Remember how I wrote about making soft toys for Christmas presents a couple of weeks ago? I forgot to mention on here that my link to Mollychicken led to something very special... a wee pattern for an Anna Panda which you can find right here! It appeared the day after I sent out my request, and a lovely comment left on my blog from Lyn herself- eeee! This was very exciting for me, being such a newbie to the blog world and all. And I hope to make a little panda very soon, (I think my neice Esmae would love one) so thank you Lyn!

I had a lovely weekend, it was Tom's Mum's birthday so we had a lot of family time and it was very relaxing. On Friday night Tom and I (mainly Tom, actually!) cooked dinner for her and Dave, Tom's brother Dodge and his girlfriend Gemma. And then on Saturday morning we went out to the Haig family home at Cable Bay for a birthday brunch and caught up with lots more family. Arlo spent over an hour at the beach while everyone was eating, looking for 'hermit crabs'... his favourite activity ever. He can stand for hours, crouched over rocks and waiting patiently for them to come out.

I also had some time for a bit of sewing over the weekend- I made a top and pants for a friend's daughter, Maia. She was born a week after Arlo and we met at our Pink Kit birth classes. I made some dark red summer pants and the wee button-backed top (that needs a good iron) you can see in the picture below, using homespun quilter's cotton and a 1930s reproduction print- a scrap from my Mum. I figure the cotton will soften up after a few washes and be nice and cool for summer. It was a bit of a swap- Maia's Mum Ana made us a beautiful birthday cake in return that we had at our dinner party on Friday night. I've been thinking more and more about craft swaps lately. Actually, I was inspired by shopping for presents at our local pottery co-op shop, where I fell in love with everything but could afford only one bowl! I would love to organise a website or something for Nelson craftspeople to be able to do a swap but i'm not sure how to start it.

The bag is my first finished Christmas present. (I'm pretty sure my littlest sister Sarah doesn't read my blog, but the photo's not very clear anyway!) I found the great beaded bag handles at the Sunday market, attached to a very falling-apart old bag, so I replaced it with some more of my Japanese-print fabric and lined it with pink cotton. I hope she likes it! It's satisfying to have done one present at least!

Tonight Tom and I went out, baby-less. It was to attend the launch of a book he co-wrote a few years ago now, that has just been published. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you...
'Beyond the Maungatapu: The History of the Nelson Law Society.'

 

I know it's very hard to see in my bad photo, but that writing down the bottom says 'T Haig' (the name in the middle.) It was really cool to go to the launch of this book. I was so proud of Tom! Proud of him for writing the book, but, I realised while standing there listening to the speeches at the party, also for the job he does as an English teacher- he's working really hard at his new job. And I know that secretly he would much rather be writing and smoking cigarettes to pass his days, and not writing reports, patrolling the school playing field at lunchtime and having to wear sensible shirts that are at the mercy of a collection of teenagers with an opinion on fashion. It's what pays the bills and supports our wee family and that's the way it is right now. I hope that when the babies get a bit older and I'm less entangled with this home-life we can work out a way he could do more writing. If he wants to.

I spent a good part of this morning sorting through bags and boxes of old clothes. There were a few bags of my clothes, put away because they fitted so well during pregnancy, but now not so well, and one of Tom's that I hid down there (I am fairly embarrassed and guilty about this, as I believe everyone should have the right to wear whatever they want but I feel that the clothes in that bag should really stay there, except to maybe go on a trip to an op-shop, and be redistributed elsewhere. And Tom is colourblind.)

But most of the clothes were baby-sized. About ten bags (yes, ten!) were filled with those stretchy-flannel bodysuits, 'stretch-n-grows.' Keira's grown out of those now and we were given so, so many of them, even if I'd had triplets who stretched-and-grew a lot would we have needed to break into those bodysuit bags. There were more clothes, tiny newborn-baby pants and cloth nappies, t-shirts and handknitted cardies, hats and booties. I found the nicest ones and put them aside for a pregnant teacher at Tom's school. But then I came to the hardest part- two huge boxes of clothes that Arlo has outgrown. Most of them were in pretty rough condition, lots of strange sandpit, mud and food stains, and paint on the bigger clothes. My Mum thinks I don't utilise bibs enough, and she's probably right.

I called on Arlo's services to help me sort through his old clothes, and it was lots of fun. He tried to fit back into everything (especially his teeny 'Bob the Builder' gumboots!) but when he realised it was futile he helped sort things into piles. Things for a friend's wee boy, and things for the op-shop. Such a good feeling to be passing the things on, but some part of me was really sad looking through all that stuff. Like little trackpants with holes in their knees, that Arlo wore when he was crawling manicly, when we were living out at my parent's farm and he crossed many a gravelly driveway while I hung out washing or fed the chickens. And wee sweatshirts with his name screen-printed on, made for him by a friend, jeans he wore when learning to walk, the little swimsuit from the time we so wanted him to be a confident beach-baby, but instead he positively clung to my arms in the sea, breathing deeply, and tentatively dipped his feet in the water.

We're given so many bags of children's clothing by other people, and I've often wished the clothes came with little labels- "he used to wear this down at the Saturday market and get sauce all over it, hence this stain" or "the tear in these pants happened at Pioneer Park on the way up the slide ladder"... I wonder if the parents sorting through the clothes to redistribute, have the same feelings?

Am I being insanely sentimental and a bit stupid? Probably. (Having babies will do that you.)

I've been, amongst other things, a busy little sewer, making summery things for the stall I hope to start up at the Nelson market soon. I think I'll just focus on the baby-toddler age range, cause that's much simpler!
Here's what I've been making this week:

Cotton tops with buttons down the back for girls, all made from recycled fabrics- curtains, quilt squares, tablecloths... anything i can find really! I used a pattern from an old Topkids magazine (I don't think you can buy these anymore, sadly.) and hope to adjust it for older toddlers too. They're fun to make but I'm getting bored of doing facings on all my edges! I used to be such a lazy sewer. I've also been making cotton pants using a fairly plain, basic pattern. I'm hoping to find somewhere in town where I can get plain little labels printed though for all the clothes I hope to sell. At first I thought I could carve my own stamp (a la Wee Wonderfuls...) and then print it onto cotton tape using fabric ink. But I can't seem to find that special carv-able rubber anywhere here, and I don't think my skills would be up to it anyway. Perhaps I could order a stamp from somewhere? The other thing is I don't even know what my 'label' will be!!

 

 

I've been thinking about making some soft toys for Christmas presents- for both of my babies plus my three little nieces and friends' babies. I think (if I can do a good job on them) it would be nice to make something distinctive, that couldn't be bought in a shop...
But, I'm wondering what, exactly, to make. Does anyone have any ideas, on good patterns they know, or what they've found fairly easy to make? (My sewing skills are average, and time is precious, so I hope to be able to use an existing pattern on idea from a book.) My absolute favourite toys at the moment are these I saw on Mollychicken. Aren't they amazing? I think she is a genius.
I'll let you know if I come up with something, but right now a grizzly toddler is getting bored with me being on the computer!

I haven't touched my spinning wheel in a long time. Two winters ago, I didn't spend an evening without producing a skein of handspun wool, and I would knit almost exclusively with it. But then I had a break, and then I lost my confidence, and now I'm too nervous to try spinning again in case I can't do it properly.
Then yesterday, at Arlo's and my regular Sunday outing, I found this jacket at the second-hand market. It's a short-sleeved pink-y purpley cropped jacket with little wooden toggle buttons.
It's handspun, handwoven (I think) and almost definitely hand-dyed wool, and I love it, but when I tried it on at home Tom laughed and said it was twenty years too old for me. And something a Nelson potter might have worn in their 1978 heyday.
While I suppose it does bring the bran muffin eater out in me, I don't care, and will still wear it.
And it's inspired me to do some spinning again. I even got out my "New Zealand Woolcraft" book and had a wee look at the natural plant dye section.
And then some friends came around for dinner, and my brother turned up just before we were about to eat, with a surprise delivery from my mum- a new spinning wheel!
Well, it's actually really old and she bought it in the seventies. But she's downsizing her collection of three. When my sister Tamsin comes down to Nelson over Christmas I'll see if she'd like my old Ashford I learned to spin on, so she can learn too.
A little while ago, a friend who had been living in working for a couple of years in downtown London asked me why I loved to spin and knit. I think it's mostly because it of the slow-ness of it. I could easily go and buy some fake-fur type wool for a couple of dollars down at the Warehouse, but to me, hand spinning just makes the whole craft of knitting more special. It takes a really long time, especially to get the yarn just as you want it, and to feel comfortable with your wheel. I like the peacefulness of the fibre running through my fingers, and the whirring of the wheel. (Admittedly, it's not always peaceful when something goes wrong, or for that matter, when I was learning how to spin. I was ridiculously impatient.) I also think of it as a feminist act. I'm sure a lot of women don't think of knitting and spinning as being particularly liberating, but the idea of continuing a particular set of skills and knowledge about something practical- how to make a piece of fabric for warmth, for example, is something I consider very important. Being self-sufficient; knowing you don't need to rely on industry and technology although it's very helpful if you have it- is an empowering thing. Ghandi set a good example!

Our 'sewing night' didn't really happen this week, due to sickness and busy-ness of most us- but Jasmine and Rhiannon did come, and it was really nice. Hopefully people will come next Tuesday, so we don't eat all the baking ourselves, and also so Rhiannon doesn't think this 'group' I talk about is actually imaginary!
She's moving house in the next couple of weeks, and brought me a present- three huge bags of fabric pieces! I've chosen some for a cot quilt already; the rest of the craft supplies will be great for everyone to share on Tuesday nights... thank you Rhiannon!

I tried out this montage website last night- it's lots of fun. Especially when you put your name in!

As you can see, not a lot to talk about today. Keira is suffering badly from her second tooth coming through, and I'm finding the lack of sleep a bit crazy- strange, I don't remember Arlo's teeth coming through at all (don't worry, he does have a full set, so they must have at some point!) Perhaps I don't remember because the sleep-deprived days went by in a blur? I guess it's all part of that 'forget the bad stuff so you'll want another baby straight away' trap that I fell into big time. Not that I'd change a thing, I just wish she could sleep properly again!

Here's a picture I've been meaning to post for a long time- Arlo wearing the red Spanish dress sent by our friend Carthew, who recently travelled to Europe. Isn't it fabulous?! I think it was really intended for Keira, but because she's a bit small for it, and it looks so pretty on Arlo... at first he was a little unsure, but he soon got into the spirit of it!

I'm thinking about Carthew today because tonight his documentary will be screened (TV2, 11.25pm) and Tom and I are really looking forward to seeing it. Carthew lived here with us last summer, while he was shooting a good part of the film, and we feel like we have invested interest! So if you're going to be up around then, make sure you check it out! (We actually had a sneak preview, and it was a really interesting and emotional piece of film-making). Kia kaha, Carthew!

 

This arrived in the mail from Kylie, Craig and Isaac. A wee Hone Tuwhare. My favourite NZ poet- thank you and I can't wait for you to update your blog (hint, hint.) But I do love the picture of Ike!

 

I took Arlo for a walk around the Sunday market yesterday and we had some good finds. It's a good thing to do with him on Sunday mornings, while Keira's sleeping, because Tom can have a quiet morning reading and Arlo and I do 'treasure hunting' then go and see the ducks at the park afterwards. Yesterday I found this big bag of fabric, which cost me a whole 50 cents. There were some great vintage pieces in there, and some that will make good bags and purses. Arlo found a Hairy Maclary book and an original 70s shirt complete with those pearl dome buttons. (Okay, so the shirt was found with help from me!) I'll post a picture of him wearing it soon because it's so cute!
Here's some of the fabric after washing and ironing: (grrr, had to remove this picture, because not enough space!)



Also in the weekend I had a busy night sewing for a possible Saturday market stall, while Tom watched an action film on T.V. (I'd love to employ him as my assistant, but so far I don't think he's very keen. Imagine how much faster my wee production line would be!) I'm still a bit unsure as to how I'll organise it, but I've been thinking for a while about having one to sell some knitted children's clothes and things I've sewn, all from recycled and vintage fabrics. I've made some tops and jumpers so far, and had a lot of fun choosing fabrics for these lined purses:


I had quite a big collection of really old zips from antique and second-hand shops which I used to make these. I love those old-fashioned zips with the metal handle bits (is there a name for those?) and the worn easiness of them. Some of these are just little, to be used for coins or button collections, and others are wide enough for pencils and pens.
Another exciting thing about the stall idea is that I've recently met a couple of people who are interested in sharing one with me... which means we'd all be able to share the workload, such as the setting up and running of the stall on Saturdays. I don't want to jinx it with too many details though!