Finished?

It has been the longest WIP I have ever had or owned, and I have made myself a promise to never have another one.

I started making this blanket way back in 2010.

Yes that's right - 2010!! 

And now in 2012 I can say that

I HAVE FINISHED EVIE'S BLANKET!

I decided to enter the Ravelry Ravellenic Games WIP Wrestling Event, 

having a deadline gave me a major boost of encouragement.

I wrestled everyday for 10 days to get it over the finish line.

I wanted this blanket to be out of the project basket and onto the finished pile.

I must say that I am quite happy. 

At the moment it is the perfect size for a little indoor picnic with furry friends, a snuggle on the couch, 

or as a throw over in the car. 

I have yarn left over, so as Evie grows I think I will add to the length.

I think I might have to re-name it "Evie's Ever Growing Garden Blanket".

Did you enter the Ravelry Ravellenic Games?

What have you been making lately?

edited to add: The pattern for this blanket is from Lucy @ Attic24 - it is called Summer Garden Granny Square. I did 5 rounds and 1 round for joining the squares together.

around here lately

*some snippets of recent happenings around here:

an evening by the bay waiting for that big ship

a date night with my Mr

a crocheted granny vest

a morning spent teaching a friend how to crochet a granny square

knitting another wash cloth

harvesting potatoes

an early morning walk with my big girl

a tv-free night finishing off small projects

enjoying the evening rain and thunderstorms
watching bees at work

breakfast with my smallest

and loving every minute.

What have you been up to?

all in a weekend

1. pickings from the veggie garden

2. discovering purple chillies

3. early morning trampoline stories in p.j's

4. making washing powder

5. sewing on a hot Saturday

6. a new bag made from a thrifted pillowcase, instructions found here

7. a new skirt made from a thrifted table cloth

8. & 9. new bath mats made from thrifted sheets and towels :: SouleMama style 

10. jam drops made with my neighbours' homemade strawberry jam :: Gooseberry Jam style

11. a spot of crochet

12. Sunday afternoon thunderstorm

a most enjoyable weekend here, how was your weekend? what did you get up to?

Summer so far......

is passing by far too quick for my liking.

We have been both busy and not so busy and I am exhausted!! 

We celebrated Christmas, New Years' and a 40th birthday - all in a big way; 

we had family stay with us for 10 days (5 adults and 7 children!); 

we have taken day trips to local attractions, parks and beaches, bike rides and walks; 

I have managed to sneak in some crafting; 

and also had plenty of time spent relaxing at home in the pool.

 

 

 

 

  

So much fun and so many memories.

Hope you all have had a terrific summer so far!

Little Christmas Decorations

This past week has been better than the last couple and has also been very productive!

In between all of our normal weekly routine happenings, major spring cleaning & de-cluttering, end of year parties and concerts, and other general Christmas preparations, I have squeezed in some crafting time to make some more Christmas presents and decorations. Most have been reasonably small and quick to make, - perfect for this time of the year! 

Here are some finished projects....

Christmas Tea light Cosy
- a thrifted glass and some leftover  yarn.

Small Christmas Stars
-waiting to be made into a garland.

Mini Christmas Stockings

On our Christmas tree are my gorgeous Merry Berries that I received in

 The Haby Goddess Christmas Swap. They look fantastic!

What have you been crafting? 

Do you have any handmade decorations on your tree?

Pop over to my Ravelry Project page for links to the patterns!

Lately...

I have had plenty on my mind, too much in fact that I have been totally pre-occupied.

I had a disastrous day in the kitchen last week, 

I burnt a pot of rice on the stove top, filling the house with smoke. 

Yes, I could hear the smoke alarm urgently beeping away but I had immersed myself in the vegie garden in an attempt to clear my cluttered mind and completely forgot the rice was cooking, 

or should I say burning. 

I literally thought that it was a neighbour's smoke alarm beeping away!

the burnt pot after several scrubbing attempts... 

Lately....

I have been knitting and crocheting Christmas presents and decorations, 

Lately....

I have been stressing about flash flooding in the backyard and cleaning up the aftermath mess
(twice in a fortnight).

Lately...

I have also managed to squeeze in a little time to get some more granny squares done on Evie's blanket. 

The stack of granny squares is growing!

Lately...

I am hoping that next week will be a better week! 

And I am planning on doing some more spring cleaning/de-cluttering in preparation for visitors next weekend, and a little bit of Christmas present sewing.

Wishing you a happy weekend!