Treasures

I have been doing lots of beading this week ~
shopping for beads, looking through my beading magazines, sorting through my stash.
I'm in the process of making a necklace ~
something bright and cheerful,
something to counter Winter's drabness.
I made this memory wire bracelet last year:

I love the colours
and I wear it all the time
so the necklace is going to be in red too. Hopefully, I'll have some photos to show in my next post. But, today, I'd like to share pictures of some treasures I've bought recently.

I went out to the very first Made on the Left designers' market a few weeks ago and bought this beautiful bag, made out of the sweetest vintage fabric, from stuffaduck:

and purchased this yummy woollen scarf from a craftswoman called Susanna McAuliffe:

I also won these gorgeous Art Deco buttons on ebay:

I bought them to decorate neck warmers with but they're so pretty and old and precious I think I'll save them for something really special and just admire them for now. (If anyone's got a suggestion for their use I'd be glad to read about it.)

Have a wonderful week everybody.

Breaks, Bracelets and Butterflies

Tonight's the last night of the holidays for me.
I've had a wonderful break from work
...it's been a fortnight that's been pretty much free of obligation. Bliss.
I haven't crafted much. I like to think that these periods when I'm not productive are times where I'm still being creative even though it's not apparent ~
I'm just incubating ideas (if that makes sense.)

Still,
I have a few pictures to show.
Here's a memory wire bracelet I made with Indian glass beads for a friend's birthday:

and the beginnings of a pair of Maine Morning Mitts:

(This is the first time I've knitted with double pointed needles. I used a video tutorial from Knitting Help.com to get started.)

Best of all,
the Monarch butterfly, which I wrote about in my last post, emerged,
spent an afternoon flexing its wings in my backgarden before flying away
and was quite happy to pose for photographs:

It's so beautiful.
I hope it comes back to visit!

Have a fabulous week, everybody.

Holiday Happenings

I'm on holidays!
...and I've been busy renovating.

I'm having air conditioning installed and I've had a blind put into my spare room. The spare room houses all of my crafting supplies which have been, um, a little disorganised (actually, one of my sisters calls my spare room "the hell hole") so I've spent a lot of time tidying it up ('cause if I hadn't the blinds installer wouldn't have been able to get to the window) and it now looks wonderfully ordered. I'm going to try really, really, really hard to keep it that way.

The air conditioning installation is turning into a drama, but I'm telling myself that it's only to be expected ~ that renovations and frustration go hand in hand, and that I'm not going to let it get in way of having a good break.

Of course, I've managed to fit some crafting in between the tidying.

My fan scarf is getting longer:

I've made a pentagon washcloth for a friend's birthday,
using a free pattern from Drew Emborsky:

and I've started crocheting a floral neck warmer from Hook and Needle Designs:

I'm using a silk wool blend, Cleckheaton Silk, which is lovely and soft.

I've been op~shopping too and adding to my button collection:

I like the texture of these small white ones:

I haven't spent time in the garden (not yet anyway) but the hibiscus is flourishing regardless:

...and I've been quietly waiting for a Wanderer butterfly to emerge, from this pupa that a friend at work gave to me:

You can't really tell from the photograph, but wings are visible from the casing now which means that the butterfly is almost ready to make its entrance into the world. I love the delicacy and the wonder of these little creatures.

Wishing all of you moments of wonder too.
Happy Thursday!