NIKKI-SHELL

Instructions?

UPDATE:  Thanks everyone for your suggestions.  I now have the instruction manual, Catherine found it along with other machine knitting books lurking under her stash :)  Speaking of Catherine, she has opened an Etsy store selling her hand dyed yarns, go check it out!!

Does anyone have an Empisal knitting machine like this one?




Do you have the instruction book and if you do would you be willing to share a copy of them with me?  Or any tips as to how to work the bloody thing? 
Thanks :)

In the news!!

Yesterday the Herald Sun did a little article on me!  Welcome to those of you visiting my blog for the first time.  You can find Wardrobe Refashion here.

I was interviewed and photographed for this last year.  Thanks to Kylie :)

Make a tailor's ham

Pressing seams is very important when sewing if you want your garment to look great.  Make yourself a tailor's pressing ham using my how-to on BurdaStyle to make the job a little easier.

Oh and check out these fantastic buttons i scored at my local op shop! 

The best part?  The lady gave them to me!  Oh happy happy me :)

Slowly but surely

I spent some time at Amitie the other day choosing fabrics for my black and white quilt.  The 72 blocks have been complete for some time, now it's time for the sashing.  I decided on the green you see in the picture below.

I will eventually back the quilt with the black and white fan fabric and hand quilt with the grey perle thread.  This quilt is already a year old and nowhere near finished.  Slowly but surely.  It will be worth it.

Blogmeet 2008!

ALL FULL!!  Thanks :)

Well, well, well.  It's been a long time between meets but Justine and I are back on board and have gone into overdrive mode.  This blogmeet will have 10 bloggers (including Justine and I ).
The theme is "Using What You Have".  That means no buying AT ALL you must only use what you have in your stash for the blogmeet gift.

Each blogger will make one gift and then we pop them all into a big basket and play lucky dip! The item to be made is a bag of some sort which you can fill with what ever takes your fancy, but keeping in with "using what you have". 

The first 8 peeps to email us at mixtapezine@gmail.com are in, in the subject line put BLOGMEET 2008 .  We will confirm your place via email.

Date: Sat May 31 4pm-6.30pm

There you are!!

Finally i have found my blog, it seems i forgot where it was this past week!  I had lots of good intentions to post but you know how it is, other stuff gets in the way like a cute little baby to look after and cuddle, two other small children to chase after while my husband does a training course for a new job (he got the job btw, YAY!), a meet up with these crafty ladies and our kids, a trip to the City, a birthday to celebrate (Kev) and all the other stuff that just happens in between.  I've actually managed a few outings on my own with all three girls without getting stressed and losing my temper!  Anyway, here are the gorgeous gifts that Heidi has received which i promised to show you.

A gorgeous pink knitted blanket from Martine of Green Olive.

A cute little screen printed owl onesie from Suzy at 'Floating World Views'

Leslie of 'One Girl' sent a beautiful Fleur

Amelia knit this beautiful cardigan from recycled yarn

and Catherine delivered a lovely little handknit outfit this week

Thanks so much to all who sent gifts :)  and thanks again for the comments and emails i have received about Heidi.  I can't believe it's only been 3 weeks since she was born, it seems like so much longer!

Now, i'm off to feed Heidi then hopefully have a little nap.

Wilding sticks

We took a family walk around our neighbourhood again this afternoon.  For the past few days we've had winds that have reached over 130kph, very scary.  On our walk there were tree branches everywhere so we collected a few to make our own version of these 'Wilding Sticks' (link found via 'The Crafty Crow').  While Mia and I got down to some crafty business decorating our sticks Esme spent her time cutting and pasting whatever she could get her hands on onto paper which is why you only see two wilding sticks in the photo.
Here are our versions decorated with fabric scraps, yarn and trims from our supplies, mine on the left and Mia's more elaborate one on the right.

Back into shape

I joined the gym at the weekend.  Before i moved to Australia (before kids) i was a regular gym goer.  I'd work split shifts starting at 9 and finishing at 3, then i'd go to the gym for a workout and then back to work for 5:30 until 11 or 12 at night.  I was a lot fitter then!  I've not had access to a gym since moving here that didn't require traveling to get to and of course there's the small matter of childcare.  Now a gym has opened near my home, 10 minutes walk away, YAY!  So this morning i had my fitness assessment and did a VERY low impact workout, they say to take it easy for the first three months after birth and i plan to do just that.  I'll build myself up over time and hopefully in three months i'll feel healthier, fitter and more energised.  I was happy to find out that i'm only 6kg heavier than i was before i got pregnant, not as bad as i expected :)  Now i just need to make some gym clothes!

Knitting bug

In the weeks leading up to Heidi's birth i didn't have the brain cells or the patience to do any sewing on the machine and after i've been resting and enjoying my little bundle so i've spent most of my evenings sitting on the sofa stitching or knitting.  This was good in a way because i've managed to do some finishing on projects that have been sitting waiting and i've also started my second ever pair of socks!  Do you remember my first pair?  WOW i made those almost 2 years ago and they're still going strong although i do only wear them around the house.  It's been too long in between but i didn't actually do any knitting in 2007, the last thing i knit was my Hourglass Sweater which i finished in November 2006.  It was all about the sewing machine last year but this year i seem to have caught the knitting bug again.  I'm not the best knitter, far from it in fact and for now i'm sticking to simple projects.  I'm also trying to use up the stash of yarn that i have, although most of what i have is odd balls of this and that but i'm sure i'll be able to  make something from them.

Anyway, the socks!

Pattern: 'Madder Ribbed Socks' from 'Knitting Vintage Socks' by Nancy Bush

Yarn: Opal

I shortened the length so they are more of an ankle sock, other than that i followed the pattern.  I needed a non thinking pattern and this was definitely it.  Now i just have to make the second sock which i plan on casting on for now while i watch Kitchen Nightmares.

I have lovely baby gifts to show you sometime this week.

Mixtape Zine Issue 4

We have just opened up Issue 4 for PRE-SALE. This ensures you get yourself a copy and also help us out with knowing how many to print!
Buy it here!!