Sunset

Random flowers from our trip

Hand craft & views

Hair accessories & a brooch

Spotlight had a pre Christmas sale on, so I bought more fat quarters & remnants. A "regular" fabric shop sold gorgeous buttons. I used some to decorate these christmas goodies.

Another couple of hats completed while travelling. I wonder if I will ever see any of my hats being worn?

The view from our camp site

Beach side holiday

There was a spectacular sunset one evening. The sun glowed a vivid red before setting.

Still trying to keep busy while travelling, with hand craft. These brooches & hair decorations are for the girls in my family.

Each afternoon, two ducks came to visit us.

Holiday craft

We spent 2 months travelling in our little van.  As the passenger, I had lots of time in between checking out the views as we travelled, to work on my crochet.  So I managed to finish:

Individually:

 
I bought a cute pink camera so of course I needed a pink camera case

This is a crochet bowl made with very thick yarn

A few more blanket squares.  There will be enough for a blanket.............some day.

Christmas brooches - fabric & crochet

Crochet soap holder

All the pieces I finished.

 

 

Endings

Well, last week I retired!! Hence the title - Endings.

So now I should have more time for my crafts – in between accompanying my husband to the dump, auto parts & hardware stores as I did on the week-end.

I finished 2 more baby hats – same old, same old, but they are CUTE!

 And necessary, so I keep going.

I have been working on a knitted shawl for years – this is the year it gets finished!

Another ending.

 I keep telling myself to NEVER start another knitted project – I don’t really find it relaxing, I am not good at it and make lots of mistakes. But somehow I forget all this and buy a kit like this. The end result is pleasing – lovely & soft. And the weather is still cold so I will use it this year.

Do leave a note if you drop by!

It's June already & not a single blog in May.  Not sure where that month went. 
I am in a bit of a rut, have mainly only worked on baby hats, but I had the joy of passing on about 10 of them to a yound friend who now lives in Vanuatu & is expecting a baby. I doubt the local hospitals there have the same routine of putting a hat/beanie on newborn babies' heads, so my little hats may help a little.

Look carefully - Where's Wally the wallaby?

Have a good week, and if you stop to look, do leave a message!

Easter & beyond activities

This was our little home over Easter - in a lovely park on a mountain, with fabulous weather. Bliss.
So I managed to finish a few craft items.

These squares are part of a blanket - in the making - many more to go! They are made with 2 threads together.

One of our neighbours on the week-end

The baby hats are destined for a local mothers hospital.

I found this lovely yarn at a market over Easter. Luckily there were 10 balls.  The first one I made was too small for the intended recipient and the second one was too large.  There is a bit of a pattern here, I did the same with my red hats. Will have another go at making one in between soon, hopefully before the end of winter!
Check out the china in the background. I have a shelf full of jugs, with crochet covers (not made by me).

Finally finished!

Two of my baby quilts have been a long time in the making, but they are now finished. So I took them for an airing in the garden, in between the frequent showers we have been having.

I also took the time to record some of the baby hats - they are so cute!

One last photo - I had a lovely day by the bay yesterday - after having a fantastic shopping spree at an underwear warehouse sale - so many new bras!
After lunch by the water, I explored some op shops in the area - found fabric, pottery, bags, pot holder, even a new pair of thongs for 4 yr old grand-daughter. Interestingly, the thongs cost more than I had paid at a major chain store a few weeks ago, but I could not get any small enough for her then.
And, being Australia, thongs are SHOES, not ladies underwear - just realised it might be seen as a reference to my underwear shopping!

And I realise I have been spending more time shopping than creating......

More remnants

This not - terribly - well - photographed quilt is the last one I made for a grandchild. I have made them all a Noah's Ark quilt when they were born. It is becoming a challenge to find different patterns & fabrics for each one!

Found some more remnants on the week-end - they make me so happy! So full of promise!  (In reality, most of them will sit for ages in a box.)  But I did manage to cut quite a few 2" squares, and the strips reminded me of a quilt I saw recently & would like to make some day, so the creative juices are at work, planning...........

This last week I also relined my everyday handbag - the thin silky lining had been repaired so many times & I couldn't use the pockets as everything fell through them. I used a remnant of black fabric that was not too heavy. As good as new!

Also finished a white baby hat, & added flowers to others made previously. Have not taken any photos yet. Which reminds me - I also finally finished another baby quilt & have not recorded that, so will go & do it now!!  Watch out for the photos!!

Cheers!!

Well, my little red hat found an owner this week - 3 year old granddaughter loved it.  Not quite cold enough, but she wanted to wear it. Five year old sister wants one as well, have not decided which yarn to use for her.

No, this is not another hat - although it might work as one - it is a portable bowl I made to use in our caravan - it folds flat, a very useful attribute when space is at a premium, then makes a great bowl for fruit or veges. And it is washable. It was made from canvas fabric I bought at Spotlight.

This is a bag made at the last Stitches & Craft Fair I attended. Its made from recycled clothes.

Our leopard tree - so peaceful

Last week's output

Keeping track of what I have made is encouraging - this week!  I tried making a hat to give to a lady I met with "chemo" baldness, thought it would match her uniform, but the first one I made was too small, and the second was too big.  My patterns come from my head so end up..............whereever they want to.  So need to find a large and a small person who want a red hat for the coming winter!

I also managed to add tops to hang hand towels, have not done these for a while.  The first one was so nice I packed it into a plastic container & wrapped it as an interim engagement present for my niece - so no photo of that one.  The second one...........well, it did not end up as well - but it will do the job just as well.  Better luck next time!!

I strategically place the hand towel in front of some of my china - just to tempt you!  Will put more of my china on the blog when I have more time.