Tastes like Cherry Cola

    A couple of months ago I came up with a new doll body template. She got made but then just sat in a bag without hair, face or clothes to compliment her. The poor thing! All she had were a pair of mix match shoes on her feet.

    Then one incredibly boring day this week I decided it was time to do something about this unfinished doll. That's when I realised that I had a spare felt wig left over from my mermaid collection - solving the problem of the hair. Next came the face which all got sewn on while watching The Notebook [the first time I've been able to watch this film without blubbering].

    And now I am working on the doll's outfit. I found this hairy, swirly, rainbow,yarn, and I have been crocheting the skirt. And to top it all off, my eldest has christened the doll Lola. World meet soon-to-be-dressed-Lola.

Doll design by Melissa Gaggiano

Fashion Bits

    The past few years I have come to have an appreciation for stuff that is crocheted. I've even tried my hand at it and made a few things. This morning I was in a doodling mood and I came up with this dress idea. Totally made of crochet flowers. Even the boots are covered in crochet.

Illustration by Melissa Gaggiano.

Check This Out

Consider your mind blown...
Is it crochet?
Is it a doll house?
No! It's a crochet doll house.

Source: craftkat.blogspot.com.au via Melissa on Pinterest

Source: craftkat.blogspot.com.au via Melissa on Pinterest

Button Surprise

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

    Today my eldest was surprised by a friend when she was shown a boxfull of old left over buttons from a shop. Gwen was handed a little paper bag and allowed to choose her favourite buttons. Such a wonderful treat. Kids love playing with buttons so I cannot imagine a better play thing.

    This week I am juggling. Well, no, not really, but I do have a couple of things on the boil.

• My writing [won't say much about this, keeping tight lipped, except to say that I am writing something].
• I have begun crocheting again. I am crocheting pizza as a Xmas gift. It had been a while since I last crocheted and I had never made a triangle so it took me many tried before I got the hang of the instructions. Did I say instructions? Indeed I did. I am following a pattern from a crochet food book called Tasty Crochet [written by Rose Langlitz].
• I have been procastinating on doing the grey card test for my photography course, but it must be done. Soooooooo... fingers crossed if the weather is good this weekend I'll be giving that a go. 

Where I Am At

    I am having a quiet moment so thought I'd share where things are at. Things have been on the quiet side and yet I am just a little bit busy. Though it doesn't feel like it for some strange reason. Maybe it is because I am taking small bites here and there from my individual projects. So this is where it is at...

1. Reading Out of Africa, by Karen Blixen.
2. Listening to audio recording of Twilight on those late warm nights when I cannot sleep.
3. Discovered this wonderful website filled with creative kids activities - www.learning4kids.net.
4. Mixed rice and food dye as a sensory play item for my eldest. She loves it, and is playing with the rice as I type.
5. I am about to embark on a crochet project - making pizza slices.
6. Writing a story, just small bits at a time.
7. Drawing doll concepts.
8. Helping my eldest make paper badges.
9. Doing a photography course [but taking a few days break from the annoying gray card stuff].

Layout by Melissa Gaggiano.

Sensory play using rice and food dye. I cam across this at www.learning4kids.net.

Doll concept sketching by Melissa Gaggiano.

Can You Spot The Difference?

I Like Flowers

     I like flowers. Indeed I do. There are roses in my garden, as well as zinnias, marigolds, sweetpeas and gardenias.
    This week I have been busy with the usual things that need doing around the house, as well as trying to recover from a head cold, playing with the girls, reading the Trueblood Omnibus [for the third time], and crocheting granny squares. Never a dull moment.

4 Done

This week I began work on a granny square blanket. I have been following a pattern courtesy of Pip Lincolne's book - 26 crafty projects and things to make. I have now made 4 squares. Yay! Hooray!

My Creative Space

    In my creative space this week I have begun a granny square blanket project. This is my first attempt at making granny squares. It is all quite new and exciting for me.
    This is going to be quite a large blanket. I have estimated that I'll be making 204 squares so this will most definitely be a long term project. I am giving myself a whole year to get it done.

The first granny square.

Get Granny

    I am setting myself a new challenge. I am learning to crochet granny squares and intend to have completed a nice big comfy blanket by November next year. That may seem a long way away, but it is a large project and I want to give myself plenty of breathing space to complete the thing.
    I have been following Pip Lincolne's instructions of making a granny square. I have her book, 26 crafty projects and things to make, plus I have referred to her videos for some visual  reference.
    I am so excited about doing this project. I will keep you posted on the progress of my blanket.



Some of the yarn that I will use for the blanket.




Getting some crochet practice in before I really begin.




Check out this lovely book,
by an equally lovely lady.
Simply lovely.



We All Scream For Ice Cream

    Wow! That didn't take very long to do. Last week I mentioned a food crochet project that I would begin [as per this link]. It was an ice cream cone for my daughter.
    I began the crochet work on Friday and finished the thing just last night. Then leaving the toy on Gwen's little table it was the first thing she noticed when she got out of bed this morning. She immediately picked it up and exclaimed “ice cream cone”.
    I have seen Gwen pretend to lick the ice cream. So thankfully the toy version appears to cure her desire for the real thing.

    For anyone interested I followed the crochet instructions for this ice cream cone from the book Tasty Crochet by Rose Langlitz. You can also visit Rose's blog at tastycrochet.blogspot.com

My Creative Space

    Or, otherwise known as the ice cream entry.

    My daughter's latest obsession has been ice cream. Which is funny considering her limited exposure to any form of candy. So this morning my husband suggested I crochet an ice cream cone for Gwen to play with.
    Gwen and I just returned from the wool and knitting shop with a 4 mm crochet hook and 4 different yarns to produce the below pictured ice cream cone.
    If it is not too difficult I might even try making two ice cream cones.
    Mmmm! All this talk about ice cream and now I just want to eat a cornetto.

Tasty Crochet by Rose Langlitz.

Straying a little from the instructions — I will use Dazzle yarn.

Dibble Dabble

I am dabbling with lots of different things at the moment. I am illustrating, reading, listening to music, reading blogs, crocheting. What else?
I recently finished reading Northanger Abbey, and am now half way through Cold Comfort Farm.
Tonight I began a food crochet project — making cookies.

The first cookie

Whoops! Look at the time. I gotta go and drink my tea before it gets cold.

Get This Into You

Happy-happy! Joy-joy! Yesterday I received the two crochet books that I had ordered. I look forward to selecting my first crochet food project.

Also I managed to finish making the felty sandwich for Gwen. The pattern for this project is provided by Myrtle & Eunice, which you can check out by following this link — You Must Be Starving. This is such a fun and easy project. I would even recommend it to the novice sewer. The end result looks so delicious, that you will want to go and make yourself a real salad sandwich to sink your teeth into.

Fantastic news! I have added another product to my Etsy store. It is a shoulder purse bag and is the perfect thing for girls. It is a freeform knitted design with a soft cushy lined centre, and has the coolest celtic buttons.

To view this product, simply click on this link.

Where I Am

I am busy juggling a few things at the moment.

• I am trying to crochet a panda at the moment — a hair pulling experience for a beginner who struggles with written instruction.
  
• Still working on my zine — this activity is moving at a slothful rate. Partly because I want it to be picture perfect when it is done.
• I am developing a character (The Gwendo) who likes to ride her skate board. Not fully certain where I'll go with this idea as I have only just begun fleshing out this one.

Ciao for now.

I am actually crocheting!

My husband's birthday is just around the corner. So for his Birthday I am crocheting a coin purse for him.

Since childhood, Michael has been a hardcore fan of The Legend of Zelda. So this will be the inspiration for the coin purse. The purse will be a drawstring pouch which will latch onto trousers.

I found just the right coloured yarn and have begun making the little coin purse.

Road Trip

This afternoon Gwen and I decided to get out of the house and the general neighborhood. We drove through the Bayside, sticking to the scenic coastal drive and made a beeline to St Kilda.

We had a lovely walk by the beach and visited a rebuilt kiosk landmark at the end of St Kilda pier. The original kiosk was destroyed in a 2003 fire.

We then headed off again, toward the city and out the other side, making a lovely pit stop at Meet Me At Mike's in Fitzroy. It was Gwen's first time in the shop and she just loved looking at everything and blowing raspberries to Pip and Cam.

I picked up two pieces of lovely at Meet Me At Mike's — 

Firstly I chose a crochet Japanese mushroom for Gwen's bedroom. Secondly, I fell for a pink/brown fabric square. I don't know what I'll do with this fabric. I'll think of something special.

Cute Crochet Capelets

For all those crochet crafters out there I must insist you visit the Artdecadence Etsy store, which is run by artist, Christine McConnell. There is a pattern for a sweet little capelet that you can buy. If these photos are anything to go by, this outfit would make a wonderful addition to any girl's wardrobe.

While you are at it you can also check out Chrisy's blog over at sophismpress.blogspot.com

The Beret Is On

Is your head feeling just a bit cold and exposed when you step outside this winter?

Well if so, no longer will you need to freeze your cute lil head off. There is a fabulous, free pattern for crocheting a beret over here.

This beret is designed and presented by the Mysterious M of Melbourne. Check out her whole blog over at http://emmstarr.blogspot.com/