Sock Along, Week 3

Ah, the heel is complete.  Thankfully when wearing my socks you won't see it!  One side looks fine, the other side, mmmmmmmm better to not comment !

Great Gatsby Wedding

I attended a Great Gatsby wedding shoot yesterday and here is one of the hundreds of photos I snapped.  I generally don't review my photos taken at a shoot for a few days, I find I critique them better if I leave them sit for a while (so the momentum, or excitement, has waned a little).

The lace on the dress and the parasol was magnificent, not sure if it was hand or machine made, but in any event the bride looked stunning.

Sock Along, Week 2

My sock is progressing well and I am still up-to-date, which is a bonus.  I am really enjoying the cables/ pattern and think it looks very effective.

Next clue is our heel, I always find this a little cumbersome using one needle but I manage to do it.

Irish Crochet Mat

Another finished project - slowly getting through them all.  Here is an Irish Crochet mat.  The roses are very easy to make and I find them interesting because they are dimensional.

Sock Knit-Along

I am participating in another sock knit-along at Knit Purl Hunter http://knitpurlhunter.com/kal/.  We get a weekly clue to knit toe up socks.  I purchased some sock yarn today - I don't think I really need more yarn - Naturally Waikiwi which is Merinoo/Nylon/Alpaca/Possum in a lovely purple shade (do I really need another pair of purple socks, or anything purple really; just because it is my favourite colour!)

Here are my socks at the end of week 1, the toe is now complete.

Sourdough Workshop

A long time between posts.  I've been doing a little too much photography and not much else.

I attended a Sourdough workshop over the weekend at http://www.prickleberrysourdough.com/; I highly recommend not only the class (which is in Ballarat), but their food accompaniments.  As a bonus Prickleberry Sourdough will be opening a cafe in a couple of weeks too, serving delicious homebaked food.

We made a couple of different loaves (including an olive and sundried tomato loaf).  I now have a culture (reminds me, I must date it and see if we can keep it going for a long, long time - the record is over one hundred year).  I am very keen to continue making my own bread, although being a family of six we do devour quite a bit of bread throughout the week.

Here is a montage of the day.

LP Cake Stand

Searching for different sized records was the hardest part of making this cake (or petit fours) stand.  I never realised how versatile the vinyl LP was, now it can be moulded into many interesting items from bangles, fruit bowl, book stand, even a handbag (which will be my next attempt).

TIAS 2013

I completed (and almost on schedule) the 2013 Tat It and See Challenge by the very talented, and generous, Jane Eborall.  Have a look here http://www.janeeborall.blogspot.com.au/ to see her wonderful tatting.

The challenge was provided in short segments, 11 in total, and here is a collage of the progress throughout the challenge:

.. and the end result - a pram:

Larundel Mental Asylum

Went to Larundel in Bundoora this week.  This "mental asylum" was built in the late 1930's and decommissioned over a decade ago.  Today there is a new housing estate at the back of the old derilict buildings.  Armed with my camera I candidly took photos of the five or so remaining buildings which are riddled with graffiti and shattered glass.  An eerie yet exciting day trip.

Playing with a "ghosting" effect - if you look carefully you may see the ghost on the right side of the following photo.

Reflection

2012 was an interesting year with many highs, celebrations and one or two sad occasions.  I am certainly looking forward to a brighter year, roll on 2013........

Here are some of my favourite photos from 2012.

Saving the World (aka, using Handkerchiefs)

I came up with a "brainwave" yesterday - that I should stop using tissues and start using hankies, not only to reduce waste but also to reduce those nasty pieces of tissue residue left on clothes because someone unkindly left a tissue in their pocket when they put their clothing in the washing machine!

Anyhow, I have  few spoked edged hankies so yesterday/today using treble and chain, I crcohet an edge around my first hankie!  The edging isn't actually as bright as in the photo, but rather a lovely pastel lilac.

Hooded Long Knitted Vest

I finally finished knitting this long vest.  It took a while because I changed the pattern a fraction so had to frogged it a bit until I got it just right, and then I knitted the vest which goes down to my knees (basically when I ran out of yarn).   The pattern is Fish Creek by Melissa Schaschwary http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fish-creek-adult-version and I knitted it in Woolznyarns' BFL/Silk http://woolznyarnz.blogspot.com/

Melton Weir

What to do with a rather boring photo - make it into a sphere using an easy Photoshop process?  Viola. Although the sky was fairly interesting before the conversion, I think it makes for a much nicer photo

High Dynamic Range (HDR) images

 I had a lot of fun experimenting today with a new HDR program.  I love the way the program gives a "surreal" look to photographs by using a larger dynamic range between lightest and darketes areas of a photo.  Generally you need to take three photos to achieve this affect, HOWEVER with software it is easy to accomplish with one photograph.

Mali Elephants

Had a lovely day in Melbourne CBD last week.  We went on an elephant hunt, trying to locate as many Malis as we could within a fairly short space of time.  Fifty fibreglass models of the famous elephant calf, Mali, have been paided by various artists and are currently on display in Melbourne until late September as part of the celebrations for Melbourne Zoo's 150th birthday.

Here are the ones I found and photographed :-

Voodoo Zombie Doll Pincushion

Another Zombie item, ths time a Voodee/Zombie pin cushion.  The pattern was kindly provided by Crazy Dazy.   I felted the pin cushion to make it a little more sturdier.

Zombie Bunny

I must admit I have a Zombie fetish at the moment.  I am hooked on a TV series called "The Walking Dead" and fascinated by Zombie-like creatures.   So much so, I just had to crochet this Zombie Bunny when I found the pattern as part of a Zombie crochet along, provided here http://thetheoryofcreativity.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/hey-guys-i-got-little-bored-so-to.html

Cork Noticeboard

This is a quick and easy cork noticeboard which I made a while ago; the most time consuming part was collecting the corks.  

Using PVA (my favourite friend) I glued clean, used corks on to sturdy masonite/board.  I chose a chequered type pattern but you can use any design you like.  I then painted some varnish on top to "protect" the cork, and here is the noticeboard  complete and ready for use.

Blooming Flowers Crochet Cushion

Well it took six months but I finally finished this crochet cushion by http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/blooming-flower-cushion.html/.  The reason it took me so long was I took a hiatus for a month or two (or even three) to try to locate a round pillow insert - they are IMPOSSIBLE to find.  Last week I decided to bite the bullet and make one which turned out OK, after all you are not going to see the insert because the crochet cushion will hide it (?right). 

The pattern was very easy with clear instructions and the wool I used was from Bendigo Woollen Mills.

Munch's The Scream

I have always admired this painting by Evard Munch and I thought what better way than making it into a Cabochon as part of a crochet-long on Ravelry.  The pattern was provided for the CAL but I must admit I did quite a big of diggery-pockery to make it look a bit better.  The colour scheme isn't my favourite but it complements the colours of the painting

Now this is a brooch I will be proud to wear.....