Closing the circle.............

I have cast on for a pair of socks.

A pair of socks that mean a great deal to me.

My great grandmother was a knitter. She was a crafter. She was from a well-to-do family, with a well-to-do marriage. At least until disaster struck and she was left penniless with five kids. She took her crafting skills and made a living from her hands. She designed and hand knit baby items for an upmarket department store. But of all she did her hand knit socks were most legendary. My Grandpa, her son in law, spoke of them in reverent tones. My Grandpa is gone now but her daughter at 93 is still alive and well. And now her great-granddaughter is going to close the circle and put socks back onto the feet of the ones she loves.

These socks are for my grandma. A business woman who had no talent for the domestic arts but still honours their value. It pleases her no end to finally see one of her kin following in her beloved mother's footsteps, using my hands and heart to create.



I am knitting the wavy socks from the mighty The Knitters Book of Yarn. I needed a pattern with a little fun but no annoying holes to snag fingers on when your eyes are no longer so great. The yarn is lovely and squishy (and local). The colour - delightful.

Yep, I am liking them.

The Gift.

My sister is pregnant with baby number one. This has been a hard won baby and although it shouldn't somehow that makes it all that more special.

Her whole house is white; all the walls, furniture, soft furnishings (I know just perfect for a kid, they will learn.....) and she is quite traditional in her tastes.

I have been thinking about this baby gift a lot.

I have been thinking about making a highly detailed lace circular shawl in an undyed merino silk. She lives in the tropics (in Australia, no tropics in NZ) so it wouldn't get much use but I figure it can be pulled out for the photos and live the rest of the time artistically draped across the back of the white rocking chair in the white nursery. I think it is important to welcome new people into this world with a bang.

We are also until recently a family of throw-it-away-ers and have missed the whole pass-down-a-heirloom thing. Maybe if it works out this could be a heirloom for little "Wally" or "Betty" (don't panic just trying it on for size, no?). Is it right to give a gift with that type of expectation? Could I ever forgive her if she gave this one away too? Should I include a return to sender in the parcel? Would a gift certificate be better?

Can you pick out the crafter's kid?

There is my kid in a sea of pink; being different, being comfortable, being a kid, being Taia.


Sometimes being a crafty mama has it's perks. It allows you to stand in the middle of a department store, surrounded all the barbie pink little princess dance costumes and say "not my kid, no way, no how". It allows me to laugh in the face of the ridiculous price tag made complete with a little slave labour and awful lot of advertising. It allows me to go home and pull an unworn t-shirt from my wardrobe and with some scissors, a little time, a sewing machine and a willing model sew some originality.

So I say "the bird" to you corporate world, start allowing my little girl some choice and originality in your stores, stop telling her what is feminine and attractive and I may return but until then we don't need you..........and well.......you can put your dance costumes where the sun doesn't shine.

A belated valentine's.......

........if you celebrate such things, which we don't, except with heart shaped pikelets (little sweet pancakes) and homemade apricot and plum jam.

Making jam makes me feel clever and when I have all of the jars lined up filled with a year's worth of jam, well I just feel like inviting all I know so they can marvel at their jewel-like beauty and we can have a jam party. Try it, do it with a mate or friend, drink lots of wine and then I'll come for a jam party at your house, I will be suitably impressed, promise. I'll make the pikelets because as my son says, "you make the best pikelets; it is so cool how you can get it all burnt and crispy on the outside and still gooey and uncooked in the middle, I love that". And no I'm not sharing, it is a family secret that recipe.

Over acheiver alert

It was all part of the master plan.

I wouldn't blog for an age and then wham, bam, pow would hit you with FO after FO and knock the socks off you all.

And you would say to yourself, damn, how the hell does she do all that and, you know, still bathe?

And then you would get off the computer and turn to your friends and family and say "I know a knitter that knits an item a day, .... do too.......too......too!" And all of your friends and family would so amazed that you have such talented friends and you would be so special for the whole day (you know not that you aren't special already, just more special.....).

See I was thinking of you.

But then I remembered Ravelry and how easy it is to see how bloody long these things have taken.

Ah well, the best laid plans................

So I give you:

A spare skein of Noro Kureyon + a need for a quick travelling project =


Mitts in the rhubard patch (for all of you still in the middle of winter)


And Doddy

Made from a few leftover skeins of Knitpicks Merino, add a few bells and you have a ball that is irresistible to all ages. Even I have spent the past few days pretending I was one of those famous basketball players that I can remember from all the ads but don't remember the name, you know the big bloke with the big hands. Yep that has been me. See I have knit me a basketball dream.....

Shake your bootie............

Finished the knitting and button sewing.




Yep that is pattern tissue you see.



Cause here is the thing; they practically give it away at the op shop, it's reusing, it's good tissue, I love the little giggle I get over all the headbands in these patterns and besides it looks a little different in a gift. Different is good.

And to now wrap them.

I like to use reusable wrapping from recycled fabric. I was all set to make a fabric bag from this old kids raincoat that was in the "harvest" pile when it hit me, they already made the bag for me - the pocket.




A little cutting........




A little sewing.......



And it is done.





A little handmade card welcoming the new babe to the neighbourhood.........



One gift. And now we are off to coo over a new baby.

There is something to be said for balloon animals.....

You know how when you go to a party and there is the quiet kinda nerdy dude in the corner (you know before nerdy was hot) and you pass right over him - boring - and then some music starts up and - boom the bloke starts swing dancing like no tomorrow ....... that my friends is a great party trick.

The time has come that I can no longer rely on my liquor induced obnoxiousness alone to save me at a party (funny as you grow older how weenie you become around liquor ".........and then, and then I drank the WHOLE beer by myself and well I was just away with the fairies............woo hoo"). I feel it is time for me to get a party trick.

I really considered swing dancing but was strangely more drawn to Appalachian clogging and somehow, maybe it is just me, but I don't think it will say cool to others. Balloon animals are out, I suck at that, don't ask me how I know.

And then it hit me - origami.

I have been spending a lot of time around some Japanese women lately and all of them can origami like you wouldn't believe. Apparently they learn it at school. Finally a school system that sets their pupils up for real life, although I guess if everyone can origami the whole party trick thing.......(and yes origami is a verb, well...... because I said so). So every time I come into work there would be another of the cutest little thing and then finally the coup d'etat, an origami cell phone. So let me just set the scene for you, as in welcome to my daydream, there I am sitting in the middle of a crowd of admirers and I say "oh poor you you have lost your cell phone, well here take this one" and toss them a paper cell phone and all clap and laugh at my wittiness and I fling my non-existent hair around "oh really it was nothing, anyone can do it".

My son got me one of those cool origami a day calendars. I am 3 weeks into the year and I have been practising my origami. For some strange reason I thought it would be fun to do it each day with him, forgetting that the boy has just come off a year of "a paper airplane a day". For the record telling your kid that doing a perfect outside fold is just dumb and no one thinks he is clever cause it is dumb and no I don't need to see how it is done perfectly because remember they are dumb and I am not going to do those dumb things.... yeah well I don't think they covered that in parenting 101.

My version of a penguin...... a penquin I said.......like the bird............oh be quiet.........





The peace dove who couldn't get her fat ass off the ground if peace depended on it..........



You know magic tricks always go over well don't they........

Maybe I didn't give balloon animals enough of a chance............

They say liquor is quicker.............