Pip n Milly Creations » Halloween

Slow down!

admin — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:02:53 +0000

Time is passing by far too quickly! Slow down, world, I’ve got lots to do! Hard to believe that we are approaching the end of October, Halloween is almost here and that means Christmas can’t be too far behind. I am working on orders, planning some new designs, trying to remember to write lists for everything and getting pushed off my chair by the things the children pile there for repair or alterations! Considering my love of handmade and my ability to put together Halloween costumes, I am a little embarrassed to admit that the girls will both be wearing bought ones this year! They are going as Queen Lucy and High King Peter from The Chronicles of Narnia. I’m not sure how many people will understand that, but the girls do and that’s what matters. (We did try to persuade Milly to be Aslan, but no luck there!)

The weather has become decidedly autumnal – and by that I mean that it is chilly and raining. The upside is that I can definitely justify wearing the results of my knitting challenge – scarves, shawls, hats and gloves. As it is “Socktober”, I really ought to be working on some socks, but I have so many other projects on my needles at the moment that the socks will have to wait. I’m doing another test knit for a designer at the moment (third designer, fourth project), so my own projects are languishing in their respective WIP pouches – which, incidentally, I need to make more of!

This is one of the knitting projects I have completed:

Dolcetto

This is ‘Dolcetto‘, designed by Dani Berg and featured in the Fall issue of Knitcircus magazine. I was fortunate enough to win the pattern collection and started with this beauty. I knit it in Madeline Tosh ‘Toshlight’ in the Vermillion colourway.

I have also knit a couple of purple hats for the Click for Babies Purple Cap Campaign to raise awareness of shaken baby syndrome.

In order to compensate a distraught child after she realized we had sold the play kitchen, I knit this lacy, ruffled scarf with beaded cast off in a really soft, pretty yarn. Did she know about selling the kitchen (two months ago)? Yes. Has she worn the scarf yet? No.

Ruffle scarf with beaded cast off

I have actually done some sewing, too! Here is a large yoga bag I made for someone who has trouble rolling her mat tightly enough to fit in a regular yoga mat bag.

Yoga mat bag

Black and white messenger bag

Interior of black and white messenger bag

These two shots are of a custom order messenger bag. The exterior is plain black, but in a beautiful, soft, yet heavyweight fabric, whilst the interior is in a combination of black and white prints. The lack of vibrant colour is a bit of a departure for me, but I think it is fabulous and the new owner is delighted! The bag has an adjustable strap with the new deluxe hardware, a side release clip closure and padded pockets and a zippered pocket under the flap. The interior features two key clips, a cellphone pocket and expandable pockets for the particular things this lady carries. It also has a water bottle holder and a magazine pocket on the rear of the bag.

I will be participating in the Treasure Chest Christmas Extravaganza at the Costin Hall in Lantzville on Saturday, 3rd December. It will be a fabulous event and we will be partnering with the Child Development Centre in our “Share the Magic” campaign! We will be collecting donations of unwrapped toys, clothes, and other gift donations to share with families of the Child Development Centre. Admission and refreshments are free and there will be a great selection of quality vendors. Mark it on your calendars and come join in the fun!

Flounder costume tips post

admin — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 21:56:53 +0000

Last year I made a Flounder costume for a baby and a few people have asked how I did it. I’ve put together a quick guide on what I did, over at The Winking Frog. It is not intended to be a tutorial, but it might have some handy dandy ideas for finishing off your costume plans for this year.

Flounder costume for baby

The Winking Frog

admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:18:23 +0000

If you are interested in checking out our pumpkin carvings for this year, please hop on over to The Winking Frog! Love to see you there!

Still here!

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:51:31 +0000

Sorry for the long gap between posts. It has been a whirlwind of activity around here, between settling in to a new routine with the start of kindergarten, playschool, business, job-hunting (DH), puppy-sitting, enjoying the last warm days of summer, playdates, sewing and general home life! We have been getting the house and garden sorted out, ready for the winter months ahead. It tends to rain a lot here, so we don’t spend a lot of time in the garden over the winter, so we needed to create some new storage for the playthings. DH has been occupied with replacing the rotten steps leading to the garden (side effect of building with wood in a rain forest climate!), staining the fence, to protect it from the afore-mentioned moisture, making a gate for the archway he built earlier in the year (in order to keep the pesky deer out of our veggie patch and flower beds), picking up soil for a new flower bed, planting a hedge and generally tackling my “any chance you could do …. list”. He is a superstar.

It has been a very exciting time for my little business, too. The new placemat is a great little product and I am so happy that other people like it too. I am working on a number of new handbags, but I am keeping those under wraps until later in the month. I have an amazing retail opportunity coming up. I will definitely tell you more when it is all confirmed.

Halloween is fast approaching, so when I need a breather between sewing for others, I will be working on costumes for the girls. They have decided to be a witch and a cat this year, teaming up to go as a pair! Last year they were a super hero (OOAK, of course) and a one-eyed, one-horned flying purple people eater (remember the song?). I will, of course, be posting pics of the little cuties when the costumes are done. They both seem to have quite specific ideas of what they want, so I hope I can satisfy them!