good better Vinni’s

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm… new cotton!

I knew it was being delivered this morning by courier so I was practically hanging on the gate looking down the road to catch first glimpse of the truck. For our Jam Tarts goodies, we’re pretty much only using cotton now and consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have a company in Cape Town that hand dyes and balls such beautiful quality cotton. Vinni’s Colours includes three different ranges – Nikkim, Bambi and Serina, and it’s SO HARD to have to choose from the range of colours and not just order every single one.

I felt I couldn’t very well write about our new stock without actually making something from it – herewith a dinky little heart that I found thanks to Lyn over at Craftaceous Period. Designed by Luba Davies and available on Ravelry, this is sweet and simple and took about 2 minutes to make.  That’s my kind of heart.

Just FYI, Vinni’s Colours is a wholesaler but if you want to get your hands on some of her wonderful yarn, why not order online through Maryanne over at Woolhogs (another fabulous  and proudly-South African business venture)?

To be continued…

* and in case anyone is wondering, No, neither Vinni nor Maryanne has asked me or paid me to promote their businesses! 

up and running again

((…possibly with thanks to Maryanne at woolhogs for reminding me that a new Made-It Challenge is underway.))

Take a little circle of twigs that you may have lying around; spray it white; crochet seven little flowers and sew a button into the centre of each one; stick the flowers on the twigs with a glue gun. Once again, be careful not to burn your fingers. Unlike me.

You now have a wreath. You need to find a use for it. Suggestions: You can hang it on the wall. You can wear it on your head. You can decorate a gift with it. You can use it as a table centrepiece. You can attach the bodies of dead mice and hang it on the patio as a warning to other mice that cats live here. Or you can just look at the thing and think, Oh halleluja, that making urge is back…!!!!!!!

To be continued…

in the spirit of….

Just to prove to you that I don’t actually hibernate over Christmas, I made a photo frame with a darling season-appropriate message:

I have done frames with various captions, and for some reason they have flown off the sales table.
Bonus: this will be my entry for Maryanne’s December Made-It Challenge.

An aside – the heat is still rising here in Cape Town. I have no words to describe how ghastly it was yesterday, and Alex and I had to drive around doing stuff. Pure utter hell.

To be continued…

Spring is here!

Just a couple of oddments from me today, nothing like my usual creative focus or intellectual challenge. hahahaha

First off, spring has reached Cape Town! It’s time to unearth my cotton blouses and sleeveless waistcoats:

Second, here is a mirror I made for a certain important person in my life. His reception area is very dull and bleak, and I thought this would cheer things up.

(and you try and take a photo of a mirror without getting your reflection in it!)

Third, thanks to G-Ma Ellen, I discovered this divine crochet pattern for slippers from Mamachee on Etsy:

Fell in love with, ordered, paid, and downloaded! How spectacular is this super-speed techno world of ours! Turns out I have no 6.5mm hook in my tools, so I’m off to Simply Stitches in Pinelands just now. As soon as I finish this post. Oh, and shower and dress.

Finally, get yourselves on over to the Woolhogs Made-It Challenge – the prize for October has been donated by the lovely Rainbow Junkie in the UK. You don’t have to make anything knitted or crocheted, it can be baked, stitched, modelled, painted….the world is your banana. And no, I have no idea what made me write that. Sometimes I’m just silly.

To be continued…

Woolhogs Monthly Challenge #3

The concept of a monthly challenge may not always fill one with excitement, especially if one is female, 50, and menopausal. Luckily Maryanne’s Challenge is in a different category.

Yesterday I finished making a flower, with hardboard, fabric, cold glue, paper, a button, a metallic gold pen and some gold glitter paint. I bashed a hole through it with a hilti, and hung it up with a scrap piece of yellow wool. I think it looks extra nice and colourful when I use the flash!

Have a fabulous Friday, everyone :-)

To be continued…