Ma-ma Sue

On Monday night I lost someone dear to my heart, my beloved grandmother Sue. She was an extremely talented lady and inspired me to be the crafty individual I am today. I'm at a loss to think of the hundreds of things she used to make and do that we'll never see again. While she did pass on some tricks and secrets, there are many things such as most of her trademark recipes, which have gone with her. Now they will forever be memories of the awesome things she used to make, create and bake.

I'll miss the freshly baked goodies; always sitting on the table waiting for us to arrive when we visited. Everything from her trademark Rock Cakes (a recipe that was never recorded anywhere, not even in her beloved little black notebook where many of her other fabulous recipes were written), to lamingtons, kiss biscuits, Raspberry creams and jelly cakes and that morning tea staple; fruit cake.

Sue was gifted with a needle, crochet hook and knitting needles too. I have fond memories of visiting her and my pa-pa (who unfortunately passed on a few years back) and it wasn't an uncommon sight to see either a ball of wool with crochet hook or knitting needles attached; something marvellous being created, sitting in the living room or in her sewing room.

One such project that she had on the go for a few years was the crochet blanket (mentioned in the previous post) she made for me using our favourite shades of purple, pink and blue. This beautiful, intricately detailed creation was one of the main catalysts for me to pick up a crochet hook and start to learn the craft.

Sue, I truly admire your courage and determination to continue on with life with whatever it threw at you. You were an amazingly strong women who never gave up and was always willing to give selflessly to all those you held close. Love you always.

Shades of Yellow

I love colour! Spring brings out many many many shades of colours. In my small garden I haven't got many plants; we live in a small townhouse that had only scrubby weeds out the back when we moved in, yuk! So I have collected pots with a variety of different plants over the years to bring in some life. Most of them are succulents as it gets really dry and hot here in summer, so you need fairly hardy plants. At this time of year the succulents put on a shower with bright splashes of yellow, pinks, greens and pale purples, all reaching out for the sun, this little gem for example.

Yellow inspired me to create this cute crochet duck (loosely based on a design from Kyuuto! Amigurumi by Tomoko Takamori) . He was a bit fiddly making certain parts, mainly the wings as they are rather small, but he was a joy to make. I particularly love his little webbed feet, and the pose-able beak that allows him to show how he is feeling. 

I enjoy seeing the end result of all my crochet creations as I only learnt to crochet a few months ago and have been addicted ever since. It was a skill my lovely grandma perfected over her lifetime, making many beautiful things, including a blanket she made for me over a decade ago which I love and takes pride of place here in my little office/studio. But that's a post for another day.

Birds of Spring

Like so many things, nature is very inspiring to me and it never fails from season to season; but spring is my favourite time of year. Fresh new growth sprouts from winter rains, flowers are blooming and new life begins. All the little birds tweeting busily in the trees fussing about their nests with precious babies being protected within. I love it! It inspires me so much that I have many projects on the go, one of them is painting little birds like these!