Suzanne (the cardi).

We walked through the forest, she and I.
She didn't want to go at first but I needed to.
I had to.
So I bribed her with a piece of fairy bread and she came skipping.

I told her that the rules were that we were going to listen instead of speak.
That we would try to hear all the forest's noises.
That we would try to see all the treasures.
And maybe even some creatures too.

And she loved it.
She found handfuls of moss, mushrooms and interesting sticks and leaves.

She listened and heard birds and crackling branches and the faraway dogs.
She heard the wind through the trees.

And of course she heard the camera shutter.
Funny that.

I loved it.
I loved watching her.
I loved the silence.
I loved the stillness.
I felt like I could breathe. Like I could think. Like I was slowing down. Like I was listening.

And the day went on.

Miss Pepper is wearing my latest hand knit Suzanne the cardi.
Suzanne is the most wonderfully, clever pattern designed by the fabulously clever Georgie Hallam aka Tikki.
Suzanne is still in the testing phase but I'll be sure to let you know when it's released.
My Ravelry details are here.

Next I'm knitting a stripey hottie cover and crocheting the last of my motifs.
I like to follow long term projects with quick.
Do you?
What are you making at the moment?

I hope you are having a wonderful week.

Bye!
xx

On my mind.

The truth is, I've got so much on my mind right now that I feel like I could explode. Happy, scared, excited, protective, nervous, overwhelmed, proud, challenged, grateful, in love...it's all there.

I've always said that I'm the type of person who deals with things intensely as they happen. I discuss, I think, I workshop and process, but then after a while its done and I can move on. A bit of a roller coaster for those around me, but its it's my way and mostly it works.

Over the past few years I've found the woolly crafts incredibly helpful in the processing of emotional stuff. If my hands are busy with a hook or some needles, it helps my mind focus on the task at hand. Its almost meditative. Hands moving, head thinking.

This morning with so much emotional stuff going on and a plan to spend some time in Melbourne next week, I have my woolly crafts on my mind. Which projects I am working on, which projects have time limits, which projects I can pick up and put down and which need a bit more thought for complicated stitch patterns and colour choices. And then if I finish the projects I am in the middle of then what next and what needles and yarn do I need and patterns do I need to print out?

At breakfast this morning, Indi asked me how many projects there are in my queue before I get to her leg warmer request. There's the Tikki pattern test, Michelle's pattern test, Dad's hot water bottle cover, Tania's baby Milo and then hers. Cables are in this winter she informed me. Thank goodness its only Autumn I thought!

So what gets you through the stressful times?

And what's on your mind today?

Why don't you play along over here.

Have a fabulous weekend and the happiest of all Mothers' Days! x

Saturday stuff.

Its late afternoon on a Saturday.

Miss Pepper is playing with some dodgy coloured play dough.

Miss Jazzy is making some sort of pet rock frog.

Miss Indi is doing a bit of softie pattern testing for a world famous soft toy designer and maker.

Lucky Indi. You should have seen my face at the post office the day I picked up the enormous package addressed to Indi and knew it was stuffed full of fabric, pattern and stuffing. Jealous much!

It does make me happy to watch her at it and see how confident she is with the tracing and cutting and sewing and snipping and turning. I can't help but hope she loves this crafty business as much as I do.

Me? I'm putting the finishing touches on my first ever Milo. A prezzie for a patcher's new baby.

I love this pattern. I think all the new babies born this year are going to be getting their very own.

Ravelled here.

And I'm starting a ruby red ribbed cardi.

I'm going to a fancy girls' dinner tonight. yay!!!!

I'd better go and make these girlies their dinner so I can get outta here on time.

What are you guys up to?

Bye bye. xx

Farmergirl knit.

Most times when I finish a new hand knit or something I've sewn, I walk around the house with it, planning how best to capture it in a photo. Mostly I dream about living in one of those houses with white big walls and clean, clear airy, spaces and not so much clutter. You know the houses I'm talking about. One of those houses would have so many perfect backdrops for a photo shoot.

But let's face it. I am not one of those domestic goddesses, I live with three little messy, stuff loving people and we live on a farm.

Added to the not perfect house for a backdrop issue, is the fact that my kids are a bit over the posing thing. I generally have to bribe them and chase them around if I don't want a hanger shot.

So this morning I decided I couldn't be precious. If I wanted a couple of shots of Miss Pepper wearing her new Chinatown test knit, then I'd have to let her wear it following her Dad around doing the farm chores.

I had to risk chook poo, wood shavings, mud, dust and dirty water.

This morning I must have been feeling brave, or desperate.

And I think I got some pretty good shots.

Not gorgeous, white walled, focus on the garment shots, but definitely farmer girl wearing her new Mama made jumper in real life.

Chinatown jumper details here.

See ya. xx

My creative space.

After my crazy hour of procrastination yesterday, I came to the conclusion that as well as a time limit, I also needed incentive (a bribe). So it was decided that if I stopped mucking around and wasting time, I would allow myself to get straight into cutting up Michelle's fabric. No finishing off projects, no hemming jeans, no unpicking. My new fabric straight away.

And so I did.

And this little dress came together in no time. Its called The Buttontree Lane Dress of course. And as soon as I press publish on this post I'll be popping it in my shop.

The gorgeous pocket is one of Wendy's.

After I finished that dress, I made the ruffle and sewed on the doily that finished off this dress. Too easy.

I did get a fright this morning when I woke up and opened my eyes and saw that yellow fabric on the back of the dress. It took me a second to remember that I'd kept one pillow slip for our bed and cut into the other one for this dress.

This week I'm also hooking away at Michelle's latest cushion cover. I've finished the white bit and now its time for the fun, colourful part. Yay!

I've been knitting away at a test jumper but am on hold until the designer reworks her numbers. Fingers crossed I can keep going from here without undoing anything, or at least not too much.

And the preserve of the week this week is grape jelly. Mmmmm. I didn't even realise it was that pinky colour until I took this photo. I thought it was inky purple. I think I might have to make some crumpets for afternoon tea now.

So what're you up to?

Bye. X

My creative space.

In my creative space today I am hooking granny squares for pockets. I don't think I've got another granny square blanket in me, I haven't even finished sewing in the ends of my first one, but I do love hooking these little treasure collecting pockets.

I am pattern testing a cute little pair of ballet slippers. I have just finished knitting them in the softest, most luxurious organic merino wool this morning. Details here.

But now its time to felt them and I need your help. What is your felting method? I've only ever done hand felting and I've heard something about a hot washing machine and a pair of jeans for agitation, but I'm not sure.

Help?

And of course I'm sewing some vintage sheet dresses for my shop.

I love cutting and stitching these mixy matchy dresses. The colours and patterns and styles make me so happy. And I love dreaming about their new owners and hearing their happily ever after stories. Check out Tricia's here.

I hope this Thursday brings you some wonderful surprises.

See ya. XX

Testing...testing...

Its probably a bit of a strange thing but I LOVE pattern testing!

I love it.

I hated tests at school, I hated my driving test and uni exams but pattern testing...love it!

I've been thinking about it quite a bit lately because recently I've been lucky enough to test a sewing pattern, two crochet patterns and a couple of knitting patterns.

I'm not sure if I love it so much because of the excitement of getting to work on a pattern only a few people have seen before, because I feel like its only a step away from the actual design process, because I like the interaction with the designer and sometimes the other testers or because in some cases I get something for free that other people will have to pay for.

Its probably a bit of all of the above.

I have seen pattern testing go a bit bad. I have been on testing forums where there are so many problems with the design. Where the designer has to constantly change the pattern to fix up the problems. Where other testers get cranky with how many times they have to rip back their knitting and start again. When testing times have been lengthened to accommodate all the issues and testers have sometimes dropped out.

Not me though, that's what the testing process is there for after all.

And most of the tests I have been involved in have finished happily ever after.

Miss Pepper is wearing The Bobolink test knit in these photos. It is a great little light weight knit with pockets. I love it as a t'shirt and I think it'll look great over a stripey long sleeved top in winter. And did I mention it has pockets!

When I asked the designer about a tunic length version she even explained how I should do it.

Have you ever tested a pattern or had a pattern of your own tested? Or maybe have you proof read or edited something? Did you enjoy it? Do you think you would? Do you understand my obsession?

So today I am grateful for pattern testing.

And I'm grateful for visits from friends we hadn't seen for about eight years, for drinking coffee outside cafes, for a house full of giggling girlies playing Twister, for pizza dough rising, for knitting, for health, for love.

I hope your weekend is all kinds of wonderful.

Love Kate X

Making.

Last night I cast off the Stripey Green Skirt test knit.

I am a slow knitter but this pattern used thick needles and chunky yarn and knitted up quite quickly, even for me.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love how different sequences of purl and knit make such great shapes. Pleats! How cool!

Now I'm just knitting the icord, (thanks youtube lady for the how to), that ties around the waist and holds it up. An icord is a pretty cool thing to know how to knit I think. All you need is some yarn and two double pointed sticks and you can create a cord. Knitting geek! Knitting geek!

When I'm done I'll get Miss Pepper to try it on for size. I'm thinking it'll look a bit cute with a white t'shirt and leggings.

This morning I hooked up a couple of grannies, lined them stitched them on, unstitched them, sewed them on straighter, for the dress for a little Busy girl to wear to a wedding. She's into pockets at the moment apparently. I wonder what treasures she'll put in them.

Actually now I'm seeing it from a bit of a distance, I think I might replace the green one with a cream one. Less in your face I think.

Actually, now I'm not even so sure about the grannies. I think they take over a bit. Hmmm.... better think about that one a bit more.

Today I received a package in the post FULL of gorgeous old patterns from a lovely lady called Glenda who reads my blog and thought I might like them. I do!

If I had time in an oppy to rummage through a pile of patterns, I would choose these ones to buy and to sew for my girls. I love them all. They are just my style.

Thank you so much Glenda!

And I've been baking meringues and making jam for a produce market this weekend. My house constantly feels sticky and smells like cooking fruit but my taste testers are happy.

So on with the week we go.

I hope its a happy and healthy and fun and creative one for us all.

Bye now. XX

This weekend...

This weekend we drove to Melbourne and back to go to a festival on Saturday.

This weekend we spent the whole of Sunday at home.

We ate, we did the farm chores, we sewed up some softies using Indi's new sewing machine, we played on the trapeze and the trampoline, we hung around and relaxed.

This weekend I finished my two test knits for Tikki's new pattern Darwinia.

I knitted Jazzy's dress in BWM cotton and Pepper's baby doll in Woolganics.

I like the look and feel of the wool one much better.

I love this pattern.

Details for Jazzy's here and Pepper's here.

This weekend Jazzy filled an entire book with little characters she designed, Indi made everyone dinner and Pepper flitted around the place playing with everyone and everything she could find.

This weekend I wore a top I found in the back of my cupboard that Bren says reminds him of a t'towel, I got my hair chopped into a style that I wont have to style and I tried my hardest to sew with the girls without taking over or getting frustrated or frustrating them.

This weekend the laundry dried quickly on the line.

For once I wont be scrambling around for bits of school uniform tomorrow morning.

This weekend we marvelled at the enormous amount of fruit that has set in the orchards and hope that the frosts, hail and birds spare us this year.

This weekend the girls made the most gorgeous fairy ring for the fairies to come and dance in.

This weekend I realised that I have started looking out for snakes when I am walking around the farm. UGH!

This weekend I learnt that toothpaste is the best way to remove permanent texta from white boards.

This weekend I remembered that pesto is the besto!

This weekend we watched Robin Hood and I surprised myself by enjoying it.

This weekend a song about growing up made everyone in our family cry.

This weekend is coming to an end and our house looks like a bomb has gone off in it, but I feel happy and rested and ready for the week to come.

Have you had a good weekend?

I hope so. XX