Renaissance woman

today I bring you:

2 sweaters with patterns being written

this is the "Plum blossoms in the morning mist" cardigan, it is the Mummy of the "Plum blossom at twilight" baby cardigan. I knitted a size 12...it is too big for Blaise, but she is going through an '80s retro phase and likes her sweaters oversized. I'm getting the cardi back this weekend for some photos of me in it, as it fits me snugly which is how I like it best as it shows up the waist and armhole shaping.

1 bag of yarn frantically being swatched and 1 test garment on the needles

1 tea cosy in the process of being knitted for the above-mentioned Blaise who has moved in with her boyfriend Joe, who has a house in Grey Lynn, they are both writers and students so everything has to be a little funky!

1 finished garment, which I have slightly mentioned previously, which I think is very cool, I'll get photos on the weekend, and write up the pattern - then I'll let you tell me what you think!

It is high summer here in Auckland, very hot, often humid and the vegie garden is churning out the surplus produce so we are eating tomatoes by the bucket load and I feel a canned salsa making session coming on. I have to show you my tomatoes as I am so in love with them, these are Japanese Black Krim tomatoes and they are divine!

these are stock standard Roma's from last year's saved seed - great for bottling!

 and the strawberries have dwindled to almost nothing, but this patch was giving us a punnet a day for almost 2 months! I made enough strawberry jam to get the extended family through the year!
next year it will be twice the size, there is nothing as good as sun warmed organic strawberries!

I've also made 10 kgs of assorted scented washing powder, and 60 soy wax melts in sweet cinnamon (my house smells just like Pentimento in King street did when we lived in Sydney) sandalwood and pink grapefruit. I used this tutorial to make the melts and bought g.e free soy wax from a Trademe supplier. 

Just like knitting, I didn't make or grow these things just to save money - but to gain satisfaction of making them, and knowing where all of the ingredients came from, I worked out it was cheaper to get the best organic essential oil and soy wax I could find and make melts for my home and gifts for friends and family throughout the year, than it was to buy 2 packets of High street brand melts, and that my laundry detergent smells just the way Flash likes it (Sandalwood) and doesn't leave white marks on our clothes like supermarket detergents. Our garden is all organic, the only spray we use is garlic (truly disgusting smelling but effective) and if something doesn't work we just learn and move on.

I'm enjoying having the time to do all of these things, the long summer evenings seem so much more productive, I'm hoping I can find a way to extend that feeling into winter.