Honeycomb cowl

 This is my latest piece, a neck warmer, hot of the hook ;o)

For those 'in the know' about crochet it features FDPC and mostly shells and was truly enjoyable to make.It is a beautiful texture-its title is 'honeycomb' and I can really see it but I am not sure the photo here will give enough detail, I reduced it to sepia to try and show it better...

It's light weight, made in sock weight wool, which was lovely to use and results in a very supple and scrunchable end product..great for end of season wear but probably not warm enough for mid winter. Next time I think I'll make it in a thick natural chunky yarn to see how it looks-maybe a Fauve Fibre if I can get some this weekend at Village life.

I love it when Sally comes-her yarn is addictive, I think! What's your latest craft obsession?

xoHappy creating

Kate

pulling out the coats

Gosh I LOVE this time of year. I am overjoyed when I can pull on my beanies and gloves and am having a total love affair with making crochet gloves at the moment. I always struggle the first time round with any new pattern, but once I have succeeded, I love repeating the pattern; tweaking, refining.

Lately the process of refinement is all focused on fingerless gloves-thumb holes have been altered, wrists lengthened, widened, stitched added-that's the beauty of making hand made things isn't it-making it exactly right for the individual? It is inspiring to have such gorgeous hand spun yarns to work with too, this last one is another much cherished skein from Village life regular Fauve Fibres.

And speaking of customised hand made items the lovely Chantal Vincent is making a special stamp for me with a robin on it. She sent a little work in progress image of it through- it's so brilliant, sweet and cute!

I can't wait to use it, I thought a lot about how to create eco friendly tags. This seemed the best option because once I have the stamp any paper or fabric can be utilised!

Anyway, I will wait to show you the finished product, but in the meanwhile here's a lovely flower our permaculture class saw while visiting properties at Crystal waters the other day....

And check out truly gorgeous artist Chrissy Foremans blog this week as she has posted up an interview with me! I ramble as per usual but her blog is well worth a visit-she has the most stunning bright and uplifting images and ethos-you might remember I interviewed her here?

happy reading,

xKate

talking around the table

Hello. I spent awhile tonight winding my latest yarn purchase, a lovely natural hand spun fauve fibre, into a ball and talking to my kids. It was lovely, they were sharing some memories of last year and asking questions about what they were like when they were babies.

I wonder how many women, so, so many, have spent a night doing something similar? Isn't it the simple things that are often the most touching?

xKate

hello world

Hello, I thought I'd share a picture of the toy I mentioned a post or two back that my neighbours son chose...he was made with beautiful wool from my treasured stash of

fauve fibre.

I feel like having a bit of a chat about the environment. I hope people who enjoy my craft also enjoy reading about other interests, if not simply skip it! :o)

Flooding has always been part of a cycle here and is getting more extreme due to global warming and it's effects. And I am noticing a lack of news coverage or discussion about the fact that while we are in a flood period now, we have just come out of droughts. It is my view these extremes need to be accepted and their effects and causes looked into further.

There are lots of things we can do to tackle some of these effects locally, if we know how.

We can plant trees along river banks, much like this beautiful re vegetation plantation which my dad worked on in his home town.

We can buy recycled paper products instead of consuming products created from the destruction of forests. There are beautiful recycled products available now including

Gumnut hill stationery products. I love this collection!

Anyway, there is just so much we can do and be involved with and it is my wish we would as a society take a little initiative in nurturing our home here on earth and the creatures we share it with.

Happily these rains provide nutrients and vegetation to vast areas of land, so lots of little creatures will soon be having boom times in a brilliant habitat, which after the dry years is a lovely thing.

Of course the animals who are suffering from displacement in the short term need a hand and you can find out more and donate via reputable organisations such as wildlife Queensland.

The frogs are already revelling in the conditions and these are a couple I found in my yard...

Don't you want to give them a little kiss?

xkate

my creative space

With special christmas markets coming up and my love of birds 'tis only right that I am making some bird brooches.


And I am sneaking in some crochet despite the weather-here's a flowery little detail...

This yarn for the flower detail is from the delicious fauve fibres bundle which I added to my stash. It's the top ball in this picture but is going fast! So happy using these lovely yarns!

I'm off to see what you've all been doing :o)
xKate

wood and wool

These are fingerless gloves, made with one of the Fauve fibre yarns-a suggestion was something lacy to show off the yarn...this was about the right level of lace for me and the yarn...I was so excited to share notice the needing to be woven in end!

They are really soft and light to wear. Here's another, a self timer shot which worked out a lot better than the one above!


Okay, so this is the least seasonally appropriate project I could possibly choose to make but there's never a bad time of year to finish things is there-this is something I knitted back in Autumn and all it needed was a button...and at the Brisstyle eco market I picked up a lovely button, made by Becs dad from scraps of wood.


I sanded down the edges and etched some holes into it, rubbed in some white paint and voila-a button fit for a shawl!

I also finished a few more nest brooches this morning...

I am off to take my youngest to his circus class but have a lovely weekend everyone and don't forget...

xKate

finding the right home...

I made this little doll a couple years ago and she faithfully came along to nearly every market I attended since. Last Sunday at the latest Northey street Village life market she was picked up, looked over and not put back down. She finally was matched to the right person...and what a sweet feeling it is to see something you've made go to someone who cherishes it.

I am completely cherishing my latest purchases too. In fact I was practically having a photographic love affair with these little babies today!
I always seem to bring home wool and feel a bit excessive and worry about having materials that are totally surplus to my needs, but in this instance of spontaneous shopping I have no regrets at all. Not-ta one!
These precious Fauve fibres have found the right place with me.
I don't really know what I'll make yet, but boy, it has to be sooooo special!

This green toned one is 10 ply and is amazing to touch...it's from a bluefaced Leicester Aran, which I was told is the 'poor mans cashmere'...I don't know much at all about the various sheep's and wools but, wow, I agree because it feels perfectly luxurious.

This amazing skein has silk spun through the wool too-I love looking at all those tiny flecks of light and dark, so rich and luscious....

The gorgeous smaller orange toned one is delightfully fine and is going to be perfect for making some new flowers. When I bought these yarns they presented to me were in this beautifully screen printed bag...sigh. Maybe I need to coin a new term for this-its not really retail therapy, maybe 'market therapy' ? Any other suggestions and importantly any ideas for projects with my new yarns!?
xkate
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