Ay yai yai...

(It's an expression I often hear from my parents - I think that it's a South African thing. I remember being delighted when watching "The Gods Must Be Crazy" and hearing someone say it.)

Long time no see.

Things have been busy here, as I've actually been crafting (as opposed to writing and thinking about crafting). Here's a quick run down of the works in progress.

1) Cloth Diapers - I only started sewing cloth diapers for Mr. Munchkin when he was in size mediums (we used a diaper service before that). So, I needed to get some newborn diapers made. Let's not talk about the fact that yes, the baby will likely outgrow all of these diapers in 3 weeks and that yes, I really should get cracking on making size small ones too. Shhhh.

Seeing as how dreary February is around this part of the country, I figured that I was going to need something to cheer me up - so I decided to make a diaper rainbow. I cut out squares of 15 x 15 bamboo velour (SO soft!), and proceeded to do a low-water immersion dyeing method.



As you can see here - it's a messy business. The main reason that I did it on top of my washing machine is that it is well ventilated in that room, and that it was one of the few flat surfaces in the house that isn't covered with clutter. Ahem.

The results were spectacular.


I'm very pleased, and a little surprised at how well some of the colour combinations worked. The green-yellow and orange-red turned out much better than I would have thought. Additionally, I was quite happy with how low-maintenance dyeing fabric can be - I suppose that I was used to the very messy and laborious process of dyeing wool, and was expecting something along those lines.

Oh yeah, here's a pic of the diapers that I made for my friend. For those of you who know (and possibly care) the pink one is a pocket diaper, the red is an All-in-one and the funky print is a fitted.


In other crafty stuff - I got around to finishing these yarns. I set the twist earlier today and they're drying now. Counter-clockwise from the top - merino/tencel from Funky Carolina (sockweight), BFL from the Sweet Sheep (worsted), Berry BFL from the Sweet Sheep (worsted), Pink Cadillac superwash from Crown Mountain Farms (sockweight), Abby's Yarns superwash wool/silk/firestar (DK), more BFL.


Also, Ravelry is wonderful! I found a kool-aid dyeing group, and was inspired to overdye some pink ghetto Malabrigo in my stash with grape. I'll let you all know how it turns out.


Also, as part of the ongoing efforts to get the baby's room ready, we revamped our storage solutions in the house. JYSK, I think I love you.


Not only are these dresser/wardrobes a heck of a lot sturdier than an IKEA equivalent, they're much DIY friendlier. Clear instructions, precise numbers of screws, and they include wood glue! WOOD GLUE! INCLUDED! Be still my heart.


Mr. Munchkin was not neglected in this revamp either. Since he got to reclaim his closet from Mommy's clothing, Mr. Ninja decided to build a toy closet. Thus, in one fell swoop, Mr. Munchkin gets all of his toys in one place, and the adults get back the rest of the house. Win-win, eh?