The scarf Mum loves

Mother's Day was last Sunday, and I squished in a scarf present.  It was a 'tea scarf' - pattern on ravelry - made out of nearly two balls of Twilleys Freedom Spirit that were residing in the stash.  I used a 6.5 mm hook, and thoroughly enjoyed making it - it took just under a week of spare seconds.

However, I didn't know while making it if Mum would actually like it.  These are her colours, but I was a bit concerned about the somewhat open stitching, and the ruffle around the edge.  But, I need not have worried.  It's warm, cosy, long enough (started with 160 chain) and she loves it.  I'm delighted!  (I've just realised that, at a quick glance, it looks a bit like tree bark...how uncanny! But it's certainly a lot more comfortable).

Warm and cosy are the operative words at the moment. While Autumn is clinging on, it's like the maple leaves that are steadily spiralling to the ground.  Winter is not far away, and I've embarked on some judicious stash enhancement in response.  I've actually become quite fond of Deramores in the UK, and have had fun traversing some of the different options they offer.  I love the look of Sirdar Click and James C. Brett Marble DK...plus a few others, and with the help of ravelry reviews, have selected some never before sampled fibres.  I'm quite excited about trying them out.

So, once the weather finally closes in, and with a few free weekends (but looking forward to market shopping with Mum tomorrow, looking for special papers as I put together some cards - I think this is going to be a crafty winter! :) about time, too!) coming up, I'm in my own version of bliss.  Add some lemon scented Twinings and a few biscuits, and what more could you ask for? (except Spring, of course....)

Hope your weather is treating you well, wherever you may be.

Lynda

(no labels today.  My fingers are freezing!  Time to go and test the heater).

Sometimes in Autumn

Sometimes in Autumn, it is worth taking those elusive minutes out of time, and walking, treasuring the clear air, soft skies and blazes of colour.

Sometimes in Autumn, it is worth escaping the clutches of cosiness soon to come - the wool, the warm slow cooker and the glowing heat - and taking in the jewels that offer themselves to us in the quiet rush of evening.

Sometimes in Autumn, it is worth storing beautiful images to keep us bright in the grey weeks ahead, sparks of suspended brilliance that live long in the memory.

Sometimes in Autumn, in true Keats fashion, the days are joys forever.

Worth it

Finally, oh finally, I completed 177 little hexagons, all in shades of Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed, with my 4 mm hook, stitched them with cotton into alternating strips of 29 and 30, joined the strips together, tidied up the web of ends, then united the lot by dc/sc-ing (depending where in the world you are!) with another ball of the Silkroad around the edge, putting two stitches in one where it felt necessary, in order to neaten things up.  It framed the whole thing, and worked beautifully.

I have nearly another scarf's worth of spare hexagons...you see, my highly scientific design method was to pick the colours I liked, then make as many hexagons as I could out of each ball.  Meanwhile, my mind was ticking over slowly as to how they'd all work together for this - the 2012 Scarf Festival, with the theme of 'Journey'.  It was quite a journey!  My wrists and eyes would say it was a marathon, but it was certainly worth it.  I had no time to spare, and was Express Posting it even as the mail van was at the letter box.  It had to go from Melbourne's eastern suburbs to Geelong overnight - locals will know that I took a chance, but it worked, as the lovely people at the National Wool Museum (go, visit, buy organic merino) sent me an email the next day.  Now, fingers crossed.  This is the third time I've entered.  First time - struck it lucky, won best crocheted scarf with a leaf design in variegated blue Noro sock yarn (theme - Reflections).  Last year, put two entries in, and a Catherine Wheel design in Rowan autumnal tones came through with a highly commended (theme - Rhythm of Life).  This year - who knows?  But it was fun, in retrospect.  That is definitely the main thing.  Even as I was posting it, I was thinking 'I'd love to get this one back....'

Anyway, now I'm moving on to other projects, and have - as I am sure all crafters do - decided that I can make my mother something beautiful and complex for Mother's (I put singular, because for three of us, she's it!) Day...this time next week.  She loved this scarf.  Sorry to say, dear Mum,. but I won't be zipping another one of those out in a hurry.  For you, I'm thinking something more chunky...airy....MUCH faster.

But - don't worry, Mum.  It'll be lovely.  You'll agree when you see it - well worth it....trust me!

Making links....

As April draws to a close, my most recent competition scarf is scrambling, stitch by stitch, to a finish, and my final photography class is tonight.

All coincide.  I love that my last photography class is this evening.  The evenings are getting very grey and cold, I'm starting to fall asleep in those classes - not because they're bad, rather because it's a chance to let go and relax - and, for now, I think I've learned as much as I can take.  I need to head home and rest, crochet, read and review what I've learned, then put it all into practice for my final folio, due at the end of June.

The above are just two strands of my latest competition scarf.  It's all - eight strands in gradual colour shading -going to be joined together patchwork style, but I loved the way in which the light caught the little starry hexagons, and quite like the effect of the single strands - maybe a thought for another scarf in a soon and welcome quiet space.

And - it's been a while since I've been here. Hullo to all in the blogosphere.  It's continued to be mixed busy-sad-tiring in at my workplace, but we're all steadily shaking ourselves back into what is normality for all of us.  I've taken much comfort from the loveliness of everything from granny squares to bunches of flowers, from English springtime to Australian autumn and everything in between.  Thank you, all!

Back sooner....

The Lucy Line Up

Seventeen balls of Stylecraft DK - a Lucy Pack - ordered from Deramores in the UK on 5 April, sat on the back verandah here in Victoria, Australia, looking very happy with the sunshine this afternoon. These arrived with me on Friday the thirteenth, funnily enough. And - that is probably quicker than it would take for me to get my act together and head out to get my own supplies (not to begrudge the luxury of Sunspun...ah, that reminds me....)

It took just over a week from me pushing buttons to their arrival here, presuming some inevitable delay thanks to Easter holidays - needless to say, I am very impressed! Thank you, Deramores. I'll be back. Oh - and thank you for the other bits and pieces I ordered to make up the amount of the prepaid cards I had - two balls of Sirdar Crofter DK, in a Fair Isle Tam O'Shanter shade (I think that's it, too comfy at present to go and check, that'll do), and the two sets of buttons...one a clear purple round flower, and the other with cute little sailboats on. Nice!

I've got a couple of other things to finish first - but then the granny striping will start with much enthusiasm. I'm still deciding whether to exactly replicate Lucy's own blanket http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/granny-stripe.html, or go with my own abstract stripes. My blanket will be for a July baby, so I've got a little bit of time to mull it over. I've made a few scarves in granny stripes (actually - self striping wool - it looks really good!) already, so the pattern itself is well and truly in the memory bank.

Until then, the lovely Lucy Line Up is sitting and inspiring. Such beautiful colours, and - despite being acrylic - such a gorgeous feeling fibre. I have a combination of Stylecraft-Deramores-Attic24-granny striping love. And that, I suspect, is a good way to start the week!

Back on the wool track

Today is my birthday, and with that effectively being a New Year's kind of thing, I figured that I would renew my resolutions for the year ahead as it extends from 7 April to 7 April. (NB - it's also my parents' wedding anniversary - love to them!)

Crochet has been a bit squeezed out of late, not much fun when it has happened, but with a few days off over the Easter break I've firmly entrenched it back into daily life, and there it will stay. I've got two competition scarves to finish in the next month, along with a baby blanket, and have ordered a Lucy (Attic24) Pack from Deramores (such fun!) to make another baby blanket in granny striped brilliance for July.

Along with that, I'm finishing off another couple of projects that have been abandoned along the way (temporarily - they're WIPs, not UFOs quite yet....), and am continuing to work on little bits and pieces that fit into evenings and unexpected minutes of freedom. I find that having a project such a mesh scarf or an ongoing bunting string with me is very therapeutic, and I just need to make the effort to have something with me every day.

I've also found that building wool and projects into my photography practice is a great thing to do. Yesterday I went onto the front verandah with the collection of Jo Sharp Silkroad Tweed DK that I'm making into hexagons (http://bunnymummy-jacquie.blogspot.com.au/2010/04/mini-hexagon-pattern.html) for a Grandmother's Flower Garden scarf - which I can see in my head, but am not quite sure how it will translate from all the little motifs I'm making - and ended up sitting down and making a few more hexagons once the camera was turned off. Adding a cup of tea and a couple of little Easter eggs made it all the more special. And, as it is my birthday today, I might just repeat that effort.

Further on the photography front, I'm getting some good quality practice in, and am very pleased to share one of my favourite views (looking up to the top of the Dandenongs through very early morning mist) - enjoy!

Lynda

The rule of roses

Roses can make most things beautiful, and today was no exception. While it bothers me slightly that I have driven into the city and back on thirteen of the last fourteen days (two or three more to go before a break - pending leave confirmation as of Wednesday), today was worth it to a much greater extent that on some previous occasions.

With my mother and younger brother on board, we did a mini blitz of the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. Largely due to the fact that I am pretty tired, we were there for just over an hour, but in that time, taking the opportunity to literally stop and smell the roses helped to restore a great deal of equilibrium. Just being able to stand and take a deep breath in an occasional quiet corner was well worth it.

I took many photos, applying what I've been learning over the last couple of months, particularly to achieve shallow depth of field. I love this effect! It was very useful to be able to capture images in the middle of crowds, or with advertising threatening to encroach. It was relaxing, and next week I'll hit another level of just that...it'll be birthday week, I'm getting back into the crochet, and a few sleep in mornings beckon.

Until then, while you can't actually smell the roses at my end, I hope you can take the time in your part of the world to stop and smell them for real. It's a worthwhile activity, no doubt about it.