merry christmas ^^

I've had these up a while now. My little crochet stars. I looooove Lucy's star garland advent calender. It's cheerfully adorable. So studying her photos I made my own stars with whatever leftover bits of yarn I had around. (I think Lucy's colours are more lovely but I do like mine too!) I don't like them in a mobile so much but I'm not changing them now. I also made some stars to hang like an ornament with some of my Christmas cards. And you can see my Christmas tree too, though it's loveliness is a little hidden in the shadows. It's garnished with purple and silver and coloured fairy lights. This photo was taken at 8:20pm too. So light outside. We've just past the longest daylight hours day (the summer solstice). So many Christmas movies are full of snow and cold and fireplaces and other indoor warmth. I would LOVE to have a white Christmas once in my life. That would be fun. Christmases aren't like that here. They're often hot. Shorts and t-shirt or summer dresses, outside, sunshine, long daylight hours... Gotta love the Aussie Christmas! And Christmas is really the kickoff to the big holiday season. See, Christmas and New Year's are the celebrations that begin the summer holidays here. A year is wrapped up and a new one starts with holidays (for the majority). Ah, I'm babbling. He he. I'll show you some of the other goodies I've made once they've been given.

Have a delightful Christmas, wherever you are, wrapped in laughter and cheer with the people you love. And a grand beginning to a wonderful new year!

auction

My church is having a fundraising auction in a couple of weeks so I've made a few things for people to bid on (and to get a bit more "publicity").

Some jewellery made with semiprecious stones. Sweet and simple. Not sure what the purple earrings are. Can't remember. The haircomb is made with red coral.

And a rockstar journal. 300pg thick with a funky button fastener and lovely bright coloured fabric cover. Sensational! It will be interesting to see how they go at auction.

presents

I've been adding some personal touches to my gift giving. Here's a couple of the things I've made lately.

First up is this card. Designed to match the paper of the wrapped wedding gift I gave to my friends last weekend. Lovely wedding. The card is just made of cardpaper. The grey bits are cutouts raised with thick double sided tape and the swirls underneath are drawn with white pen. The word is by stamp and embossing powder. Then I punched the corners for a little difference.

Second is this necklace. It worked very simply and first go from idea to reality. Always a bonus. It's made of various beads I had in my collection and fishing line. Quite effective really. I hope the receiver likes it.

i'm a tree

Check it out!! My tree costume whipped up in 2 days in between work. Hanging out with a friend in Melbourne this weekend. Going to roam markets, craft shops and fabric shops tomorrow. Woohoo. Anyhoo, she forgot about a party she said she'd go to tonight. So she asked and I can go too. It's an Alice in Wonderland theme so I'm going as a tree as there are a bunch of significant trees in the story. I intend on being the one with the hole that Alice fell down following the rabbit. ^^

I bought some cheap cotton gloves, dyed them with coffee (so they smell a bit like old coffee) and did a quick, rough sew job for the headpiece. Then I hand-sewed leaf-shaped felt cutouts onto the fingers of the gloves and the tips of the headpiece. Sufficient enough I think. I kinda like the leafy hands. I think they'll get in the way a bit but they are fun to wear.

So I'm off on the train shortly...with my brother actually. Turns out he's tripping to and from Melbourne same times as me to catch up with his fiance who is doing some work training there. We shall ride together. Fun!

shrug in the making

It's in preparation for the final stages!! Woo. I got this pattern from a link off Ravelry and thought I'd try it. My first lot of lace work for knitting, first blocking and first item that's not a scarf or fingerless gloves. (For a knitting project that is) It's a shrug I'm making out of 12ply Rustic Red Current from Bendigo Woollen Mills that my sister kindly gave me from her overflowing stash. I thought it looked too loose when I started though so I double it. It will be a nice thick wooly shrug to keep the chill away on those nights/days when it's just a little too warm for a jumper. I decided to block it today to get the right shape. Next I have to put ribbing along both the long sides, do a little stitching and it will be ready to wear. Yipee! So far so good...

it's a wrap

I started this project weeks, maybe months, ago. I struck some design challenges though that I couldn't figure out my way around. So I left it sitting on my desk which got piled with dumped mess and stayed that way for quite some time. However, today I woke feeling creative and crafty so my desk got cleared and I spent the morning happily working away.

I made this yarn work tools wrap from two lots of fabric I love together. Not the best for this project as it was some kind of stretchy stuff. I ended up with a lot of bumps and gatherings that I didn't plan but I don't care. ^^ To make it sturdier I put a firm liner between the fabric and to make it that much prettier I put brown ribbon around the edges to neaten it all up.

It has ten knitting needle slots and six crochet hook slots. Gotta have my crochet hooks in there too. The flap is to stop the knitting needles from sliding out when it's rolled up and being carted around. And I decided to put a little pocket in the left over space in case I get adventurous and try a pattern that requires stitch markers or such. Lastly, this evening after work and some errands, I made the tie to hold the roll together. I am quite satisfied with the end product and happy with a productive day. I love beautiful things that are practical--especially with the glee of knowing your own hands have made them.

clocked up

I borrowed my sister's exercise bike last week. I like this kind coz my hands are free to do stuff. So I've been multitasking...watching movies, knitting and exercising all at once. In the past four days I've clocked up 50kms and about four movies. I also began knitting my first shrug as you can see.

I also got the other Jeanan glove done too and they make a handsome pair. I'm really quite happy with the way they turned out.

We also got some long awaited sunshine. Beautiful day yesterday. In between jobs (playing outside with kids) I sat in my backyard, ate lunch, looked through some catalogues and knitted. I also clocked up my first sunburn for the season. I had started out in the shade...

The sun was thoroughly enjoyed by all. I looked up toward the house while relaxing and spotted my brother's dog sunbathing. Ha ha.

Oh, and I also got this scarf finished and listed in my online stores. (See store windows to the right.)It's knitted in accidental ribbing with crocheted paisley ends. Made out of Moda Vera Audrey so it's nice and thick and soft.

the jeanan special

I realised (a little too late) that it was my friend Danielle's birthday and I would see her in two days time. Drat! I'd like to get her something, or better yet, make her something. So on a visit to my sister's I gathered some specific scraps of wool. Danielle (Jeanan is her Chinese name) absolutely loves my arm warmers (aka. long fingerless gloves) in this wool so I thought maybe I had enough time to make her some short ones. One a day... Ha!! The problem with inventing a pattern as you go is that it always takes much longer than I expect as there a multiple faults to adapt too....like making it too small so how can I make it bigger without undoing it all and starting again. Well, success came, with one glove, in the two days. So when I saw her I gave her the wrapped present and told her she would have to give it back temporarily. She'd see why when she opened it. "I have to make the other one yet and I need this one to make sure they match." But of course she hesitated giving it back coz she loved it. That's a good sign though. Now to make the second. It's underway but I must get it done by Sunday when I see her again.

sporadic click clack

The click clack of my knitting needles has been just a bit less common lately. I've simply had other things to involve my time with lately. The spring holidays have just passed and I didn't have as much work as normal. But instead I planned some fun things to do including having a friend come visit for a few days whom I haven't seen in months, visiting my older bro and his family for a couple of days and also taking a couple of my friends on a day trip to the Otways to the Fly Tree Top walk which was a great adventure. It was a bit expensive to go on I think but still worth a visit. Lovely scenery. The cantilever was fun (a suspended arm you can walk out on if you're game) and a bit of a thrill to look back and see the main pole it swung on moving to and fro. And of course the whole expedition is much more fun in the company of friends.
As for the bit of creating I have been doing... I started a new scarf I'm going to place in my store. Of course, it's actually taking longer to complete than I expected. I've also done some more of my sock. I was told not to deviate from the pattern the first time I tried knitting a sock but... I do like to adapt and alter. In this case I couldn't understand the heel part of the pattern. Neither could my sister who's done more sock knitting than me. And when another friend (who knits way faster than me and already has this same sock completed) said the pattern is actually written wrong I opted to simply do short rows as my sister explained. First try has left fairly noticeable gaps but I don't mind. They're just for me anyway. So I'm onto the foot part now for rows and rows. Perhaps one day I'll get it finished. And then there's its pair to make....

adelaide beanikin

Gift received! So here's what I made for my friend's little girl, Adelaide, who arrived last week. I bought the pretty merino wool from the Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show. I had a picutre in my head of what I'd like to do and set about transforming it from idea to reality. As my crocheting goes, I did stitch and frog a bit. I used my niece who is a little over 1 year old as my guide. I didn't think I'd quite have enough yarn to make it as long as it would need to be so I managed to find the plain orange/apricot colour and work it in. Good thing I did too coz I didn't end up with much merino left over at all. I started with this extra little notch which I later curled over and worked my way down with continual double crochet. It adds a cute little feature to the beanikin.

And then, once the length was good, I added earflaps coz they're cute and extra warm. I blanket stitched it all around the edge and attached long plaits so it can be tied under the chin. I made it on the larger size as it's nearing summer here so little Addie won't need to wear it until she's a bit bigger anyway.

time lapse

I know. It's been too long since I blogged. I have been working on some projects. Some are just progression (and moving slowly) and others are gifts not yet recieved so I can't show you yet.

I've also been working, putting together a soldier's box (parcel for an Aussie soldier working somewhere overseas), pulling the damn weeds from the garden, relaxing with some xbox36o games and enjoying the sunshine that's been more present lately. I also started making a wrap for my knitting needles and crochet hooks while they are not in use but I'm not quite sure how to put it together yet. So it's still just lying on my desk waiting for me to find a solution.

I'm also in the process of setting up an Etsy store to broaden my potential buyer audience. Ü Any tips for me??

crocheted mittens

This little kitten has finished her mittens and should always be able to find them. Yay! They're done. Two lovely mittens in bright, warm colours. The second one was actually a bit quicker to make than the first because there wasn't as much try and frog and try again. I'm so happy with my cute, cozy mittens. Oddly matching and warm. (One of the many started projects now finished!)

I also got inspired to clean my desk today. It's been needing it for weeks...months! I bought a cutting mat today. A big A2 size one. So I had to clean my desk to put it to use. Mmmm, it's all inspiring again now. A clean, organised desk just invites one to create!

And my cute little display of tools. Some essentials--scissors, pencils--plus some other interesting things like pen and ink, awl, holepunch and that wonderful funky container has coloured pencils inside. And I made one of my little kelgellcreation tags to hang there too. ^^

mitten

So here's the first one. It's finally completed. I'm quite happy with the way it's turned out and I quite like the mix of colours. Apart from the obvious trial and error and frogging and try again cycle that went on during my inventing, the only problem I came across was I made it a little too long. It stretched with pulling it on and off and so stuck up too far past the end of my fingers. But I wasn't going to frog it way back to the fingertips so I cut into the top and took a chunk out. My challenge was to reconnect the appropriate length so it lined up and the join wasn't too bulky. A challenge that had me putting it aside a couple of times. But I finally managed to make it work!

Isn't it lovely? I crocheted it from hand dyed yarn (the autumn multicolour) that I trialled at my sister's and had to adapt it with the plain yellow. I invented the pattern as I went so my biggest challenge is yet to come...to make it's mate and have it looking somewhat similar!! Though the colours will be reversed.

It's all single crocheted except the cuff which I crocheted with doubles and singles in a length ways ring before attaching to the mitten. The thumb was a bit of a challenge as I haven't crocheted something like that before and as I went I realised I'd need to fan it out in an eclipse shape to make it work. All in all I think it finally worked out quite well. Now to make that second one...

first award

The talented Lauri from RUKA thinks my blog is a lovely young thing so she gave me an award! Thanks Lauri. I'm delighted to accept it and pass it on to others. You can check out Lauri's wonderful creations on her blog. You can at least look at the pictures anyway as she writes mostly in spanish. So I think these are the guidelines for the award:

1. Accept the award.
2. Post it on your blog saying who gave it to you.
3. Pass it on to other new blogs you think are wonderful.

Make sure you leave a note on the blogs you award and the one who gave it to you to let them know you participated in this award. It's a nice way to connect with people and see what other wonderful blogs are around. So I hereby extend the "One Lovely Blog" award to the following:

Lucy from Attic24 She has some truly beautiful crochet artwork.

Alessandra from Just be Happy Some more amazing crochet artwork.

Go ahead and check out these fantastic blogs.

time spending

What have I been up to lately?? Working on a few different projects.

I wanted to play with my circular needles (first time I've ever tried some) so I started this loop scarf. Also trialing my first ever "lace" work. It's just simple eyelets but is going real well so far. Takes sooo long to knit a round though.

Also been making myself this little 7x7cm notepad. Juicily thick with sketch paper to scrawl ideas and designs for creations and children's stories while I'm on the go.

D'oh! Only had to grab two things but Spotlight had some great specials!! Lol. Oh dear! But half those balls were $1 each and some $2 reduced from $6. And I did get what I went in for too including the yellow wool to inter-crochet with the home-dyed stuff so I can finish my mittens. Sure could have used them last weekend!

whipit beanie

I'm going to a spit and bonfire tonight so I'll need a beanie to wear. I wanted to make a new one and decided to whip it up this morning. Ü It's quite a basic beanie; crocheted using simple stitches on a 9mm hook. I love the yarn though. Cleckheaton's Vintage Hue in shade 1279. 100% wool. Beautiful stuff. Don't you think? Should keep my head warm and my need-a-wash hair out of view.

bah!! outta yarn...

How frustrating! I'm stuck on my socks at the moment so I started creating some mittens with some wool I dyed at my sister's a while back. I got one lovely mitten mostly done and wasn't sure if I'd have enough for the rest so I started the second. My hoping was to no avail. Bah! Outta yarn. And I can't just go buy some more coz I dyed it myself. No re-doing that colour! Now I've gotta use my creativity to solve this little problem so I won't have to scrap the whole idea. I have some plans so we'll see what happens... For now I'm off to cook some cinnamon rolls instead.

sock ahoy!

Look at my sock work! It's going pretty well. It's at least looking like a sock so far. I've had to fix a few dropped stitches but nothing that I'm not able to cover up. He he. It's been pretty easy so far. But a few more rows and I'll be on to the tricky part. That will be the test.

sheep and wool show

I went with my sister, Tammy, to the Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show today. We had a great time!! Just the two of us (no kids) and a whole day to roam the sheds and buy some treasures. It took us quite a while to find what really interested us...there were lots of live sheep on show. But where's the yarn and gadgets!? We did find it thankfully. So much nice stuff. Tammy had been saving for months so she got to go home with more including a drop spindle made from a banksia and an umbrella swift which is incredibly useful to turn a skein into ball of yarn. There really was quite a lot to see and I enjoyed myself a lot more than expected. I left with a sigh and wishing I'd had more money to spend there. It was worth going though. So worth it.
Here's Tammy trying her hand at spinning wool. Her hand didn't manage so well. Ha ha. It's a lot harder than it looks.Anyone want a beer? A good one to buy and shove in with your mate's stash for a fun joke...they're all made of wood!

Checking out some wooden gizmos...the guy was showing us how to use a drop spindle.
And my few treasures...bamboo circular needles, a small skein of Aussie Merino and a big skein of Aussie Silk Merino, my bonus for babysitting the night before...paid in yarn! Mmm so nice.

home tweet home

Finished this this week. It's a journal, coptic bound, cardboard cover wrapped in birdhouse printed paper with an original artwork piece on the front. A little bird painted in watercolour by me. It turned out really well and I quite like it. It's for sale in my artfire store. You can see more photos there too.

i'm a socker

I've cast on yet another project before completing any other ones! But I'm ready to try something a little more challenging than flat rectangles. So after being inspired by all the sock knitting I've seen recently I decided to spend a voucher on some sock yarn and have a go myself. I'm using Moda Vera Noir in Fantasia and my sister gave me some lovely wooden doublepointed needles to use. I love knitting with wooden needles. So I began. I've already made loads of mistakes--ha ha--most of which I've ignored. Ü It's fun to have a go at something new and a bit more challenging. Have to finish some of my other projects though. My WIPs bag is getting a bit overfull. He he.

on with creating

Doesn't this look delicious? Taste pretty good too. It's a Hazelnut and Pear Torta. Found it in a Delicious magazine and thought I'd try it. I don't have a tart tin so mine is rectangle. I've been thinking about trying new recipes just to add some flavour and adventure to everyday life. Good to finally getting around to this one.

I've been doing some other making this week too. Haven't done too much lately but I got some new ideas and have been working on them. You can see another journal forming and a page that's done for my scrapbook. Man, I am sooooo behind in scrapbooking! This page takes me to about May 2007! They are the boys I cared for in the USA for a year.