home again, home again - jiggidy jog!

Actually... I've been home all week, but it's just been kind of crazy around here...

The retreat was fabulous... magnificent... marvellous... tremendous... excellent... wonderful... superb... phenomenal... amazing... spectacular... awesome... brilliant...

Enough said - I'm sure that you get the idea!



The plan was to assemble my 2009 BAMCAL afghan while away... but I somehow managed to only pack 24 of the 25 squares!!!

Hmmm - maybe some more careful packing next time???

all my bags are packed...

I'm ready to go...

a life of it's own

Well, my freeform piece seems to be taking on a life of it's own...

Starting to fall a few days behind, but here are the latest additions:

some boosies:


some trinkets:


some fairy wings:


and a little star stitch:


so it now looks like this:

a dithering mess...

There's no doubt about it...

This Week I Am A Dithering Mess

I can't focus on my work

My mind is totally scattered

I'm forgetting simple everyday things

I have to write EVERYTHNG down - or I can't remember it

...................................................................................

SO -

What could it possibly be?

Am I pregnant???

Is there a new love in my life???

Have I just published my best-seller on 'Crafting With Recycled Materials'???

...........................................................................
NO -

None of the above.

I AM GOING AWAY ON A CROCHET RETREAT!!!

Remember the beach house at Apollo Bay, where I spent time over the holidays? Well I'm going back there again this weekend.

No husband.

No kids.

Just myself, some of the gals from Crochet Lovers Victoria... and lots and lots of yarn.

It is our full intention to sit and craft ALL WEEKEND. There will be no pressure to do anything else. Just craft and chat, craft and chat, and craft and chat...

And if the weather is fine (which it looks like it will be) we can sit out on the balcony, and enjoy this view while we craft and chat, craft and chat, and craft and chat...



HOW FABULOUS IS THAT???

Meanwhile... I'm counting down the time until we leave...

ONLY TWO MORE SLEEPS LEFT!

Oh how I wish that you could all come with us! How fabulous would that be??

out of hibernation

Does anyone remember this bag... I barely remember making it, but obviously I did!

I had to do some searching to find the original blog post...

and eventually found it here

nearly two years back!!!

Now for the really embarrassing part - I DIDN'T FINISH IT....

sure, it looks nicely finished in the photo - but open it up, and you'll soon discover that there is no lining...

I think I got all stressed out about how I was going to line it, whether I was going to line the flap as well... just trying to get my head around the logistics of it all. Plus - I LOST INTEREST in the bag, because... well... it's just too girly!!!

Honestly don't think that this original photo does the colour of the bag justice. In real life it is a much more intense looking pink. Then when you add those flowers ( which seemed like a good idea at the time) it's all just way too much...

Might need to rethink the embellishment while I am working on the lining.

Or else leave the flowers just the way they are, and pass it on to someone way GIRLIER than moi.

Actually...

I just went and had another look at the bag

Even if I keep those flowers... I need to ADD something... another colour perhaps... just to take the nasty EDGE off all that pink.

Not that I mind pink in general - but too much of a good thing can be SCARY!!!

Ugh! I think I hate the flowers.

YES.
I DO.
I feel so much better now that I have that off my chest...

finished object friday

I love the way this looks on the couch!



Pretty pleased with myself for sewing a zipper in, too!

For the first time ever...

Usually I would just sew the cover closed around the cushion, but I really wanted this one to be removable for cleaning when necessary. So I just unpicked the zip from the original cover, and handstitched it into this new one...

Here's a link to the 'pattern' details

thanks bec...

Have to say a HUGE thank you, for these goodies which arrived in the mail last week:



You might remember that I was expressing some concern in this post here, about how I might run out of scrap embroidery threads for my sunnies case...

Well, that's where the oh-so-wonderful Bec comes in...

I think that Bec and I first met a couple of years back at the communal blog - I Op, Therefore I Am... which focuses on Op-Shopping (an op shop is a thrift or charity store) in and around Melbourne... and from there, we began to follow one another's personal blogs.

(does that sound accurate to you Bec? sometimes my brain is mushy when it somes to details)

Anyway... Bec read that I was in need of embroidery threads... AND SHE SENT ME HERS! How cool is that????

So now I have this huge supply... and will be able to finish the case, as well as start on something new...

Pop on over to Bec's blog, and tell her what an absolute treasure she is! Or check out her ETSY store here

days 3-8 - freeform crochet-along

No words today... just progress photos

out of hibernation

Remember that cushion I started working on a while back?

I loved the way it was knitting up, but man - it took forever to get through! I thought I was never going to get it finished...

Then I was so fed up with it, once I finally had it off the needles... I packed it away and started something new.

Well - now is the time. This week I will be finishing the cushion, and putting it to use on the couch. There's not an awful lot to do. Just add a zipper and finish the bottom seam. More than likely I will be trimming the tassels a little, but I'll decide that for sure as the week goes on.

Best thing of all?

This one isn't going to require much thinking - unlike that exasperating bag from last week which drove me insane.

Check back on friday for the finished results.

finished object friday...

Only...

it's not finished yet!

It's not as though I haven't been trying. I just don't seem to be able to make progress that I am entirely happy with.

So - here is the way the bag looked last week. There wasn't a lot to do - just embellish and line it.

I wanted to embellish first. Partly because that is the most fun. But also because then I would have a better colour guide for choosing the lining.

Easier said than done!

I must have tried at least 20 variations with this bag. I think I'm getting there now, but I'll need to take a break and look at it later in the month, with fresh eyes.

The main embellishment is this flower - which I think I like... but I have been working with it so long now, that it is starting to feel a bit 'ugh'



And here it is on the bag. There are two photos, one with red behind the flower... and one without it. I think I will need some red... but not as much as in the first photo. It needs to be thinned out a bit.





There's also the option of putting the flower in the top centre of the bag... although I don't like it as much that way.



So - alas - no finished object... but I am making progress!

Ah, the joys of the TRIAL and ERROR method...

the obsolete video cassette...

What would you make from a video cassette, or part thereof?

You may have seen the lastest issue of Inside Crochet magazine, which features a bag I designed using magenetic tape from a VHS. Well, it's time now for YOU to show ME what you can do with an old video cassette.

It doesn't have to be the tape itself that you choose to recycle - you might like to use the case instead. Click here and you can join in, or just lurk and see what the others are up to!

we have a winner!

Man, there are some creative folk over at Ravelry!

It's been fascinating to watch the entries roll in for our TIN CAN CHALLENGE. The idea was to take a can and recycle/recraft it in some way. You could use any method of crafting that you wanted to.

And we had some amazing entries. Truly amazing.

If you haven't yet seen them for yourself, click here to take a look.

It was REALLY difficult to choose a winner, there were so many that I loved... but one stood out from the pack.

CONGRATULATIONS CAROLE!

What I loved the most about Carole's creation was that she has used the entire can - not just the container part, but also the lid - including the ring pull. How cool is that???

Anyway, here's the photos of the transformation.

day #2 - freeform crochet-along

Day 2 of the freeform CAL and I am learning new stitches already... first time that I've worked crochet in moss stitch.

Still easy going, though I can't imagine what this piece will become... which is a bit of a weird sensation - usually I work with some kind of end vision.

do you freeform?

I'm a little bit scared of freeform crochet/knitting...

Not entirely sure why... it seems like it would be right up my alley...

It combines colour and texture and experimentation - and is a wonderful use of scrap yarns.

I've been wanting to try the freeform 'thing' for a while now, but for some reason I've been really reluctant to get started. It's as though I needed a pattern to tell me what to do - which of course would defeat the purpose of FREE FORM entirely.

Well...

As it would happen, there is a crochet-along (CAL) happening over at Ravelry this month. New directions are added each day throughout March.

So, of course, I joined up...

Interested?

Here's what we had to do on the first day...

• working with yarn and hook of your choice, chain your age (38 chain for me)


• look at the time displayed on your computer and add up the digits... this is how many stitches to work... use double crochet if it is before noon, and treble crochet if it is after noon (10.58am here... so I worked 14 double crochet)

It's that simple to do!

The thread for the CAL is here if you'd  like to join me in this adventure - all welcome

almost done

the scrappy embroidery thread project has come along nicely...



A few more rounds and it will be the right length for a sunnies case. Not yet sure on the type of closure to use - I could work in a buttonhole, and attach a fun button... or maybe continue with the crochet to form a flap which would fold down like an envelope...