Thursday, November 6, 2014

Chaos, Frivolity and a little something for you.



 

Hello. How are you? Pardon the mess. I'm just snatching a few quiet moments here while Flynn is napping and hoping the deafening sound of the jackhammer doesn't wake him up. I can barely hear Radiohead playing on my headphones and my desk is vibrating but I'll persevere and take this tiny window of time while I can.   

It has been a tad chaotic here this past week. There are lots of balls in the air and we added a few more when we decided to tart up the kitchen/dining area and replace the 30 year old oven that doesn't work before the real chaos starts when we open for business in the New Year. There's also been dealings with local Council and Government Departments, headaches here, hiccups here, product development, selecting all the seeds for my cut flower patch and finalising our business logo only to find that an almost exact copy has found its way into the market place so back to the drawing board with that- grrr! An exploded Fire Hydrant is a picture that springs to mind to describe how I'm feeling right now. I've flipped my lid more than a few times this week, the exhaustion pouring out in a spectacular fashion yet not really accomplishing anything in terms of putting out all the little spot-fires around me.

Breathe.

There have been some nice moments amongst the chaos. Halloween was a hit. I know some people have very strong views on celebrating Halloween in this country and I dislike the commercialisation of these holidays as much as the next person but you have to pick your battles and this is one I'm not inclined to get my knickers in a knot over. The kids love dressing up and we head down to the beachside suburb down the road every year where treat-or-treating has become a 'thing' and we spend a lovely evening walking around the suburb mingling with our friends and eating fish and chips on the beach. It's at the very least a community-building activity, a lovely way to spend the evening and besides, there's not enough Frivolity in the world.


To cope with all of the above I've joined another Knit Along - Stephen West's Exploration Station. Completely uninspired by my current knitting project for the obvious reason (I'm seeing a lot of green in the photo above), I chose some soothing neutrals and a bolt of electric blue (above right). It's not outrageous but at least it's not green. I did a quick search on Ravelry and decided I needed some Stephen West in my life to get me out of my knitting slump. I watched his little video tutorial and he had me at "swooshity swoosh" so I signed right up. It's so far proving to be a very interesting and fun knit, as one would expect.

Images from here
Is anyone joining in? It's not too late, I started on Tuesday night and have finished the first clue already.

Finally, we had a fantastic day at the Tasmanian Craft Fair in Deloraine on the weekend and were completely inspired by all the wonderful craftsmanship. I bought a couple of little things for you too. There's a sweet brooch on the left by Sarah Millicent Elliot and a print "A Riot of Kookaburras" by Red Parka Design on the right. I love collective nouns and when I saw the Kookaburra print it reminded me instantly of blogging, all of us chatting to each other throughout the blogosphere like a riot of Kookaburras. If you'd like these lovely Tasmanian creations just leave me a comment and I'll draw a name out of the hat on Sunday. Good luck and have a great weekend!









23 comments :

  1. I loved all your photos especially thise of the Craft Fair. What a busy time and it definitely comes through in the pictures. The brooches etc you bought are lovely and I would love to win them.

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  2. I have a jackhammer going off in my head at the mo!
    I grew up going to the Deloraine craft show - do you still need to catch buses everywhere?

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    1. Yes, the Fair is huge with its 7 different venues. We walked most of the time but the buses came in very handy by the end of the day :-)

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  3. The Deloraine craft show sounds like heaven on earth.

    I bought some Red Parka cards at the Canberra Folk Festival.....love them. And the brooch is so sweet....I would love a chance to wear it. Hope you get a space to breathe soon...

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  4. Lovely kookaburras, a riot indeed. I'm sorry you're having such a manic time at the moment, but it will all be worth it in the end, you just have to get through this tricky bit. The knitting will help I am sure. It looks as though you had great fun at Hallowe'en. CJ xx

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  5. Wow that brooch is gorgeous. I would feel very special in that. Love your Halloween pics. I feel the same way exactly about it. My partner detests Halloween but I love the dress ups and walking around the streets, chatting with lovely people and enjoying the evening air. I may have even sneaked a glass of "blood" ( aka wine) along with me on the stroll 😉

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  6. Hey Mel,
    Good grief you don't do things by half do you ;) Like you I don't tend to get my knickers in a twist about Halloween. It was never one that my parents went in fr; we went barmy over November 5th and bonfire night. But the kids love a bit of dressing up, and they love sweets so....
    I'm really intrigued as to what flowers will be going into your cutting patch. I adore the idea completely. An added dimension to pick your own. Brilliant. I am hoping to grow lots of flowers up at plot no 10 next year.
    As for the giveaway, please count me in. It is a riot in blogland. And top marks for Radiohead!!
    Leanne xx

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  7. Count me in please! Where you find the time to knit much less hist giveaways... Happy Halloween!

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  8. You certainly have a lot of things on your plate right now, Mel! There must be an undercurrent of excitement in the midst of the chaos, thinking about opening your business in the New Year. It looks as if you've picked exactly the right project and yarn to get out of your knitting slump. I would love to have my name thrown in the hat to win the Tasmanian goodies. They're lovely!

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  9. I think once you really put your heart and soul into a project, it's only natural that new projects open up in your mind. I hope your kitchen is back in order sooner than you hope. What a great time you've been having, even if you're not getting much sleep! Love the shots on the beach, and the alpaca kiss is so sweet. I also read back to your high school reunion post, and it's amazing how well you and all your friends look! I went to one high school reunion, but it was a bit disappointing so I didn't attend any more. I think all my old teachers have retired now too (one was in the retirement home with my dad!). Enjoy the craziness that's leading up to your launch in the New Year. Oh, and would be pleased to have my name included in the draw, the pieces you've chosen are great! Wendy x

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  10. I think the new knitting project looks really fun! I'm sure it will pull you out of the slump. I hope everything goes well with the kitchen renovation; it's so stressful but it always feels good to have done the work and then you can enjoy the improvements. Please count me in for the giveaway. Thanks for the chance. :)

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  11. Is that lace making Eleanor is having a go at. It looks very intricate.
    Lifting cork flooring looks like hard, messy work. Are you replacing it with timber?
    The Tasmanian made crafts are lovely. x

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    1. Yes, Bobbin Lace, Zara - so tricky but she picked up really quickly with the help of this lovely lady :-)

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  12. Oh Mel, what a busy life you lead! Never a dull moment. Can't wait to see the finished floor, I'm sure it will be well worth it all. Wishing you all the best in this frantic time of year for you all. Glad you had time to take some time out at the Craft Fair, love that sweet little brooch. There are so many talented people around aren't there - including knitters it seems! cheers Wendy

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  13. Good Lord you don't mess around with getting stuck into things! We've started on planning to get our kitchen done, not sure how neat freak me will cope with the mess and chaos but I'm pretty keen to get rid of the 80's chipboard! We've finished a few jobs around here (like ripping up the entire rear garden lawn) and already I'm looking for what else can do, much to my husband's dismay!
    I'm a bit meh about Halloween but as a kid has American teachers in primary school so some good memories of costume parades, bobbing for apples, making decorations etc. We had a funny Halloween night here, both our kids were pukey (good times!) but every time we got trick or treaters knocking, our 4 year old would yell down the hallway "There's a ghost/witch/skellington (skeleton) on the front verandah!"

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  14. I would be a weeping mess curled up on the kitchen floor if I had only half as many things on my plate as you do! I am just amazed that you are still knitting. I very much look forward to seeing your flower beds later in the year, it will bring welcome colour into the bleak Scottish winter.
    Halloween is not my thing but I don't spoil the game. I usually stay in to say hello to all the little trick or treaters whilst Richard takes our own kids around the neighbourhood.
    I would love to be entered in your give-away, both brooch and print are beautiful. I hope you get plenty of knitting time over the weekend. Cxxx

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  15. Gosh you certainly are busy with so much going on aren't you! I bet that you are excited about opening next year though. I hope that all goes well and that you can get everything done just how you want it to be. I like the greens of your knitting that you aren't so keen on right now, but I understand when you aren't feeling it, you just aren't feeling it are you! I hope that the new project revives your spirit! It certainly seems as though it will be fun!! xx

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  16. Wow, you are brave for tackling the renovation on top of all the other things! I am hoping everything goes smoothly and is over rather quick. Good for you for taking some time to knit and, oh yes, breeeeaaaathe...!
    The craftmanship fair looks so absolutely amazing! I would love to have something like that here where we live (southern Germany) - I need to research if there is something similar, that looks like so much fun! Did the alpaca smooch also happen at the fair?
    The brooch is absolutely adorable and all kinds of wonderful!

    Fine
    keejah (at) gmx (dot) de

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  17. Hi Mel! I'm not quite sure what's going on but every now and then I seem to lose 'blogs' - they just stop appearing on my list! Anyhow so glad to find you again. Looks like you have been having a great time - loved reading about the reunion in the last post and started chuckling at the picture of your son with the alpaca! The idea of fish and chips on the beach is very appealing right now as I'm sitting in my lamplit room with the rain beating down outside - I can but dream! I'm overwhelmed at the moment with the choice of flowers for my first cut flower patch for next year - where to start?! Great to catch up x Jane

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  18. So lovely to see what you've been up to. I like the sound of your Halloween, a real neighbourhood, community thing, and you get to do it in warmer temperatures and lighter evenings, which makes is so much more child friendly than our damp, cold, dark affair! Good luck with the renovations and looming deadlines - we have many changes and deadlines looming here, too, so I know how you feel. xx

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  19. I could have sworn I'd already commented here, something about whippet pups on tables being familiar. Thankfully I have no experience of whatever is happening to your floor! Hope it's all going to plan Mel x

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  20. Gorgeous pics and I am really like the new-look blog. Or perhaps it is not so new? I haven't been around blogland very much lately :-)

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  21. Raggedy Ann looks super! I hope things have quietened down by now, Mel. x

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