Hat and Scarf Set

So I haven't posted for a little bit because once again I've exceeded my download limit, so I'm using work computers, which feels weird...but anyway.

The lovely librarylass was having a yarn giveaway on her blog, and I was one of the lucky winners. Anyway, I won this lovely merino-mohair blend (although it now means after working with nice yarn I have to start spending more on it!), and the yarn told me it wanted to be a scarf and hat (I'm not sure when I started picking up psychic messages from yarn, but it is a little scary!). So a scarf and hat it became.



Both patterns are from Crochet me. The hat is The Professional and the scarf is Shelly. I think they'll be really handy once it starts getting into winter.

I've still got a reasonably amount of the yarn left, and at the moment I'm thinking of mixing it with some Alpaca yarn I've got and making a felted bag, but I guess I'll see what the yarn tells me!

And on the topic of librarians (vaguely, but I know two of you work in libraries so I thought I'd go with it) I saw a very amusing movie the other day. It was 'The Librarian 2 - Return to King Solomon's Mines' and it was as good as the title sounds. One of my friends was reviewing it and so had a movie night, which was good, because it's one of those movies that you get lots of enjoyment out of picking the baddies, what's going to happen, what other movie's they're ripping off, and making fun of the malnourished love interest (sometimes audience participation is better than the film!). We also had a librarian watching and he had fun saying stuff like 'He should be wearing gloves handling that book' etc, and a couple of people decided to play a drinking game, drinking when 'librarian like' things were done. Although that game finished when the beer got spilt.

Little squares

For the 2007 Bookcrossing Unconvention (in the UK, I'm not going!) a UK Bookcrosser is making a blanket to raffle off and taking contributions of 10cm x 10cm squares (or 4" x 4") so I got inspired to make a few to send off.

The top left is crossed stitches, top right is a Hawaiian square. Bottom left is spike stitch (in Aussie green and gold) and bottom right is a mitred square.

It was a good opportunity to try out some new stitches, and it's a nice small package to send overseas!

I just feel very sorry for the poor girl who has volunteered to sew all of these together.

Fishy Photos

When I was at university I had to do lots of work experience during my holidays (so I didn't really get that many holidays!). Anyway, I managed to go to the aquarium quite a bit which was lots of fun, particularly when I got there before it opened and I could go behind the scenes and everything. Anyway, here are some of my favourite photos.




For some reason, I've always thought sharks were really cool and misunderstood. This little one was cute, and I kind of wanted to pat him, but I didn't.

70s crafty goodness

I got this book the other day, and it's just fabulous! I'm not sure if there are any projects that I'd actually make, but I love it just for the tackiness value.

First we have the cover, and while the frog and toilet roll holder and blanket (which isn't actually in the book, I guess it was too tasteful) aren't too bad, it slowly gets worse with the poodle doorstop (the blue thing, which is apparently useful as well as ornamental) and the tulle rabbit (this book has an entire section on tulle). The tulle rabbit's description actually states that 'everyone who sees him will want you to make one for them' and 'no one will pass without comment'. Probably, but I'm not sure that they'd be complementary comments. I'm also questioning why you'd make a soft toy out of something that's not all that soft?


Then we have another tulle creation, perfect for the man in the house, this toilet and cistern cover. To be honest, I'd think a requirement for bathroom things is normally 'easy to clean' but I guess sometimes you need to sacrifice practicality for style.


And finally, we have this adorable monkey string holder. I can't say much about this one apart from "I'm scared".

December and January Crochet Squares

I've finally finished my December and January squares for the Craftster crochet-a-long. The December squares are on the left, January on the right, with experienced squares at the top. I think my gauge was off slightly on all of them, but I'm sure it'll be fine later on! And if I'd taken the time to place them properly they'd look straighter.

My Boys

So these are my boys, and I miss them a lot when I'm in Adelaide, although last time I went home they initially ignored me because they weren't very happy with me for going away for so long, luckily after a day they forgave me.


This is Deefa and this photo was only set up a little bit. He came and lay on all the sheets in the laundry and then I tucked him in a bit, but as he was still like that 10 minutes later I then took a photo. Deefa is a big softy.



This is Barney and he's a bit more naughty, but just as loveable. His favourite game is sneaking out the house if someone has left a gate or door open. He just goes across the road, but if you don't notice he gets bored and comes back, and he manages to have a specific "I've been on an adventure" look, which lets us know that he's very proud of himself for tricking us, and that we have to go and check all the gates. For some reason Deefa never goes on those adventures, we're not sure if it's because he's being good, or he just doesn't realise the possibilities for escape (he's not the smartest dog around!)

Sewn Dammit Doll

One of the guys at work is a bit grumpy, sort of like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. Anyway, I thought I'd make him a Dammit Doll as a thank you present for when I finish up.



It's one of the first things I made on my sewing machine, and I dragged it all the way to Adelaide (the doll, not the sewing machine) to be stuffed and sewn up. And honestly, the tongue was almost in the right spot before I stuffed it!

And here is the Dammit Doll Poem:
Whenever things don't go so well...
And you want to hit the wall and yell...
Here's a little dammit doll
That you can't do without.
Just grasp it firmly by the legs
And find a place to slam it
And as you whack the stuffing out
Yell, "DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT!"

An amusing tale of mistaken identity.

Yesterday I was walking into the city to have a bit of a break from my flat (after lying around doing nothing all day Saturday because I was very tired), and walking past a massage centre, thought I might see if I could book myself in for the following week. I'd been past this place a few times, but never actually been inside.

Anyway, I walked in, and it just smelt a bit smoky and seemed a bit dingy, but I waited for a few seconds and a woman came to the desk, so I asked if I could book in for a massage for the following week. She looked at me a bit strangely and said "We only do adult massage.". Not completely getting it, I looked at her blankly thinking "But I'm an adult.", she then asked what type of massage I thought they did and I said "A back massage", she repeated "We do adult massage, and we get mainly male customers". At that point I realised I'd accidentally walked into a brothel. Oops.

Anyway, I was telling this story to people at work (because I think it's pretty funny) and one of the vets said "I'm surprised they didn't ask you if you wanted a job.". I wasn't quite sure how to take that one!

Goodies

I love reading Miss Meshell's blog* . She makes and features lots of pretties. Anyway, her birthday is soon after Christmas so I thought I'd send her a package of random goodies, because it's lots of fun, and I love crafting for people who appreciate it. I'm posting it now because I stuck the Christmas and birthday presents in one post.

As well as these hand made goodies, I sent her a couple of bookcrossing books, and some postcards.



Ooooh, a pretty crocheted panta. Pattern from here




The pattern for the red and green flower (at the moment my favourite crocheted flower) is from here and the other two are from here




Hee hee hee, I was having fun with shiny beads and grommets, so it's an interactive card.

*Meshell, I'll be sending you the advertising bill soon.

Buttons, buttons, buttons

Ok, so Meshell is officially a bad influence on me. She posted all these lovely pictures of buttons she'd bought on ebay and I was thinking "Buttons, why do I need buttons?...Oh, but they're pretty and, why do I need buttons?"



I now have buttons.

Seven goals for 2007

Happy New Year everyone. I thought after re-capping 2006 I should do a post of my goals and plans for 2007. There are no real resolutions here, just stuff I'd like to happen.

1. Learn some new crafts (I'm kind of cheating here because I've paid for some classes already, and I also have a new sewing machine and spinning wheel to play with, but it's a goal anyway!)

2. Get a new job (my current job was just for a year, so it finishes in February so if I don't get a new job I'll be unemployed most of the year, so I pretty much have to do this one!)

3. Only use re-used or re-useable wrapping materials on gifts. I've started doing this a bit, but once I use up my roll of wrapping paper I'm either wrapping presents in fabric or scarves, giving them in fabric bags, or those re-useable gift bags. This also has to be appropriate, so I wouldn't give my dad a gift wrapped in fabric (well actually I might, but I'd steal it back, because he wouldn't use it)

4. Try not to get any more plastic bags. I've got lots and I don't need them. I just need to remember to take green bags to places other than the supermarket.

5. Organise my craft stuff (admittedly it's not too bad at the moment, but I can see problems looming when I move back to Melbourne in February because I have accumulated over the last year). I think I need to buy a cupboard for some of my stuff, but I'll get to it once I move back and I have everything in one place.

6. It's a secret, that way if it doesn't happen, no one knows! Plus I think you have to have at least one private goal!

7. Read at least 15 more books from the Angus & Robertson Top 100 Books list. Currently I've read the bold books. Books in italics are those I definately want to read this year.

1. The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
2. The Lord Of The Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien
3. Pride And Prejudice – Jane Austin
4. To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee
5. Memoirs Of A Geisha – Arthur Golden
6. Angels And Demons – Dan Brown
7. The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
8. My Sister’s Keeper – Jodi Picoult
9. Tomorrow, When The War Began – John Marsden
10. Magician – Raymond E. Feist
11. The Bronze Horseman – Paullina Simons
12. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire – J.K. Rowling
13. The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien
14. Bridget Jones’ Diary – Helen Fielding
15. Cloudstreet – Tim Winton
16. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling
17. The Power Of One – Bryce Courtenay
18. April Fools Day – Bryce Courtenay
19. Tully – Paullina Simons
20. Across The Nightingale Floor – Lian Hearn
21. The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho
22. The God Of Small Things – Arundhati Roy
23. Ice Station – Matthew Reilly
24. The Pillars Of The Earth – Ken Follet
25. Tuesdays With Morrie – Mitch Albom (2006)
26. Perfume – Patrick Suskind
27. The Bible
28. The Bride Stripped Bare – Anonymous
29. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix – J.K. Rowling
30. Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone – J.K. Rowling
31. The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis (2006)
32. Cross Stitch – Diana Gabaldon
33. Looking For Alibrandi – Melina Marchetta
34. Mao’s Last Dancer – Li Cunxin
35. The Secret History – Donna Tartt
36. Year Of Wonders – Geraldine Brooks
37. Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell (2005)
38. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy Series – Douglas Adams
39. Jessica – Bryce Courtenay
40. The Notebook – Nicholas Sparks
41. The Catcher In The Rye – J.D. Salinger
42. The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
43. One For The Money – Janet Evanovich
44. Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
45. The Shadow Of The Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
46. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
47. Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason – Helen Fielding
48. The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom (2006)
49. Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
50. Life Of Pi – Yann Martel
51. The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
52. The Poet – Michael Connelly
53. A Child Called It – David Pelzer
54. Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas – Hunter S. Thompson
55. On The Road – Jack Kerouac
56. Tell No One – Harlan Coben
57. Nineteen Eighty-Four – George Orwell
58. Almost French – Sarah Turnbull (I bought this for my mum for Christmas)
59. An Equal Music – Vikram Seth
60. The Ancient Future – Tracey Harding
61. The Blind Assassin – Margaret Atwood
62. The Day After Tomorrow – Allan Folsom
63. Desert Flower – Waris Dirie
64. The English Patient – Michael Ondaatje (2006)
65. The Eyre Affair – Jasper Fforde (2005)
66. Fight Club – Chuck Palahniuk
67. A Fortunate Life – A.B. Facey
68. Girl With A Pearl Earring – Tracy Chevalier
69. The Godfather – Mario Puzo
70. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets – J.K. Rowling
71. The Horse Whisperer – Nicholas Evans
72. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte (2006)
73. Middlesex – Jeffrey Eugenides
74. The Pact – Jodi Picoult
75. The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
76. Wild Swans: Three Daughters Of China – Jung Chang
77. Animal Farm – George Orwell (2005)
78. Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
79. Atonement – Ian Mcewan (2005)
80. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres
81. Cold Mountain – Charles Frazier
82. Crime And Punishment - F.M. Dostoevsky
83. Emma – Jane Austen
84. Enduring Love – Ian Mcewan
85. The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald I've got a copy to be read!
86. The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
87. Interview With The Vampire – Anne Rice (2006)
88. It – Stephen King I've got a copy to be read!
89. Like Water For Chocolate – Laura Esquivel (2006)
90. Not Without My Daughter – Betty Mahmoody
91. Plain Truth – Jodi Picoult
92. 1st To Die – James Patterson
93. A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
94. Alias Grace – Margaret Atwood
95. Assassin’s Apprentice – Robin Hobb
96. Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand (ok, so I didn't finish it but it still counts!)
97. The Potato Factory – Bryce Courtenay
98. The Redemption Of Althalus – David Eddings
99. Retribution – Jilliane Hoffman
100. River God – Wilbur Smith