knitting a scarf

Tags

aran wool, knitting, knitting pattern, scarves, skein of wool, wool, woolen scarf

I own several winter scarves but I have a favourite one that I’ve had for years. It’s a wine red and grey tartan about two meters long and half a meter wide. Technically it’s not even a scarf but a long bit of woolen material with a seam running around it’s edges. And technically it wasn’t even mine but my sisters first – until she gave it to me when I was about 17 and I’ve been wearing it ever since.

However my mother often asks me if I don’t own other scarves since it features so heavily in my winter wardrobe, always wondering if I wouldn’t consider trying something different.

So this year I made the effort to look around the shops and see if I could find one I liked as much as the one I own, but I couldn’t. So instead I decided that maybe I should make one, knit one.

I bought a skein of teal coloured Aran wool and looked for a pattern online. After finding one I really liked I wound the skein into a ball realising I’d probably need more if I wanted the scarf to be nice and long. But not to be deterred I began knitting my new scarf.

13 rows in I had to unravel, I had miscounted and the pattern was way more complicated than I thought. So I tried again and again I had to unravel and I just couldn’t figure out where I was going wrong. I briefly considered an easier pattern but I didn’t want to be defeated by the wool.

Finally I managed to get it right and I now have 18 rows of scarf knitted. However if I keep up this pace I won’t have it finished this winter. Since I want the scarf to be long I have many hours of counting and probably unraveling ahead of me and I just hope that I either can quicken my pace or that next years winter will be cold.

making magic

Tags

arts and crafts, crafts, fairies, fairy, fairy door, hand made, magic, make-believe, wonder

For the past few days I have been staying with my brother and his family. This means that I have been playing with a two and nearly five year old – games filled with make believe and books riddled with rhymes.

To add a little bit of magic to my stay I decided it was time my niece and nephew had there own little fairy door. So last night, as the sun set and the children slept, I painted a door and my brother attached it to a wooden backdrop at the bottom of their garden.

Now I can’t wait until the little ones arrive back from the dentist and find (hopefully) the door and the magic can unfold.

wondering what fairy lives here

cement, clay and sunburn

Tags

cement, clay, community garden, crafting, flowers, photography, photos, plants, sculpture, workshop

This weekend I spent my time getting my hands dirty in Mudisland Community garden. But I wasn’t digging up dirt or planting spring greens, I was mixing cement and forming clay at a sculpture workshop.

It was all about getting to know the material – as our wonderful teacher Vivian told us- and I have to admit I think cement and I have stayed somewhat strangers. Unlike clay you can’t mold it, you cant make it hold it’s own weight, unless you create a mesh backing or a mold.

After the first day of spending time elbow deep in cement in the sunshine I went home somewhat disappointed in what I had created – nothing of that would last or I really liked. But yesterday I think I may have made a tile I’ll be able to use and work further with, and I think the hanging balls I made do have potential.

But somehow it wasn’t really about the outcome, it was about the work itself. Instead of sitting at my desk for hours and wearing the keys on my keyboard thin, being out in the sunshine, using my hands, was what this weekend was all about.

The only downside to the beautiful sunny weekend was that got a little bit sun burnt, not much, a patch on my leg and two bits on my arms, and of course my nose. But since bad weather seems to be on its way I will just enjoy the sun as much as I can while it lasts.

bowls

chicken wire

some mini clay men

hanging cement ghosts

in full bloom

pods

Beatles cake

Tags

All You Need Is Love, baking, cake design, cake makers, cake making, cakes, Purple Feather Cake Designs, Sweet Magazine, The Beatles

A lovely friend of mine is an cake-maker and a few weeks ago he asked me to take photos of a creation he made for an Australian/New Zealand cake makers magazine called Sweet Magazine.

Of course I said yes and while I don’t have any experience in taking photos of culinary delights I gave it a go. The theme was The Beatles and we had a lot of fun, even it was quite tricky, taking photos of his floating Submarine.

If you want to see more more of my talented friends cakes here is a link to see his edible creations on his facebook page: Purple Feather Cake Designs

my nephews birthday

Tags

birthday story, Children Stories, drawing, family, Pirates, writing, writing childrens storys

Today is my youngest nephews birthday, he is turning three and he is a proper big boy now.

When I went over to Germany to visit my family in August he demanded that I should tell him some stories. And since he was (and still is) in a pirate-phase I invented a pirate called Captain Funny One Tooth and made up adventurous tales to go along with him.

On Friday when I spoke to my nephew, he told me that I needed to write down the stories because his silly-billy parents didn’t know them. So yesterday, I sat down and wrote him a birthday story, a new story, one I hadn’t told him yet.

And to go along with story, since he can’t read, I drew him some pictures on my computer. I am particularly proud of the captain himself … and I hope my little nephew will like him too.

Captain Funny One Tooth – wearing his favorite T-Shirt

a tote bag from tea-towels

Tags

crafting, crafts, photography, projects, sewing, sewing-machine, tote bag from tea-towels, tote bags

I’ve been wanting to teach myself to sew for a good while now and while my mother is a great seamstress and my aunt is extremely talented, I have never really sat down at a sewing-machine.

Of course there was the obligatory time in school in which I did sew (with help) an apron but I never really got the hang of it and my mum always felt quite protective of her sturdy sewer, especially since my big sister seems to have played  a little havoc with it.

Anyway I have always liked the idea of making little cushions, tote bags and even patchwork blankets but I have never owned my own sewing machine. I did pull one out of a  skip one time but it didn’t work and so i disposed of it again.

However this year IKEA had a great deal on a lovely little white one, with blue and yellow (Swedish colours) trimmings. And while I have been trying to save I splurged on my very first own sewing machine.

Not quite sure of where to start I made a wonky pincushion for my neighbor and left it at that. I needed fabric but couldn’t afford an awful lot, but I did use it for my sock zebra, too. But when trusty Penny’s (or Primark) had some lovely tea-towels on offer and I decided to try my hand at making a tote.

And I have to admit I am quite proud of the result, it even has a lining made out of a bed-sheet. Now, I know my mother would give out about my wobbly stitching on the handles, but I did find them rather tricky. And yes I haven’t quite managed a perfectly straight line everywhere but for my very first try I am delighted.

And since it’s my friends Birthday on Wednesday I will gift this very first tote to her, and hope she can overlook the little messinesses and enjoy using it anyway.