she breathes

I wonder if there is anyone still out there?

If there is, I have to tell you, life is amazing and as usual, rocketing forward, full steam ahead. However, I'm working on slowing it down, and gaining focus. Releasing the bad bumpy bits, and revelling in the blissfull bits!

We've had a bit of  career change here at old Red Ducks. I am currently undertaking a dipolma of remedial massage, and plan to open my own business, concentrating on remedial, relaxation, aromatherapy and hot stone massage, incorperating reflexology as well. I've decided to call the business Aeracure Therapies. Areacure is the goddess devoted to blossoming, putting our goals and challanges into perspective, reminding us that the our journey is part of the adventure of life, and I'm all about the journey! So, Areacure Therapies is born! (Aeracure is pronounce air-a-cure-a) Loads of a way to go, but I am enjoying this particular journey very much!

There has been limited crafting. A bit of sewing, some knitting, and lots of planning, but I have two quilts in the works, one of which is almost done, the other a kit that was made up for me by the lovely ladies a Amitie. But mainly it's about the oils here! I do have to take pictures, soon though.

Groovy's has a life of it's own, but I she's still with me 24/7! And you know what? I'm ok with that. I've done a number of barista courses, and am looking to do a few more.

Well just a quicke for you tonight.

'night

Autumn

Autumn
Originally uploaded by Raches

Prints Charming/ BH&G kit and Camera play!

what does this button do?

I ♥ Sony!

chasing the Toll Priority man

• They seem to be holding my new DSLR camera hostage.

• Meanwhile, an incredibly lazy weekend spent by the fire, knitting and watching season 2 & 3 of Bones.

• I finished the destroyed Cowl, but have no idea how to block it.

• Yummy pumpkin soup, specially ordered by Spence, with home made foccacia.

• I have to go to work, even though I'm supposed to be on hols. BAS time sucks.

• House cleaning day today, then sew-a-rama for two weeks!

Research & Development

I've got some research to do.

Another "similar but different" jacket in the works

and some progress shots.

and a new DSLR camera on it's way.....

Who I am...... in Fabric

Sew Mama Sew does a section where guests come and create a fat quater sets, and they publish them on their blog, and you can purchase the sample pack on line. I subscribe to Sew Mama Sew in Bloglines, and this morning while I should have been doing shop paperwork I saw this entry.

If fabric could describe who you are, well then, this is EXACTLY who I am.

I now am seriously lusting after ALL of this fabric. Two lines are sold out, but some serious google-ing may be in order.

From the Sew Mama Sew Blog:

First Row

Four Square Piney Woods ~ Hope Valley

Boxes White ~ Mingle

Fancy Floral Black ~ Cutie Pie

Second Row

Dot Black ~ Attitude Girls

Honeycomb Sunglow ~ Modern Meadow

Huevos Gray ~ Michael Miller

Third Row

Napsack Sunglow ~ Modern Meadow

Nancy Black ~ So St. Croix

Bird Swing Gray ~ Michael Miller

Fourth Row

Dumb Dot Black ~ Michael Miller

Herringbone Grass ~ Modern Meadow, out of stock

Divine Damask Gray ~ Michael Miller, out of stock

 

I see an entire wardrobe based around these fabrics, jackets, dresses, skirts, shirts,tops, bags, fabric jewelery....OMG, the list, she, goes on......

 

Shroom!

public Ravelry link!

Snippets!

I've been working, knitting, reading, watching and listening this week.

Working: At groovy'S of course!

Knitting: Boneyard , Destroyed Cowl & Shroom

Reading: Angelology, the jury is still out on this one....

Watching: Glee season 1 & Fame (the TV series) season 1 on DVD.

Listening: RockWiz Uncovered, Angus & Julia Stone's new CD, Down the Way, & Never Mind the Lipstick 

it's hard being 9 and on school holidays, isn't it? (mind you this is at 9.30 am)

New knit,a hat. It's Shroom!

Buttons, buttons!

2 tops, 3 more in the works!

Packing and sorting what to take away for the Easter long weeend! See you Tuesday!

provisionally casted

urggh, my photo's look terrible for some reason in blogger? all out of whack?

Anyways, this is the start of my Destroyed Cowl, using Naturally Sensation, a merino/angora blend aran yarn. I've got it on 5mm straights, and have used a provisional long tail cast on, so the ends can be kitchener stitched together making one big loop. The destroyed part happens when you drop stitches on either side, forming ladders. And we know how much fun intentionally dropping stitches can be!!

That was the best part of knitting my Clapotis!

Bones are all you See...

This is the start of my first knitted shawl. Well, to be honest not the very first shawl I've started, I frogged 2 different designs before I cast on this pattern. I just haven't been able to get my head around lace shawl patterns and charts yet. I don't think my ADD allows me too, not just yet. At ths stage in my life I think I just have to stick with simple, straight forward, uncomplicated knitting. Kind of a fight-the-battles-you-can-win stratergy. It's working, because I am knitting a section a night, when I'm normally unable to concentrateon anything. This is two nights worth, and I'm looking forward to watching it grow.

The design is Boneyard Shawl by Stephen West and it's downloadable via Ravelry. I'm knitting it on size 5mm circs, using Spotlights Moda Vera brand, Alpaca Blend. Soft and squishy. I like soft and squishy. I want to finish this and then hopefully move onto the Noosa Sunset Shawl using Malabrigo Sock. Time will tell!

And I can start watching my DVD box collection of Bones! I can't help but sing Luka Bloom's Bones too.

I've sewn buttons on the jacket, and have pre-washed the next lot of fabric for jacket number 2. I've worn the first already and received loads of compliments about how much the style suits me, so when you're on a good thing.... I've also sewn another pullover top, the same as the pink spotty one, but it's in the wash, cos I wore it to Farmworld yesterday. Lots of walking, and it was warm, dry and dusty at Lardner Park, not to mention hilly! The pattern is so comfortable to wear, I'm going to cut into my fave peice of stash fabric, the one in the pic up there, for another.

I'm off to take some pics of the finished jacket and the drying finished tops.

99% there....

Indygo Junction Midtown Trench pattern Veiw A

Denyse Schmidt Flea Market Fancy decorator weight fabric (3m approx)

Stll needs buttons!

My only complaint is my own fault, I made it too short, making a 5" hem for veiw A, rather than a 2" hem, ued for Veiw B. I didn't read the back of the pattern page!

a productive cough

I've been sick for most of the week, just a cold, but with a nagging, stop-you-in-your-tracks cough. Which sucks the life out of me. Plus the little man has been quite ill with a dodgy bowel, currently under investigation, which is making him very sick and lethargic. To put it bluntly, he looks like crap. And it kills me when he wakes up sick and says to me, "Mum, I'm so tired of feeling sick all the time!". But we are getting to the (LOL!) bottom of it, and hopefully things will improve, because he's missing too much school! So we have been holed up at home two days out of five, hence the production of finished objects! But now for some WIP's!

I found this fabric at Spotlight a couple of weeks ago. I do a nursing shift every three weeks on a Saturday, and the hospital's just up the road from Spotty,(Up to 40mins either side of where I live, that one's the smaller one) so of course it makes sense, complete sense, to drop in on the way home, doesn't it? This fabric was $2m, and  think it's winter lawn? Not what I'd normally buy, but it was, like $4. Hmm. It's so soft and it was prewahed in that nice new Surf Twilight Sensations range of liquids...Anyways, I saw a vision of a top, with an undershirt in winter and a grey scarf, black jeans and boots. I had this pattern, from Indygo Junction, Garden Party Pullover, and it is seriously going together like a dream. Except I don't have the thread for the topstitching. The fit is perfect, a slight alteration to the side seam, but overall a good fit. I'll finish it today, when I get the thread....

Also on the cutting table (oi, too low, my back is killing me, Iwant a better one!) is my new light winter coat, version one. Also an Indygo Junction pattern, this is an unlined trench coat, Midtown Trench, and I'm sewing it with Denyse Schmidt furnishing weight fabric I got from Candelberry Country (which is for sale, and I'd love to buy it!!!) I'm so excited about this jacket and already have plans for another coat in a gorgeous red furnishing weight I picked up from Spolight in Fountain Gate. But once again, I don't have matching thread for top stitching! Yet.

This stash also came home from Spotlight, because I have a few gift orders for a few scarves. Plus some grey, for me, for the top up there! And I've got some malabrigo itching to become a Destroyed Cowl. (Rav Link)

Breathe easy...

I have 3 aromatherapy burners and humidifiers on in the house with Breathe Easy oil blend going.....bloody colds, but they seem to be working. So our bedroom humi will be going tonight with the good ol' BE, it might stop someone snoring.....

Anyways, this sickness, confined couch time and series 5 of Grand Design on DVD, does bring productivity, and help from a very slow computer uploading my pics (I think I maybe due for a newbie.....) and another crochet scarf flew off the hook, all 7mm crappy cheap plastic of it (the hook that is. Clover doesn't make my fave hook that big).

Tea Scarf by Pixeldiva

Cleckheaton Kaleidoscope, Col20

2 balls, @ 50g each, 65m each.

7mm hook

Raveled & Flickr'd

Maybe it's time to cut out some sewing patterns?

Crochet: The answer to the UFO blues.....

I haven't been able to produce any finished yarn stuff for

 A. VERY. LONG. TIME.

But a recent browse through Spotlight and a liking to the soft buttery yellow of Moda Vera's Mousse saw me wanting an Anne Scarf. A few evenings and some intensive rainy Labour Day weekend knitting in the van at Shallow inlet helped me produce this.

I adore it so....Especially with my fave accessories by ELK

Raveled & Flickr'd

And what quick finishing love it produced, flowed onto this;

A Malabrigo Worsted ruffle scarf, using Erika Knight's Essntial Crochet pattern and just a scant less of a full skein of Sealing Wax

Raveled & Flickr'd.

Again with another ELK favourite.

Of course I'm crocheting another! And it's sad that while I've been waiting for Flickr and Blogger to upload my pics, I'm half way through it.

Labour Day Weekend

Shallow Inlet

Sunday Morning View

Reading "The Dressmaker" (review)

The calm after part 1 of the storm...Sunday morning.

My cheeky monkey.. Trev with attitude!

corners of my home

Another corner, still a work in progress. The walls need to be painted still. The pictures are photo's of our "collective" kids.

The figurine, a Willow Tree carving, means "Happiness ~Free to sing, dance...create!". I was drawn to it for the birds perched on her arms, but even more fitting for the meaning. I am finding that a lot though, I've been drawn to things and they have inscriptions or descriptions that mean positive, rebirth and freedom...appropriate!

My WIP knitting basket sits here too.

what are you wearing?

My boyfriend (oh, yeah, my fiancé) says that he knows when I've had a crap day, because I'm either eating chocolate or I've been shopping. I am trying to loose some wieght, so shopping is my poison. I've worked a few nursing casual shifts, so I've splurged. Anyways, in the spirit of sharing, this is what I wore yesterday. And yes, I have not made the bed.

shirt : Suzanne Grae (last winter)

vest : Sussan (my splurge item. In my defence I had a $50 voucher)

jeans : Target ~ yes they need ironing

shoes: RMK (happy shoes = smile : new shoes = bloody big blisters)

And today, this ensemble...although in all honesty, I'll be swapping the shoes for thongs, cos those blisters, OUCH! Oh look, I made the bed!

tops: Vigorella Body wear (Worn. To. Death.) last seasons nylon body wear, undershirt and tunic.

vest: Boo Radley (crochet round the top, so nice!)

jeans: Target again...(although I am so tempted by this offer)

shoes: Potland (no website? They are black "April" heels, very, very comfy!)

Also some happy mail. I'm loving the Ceylon dress, by Colette Patterns. I'm cutting out the paper pattern this weekend. No ideas for fabric yet though. Lots of paper cutting this weekend. Also some swedish tracing paper cutting too. I love the skirt on the front of Stitches. And the Kwik Sew pattern, the sleevless version is similar to a Vigorella jacket I love, so 'that's one for the "gotta make NOW!" pile...yep, it's a big pile!

opy jacket dreaming

I caught a glimpse of Nicole Ritchie's Winter Kate Opy Jacket in Who Weekly.

Love. It. So. Much.

Immediatley my sewing mind jumped into action and I was dreaming of a Raches origninal....So I scoured the internet, my pattern box, and my library. I think I may have found a pattern to draft my own Opy Jacket.

Even though it's not so "flowy", I was imagining a similiar kimono style jacket in Amy Butler's Love fabric range, such as the two lower right fabrics, which I think I can get locally.

I brought a couple of patterns on-line from Indygo Junction which are yet to arrive, and I also found this Kwik-Sew pattern, 3585. I also got some fabric from Spotlight to give it a go, while I wait for my delivery.

I picked this jacket from Indygo Junction, the Easy Artisian Jacket, as a close match to the Opy.