Brilliante Spring

As I mentioned in my last post, Andrea at Indigo Blue Designs presented me with this award. Thank you so much Andrea, I'm very happy to receive it!

Here are the rules:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link to the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs for an award.
4. Put links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs for the people you've nominated.

I've chosen seven bloggers who have blogs I really love to visit but who I haven't given an award to before:
MagnusMog,
Old Red Barn Co.,
be present be here,
Moonstitches,
Resurrection Fern,
Cornflower Blue Studio and
Dancing Mermaid.

All of these bloggers take gorgeous photographs. They write and craft with sensitivity and beauty. (Also, I am really inspired by MagnusMog, Ressurection Fern and Old Red Barn Co.'s commitment to sustainability.) If you haven't visited their sites before you are in for a treat. Enjoy!

Springtime's come to my corner of the Earth.
When I go out walking I sometimes catch the scent of jasmine and freesias, which I adore.
The fruit trees are in bloom as well.
This almond tree, which grows in the laneway behind my home, is covered in flowers:

I love the delicacy of the blossoms and the softness of the colours.

The weather's warming too.
I found this tiny lizard sunbathing by my backdoor last weekend:

As you can see, it was very relaxed, and let me come up surprisingly close to take this shot.

Craftwise, I've been trying to finish off the scarves I've been making ~ in another few weeks it will be too warm to wear them. I've also been playing around with wire. I'm in the process of crocheting a beaded cuff and I am having fun!
Here's where I got to last night:

I'm using purple plastic coated 24 gauge wire, an assortment of glass beads and a 3.50 mm steel hook.
...and, for those of you who might want to have a go yourself, here's a good tutorial.
I'm hoping that I can finish it off tonight ~ I need to do some more crocheting, and I also need to "block" it and to attach fastenings. I'm looking forward to putting it on ~ it will be interesting to see how it works as a piece of jewellery when it's worn.

Have a wonderful week, everybody.

A Parade of Scarves and Wirework

Hi!
Long time no blog, I know.
My job keeps on getting in the way.
I have some catching up to do!
Thank you to everyone who left lovely comments, in my last post, about my mum's drawings. She was tickled pink to receive them.
Thanks, too, to Rachel, from corn flower blue studio, and Cindy, from Chronicles of Yarnia, who tagged me for a meme. I'll respond as soon as I can.
I'd also like to blow virtual kisses to the lovely Andrea, of indigo blue designs, who presented me with an award. I'll acknowledge it properly next time I write here, I promise!

Even though work has been really time consuming, I've managed to get out and enjoy a little of the gorgeous Spring weather we've been experiencing here in Perth
...and I've been crafting, of course.

I've finished the chunky neck warmer I was working on:



...and I've completed the fan scarf I was crocheting:

I'm not totally happy with the second scarf because the weight of the wool pulls the fans out of shape but I've received enthusiastic compliments when I've worn it to work, and that's nice.

I've been gardening too,
and I thought I'd share some of the wire work that I've hung outside.

I have a mermaid reclining on the back fence:

I also have a sun catcher hanging in the garden
which, I've discovered, is hard to photograph because it's so long ~
so here's just a part of it:

I made both the sun catcher and the wire mermaid a few years ago with an artist called Regina at Fremantle Arts Centre. Sadly, Regina no longer lives in Western Australia. I wish she did, she was an excellent teacher and was lots of fun to work with.
I made this beaded ring in one of her workshops too:

I'd love to construct more of these...
Here's to a a joyful and productive week, everybody.

An Owl and an Angel

My mother is an imaginative creature.
She often draws onto wood and pebbles ~ seeing images in their surfaces and bringing them to life with her pencils. She drew this little owl, quickly, yesterday and gave it to me when we met for coffee:

Mum also presented me with a belated birthday gift ~ a little kneeling angel:

I found it difficult to photograph in the frame,
but I kind of like the way the reflection of my hands works in this shot:

I love them both!
Thanks Mum.
x

I've continued to work on scarves.
(Work is really complicated and challenging right now. Creating simple things is like an antidote ~ soothing and relaxing.)
I've just about finished the scarflette I wrote about in my last post (I'm planning on uploading some pictures soon) and I've been crocheting a Crocus Scarf with some cheerful, bright red wool:

I've also bought some balls of Noro sock yarn from The Wool Shack:

which are destined to become a Spring Ripple Scarf or a Wavelength Scarf. I'm really looking forward to seeing the repeats of all that beautiful colour emerge as I crochet.

Happy creating everybody.

Chunky

I have chunky beads, chunky(ish) yarn and a chunky coconut shell button to show today.
I'll start off with the beads.
In my last post I said that I wanted to make some necklaces to go with an orangey~red bracelet that I wear a lot and this is the first that I've come up with:

It's made of big glass beads from India, small foil beads and quartz chips strung onto tiger tail. I've been wearing it to work and a little boy I see often took time out from being naughty to say "Nice necklace, Miss,"
so I consider it to be a success!

I've also been playing around with neck warmers and have been crocheting this:

I've used Cleckheaton Vintage Hues wool and this pattern for a crochet scarflette.
(Be warned, although my McAfee Site Advisor says that the page the pattern's on is from a safe site some of the adverts on the page might not be suitable for young children.)
I've modified the pattern by omitting the crochet shells and by putting a button hole into one end. I found the coconut button on Saturday and it really is big ~ about 5cm by 5cm (that's about 2 inches by 2 inches for my American friends). I'm hoping to get the neck warmer finished off tonight.

In other crafty news, I've been drawing up a design for a mosaic backsplash for my kitchen. If I can get away from work (wish me luck) I'd really like to start working on it on Wednesday. There's something terribly therapeutic about smashing tiles.

Thank you, by the way, to everybody who left comments on what I could do with the vintage buttons I posted about the last time I wrote here. It's great to get your input.

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!

Beads, Blossoms and Vintage Treasure

I've been so busy at work I've had little time to make anything
so I'm going to share some photos of a necklace that I crocheted a little while ago,
made out of ceramic beads and mercerised cotton:

I've received compliments when I've worn it, which is lovely, but I don't put it on very often because the beads chip easily. If I make another I'll use wooden beads, something like this necklace. (If you follow the link you'll find a tutorial on how to construct one yourself.)

Although there hasn't been time to do much crafting I've managed to squeeze in a bit of op~shopping, always good for my morale! I've bought a sweet little milk jug:

and a metal placard with a biblical quotation:

It's not clear in the photograph but it says He Faileth Not in gold letters on the bottom. I'd say they're both from the 1960s. I love 'em.

I still haven't registered for Green Thumb Sunday (an association of gardening bloggers) 'cause I haven't yet worked out how to add the blogroll but I'm going to post some photos from my garden anyway!

Here's one of the grevilleas:

Here,
at my backdoor,
is a pot of succulents and a little, wooden statue of a Balinese dancer
(she looks so gentle and sad):

and,
lastly,
here's a photo of one of the Marguerite Daisies,
flowering in profusion right now:

Just before I finish I'd like to say thank you to everybody who's left comments here of late.
I really appreciate your friendship.
Have a wonderful week!

Small Projects

I've been busy, busy, busy with work this week
so, on the craft side, I have just been making small things:

another Victorian Lace washcloth:

(for me this time),

a washcloth for a friend's birthday:

and a scarf, crocheted out of yummy Jet wool and alpaca,
using crochetroo's fan bookmark pattern:

I also received some absolutely gorgeous hand~spun yarn from insubordiknit:

Isn't it beautiful? I couldn't believe my luck when I came across it in her shop ~ her online store usually sells out really quickly. This is destined to become some fingerless gloves or a cowl
...in the midst of all the demands that are made of me by my work,
working with my hands gives me such simple pleasure.

Although I haven't had time to sign myself up properly to Green Thumb Sunday (which I wrote about and linked in my last post) I'm going to finish with two photographs of something else that brings me joy,
my garden in Winter.

The last of the chameleon roses:

and one of my spiky strelitzias.
I love the dramatic blooms:



Wishing you all a week that's illuminated by simple pleasure too.