Pinkberryblue

This is another post brought to you by the colour pink!

I have almost finished my coral~coloured Chevron Lace Cardigan.
I've sewn in all the ends but I haven't blocked it yet.
I haven't come up with a way of closing it (that I like) either.
Here it is left open:




and here it is closed with an organza ribbon:

I'm thinking about making a floral pin to finish it,
something like the one from Interweave's Spiderweb Cardigan.
I'd love to hear your opinion.

...and now for some more rosiness,
in the form of close~ups of jewellery that you can see me wearing with the cardie.
One of the button necklaces:

(the other button necklace can be found here)
and my sequin and seed bead cuff:

I bought the necklace from a gorgeous, eco~friendly stall called Starfish Designs. You can, sometimes, find them at Kalamunda Markets. The necklace is made entirely from recycled buttons. The cuff is a Christmas present from my dear friend Felicity.

Tomorrow is forecast to be one of the last fine and sunny days of the season
...so I'm planning on wearing my cardigan out!
Today was a beautiful, light~filled day,
perfect weather for being in my garden.
Here, in a final burst of pinkness,
is a picture of some of the apple blossom hibiscus that I found blooming there:

Have a wonderful, joy~filled week everybody.

Handmade Gifts and a Crocheted Creature

In my last post I said that I'd received some lovely, hand~made presents for Christmas. I've finally taken some photographs of them all and here they are.

I'll start off with pictures of a little colourful vase:


and a sweet terracotta dove:




These were both made by the mother of one of the little boys I worked with last year. Aren't they exquisite?

I'm very fond of the dove ... the little boy and I share a love of living things and we used to talk about the birds that came to visit our gardens. I told him about the fledgling doves that used to wait for their mother on the fence outside my kitchen window:




He chose the pottery dove especially for me.
(The thought so many children, and parents, put into the gifts that they give me, handmade or not, is really touching.)

I also received a crystal wreath from a colleague I work closely with:

The Christmas before last, she gave me this beaded angel:

It's really tiny ~ only half the height of my little finger. I love the delicacy of both the angel and the wreath.

Last, in my array of hand~made gifted goodness, is a button cuff that my dear friend Robbo bought for me:

It sits really comfortably on my wrist and I've been wearing it a lot.
I wish I knew the stories behind all of those buttons!

...and finally,
here's a picture of some crochet I've been working on,
my very first amigurumi:

Can you tell it's the beginnings of a cat?!
The pattern, and an image of a complete kitty, can be found in Mutts, over at etsy.
It's fiddly but fun to make. It crochets up quickly too; hopefully I'll have photographs of a finished feline to show the next time I post.

Have a wonderful week!