Last week was a really crazy week for me, I was literally running from one activity to the next. Not helped by a very temperamental internet connection - can't complain too much though, after being on hold for 70 minutes today (I made sausage rolls from scratch during that time!) they refunded my last 5 days of internet use :) Oh, and they fixed the problem.

I've done no sewing (completely put off by button holes), lots of crochet (I now have more than 60 granny squares for my rug), and had one night-time adventure with my sister (to the Nicholas Building Open Studio night on Friday - wow! How do I get into letterpress printing???). A busy week.

This week I aim to learn how to do button holes properly on my sewing machine - no cheating by doing them on the old machine, either! 

I also aim to sew up some clothes that are cut out and have been ready to go for weeks now.

Tasty doughnuts

Today I whipped up a batch of delicious doughnuts (using the recipe in Donna Hay's Modern Classics 2). Easy (yet time consuming) to make, but not without it's dangers! I received an oil burn on my arm when I accidently dropped some dough into the oil from a height - OUCH!!! Ollie tried to make it better by giving it a big sticky sugary kiss (which really did nothing except make it sticky!).I couldn't find my round biscuit cutters, so ended up improvising with a little medicine cup I found in the utensil draw! I love buying the cinnamon doughnut holes, so these were the perfect size :)

Miss J served some with melted chocolate for dessert after Ollie went to bed tonight. I still feel slightly queasy 4 hours later - sugar overload!

Recurring themes...

A few weeks ago, I did what all mums dread doing - I shut the car door on my little ones fingers! He's not much of a crier, but he howled for a good ten minutes after this, which shows how horrible it was for him. I almost took him to hospital, but after a while he could bend his fingers again, so I figured they weren't broken. By the next day, you could barely see the wound.

Since then, though, he has told everyone we meet the story - and I mean everyone! Nana's in the street who stop to say hello, the checkout person at the supermarket, someone in line behind us at the post office. 

Which brings us to this week. This week he has started drawing recognisable things. Most commonly, of course, is mummy's big car and little Ollie with his sore little fingers. He always points to his (previously) poor sore finger as he draws, just so I don't forget. 

To immortalise his first recognisable drawing of his mummy (not that I look like a friendly ghost in real life!), I sketched the design onto some fabric and embroidered it up last night. Please excuse the very dodgy photos - my camera is on it's death bed and my daughter has taken hers away with her for the weekend. These were the best I could get before my camera died altogether :(
Ollie was more interested in where his original picture was when I showed him the embroidered version this morning. But he quickly moved on to different things, like drawing a picture of my car. And his sore finger. Again.

Creative Boychild

I purchased a copy of Soulemama's The Creative Family a couple of weeks ago, and only just got round to picking it up to read last night. I read the first two chapters, and I'm totally inspired already! What really struck a chord with me is a paragraph in the introduction where Amanda writes about feeling centred, at peace and fulfilled when she's able to do some creating each day. I feel crazy by the end of the day if I haven't created something (which is probably why I am so into crochet at the moment - I can pick it up when I have only a few minutes spare, and feel like I have achieved something for the day. I even have a few granny squares on the go at once!).

What I have really taken from the book, though, is a desire to do something creative every day with Ollie. I really don't do enough with him. Today we did some very simple things, like cutting and pasting pictures from a magazine, and sewing, using a paper plate and yarn (with sticky tape on one end instead of a needle). He sat at his table for nearly an hour for each activity. Loved it!

More Noro!

These arrived today, some Noro Silk Garden and Nora Kureyon, earmarked for my Granny Square rug.

Almost broke the bank, but it'll keep me busy for a while, and will be well worth it when I'm snuggling on the couch under a gorgeous handmade crochet rug!

I don't like pink...

I don't wear pink, I very rarely buy anything pink for my daughter, and yet I feel really compelled to make things in pink. Fabric parcels arrive on my doorstep, I excitedly rip them open, only to find that they are filled with pink fabric! What's wrong with me??
These will be in my etsy store in the near future. I'm just making a few more that are not pink to balance things out!

Indigo Nob

Finally finished. This was a super easy knit that shamefully sat dormant on my needles for a good 3 weeks or so. I just wasn't happy with the sleeves, so in the end, I just ad libbed some moss stitch sleeves instead. I'm much happier now that this done, as is Miss J, who can finally start wearing it! 

I'm also pleased to have made something for her (something she chose, so presumably she will wear it!), as it seems that a disproportionate number of items are made for the boy-child. I think it helps that he is here with me 24 hours a day to model my creations :)

Winter warmer...

What better way to spend a wintery cold weekend than to crochet in front of the fire?? My rug is really coming along now, with 24 squares completed. 

On a different note, I'd like to thank Fern and the other girls at Craftblog for giving me a plug on their Wednesday Blog Love. It was a real surprise, and I'm so delighted! Thank you!

Noro Squares

I'm totally hooked! I need more Noro Silk Garden, though, I want more colours!

I can do it!!

A week and a half ago, I joined in the beginners "crochet-along" over at Hoppo Bumpo. The challenge was to learn how to crochet a granny square in a month.

My sister did a learn-to-crochet course a couple of months ago, so I invited her over yesterday for a quick lesson. I supplied the tea, chocolate brownies and lemon cupcakes (thanks to the new mixer), and she supplied the know-how. So, so, so much easier learning with someone else, and once I got the hang of it, I couldn't stop! I'm so into it now, that I'm thinking of whipping up a granny square rug in Noro Silk Garden (which is burning a hole in my knitting basket).