A new cardi

A new cardi
Originally uploaded by redmag

....my children are growing like weeds!!....as I type this they run around in ill-fitting rags....shivering (actually the shivering is artistic license they don't seem to feel the cold except to use it as a reason to get out of the bath before they've even gotten wet because they prefer the feel of filth on their skin to warm soapy water)

.....but we are experiencing a bit of a clothing crisis here on all fronts, mine included..so I've started to make a few things for them and me.....this is a quick baby jumper....(took me three evenings and I'm a pretty slow knitter) ....I used 1 ball of 8 ply Rustica in graphite from Bendigo Woolen Mills ...the buttons were from my stash I think they came off a vintage jacket....and the pattern is a Debbie Bliss one from here (it's free!)....it was originally intended to be for a little girl....i just added buttoms in place of the suggested flower snap closing to butch it up....it works well...my only compaint is that without ribbing along the bottom it curls up making it look a little like a crop top/bolero number and dosen't quite cover the precious kidney region (why do we angst about covering the kidneys?).....I think I'm going to try it again but with either more length or perhaps a little ribbing along the bottom....in another colour....something brighter....i like bright clothes in Winter....but the folks at Bendigo don't seem to have many bright colurs which is a shame....I'll have to find a new online source for yarn....if you have a good suggestion please do leave a comment...

...anyway I have a huge problem finishing things - there are three jumpers slothing about my loungroom that are 80% finished right now....so to give myself a deadline I've signed up for the one-week kids clothing challenge over at elsie marley....wish me luck...

The organic pant pattern

{50/365} The organic pant pattern
Originally uploaded by redmag

Loads of you have them....a simple pattern traced of a pair of pants both you and your child love.....that just keep getting remade over and over slightly bigger each time as your child grows.....these were PJs for a two-year old that lived hard and died young ( seen here when they were fresh)

My tip is...well.....i use old cotton sheets....they are nice and comfortable..... designed for sleeping really......and cheap....and its nice to reuse things.....and i like the flowers.

More brave new pants

More brave new pants
Originally uploaded by redmag

....those of you who've seen my back catalogue might remember me making some pants from a couple of Dreamworld tea towels about this time last year....well during last week's dream op-shop run I picked up a very bright and very cool 1970's tea towel covered in the cutest (although very un-pc) pictures of Aussie cowboys working hard with their animals in the outback....and it was huge!!! One tea towel easily became a pair of pants for my smallest child (they are either a big 000 or a small 00). There are close ups of the pictures here, here and here.....

Those of you who know me in real-life might have heard me complain about how terrible the range of clothing for little boys is when compared with the choice and variety offered to little girls once or twice (or a 1000 times) while these pants aren’t everyone’s cup-of-tea and I’m sure that he will grow up and have a phase where he is embarrassed by them…I love them – bright, colourful and just kitsch enough to be interesting without being totally clown like (although others might disagree) I just wish I could buy little things like this – if someone knows of a magical place where you can get lovelies like these I’d love to hear.

(Edited to add - forgot to give the woodfired oven update - we now have gravel in the base making it actually base like....and the frame for the opening has been cast....next weekend is a long weekend here and the oven is due to be finished then)