Progress...

I have learnt to crochet a Granny Square!

Ok, so I know I have said how relaxing and therapeutic crochet is...and really it is...

...but I will admit the whole process of learning to crochet a Granny Square hasn't been completely relaxing...or therapeutic...

...but rather frustrating...with a lot of confusion, pulling out of stitches...

and starting over. But as my three year old says "if you try and try and try you will do it" (a truth she discovered when learning to hop)...and finally with perseverance I did it! Well, sort of.

They are not the most perfect Granny Squares, but they aren't too bad for an absolute beginner are they?

And the good thing is, now that I know how to crochet a basic Granny Square without looking at the pattern, I can drift away with it again...as I work on perfecting my technique...and a cozy crochet blanket.

Getting Distracted

I had every intention of doing the housework...

but as I cleared away the dishes from breakfast, I noticed that the table was indeed looking bare.

All of a sudden I found myself no longer tending to the dishes, but instead rummaging through my fabric stash, combining colours and patterns...

and sewing together a patchwork table runner. Just like that! This type of distraction happens a lot when I am at home pottering and tidying, and I spy a little spot in need of a handmade 'something or other'. 

Returning to the housework, I soon found myself here...in the half renovated bathroom...where I became distracted once again. This time the distraction was in the form of little thoughts like this..

have we chosen the right basin?...do the feature tiles work?...

will it ever be finished? I took some time out to ponder these thoughts, with a cup of tea and a stack of interiors magazines. I then returned to the housework with feelings of renewed excitement and inspiration, for the new bathroom and the approaching kitchen renovation.  

And finally, there is the growing collection of assorted yarn, sitting in plain view in the living room, constantly beckoning to me. I try to resist, but it has a way of drawing me in, and then transporting me to a peaceful, quiet and comforting place, from which I do not wish to return...

and so the housework will just have to wait.

Vintage Dolls Cot

This beautiful dolls cot was designed and made in 1926, for my late Grandmother Beryl, when she was just two years old. Her Grandfather, Mr James Duncan Evans, was so thrilled to have a Granddaughter that he designed the cot and had it made for her, in his foundry in Abbotsford, Melbourne, Victoria.

 My Grandmother treasured this cot for over eighty years, before finally passing it on to my daughter, who was also aged two when she received it.

 The cot still has its original mattress and pillow. The blanket looks to be knitted on one side, with crochet granny squares on the reverse.

The pillow case and sheet have some beautiful detail on them.

Isn't it amazing that after 85 years, this doll's cot is still loved and played with?

My daughter adores her baby dolls, and this cot is as much a treasure to her (and me) as it was to my Grandmother.

A Fairytale Book Bag

Craft Project of the Day: One drawstring book bag, in fairy-adorned lilac cotton fabric.

I think it took me longer to find the piece of fabric buried in my stash, than it did to complete the entire project! The cute fairy fabric was purchased about three months ago, and I'm really not sure why it has taken me so long to make this simple book bag. My daughter has been waiting very patiently.

From start to finish this drawstring book bag took only one hour to complete...and that included a lengthy lunch break and a bit of colouring-in time with my little one (who was keeping herself busy while waiting for her book bag!)

Of course the book bag needed a test run once complete, so we filled it with some favourite titles, and went outside to share some stories.

One completed drawstring book bag...one happy recipient...and one happy mummy!

Vegging Out

For the past few days I have been 'pottering' about the house and garden, enjoying the Autumn sunshine, and a slower pace for a change.

The kids have had colds, which has meant a couple of days away from school for my eldest, and plenty of rest and relaxation for us all. And with Hubby back at work, the renovations are on hold until the weekend, making the household a little less hectic, and the routine a little more 'normal'.

I have caught up on housework, finished a sewing project, started a crochet project, done some reading...and spent quality time 'vegging out' with the kids in the garden. 

I feel organised and relaxed....will it last?

Crochet for Calm

Had I known how wonderfully calming and therapeutic crochet was, I would have begun much sooner. It has been only a matter of weeks since I first picked up a crochet hook and began with the basics, but already I am hooked.

I have been working on perfecting my doubles and trebles, and I am ready to start practicing these stitches on some very simple pot holders. The pot holders are the first crochet projects in the vintage Golden Hands magazines I have been reading.

Crochet is such a portable craft, requiring little materials or set-up. I love that at any time I can pick up my hook and yarn and simply crochet. It is certainly an ideal craft for a busy mother.

Crafty Kids

There is never a shortage of kids craft in our household. We have numerous boxes, tubs and drawers (far too many in fact) dedicated to kids craft. And not just the craft supplies (the paper, glue, scissors, wiggly eyes, textas, crayons, card, glitter, felt etc) but also the completed (or in-progress) craft projects. And of course we never manage to sort any of it and reduce the amount we have, because my children want to keep every little cut-out, scribbled on paper or glued together 'thing'. Do your children do this too? Do you have any solutions for keeping kids craft organised?

I'm also a pretty good hoarder of all things crafty...pretty fabrics, card in colours that have inspired me on a particular craft shop visit, pieces of felt, jars full of buttons, thread in every possible colour...not to mention the many half finished projects tucked away in drawers, or on my desk, eagerly awaiting my return!

It was my stash of craft that I turned to for help one day during the recent school holidays. The boredom was setting in, the bickering was beginning, and I needed a quick distraction before it escalated. After a quick rummage through my craft supplies I managed to fill a couple of cellophane bags with a selection of paper and card offcuts, stickers, ribbons, cards and envelopes. As quickly as I had filled the bags, the kids had scattered the contents of theirs across the dining table. The textas, glue and scissors were next, and their projects were underway.

It did lead to quite a bit of mess, as kids craft always does, but at least I got to listen to their happy banter rather than the bickering...always worth the mess, isn't it?