Nose to the Grindstone

Recent Peak Oil Prep at our place included buying a manual grain mill so we can grind our own flour, corn and beans. It sat forlornly on the flour unused till Hubby made a super duper new kitchen shelf for it to reside on. Now we're away! The novelty of hand-milling wore off after five minutes as I thought it would;-) We're using a mixture of 1/2 home ground & 1/2 store bought flour till we get a better rate of milling going. We got this one specifically so we could add a motor to it at a later stage so Hubby is planning that as his wee "craft" project.

I often joked to friends that I wouldn't ever be a "true" homeschooler with less than five children unless I ground my own flour - so maybe I really fit into that crazy hippie homeschooler mode now?

My Peeps

Look at the gorgeousness I get to spend my time with!!

We're back into "field trip" mode - C8 determinedly working away on his Arched Bridge with the helpful Fraser.

Knitting and Sewing

While we work on re-establishing some of our daily rhythms around here I've been plugging away at a few little projects. The big project continues to be "The Kids";-)

This little Wave Jumper is destined for the Auckland branch of SANDS once I've knitted up a few other weeny bits and pieces. I used Stella Bamboo and it was not my friend - too splitty for my liking but I'm pleased with the end product nonetheless.

More bamboo. Some Coquette Socks for I6. Again, I found the bamboo sock yarn a bit splitty but it is nice and soft.

More socks. I had leftovers from my Caterpillar yarn so did a weeny pair of socks for Miss Kaia who has been most unwell this week. Get better quickly Missy!!

I whipped up the Monk's Bag from The Purl Bee out of bits of leftover denim and some $1/metre fabric I scored last year. I'm using it all the time as I love bags that I can sling across my body when out and about with the kids. I hope to make another one in fabrics that appeal more to me.


In keeping with my current Bamboo theme I had some 100% bamboo fabric I'd purchased to make nappies with back in my nappy days. I hated it as it was too thin. But it's turned out to be perfect for t-shirts for me. I used a simple t-shirt pattern from Sew U Home Stretch. It's a lazy rush job as I just overlocked the edges (I couldn't figure out how to do a rolled hem despite taking my machine back into the shop for a demo...sigh). Looking forward to trying more patterns from this awesome book! I hand-dyed this but was hoping for an even blotchier look than what I achieved. Ah well...all good for yoga;-)

I'm indulging in a bit of voodoo styles needle-felting. This is a cover for a notebook for A3 and has his name needle-felted on the top too.

I still daydream about making a nice lap quilt for reading on the couch this winter, and continue to plan grown-up knitting for Hubby and I.

Happy Valentine's Day

"This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love."



We had fun doing a couple of wee Valentine's crafts one rainy afternoon this week. M9 blanket stitched the red wool felt hearts from an idea in All Year Round - a book we're using for our seasonal crafts. Both girls beaded these pipe cleaner hearts. It was a nice easy activity for our little friend L4 to join in with.

Pointy Crafting...

...as opposed to Pointless Crafting, here are some things I finished yesterday that are "useful".

The first item for myself this year: a pair of Caterpillar Socks with yarn dyed by my darling friend, Razz.

I'm knitting through the last of some cotton given to me by a friend. Everyone needs a Mitred Hand Towel to button onto something in their kitchen;-)

I love my handknitted dishcloths! This is a great mindless project.

Do you know how difficult it is to take a decent picture of socks on your own feet, on a gloomy day, without revealing quite how hairy your legs are? Or one of your oven that hasn't seen a decent clean in too long? The dishcloth picture doesn't reveal the pile of dishes on the bench or the feral children shrieking for biscuits in the middle of a toy-plosion in the lounge.

Pointless Crafting?

I'm not sure if this falls into the realm of pointless crafting or not? Is there such a thing? My fancy was greatly tickled when I came upon a pattern for knitted olives ages ago. As I delved into my wool roving last night, deciding what to do while watching The Kite Runner, I discovered I had just the right colours to be able to needle-felt some of these babies. Husband gave me that look, you know, the "uuuuuuummmmmm, okaaaaaaay, interesting project dear" look. But he's happy to have his jar of olives sitting on his desk. And they make me happy too - not so pointless after all;-)

I made real preserves yesterday too. Pickled Gherkins from the one plant in our garden.

World Peace

Some more thoughts. I was recently accused of being "holier than thou" because I hold passionate concerns for people and issues outside the four walls of my white, middle-class, privileged suburban existence - apparently I should be worrying about the "in crowd" or something instead. (I have never been "in" in my life, so it seems pointless to start worrying about it half way through!)

I don't think a shift in perspective ever hurts those of us who live in a similarly blessed situation. Some physical shifts that our family find challenging and encouraging:
* Rob, Rach and the gang on a most amazing family adventure (miss you guys)
* Rae and her posse keeping it real in India (colour our family green with envy)

My contribution to World Peace today? Making felt donuts for my three future peace-makers...what better than to fill their little Love Tanks to overflowing while sharing with them about the blessing and responsibility their young lives carry.