Free Tea for Everyone!

KT saw my free tea post and declared that such an enthusiastic bunch of tea drinkers will each get a free sample bag of her delicious organic tea.

WooHoo how cool is that?

So, all 14 of you who left a comment by today (starting with The Mamma and ending with Sarah), send me your mailing addresse by email to shannon At mymidwives DOT com DOT au and free tea will find you.

 Thank you KT

Free Tea...want some too?

A good friend of a (very good relative type) friend is making the most delicious blends of tea... tho it is not really tea ~ they are infusions of fruit, spices and herbs, all certified organic products, caffeine and chemical additive free. They look beautiful and are delightful to drink hot or cold.

This one is called Sunshine...

So my friend is being given loads of free tasters; her friend is trying to seduce her BUT my friend is a very big fan of CAFFEINE in her tea... I on the other hand, am not a fan of caffeine so I have been given the most luscious bags of free tea.

My favourite so far was Superhero but I drank all that and have now moved onto Berry Rose

full of juniper berries and rose petals.. so pretty!

As I sat sipping my tea this morning I looked at the unopened sample bag of KT Fruit Tea.... Rooibos, Honeybush, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Orange Peel, Hibiscus and Rosehip... sounds good doesn't it? I figured it would be nice of me to share my good fortune.

For your chance to get the free fruit tea put your name in the comments hat. I'll 'pull'out a name next week; say Wednesday. Happy to post worldwide - KT posts her teas worldwide so I know I can too.

If you are interested in finding out more about this fledgling Brisbane tea business have a look at her facebook page KT.qld or email Ktea4health@gmail.com

And the free icicle gnome pattern goes to...

MammaWestWind of Chocolate Eyes... I've emailed it to you already, such is the cleverness of the intertubes.

For everyone else I still have two kits left; everything you need ...(well except a bit of stuffing and thread) to make your very own icicle gnome for just $20 and only $2 postage within Australia. I am also in possession of a never ending supply of PDF patterns for this little fellow for just $5...all money gratefully accepted as a craft group fundraiser for our little Steiner school. Please leave me a message here if you would like to buy a pattern.

I had plans to tell you what we have been doing all week but I am feeling sleepy, so maybe tomorrow.

Winter icicle gnome wrap up and giveaway

 

Look out! Look out!

Jack frost is about!

He's after our fingers and toes;

And all through the night'

the gay little sprite

Is working where nobody knows.

He'll climb each tree,

So nible is he,

His silvery powder he'll shake;

To windows he'll creep

And while we're asleep,

Such wonderful pictures he'll make.

Across the grass

He'll merrily pass,

 And change all its greeness to white;

Then home he will go

And laugh "Ho, ho, ho,

What fun I have in the night."

C.E. Pike

I am so pleased to be finished these two; I think they look great!

Because lots of you asked about kits and tutorials last week, I have checked with my other half at craft group and we are going to make a PDF pattern of this winter gnome to sell (thus raising some money for our school). The pattern will be $5 and includes basic instructions ~ NB it assumes that you know how to make a head, but does include 'how to' directions for his cute little nose.

We also have enough hand dyed felt left for about four kits - kits include pattern/instructions and everything else you need except stuffing wool and embroidery threads; they will be $20 plus postage.

If you are interested in either a pattern or a kit - leave a comment with a way for me to contact you. (All the kits are sold, sorry. I will shout out if we dye any more felt. We still have a neverending supply of PDF patterns tho!)

Giveaway bit ~ because it is alway nice to have a chance at a prize; we will giveaway a PDF pattern to a lucky someone who leaves a nice comment and a way to be contacted. I'll do the random thing next Wednesday evening, June 29.  The free pattern was won by MamaWestWind who blogs at Chocolate Eyes

 

Wednesday Craft Group - Knitted Moss Gnomes; aTutorial

The garden at our place has an abundance of this fabulous green furry stuff and since the door has been installed we've got visitors; wee Moss Gnomes.

These little fellows are made with some very simple knitting, stuffing and a simple formed head like the root babies I showed you how to make the other week.

You will need: (not much) wool/yarn 8plyish - green shades are nice, a pair of 3mm knitting needles, stuffing wool, size one tube/bandage, linen thread, cotton tricot/face fabric, mohair for hair and beard, some embroidery floss for facial features, scrap bit of co-ordinating felt, wool and sharp needles and a small weight about the size of a 10c piece (in fact a 10c piece is a fine weight itself).

Ok, for the body cast on 20 stitches and knit 12 rows.
Cast off 4 stitches at the beginning of the next two rows (12 stitches)
Stocking stitch the next 10 rows (knit one row, purl the next etc..)
From the 11th row begin decreasing 1 stitch at each end of each knit row, purl one row*
* repeat until only one stitch remains; cast off.

Next make a small formed head with about a 3cm circumference. Create an eye line with your linen thread and then cover your face with a small square of skin fabric. If you like, eyes and mouth can be embroidered now.

With your wool needle and scrap yarn begin sewing the hat together from the top (the pointy end) and stop where the decreasing began. Then stitch the front of the gnome together and insert the head into the open space. Stuff under and around the head with wool fleece. Cut and sew into place a circle of felt on the bottom to create a base - slip your weight in before you close it up completely.

Using small blind stitches attach the head into the suit opening, then create his hair and beard out of mohair. To to this sew loops right around the face fastening each with a small backstitch. Cut open the loops and trim his hair and beard to the length you fancy.

Don't stress too much if your knitting turns out bigger - just make a bigger head - he is a very forgiving little fellow.

OH and this is my 200th post! well I never but there you go I do tend to talk a bit. So because I don't have a squillion other things to do (ha!) Who wants to win a Moss Gnome of their very own? Leave me a message (with some way to find you) and I'll do one of those random hat draws next Wednesday May 10.  The wee moss gnome is going to live with Rachel at the Butterfly Ball.
Oh and double OH! Dear Bloom of we bloom here is hosting another swap On the Wings of Spring  

"With birds nesting in my garden and choruses of goldfinches warbling in the trees, spring is an especially good time to love birds... And so I've decided to host a little birdie swap. What a perfect time of year to create some new feathered friends to join spring and summer nature tables! If you are in the southern hemisphere, please don't feel left out... birds need food and shelter all through the winter; and even in the dark of winter, you might look to the return of birds as harbingers of spring."

Won't you flutter over there and join in?

Just the actual quilting bit to go..Oh and a root baby winner

My big girl sewed the last column in her quilt top and after ironing all the bits I needed for borders, amused herself ironing all the scraps (I have plans for those scraps)

I sewed the 16+ metres of borders, mitred the corners and sat back feeling rather pleased with myself.

Today we bought backing fabric and a warm 60% wool / 40% cotton wadding and then after a final iron, sandwiched the whole lot together with pretty gold pins (so many pins in fact that I ran out and had to borrow another couple of hundred from a friend). Tomorrow I will show the big girl how to wind bobbins, get her to wind at least six and then I will start quilting..... I may not be back for weeks!

And the winner is Carole who declared she couldn't crochet to save herself . Hers was the name that popped out of the hat this evening and won herself a little brown eyed root baby ~ Carole I will send you an email in a minute.

Week one of the autumn holidays done and dusted!

Phew! I am soooo tired. Really should be in bed but feel compelled to blog (could also be the huge helping of cafe grande connoisseur ice cream I just stuffed into my face giving me a sugar rush!)

So Monday we went round to a friend's home to make some needle felted eggs - they look fabulous but I forgot to take pictures ~ I will tho ~ later. Our big girls both grabbed a block of foam, a ridiculously sharp barbed needle and fleece and got very busy making about four eggs each ~ we adults managed two a piece (and I stabbed myself. Oh! it really hurts!). The little ones fought over everything until hers went to bed and mine played delightedly on her own with all the other child's 'stuff'.

Tuesday we joined another friend and her children for a rainforest walk up Mt Glorious. It was glorious too ~ The weather is about 5 degrees C cooler in the mountains so we got to wear cardigans! It has also been raining quite a bit in the last weeks so we treked along about 5km of slippery mud tracks spotting centipedes and climbing trees before we reached the river pools where the children declared it was hot, stripped off most of their gear and splashed about.

Hunger ended the water play and we walked back (a steady incline, a few falls in the mud and with my heart beating a steady exercise induced rhythm) to the main park for our picnic lunch.

The children played so well together ~ there were no cross words, tears or tantrums. My companion knitted (a project for herself!) I did not much other than chase the wee one about. Then we spoiled any good the exercise did us by having a huge chocolate muffin and hot chocolate at a little cafe on the way down the mountain. Magic way to spend the day.

Hmm Wednesday I made quite a few root babies, we baked (dutch ginger and almond slice - Ooooooo yum), I did quilting (actually it is so part of my rhythm now I do it everyday. I am starting to feel positive now tho that I will get it finished in time). My big girl helped me pin about a thousand pins to hold all the little triangles in place because I don't have the luxury of a 'design board' like the pattern instructions suggest I should and you can imagine how long pretty little triangles of fabric would stay in place on the lounge room floor once the wee one got up from her sleep!

My big girl also made my pin cushion look very pretty.

What else did we do? Oh we walked to the park, stopping to talk to all the "ro, ro's" I wonder if she realises that the longer we talk to (stop and look at) the many, many dogs in our street the more often and likely they are to bark? sounds like this RO RO RO RO RO RO RO followed very quickly by the dog next door joining in ro ro ro RO RO ro, and the one next door etcetera.

Thursday. The girls fought all day! this is my fault because I wanted to finish off a couple of things I have been working on - a pincushion for M.Bloom and my autumn exchange gifts as part of the southern hemisphere season exchange. I can't show you pictures of either yet ~ mostly because I want to torment dear Bloom a bit longer - Australia to US postage can take its sweet time airmail or not. While we were out and after we posted parcles, we went to another park, made pretend milkshakes and lemon syrup cakes, slid on the slides and then went home.

Thursday's evening meal was made by my big girl ~ mini beef wellingtons, because she is clever and because I don't like sticking my hands in mince and egg and stuff.

Today. The wee girl woke pre dawn (Again. It appears to be her rhythm ~ I am not a fan) and so after breakfast, a bit of a play, books, a bit of quilting while she was busy amusing herself, we cleaned the fish tank...it was still early, we had not changed out of our pjs.

When the big girl joined us and the fish was busy admiring his reflection (Oh, hello. What big eyes you have) we went for a walk, climbed a few fences by way of a short cut and stopped at the bakery for umm what felt like lunch because I had been awake so long but was actually only morning tea.

We baked again - cranberry and chocolate chip butter biscuits. The wee girl slept. I sewed. The big girl watched Pippy Longstocking dvds.

I am getting there!

After a late lunch we went for a swim. OH MY the water was freezing! That is it for me no more stupid ideas like that til late spring at the very soonest. We bailed out of the let's have a swim and lazy round the pool and retired to the deck for a swing in the hammock and to finish reading Sadako and the thousand paper cranes (we had a big cry ~ much better to have a big cry in the afternoon than just before bed don't you agree?)

Right now? I am about to finish my third glass of wine (must be a record for me, I am not asleep yet, tho I will be as soon as I log off). If you fancy you still have til this coming Wednesday to put your name in the hat for a little Wednesday root baby of your own. Enjoy your weekend.

Crochet Root Babies ~ a tutorial and a giveaway

But summer also came to an end. The sharp autumn wind whirled the brightly coloured leaves through the air and tugged at the root-children's clothes.

"Hoo," called the wind, "hurry home, it's getting cold here. It's time to go to bed."...... And all the little root-children went down under the ground again to start their long winter's sleep.

Sibylle von Olfers. The Story of the Root-Children.

My friend Sonia made up this pattern in the year 2000 while sitting (sometimes lying) on her bed breastfeeding her son. He was a bit of  a snuggler and didn't like her to leave when he fell asleep so she sat and hooked this pattern, pulling it ot a few times and trying something else. It is actually a very forgiving pattern and was one of the very first things I crocheted (back before I had even read a pattern or knew what the stitches were called). Sonia has graciously allowed me to share this pattern with you on the www - may it go forth and produce many babies.

You will need: brown yarn (8ply), cream mohair yarn, skin coloured knit material (tricot, old tshirt..), 3inches of size 1 bandage, embroidery threads for eyes and mouth, stuffing wool, thin linen thread, sewing threads, wool needle, crochet hook (2.5mm or 3mm).

Body~ Crochet the body using the brown yarn ~ (NB these are Australian crochet terms our double crochet is an American single crochet)

chain 3 (loosely) and form into a ring.
next row 5dc (double crochet)
next row 7dc (increase in the 2nd and 4th stitches)
then inc every third stitch three times until 9dc
then inc every 5th stitch x3 (15dc)
then inc every 7th stitch x3 (21dc)
then inc every 9th stitch x3 (27dc)
then 42 dc with increase
next row decrease every 6th stitch x5 (30dc)
then dec. every 3rd stitch x4 (12dc)
(this brings you to the neck of the root baby which should be approx index finger width)
make 2 dc then reverse direction and 8 dc
reverse direction and inc. every 3rd stitch (1 2 3 45 6 7 8)
reverse direction in inc. in 3rd and 7th stitches until 12 stitches wide
reverse then dec. every 3rd stitch (9 stitches)
reverse then dec in bold 1  23 4 56 7 89 (6 stitches)
reverse, decrease 3 times (3 stitches)
reverse then decrese the three remaining stitches together
double stitch around the face edge, finish off.

Head and Hair ~
I am going to make a wild assumption that you already know how to make a simple formed head (it is ok if you don't, they are simple and I will put a bunch of pictures at the end of this post to step you through: failing that there are loads of great tutorials on making heads - do some googling you will be fine).

Ok so make a 2.5 -3inch simple formed head (eyeline only) with the size 1 bandage, linen thread and stuffing wool.
Using you choice of skin material cover the head and embroider small eyes and a mouth.

Bringing it together ~
Stuff the bodysuit with fluffed out wool til it is firm but not hard; remember to leave room for your baby's head.

Pop the head in and sew it securely into the body suit; gather suit around the neck and hide your ends.

With the cream mohair yarn sew loops around the face, then cut the loops open. All done, sing a little lullaby and put that baby to bed.

The giveaway bit ~ Ok hands up who can't crochet or just dosen't even want to try; 'tis ok I used to throw little crochet tantrums and fling my hook on the floor. Lucky for you I made a couple of extra babies. If you would like to put your name in the hat, leave a comment to that effect and I will make sure your name goes in. I'll get my big girl to pull one out next Wednesday...sometime... probably early evening my time. We don't mind where you live but you need to make sure I can contact you.

Ok basic how to make a head pictures now follow ~ (don't ever let a child watch you make a head, it is brutal)