Load Shedding and Lightning Strikes

South Africa is experiencing severe problems with power supply at the moment, so we are having power cuts for part of each day. In addition to that, our wifi router is not working after a lightning strike. So getting onto the internet is difficult. I am also in the throes of moving house. So things are in a muddle: 'deurmekaar' is a wonderful Afrikaans word for 'in a muddle', it translates literally as 'through each other'. So I'm going to take a break from blogging until next year some time, when I have everything lined up again - 'agtermekaar'.

Happy Christmas to those that celebrate it, and all the best in 2020. Thanks to everyone who read my blog through the year, and those that commented.

I'll go on reading blogs when I can, so I won't be disappearing altogether!

Wangling

We got back late Friday evening after a long drive. Since I did no handwork at all on our trip, I was keen to get back into things and spent Saturday sewing. When I looked at my stash of Sweshwe fabric, I thought I had enough for two bags. Hmmm. I need three for gifts. Well, with a lot of wangling, I managed to cut out the pieces for four bags! My mother would be proud of me.

 I've already given away one bag, it used the same fabric as the one above but in reverse order, with the diamonds on the outside and spots on the inside. I have two more cut out and ready to sew:

Egyptian

I'm not sure why this colourway makes me think of Ancient Egypt, but there you go. This is a pattern I've used several times before in different colour combinations. It's simple but effective, with a circumference of 8 beads.

We're going away again for  a few days, I won't be blogging again until next week. I've finished my knitting, but I'll have my tatting with me.

Variations

I like working one pattern in different colourways. The black and gold one is not very photogenic - it looks much better in real life than in the picture. Still, I think I prefer the multicoloured one.

Swap

I did wear the red top shown in the previous post to the Christmas party. I think Melanie is right, bamboo is less likely to be uncomfortable in the heat than a synthetic fibre would. There were 12 of us there. We all took along a gift and then drew lots to see who got what. Oddly, Riekie and I ended up doing a straight swap. I had made a drawstring bag with clear pockets. I use mine as a tatting bag, but of course Riekie can put whatever she like in hers.

From Riekie I received a covered clothes hanger, always useful for hanging a special garment:

The beads are a nice touch. Here's a closer view:

Knitted T

I've finished knitting the top in bamboo yarn. I think the colour shows better in this photo than the previous ones.  I plan to wear it tomorrow to a Christmas party, I just hope it's not too warm.

Frost Flower

This is muskaan's frost flower. Muskaan is tatting up a storm of snowflake designs. I really like this one and have been wanting to give it a go. I like the 'Eastern' shape of the arms. It's a small snowflake, 6 cm across. I wound on way too much thread! It's size 20 Milford thread.