I'm really bad. Haven't updated in a long time. BUT I'm still being constructive and creating stuff. I've learned crochet! At least some very simple crochet, and I'm making a veil for belly dancing! Here's the progress so far:

And I know you can't see what I've done to the edge. so here it is:

So simple yet effective. I'm putting on another row with some coins so that it jingles a little bit. My grandmother showed me how to do it, and now that I know, I reckon I could make entire dancing outfits. My next feat will be a coin belt with gold-flecked maroon thread on red or purple velvet (haven't decided yet). I think the veil will be finished by tomorrow.

The veil is actually a royal purple chiffon, though of course you can't see it in the shot, and the crochet is this lovely glossy cherry-coloured thread; it reminds me of that Beatrix Potter story, I think it was The Tailor of Gloucester or something like that, and the tailor is freaking out, because he's run out of cherry-coloured twist (actually, the cat hid it).

And next:

Oooooooooh!!

Aaaaaaaaaaah!

I am so spoiled! Madeline you are a legend! It's funny to be getting these pressies from the other side of the planet, and then find they're being sent by an Australian! Everything is beautiful. I can't believe you told me I could rip out the panta. I love it! It's a bit warm to wear it for too long at the moment, but it'll be perfect for Winter. Nice and big, almost hides my new short hair (good for greasy days)! I liked it so much that I looked up the pattern and knitted another one, but somehow the shape isn't as good as your one. I forgot to take a piccie before the batteries died in my camera. Next time! As for the wash cloth, it is so beautiful that I don't want to wash my filthy face with it! The Rowan cotton feels lovely and soft. One day I'll knit something in cotton. The stitch markers will be good too. I've made some for others, but the only ones I've used myself are these little plastic rings from spotlight, half of which are broken before you open the packet. And that soap is humungous. It smells lovely.

I've had such a great time with this secret pal business, but I've been so busy that I feel I haven't had enough time to do it justice. Who would have thought that the day I started this blog, May 11 I think, that my brother would be diagnosed with a brain tumour and my whole world, and that of everyone I love, would be turned upside down. It's been almost 6 months since then, and I feel like a completely different person. I would never have survived without the support of my lovely boy Luke, and having knitting there to keep me busy when I started to become obsessive with grief. I've taken up belly dancing, which I love so much, and I started running three days a week, and have lost over 10kg as a result, and regained my self-esteem, I've quit smoking and I now only eat beautiful food made by nature, not man, and my body is loving it. Watching someone struggle for their life makes you re-evaluate your own, and I've discovered that life is absolutely fucking fantastic.

Enough drivel. The Melbourne Cup is about to start, and I've got some crocheting to get on with.