I made these to contribute to the craft stall at Elsa's playgroup/kinder Spring fair. Can you tell I found it difficult to let these go? We became so attached to these little gnome friends that lived on our table and multipled until fair day. Every morning Elsa would have them out of 'their box' playing with them on the kitchen table where they had lovely conversations about our plans for the day, among other things. In the end I made around 6 of the pocket mice and likewise, they were loved and enjoyed on a daily basis leading up to fair day. I've promised to make some of both for her in the months to come but not this many!
My nephew was over the moon at winning a coconut at the fair and 
And the homemade vanilla icecream was a hit with Elsa
But Rafa had other things on his mind 
Knitted, blocked, awaiting construction...a cardigan for Elsie from Rowan Junior. Oh so close, yet...you know.
One cold morning last week feeling a little cabin feverish, I took the babes to try out a new cafe closeby. Well, 'new' for us but it's been there for a few months now. Duchess of Spotswood might just become one of our favourites. And Elsa spruced up by wearing a new Lark dress.
by my sister-in-law for Rafael
A bad photo of some cute booties by Nana for Raf.
A new winter coat for Elsa by her one of my sister-in-laws/her aunts
With each package comes the left-over wool, a tag from the wool and often a copy of the pattern should it take my fancy to knit it myself either in the same size or larger for another year. Actually, I'm thinking of knitting the above in a smaller size for Rafael for next winter.
Nana (my Mum) knitted sent the above bonnet (and matching booties)
And Nana knitted the jumper too
A friend in Canada knitting Rafa this sweet cardigan (and a matching hat) 
Laundry day for her dolls
This winter we can't get enough of pumpkin scones made from a Stephanie Alexander recipe. They've gone with us to playgroup, family, friends, the park...you name it. And there's always good. So easy and at least I can feel we're having some vegetable at morning or afternoon tea time (not much but a little). I like that 'Steph' suggests the above style rather than individual scones, not because I don't also enjoy single, individual scones but, when we're in a rush this is quick and just perfect. 
Last month we shared a country weekend away with lovely friends. The air was crisp, the fires were lit, the food was delicious, the knitting progressed and the children were angelic - well, most of the time. There was certainly lots of fun had tossing leaves, roasting marshmallows, riding in the wheel-barrow, picking and eating lemons and rhubarb and running, running, running. And the conversation in the car on the way back to town? It centred mostly around the question (again) of whether we should, could, would do a tree or sea-change. No conclusion reached of course but, plenty of ideas shared. 
We washed, we conditioned more than usual, we combed and combed, we pulled a little (but not to much) and finally she had her pony-tail "just like Jessa" (her cousin). Never mind that her cousin's hair is extremely long and straight and much darker than her own, it didn't matter, she had achieved what she's wanted for a while now; a PONY-TAIL...for 1/2 hour or so at least, until her hair dried and 'bonged' up into those beautiful curls all over again. But thankfully, she's very happy with that - just wanted to play with something different for a minute and replicate a much-loved cousin.
