gladioli

 

Another knitting bag made from some lovely floral bark cloth and lined with the green check. I think the flowers are gladioli. It could be a homage to Dame Edna.

The graph paper is me trying to work out a design for a beanie. See what everyone else is working on at Tami's ami.

Have a lovely week.

Reading Tiger, tiger by Margaux Fragoso + Listening to Sugaring season by Beth Orton

put a pompom on it

 

First of all, I've finished the pattern for the baby beanie and you can get that here should you like to knit one for your own baby or as a gift.

Also I've found this fun little Cleckheaton promotional video - it's timelapse. Don't you love that? - with a link to free knitting patterns for beanies for bigger kid and adult heads.



The pompom-like flowers in the top photo are fatsia japonica known in Japan as a yatsude or eight fingers because of the shape of the leaves. They are growing on the edge of a school sports field in my street. At the moment they are in full bloom and covered in bees.

And the 'Danish' hat with the crazy pompom is from a 1977 book Scandinavian knitting designs by Pauline Chatterton discovered in my local library. It's an excellent book with loads of charts for geometric designs as shown on the hat as well as a few patterns for hats and sweaters. Guess what y'all might be getting for Christmas?

with red buttons

Here's a little striped baby's sweater just finished. I love the colour of the brown wool - a sort of milky latte. And rummaging through my button box I found the red buttons. Tres chic. I used a pattern from a Panda book, #205 Adorable baby knits, and Patons Dreamtime 4ply merino. 

Officially it's winter now but already spring flowers are in the florists. Weird. However, I couldn't resist buying these hyacinths. They are such a lovely deep rich purple.

Reading Europa by Tim Parks + Watching DVD Dreams of a life - documentary about Joyce Carol Vincent who was found in her London bedsit in 2003 three years after her death.

cold days + tutorial

This is my variation of the hot water bottle cover made from a sweater. I wanted the hottie to be completely covered in woolly goodness but easily filled and emptied - without having to take off the cover every time. So, inspired by those fingerless gloves that convert to mittens, I came up with the idea of the flip top. If you'd like to keep your toes warm, read how I made it here.

The top photo was taken in July last year driving from Christchurch to Dunedin via Lake Tekapo.