Happy New Year

Yes as usual I am a little late but hey better late than never.  We have a few really exciting things to look forward to in 2013 which I will do my best to blog about as they come along.  Personally I am hoping for some crafting time, some reading time and some more time to keep on top of my blog. 
For now though as a quick thank you to those who bother to read this and to spread a little bit of holiday cheer (albeit a bit late) I will do a quick giveaway.  If you want to join in comment below and tell me what crafting pattern you would really love to own but don't.  This can be a rav pattern or a sewing pattern available as a pdf download.  If you are on Rav and would like a surprise just let me know and I will choose something off your wish list and gift it :-)  I will do a random.org draw at 8pm NZ time on Friday and may even choose a couple of random people before then. While you are at it I would love to hear what you are looking forward to in 2013.
A happy and safe 2013 to you all.

FO A set fit for Dolly

Miss M is very into playing with her baby dolls at the moment so what is a Mum to do but make her some special dolly bits and pieces for her birthday. 
I went with a standard free doll nappy pattern that I found online and drafted the doll bib pattern from scratch (I did find a few online but none were quite what I wanted.  If I can work out how to turn it into a pdf, and there is interest, I may share it on my blog one day soon.
So here are the bits for Miss M's babies:
Bibs and a hooded towel

Nappies, wipes and a change mat

And a wee bag to keep them all in (theoretically).

With Christmas now rapidly approaching I have just made another batch of doll nappies and bibs for various gifts and donations.  Here are some of them :-)

I think I must be slightly mad because a small part of me really enjoys making these teeny tiny fiddly things. 

Miss M turns 2

Back in Sept Miss M turned 2!  Yes it is crazy to even think of it really.  In some ways she is still my baby and it is hard to believe she is two already, and yet in other ways she is so grown up that I find it hard to believe that she is only a little over 2 now.
Poor wee Miss M was sick on her birthday with a tummy bug.  She had been sick most of the week and managed to open her presses in a brighter spot but then looked pretty miserable for the rest of the day.

 Miss M was given this dolly bed from Gran and Grandad.  It is the same one I played with as a little girl and was originally made by my Grandad for my Mum :-)

We had planned to have a birthday picnic at the zoo for M's birthday but because she was sick we postponed that.  A couple of weeks later we finally got there and had a great time.

That night we also had her birthday cake with cake toppers made by my fab friend Christine from Imaginarium Cakes.

Happy Second Birthday my sweet girl.  You are such a precious wee thing, with so much determination and character and you enrich our lives so much.

FO: Baby gifts

A very close friend had a gorgeous wee baby boy back in Sept.  I really wanted to gift something special to this baby and initially had grand plans of designing and knitting a baby blanket.  In the end time got the better of me and I had to put the designing part to one side and settle for knitting up a published pattern instead, but I am pleased I did because I am thrilled with the result.
I chose the Serenity Blanket which is a fabulous free pattern, which I knitted in John Q Mia 10 ply in cream.  I adapted the pattern slightly to make it smaller as I wanted it pram/car seat sized rather than cot/bed sized.
Here it is blocking:

And all finished:

I also whipped up some bibs and wipes to go with it.

FO: Shrug

I don't normally test sewing patterns but I did this quick wee shrug pattern.  It is a cute wee pattern and super quick, possibly a bit more practical on an older child?
Anyway here are the pics.

FO: Maggie Dress

This post should have been written months and months ago.  Alas life got in the way and my blog has been neglected and only now and I forcing myself to have a bit of a catch up.

So the Maggie Dress.  This is a fabulous wee winter dress designed by Sarah Ronchetti which I was very fortunate to get the opportunity to test knit.  This dress is both simple yet stylish and looks equally lovely on a wee dot or an older child.  I knitted my version in a variegated yarn from Three Irish Girls which had been in my stash for some time, called Meg, and used a matching periwinkle trim.

I did the 20 inch size for Miss M and it was a lovely fit.  The skirt isn't too clingy around her cloth bum and the sleeves are nice and snug and warm.  We have had many lovely comments on this dress, the only thing I don't like about it is that it wont fit next winter :-(

The Strength of Compassion

Well what a week.  I haven't written on here for way too long.  To be honest life just got in the way.  It was winter, we all got the usual winter bugs and then spent the time in between trying to catch up with life, work and spending some time as a family.  Several times I have sat down to catch up on here with finished projects, only to have been sidetracked for one reason or another.

So what brings me back?  Not a finished project or pics of a fun family day out but a need to have somewhere to just let some thoughts out.
The past week has been pretty horrendous truth be told.  My workplace was struck by a tragedy beyond comprehension when one of my close colleagues was taken from this world far too soon.  It has left everyone shell-shocked, angry, numb and sad.  Why is it that the very people that the world needs more of, are the ones who are taken too young?  There have been many fantastic tributes written and I'm not going to even attempt to compete with any of them as I don't have the way with words of many of my friends.  I do however want to acknowledge how thankful I am to work with such an amazing group of people.  It is amazing how an event like this can bring out a side of people that you just don't see in day to day life.  Through this tragedy we have pulled together as a tight unit and supported each other in the best way we know how.  We have hugged, talked for what feels like hours, cried a lot and even laughed a little.  Sometimes the words you most need to hear at a particular moment come from the person you least expect to hear them from.  In a world where it is all too easy to get caught up in meetings, budgets, project reports and the daily grind we have all taken time to stop and show how much we really care for each other.  I just wish this could have all happened under much nicer circumstances.  I have always said I get on well with the people I work with but I now know just what an amazing and special group of people they are.

So thank you all for being the wonderful people that you are.  And Mandy may you RIP, you will be in our hearts forever.