Done At Last

 

I've been working rather intermittently on the half-finger gloves, mainly because other deadlines were more urgent. But the time to deliver the gloves is fast approaching, so I thought I'd better get on with it. The pattern is Tipsy, by AndreSueKnits. They look a bit strange when unoccupied, but fit well when you put them on! 

I've been having difficulty commenting on some blogs in the last few days. I just get a message that an error has occurred. This morning I tried writing on the laptop instead of the iPad and it worked fine, so there you go, the problem must be something to do with the iPad. 

Monkeys

 

I'm going to a market on Saturday. Not my usual one, that's on the 7th. I have some puppets in my basket, but there weren't any monkeys, so I thought I'd better rustle some up. Monkeys are definitely the most popular puppets. 

Flowers

 

A friend gave me some beads recently to make her a bracelet with. I thought now would be a good time, since all my bead crochet supplies are out. When I looked at the beads, it turned out they're tiny, size 11 where I usually use size 8. I have used that size for crochet before, so it wasn't a great problem, but I thought I'd better choose a simple pattern. I used Flowers, by SnowMirna. First of all I crocheted a sample, as per the pattern:

Mmm, a bit skinny for a bracelet. The pattern is easily adapted, I just used 5 lilac beads on each row instead of 3. I had to do 30 repeats of the pattern instead of the 24 I usually do. The bracelet is not smoothly round, I think that may be because I used different sized beads. But I like the way the daisies stand out, and I don't think the odd kink will be noticeable when the bracelet is worn.

I played thread chicken with my Olympus thread:

One reason I end up with cardboard rolls with tiny amounts of thread on them is that I like to be sure there's enough for a project when I start. I decided to risk it, though it would have been a nuisance if I'd had to rethread beads! 

Delivered

 

I finished crocheting the necklace. Yesterday I delivered it to the gift shop, along with the bracelets and a few necklaces from stock. The gift shop is next door to the coffee shop where we hold the knit and natter on Fridays, so I went to show the ladies the beadwork before I went to the gift shop. Maria was very excited, says that's just the craft she's been looking for. She's going to go to the bead shop today and get supplies. I'm happy to help her if I can, though all the information needed is on the internet. 

Working On A Necklace

 

I hope to finish the necklace today. It's difficult to keep track of where the patterns come from, especially once I've printed them out. Thanks to the designers! Not many of them put their names on the patterns.

Two More

 

Thanks for all the encouraging comments on the previous post. I am gradually getting back into beaded crochet and speeding up. I made a mistake on the left hand one in threading the beads. It was tempting to leave it because it was just two beads transposed, but it's amazing how the eye picks that up, especially on such a simple pattern. I had to cut the thread and rejoin, but that's not difficult, so it was best to sort it out. 

Two

 

Well, I've crocheted two bracelets, but it  took way longer than I anticipated. I am out of practice! 

Back To Beads

 

I was surprised when the lady from the gift shop down the road asked for some more bracelets and necklaces. It's a long time since I did any beaded crochet rope! This morning I dug out my beads and equipment and made a start. I had a bit of a battle to find the 2mm crochet hook, but find it I did. I thought I might have forgotten the process, but it soon came back. So far so good. 

Abundance

 

I'm having to work hard to keep up with Jack's garden at the moment. The tomato crop is almost finished.  I cooked a lot of them up with onion and bell peppers for the freezer. I made naartjie marmalade, that crop is finished now and the tree flowering again.  The strawberry crop is just starting, but it doesn't look to be as good as last year's crop, so I'm not sure how much jam I'm going to be able to make. Cape gooseberries are ripening apace, I've made several batches of jam. 

Yesterday I made two bottles of gooseberry jam before breakfast and four and a half big bottles of tree tomato chutney in the afternoon. The top picture shows the gooseberries and tree tomatoes (tamarillos) before cooking. There is also a paw paw in the photo. I don't know of any way of preserving them, we just eat them and share them with the birds. The birds often get there first!

Jack also has huge bunches of bananas ripening:

There are way too many for me to deal with, but we don't want them to go to waste, so we've been giving them to an organisation that helps elderly people in need. 

King and Prince

 

The would be teacher who wants puppets sent me a picture of the princess and frog, but not the king and prince, so I had to wing it. How to distinguish the monarch from his offspring? I thought a beard and wider crown would do it. Here are all the puppets for the story together:

Another Story

 

I'm working on another set of puppets to illustrate a story for a trainee teacher. I think this one is the story about the princess who kissed a frog that then turned into a prince. Not very 21st Century, I wonder if the modern version has a twist in the tale? The lady who wants them asked me to make a flat felt ball, but I think a real ball works better, it can be held by the princess:

More Lavender

 

Last week didn't go according to plan and I didn't have a chance to finish the order for tatted lavender. I've made a concerted effort and finished it now. I like to think that it takes me an hour to do a 'bunch' but that is only if the shuttles are wound, the butterfly already made and I make no mistakes! 

Sold!

 I sold the fingerless gloves that I showed in the previous post, just as well I finished them in time for the market. I also got an order for a pair of gloves, those ones with half fingers - fingertip-less gloves? I'll have to see if I can find a pattern, or adapt one. I was wondering if Jane Eborall's top down gloves would work. The gloves will be delivered at the next market, so I have a month. I must do the rest of the tatted lavender before I start spinning.

 I sold a puppet and some jam, and spent a pleasant Spring morning at the market. 

Just In Time

 

 I finished the fingerless gloves in 'spearmint' wool this afternoon, just in time for tomorrow's market. The weather has suddenly warmed up, so knitwear is not likely to be a best seller, but you never know. I'll have puppets and towels on my table, as well as jams and pickles.