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It is so nice to be back in our own home after a few weeks of being nomadic. We had an awesome trip. I am way to tired to tell about it all now, so I will leave a photo or two of the trip. Off to bed now. My bed. 

Holiday

The camping has been fabulous so far. We have had glorious sunshine pretty much the whole trip. The past few days were spent at Tolaga Bay and the surrounding bays. The cliffs and countryside are amazing and it is hard to take a bad photo of them. This photo was our first morning at the bay and the sunrise was spectacular. We're off to the beach soon so I had better get off of this phone.

road trip

We are headed off on a road trip tomorrow.  I'll post some photos once we get back and I will let you know where we wound up.  On another note, I photographed an awesome wedding yesterday.  They had bunting all over the place that was made from retro sheets and fabric.  It was such an exclectic mix of decor that all came together beautifully.  I may have to suss out some op shops on our trip and go on a hunt for some vintage finds.  

 

The Conan Pattern

I thought I would share one of the knitting patterns that I have made up recently.  It uses a drop-stitch technique that you can learn on YouTube.  Just search it and a few good tutorials will come up.  This scarf is more like wearing an animal than a garment and it is one of the coziest things ever.  If you can't find knitting needles this size then broom sticks will also suffice, although they can be hard on the wrists and a bit more awkward.  

Also, it can be really difficult to find spun sliver/roving so if you just have un-spun fibre then just add your own twist to it by hand as you knit it.  You can find sliver and roving from fibre craft shops or on-line from websites that supply spinning fibre.  I also wouldn't be too concerned if you don't have a long continuous piece, as lots of ends poking out can actually make this scarf more interesting. I also apologise that I don't know the meter-age for this scarf as it was never listed on the wool spun sliver that I bought from The Wool Company .  I just know that I used about 800-900gms.

Please feel free to comment and ask questions, as this is the first pattern I have ever shared so it may be confusing or could be missing some crucial info.   

What you will need:

• size 20mm (US 35) knitting needles (or bigger if that is all you have)
• 800-1000gms (1 lbs 12oz - 2 lbs 3oz) of spun wool sliver or roving
• Large crochet hook for adding tassels & weaving in any unwanted lengths

To make it:

Cast on 18 stitches using whatever technique you know.  I use the long-tail cast-on method which you can also look up on YouTube.  If using long-tail cast on method, knit 2 more rows in garter stitch.  If using another cast-on method then knit 3 more rows in garter stitch.

Pattern: 

Row 1:  *K1, YO twice*, repeat between * until just before the last stitch, K1

Row 2:  *K1, drop the 2 YO*, repeat between * until just before the last stitch, K1

Rows 3 & 4:  Knit in garter stitch

Repeat these four rows until desired length and then cast off all stitches.  I did 32 repeats of the pattern.  If wanting to add tassels, cut lengths of wool fibre twice as long as desired length.  Add tassels by folding lengths of wool in half. Insert crochet hook into first stitch on the end of the scarf, grab the looped end of the folded tassel with the crochet hook and pull through stitch to form a small loop.  Put the other end of the tassel (with the cuts ends) through the loop and pull all the way through gently to secure.  Repeat with remaining tassels on each end of the scarf.  You can add as many or as few as you like and you can also stagger the lengths to make it more rustic looking.  You can also omit the tassels and instead stitch the two ends of the scarf together into a cowl.  

Again, please let me know if this is confusing or if you need a few pointers on anything, including where to get fibre from.  I hope you enjoy it!   

 

 

fun with ceramics

I thought I would show a few photos of what I made Matt for Christmas.  It is a tea & coffee set that I decorated using porcelain pens.  My girlfriend Helen gave me the idea of decorating ceramics for gifts and I believe that she got the original idea from TinyHappy.  

I was unsure of what to do at first, but decided to go with a Mexican sugar skull theme which signifies El Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead in Mexico.  I initially started free-styling them and just looked at some images and made up my own skulls. I decorated a tea pot, tea cups and coffee mugs.  Then I decided to do a couple of cake plates.  For the plates I used a transfer technique from THIS TUTORIAL.  I used the Pebeo Porcelaine pens in a fine tip which worked really well.  I got mine from Gordon Harris, but I think other art and craft supply shops carry them as well.  I'm really happy with the results and Matt loves the set so I would say it was a successful project.  Here are some photos.