A Special Bear for Thomas

We have been given some gifts from several close friends and family, including this bear from Megan! Here are a couple of images of what he has been up to lately.

He is a special bear, his tag says his name is “Ellerslie”. I think he is around the same size Thomas is at the moment, maybe even a little bigger. We’re not allowed to put anything with Tom inside the humidicrib just yet. I did put the blue boy doll inside for a moment just to take a photo, but it wasn’t in there for long. Because Tom was born so early, he has to stay in a special crib where it is easy for him to breathe, and keep cosy and warm. We are allowed to take him out to feed him like you can see David doing here, but after that he goes back in his crib.

So Ellerslie has been hanging out with me to keep me company while I was in hospital, and he was excellent company too! <<< Here he is looking after my eye mask when I wasn’t wearing it. >>> Here is another photo of teddy with my comfy green neck pillow. I think he was “looking after it”, too! Ellerslie is wearing the special yellow beanie that Tom was wearing in his first photo, as it is just the right fit!

Thankyou to Megan for this special gift, Ellerslie the teddy bear is sure to be part of the action!

Barbie’s Pink Tea Party

The pink dress I made especially for today’s Pink Tea Party could very well be the most beautiful thing I’ve made so far! I think my Barbie is very pleased to have something so nice to wear to the party today, which is to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of Pink  Saturday and is hosted at How Sweet the Sound.

The vintage doll’s cane furniture is the first thing I’ve ever bought from Ebay about two weeks ago. I remember when I was a little girl some of my friends had these but I didn’t, and when I saw them on Ebay I just had to grab it! There was also a four piece lounge set for sale with normal chairs instead of the peacock chairs, but because it was my very first ebay purchase, someone else bid at the very last minute so I lost! I didn’t make the same mistake on the peacock chairs though, and got them for $16 including postage. Probably a little on the expensive side for my modest doll collection as I’m not too serious about it, but I do believe the seller when they said this cane set is about 40 years old! I think it’s a very special thing.

Using a 2.5mm hook and a small ball of baby pink yarn, I started the doll’s dress on Monday afternoon and finished midday Tuesday, so it took less than one day. This is not the first dress I’ve made like this, although I think it’s an improvement on the orignal because it crosses over at the back so you can’t see her knickers – if she is wearing any! The Barbie dresses I make are inspired by a dress I’ve kept and treasured from my childhood which my mother tells me was made by my Nanna Pam. You can’t tell when she is sitting down, but you can pinch the skirt to make pleats appear. I am so tickled pink I could manage to make something as pretty as this!

In an attempt to preserve the doll’s hair as long as possible, I try and keep it tied up in a little snood. Anyone who has collected dolls knows how synthetic hair can ruin over time. But the pretty pink dress needed it’s own hat, so I decided to give making a bonnet a go! I looked on google for images of crochet doll bonnets, but there were not many that I could see. I remember a knitted bonnet I wore as a young child which folded neatly into a square, so I made one up kind of like that. I didn’t follow a pattern at all, and used the same stitches as in the skirt of the pink dress.

The tiny coffee table needed a pink doily, don’t you think? This is my first completed proper doily and it took me between 2 to 4 hours I think, finishing it last Thursday morning. I used a pattern in a book I borrowed from my local library on Monday called “101 Easy Scrap Crochet Projects“. The pattern for this doily is on page 40-41.

This doll’s setting would not be complete without a tiny doll’s teaset but when I looked on ebay for those I decided they were too expensive. But when David took me to the Salvo’s store last Saturday I saw this set for just $1! That was more like it I thought, but didn’t notice until I got to the counter that the teapot has been broken and glued back together. Oh well, I don’t think Barbie minds! And the tiny teddies don’t drink tea anyway. The cheeky things have hidden a big bottle of liquor to sip during today’s party, those Party Animals!!! A good thing too, because there is only one teacup!

I hope you enjoyed reading about my special pink tea party!
❤ ❤ ❤

For more pinkness check out today’s special anniversary of Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound.

Highlights from this week’s party

• a truly magical and artistic tribute to Beverly’s Pink Universe @ Heart of a Wizardess
• gorgeous pinks like pink shoes and pink chandeliers @ Enchanted Revelries
• images of a tiny tiny vintage doll with crochet dress, hat and knickers @ Connie Eyberg Originals

A Pair of Tiny Dancing Teddies

I had originally made these for my mum as she collects teddy bears, but I don’t think they are good enough! I think I’ll try tagging along with a new party today called Look at Me Fridays at It’s fun to craft.

I probably need to do some serious brushing up on my embroidery skills, their faces are not great, lol! For these teddies I used tiny pieces of recycled ribbon for their bow-ties and some fine yarn with 2.5mm and 2mm hooks. I put my glasses in the shot so you can see just how tiny they are. These are the same size as my first set of tiny teddy bears.

Yes, their arms are meant to be that way so they look like they are dancing, well that’s my story anyway and I’m sticking to it! One arm curls to the front, the other to the back, I think it looks like they are doing the chair dance, not unlike the /chairdance I do when my WoW guild downs a new boss!

/chairdance!

Check out some crafty ideas at this week’s party at It’s fun to craft.

Highlights from this week’s party –

• cushion cover made from a recycled cardigan @ Whimsi Kel
• a pretty and practical home-made skirt for a girl @ The Crafty Cupboard
• a very nice and simple homemade dress with pretty frills at What Allie’s Making Now

Thanks to Fun to Craft for hosting today’s party /smiles!

Red Hearts of Love

All these photos were taken last Sunday morning. When I saw them in my pictures folder together I realised they were all red so that gave me an idea for a post to join in with Ruby Tuesday hosted by Mary at Work of the Poet!

After a couple of hours of me checking the Pink Saturday blogs and he playing a computer game, we got peckish for some breakfast. We were in the mood for our favourite lovey dovey breakfast, sausages and tomato with love heart eggs and mushrooms!

On Saturday, David took me to a Salvo’s store (Salvation Army charity shop). We hadn’t been there before and there were lots of bargain treasures to be found, some of which I decided I coudn’t bring home. One thing I did grab was this very good toy for developing fine motor and hand-eye coordination in very young children. It’s pretty solid, not flimsy, so I grabbed it for $3. In the background you can see a red love-heart bag. I can’t remember where I got it from but I keep some Barbie things in it, it’s so cute. Also in the background you can see my tiny teddies where they live now, sitting on one of the vintage doll’s chairs to keep Barbie company. The doily you can see I believe was made by my great-grandmother, which I hope to try copying one day.

Another bargain treasure we found at the Salvo’s store on Saturday were this pair of lovey dovey coffee mugs. We’ve decided to collect coffee mugs with love hearts on them, as well as other things with love hearts because we are sooo lovey dovey! /awwww… lol! These are probably not so great because the shape means that one is smaller than the other. I don’t like the idea that to be in love one person must be smaller.

Our first love heart coffee mugs we bought were these very cheap ones we saw at the supermarket a couple of years ago. We got four, one broke and has been thrown away. That’s a shame, I really must remember to keep broken crockery for my mosaic projects I hope to do one day. Two of the remaining three mugs have broken handles, so one is now used as my pens holder by my pc. That’s why I’m afraid to use the 3rd mug for drinking as I have a terrible vision of someone spilling hot coffee over them when the silly handle breaks! But they are just too cute to throw away, they are too lovey dovey! When a coffee handle breaks, it can still be recycled into something useful.

I also took a photo of this very cute red chocolate tin. It cost me $5 full of chocolates from Coles online last Valentine’s Day. I havent’ decided what it will be used for yet, but I’m sure it will turn out to be nice. It’s sitting on top of the table my great-grandfather made, which I will do a post about one day.

I didn’t realise how many red love hearts I have about my house!
❤ ❤ ❤

Be sure to check out other Ruby Reds at Ruby Tuesday!

Highlights from this week’s party

• wonderful Flame Tree image and poetry at Rinkly Rhymes
• on friendships at Anne-Marie with a dash
• a beautiful close-up flower photograph at Little Bang Theory
• “I blog therefore I am” at Joysweb

Three Small Things – fingerpuppet, granny square, doily

Here are three small things I’ve made in the last few days, a Teddy Bear fingerpuppet, a cross-my-heart granny square and a lemon doily.

<<< There is no pattern for this finger puppet, it is merely one of my early attempts at making a crochet toy. I decided to pop a little dress on her, along with a matching flower headband. It was after I embroidered her face that I realised she was back the front. Oh well, her backwards legs are hidden beneath the skirt so it doesn’t really matter. She is just for practice after all, and was fun to make. You can see her before she was decorated in my Five Tiny Teddies post as one of my early attempts at making a crochet toy. I think she makes a great companion for my Octopus Boy!

>>> When I asked David what he thought I should make next, his idea was for me to make a lovey-dovey blanket for the lounge, one with a heart motif. I’ve seen lots of square heart motifs so went back to the net for some ideas. One I saw was a cross my heart granny square. I didn’t use that pattern, just looked at it for the idea. I think I might have a go at making a granny square all in one colour then out-lining just one of the four hearts in a contrasting colour using chain stitch.

<<< I was feeling brave so was ready to give making a doily another go. I found a simple doily diagram at a page of beginner crochet doilies. I hit a snag at the 10th round so took it to the Women’s Creative Centre to see if I could get some advice on it. Apparently my tension was too tight and I need to use a bigger hook, so after we unravelled the mistake we fastened this one off to make a small doily. It’s just the right size to put under the phone that is sitting on my piano.

Five Tiny Teddies

I’ve been wanting to try making a crochet toy for quite a while thinking it wouldn’t be too hard, and I must say I’m pleased with my first set of tiny teddies.

I didn’t follow a pattern for these teddy bears, and it took me several failed attempts before I settled on a method to use. I had been trying to make the whole teddy in one piece, not wanting to cut, tie in and start new pieces. But in the end I settled on making the head, arms and body in one piece, then adding two legs and the ears afterwards. After I got the hang of it, I started adding the ears at the start while I was making the head. Although I did not follow anyone’s pattern for these, I did look at some google images of crochet tiny teddies for inspiration.

These were heaps fun to do and I’d like to make more. The brightly coloured embroidery thread I used for their faces were one of the purchases I made from the Lincraft store in the city on Monday. The ribbons are all recycled from packaging or cut off from clothing (those annoying ribbons you get inside clothes to help them hang nicely in the store but always manage to embarrassingly poke out when you wear them – I cut them off and recycle them).

I think these tiny teddies are just so cute! They’ll make great companions for my Barbie doll (you know, the one I have to practice making real clothes on!), to sit with her on my new vintage cane doll furniture.

Two Hats for Babies

How did this happen? I do not know, but somehow I have managed to crochet, not one but two hats for babies, how absurd!

I’ve been trying to make beanies for children for the last two days, thinking maybe my brother’s children might need some for the coming winter, but have just been getting the sizes all wrong because I am not following a pattern. I discovered a size chart for beanies yesterday which has helped a great deal.

I have completed just 3 beanies in my life before learning how to read crochet patterns, making them to fit the person who was to wear them. One of them is the blue beanie I made for David last winter, I also made a loose fitting white one for myself to wear on holiday to Tasmania in 2004, the 3rd I made BD (before David) so we don’t talk about that. The only beanie pattern I have actually read and followed was on Rachel’s Crochet Spot, but I didn’t actually finish the beanie! Instead it ended up as a flower in my day of crochet trials.

Now, in the last two days, I have made four more beanies with the wool I bought from Lincraft, including these two that are baby sized! (For these I used a 4mm hook and Lincraft DK yarn in Autumn and Turquoise mixes). They are just sooo cute, I can’t undo them to redo again now, how could I? I particularly like the handy hookloop on the autumn one, and the hyperbolic brim on the aqua one, how sweet! But I don’t know anyone who might make use of them, perhaps I will get a doll or a teddy that can wear them?

… lol 😉

Pink Ribbon Stuff

I didn’t realise until I thought about it how many things I currently own that are pink ribbon fundraiser items. I’m sure someone else has already blogged about these, but because I’m new to Pink Saturday I haven’t seen one yet. What better way to add pink to your life than by purchasing lovely and practical pink items that also help raise money for a good cause?

I’m very excited about my new pink video camera which came earlier this week! David and I will be going to pick up the new data card for it tomorrow, so hopefully I can make a start on making little videos for youtube, although I think I have to clear a lot off rubbish from my computer to make room first! And I particularly LOVE Dove pink soap, it feels so nice and soft and best of all it’s pink! I just stash up on that whenever it’s on special which happens from time to time.

I’ve already blogged in “Pink  Ribbon Toy Shrug” about the gorgeous little furry friend for whom I made a little crochet  jacket! That was fun to do, lol. And I really like my very first labelmaker which still smells like a brand new barbie doll. It really should have the pink ribbon logo on it, but I’m pretty sure it was on the packaging, which I might add there was waaaay too much of, and needed industrial strength scissors just to cut open. Why do they have such impractical packaging, it really is silly imho.

Although I’ve never purchased anything from the pink ribbon store, they do have one online. All of my pink ribbon purchases have been incidental from the grocery store, chemist etc, in my endless endeavor to add more pink to my life!
Amen for Pink Stuff!

And don’t forget to stop by Beverly’s blog for more details on Pink Saturday!
http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/

What Pink means to me

It wasn’t until after I left my first husband and found myself living in a strange city after living in a small town for 23 years, that I remembered when I was a little girl my favourite colours had been pink and silver.

Somehow I forgot this while growing up and studying at university, fervently avoiding anything pink, dressing all in brown, black and navy with stripes, never anything frilly, accompanied with gold jewellery. Because I had to take myself oh-so-seriously, I was terribly grown up and professional! Then I started to develop a fancy for strawberry flavoured milk of all things, how strange! I never drank that stuff before? I found myself referring to it as “Pink Milk” and felt a need for it every now and again. Then there were the pink milkshakes, and I started to remember as a young child my favourite flavoured ice-cream had not been chocolate at all, it had been strawberry. Ever so slowly pink started to creep into my wardrobe when before this shade had always been shunned. In my old life, the colour most represented in my closet was black. Now, thankfully I’ve been working hard to fix that, although I still do have far too many black shoes and jackets …

Pink for me means a return to ‘me’, remembering who I was and what I wanted when I was a little girl, when I was  not concerned with how other people saw me. It was my pure, untainted  self, free of expectations. Pink for me is more than just all things girly and pretty, its more than getting in touch with being female. Its about surviving the trauma of a broken marriage, grieving my hometown which I loved dearly but simply had to leave in the end, its about getting away from all the things I thought I was expected to be, a modern professional career ice-woman, and just starting to enjoy life for what it is.

Blessed Be All Things Pink! see more pink stuff on my blog >>> PINK
This is my first post for “Pink Saturday”! For details check out “How Sweet the Sound” at http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Dress for a Special Teddy

This pair of teddy bears are very special to me, I’ve had them for nearly two years now.

I knew I wanted to get my grandma something soft and pink, hopefully something that could bring her at least a little bit of comfort. David found one and I loved it straight away, knowing it was what I needed to give her. I put a big, bright pink ribbon around it’s neck. It was a hard time for my family, David took me back to the newsagent and bought me another one. When my nanna passed away, I was given the option to look after her teddy so chose to keep the pair together.

I recently made a dress for one, it was very easy. I might make another one in a different colour for the other teddy.  I simply made a circle chain with a circumference as wide as the chest, rows of single crochet make up the bodice. Then I used a shell stitch for the skirt. Last to do was 2 shoulder straps leaving holes for the buttons, and sewing on the prettiest buttons I could find that would suit. I chose ones with a nice shell texture.

It might be fun to make a frilly pair of underpants to go under the dress, if I ever get around to it.