No words.....

Except to say……..

Have a flower-filled kinda day, Miss Vicki.

 Happy Birthday!

Yes I can.....yes I can.......

.....and I did!!!! Yes indeedy, I have finished! The most exhaustive and colourful woolly that has taken the longest time in the annals of the history of knitting...EVER....is completed!!!  I have knitted the last stitch, tidied up the last of metre upon metre of spaghetti-like loose threads, sewn up my myriad coloured jumper and knitted the neck band! So strike up the band, let the drums roll out, let the trumpets call, while the throngs shout.....hip hip HOORAY!!

You will need to shout louder......I can't hear you all the way down here!! The orchestra is belting out a cacophonous tune!

This garment which took forever and a day to knit, taxed my brain pan no end. So much so that I did wonder if it would ever see the light of day. This garment has cured my curiosity in walking along the yarny road of making it up as I go; diverting down li'l paths and tributaries, loop-de-loopying through strands of lengthy colourful wool which resulted in oodles and oodles of unravelling, to only back track, time and time again to the beginning. If nothing else I can pat myself on the back for doggedness.....(and perhaps......lunacy),

I have asked my husband that if ever I should say "I think I will make another improv, brightly coloured jumper, with oodles and oodles of patterns; perhaps he could strangle me with lengths and lengths of tangled wool!!

There have been too many occasions when unravelling was the order of my day.

There were many occasions when my brain pan was taxed to the limit with the figuring out of the patterns.

And.....there were was the odd occasion where my thoughts were led down dark and murderous paths!! Ooops....just as well those knitting needles never found a spot in some poor unfortunate soul....they could have precipitated some serious damage! Ouch!!

But not to be defeated by a 'few' balls of unravelled, crinkly wool, the odd pair of knitting needles and of course my muddled brain pan; I was determined to see this through from beginning to end.

Without further ado....here 'tis.

The front......

The Back......

As I knitted a larger size than I normally would, it is a comfy fit; but that's perfectly fine as I do love to bum around the house in larger woollies that keep me warm and cosy. I love to live in thick, aran style jumpers that are longer than the norm, around the house through the colder months. An oversized aran woolly, a pair of jeans and a pair of boots....voila! I will certainly be warm as toast come next Autumn/Winter.

As you can see, I am no chromophobe! I adore colour! I have been knitting this jumper, off and on through three seasons...Autumn, Winter and Spring. We certainly cannot rush these things now, can we!

Down here in Tassie even though the days are beginning to warm up (today was 19 degrees Celsius...a heatwave), there might be one or two occasions where I will don my jumper for my early morning walks with my shadow, Miss Maisie, as we traipse through the countryside. There will be no more concerns of diving into muddy puddles to avoid being hit by a passing tractor! This woolly has an injection of a li'l dose of colour and pattern; an overdose, if truth be told. Yes indeedy, my colourful woolly will be like a neon light in this li'l neck of the woods.

So there you have it. The end of a very long knitting saga and one for which I am very thankful and somewhat relieved that is "all over red rover"!! The next garment I knit will most definitely be one where I follow the straight and narrow path; a path with no deviations down unexplored territory; a path where the instructions are in black and white; where the wandering along the woolly path is uncomplicated and straight forward! Yes indeedy, my fascination with colour and pattern in a hand knitted woolly has been alleviated!

I am linking up with Janine's "Wool on Sundays" over at her lovely blog, Rainbow Hare. Janine's lovely blog is filled with gorgeous, gorgeous woolly makes and terribly clever makes of the fabric kind. Janine is a born story teller. Her delightful stories of Granny Square, Knit and Purl are enchantingly captivating. You can find a snippet of 'Rainbow Hare' here....give yourself a treat and have a lookity look.

So it's toodles from me.  Have a colourful weekend everyone !!

A Finish......of sorts

Remember way back when......last year (has it really been a year?)  when my li'l streetscape filled with cute as cute Victorian terraces oozing with architectural delights, a melodic carousel, beautiful park gardens, intricate wrought iron fences, groovy gals walking their doggity dawgs, vintage cars etc etc, made an appearance on the world scene?? You don't....well let me refresh your memory. If your memory needs a li'l jolting, here's the story of my li'l streetscape.

I happened upon some spiffy house fabric, which way back when inspired me to free hand machine sketch my li'l streetscape and add it to a quilt. But.....the town planner, his civic cohorts, and his band of merry construction men, decided to put down their tools for a while; to find some new inspiration before continuing on.

A year down the yellow brick road of creativity, I have decided I am not enthused with the idea of incorporating this panel into a quilt. So my li'l streetscape has sat on my 'to do' pile, while the cogs in my brainpan have ever so slowly turned, round and round and round! Yes indeedy, the cogs in my grey matter can get stuck in gear these days.

Oooooh.....have a bo peep at the glorious suffolk puff (yo yos) quilt. Alas, 'tis not mine....more's the pity. One of my stitching girl's mum has asked me to back this pretty which her grandmother has so lovingly stitched. Perhaps she will forget that she has left this pretty with me! But, I digress. That story is for another time.

I have unearthed my happy li'l scene from the pile and decided to put it on display in my kitchen as a valance for the kitchen window; for all to see.

The panel is shorter in width than my window. I did consider joining more fabric and free hand machine sketch some more whimsical details; but to be honest I just wanted it up and for once in my life to "keep it simple stupid". So with this thought uppermost in my brainpan, and with a feeling that it was a bit too black and white, I felt that a li'l colour was needed to showcase my panel.

I pulled out fabrics in blues, pinks, greens and a li'l black. As the panel will hang in the kitchen, some of the fabrics have flowers, strawberries and cherries.

I stitched random strips of fabric to both ends and bordered the top and bottom, also with random strips of fabric. I then stitched a lovely length of crochet trim (that was attached to a very old curtain piece) along the bottom. You will never believe it, but the crochet trim is the exact length of the window! How providential.....it seems it was just meant to be.

Now, I love my kitchen curtain that I stitched ages ago, but in Summer when the windows don't have to wear snug curtains to keep the warm air inside, I usually take this pretty down and hang some other embroidered lovely as a valance, to let the sunshine in. And ......of course, nothing ever stays the same in our li'l ole humble abode. My husband constantly comes home and after stepping through the bright pink front door wonders indeed, if this is his home. Thank goodness for the bright pink front door....sometimes it is the only 'signpost'!

The town planner, only too conscious of his time restraints, is ecstatic that he can sign off on his beautiful streetscape and as for those builders......well, they are singing the happiest of tunes. They might even gleefully gallop atop the carousel horses, spinning around and around  on the revolving merry-go-round and throw their hard hats high into the air with jubilation. They are all relieved that they can leave the occupants to live their everyday lives behind their pretty Victorian facades and get on with their lives. To be quite frank, the builders were a li'l weary of all the intricate details that make up this happy town. Yes indeedy, it's onward and upward (and out of there) for them; with their tool kits attached to their hips!

The 'rustic' tin shed will soon be hidden by the most gorgeous purple Buddleia tree. My good husband decided to give it a prune within an inch of it's life. He reassures me that it will be blooming bigger and better than last year.....and there is no need to file divorce papers over this li'l 'hair cut'!! Mmmm.....but what do I know, he is the gardener, after all! So all will be well within a month or two (my good husband says so) when the vignette from my pretty, valanced kitchen window will be a winding country road, distant blue mountains, a HUGE Buddleia tree amassed with pretty purple flowers and pretty butterflies enjoying all the pretty flowers.

Ooooh.....love, love, LURVE!!

So 'tis toodles from me. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Linking up to the lovely Stephanie's, "The Enchanting Rose".

A new bag and a tarted up jacket

Oh I do love to stitch a bag or two! It's another favourite pastime of mine. So much so that I can't remember the last time I purchased a bag. When my favourite bag of the moment is looking a li'l worse for wear, I just design and stitch another. I'm a bit of a boho gal.....did you guess?? When the occasion calls for a new bag in which to carry everything but the kitchen sink, I love to design and stitch another, often embellishing with lace, beads, ribbon, different trims, pretty tassels and all manner of doodads. I don't think I have ever fashioned a bag without the odd adornment!

These are a few bags that I have stitched in the past. A few of these carriers of curiosities have found their way into the custody of my friends. Though I have made 'hand' bags and clutches, I prefer to design and stitch shoulder bags that are slung across my shoulder and body. And....they have to be able to curtail all manner of things. It's amazing what curiosities find their way into my bag! My bag is a magnet for some very strange trifles. When out and about I love to keep my hands free and accessible....especially when shopping in op shops, where it is mandatory to have all hands on deck to dive in and rummage around the barrels and boxes, and crawl under oodles of clothes racks!

With my bag of the moment looking a li'l "how's your mother", I stitched a new one. I found this gorgeous soft as soft leatherette a while ago. It is cream with pretty white flowers and plain cream patchwork squares. Of course, I decided that the odd doily or two and a little ruched flower with some unique leaf buttons, would be required to add a li'l pizzaz to my bag.

Do you remember Glomesh purses of old? They just keep on keeping on. I have a few that I love to use from time to time. They are very old, but still beautiful. My mum always seemed to have had a lovely Glomesh purse in her bag.

Here 'tis, perfectly accessorising my tarted up jacket.

This jacket is an old Kerry McGee design that I bought quite a few years ago. Long, long ago in my youth I loved Kerry McGee's designs. Unfortunately it seems she has disappeared from my horizon. This rather worn jacket is a favourite of mine and was in need of some tarting up which I did a li'l while ago.

Upcycling garments is really the best fun. I am always on the lookout for some lovely jacket or cardie, or some other garment in an op shop or at a market to upcycle. With the addition of doilies for pockets, trailing ribbon, upholstery fringing and tassels, a pretty crocheted lace remnant and a hint of decorative suede leather, my jacket will be seen out and about for many more outings. That's the thing, if a piece of lace or ribbon becomes worn I just replace it with another pretty.

Me thinks I will be wearing my favourite jacket for a very long time yet. It does seem to initiate a lot of conversation when I am out and about. I always get asked "did you make that?".....(can't imagine why). I often think that I must look like a home made Annie. People never enquire as to whether or not  I bought whatever garment I am wearing from some high end store. I suppose my jacket is  a li'l different, a li'l distinctive......but then I suppose I am a quirky kinda gal.

No I didn't buy the chair, though it would look rather spiffy upholstered in a pretty fabric and painted a bright colour....I am kicking myself now.....and yes......the cute as cute picnic basket came home with me! 'Tis a gorgeous shape and though it is small, it is the perfect size to hold a thermos of tea and a home baked treat when me and my good husband go gallivanting around the countryside in our tin lizzie!

I am off to the market again this weekend.....perhaps there will be a "must have" jacket, waiting for me, clamoring to be tarted up!

Toodles for now.....have a great weekend everyone.