and pouffe!

there it is!



terrible pun! i'm sorry!
but my knitted pouffe is done! well mostly... i knitted up the outside and then had to make a new insert as i didn't knit the cover big enough to fit over the original pouffe i had.
but the insert i sewed up is too small! i thought i'd taken seam allowance into account but i most definitely HAD NOT!



it's far too small so i will definitely have to pull it all apart and rethink my approach a little...

oh and i might have to crochet a little circle to sit over the gaping holes in the top and bottom too. maybe winging it with these things isn't SUCH a great idea, who would have thought?

today is the last day of blogtoberfest and honestly i feel as though it's absolutely flown! i've still got reserve posts in my brain, just in case i ran out of things to blog about... but i didn't! just the time and energy to get things written on two occasions ;)
i might try and see how long i can keep up this momentum though, wish me luck?
big thanks to shells in the bush for being the hostess with the mostess this year.

did you participate in blogtoberfest this year? how did you go? did you keep your goals? did you blog every day? do you make patterns for projects up as you go and end up with more work than you first anticipated too?

green love.

there hasn't been a lot of sun shining around here this week, but that doesn't mean things aren't growing!
the plants know it's spring, even if the weather doesn't!

my beetroots have grown a whole heap!



they're standing up big and strong. i'm ignoring the fact that the other baby one seems to have gone missing. and that my carrots have been savaged...
i'd love to blame the native wildlife but a certain cat slunk into the house with some very dirty paws this morning. (there's a reason almost every photo of him is hashtagged #jerkcat on instagram)

the flat leaf parsley seedlings that were on my windowsill last week have found a new home.



i took this mostly overcast weather as a chance to harden them off outside, i'm just keeping everything crossed that there's not a frost in the next couple of days!

i'm checking my strawberry pots and planter box on a daily basis at the moment.



i'm almost holding my breath waiting for all of the lovely berries hanging around to ripen!

the same could be said for these lovelies too!



my blueberry didn't fair too well last year (to be fair, i only planted it last year...) so i'm hoping to get at least a couple of berries from it this year.

and finally... this little beauty has been making our showers a little bit nicer the last week or so with it's gorgeous blooms.



it is quite literally IN our shower and it's a really nice thing to have a bit of greenery in there!

what's growing at your place this week? are you getting into the swing of spring?

the craft sessions.

i've been trying to write this post all day. attempting to put into words the weekend that i had...

my words are failing me somewhat though.

a couple of weeks before the event was due to start, i received a postcard in the mail, containing the words "the craft sessions is a weekend retreat of creative workshops, delicious food, quiet moment and inspiring people. immerse yourself in a weekend sewing, knitting, stitching, printing and dyeing."
that pretty much sums it up!



the first class i took on the saturday, was all about using natural dyes to colour fabric and wool.
julia led us on a nature walk, introducing us to plants that create different colours when treated certain ways before taking us through the actual process in-depth. i've never taken so many notes in my life!
i came away from the class SO inspired! while it may be a lengthy process, dyeing fibres is most definitely something i can do at home, and with the comprehensive instructions i left with, hopefully quite successfully too.



next up was block printing with leslie. everyone sat at a desk with a large and somewhat daunting block of rubber in front of us.
after some initial blank-page fear, i got carving and produced quite a few stamps i was fairly happy with.
then came the printing part though... much harder than the initial carving as differing amounts of ink on the stamp and differing amounts of pressure applied when stamping on the fabric, led to wildly different results.
the whole process was super fun though and i left with a whole pile of hand-printed fabric swatches.



i got to use the aforementioned hand prints in my first class on sunday, freeform patchwork, again with leslie. in both classes, she really encouraged everyone to do their thing, let loose and let the creativity flow, and i definitely didn't hold back! using one of my handprinted pieces as a starting point, i delved into leslie's scrap baskets and found some things to match. then i sewed similar sizes together, again and again until i had my finished panel. it was a bit like a puzzle, and i'm still contemplating what to make out of it.



the final class i attended was a knitting one. fixing and finishing with georgie. holy moly, does this lady know her knitting! she can read knitting like there's no tomorrow, she's a genius!
unfortunately i wasn't feeling 100% through this class so i mainly sat quietly and just absorbed lots of knowledge and energy.
even though i definitely wasn't on my game, i picked up so many handy little tips and tricks!



the whole weekend was just so lovely. the food, the speakers, the classes, the other attendees (everyone was SO nice) and the SETTING! it was all perfect.
i really hope i can attend next year and soak up all the loveliness again.
a massive thank-you needs to go to the awesome ladies behind all of the supreme organising too. it was amazing to be apart of the vision that they had for the craft sessions :D

did you attend the craft sessions? have you ever been on a crafty get-away?

meal planning monday.

oh hello there monday! i kinda wish you'd have gone differently... after such a FABULOUS weekend, i kind of feel like i'm nursing a "the craft sessions" hangover! so much so, i didn't even blog yesterday!
i had photos uploaded and ready to put together in a blog post, but i felt quite unwell and took myself straight to bed when i got home!
a review will DEFINITELY be coming up a little later in the week (probably tomorrow). most likely more than one to be honest, there were just so many cool things happening!!

anywho, meal planning, yes!



tonight, we had the above! i'm super late with this post today huh? they were haloumi fritters (masterchef june '11, pg. 92) with a spinach and red onion salad. i didn't like them much (the chickpea:haloumi ratio wasn't quite right because i didn't use the recommended amount of haloumi, oops!) but bb thought they were pretty nice. though he did make a comment about how much better they'd be with meat... um, nope!

tomorrow night, i'm going to make jamie's dim sum pork buns with the leftovers from last night's roast. hopefully they're ok because bb and i were discussing how we've both not really had dim sum buns that we've liked... hopefully i can create a good experience for the both of us!

wednesday night, i'm hoping to make a duck ragu with rag pasta (masterchef june '11, pg. 34). i've got the day off from work so should have time to source some duck, ragu it, oh and make some pasta. it's been ages since i made pasta and i've missed it! i love taking eggs and flour and making them into silky smooth delicious pasta!

thursday night, i might grab some sausages out of the freezer and whip up some meatballs. they're quick, they're easy and most importantly they're delicious!

friday night, my late night at work (boo!), i'll attempt the recipe i was going to attempt two weeks ago. it never quite happened as i wasn't very well and stayed in bed most of the day! oops!

saturday night, i think i'll be heading out for a couple of drinks and a pub meal to farewell a super good friend that has found a new job. i'm exceptionally sad to see her go, but hopefully her new job will be really awesome!

sunday, i'm going to leave up to bb. it's my full weekend at work and i'll probably be absolutely pooped by the end of it!
probably a bit like i am now ha ha! bed ahoy!

have you had a manic monday? or are you recovering from the craft sessions come-down too? what are you eating this week?

little lovelies.

every week, i try and share a little list of lovely things that have happened throughout the week in my neck of the woods, to try and keep myself looking on the bright side of things.

burger dates with my bestie



the most delicious food comes out of food trucks. for sure.

gifts from clients at work.



he was super stoked i was able to fix his glasses so quickly after he'd sat on them.
i'll be remembering his name ;)

my shadow.



he'd follow me around all day if he could.

and getting moving again. in my new shoes.



it felt pretty good, now to keep it up!
definitely getting inspired by this awesome lady and her exercise habit!

what been happening this week to make you smile?

packed and ready!

after a quiet morning at home, i'm packed and ready to go to the craft sessions for the weekend!



i've spent the past few hours, getting my craft on at brianna's house, as a warm up to the gigantic weekend of crafting we have ahead of us.

i used a doona cover i picked up at the op shop during the week....



to whip up some pyjama pants for the weekend!
i managed to do a bit better job of them than last time...
next time i'll make the elastic a little tighter though, and maybe shape for my butt a little more too.
these ones are pulling at the front a little...



what are you up to this weekend? are you heading to the craft sessions too? do you make your own pyjama pants?

house love.

some days, you just need to nest, and today was one of those days.





a bunch of flowers, a beautifully scented candle lit, and some quiet time set aside for a little hooky action, spread out on my newly vacuumed rug.
bliss.

what's happening at your place tonight? have you checked out maxabella's weekly rewind? it's what i'm reading tonight ;)

green love.

the last couple of days have been rainy and miserable in these here parts, which has meant, not much time getting outside in my garden.

there is however, lots going on on my window sill to share.



shall we take a closer look??



on the weekend, mum and i replanted the tomato seedlings that i planted a few weeks ago. they're still recovering from the trip from the country i think... hopefully, when the sun comes out again, they'll bounce back without any issue :D



next door is some parsley i planted a couple of weeks ago. it has gone completely nuts! i think i might need to replant this pretty soon too so it doesn't get too leggy...



next along is the thyme i planted at the same time as the parsley. it has also gone a bit ballistic. i think i'll let the little leaves develop for a bit longer before i replant these ones though...



and last but not least, i planted some oregano at the same time as the other herbs too. apart from the chives i planted (which haven't sprouted at ALL yet!), the oregano is the slowest going... still a couple of weeks before i replant these ones at least.

it was funny while i was down in the country over the weekend, as the first thing mum and i did after our little gardening session, was to put the plants and seeds we'd potted on the windowsill!
i wonder where i get it from!?!

what's growing at your place at the moment? what quirks have you picked up from your parents?

addiction.

i'm forgoing sleep. and wishing i didn't have to work. i'm avoiding any chores and all housework has been forgotten... i'm back on the heart blankie wagon.



this blankie is seriously addictive.
being the smallest blankie i've ever made, it's working up SUPER quickly AND it's absolutely smashing through my scrappy balls of wool!
i've already used up 4 balls!!



one of those balls may have been a grey ball though...
it's entirely possible i will need to BUY a bit more grey to get this one finished as i have used up at last half of the full ball i had too!



i might invest in a whole lot more grey to be honest... i'm already planning another of these blankies when i'm done...

have you ever been addicted to crocheting a blankie? what's your favourite blankie pattern?

meal planning monday.

mondays seem to be coming around quicker and quicker every week! can this year slow down a bit already please??



tonight, homemade pizzas are on the menu! i'll defrost some of the pizza dough that's been left over from the last couple of times we've had homemade pizzas, so i won't even have to make dough! huzzah!

tomorrow night, i'll put together this recipe, with some lamb chops that i picked up last weekend. should be delicious and most importantly, quick :D

wednesday night is ncb night this week so i'll grab something while i'm there. the photo above, is the eggplant chips i had last fortnight! they were pretty scrumptious!

thursday night, the plan is to whip up some thai fish burgers (Sfi November '08 pg. 38). i've never had anything like them so hopefully they turn out ok!

friday and saturday nights, i have no idea what i'll be having for dinner as i'm heading off to the craft sessions! i am beside myself with excitement and i'm not going to lie, i've actually already started packing...

hopefully bb will be able to put together a roast for the two of us for dinner on sunday night. i'm imagining that i am going to be absolutely exhaustipated from all of the crafty adventures i've had all weekend and definitely not in the mood to cook!

what are your dinner plans this week? are you coming along to the craft sessions too?

country fun.

oopsie daisies! yesterday was the first day so far this month i didn't get around to writing a blog post...
i think i'd done pretty good to make it this far ;P and i'm not going to apologise for it because yesterday i was way too busy having fun!!



bb and i jumped in the car to visit my parents. so there's been lots of petting of decrepit kitties. poor old things.



mum and i spent a sizeable amount of time out pottering in the garden too...
i brought down my tomato seedlings and now they're all re-potted into bigger pots with manure so they'll grow up big and strong!



everything is sitting on mum's sunny windowsill in the garage at the moment. we don't need a greenhouse when we have windowsills :D



i'm trying to convince mum that we should put together a compost heap, so that she can re-fill her garden beds with homemade stuff rather than having to buy it and we kind of decided on a place.
i took out the shovel and started moving a bit of the (10 years worth!!) chook poop from the chook house onto the compost pile.
then i discovered there was a concrete slab floor in there, for about half of the floor... so naturally i cleared off the several inches of chook poop so you could see it!
mum and dad are chook-less at the moment, so my intention is to get this little house absolutely sparkling for the new arrivals, and to keep it that way when they're here!



after getting all gross and sweaty shoveling all that chook poop, i jumped in the shower, and when i'd jumped out, my brother had arrived!
cue cider and crochet on the grass in the sunshine.
this was followed by dinner out at the local pub AND an engagement party for a family friend.

a pretty fantastic saturday if i do say so myself!

what are you up to this weekend? hope you've had a chance to soak up some sunshine!

pesto is the besto.

i've had pesto on my mind the last couple of weeks... bb and i have been working our way through some bought stuff, that we accidentally over bought (we couldn't remember if we already had some, and bought more while grocery shopping, more than once!)
with every jar that we emptied, it was washed and put away in a cupboard, and i said to myself and out loud, 'you'll be full again soon, full of homegrown, homemade pesto'.
my seemingly absolute inability to grow basil or rocket had been playing on my mind though... that is until i heard someone on the interwebs talking about nasturtium pesto...
nasturtium is something that grows like an absolute weed in my front garden AND in one of my parent's gardens too!
at first, i was a bit weirded out by the thought... mainly because nasturtium isn't one of the most popular pesto ingredients. but the more i thought about it, the more i thought it would work! it's peppery, just like rocket, and combined with some salty fetta and creamy pine nuts, i thought i'd definitely be onto a winner!



i used what i'd learnt from the couple of times i've made this rocket pesto recipe and quantities i had available to me.

nasturtium pesto

a bowlful of nasturtium (i used about 60g once it'd ben washed and spun dry)
40g pine nuts
60g fetta
parmesan, grated in to taste
plenty of olive oil

pop all of the ingredients (not the olive oil) into a food processor and set to whizzing it up
slowly drizzle the olive oil into the food processor until the mixture gets a nice fluidity to it
give it a taste, and then grate in some parmesan until it has enough zing



it's pretty easy to make huh?
i served it up for dinner with some spaghetti, some roasted tomatoes and some more fetta.



have you ever made nasturtium pesto? do you have lots of nasturtium growing too?