never find a better prize

These mittens were a special request for a dear family member. Special thanks to K for his help with the embroidery - I didn't want to try to make the motifs identical, and they came out a bit too similar, looking like I had just messed one up a bit. Time was short and I was loathe to start again. The solution was so simple I didn't see it myself - just add another swirl so they were more obviously different.

Warm blue

Oh August. Cold and miserable, windy and wet. I'm over it. It's amazing how there is quite enough of winter left to go for it to seem interminable, yet not enough time to knit the warm cabled jumper I hoped I would be wearing this winter. I swatched for it last year, but haven't started the knitting yet.

This is mostly what I was knitting while in Thredbo the week before last. Good old Fetching. I have knit this pattern twice before and knew that they could do with being a bit longer in the wrist and over the fingers, for maximum warmth. The wool is Naturally Me, a delightful merino and cashmere blend.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I often knit the same patterns more than once. It's nice to know what you're doing and that it will work!

They weren't for me, but a little surprise for someone who has knit a lot for me as well as sending me much wool too.

Pear brooch

I mentioned before that making pears small enough for 1/12 scale was a challenge. With some practice I was able to gauge just the right amount of wool to roll into the right-sized bead; but to get to that point I first made a few pear-shaped beads that were a bit too big.

These three were all about the same size so I gave them the finishing touches and made them into a brooch to wear to the opening. I sliced part of their backs off so there would be a good flat surface there, and used my new hot glue gun to stick them to the backing (a piece of plastic cut from an ice cream container, covered in black fabric).

At the opening

opening tomorrow....

The Call of the Small exhibition opens tomorrow night at Craft ACT, along with two other exhibitions. Curator Anna-Maria Sviatko had the brilliant idea of using the unusual Crucible showcase to create a craft exhibition in miniature. (if you're curious there is a picture of the crucible space - basically two large window spaces - here.)

Many of the artists and artisans invited to participate had not worked in 1/12 scale before. It was a challenge for me, and I'm happy with what I came up with, though of course I also wish I could have done more, and better, and smaller and finer, and...well, you never can be completely satisfied with your work. It will be fantastic to see the whole thing come together, having seen a few hints over here.

one perfect moment

I really try not to take it for granted. I'm lucky to be able to afford the money and time to come here, and stay right in Thredbo village (no driving to and from the skifields each day) the right clothing to be comfortable, the lessons I've taken to be able to ski better. More than anything though I love to just stop sometimes, forget about whether my legs are doing a good job or not on that particular run, and just be, on a mountain, surrounded by white, and trees, and rocks.

Last day tomorrow, and I will be happy to go home.

Anyone for a swim?

Bright blue skies today

It was bright and sunny today - in itself not a surprise - but also so much warmer than yesterday. We had to reduce the layers we were wearing!

The snow was melting and dripping off roofs everywhere, but there is still a lot of snow in the village and it looks really pretty. Spoken like someone for whom snow is a holiday luxury, not a daily grind nuisance, I know.

It's amazing how much the temperature, and the snow conditions, can change. There are supposed to be more snow showers through the week, and we're hoping for colder days to keep the snow around longer.

So glad to be wrong.

After bitching all week about how there was not much snow, that it had been raining, and too warm for snowmaking - that we had wasted our money booking this trip.....

It snowed yesterday (making the last part of our drive up here just a little bit hair-raising). And all day today. It has stopped now but the temperature is low and we now have snow! snow! snow! Might even snow again later in the week.