DIY TRIANGLE & SQUARE PLUSHIES

Oscar has been requesting we read Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen's Triangle and Square (he calls them "Tralung" and "Quare") every night at bedtime for I don't know how many weeks now, so for my seventh project of 2018 I decided to get my sewing machine out and sew a couple of Triangle and Square plushies. Jon Klassen's illustrations are so cute, so I pretty much had a giant smile on my face the whole time I was making these. :)

They were super simple to make, too. To make them, I googled the images and edited them in photshop so that they were the right size. I had no problems finding a front and back picture of Square, but for some reason I could only find the front of Triangle, so I made my own back in photoshop based on the image of his front. It turned out pretty good. I printed everything on unbleached cotton using this technique (ooold post! It's the same I used to make this printed banner), and then sewed them together and stuffed them. One thing that might be an issue with this later, is that the ink bleeds pretty much straight away if it's in contact with water (as you can see on square's back below, where a couple of drops of water dripped from my iron). So if I were to make them again, I might get the files printed via Spoonflower rather than use my home printer, just so it'd be a bit more durable/toddler proof.

Oscar was so excited when he saw them, and in retrospect we probably shouldn't have given them to him half an hour before his bedtime haha. But it was so fun seeing his reaction. There's nothing like seeing the things you make actually get used and appreciated!

CURRENTLY IN SEPTEMBER

recovering from a case of hand foot and mouth disease that Oscar aquired. We also had visitors last weekend, which meant it's spread to both England and Scotland...

enjoying being back at my spinning class! It's been closed for the summer, but it opened a couple of weeks ago and I'm loving have an exercise routine again.

working on my 2018 album. My 2017 album was pretty much my favorite project of 2017, and I'm just as excited about the 2018 version!

finishing up my Science of Well-Being course. I've mentioned this course previously, and I've really enjoyed it. It's also inspired me to look into other courses as well, just for my own enjoyment.

knitting stuff for Christmas. Might sound a bit premature, but when it comes to making stuff for Christmas you've gotta be early! I've already finished off two presents, so that's two less things to think about.

watching the new season of bake off and getting really excited about autumnal baking!

planning a trip to South Africa in February. Guys, life tip: when a friend texts you out of the blue asking if you want to go on a girls trip to South Africa, say yes.

THE SKAPPEL SWEATER

So this was mainly what I was working on while we were driving from Norway to France in August for my friend's wedding. If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen me mention it in my stories? Well ladies and gentlemen, I DID finish it on the trip, and I've been wearing it a ton ever since.

The pattern is the Skappel sweater, which became really popular in Norway a few years ago. I totally see why, it's such an easy and quick pattern to knit, and the giant oversized design is so easy to wear. Instant favorite sweater for sure!

I used Drops Alpaca wool in colorway 506 and Drops Kid-Silk in 22 Dark Grey. The color is a bit darker than what it looks like in these photos (the bottom photo is more accurate, color wise). The pattern technically calls for 7 mm needles, but I couldn't find my 7 mm needles when I started it, so I just used some 6 mm needles and adjusted the pattern instead. It's a big, slouchy design, and it's already sagged a bit with use, but I understand that is to be expected and happens when you use the original yarn as well. I've already got a few grey sweaters in my wardrobe, but they're so versatile I always have use for another one!

Sidenote: maybe I should start photographing these sweaters with me actually wearing them?

GILDED TEALIGHT HOLDERS

Guys, I am so ready for fall and for cozy nights in with warm cups of tea, blankets and candle light! I don't usually get excited about autumn, but I think the fact that our summer has been so fantastic this year has really helped. I struggle to get excited about autumn when it sometimes feels like it starts in June haha.

I have a tendancy to turn into a bit of a candle addict though, and easily go through one of those 100-packs of tealights from IKEA during the autumn and winter months, so I decided to make a couple of tealight holders. I also had some gold leaf lying around in my craft supplies closet that I'd bought by mistake earlier (I thought it was just shiny paper, it just said "metal sheet" on it haha), so wanted to play around with that. They ended up being a little more rustic looking than I had in mind, but I love the golden glow they add, and how they reflect and kinda bounce around the light. Cozy autumn vibes—check!

To make them, I used some old candle holders from IKEA, some gold leaf from Søstrene Grene, and some glue I found in my stash (I don't really think I used the right glue, which probably contributed to the results haha). Gold leaf isn't the easiest to work with, but i'm still encouraged to try other projects with it. I've also been thinking about making something out of clay, and I reckon some gold leafing might look nice with that?

SIX CHILDREN'S BOOK FAVORITES

Oscar absolutely loves books and has from a very young age. We read several books every day, a couple at bedtime, a couple while he sits on the toilet (he often declares he needs to use the toilet by coming up and asking for a "book and poop" hahah), and whenever else he feels like it. Snuggling up in an armchair with Oscar on my lap and reading him a book is one of my favorite things (though seeing him read books for his toy fox or for the dog come pretty close too!). His interests and preferences are always changing, but here's a couple of books we've been enjoying lately:

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett
Other than the beautiful illustrations, this book has such a beautiful story too. It's about a girl who knits (yeees!), and even though people keep telling her she can't do things she still does them.

Spot A Lot Vehicle Adventure by Steve Smallman
Oscar loves cars and animals, so this book was a hit from the get go. The first (100) times we read it, Oscar would exclaim "WOW!" every time we flipped the page.

The Wolf, The Duck, The Mouse by Mac Barnett
Great story, and Oscar loves dancing when the duck and the mouse have a dance party. And at the end of the book, we all like to howl along with the wolf.

The Grufallo by Julia Donaldson
A classic, but clearly for a reason! Oscar loves the Gruffalo, or as he says it, "Gullaloo", and it's been on repeat around our house for a while now. He's also got a Gruffalo hand puppet, which he loves giving big hugs to.

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
I actually bought this book years ago, way before we even started thinking about having a kid, and it cracks me up. Oscar loves it too, and gets really into it when the bear realizes where his hat has gone.

The Storm Whale by Benji Davies
This book was gifted to us, and it's been a favorite from the start! Oscar loves counting the cats, and on every page he asks where the whale is. We've read this book to him a lot, and one of his early words was actually "whale" one night after we'd finished the book and he pointed to the stuffed whale I'd made him. Yeah, my crafting mamma heart just about burst!