Blanket WIP

This week I have been working on my (Japanese) flower garden blanket, it started out as a shawl, but I decided that it would make an awesome blanket.  It took me ages to work out the pattern as there are several variations of it on the web; in the end I used Lucy of Attic24’s photo.  I was a bit concerned that my petals were too full, and tried a smaller hook, as I am a loose crocheter.  However it still puckered!  Curious I tried different wool and it worked out flat.

(The light colours are really pale greens and lilac, I had to use a flash as the light is bad today.)

So it is the type of wool.  I prefer the raised 3D effect as it gives the blanket texture.   The wool is King Cole Riot Double Knitting, there is an amazing range and so far I am using 4 colour ways.  I might do some blue and teal and purple colours on the outer edges.  Leaves floating along in a stream!

It is such fun to make and very fast as I don’t have to decide what colours and so on for each motif.  Being a ‘join as you go’ project there has to be some thought to placement, but that’s not hard.

The colours make me think of the colours of autumn/winter and I found some photos of my garden I took a few weeks back.

Along the boundary, they really are next door’s trees, don’t you love borrowed landscapes!

Under the plum tree, I think I will have to move the cotoneaster as it will take over if given half a chance.

I also did some doilies this week but will leave that for another post.

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful week everyone.

WIP an d Part 2 of Liebster Award

It has been a busy week, catching up on chores and such like.  But two things I have been working on is a bag made with some squares that I was going to use for a cotton blanket.  I changed my mind about that project for the time being as I don’t think I have enough of the ecru vintage cotton and the ivory is very expensive.  So here’s what I am going to do with the squares I have made. 

 I am trying to decide whether to have a gusset in ecru and have the strap carry on from it.  I am going to line it with the linen and back the strap with it as well.

The other two are traditional doilies for the door curtain I talked about last week.

Now for the second part of the Liebster Award.  Thank you Amanda of

http://amjaylou.blogspot.co.nz

Amanda’s 11 question:-
1. How many WIP's do you have at the moment?

Er……I started to list them but stopped when I needed a new page!!!

2. What are they?

I admit to 2 baby blankets, a mood blanket and a flower garden blanket.  2 scarfs, 1 shawl, 2 bags, numerous doilies, 3 mandalas, a hexagon quilt (I admit some haven’t been touched for months, I have a scatterbrain mind, I see something and want to do it and then abandon the project I am working on, especially the big ones.)  They will get done, as I made myself a new rule, not to start anything new until I have finished a project. Says she who just started a new doily this morning!!!

3. Regarding days out what would be your idea of heaven?

Going to Castlepoint beach on a blustery day and watching the waves, drinking tea from a Thermos (or soup if it is winter.)  I love waves crashing in.  Also the idea, that the sea links all the continents, and I wonder if it has touched a place where I have loved ones.

4. What would be your idea of hell?

Not being able to garden

5. What book are you reading at the moment?

The Secret Life of Bees  by Sue Monk Kidd (rereading)

6. What is your favourite tipple? ( can include non-alcoholic!)

In summer a ice cold freshly squeezed Lemon drink, winter, a Jarrah coffee (Vienna flavour)

7. What's been the best holiday you've been on so far?

A Summer Holiday in Switzerland a few years back, 3 weeks of walking in the mountains in and around Davos.

8. What is your dream destination?

Home, I had 20 years of travelling and I am happy to stay at home now, in fact I would be miserable away from it.

9. What would you put into Room 101?

Room 101? Amanda tells me it’s from George Orwell's 1984 and there is a program where celebrities take what they hate into it.  I would put people who criticize needlessly and gossip.  They could have fun together!!!

10. Do you have a favourite TV chef?

Nigella Lawson and Nigel Slater, we don’t really have celebrity chefs here in NZ. Although, we do have our own version of Masterchef.

11. What is your all-time favourite cake?

Any cake that has apples in it, or I could be retro and say a decent Black Forest Cake preferably from Tubingen (Germany).

Now I should nominate some blogs, however I am going to break the rules here; as I did that with the award I received a couple of months back.  So, if any of my followers want to do the award I nominate you!!!  I know it is a lot of work, but feel free.  However I am going to point you in the direction of some lovely blogs that I have bookmarked and love to gaze on their goodies, there are some enormously talented people out there.

http://crocheterie.blogspot.co.nz/   - crochet free patterns that are different from the norm.

http://de-la-maison-au-jardin.over-blog.com/ doilies and suchlike, even though it is in French, she gives charts of her designs.

http://mijardinderetales.blogspot.co.nz/  she has some amazing crochet and a recipe or two.

http://crochet-plaisir.over-blog.com/  some amazing crochet patterns

http://thelittletreasures.blogspot.co.nz/ dressmaking, crochet and crafts

http://olavas.blogspot.co.nz  lots of lovely crochet embellishments

http://marie-lostbirdstudio.b logspot.de/ amazing vintage craft made with lace doilies and the suchlike

http://vintagegreyhandmade.blogspot.co.nz/ quilting with vintage feel.

http://nasturelul-fermecat.blogspot.co.nz/ toys and other crafts

http://crochetmillan.bloggplatsen.se/  crochet generous with patterns even though it is in Swedish she produces charts.

http://www.maidoll-melodie.blogspot.co.uk/  knitted art dolls

I will leave you with a few pictures of my garden.

One of the vegetable beds, that’s purple sprouting broccoli in front and Tuscan kale at the back, and I think there are some cabbages.

I am really proud of my fennel this winter it is bulbing up nicely.

The primulas are putting on a nice display.

The jonquils are out, a promise of the spring!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you all have a great week.

Random Things

I haven’t done much crochet this week as I have visitors from Aussie.  However in the odd quiet moment I have been playing around with the op shop cottons I have brought over the past few weeks.

I have become quite keen on the traditional doilies.  While I was roaming through Pinterest, I have discovered some cool ways of using them.  Two I want to try, lampshades and curtains.  This morning I pinned some doilies I had to the net curtain at the front door, Wow!

The big doilies were my great aunts the small ones are mine.

Doilies here I come, i like the idea of doing them myself, rather than buying vintage ones then I can use colours to suit me.

I have received a Liebster Award from Amy of Amjayloublogspot.co.uk.  I received one a few months back, but still decided to take part as it was an opportunity to share a few things about me a in the second part share some blogs that I love.

We are to share 11 random things about ourselves (today) and answer 11 questions set by the giver, nominate 11 blogs to receive the award  and set them 11 questions.  I like the idea of spreading it over 2 posts, doesn't seem so much work!

Here goes - 11 random things about me

1.    I like to  see what is on the other side of the hill

2.   I collect seashells, stones, cacti, vintage china, art materials………

Shells on my bathroom windowsill

3.   George Clooney makes me sigh…..

4.   I love to photograph close ups of flowers.

My favourite rose its a climber, don't know its name it runs alongside the drive and is awesome in early summer.

5.   I am a children’s illustrator by trade and a wannabe children’s writer, (tired of illustrating other peoples stories)

Design for a card

6.   I grew up on a dairy farm in Taranaki.

7.   I spent 20 years overseas mainly Britain and France.  Been back in NZ just over 10 years.  (A rather long OE!!!)

8.   I love to paint flowers from my garden.  I did the below yesterday in gouache (a type of watercolour paint) for my sister to take back to Aussie as she loves Daphne and cant grow it, my bush is scenting the house and garden out.

 9.   Gardening is a passion along with crochet, and my art.  These are photos from last summer (January 2014)

My back garden looking at the house from the start of the veggie patch.

The veggie patch, my quiet spot under the plum tree

10.  I adore then sea, but live an hour’s drive away from the nearest beach.

Riversdale Beach, my favourite local beach.

  

11.   I give thanks every day to God for the blessings in my life.

Well that's it for today, I will post the rest next week.  I  leave this thought for you from a page in my art journal.

Reach out for the stars, our imagination is real!

Have  a good week and thanks for your visit.

Sunshine at last!

Yay!

Sunshine Today!

We have had a dull damp week here in Kiwiland.  

Grey on grey.

I have craved colour, so last Monday pulled out an UFO – little birdies, a variation of Bunny Mummies and Attics 24 birds.  They were originally going to decorate my plum tree, but looking out the window and seeing the ugly grey washing line that the birds loved to poop over, I just had to yarn bomb it!

You can see own murky it has been.

I intend to add more birds and flowers and maybe even some butterflies!

Also I noticed that the birds are no longer sitting and pooping on it, no need to wash it down every time I use it, win, win all around.

This week I also have been toning down the colour bursts with a new project or two.

A few weeks back I talked about doing a white and red and green cotton bedspread, abandoning my lifelong desire for a crochet white one.  I have decided the materials and pattern would make it too heavy, so I gone down a size in cotton to No 3.  I am trying to make up my mind whether to do all white or ivory and ecru.  Or maybe both!!!!!  I love both so much.

Anyways, I had an idea; the popcorn stitch squares are designs that I have cobbled together myself.  (No doubt you will find these somewhere on the net, as crochet has been around for so long and so many people practice it I am sure someone has thought of these variations also.)  I thought that I could make it a CAL project and I could make a page with the patterns to the squares as I go. I found that Jules of Little Woollie did that for her CAL blanket and it was so much easier to go to the page than trawl through her posts.  What do you think?

I am so pleased that our weather has improved and looks set to stay way till next week.  There is still heaps of work to do in the garden before winter sets in for real.

See I will be able to view clearly these cute birdies from the house on horrible grey days.

Here are a few pics of my little slice of paradise.

I got a surprise when I saw this, it is a miniature rose that has forced its way up through the ferns.

Ambrose got stir crazy with the rain and took quick little strolls between showers, definitely a fair weather cat.

I can’t believe this one, I was tidying up by the greenhouse and amongst the weeds this orchid was in flower!  It usually flowers in spring.

Have a great week every one  and thanks for visiting.

Garden catch up and a bit of cooking.

Autumn is in full force here down under!  The trees are changing colour with the colder nights and the nights are starting to draw in.  Almost time to cosy up in front of the fire.  But first there is the garden to put to bed!  I normally have a winter garden, but this winter I decided to let it rest as the vegetable patch has been cropping constantly for 2 years.  I will keep the silver beet (Chard) and sorrel, and will plant some kale and purple sprouting broccoli to tide me over.

I decided to take a leaf out of the permaculture circles and put down layers of leaf litter, grass clippings and compost so that the rain doesn't leach away what goodness is left in the soil and by next spring hopefully it will have rotted down to create a rich soil.  So over the last two weeks I have been out there beavering away.  It is now ready to layer from the collected piles of garden waste.  I have a big trailer load of mushroom compost being delivered next week from the local mushroom farm.

Nice and tidy!

While I have been hard at it my cats have watched intently, probably thinking oh she has made us a giant litter box!  Can you see Ambrose peeping out in  the above photo.

Mostly they have been taking great naps; all my activity makes them tired!

Enough Mum!  Ambrose and Peggy Sue take over the garden refuse sack.

Lucy prefers to rest indoors, near the fridge in case I might throw her a snack whenever I go to it!

With all this gardening I haven’t had much time for baking.  However yesterday I made some Welsh scones, they were a family favourite along with pikelets when I was growing up.  Don’t you find sometimes you hanker for the things of your childhood?  Must be a sign of advancing years!

These are quick to make and you don’t need to use the oven.  Traditionally they were done on a griddle or hotplate.  I used a fry pan and decided to add some chocolate chips along with the currants. The blog  Little Welsh House      suggested that you can do so and the idea appealed, so finally I got around to it.  However I used my family’s recipe.

Welsh Scones

8oz (225 g) flour

2 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

½ tsp ground nutmeg

2oz (50g) butter or margarine

2oz (50g) sugar

2oz (50 g) currants

Chocolate chips (I used a handful)

1 beaten egg

Milk to mix

Preheat girdle or heavy based fry pan.  Sift  flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.  Rub in fat till it resemble breadcrumbs, Stir in sugar, fruit and chocolate chips.  Mix with the egg and milk to form a firm dough but not too dry, like normal scone mix.  Roll out to 1 cm or ½ thick and cut into rounds or triangles.  Cook on a moderate hot surface till brown on both sides.  About ten minutes.

That is it they were delicious both hot and cold.  I like the chocolate in them, but I think it would be too much if they were just chocolate and no fruit.

That’s it for today, the forecast is for rain for the nest few days so I will be able get lots of crochet done!

Have a great day.

Store Cupboard Yuminess - Vegetarian Moussaka

Eating alone tonight, just the two of you or no time for fiddling with lots of ingredients.  There is no need to have toast and beans!  With just a tin of that and a jar of this and a vegetable that needs to be used up you can prepare very quickly a lovely meal.

I was very tired a few nights ago and didn’t feel like cooking; on the bench was an eggplant that was screaming at me to be used.  I had brought it at the local car boot market a well over a week ago!  I am a sucker for their lovely purple hues. I love eating them any which way.  Perhaps my favourite way of all is Moussaka.

I looked at it felt it, I couldn’t leave it any longer!  I opened my cupboard and looked.  Ah ha!  Vegetarian moussaka flashed into my consciousness, I discovered this a little while ago, very quick and sumptuous. With a tasty side salad from the garden, just what the doctor ordered.

Vegetarian Moussaka

1 tin beans (any type, I used cannelloni, I have used all sorts, a tin of mixed is very good).

Third jar of ready-made pasta sauce (one with chunky vegetables is ideal but not essential, I used plain above).

1 eggplant

1 egg

Cup plain yoghurt

Cup grated cheese

Heaped tbsp. s/r flour

Drain Beans put in casserole dish, Add pasta sauce , may need more but don’t make it too soupy.

Slice eggplant and fry in oil, use the oil very hot so it doesn’t get suck up by the eggplant. (I don’t salt eggplants as the varieties we grow today are not bitter.  It may differ in various countries)

Layer the eggplants on top of bean mix.

Beat egg in a bowl, add flour and mix well.  Pour in yoghurt and add cheese reserving some to sprinkle on top of casserole.  Mix well and pour over the eggplant layer.

Bake at 180C. for ½ hour or till golden and bubbly.  Take out of oven and let sit for 10 minutes.  Just time to make the salad!  Serve with salad and crusty bread.

Note: I have used slices of cooked potato when eggplants are expensive in Winter

My Salad

Toss together:

Buttercrunch (Tom Thumb) lettuce,

Leaves of rocket, sorrel and coriander

Chopped yellow or red capsicum

Segments of mandarins (I find if I use fruit in salads, a dressing is not missed)

Freshly ground salt and pepper

Enjoy.

Recent photos – magenta love

 The above is the start of a jumper I am crocheting , the stitch pattern based on the cal blanket I am doing. (see last post) .  Today I finished my hat from the library book, it is very nice, I kept up with my theme of magent and crochet the trim in hot pink.  The hat uses two strands, one navy and the other purple.I might do another from the book before I return it.  Will show photo next post.  

Got a couple of more books on crochet out of the library this morning and found a rabbit pattern that I will do for my grand niece, Kendal who lives in Perth WA.  Also some other lovelies that I will no doubt start in the coming weeks!!!

It has been rather humid and hot here today the after effects of the cyclone Lucy.  Luckily it missed my region but Northland and Auckland got hit quite bad.  

Have a great day!