Sophie and Lady

Most of you know that we have a gorgeous Labrador named Sophie.  She is 13 years old now and has slowed down immensely.   Poor Sophie has a problem with her spine and struggles with walking very far and has other difficulties too.  Despite this she is still a very happy dog, enjoys her short walks and still has the appetite of a Labrador but we know she is in her twilight years.  We had been thinking of adopting a rescue dog for some time and I particularly wanted another Labrador but it seems Labradors get rehomed very quickly. 

Sophie

 So the lovely dog we've ended up adopting is a Labradoodle named Lady.  Lady is 9 years old and has been a breeder.  Her owners had no more use for her and were going to have her put down and then a lovely person came to her rescue.  Lady's rescuer had many dogs of her own and couldn't really keep another one so that's where we came into the picture, answering an advertisement for her online.

 

Lady

 Lady has the sweetest nature and is very gentle.  She gets on well with Sophie although is a bit pushy when it comes to getting attention.  She isn't the slightest bit interested in our cats and they are slowly getting use to her.  Lady has only been with us for a week and has settled in beautifully.

 

Besides adopting a dog I have been very busy in the garden, mowing the grass, whipper snippering the weeds and doing the edges, weeding, pruning and tidying up.  In among all the hard work it's so nice to have some spring roses in the garden, enough so I can bring some inside to enjoy.

 It is nice to have some crafting on the go as well and I'm slowly working on my Sanda Paul of Cherry Heart  Spice of Life blanket.  The colours I'm using are more vibrant than shown in this photo and the yarn I'm using is from the Stylecraft Special DK range.  I love this yarn, it's so soft and very economical.

 It was a nice project to work on while we were driving to get Lady which was a 3.5 hour drive.  On the way home Lady was sitting on my lap so no chance to do any more.

 I'm currently working on a sneaky crochet Christmas project which I'll share in another post.

Anne xx

Winter days

Winter has finally hit Victoria and with a bit of a vengeance too.  Some days in May were quite mild  but now we have cold winds, rain and even snow in the high country which means the snow resorts will be breathing a sigh of relief.  

I've been making an effort this past month to get out and walk every day for my benefit and for my gorgeous Labrador Sophie.  Usually in winter I don't want to walk because of the cold so the purchase of some wet weather gear and making a few crochet items is helping to make walking more pleasurable.

Please excuse the quality of these next photos, it's a bit hard taking selfies when it's freezing and you can't quite get the angle of the camera right.

First up I made a scarf in an 8ply teal acrylic.  I chained 250 stitches with 4.5mm crochet hook, crocheted 2 rows of double, 7 rows of treble and then 2 rows of double.  I did a simple picot stitch around the edge to finish off.  This scarf started life as something else entirely but adjustments were made when I ran out of patience.

I'm thinking Stripey makes a better model than me.   :)

I rather fancied making a shawl or something similar to throw over the top of my clothes when venturing out.  I finally bit the bullet and purchased a pattern from Etsy that I fell in love with.  Big mistake.  Nothing is wrong with the pattern, it's wonderful but trying to find a similar yarn in the right ply was a nightmare.  I finally found (after spending about 1 1/2 hours in Spotlight) a yarn I thought might be suitable, Patons Midnight, an acrylic, wool, metallic polyester and nylon mix made in Italy.  The wool was heavily discounted at $5.00 for a 75g ball so it being the best affordable option for me, a purchase was made.  Trying to find a nice 12 ply yarn in this country for a reasonable price is rather challenging so I hoped my yarn which seemed more like 8 ply than 12 ply would suffice.  Of course the right hook size for the pattern wasn't in stock in Spotlight so I decided to wing it with 6mm hook I had at home instead of a 6.5mm.  I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to crochet but I did think to add more stitches to increase the size of the wrap.  My wrap is o.k. but it's not at all like the one in the pattern picture which looks soft and drapes beautifully.  I've opted not to use a button to secure it with, rather using a large kilt type pin I embellished a couple of years ago which doesn't show up particularly well in the photo.

Oh the joys of developing ones skills  :)

As our days are cold, gloomy and overcast I decided to bring a little colour into the house with these Camellias from the garden.

 
 I'm eyeing off the Daphne that will be in flower soon too so I can bring some of the fragrant blooms inside.

Have a lovely day everyone.

Anne xx

Studio update

Work is progressing on the studio.  We had a trench dug through the backyard, (urgh), so the power could be laid underground.  The electrician has put in the cable and wiring and hubby and I back filled the trench yesterday which was exhausting work.  Our soil is heavy clay and unfortunately we had over 30ml of rain dumped on it so it was much heavier to move.  Anyway it's done now.  We are waiting for a tradie to come and install the split system air conditioner.  Then the insulation and lining can be fitted.

Other things studio related have been happening too.  I'm making over an old stool so I have something to sit on while I'm painting at my easel.  I'll do a full reveal when completed.  My collection of scarves to turn into curtains has been growing, now washed and waiting to be assembled.

Here are a few photos related to studio progress.

I've also started cleaning out my craft stuff and am somewhat embarrassed to discover just how much yarn I have.  I don't think I'll be needing to buy any more for quite a while.  These are two huge old toy baskets filled and I have more stacked elsewhere.

I been making this box to mount on the toilet wall to store toilet rolls.  It was made under the expert tuition of hubby and I was even allowed to use his electric tools.  It is just waiting its top coat and then can be mounted on the wall.

It has been most satisfying to make something like this.

Anne  xx

Special treats

Last week I was off at the hairdressers to get my unruly locks tended to.  Having my hair done is a treat in itself as not only is my hairdresser a good friend, she also does a fantastic job.  I have to travel a little way to get to her but that doesn't bother me too much as not far from her is a Spotlight and a Bunnings store.  I went to Spotlight looking for a particular item which I found out they didn't stock but what I did come home with was this.

The most beautiful quilted coverlet and two pillow shams.  I love the colours and patterns, so appealing to the boho side of me.  The most amazing thing about this purchase was the price which was reduced by $100 so I paid $60 for the coverlet.  Bargain.  I couldn't purchase the fabric for that price.

I recently purchased some books from the Book Depository with money Mum sent me for my birthday.  I chose arty crafty books.  One is about making your own stamps and the the other two are books about creative lettering and mixed media art to help me with ideas for art journaling.

   

There is plenty to keep me busy in these books.

Work on the studio is continuing with hubby working on the roof and roof insulation.  Yesterday I continued painting the outside with the help of my niece.  The last couple of months my niece who is training to be a paramedic has been visiting us and we have been spending crafty days together.  We have so many interests in common and it is a joy to be spending time with her.  She stayed overnight Friday so we had more time with her which was lovely.  She made us the most amazing pecan and coconut slice which is delicious and perfect to have with morning coffee.  

Today it's raining so work outside has stopped and to be honest hubby and I are a bit weary and a quieter day is probably a good thing.

Have a fabulous week.

Anne  xx

Pebble heart ornament

I found this image on Pinterest about six months ago and fell in love with it.  I pinned it on my"Things to Make" board thinking that one day I would make one.

Original idea, instructions and photos http://www.countrywomanmagazine.com/project/wire-and-stone-heart/

Last week I had an urge to be creative and decided it was the day to attempt making my own pebble heart ornament.  The cloth on the table is a waterproof one I've had in the cupboard for years for when the girls had very messy play activities when they were little.  The wire was bought months ago with this project in mind.  I borrowed hubby's tin snips and pliers and used some of my jewellery making tools as well.

 I made a template of a heart by drawing around a heart shaped cake tin.

 I struggled to make this piece of wire submit into the heart shape I wanted.

 

 I wrapped some small chicken wire around the heart and then started putting the pebbles in.  The chicken wire was salvaged from the neighbour's nature strip during a hard rubbish collection.

Here is the end result of several hours of work.  I'm very happy with how it turned out.

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

Anne  xx

:: 52 weeks of happy 14/52 ::

I've had many happy moments this week, here are four of them.

1.  The happiest moments this week were hearing that my Dad was able to leave hospital for some visits to the farm for a few hours at a time and also go out for a coffee at a local town cafe.  Thanks to my sister who is currently visiting Dad and Mum in Western Australia.

2.  Giving Genevieve a driving lesson, just a small way to help her become independent.

Photo taken on my phone.  I've entered the 21st century.

3.  Going on a picnic with my nephew and niece to Birdlands Reserve.  (A more informative post about our picnic and Birdsland Reserve to follow.)

4.  Discovering the first issue of this lovely magazine, filled with things that I love.

Wishing you many happy moments this week.  

Anne  xx

:: 52 weeks of happy, 13/52 ::

Here are four happy moments of many this week.

1.  Finish crocheting this little cardigan for my grand nephew.

2.  Making origami boxes for Easter treats.

3.  Starting this crochet blanket in bright colours for my grand nephew.

 

 

 4.  Grateful for good health and medical tests that are clear.

Wishing every one many happy moments this week and a wonderful Easter.

Anne  xx

Baby crochet

There is a new baby in the family, a great nephew on hubby's side.  This is my opportunity to try crocheting some baby things and I've started on this little cardigan.

This free pattern comes from debscrafts55.blogspot.com and can be found here.  I'm using a 5mm hook and Moda Vera Yarn, Marvel Soft 8ply in a gorgeous blue.  I'm so excited to be crocheting something for a baby and to learn new crochet skills. 

 

 Also in the pipeline is a striped blanket/throw, some little socks and a hat.  The new baby is petite so the little cardigan can be something he can grow into.

 

Anne  xx

In response to the anonymous commenter on my previous post

"Anonymous said...

    Yes, except you will find that there ARE rules about making that kind of thing too! Everything still needs to fit together, colours work, stitches look effortlessly disevelled etc. A great deal of work goes into getting that look believe me." 

I do wish anonymous commenters would leave their names, it's the polite thing to do.

Considering I've just made a lace curtain for my daughter made from scraps of lace, sheer fabrics, doilies, deconstructed garments etc., I do actually understand that it is a difficult process.  Did you read my previous post and my explaining the difficulties I encountered?  If you had then you would realise I'm not naive when it comes to constructing such an item.  Rather I was talking about the creative process, not having to follow a pattern, cut out little pieces of fabric etc.  The post was about me (this is MY blog after all) and how I'm emerging as a person, a creative person, enjoying the process of letting go of self imposed constraints.  In regard to colours working together, I believe that may be in the eye of the creative beholder.  Often what you see in the bohemian style of doing things, colours seem to clash, that's the beauty to me, seemingly no rules.

Don't get me wrong, I love the quilts I see in blogland, admire the patience, skill and passion so many ladies have for this beautiful craft.  Years ago I actually hand pieced a quilt and have yet to finish hand quilting it.  Perhaps I'm intimidated by the process, (a confidence thing) it seems like such a huge task in my head.  

That being said I'm leaving you all with another bohemian image I adore (except for the poor animal whose head is on the wall, yuck) and I don't think there is a is curtain in sight.

 

Image from Pinterest

Have a fabulous day everyone.

Anne  xx

Bohemian girl

Isn't it interesting how some us don't come into our own until we are on the mature side.  For me that is the other side of 50.  I was so encouraged by all your lovely comments on my special project reveal that I'm going to start sewing for fun, the way I feel like sewing and not how I think I should.

I love patchwork quilts but I dislike having to be constrained to a particular way of doing things.  All those little pieces that have to fit together and all that cutting out.  Of course it does make for easier sewing in one respect because everything fits together as it should.  So I'm thinking perhaps a little 'free form' sewing might suit me better.

Colour, patterns, mix and match do something for me and have a whole board on Pinterest titled Bohemian with a wonderful jumble of images that appeal to me.  I'm finding the perfectionist side of me, the one that has controlled me, the one that I've had a love hate relationship with all these years is slowly slipping away and it's liberating.

So what is the point of all this chatter? Being true to yourself/myself.  To know that when I look at something and get a shiver of excitement that it's real for me, authentic if you will.  Oh dear, I'm getting a little airy fairy here, but I trust you understand what I mean.  So I'm going to share some images with you that speak to me.  Believe it or not, more curtains but totally different to the one I made for Genevieve.

Image, found on Pinterest

Google images

Image, dishfunctionaldesign.blogspot.com

Image, Vintage Vixen

Image, zonademanualidades.blogspot.com

Image, beachvintage.blogspot.com

Image, zonademanualidades.blogspot.com

Image, ameezing.wordpress.com

You see I've found that I'm really a Bohemian girl at heart.  Not too many rules and regulations about how something is supposed to look.  Aubrey from the blog Rambling With Me  expresses it perfectly.  "You must be very happy. Making something from your heart is real creativity. There is not another curtain in the world that is exactly the same! That is creativity !!"   So the next time I go on an op shop trawl I'll be looking for scarfs for my next curtain.

If you've got to the end of this very long rambling post, congratulations and thank you for taking the time to do so.

Anne  xx