beanies away!

earlier in the week, i sent off a stack of beanies to the beanie festival!



it's always an exciting trip to the post office, and now the wait begins...
i'm always excited to see how many of my beanies actually sell! oh and i wonder if i'll get any feedback this year...

my creative space.

it's been a frigid, wet and blustery old day in melbourne today.
i was somewhat thankful to be at work and out of the weather, except that i would have preferred to be at home in bed. or in front of the heater with my knitting...

so that's what i'm doing tonight!



not before i munched down on an enormous plate of roast lamb and vegies for dinner. it was the PERFECT dinner for such miserable weather!

but now, i'm getting down to business...



knitting up the final beanie to send away to the beanie festival. i've almost got them ready to send... maybe by the end of the weekend!

what are you up to in your creative space today? playing along with kootoyoo and her creative spaces?

the weekend beanie.

last saturday night, i cast on a beanie.
i'd had a day in bed after feeling super bleurgh and i needed something mindless to keep my hands busy.
a beanie was the answer.



by monday evening, after work, i was casting it off and sewing in the ends.

it was exactly what i needed last weekend, the perfect medicine to what ailed me.

do you use making as therapy? does crafting make you feel better?


EDIT: i forgot to mention, this beanie used 5 little scrappy balls from my stash! yeow!

beanie bonanza!

as promised yesterday, a little show and tell of the beanies i've been working on over the last few months...

a bundle of beanies knitted in the moda vera 'tammy' wool. i've made many beanies in this wool before and i love it because it is the ultimate cheat wool! every skein comes in a certain colour scheme and has a variety of textures of yarn, linked together for beanie-knitting ease :D
i got these skeins on super spotlight discount, they normally retail for about $15 and i bought them for under $2!!

and as for these two...

these were knitted from bits and pieces from my stash...

the large majority of the hexagon beanie was directly left over from brianna's blankie.
the rainbow beanie was heavily inspired by kate's, though instead of following the pattern that she used, i just made it up as i went, not because i thought i could, just because i couldn't be bothered getting my laptop at the time. sheer laziness!

and finally, the beanie i was working on yesterday...


this fiery number was again, made entirely from my stash wool. i managed to use up 2 complete scrappy balls! yippee!

my plan is to make my final two beanies to send to the beanie festival in the same manner. maybe different colour schemes though :D

happy friday all!!

our creative space

yesterday i was ALL about the beanies. it was beanie central! i had to finish a couple off and then write up tags for them all and then attach the damn things (not a lot of fun...)
would you like to see what's winging it's way to alice springs as we speak?


these 6 were all made from the same type of wool, moda vera tammy. it's a wool that has about 6 different yarn types within a ball with a single colour palette which makes for some pretty interesting beanies! the one in the bottom right corner is made of leftovers from the other beanies. two of these ones were knitting in the round which i now LOVE. i am quite lazy so the thought of sewing up the seams on straight knitted ones is a little much...


these two i actually sent away last year (there's that laziness again...), but they unfortunately didn't sell and i got them back. instead of just sending them again, i gave them a bit of a jazz up. in truth, i had a whole year to do this and it took me til yesterday to 'get around' to it. procrastination queen.


and this one, well this one is a bit special. this is the test knit i did for lisa. the pattern is called terzetto, which i believe is spanish for triangles. completely appropriate name as the entire pattern is made up of triangles!


lisa is set to release the pattern in the next few days and i would definitely recommend it! it was quick and easy to knit up and the instructions were beautifully clear and succinct! i struggled with the decreasing on the dpns at the end but that is because i am completely inept! i looked so awkward with the damned things, i thought i was going to injure myself! i got the hang of them though and it left a lovely finish! i'm really glad i bought myself two balls of the wool so i can make myself one!

unfortunately i only managed 9 beanies this year, the 10th is still in this state. not quite ready for alice springs this year. next year definitely though!


now i'm off to work unfortunately so not much creating for me today, maybe a little tired crochet once i get home and make and eat dinner!

more creative spaces can now be found here!

june?!?!

today is the first of june but where on earth did may go? feels like just yesterday i was writing my may post :S i have this crazy feeling this is the way the entire year will go!
well looking back on may, i did get my beanies done, and the test knit, well i almost did, i sent them off this afternoon! will have a proper show and tell tomorrow.




i also got my cushion done! well maybe only one, i still have lyndel's to do (don't worry, it's coming!). and yeah, that was about it for may on the crafty front...




so what does that mean for june? well i intend to finish off lea's blankie . it's almost done and i'll be taking it away with me this weekend! i'm heading off to daylesford with my lovely aunties and female cousins, a proper girly weekend away! in a complete coincidence, it happens to fall on the same weekend as the makers market and the lark sample sale! i'm very excited!
when i get back i'll definitely be getting down to those baby gifts i wanted to get started on last month, one is due VERY soon so i definitely need to get my butt into gear!
i also want to get my ripple done, FINALLY! it's been living on our bed recently as it's been so darn cold and we've had to be very careful not to wriggle too much and unravel it!
i'd also like to do some decluttering! there's little pockets forming everywhere and it's driving me to distraction!

what are your plans for june?

may days.

so the inevitable happened, it's may. the days keep trickling by at a rate that is a little alarming.
won't you slow down days?
anywho, what are your plans for may?

my may will be very crafty i think! lots and lots of wooly, crafty things to do, and maybe even some sewing too!
on the creative to-do list this month, lea's blankie (the aim is to have it finished by the end of the month, we'll see how that goes...), more beanies (i finished this one off on the weekend, 3 to go now!), a test knit (which incidentally, is a beanie), some baby presents (one is getting quite close to due, need to pull my finger out...) and finally a cushion (or two).
which reminds me, my giveaway ended on sunday and i was wayyy too peed off at my computer to try and use it (i can't type a thing anymore, not a thing! starting to save for a new one...) so without further ado, the winner is

lyndel!

congratulations to you! i'll be knitting and crocheting (yes, the cushion has both, not great at choosing between the two) you a cushion cover up as well! and look,



i've even made a start! after two tension swatches knitted up on the train, i cast on and managed to get a few rows done too, only 85 cms or so left to knit up, twice ha ha!
yes, i will most definitely be a busy bee this month but for now, i've got to go and be a busy bee in the kitchen. the dishes are piled high and i need some of them to cook dinner. the call of housework *sigh*.
hope your month is a wonderful one!

a learning experience.

over the weekend, bb and i went on a little road trip. well to be honest, it wasn't so little.
my uncle was having a 50th birthday party in his home town of berrigan, about 60 km's over the nsw border.
roadtrips involve different activities for different people, i-spy, sing-a-longs, maybe reading, but for me, it's all about the car crafts! i did contemplate taking lea's blankie along, but i think it's really getting a bit big to be travelling around all over the countryside (yup, i think it'll be staying home for ncb this week), so i needed to take something a bit more portable.
i decided on making a start on another beanie for the festival, but instead knitting up on straight needles, i though i'd give these a crack!


i'd never used circular needles before, let alone knit in the round so it was a daunting experience!
we had to make a quick stop into spotlight on the way (lara was SO right, shepparton spotlight is great!) as i had the incorrect length of plastic in my circular needles, but after that, i was loving it! a beanie with no seam! a dream!


this is how much i managed to get done on our travels (we took driving in turns). it's well on it's way to being a fully fledged beanie! can't wait to get stuck back into it on wednesday

beanie time!

having temporarily run out of wool for the flood relief blankie (i'll be getting some more in my lunch break today), i decided to set my mind to something that's coming up fast, preparing for the alice springs beanie festival.
i pulled out the beanies i've made so far...




i've made 3 since last years festival and 2 of my beanies from last years festival failed to sell so i got them back. i intent to fancy the 2 that didn't sell with some crocheted flowers as i have a feeling that they didn't sell because they were too plain!
but in any case, half way there!
i pulled out the three skeins of "tracey" yarn that i had stashed from way back in september, and snuggled up under my ripple (i love that it's cool enough at night to be snuggly with mr. ripple) i rolled them into balls. i found that it's MUCH easier when you're not on a train!



so all three balls are ready and raring to be knitted up into beanies, now to find the time...

giveaway reminder

just a little reminder, my giveaway ends tonight.
if you haven't already entered, you definitely should!!!

on a slightly exciting note, i got word that someone saw my beanies at the beanie fest!
AND i sent off my postcard swap postcard. i'll do a big reveal when i know rikki has gotten it...