I love the inner workings of a 2 1/2 year old brain.

In the lead up to Easter we have eaten a lot of hot cross buns, which means we have to sing ‘Hot Cross Buns‘ and I keep asking FB who we give them to if we don’t have any daughters?

Turns out: If you have no daughters, give them to your tortoise!

Can’t argue with that. 😉

So easter…

(LR got a goose. Knit in OxfordKitchenYarns Aran in white and marmalade. Nice.)

This year I made some knitted animals from Knitted Animals – I’ve been wanting to knit things from this book for ages. And now I have.

They are great simple knits, which work up really well – though I will say that they Goose pattern was missing information about how to knit the beak, and they tried to explain that they wanted you to use yarn overs, without using the words ‘yarn over’ which was unnecessarily confusing. But to be honest if you’re a knitter with a reasonable amount of confidence you’re going to work things out without any real problem. Or you’re going to wing it and be fine. 🙂

(LOOOOM!)

The goose is lovely though, and was a very quick knit. It’s just the right size for an inquisitive 6 month old.

FB got chickens! In erm… something from my stash. But equally nice. Certainly the chicks are part proper angora – which is a bit mad really since it was expensive and then I didn’t know what to do with it once I’d bought it. But I still have lots left, and anyway it gives them (there are three more waiting in the wings to be sew up) a really fluffy chick halo.

The buttons are a superb idea and actually come from The Children’s Year.

The chickens were just the right size that their ‘eggs’ could be small chocolate ones. Very pleasing. 🙂

Let’s have a couple of random things –

1. LR is six months old today! Go LR! (How has it been six months? How has it only been six months? We all love her so!)
2. Oxford Kitchen Yarn news: I have been doing lots of dyeing and have more yarn arriving in the next day or so! I’m hoping to get enough dyeing done over the next couple of weeks to re-open the shop after the May Bank Holiday weekend. But I’m hoping, rather than promising.

And on with the post…

Before FB was born I bought Small but Real Clothes and then – as you sometimes do – didn’t actually make anything from it. Luckily the sizing goes up to 3 so I still have the summer to make FB a shirt or two – possibly – and I’ve traced out a few things for LR.

However the first thing I did was combine two of the dress patterns to get this dress:

(Check out all the Grape Hyacinths that are in bloom! W dug all those out and planted the hundreds of bulbs by hand last summer, before the shed of great joy was built.)

The main fabric is a 70’s pillowcase and the edging came from Fabric Rehab and is left over from the lining of a bag that I need to show you. The trousers are (yet another!) pair of BBBPants, made from an charity shop teeshirt find.

In the first photo you can just about make out the bias-binding trim on the inside of the arm hole and neck line – they were a bit of a pain to do, but look so lovely. And though I originally planned to use buttons and button holes, so that LR could wear it during our trip to London (I went to see Frankenstein and it was outstanding!) I ended up sewing on press-studs while we were on the bus. But actually they work fine and it all looks very neat.

I have been busy making clothes for the warmer weather – we are having beautiful weather in Oxford at the moment. So there are more pieces to show you very soon. 🙂 And more yarn!

When I’m on top of things. Not that I feel particularly on top of things today.

But regardless. On a good day if there are nappies and yarn on the line then at least a small amount of my job is done.

Or something.