Knitting for netball...

Whipped up a headband and finished it in the past week. Used up scraps of wool from a tea cozie made recently. Endeavouring to keep my ears warm while playing netball outside on a Melbourne night. So chilly! What better solution than a snowflake patterned headband to warm those frozen ears...
I used to pattern from a tea cozie book, doubled it and removed a few stitches to get a pattern I preferred. Also lined it with a plain stocking stitch, in order to ensure no bobby pins get caught in the back of the fairisle patterning. It is amazingly warm and makes playing netty outdoors in bone-chilling winds more tolerable. Now I need a solution for when it rains...

The Nordic Festival

Last weekend, our family went for an adventure in the country. The car was packed, an itinerary was agreed on, accommodation booked and off we went to Warburton. Only just over an hour from Melbs, Warburton is a little town in the east, nestled in amongst the hills. The sky was clear and still. The country side was gloriously changing from green to orange with deciduous trees. The leaves on numerous grape vines were going this way also. It was gloriously relaxing and felt like a holiday.





So why Warburton you ask... For an inaugural Scandinavian Festival! Who would have thought? Certainly not me. I didn't really have any idea that this sort of thing occurred. But a few months ago I was going to the Nord Living shop on Glenferrie Road to purchase a gift for a baby shower, and sure enough the proprietor asked if I was going to the festival. With the details scribbled down and plans being hatched, I discovered more. Not only was there to be a smorgasbord dinner prepared by a Danish chef, but viking re-enactments, a film festival, vodka tasting, two art exhibitions, an opportunity to discover one's Nordic roots, lectures on social policy in Scandinavia and a market. Oh, I am quivering with excitement just recalling it all!


So we explored the town and found great cake and some nifty second-hand shops. We ate Swedish meatballs and Danish open sandwiches. We purchased Finnish glass wear. We spoke with women dressed in Norwegian traditional costume. We made friends with fellow scandies, and discovered where in Melbs to by lenkisauna (sausage to eat when having a sauna). What a weekend.


As for crafting up there, a number of stalls at the markets had beautiful crafted things. I did feel too cheeky to take pictures of their creations though... So imaging an army of comical vikings, made from felt and faces obscured by wispy woollen beards around 15 centimeters tall. Or hand-knitted hats featuring Nordic designs. Lovely!

For some Scandinavian links I picked up over the weekend, try the following:

Fine by Nature - Finnish textiles shop in Warburton
100 Hats - hats and creations with Scandinavian designs
Nordic Festival information - where we went, the program, etc...
The Mud Factory - Swedish bicycles and Scandi-inspired ceramics
Nord Living - Scandi shop in Melbourne

Scandi-ing about on the weekend...

Images from a Scandi weekend away. More details to follow...

Melbourne town glimpses...

Just some images from my wondering around Melbourne town. The fella and I took some time one day to explore, smell the roses and enjoy the finer things in life. It was great and took us around some interesting 'burbs.

These images depict things I am keen on - found objects being reused, interesting bold graphic images being used as graffiti, Art Deco landmarks.

What great and quirky things are in your neighbourhoods?

Holidays are over...

Just some images from our few days away last week. We made the most of a week off between jobs and went bush. The air was so still. The bush was fresh and largely untouched. We pitched the tent and made lovely fires. There is something about cooking outdoors, isn't there? We walked up big hills, drove up some too. We enjoyed the wildlife, such as this cheeky rosella who explored my handbag.

Back to the city now. And off to a new job! I think blogging this morning is my way of avoiding getting on with things... Time is ticking, off I go to get ready.

Cozies completed yet again...

Start of a week off work - well half way through now. Loving the break between one job and the next. Loving having time to sleep in. To meet up with people for coffee. To get some odd jobs done. To have a late lunch down the street with the fella. To watch MasterChef re-runs until my eyes water and my mouth is locked open in disbelief and greed around what has just been created. To take time for the small things, like watering my plants and enjoying the cat's company. To finish off projects before starting something new - I bought some great items from the S&C Fair.

So for some show and tell, a little bragging if you don't mind. I have finished my first cozie from Loani Prior's Really Wild Tea Cozies. It's the floral one, that is a little out of control on the top. This was conceptually a challenge, as knitting it involved using two sets of circular needles which revolved around the work as it grew. Once I had mastered this, things turned out okay and I was able to be quite quick with my building of the cozie's body. The cozie is self-lined also, and consequently really snug.

The second cozie is a simply completed giftie for my sister-in-law. A few years ago I bought her a lilac teapot. For her birthday this year, why not dress the cozie and add a few quality packets of tea for good measure? I hope she is a tea drinker... Otherwise, oh well. Although I've chosen terribly similarly toned wool for this project, I love the effect of the snowflake on the background. The pattern is soft and makes me pretend I'm at a ski lodge. I've knitted up a contrasting cozie of the same pattern, with green background and brown snowflakes. It is striking and very Scandinavian.

And lastly, some chocolate chip biscuits for afternoon tea. Hastily consumed by the fella while he whipped me at a game of Seafarers of Catan. Drats!

A sweet little cozie knitted up by my nana.

Mums and Mother's Day

Us girls and mum. Sorry sisters for the terrible photo! It was the only one I could find with all of us.

Mums. Don't you love them?

I sure do. So as a late tipping of my hat to Mother's Day, I want to say hi mum. You are a star!

My mum inspired me with a love of craft.

She has encouraged me to be patient and follow the instructions. Not that I do this, but I know it will work if I only did.

She has always endeavoured to give handmade gifts at Christmas, although sometimes we got them at Easter instead when they were finished.

She has brought up five kids, and we have turned out okay.

She used to bake biscuits for when we got home from school.

She put up with pets, although she could not stand them.

She is compassionate and generous with her time.

She will do the jobs I don't like - such as washing my wedding dress or winding wool into balls.

She is lovely! I do believe she is.

Hurrah for mums!

And grandmothers!
And important women in our lives.

The granny square itch...

In the lead up to the stitches and craft fair, I descided to give the crochet patterns a trial. I was volunteering for two days on the knitting bar. I wasn't feeling too confident with my crochetting ability, as primarily I love knitting. But I had heard that some of the projects would involve crochet. And boy am I glad I did the practice runs, as the crochet projects were so popular! It seemed that most people were keen on learning how to trebble, chain and form a slip stitch. Given that my skill level with crochet is basic at best, I feel quite intimidated really. I can do what needs to be done, but nothing more really. And can I instruct someone else on how to crochet? Well, I needed to on Friday and Saturday.


So in preparation I crochetted a floral twist (as per my previous blog entry), a fortune cookie and a granny square. And the grannys have sucked me in! What can you do with one granny square after all? Make a lone coaster perhaps, but little else. Four would be a set of coasters, sixteen would make a cushion cover, make enough and you have a scalf. Even more and a granny rug. Where should I end? So I've caught the bug. The granny bug. Oh, and I'm loving it.

This granny square addiction is not new. I've been through this faze before. And made a lumpy little lap rug. It is one of my more ugly creations. I think it should be bequeathed to the cat.

And others have inspired with the granny square. Such as "a granny a day" challenge by people such as Pip from Meet Me At Mikes. With flickr groups dedicated to grannys. With new crafters wanting to make treasures similar to those their own grannys made!

Given that patterns are freely available on line, I don't feel too bad giving instructions for these. They don't come from me, rather were available at the S&C Fair. Hopefully this is not a breach of copy right. If it is, let me know and I will remove the pattern. I think the instructions are generic enough to be given to you lovely bunch though.

Simple Granny Square.

Chain five, join into a circle with a slip stitch.

Round 1: Chain up four. 3 x treble into the centre of the circle, chain 1. Repeat twice. 2 x treble, join to the third space of the chain of four with a slip stitch.

Round 2: Change colours into a one chain space, chain up three. 2 x treble into this space, chain one, 3 x trebles into this space, chain one. Skip over round 1 set of trebles, into the next chain space 3 x trebles, chain one, 3 x trebles, chain one. Repeat from "skip over" twice more. Join into the third space of the chain of three with a slip stitch.

Round 3. Change colours into a one chain corner space, chain up three. 2 x trebles into this space, chain one, 3 x trebles into this space, chain one. Skip over round 2 set of trebles, into the next chain space (will be in the centre of the side you are working on) 3 x trebles, chain one. Skip over the next round 2 set of trebles, into the next chain space (will be a corner), 3 x trebles, chain one, 3 x trebles, chain one. Repeat from "skip over round 2 set of trebles... centre of the side you are working on" twice more. Join into the third space of the chain of three with a slip stitch.

You are finished, well done!

A change is as good as... a crafternoon.

A floral twist crochetted up for the S&C Fair - I needed to practice my trebbles and double crochets!

There has been a lot happening at our place. Most significantly, I've quit my job and am now on a week's holiday before starting the new one. I work as an occupational therapist, and simply love my profession. I love how practical it is. I love how creative it is. The philosophy of OT fits with my value system and beliefs as well. It is about enabling people with skills to get on with what they want to so. It recognises that spirituality is core in who people are and how they function. It recognises what makes people strong and encourages them to build resilience around this.

So when we moved back to Melbs, I had work which was great. But after only a few weeks I realised it wasn't for me. It may have been only a few days after starting that I figured this out. It wasn't a bad job, it just didn't fit with what I love about being an OT. What to do? I had a contract for 12 months, so there certainly was no sense of obligation from my employer. But should I leave after so short a period? And what about the important thing, like the fact the pay was the best I will get for a long time in this job that I didn't like. It was hard to way up the short-term gains, like money and security and familiarity, with what I wanted to long term.

So I was brave, applied for a few things and offers of interviews came flooding in. But the job I took was just the one I was after. I get to work with people who experience enduring mental health issues. I get to work with them around establishing goals for recovery and getting on with life. Can't wait! My last day of the old job was on Thursday, so I've got a week off to rest, clean the house, go on adventures and craft.

Speaking of craft, the Stitches and Craft Fair has been on since Wednesday in Melbourne town. Come along and participate in a craft bar. You can learn how to knit, or stitch, or refashion clothing. What fun!

Other thing have been happening too. Lots of pasta eating, MasterChef watching, netball playing. What fun times...