Eight Reasons to Smile

1. Blowing bubbles for the first time

2. An old cane laundry basket found at the markets ($2!) and piles of hand knitted baby clothes. Cane baskets make doing laundry that little bit nicer I find.

3. Emerson's treasures, old and new

4. Brave visitors at the duck pond and a fascinated little Miss

5. A coat of white paint to bring a bookcase back to life
6. A 'new to me' vintage dinner service my parents had hidden away
7. A sweet thrifted basket ($2.50)
8. Wonderful mail - Greer spoiling me with gorgeous wool!

What's making you smile?

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Have you entered the Sussan $100 Gift Voucher Giveaway yet? Winner announced tomorrow.

12 Days of Christmas - Day twelve

If you have 'met' Greer of Typically Red while wandering from one blog to another, you are most likely already a follower. Greer has a way with words, as well as a way with knitting needles. Recently, Greer combined her love of handmade items, beautiful yarn and vintage style to create a collection of hand knit bonnets. A special piece to pop under the Christmas tree as a "something I need" gift for little ones.

For our final giveaway, and the opportunity to win a custom order bonnet (winners choice of colour/style/size) please have a peek at Greer's shop and leave a comment below telling us which colour you would choose if you won. The giveaway is open internationally and will be drawn tomorrow morning.

You can find out more about Greer and Typically Red, or purchase your own gorgeous hand knit, by clicking over to her shop, blog and facebook pages.

Let's support our local talented knitters this Christmas!

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A big thank you once again to all the wonderful crafters who have been a part of the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways. A very big thank you too to all the wonderful readers who have left comments, liked facebook pages, started following blogs and of course, made purchases from these talented ladies too. I have really enjoyed this project and look forward to undertaking it again next December.

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And the winner of the final giveaway, care of Random.org, is comment 25!

Samantha - Just checked out Greer's Etsy shop - how absolutely cute! Gorgeous work!

Raglan and Lace Jacket

I cast off this little jacket on the weekend. I think it's a great pattern for intermediate knitters like myself. It introduced me to some new techniques and challenged me to try my first charted lace pattern - four rows to build  my confidence.

The knit is worked from the bottom up with the button bands knit as you go, so no picking up stitches or joining later. The sleeves are worked on double pointed needles and then slipped into gaps on the circular needles, making the piece nearly completely seamless, with only two small gaps under the sleeves. The challenging part is working the charted lace section while also remembering the button bands and the raglan sleeve decreases.

This is best achieved when a toddler isn't trying to sit on you, though more advanced knitters may be able to manage it.

Pattern: DROPS Design (free)

Yarn: Moda Vera Pure Wool 8ply

Buttons: from the thrifted/gifted button stash

Ravelry.

Thrifted - practical and charming

These sweet old cups were 50 cents each. The crane was made for Cohen by a man at the op-shop to keep him amused.

Hand knitted baby dresses, $1 each.

These hand knits 50c - $1 each.

This tricky looking girls hand knitted top was $3.

Charming, cheap and practical. The rewards of buying what we need second hand. 

This moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - SouleMama