Dish cloth swap

After seeing Mel from One Crafty Mumma was hosting a crochet and knit dish cloth swap, I thought I would take my new crochet skills out for a spin. I signed up. I took too long to finish them for the first round swap so I worked to get them done for the second swap. Phew! Just in time.

I was so proud of myself for making this, I really wanted to keep it. The first dish cloth is made with 100% cotton I found at Spotlight. It is a mixture of a grey 4 ply ball and variegated greens and grey 4 ply ball.

I searched for 100% cotton that was 8 ply in town but 4 ply was the biggest I could find. I am embarrassed to say that I drive past the turn off to Bendigo Woollen Mills whenever we head into town and it never occurred to me to check for yarn there.



The top 2 dish cloths are made to this pattern.



This small square one confused me to start with. I got my stitches mixed up and ended up making one that was rectangle shaped. I decided to finish it off and use it at home. Sort of a happy accident. You can find the pattern for this one here.



This one didn't quite go to plan either. I guess I am still getting all these stitches figured out. This was supposed to have more ridges but I didn't put the crochet hook in the right place and this is what I ended up with. I like the colour blocking on this. The pattern for this can be found here. Looks like the pattern for this one is now only available for purchase.

I wish happy cleaning to the people who get my crocheting in the swap. :-)
I am excited to see what arrives in the post for me.

Crochet stars

I have this idea in my head of having beautiful handmade Christmas decorations for the tree this year. Or cute gift tags that include a little crochet star.

I don't know if it will happen but these stars come together in a tiny chunk of time (maybe 10 minutes). They are handy to have for car trips and filling a little bit of time while dinner is cooking at night. I also took them when I visited with my parents recently. We sat and chatted and I crocheted.

I would love to turn them into a garland. They might just end up not finished off properly and tied to the tree :-)

If you want to make some the pattern is here.

Felt Wreath for Christmas

I have been determined to not let Christmas sneak up on me this year. I know. It shouts it's coming from around September when the decorations start showing up in the shops. My plan has been to start making, buying and preparing for Christmas early this year. Well, earlier.

This wreath was super easy to make. I haven't decided what to embellish it with though, if anything. I really like it like this actually. I followed the tutorial here.

In a fit of decluttering at the start of the year I went through our Christmas decorations and donated a lot of the ones we had because I didn't like them much and was determined to make some. Christmas is almost upon us and I haven't made any. Looks like things will have to get busy in our house in the next month!

It's getting warmer

When the weather warms up here, we start to see creatures around the yard. This little guy was just out near the back deck.

There is an old wives' tale that if you have lizards around, you won't have snakes. I wish it was true.

Summer is coming.

Crochet, I have conquered.

One of my goals in life has been to learn to crochet. I have tried a few times before but I haven't really ever "got it". After a friend shared a link on facebook about crochet lessons happening in town, I jumped at the chance.

This granny square was the result from my first 2 hour lesson. And I could read the pattern. I felt so clever. I also learnt that day that wearing my glasses for crocheting is very important. Migraines come from not wearing them :-(



My 2nd lesson, with glasses on, I achieved an African Flower (a little wonky but hey I'm a beginner). I was supposed to make 2 and put them together to make a potholder. Confession. I left it mid-craft because I wanted to move on to more exciting things. Typical me.

The 3rd lesson was how to make a Christmas decoration. It was quick to make the two sides but we ran out of time to do the edging and I had to figure that one out on my own.



It is supposed to have six points and then I can sew the little bells onto each point. Straight forward? I have already pulled out the edge quite a few times and when I start it again, it comes out differently each time. I am pretty close to leaving it as a circle ornament and not a star.

There you have it. I am glad I took the classes. I tried following lessons online but for me it was too hard to set aside the time to do it. It was easier to book into classes and then have to go. I feel like I can have a go at most basic patterns now though. And it was fun hanging out with like minded crafty people.

My crochet skills will take more practice of course. And now that it is coming into summer, I doubt I will feel as keen to work on it. I really want to try making some baby blankets but with my track record, it probably wouldn't be a good idea :-)

James the (toy) echidna

Echidna Day passed with very little fuss this year. I wanted to bake a traditional chocolate 'spikey' cake but it didn't happen. In fact, aside from the 3 girls making echidna's from sticks and air drying clay we hardly marked the occasion at all.

We did, however, have James the (toy) echidna, wandering the house. I love him. We get him out of his box as Echidna Day approaches and he just sort of ... shows up... around the house. People pick him up and pat him while watching TV. The kids play games with him. He travels to the girls bedrooms and sits on the couch watching telly when the kids have left him to it. He often startles me as I walk through the house at night to check the kids before I go to bed.  And do you know what? It makes me happy. I look forward to have James visit with us.



I wanted Echidna Day to become a celebration of our blessings. Australia doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving. This is our version. Give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18a). We have plenty of circumstances going on that we could easily not give thanks for. You know what though? I am thankful. We have a great, beautiful and messy life. Thank you God for all the blessings you have given our family. And thank you for being our soft landing place when the circumstances start to get the better of us.

Spare time?

I have been misled.

I thought I was supposed to have more time on my hands and not know what to do with myself now that all 3 of our kids are at school. It doesn't seem to be working out that way. *sigh*

I think I need some kind of brain to blog transfer system. I have written some fabulous posts in my head and then never seem to have the time or inclination to type them up.

So much has been going on it would be silly of me to try and catch you up. Well, not silly... just really hard to do.

I have managed some making. I squeeze in a little here and there. Earlier in the year I was making a bunch of stuff for a Mother's Day stall at school. Then some more making for a market at school.

And I started crocheting classes. YAY! I have been wanting to learn how to crochet since starting this blog ... And I have even attempted it a couple of times. A friend tipped me off to a lovely lady in town who was giving lessons so I jumped in and took a couple of classes. Precious "me" time and learning a new skill at the same time. It was so fun! I got to sit around with like minded people and chat about crafty things. I loved it. So much so that I am going back to learn how to make some crochet Christmas decorations.

... Sorry. Did I startle you by saying Christmas out loud? The decorations are out in the shops already so I know you must have noticed that it is coming again. How on earth did that happen!

I am hoping to make a bunch of crocheted stuff for Christmas this year. Of course, my skill and speed may hold me back. I have a list of things I want to make. Perhaps I will set some smaller goals.

I was going to finish off this post by adding a photo but apparently my new laptop doesn't feel like it. I have no idea why it doesn't want to do it so let's pretend there is a lovely picture here of a crocheted dishcloth I made last week. Perhaps I can put up the real picture at some stage. :-)

A little bit of awesome

I haven't blogged for so long. I was actually worried that I would forget my password and Mid-Craft Crisis would be destined to live the rest of its days unfinished. Mid-Craft you might say :-)

I had a go tonight at fiddling around with the header on my blog and finally (!) got the picture up that I wanted to put there forever ago. And I even worked out how to align the title to the right!

Boring news to you maybe but I am all high-5s and patting myself on the back. I have finally done something to my blog and there is some inspiration coming back. It would be lovely to come out from under the rock I have been under and come to play here again.

Hope so.

A belated Happy Resurrection Day

Happy Easter to you all.

I was going to do some blogging about Easter but that hasn't happened. In truth, we haven't done much in the way of Easter crafting this year. The last couple of weeks have been full of action here at home so the fun creative stuff ends up last on the list of things to do.

We did manage to discuss the Easter story quite a bit which is good as the kids are all getting a bit older and able to understand more than they have before. I found a blog that had all kinds of wonderful and thought provoking activities for Easter. I will definitely keep that book marked for next year. We did this activity to remind us of why Jesus died on the cross.

Other than that we spent the weekend with family and friends. Oh yes, and there was the torchlight procession in town on Saturday night. The fire fighters from our town had a float in the procession and so we all were involved in that. Very long night but lots of fun.

School holidays are here for 2 weeks which will be good. I am going to try to keep positive and try to focus on having fun with the family these holidays. So often I get caught up in what hasn't been done instead of getting on and doing things!

How was your Easter?

I still have Christmas CDs in the car but you'll be happy to know I did manage to get an Easter CD as well. Here is my favourite song from the CD... except this video is performed by someone else... This one has a spoken word piece in it too (which I like too).

After Christmas, comes Easter

I am so tired. Being sleep deprived is a pass time for me. Lately, I get up and get the kids to school and then I come home only to find myself falling asleep again. The other day I sat down to write a list and fell asleep.

Confession 1: I only just took this banner I made before Christmas, down a couple of weeks ago. I had all our other Christmas decorations packed up in the days after Christmas day, but this stayed up. I was too lazy to get a chair to stand on so I could reach it. I liked it up though. It was going to be the whole first verse of the carol but that actually took a really long time to make so I just did the first line. It was also still up because since renovating, I haven't put up any pictures and so it was a nice wall decoration.

Now that it is down, the wall above the TV looks boring. I am starting to get photos printed and finding the right frames because I want a photo gallery wall up there. If only these things would work out easily and be done so I could already be enjoying it. :-) All in good time.

So Easter is nearly here. How did that happen? Confession 2: I still have 3 Christmas CDs on rotation in my car. What? I really like Christmas carols and music. Actually, this is pretty bad for me. Half way through February is late for me. So I am at a new personal best. Ha!

Easter. I had planned to have the house a bit Easter-y but that hasn't happened so far. I got the Easter basket out of the cupboard but the kids just spread it all over the floor and house. And not in a way that could be described as decorating!

I have been doing bits and pieces of crafting lately but I haven't got as far as to take pictures. I will try to do that before the school holidays start again. I am not remotely ready for them to be so close!

I will leave you with my current favourite song. A Christmas one of course.

Felt toes

My first project for 2013. Some felt toes. Well... they are more like, um... claws. I will share more pictures when I get closer to finished :-) Any guesses who this might belong to?

Starting school 2013 (aka My year with "so much time on my hands")

Well this is a great beginning to the year, isn't it? It's already half way through February and I am only here for the second time. Oh well. Even if I only post once a month this year, I am probably doing better than last year. :-)

Esther and Ellamay started Grade 3 at the end of January. And Amelia started Grade Prep the day after. So the photo above is Amelia's first day but Esther and Ellamay's second. Doesn't Amelia look pleased with herself? Esther and Ellamay were insisting I hurry up and take the picture before their friends came along.

I must admit, it is strange not having any kids left at home during the day. I didn't cry when I left my littlest girl at school. I thought I would. It has been a bit of a ride so far though. After two and half weeks at school, I have had two phone calls in two days to come in and pick Amelia up. She has been having tummy troubles again. *sigh*.

The teachers have been fantastic after their crash course in Cystic Fibrosis (CF). It has only been since I have had to go through all the things they need to be aware of, that I have realised that I have a lot of stuff to remember and do each day. I guess I should be a little easier on myself for having the peaks of Mount Laundry sitting in our bedroom waiting to be folded and the mountain ranges of Unclean Laundry still waiting to be washed.

The most favoured question people ask when they find out that your youngest child is off to school is: "What are you going to do with all that time on your hands?" I thought up a list of responses because, you know, I was going to have all this time on my hands. I am not sure when that will kick in. It hasn't yet. Maybe once there is some kind of routine? I live in hope :-)

One of my plans for the year "with so much time on my hands", is to work on my inner (and outer) domestic goddess. In theory, between school times I should be able to have a tidy (ish) house, bake up a storm and enjoy a little "me time" (another phrase people have been throwing around!).

Okay. So I am still in survival mode. One day though... :-)

I finally had a go at changing my blog a little. Not sure if it will stay this way but it is another thing to work on in my abundance of spare time now :-)

Day One: 2013

Welcome 2013. I am looking forward to you.

There are so many things that I want to achieve in 2013 that just didn't happen in 2012. Like blogging. And making pretty things.

It is going to be a big year for me. Not only do Esther and Ellamay start grade 3 but Amelia is starting school. Grade Prep. I will be child free for school hours and I am looking forward to it. I will be a little lost for a couple of weeks probably. Prep kids get to have each Wednesday off as a rest day in the first month of school so that will make the transition for both Mum and Amelia a little easier.

This year, I am going to be more realistic with what I can achieve. I will get back to blogging and making. I will make a schedule that includes time for both, along side the rest of life. I will be busy sometimes but that is okay because there are times when that is life. I will tell myself I am doing okay even if I am having trouble believing it.

We are still renovating our house, so there will be more stories about that. Hopefully, it won't be quite as consuming as it has been. We have finished the kitchen, dining and lounge rooms now so everything else should be on a smaller scale - one room at a time (hopefully).

Looks like my previous years resolutions will continue to be goals. One of these years I will achieve some of them. :-)

I have already finished one project for 2013. That is pretty amazing. I will have to remember how to use my camera so I can share pictures. :-)

2012 had a total of 11 posts. I do hope 2013 has a few more than that.

God arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. Psalm 18:32

Happy New Year.