joy and pain

So I figured out what was going on with my camera. I had both sets of batteries charging last night so I tried the newest ones again. They still didn't work and that's when I realised I hadn't bought rechargeables. I meant to but the lithium batteries I spent quite a bit on were just the one use kind. Oh well. I put the other ones in and took a snap of some joy and pain.

The joy is my new crochet hook. It's wooden and pretty. I'm not sure of the greatness of using it yet as the wooden hook doesn't seem to be quite as smooth as metal but I certainly like the feel of it in my hand. I'll have to try it on some thicker, nicer yarn to really be able to tell. And that's the pain. As nice and bright as these squares are, they're made of 100% acrylic. *GROOOAAN*

christmas goodies

So Christmas is over and the presents are given. Now I can show you some of the making I did previously. I made hampers for the couples in my family with little knick-knacks and some yummy home cooking. There's nothing like home cooking. I baked star shortbread drizzled with white chocolate, mega chocolate chip biscuits and some lemon butter. I didn't taste the lemon butter but I hear it's good. The recipe I had made just one cup which was barely enough to fill each jar so I didn't dare lower the level. I do however like how the labels turned out. Just plain yellow paper which I used a corner punch on and scrawled the words with pen and dipping ink give it a bit of an antique look. Cute. Quite happy with the way it's all turned out.

I haven't been creating much lately other than that. I think I've been distracted with Christmas and the Twilight books. ^^ I did however teach my sister-in-law how to crochet. I taught her a few basics last time she was up and at our Christmas gathering I gave her a crochet book and taught her how to read the instructions and helped guide her as she crocheted a square. She did quite well too. I've been doing some squares myself today but my camera batteries are playing up so I can't show you. They're made with bright acrylic colours with my funky new crochet hook I bought to show by example while teaching. Unfortunately I think I'm spoiled against acrylic. It's just no where near as nice to use as the other wool I have. Oh well.

Happy New Year to you all too! Hope 2010 is a wonderful one for you and that you can learn new things and have fun adventures!

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...