nye.

new year's eve.
what a perfect time to reflect on the past year...

i made a list, and then when i turned 24, i made another.
i planned meals, well we did, bb helped :D
i started a makeover and opened a shop.
adopted a friend and decided to pay it forward
i grew and hooked and knitted and cooked.

i felt like it was a pretty great year!



tonight, i'm having a couple of quiet drinks with bb.
ringing in the new year in quiet and slow comfort (the perfect antidote to a busy christmas and stressful working period since!)

oh, and i'm rocking that glittery mani above. sparkles and camo green. be still my beating heart :D

what are you up to tonight? hope you're staying safe and happy! xo

'twas the night before christmas

and the house is actually fairly quiet. not much stirring happening over here.
both bb and i are collapsed in separate rooms!

almost all of the giant, looming to-do list from yesterday is complete!
our house is looking very christmassy!

oh, and in between typing, i'm crocheting the final two squares onto my bamcal blankie!
it won't get finished tonight and be under the tree by tomorrow as i've almost run out of wool and this is a blankie that definitely needs an edge. i'm ok with it though, all the hard work on it is pretty well done :D



oh and the BEST news!?! bb is currently wearing his new pj pants! they fit! and whats more, he likes them!
yesterday, i dragged him to spotlight for some gingham to make a tablecloth with, and he pointed out the fabric i'd used, and said it was cool! excellent!
he did however, just find a pin in them... oops!

hope yours is a very merry christmas tomorrow, filled with happy, fun-filled times!
xo

christmas madness.

well there's just two more days until christmas... how are all of your christmas plans going?
i've made a little headway, but there's still a ways to go!

i got the kris kringle presents done i wanted to...

this was for my co-worker, and i managed to finish up the one for ncb too.
i can't share that one though as it's still waiting under my tree. i STUPIDLY left it sitting there when i headed off to the ncb christmas night! luckily, lyndel did the same thing!
we'll swap sometime soon :D

i've also made bb a little present too, these are now wrapped and under the tree!

i got my softie for mirabel done too!



i have this feeling it won't get to anyone by christmas though :(

my plans for the rest of the afternoon include finishing the last bamcal square (there are still 8 to be joined to the blanket, and the edge to do, don't think that'll be done before christmas!!), making christmas bon-bons, making a bauble garland (inspired by this clever clogs), hemming the edges of some red gingham i bought today for a christmas table cloth and then, maybe, i'll make a christmas tree skirt...

oh and in between, i'll do my 5th load of washing for the day and maybe clean the toilet.

ok i'm exhausted just reading back over that list!


how are your christmas preparationg going? is your list still a mile long?

some sneaky sewing.

yesterday, i had a few hours between bb leaving for work, and me starting work, so i quickly raced out and got some supplies from spotty and got to some sneaky santa sewing!



i followed the "no p's" rule...
no pattern
no pressing
no pinning
no plucking idea!

surprisingly, they turned out ok!
the big test will be on christmas day... hopefully they fit!
though i would not be at all surprised if they don't. there's very little shaping in there and bb (like most humans) doesn't have a flat bum!!

hope your christmas plans are coming along swimmingly!

december.

after writing a goals post, at the start of every month, for the entire year, i wasn't quite ready to write one for december until now.
as soon as december started to come close, my brain started filling up with all of the should do's instead of the want to do's and it all got a little bit overwhelming!

now that i've taken a few days to think it through, and to visualise what i want to achieve for christmas, the goals list for the month is feeling a LOT more achievable!
PHEW!



my major goals for the month, is to finish off my bamcal blankie! i've just got december's blocks to do, and then the last of them need to be joined and then i can work on the EDGE! yay!

i'd also love to get some homemade christmas things happening.
i'd love to sew bb and myself some new pyjama pants, and to make a skirt for our tree!
this lady has also inspired me with this! i've got a few things to get off my needles first though!

i've also got a couple of secret santa projects to get finished, one (for work) is nearly done, but the other (for ncb) is barely started! i'd best get a wriggle on!

what are your december plans? achievable? or out of control?

finish something.

the thing i'm finishing with today is november.
it's been a pretty crazy month, and i don't really feel i'm ready to finish with it yet... i had so many plans, not all of which have come to fruition.

i feel like this past month has absolutely FLOWN, surely it was just yesterday that it started?



november was my month to get organised, for the nightmare of december ahead, but here i stand, 30th of november, seemingly no more organised than on the 1st.
bugger.

i also didn't go quite so well with my running every day goal...

oh well, onwards and upwards i guess

how are you going organise-wise for december? how did you go playing along with a month of my creative space?

fresh.

today, bb cooked up a biiiiiiiiig pot of bolognaise for dinner while he worked from home.



so tonight, we're having fresh bolognaise for dinner :D
it's as delicious as it looks!

for the first week in a few weeks, we've actually got our meal plans sorted for the week!
our waistlines and bank account are looking all the healthier for it too!

what are your meal plans for the week? are you joining in the month of my creative space too?

frame it.

yesterday i went for a little trip to the magical swedish emporium...
i was very restrained, only picking up one item, other than the ones that i went in there for that is.
one of those items that i tripped to springvale for, was a couple of frames to finish off the prints i scored from finders keepers last month.



they're all framed up now and ready for me to hang up on the wall!

now if only i can remember to get some hooks tomorrow...

a mistake.

a little boo-boo i'll hope you'll forgive...



it is in the first piece of crochet i ever did!
it's great to look back on things you've done in the past, you realise how things have improved!

an arrangement.

today's a month of my creative space prompt is 'an arrangement'
so i've arranged my current wooly projects...



a softie for mirabel, a jumper for bb and a bamcal square.

would you believe that i'm about to go through my stash to start yet another project?
i need to make a gift for a work colleague for a kris kringle.
i'm thinking of whipping up a shawl... i've drawn a lady, in her late 50's/early 60's and i'm drawing a complete blank as to what to make, any ideas???
they'd be most appreciated!!

a creative quote.

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

— Maya Angelou

i took the above photo, several months ago while taking a course for work in sydney.
what else is a girl to do when magnifying glasses start to get handed out than take macro photos of her knitting project? honestly? :D

close up.

this guy. what a cutie.

joining in with a month of my creative space. are you?

something new.

a couple of months ago, i signed up for a home composting trial through my local council...



and this week, they've delivered all the stuff to get me going!
i have to measure the amount of household waste that is going into our compost bin, and the amount that we're putting into landfill each week. hopefully the latter will start to go down significantly, as the former goes up :D
i can't wait to start producing some awesome compost to put in the garden! quality soil, here i come!

do you compost? has it improved your garden? are you playing along with a month of my creative space too?

a creative spark.

i was feeling a little bit un-inspired lately, and then i popped over to ravelry and noticed that the last few blocks for the bamcal group are up!



an end that is in sight?
there's nothing that gets my creativity sparking more :D

what's sparking your creativity lately? are you playing along with a month of my creative space too?

in the kitchen.

in my kitchen today...



i'm out of tea!!

don't despair though, this is a good thing!
it was one of the things on my list.
the stash that i had of teabags of different varieties was getting out of control and now it's very much back IN control.
there's only black ones left! oh, and some loose leaf, choc chip chai (drooooool) and a blend my clever cousin made!

what are you favourite teas? are you joining in with a month of my creative space? are you (almost perpetually) a day behind like me?

sunday snippets.

in case you weren't following the fun on instagram yesterday (#bfabwedding), i thought i'd share some of my favourite snaps from this lady's special day yesterday...



pop over and visit cathy to visit or join in with sunday snippets!

ps. this counts as a creative link, yep! linking up with other creatives :D

from a distance.

today's a month of my creative space prompt is 'from a distance' so i thought i'd share this shot of my backyard.
i used the panorama feature on my phone, and i think it came out quite well considering i'd not used it before!



i stood up on my fence to take it, and it gives a good idea of the shape and layout of the yard.
you can see my tangle of passionfruit, colourful flower box, window box of strawberries, mini-barrow of mint, various pots with herbs, trees and seedlings, the grapes, now featuring beans and peas in their lower levels, the jasmine right back to the fence full of ivy!
it also makes me realise, just how badly the lawn needs a trim!

what have you been looking at from a distance recently? how's your yard/garden looking this spring?

i made it myself.

i've blogged about this many times, but one of my proudest crafty moments, was finishing this...



bb and i love our ripple, it's lived on the end of our bed aaaaaalllll winter!
it's almost time for it to go away for the summer which is a bit sad, but it'll be ready to go once the weather gets cools again?

what have you made yourself?

ps. apologies about the cat hair, sampson will sleep on ANYTHING! including (not surprisingly) super comfy blankies :D

favourite online creative.

yesterday's (yep, still a bit behind...) prompt for a month of my creative space was 'favourite online creative' which put me into a little bit of despair...
there are far more that just a single creative my friends!
all of the blogs that i read, i read because the creativity captured in them inspire and excite me :D

so for that reason, my favourite online creative is pinterest!

it allows me to glean inspiration from some of my favourite online creatives (via what they're pinning, from their own spaces and beyond) AND from other peeps who i've not had the pleasure of getting to know yet!

win/win :D

who (or what) is your favourite online creative? are you on pinterest? do you follow my pins?

greatest hero.

oops! missed a day again! the days are just zooming past faaaaaaaaar too quickly!
yesterday's prompt for a month of my creative space is 'greatest hero' which for me is mother nature!
seriously!
and at the moment, this is why...



i cut these spring onions up on saturday and popped them in a glass with some water, after seeing this on pinterest, and looky how much they've grown! i'll never have to BUY spring onions again!

truly amazing!!

who is your biggest hero?

risk.

i mentioned yesterday that i broke one of my knitting needles i was using to knit up a little softie for mirabel...

well i took a little bit of a risk (which happens to be today's a month of creative space prompt) and carefully glued it back together to continue my knitting...



it seems to have turned out ok :D

what risks have you taken lately?

from above.

today's a month of my creative space prompt is from above.
so here's what i'm doing right now...



eating curry for dinner, flipping through frankie, and blog posts, and doing a few lazy sweater sleeve stitches.

i broke one of my knitpro needles on saturday night, so the little softie i started last week is well and truly on the backburner.
one day i'll stop being so clumsy...

and because it's monday, i thought i'd share my meal plans for the week too!

tonight, we had a red chicken curry. i threw it together before my hair dressing appointment and then left bb to serve up and clean up while i was getting pampered, bit cheeky :D

tomorrow night is date night, and we'll definitely be going out! i've just found out bb will need the car all day tomorrow and i'll have cabin fever after spending all day at home alone!

wednesday night, i'll pop some chicken kievs in the oven, and serve them with a huge mound of salad, before i jet off to ncb for some stitches, chocolate cake and a zillion laughs!

and thus ends the meal planning for the week... a good friend is having a special event :D and i'll be keeping myself busy keeping her sane/distracted/drunk and all around helping her celebrate!

what are you up to this week?

a time saver and someone else's creative space.

i've decided to cheat a little today, and combine yesterday and today's a month of my creative space prompts.

first up, a time saver



this morning, i attached velcro to the underside of our hallway rug, and then attached sticky velcro to the tiles.
i think i re-adjust the rug approximately 12984301 times a day so this actually saves me a ridiculous amount of time :D

and now, someone else's creative space.



this is bb's desk. i don't think a lot of creativity happens here...
mostly just playing games and wasting time on the internet ha ha, who am i to judge though...

and, i still have 1 sewing kit to giveaway, just pop over here to comment. the next comment will be the final winner :D

and there are 2 places left in the pay it forward program :D

lots of things happening over here ha ha!

what have you got happening this weekend? what little things do you do to save yourself time?

colour.

today's prompt for a month of my creative space is colour!
and i thought i'd share a little project that i cast on last night at brown owls...



i'm knitting up a little softie for mirabel
there's not a lot of colour in it, it's mostly white, but there's little flecks of colour.
i'm thinking it should be PERFECT for a little littly :D



and just a little bit of housekeeping too, while i'm thinking about it...

the giveaway i started on the last day of blogtoberfest, is actually still open.
i've got 4 sewing kits to give away, and i've only had 2 entries!
the next 2 comments will also be winners :D

aaaaaaaand, way back in march (!), i signed up for a pay it forward gifty type thing, and i've just realised, no one has commented for me to send a gift to them!
pop over to this post and leave a comment for me to send you a lovely little gift in the post :D

what have you been up to today? have you entered any giveaways? are you making a softie for mirabel?

nature.

nature is today's prompt for a month of my creative space, so i thought i'd share some snaps of what has popped up in my garden in the last little while...



i'm thinking these little ones have only popped up in the last 24 hours or so.
seriously.

now if i can find a way to keep them safe from the @*&$#( possums!
any ideas?

makes you think.

today's prompt for a month of my creative space is 'makes you think' and boyyyyyy do i have something that is making me think!

i'm working on this project at the moment and have almost finished the back section.
however, i've come up to this part...



and i am COMPLEtELY stumped!
as far as i can tell, it says to cast off 9 stitches, knit and leave the last 13 stitches on a holder, then cast off the first 4 stitches of the "middle" bit , knit until the final 9 stitches and cast them off too.
then go back to the stitches i've got on the holder (13 of them) and bind off the center 18, WAIT WHAT?

confused would be the understatement of the century!

so does anyone out there speak knitting pattern? i would DEFINITELY appreciate any advice :D

know your roots.

yesterday's prompt (yep, still running a day behind... maybe i'll catch up today :D) for a month of my creative space was know you roots.

so i thought i'd share some photograms i made as part of my vce assessment piece.



i was using the theme of homage, and this was a bit of a nod to my roots.

the watch with the knitting was my great grandmothers, as were the spoons, one for each of my grandmother's children, and were gifted to me by my maternal grandmother. the knitting also reminds me of her as well, she's always got a project on the go.
the glass bowl, full of sweets, is a tip of the hat to my paternal grandmother. the only diabetic i know that ALWAYS had a container FULL of lollies on her counter top. the bowl came to me via her as well.

beautiful memories, encapsulated on my living room wall. always within reach :D

happy.

oops, bit late with yesterday's post! but better late than never i guess...
yesterday's prompt for a month of my creative space was happy, so i thought i'd share my happy place...



the place i spend most of my time dreaming about...
my cosy comfy bed! complete with boyfriend AND kitty to snuggle.
happy days :D

hands.

today's a month of my creative space prompt is hands.

these hands have been busy today...



what have your hands been up to today?

notebook.

this puppy lives in my handbag alllllll of the time!



yet i don't write nearly enough things in it...
i think i need to tie a pen to it, i can never find one (though there's always one in my bag...) when i have something pressing to write!

how do you go with writing things down in a notebook? do you have one on you all of the time?

notebook is today's prompt for a month of my creative space, you should join in too!

make lists.

today's prompt in a month of my creative space was make lists.
easy!
i love making lists!!



this is my list for this morning...
not much creative stuff happening there, that's for sure!

maybe i'll write myself a creative-only list next...

what's on your to-do list today?

november & a creative space.

despite blogging every day this past month, i think october was the quickest month so far!
is it just me that's finding each month goes quicker than the last?

anywho, i achieved almost all of my october goals... the accountability of blogging every day definitely helped with that, i HAD to get stuff done so i had something to blog about!

which is definitely why i've decided to play along with kirsty in her "a month of my creative space"

so a second month of daily blogging. yep. it's going to be awesome!
there's a prompt everyday so that'll help me stay motivated... plus there's lots for me to do!

there's the second last month of bamcal squares to complete. i'm getting super excited for it to be done!
i want to get those side tables painted too, they were one of the things that slipped through the cracks this past month...
i want to get some more things happening in my backyard too, it's slowly coming together which is lovely! i've got a whole lotta seeds planted and i can't wait for them to start popping up!

aaaaaaaaaand...



i'm also trying to get back into running!
i haven't been running regularly since august and i bloody well miss it!
i'm trying to get a bit interactive with it too! i'm using the hashtag #runinnovember on twitter and instagram, so if you're interested and playing with those platforms, pleas join in!
i'm hoping the interactivity will keep me a bit more accountable and get me off my butt!!

now for today's prompt, a creative space...



wherever this little carpet bag is, that's where my creative space is...
there's a couple of projects on the go, my needles and hooks, some magazines, notebooks, sample cards and bits and pieces of wool!
a very inspiring bag of tricks :D

are you joining in with a month of my creative space?
or perhaps just playing along with today's creative space

closing time - a giveaway.

and so once again, blogtoberfest comes to a close...
pop over here to check out the massive list of lovely bloggers that joined in this year!
every year i make a promise to myself that i'm going to visit every blog on that list, but the way that blogtoberfest seems to grow every year, i never even come close!
maybe by next blogtoberfest ha ha!

i managed to get all of my kitchen cupboard painting done yesterday!



it seems like a silly thing but it's a big achievement to me ha ha!
now i know that when things get messy in there, a simple wipe over with a cloth should see them clean and sparkly new again :D

now i thought i'd have a little last minute giveaway too! i love me a blogtoberfest giveaway!
i have a few of these littlies left over from the weekend that was, and i thought it'd be lovely to share!



all you need to do to go in the draw is to leave a comment on this post!
maybe you could let me know the best blog you discovered from the list? or your favourite post from blogtoberfest? or anything at all really! just say hello!

the giveaway will be open for today only!
i'll draw it tonight when i get home from ncb!

make sure you're not a no-reply blogger though! i need to be able to get onto you if you win!!!


hope you've enjoyed blogtoberfest as much as i did!!

splashing the white about.

it's only taken me 30 days... but i've finally gotten on to painting the final two kitchen cupboards!

i've been putting them off FOREVER because they're the corner cupboards and super awkward to paint.
i would put money on my inability to walk properly tomorrow due to stretching out stupid ways to paint the very insides.



i've put two coats on each cupboard and now i'm out of paint!
think i'll pop out to get some now, then i can come home and paint the stools we got recently from ikea too!

i've got something special planned for their tops but they need a lick of paint first :D

what are you up to on this fine day? getting anything off a long standing to-do list?