Hello winter

A weekend away; pizza nights; knitting socks and hats; pottery; painting in my sketchbook and winter growing – mushrooms and micro greens… 
Even though it’s dark and more than a little cold, I’ve been busy! What about you, what are you up to? Enjoy your weekend, Ill be busy… making! J xoxo

Some coloring and lavender crochet mittens

Mixing up the weekend crafting…

First a little coloring in and then finishing off these crochet mittens, which I think Ill give to one of the children’s teachers for an end of year gift. You can find the free crochet pattern here.

What are you working on? Jxox

Green Doily Ta Da

I managed to get some shots of my newly completed doily in the  sun this morning…

I think it turned out well, the pattern is good (a few very minor mistakes, but obvious enough if you have been crocheting a while), I’d definitely still recommend it! It’s a free pattern (my favourite kind) and you can find it here.

I was particularly pleased with how the green contrasts with our rimu table and the lovely Cherise of this orchid which I have managed to coax into a second year of flowering…

I’m now working on some fingerless mitts for a Christmas present. What are you working on? Any nice doily patterns to recommend – I’d like make more 🙂 Jxx

Weekend crochet…

Hello! Just thought I would stop by and share my Sunday morning crochet with you.Not to mention my beautiful new crochet hook wrap (thank you Nola)……. nor the perfectly in bloom miniature Cattleya orchid. I’m very proud of its beauty and abundance of blooms. I could pretend this is due to my wonderful care and attention, but alas I neglected it for a year until last week when I noticed it was in bud and brought it in from the cold to show on our dining room table. And a few freesias, which smell divine and are popping up all over – giving me hope that spring is indeed here.

A few quiet moments and a cup of tea. Bliss!Just so you are under no illusions that I am alone, here’s wider view of my table this morning – the children are entertaining themselves creating a miniature theater in the sun 🙂I hope you have a happy Sunday! J xox

Crochet and fabric quilt

My mother in law Nola was visiting this week, and brought with her this lovely crochet and fabric creation, which she has just finished…

Isn’t it beautiful? And isn’t she clever!

I love that it looks almost antique…

I don’t have an exact pattern to share with you I’m afraid. It came in a quilting pack with all the supplies so I can’t share it here. However if you search online you will find some very similar patterns.

To get you started here’s a good tutorial for making the squares and crocheting them together. The three layer rose is added afterwards when the quilt squares are all joined together… here’s a nice pattern.

Hope you are having a wonderful week! J xox

Crochet toadstools

Everyone here has had the lurgy this week… Now that winter is here I guess it’s par for the course, but all the same its not been much fun!

In between caring for sick kids (and this weekend, an extremely sick husband) I made my own little ring of crochet toadstools… Complete with tiny snail!When I look at these photos they look pretty big, but I crocheted them with 4ply wool and a 2.5mm hook – the tallest one is only about 6cm (2.5”) tall, and the snail is only 3cm (1.25”) long, so its all pretty small and VERY cute.

I’m thinking that they could make a cute scene on one of my tea cosies… but for now I’ve made a ‘little patch of grass’ with a felt back and have them sitting on my kitchen shelves where I can admire them every day. So far no fairies have shown up though 🙂
How’s your weekend been? What have you been making this week? Jxx