Sweet Hat

Sweet Hat
Originally uploaded by redmag

....this sweet hat arrived in the post along with two other - also beautiful - hats for the bigger little one last week as part of a swap and while they boys have been wearing them non-stop I haven't managed to get a photo of them until today!

The hats are made from recycled wooly blankets and were designed and crafted by the very talented gabrielle. Having road tested them for a week they are great! Gabrielle is offering the pattern in all sizes imaginable - see this post for details....but do check out the rest of her blog she takes the most wonderful photos of her kids exploits and they are always having loads of fun!

Thanks gabrielle...

The candlelight scarf

Candlelight scarf
Originally uploaded by redmag

...As previously featured....I finally finished my "lace" scarf....only five years in the making

It's funny but taking a few years out from it makes it clear that my tastes seemed to have come full circle....I went from loving the colour and the wool to down right hating it (hence the project shelving phase) back to loving it again....I found the pattern slightly hypnotic to do and so I thought I'd share the pattern with you


A candlelight scarf

Materials
3 50g balls of Ramie by Filature di crosa
1 pair of 3 1/2 mm knitting needles.


This scarf is knitted using the candlelight lace pattern in repeat. The pattern requires multiples of 10 stitches plus an additional 11 stitches. I used 51 stitches but feel feel to use more of less depending on taste.

A copy of the chart is here, A tip to stay on track - there should always be the same number of stitches at the end of the row as you had at the beginning despite all the knitting together and making new stitches.

If you do make this scarf please leave a comment to let me know I'd love to see it....in the end I feel a certain fondness for the old candlelight pattern.....and I loved to see it out and about more.

Stuffed

Stuffed
Originally uploaded by redmag

The very wonderful Christina sent me a copy of the latest edition of Stuffed magazine....it has a feature on the Etsy Plush team and they used some of my photos for it. I've never beeen in print before so this made my week!

For those of you interested in making soft toys its actually a prettty good magazine...contains a wide ange of artists, loads of pictures, a couple of patterns (most of the artists featured don't really use patterns hence only a couple) and lots of technique and tips ranging from online stockists to fabric selections - It's definately worth a look - here's the online sneak peek.

In my garden...

In my garden...
Originally uploaded by redmag

Day one of blogging daily...and so far so good....

This is what our brocolini looked like about an hour ago....before I picked it clean for tonight's dinner (recipe below)...........

Penne and brocolini with a balsamic butter sauce.
Ingredients
500g Brocolini (or Brocoli or asparagaus) chopped into bite size peices
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
500g penne
100g butter, cut into pieces
Grated Parmesan cheese

Pop the vinegar into a small saucepan. Simmer gently until 3 tablespoons remain. Stir in the brown sugar and once it has disolved remove from the heat.

Meanwhile cook the penne and brocolini in a large pot of boiling - I usually add the brocolini when the pasta is nearing completion because I like my brocolini with a bit of crunch.

Drain the pasta and brocolini. Add the butter to the reduced vinegar and sugar mixture and stir until it has melted and combined - you should end up with a beautiful dark glossy sauce.

Toss the brocolini and pasta through the sauce and add grated paramesan to your taste and serve.....this one deosnt keep so serve immediately....

Been away.....

Soviet Vision of the Perfect Family Holiday
Originally uploaded by tatraskoda

I should probably have poped up a note saying things would be quiet here this week before our little holiday.....but I've never been all that good at goodbyes.....

We've had a holiday of sorts.....celebrated a birthday, grew a first tooth, weathered the storm that is the aftermarth of immunisations, received glorious packages from far away places, slept ( sometimes but never for very long), ate, explored and of course crafted......to make up for a the silence I'm going to (try) and post every day this week just to catch everyone up!

The perfect dress

The perfect dress
Originally uploaded by redmag

....this morning I fell in love all over again
...it was love at first sight....
....on first touch it felt so right.....
....i know this is going to be a rocky one....there are already signs of high maintenance....perhaps this will be a short but fiery love...and you clearly have tell-tale marks from previous lovers
....but already I can't take you off
...thankyou

Friday love

Friday love
Originally uploaded by redmag

I love looking through old holiday photos and all the thoughts that come with it
I love the good stories - the ones about kindness and honesty when it didnt have to be like that
I love yellow
I love playing along

See more friday favs here

My creative space

My creative space
Originally uploaded by redmag

...today it was on the edge of the garden watching one little one potter 'round the garden while listening out for the other one to wake up from his nap.....this is a scarf I started more than 5 years ago (!!!!!) I always suspected I had a problem seeing things through but five years of kicking round in the knitting bag is quite serious......

.............more spaces over here

A jar of honey

Originally uploaded by redmag

we bought this this morning....from a local lady who keeps bees in her backyard only blocks from our home....I quite like the romantic notion of bees buzzing around my garden and then knicking off to their hive to get to work on making this big jar of golden goodness..........plus i get to feel like I've done something good for the environment - reducing my carbon footprint and all that - while eating crusty fresh breaad smothered in honey.

Doing acts of good never seemed so easy!

My creative space

My creative space
Originally uploaded by redmag

....this was yesterday arvo and a storm was brewing.....and it was all dark and moody......I'm working on my rattle design.....it's currently being roadtested as I type......so far it passes the chew test.....more creative spaces here.