For the last four weeks after the childers are asleep in their beds, I have been secretly working on birthday gifty business for the month ahead is a birthday frenzy in our family.

First up is Our Dear Girl and there has been a bit of secret sewing and knitting going on.

Here is wee dolly ready for the birthday to add to our doll house.  In our doll house live some young fellows and some wooden animals from when Our Dear Boy was younger.  Since Our Dear Girl has begun showing interest in the house, we have added a witch and now by special request, a mamma and baby.

I just used a standard wooden doll form with movable arms. I wound the legs with green wool to look like tights and made the felt dress in two parts. The bodice is sewn in blanket stitch around the doll and the arms gathered in. The sleeve contrast was sewn around and stitched in place. The skirt is gathered with a drawstring. The hair is from spinning tops I had, sewn on the machine on the smallest stitch setting and hot glued in place.

During the day, the kids have been helping with party preparations.  We turned the plant tags we have been saving into fridge magnets for Our Dear Girl’s Spring party.

Our Dear Boy made about thirty of these origami drinking cups for her party bag too.

We made Spring seed packets from the kids’ old paintings.

The kids made rubbings of Spring leaves to decorate the party bags.

Our party bag filling production line.

I’ve also been baking up gingerbread in chicken and tractor shapes.  Apparently, our children think, nothing says Spring like chickens and tractors!

Finally, if you are a Melbournite, there is a new yarn shop on High Street, Northcote.  Please visit Woolarium and purchase something…you know it has been a yarn desert here.  Woolarium is a beautiful, light, airy place with a table to sit at and a fabulous shop knitting project to add to in the window.