Exciting news :: The Crafty Fox!

I've been a bit quiet on the blog front this past month as there's been exciting things in progress... I've opened a new little crafty venture - The Crafty Fox shop & studio in Beechworth!

It's in the beautiful original schoolhouse building in town, built in 1863.

I've been loving every minute of sourcing lovely handmade clothing & goodies, setting up displays and finally opening my doors this weekend.  I also plan to run occasional crafty workshops and a regular Sunday crafternoon session. Yay!!

Find out more on The Crafty Fox website and Facebook page. And if you're in northeast Victoria do pop in and say hello! :)

Mini Mobius Cowl

Brrrr! The chilly weather has well and truly arrived here, so we're all rugged up once again.

Have you ever tried knitting a mobius cowl? I still can't get my head around quite how the cast-on works... but like magic, it actually worked! Somehow it knits from the middle of the cowl, outwards, with the circular needle forming a spiral. It's really interesting to see it progress.

After the cast-on and first couple of rows, this was a super quick and easy knit (just a few hours). Ravelled here.

I made this mini cowl for little miss with the leftover yarn from my own mobius cowl (no photos of that one yet sorry!). I think I'm hooked! I'd love to try a mobius shawl next... Let me know if you have any suggestions for patterns!

The Roly-Poly Rain Tunic

Photo by The Crafty Kitty

Oh my! How sweet is this little girl's tunic that Stephanie from The Crafty Kitty has made? I'm pretty excited about it because that's the fat quarter of my hand-printed Rain fabric that I sent her during the recent Handmade Fabric Swap!

Pop over to The Crafty Kitty for more photos and a chance to win a copy of the pattern (the Roly-Poly Pinafore Tunic).

...All this reminds me that I've been rather remiss in not yet posting photos of the 4 beautiful fabrics that I received from my swap partners. As soon as the sun comes out again I'll snap some pics, I promise!

Treasures

I love a good garage sale! Especially when it's like the one I visited last weekend, where an older couple are moving house and are doing a big clean out. So many treasures!

This footstool is in perfect condition - it actually looks like it's never been used. How much was it? $3!!! It now has pride of place by our front door, the perfect thing for the kids to use while they put on their shoes.

And ohh, how I loved Enid Blyton books as a child! Especially her stories about the Faraway Tree and Wishing Chair. I found some that I've not actually read before, so I'm really looking forward to enjoying them with my kids.

I also snaffled a funky piece of vintage curtain fabric...

 Oh, and look who I had for company under the clothesline while taking the above photo...

Meanwhile, someone else at our place has been collecting their own treasures in a secret spot under the bushes. This is the 'bower' of a male Satin Bowerbird... beautifully decorated to attract a new female friend! Blue is their colour of choice and here we have blue feathers, twine, plastic tape, labels and other scraps of man-made rubbish, plus interestingly, a few yellow feathers from a cockatoo's crest. I hope all his efforts are worth it!

The bower really is a work of art...

Making healthy tasty

My good friend Lien mentioned something really important the other day. She told me that she didn't want her girls to grow up thinking that healthy food wasn't delicious. So true!

We're both keen for our kids to eat mainly fresh, wholesome food. But I think we're also both pretty good cooks and make some rather fine and tasty dishes! So I reckon we're doing okay in promoting good lifetime habits... and no doubt a love of food like ourselves!

Happily my kids think a plate of raw veggies, a bit of cheese and a gerkin is the perfect lunch. However, I do still get a never-ending stream of requests for icecream, lollies (especially at the supermarket checkout) and other sugary treats.

So I'm gradually building my repertoire of baked goodies that the kids love but are still up there on my good-for-you scale. Happy kids, happy mum!

Lien has shared her recipe for these dairy-free, sugar-free rhubarb muffins, which are absolutely delicious! I love the tartness of the rhubarb in these muffins but almost any fruit can be substituted depending on what is in season... try apple and cinnamon, pear and ginger, mashed banana or stonefruit. Lien's tip for light and fluffy muffins is to combine the wet and dry ingredients just before baking and not to over-mix the batter.

Lien's Honey & Rhubarb Muffins

230g wholemeal flour (spelt flour or wheat flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg
¾ cup light-flavoured oil
¾ cup milk
200g thinly sliced rhubarb

Preheat oven to 180C.
Sift flour and baking powder. In a separate bowl, mix all the remaining ingredients. Combine the wet and dry mixtures just before baking – do not over mix.
Spoon the mixture into greased muffin tins and bake for approximately 20 mins until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Etsy Treasury

Pop over to Etsy and check out my first ever Treasury compilation!

Some of my favourite Australian makers are included here including Glorydaze bags, Brave Monday Designs' bamboo jewellery, Topaz Turtle's resin jewellery, Ambette's felt mobile device covers, and Harvest Haversack's lovely storage bags.

Of course you could also drop by my Etsy store too...  ;)

Off my needles :: Fluted Cowl

My Fluted Cowl is done... I love, love, love it!
It's always nice to have a finished project before the cold weather arrives too! Raveled here.

{this moment}

More {this moment} links over at Soule Mama.