little snippets and a winner!

1. Bunting, bunting everywhere!   I really should hang this happy pile of colour around my shop.

2. + 3.  I have been working with lovely pastel colours this week making a few extra washers for the market on Saturday, and also making another heart bunting with a slightly stronger colour palette, very enjoyable work! :)   I don't think I've posted anything on here about the new Vinnis Colour Nikkim cotton that has come into the shop recently, it is so beautiful with so many gorgeous soft shades (the pastel colours I have been using in the heart washers).  I must do a post about it soon. 

(That's the problem with using multiple social medias, I can never remember what I've posted where! I have been using Instagram quite a bit recently, and when I put something up there often I feel like it has been dealt with and forget to share on the blog!! Poor neglected blog! :)   )

4. + 5.  Frank came to visit me in the Studio yesterday and found it a very interesting place!  I don't let the cats in here very often, so they are full of curiosity when they are allowed in. :) 

6.  Spring is in full swing around here at the moment, the garden is so beautiful and wild and full of flowers and blossom, the poppies are one of my favs and are putting on a great show!  Lovely long stems too. 

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And yes, we have a winner in my giveaway for the gorgeous crochet book 'Let's go camping' by Kate Bruning,  thanks you all so much for entering, I loved reading all your comments, I wish I had a book for you all!  

Anyway, the winner ( as chosen randomly by my son) is Rie!  Congratulations !  I'll be in touch for your postal address and get it out you ASAP. :) 

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Have a lovely day/night everyone, I'm off to do some hooky before bed. :) 

Washer week....

Hello there!  

I hope you all had a lovely weekend, it was freezing here, typical Melbourne winter really!  

The light has been very dull for taking photos, and without photos I don't really have anything to blog about!  

But I thought I'd show you what I've been up to recently anyway, bad light and all. 

I have been trying a new way of organising myself to make things for the market season that starts in a couple of months.  I always think I'll make heaps of stock in the off season and have lovely full stalls for the market, but what usually happens is that I don't do much for most of the time and then am frantic in the last 3 weeks!  So this year I am trying to make something different each week until the market season begins, last week was washcloth week, and this week is beanie week, so I'll see how many beanies I can make in 7 days.  

These photos are of the washcloths that I have made so far, they still need edges, but at least it is a start!  There are so many lovely colour combinations to do, I am going to schedule another washer week in a month or so. 

I have also been busy in the shop, I've had lots of lovely new yarns coming in, well four new ones anyway!  Who would have thought you could spend so much time phaffing around with wool! :)

So lots of photos to take and uploading to do, I'm hoping for a brighter day tomorrow!  

Oh and I have Clover hooks for sale now too, and pompom makers!! Yay! 

 So a big day of updating my shop tomorrow! 

So that's a bit of what I've been doing, what have you been up to recently? 

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Around here......

1. This is what I was working on today, a heart washer and mini flowers for wool shop orders.  I'm trying to build up my stash of washers to get a head start on market stock for the up coming market season.  This year is going so quickly, it will be market time of year again before I know it!! 

2. The wooly blankets are getting a work out on these very chilly days we have been having, it's nice to see them being used and keeping my boys cosy on the couch. :) 

3. I bought my first bunches of daffs this week!  So good to know that Spring is not too far away, there are lots of signs of life in my garden at the moment, bulbs are springing up all over the place and I am hopeful of a big colourful garden in a few months time.  I've planted heaps of baby poppies that I hope will survive the rest of winter and then go mad flowering in Spring! 

4. My niece had a birthday! Such a great happy smile!  :) 

5. After many reminders, I made Max a beanie for the cold weather.  He likes it even though it is a little on the large side!  I found a nice simple pattern for a standard beanie, knitted on 2 needles and then sewn up the back, it was good to get my knitting mojo back, crochet has definitely become my first love!  I am not a really confident knitter, so this pattern was great ! 

6. I am still working on my Sunburst granny blanket, it is nearly finished, just the edge to go.  I have kind of lost interest in it a bit if I am honest, it feels like I have mentally finished with it a little bit before I have actually done the work to finish it off!   This is the week to get it all completed! 

How have things been in your world? 

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last week....

Last week...

1. ...I was hooking up washers for the market. I love choosing the colour combos for these, there are so many nice possibilities.

2. ...the rosellas found the apple trees.  They are really beautiful birds, but they will probably strip all the fruit from the trees well before they are ready for us to eat.

3. ... this gaudy, gorgeous dahlia flowered! Yay! 

4 +5  ... I had a stall at the twilight market at Emu Plains, it was packed with people and I really enjoyed meeting some peeps who knew of this blog!!

6. ... hooked up a colour swatch for a customer.

7 ... I started a new 'wheels within wheels' blanket, this time in blues and greens, I think it will look good. :)

8. ...the apricots started to ripen! yay! I love a tree ripened apricot, so much better than anything you can buy from the shops.  My parents tree is laden this year, so much so that branches are breaking under all the weight! I am thinking a couple of batches of jam and a big pot of stewed apricots are going to be made soon! 

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That's a few bits of my last week, I had an unintentional bloggy break as well, I just couldn't find time to sit at the computer or take many photos.  I have a heap of emails to respond to and they didn't get touched either.  Sorry for being a bad communicator!  I am hoping to get back into a rhythm soon and find the blogging routine again.  Do you find your blogging mojo ebbs and flows? 

What did you get up to last week?  

Got any big plans for this one?

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Makings this week.....

Hello! How are you going today?

 I'm just popping by here to share a few crochet makes from this week, I have been so busy finishing things off for the market on Saturday, i have had no time for blogging or anything else really!  

....I've made some more little booties, this time in sizes that will actually fit on little feet (the last lot I made were very cute but far too tiny!).........

....and I have made 5 more heart washers, tonight I have to edge them all, so I am going to have a little Deadwood marathon ( I am really enjoying this series, Bullock is very cool! ).....

........and I have finished off my little decorations with a picot edge. I crocheted two flower circles together so they are the same both sides and can twirl around without looking terrible on one side.....

So now I am off to my edging, I might try and take a little photographic tour of the market this time and show you some of the lovely stalls, there are plenty of them! 

Talk soon......

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Catching up....

Hello! How have you been going?  

I've been pretty busy with this and that, nothing extra special, just normal life and preparing for another market.  I thought I'd pop in here and show you a couple of things that I have been making these last few weeks.  We spent the Melbourne Cup weekend at Philip Island, so I took a few little projects to keep me busy and not eating and drinking too much! 

Here's a bit of what I've been up to.....

....hooking away like a mad woman!  These round puffy flowers are destined to be Christmas decorations, I am planning on bringing them to the Emu Plains Market next weekend, I'll have to make sure they get finished!  I think they will look cute dangling from a tree.   I am thinking of making a couple of table top pompom trees to take to the market as well (thanks for the suggestion Angela! xxx), and I want lots of crochet decorations to hang from them.  Must get cracking!

...I have also made a couple of extra heart washers that need finishing off too.  (I am sensing a bit of a theme today....)  I had some of these at the last market I did and someone saw them and gave my card to a friend of theirs who owns a shop in Mornington, and long story short, I have been asked to make some for the shop, so I really need to make a few more!

.........aren't these roses beautiful?  Straight from my garden, I had a lovely half hour picking these this morning, I think I have a thing for pink roses, I have several different shades of pink, but not many other colours.  There is nothing like a garden wander to get you enthused about growing things again.

I went out this afternoon and started the mammoth task of clearing my veggie beds, I have bought a few seedlings to plant in each area I clear as a reward for each little achievement. We will have veggies this Summer, even if they are a bit late!

......and I found a whole heap of broad beans ready to pick under all the weeds ( plus a nice haul of potatoes), there are plenty more too, I have a recipe for smashed broad beans that you mix with some grated sharp cheese and a bit of olive oil and eat on bread or toast, a bit like a chunky dip, it is quite yummy, must make that soon.....

Well, that's about all I have for the moment, I have had a delivery of some new colours in the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, but need to take photos, so will show you them next week, Have to say I am warming to some of her more muted tones more and more, quite lush indeed!  I have added them to the shop over here if you'd like to check to out! 

Have a great day, talk soon!  

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More market preparation

Hello my crafty friends!  

It has been a very productive week around these parts, I have been having a last minute flurry of crafty activity before my market stall on Saturday.  I decided to make a sign for my stall out of wire and yarn.  It has turned out very (ahem) handmade looking, but I think I will just go with it, and embrace the imperfections! ( Who would have thought winding yarn around wire would be such a tricksy time consuming activity!!)

I am actually rather pleased with it, I wanted something spindly and naive and colourful,  I think this fits the bill quite well really, and I guess no one else will have one exactly the same.  I am not really a slick, sophisticated person, so I think my wonky writing sign suits me! 

 .....My lovely dad made me a pigeon hole shelf so I can display all my yummy yarn at the market, I gave it a paint in this gorgeous blue with some green highlights.  You can kind of see how my sign is going to hang over the shelves, although this is looking at it from the back...

.......this is the front ( sorry about the photo quality, this was taken with my phone, I am loving the 

lo-fi filter on Instagram at the moment, but it looks a bit blurry here) Still need to make one more pom pom for the first i.  Must not forget! 

.....I have been hooking up a heap of these 2 colour flowers for some little packs of crochet embellishments, even if they don't sell, they are fun to make and I can use 

them for my snail mail pen pals. 

I just love all the colours in these stacks! 

( So many gorgeous colours in the Cascade Ultra Pima cotton 

very hard to limit myself to a set palette)

.....and lastly I have made a few more tapestry crochet washcloths, and actually got the edging finished too! I'm on fire I tell you!! ;)

I have made other stuff too, but don't have photos to show you, I am sure I will take some shots at the market to show you all how it looks set up properly.  Then I promise I won't talk markets again for a while, you are all probably sick to death of hearing about it! 

If you are in the Southern Bayside suburbs of Melbourne at all on Saturday though, do pop into Nanna Cool Market and say hello!  It is being held at the Chelsea Activity Hub in Showers St, Chelsea, 10 -2pm!

I hope you have had a good week and found some time to unleash your creative mojo too!

Have a great day/night! 

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Tapestry washcloth patterns are go!

So, a bit of a milestone today, I have published my first pattern for sale on Ravelry! 

It has been a long time coming.  I have been procrastinating for ages over going down this path, I kept putting it off and putting it off, I don't really know why, maybe it just seems like such a professional thing to do and I don't really see myself in that light.  Maybe it's time to readjust my looking glass.   I am kind of apprehensive about it though, kind of scared and excited and jittery at the same time.  I didn't realise how much it would feel like I am 

putting myself out there, not just a pattern. Dumb I know.  

Don't get me wrong, I am soooo happy to get this out there, it's quite exhilarating  getting out of your comfort zone every now and again.  It is a bit like when I first started this blog,  I felt soooo self conscious, but excited and proud too,  then as I posted more that self conscious feeling lessened.  Now it's back in a big way!  I have to get a grip, it's just a crochet pattern!

So onto the pattern, it is called Tapestry Crochet Washcloths - So Hip!

I wonder if you remember my little love affair with tapestry crochet washcloths a while ago?  This pattern includes all the four washcloths I have made in tapestry crochet: the harlequin pattern, the polka dot pattern, the nine of hearts pattern and the more recent cloud pattern.  they are in chart form so I hope they are easy for people to follow and make their own very hip washcloths!! :)

So I'd like to thank you all for your constant support and encouragement, you crochet chicks are ace!

I really hope you like these chart patterns, remember I made a tutorial for tapestry crochet over here if you'd like to have a go at this great way of crocheting with colour. Crochet on, peeps! 

It is getting late here and I am off to bed, tomorrow I am going to have a play around and see if I can add a Patterns Page to this blog, apparently it is not really that hard to do!  Do you think it would be nice to be able to buy it straight from this site?  I think I could collate all my patterns in one place for easy viewing.......

Have you done anything recently that pushed you out of your comfort zone, but totally made you feel great too? 

PS. You can check out my pattern here.  Only if you want to, no pressure!  :)

Ok nighty night!   xxxxxxxx