New Toy Frenzy

I said ages ago I would show off my new toy.



I have wanted one of these babies for so long.  I have been making bags for the market which look like this.





I was going to put off the purchase until I could afford some digitising software because the designs that come with the machine are so awful.  Then I discovered Urban Threads  who have heaps of totally brilliant designs and they are happy for you to put them on things you are going to sell.









I made his one for myself, I changed the colours around to something a bit more vibrant.



I also made some plain bags to see how the would go at the market.





I made Jenny's dog Bizzy a little jumper - she is a trembler.



I also finished Scott's second red rug.

UFOs

I just don't seem to be getting things finished at the moment so I thought I would take a moment to celebrate some of my many UFOs.  These are just the ones that have a good chance of being finished in the nearish future - there are many many more languishing in tubs just waiting for me to dig them out and get working.

Oddly enough I dug this one out of a UFO tub but I have no idea why it was there, it is huge already and perfectly useful as a rug to snuggle up under on the couch.  It is a prime number rug - every prime numbered ring is in red.  I guess it could just keep getting bigger and bigger which would be cool, maybe one day when I have some free time.



This one is a kit I got from Prudence Mapstone at the last craft show I attended, basically some wools and a pattern for the square, you just mix and match colours as you please.  The yarn is Freetrade alpaca and is wonderfully soft.  he colours are not those that I would choose if left to myself but the work together wonderfully and I can't wait to see it finished.



I have just started work on the next round of crochet creatures and have been experimenting with feathers.  Trying to expand on the Gol Goroth design and work more detail into the wing structure and feathers.  I have a long way to go.



This is the beginning of a fantastic retro cardigan, I have only completed the front panels so far.  I am using a thicker ply than the original pattern to try and get it large enough to fit me - so far I think it is going to work.



I had enough wool left from Scott's lace rug to make another so started a different pattern from a doily book - it does not have that far to go I should really try and get it done before the weather gets too warm.  You really can't tell what the pattern looks like now it needs to be blocked before it will kook any good.



And lastly my African Flower rug (actually I do seem to have an awful lot of rugs on the go - I can think of at least three more that have not made it here) inspired by Pandatomic a Flickr contact who does absolutely marvelous crochet work.



Anyway that is just a few of the things I am pottering around with at the moment.  Later this week I will tell you about my new toy and share some of the things I have been making with it.

Saturday Llama Frenzy

Spring has sprung and with the wet winter we have had the citrus trees are going crazy.

My Seville Orange is fruiting for the first time.



Still a small tree so not quite enough for marmalade but looking good.



The lime tree has also produced its first fruit.



The lemon tree is also producing heaps of fruit including this fabulous mutant.



I had my first go at mitred knitting and made Scott some gauntlets.  It is really fun to do but a little tricky to get the finish up to standard.



I think they look kind of like something Link from Zelda would wear.



One of Scott's co-workers has been ordering purses from me so I have made another veggie burger purse.





And another apple slice purse, unfortunately I did not get a photo of the first one I made before I sold it



The worm was a special request.



I really like the colours in the red yarn.



I have been hard at work making market stock and have now made enough components to offer custom sandwich purses.  I have made centers with the purse frames of cheese, bacon, tofu and burger.  People can then choose from white or brown bread and add other things like tomato, lettuce, beetroot, cucumber and cheese.  I sew them all together in a few minutes and voila your very own sandwich purse.  I will try and get a picture of them all laid out nicely at the next market.

This month's market went surprisingly well considering it was so windy I had to pin all my stock onto the table to stop it from blowing away.  I have to get really busy, Christmas is not that far away and I need to make as much stock as I can.

We had a great day today.  Scott and Jenny and I went to Croydon to the Farmer's Market and the new Art Attack market that has started up.  It was a bit windy, wet and miserable but it was good to hang out.  afterwards we went back to Jenny's for tea and to collect this beautiful item.



Scott had been admiring Jenny's blue eyed llama sculpture every time we went over, so when we were visiting at the last Open Studio I told Jenny I wanted to buy it for him.  Unfortunately (or fortunately as it turned out) Jenny's husband David sold the original sculpture later that day - he did not know I had intended to buy it.  Anyway it turned out for the best because Jenny made this one especially for Scott, and there is nothing like having a talented artist make something just for you.



I love Jenny's work there is just something about her faces that is magic (she did the blue guardian sprit that I have posted about before).

A Little More Holiday

I never did finish of showing you the holiday snaps - largely because I hurt my back again and have been avoiding sitting at the computer, all is on the mend now after a bit of rest.

After Auckland we went to Rotorua where there is boiling mud:

and thermal pools with geysers:

Of course the pictures don't really do justice to the amazing eddying movement of the steam, or the plopping and hissing and whooshing, or the sulphureous smell for that matter.

Rotorua is also home to the Te Puia school of Maori carving and weaving where we saw lots of amazing work and I had a great discussion with an Aunty about working with New Zealand flax which has resulted in all sorts of interesting ideas.

Maori are the only polynesian culture to carve spirals and curves rather than just straight lines, and are they ever good at it.

After Rotorua we headed down the west coast making our way towards Wellington. I was very excited by the sight of my first snow covered mountain. In Australia you have to go up and up and up to even get near the snow, but in New Zealand you can be trundling along through farmland minding your own business - and bang all of a sudden there is a bloody great mountain.

We spent most of a day driving around this beauty - it was spectacular. We ended up in a tiny little seaside town called Otaki, no phone signal and one corner shop. Dinner was horrible but there were other things that made it more than worth while.

Once we got back I finished Scott's rug. Before blocking...

...and after...