the pesky bombolino

Last week I saw this pair of socks on Yarnstorm's blog, and was overcome with an irrepressible urge to make a pair of my own.
When the yarn came though (with a free sock pattern!) and I got my double-pointed needles out, I found I didn't have anywhere near the right size. Could I wait 'til the next day to pop out and get some? Of course not, I had to start something there and then! So I'm working on the butterfly moebius from 'The Knitter's Book of Yarn'.



I wanted something that I could knit without following a pattern too, and as I've never made a pair of socks before, they weren't really the thing. As I'm away for the weekend (on a girl-guide camp!) I wanted something to take with me that could easily be picked up and put down.



The yarn looks so different knitted in a seed stitch rather than stocking, it looses those smooth stripes and becomes altogether more gnarled and textural. I'm not sure if I'm going to like the finished article.
In fact, I don't know if it'll be wearable at all: I increased the number of stitches as I was pretty convinced that something with a circumference of 24" was not going to reach all the way around my rugby player's shoulders!
I'm really enjoying the process though because the yarn is just so rewarding to work with. To be honest, I don't mind if I end up un-ravelling it.
Can you re-use already knitted yarn without doing anything to it first?

Paper Dolls

Here's a simple activity to keep little minds and hands occupied:



I'm sure you all know how to do it, but in case you've forgotten; just fold your paper in a fan/concertina fashion, draw on your silhouette making sure the edges are joined at some point on both sides, and then cut out!

(Eliza was feeling festive!)

We built a robotic friend for spaceboy. I took Kathy's advice and offered Annie a choice from a selection of fabrics rather than my entire stash!



I think Spaceboy will appreciate the company on his travels!



Robot's far more labour intensive than spaceboy, but then I suppose that's the way things should be ; )



(Pattern from weewonderfuls.com)

I've had the pattern book for the wee wonderful Spaceboy and Robot for so, so long, I'd almost forgotten I owned it. Then while I was catching up with bloglines this morning I saw Oh Fransson had been busy making a Spacegirl (very lovely she is too!) and a couple of robots.



So I dug out the pattern and Annie and I made a Spaceboy together. David was a little sceptical about the extent of Annie's involvement but she traced all of the pattern pieces, sewed the straight seams, turned everything the right way out and had a good stab at the stuffing. As always, she got to make all of the creative decisions* while I sewed the 'tricky' bits.



There weren't actually many tricky bits, the whole thing is incredibly easy to put together, and an absolute dream to follow. I can see why weewonderfuls has such a loyal fan base. I think this pattern works so well because it's simple, with just enough twiddly bits to give it character, and enough room to make each toy individual.
Check out the incredible variations here.

(*Does anyone else find it difficult to go with their children's creative decisions?! I really wanted the yellow button in the top photo but Annie insisted on the mother of pearl because it "looks like the moon!". And I begrudgingly went with the retro space fabric even though I thought the print was too big and too 'obvious'! I really have to learn to be less controlling and go with her intuition.)

Eliza went to a friend's house for lunch today, straight from play-school, so I had a long child-free stretch to do with as I pleased.
I thought I'd either finish sanding and painting the woodwork in our utility room, or put the layers together for this quilt or go to the supermarket.
I actually spent an hour or so doing a job for a very ungrateful person who complained about what I'd done and then proceeded to take all my hard work apart.
So I stropped off and consoled my poor, under-valued, pouting self by eating 4 coco-pops bars, a raisin whirl and a belgian bun.

wedding photography

I found these photos of 1940s/wartime weddings on the world wide web and thought you'd like to see them too:

Check out the lovely bride's fascinator and look how very happy he is!



I'm thinking she's a bit of a foxy minx and he's going to have his hands full!



I'm noticing that none of the brides have bouquets but they do have whacking great corsages.
I'm also acknowledging that I have way too much up top to be adding any kind of bulk to that area!



This is my favourite because it's not so posed.
And that's how we want our photography to be.
This is the site of our photographer, I like his natural, unobtrusive style.

Wow, thank you so much for all your advice! I really appreciate how each of you took the time to think about my dilemna. I genuinely loved all the comments and am grateful for every single one.
I knew already that I really need to wear something I'm comfortable in and to be true to what I think is right, regardless of what I think I should be wearing, but it meant a lot to me to hear you all say that too. It's given me the confidence I needed to follow my instincts and some food for thought over the choice of fabric. So thank you!

I am very tempted with Ruthanne's idea of wearing a fascinator (a 'fascinator'- it sounds so fancy-pantsy!), although it makes the shy, wallflower side of me a little nervous.

Here are some inspiring pictures:



I'm drawn to the colour and how fine this one is but maybe it's a little 'swan lake'! (from Beth Morgan Millinery)

I love the minimalist styling of this one (from hats and fascinators), I'd like to see it in a combination of teal, emerald and prussian blue.

This is my favourite (it's from hats and fascinators again) I like the colours and the shape and I think it would go well with the dress and 40's styling.



I'd like to take the veil from this one (By Harriet)and add it to the previous, just as a little nod to the fact that I am actually getting married!



This one is cheap as chips from Hats and Fascinators of Distinction on Ebay, but I couldn't actually wear it as David will almost certainly loose an eye when he kisses the bride!
I've ordered it though, so I can have a little try on and a sneaky peek at how they're made.
I'm thinking I might be able to fashion my own out of feathers I could get from The Feather Factory and an alice band...

So what do my style advisors think?!

And have any of you ever made or worn something like this???

You have to help before they take me away!

I think I'm going to explode! Wedding fever is consuming me. I am totally obsessing over my dress/outfit- and it's killing me. I think I might end up in psychiatric care before I get to the altar!

This is what's bothering me: I've never wanted a big white wedding. That's not the kind of wedding I had in mind. I wanted a much more informal, personal, friendly affair, which is why we're doing registry office and garden party.
And as you know, I don't ever wear dresses. Except for the work Christmas party once a year, for which I've worn the same dress, just shortened or slightly altered for the last three! But I do feel good when I wear that dress, it's a kind of wrap dress.

So, the patterns I'm favouring are these ones:






And as I don't want to wear white, I've found a sort of royal air-force blue/teal jersey that the dress could be made from:

(Yesterday I was thinking purple and the day before cream- this is how tormented I am!)

But I'm worried that it's too informal. I don't want to feel under-dressed... I can put some pretty flower-type accessories in my hair to jazz it all up a bit...

I like these shoes:






But is it all just too 'everyday'? I'm thinking it has a kind of 1940's/second world war aesthetic, but I don't want to look like I've bought my outfit with my ration book!

You've got to help me out... What do you think????? (And I need absolute honesty here ladies!)

Still making flowers. I have 37 now!