Crafting weekend plans

As the work week comes to an end I start thinking about what I’ll do on the weekend… this usually provides me with a list of more things than I can actually get done but if I do a few of them (I prefer to do the crafty projects than the house cleaning tasks) then I’m happy.

From this weekends list I am wanting to almost finish the secret baby project and sew up the teacozy I made a month ago now! In order to finish the secret baby project I will need a sewing machine… Lucky for me I will be paying off my layby at the Sewing Machine store this week!

I’ve paid for flights to Sydney this week which means I now have a deadline for the Secret Best Friend project. Thankfully the deadline is still 6 weeks away. I’ll be in Sydney from Sept 3 till 9.

Now my love and I are going to Savers! I am thinking of buying woolens to felt since Fern has done a few tutorials on it recently.

Published!

I’ve finally finished my first post for the new CraftBlog and its been published this morning…

Go on folks… Go check it out!

Thanking my crafty Nanna

I know when I wrote the big list of all my UFOs that I promised myself I wouldnt start on anything new till I had gotten through it all… but I couldn’t resist a few balls of this lovely shades of blue ‘knit it fast’ yarn at BigW the other day. When I picked it up I immediately knew what I would be making with it… SLIPPERS!

When I was a kid my nan would knit us slippers every winter. When we lived in other states she would send them to our house and we would sift through finding the pair that fit us best… because they weren’t ever made to fit a certain size, she’d just keep knitting them bigger each year.

I haven’t owned a pair in a very long time so when thinking of the pattern I had to try and remember how she made them… I didn’t bother going to my usual sources on the net because my nan never used a pattern! So I just started knitting. I’m part way through the first one and its coming along nicely.

Progress photos will follow sometime soon, when I’ve calibrated my monitor actually, since a friend has mentioned my photos are a bit dark lately.

Bringing back the past – Cake Tutorial

I made this cake back in November last year for my then boyfriends 28th birthday. He had mentioned casually that he would like a guitar cake but was really just joking. I took him seriously and below is a bit of a tutorial on how I actually got from thinking about making a cake to eating it!

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How to make a cake!

Not just anycake… but the most awesome of all cakes!

A Guitar Hero II cake!

1. Freak out for about a month about how crazy you were to consider making the cake. Spend hours googling “decorating cakes”, “cake fillings” and “OMG AM I CRAZY”

2. Pick up bits and pieces for making the cake over the course of the month… spending over $100 just on “stuff”.

3. Cut out templates for the cake and start making the “extra” pieces by rolling out coloured icing and cutting to size. put these in an airtight container to harden.

4. Order the sheet cake from a bakery that doesnt know what you’re talking about so you have to speak to three people before they understand.

5. Look at the sheet cake and wonder how you will cut the pieces out, use wax paper to make templates (make sure you have right side up and wrong side up layers so you have a flat surface on the top) and then cut! put all the cut off pieces of cake in a bowl to snack on.

6. Cut cake board to fit into box that the actual guitar came in. put cake in box and go to bed.

7. Go to work, freak out some more about how this is all going to come together since you’re going to a gig and have a house guest for the weekend.

8. Before the gig, start making icing (white chocolate butter cream), filling (dark chocolate ganache) and drinking wine (brown brothers, dolchetto and syrah). the wine will relax you some what and make the nerves go away for an hour or so.

9. Put icing on the cake board and lay the first layer on the board with the right side up. you do not want the cake sliding off when you move it around.

10. Once the filling has cooled in the freezer to make it solid enough to spread without running down the edges cover the first layer liberally. dont go to close to the edges (it will discolour the outer icing if it bleeds out).

11. Stand back and marvel at the first layer being complete. then put the top layer on (right side down, so that the flat bottom of the cake is your flat top surface). wow! it looks like a guitar.

12. Brush away all the crumbs from the cake and using the icing which has also been cooled in the freezer cover entire cake in a thin layer. this is to seal in the crumbs as well as adding some moisture.

13. Now its time to get rolling! kneed the fondant icing till it is softened and then roll out, using the wax paper template to check the size. dont forget you need overhang to cover the sides.

14. FREAK OUT about how to get the massive flat icing onto the cake, request assistance from the “only hours to go till my birthday” boy.

15. Lay the icing flat on the cake and gently pull the sheet back without stretching the icing. Smooth the corners and press the icing to the cake firmly but not roughly. use a fondant smoother to remove finger marks and any weird lines. cut the excess icing from the board and press the icing under the cake, smoothing as you go.

16. Stand back and marvel some more at the icing being half way complete.

17. Kneed the black icing with 1/3 white icing to get a better consistancy to work with (it doesnt ruin the colour at all! thats how much colour is in the icing!) and cover the already covered cake with cling film to ensure you don’t stain it with the black icing.

18. Roll out the black icing, lay on cake and shape as for the white icing.

19. Stand back and let the “only hours to go till my birthday” boy rock out to the awesomeness that is the cake. put the cake away in its box and go see YOU AM I!

20. Wake up late the next day and then nap on the couch till about 11.30 then have people come over that cant see the cake before the party. wonder when you’ll be able to finish decorating cake. enjoy having people over anyway!

21. Once person that cant see the cake is gone, bend cable knitting needle to make wahwah wand and put icing on end to harden. cut out details from the hardened flats of icing you make earlier. put together on cake with royal icing.

22. Drizzle royal icing on the back of edging ribbon and press to the bottom edge of cake. hide joins in the join of icing.

23. Stand back and marvel in amazement at the finished cake!

24. Go to party, put candles in the cake, get proposed to then cut up cake and eat! ENJOY!

The entire set of photos are in my flickr.

edit: yes, i said yes!

Finished Project #1

It celebration time people!

I only moments ago cast off the last of the stitches from the scarf with fingerless mitts (loosely based on Knitty project Entwined) that I had put aside last week due to a dropped stitch issue. I finally picked it up tonight and just went for it. Its not the best fix up job but the recipient probably wont even notice… I need to sew up the edges of the mitts and block it a bit then its ready to be delivered!

The hat that I made to go with it used parts of patterns on a combination of sites that were inspired by the Banana Republic button tab hat. The button that I found to go on the hat was so adorable! I’m tempted to go back to Spotlight and get another one for me!

I’m also making good progress on the HalloWig that I’m making for the same friend that is getting the hat and scarf. Unfortunately she’s been diognosed with a fairly serious illness and a few of us at work thought that since she’s a very happy and fun girl she might see the funny side of a knitted bright teal wig

Am hoping to get some serious progress made on my secret baby project this weekend… in a perfect world I’d like to have it finished this weekend so I can post it on payday… I’ll just cross my fingers and hope for the best (although, I wont get much dont with crossed fingers!)

Getting this blog started!

New financial year = new blogging effort! I’m proposing that this blog will be filled with updates on my non work pursuits… so it won’t bore people to tears hopefully

Just as a reference heres a list of all the things that are currently in my UFO (unfinished objects) pile;

• Scarf with fingerless gloves attached – This is being knit on the long edge and as I was casting off I dropped a bunch of stitches… so its sitting in my knitting bag waiting for me to pick them up and finish it off. It has a matching hat that I did finish last week but don’t want to give to the recipient until the scarf is done too!
• Knitted wig – A get well / be happy gift for a sick friend, this is my public transport project at the moment. I’m getting about 8 rows a day done. Should be finished within a week or so.
• Secret baby project – after my best friend (Clair) gave birth to a baby with GIGANTIC feet last month I pulled apart the teeny little booties I was making and started on something with much more longevity. Its a secret! but once I’m done I’ll post about it.
• Secret best friend project – After visiting Clair and wondering how she was going to keep crafting after having a baby I thought of a great space and time saver to make for her. Its also a secret and I will be creating a tutorial on how to make one for yourself.
• Re-organising my office / craft space – This is one that may never be finished! We’ve moved into a house that has a great room that I’ve taken over as MY space and it has a walk in robe that I’m using for storage. I’ll be sure to make notes about any great organisation projects I implement… as well as some decoration stuff.
• A vintage hexagon quilt – An unfinished project of someone else’s that I bought on Ebay that is now sitting in my closet waiting to be finished. I got a lot of work done on it last year but until I get a new sewing machine this ones going to stay unfinished.
• A BurdaStyle skirt – I got as far as putting in the zip then my sewing machine died… I may actually hand stitch the hems on this just so I can wear it! I taught myself how to make piping and pockets for this skirt! With winter on its way, skirts are going to make a comeback into my wardrobe! Skirts, tights and boots! A Melbourne girls staple clothing items!

So there you have it. Thats what is in my unfinished pile. I may post about some of the things I did in the last few months as well… depends if I can find some photos or not.