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!

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...

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?

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!

Sitting, watching, waiting, wishing...

Cool Cardi - on my wishlist to knit. Thanks Pickles!

Also on my wishlist - leg warmers. They look perfect for bike riding. Pickles again.

Back into blogging and still enjoying trawling the net for lovely things. There is so much goodness, creating, though and overall beautiful things to be found. One link with take you to a whole new place, with discoveries to be had. I find myself truely engrossed, reading post after post after post written by clever creative types. Hurrah for you who are the creative ones, you smart things you!

What to be found:

A stellar Norweigan duo, who knit, supply patterns and also sell wool. Check them out at Pickles.

More Scandi goodness, this time a fabric printing lady from Sweden who has just been to her summer house with the family - Fine Little Day. The images make me swoon, and long for extended summer breaks, for light that lingers into impossible hours, for a place to get away to...

The Textured Leaf has some wonderful reading, and I found a fellow Melbourne woman who creates, and has lots of kids, but somehow seems to always be making something! I'm mega impressed Ms 1/4".

And then there is cooking goodness - ever faithfully delicious Joy, methodical and meticulous the Closet "cooker" (I'm not sure Kevin would approve of being called that though...).

What lovely things have you discovered lately?

Cabled creations...

Jo and Matt's Cushion #1.

Pattern: Jo Sharp, Cabled Cushion

Wool: Bendigo Wollen Mills, Rustic Sandstone 8 ply

Needles: 4 mm

Knitting has been a real passion and time consumer for me this year! And I have loved it. And my skills have grown phenominally. So much so, I can now cable! I solidified my cabling skills by knitting a cushion for my sister and her fiance. Never thought I would make cushions - surely there is too much knitting involved, they get sat on, or used as trays when eating in front of the telly. But it knitted up so well. Lovely cushion, if I can say so myself. Perfect for a Chrissie gift. Perfect for a new home. Have you ever thought of knitting a cushion?

Twinkle toes...

More socks completed. This time in luscious Pear Tree yarn. 100% merino, wimsically dyed an array of colours. Snug under my boots. Perfect for trotting around the house in. Or warming one's toes next to the fire (make that a mini bar heater).

100s & 1000s socks
Pattern: Ravelry
Wool: Pear Tree Yarn 4 ply "100s & 1000s"
Needles: 3.25 mm double pointed

Knit one, knit another...

One pair of socks are completed!

One of my goals is to improve my knitting skills. And this will take a life-time to reach the master knitter level. So why not start now? I've been setting myself some knitting challenges. Circular needles... children's garments... socks. Socks are staples in the knitting world really. But prior to now, I'd not made them. I'd enjoyed the benefits of knitted socks, care of relatives with superior knitting experience. They are more warm, more durable than purchased socks. They work perfectly under boots, or when you are having a country weekend away and need to rug up. Surely I could make some...

I found knitting on double-pointed needles a challenge. And with an injured finger from sport, all the more challenging. But it certainly was an achievable task. Not quick, but not too hard. Fiddly really. With all these needles pointing in all sorts of directions. The fella wanted a plain pattern though (that is, no pattern) which significantly reduced the amount of fussing that needed to occur. Thus although time consuming to knit, there were not too bad.

Have you ever knitted socks? What sort?

Pete's Socks
Pattern: Ravelry
Wool: Opal "Ron" 4 ply wool cotton blend
Needles: 3.25 mm double pointed set of 4, steel

The cat got cross

Knitting away.

Distracted by the French Open tennis.

Made a mistake - increased my stitches too much.

Sock too big.

The cat got cross.

Simply can't appreciate his moment of glory as the Cat in the Hat.

Drats.

Knitting on the round...

What I hope to achieve:

Where I am up to:

This project is not fun! I am finding the socks tedious! Too many needles. Too fine a ball of wool. Too slow going. At least, this was my attitude a few days ago. Yesterday I conquered the heel, and the leg it knitting up just fine. Now I'm loving my sock and keen to make its twin. This beautiful wool is called 100s and 1000s and is from the Pear Tree Yarn Shop. They were exhibiting at the Stitches and Craft Fair, and I was demonstrating with their wool while volunteering. It is so soft, made from 100% merino and knits up well. I simply couldn't resist this ball with its vivid colouring. Hurrah!

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...

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.

Lovely things considered on a Saturday morning...

A bird on a bicycle, how lovely, how Melbourne (a gift to myself to celebrate being back in town).

Lovely things to cherish:

the fella learning to knit

the cat running away from the vaccuum cleaner

coffee on a Saturday morning

birds, beach finds and blog give-a-ways (thanks Sara)

bags of oranges from the markets, waiting to be turned into jam

lily season

a clean house

knitting until you have finished a project

watching Masterchef when you are too sick to go to work

Spanish chocolate with a hint of cinnamon

Douglas and Hope's Melbourne canvas tote

watching Rage and Video Hits until they end

baking bread, with dried fruit and spices

What lovely things do you cherish?

Oriental lilies in abundance at the markets, I couldn't resist taking some home.

A beautiful bird, a warrior found at St Kilda beach and a print from In the Light of the Sun.

The fella's efforts at knitting - he is getting there!

Inspired to knit like crazy.

Image from www.birds-n-yearn.com

Simply loving knitting at the moment. I'm yet to start a project beyond tea cozies for the year, but slowing working up to something massive! Such as a lovely owl yoked jumper from a lovely lady living in Scotland. Do you think I could do it?

Image from www.needled.wordpress.com/designs

Reading the owl pattern lady's blog, I feel really inspired. She knits. Amongst other things. But knits she does. She sees someone wearing a nice cardie will look at it for a while and then whip it up over a few weeks. How incredible! I think I'd like to aspire to this level of knitting adeptness. It would be incredible.

But currently I'm not even keen to finish off the last bit of crochet on my most recent cozie. All I have to do is finish off the handle opening. Maybe tonight...

Cozies completed...

Knitting is winding up. Getting a little sick of the tea cozie. More just needing new projects. So I've been cooking and enacting my domestic goddess skills - sour dough bread, olives soaking in brine, hot cross buns. And planting in pots on the balcony - sweet peas, lovely tasty peas and some spring onions. It has been really thrilling to see the shoots pop up a week after the seeds were sown. I find it so encouraging and a little touch of a miracle to see the plants growing. Give it a few weeks and we will be eating freshly grown spring onion tops - a.k.a garlic chives. Then a few months more and we will have peas! What amazing things can be grown in a pot with regular watering and a little sun shine.

Here is the final lot of current cozies... But perhaps I still have two more to make. One for the sister-in-law's birthday, the other for maybe a birthday for a particular bloke. And there is a sweet pattern of a mushroom covered cozie. I'd love one of those for me!

Maybe these finished projects will encourage me, and you too.

Cozies all cozied up...

A holiday Kukaburra at Taggarty

A sweet little stich counter from the op shop and some precious tortoise shell needles from my nana.

I've been well and truly bitten by the tea cozie bug. And what a warm, itchy yet delicious bite it is!

Here are a few of my reflections on what I love about knitting cozies, but I have gotten a little carried away... They can be whipped up quickly, just in a few sessions really. They are appreciated as they are not every day things (but they should be). They give me an abundance of opportunities to try out new knitting techniques - such as intarsia knitting, which I am becoming a bit of a gun at now. Small, seemingly useless bits of will can be used up and maximised to their full potential. The finished product makes sensational gifts. And they are just so cozie!

I'm loving the book I bought, as mentioned previously. And recently I've had time on my hands, such as a weekend in the country to knit, knit, knit. Please enjoy this one finished project and the two works in progress. Flicking through my how-to cozie book, I've got around five more that I want to try out. And then there's that article in the most recent Mixed Tape zine about the amazing lady who makes her own cozie designs and then wins prizes at the Red Hill show. Oh, I could dream and knit for a very long time...

Well, I gave Con her super cozie, the one with the mega lining and sweet reverse knitted sheep. And despite her having a relatively big tea pot, the cozie was huge! And her pot's handles come from the top of the pot not the side. Drats! I think I need to come up with a plan for the good old top handle tea pot model. After all, I have one too that I use at work on cold days. I'm thinking two pieces, with no covering over the lid. Tight fitting too.

Tea if you please...

I'm on a bit of a tea cozie roll at the moment. First there was the delicious sea horse cozie. Then I started that bubbly purple and turquoise one and became frustrated with it - it remains on the needles in a vain hope of one day being completed. Then my girlfriend Con requested a sheep or tea cup embossed cozie. Now it is one for sis Sue, as mentioned. That one is done, but I used a thin acrylic for the main fabric. It was simply a matter of itching to start and using what was on hand. So my solution is to make a lining. Thicken up the fabric, increase the heat-retention properties, double up on coziness. Hurrah!

But Connie's is done, and I thought I could brag. It is the most intense cozie I have ever seen. The pattern was even more over the top. Knitted with two strands of wool, with a lining also made from double strands. Despite recommendations to do so, I chose to forgo adding stuffing between the layers. I also left off the white rose from the top of the cozie. Now all I need to do is package it up and give it with lots of love to Con. Then sit back and sip some tea if you please.

The extra layer - secret cozie lining (makes a stellar beanie).

Glenferrie Road wandering...

Well my day off today has not been too crafty, but it has been one of discoveries. I went for a stroll down Glenferrie Road with my sister Sue and took in the sunshine and loveliness of it all. What did I discover?

One of the classics, Nordliving where I ordered a Finnish sticker for the car.

Some granny square prink leggings from Romance Was Born - think this dress by in stretchy pants.

Too much curry at Tandoori Express.

The second Tea Cozie book, following a request from Sue for a tea cozie. Who wouldn't want and I heart T cozie?

Plus scoring a generous offering of free clothes from the lovely sis. She is too kind.

After this great day, I'm keen to sew and craft and create. All I want to do is make some Scandi inspired things, contemplate an adorable stars and moon mobile that could be made, get out the needles and whip up that cozie, and perfect the granny square. Oh, drats... back to work tomorrow.

It's the little things in life...

Where have I been? What have I been doing?

Crafternooning - craft, good friends, frenchie tunes, tasty treats.

Seeing flicks in great locations - the Moonlight Cinema and the Astor Theatre.

Drinking coffee, often - from my keep cup.

Working, working, working.

Whipping up some tasty treats - such as some double lemon delight biscuits and this luscious rhubarb.

Longing to pull out the sewing machine.

Knitting another cozy.

Thinking I'll go for a run and not quite getting there.

What have you been up to?

New things contemplated

A ball of creative potential - uncovered from the boxes in my house, exciting to rediscover what I own!

We have moved from one side of Aus to the other! We have stuffed out little flat to the gills (and it isn't that little really), have unpacked most of the boxes and started to explore the area. What a great place to live it is too! Not quite city, not quite beach, not quite fun-filled inner suburb. How I love it! The best of everything, My mum went so far as to say it is the place to live if you are moving to Melbs. So sweet of her.

In the midst of the busyness of moving, I've made some new crafting discoveries. Thanks to Laura, I've now visited Morris and Sons the wool shop. They were having a sale and I made some new purchases - a pink embroidery hoop and a tapestry for a special someone. Also purchased the Crafty Minx, a new craft/recycling book by an Aussie author. While the projects are not particularly challenging, I'm enjoying the book's layout and the author's choices of fabrics. Also bought some of the beautiful cloth-bound Penguin classics (Sense and Sensibility by Austen, Cranford by Gaskell), after being inspired by reading Persuasion. Poor Anne, overlooked and bullies by those around her, appreciated by a family she chose not to be part of, eventually securing the affection of her heart after rejecting him previously!

As for creating. Oh boy, it has been fun! No sewing, as the sewing/study is an absolute mess. But rather knitting tea cozies. A great project to learn a new knitting stitch. Not too big that you struggle for hours, but large enough to ensure practice ensues. Also achievable in a few days. And who doesn't want a cup of hot tea poured from a vessel protected by a band of golden sea horses? Tea cozie number two is currently underway. I've finished the garter stitch band, then I will learn how to gather/runch up my knitting to get a pleated effect. Chosen purple and blue for the project, simply as I've got two balls of each, the colours are not offensive together, and the resulting combination should be very easy to gift in the future.

Plus, looking forward to a meeting of fellow creating beings! A crafternoon is planned for a few weeks time. We are hoping to have a monthly get together of creating, with lots of tea and cakes too. I need to toute it amongst my circles and coordinate further with my sis-in-law. What will I create...