Knitted gloves

I knitted these gloves in an evening but am really bummed out they don't fit, they're just a bit loose. Would anyone like them? You probably need big hands. I was inspired by these and then these. (check out my links I'm quite proud I can do it now without any help from the teenager)I've started another pair 'cos I'm determined to make some that fit. The poor old sewing machine in the background has been a bit redundant in the past few weeks. I'm tossing around an idea for a crafty group get together once a month, a friend suggested it a year ago and I've been mulling it over since then. It would be a great source of inspiration and sharing I think.

Rainbow dyeing

I've been checking out some springtime blogs in the northern hemisphere and was inspired by the wool blankets dyed by here at Small Wonders. Taimarie has provided some good links to follow and before I knew it I was in the mood to do some dying. I havn't tried with blankets but wound some recycled wool into hanks to make multi coloured yarn. My Aunt who has entered the World Of Wearable Art for years taught me this simple method which requires only food colouring and white vinigar. Wind some wool into hanks and wet it. Bring a dye pot with a few centimetres of water to the boil. Add about 3/4 of a cup of white vinigar to the water ( this sets the dye) or acetic acid could be used then you'd only need a tablespoon or so. Lay the hanks on the water and sprinkle the dye on top, Steam, dip or stir to create the desired effect. Add more water and vinigar if it all gets absorbed. It takes around 10 to 20 minutes of simering for all the dye to be absorbed, don't stir too much or it will felt. Experiment!

Take the wool out of the pot with tongs and put it into warm soapy water to rinse. Squeeze out any excess dye without agitating too much, then hang on the line to admire the result and plan the garment you're going to knit.

Nettles

The past week has been a beauty, the first half was full of STRESS getting our Playcentre ready for the education review, then the weight just lifted because the review went pretty smoothly and we are all feeling optimistic about the report. We know Playcentre is the most awesome place for kids to learn and a good report will help confirm it. If I was gardening I'd be clearing and mulching for winter in the beautiful weather but I'm not quite ready to test my back out yet so in the mean time I've let the chooks out to clean up the bugs, turn the compost and hopefully scratch out some weeds. I'll break up some garlic for planting and prepare myself for a more witchy weedy garden next year. It will be hard as I'm a bit of a control freak in the garden, the nettles are already making their presence felt. I love them, but the kids complain. Alot of their friends have not come across nettles before and walk right into them. This week I'll try to cut down my coffee habit a bit and drink some organic nettle tea. Aparently it is full of iron and vitamins and I can use it as a hair rinse if I don't like the taste!

Thinking positive

I'm on the road to recovery. My old chiropractor was good and had alot of old injury's to work through, but the new one is great he uses a gentler method which doesn't involve me having my whole back cracked twice a week. He's very good at taking time to explain theories and steps in my treatment. I'm pretty twisted up still after years of physical work, a couple of accidents and four babies. I've started thinking more about my everyday activities and how I can do them safely. Also it seems I'm going to have to look at how I handle stress and do gentle excercise instead of doing lots of shoveling and carrying. I've resolved to get my teenager in to have some treatment too as he has had several trampoline accidents. Apparently having your bones heal out of alignment can affect your whole wellbeing and even growth. I havn't gardened for a while, but enjoyed a long walk in the autumn sun yesterday afternoon. The toadstool from my walk reminds me of my childhood where I played under a beautiful grove of oak trees imagining faries and their friends living in the toadstool communities that thrived there.Yay I even felt well enough to finish a small knitting project it fits in quite well with the fairy/ pixie memories. I've been inspired by Helen's "week of wool" knitting and crochet posts.

More fabric

I found these beatiful fabrics and ric rac at a church fair last Saturday, now they are sitting on a pile in the lounge room waiting for me to find some inspiration. I had a character ballet skirt when I was 7 which had beautiful ric rac round the bottom. My daughter doesn't like it, she's starting to be influenced by what other girls think is cool and not cool. I'm thinking I may be able to incorperate it into my bags and onto the bottom of pants, I'm excited about it even if she isn't. Then on Sunday I put my back out really bad again, I wish I could figure out what's causing it because I wasn't even doing anything I'd consider to be heavy work. I felt like an invalid and was so depressed watching 50 year old Suzanne Paul whirl around the dance floor on dancing with the stars the other night. Thank goodness for the drugs the Dr's given me! I couldn't move yesterday, even knitting hurt!