whatever you like.

5 // repeat at regular intervals.

6 // when you're done, tie off your thread the same way we started and trim the patch fabric close to the stitching.

i'm playing along with everyone at my creative space.

colour // spring blossoms on storm clouds

stamen // petal // twig // storm

preview

i'm slowly slowly fumbling my way through the process of opening a little etsy store to sell some baby related stationary that's been swirling aound in my brain for a while now. i've been working away on the design of some little birth announcement cards that can double as thankyou notes for all the gifts from family and friends that find their way into your home once a baby arrives.

most of the designs available for this kind of thing are a bit cutesy for me, so i'm trying to keep the style of these cards quite clean and classic. i plan to do a new collection of designs fairly regularly to keep things fresh and on trend. i'm also going to design with a range of printing options in mind, some that you could print yourself and others that would come trimmed and scored for you to fold up and send out.

what do you think? as a new parent do you think you'd prefer to save a little money and organise printing yourself, or pay a little more for the convenience of having your cards mailed ready to write on and send off?

five years yesterday

anniversary flowers from my love.

five years is meant to be silverware or wood (depending if you're following the modern or traditional gift schedule).
we're desperate for some quality knives... any suggestions?

inspire // the road is home

i stumbled across the road is home not long after s. was born and the words and images there made an enormous impact. a new mama herself, i found nirrimi's eloquent, beautiful musings on life with her daughter and partner completely breathtaking. it's hard to believe how young she is, seeming to have the calm and experience of a lifetime, the voice of an old soul and storytelling in her blood.



i've been inspired by her words to slow down and think a little more deeply about life as it happens, to appreciate beauty in the mundane and to enjoy the special moments when they present themselves. i'm trying to turn off the little voices that want to edit out the imperfections and flaws in my images and just appreciate them as records of our life as it really is.

image via nirrimi's blog

fifty-two

eighty-three // eight hundred and seventy-three

i don't know what the secret is, but when they both sleep till 8:45am it's magic... after i finish panicking that something is terribly wrong that is

in progress // slouchy sarouel trackies

i'm attempting to design and sew a pair of super comfy trackies that don't look like typical daggy track suit pants. they're loosely based on m.'s bonds roomies and the low-slung, sarouel style pants tutorials that seem to be popping up all over my pinterest feed. it remains to be seen how wear-out-in-publicable they are, but they're sure to be cosy.

i'm playing along with everyone at my creative space.

colour // armrest collection

citrus // cloud // sky // midnight // snow

happy fathers day

happy fathers day my love. we are all so lucky to have you.