knitting

Getting creative on holiday

| poppypeach

What has been happening over the last couple of weeks. For one, I worked crazy hours on my last week of work before the winter break. So over the first week of break it was time to get down and get busy with crafts and projects that have been waiting to be bought to life. It has been so good as I got out the craft boxes that need to be dealt with and began making starting with needle felting and knitting then it was working with clay and making jewellery to add to my winter clothes. The fun part was getting out my knitting machine for a couple of weeks and knitting up some layers of wool for the rest of winter – it has been ages since I got out my Brother chunky knitting machine so some online tutorials came to the rescue and I got to work with a plan of knitting and felting pieces to create layering vests. Then came the brilliant idea of cutting up an old cardigan that is annoying to wear and sew and felt the pieces together – it is so good to create again! Next week will be minimal creating as I am back at Uni so my study comes first.

And yes we have all been keeping our distance – this is from the tram trip I took to the city today for my first aid course for work.

In the background our house has been moving along and I went to meet a landscaper there the other day. There is joinery in place and the painting has been done to a point and the move in date is still another couple of months away. I was imagining myself working in the kitchen with our NEFF oven and gas cooktop with the island for prep space – so much fun to be had when we finally move, the countdown is on!!

Here are some of my creations that I have been making over the last few weeks while I have been away from Uni and had time to clear out and make. The two vests I made with my knitting machine are layering pieces for winter using an old jumper sewing together felted yarn pieces. This was yarn that was donated to me ages ago so I am happy to see it in action.

My rainbow needle felted cardi is a project that has been on my list forever and I finally built up the courage to start and it was quite rewarding and meditating sitting there at night needle felting away – I had no idea it was so addictive. So now all my holey jumpers have been fixed with needle felting 😀

I have been making with oven baked clay and I first started with making beads to jazz up my winter outfits for work. I also made some dangling earrings and now I am making stud earrings which I love as they do not get stuck in my with high scarves and jackets. I wore a pair out to the city today and they were so comfortable so I will add them to the Etsy shop in the future. Plus I have crocheted a lovely little lap blanket that doubles as a cape or a place for our rescue kitty Apricot to sleep.

It has been so good to be free to work away at my crafts over the last few weeks and make and create. I am layered in warm wool and can accessorise with colour. I had no idea how much fun it would be to work with oven bake clay and add signature crochet strands of colour from yarn I found in Portland, Oregon. Next week it is back to reality and studying again and then I will be back at work, so I gotta enjoy this free time while I can.

Crafting in the time of COVID-19

| poppypeach

This year I have spent at least two weeks between posts – which is slack for me as I like to keep this like a journal of my goings on. It’s funny you think with all the inside time we are having that you have time for plenty of other projects that are on the “To Do List”. Having to stay at home, it has been good to get into a routine with doing my Qi Gong meditation, have breakfast, exercise online with Body Combat and then study for the rest of the day and then make dinner. Then at night time chill out and craft with cold fingers! At the moment I feel like I want to be crafting all the time to make more layers to keep me warm in this icy cold rental property we are living in. This place is ridiculous it is hot as hell in the summer and colder than the outside temperature in the winter. It has heating which is useless as they are electric wall heaters that suck up energy and our power bill is outrageous $1500 for a quarter of a year – yep that sucks!

Anyway I have been researching and writing for my Arts Education folio which includes a 600 word reflection piece. That is the thing I really enjoy about teaching it is the constant reflection on your life and how your teaching will harmonise to your sense of being, which has meant that this unit of Arts Education reignited my energy to teach an integrated arts curriculum and how important it is for the kids in the 21st century. The arts teaches critical and creative thinking, which is a must have in this day and age.

I have been going through all the yarn I have at home and knitting up many hats. This hat is a fave and it is the Starving Artist pattern on Ravelry and it is so warm and comfy for my short out of control hair at the moment – I have a hair cut booked in June!! It is a very easy pattern to follow that looks great on as well. This Malabrigo yarn I have knitted and frogged multiple times and now I think I have finally found the right pattern for it. The colours are perfect for this hat. This yarn is also knitted up into a night cap and cowl to keep me warm at night – you gotta do what you have to when the nights drop to 3 degrees celsius in a house with zero warmth.

When the payday came through I decided to track down my favourite Malabrigo Rasta and this was found at a yarn store in Brisbane. This has to be my favourite yarn of all time, it is perfect for the Melbourne winter and this is going to be a hat that will go down over my ears, so looking forward to knitting this one up as it will be so comfortable and warm. Aaahhh Malabrigo!

My other craft is crochet and you can see this project in the top pic laying all over my assignment notes. I have had to make a lap blanket to keep warm when studying at my desk. So I have been gathering all the scratchy yarn and making a blanket out of it – you can never have enough blankets in winter – especially in this ice box. It is moving along quite well with that giant crochet hook and is a cinch in single crochet. It is so important to balance work with the arts and crafts for me as it keeps me on an even keel as I always need an outlet to create constantly no matter what I am making. Yes definitely the arts really keep me going and provide the grounding for my creative energy.

Winter holiday in Queensland – Part 1

| poppypeach

Winter break and it was time to head on up to Queensland to get some sunshine and maybe if you dare a bit of a swim! We stayed at this lovely Air Bnb near my families house and enjoyed some peaceful times by the pool watching the birds come and visit every day.

This little fella had a couple of other mates who came by to visit each day. I love magpies so much and their morning song reminds me that I am home again.

The kiddos really were a bit excited about having a pool where we were staying so they braved the chilly water and hopped on in when it was nice and sunny – which was most of the time.

We spent some lovely days with my mum and dad and went down to the beach for fish and chips at Suttons Beach. The kiddos love going there to collect hermit crabs and then they build them little homes out of sand.

We were in an area that I was not really familiar with even though I went to primary school down the road. Behind where we were staying were many new developments and the urban planning has included many parks within 15 minutes of where we stayed. I enjoyed walking around discovering new places for the kids to play on and this obstacle course was the perfect spot for challenging their times on how quick they can get across. Afterwards we found this interactive fountain and the kiddos got drenched on a winters afternoon!

The afternoons for me were spent by the pool knitting a scarf with the beautiful yarn I scored in Sydney – this is Hedgehog fibres yarn with a pattern with intentional holes. It was so relaxing to sit by the pool and listen to my audio book and watch the birds fly home for the evening.

A piece a Week – The Striped Infinity Hood

| poppypeach

With only a few days till we leave summer and travel to the other side of the world for winter I finally completed this scarf!

This work in progress scarf is made out of LB Collection baby alpaca yarn and an amazing color combination called Flamboyant Cuttlefish from Cephalon Yarns, I found it at Stitches West a couple of years ago. They worked really well together and the scarf is super light due to the fingering weight and the alpaca. And is the only scarf I will be taking with me on our winter vacation 🙂

The knitting pattern for this is super easy:

The Striped Infinity Hood

Knitting needles in a size 9 circular or straight

LB collection Baby Alpaca

Cephalon Yarns Skinny Bugga in Flamboyant Cuttlefish

Cast on 120 stitches on your needles.

Knit in garter stitch in random rows of stripes carrying up the strands on the same side of the knitting. Keep on knitted to desired length – mine is 46″ long.

Cast off and sew ends together to make the infinity scarf.

To Finish : Crochet loosely on the edge on the stranded yarn side to enclose them.

Summer vacation is finally in full swing we leave the country in a few days so here are a few pics from the last day of school with our kiddos amazing teachers and getting in trouble with the principal, hehehe!