Not sure how else to put this.. I got a business stamp. I love it!
I got it from Penrith Rubber Stamps, who were so responsive and did such a nice job. I also paid a little extra for a wooden handle, which made from Western Australian Jarrah 🙂
All posts by oaktagdesigns
Completed felt cushion!
So my daughter finished her felt cushion kit! It has actually been 95% done for a while, but hey, we all know that feeling! So cute! It was such a good tool for teaching her how sewing works, and how things are put together.
The back was much simpler with the buttons. But… some of the coloured buttons went missing, so we replaced most of them with wooden buttons instead.
Crocheted crowns!
So here they are! The finished products from the one of the lovely hand-dyed balls of yarn.
I looked around ravelry, until I found this pattern, which can be found on the Hatting Madly Crochet website.
They were so quick to crochet up, and as far as I can tell, the pattern was brilliant. This is about the second written crocheting pattern I have followed, so Im not much of a judge! There was only one spot, where I pulled it out about 4 times before realising what it meant. This is clearly because Im a knitter and forget that you can crochet into holes, not just stitches!
They also dont take up much yarn. I was thinking that I might not be able to make 2 out of the 50g ball of yarn, so I did the first one with a cream coloured yarn as the band. Boy, was I wrong. I made it, and then 2 completely coloured ones, and I still have about enough left for another one.
The only change I made to the pattern, was for my 3 year old. I did one less pattern repeat, to make it smaller. I found that even though the pattern is for a toddler crown, it turned out to fit my 5 year old. But Im sure that it depends on tension, and the yarn. To adjust, the website says to adjust the foundation chain by 6 stitches.
The kids love them, and apparently so do the dogs (who just love to dress up, haha!).
So now, Im still not sure what to use the other yarn for! But Im sure something will come to mind.. 🙂
A warm winter coat – for the dog!
Winter has arrived.. only days ago. Apparently. Not for this short haired dog though. He curls up in a ball so tight, he looks the size of a chiwawa. He’s taller than my knee..
So a few weeks ago, I made him a new winter coat. The last one I bought, was lined with an old woollen blanket. Such a genius idea. Sad he decided to lose it, on what can only be presumed was a blackberry bush, when going for a run after some rabbits, last winter. 5 hours later he was found, tired and minus coat. That was an interesting day.
I wouldve loved to written a tutorial on how I made the dog coat, but really, it was a heap of fiddling that could have been avoided, and it depends on the size of your dog.
My tips are:
- Â Pick a time when the dog is chilled out. Nothing like trying to fit a dog who is excited!
- Get an old pure woollen jacket (preferably a large one) and felt it in hot water.
- Use a heavy duty outer fabric (I picked a good quality calico).
- Bind it together with a large width bias binding.
- Use elastic around the belly of the dog.
So Im just going to show you some photos of my surprisingly photogenic dog! (Yes, I realise he isnt the most attractive dog!!)
And my favourite photo for last..
So did you spot the attempted photobombing of another lovely dog? Thank goodness she has been blessed with a thick natural coat!
Now bring on winter!! (Well, maybe not too bad.. I havent made a coat for myself yet…!)
Hand-dyed yarn!
On the way back home after Mothers’ Day, I visited a fantastic handcraft shop. There is some gorgeous hand dyed, and handspun yarn there. And some delicious jam… amongst other things.
We are going away this week, and I need something to do in the car. Its decided that I will be using this gorgeous yarn. But what do I knit?? The pink yarn is an 8 ply (DK) and is 50g. The multicoloured yarn is 4 ply and also 50g.
Ive looked through some pattern books, but with the amount I have, its hard to know!
Any ideas??
Sewing, sewing, sewing…
Ive been knitting a lot lately. A lot. And trying to tweak the knitting pattern I hope to have out soon. But alas, my poor little brain needs a break from the knitting and its math. So back to a sewing pattern that is also very close to completion. I tested out some fabrics today.. so here is a sneak peek. For some reason I just cant go past the orange butterflies with purple. I just love it!
Mothers Day!
This year I got to see my Mum for Mothers Day! We live a while from my parents, so it usually doesn’t happen. It was very nice. And of course, I made my Mum something. She was gushing with happiness over them. My Mum, my biggest fan!
Here they are:
From this book:
With this yarn:
How was your Mothers Day? Any handmade gifts to show off?
Lots and lots of capes!
So this is a bit of old news.. but I forgot to do a post on it. I made a large number of capes and here they are! They were for our church’s Easter program (where local kids enrol to do 3 full mornings of activities over the Easter holidays). They were for the younger kids, and it was so satisfying to see the kids enjoying what I had sewn (especially after making a squillion in a row and wondering where variety went!!).
Here is my daughter’s after it was decorated by her. Cute!
Finished knitted squares for blanket!
You might remember a few weeks ago, I started making some knitted squares. Well, I finished 4 and here they are drying last night after I handwashed them.
It was a nice relaxing little project. Good break to get the creative mind working again!
I got to see some photos of the blankets that are being put together (by some ladies at our church) from the squares today, for a local charity, and they look good!
Knitting dolls clothes!
Recently, I’ve been on a bit of a mission to use up my scraps and leftover yarn. Â So I got some larger yarn on the needles and made up this little dress for a favourite doll at our house. Ill admit, its a bit out there – not something I would sport myself! But it has the memories. The bottom yarn I used to make friends baby a newborn hat, the green and grey yarn was handspun by my Mum, the lighter blue is leftover from a jumper my Mum made for herself when I was little, and the darker blue was leftover from some interesting mittens I made, that ended up at my Mums – who proclaims they are some of the best mittens shes ever worn!
Whats the best thing you’ve whipped up from scrap yarn?
(As a side note, yes, the doll is wearing a loom band bracelet especially made by my 5 year old. Hey, dolls have to keep up with fads too!!)