A January Festival - Dias Festival in Mosselbaai

I've never been a big fan of festivals, be it music, culture, grape-harvesting or hunting.  However, I do find myself now in a town with festivals happening left, right and centre; so I thought - let's go with the flow then!

First up - the Dias Festival - Where Cultures Meet in Mosselbaai.

This festival celebrates the landing of Bartholomeu Dias's at what is now the town of Mosselbaai in February 1488.  Dias was a Portugese seafarer sent down south to hopefully find a route around the tip of Africa in order to find better spice (and other) trading route to India.

(Gavin Menzies also hold interesting, though highly controversial views about this).

So Dias continued a bit further east, to the mouth of the Boesmansrivier, before being forced to back by his crew, who might have been dead scared to continue.  On the return trip, he actually only "discovered" the Cape of Storms (later named the Cape of Good Hope). 

Off we went, with one eye on the gathering class and a Plan B at the back of our minds.

Plan B immediately turned into breakfast at The Blue Shed, while waiting for the rain to abate.

Then we ran out and saw...

…vintage tractors on the dune.

…a Morris like my mom used to have, right down to the colour!
(highly excited)

…remnants of the Portuguese parade
(the procession came past in …rain, so we watched from inside :-)

…something to eat.  Although well-known and wide-spread, it's the first time I've actually seen corn on the cob being sold at an event /bazaar like this.

But now the rain set in again, and no amount of promises of the Zheijing Wu Opera Arts Troupe, Indonesian dancers, more street parades or nothing was going to keep my men here.  

So we got a lovely takeaway lunch…

Lamb curry roti, anyone?

…and scrambled home.

Coming up…Harvest, Port Wine and Mampoer festivals, Literary, Klein Karoo Arts, Pink Loerie and Oysters, Speed, Forest Marathon and Rastafarian…I'll try it out! 

Another Baby Blanket - Call the Midwife

December has flown by and so has most of January and I've been in my new town for six weeks now, but my books are still all over the place and there are six or so boxes to still unpack,

but for now we're focusing on raising some walls, 'cause suddenly my dogs can jump and now they're escaping and the one came home with a fish yesterday.

A fish.  

Real one, not frozen.

We're not allowed to keep fish in this complex…but there is a small seasonal stream running near our house, although I can't imaging it harbouring fish now.

And we had the most concentrated flow of visitors anyone just moving in can have.

But I managed to do some hooking!

I completed a large floor doily V.2 in netlon, which will also be frogged, as I'm still not happy with that pattern.

Another Little Lacy Scarf for MIL, who like it very much, thank you,  and my aunty has also ordered one.

And the Call the Midwife baby blanket - 13 days after little Baby J came into this world!

I worked very sporadically on this, taking time on the road when a passenger:

Going through the Huisrivierpas, I can't hook, I must look at the most beautiful of mountains

This was en route to my gran, whom we visited for the day.

Taking time for our selfie. She turned 90 this year!

- 0 -

My background with Call the Midwife began when I was asked to fix an old baby blanket, which turned out to be in this pattern*.  It was a really sweet blanket, and I thought it would be nice to make, when, lo and behold, during that same time the pattern came through Blogland, inspired by the tv series "Call the Midwife".

No need to try and figure out the pattern then!

An conveniently so, a friend was expecting a baby, so off I went, with a different colour pattern in mind, but in the end deciding to keep it simple now.

So simple that I edged it with a row of SC.

The pattern is easy enough, although not a fast hook, and makes for a nice baby blanket.  

I used Vinnis Nikkim in Washed Denim, Baby Blue and Natural.

Photo taken on my 3m long stoep table of oldOregon floor planks

I think I might be done with baby items for now :-)

There's some serious winter blanketing to be done here…and I've already begun…while also still working on the summer throw, Projek Bohemia V.2.

And have a look at this lovely pattern, by Hilda Steyn of Yarn in a Barn blog and online shop…available in her Ravelry profile as from today: 

Lover's Lilies - Hilda Steyn

I'm nodding off.  But still there are 25 cupcakes to ice for the 7th birthday tomorrow!

Zzzzzzzz

*Links to HelloHart blog are currently broken, while they might be switching to another platform