Stitch by Stitch Images - Issue 3

Now this one is a little less cute and more an idea of what not to crochet. It's bulky and unflattering. What I found interesting is the pose, which is really quite modern, as the model appears to be pretending to talk on her mobile ...in around 1979 according to the copyright at the front of the magazine.

Woven Bookmarks

I made one of these bookmarks for my mum for mothers day (yes, it's posted a little late!) but ended up with enough warp length to turn the loom around and weave another (shorter) bookmark from the other end.

And I'm finally using up some of my novelty yarn which I bought because the price was really good, and it looked nice in the ball but it's a challenge to make look nice in a project.

Completed Wisp

Hooray, I've finished my Wisp. Once I got into it, the knitting wasn't too bad, so I'm probably going to try and knit some more projects in the future.

It's from the Knitty pattern Wisp, made with some random mohairy like op-shop yarn which I think is acrylic.
Here's a picture of it all spread out blocking on my new blocking mat.

Stitch by Stitch Images - Issue 2

Here's the first of the images from the enormous collection of magazines I showed you recently. This one's from Stitch by Stitch issue 2 and is actually quite a cute project - a little denim place mat with a pocket.

I promise there will be more amusing photos coming up, but not everything in these is hideous and I do need to have a balance.

Weaving Fun

Yes, it's another ebay purchase but I think it's the last for the moment (maybe). It's an Eolia loom. Yay! Loomy fun.



I think I need to get the expansion kit bits because at the moment the length of whatever I can weave is fairly short.

Magazine Holders

I've got loads of mismatched magazine holders so I've started making them look a bit prettier by covering in the pages of old books, which also means I can co-ordinate them with other stuff (once I get round to recovering that too).

Just a small and easy project.

More ebay purchases

So here's some more stuff I bought off ebay - old craft magazines! It's almost all of the first 66 issues of Stitch by Stitch which has knitting, crochet, sewing and a little bit of embroidery and tends to cover techniques and then has projects where you can apply the techniques. It's from the late 70s and some of the projects are fairly amusing. I'm going to post some of the images up so you can all enjoy them as much as I have!

(This isn't all of them but close enough!)

Ebay Purchases

Does anyone else have ebay phases where you go and buy a load of stuff and then have quite a long break without even looking on ebay? I've just had one of those phases (I may or may not be at the end of it), and this package was first to arrive.


I've also been really interested in the weaving buzz that seems to be going on now, and so now I can do some weaving (on a small scale!). It's wonderful that these Weave-It's were in their original packaging and I especially love the target audience (particularly the last one - not quite sure what it refers to, but can it really have been complimentary?)

WIP Wednesday: Wisp

I thought I should start posting some of my WIPs to keep me motivated and also put some pretty pictures on the blog.



This is Wisp from the Summer 2007 Knitty, and it's part of me extending myself with craft, by knitting (because I find it a lot more work than crochet). It's made with some random yarn I bought from the op-shop. I'm not sure how it's going to block, but hopefully I can stretch it out a bit once I'm done (eventually)

Needle Felted Turtle

I've used the lovely turtle needle felting kit that Miri gave me in the Ravelry Discworld swap, and I've still got quite a bit of roving left. Yay!


Isn't it cute? It's my first needle felting project too, lots of fun.

In non-crafting stuff, I've also had laryngitis, which wasn't fun, and unfortunately we had staff away so I was very nice and worked through it (which made me tired, and also very difficult to understand in consults as I really had no voice). And that's my excuse for not posting much, but I am going to try and do better.

More on Deefa

Deefa is going fine. It was actually a complete shock when I saw the needle on the radiograph, and initially I went back and checked to see if there was anything in his fur!

I suspect at some point he's eaten the needle and it may have become walled off now. Because he hasn't had any clinical signs we're going to leave it in there for the moment. If you look closely you can see it almost looks like it's rusting in the middle - and it's been quite a while since I've embroidered and ages since I've lost a needle, so for the moment we're just going to keep an eye on him. Poor little boy.

Crafting gone wrong

Up until now I've been pretty lucking with crafting accidents. Other than projects that haven't quite turned out as planned, unfinished projects and the occasional poking with a needle it's all been pretty smooth sailing...or so I thought.

Anyway, I took Deefa in to work for his vaccination and heartworm injections and also some radiographs (because I'm paranoid, and he's a bit lumpy - all lipomas though) just to check his chest and abdomen.


Guess what I found?

Babydoll Top

This is the third project I've started from the CrochetMe book, and so far, the only one I've finished (admittedly, the second one I was working on when Barney was sick and I picked up the wrong hook size for the last piece...it's now hibernating). This was actually a project that I wasn't initially planning making from the book, but I bought some Bendigo Woollen Mills cotton on special and thought it would be a nice project for it.


The colour is somewhere in between both pictures and the pattern is the Babydoll dress by Amy O'Neill Huock, which I've modified to be a top.

Made with 8 Ply Bendigo Woollen Mills Cotton in Parchment.

Curious Squid Square

Gosh I have been a bad blogger haven't I? Partly it's because we ran out of internet, and then I've been on jury duty...not on any trials but almost. This is a bit of an old project, but I've just been slack about posting it.

On Ravelry, I took part in making a square for the Pratchgan, an afghan for Terry Pratchett, after he's been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Terry Pratchett is one of my favourite authors, and it's really devastating news.



I made a curious squid square with the squid investigating the next square and the other tentacles all dangly and free.

Discworld Swap Creations

Here are some more things I made for the Discworld Swap on Ravelry

Some blank greeting cards from Death's Domain. The ones with the dark centers have radiographs from very small animals but look much better with light behind them.

A sheep coin purse, which contained the next item...

...Nac Mac Feegle stitch markers. These had interchangeable rings so they can be used on different sized needles.

A scumble bookmark. For anyone who reads Discworld, I can imagine Nanny Ogg has at least one bottle of Scumble secreted inside a hidden compartment in a book.

A tote bag, in Nanny Ogg's favourite red and white striped stocking pattern. This was a last minute addition, partly because my parents were posting it from Hawaii and I though it would be good if there was something to keep it all together. I also added in some Tim Tams and Vegemite.

Circular Knitting Needle Holder

For the Discworld Swap on Ravelry my partner wanted a circular needle holder. I got inspired by this one on craftster. I wanted it to look like a Watch (Discworld police) notebook, and so I embroidered the coat of arms on the front and had the needle pockets in an aged paper colour of felt.


(Photo courtesy of Miriknits)

The Discworld "I'm just sending this box so my partner can have cardboard for their boots and I was guilted into putting stuff in it" Swap

In February I took part in The Discworld "I'm just sending this box so my partner can have cardboard for their boots and I was guilted into putting stuff in it" Swap on Ravelry. I was lucky that I managed to get most of my crafting done before Barney got sick, and also that mum and dad were flying to Hawaii so could post the parcel from there, letting it arrive nice and quickly.

Anyway, I was completely spoiled with the package I got from Miri

Look at how beautifully everything is wrapped!

The enormous pile of goodies. There is a load of old craft books (the oldest is 99 years old) all from the Librarian, a turtle needle felting kit, some soap and soak samples, a gorgeous book made from recycled paper at the San Miguel Mission in Mexico, some wonderful socks, an awesome project bag made by one of Miri's friends, some wonderful wool (including a skein of Malabrigo, some yummy chocolates, very cute buttons, a lovely turtle necklace and a gorgeous knitted lace cuff (with beading). Here's some more detailed shots.

The wonderful socks, which fit perfectly and are now my favourite socks in the whole wide world.

The beautiful cuff. I wish I could have got a better photo of this, but it is just divine.

The lovely yarn. Yummy, yummy, yummy!

Edit: Yes, I know the pictures are being silly but I'm lazy and I can't be bothered fixing them at the moment.

Thank you

Thanks everyone for all your support, it's really appreciated.

I'll get back to normal blogging soon.

In Memory of Barney 1996 - 2008

It feels like months since I've last posted here. After posting to the blog in the morning I went into work and got results from blood tests I'd run on Barney the day before. He'd just been lethargic and a bit off his food and radiographs hadn't shown anything. When I got to work and read the blood results they gave a diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, which is very rare and also has a very short lifespan. He was also very anaemic and had very low platelet numbers (which are important for blood clotting). Dad ended up bringing Barney in that day for a blood transfusion. It picked him up a bit over the weekend and he had a really good day on Sunday, but on Monday night he collapsed when coming in from the toilet so we took him into work, and one of the other vets put him to sleep.

We knew from the diagnosis that he didn't have long, but it was terrible to watch him deteriorate so quickly. In the end though, he had a wonderful life and gave us so much joy. We still have his brother Deefa, who has such a different personality from Barney, but is equally loveable. He's obviously missing Barney, but seems to be coping alright at the moment.

Pretty Little Brooch

I'm feeling a bit broochy at the moment, so I may make a few more (but don't hold me to that), so here's the first real brooch that I've made.

It's made from beads which were in an necklace librarylass sent me, on felt, with a satin stitch border. I generally don't make anything this bright, but I'm really happy with it, so I may do more bright things!