Category Archives: crafting

Mitt knits

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Evidence of my current knitting addiction is following me around the house!
One excellent selling point on knitting is that You can pick it up and put it down as you need to!
Great for mamas like me. And papas. Though not so common now amongst our menfolk, once upon a time knitting was more a men’s craft…
I am attempting to write my own pattern so I’ll let you know how it goes. It will have a beautiful windmill pattern in the body of the work and

hopefully the rest of it will work out… well imaginatively…

Since completing these mittens, {with only one dropped stitch and one other weird twisted stitch}

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(The yarn is a merino,alpaca, silk blend and so soft and smooth to work with. I knit on four double pointed size 3.25 needles and with my personal gauge they miraculously fit fine! Phew. I am enjoying getting more adventurous with knitting, shame the winter months are over…
Being confined with illness for a few days has allowed a lot of knitting time.
The only recognizable boon…)
Yes where was I
Since completing these mittens for Lily
I’ve been feeling braver than ever and am also getting set to upsize a cardigan for Lily. Um that ones looking hard but we both like the pattern and I like how Elizabeth Zimmerman talks in percentages and with humour in her patterns.
Wish me luck

Are you a knitter?

Are you an inventive knitter?

have you ever made your own pattern?
What project are you on at the mo?
Hope you are well and warm
Peace

A Denmark Day

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Mama and I and the little ones spent a happy day browsing and completing errands in the Coastal Forest town of Denmark

After visiting the two op shops and finding some great embroidered linens and pastel Johnson Bro bread plates we had a tasty lunch at

while Nanna went for acupuncture Cedar Lily and I where playful in the riverside park. A pretty cool playground, some stately old Marri and Karri trees…

I had one of those moments again. one of those precious ones where my heart pauses and I am then flooded with sentiment as I watch my little ones in their innocence and fun and kindness and I give an enormous breath of gratitude to the gift they are in my life, and the beauty and clarity of sunlight and the cool scent in the air almost overwhelms me with the richness of nature and my place in it.

try and imagine how old this Marri tree is… All it has witnessed… the slow pulsating rhythm of being a tree… go and find one and sit or lay under it or climb into her arms and soak up some arboreal wisdom…

Yes Cedar is out and about in his pyjama jumper… he loves it as much as I do… It’s from Engel via Cambridge baby

oh how i love the scent of rivers,

growing up an inland girl the novelty of bounteous water is yet to fade…

the myriad of light refractions on waters surface amuse me endlessly, the green shade and becooled air which stirs about draping leaves becalms me

and refreshes me and i am enchanted in my thoughts as i move us up to the colourful delight of wool heaven!

I was getting distracted from choosing yarn for a bold project I am about to undertake of making Lily a short sleeved cardigan for the coming seasons from an Elizabeth Zimmerman patern resized to vaguely fit an eight! phew. I think I’m abit out of depth but looking forward to the challenge.

I chose an heirloom silk touch Merino, Alpaca, Silk blend and Lily chose a sweet sky blue tint.

Lily had been quietly amusing herself, when I appeared to check with what she was amused I saw…

You know those beautiful enticing rows of neat embroidery threads in every good crafting shop? well…

Mothers panic try to be calm…

“honey what are you up to?”

thinking…oh god We are going to be kicked out, no worse I will have to painfully sort these all out into colour batches and rehang them. oh crikey

“Hi mama, these where all in a jumbly mess, some kids been playing with them probably so I took them all off and I’m sorting them out!”

“ah OK good one that’s really thoughtful of you”

luckily shop lady overheard and pipes up gratefully that it’s OK and thanks to Lily

phew… phew… phew…

Cedar had been happily driving his new tractor and trailor around which we had just found beautifully made at the Denmark arts centre…

after this we perused the Butter Factory Studios and Alpaca Centre

I am in love with Alpace fibre once again and tried to convince my mum to buy an exhorbitantly priced Alpaca coat to no avail… yet…

I found Cedar a sweet duffel coat by Oobi instead and some fantastic local ceramics.

The end

everyone tired and hungry and wants to go home now

goodbye Denmark til next time

Double decker palm basket

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Last year I made a great basket to hang inside our door to pop all our shoes into. It’s a little worse for wear as we cram it too full or we have too many shoes…
so on my last day in Queensland I wove up this replacement, a little bigger, a little better technique.

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After the markets on Sunday in port Douglas we escaped to four mile beach. It was so windy, maybe 20-25 kn blowing from the south east , hence masses of kite surfers, wind surfers and my friends who sailed out on a little nacra catamaran.
I watched friends play with their kids and a little training kite, I watched the joy of children running, I sheltered behind some trees, I wove and cherished my last moments with the palms.
I could hear the crackly rustling of palm leaves blowing and the song of the frond in my hands.

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I love the palm as weaving material as it is beautifully patterned, firm, broad, colorful, pliant fibre. The geometry of the styles is satisfying also for someone who has done more wild style weaving.
This basket is modeled on a classic style often used as a bag or carrier, it was the first style i learnt to weave and is sonetimes referred to as a billum bag/ basket. It is woven from sections of two fronds of matching size.
Eight pairs of leaves are interwoven to create this squareish practical, strong sided basket. I have modified the traditional design by weaving one above another on a single set of great ribs. ( the central wooded part of a palm branch )

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I am regretting not photographing the entire process now! I was totally being in the moment and not thinking about this future post, or the fact that it’s hard to find palm weaving tutorials or teachers here in Australia.
Next time…
I am hoping Jesse will bring me some fresh coconut palm on his drive down to meet us in Bellingen next month…
Blessings
( yes it is 3 am, I’m awake after soothing jet lagged Cedar who’s been up crying, but lovingly supported by dear aunty in the freezing midnight hours so all good…)
Hot tip on jet lag, try travelease from the living essences! Amazing at helping me to feel more present, patient and perky today after a dreaded flight.

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I also received an excellent mini body talk balancing from other dear aunty. Ah it’s beautiful to be with my sisters and our gaggle of children!

a little felting

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a mysterious ball of fluffaround a hollowed giant passionfruit of all things!rubbed with dish detergent and water and patient handsmakes a sweet little nest for a little friend
I love being able to help my children live out their creative inspirations and see what is yielded…

A giveaway

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I’ve had a very full week! Lots of wonderful fulfilling time for my own interests! Yay !!
These weeks come sparsely in my mama life and I have cherished it fully and am so grateful to my awesome partner Jesse for holding the children so I could sail free for a little while.
Literally sail actually! A friend took me on a small catamaran out to Low Isles, the cutest picture book tropical island complete with little lighthouse peeping out from the coconut palms. Snorkeling off the beach in turquoise waters in warm sun in solitude ahhh paradise…

Anyway back to the giveaway!
Just for something fun…

I have done a lot of weaving this week and I want to gift you with this calabash style fruit bowl!

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To be the happy recipient all you have to do is guess correctly my new hobby!
Its not my usual line of activity…
It doesn’t cost anything…
I could go a long way with it…
Actually I could go anywhere with it!

Oh I’m not so good with clues, I think I ll give it away too easily…
Leave your guess in the comments and I’m sure it will give me and you a giggle and maybe a lovely fruit bowl…
I will let you know next weekend who guessed it!
And if you all do, well…
Have a great week!!
What’s your hobby?

If you could like my post
And maybe share it on Facebook or twitter or your blog
Or start following me I’d be really chuffed too!

A knitting accomplishment

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And at the end of the day…

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One cute little handmade dolly has one cute little handmade scalloped edge cardigan!
( with help from mama)
Satisfaction for all involved!
I liked such a small knitting project, easy to accomplish in one day

Pattern
4.5 mm knittin sticks
Yummy soft yarn about 10 ply

Work two front panels the same
Cast on 15 st
Knit garter st for 15 rows
Cast off
Repeat for other front panel

Back panel
Cast on 30 st
Garter st 15 rose
Cast off

Sew in ends of your three rectangles.
Then with a wool needle and wool sew top shoulder seams together of one front panel to the back, leaving space for a neck hole ( about 12 mm ea side)
Repeat other side

Sew under arm seams almost all the way to the centre. Leave a bit to be the front panel bottom edge of cardigan.

I decorated the bottom edge with some crotchet scalloping and Lily sewed a thread to tie it shut.
Done
Easy peasy

A knitted cat…

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While I finished this knitted cat for a niece , ( sorry Cedar claimed it as soon as it was off my needles)
He likes tying it’s tail to the happy bubble car!
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A wonderful simple pattern it’s from Lilys craft teacher for term three crafting, I wanted to try it out so i could help her when the time comes ( and inspire her)
So easy why don’t you try it?

Anyway back to the story
While I finished this knitted cat
Lily made a toilet paper bride with detachable veil!
Hello! how is this girls detail for miniature things!
Originally tied together with her own hair!

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The wonders of good old toilet paper!

Waking up to…

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Being joined in cosy morning snooziness to assist lily in making a cardigan pattern for her little doll Lilac. Knitting with Aracuania yarn, absolutely beautiful and soft, this turquoise is left over from a cape I made Lily last year.

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Cedar found amusement with the needle packet! And hiding under the quilt. And then popping holes in the sheet with a knitting stick!
Ah a mamas Monday morning sleep in!

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A little weaving

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During camping this week I found a little time for weaving. I had a beautiful frond of coconut palm and adapted a traditional wall pouch design to my own imagination. Namely making the pouches more square cornered and wide based. So happy with the result!
I love how quickly coconut weaves up and how beautiful the green with yellow stripe is.
I also made this little basket from dried lamandra. A fresh water reedy plant which a lot of us grow in our gardens also. It’s made in a more indigenous style of twining. Slow and fiddely work but very strong and pleasing in the end.

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Last week I got brave and had a spot in mossman market weaving and selling (2) baskets! It’s a challenge for me to go public, I am pretty private about my craft usually but the interest was great. and boosted my confidence to face my fear.

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I loved the focused time just to sit and weave. At one point I was so engrossed , when I looked up there was a crowd standing around me watching and I got a shock. I had wandered off into crafting peace!
What are you making?
What brave thing have you accomplished?