And after an interlude of three and a half years...

Driving with a glorious sun shining over the Bolte Bridge - Melbourne I love you!

January 2012 is a long time ago, and life has changed significantly since I last wrote. Indeed for the past three and a half years, it is possible you were forgotten dear blog. Forgotten you existed, forgotten passwords, forgotten how to make the settings hum...

And life has gone on. There has been babes - two delicious girls - there has been long periods of time with no work outside of home, lots of walks in the wee hours of the morning, lots of laughter and joy. We have baked, we have swum in the ocean, we have made new friends and build friendships with childhood acquaintances. We have knitted. We have read books galore. Life has been good.

Many, many, many things are sparking creative interest. A post was read yesterday by Made by Rea, where it was reflected about days where one has just too many ideas and simply not enough doing power. And perhaps this is what periods of time in the past few months have been like here. The possibilities of what to do, what to make, what to create seem endless...

But here are a few things that are loved and being made or explored further...

Sewing is kicking on, with two finished and three somewhat constructed Purl Bee everyday swing skirts. How it would be wonderful to have time and space to learn this skill well!

Knit, knit, knitting. A delicious Fort jumper from Brooklyn Tweed is on the final sleeve. Perhaps it will be completed for the second half of winter? Warm and cosy Harvest yarn from the Bendigo Woollen Mills is being used (although no longer available to purchase).

Anzac biscuits with apricot chunks are baked weekly. Each time they are made, it is wondered if they really are a delicious as the fella things. And indeed they are...

Instagram florists - such as Gladdish, She's a Wildflower, Passion Flower, the Flower Dispensary and Sweet Pea and Honey Bee.

Hurrah!

Today: the day that was...

Today was one of those busy days where I simply didn't have time to stop and think. I got to work and ran and ran and ran. People to see, emails weren't sending externally, clients were unwell and needed urgent attention, tensions were increased all around. Lunch was a sneaky half packed of raspberry flavoured m&ms I really should have shared, with a banana scoffed down as a second thought. But when life gets like this, you just get through - don't you.

Running, huffing and complaining don't help. Snapping at a colleague is unhelpful also. Stressing about emails - why bother?

What does help? What was my life line today?

Only answering the phone calls coming in if paged to do so. Or during a designated half hour time frame twice during the day.

Eating those m&ms and enjoying them.

Getting a job application in and feeling proud!

Cycling home at a leisurely pace.

Playing netball and whipping our opponents.

Having the fella make a stellar healthy dinner of chicken soft tacos.

Watering my garden, taking time to smell the tomatoes and zucchinis.

Gosh, if only all challenges were so easily solved. If only all days were fixable! But tomorrow is a new day, more work to be done, feeling calm and having space to have another dose of perspective.

Speaking of perspective - what a view? Using a super ap which knits together images to create panoramas, this phone is sunset over the beautiful country side of Scone in rural NSW. We travelled to the area for a friend's wedding, and had the absolute privilege of staying on the bride's family farm overnight. Their property looking out over the hills, the sun was setting and the sky was fluid, mesmerising and seemingly untouchable. What a beautiful end to a day.

Hope your day has ended well, perhaps with a cup of tea (or gin and tonic).

Musings...

Loving: riding my push bike, getting my lunch daily from pickings in the garden, using the fella's mac, holidays at the beach

Making: a Thomas the Tank Engine knitted jumper for a stellar nephew

Drinking: english breakfast tea with milk and half a vanilla sugar

Wearing: clothes for the hot Melbs weather, and my lovely new Gorman sandals

Hearing: the chooks brood in the backyard

Doing: job applications - looking at applying for a senior job

Enjoying: the Australian Open

Sweating: not the small stuff! Rather on my daily bike ride in the super lovely summer weather

Anticipating: the end of my current read - 1Q84 by Murakami

Wishing: for more time to craft

How about you?

The end is the beginning...

New years often suggest new starts, or at least a chance to consider what went wrong and what you hope to change. It is an exciting time, but it does not have to be the only time for new things. New things an happen at any time. A new hair cut perhaps, a new book to read, a new coffee shop to discover, an opportunity to make a new friend, to love a new person, to welcome the new morning, to start a new habit, to consider a new craft project

NEWNESS.

The sound of it is fresh and crisp, like clean sheets just off the washing line.

So, what is new for you? What are your plans for this new year? What do you hope to start? What do you need to say a goodbye to in order that the new thing starts?

New for me is my garden, is being a careful knitter, using pinterest, the extra cat, being a train traveller, cooking rabbit for lunch, enjoying being calm, saying no to television.

About this new business, I have been trying to get my technology circle working, and consequently I am loving Pinterest. In the process i have discovered beautiful images though a scandi lady named Klara. I have also gotten back to the design files. lovely blogs, lovely images, lovely creativity, lovely homes. Nice.

The last say for 2011

Post-Christmas, the lights are still up. And tonight it is anticipated there will be lights and amazing visual displays all around. Brilliant! How I love fireworks. How I love celebrations. Wonderful to welcome in the new year.

How will you celebrate?

We have a bottle of bubbly set aside. We have plans to ponder the new year as it rolls in. We are considering joining the masses in the city. But should we go to a suburban barbecue to whistle away the hours, in the company of old friends...

Happy New Year.

Christmas blessings, with a twist

A last bit of post-Christmas joy and laughter, and a fitting way to re-enter the blogging business at the end of the year.

What a mix this video is - muppets, Jesus, Queen...

Street arting it up...

This blog has been in hiatus while the world takes second. Lace to the demands being placed on me with work. A lot of my clients are not so well at the moment, and I have been sitting with a lot of their worries. We are also orientating new staff, which means increased work load in the short term. but this happens, doesn't it? And not just to me, but to most out there in the wild world. So this week is time out, a chance to do some "soul searching" as one of my clients put it this week.

Thus today finds me in our Nation's capitol, seated by a fountain outside of the National Gallery of Australia. The sun has been momentarily covered by cloud, a breeze is passing through and I'm under the illusion that the temperature has dropped. The coffee here is decent, sculptures are dotted around the gardens. Families and couples are seated around me catching up on life, discussing the woes of the real estate market, browsing through their purchases.

I've just finished in the Gallery. The space is cool and light. Guards sit in comfortable chairs, seemingly unimpressed by the beauty that surrounds them. What an amazing space, what precious works of art.

OT, consider yourself aware...

This makes me chuckle to no end! I'm an OT and I love it. Hope this tells you that I am not a physio, nor do I work in OH&S as is often assumed. Thanks go out to my cousin who has recently graduated as an OT also, she forwarded this on...

Late night post to the rescue... Are you up past your bed time? Longing for a little nap, for some rest and revitalisation? I am. Tired old me. Lots has been happening, too much indeed. So much that all I can do is sit and pat the cat. There is something about pets... They are calming, great companions, and for my the cat helps me to be quiet and still. Spending five minutes stroking his smooth fur with slow me right down and give me great pleasure. And then when he starts to purr, his bliss is my bliss. Yes, I have power with the cat! I can make his day simply by spending a short period of quality time with him, by rubbing his chin, by itching his hind quarters. Ahhh.

Anyway, this post started as a lament for my bed. And I've not gotten there, nor have I stayed on the topic of such. Rather gone on to rave about the benefits of pets. Strange! I must be tired.

How about a pick me up? Cup of Melbourne Breakfast tea perhaps? From the warm depths of a post covered by an outlandish cosie, sure to be piping hot hours (!) after brewing?

This cosie was the end of the Christmas gifties that I needed to make. Well almost, the second last. It gave me so much pleasure to make this cosie, as it was specifically requested. Someone actually wanted one of my creations! And it wasn't just my husband being very thankful for socks. This was made with intention, anticipate of the joy it would bring, and also love. Pattern came from the quirky book Really Wild Tea Cosies, wool is the opal sock yarn. My particular ball was pull apart by a cat - not mine - who took much delight in the novelty of playing will an object so unfamiliar to it.

In rolls the new year...

Today I pulled down the Christmas tree. I could have strung it out for longer, maybe a few more days. But after all Epiphany is today, the 6th of January... that is, the day the wise men saw Jesus as a child, signaling the end of the advent period and an appropriate time to take down the tree.

Really I pulled it down as we have guests coming to stay tomorrow and would benefit from being able to eat at the dining table. With the tree taken down you can pull the table out from the wall and seat a few bodies. Oh how I love Christmas decorations thought!

So here is my last taste of Christmas until 01.12.2011, the earliest date I allow myself to put the tree up on!

Christmas blessings...

Although this is a few days late, and my posts have been far and few between... Merry Christmas! Hope you had a lovely day, celebrating with family and maybe even pondering why the holiday exists.

We were stuffed to the gills.

We went to midnight church.

We were given far too many gifts.

We spent quality time with our nephews.

We were delighted when loved ones appreciated homemade gifts.

We caught up with family not often seen.

We praised God for his son Jesus's birth.

What did you do?

I'm no nanna!

Glancing back over my blog of the past year, I sense that the nanna within me have really come to the forefront. As quite frankly there has been too much knitting. One project after the other, and with very nanna-ish themes too - I mean, tea cozies? And jumpers that are too big for the intended wearer? And handmade socks? Gosh, think I've aged 50 years!

So to reinforce that I'm not a nanna, to make myself feel a little better about it all here is a very oddly amusing clip that was on Rage yesterday. Although I didn't pay much attention to the breadth of the lyrics, the key lines have been running over and over in my mind and have been making me chuckle!



I've got love for you...

Woollen lovelies in the post...

More wool, more knitting. And some crochet too! I'm really getting into the woolly crafts. These balls are destined for lots of things, like bags, leg warmers, woolly mittens and probably something for a new little niece/nephew that is busting to pop out any time soon.

Yet again trusty Bendigo Woollen Mills has delivered. The wool took around 7 days to arrive, but I did order it over a public holiday (Cup Day). But postage is free if you spend over $30, and I bought 8 balls so easily spent over this amount. I find it great value for money (around $12 for 200 g), the product is made locally and thus is ethically and environmentally preferred by me. The range of colours is enough for most of your standard projects too. I'm happy to tout their products any time...

Jesse's jumper...

The largest knitting project I have ever attempted is now complete! A jumper perfectly too large to a little nephew of mine. Just in time (well a little early really) for his birthday. Each year as he gets older, I knit him a larger jumper. One day I will be making a jumper from grown ups at this rate... The wool is trusty Bendigo Woollen Mills. I love that you are delivered big balls of wool, in 200 g lots. Two balls was more than enough for this 3 year old's jumper, and I have a little left over for some granny squares. The colour is more blue than the photos represent, with flecks of tan, cream and coffee throughout. The pattern is from a book that I bought a number of years ago - patern's probably... I've found it to be a good basics book for baby things, and this jumper is the fourth pattern I've used from it.

This project tested my persistence. I was able to work at and complete a project that took a number of weeks rather than a few days. Usually I will give up, become bored with the knitting and move on to something quick and more instantly satisfying. So I am really stoked about this. The project also solidified skills in cables. Nothing too fancy, just a plait style pattern which is effective and adds detail to a very plain jumper.

On to the next knitting thing now... More Christmas gifties to come.

What have you been making lately?

Beachy weekends...

Over the weekend we went away with friends. And it was wonderful. Drove down the Mornington Peninsular, to a little place called Blairgowrie. We were staying one street back from the surf beach, in a giant house. Aren't friends generous to organise such a holiday? Weather was wonderful, which meant going to the local monthly market was a must. Afterwards I went for a stroll along the bay beach while the fella went swimming.

I love wondering along the beach. I enjoy getting sandy and having the cuff of my jeans become a little wet. I hunt for shells, for tumbled glass, for worn pieces of wood. I snap photos, wrinkle my nose up a seaweed and dream of doing this every day.

It was a great time to catch up with some friends we simply have not seen for years. I am excited about renewing old friendships... and feel very chilled after my mini-break for the weekend.

How have you relaxed lately?

Crocheted posie...

Sweet little broches?

Or sewen along the top of a bag?

Or placed on a little hat for a wee girl?

Or in a bowl, ready to be admired or picked up and touched?

Or incorporated into granny squares (I have to learn how to make these)?

Or tags and decoration for gifts?

A cozy, rosey posie...

1. Crocheted Flowers, 2. Crocheted Flower, 3. Lovely flowers crochet pattern, 4. Crocheted Flower - Carnation, 5. Crocheted 5-petal buttons, 6. Crocheted 5-petal flower button array, 7. Card with the Crocheted Flower Brooch, 8. crochet flower, 9. Super happy crochet flowers!

Where did photo one and two go? As a flickr-ignorarmus I simply could not move on my favourites list to get other images in that don't mind being shared.

Camera as still vanished in our house. One went to Canada with my mum. The other is simply gone. We took it to the beach a few weeks ago, did not use it but somehow have lost it. So I can't take photos of all the crochet flowers I've been whipping up. Three so far, in pink, red and an avocado green. Instead, enjoy the lovely florals made by others.

Aren't they clever?

Lovely things and some Little Red...

Can't find the camera, where has it gone?

Instead, I'm inspired by snuggling up in the rainy weather, by winning netball tonight (!), by generous sisters who have given me early gifties of money towards new crafting, by luscious chai tea at the 1000 pound bend, by Little Red.

Enjoy the tunes, although I've not listened to the words closely I think this song makes me happy.

What has been tickling your fancy lately?

Giving of gifts...

Jo and Matt's Cushion # 2.

Pattern: Jo Sharp

Wool: Bendigo Woollen Mills, Rustic Graphite

Needles: 4 mm

Are you a gift maker? Are you a gift giver? Some people are, others just don't think of it. Some give gifts just because... they saw something that was just you, they couldn't resist, they just wanted to show their love. These people are treasures, aren't they? One of my sisters is like this. Tell her what you like and she will look out for it everywhere. Very generous. One of my good friends is also like this. Whenever I've seen her recently she has had something for me. Be it wool for knitting, some glass apple bowls, a pair of purple leopard print socks. Loveliness!

Gifties often brightens the receivers day. And it should give the giver a warm glow too. And if you are a gift maker, well the joy can be ongoing. Starts with the glint of an idea, something to make just for the right person... before being made, wrapped and given with glee. Making, making to give. Trying to do this at the moment. So the above cushion has been made with plans to give to a sister getting married. It was very quick to knit up, with a simple but effective cable adding texture.

On the needles at the moment is a jumper for my nephew. Needs to be done for his birthday which falls around Christmas. And then there are some Chrissie gifts also...

Better get crafting!

Down at the local... library

Lovely image from Whipup.net - with instructions for making this libary bag too!

Do you ever frequent your local? Yep, your local. It's full of colourful characters, of stories being told. How I love the library.

We try to go every fortnight, often after work and before a coffee. We search the shelves for hidden treasure, things we never considered reading. And we return to old favourites, much loved and borrowed often. Plus the local has a dvd collection, magazines to rival MagNation, wireless net, and all the facilities you need to create a zine! And if you make a zine using library resources, the library will add it to their collection.

The most recent library adventure resulting in a wide variety of books. A crafting book - Weekend Sewing - which has a shirt dress I'm keen to try as well as some trusty looking day bags that would make great gifts. A book about the history of sushi in the USA, some Alexander McCall Smith for general loveliness, a story set in Tehran prior to its radical change in the 70s (not sure of dates, have to read it to know when the country became closed). Also a simply amazing book which is inspiring me to bake, aptly called Baked.

What have you be reading lately?