Wednesday, June 23, 2010

WIP Wednesday : Adventures


Yummy yarn

I finished up quite a few things during my time away but since I was taking a break from my camera as well, I didn't get any pictures. Go figure. That is something I shall have to remedy soon, but in the meantime here are a couple things I do have pictures of.



I mentioned working on a project for K's skuut bike adventures awhile back.
When we take longer nature walks, or when we are trying to wear out the dogs, K rides her skuut bike along side us. She loves riding it and from the way she rides it, I think she'll be on a traditional bike by next summer (we chose to have her learn to ride on a balance bike instead of a traditional bike with training wheels, to avoid training wheels all together). The only problem she has with riding her bike is that she has no place to put all of her nature treasures. She tries to carry them in her hands while riding but she always finds so much more than she could possibly hold on to. I promised her I would figure something out. I really wanted to get her a basket to put on the front of her bike but a.) I didn't know if a basket would fit on her bike and b.) money is always an issue. So that idea was scrapped. Then I happened to look over at my scrap fabric pile and thought I could just sew her a little bag.

I took some measurements of the front of her bike and her handle bars and just winged it from there. I used some dark corduroy fabric with acorns on it that I bought years ago for some random project that never happened. Although I stay away from dark colors with things for the girls, it seemed perfect for this project because her bike is always covered in mud and this would hide dirt. I used some bright pink on the inside for the liner fabric to make up for it, too.



Her bag needed some kind of extra something, something. K loves embroidery so I thought I would embroider a couple of flowers and a simple word to finish it off. I sewed some pink ties to the back of it (one for each handle bar and one in the middle of the bag to tie around the front part of her bike), and it was done. I surprised K on our next nature walk with it, and she really put it to the test.



Mother nature helped a bit with testing it as well, she was pouring rain on us, but we carried on. One thing we have learned so far from living in Oregon is if you don't get outside in the rain, you won't get outside at all!



Another couple of projects I worked on are for an upcoming adventure - K's first day of school! The school has quite a list of things required for each child to keep at the school, so this means we need two of a lot of basic things (one for school, one for home). I knit her another gnomie gnome hat (notes here, made some alterations) in some super soft rainbow yarn she picked out herself (from inspired mama makes) to keep at school. Since this will be a gift for her first day of school I had C model it for the picture.



She also needs a pair of waterproof mittens so I am trying the felted mittens pattern in an old issue of Living Crafts. They are about halfway done, I just need to knit the cuffs and sew them on.



Wow, that was quite a bit for one post, wasn't it? More to come soon!
Happy creating everyone!!

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29 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're so creative and clever! I've been reading for a while but I've just started blogging so I guess it's about time to say hi! You're family is so sweet and I love reading about your adventures. I find it a bit bittersweet sometimes though, I'm so ready for a family but I have to wait until the boy is too. I can't wait to craft for my little Waldorf babies.

TulsiLeaf said...

It's so great to have you back! I have been looking forward to your Wed post.

Great pic. About the mittens, when you felt them, I would imagine you could try to add some lanolin to them (like you would a diaper cover) to make them EXTRA water proof.

Joy said...

The hat and mitts are both adorable! And that bag! I love it. What a fantastic idea! You've outdone yourself once again, Nicole. :)

The Knitty Gritty Homestead said...

Glad to see you back here! Missed your posts, but dream of a mini-break...maybe this summer! Love the pine needle hearts and bicycle pouch...clever woman!

twolittleseeds said...

Ohhh I just love pics of rainbow wool! and that bag is too cute! xx

Unknown said...

Excellent idea for a skuut! We have one for little messyfish too. When he is big enough to ride it I am sure he will love a little basket bag too! Love that rainbow wool.

Ariella said...

I love it all--- the little treasure bag for the Skuut is perfect and those mittens are just the prettiest colorway. Beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Yeah for balance bikes. My son learned on one and switched directly to a regular bike with no training wheels before he turned 4. And he still loves playing with his balance bike.
For his little sister who is still too short for the Skuut I found a $5 second hand Little Tykes bike with pedals attached to the front wheel and I just sawed the pedals off.
It's so much more fun that tricycles!

Love the bag, that's a great idea.

renee ~ heirloom seasons said...

The treasure bag is so neat, that was a great idea! Do you ever worry that hands full of treasures they will trip and fall? Cause you know they won't let go of anything, they may fall right on their face cause they don't put their hands out to stop them... I remember Chloe doing that once when she was littler with her doll in her arms.

Your little embroidered flowers are so sweet. And school supplies? Oh my!!! I love the mittens. I hope I can manage to knit some for the girls this autumn.

I wish we could have knitting and sewing days together!

There now, much shorter than my LONG email!
XOXO

momma rae said...

and these are the things you did take pictures of?! there's more?? what a mama! i adore the treasure bag. that fabric is cute!! i need to work on some mittens. that is a BIG step for me in my knitting. maybe i can pull it off by winter. ;)

alyssa spring said...

Love seeing such gorgeous pictures of where you live....and the little adventure bag is so cute. My baby has his first birthday next week and I was going to sew a bunch of cute party favors and a banner.....I'm not up to it now but you inspired me to maybe get a few things done.

Moment to Moment said...

I love the gnomes hat, lovely.
My son has a balance bike, it is called a "strider", he loves it and has build up such an amazing balance and control and speed for that matter, and I like you feel certain that he will ride a normal bike with out issue or training wheels, lovely little basket you made for it...

Genevieve said...

The treasure bag is perfect!

Anonymous said...

How have you liked the skuut bike? I keep thinking about getting one for the girls.

Love the little bag you sewed for it and the mittens/hat, so colorful.

Dallas said...

Fantastic crafts! The hat and gloves are adorable. The balance bikes are seen all over the place here in Europe and look like great fun for kids. We've even said we need to pick on up before moving back to the US (our child will still be an infant then), because I thought they might be harder to find there.

Melissa said...

I love the way the striping on the hat turned out! REALLY love it! I am thinking about buying Jesse the Skuut for his 3rd birthday next month. He has been riding a tricycle in the house since his 2nd
birthday but we don't usually bring it outside. It's been an in-the-house toy. So the Skuut would be great to use on the playground next door. What did you buy for a helmet?

Anonymous said...

Oh! Totally stealing the idea for a balance bike treasure bag! Walker will likely fill it with horses, but that is not the point! ;)

kyndale said...

Wow, I love what you've been creating!

Prairie Girl said...

Lovely projects - especially the treasure bag. I can only imagine all the wonderful things she's going to pick up and put in there on her adventures

So impressed with you :)

Tonya Gunn said...

That hat is just beautiful and what perfect yarn.
Thank you so much for keeping me inspired.
Warm wishes, Tonya

Pattycake Manners said...

So nice to see you back! What lovely projects!! Must learn to knit... :)

Unknown said...

I adore that gnome hat. It looks so cozy and absolutely adorable. Great work! xo m.

Christine at Origami Mommy said...

The treasure bag is just so lovely! What a sweet idea. And the rainbow yarn is so pretty, it makes my heart sing.

Anonymous said...

Such pretty colors. I love the rainy bike ride photo!

Linda said...

Dear Nicole,
Thank you for the lovely comment you left over at my blog:) That rainbow yarn is just beautiful! And the little bag you made for your little one is wonderful, much nicer than any basket you could buy! I love the gnome hat, I knitted one for Jenna this past Autumn...
Warmly
Linda

FrontierDreams said...

Thank you for your encouraging words, everyone!! They mean so much!

Tulsileaf - Thanks you! I will try that.

Renee - You read my mind. K would fall from trying to keep her treasures safe. <3

Melissa -We bought K a child sized bicycle helmet to wear with her skuut. If I remember right we got it from a sporting goods store. HTH!

Ok, back to knitting. Thank youall again so much!!
XO

6512 and growing said...

That treasure bag is wonderful!
My son hops off his bike 10 times a minute for rocks, sticks, feathers etc...Needless to say, my pockets get quite weighted down by the end of a ride.

melody said...

I meant to ask this before, but got called away (as usual!)...what age do you think the skuut bike is good up to? I'm just curious about your opinion. I've been wanting one for a while and I'm trying to decide if it's worth it.

Also welcome back to this space! And I love all of your beautiful angels.

FrontierDreams said...

Hey Melody! Thanks fo the warm welcome back <3
K is 4 1/2 and she has the seat on the skuut to the highest position (but keep in mind she is tall for her age) so I am going to guess around 5 maybe 5 1/2? She started using it when she was 3 but she probably could have started closer to 2. I hope that helps!!

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