Whoopee for $5 balls! ...Of yarn ;o)

Sigh of relief that I was able to skip down Spotlight's yarn aisle on the weekend in 3....2.....1

*Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh*

I may have gone a little over board in the buying of pretty yarn department which is kinda ironic considering last post was about using up scraps in a blanket to make room BUT you get that ;o) Awwww c'mon, it was Spotlight!!!! I had a voucher!!! What else was I gonna buy?! I really wish there was a Spotlight here in Armidale *sigh* although maybe it's a good thing there isn't, or I'd be even more broke than usual.
Anyhoo today I used a super dooper huge ball of white pure wool (on sale for $5!) to make a newborn sized crochet jacket for Baby Shmoogle Bean which will hopefully soon have a little pair of booties and a bonnet to match...and I started knitting myself a scarf out of some SERIOUSLY gorgeous European yarn. You don't even want to know how many scarves I've started these past few weeks haha I may even finish one for winter in a month or two yet, you never know!

Definately keep an eye out for more crochet (and maybe even sewn) baby things in the coming weeks! I am loving it :o)

A day of yarny goodness makes a good distraction when sick!

Just me, some yarn, hooks, needles and aunt nauseaum! Myself and my queasy stomach set to work happily making up some new props for my newborn photog business (which is blooming, thankyou for asking! ^.^), making a rather awesome sauce ripple blanket and knitting the first of the scarves that I'll be donating to St Vincent de Paul this winter...that was my big plan that I mentioned last post. The first time I came to Armidale, it was a freezing cold and wet day and so we ventured to one of the op shops in search of a scarf but there weren't actually any there! For some reason that really stuck in my mind, and every winter I'm reminded firstly how bloody cold it gets and secondly that the local oppies never seem to have scarves (probably because it's that freaking freezing everyone snaps them up on the first day!) So my goal this year, in the hopes of preventing a few unnecessary colds and restocking the great scarf shortage I am knitting and crocheting my heart out to make a nice big fat yarny delivery in autumn. I'm hoping that if I make them nice enough they will do good work in helping raise money to properly clothe and feed those who will REALLY need it this year. This is the first one, it's nearly finished! I'm not a very quick knitter, hence why I am starting early (and madly making scarves in summer)

 I took my baskets of projects with me to my husband's work (he needed a bit of company), I popped on a movie and my short fat fingers worked their magic with hooks and needles in hand!

Ah yes... one of the things I am seriously lacking in my little stash of props (aside from pretty much EVERYTHING that is) are seriously cute little newborn sized stocking hats for boys! Deciding to remedy this I got to work on completing the little beauty above complete with a pom pom! Can't have a stocking hat without a pom pom! I have a client booked for the first weekend of February and well if he ain't going to be the cutest little stocking-hat wearing munchkin in all of the New England Area I don't know will be! Becoming of course (as I do) a little addicted I promptly got started on a second one. And speaking of becoming addicted, I started watching American Horror Story last week LOVING it! Watched the whole first season in one day, and I've only got episode 11 to go in Season two.... I usually hate anything horror-related but I am completely and utterly hooked on it! I'm looking forward to curling up on the lounge this evening with my crochet, catch up on the latest episode and fingers crossed this damn sickness starts to fade! All day every day nausea for no reason is not exactly how I enjoy spending my time....good thing I have plenty of things to keep my mind off it! :)

Make scarves! In summer?

 So it's like this, as far as knitting goes all I can do is the garter stitch and even then I can only really go back and forth in a straight line. I intend on broadening my knitting horizons! I learnt to crochet last year and can now write my own patterns and wing it with ease, this year I'll hopefully be able to do the same with two needles. Why are all the patterns I want to try out scarves? Why am I knitting and crocheting scarves in summer? I'll tell you later. So this is my knitting and crochet scarf list to work through... and yes I am aware that I am going to have to branch out from the garter stitch and my lovely straight lines (complete with a hole or two). There may be a lot of cursing involved... but I have a plan. Albeit a secret plan but a plan! And my damn 5.5mm crochet hook has gone walkabout... I have oodles of hooks trust me to lose the one I use most. My ever present power to misplace has struck again!
To Knit:
The Gentle Strip Scarf
The Classic Seed and Leaf Scarf
April Showers Scarf
The 'Marijke' Scarf
To Crochet:
Fruity Pineapple Scarf
Shells and Chains Scarf
Thread and Cotton Scarf
Lacy Treble Crochet Scarf


That's it! That's my list. Knitting needles engage!

Nailed knitting, chocolate, wine and a very squishy photo session

Hiya! I am completely and utterly exhausted from a busy weekend and a photoshoot earlier thisafternoon...thought I'd just pop in to my lovely little corner of the interwebs here with a post for anyone out there who reads them :) *waves*

I have totally nailed this knitting thing... behold! No dropped stitches! It looks like a scarf, and I suppose it could be used as one but it's actually (or at least it will be tomorrow) a newborn wrap that I needed for my shoot tomorrow. Hoorah for being able to make my own props and stuff when I need them! ^.^ Look at my sexy knitting!

I also made some clippies! I was asked to make some for my friend's daughter as she has crazy red hair and obviously needs pretty things to hold it back a little. It's a rare occassion that I'm asked to make things for people... made me feel pretty chuffed actually!

Oh!! I was lucky enough to receive a very kind and thoughtful thankyou gift from my photography clients this afternoon ^.^ I was not expecting anything at all, it was really touching! After doing so much work towards to my photography lately (and I'm certainly not complaining!) it was just really really really lovely to be given a gift. Chocolate and wine.. The way to my heart! So thankyou to the beautiful family I worked with today, you are wonderful people!

Aside from all that I've been spending a mostly quiet weekend at home with hubby and the fur babies playing Skip Bo and Smash Bros on the Nintendo 64.... pretty fantabulous weekend I'd say!


Here's one of the photos from my session today.. see the rest at Quirky Bean Photography if you'd like!

I probably should mention the whole shoot was based around smooshing cake into each other's faces ;)


Bonne nuit my friends! I need some sleep!

Sweet Inspiration ~ loving the colour brown!

I really am! It's one of my favourite colours, you can pair it with so many beautiful colours like pink and blue and yellow and it's just so versatile! I've been in love with 50 shades of brown lately (yeah I know, bad pun) and I'm feeling like I want this inspiration to spill over into my photography... so I rummaged through my yarn stash, my ribbon drawer and pulled some things together to inspire me to create a really beautiful newborn photography prop set. I've put together some inspiration in this post, the materials I have on hand and some of the things i've already made hoping that some brilliant and completely adorable ideas start forming! Oh! And you remember how I started to learn to knit the other day? And that I was hoping I wouldn't make any mistakes so I didn't pull it apart in frustration? Well it's been pulled apart about 4 times since then and I've started again...this time with slightly bigger needles and I'm finding it much easier. Also please excuse the terrible lighting in these photos! I'm still learning how to do that properly... and not doing to well *sigh* Oh well I'll get there eventually.

I'm really looking forward to getting creative with it and to see what happens!

Learning to knit!

I felt like acquiring a new crafty skill...so I'm determined that I shall learn how to knit! ^.^ I gave it a go around this time last year and failed big time!! I think given it's been a year I should maybe try again (funny actually, I couldn't knit so I learnt how to crochet instead... how does that make sense?!) So far so good! Only thing is I don't know how to pick up stitches again if I drop them, or how to do anything aside from going back and forth with the basic knit stitch and even that mighten't last too long! Oh well...wish me luck and fingers crossed my knitting project here gets to grow a little before being pulled apart in frustration haha