Crafty Joint Project

As with most kids B has a fair few stuffed toys. However, in that collection there is no cat. He has been asking one for a while and I said that after his birthday party I would make him one. Of course, with his memory he remembered and held me to it!

I am so not a cat person at all. As such, in my collection of patterns I did not have any patterns for cats. Upon turning to Pinterest there were very few patterns there and B didn't like any of them. I was then thinking that this could turn out to be a very involved project.

For some inspiration and to try to get a handle on what his vision was I asked B to draw a picture of the cat he wanted for me. This is what he came up with:

From there I decided to replicate his cat almost exactly rather than muck around trying to come up with a compromise. I traced around his cat onto interfacing making a few of the pieces a bit bigger and manageable.

I had some felt and the stuffing already so this was actually a free project. It only cost me my time which was about 2 evenings of work.

I think it looks cute and quirky. He took it to church with him this morning and various people called it a dog and rabbit but he was very quick to correct them. He really loves it and I think it does have a lot to do that he was the creator.

I would love to know what you think. I only hope I haven't started something here!!!!

It's Birthday Time Again!

Well it's that time of year again. B's 5th birthday has been and gone.

After a few changes he finally settled on a dinosaur theme a couple of months ago. I was happy with this as I could instantly think of a few activities and games to do. Of course to see what other people have done for dinosaur themed parties I consulted Pinterest and found lots of great ideas for games, decorations and food.

Table all set ready to go. Dinosaur themed tablecloth and I copied a dinosaur picture and laminated them for placements. The kids then took these home.

This was the first year he had his party in the afternoon. Previously they have been in the morning running into lunch so I have felt like I needed to provide more food. As this was just afternoon tea there wasn't quite as much as other years. Although I still over catered but that is just the way I do it. I prefer to have leftovers than not enough! So the menu included sausage rolls (I even made my own pastry this year thanks to Maggie Beer and her Sour Cream Pastry), dinosaur salad (home made tzatzki and hummus with carrot, celery and cucumber sticks), a fruitasaurus (courtesy of Play School), fairy bread (not healthy I know but I cannot do a party without it) and a dinosaur cake.

Cake fresh out of the tin (hired from the local cake decorating shop)

 

All decorated ready to go! I don't claim to be a expert cake decorator by any means but it makes me happy to do this myself.

Fruitasaurus - got this idea from Play School.

 

There were a few games for the kids but all with a dinosaur theme. We played a follow the leader game where each child got to be a dinosaur and go around the backyard and all the others had to follow. The other games were:

Pin the horn on the triceratops

Musical Dinosaur Feet. Instead of musical chairs I laminated some dinosaur feet and put some Velcro on the back so they would stick to the carpet and not move.

 

Sandpit with plastic dinosaurs buried in the sand (picked these up of a Buy Swap and Sell Site over 40 dinosaurs for only $5!). I included some buckets, brushes, shovels and other tools to do the digging.

I don't like doing party bags full of lollies. Instead I like to send the kids home with mementos from the party.

Each child got a calico bag with their initial embroidered on it. In it was a little magnifying glass and then they could put in the dinosaurs they found during the dinosaur hunt.

 

I made a number of dinosaur tails which the kids got to wear during the party and then take home. They were all made from fabric that I had lying around at home so it was great in that I got to make these for the party and clean out some of my fabric stash!

The bags and dinosaur tails all ready to go.

I have been really lucky with the weather for B's birthday parties. For the end of June in Melbourne we have been lucky not to have rain. It's been cold but not much else to be expected in winter.

Everyone had a great time and the birthday boy really enjoyed himself. So much so that when he woke the morning after the party he asked how many sleeps till his next birthday!!

My needles have been flying!!

I have been really getting back into knitting lately. I have made a couple of things over the last few years but not a lot. There has even been a couple of things started and not finished!

It's been really nice to sit on the couch after B has gone to bed and relax with a bit of knitting whilst watching TV. I have also been doing a little bit while B eats his dinner. We eat together but some nights he is really slow and he has dessert which I don't so I've been getting some done then. I also take it with me when B has his swimming and roller skating lessons and knit while I'm watching him. So there has been quite a few opportunities to get a lot done.

I have made B a couple of jumpers other years, however, he didn't really wear them a lot. He doesn't really feel the cold that much and jumpers are too warm for him. For that reason (and also because they are quicker too) I have been making vests.

 

So I started making this vest for B and was really enjoying the way the wool knitted up so I decided to make myself a beanie as well. When I mentioned this B said he wanted one too. We went back to the wool shop and got all the remaining balls of this colour. Luckily I have a really good wool shop just around the corner where all the ladies know B by name - not me just him! So we now have matching beanies!! (A bit tragic I know). There was a small amount left so I also knitted myself a pair of fingerless gloves. Unfortunately there wasn't quite enough so I just used another wool to do a cuff.

 

 

 

The vest on the right is another I have just completed for B. The pattern is easy and knits up very quickly. They really are good for him as they keep him nice and warm but don't overheat like a jumper would.

 

On the left is a vest I have started knitting for myself. I have been so pleased with my other efforts that I thought I needed to knit for me as well. I have nearly finished the back so should hopefully get this finished in the next couple of weeks.

 

 

 

After I made my fingerless gloves B asked for a pair and decided he wanted a Cats pair as he barracks for Geelong. Again they were nice and quick to do (about an hour or so). However, note to self white is not a good colour to use for gloves for a 4 year old boy!!

 

The fingerless gloves are really simple. They don't have a separate bit for the thumb. I thought that would be a bit tricky and I wanted some to do really quickly. You just knit a rectangle and sew them up leaving an opening for the thumb. For these I used 3.75mm needles. For mine I cast on 42 stitches and knitted a 3x3 rib (K3, P3) to the length desired. For B's I only cast on 36 stitches but did the same rib. I then knitted 6 rows in each colour to give the Geelong stripes.

 

I have been really enjoying this creating lately. It's nice that it has the dual purpose of being creative and giving both of us items of clothing. Watch this space for more creative endeavours!!