Vessel in the making

Vessel:

Yarn: Vinnis Nikkim in Old Gold (lattice) and Midnight (sc) 

Hooksize:  The bottom in hook size 3,75mm and the top in hook size 5,5mm

Hello, we are still on holiday and this is another of those scheduled blogger postings! I will be doing a lot of blog visiting once back to be catching up with all the latest news on the hooking front. I owe someone a lovely parcel stuffed with yarn and another great hooker some interviewing answers - it will be reaching you soon!  Apologies, but I got into holiday mood a while before we left time ran out on me.

Today I want to share with you the awesome work of Enhabiten.  She creates in those exact shades of grey that I just absolutely love and her work reminds me of how as a student, I changed all the buttons on every piece of clothing I bought and then dipped everything in dye to get that raw look I have always liked. I felt so inspired by Enhabiten's work that I started hooking the above vessel! 

If you have any recommendations about the best way to achieve stiffness in order to hold the vessel without compromising the integrity of the yarn - please let me know. I am a newbie at stiffening household and decorative items and advice would be highly appreciated!

xxxx

What a nerve!

Bonjour! April 2012 I endured a couple of hours micro surgery on my ulnar nerve to reposition it after it was compressed and damaged due to an old bicycle accident, years of elbow abuse in front of a pottery wheel, years of computer work and finally some crazy crocheting. I spent a good few weeks in a cast which proved to be a real challenge given the tropical heat and humidity that came along with living in Malaysia.

Left to right: Straight after surgery; after the second injury back into a cast; lastly the show must go on, arm at that time still unhappy. 

The operation was a huge success and then . . . . . I did something very, very stupid. I picked up a heavy 20 liter water bottle to change the empty one on the dispenser (at the time the husband was working in Mumbai with the kids and I based in Penang, me driving an automatic vehicle with one arm and us having food delivered to the villa every day).  

I hurt myself and put my arm straight back into a cast for the next 6 weeks grrrrr.  By the time we stepped foot in South Africa, I could not even put my fingers in my own mouth due to a frozen shoulder, torn muscle and so forth. (Imagine the stress of arranging first our move to Mumbai, then at the last minute our move to South Africa with only the availability of one arm.) 

The kids dressed me, the hairdressers "quiffed" me and visits to the massage parlour kept me sane.  After weeks of intense physio therapy and a shot to treat the resulting bursitis in my upper arm that nearly pushed me over the edge, I picked up a crochet hook and started hooking again! That was about 11 months ago.

I still have only 90-95% feeling in the left side of the left hand and keep on breaking too many glasses and plates at times of weakness, but I hope by the time you are reading this I have overcome my fear of further injury and am para-sailing over the Indian Ocean!  Cheers!

Necklace and Mauritius!

Hello!  By the time this posting is published via the blogger scheduling option, we are enjoying a two week tropical island holiday - snorkeling, exploring lesser known roads on scooters, enjoying street food, scouting for interesting photo opportunities and so forth. Ah bliss. We felt like a simple holiday in the sun, a short flight away and found ourselves booking a trip to Mauritius for the third time. Mauritius is highly commercial, let's hope that the back streets of Port Louis deliver on the street photography front! 

The kids are on a two month Summer Holiday due to them doing an International Curriculum and we are therefore not bound by South African school years and terms. Even though it is currently winter in South Africa, the atmosphere of Summer Holidays prevails at the Pigtails Residence.  

Necklace:

Yarn: Vinnis Nikkim Colours

Hook Size: 3mm

I will be wearing this necklace with either one of three dresses in charcoal, dove grey and teal I picked up from The Space. Wardrobe wise I seem to enjoy simple, well cut dresses at the moment but sadly decent clothing shops in South Africa offering a well cut garment in great fabric is a bit thin on the ground. I used to love shopping for almost all my wardrobe needs from Nu Women or when in need for something special I favour Ann Demeulemeester, none of which is available here. I don't like shopping online so that option is out. Oh, and I will give anything to step foot into Sephora for make up shopping again!  

 

Please Note:

This necklace was inspired by the work of another hooker. I found the photo on Pinterest and the link led me here.  I am struggling to trace the original source as it has been uploaded by a pinner without reference. Please let me know if anyone recognizes the necklace which was originally hooked in grey and mustard. Stet:  The garland was originally hooked by Kaati Rockett and featured in a Holiday Crafts Magazine published by Better Homes and Gardens as per Kaati's blog.  

Thank you so much Jeanette for your reply.  I use a slightly different method to trace photos but your recommendation is much better.  Thank you for the link to the original source. 

Mandala and Paris

Hook Size: 4mm

Yarn: Vinnis Nikkim in Green Slate, Slate, Stone, Sea Green, Aluminium and Grey

Pattern: Stool cover pattern by the lovely Karin aan de Haak with the last 3 rounds my own improvisation.

I love Paris, these are photos I took during our last trip.  We have been to France so many times, but always during Spring, Winter and Autumn. Somehow a Summer vacation to this beautiful city and lovely country has never materialized.  I certainly rate Paris along Istanbul, Damascus, Hanoi and Rome some of my favorite cities to visit!

Hope you are having a great holiday and are visiting nice places - we are off on a trip soon and I am looking forward to indulging in street food once again. Cheers!

Doilies and Mandalas

Hello! I have seen the most beautiful doilies in blogland recently, but realised that maybe, just maybe I should be investing in a book. I find that I am either too stupid to make sense of some of the stitches or challenged by all the different languages patterns are written in. Many of the patterns are in languages I struggle to understand, even with Google Translate switched on (Bing translate is rubbish!) I am able to hook in Afrikaans, English, Swedish, German, French and Dutch - anything else becomes challenging! Please feel free to recommend a doily/mandala/potholder crochet book.

These doilies/mandalas are hooked in basic patterns, but it gave me an idea of how much yarn and time these type of projects consume. I like the result, but certainly want to do more intricate doily hooky work.  I love reading Haafner's fabulous blog - she always has a drool-worthy doily on the hooks! Busy Fingers Busy Life's Rosetta is also something I want to cast on my hooks soon.

I will post pictures of another bigger and colourful mandala later.  We will be travelling overseas later this month and next month and I need to ensure that I have posts lined up to keep my Pigtails space active whilst we will be away. 

Have a great week, cheers!

Patterns: 

Aunt Aggie's Trivets as found on Ravelry; Little Spring Mandala by Barbara Langer also found on Ravelry and Lacy Doily as Published in the Ideas Magazine 
Hook-size: 4mm
Yarn: Vinnis Nikkim 100% hand dyed cotton in Grey 511

Doily photos my own. Other pics from Pinterest