A thoroughly crafty January

Well, here it is Australia Day and we are not being particularly patriotic or doing anything especially exciting but we will have lamb chops barbecued for tea and if I can be motivated to turn the oven on there will be anzac biscuits!

As our holidays draw to a close I thought I would show you a bit of a crafty round up of what I have been doing.  My friend Kathy has had a Spin-a-long happening for January so there has been quite a bit of spinning:

Stained Glass colourway in merino/bamboo plied with undyed Polwarth

Fuzzy brown Autumn merino plied with an Autumn Romney Ball and then the leftover merino plied back on itself.

A lovely denim merino gifted to me in our Kathy's Fibres Christmas swap - this is sooooo soft and smooshy!

I had a great day sewing with my friend Rozzie and managed to finish these sweet little sewing bags from the Spoonful of Sugar book.  She taught me how to do C2C crochet - who knew it was that easy?!? I think this will be my favourite way of making wash cloths and bathmats and squares for Wraps with Love - so quick!

In the Ravelry, Indie Giftalong I discovered a designer called Susie Sparkles who makes beautiful seamless baby clothes so I joined a KAL to do "Betsy" using some 8 ply from stash - it felt good to use it up!

I also did a few test knits including this sweet little hat (not much into colourwork but this one was surprisingly easy)

I cleaned up my crafty corner a bit and found this rainbow four ply cardi that was never going to get finished.  It is big enough for my wild, wild, rainbow child Selena (my niece).

 In response to the Women's marches happening in the US I knit a Pussy Cat Hat in solidarity.  It will go in the bag for the Kurdistan refugees as I think it is fitting that it helps keep some other girls heads and hearts warm. This is such an easy way to make a hat that I think I will do a few kid's sized ones and send them to the camps - they might bring a smile to some little faces.

Now I am working on a bigger test knit for my niece.

In between all the crafting there has been lovely time spent with friends and extended family, lots of sleepins, an ENORMOUS amount of reading including the perfect holiday read of "Paris is Always a Good Idea" as well as some great craft books and the beautiful "A Year Between Friends" which I honestly did not want to end! It has been a great holiday. Just perfect for getting things done (like unpacking boxes that have been languishing for 12 months, and sorting the linen cupboard, and trying a couple of new recipes.  Just perfect for down time - icecream in the hammock anyone? Bubble bath with chocolate and a good book?

Wherever you are, whoever you are, may the New Year heap her blessings on you! Now back to work for me!
Happy crafting,
Nell
xx

Back in the crafty zone!

Why will I never learn that when my crafting mojo is at a low I just need a few quick easy projects.  There is nothing like a bit of instant gratification to get the crafty juices flowing again.  A friend on www.ravelry.com is collecting little hats for a NZ hospital that was affected by the earthquakes so I have been "playing" with some beautiful watermelon coloured 4ply from www.kathysfibres.com and some leftovers from my stash.

This little hat ended up too big for the hospital but found a willing recipient.  I love how this one turned out!  I also really love that it turned out how I planned.  I find crochet so easy that way - I could never mess with knitting the way I play with crochet.  Now I want to make some smaller versions of these for the hospital.  If anyone else is keen to get involved Kathy and I are sending the hats off at the start of March.

Some more impromptu projects - the kids had school swimming this week and needed a separate bag for their swimming stuff - these took next to no time to make using bits from my stash (I think I bought this fabric to make jammies and never got there?)  I lined them with a really thick vinyl that was bought to make a weighted quilt for Autism SA (I sometimes have good intentions - I bought all the stuff and then it got too hard and the child it was for moved on before it was finished - I still feel a bit guilty about that so it was kind of nice to at least put the vinyl to good use)  If I was making these again I would try using the iron-on vinyl as this is pretty heavy duty.  Not to worry as I figure I've probably only got a few years before these Mummy-made bags will be considered seriously uncool!

I've also been doing some alterations on a nasty little 80s number for the 80s Murder Mystery that I am going to on Friday.  My alterations left me with enough fabric for 2 whopping great scrunchies to complete the look - urk!!! The 80s were so not good!!!

There has also been progress on my applique borders and I have finally figured out what I am doing for the Very Hungry Caterpillar.  I may or may not have been slightly sidetracked by a yummy Ruby layer cake that fell into my bag at quilting last weekend (I know - so against the simple living stuff and the 12 WIP but I just HAD TO!)  I am itching to start that project!!!!

I have also spent considerable time op shopping with the Madster (ostensibly to find 80s accessories)  The last thrifty finds included a pair of near new pink converses in Maddie's size, a metre and a half of vintage floral (yeah, I feel just like Kate www.foxslane.blogspot.com )  The gorgeous blue bowl cost a whole 50cents and the Royal Albert saucer (I LOVE Royal Albert!!) was 30cents!!!  I have a slight obsession with mismatched china.

Last but not least, today I found these new cups (4 in blue and 4 in red!) that fit perfectly in the coffee machine - oh happy day!  Can you see a trend emerging in my new crafty space?

You won't hear from me again this week - after teaching tomorrow I fly out Thursday for my Creative Memories Leadership Conference at Kingscliff (such a tough life!!!)
Until next time,
keep smiling,
Nell
xxx