Flutterbye

I get a bit confused sometimes. Recently, I spent a couple of weeks crocheting a dragonfly, only to discover that it was in fact a butterfly! Never mind, it is cute...

The butterfly is for a friend's new baby. It was fairly easy, but took a bit of time as there are lots of pieces in this. It's from Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts!: Amigurumi which has loads of lovely little projects in it.

In other news, I sewed sheet bag for Mr McGillicuddy. The poor little fellow has been going to childcare with his sheets in a crusty old grocery bag and we can't have that! I haven't ever sewn a drawstring bag before and because I'm lazy, and always in too much of a hurry, I kind of made it up as I went along. It turned out ok - the drawstring part is a little dodgy, but it works.

Listen

This week, I have three new song obsessions.

Slow Show - by The National

Sunset Mirage by Ghostwood

Pumped up Kicks by Foster the People

Project busting #1

I think that this project busting is going to take me some time.....

I finished one thing last week! Huzzah!

I'm a big fan of Yarnydays blog - I think she has awesome taste and her projects are just great. I've made a sweater of hers before and it turned out so nicely -










so when I saw this post - I just had to try to make a scarf like it. The pattern is originally from this blog which also has a lot of absolutely gorgeous crafting on it. A good friend of mine had a birthday coming up and I thought she'd love this!

Anyway, I picked some red wool from Bendigo woollen mills and started crocheting. The pattern is great - really pretty and also quite easy - my favourite combination!

I was concerned that I wouldn't have enough wool, but figured I could always order more. But the Queensland floods sent my life somewhat out of kilter (we weren't directly affected, but couldn't go to work/daycare etc for a while and had flood refugees staying with us). So I didn't end up ordering more wool in time. Instead, I decided to turn it into a bag!

I sewed a bag out of denim with a cotton lining and a zipper. I then sewed it into the scarf - voila!

Starters vs Finishers

Are you a starter or a finisher?

I am definitely a starter!! I have so many half finished projects - I love to start a new project, but don't often finish them, unless there is a deadline like a birthday party.

Anyway, I have decided that this week is finishing week - I'm going to finish all those half finished things lying around the house - so stay tuned for some crafting action!

If anyone cares to join me, leave a comment and then a link to your project busting posts - I'd love to see what everyone else is finishing!

The shrug

I crocheted a shrug! My ravelry link is here.

To be honest, I'm not sure if it is a shrug or a bolero - I always get the two confused!

My mother in law asked if I could make her a shrug - we looked through some patterns together and she decided on one of the Drops studio patterns. You can find the pattern here.

I was too lazy to do the flower edging properly. Instead, I just did the first layer of petals - and instead of doing many separate flowers and then sewing them together, I made them in one string - because I HATE sewing the ends in!!

All in all I think it turned out pretty well! A huge relief because it took a fair bit of time to make, would have been very sad if it had been a disaster.

My top 5 books of 2010

I thought I'd write a post about the best 5 books I read last year. They weren't necessarily written or released in 2010, that's just when I read them.

Would love to hear what others thought of these books! Also, if anyone out in blogland is reading, post your top 5 and then post the link to your blog in the comments so that I can read your favourite 5 :)

In no particular order:

1. This Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Nifenegger - the follow up novel by the author of the Time Traveller's wife. I loved this book, it was eerie and kept me guessing all the way through

2. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke - a tale of the last magicians in England. This is a gripping book - it's long, but I didn't get bored for a second.

3. Major Pettigrew's last stand - whimsical and delightful

4. The Book Thief by Markus Zsuzak - a very poignant story about a girl in Nazi Germany.

5. What is the what by Dave Eggars - this book should be compulsory reading for everyone! It is about one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. It is amazing what some people have to endure just to live.

Retrospective Part 1

I was very very slack last year with posting on this blog. This year I will be better!

A little retrospective of what I crafted last year.

From One yard wonders,  I made this very cool apron

  
 
It converts into a tote bag


Pretty quick and easy to make - made good gifts for two little girls I know!