Oh, I do love a knitted cardie!

Oh, I do love a knitted cardie.....I do, I really, really do. Come to think of it there are a few pretty, summery cardies just waiting to come out of the wardrobe when Ol' Man Winter disappears to those northern shores. Why, I have read of late that the humble cardie is back in vogue. Not that in my eyes, this article of clothing made famous by Lord Cardigan was ever out of  style. But then, I am not really a gal who follows those fashionistas' faddish edicts, who deem what's in and what's not. I have always followed the beat of a very different fashion drummer  as I pirouette down the catwalk of life, sashaying those well padded hips of mine. I have always had a quirky fashion style, some would say a little eccentric. Who wants to look like everyone else anyway?? Certainly not I!! History tells us that Lord Cardigan invented the cardigan after noticing that the tails of his coat had accidentally burnt off in a fireplace. Well there you go, I will endeavour when next I warm my royal derriere in front of the open fire to be mindful of not singeing my tails, nor indeed my tail! =) 

But enough of Lord Cardigan and what's in and what's not. The purpose of this post is to inform you my purple, cable cardie is finished! Yes the last stitch has been knitted; the fronts, the back, the sleeves and the yoke have all been stitched up and the buttons are popping in and out of the buttonholes. I know.....so, so exciting, well at least it is for me. As you know I will never earn an income from churning out hand knitted woollies. Therefore, when I have finished a knitted woolly there is great cause for celebration. So go boil that kettle, gather yourself a pretty teacup, plump up those comfy cushions and in a celebratory spirit read on, whilst I unveil my purple, cable cardie. Don't worry, it won't be a long post. You will have read this post well before you drink your last sip of that ambrosial cup of liquid gold....I promise. =) I mean really, there can only be a few photos surely, of one 'little' purple, cabled cardie!!

So, so happy my purple, cable cardie is knitted and I can wear it all buttoned up.....yes indeedy I am a buttoned-up cardie kinda gal. =) My favourite cardies and jumpers for that matter, are ones that have a yoke.....preferably cabled. Why, just the other day I found another pattern for a cardie brimming with cables and a lovely yoke. Yep.......it looks like another cable cardie could be on my knitting pins in the not too distant future. But then......perhaps I should knit a woolly for my dear husband. It's been an age since I knitted a jumper for him. Me thinks he has been neglected in the knitted woolly department of late.

But....before I even begin to think about casting on another woolly, I would really like to finish the quilting of my Spring Blossoms quilt. Yes indeedy, the light at the end of my quilting tunnel is beaming ever so brightly. Another week or two and I will be waxing lyrical about my Spring Blossoms pretty. During this last while, though I have been feverishly knitting my cardie, I have also been enjoying some hand quilting as well. The last quilting stitch should be stitched in time for the onset of Spring. SO, SO EXCITED......both because of the anticipation that Spring is not too far away and that another quilt will soon be singing a colourful, Spring song!

Oh, just one more thing before I go.......you didn't finish that cup of tea before you concluded reading my banging on about my little cardie, did you??  You know I told no lie when I said this was going to be a short little chat. =) Thank you for visiting my 'almost Spring' little world. It is always such a delight to 'entertain' you for a little while. ♥

Until the next time..................

Linking up this week to Sum of their Stories and Janine at Rainbow Hare.

Knit then Stitch.....Stitch then Knit

Hello lovelies. Thank you all for your sweet comments re my little slipper chair. I have spent many moments these past two weeks sitting on it whilst knitting a stitch or two of my purple aran cardie. My little slipper chair has even been used for what it was originally intended for back in the day.....that is to sit on it, enabling the easier slipping on of one's shoes.....(my San Fransisco boots need a shoe horn to slip one's feet into). Come to think of it, as I have been knitting my purple pretty I have been sitting on my patchwork needlepoint chair as well.....I love to spread the lurve around. =) This past little while has been  filled with a little knitting then stitching....then a little stitching then knitting. 

My cardie is progressing, albeit slowly. If I just sat and knitted and knitted, my cardie would be on my back keeping out the wintry chill. My problem is I get distracted with other pretties that are colliding around in my imagination. The nature of knitting is, is it not, that you pick up whatever it is you are knitting and when you have progressed a little (or indeed a lot) you put it down until the next time. Sometimes for me  it is a very long time.

The back and fronts of my cardie are finished and now I am knitting the yoke. I am enjoying this pattern as it doesn't tax the brain pan too much. Though I do relish a complicated knitting pattern, it is wonderful  to just sit and knit and not have to think too much about it.

You know how I said I get easily distracted, well, as I knitted I became a little preoccupied with another pressing thought. As I sat and continued to knit and purl and cable, it occurred to me that I do not have a bag in which to hold my knitting. Sure, I have  a few baskets but I wanted something more suitable when I am out and about. A knitting bag was required, a carryall to hold the paraphernalia needed when knitting a woolly pretty. A more suitable bag to hold knitting needles, yarn needles for sewing in the ends, tape measure, row markers, stitch holders, pen and notebook for taking notes for keeping track of where you are in the pattern, pattern books and all those other knitting bits and pieces.

I thought a scrappy bag could be rather spiffy. Gathering together pretty fabrics I stitched 1" strips together.

Though the strips joined together dance a merry polka, to add a little interest I decided to machine sketch a little picture. It's been an age since I have machine sketched anything. Doodling with my machine is always an enjoyable pastime for me so I drew a picture of a girl  lazing on a sofa, knitting, with a kitty cat snoozing on the floor and a sweet birdie in a bird cage, and a pot of tea complete with a tea cup resting on a little table.

I chose a Koda fabric with the name of Bubble Gum as the background and sketched everything in black. With the machine sketching complete I ruched strips of fabric that I stitched together which will dosy doe around the border of the picture.  I drafted a pattern and thought I would use some pretty bamboo handles which I rescued from an op shop a long time ago.

Stitching my knitting gal onto the front of the bag, I then stitched the ruched strip of fabric to the  front, sashaying its way merrily around the edge.

After sewing the back and front together and stitching in the lining I then hand stitched the handles to the bag. I toyed with adding a touch of whimsy in the way of bobble trim or ric rac but believe it or not I didn't. Kinda hard to believe I know, but there you go. I was in a 'KISS' (keep it simple stupid) frame of mind.

Ooooh.....nothing makes my heart go pitty-pat quite like a sea of scrappy happiness!

But then........a sea of bright and happy, woolly loveliness makes my heart skip a beat or two, too.

I am happy with my new knitting bag. I love the pretty fabrics and I love the sense of fun it exudes. It is a good size too; about 20" in width and 15" in length....big enough to carry all those woolly bits and pieces. It was such an easy pretty to design and make. From go to woe it was a breeze to fashion. After the herculean stitching of my pretty curtains and tarted up chairs of late, I was up for a little stitching that required no thinking, nor indeed any opposition. 'Tis wonderful, is it not, to every now and then whip up something quick and simple??

Now all I have to do is get on with the knitting of my cardie. Maybe, just maybe this pretty will soon be on my back, all buttoned up, bracing against the frigid winter chill. That is of course if me, myself and I do not  imagine another 'must have' pretty in the dark corridors of my discombobulated brain pan. One never really knows, does one?? But......this is what makes a creative life oh so fascinating!

Sending a little love your way this lovely day. Until the next time.......

Linking up this week to Handmade Monday

Splendorous Autumn!

A lovely welcome to my gloriously hued, autumnal world! Autumn has stepped onto the stage with great aplomb. The countryside is lit with a blaze of  gold, russet, deep purple, ochre yellow and magenta. Autumn is singing a rhapsody of colour which Summer and Spring, though resplendent in their own uniquely brilliant way, never can achieve. I allegorise autumnal trees as being dressed in taffeta-like dresses with the leaves pirouetting gracefully to the ground forming a messy, tapestry-like carpet, as the canopy of the trees release their grip. Patterns and hues that no carpet maker, no matter how prodigious a weaver he or she is, could ever replicate. I love the sound of the rustling leaves as the wind pushes and gusts through the trees; a softly playing orchestra. I love the crunching and scrunching of the leaves under my San Franciscan boots. =)

Autumn in Tasmania is a beautiful season. With a pronounced chilliness in the air, most mornings Maisie and I set out for our walk before Old Man sun awakes.

As you know early morning is my favourite time of the day. I love the solitude. I love the quietness. I love to be a witness of the grandeur of Old Man Sun peeking from behind the opalescent mountains. I love the radiating sunbeams inching their way over the landscape into the darkest hidey holes penetrating the shadows with light. I love how the sun dances across the countryside. I never tire of Old Man Sun's rays shining on my face and warming my being. To me, early mornings are a most glorious benediction.

Those mornings when the sky is a canvas of clouds, Old Man Sun's brushstrokes are awash with glorious tints.

Do you get a sense of why I wax lyrical about early mornings and sunrises; and the painterly landscape in which I live.......just a little?? =)

Country drives through this magical place, drinking in the beautiful autumnal views, have been a joy of late. The glorious hues of the trees are breathtaking, astonishing, heart-stopping...........oh, how I love autumnal trees!

My gardener is rather enamoured with them too. Me thinks he covets a few of these beauties for his own little plot of land.

I have been enjoying quilting my Spring Blossoms quilt. Moments have been savored hand quilting my hexie flower pretty with the warmth of the sun permeating my sewing room. The autumnal vignette of the weeping cherry tree outside, delights me.

There has been a little knitting enjoyed as well. On my knitting pins this time is a cabled yoke cardie for me. Unlike my aqua aran woolly this pattern is knitting up rather easily. I am enjoying knitting this pretty. This wool was acquired about ten years ago for another project, so instead of languishing in the cupboard for another ten years, I thought I would knit it up. It is a lovely 8 ply, purple wool from Signatur.

One has to be comfy when one is knitting and what better place for me to sit than on my needlepoint pretty. Love, love, love sitting in this chair, knitting, whilst Old Man Sun embraces me with a warm and sunny hug.

The garden has slipped into a rather lethargic state....comatose actually. The Cosmos, Roses and Dahlias are all but gone......but.....the Hydrangeas still delight with their soft and fading autumnal hues. The Hydrangeas seem to be the last bastion of what is left of Summer.

I am a little sad (actually very sad) that Summer has departed for northern shores but I will enjoy the spectacular dance of colour that Autumn gifts me for a little while.

Each gloriously coloured leaf in its own unique pattern is an autumnal flower.....a second Spring so to speak.

Of course there are always Orchids which flower for months on end at this time of the year. For a little while I will enjoy the autumnal vignettes which dance outside my window......all is not lost. =) 

Once again, there is probably a few too many happy snaps of my splendorous, little autumnal world.....it's just that my little world delights me so. I hope in a small way, I have delighted you too. =)

Until the next time..........

Linking up to Soma's Wandering Camera Linky party.