4: Some new pajamas

4: Some new pajamas
Originally uploaded by redmag

The biggest little one needed some new pajamas - I couldnt find anything I liked in his size and so set to making some. These are crafted from things I already had in my stash - a floral bed sheet and some elastic for the waistband. The pattern is based on a pair of pants he already has and bingo.....cheap warm pjs.

He even seems to like the flowers - although it might be he knows the word for flower and just likes pointing to them, reciting flower, and then getting praised over and over and over again.

The joyful moment came the next morning when he happily played in them and had to be forced out of them to get dressed for the day.

2 : A sudden unexpected downpour

2 : A sudden unexpected downpour
Originally uploaded by redmag

Today's thing to be happy about was a sudden and unexpected downpour (unexpected by me anyway - perhaps the weather boffins at the bureau knew it was coming but I didnt).....and only days after we started planting our new garden area in the backyard - I'm not sure I've commented on this before but when we moved into the house the previous occupant seemed to have declared war on nature every tree had been chopped down to the ground and the blocked had a deforested feel about it...as complete non-gardened its taken us a while to work out what to do to fix the devastation.....today everything is nice and wet and happy !

Things that bring you joy

Things that bring you joy
Originally uploaded by redmag

I read an article about a women who took a polariod photo every day for a year of something that she was grateful for.....it was a reinterpretation of the 365 days project that many people do on flickr inspired by the suggestion of a nun - its in the April 2009 issue of Notebook magazine if you want to read it for yourself......anyway it struck me as a nice thing to do....something to give structure to chaotic days and weeks....get you in the habit of looking for good in your day...and it fit very much in with the resolutions I'd made weeks ago all aimed at enjoying the precious year I have ahead of me - a year where I'm able to take time from working and be at home. I think I might blog about those resolutions some other time they need their own space....anyway I'm going to give this a try....rather than things I'm grateful for I prefer to call them things that bring me joy.....here are today's:

• The one pictured - A reminder that beauty will sometimes just appear without you having to do all the work.
• Sleeping in
• Waking to find a tiny baby in the crook of my arm in the soundest sleep he's had all night - while you want them to sleep on their own its nice to know they like it best when they are close
• A simple lunch of leftovers with my husband - just the two of us
• He remembered the word I taught him yesterday - stick - and its his new favourite
• The dog follows me from room to room - flopping down where I stop to work because he too likes to be close.

A new take on an old design

A new take on an old design
Originally uploaded by redmag

.....This is a reworking of my Koala design.....while I love my little koalas - especially their round bottom bodies - I found that they werent all that popular and so with a small change to the ears and the face I now make rabbits....this one is in my shop right now!

We're off to the park to feed the ducks - i hope you have a lovely weekend.

My day - the more fun bits pictured

My day
Originally uploaded by redmag

....I don't think I've completely adjusted to not working - there's no routine yet....and I seem to get to the end of the day and wonder where all those hours that stretched endlessly ahead of me in the morning have gone.....so back to keeping lists to keep me on track.....today's tasks are:

Boring admin phone calls to sort out a bill
Precleaning under the toddler feeding area - yes its gotten so bad that it needs a preclean before its able to be cleaned the usual way you clean floors
A couple of loads of washing
Go to shops and get vitals we've run out of or never bought but need for tonight's dinner (sweet potato burritos for grown ups, zucchini dip for arvos for the little lad) - Weetbix, sugar, dipables, sour cream
Cook chickpeas for the dog's dinners - he's on a low allergy diet

Fun stuff:
Finish a pair of "Harry highpants" for the even littler lad - I had been trying to knit a pair for the last week ( in the back of the photo) but they looked pretty lame so last night I took to a jumper that I loved but had worn into the ground - small holes had started to develop - and 20 mins later I have a pair of pants for popping over all those summer clothes that still fit and are too cute to retire but arent warm enough for outside in autumn. Just need to decide on straps and buttons and I'll be done.
Plant the Kale - ok Kale isnt fun and I'm stuggling to get excited about cabbage even if it is an exotic one but does very well in Canberra weather and I like a bit of digging in the arvo so the planting bit is fun.

ALSO must remember to water husband's broadbeans. I was also going to start raising my Australian wildflower seeds - but then I've been planning on doing that for 3 weeks now!

In reality I will most likely spend most of my active time wandering the streets out in the sun and still have most of this list left for tomorrow....but that's ok too

A wrap-around cardigan

A wrap-around cardigan
Originally uploaded by redmag

It's amazing just how much more energetic I am now - OK energetic isnt the right word because I'm really not getting as much sleep as I'd like....it's more that I just have a desire to do things and create things that I had been putting off and lacked any interest or motivation for recently.

This little cardigan is a case in point - it was actually in a pile of things that were due to be thrown out (or dontated to the op shop really) I had done all the knitting and half the stitching but had somehow lost interest in finishing it. I dont really like the colour and I suspect that my last child had probably out grown it by the time I finished knitting.

Anyway...20 mins of sewing and I end up with a nice little cardi that fits my second child perfectly - at least for now.

I also found a bunch of other half finished projects - some are mine some are ones that others had started and then donated to the op shop - so I'm off to finish those.

Two recent projects

Two recent projects
Originally uploaded by redmag

Here are my two most recent crafting projects:
EJ - Own design 9 months in the making
Baby Blue cotton/bamboo blanket in moss stitch.

Both have turned out rather well