…aaaand it’s November, people! Yikes! Time stands still for no man, or even woman, apparently. If only! I have TWO FO’s and some personal triumphs on my “brag wall”. And I’ve particularly been looking forward to sharing with you the absolutely BEST thing my girls did in that October break (possibly ever!). A Kids Crochet Workshop at The Yarn Tree. It now seems so very far in the distant past, that we need to take another trip back in my “Yarn Tardis” (yes, I love Dr Who!)… 

Kids Crochet Workshop at The Yarn Tree

If you missed out on sending your kids to this in the October excuse-for-a-holiday, I really hope that The Yarn Tree will repeat their Kids Crochet Workshop in the December/January holidays so that you have an opportunity for them to go. It was awesome!

I suppose I could, myself, have taught my girls how to crochet. But, crochet is tricky and fiddly for little 10 year old fingers that are actually still 8 year old sized. So I wasn’t sure how I could justify to little Megs that I can teach Caitlin and not her. And I especially wanted to avoid the tears and monstrous gnashing of teeth that would inevitably accompany the frustration resulting from this learning process. Thankfully, I know very well how much more tolerant they would be of someone else teaching them. 

I previously taught at their primary school and elsewhere, so it is an unfortunate truth in this house that my children have very separate views of the roles of “mother” and “teacher”. Consequently, they are vehemently opposed to me being their “teacher”. Although, to be fair, Caitlin has grown to be so much more accepting of this role. Which bodes well if we do end up homeschooling her for the last two years of high school. After which there might be an 18th birthday party of stupendous proportions to celebrate that we’ve all survived! If we all survive 😄.

So, off they went to the Kids Crochet Workshop, mostly looking forward to the tea and eats. I stayed to catch up on some blogging (I mentioned this in my “Retreat post”) and to take pics of the lesson in action. The tea and eats did not disappoint, thank you ladies. But my sincere apologies for the serious dent to your tea stock 😳. The workshop far surpassed their expectations, and mine! I knew that Caitlin would pick it up very quickly. But I wasn’t sure whether Meghan would leave being able to do much more than chain. 

But Gill was absolutely fantastic and is clearly a master at teaching kids. Caitlin left with a sizeable treble-cluster granny square and Meghan, amazingly, left with one just slightly smaller. Gill has it down to a fine art! She connects with them so effortlessly, explains each step in a way that makes sense to kids, and does it with such encouragement and extreme patience. And, added bonus, they learned how to read a pattern!

They left The Yarn Tree so energised and excited about the new skill they’d acquired. It was the first thing they did when we got home. And the first thing they did when they got up the next morning. You are a truly phenomenal teacher, Gill! Thank you for doing what you do, so amazingly well 😘. I’m really looking forward to your End of Year Lunch tomorrow.

Brag wall – The girls… 

Today, I am unashamedly adding my girls to my brag wall. Many many weeks (months? years, even?) of *blood, sweat and tears* deserves at least one mention of the main highlights in the past two weeks… About a week ago Caitlin’s band, Renegades, participated in the Swallow15 music school’s JamBands at Rumours Cresta. It was a blast! No surprise, because it’s always an awesome show.

And this past Saturday was Northcliff Primary’s Annual iFest – a day long family festival of giant inflatables, entertainment and games for the kids, food stalls galore and awesome music artists. Cait did a 30 minute set (her first outdoor gig), sharing the stage with Sadist, Majozi and Rubberduc! Such talented and inspiring performers. 

*blood, sweat and tears* translates to a huge investment in lessons and a multitude of hours of driving, sitting through competitions and shows, and begging and pleading for them to practice! Just so that they can make a career out of music or performing and live with us forever… What the the hell are we thinking!!

It was an amazing experience for her, and and an absolutely awesome event. If you missed it this year, keep a lookout for details around the same-ish time next year.  

Meghan participated in her first aerial-dance showcase with Sky Dance Studio at The Victory Theatre about a week ago. She worked so hard and I’m so proud of her for the amount of effort she put in. I’m also extremely proud of her hair! Because I am worse-than-terrible at doing hair.  (I did a secret little jig of happiness when Caitlin decided to cut her hair short.) I’m also proud that both of us survived the costume fittings/adjustments and the make-up application. Let’s just say that 10 year olds dislike doing whatever is necessary to properly fit and attach all the bling to a costume and, even more so, having make-up applied. An understatement, but that’s the nicest way I can say it.

But, watching her nail her performance made it all worthwhile. The whole show was fantastic! Thanks to everyone at Sky Dance Studio for their commitment, dedication and hard work! I feel so inspired by all the aerialists’ amazing performances that I’m willing to possibly try my hand at lugging myself into the air next year. 

…and my FO’s

I finally finished my Inara Wrap using One of a Kind Yarns Orenda Art Button. It was a fabulous knit and I’m wearing it every chance I get. Thankfully the cotton-bamboo blend lends itself to summer weather.  

Incidentally, I was thrilled to see Marlene, One of a Kind Yarns‘ fibre artist, uploading new stock over the last few weeks. I was nearly in a panic when I read a short while ago that she was moving again and possibly packing up shop (for a while or indefinitely – the future was unclear at the time). I’m so relieved that she’s still making those gorgeous yarns!

I also decided that it was time to knit the sleeves for my Willowy Top, which I’ve worn sleeveless for two years. It’s knit in Hartlam Darling Sock (70% Alpaca, 20% Silk, 10% Cashmere goat – to die for!!), colour way Vitamin C. At the time, I knit it pretty much according to the instructions. It was my first knitted garment and I never even considered adapting it to knit in the round. Two years on, I’m a bit more experienced. So I decided to pick up stitches around the armholes for the sleeves rather than knitting them bottom-up and attaching them.

However, when I made the decision two years ago to wear it sleeveless for a while, I hadn’t considered that the colour of the body would fade a bit. Eish! And yes, the sleeves have knit up brighter. Oh well! Lesson learned. Bit I will be wearing it to The Yarn Tree’s End of Year Lunch tomorrow. Faded body and all. The yarn is just too irresistible to let a “minor hiccup” (ie: glaringly obvious faux pas) get in the way of enjoying it. Let’s just say that it’s my own quirky “design element” 😁.

Thanks for stopping by the blog today. Hope you get some yarn-happiness time this week.

Bx

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• Ambah O'Brien
• crochet class
• Hartlam
• Hartlam Darling Sock
• Inara Wrap
• kids crochet workshop
• Majozi
• Northcliff Primary School's iFest
• One of a Kind Yarns
• Orenda Art Button
• Rubberduc
• Rumours Cresta
• Sadist
• Sky Dance Studio
• Swallow15
• Swallow15 JamBands
• The Yarn Tree End of Year Lunch
• The Yarn Tree SA
• yarn tails
• Yarn Tails SA
• yarntailssa