Pacifica

IMG_5268, originally uploaded by JenNZL.

One of the things I really missed about NZ when we were living overseas was the Pacific influence that is so evident here, particularly in Auckland.
Our local emporium sells a lot of very bright pacific prints, which are great for lots of things but a bit loud for clothes for me. This slightly more subtle print made its way home with me, for the princely sum of $2/metre, and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. The pattern is Burda 8090.
I had my usual fitting issues...if something fits me around the hips, it always gapes at the waist. My friend (who has the same issue) likes to call it "bucket factor" – as in, it makes the top of the garment sit away from the body like a bucket. Kinda the antithesis of "the muffin", which is a fit issue I don't (yet) have.
Anyway, in my usual lazy, half-arsed sewing style, I couldn't be bothered unpicking the facings and fixing the fit properly, so I stitched a channel for a bit of elastic between the two pleats at the back. Works fine and I've actually got quite a lot of wear out of this over the summer.
Bucket vs. Muffin. Hmm...it's kind of like that old saying: "if only Mama Cass and Karen Carpenter had shared the ham sandwich." Wouldn't that be a great way to solve all our fitting dilemmas? "Hi there. I have an excess of bucket-factor that I'm keen to trade for an inch or so of muffin. Please call on *****"

The "I'm a crazy hippy" pants

IMG_4049, originally uploaded by JenNZL.

While we're on the subject of craft that makes your eyes ache, I thought I'd share this pair of longies that I knit for my youngest son a few months ago. They're from this pattern, and are knit in the older (and far nicer) version of Tekapo Summertime. I used 4.5mm needles, rather than my usual 4mm, purely out of laziness as I thought that a looser gauge would make them knit up faster. Yeah....like most things, lazy isn't really the answer, since they're now baggy and saggy. Anyway, they do the job, which is of course the most glamorous task of stopping night-time cloth nappies from asphyxiating all humans and animals in the vicinity with the noxious smell of ammonia. And also saving me from making his bed so often, thus freeing up more time for craft. See, always thinking. ;-)

ETA....eek! Not sure why that photo is so big - I'm just sorting out the flickr thing. Ah well, at least you can see in glorious detail the dodgy bit between the stitches where my magic loop technique leaves a lot to be desired ;-)

Quilty goodness

To make it look like I actually make more than one thing every 6 months or so, I thought I'd kick off this blog with a few things I made ages ago. Tricky, huh.
Anyway, this is a quilt I made for my eldest; the second quilt I've made (might post the other one later if I run out of other things to talk about ;-) . I learned a lot making this quilt, and while it's bright and cheerful and my son loves it, it's not a fabric combo I'd choose again in a hurry. I had to sew muted colours for quite a while after this just to give my eyes a bit of a break.
So...the quilting in the ditch is wonky (aka not in the ditch but just vaguely in the vicinitiy of it); Mr nearly 2 has drawn on it in places with felt pen; some of the binding is coming undone and I may or may not ever get around to fixing it. Also: note to self: tighten the screw on the measuring bit that you poke into the presser foot when you're grid quilting or else it'll move, give you wonky lines and you'll have to unpick a really long line of stitching. Immense sewing rage will ensue.

Cosy places

So...I have succumbed and finally started a blog. Not that I necessarily think I have a whole lot to put in it, to be fair; it's just one of those things that's been lurking around in the back of my mind for a while. Since my brain ceased proper functioning 4 years ago with the birth of Mr 4 years old, I also figure that it can't hurt to have some online repository for ideas and inspiration I find during blog-trawling escapism.

Anyway...(and this feels kinda weird and narcissistic, since I don't actually think anyone's reading this ;-) I'll introduce myself. Ahem...to, um, myself. Mum of two little boys, aged 4 and nearly 2, who crafts for the sake of making something that isn't a pile of laundry or dishes. An eternal starter-of-projects. Endlessly over-ambitious about how many things I can do with the limited craft-time available. Stash hoarder extraordinaire. Likes to fondle fabrics and yarn. Potentially gets greater joy from having fabric than using it. Am working on fixing that last one; hence the blog.

And since I only tend to go back to blogs with pictures, I'll end this with one. Of a cushion, that I would dearly love to be curled up against right now with a cup of tea and a magazine - Ha!
Made from a couple of good old op-shop blankets (sorry...I refuse to call it thrifting. It'll always be op-shopping for me) and some orchid-print linen from an upholstery shop. Buttons courtesy of an excess of purchasing at the Karen Walker fabric sale.