Batman party!

I have to apologise for no Ripple-a-long update this week .... I have done NO rows!!! oops! I promise I will definitely get back on track this week though ... if for no other reason that it is rolled up on the floor next to my bed and I trip on it almost every time I get up! lol!
However, I have been busy planning my boy's 7th birthday party, so I have some photos to share ...

 

This is the cake I made on his actual birthday when my parents and in-laws came over for tea. My first proper go at using fondant to make the decorations - lots of fun and A2 had fun sitting and playing with play-doh while I played with the fondant!

Favor boxes - for girls and boys :)

 Ready to go.....

 My superheroes! A2's costume is from a couple of years ago, I added a cape to the shoulders and a 'logo' to the front of a long sleeve onesie (she added the tutu when she got dressed!). A3 is wearing a onesie with a red singlet over the top to which I had sewn a square of felt to the shoulders (a little bit gathered to create a cape look) and then I created the 'Robin' logo and stitched it to the front = boy wonder! and A1 (birthday boy!) is wearing the costume he received as a gift!

 Cakes and biscuits - bat and superhero shield shaped biscuits (really recommend Bisk-Art for shaped cookie cutters! Awesome prices and service. the cutters were packaged so carefully for posting too!)

 The Batman rag quilt! I only started it last Sunday night, so I was pretty impressed I had it finished and ready for Thursday morning!

 And it was covering a Lego table! This table was made by gluing 4 baseplates (Liquid nails) to an $8.95 IKEA table! Awesome price and he is stoked to be able to build on a sturdy surface instead of on a carpeted floor.

 A2 with the card she made for her big brother! 7 logos stamped because he was turning seven!

 Cake for the party - more fun with fondant!

I used an oval fondant cutter to cut small ovals first then a scalpel to cut out the bits to create the bat shape.
so, that's what I have been up to this week! Hope you like the pictures and would love to hear your thoughts :)

Lots of fluff!

Here are a couple of photos of the rag quilts, they are washed and shaken to get rid of a bit of fluff, but I didn't get time to go to the laundromat to use their drier and get rid of some more, soon though!

This is the strippy one for A2 with the matching dolls one on top

And the more traditional one using squares for my bubba boy.
The rag quilts were certainly simple and relatively quick to make, I'll definitely be making more of them!

Making progress ...

Yay! I have finished A3's rag quilt! I have finished the snipping and washed it once already (I followed advice I had read on a blog and put it into a pillowcase which I tacked shut before washing) and will wash it again before taking it to a laundromat and making use of their dryer. However, I have also made another raggy quilt already! I had some pink princess, polkadot and plain flannelette so I decide to make a strip one for A2. Unfortunately the print flannelette was not as wide as the others, but with the offcuts I was able to put together a little quilt for her doll so they will have matching blankets :) Those 2 have also been washed once and I will wash them again before drying them in the drier too.
All in all a productive start to February! I have also cut the pieces for A1's cowboy quilt and they are laid out on the lounge room floor at the moment, waiting to be pieced. Silly me stuffed up one of the cuts and had to go buy another fat quarter just for a 5 1/4" x 9 1/2" piece :( annoying! However, with the leftover piece of the fabric I had to buy yardage of, I should be able to use both with some backing fabric to make a pillowcase, so at least I can use it.
This evening I also did a bit of a tidy up of my yarn stash (well, most of it!) and packaged up the yarns in bags of matching balls. I'm hoping this will make it easy for me to see how much of each I have and choose appropriate patterns. I also found 1 beanie that needs 3 more crocheted rows, 2 beanies that need the ends woven in and a christmas stocking that needs stitching up. There is also a bag that I need to finish for a friends daughters birthday next weekend and a couple of blankets that are half done (1 knit and 1 crochet). I hope to get these things finished off in the next couple of weeks so they can go to their new owners instead of being in my yarn cupboard :) for fun and to use up some scraps I also arm knitted a scarf for A2 using 2 different chunky pinks. I just have to stitch the ends to make it an infinity scarf and I know she'll love it.
Ok, that's it for now, need some sleep so I have energy for all these projects!

Still snipping!

Yep, still snipping the raggy quilt! I tend to go back and forth between it and the crochet blanket in the evenings so my hand doesn't get too sure, but I think another couple of evenings will knock it off and then I can't wait to wash and dry it to see it come up all fluffy .... I hope!!!
I made a little trip to Spotlight yesterday too, to pick up some 'needles' ..... hmm managed to stash that bag in my study pretty quick when I got home! lol! In my defense I also got the last of the fabric I needed to use in a quilt for A2 and another for A1 - both needed backing and binding, plus a bit extra for sashing/extra blocks. Now just to cut and piece the fronts and then I have to go back for batting .... 

Some progress!

I've spent a little time on a couple of my works in progress this long weekend ....
The crocheted blanket is still slowly coming along. I did take it in the car with me when we all went out for lunch on Sunday, but we had to go into the hills and for the first time in ages I started feeling a bit travelsick so I decided safest not to keep going! I have managed a few rows while watching Masterchef though ;)
My flannel raggy quilt, however, is in the process of being 'snipped'! I finished the binding and am now doing all the snipping to make it raggy. I think it will take me a few more nights to finish that part because my hand gets sore after an hour using the scissors! I'm pleased with myself though, because I made a matching pillowcase cover out of the leftover squares and binding .... I am definitely trying hard to clear out some of my stash and not hang onto scraps this year! The quilt looks good so far, of course the stitching isn't perfect, but I don't think my bubba will mind and I am looking forward to seeing how it fluffs up after washing and drying.
That's it for this update ..... wonder if I'll get more done this week with A1 heading back to school? lol, not likely I imagine!

Crafty beginnings

I like to craft ... a LOT! I have a lot of supplies, and ideas too, but what I lack is the time and motivation to start and finish them all! This year I want to get stuck into some of the UFOs in my craft room and also start AND finish some of the projects I have ready to go (eg kits and fabrics/yarns I have bought with patterns in mind). Plus, I would like to create more things for family and friends, especially my 3 kids. It would be nice for them to be able to say 'my mum made this' (or at least I think it would be nice lol!).
So far this January I have

• started a crocheted popcorn blanket for A2 - it's bright and multicoloured and I plan to add a white border after I finish the main section. I started on the 2nd Jan and so far I have used 1 1/2 balls and am onto the last full ball I have of that wool (well unless I check my stash and find more in there!) so hopefully I will finish it within the next month. I have been taking it in the car when we go on longer drives and that has knocked a bit of it over .... need to think of further places to visit to get more crochet time lol!

• finished a pillowcase dress for A2 - very pretty Riley Blake fabric with butterflies in light blue, turquoise, mustard and chocolate. I have enough left over for something else so I'm toying with either a matching dress for one of her dolls or a skirt. The dress is a bit big for her right now (although she has already worn it) but I made it hoping it will last until next year, and she can add leggings under it too.

• pieced a quilt top (lap size) and matching cushion front. I bought the material and pattern for the fronts at a craft fair last June and decided to get going on it. Amazingly enough I had enough of similar colours in my stash to add a border around the pieced squares and for the backing, (yay! more stash-busting!) so I have them basted and waiting to be hand-quilted at the moment ..... I will need to purchase some fabric for the binding though. Looking forward to finishing it and having it on my couch ready for winter, fingers crossed!

• arm knitted a scarf! yes, that's right, I knitted it with my arms! I just grabbed some random chunky multicoloured wool I had in my stash and made it into an infinity scarf, but it looks quite good and once I perfect my casting on and off so it looks neater, I will be making more of these for gifts, maybe even for the Mother's Day stall at A1s school. 

• pieced a flannel raggy cot quilt for A3. I had some cute flannel material I had picked up a while ago in plain and print and then I picked up some extra the other week as it was only $3.99/m so I used that instead of batting which meant I didn't have to cut different sized squares. All the squares were cut to 6" x 6" and then I joined the pieces with 1/2" seams. I am going to bind it instead of having raggy edges as I know A3 will chew on the edges (he's teething, poor boy) and I don't really want him to have a mouthful of fluff. So all that's left on that project is the binding, snipping and then the washing and drying to make it fluffy!

Okay, so that is what I have finished and started this month! Not a bad start to the year! I hope to share some pictures of the finished products in the weeks/months to come.
I have also made several cards for friends birthdays and hope to spend another afternoon doing some more of that soon. In fact I need to make some cards for a swap I'm in, so that will force me to sit and stamp .... such a shame ;)
The other thing I need to do is cook up some food for the freezer. We have an abundance of zucchinis at the moment so I have been 'pinning' zucchini based recipes to try and especially ones that will be good for the school lunch box. Maybe Monday will be my cooking day .....