2 days ago I received a Platinum Express Post package. My Ravelry Australian Knitters Favourite Colour Swap had arrived!

I took a look at the return address on the parcel and recognised it immediately. My spoiler was none other than my spoilee! We got twinned up! Hahahaha. I sent the purple package to her and she sent a blue package to me!

I tore open the satchel and this is what I found:

I was soooo excited! I squealed (and Nad was amused) and didn’t know which one to open first!

I opened the package that was labeled, “To amuse your daughter” first and burst out laughing! Shan, my spoiler, knitted a BANANA for Sunshine!

Sunshine saw the knitted toy and exclaimed “Vanana! VANANA!!!”

She’s got a weird expression on her face.

The skin is removable too! And needless to say, Sunshine prefers the banana ‘naked’. Every time I stuff it back into the skin, she peels it off again.

I have decided to stitch the banana to the skin as the banana alone looks somewhat.. err.. obscene. I don’t want guests to come over and wonder WHAT we give our kids to play with, you know? Just in case….

To sum up my package, I got:

• A very cute Banana knitted toy for Sunshine (which is stripped of it’s skin right now)
• A ball of Heirloom Baby wool (Sooo soft!)
• A ball of laceweight CASHMERE (I LOVE IT)
• A cowl knitted from the Cashmere wool. (My very first cowl!!!!)
• A sheepy retractable measuring tape (I have one that looks similar but it’s head fell off and I’ve yet to sew it back on. Now I have another!!! Yay!!!)
• A beanie, a pair of socks and a pair of matching mittens for soon-to-be-born Chubbs! Sooo cute!
• 2 sachets of Lavender scenters which are already in my stash, doing their job! They smell heavenly!!! I love the smell!!!

I’m so touched by Shan’s effort and time put into this package. She had asked me anonymously at that time, if I wore cowls (I replied that I would like to try one), what Sunshine likes (I replied that she loves to eat bananas but I didn’t expect her to send bananas in the mail. LOL), what accessories I would like for my knitting (I replied that I wouldn’t mind another retractable measuring tape as I have one that I use a lot and it sometimes grows legs and walks about on its own and I can’t find it) and also what I would like for myself (I replied Lavender sachets to put with my stash to keep them smelling good).

Shan went and got me EVERYTHING I asked for. She is so amazing. I feel that my parcel to her is inadequate now!

Here’s how I look wearing the cowl:

No, I’m not about to rob a bank – I wanted to show how intricate these stitches are and if I were the one knitting this, I would have taken a year to complete it!

She got my colours right on the spot! I love the blues…….. And the cashmere…….is…………soooooooo………soft……………..

Oooo.. I can’t stop gushing at the stuff I received.

Okay now as promised, the Goats Milk Soap I made:

This half is scented with Ylang Ylang essential oil, which Nad sniffed and announced that he doesn’t like it. That’s fine, he won’t get to use it then.

And this half, which doesn’t look as pretty as the previous half due to the mould I used (it was an empty soap dispenser container with the top cut off) is unscented but with aloe vera added to it for Lulu’s eczematic skin.

They will be ready to use in 4 weeks time. I hope.

So what’s this “Crafter on a budget” all about?

Well you see, I wanted a wooden mould to make soap with. I am currently using plastic take away containers, empty milk cartons etc as moulds and I wanted something that I can use over and over with slightly larger batches of soap.

I went and searched for wooden moulds online and boy! Each mould costs at least $30 to $40!

I could not justify spending that money, what with the cost of high grade essential oils already burning a hole in my pocket, so I went to get wood from the most famous warehouse here.

The man that helped me cut my wood was very handsome and his accent was a thick European accent. I wished I had asked his name/ number/ etc so I could stalk him.

Nad went with me to choose the wood and we got it cut by a very handsome European man.

Although the sign states that first 2 cuts are free and subsequent cuts are $1 each, the very handsome European man didn’t charge us at all! He even told me to pay for just 2 planks instead of the 3 I took as I didn’t want the off-cuts.

So I got a very good deal! The most expensive item I had to buy was a bottle of wood glue. Thank God I got the glue. If fellow Ravelry mates had not told me to get it, I would have only used nails and that alone would not be enough to keep my moulds sturdy.

Ravelry is amazing! You get great advice for all sorts of things from childbirth to child raising to woodworking and the list goes on! (And most importantly, knitting, yarn and stash enhancement of course!)

I was a happy lark. I got everything for less than $16. And enough wood to make 2 moulds plus one extra base if I wanted to make a bigger mould next time.

This is what I managed to put together this evening:

Hehe. Not bad for someone who has NEVER done woodwork in her entire life before, right? Right? One mould is slightly narrower than the other on purpose.

Before you jump to conclusions that I have added YET another hobby in my already hobby-filled busy life, I must say woodworking isn’t my cup-o-tea at all.

I was swearing (not out loud, of course… only in my head) while trying to put the box together, just as a lady on Ravelry named Lorelle said I would.

Also there will be swearing, blisters, tantrums, but yes you should get a box

I had glue on my hands and shirt. And the damn nails wouldn’t go in straight!

It took me more than an hour to put together what a normal person would do in less than half an hour.

I didn’t take Design and Technology classes in secondary (high) school as my school only offered Home Economics (sewing and cooking) in my year. They added D&T only the year after mine. So yes. I have never hammered nails in wood before.

My hammer also doesn’t have a claw. So I had to use a screwdriver to ‘dig’ the crooked nails and use a pair of pliers to yank the rest of it out of the wood.

Uh huh. I killed those nails. And almost ran out of nails. We don’t keep stock of nails in the house since no one needs any! These nails came free with some Ikea furniture I think.

Nad checked on my progress and when I complained to him about the crooked nails, he told me that I had to whack it hard and firm down into the wood instead of hammering them gently and multiple times. Grrr… he tells me only AFTER I had completed the boxes.

Anyway, lesson learnt. If I do use the extra base to make another mould, I know better. (I hope.)

I might be making more soap today (Sunday) and am looking forward to using my new moulds!

Gee, I really bring ‘homemade’ the whole 9 yards, eh?

I better go sleep now. I’m still having contractions and am getting hungry too. Off to dream of Handsome European Man Nad.

THIS!

Urm, pardon the blur pictures. Mr Nikon is still in hospital.

Hehehe. I MADE SOAP~~~~~ Lalalala.

This batch you see here is Chamomile. Those herb looking things are actually Chamomile tea leaves.

I think this batch is a failure, though. Because the Chamomile scent didn’t stay in the soap. So I’d probably have to melt it down after it matures (takes 4 weeks to mature) and re-make it.

I also did a batch of Honey and Oatmeal with orange scent. And today I did one batch with Goats milk and aloe vera (for Lulu’s eczema) and split the other half to add some essential oils for our own use.

Will take photos of today’s batch tomorrow when I turn it out of the moulds to cut them.

I’ve always wanted to make my own soap and recently discovered how luxurious and how good home made soap feels on the skin and I am convinced to try making them! Took me a lot of time in research! I hope it’s all worth it in the end.

Will end this post with a few pictures of Sunshine.

This was how I found her sleeping last night next to her daddy:

So weird! Squashed to one side even though there was no one squashing her. Lol.

And yes, that’s a bruise on her chin. Don’t ask me how she got it. We are very puzzled too. Must have been one of the falls she had. She’s a very active girl, always climbing up and down and falling all over the place.

And pictures of her in the harness my mum bought:

Lol. Weird pose.

It’s actually useful – she doesn’t have to hold our hands all the time and suffer a sore arm, neither would she have to be stuck in the pram and not get exercise.

Last photo. She HATES the sun shining in her face and will whine when it happens. Look what she does for the whole journey in the car just to keep the sun from shining into her eyes?

Yep. She holds that up and sometimes even falls asleep while doing that.

Okily Dokily. I’m sewing more stuff and thinking of casting on more projects…… but I think I’ve got too much on my hands. I still have decluttering to do! Urgh.

The top one was used last night, therefore the crumpled-ness. *Blush*. I heated it up in the oven and draped it over my shoulders to give some relief. It has 3 compartments to it so that the wheat and rice will not ‘gather’ at one spot.

The one on the bottom is sitting in the freezer. It’s for putting over the eyes when we nap or sleep. This doesn’t have compartments.

Both are stuffed with wheat and rice with a few drops of Lavender essential oil.

You cannot imagine how hard it was to find wheat… you’d think it’s easily available in supermarts and/or health stores but they only have wheat germ or wheat bran. -___-”

Finally found a bag in a obscure pet feed store.

I made 3 altogether. The last one is for someone special along with some other goodies for her but will wait till she receives the parcel before I post the pictures. (In fact, I’ve made a few things for a few people but will not post them until they receive their pressies!)

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When Janice was here, I made felted soap for the first time.

Amazing handmade soap which smelt OH-SO-GOOD and gentle on the skin too! Bought from thesoapdish .

I bought them from eBay but now found out about her webpage which has so much more choices! YummY! I’m definitely hooked and going back for more…

I bought fleece from Spotlight. These are very cheap. $3 per packet.

Wrapping the soap up with the dry fleece.

I wet it with hot water and touched it with my bare hands, which, was a stupid move bytheway, and scrubbed it against the metal airing rack (I used the airing rack for airing cookies).

This is how it looks like in the end.

I think this will be my first and last time making felted soap. It was fun but just not my type of craft. I prefer using the soap as it is with a separate bath mitt.

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I know this is long overdue – I have been given lovely gifts from fellow knitters from Ravelry.

Salihan sent me a surprise package few months back:

She knitted a beanie from Malabrigo Merino Worsted (American Beauty) for baby Chubbs and also knitted a wristband with wire and beads!

Then, lovely Sasha gave me this book for my birthday:

Picture from thebookdepository.

I also got a surprise package from Singapore from Rane. She sent a lovely dress for Sunshine and packets of food seasoning (Laksa and Chicken Rice) for my birthday!

I should have taken photos! Will take one of Sunshine in the dress soon though.

Last but not least, Beth and Maree sent me this:

And inside this huge bag was this:

Orange fibre! Orange handspun! Orange yarn from the ACS mill shop! Wow!

They sent me this because I had a bad orange swap and they wanted to cheer me up. Awww. How spoilt I am! These are people I’ve never met and they are sooooo nice to me… I’m really really touched!

Of course, there is Ms Debra, who has been sending me clothes for Chubbs and Sunshine. Comfy hand-me-downs which I love (I prefer clothes that have been worn in and all soft and smooshy and it’s also more eco-friendly) and she has mentioned that she and her daughters have been putting together a parcel that’s due to come my way. I don’t know the contents yet and I’m not supposed to be nosey. So I shall wait patiently.

I’ve been knitting and sewing diligently. Hopefully more updates on these in time to come. Especially when the recipients of these gifts have received their parcels – Can’t risk them reading my blog now and spoiling their surprise! I’m horrible enough at keeping surprises (ask Debra. She knows).

Thank you everyone who has spoilt me and my little family.

Following a pattern from Habitual, I made this Kimono styled top for Sunshine.

Step 1: Draw template and cut out.

2: Crush it by mistake and throw in bin.

3: Wonder where the template went. Fished it out. Smooth it as flat as possible. -___-

The things I do… Never fail to amaze myself. *Rolls eyes*

Then, I for the first time in my life, I made bias binding from scratch!!!

Never underestimate this little innocent looking strip of fabric. My goodness… The time and effort that goes into making this!!!!!!

And because I wanted to save as much fabric as possible, I cut the fabric into a smaller length and therefore had to join the binding many times.

(Joining the binding pieces.)

Then I cut out the main fabric pieces and laid them out and pinned them into place.

I sewed the pieces together following the instructions on the pattern. My mum suggested that I use a hand stitch to tack/baste the pieces together instead of using pins so that I can concentrate on sewing straight than worry about getting the pins out in time. It did help a little. I still sew crooked. That’s why my seams pucker.

Then, I sewed on the bias binding onto the main piece.

And ta daaahhh!!!!!!!!!!! The finished product!

I decided to use the remaining bias binding to finish off the bottom hem.

Then I put the top on our little model and tried to take decent pictures of her in it. She wouldn’t stop walking around and refused to look into the camera!!!!!! Grrrrr.

I asked her to please look into the camera and she showed me her butt instead. -___-”

Will have to wash and iron it before she wears it out.

(No, it’s not washed yet. I just hung it there to take pictures since our model was so unwilling today.)

My skills are still shoddy and I need heaps of practice. It’s a good experience though. And I’m very happy with it. I did it in about 5 hours or less. So that’s a personal achievement.

Oh I must mention one thing about Kimono styled tops. I think I wrote about this before in the Kimono Jacket post that Kimonos are worn with the left side OVER the right side.

The only time the Japanese wear their Kimonos/ Yukatas right side over left is when they are dead and in a coffin, awaiting cremation/ burial.

These patterns may have come from Western countries and are ‘only inspired’ by Kimonos and/or Yukatas but because it is mimicking the Japanese style, I think the ‘rules’ should still apply. At least to me and my family anyway.

It’s also very easy to remember which side goes over which. Just think of “Left Over Rice” - Left Over Right.

Comments and criticism welcome!

Edited to add: Ohhh, Chinese New Year is just around the corner and this comes just in time! – The Chinese usually buy or sew new clothes for their kids and family before Chinese New Year and they will wear them from the first day of the New Year.

In olden times, folks were so poor that the only time they get new clothes is during the CNY period. The tradition is passed down and still widely practised today by many Chinese although we can now afford new clothes all year round.

I was inspired by the cute little project bags that were made by fellow ravelers for their swap partners in the latest orange swap. Hence I decided to try my hand at making one of them!

Donna, from the Creative Controller blog made one of these bags and pointed me to the pattern here.

I used fabric I bought from Spotlight eons ago. Ironed it out and cut the template,

I meticulously and faithfully traced the seam allowance on both the linings and the main fabric pieces…..

ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT THE FIRST STEP OF SEWING WAS TO SEW THE BATTING ONTO THE PIECES which obscured the markings! Duh! Wasted my time! I shall have to use my eye judgment from now on.

Sewing on the batting.

Sheesh…. My indoor pictures really turned out horrible. Sorry folks…

Anyway, everything went pretty smoothly. UNTIL, I misinterpreted the pattern’s instructions and SEWED THE BAG TO ITSELF SHUT!

And I was wondering about the next step: “Pull bag and lining through the opening in lining bottom.”

I was, like, “How?”

Duh.

So I celebrated my blond moment by taking a short chicken wing break after I unpicked the stitches.

I need a lot of practice on the machine. I cannot sew in straight lines! Let alone follow the curves. Let me show you proof:

Go ahead. You are allowed to laugh at me. I know, I’ve let my mum and grannies down. Sigh.

Anyway, here’s the finished product:

It’s pretty roomy!

It’s currently holding Chubbs’ pullover.

Am very happy with the bag and I forsee making more than a few for my friends and family!

Yes. Benji likes it too!

*Ahem*

Ok… firstly, I wanna show you the recent additions to my bookshelf.

I bought Sew and Stow at a Local Yarn Store few months back. The other two were from Fishpond.

These were all bought from The Book Depository.

From top left: The Very Hungry Caterpillar for Sunshine, A Gathering Of Lace for myself, The Knitting Answer Book for Salihan.

Bottom left: It Itches for myself, Sasha and Tia (Yes I bought 3 of the same!), The Twisted Sisters Knit Sweaters for myself, A Yarn Harlot book (can’t remember the title!) for Tara and Yarn Harlot’s Free Range Knitter for myself.

All of the gift recipients have received their books safely. I also made piggy stitch markers to go with the gifts, except for Sasha’s. Because I ran out of time……… Okaaaaaaaay, I was too lazy.

Then I bought these two books from local bookstores. I’ve read The Graveyard Book and now halfway through American Gods. I’m a new fan of Neil Gaiman!

Now for pictures of my retarded dearest sister with her brand new ‘toy’!

Struggling with the ribbon.

A set of Knitpicks Options Needles!!!!! Bought from Moggy and Me. Incredibly fast shipping and excellent customer service!

I also bought extra tips for my Options set from Knitting Inspirations. Also incredibly fast shipping and excellent customer service!

Don’t ask me why I bought so many gifts for people. No it’s not for xmas. I do not believe in xmas. I just feel like giving. Hehehe.

Now for a knitted item!

Pardon the blurry pictures.

Name of project: Cabled Toddling Sox for Jade

Yarn: Heirloom Cotton 8ply

Needles: Knit picks 3.75mm

Cast on date: Some day October 2008

Cast off date: A day after casting on

Learned: Nothing.

Modifications: Nothing

Mistakes: Nadah.

This pair of socks were for my God-sis’ 4th baby, Jade’s first birthday. What a mouthful to say!

I made it in cotton so that she can wear it in summer.

Last but not least, I joined an Orange Swap on Ravelry. I just sent my package out today and since the person I’m sending to doesn’t know that I’m the sender yet, I guess it’s safe to reveal the pictures here.
She’ll be getting the package in a few days time anyway.

From top left: Organic tea and 2 balls of WooLganic merino wool from The Yarn Cafe. A bottle of orange body wash from Watsons. The paper bag contains two handmade stitch markers (photos below).

Bottom Left: Malabrigo Worsted in the Glazed Carrot colourway. A pack of Snoopy tissues and 2 orange paper clips.

Yeah, I smudged the paint of the cat on the right. Am out of touch with painting clay figurines! I really hope that my swappee won’t mind.

Here’s how they look like all wrapped up and ready to be posted:

Okay, that’s all folks!

I’m knitting quite a lot now as you can see on the sidebar, I have more than 5 projects on my needles which is breaking my own rules. But to hell with my rules. I’m having a baby and I’m allowed to cast on as many projects as I want! NyaaahHHHhh!

Have a great week!

Meanwhile, I have added the link to the photos so just click on them to view.

Okay, I’ve promised I would post about my knitting. Hehehe. So here are some photos. Enjoy!

These are my first successful project.

A pair of booties.

They are my 2nd attempt in knitting. The first one was also a bootie but lets just say that anybody who looks at it would go, “HAWHAWHAWHAWHAHWHAHWHAHWHAHHWHAHAHHAHAHAHA *snort* GAGAGAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!!”

Maybe I would write about it another time.

And then I knitted a matching cloche/ beanie hat for Sunshine.

Why blue, you ask? Well that happens to be my favourite color so stop calling my daughter a boy. >:(

Because she doesn’t like it and it would make her cry.

And so I made her a PINK headband.

I followed the arrowhead lace pattern from here. But I modified it. Instead of sewing the ends together, I sewed on 2 buttons instead so that it would be adjustable as her head expands as she grows.

I’m so smart.

I got the pattern for the bow from a knitting magazine.

The buttons.

Bonus baby picture:

I’m currently knitting a pair of booties for my God-sis’ 4th child, due in November. I can’t wait to see how she looks like!

I’ve also got tons of friends/ relatives who are carrying babies. Seems that it’s the trend now to have babies. I’m going be busy with Sunshine as well as knitting cardigans/ booties/ jumpers etc.

I’ve got more to write but I would leave it to another day. Tired!