Tim and I made this adorable little swing for Arthur!
peekaboo!!
Kelly found the design and Tim suggested it be a joint project between us, with me making the swing and Tim taking care of the woodwork etc… Kelly and Arthur and I went to Spotlight together and bought the stuff… apart from the fact that it was like 41C that day it was fun!
Arthur’s first trip to Spotlight!
We bought this cute orange-based kangaroo? wallaby? print which Kelly thought would go really nicely with their deep blue/grey walls and jarrah floors, bamboo wadding, which I used doubled up for extra padding, and white webbing and a white clip-in catch to make a safety belt too… also Tim got pine dowelling and nylon rope from Bunnings. We based our swing on this one on a blog the Thud… I think that Kelly had found it through Pinterest? I think? anyway I recommend checking it out because she is hilarious!!
I did have to make adjustments to practically every dimension though for several reasons:
a. the dowel Tim had was 2.54mm (1″) instead of the 19mm dowel used in the tutorial so extra height was needed at every top edge.
b. we wanted the back rest to be above the arm rests because it makes good sense to have the back highest, I think and also makes a nice visual to the layers.
c. I wanted all the kangaroos/wallabies to face UP, so I split the bottom/side piece into two, and cut and joined so the animals stood up each side. Furthermore, I arranged it so the seam in the back/side piece was on the opposite side for each piece, the inside and outside of the swing, if that makes sense.
d. I added a little seat belt for safety. The part that goes around his waist is stitched in each side of the back piece of the swing, and the front is stitched in with the seam between the front and the bottom/side piece,
e. I also made a little flat, square, seat cushion, partially for comfort and also so the kangaroos face up when you look inside the swing too. In addition, I made an extra, super-fat cushion to sit in the back of the swing, which looks cute, and also narrows the opening a little so he’s less inclined to pull his knees up and try to stand up in it. Although, Tim and Kelly tell me that when he’s in it he just loves chilling out in his swing, mostly just sitting quietly resting against the cushion in it, and happily swinging.
Here is my (amended) pattern…
and Arthur, chilllaxing in his swing … CUTE!!
Oh, and of course everything is going to be an anticlimax after that cutie patootie! but anyway… so, every Christmas I usually make some sweet treat as a gift for extended family and friends. This year I made coconut ice, but partly due to small supplies of red food colouring I decided upon a slightly different colour scheme from the usual.
I think it all turned out super pretty! Also, delicious, obviously! btw, this quantity pictured looks a bit mean but is really just for “pretty” photographic purposes, because everyone got at least four times this amount in little reusable lunchboxes. I used this recipe from Taste.com…
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