I wish I was shopping in Parkview's Woollies at this moment!
(our Woolworths is more or less like Marks & Spencer)
Would have bawled like a baby.
Here's the lyrics and translation, the song is Asimbonanga by Johnny Clegg:
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The flash mob I wish I could see
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The Everyday (12) - Christmas Blessings
We stumbled upon a dried Agave Christmas tree at Smitswinkel farm stall, a favourite stop on our regular road trips to my gran.
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My Mzansi 14/1
Before taking on the long, hot road north
we stopped for the annual cool-down
in a mountain pool
below a waterfall
where a mermaid is said to be found
at the edge between the Little Karoo and Great Karoo
where it's dry and hot
where millions of years ago
the ocean ebbed
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| Meiringspoort waterfall |
A local family joined in the fun.
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I had the lazies.
I had the lazies...the laziest couldn't-lift-a-finger-to-write-even-one-blogpost lazies.
Lethargic might begin to describe it.
Was it the long, long summer holiday?
We had a looong 6 weeks, of which 4 were spent by the sea, of which 3 were splashed in blasting hot sunshine and blue skies - not quite the usual during December on the Garden Route where you'll often have windy days.
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| Hartenbos has the finest, softest beach |
Was it the excitement of planning a new house?
Fourteen years ago we had the opportunity to build a new house, and now we have another take. Lucky to have found an architect who 'got' us, and could produce a concept within a week.
Was it the worry over my youngest's little friend who was diagnosed with kidney cancer the week after schools closed?
He's had chemo, and a tumour and kidney was removed, and is bravely facing another 27 sessions of chemo, but he's doing well, and his parents are absolute beacons of hope and faith.
Was it the overwhelmedness (that might be my own new word) at the outpouring of love and caring from Ons Hekel-members for a fellow member whose daughter had to undergo open heart surgery?
It went well, she was discharged, sent us a message...and then suddenly died :-(
Members spontaneously arranged for a blanket to be hooked for her mother in memory of the daughter. We're hooking 20 cm squares with some purple in it (her favourite colour).
Was it the thought of the 45 text books I had to cover for school, and then start gr 4 again, 32 years after passing it the first time?
Gr 4 changed quite a bit :-)
Gr 4 changed quite a bit :-)
Or what is I Just Plain Lazy?
That might be it...
That might be it...
.jpg) |
| Joining ancient rectangular doilies to use as bunting during a quick overnight break to Rietfontein Ostrich Palace |
The tan is still there (plus the extra kg or two...), the plans for submission are being finalised, we came through a week of two anniversary dates and three birthday parties in two days, I enrolled for a year of Bible School, my youngest have lost his two front teeth, my eldest decided he is going to love Natural Science in Gr 4 (good boy!), my husband is furiously training for Ironman, my ferritin stores are back to normal, my domestic worker has gone on pension and ... The Boss will be in town this week! And I'm going to try and stay awake for the whole thing. No choice there, seeing as it's standing tickets :-D
I did manage to complete a tiny very few little things, mostly crocheting while we were driving across the country and back.
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| Southbound through the Karoo |
This flag bunting was designed by my friend Cornel and featured in the Idees magazine a year or so ago. The idea was to use it as tree decorations (the young karee outside our little beach house), but it also ended up as being used for little yarn bombs. I used Raeesah cotton, a DK yarn with the most beautiful, solid, clear colours, but spliiiiity, splitty, splitty. Very much the same as Drops Cotton Light that some UK/European bloggers complained about. My sis even abandoned her plans of joining and edging a baby blanket with it, and sent me the whole batch to try out/re-distribute. I kept one.
However, it worked out fine, and I left my tiny bunting at a favourite farm stall (Camdeboo Farm Stall in Aberdeen), at a get-together with fellow hookers in Klein Brakrivier, another old favourite roadstop - Smitswinkel Farm stall, a new favourite LYS-when-on-holiday (Needle Nook in George), De Vette Mossel beach restaurant in Tergniet, and Bizarre Bazaar, a great new second hand shop in Mossel Bay.
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| Hooking my way through the holiday |
There was some left for my tree, with a few stars.
I yarn-bombed the nearby stop sign, as nobody stops there...
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| STOP now! |
And I completed exactly a measly five squares of The Summer Throw that was going be finished...and then back home I realised I used a different hook size to the first four...
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| I probably wasn't concentrating too hard... |
Oh jeepers tog.
So I frogged four, re-hooked the lot, and completed my purple Anja-square today.
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| Also the Mt Vernon square, with a few rows added, unblocked here |
The anniversary. We've been married 18 years :-0 Where did the time go?
As we're not the traditional anniversary-gift-type, we settled into the happy arrangement of me going to the Le Creuset shop to get something "for us". This year, however, I was ambushed by this chair en route to Le C...and after some sweet talk it now resides in the home office! So I declare the appropriate 18th year anniversary as "leather swivel chair".
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| Feels like you're sitting in a hug. |
Right.
Back now to the Summer Throw...with autumn just around the corner :-P
It's giving me a slight headache.
Happy new year :-)
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My Mzansi 14/2 - Turning NekNominations around
You might or might not have heard about NekNominations...a rather stupid game of virtual tag involving liquor, irresponsible behaviour and YouTube, resulting in the death of at least two people by now.
Trust a local boykie to turn it around and pay it forward.
Brent Lindeque reasoned why would you waste money on downing a drink and filming it, in a country where so many people go by without a drink, water to drink, food to eat?
So he accepted the NekNomination coming his way, bought a (soft) drink (soda)...plus a sandwich and chocolate and gave it to the first unemployed guy he saw at the traffic light. And then nominated two of his friends to do the same or more.
His clip went viral and people are paying it forward all over the world, from the guy getting a hot chocolate somewhere in the East, to a busker getting a new guitar in New York.
NekNomination, Mzansi style.
Sure, it doesn't solve world hunger, but that guy at the traffic light? It might have been his only meal of the day.
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Cornel's mini-bunting pattern
See the lovely bunting in my work room?
The larger triangles I got from my friends at One of a Kind Yarns, and the tiny pink ones I hooked from my friend Cornel's pattern, originally published in Ideas magazine, Dec 2011.
Thy're easy-peasy to do and I hooked up quite a few strings during our road trip down south. That photo-collage came out a bit small, so here's some larger-than-thumbprint snaps :-)
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| The long road south |
The little beads worked very well at night with the Christmas lights on!
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| Aberdeen farm stall, with the best coffee and pancakes on the N12. |
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| Vellerif table at De Dekke barefoot beach restaurant |
Find the pattern on Cornel's blog I Love Pom-poms.
( and make the bonus very-tasty upside-down pear tart!)
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NekNominations getting even better
Further to my previous post "My Mzansi 14/2 - Turning NekNominations around"...
Get ready for the 'ugly cry', the one where you hiccup and smile at the same time.
This is how we do it in South Africa, if you get Nando's on board:
I think today might be Nando's day in our house :-)
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Anja Squares for a broken heart
Sometimes you can just stand in awe of how good people are, how friendships and goodwill can extend over the web and into people's hearts.
I am so, so proud of and touched by the women of Ons Hekel, of how they came together when a fellow member suffered utter heartbreak.
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| Image: Ons Hekel |
Katinka's daughter Anja was scheduled for open-heart surgery during December. She mentioned it on Ons Hekel and asked for our thoughts and prayers. She updated us throughout, on the day and afterwards and we were so happy with Anja's recovery. Anja even posted a message afterwards on Ons Hekel, to thank everybody for their prayers, and told us how it encouraged her mom.
And then she died.
Suddenly, unexpectedly, of an aneurism.
Ons Hekel was collectively devastated, even though only few might have met her.
But the loved poured in, and then someone suggested hooking a remembrance/comfort blanket for Anja's mom. Her sister Erica offered to coordinate and assemble the blanket, and we started to hooked 20x20 cm squares, with some purple in it, as it was her favourite colour. A postal strike got in the way, but some members collected squares and couriered it to Tolwe, a tiny speck on the South African map.
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| The first batch received by Erica |
Squares are coming in from all over the country, Namibia, Australia, Ireland. This is just a small selection posted on Ons Hekel:
I am astounded by how people can get so involved in another's pain, and try to be of comfort for her mother, family, husband and three little kids.
That's the type of we friends we make through hooking.
That's the type of we friends we make through hooking.
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| Image: Ons Hekel |
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Imagine these colours
My friends at I Love Yarn released their first hand-dyed yarn yesterday!
Imagine - a 70% bamboo-30% cotton blend, hand-dyed in the most beautiful colours.
I went to get to get three balls to complete a request from my aunty, and walked out with a few more.
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| Clockwise: Guava, French Affair, Mixed Caramels, Rock Rose |
The reddish-pink and yellow for aunty's project, and all four colours for me.
Mmm...might want to add a neutral? Will have to go back quickly!
The colours are beautiful, the yarn is sooooft and lovely to touch.
(And they also stock Rowan Merino and Tweeds, and Pierrot...sigh, beautiful, but oh, so thin. I'll try my hand at one little ball of La Provance first, before I attempt the grown-up silky blends...)
There goes my attention span.
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'n Erfeniskombers / A Heritage Blanket
Ek gaan nie meer my somerkombers maak nie. Ek's nie gelukkig met die patroon nie, die hegting nie, niks nie. Ek hou net van die kleur en die idee.
So. Kas toe met jou, en iets ander word gemaak.
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| Amper 'n somerkombers |
Daar broei al lankal 'n ander idee in my kop...'n iets wat ek wil maak, maar ek sit toe nog patroonloos...
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| My ma se tafeldoek. |
My ma het as jong bewaarster 'n paar gehekelde tafeldoeke by die Kroonstad Vrouegevangenis gekoop. Ek het nooit besonder baie daarvan gehou nie, maar kon dit nie oor my hart kry om dit weg te maak na haar dood nie. Een het by my gebly, een is na my sus in Ierland, en een is in ons see-huisie.
Tot ek geleer hekel het. Skielik kyk ek toe met ander oë na hierdie fyn-fyn hekelwerk, en besef hoeveel moeite en detail in die tafeldoek in is. En toe wil ek dit ook maak, maar groter. 'n Sjaal, of as ek dapper genoeg is, 'n kombers. Is mos maklik om net die patroon af te hekel...
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| Een motief - kom ek werk gou die steke uit. |
Dit was net, eh...bietjie klein. Ek kon nie eens die stekies ordentlik tel nie. Ek sou 'n foto baie groot moes vergroot, of die ding onder 'n vergrootglas kry!
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| Skaal - so klein is die stekies! |
Amper is my Groot Plan heeltemal gekelder.
Maar so loop ek 'n paar tweedehandse hekelboeke raak, en eendag, met 'n deurblaaislag, val my oog op...
Die Tafeldoek-Patroon!!
(in die vorm van 'n deken)
(in die vorm van 'n deken)
O Vreugde!!
Intussen gesels ek en vriendin Ronel, en sy vertel van haar beplande projek vir 2014...'n Erfeniskombers. 'n regte "heritage blanket" soos die kwilters dit ook doen; 'n kombers wat versigtig beplan word, met 'n spesifieke patroon en simboliek/betekenis vir die maker...en is ek nie ook lus vir so iets nie?
Wel. Natuurlik!
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| Die begin van 'n erfeniskombers |
Ek het geweet ek wil die motiewe groot en sag doen. Vinnis Nikkim is my enigste keuse, want dit moet steeds lig en nie te warm wees. En donkerblou, dadelik geweet dit moet donkerblou. My pa het altyd gesê dis die mees elegante kleur (nie dat ek hier mik vir elegant nie:-)
Aanvanklik het ek begin met Vinnis Nikkim in Navy, maar na twee motiewe is daar skynbaar in die ganse Pretoria nie weer Navy te kry nie, en vriendin Maryna oorreed my om te kyk na Midnight:
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| Midnight vs Navy |
Sy's reg. Keuse gemaak, tien bolle Midnight later en ek is aan die gang met my erfeniskombers.
Die patroon is nr 6062 uit "The Complete Book of Crochet (Elizabeth L. Mathieson), 19e uitg, 1972. Amper so oud soos ek, die uitgawe.
Ek hoop om teen die somer klaar te wees.
I'm not going to complete the Summer Throw.
I was never happy with the pattern, the joining, nothing. I just loved the colour and the idea.
So. Eventually I abandoned the project and moved on to something else.
For the longest time another idea has been brewing at the back of my mind...something I really wanted to hook, but I was patternless...
As a young warden, my mom bought three crocheted tablecloths from the Kroonstad Women's Prison. I never really liked it, but didn't have the heart to dispose of it after her death. I kept one, my sis took one with her to Ireland, one remained in our little beach house.
Until I learnt to crochet. Suddenly I understood what really went into the making of those table cloths, the detail, the very fine little stitches. It was then I decided on a remake of some form, but in a larger format. A shawl, or maybe a blanket? I thought it shoiuld be easy enough to derive the pattern from the motif.
Except that it was a bit small. So small that I couldn't properly count the stitches. I would have to blow up a photo or use a magnifying glass!
I almost abandoned my Grand Plan.
But then, I bought a few old, secondhand crochet books, and upon paging through them...
The Tablecloth Pattern!!
(in the form of a throw)
Oh Joy!
And THEN, friend Ronel told me about her planned project for 2014...a Heritage Blanket, like quilters do it, a carefully planned blanket, with a specific pattern and symbolism to the maker or recipient...didn't I want to join?
Of course.
I knew I wanted to make these motifs large and floppy. Vinnis Nikkim was my only choice,, I love the colouyrs, and the blanket would still be light and not too warm. And dark blue, navy: I knew it was going to be navy. My dad always said it s the most elegant colour (although I'm not going for elegant here :-)
Initially I started with Vinnis Nikkim Navy, but after two motifs, not a single ball of Navy was to be found in the whole of Pretoria, it seemed. Then my friend Maryna convinced me to look at Midnight, and I was sold.
She was right. The choice was made. Ten balls of Midnight later, and I'm going full steam with my Heritage Blanket.
The pattern is nr 6062 from "The Complete Book of Crochet (Elizabeth L. Mathieson), 19e ed, 1972. Almost my age, this edition.
I hope to be finished by summer.
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A bunting for St Patrick's
It WAS St Patrick's Day.
Our Mondays and Tuesdays fly by in a flash, leaving me on a Wednesday, wondering how I got here. Still sore from Monday's training, bracing myself for tonight's, and trying not to think of Friday's looming grading. This is our February and March, on a run with school and everything else, hurtling towards Ironman (husband) in April, after which we can fall into a collective pile.
So. What I planned to post over the weekend:
Due to my sis being married to a Cork-man, her residing in Ireland for near 11years now, and me having visited around six times, I'm considered the local Irish representative at my youngest's preschool and as such help out with St Patrick's week each year.
Our Mondays and Tuesdays fly by in a flash, leaving me on a Wednesday, wondering how I got here. Still sore from Monday's training, bracing myself for tonight's, and trying not to think of Friday's looming grading. This is our February and March, on a run with school and everything else, hurtling towards Ironman (husband) in April, after which we can fall into a collective pile.
So. What I planned to post over the weekend:
Due to my sis being married to a Cork-man, her residing in Ireland for near 11years now, and me having visited around six times, I'm considered the local Irish representative at my youngest's preschool and as such help out with St Patrick's week each year.
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| Picture and book display at the circle (Montessori school) |
We'll wear something green, hang the Irish flag, have Enya, U2, Van Morrison. The Cranberries and..... How about some Gary Moore? Sinéad O'Connor! And start off with me re-telling the legend of St Patrick. I might also read about about Cú Chulainn later, and maybe Molly Malone, or The Salmon of Knowledge. And the kids usually love the story of how The Giant's Causeway came to be!
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| Teachers Shan & Miriam hoisting the flag |
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| Found some clover in my garden! |
As for activities, we've previously made shamrocks of playdough, baked soda bread, took a photo of us all as a giant shamrock and sent messages to the cousin's preschool on Cork. This year I have shamrock seeds to sow, we might either make Irish flags or bake shamrock cookies. Mmm...how about potato prints...
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| Little hands making playdough cookies |
In the end I found a box with bright green dot-stickers that they used to make clovers, drew in stems, a rainbow and a pot of gold. We also searched for a four-leaved clover from the tiny harvest of my garden - no joy there. And I taught them why the botanical name of clover would be Trifolium - knew the years of studying agriculture would come in handy one day ;-)
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| There were three cakes of Bambi to make a bigger clover with |
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| ...even Nessa (ever-patient school dog) played along! |
I used double strands of Vinnis Bambi, a cotton-bamboo blend with lovely texture, in a brilliant green. The result is a bit...rustic, but hey, I've ten balls to finish off. Impulse buy gone wrong :-0
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My Mzansi 14/3 - It's the people here
This is Anja's blanket, and her parents, Tinus & Katinka Steyn.
It will never replace a millionth of what their daughter was to them, but hopefully conveys some of the love and empathy of so many people who were touched by their loss.
Thank you so much, lovely crocheters at Ons Hekel!
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On the road to Ironman
We're in the final sprint towards Ironman - the last week of early swimming and evening spinning, weekend long rides and long runs. Your man has abandoned all beer, sugar, chips and other vices, has trained on the road with his bike for the first time in years (it's a bit of a hazard - bike training on our roads) and is feeling in great shape. Must just not get the sniffles now.
I am preparing The Cheering Family's supporters T's for the day.
For previous years, I've done this:
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| Drawn a Super-F shape en let the kids colour it in with waxies, then printed on their T-shirts |
When the event more or less coincided with the release of the Ironman movie:
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| ...the boys had the same the year after |
Mine, two years ago:
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| Turned the Ironman logo female Bad, bad quality - I lost some of my originals after a pc crush :-( |
And this must be my favourite...I saw this cartoon on the Facebook Page of local cartoonist Kobus Galloway
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| Note my husband's name??? |
He uses a clever play with words in his cartoons. The Afrikaans word for "rice" is "rys", pronounced "race", hence the racing grain of rice :-) And the speech bubble says "Come Fanie, run!".
I mean, it begged to be used!
I mean, it begged to be used!
So I contacted Kobus and paid for the rights to use the image on a supporter's T-shirt for our family, making a tiny alteration...
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| Perfect. |
(Kobus has since published three books with his cartoons - brilliant, if you understand Afrikaans!)
Unfortunately, my original image also disappeared in a cyber black hole, but it looks like the backup might still print fine enough to make a new T for our athlete, while the boys and I will be going with these:
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| Supporter's gear 2014 |
All of us will have his race number on the back, and it's obvious which is whose!
The "Est. 2001" refers to his first Ironman, the Isuzu event in Cape Town. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Specsavers' Ironman, of which he missed one, if I remember correctly.
Our T's look a bit worse for the wear - I print on older, end of season T's, as we don't necessarily wear these again.
So, off we go!
Ps ...this IronWife entered the IronGirl fun run for the first time, assuming that it would, as usual, be a 5km...
Not so.
8.2 km to conquer.
Might as well be 82.
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Thank goodness it's Friday.
TGIF.
I say it every Friday, as the weeks rush past, especially during the first three months of the year.
But today I say it with feeling after a hard and fast first term, a hard and fast week.
We survived Ironman.
After being terrified by an 8.5K prospect (I thought it was going to 5K, then realised it was 8.2K when I registered, which then magically turned into 8.5K at the start...), I managed to finish in 64 min. Great time for this unfit hooker! My husband finished his race in a respectable 13h 53 min, after a gruelling afternoon on the bike leg.
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| Family Botha, doing their thing |
Done & dusted, roll on 2015!
So after rushing back, wading through loads of sweaty laundry, catching up on a missed day's school work, getting report cards hamburgers depositing kids in front of their Wii - I'm taking the rest of the day off.
I had a loooong breakfast with a friend -
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| We really did have a healthy, carb-free omelet beforehand |
I'm (still) working on a turtle oven mitt for my aunt -
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| I don't like pentagons that much |
I'm reading about love, murder and the TRC -
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| Set in a post-1994-South Africa. "Everything is a thousand shades of grey" |
I had a haircut -
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| Trying but not succeeding to show off my grey streak à la Rogue |
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| Visit her blog and join up for Blog Week! |
I'm contemplating beanies for forthcoming Baby Berry -
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| A few colours and patterns fighting for the waning attention span! |
I might just collapse with a chocolate and do nothing.
Roll on hunting season - I want to sit by the fire and have time to crochet.
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Buying crochet
Although I crochet myself, I also love buying crocheted items. I buy at farm stalls, markets, bazaars - if it's pretty enough and beautifully done, and especially by a community project, I will support it, and try telling people about it.
So I was again happily surprised to find lovely items at the new Johannesburg Kamers Vol Geskenke ("Rooms full of gifts"). Kamers always has a selection of beautiful products that you wouldn't find at any other second market, so it is a treat to wait for the annual Pretoria event, brace your credit card and enjoy a morning of a visual feast plus great food.
Here's my loot, found at lapoplap:
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| A cookie/rusk basket, but it will live in my closet to hold my watch and rings. (It's about soup mug sized) |
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| A bread basket (± large plate sized) that might migrate between the kitchen, the bedroom, the bathroom. (Lourette says hers lives on the toilet cistern and hold toilet paper, room spray etc) |
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| And wrist warmers! I was going to hook some myself, but why bother when you can buy nice ones? |
Lourette du Preex is the brain behind these Stellenbosch-based products that include beautiful embroidery on kitchen and home decor that are functional and beautiful. Most of it is crocheted in cotton string/twine, with accents in Vinnis Nikkim.
They're also on Facebook.
There were also utterly beautiful handbags to be found at the stall of Yarn Over Hook, who unfortunately, but understandably, does not allow photographs. Have a look at their Products page, do not be deterred by the homepage. I loved the Cami and Jenna handbags, but then...the Stella has my name! I'm sure they also had shawls and blankets, all beautifully made in lovely colours. Find them also on Facebook.
All in all - a good day out!
(The Dad entertained The Boys with cupcakes and craft beer for himself :-)
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A nice surprise on this Friday
Earlier this week I admired Haafner's Doilified Rug, then linked her to Anneke's new doilie rug pattern that is just as pretty. Anneke might just be single-handedly responsibly for a T-yarn revolution in South Africa, with her beautiful doilie mats that she photographs on the beach, on the rocks, on holiday in Italy...I wrote about her and her crochet work here.
.JPG) |
| Yes, she took her yarn to Positano |
Yesterday, a crochet friend asked to meet me quickly at Pure (our local favourite coffee/crochet spot) - she was bringing me something from someone far away...imagine my surprise when..
I
got
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| A doilie mat for me! |
How nice was this?
Now I'll be spending the afternoon walking through the house, deciding where to use it...my book toilet? No, guest room...or my work room...a new room each week?
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| In the kitchen/living room now |
Thank you so much, Anneke!
Visit her blog at Crochet in Paternoster.
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My Mzansi 14/4 - 20 years
Today is Freedom Day. Our democracy is 20 yrs old and we're celebrating it, but it's a hollow celebration.
Many things have changed - many for the better.
In 1994, I was a student. I had full post-grad scholarships. I got a job (and worked damn hard), built a house, bought others, moved overseas - came back, travel for leisure, my kids are in great schools.
For millions, nothing has improved.
Those are the millions who had promises made to them - who still live in shacks, who still carry water in buckets, who still have no toilet, who still matriculate with a worthless education, who still can't get a job.
Our Waka had his promised RDP-house stolen from under his nose while patiently waiting for government - we helped him build his own and get access to agricultural land.
They were promised better schooling - between Waka and Liesbet 8 kids are attending schools where the union has an iron grip, and teachers are the ones loafing. At least we can help with stationary and books. One is graduating from uni this year, one finished a diploma.
Our Nr 1 is building a R247 million mansion and claims not to be wasting money
These are the promise makers, and next week we'll have to vote for one of them:
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| Election Day - 7 May 2014 |
But don't fall in a pile of hopelessness!
(We're not :-)
Here's the great story of how we got our beautiful new flag.
(We're not :-)
Here's the great story of how we got our beautiful new flag.
Ps. Where were we pre-1994?
See these movies:
Cry, the beloved country
Sarafina!
The Bang-Bang Club
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A beanie for Waka
Last year, I made beanies with ear flaps for Waka's youngest son and our nephew John in Ireland. Waks wanted one too, and autumn has arrived, so here it is:
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| A Waka-beanie |
I used Kismet Spice, a lovely DK acrylic, and hooked with a double thread. The pattern is a basic beanie, starting with a 12 dc ring and increasing from there. The earflaps...I winged.
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| Ears gonna be warm |
Think I might hook new ones for my boys as well.
Here's a great blog post on designing and sizing beanies. Yeeeees, it is in Afrikaans, but between Google Translate and the following, it should be easy enough to figure it out.
kb (kortbeen) = Single Crochet
kb (kortbeen) = Single Crochet
hlb (halwe langbeen) = Half Double Crochet
lb (langbeen) = Double Crochet
There you go, hook a beanie!
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That day in the life of the Berry Beanie
The little Berry Beanie started as an idea, a celebration of a baby to come.
It was to be for a girl, it was to be a pretty thing, with a beautiful pattern and deep berry colour.
That it was to be a Berry Beanie was incidental and perfect, as this is their family name.
This first yarn choice of Imagine by I Love Yarn didn't work, the colours weren't right.
Then, a great red was found amongst the beauty of Bambi by Vinnis Colours.
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| Vinnis Bambi, colour Coral |
The texture of the yarn did't suit the pattern, so a basic beanie pattern was used, and it worked out nice, with a simple scalloped edge.
But then, one day in April, with exactly one scallop to go - the baby was to be no more.
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| Almost done |
The little beanie is waiting now, waiting for that last scallop to be made, the end to be worked away, and will then go on to another baby, a baby who might desperately need something as simple as a beanie, for whom this might be their only pretty little thing.
This post is part of Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2014
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An unexpected Malabrigo Friday!
As it sometimes goes, you wake up from a nightmare at 04:00 and after you've dropped the kids at their school, the day is already 4 hours old and you're ready for a nap.
Too early for that.
So you settle for a great cappuccino and and orange & almond cake for breakfast.
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| Lucky Bread Co, Brooklyn Mall (Images: Google) |
This is my go-to for cappo in the mall. I practise my very rudimentary, broken French greeting on Kyria and Bastien, and teach them the same in Afrikaans. Bastien complained that the locals couldn't pronounce his name, so I told him to just say "Basjan" - they'll get it then :-)
Then I had to take a stroll through the bottomless trap that is Exclusive Books and walked out two books the richer...oh, the guilt.
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| A promising novel and 45 poems (Images: Google) |
Books is never a bad idea.
But I was actually after mind space, so off to I love Yarn I went, to sit down for a bit of hooking and catching up with Elaine's trip to New York, and Stephni's AfrikaBurn. Alas, the moment I walked in, I noticed, in the corner , like a moth to a flame, north pole to south pole magnet...
MALABRIGO yarn!
MALABRIGO yarn!
Now that is not something that is easily found in South Africa (see here) I've previously managed to get my hands on two skeins via my good sis, from a shop in Dublin. And wouldyabelieveit, we meet again!
In seconds I hand four skeins in my hands. Don't know what I'm going to do with it; but it's soft as a cloud, and in beautiful bright colours! Scarves/cowls, most likely.
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| Colours of the sea |
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| Very fine, very soft raspberry |
By now I was a bit manic, so into the basket went ...
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| ...more blues and greens for The Great Romany Blanket V.2 |
and
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| ...just to try out something for the future summer blankets for the boys... |
and also
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| ...some aquas from I Love Yarn, for a planned myasthenia gravis-awareness snowflake scarf... |
Feel Good Friday, they call it :-)
No guilt, no, none at all.
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