The Floral Hook: The Sutherland Starflake.

Wednesday 6 December 2017

The Sutherland Starflake.

Photo credit (click the link )

I've never been to Sutherland so I have no idea what I'm writing about. It's a magical faraway place that apparently has big open skies and the coldest temperatures, mid-winter than any other town in South Africa (clearly whoever wrote THAT has never visited Clarens in The Free State) !

Photo Credit: Amy Marx-Clarens 2016

But this is not the reason I want to visit so badly, rather, it's the fact that Sutherland is home to the largest telescope ( in the world? ). This gigantic telescope is housed at the South African Astronomical Observatory near Sutherland! And we know that big sky country is top of the list if you're a stargazer like me.

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Every Winter I promise myself that this is the Winter of my non-discontent about missing another Winter in Sutherland! In the meantime, I daydream about this little town. I imagine the calm and quiet of the night, dampened by snowfall, the magnificent expanse of a diamond-bedecked canopy, a cosy cottage, fire blazing in the hearth. I imagine the road trip up there ( it's a four-hour drive from Cape Town ) and what hooky I'll take along.

If you have never visited South Africa you might imagine our homes and especially guest accommodation, would be decorated in true Afrikana style, you know Leopard skins on the floor, Buck heads on the wall, especially if it's somewhere in or near a game hunting lodge or Safari trail. However, most South Africans avoid the obvious like the plague!

We have developed our own unique eclectic style, from fashion to food, from interior design to textiles and beyond. An aside: did you know South African, Elon Musk invented Pay Pal? Where I live now, in the Western Cape, which is one of our nine Provinces, we have retained our Dutch and French heritage ( our vineyards are world famous ) and there is a definite Dutch-French Provencal influence, a rustic-shabby-chic-country style that is so incongruent with "Africa " yet incorporates enough elements of Afrikana to make it just a little bit special.

The threads of our Dutch-French ancestry are still very much alive and well in Africa and you can experience it at almost every charmingly delightful Guest House, in any charmingly delightful little village. Moreso, the farther away you travel from the city! And that, my lovelies, is ALSO why I want to visit Sutherland!

Of course, there was a new design in here somewhere! Oh, here it is!

A perfect stash-buster project, only eight short rounds. Works up super quick too!

A versatile little Puff-based Hexie that you can join -as -you -go to make any sized project from a sweet baby blanket to a full-sized bedspread! I used Puffs because they reminded me of snowballs.☃

Omit the last three rounds, make two identical pieces, sew them together ( but leave a little gap ), add a bit of stuffing and a handy loop and you have a frosty-flake hanging ornament for your Christmas Tree! Or a Sutherland Starflake Pincushion! 😃