FIBRE ALIVE

Feels Like Home - Bonnie Raitt

A really close friend of ours, Renata, has just bought her first home! It was a strange set of circumstances which made it all happen but nonetheless she is now the very proud owner of a cute one bedroomed beach cottage in the town of Waikanae.

Renata used to flat with Ian and I in the first house that we bought together so we go back quite some time now. She always loved how I decorated our homes so she asked if Ian and I would help her to decorate her home. How could we say no! Last weekend Renata was down in Christchurch visiting her Father so we took the opportunity to head over to Waikanae and make a few changes to her bedroom.

Here's what it looked like before I got started... the bars are actually a bed base which I couldn't be bothered taking apart.

And here is a progress shot part way through...

As it wasn't my house I held back in unleashing a lot of colour so I went with a nice warm cream colour called biscotti... funny how I'm always thinking of food! Just add in new floor to ceiling curtains, a new duvet set, cushions and a bedside table and here you have it...

The result was worth the hectic day I spent creating it... I don't know how TV shows like 60 minute makeover do it... this room was almost seven hours of painting! But I'm really pleased with how it's turned out. We'll head back in a few months time and help Renata to decorate her living room.

Living across the road from a beach means that her section is more sand than soil but look at her lawn... it's all these yellow flowers... which is far more spectacular than boring old grass!

Speaking of spectacular... the previous owners built this very cool fence from driftwood found on the beach...

But of course the most spectacular thing of all is the fact that the beach is only about 30 seconds walk away... yes it's just across the road and the view is this beautiful...

With a little luck and a whole lot of hard work Renata has got herself her own little slice of paradise. I'm sure that she is going to be very happy in her home for many years to come.

What's New Pussycat - Tom Jones

Jazz is always on the search for somewhere new to sleep...

And he thought his luck was in when he saw that I had left my persian poppies vest lying on the chair by our bed. His luck ran out, however, when he started kneading and clawing the vest. I evicted him and he responded with one of his withering looks of contempt before he headed off downstairs in search of somewhere else to lay his furry head.

Knitting projects seem to have been few and far between for me over the past couple of years… but not because I haven’t been knitting!

My ‘Sweet As’ sock yarn blanket continues to get bigger and at this point in time has 158 rectangles in it. That means I’ve dyed 158 different colourways in the Fibre Alive Merino Mania yarn to date. Wow! I guess that’s why I haven’t been knitting too many other projects. What I try to do with each new colourway is add another rectangle to the blanket and knit up a baby sock as a sample so that people can see what it looks like knitted up. It’s time consuming but the positive feedback I get from people at craft markets lets me know that it’s worth the effort.

 

 Speaking of time consuming… the sock yarn blanket starter kits each take about 90 minutes to put together. Knitting the sample is about half an hour and the rest of the time is taken up by handwinding the balls and printing off the pattern. It’s a great way of using up my odds and ends of yarn, and they are always a good seller, but it does take away from my knitting time.  

 

Here are all the baby socks I’ve knitted up recently in the colourways which are still available. They are very cute and a lot of women get very clucky when they see them. As I’m more of a rooster than a chook I’m not too prone to getting clucky.

 

But I must admit that I did take some time out to knit a pair of baby socks for my cousin Neville and his wife Serena to celebrate the birth of their first child… a beautiful bouncy boy they have named Alex. I can’t wait to visit them all but as I’m getting over a cold at the moment I’m not going anywhere near them just yet. I did however dye up a large hank of yarn and knit the baby socks out of it as a starter gift and I’m planning on using up the rest of the yarn in a number of other projects for Alex… knowing my schedule they will be to fit a 9 month old or 12 month old!

 

I do however have plenty of knitting projects flying around in my head that I do want to get started on… namely a lace jersey/sweater for my Mother. This is a photograph of the base yarn I’m going to dye for it. It’s an alpaca, merino nylon mix for that little hint of luxury. The plan was to get it knitted up before we head off to Europe in April but with less than 8 weeks to go now it’s not looking hopeful… but then again there’s nothing saying that I can’t make a start on it and finish it while we’re on our trip. Given the temperatures in the UK and Amsterdam this week I think Mum is going to need as many layers as she can…

Especially after seeing this video my friend Jan posted on facebook for me this morning.

 

The canals have frozen over for the first time in 15 years and everyone is skating on them. It looks beautiful but I think I'd rather be taking a boat cruise on an un-frozen canal at dusk.

Today is St Valentine's Day and look at what my funky little Valentine (Ian of course) got for us to share tonight. I didn't ask if he used his lips to decorate it! 

 I provided the liquid refreshments (bubbles of course) to go with it!

Happy St Valentine's Day everyone...

Round and Round - Spandau Ballet

Long time no hear... and no see... yes I'm alive and well but overly busy as usual.

In the lead up the Christmas I attended a few craft markets with my yarn. It can be a lot of fun but it involves a lot of work getting ready for each market and a fair amount of time. As we all know Christmas is hectic in itself anyway so when I added the craft market circuit into the mix I got a bit exhausted. I didn't even have the energy to decorate a christmas tree last year... the first year ever that I haven't had a tree. So with a new year well underway what am I up to...

going to craft markets again! 

This past Saturday saw the Martinborough Fair take place. It's supposed to be the largest craftmarket in the Southern Hemisphere with over 480 stalls. I booked a site and shared it with two friends of mine who also had yarns for sale. Nanette of YARNZ and Sally of Verandah Yarns. Despite some un-summery weather we all had a great day and I sold more this year that last year so I went home a very happy camper.This is a shot of my yarns ready to be fondled by all the yarn lovers at the Fair, ready and willing to take their place in someone's yarn stash.

So when you sell yarn... you have to replace it... and here are the fruits of my dyeing effort today.

So after a few evenings of hard graft I'll have another thirty two skeins of yarn ready to tempt unsuspecting knitters.

When you're a yarn lover you tend to appreciate the efforts of the humble sheep... and then you get tempted into buying sheep related items... well at least I do!

I couldn't resist buying this sheep themed set of a sugar bowl, milk jug and mug... and the fact that they were on sale at less than half price made it easier for me to justify the purchase... as if I ever need to justify my purchases! The cook book was a tasty treat of a Christmas gift from my friend Sarah who lives in London. I'm itching to make the grashopper pie featured in the book... don't worry... no actual grasshoppers will be harmed in the making. I'm also getting excited that I'll get to catch up with Sarah... in London... in April! That's right, I'm heading off to Europe for a holiday in April along with Mum and Ian. It's going to be a blast and if I make it to Liberty of London again I probably will have to try and justify any purchases I'll make... last time I bought handkerchiefs which cost ten pounds each... but it was Willian Morris fabric... and I know I'll never be out of debt... but that keeps me going to work!

Summer has been a write off this year... and the strange weather has affected the garden here at Scarlet Oak Cottage.

The plums are only just starting to ripen on our old tree and as you can see the insects have been attacking the leaves because the fruit has taken so long to ripen this year.

The lace capped hydrangeas have put on a great show...

The Japanese anenomes have grown even taller this year and are finally starting to bloom. I think all their energy has gone into their stems instead of the flowers... but then again there are plenty of buds out there about to open.

My favourite showstopper in the garden has always been the fuschias and I'm smiling now that they are working their magic in the garden once again.

and this morning Ian and our friens Marnie gave the front hedge a much needed haircut... speaking of which it's high time I gave Ian and myself another haircut. 

Don't worry... it won't be more than two months before I post again.