Leap

In lieu of being at a market this Sunday 2 December (which is also my daughter’s 19th birthday but she’s planned a picnic in Bainskloof with friends and sans parents so I’m not required), I’ve decided to have an Open Day at my home. I did this once before, two years ago, and it was a great success – I invited everyone I knew, including all my neighbours from the complex in which I live, and made one of those huge beer-box chocolate cakes and provided coffee and tea. ‘Cake and Mosaic’ had a great vibe because most of my neighbours are really really nice, plus I sold loads of mosaic mirrors and frames that, frankly, don’t always sell well at markets. Win win.

Now that pretty much all I do is craft, there’ll be other things for sale as well – lamps and lampshades, owls, rag-tag fairy lights, bags, crocheted jewellery, button bangles, bunting, etc. Shew – I’m like a little shop all by myself. (The little shop of horrors…!?)

What this really means, however, is that I AM NOW FORCED TO TIDY THE LOUNGE. I am ambivalent about this – it would indeed be bloody marvellous to have a space clear of crafting stuff and empty bottles and half-baked experiments, but it’s where to begin that’s the daunting prospect.

I’ll leave you with this rabbit which pitched up on my screen earlier. I like.

(image by artist and illustrator lisa congdon)

To be continued…

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Birthday bowl

I made this for a friend’s birthday, which is tomorrow but we are having a birthday lunch today.

I plan to replace the apples with sweets or chocolates. I know I’d prefer that!

I meant to add to yesterday’s post, about the crocheted bowls, a couple of links to sites and images that inspired me to make my own. I haven’t copied anyone’s ideas but still don’t want to not give credit where it is due! These were the two that really got me going: Bunny Mummy and Sugar Loops. They are both so stunningly clever. This is the kind of thing that stays in my head, bouncing around playfully at first but gradually more insistently from side to side, until I give in and pick up a hook.

To be continued…

Bowled over

Today I intend to:
1. Hang up my washing in the sun and not leave it in the machine for another 24 hours
2. Include lettuce, tomatoes, spinach, apples, sunflower seeds and other colon-friendly and bone-building foods in my diet
3. Make Alex’s bedroom good and tidy
4. Not pull rude signs at taxi drivers on the road even though they all deserve every rude sign they get
5. Visit Doreen and tell her how grateful I am to have found her
6. Drink coffee out of my new button mug that doesn’t really have buttons but just looked like it did when I bought it

7. Not allow myself to get stressed over silly small things
8. Get to the post office and send things overseas to lovely people
9. Update my blogroll (DONE) – yay (see right)
10. Shave my legs (winter is over so I can no longer justify needing the extra warmth)
11. Post photos of my most recent crochet efforts:

Yes, they are bowls. I proudly showed the first one to Rob the other night: he tore his gaze from his laptop screen for a second, glanced at my offering, said blankly, “Oh. Nice. What does it do?”, and went back to news24. Pearls, I tell you, pearls.

To be continued…

Bowled over

The fog is lifting. Actually, it must have lifted during the night because I woke up today feeling like my old self. I’m grateful and happy and up-and-running again, and to celebrate have decided to go into work a bit later than usual (I get paid by the hour now, so I’m not stealing anyone’s time) and spend extra time on my own stuff.

I started this bowl yonks ago, and it got buried beneath a pile of newer projects. One of Alex’s friends said how much he liked it so, when I unearthed it the other day, I decided to take up where I left off. It just needs a final grout for over-all smoothness, then a final hard rub, but I stuck a little heart underneath so that’s drying right now.

I am also working on a mirror for a colleague; she’d seen a photograph of a turquoise and yellow one I’d done that was sitting in a gift shop in Harfield. Now it’s sitting in someone else’s lounge because, when I went to collect it last weekend, it had just been sold. Which is great, of course (wonderful, in fact!) but I had to put a new one together more quickly than usual. I couldn’t get exactly the same glowy yellow tiles that I had originally used, but I think these work even better – the difference in size adds interest. At least, that’s what I’ve told myself. Hopefully she’ll agree.

To be continued…