Prosestitch

Tova

It seems there is a Tova everywhere I look right now; all of them lovely versions. My own Tova is a winter dress, planned for wear with tights and boots and lots of layers underneath. 

I made up the pattern pretty much as instructed and don't really have any comments to offer except that it is perfectly feasible to fit the sleeve and then sew up the side seams. There is probably a technical reason why one shouldn't do this, but it sped up the process enormously and meant that the overlocking of the sleeve seams was slightly less harrowing. 

Even though my Tova looks very somber, I do live in a city full of people who like to wear black on all occasions so I am confident that I am going to to blend in nicely. Anyone who approaches too closely will see that I have breached the dress code as the black wool is shot with white cotton.

It was too warm for boots and tights today but leggings and ballet flats seemed to suit the dress just as well and it was extremely comfortable to wear.

Dreaming

I saw in the paper this morning that this painting by Rupert Bunny comes up for auction shortly. It won't be coming home with me, of course, but I had a cheering daydream about it as I drank my morning coffee.

We did it!

Six months ago, I teamed up with three other women to enter Oxfam's Trailwalker event. Each of us committed to walk 100 kilometres (about 62 miles) through hilly bush terrain in 48 hours. Our fantastic team leader completed the event in 2011 and knew what to expect. The rest of us could only imagine.

Yesterday, after many early starts and countless hours of training, after rain, fog and sun, the four of us walked through the finish line arch towards our husbands, friends and family in a very respectable 32 hours and 26 minutes. Our ten proud, naughty children, who had all ignored the organisers' requests to wait behind the line, ran out to greet us and joined us as we walked through. It was an amazing moment.

I've heard the word "crazy" more than a few times since I signed up for the event, but I can honestly say that I enjoyed almost every minute of it, even at its hardest. I was and am incredibly lucky because I completed the training and the event free of blisters and injury and emotional distractions. That was not the case for my teammates, and I am even prouder of each of them than I am of myself. They were wonderful companions and supporters and friends.

Trailwalker is a great challenge, personally and as a team, but it has a serious fundraising purpose too. Our supporters have been generous and their donations have encouraged us and assisted Oxfam's work around the world. We are extremely grateful for their generosity.

Cushion

This cushion is a tick on my 'to do' list. For now it is occupying a chair in our dining room, but when we move house it will relocate to a grey wool sofa destined for the girls' playroom. It is a little bit of temporary whimsy which makes me smile when I see it.

I also have plans forming for some slightly more grown up cushions. Right now I am thinking velvet and linen in shades of bone and green. The need for green is new to me but it seems to be what I want.

Late to the party

I've been keen to make a Tova for a while now, especially after sighting Kate's lovely version. Kerry's sew-a-long was the perfect excuse to get me moving and so I signed up eagerly without first considering how I might fit the sewing in around walking, school holidays and a trip to the apple isle.

Needless to say I didn't and it is only today that I printed out the pattern I bought several weeks ago! I have also had a chance to look at some of the tops posted on flickr by more timely participants and now I am anticipating my own version. Kerry has posted lots of how to's so I am hoping for a straightforward sew.

I've also been a bit late with my Easter baking this year, but the girls and their friends enjoyed these cupcakes for lunch today. It is Easter Tuesday here; surely not too late for easter-themed cupcakes?

Now I am looking forward to popping into lots of people's places to see what you've all been up to while I've been away.

Time to play

It has been a three day weekend here which has been wonderful and meant that there has been time to play.

It wasn't really swimming weather at the beach but it was sunny, calm and still. My idle suggestion that we walk to the stony section of the beach and build cairns galvanised the big girl and her dad. The final count (well after this photo) was twenty nine stones high.

On Saturday, the girls kindly agreed to go bush walking with us to help with my training. Both of them ran most of the way which left me feeling elderly and slow! As a reward for walking so well, we called into the local golf club for pink lemonades and gin and some 'roo watching. We were a little bit early for dusk and only two kangaroos bothered to show themselves.

Monday was training walk day and the wildlife count was much higher: lots of kangaroos and joeys, plenty of kookaburras and parrots and one too many brown snakes. I've got grainy photographic evidence of the dawn kangaroos, but didn't stop to snap the snake.

Kilometres walked this weekend: five plus five plus thirty five. It's starting to get harder, but I am beginning to believe that maybe I can do it. I am also hoping to see a wombat in the wild, however that is even less likely than the possibility that I will walk one hundred kilometres!

Weekend statistics

Rained: buckets

Walked: thirty kilometres

Sighted: four mobs of kangaroos and two pairs of tawny frog-mouthed owls

Knitted: progress on two projects and thoughts about two more

Lit: the first fire of autumn

Sold: our house!

Photos taken: just one

The signs are good

This hippeastrum lily has unexpectedly appeared in our garden. I am taking it as a sign that this year's surprises are going to be good ones.

February

Yippee! It seems that it was January that was the hell month. Almost one week into February and I am feeling calmer, happier and more organised than I have in months. The reason for this may include any or all of the following!

School term has begun and the big girl and the small girl are both thriving.

My taxi duties are less onerous than I feared and involve unanticipated opportunities for knitting, podcasting and communing one on one with the big girl.

The house is sparkling thanks to our efforts and those of a magical cleaning team.

I have polished, labelled, filed and/or timetabled everything in sight and lots that isn't.

The training is coming along well and also involves ample opportunity for podcasting. On Sunday, I spent a fascinating three hours listening to interviews with Heston Blumenthal, Bernadette Robinson, Annie Proulx and Clarissa Dickson Wright. I won't say that podcasting completely eased the pain of rising at 6am and walking 12 or so kilometres in 30 degree heat, but it certainly helped! A few walks ago, I listened to Geraldine Brooks' Boyer lecture series and, if you can access it, I can't recommend it enough.

I know I am feeling better because my mind has turned to knitting, something which it only does when I am feeling settled. I have bought a couple of balls of beautiful silk alpaca to start an attempt at this. It is wildly ambitious of me as lace knitting and I are not friends, but maybe things will be different this time. I don't think it is quite the right knitting for school pick up moments, so I've also acquired the right size needles for this which I began last year but abandoned when it became clear that my tension was completely off.

In our garden

This year I planted an Aztec plot, taking my lead from Lolo Houbein's inspirational book, One Magic Square. The plot, planted on one square metre of land, works on a companion planting principal and combines sweet corn, runner beans and small pumpkins. It has been a very decorative plot, but come to grief in several ways, all of which are our fault, not Holbein's. Firstly, I missed the empahisis on small when it came to the pumpkins. When our plants rapidly outgrew the plot and threatened to block the path to the back half of the garden, we had no choice but to cut them back, so no pumpkins. The corn has grown many ears, but our inconsistent watering efforts show as the cobs are somewhat tough and stunted: guinea pig fodder at best, according to the girls. The triumph has been the scarlet runner beans which have been colourful, tasty and rewarding.