While everyone is processing that... ;) Look! A boy up my willow tree, wearing a pink tutu. Aw. :)
And here is boy's mama, helping me photograph the shawl I am working on right now. I'm a bit past halfway now.
Meanwhile in the (overgrown) garden, dyed sock yarn is drying on the line, and a batik shopping bag too. That's a boy up the tree again in the background. There is always someone up the tree when I'm trying to take washing line pictures.
I am really enjoying reading again. Oh what a good sign that is. I have rather a pile of books in fact. My e-reader is currently displaying the cover of Neverwhere, because I'm on a Neil Gaiman kick. In "real" paper books, it's non-fiction:
Project-Based Homeschooling, by Lori Pickert, is brilliant. Since I finished it, I have put up a noticeboard for the children to pin ideas and requests for materials and notes about their projects. I am trying to make supplies more accessible without allowing the toddler free reign with so much mess. How I wish for more living space right now! Anyway, the book is inspiring and is helping me feel like I am doing enough, and giving me ideas for how to facilitate in new ways.
Hey look, more yarn! Yeah I know. Obsessed doesn't even begin to cover it. ;)
It sounds to me like you are coming out of that tunnel?!! Your sense of humour shines through as does your yarn dyeing obsession and I can't think of a better one than seeing the fruits of your kitchen alchemy drying on the line!
ReplyDeleteHugs San xx
Thanks mama, yes, I definitely finished yesterday feeling a good deal brighter. :)
DeleteLove the notice board idea, simple yet effective!
ReplyDeleteNeverwhere is one of my favourite books, Door is such a great heroine!
Lisa.
Lovely to hear you sounding so much happier! One question... Do you have a batik cup type thing? Or are you using another product? It looks wonderful, and I have wanted to do batik for years and years, but never thought I could justify the equipment. Any tips you fancy sharing? Or are they trade secrets?
ReplyDeleteWhen I have done wax batik in the past I used the same cup I used for candle making, on the stove in a pan (also reserved for crafting only), and borrowed Emma's wax pen - but you have to work FAST and carry wax around the kitchen haha.
DeleteNow I use PVA with a squeezy nozzle. When it's dry I add the dyes, and either microwave in a sealed plastic bag or put in the yarn steamer. I have a lot of dye-reserved equipment from the yarn already!
so many lovely things... especially little boys in trees, in tutus!! Oh and i am now off to purchase that book. sounds like a fabby one!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful knitting and how nice to have a great tree for climbing!
ReplyDeleteWillow is quick growing! I planted it as a teeny cutting from my mum's tree not long after we moved here seven years ago. It was climbable from its fifth summer. :) :) I hoped it would be, so that my daughter (then a baby) could have a real climbing tree. :)
DeleteWow Jupiter? Your shawl looks great as well.
ReplyDeleteThe shawl is Flying Geese. Very simple. :)
DeleteI made up Jupiter based on something I saw on Ravelry, it's a felted ball made to have a balloon inside it. One of my crazy friends commissioned it!
thank you so much! i surfed in from laura’s blog — cheers me immensely to see you reading my book and enjoying it!
ReplyDeleteOh you are welcome and thank you for writing it! :)
DeleteYour pink tutu'd boy would fit right in at my house! I love the shawl. And obsessive yarn purchases are always perfectly normal in my opinion ;)
ReplyDeletexx
He fits right in here too! He's my best friend's son, and lived here for a while. :)
DeleteI dyed the sock yarn (and the yarn for Jupiter). A quick dye session here and there, and before you know it the dining table is buried in the stuff! But yarn purchases are alarmingly frequent too!
Lovely to hear you are feeling happier. I think I might have to get a copy of the project based home schooling book. I found Lori's blog this week and both you and Ginny are reading the book. It is loosely what we do here.
ReplyDeleteThe book looks interesting, think I may need to add it to my amazon list!! Do you have a bit more info on dyeing with PVA, sounds fun!
ReplyDeleteAlice x
Not tricky at all - just draw on with the pva, paint or pour your dye roughly where you want it, then heat to set - either microwave, steamer, or in a pinch, hair dryer (did this the other day because the glue wasn't entirely dry yet but I was impatient)! The glue washes out when you rinse excess dye off, with a bit of rubbing. xxx
DeleteOooh, I never thought to knit the planets...we're going to do a study on space in a few months...perhaps I'll have to knit a solar system. ;) Your shawl looks lovely too! I'm happy to have found your blog through the link up, I'm sharing leg warmers this week. Happy knitting!
ReplyDeleteLovely to meet you! Jupiter was a crazy commission from a crazy friend. :) When I started it I was thinking, "oh my goodness, what have I taken on?!!" but it ended up being quite fun. :)
DeleteI love that shawl. Looking forward to the day I actually make something for myself!! Thanks for sharing the link for the baby jumper- it looks like the absolute perfect pattern for me! xx m.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. :) xx
Delete