$101000

Yesterday someone gave me $101000 dollars. What’s that? You want proof, ok. Here are the notes:

$100 000

$1000.

Unfortunately they are ZimDollars and therefore worthless. While it’s very interesting for me to see notes of this size, the hyperinflation and associated political and social problems in Zimbabwe are no laughing matter. Still, I thought you’d like to see them.

I have a finish to report. I know I said I wasn’t doing anything else until the @£$%* quilt was finished, but I was so close to finishing the second sock when I got back from camping that I kept going – besides it’s been cold and I need another pair!

I would like to point out that they match perfectly! This is the first truly identical (if you don’t look at the heel) pair of socks I’ve knitted so far.

We hired a housekeeper/cleaner/baby watcher this week (I’m uncomfortable with the term maid – which is what most people here would call her). Working from home in my new job, while continuing the part time teaching, has left me a little stretched, and while Gorgeous Man does do more than his share of the housework, his professional work keeps him very busy as well. Also, now that Gorgeous Girl is a little more mobile she’s harder to keep an eye on while I’m typing on the computer. So we hired a very lovely young girl. I have to say, it’s so nice to log off the computer and walk out to a clean kitchen and bathrooms! She does cleaning for us while the child sleeps and watches her when she’s awake. Today they went for a big long walk in the sun while I was working. I do feel guilty at times that she is watching my child while her toddler is in daycare…

We continue to introduce solids to the child. I came home from choir rehearsal yesterday evening to discover that Gorgeous Girl has a new favourite food. She had the stuff smeared all over her face

Prunes! She finished up all that was offered to her and asked for more (a first) and she continued to eat them with no complaints, and in fact eagerness today) (and yes, the resulting nappies have been spectacular).

Gorgeous Girl also learnt her first lesson this week: – the teaching experience was “What happens when you repeatedly pull on the cat’s tail”. Poor Fat Boy is old, it was only a little scratch and she’s been much more circumspect since.

Well, it’s getting late and I haven’t had a chance to touch my quilting all day. I’m off to put in a few stitches before going to bed. I hope you have a great day, and thank you for coming to visit my little corner of the innernets.

Oh, and have you seen WordPress’ default pictures for everyone – quilt blocks! Awesome!

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Double pointed needle holder tutorial

Starfish suggested a tutorial for the dpn holder, and funnily enough I had taken some pictures as I went with that thought in mind, so here goes. It’s my first tutorial and I’m a self-taught sewer, in the spirit of all or nothing it is also my entry to the Sew,Mama,Sew tutorial competition. The key is to iron, or press, at every stage.

This is what you will end up with.

1. Choose two co-ordinated fabrics – or mis-matched ones if you so desire

Cut the fabric to the desired size. You will need:

* a main fabric, I cut mine 20 inches by 18 inches, this is folded in half and becomes the front and back (10 x 18)

* a top flap the length of your needle holder (in this case 18 inches) and double the height that you want it to be ( I cut mine about 4 inches high)

* a pocket for the needles (the height that you want the pocket to be plus 1/2 inch seam allowance), again, it is the length of your main fabric.

* ribbon, or a tie made from the material you are working with. A note on this: I cut a 1 inch strip sewed it with a 3/8th inch seam and pulled it through. I DONT recommend this – it took longer to do this than to sew the entire holder! Use a bias maker or cut 1 1/2 inch stip, fold both raw edges to the centre, iron and top stitch down.

Here are all of your cut out pieces. The piece at the top is folded in half ready to sew around the sides and the bottom.

2. Make the ties – see note above

3. Sew the main fabric together enclosing the unfinished end of the tie in the seam – the rest of the tie is inside the material not sticking out (I used my 1/4 inch foot). Go over the tie closer towards the edge a few times. Leave a 2 1/2 inch gap at the bottom for turning.

4. Trim the corners a few milimetres from the seam, turn through and iron/press well. If all has gone well it should look like this.

5. Roll up the fabric from right to left and mark where you want the second tie to go. Attatch. Unroll and sew on – I went back and forth a few times to secure it.

6. Iron a half inch seam on the pocket fabric Align with the bottom and side edges of your base fabric and pin on.

7. Fold the fabric for the top in half and sew together, leave a 2 1/2 inch gap for turning. Turn and iron well.

Attatch to the top of your base fabric with the gap at the top (you will have ironed it so that the seam allowance is folded into the opening).

8. Sew sides of pocket and base of pocket using 1/4 inch seam.

9. Sew flap on also using a 1/4 inch seam. NOTE don’t sew all the way down the sides of the flap. I sewed about 1/4 of an inch only.

10. Top stitch across the top of the flap as close to the edge as possible. Repeat for the sides and base of the pocket. This will close your turning gaps and neaten it’s appearance.

11. Using chalk or another removable fabric marker, mark where you want the needles to sit and sew down.

Remember to do a few stitches at the beginning and end of each row to secure it. I left two larger pockets to hold needle gauges and stitch holders.

12. Fill with needles and enjoy

Finally I can’t go without a gratuitous kid picture.

The Gorgeous Girl has discovered the cat:

His days of peace and quiet are over. Fat Boy is actually purring really loudly in this photo.

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Slow Progress

I’m working on a variety of things at the moment. Tuesday was ‘Quilting Day’ and I got one block finished and another one started. These are the last two blocks to be done.

I’m feeling a bit stalled with this, the extreme heat we’ve been having probably has something to do with it. I normally try and get an hour a day done on it, but yesterday and today are just too hot to have a quilt on my lap.

Yesterday was ‘Working on things for me day’. Why, yes, I have divided my week up into different projects, no, I don’t think it’s at all strange, it works for me, I like lists… Anyway, the socks are coming along nicely and I’m currently knitting the heel flap.

Can I just say again how much I am loving this colourway?

Poor Fat Boy’s days of peace are over. Gorgeous Girl has started taking an interest in him, watching him move around the room and stuff. Last night she started grabbing his fur and giggling hysterically while we were sitting on the couch. Fat Boy was a very good sport and purred loudly during the whole ordeal.

Today Gorgeous Girl is exactly five months and two weeks. Here is her weekly photo.

It feels like time is just slipping away so quickly. I often find myself starting at her trying to fix the moment in my memory. Just simple moments like when she wakes up and smiles at me, the way she snuggles into my shoulder when she’s tired and a million other small things. Who would have thought that someone so small could bring so much joy. I haven’t smiled so much in my whole life.

If Gorgeous Girl decides to sleep then I’ll work on the Advent Calendar this afternoon. I’m excited with how it’s going to come together.

There has been reading.

2008 Book List

10. Fugitive Pieces – Anne Michaels

An interesting book. It’s a novel and it explores the lives of survivors of the Holocaust, some very beautiful writing and some ideas that really give pause for thought.

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Caught in the act

Fat Boy has been very good about staying off the baby’s things. We’ve had no problems with him in the cot or on her play quilt. But this week has seen a change in his behaviour.

Gorgeous Girl inherited a padded ‘tummy time’ playmat which Fat Boy seems to regard as his new cat bed and yesterday I turned around and discovered this

He was turfed out immediately but was back in the pram in less than 5 minutes. A firm no and taking him out again seems to have gotten the message across and he hasn’t been in the pram since. Now if we can just convince him to stay off the playmat all will be good.

In other ‘news’ I have finished reknitting the left side of the cardigan

Shown here in its unblocked state. It actually matches the back so it was worth the reknit, and it didn’t take me as long as I feared. We may have a finished object by the end of the week, definitely after the weekend anyway.

Yesterday was a big day, Gorgeous Man and I went to the staff end of year lunch. For a fancy restaurant the food was very, very ordinary, but since we didn’t have to pay for it I’m not going to complain too loudly. If I’d had to foot the bill though I would have felt very ripped off. Gorgeous Girl came too and slept until the last half hour, so Gorgeous Man and I got to eat our meal with both hands, and not juggling a baby – it was all very civilised.

After the lunch I got to meet a fellow blogger who is in South Africa visiting family. Karol Ann called in briefly to say hi – turns out her brother lives down the road from us. We are going to try and get together to do some show and tell, and maybe sew a bit before she goes home. It was fun to put a face to a name and meet someone from the online world in real life.

I’m off to work on some socks while the child is sleeping. Hope your day is wonderful.

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