EB New year swap - part 2: revealing my creations

As soon as my partner (Vikki) posted her list of things she would like to receive, I knew exactly what I would make for her.

She asked for a 'Make it Perfect' Versatile Wrap Skirt, and I happened to have the pattern sitting in my 'to-do' pile crying out to be used. Picking some fabric proved a little harder. After a fruitless trip to Spotlight and several hours online I found some that sort-of met her tentative request for brown and aqua. The skirt was very easy to make and I really liked the end result. I've got more of this fabric, and also some with a cream background instead of the brown. I'm planing on making one for me as well.

Vikki also had a superhero cape for her son as another item on her list. The tutorial for a reversible cape she had linked was actually sitting in my list of bookmarks - another item on my to-do list. As the skirt had been so easy to make that I decided to make tughhe cape for her son and one for mine. Because I could fit three across the width of fabric I made a third at the same time and gifted that to someone else as a surprise.

These were all made entirely from my stash, and are identical except for the letter on the black side.

I used shot duchess (sort of like satin but with a rough texture) for the blue side. It shimmers from blue to silver in the light. The emblem is my own design and uses the reverse of the main fabric for the shield and some black crepe and green felt for the rest of the design.

The other side is silky black crepe with red satin for the diamond and some flame-print polar fleece for the initial.

Applique on slippery satin fabrics turned out to be a little challenging, so the diamonds are not as neat as I would have liked, and it took ages to do three at once, but I think the end product is pretty fantastic.

Jack refused to wear his so I hope the other ones went down better at the other end!

EB New year swap - part 1: look at this!!!

Wow - Jack and I were the lucky, lucky people who got a wonderful gift from Susan. She was a bit sneaky by not putting her name anywhere, even on the card, but I'm an efficient blog stalker so she hasn't tricked me!

I know everyone was drooling over the sneak peek she posted weeks ago and now I can show you how wonderful the whole thing is!

This was a 'mystery swap'. We had to provide a list of three things for our partner to chose from. This was a bit hard for me because there wasn't really anything I really, really wanted to have made for me. I just started writing a list and kept adding to it as I thought of things. I figured that my partner would be able to pick something she really liked making without too much pressure. In hindsight I probably made it much harder for her to choose something - there were about twenty things on the list in the end!

Firstly our wrapped parcels - one for Jack and one for me.

This is the lovely embroidery that was featured in Susan's sneak peek. She made it into a drawstring bag and it will make a perfect library bag. I've been thinking about making one for Jack for some time but now I don't have to! And how cute is the monkey!

Hiding away inside the bag was Mitch the monkey.

He is made from fleece fabric and Susan has done an amazing job. Check out his ears and his adorable face.

Mitch was very well recieved here - I'm not sure how Susan and her boys managed to let him go. I had quite few hugging photos but Jack had his eyes closed in all of them so I finally got one of Mitch 'driving' the bike. He is now outside helping Jack and Dad pick tomatoes, and hasn't left Jack's side since he was liberated from his wrapping.

And as a bonus there were a few goodies packaged up for me. Yes, that is Jack's little hand trying to pilfer the peanut butter rocky road while I was taking the photo. He was very good and put it straight in the fridge for 'later'.

Thankyou so much Susan. This has been a wonderful package to open!

Off to the post office I went...

.....and sent away this little bundle of goodies.

What could be hiding away inside?

This....

and this....

and maybe even this.....

Warning - one or more of the above photos could easily be red herrings designed to confuse my swap partner and throw her off track.

She will find out for sure when she opens it on Sunday.

I'll be back then to do the big reveal, and also show of what I receive in return.

New years swap - sneak peek

I've finished my item for the EB new years/valentines day swap.

Here is a little peek but full pics won't be revealed until after my partner has opened it on Feb 14th!

Getting out and about

We have had a busy week this week, but oh so much fun.

First up was trip to 'The World of Music' toddler show at the QLD State Library. While we were there we made a pretty cool hat and took part in the musical procession around the ground level. Here is Jack modelling his hat and practicing with his musical instrument before the parade.

Afterwards we checked out the art gallery and the museum but a rampaging dinosaur terrified us and we had to hide in the gift shop until he had moved on. (Actually it was a guy in a dinosaur suit but try explaining that to a two-year old!)

Today we went to the Railworks Museum at Ipswich for the 'Day out with Thomas' and got to meet the Fat Controller which was the highlight of Jack's day.

It was perfect weather and we had a really lovely day. If you are looking for something to do with kids aged between about two and eight then I highly recommend it.

And so this is Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! Okay, so I'm a week late but the thought counts, not the time frame.

Our Christmas tree. It was only a small gathering this year, but look at all the presents. And there were even more under there on Christmas morning. The tree may just last another year if we don't water it too much!

There is a little table to the side holding our nativity scene. It gave hours of playtime fun, and it is unusual to see all the people in a straight line. Most of the time they have been 'dancing' in pairs. Jack managed to break both the camel and Joseph in a very short time (ceramic figures and tiled floors do not get on very well). He now thinks Dad can fix anything but is a little young to fully appreciate the magical powers of superglue.

'Santa Claus is coming to town' has been sung from dawn to dusk in our house for several weeks. Finally he came to town and look at the sack full of goodies he left behind.

I made the sack for his first Christmas and the ducky pj pants last year. After I let down the cuffs this summer we've managed another year out of the pjs.

The prize gift this year was a Thomas the Tank Engine umbrella. Rain every day for the last week has made one little boy very happy. Again, last years monster pjs are peaking out at the bottom of the coat - cuffs let down and still fit perfectly.

Another hit present was a kit containing poster paints. We finally gave in and let him loose. Here he is creating some thankyou letters that will be going out in the mail over the next month.

I hope your Christmas was as wondeful as ours, and wish you all the best for a happy 2010!

How to celebrate a birthday

November brought a birthday so Jack made his dad a very special birthday cake.

Step one: Mix

Step two: Lick

Step three: Decorate

Step four: Celebrate!