Sedge Stitch Dishcloth

I've finished the bark sedge stitch dishcloth.






I love the colours, the pattern, the texture and the way they all swirl together.
Simple but satisfying.

Permission

I'm just getting over a nasty stomach bug.
Blech.
I'll spare you the horrible details
but I will say that being very sick gives one permission to focus completely on comfort and rest
...and that is a blessing.

Of course, comfort has involved a little crochet ~ last night I felt well enough to start making Inga's Bag out of some Anchorline cotton I have in my stash. It looks like it will be fun to do.

And, speaking of blessings,
I went out into the garden for the first time in days this morning and discovered a flush of roses, caught by the sunlight, at the back door:

Aren't they divine?

I also wanted to say thank you to all the lovely people who have left comments here of late, including some new visitors who've dropped by through Small Is Beautiful. I really appreciate the kind things you've said and, if I haven't already responded, I will as soon as I can.

Happy Sunday.

Unexpected Pleasure

Sometimes beautiful things happen unexpectedly,
like flowers suddenly blooming...

...and fellow bloggers giving you awards.

I was very grateful to receive a You Make My Day Award from the lovely Riggwelter, over at Jazzy Crafts


and an Art Award from my blog friend indigoblue

I'm really touched. Thank you!

The rules of the You Make My Day Award are:
"Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times."
and, for the Art Award:
"Post the award on your own blog.(Post who gave it to you)
Indicate its original link and link to that site. (The Award originally came fromArte Y Pico's Blog at,
http://artepico.blogspot.com/
from Uruguay)
Give the Award to 5 other blogs that you enjoy, find creative and inspire you."

I am going to present both Awards to:
Rachelle at Magpie Girl for writing with such sensitivity and helping to build a nourishing community ~ Small Is Beautiful,
Leah at Creative Everyday for her beautiful drawing and her lovely community, which is so inspiring,
Ellen at Los Angeles Is My Beat for her generosity and amazing creative output,
Peta at Createcraft for thought provoking, intelligent posts, beautiful craftwork and fabulous links,
Christina at Matroschka for her beautiful photography, fantastic etsy links, and the vicarious pleasure she provides by documenting how she is decorating her swish new apartment,
Kate at knights don't knit for her sense of fun and her incredible generosity (sometime very soon I'm going to post about the gorgeous gifts she gave me in a tea cosy swap),
Carola at my living room for organising the granny along blogspot which has brought me so much inspiration, motivation and connection,
and Lisamoon at dances on the moon for her honesty and lyricism and joyfulness (even in the midst of difficult life transitions).
I'd like to return the favour and award
Riggwelter at Jazzy Crafts for her warmth and beautiful knitting,
and indigoblue for her kindness and industriousness.

I really appreciate Blogland. I love how inspired I am by you all!

Simplicity

I recently bought myself a copy of Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick.
I love this book,
especially the way it celebrates simple, nourishing~to~the~soul, domestic comforts.
Amongst other things, it has sweet patterns, recipes, beautiful photographs and quotations. This quote really spoke to me:

In the midst of complexity, handicrafts provide simplicity.

In the midst of movement and noise, they make space for silence and solitude

~ Susan Lydon

Last night, after a working~day chock full of challenges, I decided I wanted to make something soothing and easy. I picked up one of my hooks and I started crocheting a cotton washcloth ~ what could be simpler?

The pattern's called the bark sedge stitch washcloth ( and it's from the LionBrand website so, even though it's free, you have to be registered to access it.) The Sugar'n Cream cotton's colourway is called Summer Splash.
...I'm loving how the variegations in the colour are working with the sedge stitch.

Happy weekend everyone.

Quiet

Things have been quiet around here.
I'm back at work,
the weather has continued to be hot
and I have been very tired...
the fall~soundly~asleep~on~the~sofa~at~nine~pm~in~the~middle~of
~crocheting sort of tired.
So I have been going really slowly at home
(which, actually, has been kind of nice.)
I've been reading, and thoroughly enjoying, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.
I've also been doing a little bit of baking, on the odd occasion when the weather's been cool enough.
Here is a photo of some oat gems I made from the ever~reliable Country Women's Association Cook Book:



I added a quarter of a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the recipe.
They are simple but delicious.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find the recipe on~line to share here on inkberryblue, but I did find a link to some other, tasty~looking CWA biscuits, which you can find here.

Vintage Crochet

I have a gorgeous neighbour who, despite being 88 years old, has an enormous zest for life.
This time last Summer she was in an ashram in India.
She sometimes tells a less recent story of finding herself alone in the jungles of Papua New Guinea.
She adores the theatre
and we often go to outdoor concerts together.
Not only is my friend an adventuress, she is also a very good plain cook and often puts together a picnic tea to take to the performances.
Imagine my delight when I discovered this beautiful example of thread crochet in the picnic basket she had packed.
It was crocheted by her mother.
My dear friend kindly allowed me to photograph some of her mother's work so that I could share it here.
I've included some miniature roses in the shots to give an idea of scale ~ it is so delicate and fine.
Enjoy!

Quirkyalone

I'd like to wish you a happy Valentine's Day
and show you a memory wire bracelet I just made for a swap buddy in Alaska ~
it's going to be a belated Valentine's present:

Secondly,
because I'm an alternative kind of a gal,
I'd also like to wish you a happy International Quirkyalone Day.
For those of you who are wondering,
quirkyalone is a term used to describe people, like me, who are both uncompromising romantics and deeply single. It's also the title of a fabulous book that I read a few years ago ~ and the name of an online community that I sometimes visit.

Lastly, I'd like to share with you a picture of daisies, the official flower of the quirkyalone movement:

(Whicheverway, I'm wishing you a wonderful Thursday.)

Recapturing Creativity

When I was younger, I used to draw all the time.
I drew joyfully, creatively, effortlessly, freely...
but
somewhere along the way
I lost that easy pleasure.
Art school knocked some of the joy out of me. Not that I regret going ~ the experience provided me with some invaluable lessons but it developed my inner critic in a big way.
And, these days, I always seem to be too busy. I'm expected to be very serious at work. Sadly, I can't imagine anyone approving of me doodling through meetings.

Even so, I manage to nurture my artistic side a little. I still draw sometimes. I occasionally get to go to drawing courses. I went to some fabulous lessons with an artist, educator and creativity advocate called Dawn Meader. Dawn now lives and works in Santa Cruz but I still draw inspiration from her ~ I receive an ezine she produces every month and really enjoy reading the creativity exercises and looking at the beautiful reproductions of her work.

Here are some of the pastels I completed in her classes:

These drawings are enormous by the way ~ they cover my double bed. (Dawn had us draw on huge pieces of paper so that we sketched with big, loose gestures.)

I also keep a little sketch book in my handbag. My idea for the sketch book is that I draw in it for five minutes every day, sketching whatever's in front of me, disengaging my inner critic, accepting whatever appears (a bit like writing morning pages if you're following The Artists' Way.)

I've also found a gorgeous blog called Creative Every Day. It's written by an artist called Leah Piken Kolidas. Leah writes perceptively about the creative process and posts some really interesting links to articles and images. She also draws beautifully, creating her artwork with the ease and joy that I would love to recapture.

Learning To Knit

As I've already mentioned, I'm knitting CosmicPluto's Cavern Cardi:

(I've made the stitch markers too.)



This is my first knitted garment and my blog friend Christina, from Matroschka, has asked me how I'm learning to knit.
The short answer is: with difficulty!
The long answer is kind of convoluted and I hope it makes sense.
Here goes.
I'm finding that learning to knit is a really different process to learning to crochet, primarily because I'm not working with one live stitch ~ I'm working with dozens...and the more live stitches I have the more mistakes I can make. Therefore, I'm having to plan what I'm doing way more than I've done when crocheting.

I'm planning and problem solving by:

• referring to the videos at Knitting Help (which are helpfully explicit, especially the ones that detail how to safely rip back work),
  
  
• reading through my copy of Debbie Stoller's Stitch n Bitch (which is comprehensive),
  
  
• approaching each new technique (raglan increases for example) with caution by practising on a swatch before I try using them on the actual garment,
  
  
• looking through threads like the Anthropologie~inspired Capelet tutorial over at Craftster, because it helps to explain how a top~down raglan cardigan is constructed
  
  
• and going to a knitting group. Even though I've only attended one meeting so far, the fabulous knitters who go too have already provided inspiration and encouragement.

Learning to knit is an involved process but a rewarding one ~ and in that way it is just like learning to crochet.

Seven

I belong to a lovely, blogging community called Small Is Beautiful. This community is facilitated by two special souls ~ Rachelle Mee~Chapman from Magpie~Girl and Jen Lemen.

The Small Is Beautiful manifesto states
We believe stories are valuable, no matter how many people read them.
We believe following your passion is more important that watching your site meter.
We believe in the handmade, the first try, the small start, and the good effort.
We believe that small is beautiful.

Rachelle has asked that we submit our favourite seven posts from 2007.
So,
in the spirit of the manifesto,
in no particular order
and with some shyness
I'm listing these posts, that come from the heart, which I wrote last year:

Spring,
...And A Little More Progress...,
Joy,
A Picture And Some Poetry,
Retreat,
Roses In Winter
and
Fragrance.

Aside from my humble contribution, you will find, if you click on Rachelle's link, that there is a treasury of posts, for you to read and savour, submitted by others members of the Small Is Beautiful community.

I'm Still Here

I'm still here, taking things slowly in the summer heat.
I've been teaching myself to knit properly. I'm making a top down cardigan ~ the Cavern Cardi from CosmicPluto Knits. It's a case of trial and error ~ lots of errors! Knitting is a very different process from crochet (all those live stitches, crumbs) but I'm determined to get better ~ there are so many gorgeous patterns out there that I'd like to be able to knit up.
And when I require effortless, soothing handiwork I turn to the giant granny blanket I've been making.
Here's Molly, giving the blanket her stamp of approval:






I've been staying close to home, in part, to keep my garden going. After a slow start it has been a hot Summer and lots of the plants in my garden have scorched foliage. This sweet little geranium, that I struck from a cutting last year, now has lots of brown, crispy leaves. I'm giving it lots of TLC, and grey water, to bring it back.

I did brave the weather yesterday, however, and drove down South to catch up with friends. We had tea and yummy, organic cake at Balingup Bronze Gallery, and a delicious home made lunch of pumpkin and baked ricotta pasta ~ thankyou Felicity!

Hot Chocolate, Cacti And Crochet

I've just returned from a lightening visit to the South West. I went, with my baby sister, to visit my older sister and her family. It was lovely, as my older sis loves to spoil. She has green thumbs too ~ look at her gorgeous cactus:

Speaking of being spoilt, we went out to lunch at Xanadu (my family are involved with the winery) which was absolutely delicious. I was too focussed on eating and drinking to take many photographs (I had black bean crusted lamb rump with eggplant and woodear mushroom salad ...mmm mmm mmm.. and divinely dry champagne) but I did take a picture at the very end of the meal. Here it is ~ a snap of hot chocolate with the Xanadu dragon swirled into it:

I wish I could have fitted in the dessert plate ~ a yummy array of parfait, pannnacotta, vanilla bean tart and semillon, but I was way too full. Next time. Definitely.

We also went out for a scrumptious lunch at the Natural Temptation Cafe in Bunbury, where my big sister bought me a copy of their First Temptations vegetarian cook book. (See, spoiling!) Now I'm back at home I'm looking forward to getting into my kitchen and trying out some of the recipes. I've just finished making a scalloped pot holder too, which will come in handy if I can bear to get it dirty.

Ring A Rosy Tea Cosy

After lots of crocheting over the holidays, I posted off my Ravelry Aussie Tea Cosy Swap package about a week ago. Here's a picture of the tea cosy that I made and two dishcloths/drip catchers that I also crocheted:

The pattern for the tea cosy body came from crochetroo's gorgeous etsy shop. I used a pattern from the July/August 2007 edition of Crochet Today! to make the roses, embellishing the flowers with a few crystal beads, that you can just see in the following shot:

The tea cosy ended up being really flabby at the sides, where the openings for the handle and spout were, so I edged the openings by single crocheting (US terms) tightly through two rows with a 3.5 mm hook. You can see the edging here:

...and here are some more detailed shots of the one of the cloths I crocheted, a lacy dishcloth:

I really enjoyed participating in the swap. The organisation was great, the secrecy made it fun, my partner (alimachenmachen) was very appreciative and it's been wonderful watching as everybody's posted pictures of the tea cosies they've received. There are some beauties amongst them too which, if you belong to Ravelry, can be seen in this this thread. Enjoy!

Salut!

First of all, on behalf of my toes, I'd like to express appreciation to everybody who posted admiring comments about them. Thank you.

Secondly, has anyone else noticed that they have become a little wider around the middle since Christmas? I have developed a muffin top and it is not a good look. Consequently, I've been doing a little research on weight loss over the net and have just bought a book, recommended on the SARK forum (a favourite community of mine), called French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano. I've read about a quarter of the book so far, and I love it! It has a great philosophy ~ savour food, cook seasonally, eat chocolate, drink wine (hooray!) ~ and the recipes are mouthwatering. So, in the spirit of Mme Guiliano's work, I have made myself a simple meal of grilled fish and caprese salad for tonight's meal, using basil and tumbler tomatoes from my garden. What could be fresher?

Incidentally, in October, my tumbler tomato plant looked like this:

(I put it in a hanging basket to keep the snails away.)

...and it now looks like this:

I am really looking forward to trialling some of the recipes in French Women Don't Get Fat. There are some posted on the website, by the way, that sound delicious.
Bon appetit!

Party Toes And Pavlova

Ladies and gentlemen,
*
*
may I present,
for your admiration and astonishment,
my
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
foot:

Isn't it pretty?
This happened on a day of girly bonding with my sister. We also went op~shopping, post Christmas sales shopping and lunching, where we shared an enormous plate of lemon pepper calamari. Mmm mmm mmm.
Fun.

My butterfly embellished toes were supposed to have their debut at a New Years Eve party, but I didn't end up going ~ I find great big parties hard work (although I am always glad that my more extroverted friends invite me to them.) I had a small, family New Year instead. We drank champagne and sang Auld Lang Syne around the piano. It was nice.




In my last blog post I wrote about a pavlova I baked for Christmas and Lisamoon requested the recipe (and also said that she'd like to eat it face first, with no fork or spoon, which tickled me.)
Lisa, here it is:

Pavlova
Ingredients:
Meringue Base:
4 egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup castor sugar
2 tsps cornflour
1 tsp white vinegar
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
Topping:
300 ml whipping cream
3 very ripe passionfruit
strawberries
approximately 50 grams milk chocolate

Method:
Preheat oven to 180 C.
Beat egg whites and salt until peaks form. Add castor sugar gradually as meringue becomes shiny. Separately, mix cornflour with vinegar and vanilla essence, and then add to meringue until it disappears. "Stick" a circle of baking paper, with a few drops of water, onto a platter (a 30 cm quiche dish should do nicely.) Pile the mixture onto the circle, and smooth sides and top. Put into oven and reduce heat to 150 C. Cook for 80 minutes. Turn oven off and leave pavlova to cool inside.
An hour before serving, cover meringue with whipped cream, passionfruit pulp, strawberries and chocolate shavings. (I used a potato peeler to shave the chocolate.) Putting the topping on well before eating lets the flavours of the fruit develop and also lets the cream soak into the meringue directly beneath it, making it soft and voluptuous.

This is all in Australian cooking terminology. If this presents problems please let me know or you might like to check out this conversion chart. I'd love to know if anyone has a go!