Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

Tell me how one fits anything in when one is either working, cleaning up dog poo, parenting children or doing washing?

One is getting a wee bit overwhelmed this week and shall never again take on extra shifts without first gaining a commitment from one's partner to make some attempt at maintaining the washing and the lego!

I checked in with my google reader this morning and there was in excess of 400 blogs for me to read!  I have crafted zilch, crocheted not a single stitch, have not managed to finish reading the Hunger Games and have had the latest edition of Mollie Makes teasing me from the side table!

What does one do with the hours late at night after work when one should be folding laundry?  One goes on Pinterest and starts planning Angry Bird cake ideas for a certain young man's 8th birthday next month, that's what!

Source: karaspartyideas.com via Sonia on Pinterest

Source: bigfatcook.com via Sonia on Pinterest

Source: squidoo.com via Sonia on Pinterest

How cool would this one be????  It's amazing!

Hairy MacLary From Robinson's Dairy!

We've had a little snip on Friday, just an inch or two.  It took less than five minutes, maybe a dozen snips of the hairdressers scissors and I was $20 poorer.  Yes, that's right $20!

Next time I will totes be doing it myself, even if I have to use the sewing scissors to do it!

Milo Chocolate Coco Pops Robinson...

...duly named by the five year old!  Heretofore called Milo for short!

(There is a puppy buried in there!)

He's eaten, he's pooped - outside and in, he's nipped Miss Matilda (to say she was unimpressed would be putting it mildly!!!), he's yet to bark or whine or make one noise (what's with that!!!! bet he's saving it for 3am!!!) and has gone nicely to bed in the laundry.

Welcome to the family Milo Chocolate Coco Pops Robinson!

My creative space...

Night times are for grannies around these parts.

I'm easily managing one a day out of my left over yarn stash.  Not sure how I'll join them yet, and I probably should start darning in all those ends as I go!

My favourites so far... bottom left and bottom right.

Have you signed up to do a granny a day?

Pop over to Our creative spaces for more crafty inspiration.

Milo

We are on puppy day countdown in these parts... 3 sleeps to go before we pick him up.

The puppy lady sent us these little picture updates.

The small people have decided to call him

"MILO"

We have every conceivable puppy toy known to man to help keep him entertained, puppy training pads, doggy beds, blankets and the laundry is prepped for an overnight bedroom setup.

Anything else I need to know?!!?

A Granny A Day

I noticed the lovely Pip has started a new granny a day project!  Yay for us - it's perfect timing for me because I have all these left over bits and bobs of yarn from other projects that I am now just going to whack all together into traditional granny squares and see where it takes me!

  So far I have done two and I am about to go whip up another before I do the kinder pick up, so I am right on target.

And how perfect is that basket for carrying it all!  Found in a cupboard clear out, I think it came from a Christmas Hamper thingy my husband bought home which I then wouldn't let him get rid of knowing I would find a use for it one day!

Do you granny?  Pip has fantastic video tutorials on her blog (which is where I learnt all my crochet skills) if you want to give them a go!

Finders Keepers

I WILL BE GOING!

I figure if I put it in Capital letters is more likely to happen!  Plus it's in a much better spot this year, more accessible.  I dont care if I have no money, or cant get rid of my children... I WILL BE GOING!

I made a dress... for a grown up!!!

I signed up with Miss Curlypops Lisette dress sew-a-along yesterday!  Today, the dress is made!  How quick was that?!

Now, my pictures aren't great unfortunately - I only had a 7 year old and an iphone on hand. 

I chose the same fabric from the pattern image cause I thought it was super pretty. 

Here's the dress without the tie.  I actually haven't made up the tie and don't think I will.  I like the pattern in the material broken up by the brown belt below.

I made up a size 14 straight off the pattern without measuring any of me!  Risky, yes?  It seems to have worked out ok though.  I can get it on and off without any difficulty and I think the looseness means I can layer things underneath during winter.  I have read a couple of other blogs where people have said the arm hole is a bit baggy and I would tend to agree but I don't have enough technical sewing know how to adjust it.  I also think a sweet cardy might solve this (small) problem anyway since we are coming into autumn.

Does the belt need to be wider praps?

I also REALLY liked the addition of pockets on Curlypop's dress too, and considering my sewing skills are pretty basic I think I might borrow them from the pattern I found in this book from the library....

Here's what this dress looks like.

And of course I had to include this one - Oscar's photography director skills in action!

Would I make it again?  Yep!  Once I'd cut the pattern out it all came together quite quickly.  Nothing like instant gratification!  Plus I had a little visit to the Sew Lisette flickr group and saw some other dresses in really beautiful fabric.  I also pranced about the house this evening in it beltless and quite liked the look of the way it hung.  Not too much billowing of fabric where one might be mistaken for being preggers!

Thanks to Cam for the inspiration! 

Curlypop's Lisette Dress Sew-a-long.

Who can resist a visit to Spotlight on a 30% off everything day???  Even if you have to take the three small people with you and bribe them with lollypops!

I had been thinking of joining in with Miss Curlypops sew-a-long, so I managed to snavel a pattern and the same material from the picture (which I thought was gorgeous) today.  I shall go forth and pattern cut in front of Revenge!

My creative space...

I have been obsessing over the Little Red Riding Hood Cape in the Oliver & S Little Things to Sew book for ages!

 I was going to make a lovely red copy of the one pictured but then I spied some babushka corduroy fabric on sale at Spotty during the week and brought a metre or so thinking I'd surely find a use for it.  When I spy babushka anything, I am hard pressed to leave it there!

Bow down to the wonders of my sewing (and my appalling iphone photos)!!!!

I made the medium from the book and it is perfect for Matilda (she is 3), with plenty of room for movement and growing. 

Now, I know it is not perfect because I used fabric with a pattern and of course once you cut all the pieces out, my dollys didn't all match up nicely, but I seriously don't think it matters when it's this cute!

The vacant stare - post kinder photo sessions are really not an optimal for mini models.

Bribery to even stand still was required.... in the form of THE MOST ANNOYING WIGGLES MOVIE EVER!!!!

Why hello poppet.  That's a nice scowl you're sporting there!

The inside fabric is also from Spotlight and comes from the lovely new Lisette range.  The little babushka button was purchased from a market ages ago and made by Buttons by Lou Lou who isn't in operation anymore.

Cute dolly close up!

It took my a couple of hours to make the cape and it does say it is for beginner sewers.  I think it is fairly straightforward but I made sure I read through it all first so I had a good visual idea of what I needed to do before I started hacking away at the fabric.

Have you been creative this week?

Bruce Springsteen Love!

I love Bruce.  Even more when he sings about passion in his pants. 

And just wait till he says 'wiggle, wiggle, wiggle'!

Hilarious!

My creative space....

What can you do when you are almost at the end of a project and you no longer like it????  I think the colour choices I made are totally wrong!  The pictures are a little misleading (the red isn't THAT red!), but it's not doing very much for me in it's current state.  I'm thinking once I finish that final deep purple panel I might edge the whole thing in cream.

What to do, what to do?????

Creative peeps over at our creative spaces.