Some things are worth the money


I've always wanted a real cubby house for the children.


Thanks to Divine Providence we now have this fantastic cubby from Aaron's Outdoors (I highly recommend them for their customer service and quality of product).


A ladder, a slide and pink gingham curtains, what else could a little girl (or 3) want?


You see they have their priorities in order - tea set at the ready :)


Thanks be to God for once again providing for our family in unexpected ways.


And on the craft front, I'm working on this African Red Butterfly by Trish Burr, which is an absolutely gorgeous design. Unfortunately my needle painting technique has not had any use for some time and is not quite up to scratch. Hopefully by the end of the project I will be much improved.



Hand dyed yarn


My first attempt at hand dyeing yarn went well in some respects and not so well in others.

I used Luxury 8 ply from Bendigo Woollen Mills and Landscape Dyes in fuschia and raspberry.


I skeined the wool and dyed bands of colour, wrapped it up then steamed it. If you're interested in the process I'm more than happy to share a tute next time I'm dyeing.

I was interested to note how different dyeing wool is to dyeing fabric. The fabric is thirsty for the dye, whereas the wool resists it. Quite different.

Notes for next time: 
Water down the dye more, it was too concentrated.
Try soaking the wool in water for longer before dyeing.
Try a longer steaming time - the dye was not exhausted and I had trouble at the wash out stage.
Cover the kitchen counter properly or you will drip dye on it that does not come off!
Tyeing the hank with figure eight ties worked really well, I didn't get any tangles.
Steamed wool in the kitchen is not an appetising scent and it does tend to fill the house!

I've already cast on a cardigan with this yarn and it's looking great so far. I was concerned the strong colours would be a bit much but it has grown on me.

Little butterflies cardi


Another knit finished and no inclination to slow down :) This beautiful little cardi is Little Butterflies from Tikki (couldn't you have guessed, I'm a little obsessed with this lady's patterns!)


This photo has the best colour representation. The yarn is Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 8 ply in the colour Aquarium. 


She chose rainbow striped buttons and I made her a little brooch to go with it.

It would be amiss of me to not thank my girl for modelling on a day where she has a horrible cold and is feeling rotten, good on you Gem!

And just in case you're wondering, I do have another cardi cast on already with some yarn I hand dyed (I'll show you that another day). And yes. It's another Tikki pattern :)

Away and back

We've been away.





                                                          I wish we were still there.

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