Sunday Afternoon

Sleepy pups on a Sunday afternoon after a weekend spent helping Mum in the garden.

Flower Pot Holder

Colourful crochet pot holder, inspired by all the gorgeous African flower projects I have been seeing everywhere. This one is double sided and super thick and soft. Made in 8 ply cottons.

Colours of Spring

A couple of colourful doilies:

The first ever rose I have grown!

And another pretty bloom:

Knitted Beanies

I promised to post a pic of the beanies I have been knitting lately so here they are. I made these from various patterns, mostly found on Ravelry. When I get a moment I will post the links and credit the pattern creators as I should. Some are seamed and some knitted in the round. On circular needles as I get confused by double-ended needles and always end up, perplexed, with my stitches on one ..... so sadly, unless I overcome this problem I will never knit a sock.

I made them all from Rustic wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills which is nice and thick and warm and quick to knit. It probably isn't the best thing giving pure thick woollen garments to homeless men, as I imagine if they got wet or they needed to wash them, they would take a while to dry. But at least they will be warm.

I made these for a Knit for Charity group and despite being a member for years, this is my first contribution. It is very well organised with 3 or 4 different charities each month, each coordinated by a different member. You can put your name down to participate in any of them, or not, as your time and inclination permits. As I said, I haven't really participated much but they seem like a very fun and dedicated group of women, so if you're interested, you can join up here. From what I understand, they accept crocheted and quilted or sewn goods too. The charities for March are an animal welfare shelter, women's refuge and an aged care facility.

Still unseasonal

I was clearing photos off my camera and came across this one - another little Christmas project from last year. This is an ornament I sent as part of a Christmas swap and was made from a tiny Hugs n Kisses pattern.

I'm still knitting hats - its quite fun although I have only managed to finish five and am working on my sixth. They're due to be posted off to the coordinator of the charity drive in a week or so, so I am not sure I'll manage to make many more in time as I have a lot on this week. I'll try to take a pic of the hats later if the sun comes out!

Overdue catchup

This is just about the last completed sewing project I achieved, way back in December. I made two of these for Christmas - one for my niece and another for a Secret Santa swap. I think my niece liked hers, she was toting it around all day. Although that was probably more about what was inside the sack! The pattern for the Santa sack is by Toni at the Red Boot Quilt Company.

As for 2013 I haven't completed any sewing projects yet but hope to have something to show soon. In the meantime, I've been doing a bit of knitting which is a bit un-seasonal considering we've had temps nearing 40 C. I bought some Jo Sharp wool when her website was having a sale and knitted up a nice cardigan in a chunky, double-strand pattern. I still haven't sewn up the seams though so it isn't technically finished. I guess I have a few months before I'll need to wear it though, so I'm not stressing about it.

I've also been knitting some warm, cosy beanies for a charity. I've been a member of a charity knitting group for ages now, but a very silent member. I decided it was about time I stopped having unfulfilled good intentions and actually started participating, so my first contribution will be some hats for the homeless.

Christmas kisses

Well, it is nearly November.

So I'm having to get my act together and start to do some Christmas crafting. I have barely touched a needle and thread for the last month or so, so it has been great fun to get back into some creative activities and I was thrilled to finish this project today. (My house is just a sad trail of started projects .......)

The above "kissing ball" is a Buttonberry pattern from Homespun No. 62.

Apart from that I've been having fun in the garden. I still need to do a lot of planting in the vegie garden but am excited about some squash and cabbages that are coming to fruition.

The birds have been pretty excited about Spring too. The little fairy wren below has taken to spending his days tapping on my kitchen window - he must be able to see his reflection in it.

Meanwhile, his bride has been building a tiny nest in my overgrown jasmine. She's been spending some time trying it out for size but hasn't laid any eggs yet., and I'm so looking forward to that.