Hello Kitty Lookalike

Isn't she so cute? This is a Hello Kitty lookalike I've knitted for a very special person's birthday. You can find the pattern here if you'd like to have a go yourself. It will probably take a couple of hours to do the knitting part, and another couple of hours to do the sewing and messing around with stuffing (plus finding things/materials if you're anything like me). The pattern didn't include the bow as seen on my kitty, but as my daughter said, you can't have a kitty without a bow. I made it by casting on 12 stitches and knitting 8 rows garter stitch, then casting off; next I wound a length of wool around the centre to make the bow shape and used the end to sew the bow to the toy's head. You could even make some little polka dot dresses for her ... hmmm, got the imagination going now ...

Oh, and Kitty is quite small, less than 15cm high, but I think that is just right for small hands, or to tuck into a handbag for grown up Kitty fans!

Little creative bursts

We are very proud of our wee hibiscus plant - we had to move it from a shady corner where it was forgotten about and never watered. Really we thought it was done for and would never recover, but nature is remarkable and stronger than we give credit for - et voila here is our hibiscus thriving and looking gorgeous.

Today has been fairly creative - starting with some yummy apple cinnamon muffins which I can't show here because we, erm... ate them ... all. Very tasty though - I love that sort of creativity! There's the photography of course, that's very creative. I've just come in from our courtyard, where I sat knitting a few rows of a cardigan for my niece, pleasant in the cool evening air - accompanied by the sounds of a kangaroo stomping about in the bush and an owl hooting away in a distant tree. Some of the delights of living near the forest. I love it!!

It was great to take advantage of the cooler evening air. Lately I've found it really uncomfortable to do any knitting or quilting - my quilt has got to the size where it feels heavy and hot and I'm not motivated to do anymore! I'll enjoy the knitting I can do until the weekend when it's going to be hot, hot, hot - my favourite (not!)

Falling asleep ...

Here's a tired little doodle - I've just finished the rest of my data entry and feel so sleepy, but have learned from last night that entering figures into a computer for a long time then trying to go straight to sleep just doesn't work! My mind was working overtime and I had an argument with myself to stop thinking and go to sleep! So I've wound down by doing a 5 minute doodle, completely off the top off my head, no thinking about what I'll put - although I had planned to draw spirals, they are so relaxing!

That's my wee creative piece for today, I'm too dozey to write anything inspiring and exciting! Until next time .... ;)

Nightie night

No blogging tonight - have been catching up with my bookkeeping data entry and very tired now ... :( Will catch up tomorrow.

Clutter-less

This week I've been busy de-cluttering the house. I don't mean one of my periodic tidy ups, I mean real de-cluttering. My son and I had a catchphrase for this weekend of purging - "be ruthless". This morning I walked into the kitchen and was nearly blinded by the white sparkly worktops and calmed by the bare walls which were previously adorned with my crystal mobile and hanging things, which had no purpose apart from looking pretty (and collecting dust evidently). The whole effect was magnified as we've just replaced the skylight with transparent wavy roofing stuff - we now have to wear sunglasses in the kitchen to see each other. Everything was as shiny and sparkly as a new pin - dazzling!

And it doesn't stop at the environment being uncluttered - my head is also in a clearer space. I had a morning of musing and have come up with some new ideas for my blog which I should be able to showcase over the next week. I did in fact feel as if I've finally seen the light. It all feels rather grand - think I need to have a lie down to get over it all ... :)

Ooops!

Did you like my first post of 2010? Suppose it was topical and to the point - oops! - I hit the return key by mistake and the post published. When I looked at the blog it looked fine though and I did want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! So now I've done it twice. Can you believe a week has already passed in 2010 and I haven't written!

My first excuse was that I had a bit of an accident on New Year's Eve - I was practicing an avocado stone removing technique I'd seen on the TV, but the chef hadn't had a glass of champagne and wasn't holding the avocado in his palm, brandishing a large knife. The inevitable happened and I stabbed my hand, which was a really stupid thing to do. I have promised my dad I will use a spoon to take out the stones in future. It's amazing that I sobered up very quickly and did a little panicky dance around the kitchen before shoving my poor throbbing hand under the cold tap. I was well looked after by the kids and my husband and the hand has healed well. My youngest summed it up well yesterday when one of our friends was having trouble cutting something and we told her to be careful. He piped up with 'yes, you don't want to do something silly like mum did'. Never a truer word said. It left me with a sore hand and only able to type with one hand and I am not patient enough for that, so a couple of days turned into a week.

But here I am, very contrite after my very avoidable accident and ready to get creative. Already I have a few things to share, but you will have to wait for that! Until then, seeing as it is the New Year (have I mentioned that?) and a time for starting anew, I thought I would find out a quote for inspiration:

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us". Helen Keller

May 2010 be a year of opportunities for you. xx

Happy New Year!!