One Pink Plum

2012-01-31T22:33:00.000+11:00

There is a Head Hands and Feet Skein Along about to begin in the Skein Ravelry group here. I finally decided on using a merino cashmere fingering yarn in the colourway solar and have it all ready to go. I am going to knit my first pair of hand warmers (one of my 2012 knitting goals!). What are some of your knitting goals and challenges for 2012? As a relatively new knitter I have been thinking hard about mine and have been taking an interest in those set by others. So far I have decided that I would like to knit hand warmers, mittens and socks. Try new techniques such as magic loops and new cast on and off methods as well as give continental another go (it hurt my wrists!) and improve my skills from last year.

Crochet Japanese style: Kazuko Ryokai

2012-01-24T15:30:00.002+11:00

The other day I was flipping through a Japanese crochet book and realised it has been so long since I have posted about Japanese craft books. I have quite a few I haven't shared on my blog and thought I would introduce a more regular weekly Crochet in Japanese blog post. How does that sound? If you have read any of my Japanese crochet posts you surely know that I am a big fan of Kazuko Ryokai (for a reminder here & here) and have made several projects from her books (here & here).
This book is just as colourful and fun as the other books I have.
Title: かぎ針であむ！カラフル色のニット小物―マフラーからバッグ、コースターなど雑貨まで (セレクトＢＯＯＫＳ)Author: Kazuko Roykai
Year: 2011
ISBN: 9784072759493

Interested in learning more about Crafting in Japanese? You can find previous posts and my FAQ posts here. Questions? Please leave a comment!

yarn love

2012-01-20T14:26:00.000+11:00

the uncommon thread

french market fibers

After five hours of cleaning I have 4 bags for goodwill, 2 bags of trash and a clean study and creative space. And a LOT of yarn. So much yarn. At least now I have no excuse for not knitting the stash. I have a good deal of it in a new bookshelf, a very pretty looking bookshelf. Having a nice clean space, feels lighter and like there is now more room to think. Am going to enjoy quiet moments this weekend in this space. Have a lovely weekend!

Juju's Loops

2012-01-18T18:04:00.000+11:00

After much anticipation, I recently received my copy of Juju's Loops: charming knitting projects by Juju Vail and Susan Cropper of Loop London as well as some yarn from Loop. I absolutely adore the book (and the yarn). The book itself has a nicely textured cover and is a small but not too small size (perfect for fitting in my knitting basket or taking out with a project on the go) and then there is the photography (beautiful), the text and the patterns. I want to knit everything! It sort of reminds me of when I first purchased Vintage Crochet (another Susan Cropper book). I hadn't yet learnt to crochet but was so inspired by what I had seen of the book that I immediately wanted to learn. It is the same with this book, the patterns are so pretty and the results look so wearable, it is great motivation to learn new techniques. So after my ramble here is a peek...

Cover showing Brown Eyed Susan

Shawls

Prairie Girl

Cinnamon Girl (I couldn't resist purchasing this exact colour of Juno Pearl with my copy of the book from Loop)

I must admit I have yet to start a project, simply because I am not sure where to start. I have been laying out the yarn and thinking, which will I wear most? Which combination is best? What item would I use most now (it is summer)?Decisions!

Prairie colour choices (l-r, tosh lace olivia, juno fibre arts alice lace in canary and barefaced)

Brown Eyed Susan colour choices (l-r tosh merino light isadora & rose, tosh sock trodden & william morris, tosh merino light oak & skein top draw socks kelp)

Weekend cooking

2012-01-16T17:44:00.000+11:00

On Saturday we felt like making pasta. For something a bit different to the usually fettuccine or spinach and ricotta cannelloni we decided to make Yotam Ottelenghi's lemon and goats cheese ravioli from his Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London's Ottolenghi book. Steady rolling out of the pasta, cutting out of circles, filling of each parcel and then enjoying the meal with a bit of zucchini on the side. Delicious!

Friday morning

2012-01-13T12:20:00.001+11:00

It has been a slow start to the year. But after a slow relaxing summer break and the first work week of the year behind me, I returned to my Friday morning routine. Fresh fruit from the local grocer and fresh flowers from the market. Creation of small arrangements for the bedroom and the living room.

The promise of some afternoon knitting and a cup of tea on this surprisingly wintry day in the midst of summer.

2012-01-01T12:05:00.000+11:00

Happy New Year!

2011-11-06T17:45:00.000+11:00

On Friday afternoon we decided to head out of the city and go berry picking. A short one hour drive away and we were surrounded by fields of cherry trees and rows upon rows of berries. We generally go berry picking on a weekend but on a Friday afternoon we were some of the only people. The plants were full of fresh berries, the berries were just falling off the plants. We picked just over two kilos of raspberries.

On Saturday morning I made jam. I use a really basic recipe of about 1 kg raspberries, 600/700 grams sugar and juice from a half a lemon as I don't like the jam too sugary. For the first time I used the water canning method which seemed to work really well. I now have 5 jars of raspberry jam which we will hopefully add to over the coming months. I am thinking apricot jam and maybe even some tomato chutney. But for now I have another almost kilo of raspberries to devour!

Deviate

2011-11-01T16:40:00.005+11:00

I was a bit quiet on the blog front last week. My excuse? Knitting. I started and finished this shawl in less than a week (along with starting a couple of other things). The deviate shawl pattern by Lisa Mutch was easy to follow and clever, a bit of detail to keep you interested and a beautiful end result. The yarn is Lioness Arts silky sock in colourway Emma. Both pattern and yarn were part of the Lioness Arts yarn club, the pattern should be available in December.

Ravelled here.

2011-10-24T14:56:00.000+11:00

I picked up the crochet linen flowers from a couple of weeks back. After joining them together I added a simple chain. And now I have a new spring inspired necklace. (Perhaps it isn't Melbourne spring inspired. As expected, yesterday was 27 degrees and sunny and today is grey, cold and rainy.)

FO: Gansu Violets

2011-10-21T12:45:00.000+11:00

I am terribly bad at remembering to take photos of my completed projects. I am usually so pleased to get something off the needles, admire it and then start something new I forgot to cross it off my ravelry list and take a photo. I will block it and in the case of this shawl start wearing it immediately.

I finished this shawl back in August when we were traveling in China but couldn't block it until I got home. Once I did it was my go too shawl for cold office days and short walks to get my morning coffee. It was my first time using the Uncommon Thread yarn as well as following a Rose Beck pattern. Loved the yarn such a beautiful colour and so soft. I really enjoyed the pattern enough to challenge my knitting skills without feeling difficult or like I had to keep checking what was next, I can see plenty more Rose Back shawls in my knitting future. All the shawl's details are ravelled here.

I have several more finished projects (knitting, crochet & weaving) waiting for their photos, promising to share them soon! Have a wonderful weekend.

My creative space

2011-10-20T15:11:00.000+11:00

I attended an inspiring weaving workshop at Harvest last weekend. We learnt how to make braids, mats, stars as well as a very adaptable coil technqiue. So this week I have been applying my new crafty skills to the making of baskets and necklaces. So much fun!

Check out more creative spaces here.

My creative space

2011-10-13T17:13:00.002+11:00

Knitting progress has been made! Last week's sweater now has two sleeves and has been blocked. Buttons have been chosen and seams will be soon complete. I have been swatching for vanadium using the beautiful charred super sock from the Uncommon Thread. The plan was to swatch and catch up with the KAL on the ravelry group that started almost a month ago. But I also really wanted to learn to knit continental and purl Norwegian. I followed a few YouTube videos which were very helpful but am still learning as I go. Does anyone else use these techniques, any tips? My first swatch was a bit loose and the tension not so even (you can see it in the middle there are a few big rows) so I am trying again on smaller needles. Second time round the first few rows seem more even, I think it may have been the way I was holding the yarn. Hopefully I will be casting on the cardigan tomorrow.

Over the last few days I have also been revisiting some old ideas and crocheting flowers in some leftover linen. I have been making flowers in many different materials and I really like the definition the linen gives to the shape. It produces quite a different look to my fine wool ones of last year.

Check out more creative spaces here.

I love mail

2011-10-12T17:41:00.001+11:00

Following my post last week about Mollie Makes Lara kindly sent me issue 1. I was so touched by the blogger kindness. After receiving the magazine I was on the lookout of a way to pass the bloggy karma along and was fortunate to find an opportunity to do so over the weekend (well on ravelry but I think it still counts).

And as you can see the magazine is wonderful, so much colour, wonderful styling and ideas.

Weekend cooking

2011-10-10T18:01:00.001+11:00

We missed most of winter and the start of spring whilst we were away on vacation. The subtle signs that the seasons are changing have been lost for me this year. However visiting the market on the weekend I could see a definite change - lots of fresh spring vegetables and herbs.

For Sunday night cooking we turned to two of my favourite cookbooks, Love Soup: 160 All-New Vegetarian Recipes from the Author of The Vegetarian Epicure and Heidi's Super Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen. Love Soup is organised by season, so for Sunday night a quick flip through the spring chapters led to choosing on a spring greens soup - zucchini, leek, spinach, asparagus, mint & a handful of fresh herbs from the garden. Whilst the leeks sauteed, vegetables were chopped, before both were added to a bit of stock.

Whilst the soup simmered, we prepared some quinoa patties from Super Natural Everyday. I love this recipe, simple soup accompaniment served with avocado or hot sauce that has protein in it and cheese.

A perfect Sunday night meal on a windy day, and there are plenty of leftovers for Monday night.

What are some of your favourite Sunday soups?

The yarn diet has started...

2011-10-07T09:58:00.000+11:00

As I have become more addicted to knitting, my yarn stash has grown & grown. I have discovered so may beautiful yarns and indie dyers that there is a huge amount of temptation out there and not enough knitting time. Upon coming home from our adventures I had many a lovely yarn parcel to open up.

Skein yarn club parcels from July- September...

The August yarn and a beautiful mystery skein from Lioness Arts first yarn club. I am really excited about this club, each yarn comes with an accompanying pattern and Dani has partnered with some of my favourite designers. I have no excuse for letting any of these skeins sit in prize position in my stash waiting for the perfect pattern to come up!

l to r honeymoon bfl sock, heartache bfl sock, emma silky sock

And some lovelies from the Uncommon Thread an irresistible skein of tea smoked & some charred in super sock so I can participate in the Charred KAL.

I am still deciding which pattern to knit with the charred. I can't decide between Vanadium or Abigail.

I am now on a yarn diet for at least 6 weeks, the only yarn to come into the house will be yarn club skeins, I promise!

my creative space

2011-10-06T16:35:00.002+11:00

Almost there.

A back, a front, two sides, two sleeves, one pocket and a row of buttonholes completed. Now to complete knitting the collar, block, add buttons and seam the pocket.

Almost there.

More creative spaces here.

Weekend Cooking

2011-10-05T17:01:00.001+11:00

Weekend cooking to me can be slower and more involved than cooking during the week. I like to make more homey, hearty dishes like big soups, lasagnas or eggplant parmigiana or Sunday's. So on Sunday night when we had some friends over for a casual dinner I decided to make a favourite childhood recipe. The kind of thing that I always looked forward to my mum making and today conjures up memories of home and warmth. This recipe for a Greek style macaroni and cheese was something my mum would make in a big white french oven pot in large quantities. It would sit in the spare laundry fridge and be pulled out over a few nights to be devoured. My sisters and I loved the combination of crunchy croutons, cheese and pasta, all of our favourite ingredients with a bit of spinach. When I moved across Australia about 8 years ago this recipe was one of the many that my mother carefully filed in a folder in case I missed the smells and tastes of home.Thisrecipe was originally published in CookingLight, September 1996 (I am not sure how much of a variation thisrecipe is from the original).

Greek Macaroni & Cheese

1/3cup self raising flour

2 1/4 cups low fat milk

3/4cup crumbled fetta cheese

1/2cup parmesan cheese

85grams light cheese (cheddar works well)

6cups cooked pasta (I use a small shell shape)

1/2teaspoon salt

1package frozen chopped spinach, thawed & excess water removed

1/2cup croutons

1tablespoon softened margarine

Cookingoil spray

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius
Place flour in a large saucepan. Gradually add the milk stirring with a whisk until it is blended (you don't want any lumps). Cook over a medium heat for 8 minutes or until it is thick, stirring constantly. Add the cheeses; cook for a further 3 minutes or until the cheeses have melted, keep stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and stir in the pasta, salt & spinach.
Coat a casserole dish with the cooking spray and then spoon the mixture into the dish. Combine the crushed croutons with the melted margarine sprinkle over the mixture. Bake at 180 for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

This dish can together so quickly and was then in the oven and on the table. In the midst of this and catching up with good friends I completely forgot about taking a photo. I only remembered at the end of the night when putting leftovers in the fridge.

2011-10-03T07:49:00.000+11:00

How was your weekend? Mine felt like the calm before the storm as my life returns to normal this week (back to work & routines!). I spent some time working through some of the WIPs in my knitting/ crochet basket whilst listening to podcasts. Completing sleeves and working on a new crochet project.

I also spent a wonderful afternoon reading some new to me magazines, zines & a couple of fabulous books including Spoonful zine, Interwoven the new collaboration between Quince & co. and 3191 miles apart and the first few pages of Design * sponge at home. I caught up on issues 3,4 & 5 of Mollie Makes and was so pleased I had subscribed to this very new magazine. Would you like to take a peek?

Firstly issue 3... and lots of colourful crochet

An easy sewing project, which I have already tried...

And some great home finds (I love the japanese cuties)

From issue 4... a British seaside home tour

A cute felt love birds tutorial

From issue 5... crochet vegies

I was really impressed with the 3 issues and thought that the balance between tutorials, home, inspiration, interviews and handmade finds was just right so I didn't feel overwhelmed with a huge number of projects I wanted to try or that the images presented in the more inspirational photo shoots were too unrealistic for me to ever use in my life.

Have you seen a copy? What did you think?

In Australia I know magnation are stocking the magazine but do not have issues 1 or 2. Are these available anywhere?

Time out

2011-09-30T11:04:00.000+10:00

Hello my friends, you may have noticed that I have been a bit absent and neglectful of this space? Well, for the past 3 months my husband and I took some time out. Time out of winter, doing dishes, folding laundry, all of that daily routine sort of thing. We decided to go somewhere different from home, to see a bit of the world, to do things we don't normally do by backpacking in China.

We started in the far northwest in Kashgar (or Kashi) and made our way towards the centre, visiting parts of Xinjiang, Gansu (amazing preserved Buddhist caves & the Tibetan Labrang monastery) and Qinghai before spending a week in the city of Chengdu (pandas!! & spicy Sichuan food!!) before heading south to Yunnan and then again west to Guangxi and Guangdong.

We were able to experience small parts of the culutre of so many different ethnic groups, try many different foods and see how so many people live as well as see the development of the big plans of China. Signs of the rapid transformation of the country were everywhere, on a scale so huge it was at time hard to comprehend and often left us feeling a bit uncertain of how it may all play out.

The countryside was beautiful in so many places, large grasslands, amazing gorges, mountains, forests, lakes, limetsone karsts. There were tiny villages built around a mosque or temple and many glimpses of a lives that would have remained unchanged for centuries. We walked amongst rice terraces and fields of varying livelihoods where women tended crops, children chased chickens and chillis dried outside people's homes.

We attended the largest livestock market as well as many local markets across the country amazed at the different produce available, the different pickled vegetables and watched people having a haircut or a teeth clean on the street. We visited caves, temples, monasteries.

Cycled along rivers, kayaked, hiked, were chased by bulls, hitched a ride when lost and surfed down sand dunes.

It was not always easy traveling and as we were primarily in rural areas we often were very isolated from so many things (TV, toilet paper, internet, sunscreen...). But it gave us time to think and reflect, about where we were right now in the immediate sense as well as in what do we really want to do when we get home. This reflection time seemed like such a wonderful blessing for me, something I don't have time to do at home. Now we are home, with hundreds of photos, stories and memories, feeling refreshed.

Sunday

2011-06-12T16:42:00.000+10:00

mara

2011-04-13T16:22:00.000+10:00

The past few days have really felt like autumn. Lots of orange, yellow and brown leaves falling from the trees, so much rain and it is colder. I made soup for the first time this year and we have even turned on the heating at home. It is has also been perfect knitting weather. I am really loving knitting, watching the even stitches come together and learning all sorts of new techniques. A few weeks back I finished my mara shawl and have been wearing it since.

It is such a squishy comforting wrap which can be worn over my shoulders, like a scarf or tied to hang forward. I used 3 skeins of Madelinetosh tosh dk in rose which was such a beautiful yarn to work with. I must admit I understand what all of the madtosh fuss is about! I have been really trying to show some constraint with online yarn purchasing and ignoring how unbelievably good the aussie dollar is at the moment, perhaps more successfully next week!

Ravelled here.

My creative space

2011-03-10T08:55:00.000+11:00

Our kitchen is pulled out and being replaced today, so the house is a mess. I have almost all I need to make breakfast besides my bed and there are boxes everywhere! There is banging and lots of noise. There is also the possibility that there will be no plumbing or gas in the kitchen until Tuesday (not sure why I wasn't told this until everything had been reconnecting?).

I have managed to fit into the study so I can work from home. The space on my left side of the desk is keeping me calm, skeins of delicious yarn, Japanese and French craft books.

Crochet Japanese style: FAQ II

2011-02-26T11:34:00.001+11:00

I have been getting a few emails & queries on ravelry about understanding the symbols in Japanese crochet books so I thought it might be a good idea to add to my FAQ post from last year.

Opening up a Japanese crochet book can be a bit daunting. You flip through the first half of the book see all of these beautiful styled photos, want to make everything and then come to the second half of the book and realise all of the instructions are in Japanese. Not a problem. All of the books and magazines I have seen have wonderful diagrams which explain the stitches. The crochet symbols that are used are exactly the same symbols as those use in English crochet books or magazines, such as Crochet Today.

I just did a quick google search for crochet symbols which came up with many pages such as this one or this one or this one and this one which all explain the symbols. I also found this blog post I am sure there are plenty more out there. To help even further a lot of books have instructions in the back which graphically show how each stitch is formed.

So now that you understand the symbols you may want to tackle some of the text. Here is a guide which may help you understand which hook to use.

If you are interested in learning a bit more about Japanese crochet books you can find out a huge amount more here or on ravelry here and all of my crafting in Japanese posts are here.

If you have any questions, please email me or leave a comment and I can try and help!

Enjoy your weekend!

My creative space

2011-02-24T15:38:00.000+11:00

3 indulgent, squishy, beautiful skeins of new yarn. I love new yarn and this is beautiful yarn. Rose coloured Madelinetosh Tosh DK purchased from Eat Sleep Knit (it came with a chocolate, I love chocolate with my yarn orders!). Destined to be a mara shawl, for cooler days. I contemplated colours for this shawl but then decided some times things are better rose coloured.

My current circular knitting needles do not seem to be holding up to their task and the loop keeps coming away from the tips which leads to much anguish. So I gave in and bought a new, hopefully better quality set. So until they arrive this yarn is for squishing and enjoying the shades of rose.

Check out other creative spaces here. Thanks for hosting Kirsty!

granny squares

2011-02-18T15:50:00.000+11:00

Last night whilst watching tv I crocheted a few more granny squares for crochet a rainbow. Australian's on the east coast of the country have had a very very rough summer - devastating floods in regions where there has been drought from many years and then cyclones in far north Queensland have completely destroyed people's homes and wiped out farms and with it people's livelihood and a large proportion of Australia's food supply. The rebuilding of communities and lives is going to take a long time.

Sarah London started crochet a rainbow as one small way crafty people can help by simply crocheting granny squares. The granny squares will be joined together to form blankets that will then be distributed to those affected in Queensland and Victoria. All the details can be found here.

Saturday night

2011-02-15T15:44:00.000+11:00

On Saturday night we walked down to the Sidney Myer music bowl with a picnic to listen to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, for a second time in a week. It was another wonderful evening. A picnic of lupini beans, pickled zucchini, olives, a green bean potato pesto salad, corn chips and some fruit.

A little bit of knitting...

And then watching the sun set over the city ...

whilst listening to the orchestra. Just magical, and feeling very lucky to have moments like this.

How was your weekend?

flowers on a Friday

2011-02-11T10:13:00.000+11:00

On our way home from Paris we had a 9 hour stopover in Bangkok, so we ventured out into the city. Before heading to a delicious dinner at Nahm (the banquet was so delicious!) we visited Pak Khlong Talat, which is Bangkok's largest wholesale flower market.

After being in a cold winter climate, walking around in the humidity and bright daylight of Bangkok was a huge change. The colours, noise and activity in the flower market was a sensory overload for us. The massive amount of roses, orchids, jasmine, magnolias, lilies and many other flowers was just amazing. There were many women braiding roses and other flowers onto fine strings to make the pretty arrangements you can see in the photos.

I wouldn't know what I would buy first if this was my local flower market, the choices!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

memories of Provence

2011-02-10T17:40:00.000+11:00

Before I forget to post and record here is a mosaic of moments of our time in France:

A ferris wheel lit up for NYE in Nice...Sunday browsing at the market in Antibes sampling olives...a lane way in Provence (possibly in Gordes or Lacoste I can't recall), around the corner, the lavender fields at a Monastery just outside Gordes, Bonnieux (this may look familiar having been in the cinema in the past couple of years), Le Corbusier in Marseille, outside the Pope's Palace in Avignon and cheese in Paris. I am afraid the memory of where each laneway and photo is already fading... but the beauty of the small towns which were so quiet in the middle of winter, the taste of the olives and the cheese is still there. Our photos of Paris are few beyond the photos of the cheese above. We visited many a place, saw so many crafty things and ate well.

2011-02-06T11:36:00.000+11:00

I am back to blogging and reality for 2011. We returned to Melbourne about a week and half ago after an amazing honeymoon where we enjoyed being - seeing, walking, eating and just being somewhere different, together. It really was such a lovely break, which made it even harder to return home. But now we are back, left with many memories. Our first stop was Copenhagen. It felt like we had flown into a perfect winter wonderland - all cobbled streets, Christmas lights, pretty buildings and snow! We spent a few days walking around, visiting different areas, antique stores, galleries, cafes and the Christmas festivities at the Tivoli gardens.

On Chistmas eve we flew to Berlin where we spent a week. Our first outing was to a Christmas market around the corner from our hotel. There were many different food stalls - pancakes, fondue, hot wine, sausages, nougat and Christmas crafts being sold. We visited a few more over the next few days as well museums, galleries and tried to walk as much as possible despite the snow. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when visiting Berlin - but we both really enjoyed our time there. There was so much diversity in the areas we visited, as well as the food we ate and the cultural places we visited. We were also amazed at how much building was going on and the innovative design of some of the newer buildings.

From there we flew to France... photos to come, as well some of my crafty finds!

Bonne annee

2011-01-02T04:25:00.000+11:00

A quick hello to say happy new year!!! We are currently very far from home on honeymoon in Nice,France after visiting Copenhagen & Berlin. The new year was welcomed in with bottles of good champagne, fireworks and delicious food. I am absolutely loving being here and am looking forward to the next few weeks. Hope everyone had a wonderful new years celebration!

2010-12-09T08:02:00.000+11:00

The rosy baby blanket is almost complete. Squares have been joined together and the only part left is to add a border. I am thinking a couple of rounds of the dark green colour around the edge and then perhaps a picot or a bit of a ruffled edge. Any ideas?

Progress has been a bit stop and start on the blanket as I have developed a bit a of a ravelry, knitting obsession. My list of favourites has been growing and growing. There are so many talented knitters and designers out there. Some of the amazing designers I have discovered are Gudrun Johnston of the Shetland Trader, Cecily of Winged Knits and Melissa LaBarre. So many beautifully designed cardigans and accessories - the inspiration and potential is endless.

Thank you to all those who visited my little spring cleaning store. I am going to keep it open for a few more days, probably until Monday of next week. So if you have been thinking about purchasing some yarn now is your chance!

my creative space

2010-12-02T11:17:00.000+11:00

A cousin is expecting a baby girl any day now so I have been busy fitting in some crochet to make a rosy baby blanket. I have been crocheting rose squares using 5 different colours for the roses a light and a deep purple, deep pink, light blue and a yellow. I am using the same two greens for leaves and the square edge. I am crocheting in Rowan pure wool dk which is such a beautiful yarn - nice and soft and the colours are great. This blanket is going to be similar but different to the one I made around this time last year and blogged about here. I am using a bit of a different rose pattern but am thinking of again joining using a double knit stitch. One of the joys of making a baby blanket (as opposed to one for a king size bed!) is how quickly it comes together - 15 squares and that is it!

Check out more creative spaces here.

the yarn

2010-12-01T19:56:00.000+11:00

Over the past year the amount of yarn in our house grew. I now have a large lovely stash. Which would be wonderful if I had all the time in the world to knit or crochet or somewhere to store it. But we don't. We live in a tiny house and I don't quite know what to do with it all. It is lovely and soft and there so many beautiful colours but not enough time. And now we have plenty of blankets and scarves and I am starting to think of making different things to what I did before. Like knitting and making cardigans and ordering the yarn to make those but I don't have anywhere to put the new skeins. So over the weekend I went through my stash and everything I couldn't remember what project I had in mind when I bought it, is now for sale. See all of that yarn in the mosaic? It is in now in my spring cleaning shop.

To keep it simple each ball is $5.00, I have multiples of many of the yarns (up to 6 of some). There is debbie bliss, rowan yarn and lots of lovely jo sharp yarn. Some beautiful tweeds are there (the photos don't show how pretty they are), as well as pure merino wool and some cashmerino. The shop will only be there for a little while. Please let me know if you have any questions.

my creative space

2010-11-25T17:52:00.000+11:00

The yarn from last week is almost a nice woolly cowl. I am quite pleased with my knitting efforts so far. I followed the all the way round cowl pattern here. I used a provisional cast on (first time!) and then tried to make nice relaxed stitches. They aren't all even but I don't mind. Now to join it together. Isn't it fun to learn something new?

More creative spaces here.

2010-11-24T17:39:00.000+11:00

Hello, how is your Wednesday? For a bit of midweek colour and sunshine I thought I would share a few more wedding photos. Today, a glimpse of the flowers we had on the tables at lunch. We were after a happy, relaxed lunch in a garden feel , although it was inside. With lots of flowers. It was hard to choose which flowers and there were so many spring flower choices. In the end we went with vibrant colour - roses, sweetpeas and some orchids (it was bit too early and cold for peonies unfortunately).

Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday!

my creative space

2010-11-18T17:23:00.000+11:00

This week I have returned to lacy crocheting with a mustardy yellow cotton. I know it looks a bit wobbly in its unblocked form but I really like this pattern, nice fan like shapes. I have also just purchased some very large knitting needles so that I can turn two soft woolen skeins into a nice warm neck cowl.

So making something in case it is warm and something to brace for the cold - really fits in with the kind of weather we have had this week. It was nice and warm yesterday so much so we ate salads outside for dinner last night. Then today I have been cold and stuck in the rain a few times. So a summer and a winter project should have me well prepared!

See who else is sharing their creative space over here.

spring cleaning

2010-11-17T17:47:00.000+11:00

Thank you for all your sweet messages on my last post about our wedding. I have photos of more flowers and a few handmade touches to share but for now ....spring cleaning. For quite some time my crafty bookshelves and draws have been bursting, with too many goodies for me to every need. So I have done a bit of spring cleaning and opened up a bit of shop. So far I have listed crafty books, including a few Japanese treasures.These are so hard to part with, but I am sure other people will love them and they can find good new homes where they will be loved! I also have magazines, fabric and yarn to add. I am new to this onlien selling business so if I have forgotten some important information or there are any questions please contact me. Be sure to check the shop out!

7th November 2010

2010-11-14T10:52:00.000+11:00

After months of planning and excitement we were married last weekend. It was a wonderful day that went past in one big happy blur. Plans for a garden wedding fell through at the last minute due to the unpredictable nature of weather in Melbourne (sunshine, 50km/h winds and the chance of thunderstorms did not sound like fun). But in the end it didn't matter. We were married in the morning and then lunched with family and friends at Carousel on Albert Park lake. It was a fun day and so nice for us to be with people we often don't get to have in the same room. People traveled from all over Australia and from the USA which was so special for us to have together.

We decided our wedding was a good time for tradition and opted to follow a few cultural and religious conventions. Amongst other things we didn't see each other the week before, which was difficult but provided good reflection time and made it even more special when we did see each other. I am afraid I don't have too many photos to share. The one above was our beautiful wedding cake topper and my bouquet and one of the bridesmaids' bouquets. The topper was made by Sarah of the Small Object. Although we didn't have a cake we planned to have tiers of biscuits, but in the end just placed the topper on an upturned vase in front of where we sat.

The bouquets were all white - carnations, sweet peas, ranunculus and fresias tied up in vintage dollies. I just loved the fullness of the flowers. Before I get back into sharing some of my latest crochet and other crafty projects on the go I hope to be able to share a couple more wedding related bits and pieces and details of my crafty online spring clean sale (Japanese craft books, yarn and fabric!). Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

2010-10-04T16:11:00.000+11:00

Our wedding day is slowly getting closer and preparations are in the final stage. On Friday our wonderful creative flower man visited our house with a large box of vases and an equally large box of flowers. My sister, mother and I had a great time deciding which flowers to choose and how best to show them off. It was so much fun, although a little tough given how beautiful the flowers were.

I really love living somewhere where the flowers are just so nice and seasonally based. It just feels like Spring looking at these pictures! As a wonderful bonus I was able to keep all of the flowers and now feel like I am living as a florist (one of my childhood dreams)surrounded by flowers.

tiny crochet

2010-09-20T20:33:00.000+10:00

As promised here is a another Japanese crochet book peek ちいさなちいさなモチーフ編み (Heart Warming Life Series). This book is part of the Marche heartwarming life series of crochet books and is filled with patterns for the sweetest tiny motifs.

Patterns for sweets, snowflakes, little girls and flowers that are easy to whip up with a little bit of time and thread. Now I am not quite sure what I would do with tiny crocheted lollies but aren't the designs cute?

my creative space

2010-09-16T20:59:00.000+10:00

Lush fairy floss and sea side coloured crewel wool arrived in the post this week. Today after work I transferred the design onto linen and zigzag stitched the edge. All ready to embroider.

What are you working on? Check out more creative spaces here.

Japanese crochet style

2010-09-14T17:54:00.001+10:00

Well my big run of doily making for our wedding is slowly coming to an end. I am about to start blocking them and then deciding on how to put them together into the final piece. My mind has been wondering about what project to start on next. I have a very enticing selection of Japanese crochet books from my holiday in Japan and have several embroidery books that have left me with the need to start an embroidery something. Now. right now. I think I can largely blame that on the beautiful Embroidery Companion by Alicia which arrived in my mail box on Friday. Since then I have been wanting to embroider something. anything really. right now. I have been through my embroidery tin a couple of times and chosen colours. I have been through all our cupboards looking for spare pillow cases. I have visited two craft stores in the search of crewel wool (I ended up ordering online - any suggestions for Melbourne embroidery stores?) and have been to officeworks to photocopy designs. Twice.

Whilst I wait for the crewel wool to arrive and ponder how to finish my doily wedding project I thought I would share some of my newish Japanese crochet books. I was quite good and was rather selective in what I purchased so have ended with many favourites - crochet, embroidery and a tatting book as well as one on washi tape and buttons. So for a peek, up first is a gem of a book from Marche filled with summer crochet pieces to wear. This is the kind of book where I want to make almost everything, really.

When I was in Tokyo I purchased the recommended yellow cotton to make this scarf and managed to decipher the yarn suggested to make a few of my other favourites - a bag and a collar.

In today's sunshine I managed to snap a few more book photos and will hopefully be back later in the week to share some more.

in my courtyard...

2010-09-07T18:31:00.000+10:00

I have a tiny kitchen herb and flower garden in the small space that is our light well. I really love this tiny sunny space. I can easily pop out the kitchen door to pick a few herbs when cooking which makes it very useful as well.

In a few moments of spring sunshine and warmth late last week, I enjoyed inspecting my plants for signs of spring. The herbs had grown as had all my flower seedlings. The geraniums, that had all started as cuttings,had grown to absolutely crazy heights and strangely had produced absolutely no flowers.

The snap dragons from last summer had a few new flowers and there was even signs of new chilis and my first stock flowers. It was very exciting to see and despite the cool wintery weather over the past few days a clear sign that it is spring.

My creative space

2010-09-02T16:48:00.000+10:00

It has been a long time since I have been here, but it doesn't mean I have not been crafting. Our wedding is less than 10 weeks away and I have been slowly but steadily working on a special something for the wedding. So far it looks like this...

A growing pile of doilies, that will hopefully continue to grow and then become something just like I imagined. So until then I am going to keep working away. I have used up most of the vintage crochet thread I have and am making my way through a few different balls of DMC crochet thread. I purchased three balls a babylo, cebelia and traditional ball. I can't seem to notice much difference between them, except the price. Anyone have any favourites I should try?

More creative spaces here.

thank you

2010-08-18T08:00:00.000+10:00

I have been in bed with migraines over the past few days which has not been much fun. It feels like days go by where I can't participate, which is frustrating. But I am hoping today will be a better day and I am starting off with a quick morning post here. Firstly, thank you all so much for your very kind comments about my granny blanket and crochet flowers over the past week. It was all so unexpected!

A little while ago I received the most beautiful handmade necklace in the mail. I was the lucky winner of handmaid liset's blog giveaway. And now am the proud owner of a beautiful necklace of felt, crochet and wooden beads. The colours are just the kind of palette I love and I can wear it with all my usual blacks and greys and navys. I have already woren this a few times and each time received many compliments. Thank you Liset!

My creative space

2010-08-12T17:30:00.000+10:00

During the week I have been crocheting small flowers in spare moments, using a lovely soft, fine merino wool. It is a very delicate yarn, so much so that I had to be careful not too pull too hard when closing magic circles. The end result is a circle of soft creamy flowers to be worn as a necklace like a bib or a collar.

I haven't blocked it yet, but like the not quite perfect charm of it, for now. Completely impractical but oh so lovely.

See what other people are creating over at Kirsty's place.

ready or not

2010-08-09T19:43:00.000+10:00

It is winter here, it has been about as cold as it will get. There has been rain, wind, storms, hail and even early morning frost. It has been good movie weather, baking weather staying inside and enjoying quiet nights whilst keeping warm weather. It has been blanket weather, or rather granny square blanket.

The granny squares I started last year which became piles of granny squares over the summer and then the start of a blanket earlier this year needed to be finished. And so for the past month or so we have been enjoying the warmth of an almost king sized granny square blanket on our bed.

Whether it is finished or not I am not quite sure. But it is warm and nice and I made it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A huge granny square blanket!! I am very proud of the blanket. It is big and colourful - with no two squares that are the same.

It is a 100% Australian merino wool and heavy. A good winter weight. I am not quite sure how much yarn I used, at least 1kg of cream yarn.

The edge of the blanket is not quite there yet. We needed to use it so I have just edged it in a simple double crochet, to keep it all together. I think I will do a couple more rounds and then something. So once the weather warms up, it will be time to decide what to do about the edge. Any suggestions for an edging?

My creative space

2010-08-05T17:15:00.001+10:00

Ideas seems to swim around for the next things I am going to make and then the next after that. I seem to always be collecting thoughts, far faster than I can create. In a few spare moments today I started to play with a white fluffy ball of kid mohair and a very fine soft merino. Starting to crochet flowers and small doilies and learn how to use a flower loom. I am loving the dreamy softness of the yarn and the cloudy like qualities of the mohair.

More creative spaces here.

2010-08-04T17:51:00.000+10:00

Over the weekend I completed my silk mesh necklace. I crocheted a chain using chains and single crochet. I then ran a thread through one long end of the mesh and pulled tight to create a flower like shape. I finished it by stitching the mesh circle closed and attaching to the chain. The end product is a little larger of a flower than I expected so next time less mesh rows. But I love the natural look of the piece and the texture of the yarn.

This necklace is based on a picture in the Japanese crochet book knot. The yarn is a 100% silk that I purchased from Habu in NYC last year. It is the same silk I blogged about earlier in the week. I can see more jewelery being made from this silk, which I found to be a pleasure to crochet.

Avril

2010-08-02T17:42:00.000+10:00

One of my favourite stores in Tokyo was the Avril* store in Kichijoji. A small white house filled with walls of colourful yarn in a rainbow of colours.

You simply choose the yarn and amount you want and it is wound onto a cone for you to take home. I chose some silks and couple of different weights of linen, but could have easily spent twice the amount I did. I loved the colour palettes of the yarns as well as the huge range of neutral coloured yarns.

*Avril Yarn is sold as Habu yarn outside of Japan.

My creative space

2010-07-29T13:23:00.000+10:00

There has not been all that much of anything creative happening around here this week. I have been feeling a bit unwell and have been working, cooking, sleeping. I have however managed to start on a cardigan (my very first) and have finished creating a small piece of crochet mesh that I started way back in May.

I love working on smaller detailed pieces, be it crochet, embroidery, sashiko or handsewing. Not sure if it is the portability of the work or the way I have to completely focus, and be entirely taken up by and lost in the process. The latter is probably why it has taken me so long to make this tiny piece of silk mesh. Now for the exciting part, what will it be?

More creative spaces over at Kirsty's.

better

2010-07-27T09:37:00.000+10:00

A new pencil tin for my desk. The washi tape is so much fun to play with, you can easily roll it out tear it off and then adjust it to place it where you want. I ended up making two of these one for home and away desk.

My creative space

2010-07-22T10:22:00.000+10:00

There was a bit of an accident earlier in the week that left me with no pencil/scissor/knitting needle holder on my desk. Thankfully, it coincided with a day I was making soup. But I can only admire the diced tomato label for so long. Which is a very good excuse to play with mt, washi masking tape.

Almost every other day in Tokyo I would find myself with new tape in my purse, which quickly led to a lot of tape coming home with me, and a cutter and a book. So whilst I type away at home today, I am stacking up tape to see which will be best for my new pencil tin.

More creative spaces here, thanks for hosting Kirsty.

2010-07-19T17:56:00.000+10:00

How was your weekend? Mine was quiet, but nice. Time with family and time at home. I spent far too many hours catching up on Mad Men and crocheting. I finished one big blanket I have been working on for the past year (a big blog reveal is due!!!) and started a couple of new crochet things. I enjoyed my latest Japanese craft books that made their way home with me from Tokyo as well as my new yarn stash (which I promise to share a soon as it is sunny for photographs).

And admired by new Kokeshi dolls, aren't they sweet? I searched vintage stores and op shops for these dolls and surprisingly couldn't find any. So I was very pleased to see a special display in ABC (Ayoama Book Center) of Kokeshi dolls on my last night in Tokyo. There was only one of each doll and each seemed to be signed on the bottom by the maker. There was an accompanying book and a map explaining where each style of doll originated, unfortunately for me all in Japanese. So I am left guessing about the origins of my new little friends. Any hints?

2010-07-17T11:06:00.000+10:00

Whenever I am in a big city I find the small pockets of green, seem to stand out so much more. When we were in Tokyo I was particularly taken by how small spaces were brought to life by gardens. Outside homes I spotted large tomato plants in small pots and planters filled with flowers. Walls were turned into the most amazing vertical gardens like the one above. A tiny but captivating space, that was meticulously maintained. And I spotted purple blue hydrangeas everywhere. On the side of the train line, outside shops and homes and in public gardens. I couldn't stop photographing them. Tokyo seemed to be their natural environment, they were everywhere, flourishing. I particularly loved the walk way in Shimokitazawa the concrete walls, the green of the cherry blossom trees, the small waterway, the pouring rain and the flowers.

sweets

2010-07-14T16:02:00.000+10:00

Hello, hello! We had a fabulous time in Tokyo, so much so I am ready to visit again. Right now! But back to reality and I am enjoying the memories, the photos and all of the treats that made their way home with me. So many stories, sites and smells to share.

So I thought I would start with the sweetest things, the cakes, the cookies, and the pastries. One of the things I love about being on holiday is that I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want without feeling guilty. Tokyo must be one of the best places to live this philosophy. There are patisseries, bakeries and afternoon tea places everywhere. Within an hour of arriving at our hotel, my sister and I had already visited the sweet side of Shibuya Tokyu department store twice. We had tried one of the small pastries pictured in the middle left photo, which is like a small brioche with a caramel filling and had to have another and a macaroon.

Pastry for breakfast, okay! Macaroon for morning tea, sounds good! Lunch? well cake! And then there is afternoon tea (see middle right and bottom centre ). So some days we would get to around 4pm, afternoon tea time, and realise we hadn't eaten anything that wasn't sweet all day.

Some of my favourites were the macaroons from Isetan Shinjuku (top left photo). Flavours included passionfruit biscuit with a salty caramel filling. Or the most amazing bakery in Ginza (I have no idea what it is called, but look for the bagel door handles), where the circular pastry was like a croissant and then filled with chocolate or cream cheese and fresh berries.

I am making myself hungry just thinking about it.

In the black

2010-06-29T07:59:00.000+10:00

Whilst watching Australian political history in the making last week I started on a Granny scarf. I have many balls of yarn that I have used for other projects and that are no just too small for a complete something new, but perfect for granny squares. It was fun to play around with colours and then watch them pop when edged in black.

I ended up with a scarf of 30 squares. A perfect length, colourful and nice and warm.

I am taking a wee blogging break as I will be in Tokyo for the next week or so. Enjoying the hot, hot weather, lots of delicious food, the creativity and unexpected which always seems to surprise and delight me when in Tokyo.

Have a great week!

My creative space

2010-06-24T11:21:00.000+10:00

My creative space, last night, this morning. On the couch watching TV, making granny squares with left over yarn and a new ball of black merino. Watching Australian political history unfold, as the first female prime minister emerges.

The unexpected.

The future is looking interesting.

More creative spaces here. Thanks for hosting Kirsty.

Vintage stripes

2010-06-22T10:23:00.000+10:00

Our heating hasn't been working, so it was about 10 degrees celsius in the house this morning. Good thing I have a new bright cushion to liven and warm up our main room! These stripes are easy crochet relaxation, especially in cushion form. I would find I have just started a row and then I am onto the next. I didn't plan the sequence of the rows but just randomly selected the colours as I went. I used some of the yummy pickles merino yarn that I had used for a cushion earlier in the year. I love this yarn, such strong colours and super soft feel.

When I finished the vintage stripe cushion a couple of weeks ago I added a quick linen backing to the cushion.The cushion has been in rotation on the couch or on the white chair in my office/ creative space ever since. A ray of warm happy thoughts on a cold morning.

I have yet to find a great source of cushion forms especially round ones. I usually use my couch pillows or ones form Ikea or Spotlight. These ones are just not that fluffy. Does anybody have any great Australian cushion sources?

My creative space

2010-06-10T11:39:00.000+10:00

All has been quiet on the blog front for the past week as life as gotten rather busy. Today I am working from home surrounded by numbers, reports and files and papers. To the left of my office mess is a reminder of more pleasant soothing thoughts. My jars of buttons, my papadum container and some new yarn. Lovely new yarn.

Pure wool by Rowan. After reading so much about Rowan pure wool I bought some when I saw it on sale online. I understand the fuss. Lovely, soft and great colours.

More creative spaces here, thanks for hosting Kirsty!

Hope to be back blogging soon to share some completed crochet.

My creative space

2010-06-03T12:52:00.000+10:00

My creative space has been turned to office space this week, as I work from home to complete a report. Papers, files, pens and an empty coffee cup (and half eaten carrot cupcake) are pushing yarn, pins, scissors and Japanese craft books into the corner. On a pile of towels I have started blocking an almost complete mykonos.

More creative spaces here.

Weekend reading

2010-05-31T20:33:00.001+10:00

I had a very good mail week last week. Some knitting books, which have me very excited to start on my first knitting project. I also found a copy of Marie Claire Idees at my local newsagent. I used to have a subscription to this magazine but let it lapse, so was very pleased to find a copy, even if it is a few months since the magazine was released. A sneak peek inside?

Lovely yellows

A crochet inspired doily wall in strong simple colours

The sweetest birdy projects for a new bub

My creative space

2010-05-27T09:15:00.000+10:00

I have been eyeing vintage stripe crochet for some time. I finally gave in and decided I would make a cushion cover to match my circle in the square cushion I made over the summer. I am using a super soft Pickles merino in very bright colours, lovely yarn to work with. The stripes grow quickly, instant crochet gratification!

More creative spaces here.
More vintage stripe inspiration here.

Colour on a grey day

2010-05-25T17:01:00.000+10:00

It is a grey day outside, perfect for crochet, knitting and cups of tea. Not quite what I was doing today, but I did manage to walk in the rain to pick up lovely soy chai latte with honey during my lunch break. The greyness of the day meant I couldn't take any photos of what came in the mail or what I have been creating. So instead I thought I would share some of the colourful images that have been inspiring me.

1. 2 pillows done this week :), 2. the sfgirlbybay home office., 3. small project, 4. Vertical Stripe Blanket, 5. Colourful Granny Squares, 6. how quickly does your stash grow?...

I find I can spend hours on flickr or reading blogs and am increasingly spending more time on ravelry. These are all such wonderful sources of inspiration, I am constantly being inspired to start new projects. I think I may have about 5 or 6 different ones in process at the moment, which means this blog can be a bit scattered jumping form one idea to the next. However, I also find the more time I spend being inspired by what I see, I am having less away from the computer time. I think I need to start finding a balance.

Planning

2010-05-21T17:58:00.000+10:00

After an early morning yoga class, I had most of today with nothing planned. It is the first of many Friday's at home and it felt a little bit odd after the rush of a working week to not be at work or with a list of things to do. I was very studious and completed all the boring houseworky, bill paying type things and then had a day of listening to podcasts and crocheting. Later this afternoon I even returned to my big blanket and finished weaving ends on the little granny squares.

I then started on a bit of a planning. I hadn't planned the rest of the blanket at all, but I was a bit worried I may end up with not a good balance. So I cleared the floor to make a big enough space, laid out big blanket and started.

Moving squares from one row to the next until I thought the colours looked balanced - not too many reds in one corner and not too many blues somewhere else. Now the squares are back by the now dark window in coloured rows, ready.

My creative space

2010-05-20T17:58:00.000+10:00

The start of two crochet pieces. A rainbow of baby wool granny squares growing in numbers. The most lovely silk thread being turned into a fine mesh. I wonder what they could be?

More creative spaces here

Crocheted necklace

2010-05-18T17:04:00.000+10:00

The weekend went past in a blur and now it is already Tuesday. I enjoyed a delicious Greek meal with friends as planned and managed to fit in some crochet amongst less creative but essential activities of addressing save the date cards and car shopping (no I didn't bring my crochet and thankfully there was far less waiting than imagined).

Following on from the green crocheted necklace I shared last week I decided to make something similar but more colourful. Same concept of simple crocheted rounds on the one chain but a totally different result!

I couldn't quite conceive how to make all of the different coloured circles and seamlessly join them together on a simple chain, hence the cream border around each circle.The border seems to frame each circle giving each one a more 3d effect I was quite pleased with the finished product and have few tweaks to make for next time. Perhaps a different yarn, flatter or different sized circles?

I think this will make a nice colourful necklace to brighten up my winter wardrobe. And for super quick crafting satisfaction I whipped up a 5 minute primary coloured necklace - a silk crochet chain and 3 wool felt balls. Instant crafting!

Blog birthday

2010-05-15T12:02:00.000+10:00

Today is my little blog's first birthday. How quickly the time goes! It has been one crazy big year - a new house, an engagement and a new job. It has been so nice throughout all these big life events to have this small space to come to during this time. A place to record (and share) things I have made as well as what inspires me. There is a lot of colour, a lot of crochet and granny squares when I look back at what I have made in the past year.

It has also been so nice to be able to meet so many new people around the world. I never expected to be able to meet so many people who also crochet and appreciate similar simple but exciting things in the everyday.

I am spending the weekend addressing save the date cards, going along to find a new or old car (do you think it is too embarrassing for the boy if I take my crochet along? ) and feasting on delicious Greek food. Wishing you all a happy weekend, whatever you may be doing.

Crocheting Japanese Style: knot

2010-05-13T22:05:00.000+10:00

Following on from the fabric necklace I made over the weekend I have been making other jewelery, simple necklaces with felt balls as well as crocheted jewelery. Last year when I was in NY I visited kinokuniya and treated myself to a few new books. One of which was a beautiful book Thread Crochet Plants by knot. The book is all about creating the most beautiful, simple and nature inspired jewelery. It is a another wonderfully presented and inspiring Japanese crochet book.

The basis of the book is a series of simple shapes, which are combined and interwoven in each design. The round bead motif becomes a ring, earrings and a simple tie. Mesh crochet becomes a bracelet and a necklace. Aren't the pieces beautiful? And the photography! Such inspiring images, a glimpse into another world... Such wonderful ideas.

The first item I have made from the ideas in this book was a simple chain of crocheted circles and chains. I chose a vibrant green DMC cotton.

I haven't blocked or starched the chain as I quite like how some of the circle edges curl whilst others sit nice and flat. I made it long enough to be a very long necklace or to be worn as a few strands or a bracelet wrapped many times around my wrist. I have already started on my next necklace and am on the lookout for some of the clasps and other brassy pieces that are featured in the designs. Any hints for where to look?

Something finished

2010-05-11T18:03:00.000+10:00

My home desk is one of my creative spaces and where my computer sits, where bills get thrown, where crochet waits to be blocked and where there is a growing pile of incomplete sewing projects.

I like the idea of sewing.

I love flipping through books and the idea of creating something as well as the choosing of fabric. I just struggle with the making. Mainly with the precision, which I don't find so relaxing after a day at work concentrating. So I end up with a pile of incomplete projects, often relatively easy to make things - which might just need an iron and a final step.

Over the weekend I made some time and took out my machine. I finished a small floral clutch bag that had been waiting for a final seam and a snap. I also started and finished a necklace I had been planning on making for a very long time.

Two simple strands one of big and one of small beads. Fresh, floral and wearable: a bit of spring as we head into winter.It was a rather quick and easy one to finish - perfect time enjoyment ratio for me! Now to start on the pile of fabrics cut for place mats, the other incomplete clutch bag, the semi remade t-shirt, the ribbon belt and...

Super soft

2010-05-09T11:38:00.000+10:00

The Stitches and Craft Show has been on in Melbourne the past few days. I squeezed in a quick visit to the show to check out the stalls and craft bars. I was immediately struck by how busy it was with some many different people of different ages, it was wonderful to see. One of my favourite parts of the show are the craft bars, where you have the chance to sit down and make a small project with the guidance of experienced crafters. I made a small pouch for jewellery using Liberty fabric at the sewing bar and then practiced knitting at the knitting and crochet bar. The knitting/ crochet bar wasn't too busy when I was there so I was also able to make a crochet flower.

The yarn used at the bar was a super super soft 100% merino by Pear Tree Yarn. Pear tree is an Australian company where everything is grown and processed in Australia. The yarn is so soft and in such lovely colours that I had to treat myself to a few skeins of 4 ply yarn. You can see the softness of the yarn in the photo, it just makes me want to touch it!

Even the shade cards are beautifully presented!

and look at the range of colours! My flower was crocheted using damson, the first colour

It is always nice to discover a local growing company.

Summer Crochet

2010-05-07T09:28:00.000+10:00

A couple of months back I ordered Rowan's new crochet magazine Summer Crochet.The projects are absolutely beautiful and wearable.

I love the effortless look of these projects I can see myself wearing them. I treated myself to some Rowan yarn and since then I have been a bit nervous about starting. I am not sure if it was the fact that I bought Rowan yarn (a bit of a luxury) or that it was the thought of crocheting clothes - something completely new to me.

So for about two months I kept returning to the book reading the patterns and look at my lovely balls of Rowan cotton glace. And now it is Autumn and getting colder everyday and the chance of wearing something cotton is a far off thought! So this week I thought I should dive in and start on the Mykonos pattern.

I thought this pattern was a good choice as it was a bit more suitable for in between weather and I may actually get to wear it before winter arrives. Instead of using the cotton that the pattern calls for I have decided to use Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino which seems to be a similar weight yarn but a bit warmer than the cotton.

I was extra good and started with a gauge swatch and didn't notice a huge difference from the recommendations despite the change in yarn. So far I have completed a cuff and one of the main pattern repeats.

I have also been continuing to practice to my knit and purl stitches as I mentioned earlier in the week. I am getting a little bit neater and a little bit quicker and a little bit more addicted to knitting! I still have yet to make anything, there is so much knitting inspiration out there!

As the weather cools

2010-05-05T17:35:00.000+10:00

I unfortunately ran out of yarn to finish my simple scarf. As the weather cools my mind is turning more to scarfs and shawls and other things that can be made of wool, alpaca and mohair.I have even been tempted to knit. Last night I sat with some left over wool and practiced purl and knit stitch over and over again. I find I am also flipping through my collection of scarf and shawl books and are constantly bookmarking patterns I see on other blogs and ravelry. One book I have been flipping through a bit is モチーフＢＯＯＫ (ぽかぽかニットこもの (vol.4)) (Motif Book Volume 4).

The book features many different scarf and shawl patterns as well as a few bags.

I made the scarf on the right last year in a mossy green mohair. It would be quite different in another type of yarn. I also quite like the small motifs on the scarf on the left it could be nice in a simple colour palette - like navy and cream.

In the mean time I will keep searching for a new scarf pattern (any suggestions?), practicing my knit and purl and working on a my bigger project which I will share soon!

2010-05-02T16:43:00.000+10:00

It has been a bit colder in the mornings and evenings as I travel to and from work. So one evening earlier in the week I made a quick scarf from one of my new Japanese crochet books.

This scarf was super easy to make - it took just one night and not a lot of yarn. I used less than 100 grams of aran weight yarn. I will often buy yarn when it is on sale online and will usually buy a couple of balls of one colour which is perfect for a project like this. I used a Jo Sharp Silkroad aran tweed in a purpley shade for the scarf. When it was finished I decided it would be a wonderful Mother's Day gift, so started on another one for myself. I have had a skein of Mano Del Uruguay's yarn that I have been saving for the right project. I have worked on it a bit more since this photo and am now half way to a completed scarf!

Happy Friday

2010-04-30T18:28:00.000+10:00

A quick splash of autumn colours: burnt orange, oatmeal, ruby red, dark greens light lilac and deep purples. All wrapped up in a sunburst granny cushion on its way to a new home via Australia Post.

I am looking forward to an Autumn weekend, time to read the paper with a cup of coffee, the making of soup, dinner with friends and time to crochet. Wishing you a good weekend.

Blanket full of roses

2010-04-28T17:57:00.000+10:00

I always seem to be a bit disorganised when it comes to giving handmade gifts on time. Birthdays, Mother's days and the arrival of new babies seems to fly by before I have the chance to finish anything. Over the past few months I have been trying very hard to have gifts finished before it is time to gift them. I seem to be getting better at it but have completely forgotten to blog about the gifts - which is important for me to have some kind of record what I have been making!

Late last year when I knew my cousin and his wife were expecting a girl I started working on a rosy baby blanket following the pattern in Vintage Crochet. I have had this book since before I learnt to crochet. I love love love the projects and styling in this book - it was a major motivation for learning to crochet. However, it has taken a while for me to feel competent enough to actually try the patterns - I think I can blame it on learning via Japanese patterns and diagrams! So having said that, this pattern was initially a bit of a challenge, I tried a few different hook sizes until I felt I had the look I wanted. I used Bendigo Woolen Mills Luxury yarn, which is super soft, perfect for baby skin and nice and warm for a cool climate.

The 15 squares are joined together using double knot stitch. I had never done this before and when I had gotten used to the stitch found it a rather quick way to join squares. It is a bit of a different joining method and one I would use again.

I was pleased with how the blanket came out and could see it being something that would be used and kept over time. Although I love giving a handmade gift, there is some uncertainty about how it will be received. Will it be liked? will it be used? does it look too homemade and messy? All anxieties were pushed aside when my cousins were visiting Melbourne a few weeks ago. My sister and I joined them for a coffee on the spur of the moment. When the air-conditioner was turned up in the cafe, the rosy blanket was taken out from the bottom of the stroller and wrapped around the little one.

Crochet in colour

2010-04-26T17:05:00.000+10:00

A little while back I blogged about the latest Kazuko Ryokai book and then the mini bag I had started to crochet. Well today I am playing catch up! Firstly, the floral mini bag.

I crocheted this using a 3mm hook and a superfine baby merino wool in a rainbow of happy colours. As recommended in the pattern I used a join as you go method to join the flower motifs on each side. Once I had both sides of the bag completed I used a tapestry needle and a strand of bright pink merino to join the sides together. I like how the bright pink stitches peak through creating a homemade look (a bit hard to see in the photos). I finished the mini bag with a simple chain and single crochet tie added to the top middle motif. I have been using this bag since it was finished. It is the perfect size for storing the ends of yarn balls and other woolen scraps. However, it does make the bag look a bit lumpy in the photos!

The second project I have made from this book is a couple of floral doilies. Again I used a 3mm hook and tried some of the Rowan Cotton Glace I had recently ordered. I am quite new to crocheting with cotton (that isn't especially fine for doilies) but was quite pleased with the colours, look and feel of this yarn. This yarn choice is probably a bit different and a bit thicker than that would be suggested - but I am not quite 100% sure. Anyway it probably just meant my doilies were a bit larger than expected.

I had made these with the thought of taking them into work to brighten up my desk. However I did try them out with my coffee this morning - seems to work well!

ANZAC day

2010-04-25T11:24:00.003+10:00

Today is ANZAC day, a day Australian's and New Zealander's remember those who served in the Armed forces to protect each country's shared interests and values. Initially the day commemorated those who fought at Gallipoli in World War I but now is more a time to remember those who served in the armed forces from then until now. Although I woke long after today's dawn service would have finished, I have spent some time over the past couple of day's reflecting on my past week which seems somewhat relevant to ANZAC day.

I try not to blog too much about my everyday work here, as it is so far removed from sharing crochet, inspirations and everything else I may share. The past week I have been traveling around the country for work and have had little crochet and blog time. I have visited Adelaide a short flight from Melbourne, Darwin in the far north and Launceston across the Tasman. These were all places I hadn't visited before and although I was only in each place for a short time I had a chance to have a walk around. The vastness and diversity in landscape and culture in each place, as well as the many hours of plane travel quickly confirms how big this country is and all that it contains. But I think the opportunity to see so much and to talk to so many people, helped to confirm what the ANZACs were protecting. I am not trying to portray Australia as anything perfect - I work in the rather topical area of mental health policy and a quick discussion with anyone will quickly result in discussion of improvement. However, I think the opportunity to be able to discuss, learn and hear about how people are working to improve health care in anyway demonstrates how fortunate we are to live in a place where we have the chance to openly discuss and seek to improve our society. I think this is something that is worth protecting and we are so fortunate that people did so in the past. Anyway enough from the soapbox....

An ANZAC day tradition of mine is the baking of ANZAC biscuits - a softly chewy biscuit of oats and golden syrup.I think these biscuits were originally sent in care packages to those at the front as they would easily keep for long periods. These biscuits are incredibly easy to make and are perfect for having with coffee. The recipe I use is quite similar to the one here and here .

P.S. I am soon to play catch up - I have several crochet projects, including some ones from Japanese books which I hope to share in the coming days.

I love mail...

2010-04-11T12:53:00.006+10:00

The past week was an excellent mail week. I received two highly anticipated parcels. The first parcel was a lot of vintage ribbons that I had bought on ebay.

Every now and then I search ebay for vintage patterns and craft supplies and occasionally find a lot of something that looks promising. These ribbons were exactly what I was looking for. There is quite a few metres of each ribbon and each one is spotless. I have a piece of linen cut to make a layer of ribbon belt from this book and hope to spend this afternoon playing with ribbons.

The other parcel was from yesasia - 2 Japanese magazines and one crochet book. Oshare Jikan 10 & 11 didn't disappoint.

Like past issues there is a focus on crochet, embroidery, handsewing and some knitting and a couple of clothing projects. The focus is a bit softer and gentler than the bursts of colours that I have shared from other crochet books. Some of the projects I am keen to try are the grocery bags, crocheted circle necklaces and even some of the embroidered hair ties.

The crochet shawl, muffler and poncho book seemed to have arrived at just the right time as today must be the coolest day we have had all year. Just the right weather to start a new scarf and shawl. Looks like my Sunday is planned - playing with new ribbons and then a cup of tea and a new project. Hope you enjoy your Sunday!

P.S. The grey poncho has a knitted collar - I am almost tempted to practice my knitting so I can try to make this one - do you think it may be too challenging a project for a beginner?

2010-04-05T11:18:00.004+10:00

In between family time, watching movies and enjoying the lovely autumn weather over the Easter weekend I have been crocheting small flowers in a rainbow of colours. The pattern is from one of my favourite books. I am using a very soft 4 ply extra-fine merino wool and a 3mm hook. I love the colours of this yarn but think a cotton may have been a better choice if this is a bag I planned on using a lot. I have just started to crochet in non wool fibres and seem to struggle to find colourful 4ply cotton. I have ordered some Rowan Cotton Glace that was on sale. Does anyone have any cotton suggestions?

The flowers are made in two rounds and joined as you go. I have completed one side of the bag and have just started on the reverse side. A perfect project to work on while I catch up on This American Life.

Enjoy the rest of your Easter break!

Japanese Crochet books: FAQ

2010-03-23T21:28:00.010+11:00

I have been getting quite a few emails and comments in the past few weeks from people asking about Japanese crochet books. So if some more people have been asking questions I thought others may be wondering the same. So as someone who doesn't understand a written word of Japanese but who has a few books, I hope this helps.

Q:Will I be able to understand enough to make the projects?
A: Yes! Japanese crochet books provide symbol diagrams for each pattern. The symbols are explained by a series of stitch pictures in the back of most books. These patterns are becoming more popular in the English speaking crochet world - books like Crochet Adorned and even the magazine Crochet Today use these symbols. The hook size is always written in the Japanese directions - you will see the Japanese hook size followed by a character like a 't'. A Japanese hook size of 4 is 2.5mm and a 6 is 3.5mm - from here you can work out the yarn weight. Some books even put in colour charts so you can try and figure out the colour patterns if you want to follow the pattern exactly.

ちょっとの糸で可愛いニット小物―いますぐあみたい! (セレクトBOOKS)

Q: Where can I buy Japanese crochet books?
A: Well the best place is obviously Japan! For the rest of us who can't visit Japan whenever we get a book craving and don't live near a Kinokuniya the next best option is online. I have bought books from 3 different places: Amazon Japan, Yesasia and on ebay from Pomadour24. Each site differs in terms of price and shipping costs. Amazon Japan has the best prices (in Yen). Remember to choose to view the site in English - top right corner. I have bought from Amazon Japan many times. The service is super fast, I quite enjoy refreshing the tracking information and watching my parcel travel across Japan and down to me! Amazon Japan also features customer reviews - I use Yahoo babel fish to translate the reviews. The translations are very literal at times which can be quite entertaining. Like other versions of Amazon you can often view pages from the book which can help you decide if you like the projects featured. Yesasia and Pomadour24 both have free shipping but generally charge substantially more than Amazon Japan. Yesasia sometimes do not have all of the books in stock immediately. Pomadour24 very helpfully puts up lots of pictures.

きれい色のニット雑貨―毛糸の色を自由に選んで、あむのも、使うのも楽しい! (セレクトBOOKS)

Q:Where can I find out more and see pictures of books?
A:There are lots of good resources online for Japanese crochet books.
A good place to start is Crafting Japanese - there are many pictures of Japanese craft books, links to pictures of people's projects as well some information about where to buy.
Another great place is flickr. You can search by ISBN and come across pictures of books. If you are on Ravelry there are groups dedicated to crochet in Japanese. There are also a list of links to websites with great translations of common phrases. I often will also search Ravelry to see if someone else has made something from the book I am after. There are plenty of Japanese ravelry users and many English speaking users who add their projects. If you are unsure how to add your project or search for the book I can try to help (I am onepinkplum on ravelry).

5つのモチーフで編む小さなニット

Q: There are so many Japanese crochet books, which ones should I start with?
Well... it depends on what you like. One of my favourite authors is Kazuko Ryokai her work is very colourful. The last three book pictures (above) are some of the ones I have. The last book 5つのモチーフで編む小さなニット is a great one if you are just starting crochet. It features 5 simple motifs, easy stitch diagrams, joining square methods and then many projects based on the 5 motifs. This book was one of my crochet books, I found all of the pictures really helpful as a beginner. I have quite a few other books I have been planning on sharing...

If you have been thinking about buying a Japanese crochet book I hope this answers some of the questions and that there will be more people being inspired by Japanese crochet books!

New jewels

2010-02-25T17:34:00.004+11:00

Last winter I crocheted a necklace hoping to make something like the beads in Vintage Crochet. I used a different kind of yarn and didn't really follow the pattern so my necklace didn't come out how I had hoped. The necklace sat in my jewelery box unused for months. Until last week.

I was inspired by Jenny Gordy's diy necklaces tutorial, where she provided some easy ideas for making necklaces using braided chains, felted beads and different brass beads. Each necklace was really simple to construct and I thought looked really good. So I pulled apart my unused necklace, braided a long chain using cream, pale and teal blue 4 ply yarn and then strung on three of my beads. I was quite pleased with my new necklace.

I think the best part was when I wore it to work last Friday and one of my colleagues asked where my necklace was from.

2010-02-18T11:24:00.005+11:00

The past couple of weeks I have been waiting and restless. After several months of not being excited to go to work everyday I decided to apply for a new job. I was successful and accepted the new position. But then needed to wait for the paperwork confirming the job offer to come through. So for two weeks I have been waiting and restless and anxious. Having previously worked for the university I knew the paperwork was coming but that didn't really help. The hope that comes with potential good change was so close, I was ready to move on but couldn't act. Finally the paperwork came earlier this week and I feel so much better, calmer, able to concentrate and excited about the change.

All of the work anxiety meant my crafting attention span was short. I have two embellished cardigans held together with pins, a couple of incomplete granny blankets and piles of yarn in my crafty space ready to become a couple of cushions and another stash basket.

There was also a lot of online retail yarn therapy.I discovered that Rowan has just brought out Summer Crochet, which features 12 crochet projects for women. The pattern collection has a Greek Islands feel to it. I have never crocheted clothes before but think this will be a good place to start.

Let's make 7

2010-02-03T17:20:00.004+11:00

I have finally remembered to share my remaining blocks from the Let's Make 7 crochet along. I decided to use some yarn I have had sitting around for some time - a cotton acrylic blend. The colours are not my usual choices, browns, blues, cream a coral and an orange. It took me sometime to get used to the palette. I initially thought that I could make a couple of cushions to use when sitting outdoors, but the blocks came out quite big. So for now the blocks are waiting.

Check out the rest of my blocks and other people's contributions in the flickr pool.

One of my favourite things

2010-01-31T12:01:00.000+11:00

Thank you for all the granny square love in response to my last post. In between birthday parties, lunches and drinks I hope to have a chance to work on weaving those ends in this weekend. Meanwhile I thought I would share one of my favourite things, besides my yellow butter dish.

Last year I blogged about one of my favourite crochet books. Yes, a Japanese crochet book, Zakka in Pretty Colours by Kazuko Ryokai. I chose this book by chance. My sister was going to be visiting Japan in January 2009, so I chose a few books for her to bring back. I had admired the style of Kazuko Ryokai's work in the past as I had another crochet book by her, but I hadn't really seen any photos of this book before buying. It was a good gamble as I loved the book and made several projects from it last year.

Well, I was really excited to spot a new follow up book to Zakka in Pretty Colours when browsing Amazon Japan several weeks ago. I tried to justify purchasing the book for weeks and then gave in... and it is just as good as the first. I have looked at this book almost everyday since it became mine. The yarn envy, the colours, the inspiration.

1. 9784072680919, 2. Untitled, 3. oh so pretty, 4. Untitled, 5. buttons, 6. bags

The photos are so lovely and instantly bring on a lot of "I wants" from everything to the red jug on the cover to the mini baskets of yarn. I have already started the flower bag in the last photo. The ideas for decorating gifts such as ribbons, flowers and buttons are great. I can see myself making a pair of the granny ugg boots in time for winter. There are lots of other projects that I didn't show that I can't wait to start like several pairs of the room shoes and some of the scarfs and even the cupcakes.
The ISBN of the book is 9784072680919. The book is divided into 4 chapters: for going out, in the room, mom & kids and small gift. Like most Japanese books there is very little English explanation but very clear patterns. If you have been tempted to try a Japanese crochet book this is a beautiful book to start with, even just for the beautiful photos.

Getting Ready

2010-01-28T16:43:00.006+11:00

Since May of last year I have been making three round granny squares. Whenever I was watching TV and relaxing it would be a good opportunity to be making a granny square. Over the past week whilst watching the tennis (it seems so strange to watch something that is happening down the street) I decided I probably had enough squares for a blanket, close to 300. I am hoping to make a blanket big enough for our bed for when it is cold.

So today I decided to start working on weaving in some of the ends. I think I am going to have enough weaving for quite a few podcasts. And then I can start joining!

Marigold

2010-01-24T10:16:00.003+11:00

Several weeks ago I signed up for Let's Make 7, which is a crochet along based on 7 of the blocks from Jan Eaton's 200 crochet blocks. I was a bit slow to start but am now about half way through the 7 blocks. I decided I didn't just want to pointlessly crochet 7 blocks but wanted to have a project in mind for each block. The first block I tried was the Marigold block. I decided to slightly modify the square, add an edging and make a mini potholder. I added a granny square style back so that the potholder was a bit thicker. It is the perfect size for teapot handles.

Check out other people's blocks here.

A new cushion

2010-01-21T10:35:00.003+11:00

For the past week I have been enjoying sitting at my desk and admiring my new cushion. I followed the circle in a square pattern by Yvestown. I used a lovely soft merino wool by Pickles in 7 different shades for the cushion.
It was a much brighter colour palette than I usually use, which was a good change. The colours have fun names like poolside pleasure.

I used an old bonds singlet for the cushion back. The envelope style pillow close is finished with red blanket stitch, which contrast nicely with the oatmeal colour of the old singlet. I planned to finish the edge with a cream ruffle or picot stitch but unfortunately ran out of cream yarn - next time. I really enjoyed this project and can see more squares coming up soon.

Sunday stash

2010-01-17T11:25:00.004+11:00

Between a holiday in NY in October, the Christmas/Summer break a couple of weeks back and my birthday earlier in the week my yarn stash has been seriously replenished. The colours and textures are wonderful. Soft to touch and cheery colours, ready to be wound into balls and crocheted.

January 12th

2010-01-14T10:05:00.006+11:00

It was my birthday earlier in the week, on one of those typical Melbourne summer days. The kind that starts off with no one having slept because it is far too hot and ends with rain and wearing a cardigan. After a productive but quiet day at work I arrived home to notices of parcels to be collected. Soon after a beautiful bouquet of flowers were delivered on behalf of my parents. There were snap dragons, lilies and small branches of white berries.

I was then treated to dinner at a local restaurant we had been waiting to try. There is no menu, you simply tell the chef what you will and won't eat. We eat stuffed zucchini flowers, eggplant parmigiana, homemade goats cheese and spinach pasta and that was just entree and antipasti. It was an excellent meal.

While I don't necessarily make new year's resolutions I do try and reflect on my birthday and think about what I want for the year ahead. I hope that the year to come will be one where I have greater opportunities for creativity and self direction. I would also like to have more chance to exercise and more time for drinks with friends.

Weekend inspiration

2010-01-10T12:02:00.004+11:00

1. goodness can come in piles..., 2. Blanket Under Construction!, 3. granny square pillow, 4. white floors, 5. The End Result, 6. Sunburst Afghan

As I am putting together a circle in a square granny cushion I am being drawn to the beautiful blankets and cushions that other people have created. Aren't they pretty? Look at all of the colours , it just makes me smile!I really love how the rainbow colours pop out on the cream.

Twenty ten

2010-01-07T19:40:00.004+11:00

Happy 2010! I am really looking forward to this year, I already have many plans I hope to realise and wish you success in realising yours.

I hope everyone had the chance to have a nice little break around new years where ever in the world you are. Despite flying back and forth across the country we had a lovely break, relaxing, celebrating and spending time with family. The new year was welcomed as we celebrated with family and friends at a wedding before another celebration in Sydney. It was such a nice way to end one year and welcome the next - one big party!

There was of course a little bit of time for some crochet. I started quite a few things I had been waiting to work on, like yvestown's circle in a square pattern, which I love. Although I have used the joining as you go method a couple of times to join scarfs and hexagons I haven't used it to join squares. After a couple of trials it seemed to be a bit flatter. Now for all the ends :)

Berry picking...

2009-12-21T18:53:00.004+11:00

On Sunday morning we travelled out of the city for berry picking. We had been a couple of years ago and the thought of fresh berries and homemade jam had returned. The place we went to was really busy with people picking and picking up fresh fruit for holiday feasts. There was the choice of picking blackberries, boysenberris, raspberries, strawberries and cherries. We decided to pick boysenberries and raspberries and head off into the field. The boysenberries were easy to pick and we soon had 2 kilos of fruit.

The raspberries were up on top of a hill, in the summer sun. There were rows and rows of thick bushes, I felt as if I was crawling into the plants! We found a patch of unpicked plants and carefully picked the berries. Anything too soft was too juicy and needed to be eaten straight away. The fruit was so sweet. Whilst we were picking we could barely see anyone else, but then you would hear someone discussing a recipe or a child being called for and knew other people were planning for their fruit as well.

Once we were home, berries were eaten, jars of jam were made and for dessert last night (and breakfast this morning) we had boysenberry and nectarine crumble, which was delicious. Although my arms are covered in scratches from the prickly bushes, I think we will go back in March for more raspberries, they were just so sweet.

Let's make 7

2009-12-17T20:38:00.003+11:00

Yesterday I joined Kate and Amy's crochet along "let's make 7". The idea is to make 7 of the 200 blocks in Jan Eaton's book "200 Crochet Blocks". I have pulled out my copy from the bookshelf and marked off the blocks ready to begin. This should be a good way to try some new blocks over the holiday break. Now to pick out some yarn and new colours...

Why don't you join in too? There are more details here and a flickr group here.

Yes it is summer

2009-12-15T17:45:00.004+11:00

So if feels like summer today, the weather is warm and the sun is out. So after a busy day in an office what do I really want to do?....crochet with wool
Since May I have been making granny squares, whenever I feel tired, a little bit stressed or just want to relax. Things seem a little bit better after a granny square.

So I now have quite a few and can see a blanket coming together slowly. I have many different colour combinations and am now revisiting the colour choices and making 6 in each combination. As you can see I am not too fond of tidying up the yarn ends.

Perhaps I should go for a walk tonight, after all I don't want to miss summer altogether.

For the centre

2009-12-12T10:49:00.005+11:00

A few weeks ago we had some friends over for sweets and drinks for a small celebration. My sister kindly made most of the cakes - oreo cheesecakes and strawberry cupcakes - as well as helped me with setting up. So besides for a little bit of baking, pavlova decorating and flower arranging I didn't have very much to do before people came.

So I got out the pile of doilies I had been crocheting over the past year and decided to make a doily centrepiece. I really enjoyed making the doilies, but had yet to really use them as so many of them were quite small about (10 cms). I traced out one of the huge yellow platters, cut out the linen and then hand stitched all of the doilies to the linen.

I thought it looked very afternoon teaish, with all of the sweet cakes, sandwiches and peonies.

Back to blogging

2009-12-03T09:41:00.004+11:00

Time flies... I haven't blogged for close to two months. Where does the time go? It is a bit hard to get back into it after a break but I have many things to share. So much as happened over the past few months. We were on holidays in the USA. There were sites to see, parades and marathons to watch, food to be eaten, cupcakes, cheesecakes and bagels and a bit of crafty shopping.

Then there was an engagement and many celebrations.

There was also plenty of crafty finds and some time for crochet and other creating. So much to share!

I love mail

2009-10-05T17:35:00.000+11:00

Last week I received three surprises in the mail all on the one day! My degree finally arrived (after unfortunately missing the ceremony, hat and gown), a little ebay purchase and a wonderful swap package from a swap angel.

I had unfortunately been stood up in a swap and was completely blown away that someone offered to send a parcel to me and then managed to pack it full of such nice things. Ohcraft sent a lot of lovely sweet treats (most of which are gone) as well as fabrics, a card making kit, a recipe card and cute recipe storage pocket and a few other bits and pieces. Isn't the kindness of strangers amazing?

I went to the fabric store

2009-09-26T10:28:00.005+10:00

I have been on a craft shopping ban for about 8 weeks. The need for a ban was really reinforced when I packed and unpacked the boxes of craft supplies. The ban was going to be lifted when in NY at the end of October. But I made a bit of a mistake earlier in the week. I went to the fabric store. I know, not a good place to visit when on a craft shopping ban. But I heard there was some nice new fabric. So I gave in, I justified and I shopped, quickly.

See I thought I might not be able to get such beautiful fabric in the USA. And the fabric is soft and lightweight... I need to start making clothes for summer ...even though it is going to hail and storm and be very cold today, tomorrow it could be summer. And can't you see picnic quilts and table runners and nice applique for old cardigans and yoyos and hexagons?

So much for a shopping ban.