farmlet.co.nz

It is one of the pleasures of winter to have time to work on some craft and sewing projects during the rainy days and long evenings. Recently, I finished making a pair of sheepskin slippers for my mother. These were from an old kit-set that we unearthed when my parents were moving house. The kit-set supplied precut pieces of sheepskin, skeins of wool yarn, and a set of instructions about how to crochet the sheepskin pieces together to make a pair of slippers. Great fun! All this came from a local company called “Baa Baa Enterprises.” I remember that these slippers were pretty popular around here in the 80s, but don’t know whether Baa Baa Enterprises and their ingenious kit-sets are still with us 25 years on.

Wool slippers

Considering that we’ll be having a baby in November, I’ve now moved on to some more baby-oriented projects. I’m sewing lots and lots of muslin baby wipes and cloths, so that we can avoid using disposable wipes for cleaning the baby. Other projects include a couple of simple cotton flannel baby blankets, and a couple of different types/ sizes of slings/ baby holders that should give both Kevin and I some options for carrying the baby comfortably close to us. I also need to work on re-covering the cushions on the second hand rocking chair that we picked up.

The long winter nights are giving us more time to spend inside in the evenings. Recently, I have enjoyed pulling out a few craft projects to work on. I’m glad to have put the finishing touches on a pair of macrame lampshades that I started last winter. I unearthed the frames and bases for the lampshades when I was helping clear out Mum and Dad’s shed last year. I think I may have received them as a birthday gift many years ago, but had never figured out how to make shades for them. Fortunately, one of my macrame books had a lampshade pattern that I was able to adapt to fit the frames, using a big ball of jute twine that we bought in town. Now we think the lamps will look quite nice in our bedroom.

Lamp with macrame lampshade

An update on the mouse situation: I’m pleased to announce that we have now caught one mouse — using cheese. Unfortunately, we still suspect that there are more of the wee beasties in the house. We’ve decided to try baiting the traps with bacon, based on some helpful suggestions that showed up in response to my last posting. Thanks for the ideas! Bacon is at the top of the shopping list for our next trip to town.