I've been terribly slack with blogging for a while - there's been lots going on, and I haven't really _finished_ anything to show you! So, here's a little catch up post with a lot of photos and WIPs :)
Christmas at the Lake was excellent, even though the weather was very variable. Sometimes it was too hot and humid to be alive, and then we had torrential rain - the lake even flooded in early January!
But, bad outside weather makes for good inside baking weather :) I experimented with a few new recipes, and using the Thermomix to do the kneading saves me so much energy! My favourite bread recipe website expired though, so there was some frantic googling of cached pages to retrieve the recipes.
I did loads of cross-stitch. The Winter Sparkle is coming to life! It's now almost half done!
I finished the Persian Tiles Afghan kit, which Anne sent me for my birthday :) It was so much fun to make, and I adore the pattern. Jane must have shares in a stitch marker factory though because the patten wanted me to have and use so many! I've asked my mum if she would like a king sized version as a summer bedspread :) (this pic is unfinished, I'm waiting until closer to the Easter Show to block it)
I made some teddies, of course. The little one is the Heart Teddy, and the rainbow one is the Cross Your Heart Teddy.
I also had some time and brain to have a play with some new patterns! Here are three colourful mandalas that I'm going to use as doilies (unblocked in these photos):
2. Sunflower Mandala by Zooty Owl
3. Minimalist Cabled Mandala by Lilla Björn Crochet
I fell in love with this lacy star motif, and I'm very excited to start working on a version in midnight blue, with some of the star outlines picked out in surface slip stitches using silver thread! Here's a sample I did in a lovely grey mix lace yarn :)
Right now on my hook is another Zig Zag Tote Bag, this time with a leeeetle bit more planning in the colours - I'm doing a 24 colour rainbow! It's kinda nice to be doing something that doesn't require a lot of attention or counting (after the first few rows). Love rainbows :D
Phew! I think that's an update on me!
that cross stitch looks amazing! Such beautiful colors...
ReplyDeleteThanks Emma! One of these days I'll be able to do a ta-dah post about it :P Maybe next Christmas?
DeleteWow - that's a lot of busy! Looking good. I absolutely ADORE your Persian Tiles afghan...the colours, the shapes, everything! How big will the finished one be?
ReplyDeleteAs for the weather - can you believe it? Glad you haven't been smoked or burnt out, flooded, swept-, washed- or blown-away with the storms. It's crazy here too. We have had super heat for weeks on end but with humidity that we never used to get before. Tonight I went to a function and was planning to wear a pretty summer dress because the evenings have been very balmy but had to change at the last minute to a woollen top, pants and boots to stay warm and dry! It seems that we are now having the winter weather that we were supposed to have the past three winters that never showed up...until tonight! Crazy!
I'm glad the thermomix is a good energy saver...one of my best friends has one and swears by it! It is good to discover what works for you because it may work for me and others too. Now I am hungry...
Bon appetit! ;-) xxx
I think the persian tiles finished up at about 1.3m square - I'll measure it properly when I block it for the show.
DeleteI can thoroughly recommend the Thermomix - it is a great kitchen tool, easy to clean, and goes in the dishwasher! There's something magical about dumping a bunch of ingredients in the machine, and coming back 20 mins later to perfect lime curd :D
That's a nice size blanket. Portable yet big enough to add some warmth. It is a very beautiful design. I would like to know where Anne found it. (I want one too! hehehe)
DeleteI don't think there is any more room in my tiny kitchen for a big appliance like a thermomix. I did get myself a food processor to save my arms and I do use it occasionally but the time saved in chopping gets taken up with washing the bits and pieces by hand. I have gone back to the good old-fashioned sharp knife and chopping board - simple and quick to both set up and wash up! Being able to put your thermomix pieces in the dishwasher is increasing the attraction for me but the budget bottom line still needs convincing! :-)
Great to catch up with you and what you are working on. The Persian tiles are incredible aren't they! So beautiful!! xx
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy! It's good to get back to blogging - hopefully I can return to some kind of routine now the summer holidays are over :)
DeleteThe persian tiles afghan is stunning, look forward to seeing your cross-stitch finished too. Hx
ReplyDeleteThank you lovely :) The cross-stitch is definitely a long term project though!
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