Yum yum - muffins and newborn fluff

The kids and I made some orange muffins today with a few of our home-grown oranges. Yummmmmmm. I modified the recipe a little - left off the crunchy topping (though Emma decided we must ice them), and used half wholemeal flour. A really good recipe, nice and moist and flavoursome, not too sweet. I think next time I'll try adding some sultanas, maybe after soaking them in orange juice first. (Seriously, we still have a LOT of oranges.)



Emma and Alastair doing the icing. Yes, it had to be pink, even though it's made with orange juice.



Here are two pairs of newborn/small longies I knitted from the Picky Pants pattern. I did most of the knitting while I was in the UK, but am only posting photos now. They still need elastic/drawstring in the waist.



And here's my sewing 'area':



It closes up really small - sewing machine lowers on the elevator thingy and the overlocker goes away in the little cupboard, then the flaps all fold in. It will be better when it's in a dedicated 'hobby' room so I can leave things out for a day or so, but it's much better than the non-existent sewing area I had before. The stuff on the table is a pair of corduroy pants I'm making for Alastair, but they're only half done.

Newborn nappy!

I made my first newborn nappy for baby #3 tonight! (Seeing as I cleared out the fabric stash a little.) I am sooooo rusty, but the baby's only going to pee and poo in it anyway :P



Outer: cotton knit.
Hidden body layer: cotton jersey.
Inner: 100% cotton white velour (soooo soft)
Sewn-in quick-dry soaker: 2 layers cotton jersey sandwiched between 2 layers of cotton velour.

And next to a Green Kids pocket for comparison:



It's made using the Darling Diapers free newborn fitted pattern. It's supposed to be made with snaps, but I've lent my snap press to a friend and I didn't want to wait - it should have two rows of snaps on the front, and a snap-down for the umbilical cord stump. So it will fit EVEN smaller! But I think the velcro version will be fine, because I don't make small babies. I like the pattern! A word of caution if you want to use it, though, it's designed for knits, not wovens, or it won't fit for long.

Mmm, it's orange season

The first of this year's crop. They're being a bit funny this year - still quite a bit of green but if I wait any longer the fruit fly get in and/or they fall and get eaten by bugs. So I think they may be destined for cooking/baking rather than eating on their own. Still, I love orange puddings, cakes, etc so it's no great loss! We're out of flour and eggs at the moment so it's off to the shops tomorrow.



My Thuja socks. I've turned the heel and am almost done with the gusset. There are a few errors, but they'll be house socks/bedsocks anyway so it really doesn't matter. That's why I used a cheap wool and an 8-ply pattern to start with - not investing huge amounts of money or time in my first effort.

Found the battery charger.

Fabric sale over here:

http://picasaweb.google.com.au/georgina.ker/FabricsaleApril08

Hemp, wool, fleece, suedecloth, PUL, sherpa, velour, terry towelling, cotton wovens (including Dora and Winnie the Pooh, Spiderman/Batman quilt panels, Star Wars, Michael Miller), FOE, chalkcloth, flannelette, and so on.

Email me at georgina.ker at gmail dot com if you want to buy anything!

(And I still have seven tubs of fabric after pruning this *blush*)

*grumble* I really want to find this battery charger.

Today I have been very domestic. From the terribly mundane - three loads of washing - to the more interesting.

Working on the basis that it's more environmentally friendly to FILL the oven when you use it, I figured it's a darn good excuse to bake dessert. So we're having beef and vegie casserole (I cooked a double batch since I'm at work - well, uni prac - all this week), with mashed potato for dinner. Plus I filled up the oven with an apple and rhubarb crumble and a big batch of banana muffins. (The muffins will mostly go to my parents tomorrow as they're helping out heaps with childcare over the next three weeks while I do this prac. Not to mention the kids will eat them out of house and home, so a small contribution will not go astray.) I burnt the muffins a little :( but they're still good, and the casserole smells great.

I also started my first ever pair of knitted socks! I know, I know, I have so many projects on the go. But they're all somewhat large, and I need something portable to take to work for my lunch breaks. I'm going with Knitty's Thuja because it looks simple, yet attractive, plus being 8ply/4mm needles it should be a good introduction to sock knitting. I have a few skeins of gorgeous sock yarn to move on to once I've practiced.

Yeh, this post kind of sucks without pictures, though.

I have been slack!

Wow, it's ages since I've posted on here. Pregnancy & taking care of two kids will do that to you :)

The kids and I took a trip to the UK at the end of January and I did a little knitting over there - a pair and a half of longies for the new bub (due in July). Then when I got back I neglected it again, but our internet's been playing up for the last couple of weeks so I finished the second pair. I need to take photos once I find the charger for the camera battery *sigh*

As for sewing, Garry rescued the dining table from my sewing stuff while I was away, so I couldn't use any of it. I bought a sewing table a couple of weekends ago, but realised I needed to cull my fabric stash before I could do anything. So I have a huge stack to sell - again, once the camera battery is recharged. There are plenty of projects on the list after that: nappies and covers for the new baby, pants for the older two kids, maybe even something for ME. I think the baby will need a new mei tai, too.

Another SSC!

This one is possibly a bit loud, being printed all over, but I really like it.



The fabric is printed canvas from Spotlight, with 2 layers of calico in the body in between the two canvas layers. The buckles & webbing come from the Army Surplus Store and are much sturdier-feeling than the ones from Spotlight I used the first time. This time I padded the shoulder straps with 4 layers of fleece and that feels much cushier.

I think the pattern is a definite improvement on my first version (I swear the shoulder straps aren't angled unevenly, it's just the photo), but I still need to work on the construction technique. I tried to take some photos to create a basic tutorial but I forgot a few stages, so I'll see what I come up with.

I really should lay off the sewing until after exams now, though the knitting is good for short breaks from study. I need to make a carrier for my Carrier Bilby (like a secret swap we're doing on the Baby Carriers Down Under Google group, but that isn't 'due' for a few weeks yet. I also need to decide if I'm buying or making a dress for Tam's wedding.