Cut Glass Vase

I've been practicing reflections and so on in my watercolours of late. This is today's effort.

Still a few details to add, some shadows to finalise, and my signature, and it needs to be scanned properly (not just have a dodgy photo taken in poor light) ... but I'm happy with how it's turned out so far!

Monday morning: here it is closer to finished. Just need to sign it.

Yaaaaaarn

The Old Bus Depot Markets are holding their annual Celebration of Wool tomorrow!  Head over if you're in town and want to sample a wonderful and tempting collection of fleece, yarns, knitted goods, and much more! My pal HappySpider will be there with a stall of handspun and hand-dyed yarn, and knitted goodies! I don't know if I'll make it in (seriously, I do not need more yarn at the moment!) but it is a great event. Just make sure you dress up warmly. I always get freezing feet, so handknit socks and solid shoes are recommended. And fingerless gloves. And a scarf. And do try the hot spicy apple cider. Perfect ...

In actual knitting content (don't die of shock!) this is the Vent d'est vent d'ouest cowl (East wind, West wind). I'm making it for a young friend who has a rare thyroid cancer, and is about to undergo some really horrible and scary neck surgery next week. I hope the possum merino will be super soft and non-itchy for her, will keep her poor sore neck warm over winter, and cover her scars.

The lace pattern is quite easy (I'm not a good one for complicated lace patterns, while I can do them, I just don't enjoy the requisite intense mental concentration to do them well), and the possum merino a delight to work with. The lace pattern will be more apparent once it's been blocked (I promise to post pics once it's finished).

And how could I possibly resist this adorable tape measure? I get to pull its ear off.  Naaaaaaaaaaw.

Hope you're staying warm on this chilly "autumn" (more like winter of late) weekend! A good time to curl up with some hot chocolate, knitting, and a puppy on your lap  :D

Puppehs

Miss Petal has a new friend, young Gizmo. He is a long-haired 11-week old chihuahua who is nearly as big as her already! He belongs to a young couple who are friends of our kids (and ours). On his first visit he grabbed her squeaky toy, and ran around and around with it. And Petal chased him ... she didn't want to get the toy back, she just wanted to chase him. She got upset when he turned around and chased her!

My "puppy" is pretty cute too, isn't he?

Aaah Blogger, finally! Your image layout and uploading is much nicer now!

Look what you can do with a packet of Jacquard iDye Poly!

I would normally never buy anything in a pale apricot, it just isn't my colour. But when I was in Sydney last November for TAM (ie late spring), there were a few very cold windy days, and I hadn't packed for cool weather, so I wandered around Central Sydney looking for something to stop me shivering. This was the only cardigan I could find that 1) didn't cost the earth, and 2) fitted me. There was a massive range of colours to choose from, as long as I only wanted apricot.

Enter iDye ... ! After an hour of simmering in the dye pot, it's looking good! The cardigan is 80% acrylic 20% lycra. It needs a light ironing, but the fabric still feels quite soft, and I think I'll get a lot of wear out of it now.