Moving!

After many months of nothing I can finally tell you the following...
My new blog is at blog.barisa.co.nz
While it is currently about the set up of the online store it will gradually include more craft meanderings.
Please feel free to go there, sign up and take part in this wee journey.
Barb

Barisa Crafts is on the Move!

Soon I'll load the last post here...
I'll make sure you have a link to the new blog which will be in Wordpress rather than Blogger...
I've few complaints about Blogger as a platform but the Barisa store is in Wordpress and it makes sense for the blog to be the same... so watch this space.
I'm planning on taking quite a few of the posts from here to the new site and I've been doing lots of interesting things since the last regular postings. So we'll be looking at the new studio (my personal dream come true!) ... cute accessories for babies and bigger girls, the planned refurbishment of a couple of chairs and lots more... we'll have a section for purchasing patterns in the Barisa store and lots of interesting things in between.
Catch you soon....

Nearly back!

My blog world has been neglected for some months while family and allied health issues took precedence... But... I'm almost back... I've been creating lots of lovely things to share and my family have been busy making me a real studio which is nearly finished, a place which is truly mine to be creative...or just to think in.
So please keep coming back 2012... promises to be great!

Granny Square hot water bottle cover.. another solution for left over squares.

Yet another addition to the ongoing occasional list of ideas on what to do with left over sock wool!
After being asked to make a hot water bottle cover the concept of using some more of the left over squares was suggested...
The fact that there were not enough of any colour grouping wasn't a concern as the prospective owner is, on occasions, a little eclectic so a combination or mismatch wasn't a problem... she even suggested which wool to use to crochet the squares together... more of the left over variegated wool!
The finished result was a cover with six squares on either side, crocheted together (See pictures 1 and 2), a border of trebles (remember I use UK descriptors). 
The two sides are crocheted together leaving that row of trebles as a rather plain edging. Around the open end I worked a row of trebles as on the border then a row of (2 tr, 1ch, skip a st repeat to end). I followed this with a last row of trebles. With a crocheted chain to thread through the spaces a row earlier for a tie the cover was finished. This way the hot water bottle cover can be opened to its full extent to put the water bottle in, and then it can be snugly tied on the neck

Crochet Ripple Throw for a Baby Girl

 The baby rug/throw  I posted on earlier is finally finished and ready to deliver to one very special little girl. It is a little bigger than I originally intended but on reflection it will probably be more useful bigger than small.
The raised triple crochet alternately in the front and the back of the ripples makes the throw truly reversible and the increasing and decreasing number of rows in the bands of colour, gives the option of folding the throw to give the effect of either a mainly white or mainly pink throw. 
I was originally a little stuck on how to do the border, even ordering some books to help, however when they took a while to arrive I just went ahead and started on one out of my head... The resulting border is a combination of shells in white with a picot edging in the variegated coloured wool... a really pretty edging which I'll use again.
Using the variegated wool in the double crochet picot edging really ties the whole throw together and finished it off nicely. The border is not that wide but with the lightness of the throw (despite its size) an over ornate border would have seemed like overkill.
I think I'll write up the whole pattern and see if there is interest in buying it.
... And just for those crochet geeks out there... the wool is 4 ply and the hook a 3.50mm. 
Next post will be getting back to other ways to use squares made from left over sock wool.

The 'Auntie' Dolls

I thought it must be about the time of year when we all need a little cheer. so  it's probably time for the 'Aunties' to pay a visit.     

These ladies (I probably use the term rather loosely) normally reside where you see them in the photo.. on a couple of shelves of the bookcase where they can observe the world, usually totally unnoticed by visitors.    I created a little story around them as they were created... they regularly 'do' coffee, one of them is a slightly eccentric 'cat' lady who of course is loved by every stray cat in the surrounding district.. she is identified not so much by her wild springy grey hair but by the cats on the buttons of her cardigan/jacket. 

Her friend with the elegantly coiffed purple hair, is of slightly better means but doesn't really notice the pearl buttons which are missing from her jacket. However that doesn't stop her from feeling a little superior to her friend the cat lady, and she certainly ensures she always gets to sit on the upper shelf if they have to be separated.  They have dried maize in the base of their dresses to make sure they'll stay where they're put. 

I'm wondering whether these might be an acceptable, collectible creative option for selling in the new store they certainly like hanging out in my office!

Good Teacher Magazine, Term Three

I've been really remiss at posting, mainly because of things that sometimes overtake us.. however I have gathered lots of photos while not posting and have heaps to share over the next little while. From crochet to sculpture and all sorts in between.


One of the things which has kept me occupied was getting the term three issue of Good Teacher Magazine ready for upload last Monday. Another 52 pages of interesting reading... Go to http://goodteacher.co.nz
Perhaps one day I'll add to the world of crafting magazines and start creating another one to be a companion to Good Teacher... 
In the meantime this one is interesting and I'm fairly passionate about the ability to have a magazine which is not paid for or influenced by any political or other group... the fun of deciding what goes in it... even if I don't necessarily agree with the writers theme I will always defend their right to have a say and voice their opinion.
If anyone reading this post is interested in education and would like to submit articles please feel free to get in contact... the magazine is international and I'd welcome increasing the range of writers... actually you probably don't have to be interested in education... it's a lifestyle magazine so perhaps just being interested in writing might be a great start!

Expanding the last post on the Alpaca wool at the fieldays

 So... to add with more detail to the last post...
Right at the front of the stand were the most beautiful hanks of wool. Beautiful because they were so soft and the colour-ways were simply too complex do them justice...

Fibre fanatics lurking in the lifestyle section of the National Fieldays!

Walking around the lifestyle section of the fieldays I really  was wandering, almost aimlessly, past all those kitchen tools you can't be without, to peel, chop and whatever.. and past the hand cream which will leave your hands soft and silky, the politicians and inland revenue stands... all without a lot of enthusiasm.. then suddenly, like a beacon in the mire, I rounded one corner and there nestled in the next bend was a stand covered with the most glorious vibrant hues of wool/fibre.

The cutest alpacas at the National Fieldays

These absolutely gorgeous alpacas had to provide the most ahhhhh moments in the entire Fieldays. 
The National Fieldays, a brilliant offering of all things farming... (and a fair bit which is possibly only loosely related to farming)... covers a huge 40 hectare site for four days each year at Mystery Creek near Hamilton.