Doily Time!

I love watching Arab and Persian waiters perform the ritual of pouring a glass of mint tea.  They pour the tea into small glasses from a certain distance, an act that mesmerises me and I really enjoy the bit of conversation to be had with the waiters after tea is served.  A few years ago The Husband bartered for an antique silver teapot at a traditional souk in Marrakesh and when I saw this Elle Premier 100% cotton in grey, I simply itched to hook a doily for my tea tray.  You can find the pattern for the doily on the blog of Karen Klarbaecks, she hooked two and joined them together to create stunning potholders. I edged the grey in the same Elle Premier cotton - colour "leaf".  I also hooked 12 coasters in a few vibrant colours and will show those off soon.  Have a great weekend!

The Teen's Afghan finished!

Yay, the afghan as ordered by The Teen for her new bedroom in Mumbai is done! It is looking great against an all white, minimalist background and I have to admit that the photo is a poor reflection of how scrumptious it actually is. The weather is still playing up but I decided to photograph it nonetheless the moment the sun appeared for a few minutes. I used 34 skeins of Vinnis Nikkim hand dyed 100% cotton [50 gram per ball] to create 70 squares and the edging. It is a high quality yarn, a dream to hook with and the cotton is most suitable to the climate in Mumbai which is hot and humid.

The Teen drew a quick pic of her idea of what her afghan should look like. I convinced her to trim it in off-white and she selected the full range of colours during a visit to the yarn store.

The afghan is edged in a design by the lovely Lucy from Attic24. She used it on a Granny stripe and even though it is a simple pattern to hook, the result is very pretty. 

Have a great weekend! I am nearly finished with the small hexagon handbag too and am itching to start hooking something in a more complex pattern for a change. First however, it appears that I will be hooking a bag in the Crocodile stitch, then a few coasters and doilies and finally something more complex. Cheers!

Tiny Hexagons for new Handbag and the Karoo Floral Kingdom

Since I posted two weeks ago I not only finished the stripey round handbag I posted about previously, but also a 70 granny squares [eight rounds per granny] single bed afghan for the Teen! I am itching to show you how both turned out but a current bout of rainy weather is hijacking my plans for pretty pictures.  

Above is my current work in a progress, tiny hexagons from all my left over Vinnis yarn which will become a great handbag for someone special.  I was about to churn out African flowers when it struck me that these tiny hexagons fit right in with our latest travelling experience through the Cape floral kingdom - I like connecting impressions of places visited with my projects. We recently spent a weekend on a Karoo farm near Laingsburg and the flowers and shrubbery of the region is simply beautiful.  Some of the flowers in the photos below are no more than 2 mm in either height or width!  Unbelievable. Cheers until next time xxxx

 These [directly above] are all teeny weeny and no more than 1-3mm in size each! I got as close as I possibly could with my camera. The below ones are "normal" flower size ;-)

Local crocheting and knitting

Good morning from sunny South Africa!  South Africans produce the most beautiful works of art and craft and travelling the Little Karoo is an experience of visual indulgence.  Between the pink, yellow, white and purple flowers currently carpeting the area and the works of craft, it is hard to choose a favourite image.

The "Smitswinkel" is a Karoo Farm Shop/Roadstall located on the R62 between Calitzdorp and Oudtshoorn. The shop and cafe is co-owned by Marianne and Frances who also run a job creation project involving a group of ladies living on and nearby the farm. These ladies were born into extreme poverty and challenging social circumstances and now earn a sustainable income through the craft of hooking and knitting Their story will soon be told in a local magazine, the Landbouweekblad and for those interested in the work created from string, Marianne or Frances can be contacted on +27 44 213 3801 or via mail at  smitswinkel@gmail.com

Oh how I wish I could shop and shop, but alas all my purchases are currently influenced by the size of that one suitcase I am living out of during this period of relocating between Malaysia and India via a pit-stop in South Africa.  Have a great day.  Cheers!

The project space where fingers are regularly crafty with string

Bags knitted from string and adorned with crochet flowers  

Images from "The Smitswinkel" where we also popped in for breakfast and cake in addition to enjoying the craft work. Below on the chairs the knitted throws can be seen.