a pillow pal

i did a random and unexpected bit of op-shopping today. and came across this... a CPR "pillow pal". what fun! a pillow case designed to help you remember and practice your cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.

i definitely couldn't leave it there, not with my continuing pillowcase obession. for 99 cents this gem was mine. but what to do with it?

well, a little lace, a little scrap material, and here you have it, the latest addition to my ever-growing bag collection. 

i love the way it looks on the inside too... 

cough cough, scrub scrub

one of the downsides of making burnt fig jam lies in the word "burnt". well, not so much in the word itself, but in the action it represents:

i've been soaking this pot since wednesday night, and given i am stuck at home sick today, i will begin the scrubbing process. last time it took three goes and use of dishwasher powder to finally get it all off...

but in other news check out this:

i found it at the beach. really i did. the sand and the waves made it. its so pretty, hey. i am thinking of giving it away. but its a big thing to give your heart away, so i am holding onto it for now...

can you smell that?

its the sweet sticky smell of fig jam burning (burning in a good way, trust me)

it fills our house, and very soon it will fill these jars...

 (i love abundant fig trees that belong to generous friends). 

a day of half finished projects

so, i am trying out my new crochet book, and it seems i am less good at following patterns than i thought. the first square i tried was, well, to start off with - not square. so i tried again, the pattern seemed simple enough...  

i'm halfway through this "square" and things are not going well. (in yellow of course for my current baby blanket project)

so i thought i would stop and make something else.

like a wheat bag. see, the request was for a wheat bag with a cover, that can be taken off and washed, like a wheatbag-case. so i made it out of a pillowcase (no surprise there). the base wheatbag is the slightly shorter one. and the wheatbag-case has the lengthways stripe.

however, to finish it, i am in need of some wheat... (and, now that i look at the photo, i think i am also in need of an iron)

fig emergencies

so finally, our internet is working again. it came back on friday, but then it sat in the corner and sulked for a few days, until we finally managed to coax it back into action. moody thing, our internet is.

but in other news: fig emergencies

one of my lovely friends has a fig tree. a very productive fig tree. it is magnificent, full of lovely ripening figs. and a week or so ago, she called me up. see, she had been sick all week and unable to pick all the ripe figs. so she asked if i would please please come over and pick the figs before they all got over-ripe and fell off the tree. 

so i went over to her house to help her with her fig emergency. i learnt a few things while i was there. like,

• even when picking figs in 35 degree heat, one should wear shoes - rotting figs are not that pleasant squishing between one's toes. 
• and, buttons can very easily get get caught in fig nets, which can lead to needing to rip the buttons off, to prevent one from ripping holes in the nets (untangling is never going to work).
• and, when closing the ladder, one really should keep one's fingers clear of all the moving parts. 

but despite this, my generous friend gave me all the figs i could pick... 

about 4 kilos worth

and so in the style of our favourite icecream, i turned the figs into 

burnt fig emergency jam.

so so good. i even made some burnt fig emergency icecream to take to my friend to say thanks for letting me help her out with her fig emergency.

lost in transmission

or:

my internet has gone away.

it seems to be taking a little holiday from our house. i am hoping it will come back on friday, like it promised, but we will see.

hopefully it will, for i have such exciting things to tell (involving fig emergencies)...

and here they are (or, patience no longer required)

so here they are, the crochet present i finished last week:

presenting some crocheted slippers: ta da...

aren't they fab! the pattern comes from here.

i did however, experience the confusion that comes from two different sets of terminology. but this was only after i was part way through the first one, so they are actually made from Aus/UK "doubles" not "trebles" as they should be given the pattern is from the US. phew, who knew this crochet thing was such a minefield of language based challenges. i also ended up making them a little big and so made a chain drawstring which is threaded around the top, and ties at the back. 

what fun!

why crochet and red wine don't mix

so, it isn't really that much of a surprise, but i would like to put it out there - crochet and red wine don't mix. i discovered this the other night, when i thought after a bit of wine, i would pick up the simple granny rug i am currently making for a friend's baby. 

its a yellow rug, using a variety of yellows to make two toned squares - such as these. 

this is the square i made after red wine. spot the problem? 

it seems changing colours was more that i was able to figure out. still, at least it is still square (just don't count the numbers of trebles too closely)

ooh, patience patience...

ooh... i am so pleased - i just finished crocheting something really really fun. but as it is a gift for someone, i cannot yet post about it. hence the need for patience. 

still, while we wait - lookie here... a fantasitc present i received recently - 

what a fabulous book, i am just about to make my first square from it. 

here we go... 

camberwelly

ahh, camberwell market - such a lovely place for a sunday morning jaunt. (for those who haven't heard of it, every sunday morning there is a rotary trash and treasure type market in camberwell - a suburb of melbourne). fondly referred to as camberwelly by many (well,  sayraphim and i call it that - or maybe its just me).

anyway, it was a slightly unexpected trip to camberwelly this morning. sayraphim and i planned it last week, but given the rain and crazy weather here in melbourne over the last few days - we weren't sure it would be on (its a fair-weather market, outside in a carpark and is cancelled when it rains). we went anyway, with the plan to just go out for breakfast if it wasn't on. but we were in luck and dampness aside - there was fun and bargains to be had. 

among other things - i scored:

this fabulous fabric

some fun wooden blocks

 

a great tablecloth and serviette set (although technically, this was part of a $3 haul of sayraphim's)

and curiously i found this:

but i am not sure what something becomes once it is ex retro. does that make it new again?  

little baby squares

 

for a little baby's blanket...