I should be so lucky!!!!!

I am I am
Now bear with me...
I have had some lovely presents in the last 24hrs.
I got 2 fab books and some lovely threads from my secret pal. more info to come
and I got some wonderful hand made glass beads from "B".
But I've also done a workshop today and I'm going down to devon for two days tomorrow for work so It's all a bit manic. I have the pickies and I just need to down load them. But as I need some sleep and I am in a hotel for 2 nights with Wifi I will try to post them tomorrow.
Thank you, Thank you Thank you. See you tomorrow down south.
al xx

country bumpkin, who me...?

Dear all,

I've been to the big city...

seriously out of my comfort zone.

But I did the tube, I even surprised myself.

I went for a seminar and had a few hours to kill,

I did try to do textiles, wool and beads... but failed

so I did Covent Garden and china town and the Royal academy of art.

The Royal academy of art had a fab exhibition on The unknown Monet.

It was great standing really fairly close to a Monet thinking wow.

I dont really do art much ( time?!?) but I can appreciate it when I do.

But the thing that really does it for me apart from textiles are buildings

I just love big buildings they really blow my minds. Somebody built these with their hands probably 200yrs ago wow al x!

ROAARRRRR!

"Roar Roar Roar"
is the sound that has been echoing around our house this week...
I got a fab ecard from my knittertreater who asked me to acknowledge the e-card.
got it!!
and she's sent a postcard ( not got yet)
and she's sent my parcel sea mail cos it was heavy.....wow how exciting
cant wait.
my secret pal got her first package and loved it hooorrrraaah, but It did have to go through quarantine... apparently I passed. very funny.
al x

hooray for freeform crochet

Dear all,
Taking a little break from Braiding to do some crochet.
I cant show what I've done until my secret pal gets her prezzies.
But until then The freeform crochet group I am part of has got an online exhibition, go and have a look there is some beautiful bits ( what is the collective term for alot of freeform crochet?) possibly a scrumble. well go and look at the scrumbles....
I'm also getting the itch to dye some more yarn.... it's pickies like this that do it

al x

A felted commision

Dear all,
You know how I always stay safe and use nice plain colours, well this is a prime example.
I love felting, just have trouble fitting it in with all he other stuff I love. I like having an end point so with this in mind the item below was created.
I have been commissioned by aunty big em to make her a felted camera case.
The problem with commissions is you never know if they are going to like it until they see it.
So aunty big em, this is the first try, if you dont like the colours I can do a bluey one or a more pinky one. I got a little carried away with the colours. I will not be insulted if you dont want this one cos I can do lots with it if it's not your scene.
one side is swirly and one is spotty
I had fun with it can you tell.
lots of love al x

A mixed groove

Dear all,
Just sitting back chillin......
Sorry? was that me?
Yup just sitting back and chilling, bloggin catchin a tune...
I've got a bag of summer fruit thornton chocs ( bought for me by my yummy boy)
a mug of hot water...... well i like it,
and Ray Lamontague in concert on the telly, he's definitely my singer of the moment, I cant get enough of his music, and there he is on the telly whilst i'm baby sitting, perfick.
so This weekend is a music weekend, ray tonight and tmorrow si and I and my mum and dad are going to see Kate Rusby, a very cool folk singer. I've worked out the last concert I went to I was 8 week pregnant with adam, that must be almost 6 yrs...... very excited.
On a textiley front, I went to the living threads textile exhibition today, there was some beautiful things there, and this amazing lady doing felting called Julie turner.
I'd met her before at a workshop. It was nice to meet her again, I was so close to buying one of her beautiful felted bags.
I've also been thinking about the new crochet magazine thats come out in america Interweave crochet, linked to the interweave knit magazine that has a good reputation in the USA. It looks interesting.
anyway enough for tonight.
off to feel the groove
al x

can you tell what it is yet?

SO many pictures so little time.....
This is a picture heavy post
This is the most exciting, look what my fabulous hubby bought for me for easter!!!
aaaahhhhhhhhhh so very exciting a whole meter of Amy Butler fabric!!!!!
he's just laughed at me cos I only got it in the post an hour ago and have already posted about it!!! that exciting!! ( !!!)
Then one of my favorite flowers of spring a magnolia. taken last week.
Then my daft cat Moscow pretending to be the dormouse from Alice in wonderland, he got in of his own accord I promise.
Then a drawing of an elephant on our terrace by my boy
and finally my husbands birthday cake!! do you think I used too much cream in the four tiers!! In my defence it was a wholemeal sponge, so it had some healthy elements, sprinkles by my fab children, he didnt seem to mind them being pink. Do you think we are on holiday? ( back to work tmrw,buurrgghh)
Lots of yarny love
al x

sooo very lucky

Dear all,
Happy easter for all who do easter in a religious or chocolately way.
I'm still here doing holiday.
I got a fab package from my secret pal on monday, I'm sorry for the delay in posting pickies secret pal, It's a holiday thing.
But needless to say I have looked at them every day and shown them to lots of people this week.
There was lots of lovely stuff, I got some debbi bliss soho and a texere yarn silk pack. I got a beautiful john lewis note pad, which is far to good for my messy ramblings. The kids, hubby and I all got chocolate and I got lots of lovely smellies.
still thinking what to do with the wool. I might have to crochet something from my happy hooker book.I'm not used to having so much wool for a project so It's very exciting.
I'm very lucky. Thank you very much. ( oooh to many verys)
I'm off to wrestle a giant chocolate rabbit off Emi.....
al x

Holiday yey!!

Dear All, Welcome to the goodkharmabunny on holiday.
We've all broken up for a weeks holiday, the boys have two weeks.
Last week didnt improve with hubby going to the speech therapist, which was fine, except he isnt allowed to say a word until tuesday, like complete silence.........
And I had to go back for another MRI on friday, cos they missed a bit, or the other excuse was that they changed their minds what they wanted.
but that is all behind us now, we have finally hit holiday, and it started well.
Mum and i went to an exhibition at the NEC yesterday called "sewing for pleasure"
SO we spent the day there and spent alot..... ( pickies later) but I couldnt find find any Amy Butler fabric anywhere, in fact no one had heard of her.........
Then we came home and mum and dad whilst the quiet one and i went out for supper, then this morning mum cooked us all a full english breakfast... wow what a 24hrs.
I'm only slightly bleary this morning.
On a different note thank you everyone for your wonderful comments about the website, I'm soo glad you like it.
the only problem is that most of my hits have been via my blog and I've now done another post, so my blatant website promotion is below, however there is a link to the good kharma bunny website on the right hand side!!!!!--------->------------->------------>
more later... off to suggest a pub visit to hubby.
al x

The Good Kharma Bunny web site!!

It's official The Good Kharma Bunny Website is live!
Surprise!!
It's all very exciting
let me know what you think
al xx

shhh it's a secret!!

Something very exciting is going to happen this week,
I'll tell you later,
it's very exciting!
mean while I thought i would throw in a few photos to distract you.
(emi will hate me for this )
al x

knitting treat

Dear all,
We have received our Secretpals 10s, it's all going well, Hi to floozy who is treating me, she seems to be as mad as me, cool. And I cant tell you who I'm treating... but I'm going to sew for pleasure next week to buy lots of yummy things for her.
as a side thought...
I have succumbed... part of this is all your fault , some of you said I deserved a treat after this week so I did kinda, I'm treating someone else.
I have signed up for another knitting exchange.
The knitters treat exchange
Looks like it's going to be fun. This one is a one off exchange, not spread over three months like secret pal, and is a little smaller.
So here are my answers to the all important questions
1) My favorite yarn? Banana yarn/ aran weight silk, noro (any)
2) My least favorite? Lace weight yarn scares me, actually anything thinner than four ply.
3) The first thing I do when I enter a new yarn shop? take a deep breath and look at the prices of the luxury yarns, silk/ noro/louisa harding then go and find something I can afford . then I look for all the yarns I don't recognise and decide which to treat myself with. To demonstrate...I recently went into a new yarn shop and bought 3 balls of rowan cotton denim, and two impulsive louisa harding grace- silk wool.
4) What other crafts do I do/ would like to do? I braid and felt, I would like more time to do all the things I already do.
5) What magazines do I subscribe to? Yarn forward, I buy simply knitting quite often, and my mum and I share her subsciption to Selvedge.
6)Magazines in order of preference; Crochet,Knitting, Home, other Craft, Food, Garden, fashion, celebrity gossip.
7) What items do I like to knit/ crochet? accessories, easy quick stuff
8)Am I allergic to anything? ironing! apart from that no
9) What do I like to smell of? lemon, and lavender, I also got bought the new Stella Mcartney block perfume for mothers day so I smell of that at the moment
10) Your favorite way to relax? a long hot bath or crafting in front of the telly, or sleep, it's friday I have few need in life other than sleep.
11)Your stood outside a victorian tea shop, a italian cafe, an old fashioned bakery, a dainty tea room, which do you go into first? the italian cafe, I'm sure I was an italian mama in a former life
12)what do you come out with? after I've had a large italian hot chocolate and a italian pastry, probably indigestion, or some italian chocolate
13)where to next? the bakery to buy cream cakes, for afternoon tea at home, after I have found a yarn shop!!
14)Words of wisdom for your pal? dear pal I have had a bad week this week, bear with me, I may try to answer these again next week, my mantra is it will all be fine. apparently I say it alot.
or always carry a toothbrush and toothpaste in your bag at all times
or never tell a polar bear he looks fat
or yey it's friday
please ask any more questions, but i cant guarantee how sane the answers will be!
al x

Still alive, or medical ramblings

Dear all,
Thank you for everyone's concern, the MRI went fine yesterday. I dont get my results until the end of July, unless they find anything yucky. I think this is unlikely. Not overly worried, just want rid of my headaches.
Musings on the MRI;
So you take everything off that has metal in it, no jewellry, belts etc...you feel so bare
and then they say quietly " you'll have to take your bra off" you find yourself saying thats fine and then spend ten minutes thinking uplifting thoughts. Thank goodness you have to lie down for a MRI.
I knew it wasnt going to pleasant, but being the mother of 2 ( Csections and epidurals) I thought I could probably handle it as no pain was involved.......
So they place headphones on you and a big plastic frame over your head and wheel you into the big plastic polo. Words cannot explain how loud it is even with headphones on.
But lying down for 40 minutes was great.
The frame has a mirror in it so you can watch them doing your scans, and your feet. so not as claustrophobic as it could have been. Although watching the man who did the injection pick his nose for ten minutes was the low point of the scan. And he had no sense of humour, they inject a dye to see the veins, and I trying to keep calm and well humoured asked if he was going to make me glow in the dark... he didn't even smirk..
Whilst in there you do find your mind wandering. So I will share a little wandering.
The best analogue of what the MRI sounds like will really make sense to terry pratchett fans...
all I could think of was these little elves with big hammers running around banging loudly.
The other thought was the filling tomorrow is going to hurt more than this!!
and it did! although my dentist is the best ever and you hardly feel a thing.
So to conclude the week from hell is over!!!!!!!!
hoorah.
No more medical ramblings for ages I promise.
Thank you again for all you concern.
al x

so much to tell and alot of crochet!

Dear all,
I have so much to tell and I had no pickies to illustrate, so had to go and take them. so a quick post has taken me 1 1/2 hrs argh.
I shall not give excuses for lack of posting, well maybe a little bit;
my hubby is off with no voice! ( he's a teacher)
my number 2 support has been to new zealand for 2 weeks, my mil has just flown out to st lucia...
it's all go...
SO recently
1) I have been on a Alysn Midgelow Marsden (who runs the beetroot tree, and wrote this book), workshop on angelina fibre, very exciting... still work in progress
2) bought three tunisian crochet hooks off ebay, a 4mm, 8mm and a very beautifull 20mm wooden one ( the yarn is for scale)

3a) went to blackberry yarns in mountsorrel and didnt buy anything!
3b) went to the yarn shop in Beeston, with mac's niece, you have never seen so much yarn in one place, ooohhh and spent a bit! bought Rowan cotton jeans and some Louisa Harding Grace silk wool. pure impulse buys!!
4) crocheted a scarf!! from the happy hooker book, using the gotland hand spun that I got for sp9

5) crocheted a head band!! to restrain the hair that is getting longer
6) been on a crochet workshop and learnt that I can crochet, yey! this is my crochet stitch template
!
7) realised how much I am in denial about the advanced kumihimo workshop I'm running in May, luckily I did realise it with 9 weeks to go!
8) featured twice in the braid society newsletter, yey!

Also this next week I have a week from hell, you know those week when you know it's not going to be pretty!
we have
monday My car booked in to fix the washers, I just realised I didn't tell you ( or did I) I HAVE A NEW CAR ( pickies when it's day time)
tuesday Bupa appointment for hubby's voice!
wednesday work!
thursday, brain scan for me yey! just to see if I have a brain from the excess yarn thing ( or to get rid of my headaches)
friday a big filling for me!!!!!
But it's ok mum get back tomorrow!! phew, does she know whats she's coming back to... ( no!)

more soon
al x

Happy Mothers day!!

To all you mums out there
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!
You do a wonderful job,
from supporting us young mums to bringing up those young kids.
We do a great job and long may it continue.
Lots of love
me x

yummy yummy!!

Dear all,
I've introduced you to the concept of Yarn P*rn, well I think I have a new one Fabric P*rn.
Have a look at this one
Amy Butlers fabric is beyond delicious, the web site takes a long while to down load ( because of the o.t.t. front page) but it's worth the wait. I like this one ( full bloom)
I think I got to it through her studio.
There is alot of Amy Butler Fat quarters on Ebay , but still cant afford it.
The fact that I would struggle to do anything with it is irrelevant.
very nice
Enjoy
al x

I love the internet

Dear all,
Site for the day is home of the sampler
This is a very cool idea.
The company ( as I understand it) gets contributions from people who want to promote their stuff, magazines, crafty stuff etc. they then send it out in boxes to those who have subscribed, about a tenner a month. It's time specific, they send out an email when it's time to subcribe and you have to subscribe quickly.
If you go and look at the contributors it looks really cool. It's american, but they do post internationally.
I think it's a very cool idea. ( I know I already said it)

Al x

another felting triumph!

Dear all,
Several years ago my mum bought me a skein of Colinette prism
It's a wool/cotton mix, well its wool with cotton around it in a contrasting colour.
It's a beautiful yarn, but as ever it sat in the stash for a long time waiting a suitable project.
A month ago I went on a knitted/ felted accessories course run by Living threads and Bev from Knitting4fun.
I decided to knit a belt, now most of you know my knitting skills are slim on the best of days. But i was determined, so I knitted four rows of garter and then a few rows of lace stitch.
it was about four inched wide before felting and is now about 2 inches.
I knitted it very long cos I was going to felt it. I put yarn wrapped washers on the end for adornment. It came out better than I could ever expected. All it needs now is a clasp or pin to hold it. very exciting.
this is before felting
and this is post felting.
What do you think? not bad for a beginner!
off to rescue my felted pingpong balls from a excitable kitten and a two yr old!!!
for all those who noticed the little questionaire/blogger blip, I sorted it!!
al x

sp10 more fun questions

Dear all,
I thought I might ask a few pertinent questions that might assist in the whole sp10 things details previously posted).
Please feel free to post your answers even if you are not a sp10'er
There may be a prize for the best answers, yarn dying is on hold for march due to a lack of grandparents! ( trust me they are crucial to the process) so a prize would be sent in April!

Whilst I was typing.... my family decided to answer the questions themselves with some interesting answers!

So the questions should you (and your family) choose to answer them.......

1)What is your favorite smell?
2)What is your most favorite (reassuring) texture
3)What is your favorite cake?
4)What is your favorite pudding?
5)What is your favorite fruit?
6)What is the colour of your sofa?
7) What is your favorite animal?
8) What is your favorite animal group?

These are the answers from the good kharma bunny family contingency!!!

Adam's answers ( 5 yrs)
red roses
sand paper
birthday cake
lolly pops or icecream ( along as its' melted)
pear
red with little squares on
a kitten
Fish

Daddy's answers ( not telling )
mummy (thats me! not his mum!!)
furry
eclair
apple pie
pineapple
purple
tiger
Birds

emi's answers (2 yrs )
food
icky ( her bear)
chocolate
any ,or icecream
banana
blue!
moo, meaow, twit tewoo, baaa.
Mammals

My answers! ( oh my am I really 33yrs old)
Dove soap and clean hair
Clean brushed cotton Pyjamas and clean cotton sheets
Chocolate cake or mum's lemon cake
sponge pudding and custard
fresh apricots
it's burgundy honest (not sure where the others live!!) perhaps the question should be what colour do your family think your sofa is?!
Cat!
Birds!


The cats were too busy scrapping to deign a answer!

Enjoy

al x

where wool comes from?!

Dear all,

A little thing to make you smile from the Crochet me people.

Enjoy

al x