Indian Summer

The weather sure is totally messed up! Here we are at the end of May, tomorrow June starts and we have summer weather all round. Even the nights are quite temperate. My poor veggies are so confused. I have huge tomatoes on the vines, new tomato plants flowering, my eggplant bushes are full of flowers and fruit. So what to do if Father Winter decides to wake up and start wintry weather? All my beautiful plants will die. I am harvesting figs and beans! For goodness' sake!  I  mean, what on earth is happening!

This morning I decided to make some sandwich spreads using just veggies. I simmered one onion, chopped up, in a bit of coconut oil, then added some freshly harvested young beans, finely grated carrots, finely grated broccoli and cauliflower, some parsley and fresh coriander, little bit of chopped cabbage and spinach, few stalks of celery, bit of chili and a few peppadews. Lightly mixed with the onions and quickly cooked, then blitz together with a bit of mayo. Salt, pepper and some smoked paprika, soy sauce, bit of vinegar and lemon juice and Bob's your uncle. Very tasty! Something for sarmies or for anything you like to dip. My granddaughter did the tasting and she likes it, so there you are!

I have been knitting so much lately that my shoulders are currently on strike and I still have to knit a jersey order. Started knitting children's socks as well and what a delight! Funny how in old age, some things just seem easier to knit than when you were much younger! I am trying all sorts of things and it is a lot of fun just doing that!

Hope that you have good weather and lots of fun wherever you are!

Marl

xox

March

Well, summer is slowly saying bye-bye here in the south with lovely cooling days starting to make you mellow. We had one gloriously, hot, hot summer and everyone I know said that they cannot wait for winter! I've had a complete energy collapse, if one could call it that. No energy to do anything or even try. I have never felt this deflated. 

But with all that said, I have tried to make a few things for the market I attend. Although I have had a terrible December market, non-existing January one, at least February seemed to be ok. Sold a few things, even one of the dolls that I have made for the Xmas table. They are so beautiful! I have since decided that in future I will concentrate more on making stuff for myself for a change. I crochet another blanket for my chair and started on a oval mat, then stopped and it is still buried under a lot of plastic bags full of material and wool. Now knitting a nice little pull-over top with bargain wool I found at one of the shops I normally drop into. When it is finished, I hope that it will fit me because I really like the pattern and photo of the top on the model.  I have also started on a few denim bags. I have stared very long at the material for inspiration and then one day just started to cut and sew and that was that. 

We are also busy planning our winter veg garden. The peas have been sown and is coming up nicely. We'll see what will happen when the tortoises find the succulent stems!!

Seems I still have problems loading my photos. My son keeps on tampering with the computer and I think that that might be the problem. Will have to reload the program and start all over again. As I said, I just do not have the energy right now.

Hope all is well in bloggerland and that your days are full and happy!!

Marl

xox

One super hot Christmas!

Today seemed to be the perfect day to blog. It is all quiet here, everyone's out. I stayed at home to make some jam and to have a bit of quiet time to myself.

Also busy on another blanket. Thought originally it would be blue toned, but after buying some lovely marked down yarn, the colours now variate between orange, blue and bits of pink! Looks like the cheap yarn is yarn that might have been incorrectly wound because the colours need to variate and they don't. So you will have half a ball of orange, a bit of blue, then a mix, but anyway, all in all the blanket looks cheery!

My veg garden is growing fantasticly and I have already eaten from it. The beans are growing towards heaven and my only wish would be to be able to climb up to the giant's house and take a few gold coins! Our economy has taken a turn for the worse and who knows what might be in store for us next year.

Tried to download some photos, but with no success! There is something wrong with the camera's card. I will have to get a new one.

Anyway, Christmas is around the corner and I would like to wish everyone who reads this blog a wonderful day with your loved ones and a stunning new year! I hope that everything that you wish for would come your way in 2016! Not all at once, that would be boring, but little by little so that the joy will last for a long time.

I will leave you with an image of a beautiful daisy I had in my garden!

Marl
xox

When winter seems to go on and on and on........

what do you do? I feel forever too cold to do anything except sit on my chair in my room and knit/crochet. I have an extremely small space, but moved a chair in front of a window so always have a good light source at my back. Occasionally I would turn the chair around so that I can look outside to watch the birds and look at the flowers blooming on an old pallet flower box we made (I call it the nursery). I plant everything I can in there for blooms and cuttings and have been very successful doing that.

I have been very busy with my blanket making and my arms are feeling that totally 'enough is enough' spasms and yet, I have so much to do still. Keeping a market stall in goods take a lot of time and effort. That's all I can say! And is it worth it? I really do not know, at times I think it is (when people actually decide to buy what I make!) and at times I think that it is a total waste of time. BUT, I must also add that when people look at my knitted or made items and oh an ah over it, the feeling of 'we are thinking the same about things' is overwhelming. I love positive people! On all that though, I am starting to consider changing to facebook selling. I know people who have had a lot of success doing that.

 A lovely baby blanket I made for a friend's new baby boy as a present. It is beautiful!

 This is the underside, I padded it using soft flannelette material.

 New addition to the family, lovely cross breed, called Johnny!

My beautiful handsome grandson modelling a Shreg beanie!

Something else I have discovered lately is that I have become allergic to apples! After years and years of eating apples with their skins on, suddenly I am totally allergic to the skins. I have to peel every apple before I eat it and to tell the truth, an apple without a skin is not an apple to me! 

Well, that's me for today! Hope you will have beautiful sunny days with lots of blessings!

Marl
xox

Grannies and granny squares

At last I could find a way to get back into my blog to do one! Somehow something has happened to the set-up and makes it quite difficult to get to the new blog page set-up! Anyway, here I am and I for one, cannot believe that March crept up on us so suddenly! Summer is gone although we are experiencing some very hot days still. I LOVE AUTUMN so I am not complaining in the least!

I have been busy. Busy crocheting granny square blankets and I am thoroughly tired of granny squares! I don't even want to look at the beautiful blankets on Pinterest, so there! Saying that, I must still finish a small/medium blanket and then onto a queen sized granny square (what else!) spread and as I am sitting here, do not have the energy to do!!  Must still upload the pictures. Then I'll show you, thats to say if I can find my way into this blog again.

I have also slowly started gardening again. Had a fantastic bean harvest again this year. Even a few small buckets full of mini tomatoes and quite a few chillies. Those chillies that the dog did not bite or picked from the bushes! Can you believe the little devil! Even the tomatoes! Busy little thing he is.

Anyway, glad I could make it back here and hope to do so soon again! Let me now try and figure out how to load those pictures again as it seems the program must be installed again. If only stuff could stay as it was! I hate to do the same thing over and over again. Now you know why the granny squares are becoming a no-no with me:  too much of one thing and your creative mind gets stuck!

Enjoy the northern spring and our southern autumn!

Marl
xoxo

Lovely flower from my garden!

Merry Christmas to all!

I've been trying very hard to get back into blogging, but life decided differently. I have no beautiful pictures of Christmas ornaments or decorated trees although I would have loved to have some to post.  Anyway, have a look at the blog 'Little Woollie', she has the most beautiful tree thingie going there! Lovely homemade ornaments, just as I like them. Thank you for that!

I would love to say to all who at times manage to look in on this blog, that I hope  the birth of Jesus will always be your saving grace too! Enjoy the day set out for the celebration and eat all things nice and healthy! I will try and do the same!! Cherish the time with your family.

Till we speak again,


Marl
xox

More Bags

Already the 1st of October. This year is going even faster than the previous one.

Anyway, I have finished another  bag and here are the pictures to prove it!

A very red beaded festive little bag!

Flip side of red ribbon bag.

I have another 3 lined up for finishing, but at times just sit back and stare at them for lack of inspiration! I like to make each one a bit different from the other.  I might use the same decorations, but place them in different positions so that they sort of look unique!  Sounds terrible!

Time to get ready for Christmas markets and the list of goods I need to make grows by the day. Stocking fillers are a priority, also little items for Xmas tree decoration and some lovely homely presents.

Sun today after days and days of rain! Love the rain, but I am so glad to see the sun!

Well, off to work I go! Hope everyone has a lovely week filled with lots of sweet things and lots of fun things for hands to do!

Marl
xox

Spring and September in the Southern Hemisphere

So much for regular blogging! So many things get in the way, least of all, my camera is never ready to download pictures.  

Yesterday I harvested some of the last of the winter carrots and made a good lentil soup (my favourite) using those plus a few late beans, a few lonely tomatoes and a few leaves of spinach. Nothing as good as a good wholesome soup for lunch and other times when you feel pecky! Now to start cleaning up the veg patch and plant summer crops.  Looking over at the borage which grew so profusely over the winter, I feel sorry that I have to take them out.  The bees will be without a wonderful food source for a while.  Did you know how wholesome borage actually is?  The lovely blue flowers can be used in drinks and salads. Tastes like cucumbers.  The flowers, according to an article I read recently, replenishes the nectar content every half an hour.  Is that not something to know? Specially when you keep bees? Imagine how lovely that honey will taste and how healthy. You should read up about it and all the wonderful uses.  I am always amazed at what the herbs that you grow in your every day garden, can really do for you.  We are sort of stuck with just one use for those good herbs, never learn to use them for anything else.

 Profusely cannot describe this patch of borage, full in flower and blown to bits by our winds.

On the craft front, I have also been busy. Really got stuck somewhere last month when I just could not get myself to do anything.  I felt deflated and really had crafters' block, if there is something like that.  I thought a good rest will do the thing, but you know, I find it very, very hard to get back into production, so to speak. 

I have made a few crochet coin purses for an order and then got carried away and made 12. As easy as that!  Could not stop after the first two.  Now I am back on recycling denim into bags. As fancy as I can do them!  I try and use as many old things as I can possibly lie my hands on and that means beads, felt, buttons and ribbons of all sorts!

 One side of a recycled handbag using bits of ribbon, stamp, buttons and something from a relatives wedding invitation.

 Cushions I made decorating them with old charity shop doilies. They look very nice to me although I have decided to redo one of them as it seems to flop to much.

 I bought this beautiful piece of material showing different birds on them.  I initially wanted to quilt them to use as place mats, but never got round to doing that.  This turned out to be a small cushion and was sold in a jiffy.  It really is a little gem.

 Another easy crochet blanket I would call "my stash buster"! This took care of quite a large box of wool that was too little or just not right for certain projects.  As a blanket, I must admit, it is beautiful and lovely and warm. Sleep under it every night!

One of my totally over the top decorated denim bags, but as with some things, once you start, there is just no stopping you!  Love it!

 This is another piece of beautiful (quite expensive, too!) material that I used to make a big cushion. It spells New York, London and Paris all over. Really lovely.

 Another piece giving us a bit of South African heritage with the founder father Jan van Riebeeck, showing the Cape of Good Hope and of course, the lovely proteas found in that area.  Another cushion as you can see!

Here I used DK wool double to create a shrug.  Feels quite snug and warm.  Hope that sellers like it too.  I made 2, sold 1 on first view, hope this one goes too!

That's all for today! Hope all hands will be busy and kept out of mischief!

Till we meet again via the internet,

xox Marl

Cold, cold June!

It has taken me 6 months to get back to blogging.  Not that I didn't want to, but there always seemed to be something missing.  I would look at the screen and nothing would pop into my head.  BUT, all the while things were happening around me!

The kitchen garden has flourished during summer and even well into this cold winter we are experiencing. Yesterday I still harvested some beans, small carrots and most probably, the last of the baby marrows.  I also picked the first two edible pea pods and shared with my granddaughter.  She just loves fresh goodies from the garden. The salad greens are going over the roof.  I must admit, I fed them plenty of worm tea.

On the crafts side, I have managed to make quite a few blankets.  Will take photo's and post soon.  Also lots of little bits and pieces.  We (my friend and I) attended a rural market last week and all went well with the selling of our goods.  Petrol is so expensive these days, you really have to budget well to make those trips. At the moment I am busy making some denim recycled bags and find that some days you just have more creative energy than others.  Hopefully mine will return in the next hour or so, because I need to get those bags done!!

Well, I am back and hopefully will keep on posting blogs for another while!

May your days be filled with lots of blessings:  big and small!

Marl
xox

December Odds and Ends

Well, it is the 26th today already, tomorrow is Friday and another month is almost gone.

December has been a busy month with markets at the beginning of the month, orders that needed finishing off and time to think up new ideas for the coming year.  Presents were bought and made and at last, I have taken a few pictures of goods made. Will post in January.  One more market on 29th and that will be that for 2013!

Weather wise, the heat has really decided to shoot to extremely hot with occasional cool days, but otherwise we are really frying! Garden work is now at a minimum, but I must confess, the veggies are looking very good.  We have picked a few times from our bean poles and I think especially the Blue Peter variety has done extremely well.  We have harvested a few pumpkins (a bit early, but they are frequently stung, so I pick them before they go bad) and the tomatoes of which we have 3 varieties growing, are looking gooood!

It is also cricket time in the Southern Hemisphere, so we are glued to the screen when it is on.  

Last, but not least, I do hope that everyone had a good Christmas yesterday and because I know I will not be blogging again until January, will have a fabulously 2014 and that all your weirdest wishes,dreams and hopes will come true!  I certainly know that mine will!

Until next time,

Marl

xoxo

Hi there!

Slowly, but surely, summer is fast approaching.  We've had a lot of rain recently, some wind to counter and the days are getting longer and warmer.  I am already sporting some sort of tan from being outdoors harvesting some of the veg that are ready.  A huge pile of spinach is waiting for me on the counter to process as soon as I am getting off the computer!

I will check, but I am almost certain that November is my blog's birthday??!!  As for new pictures, I am sure that I did take some, but have not downloaded yet.  Next time.  Thought I'll just pop in and say "Hi!".  Busy on lots of goodies for upcoming markets as well.  Will take pics soon.

Have a lovely week!

Marl
xox

Spring has sprung!

I just cannot believe that it is September already!  The last time I blogged, was in June.  Slowly, but surely, the weather has changed from biting cold to some slightly warmer days.  We have had this terrible cold wind coming from nowhere at times freezing your limbs off.

The kitchen garden has been 'tilled' so to say and we have used a completely different method this time to see if our crops could not be more lush and fruitful.  We have stuck to the individual built up beds, but have laid a bottom layer of  hay as compost, then a good layer of normal compost and soil, then sewn the seed covering them with another layer of hay.  I must say the beds are looking fantastic.  The cabbages and caulies are big and lush and the carrots must be about two feet tall already (ok, the carrots are smaller, but you get the drift)!  Something is definately working.  We are also using heritage seeds for the first time and have sewn quite a few new things, to us in any case.  Can't wait for the jelly melons and the arctic icicle radishes to mature. Will take photo's and post soon.

I have also been knitting and have a few photo's ready to share with you.  Hoping to bash my stash, I have knitted a jersey for my granddaughter as well as gathering all the bits of pieces I have crochet and knitted (squares, etc) and crochet them together to form a little blanket.  Very skew, but colourful, I was not going to have sleepless nights over the squareness of that one! Seems the camera (or operator) made a mess of that picture! I'll have it next time.

This is my granddaughter's jersey knitted from bits and pieces and at times using different patterns.  Soft and warm.

 Blanket no 1:  using knitted squares approx 18x18cm and trying to use a different pattern on each of them.  I must say, I knitted some amazing patterns. The names of the stitch patterns are also very quaint:  caterpillar stitch horizontal and vertical, bamboo stitch, sand stitch, double andalusian stitch, hurdle stitch, granite relief stitch, ant egg stitch, wheat germ stitch and my favourite, eye of the partridge stitch!!

This is blanket no 2:  Taken from an old Golden Hands book, these are just crochet squares in 3 colours.  There are 36 squares altogether and it would make a very nice and cozy knee blanket.

 Photo to show the edge of the first blanket where I have used a bicolour cable edging to finish the blanket off.  Looks quite snazzy!!

This bag started life intended to be a cushion cover, but I thought, what the heck, lets make it a bag!  So a bag it has become.  I must still do the inside lining and decide on the fastening.  Must also still strengthen the handles with some webbing.  It is knitted from pure cotton currently on our yarn shelves and has a nice sturdy and heavy feel to it.  

The knitting patterns I have found in an amazing book called the Mon Tricot knitting dictionary featuring 1030 stitches and patterns.  And (as it says on the front page) Knitting and Crochet ~ patchwork, jacquard, afghan, fork, loom, arans, furs, woven crochet, technics.  This was printed around the 70's, but is still very much usable.  Patterns are always the same, just the yarns and wools are different in this day and age.

That's all for now!

Marl
xox

Market Day

There are many festivals and markets, at times combined, in our country.  I suppose it says something of an ever changing economy.  The minute unemployment hits a certain mark, craft markets emerge as people are trying to make a living.  Not all markets bring in the money as I can attest, but you meet new people and listening to them always make you feel like you do not have it so bad!  That is the strangest thing!!

Over the last weekend I attended a market sharing with a lady I met at another market.  This is in farmers' territory and fresh produce could also be bought there.  The stalls were expensive to start with and although I had a few sales, I expected a bit more as there were lots of people moving through.

Here are a few photo's I took of our stall and just around where we were situated.

Our stall from a slight distance.

The 'Rox' lady across the isle from us.  She paints the most beautiful designs on rocks of all sizes. Her email address is: avheimerl@live.com and she also paints animal portraits (and lots more!).

A close-up of our stall.  My frilly summer scarves are hanging nearest to the camera.

This lady sold millions of shawls - all manner of them.  Her moneybag was swinging very low to the ground!

Always a tea garden with good eats, strawberries and cream and, very importantly, a good cup of tea!

These giant poly balls got a lot of attention and there were always people waiting for their turn.

We slept over at a friend's house on a farm.  Lovely old house and so big!  I slept in a huge bedroom with the most lovely crochet blanket on.  All hand made!  Very colourful indeed!

Beautiful and colourful!

This is all for today!  Hope that you will have a lovely sunny day, whether it is winter or summer!

xox

Marl

At Last, another blog post!

Time is flying by so quickly that before you know it, the new month has gone and so it goes month after month.  Every time I thought to blog, I would remember that the camera's batteries were flat and need to be recharged and then I never get to blogging. 

Anyway, this morning I have decided to just sit down and write, pictures or no pictures!  I have had quite a busy few months with making new goods for my market stall and looking after my grandson.  Who, by the way, is more than a handful!  Sitting down to knit/crochet or sew would be for the few precious moments the little darling closes those beautiful eyes (more often than not, for only an hour or so, but what the heck)!  

The weather is definitely turning colder as winter is fast approaching the back door.  I have planted a few lovely winter flowering annuals and can't wait for all the colour.  Violets that were planted about 2 months ago, are flowering and the view from my bedroom window is stunning! Also planted some cauliflowers and salad greens and a few spinach plants.  Hopefully they will survive the chickens scratching around them, over them and out with them (the general thing) and I desperately trying to rescue the wilted plants. Chicken no 1 is sitting on 9 unfertised eggs again while no 2 and 3 are scratching and pooing and generally doing their bit to mess all over the show.  But, we still love them.  Granddaughter has also acquired two rats as a birthday present.  We'll see how that goes!

I am itching to start sewing up a bag, not just any old bag, but a nice one like the Dutch Sisters like to make.  Mine will NOT look as lovely as theirs, but I'll have to start somewhere.  The knitted bags are great, but totally slow sellers.  And I need to sell after I have spent my precious pension money on materials.  I have also started a new baby blanket and have been knitting dolls clothing.  Besides that, I have two totally uncompleted (W.I.P.) blankets that I am trying to finish.  The one needs a few more blocks as I have just sorted through my stash and took all the blocks that I have been knitting, etc and started to crochet them together for a truly patched blanket.  The other is an exercise in ripple crocheting that ended up with a totally skew side.  Ag, does not matter, I will see what I can do there, because I AM NOT PULLING OUT all that work!

Next time hopefully a few photos of the finished articles.  At least the written word has triumphed here!!!

xox

Marl

Inspiration

There's no stopping the hours and days from flying into the distance.  It is almost the end of February, the second month of the new year almost gone. I must confess that although I have been busy, I most probably could have done more.  My excuse is the heat:  it has been so hot every single day and although I love the warmth, I cannot bear the heat anymore.  Old age brings more niggs to the table than not!  I love the autumn, so lovely and warm, but also cool and lovely.  You sleep better, you can actually get into the garden and start planting and tidying up the flower beds before winter starts in all its glory.

The feeling of laziness is slowly creeping into my being.  I want to sit and read or listen to the chickens talking and just generally not do anything.  Not that I can afford to do that, I have heaps to do.  My list of to-do's is continuously growing and I better get going!  I have started on a new crochet blanket, knitted a few blocks that might also turn into a blanket or maybe I will figure out a cardi for one of my grandchildren using the blocks (as in patchwork).  I remember doing something similar oodles of years ago for my daughter, using nice pastels, and as I remember, people stopped her in the streets to ask about the shop she has bought it from.  Ha Ha!  Really looked nice!  I have some sewing alterations to do for a customer.  More dresses to sew for my granddaughter and I must think of something nice to do for the grandson.  I am also finishing off a woolly vest for my granddaughter.  I am utterly bored with making things for the market days as at the moment nothing seems to sell.  I know the economy is bad, but after spending time and money to make stuff, you would like to see something sell!

I have subscribed to a daily inspiration this morning and was totally surprised to read stuff that I know, but somehow you forget the wisdom of  these little nuggets.  To read them again and again and understand the simple concept of the message, is something I'll have to learn all over again.  If you are interested, you can find them at 'Inspire me Today.com'.  It is really worth your time.

OK, wanted to load a nice picture, but I really do not know what has happened on this site since the previous uploads, as suddenly I cannot access my photo's.  Well, I'll just blame Google!  

Have a great week, full of surprises and wonderful thoughts!

Marl
xoxo

February - the red heart month!

To me, February is heart month and I am not taking about Valentine's day at all!  On the 25th February 2011, very early on that Friday morning, I was pushed into theater for heart surgery.   A week later I went home to recover completely and to start life again.  It makes me very thankful for wonderful surgeons and nursing staff and that I could recover so completely to be able to walk good distances again (not what I used to do when I was running, but still, I am to scared to exert myself). 

It is so hot and humid here at the moment, I am drinking water by the liter to keep cool.  We are in for a good thunderstorm later this afternoon if the clouds are anything to go by.

Anyway, I had to make a few hearts for Valentine's day and they are really looking lovely!

Spare lilac ribbon makes the cotton and wool heart so light and airy!

Some of the cotton and wool hearts with lovely wooden button hearts!

Another upcycled ornament stuck to the heart brooch.

One of the few olives on my olive tree.  Hope you can see it!

I have this olive tree growing in a pot.  It started off, like most trees (ha ha), as a little bitty thing and has now grown so big, it needs to be transplanted into a proper place where it can grow and grow and produce lots of olives.  It has given me about 5 olives this year and I must say, oil pressing or export is now totally out of the question!!  But, what to do with only 5 olives??  No matter, proud mama I am!

Until the next time, may your days be long and jolly!

M
xoxo

Late start to the new year.

2013 has come and the first month is almost gone.  I have hoped to do a blog, but somehow there was not enough time (maybe I should start managing my time better) to sit down and actually blog.  When thinking about it, I remembered that I need to take photo's and that the camera's batteries are flat or that I must finish something urgently and so it went on and on.

I did manage to do a lot of work though!  After the house sitting where I finished a cardi ordered, I had to adjust again to home life (so to speak) and only once every one was back at school and work, could this grandma started doing her projects properly.  I have made a few baby dresses, knit a whole outfit as an order, made a lot of different baby beanies and slouchies and am now busy doing a few hearts for Valentine sales.  I need to put some pictures up.  Which I will take right after I charged the batteries of the camera.

We acquired three Silkies a few months back and they have been laying eggs like you won't believe!  But suddenly, all three have decided to that now is the time to sit on their eggs and breed.  Obviously to us that will not happen because the eggs are not fertilized so it is actually time wasted for them.  And I am amazed at how they hold out even after we have taken the eggs away, two are still sitting.  It's been terribly hot here and to think of gardening at the moment is completely out of the question.  Watering only goes so far and once the wind starts blowing, all watering has been for nothing. 

I have so many plans for 2013 and I hope that I'll be able to do everything that I envisaged.  Wish I could do something about having much, much more money though!  Wouldn't we all, I supposed!  

Until the next time,  have a good week!

One of our Silkies called Rooikam, because of her red comb!

Marl

xoxo

December, the month of Joy!

Today is the 14th December;  half of this month has gone by in a flash!  I can still not believe that we are on the verge of the end of another year.  This year time has really gone by so quickly.

I had an extremely busy month, trying to keep up with some orders, looking after my grandbaby and the 3rd market day this month is coming up on Sunday.  I wish I could say that money is flowing in, but no, money is spent  buying  materials to make things, but the markets have been soooo slow.  Hope coming Sunday will be better.

My niece got married on the first and I have made a lovely shopping bag filled with canned and dry goods for the kitchen tea. She really looked lovely on the day and the venue was out of this world.

My son spear fishes and I know there might be people against this action, but we love fresh fish and he also does not just spear for the killing, but for the pot.  He also shares with neighbours who would otherwise not be able to enjoy freshly caught succulent fish fillets!  He went out last weekend for the first time in months (due to bad weather and visibility) and speared some beauties.  He often smoke (like you do with meat and  chicken) some of the fillets and I must say, it really taste fantastic!

I had to knit so many more beanies and even a scarf and baby jersey that I really missed my usual 'take up the needles and create' episodes. So, I urgently needed to get rid of creative energy and made these lovely little Xmas trees.  I have stuck a little bow on top and sewed a bell underneath.  The bells are real quiet and have a faery ring quality to them:  very soft and melodious!  They can be hung in the real trees or just stuck between the flowers on the Xmas table, there are so beautiful!

Well, hopefully I'll be able to blog one more time before Xmas.  My lovely daughter has a birthday coming up on the 21st and may I wish her the very best for many more years to come and may she remain the lovely, spontaneous person that she is.  Wherever you are in this world (maybe at the Isle of Skye?) at the moment, enjoy and we will speak soon.   

Marl
xox

 Bull denim shopping bag with potato print and denim appliqued flowers for the kitchen tea.

The lovely bride in her beautiful dress.

 Mussel cracker and other lovely fishes.  The big one weighed in excess of 11kg.

Bottom of Xmas tree with faerie bell sewn on.

Xmas trees with small bow glued on top and a ribbon to hang on!

 

 

Too much to do, so little time!

It's Friday again!  Time seems to fly by so quickly and although one has been busy, one cannot see what one has done!

I have been participating in two swaps with crafty ladies in September and October and was quite surprise at all the nice and useful goodies that came my way.  I do not pretend to know everything about everything and were reminded of that again when I looked at the gifts.  I sometimes do scrapbooking (very lightly, I might add), little bit of this and that, but to now have supplies to actually do the scrapping and cardmaking, well, that's now another matter altogether!  Now, I must find the time to use it all.  Here are some photo's of some of the contents of the two pizza boxes.   Yes, we had to use a small pizza box to send the items in.  Cute, hey?

 A lovely bounded booklet from the one swap partner.  Her passions are bookbinding and journalling as well as zentagling (if I now have that correct!).

 The other swap partner is into cardmaking and scrapping and look at the lovely cards and handmade flowers that she has sent me!

I have had some orders after my last Art in the Park market day and I was over the moon having received them, except that as fate would have it, with every order something went wrong.  I cannot believe it!  Normally I would start and carry on and finish something, but somehow doing orders and not because I like to make something, has jeopardise the whole operation.  Even something that I have made over and over again and using the same yarn, has given me problems.  Unbelievable!  What can I say!  And I could not even finish everything.  That sounds so unprofessional.  To top it all I contracted a stomach virus and was out for a whole working day and two evenings.  I give up!  Obviously, I should just go with creative flowing of the juices and forget about taking orders (which I really, really need to do!).

Anyway, now even the ball of wool is signaling the end long before the beanie is finished.  Normally, there would be wool left over.  You see, obviously, not for me!

Have a good weekend!

Until we meet again,

Marl
xox

Bookmarks and Buttons and Oh So Light Scarves....

As I have mentioned in a previous blog, I am trying to make little things that will sell quickly at the markets where I try and flog my goods!  I started making headbands for little girls when I decided to make it shorter and turn it into a bookmark.  That actually did not look tooooo bad, so I started another.  So easy to do, don't know why I did not think about it earlier!  Will still make a few headbands, though!

 Those are the 5 bookmarks I have ended up making.  Will see how it goes before attempting more.

The pink one is quite interesting in that the piece is crochet and then lines of chain crocheting on top making it, if I have knitted stripes, almost tartan-like.  There's a lot of options there, think rugs.

 This blue one I have tried making bobbles (hardly be seen) and then added handmade clay buttons.  Actually looks nicer in real life than on the pictures.

  Here I have snatched one of Dana's (MADE blog) ideas and made 3 little clutch type bags from oilcloth that I had in my stash.  It looked so easy to make, but believe me, to keep those edges neat is a feat in itself!  I have given one to my granddaughter to keep in her satchel that she takes to kindergarden.  In it, a clean pair of panties.  It is girlie and looks good (not as pretty as Dana's, but it will do just fine!).

This is also an idea from Dana's (you see, she is a very talented lady and her goodies are quick and easy to make) - the ruffled scarf.  I have made mine a little bit different, although the result is the same.  Very nice and light and made from tie-dyed material.

 These are just plain scarves that I have made using french chiffon.  They are beautiful, so light and airy and just perfect for summer breezes. (If summer is ever going to arrive in this part of the world!) It has been raining cats and dogs since Monday and the forecast is heavy rain until tomorrow.  Love the rain, but in small portions, please!

Gingham covered hanger.

 As I have done quite a few knitted covered hangers, I thought that I might try my hand at material ones.  This is the first one, does not look tooooo bad, but the other two are not nice.  Will keep those in my cupboard.  Have cut quite a few more and will stitch them together tomorrow, I hope!

The rain is doing the veg patch so good, have been harvesting quite a handful since yesterday.  Taste so much better than bought!  My son buys chicken meat from an organic (free range) farmer and last night after it was roasted, I noticed how little fat was actually left behind in the pan.  The meat is really plumb and tender and I made a good soup from the left-overs today.  Added bits of greenery from the garden and a bit of herbs and with crusty bread made a delicious lunch!

Lastly, thank you to the ladies who so graciously commented on my last post!  It was such a surprise to actually know for sure that people are reading my tedious ramblings! 

Have a lovely day wherever you are!

Marl xox