still here ... but in algeria!

I've been away from this space for a while for various reasons. Life has kept me busy. We picked up and carted ourselves over to North Africa. I was hormonal. I was a stranger in a strange land (or so I thought). I watched my children take it all in and adapt to school here, language and new friends and family too. I was blessed with another little bundle of joy (ma sha Allah) and my parents came over to Algeria for the very first time. It's a very different place. But I think (and hope!) they left knowing that I'm ok here. My mojo had taken a flying leap somewhere and I think it's starting to make an appearance again! Alhamdulillah. I haven't completely found my feet here ... but every little step helps ... and it can be that "strange" if ...

I'm still crocheting for my baby ...

I'm still admiring intricate Algerian sweets (but now I get to help make them before a family wedding)

I'm still having fun with instagram @fruitfulfusion :)

while I discover more of the city I'm in

I'm still noticing different architectural styles ...

I'm still enjoying flowers

I'm still baking

I'm still by the sea 

but I'm not far from lakes

and mountains that have the last bits of snow on them

and I'm enjoying fresh, local produce

and I've found wonderful friends Allahumma baarik 

and I've been busy with something new and exciting!!! 

So STAY TUNED!!!

But in the meantime, do head over and check out THE CREATIVES! "Like" us! Go on, you know want to! And don't forget to follow @almubdiaatdz on instagram! We NEED you to cheer us on! 

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4KCBWDAY2 - A Mascot Project

For day 2, we were asked to design a project that incorporates our house mascot in some form or another.

The first thing that came to mind was something that involved hexagons. The House of Bee ... bees ... beehives ... tessellated hexagons! 

Hexagons of different colours, different stitch patterns and textures, even different materials possibly! Wouldn't that be great for a touchy feel-y blanket for a toddler? And to a appeal to the "bee" crafter, the different stitches and relatively small size of each hexagon would make good use of the yarncrafter's flitting-from-one-project-to-another trait! 

I'm quite excited about it being an almost multi-media project, with buttons and zips and other interactive elements. What do you think? 

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11. someone else's creative space

She loves mixing and matching colours.

She loves "thinking outside the box".

She loves, sketching and drawing and painting.

She loves creating powerpoint presentations of quizzes and games and has made one for me to teach my students too!

She loves creating movies with our phones, with her gifted camcorder and movie editing software.

She loves creating. Full stop.

She's chatty, affectionate, forgiving, witty and maternal. 

She's my special second-born who turned 11 on 11/11.

Allah yahfadhuha. May Allah protect and preserve her.

I must find all of her other stuff!

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pre-vacation finds and ufos (unfunished objects!)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

We're going to Algiers in a couple of days in sha Allah! And we'll be away for about six weeks. Yes, SIX WEEKS!!! Plenty of time to slot in a bit of hook-action? But guess what, Hexalicious Blanket isn't coming with us!


I will miss her but some time apart should do us good! And daughter no.2 is taking her Hex Backpack which will ensure we get some eye-candy of the hexagon variety.


In the meantime we might get on with some other, more easily transportable crochet delights (projects that are gathering dust in a bag somewhere!) and I really must finish this shawl.


Initially, I was unsure about the colour. But as the shawl grew the colour grew on me! The white flecks break the lime up a bit. It's a bit of a chumky one too. I can imagine it keep someone snug and warm on a cold, winter's evening.


While I've been packing for our trip, I've been clearing out, cleaning up and organising. During my efforts, I came across a few things under piles of other things or stuck behind other things at the backs of drawers and cupboards!

Here is one of those things:


Made by Me, aged 8 or 9! It's a bit tatty and discoloured. But it's given me craft ideas for the kids!

I also came across an old sketch book with quite a few unfinished projects.


I might have to take the sketch book along with me too!

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