Little Pups

As part of the gifty meme from earlier this year I made a wee stuffed dog from the More Softies book for my friend Jennifer in England. The pattern is called 'Little Pup' by My Little Mochi. He turned out so well that I made another for Hazel for Christmas.



When I first got the body sewed up it looked pretty dodgy, not at all like the one in the book! But as I stuffed it it looked better and better and by the time I got to sewing on the arms I was in luurve. The nose is a triumph of cute.

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009, originally uploaded by Ansis68.

We're back from our two weeks away, though I'm not entirely sure how rested and relaxed I am! My main fear was getting there and back in holiday traffic, the drivers here can be a mad, bad and dangerous bunch at the best of times, Christmas seems to bring out the worst in some of them and that's saying a lot! Why such a nice bunch of people turn in to angry maniacs behind the wheel has always puzzled me.

Aaaaanyways, the weather was lovely, the family were lovely (as usual) and we got Gran home for the day from the hospital which was also lovely. Hazel now has more My Little Pony stuff than is decent and I'm drawing the line because I think if I hear that awful theme song much more I might do something drastic which would scar her for life! My handmade gifts went down pretty well, the slippers got the best reception, although I hear my mum's tea cosy went down well on the NY end of things.

Mum's tea cosy

Remember these spots?



They were from a tea cosy I made for my mum



I hope she likes it! It seemed a good pattern for a cold winter's day - perhaps the bright colours and busyness will confuse the cold molecules :) It also comes with a wool pad to sit the tea pot on (not shown because it's boring and grey).

Season's Greetings!

I'm off to my in-laws in Marton for Christmas, so I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noël, Season's Greetings, Happy Holidays and other non-denominational salutations that slip my mind at the moment. I'll be back on the 30th! I've scheduled a few posts with Christmas gifts that can be unveiled after the day, so there will be a small drip-feed of things to gaze at if you need :)

Those of you lucky enough to have snow can think a kind thought for me if you want, I know the Kiwis love Christmas at summer but it doesn't feel quite right to me, even after all these years!

Business card wallet

I think I'm safe putting this up... if not Hi Mat!

A couple months ago Mat suggested that a business card holder would be a good present, and then I promptly forgot all about it. I ended up getting him a disposable pre-loaded Visa card so he can buy obscure reggae music online - and then I remembered the card holder idea. I did a quick Google and came up with a great little tutorial and this is the result:



open it up and voila! some Heather Ross Mendocino fabric. I think it's fairly 'guy-looking'.



Perfect to put the Prezzy Card into and partially disguise what it is when wrapped. I'm half-hoping he doesn't like it and I can take it over, I think my "business card" looks pretty snappy tucked in there!

Sewing Green slippers

Sewing Green slippers, originally uploaded by Ansis68.

Here are the slippers I was working on in the '5 Minutes Peace' post. My brother-in-law Ewen requested a pair for Christmas after seeing Mat's - which is very flattering! They're made from the pattern in Betz White's 'Sewing Green' book. I originally made myself a pair, and then Mat liked them so much he commissioned some, and now I'm on to the extended family!

It's a bit tricky making them for someone who's not around because all I had to go on was a tracing Mat made of Ewen's foot and it seemed improbably long and skinny. Well I know the long bit is right anyways, big feet run in the family!*

They're made from an old woollen jacket (woven), unfelted, and cut on the bias to give them stretch. They're a bit tight at the ankle getting them on, but works well elsewhere. The cuff is wool knit, also unfelted. The main reason they're not out of a sweater is that none of the ones I had were large enough (after felting) to get the pieces cut out! I had to enlarge the pattern 105% to get a size big enough. :P It's also why they have the leather on the bottom as the pattern called for and not the whole sole as I'd prefer - no leather long enough. Like I said, big feet are impractical! I'll leave the blanket stitch around the edges until he's tried them on and I've made any size adjustments.

They look so lovely and Christmassy, unfortunately they probably won't get worn for another 5 months or so until our winter kicks in!



*And no, this does not refer to the usual jokes on this subject, I just want to know why do guys have such big feet? They seem impractically big. It's not like either of them are a third as big again as me, while their feet certainly are!

Änglaspel

Anglaspel, originally uploaded by Ansis68.

I bought this a couple of years ago in Sweden, in lieu of a larger wooden German one like my parents have. As it turns out, brightly lit summer evenings in NZ aren't exactly the right time for things involving candles so my burning desire for the wooden variety has lessened somewhat! This little silver äglaspel by Pluto Produkter is perfect because it reflects the sun and makes the kitchen look like a disco in the morning as it revolves around. I wish I'd bought more now! I see from their site they sell all sorts of themed ones, and they are available from various online shops about the place. I might look into getting some more!