Dear Clementine,

I have been neglecting you, I know this.

I am sorry that I only ever made you one outfit.

I promise to tend to your winter wardrobe a.s.a.p.

I am so glad you have taken up reading!

Love mummy x

Flea Market Finds

Hello! I'm excited as I have some special finds to share with you today.

Dad called on Thursday to tell me that mum had come across something delicious for me at her op-shop. We made a special trip on Friday to pick it up and my heart skipped when I saw the vintage blue and white polka dot jug.

I adore it. Now all my polka dotted finds live together (too much polka-dot?) AND its the perfect size for my crocheted light-bulb headed puppy. Thank you mama xxx !

These newly opped goodies now live on top of the fridge. The old emulsion box makes me chuckle with it's advertising motto 'Pleasant to Take and Practically Tastelesss'. The two cherry canisters came home with me from a car boot sale last fortnight, the vendor was packing away and told me I could have them for $1 each..... "Yes Please!". The floral tin was from great nana's haulage.. the best bit - inside are handwritten poems about her beloved Victorian country town Stawell.

Do pop into Sophie's to see more Flea Market goodness. Happy Sunday!!! :)

rainbow crochet blanket Part 2

I am savoring every teeny little spare moment to work on this blanket I began a few weeks ago.

Just look at all those loose wooly ends...

Have a lovely weekend x

My Creative Space

I did a little bit of sewing a while back and promised to show the finished product 'in a week or so'.... errrr one week turned into two, which then turned into three... and finally now in the 4th week I'm sharing it!

A gorgeous (but overpriced!) polka-dot jacket found in MYER inspired me to make one for my super special friend's 7 month old.

Being thrifty in my young age and not having a jacket pattern in easy reach I googled free baby jacket printable pattern, found voor nop owned by Suzy and chose to make the hooded cardigan. I then measured and enlarged the.jpg image on Publisher (whilst having no real idea what I was doing might I add) and printed off the pattern which needed tiling (an hour effort just in itself!).

Next I got all excited and cut out my pattern pieces then realised there were NO instructions online. So I winged the entire thing... well sans one concerned email to Suzy who was helpful and encouraging!

I feel surprised by the cuteness, softness and rather good quality of the completed jacket. But the best thing is that IT FITS the cute little chicken I made it for. YAY!!!

Do head over to kootoyoo's for more creativity and niceness x

Macro Monday

Today I am playing along over at Lisa's Chaos.

I took this photo in the Adelaide Hills sometime back in 2009 and am drawn toward those pretty reddish pink shades.

Giveaway winner...

I have decided that I love to giveaway things I have made. It makes me feel so happy to send something off and wonder what the receiver feels or says when they open the parcel.

All importantly - thank you kind ones for your comments on my crocheted canned food!

and HURRAH a huge congratulations and round of applause to Rainbow Jen-Jen. I will email you asap!

Blackbird singing in the dead of night...

If you have not heard Sarah McLachlan's rendition of that wonderful Beatles tune you reeeeally must. The vocals are spectacular although riddled with sadness. I do love a good ballad.

I proudly wore my great nana's black plastic birdie brooch today, and just wanted to share it's glossy prettiness. It was found last month in the spare room of her home when we discovered and rescued a pile of her belongings. Despite the ridiculous "bird-craze" going on in oh so many shops of recent, I still find myself drawn towards these winged creatures.

I wonder if she ever wore it?

x

Autumn happenings...

I may or may not be keeping a secret from you regarding these 4 (plus one hidden beneath) photo frames and some home decorating plans. I am so excited and can't wait to share the finished product! Today the reflection on the glass of the neighbour's fig tree in it's Autumny state look my breath away.

The late afternoon sun is now spreading its rays through our kitchen window at a different angle, making my glass bottle collection glow with prettiness.

Enjoying the shapes of these smooth baubley stems.

and lastly - being patient waiting for some fluffy blossom buds to do their thing.

x

My Creative Space

The rainbow crochet blanket I started on Sunday is now 17 rows high. Blues, greens and yellows... Oh my!

At the risk of this turning into a medical discussion I am going to ask for some help. Possibly due to repeated stitches (trebles, trebles, trebles.. and yep... some more trebles) my fingers are getting cramped and irritated by the twisting of the metal hook against my skin - "crochet RSI" I fear.... Have you experienced this too? Did I just make this ailment up?

I have seen crochet hooks with a squishy grippy handle. Can anyone claim that they are better than metal hooks? I'd love your opinion. Thanks in advance x


For creative spaces without the whinge factor (hehe) head over to kootoyoo's abode :P

* There is still time to go in the draw to win my crocheted food over here. Drawn on Sunday!

crochet food give-away

Funnily enough last night I was talking to mum about holding a giveaway on my blog, then low and behold I read of the Sew Mama, Sew! mega giveaway. Good timing I say!

I am giving away all 3 of these crochet food items to one lucky winner. All have been handmade by me for the Knitting Nancy exhibition at the Adelaide Fringe held earlier this year.

All you have to do is leave a nice comment on this post (and live in Australia, sorry o/s visitors). You don't have to be a follower.... but just as a little thank you to my bunch of followers - if you have been following pre-Mon 17th May and you leave a comment on this post I will put your name in the draw TWICE. Yay for you!

Winner to be announced Sunday 23rd.

Good luck lovelies!!!

Oh... Just in case you were wondering - there are only about 7 green peas, 5 carrots (not full cans) and 3 sardines.

rainbow crochet blanket Part 1

When I visited my Oma last Easter she gave me ALL of her wool collection... little new balls, teeny hand wound balls, massive hand wound balls, new 100% wool balls, thick 20 ply (! i know) wool, alpacca wool balls... it goes on and on... and yes... my smile gets bigger and bigger each time I look at them ;)

The dilemma = What to make? I really want to use them and not have them just sit in a dark cupboard for the next 5 years. Initially I thought I would attempt to get rid of all those pesky small handwound balls, but the colours weren't quite bright enough together. So.. I'm using some of my own wool and Oma's and have started making something like this vintage vertica blanket over here at Bella Dia, discovered via Lucy at attic24.

It will be my first attempt at a rainbow blanket. I started sorting the colours into shades - you can see the blue toned beginnings of the blanket in the basket. I have high hopes of the colours merging together smoothly. Fingers crossed!

ps: Is it possible that looking at our coffee table smothered with coloured wool over the last 2 days has made me a happier person? I think it is! :)

Martha

Dear Nan, you may have left us last Thursday but I will always remember ...

 ...your fridge door covered in thousands of fridge magnets. Somehow you always knew if one had been slightly shifted by little curious hands.

 ... your affinity for caring for stray cats, kittens and your pet magpies. Dad always carried me inside your house as those sharp beaks loved my toes and ankles.

... your colourful, rude, crass, outrageous language. I will always be amazed at the plethora of swear words you managed to fit inside each and every sentence you spoke. Even up until 2 weeks ago mum and dad would tell me to stop encouraging you, I didn't stop for you truly enjoyed making us laugh.

-xXx-

ps: Until yesterday I didn't know you had such fabulously styled hair in the 50's.

Macro Monday

It's been months since I hoped to get the inspiration an to participate in this meme. Last month I was lucky to be the maid of honor in my fabulous friend Alissa's wedding. I took a few macro shots of the gorgeous pearls she wore on her special day.

I hope you like them Lissy xx

Oh bother!

Did you know that you cannot buy white duffel coat buttons in Adelaide? Yes its true. I tried so many places then gave up.

So I'm waiting for these babies to dry before the final white coat can be applied. Is 'button' even the correct term to use for them? They're not truly a button now are they..... What would you call them?

Will share more of this project soon x

A surprise of the bestest kind...

Last year I had the pleasure of working with a simply lovely teacher who sadly no longer works at my school. During the first week back at school I was given a bag of goodies which belonged to this special person and some which were made by her mother. Imagine my delight as I spotted the fabulous-ness which was inside - almost 100 knitted squares all with black crochet borders!!!! I feel delighted and honored that you chose to pass them onto me. I promise to transform your mum's little squares into a beautiful blanket.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you (you know who you are) xx

My Creative Space

I can't do it! I can't hold off until these are sent to their pint-sized owners. I can't help but spoil surprises... oopsies (baby Claudia and baby Zha-Vy you'll just to wait to see which cardie is yours xx). These were so quick to complete, each one taking only a few hours (!).. the pattern is so nice and easy - catering nicely for my somewhat impatient craft ways. The cardie is called 'Everyday is a New Sweater Day' and the pattern can be found over at Yarny Days.

Wendy 100% cotton double knitting wool was used for this cream cardigan, plus two wooden buttons. I love wooden buttons, my collection is getting out of hand so I'm happy to be putting them to good use.

Cream 100% wool cardie edged in purple.

Thank you for stopping by.

Please pop back over to kootoyoo to peruse other creative spaces.

Pondering ...

Recent events in my family are bringing thoughts of life to the forefront this week. I have been trying to keep busy by crocheting - a lot. Who knew a baby cardigan could be crocheted in just a few hours? So quick that I have made not one, but two. Late last week I enjoyed a cuppa sitting on my favourite cushion by some bulbs I pulled from the garden and potted. [Polaroid photos taken with the desktop Polaroid camera].