Right Now

Stashing: Sale wool for a simple striped baby blanket and a scarf (40% off at Spotlight)

Knitting: A Cleckheaton Country Style Stripe scarf. It feels good to be knitting again.

Pet Sitting: The class guinea pig, Cuddles, for the weekend. (Poor wee thing, the life of a class pet can't be easy.)

Excited: About seeing the Designing Craft/ Crafting Design Exhibition on at Ipswich Art Gallery. 40 years of Jam Factory, here I come.

Doubly Excited: There's also a kids clay workshop running at the same time, which I am sure Cohen will love.

28 Weeks Pregnant: And starting to feel more tired and uncomfortable. I'm listening to my body and slowing down; trading nights at the jewellery bench for nights knitting on the couch.

Listening: To the 'Stuff you missed in History class' Podcast - how utterly fantastic. My new go to Podcast while working or knitting.

Writing: A weeks worth of blog posts for the lovely Bespoke blog. I'll be guest posting over there from March 17th - 23rd.

Nesting: I'm overhauling my studio at the moment. I've done away with an old rickety bookcase that will be replaced, I'm upgrading my desk and culling through way too many craft supplies. It''s all a messy pile of boxes awaiting decluttering at the moment. Hope to share some before and afters with you soon!

Reading: Wholehearted a journal, honey & jam, Fast Company

Anticipating: The arrival of a custom ordered logo stamp from a local Brisbane company. Love me some customised stationary!

Smiling: Each time I see the bunch of lipstick pink roses on my dining table. Life is too short not to buy flowers (even if only occasionally.)

Missing: The package delivery driver three days straight, because I have been at the post office each time picking up a package!

Hoping: You are having a lovely weekend!

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?

-

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

Crafty Mail

Beautiful birthday tern wool from Quince & Co

Also for my birthday, Knit Picks interchangeable cable needle set

DIY oobee kit from Maze & Vale

I realised something as I looked at these photos. Were it not for blogging none of the above would have arrived in my letter box. There would be no wool for knitting, no new cable needles and no softie kit. Without the friendship and inspiration found through blogging, I may never have taught myself to knit more than a garter stitch scarf, I would have no need of beautiful cable needles, and I wouldn't have been introduced to the wonderful work of Leslie from Maze & Vale. Life would be all the poorer without it.

And I do so love crafty mail.

9 good things

9 good things snapped on Instagram lately 

(My user name is littlebirdlowry)

National Year of Reading 2012, at our local library

Lemon Butter, found browsing at the Pimpama Strawberry Farm

A rainbow that appeared while watering the veggie patch

A wall of yarn at Threads & More, sigh

And an honest sign

Beautiful branches overhead in South Brisbane

Looking up at landmarks

Capturing my two boys in the setting sun

Wearing my andODesign ceramic cloud brooch

I wondered if the novelty of Instagram would wear off after I had used it for awhile. As yet, the answer is no. I quite enjoy the ease and speed of snapping photos on my iphone. Especially in situations where I would be too shy, or not have enough time, to pull out my normal camera. My three current favourite Instagramers are littlebuckles, hellokateberry and foxslane. 

If you are on Instagram, who are your favourites? What good things have you been taking happy snaps of lately?

Thrifty, crafty, rainy days

When our plans for fruit and veg shopping at the markets were washed out yesterday, my sister Fiona and I undertook a little wander through a craft shop, an op-shop and an independant fruit and veg shop instead. My goodies from the day included a cute hand knit baby cardigan for $3, a vintage knitting pattern featuring men in hand knits discussing a riffle (thrown in for free), a bundle of lovely old covered hangers for $2, a white (wool storage) basket for 50c, some great old Tupperware in perfect condition and $2 a piece, as well as wool for two new projects. 

I couldn't wait to start playing with the Noro-like Moda Vera yarn, casting on another Age of Brass and Steam kerchief yesterday afternoon, this time for Fiona. I am enjoying watching the colours unfold with each row. High on my to-do list is learning how to knit socks, which meant of course that I could justify buying the Noir sock yarn above, given it was reduced from $12 to $5 a ball. Another project added to the queue...

Any thrifting, crafting or rain for you this weekend?

Yarn Along

The permission that breastfeeding grants you to just stop, sit down and feed, has gone a fair way towards granting me reading time lately. Though at other times my breastfeeding multi-tasking has included making puzzles, finishing a row of knitting, buttering toast or dressing a toddler. When you throw in a fair bit of baby gazing, I'm surprised I get any reading done at all. And yet I have. Since last week I have finished this book and I'm half way through this one. I'm feeling inspired and positive about my future knitting plans, as well as my intention to return to the jewellery bench soon.

My first Madelinetosh yarn arrived yesterday and I have been enjoying looking at it and touching it, as one does with new yarn. I have however made myself a promise to finish the hot water bottle cozy, Emerson's blanket and Emerson's raglan sweater before making a start with this wool, lest I add to the unfinished pile...
-

Joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along.

+

Right now...

It's a strange and foggy morning today, after the smokey days and hazy skies of late. Asthma puffer by my side as I type...

There's last minute wedding crafting going on in these parts, of the 'happy hanger' variety. Though mine look a little different and I'm not sure why.

While picking up one last ball of white yarn for the hexagon blanket, all yarns were 40% off. I brought an extra eight balls for a baby blanket. I'm thinking a ripple.

Cohen now has a toy Doctor set, complete with stethoscope and syringe. It's amazing watching his imagination unfold and his understanding growing through repetition. He has been checking the health of his favourite toys or calling out 'Doctor Doctor' before listening to the babies heart beat or giving me a needle, then rubbing my arm better. My sweet little Doctor.

Five sleeps until the wedding!

-

And don't forget, the Spring Sale in my shop ends tomorrow.

+

I spotted this basket in the latest Spotlight catalogue and had an idea. A happy idea for this little basket lover. A happy little excuse or two to buy some baskets. Hubby was even an accomplice to my mission. 

A wool storage device, currently in use for the crochet hexagon blanket. I brought one for Cohen too. Well, I brought one intending to employ it in the stashing of toys for Cohen at least... but two baskets are better than one, no?

+

More colours for the crochet blanket and two birdie candle holders; the results of a trip to Spotlight. I find I need to get as much done as quickly as possible on big projects, so that once the novelty wears off I am inclined to keep going and finish them. The candle holders caught my eye, decorations for the table at Christmas, or perhaps one day to live on the bedside tables. 


One day when a little person isn't likely to pick them up and try to make them fly.

+

As a rule I love the rain. However, I am beginning to tire of it at the moment. It really does seem to have been raining for a very long time in these parts. And Cohen being predominately holed up in the house for extended periods does not bode well either. 


While I would enjoy such rainy day activities as, say, laying in bed reading a book or curling up on the couch watching a movie, Cohen has other plans to fulfill. Such as dragging one of his little chairs over to the oven and turning the hotplates on. I found him with his hand ON one of the hotplates he'd turned on! Lucky they take a while to heat up. 


Come out sunshine, so Cohen can play in the yard!
-
New wool for a new crochet blanket. Making the most of the cooler nights.

Flea Market Finds...

On a particularly difficult day, a little 'I saw it and I thought of you' gift is always welcome.

And if that gift be eight balls of thrifted yarn, so much the better.

Thank you Clare, you brought some sunshine to my day.

More thrifty finds here.

Fabric shopping...

I did not come home empty handed yesterday.

Although I went to buy fabric for the Colette pattern, I succeeded in falling in love with some luxurious silk fabric, $35 per meter, that was little out of the budget I had in mind and didn't end up finding anything else nearly as lovely. So sadly the top has been put on the back burner for now.

But why waste the trip? I really needed no encouragement. I picked up two sweet fat quarters, a tube of buttons and more wool for the throw I have started for the lounge...

Thank you for the suggestions and links to the crochet patterns for the throw. While browsing through them I came across a design I thought looked simple and sweet that would fit in perfectly with the cushion fabric. There was no pattern, so I had a play and this is what I have come up with.

The wool is a warm mustard colour and is closer in colour to the first photo. It was being beastly and did not want to be photographed properly.

Look at that mustard coloured zig-zag rug on the top there.

Wouldn't it go perfectly...

Edit: Wouldn't that rug look fantastic under the coffee table, with the throw and new cushions?

The season is changing....

I discovered this yarn several months ago. A soft mix of wool, soya and mohair.

I ran my hand over the neat piles in their shelves.

I wondered what sort of delicate pieces would be made of such a yarn.

I thought of it once more upon finding a crochet pattern for a shawl...

Then balls of yarn lay strewn across the shelves, colours mixed, discarded balls of acrylic and feathery yarn lost from their own shelf.

Fossikers picked over the ruins, baskets laden with their gems.

It was here that each ball metamorphosed from extravagant to possible.

From $6 a ball, on sale for $2 a ball.

Hopefully I will have the beginnings of the shawl to show you soon.

The result...

My first attempt at spinning wool into yarn... A little ugly, a lot brown and lumpy... but it is my baby, I made it and although I can see its faults I love it.

Now, what to make with it...

Spinning...

The yarn above is hand spun wool. It is known as 'novelty' yarn, in that the thickness of the yarn increases and decreases randomly. Experienced spinners find it quite difficult to achieve a yarn as novel as this one. However, those amongst us who have never spun before will achieve results similar to this upon there first attempt...

The Spinners and Weavers Group gave a demonstration at the library and I was fortunate enough to be guided through spinning carded wool into yarn. I suppose the spinners weren't in need of any 'novelty' wool, because they let me keep it. As per instructions I have washed it and it is drying, so I will share a photo of the finished yarn when it is dry.