favourite things #3

Organic bananas. If you're dubious that organic doesn't taste any better then non organic.... then get your laughing gear around one of these... and be prepared to have your taste buds prove you wrong. Liberty seem to have the cheapest all year round $2.99 kilo from memory.

Salt water sandals. In red. From here. Couldn't resist after seeing these three ladies sporting theirs. Douglas sandals here in NZ also do similarly cool sandals and slides here and Soul sandals in Hamilton do some nice styles too.

Burt's bees lip balm. Feels a little like chapsick and better than Lucas paw paw but without the nasty petrochemicals. Tastes/smells divine. Works well when all the other hippy stuff slides straight off. They have quite a big range available at most Life chemists. Men will go for this stuff too as it's not got a lot of shine.

studio happenings

Hello!

The wee sun room that has been my sewing room for the last few years is very chaotic of late.

It's generally a fairly well organized place and I usually pride myself on putting everything back where it belongs -otherwise I wouldn't be able to move or turn around in there and I would forever be standing/sitting on rogue pins!

But currently I am in the throws of sewing up a storm for the Steiner School Fair and things are spilled out everywhere and there doesn't seem much point in putting it all back until I am completely finished.

There is also something wonderfully freeing and quite inspiring to see a myriad of colour and combinations laid out everywhere- accessible to the eye in ways it isn't normally. I think a bit of intentional creative mess is my favourite (and only permissible) kind.

you can always tell how busy I've been by the state of my cottons...

a randomly scattered inspiration board...

a getting fuller rack...

...how much more can I stack and stuff in there??!!!!!

beach babes

Snapped at Sumner during school hols. Hipstamatic is proving very addictive!

weekending

breakfast

freesias from a friend

lemons on black

mustard toes

outlook

gourmet dishcloths

I've started knitting dishcloths! l...like I don't have better things to do with my time!

But they are thick and thirsty, nice to touch and really quite pretty.

The 100% variegated cotton is from here and the pattern comes from my 85 your old friend Shirley (who knits them up for fundraising). I'm planing on giving a few for Xmas gifts to the women who will get the notion of a gourmet dish cloth.

Here's Shirley's Gourmet Dishcloth pattern...

Cast on 4 stitches

K2, YO (yarn over) Knit to the end of the row

Continue increasing like this on every row in garter stitch (knit every row) until your have 45 stitches (smaller cloth) or 50 stitches (slightly larger cloth)

Begin decreasing as follows:

K1, K2tog, YO (yarn over) K2tog, knit to end of the row

Continue decreasing like this on every row in garter stitch until you have 4 stitches remaining

Cast off

Nb) the YO makes the pretty decorative holes along the edges.

surprise treats

A surprise package turned up my mailbox the other day....for me!?!! from somebody I did not know!!!

With much enthusiasm I ripped into it and found inside...two skeins of beautiful Knitsch sock wool (that I had coincidentally been eyeing up in knit world the previous day!) a handy little measuring tape (great for traveling with) a selection of beautiful gift tags and a packet of Tim Tams that the kids and I went nuts over!

All of this was are care of the very kind hearted Tash -from Knitsch yarns, intended as a post quake cheer up and graciously received as such.

I had been wondering if the rest of the country was getting sick of hearing about post quake Christchurch but I have heard quite a few stories of out of towners sending relief packages like this to friends and family in the region.

While I feel very fortunate to still have a home to live in, all our basic amenities reconnected and just a whole lot of insurance palaver ahead of us, it's still touching to have a moment of indulgence bestowed upon you by a hitherto stranger, helping to reverse some of the the effects of the stress that we all experienced.

Big up's to Tash then... because of you, the kids and I had a very rare shared sugar rush and now I get to knit my very first pair of socks with some of your delicious wool!

coasting

getting there

arriving

finding

coming home

A road trip, a change of scene, some heavy rain, bursts of sunshine and a batch swap with friends who have impeccable taste... all so good for the soul.