Run for the Hills

Happy New Year!

2012-01-08T16:27:00.000+10:30

Well, December seems to have come and gone without a post, but as it tends to be for many of us a hectic time of the year, I'll let myself off the hook ;)

Some of the highlights since I last posted include the end of the school year including the end of primary school for Caitlin and our official association with the school, and Christmas day which included all of Ron's family here in the evening (I think the count is currently 32!). We had a quiet new year, and next weekend we are off to the South East (of South Australia) for a family get-together with my side of the family. Luckily the weather looks like it will be kind to us-we had a nasty heat wave last week with temperatures peaking around 42C (108F).

Looking at my craft goals in my last post-I did actually work on a few of the things on the list. I restarted the cross stitch, worked a bit more on the sock, and I did piece the jelly roll quilt top. I got as far as trying to quilt it, but my basting wasn't up to scratch, so that's on the to-do list. The 'Favourite Things' quilt has been put on the back burner-I've pulled out of the quilt-a-long, but I did try needleturn applique and was quite happy with it.

I know that many people make resolutions at the beginning of the year, but I prefer to make goals and plans ;) To help me with my crafting, I'm joining the 2012 Wipocalypse. I'll be working on some older WIPs and I'm sure there'll be new starts as well. I'm still working on balancing stitching, knitting and now quilting but some of that will happen naturally as I'm not going to be knitting on big garments in summer, even with airconditioning!

For the moment (i.e. until I change my mind) the three stitching projects I'll be focussing on will be Fred & Albert (HAED), The Bramble and the Rose (Ink Circles), and 2008 Wiehenburg Quaker Mystery Sampler. I have quite a few other WIPs and I'd like to get back to working on one (or more) of my Chatelaine WIPs and perhaps to add some Christmas ornaments along the way as well.

At the moment for quilting I want to work on my Tis The Season quilt, the hexagon quilt, and to finish the quilting and binding of the jellyroll quilt. I don't plan to do a lot of knitting during the summer, but the socks I'm working on at the moment are my travel project, and when they are done I may start another pair. When the weather cools down, I'll come up with a list I want to work on.

Just to liven up all this writing, and because I need to take some photos of my WIPs, here's a picture from a recent beach visit.

Stash Enhancement and November Goals

2011-11-08T21:28:00.000+10:30

Well, the craft fair is over for another year! I had a great time working there, as well as shopping there ;) I also loved the quilt exhibition-no photos were allowed but I got lots of inspiration from seeing the quilts. Here's a picture of some of my stash enhancement efforts:

I picked up a couple of other things (thimble, hexagon papers, small couple of kits) on some of the other days, but no cross stitch or knitting as I have more than enough stash in those crafts! Some of these purchases I have plans for, and some are waiting for inspiration.

I mentioned in October that I wanted to set myself some goals for November, and even though it's over a week into the month, I'm still going to set some, just for some focus. I have an exam on the 22nd, so that will be a priority, but I will still be making time for some craft.

November Craft Goals

Finish stitcheries for my 'Tis The Season' quilt
(Re)start this cross stitch
Finish knitting second sock of pair for Caitlin
Start my Favourite Things blocks (maybe 2?)
Dig out some finished cross stitch Christmas ornaments & make them up as ornaments
Sew/piece quilt top using jelly roll from craft fair
Sew up one of the small kits/patterns from craft fair

Also a few family updates-Ron is participating in 'Movember'-I'll upload some pictures soon. I think he's going for something like this ;) (this is actually pretty close to what he's started-not sure it'll be quite as bushy....)

After enrolling Caitlin in the same high school as Luke for next year (it was her second choice), she was offered a place yesterday in her first choice. We thought it might cause a bit of a dilemma as it is the school a lot of her friends will attend, but she has stuck with the same school as Luke as she feels it will be better for her academically. We're proud of her mature decision making, and relieved it didn't cause too much anguish!

Craft Fair

2011-11-02T22:12:00.000+10:30

Just popping in for a quick post. It's craft fair time here in Adelaide, and I'm going to be there for all four days working at the Stitchabout stand. I'll only be there until 2pm each day, so I'll get lots of time to wander the rest of the stalls. I've got a list of a few things I'm looking for , and I'm sure there'll be things I 'need' that I haven't discovered yet.

I participated in my first Fat Quarter Swap in October and my partner was Barb. The theme was 'swapper's choice', and I let Barb surprise me-and she picked beautifully! The fat quarters were from Riley Blake, and I also got two skeins of Cosmo Seasons floss-I will be keeping these in mind when I tour the craft fair to find a pattern to use them with. Thanks Barb :) I'll also be able to look for fat quarters for my swap partner for November's swap.

We apologise for the break in transmission.......

2011-10-25T17:26:00.000+10:30

Nearly a month since my last post! Oops..... What's been happening? Frankly, it's a bit of a blur-there was school holidays, and then the assignment from hell. Not sure what else really. I only have one more week of uni, and then it's swot vac before by exam and it's over for the year-yay! I have so many blogs to read-I didn't finish my assignment until Friday night, and then the weekend was filled with family catch-ups (my sister from Mt Gambier came up to stay also) and a school barbeque. Thanks for all the comments also.

I forgot to post any of the details relating to my stitchery last post-it's a design by Bronwyn Hayes from Australian Homespun magazine No. 62 (Vol. 9.7). I stitched it using DMC 115 which is a great variegated thread-it's one of the 'normal' line, and so is the same price as usual DMC cotton. I have no idea about the fabric-something from my stash that I picked up somewhere, sometime.....

I don't have any craft progress to show at the moment, and need to get my craft area and room sorted, because I feel disorganised. I'll be making some goals for November so I can see some progress too. In other craft related news, I'll be working at the craft fair here in Adelaide at the beginning of November-I'll be helping at the Stitchabout stand, which stocks, cross stitch kits, patterns, q-snaps, etc. I helped out there last year for one day, but this year I'll be there for all four days! I also attended a 'sit and stitch' afternoon earlier this month at the Patchwork Apple which was lovely. The ladies were gearing up for an exhibition at Woodside, and I got to see some amazing quilts! I plan to pop back there next week-the 'sit and sew' afternoons are held monthly.

To finish up, we welcomed some new additions to our backyard since the last post-two new chooks 'Rose' and 'Lily' (named by Caitlin). They settled in extremely quickly, and our older chook 'Copper' had adapted to the new youngsters fairly well too. I tried to take a photo, and it's not that clear, as they don't stay still-like most youngsters ;)

What a month!

2011-09-28T18:06:00.000+09:30

It's been a busy time since my last post. Everything we are involved in seemed to happen in late August/September. I completed my 1/2 marathon-not in a fast time, but my main goal was to finish it, which I did! We also had Tournament of Minds for Caitlin, Ron had training for work in Sydney, the 24 hour Pedal Prix race in Murray Bridge (including all the co-ordination/preparation for this), and then last Friday we had the school's biennial Long Walk which replicates the walk pioneer women did each week to sell goods at market. I also had an assignment to hand up somewhere along the line. Last weekend we had our first free weekend for a long time, and were able to get into the ~~jungle~~ garden and tame the weeds and growth that have flourished while we were busy.

I have managed to get some crafting done, and even finished a couple of things. I finished up the frilly scarf, but am undecided whether I will keep this for myself-I think it might be a bit too frilly for me.

I also finished up the Santa stitchery, and stitched it into a wall hanging.

I have been working on a few other things, but I might save those details until another post.

I've joined the Australian Fat Quarter Swap, and since it only involves shopping (from the stash or the shop) it should be great fun, and no stress from having to get things stitched by a particular date.

I do have another assignment due in about a month(ish), and school holidays start next week, but I'm hoping to blog more regularly (really, I promise!) now that other things have settled down somewhat.

Progress

2011-08-21T14:54:00.000+09:30

I thought I'd take the opportunity to write a blog post as it's quiet here at the moment-Ron and Caitlin are at Pedal Prix practice, Luke is in his room, and I have got a chance to sit down and have a coffee while I catch up on reading blogs.

I've made some progress on a few craft projects. My Christmas stitchery got some time.

I started my hexagon quilt-I'm still experimenting to find my preferred thread/needle combination, but I've got one 'flower' done. I'm going to prepare more hexagons so I can pick up this project and stitch a little on it each week. This will be a long-term project I think.

Finally, I started knitting on a scarf. I picked up this yarn from my local yarn store. They don't have a huge stock as it's more of a small town craft/haberdashery/school uniform shop but I try and meet up with a local knitting group there each week. The yarn is Panda Sashay and you can see a picture of the pattern I'm knitting on this page-you just need to scroll down a little and look on the right hand side.

I also added a couple of things to the stash. I picked up a fat quarter from Spotlight, and also nabbed a ball of Patons Jet from an op shop.

I must apologise for the pictures-they're taken with my iPod Touch so they're not the best-I will get the camera out next time.

It's one week until the 1/2 marathon, and I only have a couple of smaller runs to do before then-here's hoping we get lovely weather like today-but maybe with just a little bit of cloud cover in the morning.

Tap, Tap.........

2011-08-17T15:54:00.001+09:30

....is this thing still working? I knew I hadn't blogged for a while, but I really didn't realise how long until I popped back here. I've changed the name (it really needed something snappier than "Leonie's Blog"), template and header, as well as updating things in the side bar.

So, what's news? Well, today is my daughter's 13th birthday-I now have two teenagers, although I think that's been the case for some time-this just makes it official. We are going out to dinner tonight to celebrate, with cake at home afterwards. Due to it being a week (and school) night, we have postponed the viewing of Harry Potter until Saturday.

I also received my race bib for the half marathon here in Adelaide on 28th August-the fact that it comes in a plastic sleeve reinforced the fact that the weather may be less than ideal. Training in the Hills should stand me in good stead-I'm hoping we don't get a day that is too warm! This is my first half marathon, so I'm feeling a little apprehensive, but I've had a good training plan, and only had a mild virus to interrupt my training, so I'm sure I'll be fine (sore, but fine).

I have been crafting here and there-but just at the moment I've got the quilting/sewing bug. Not that I have much experience in this area, but still........... My current project is actually a stitchery block which will become a small wall hanging-I started this some time ago with thoughts of doing the whole quilt, but have since shelved that idea.

I've got some more ideas for future projects, including a larger quilt/wall hanging for Christmas, and several projects from this book.

Actually, there aren't too many projects I don't want to make from this book-I may change a few things here and there, but I love the bags, needlecase, and quilts especially.

Another project that will be in the pipeline is a Hexagon Quilt. It's made using paper piecing, and is hand stitched, so I should enjoy that as it's portable and not so far out of my comfort zone. You can also use scraps, so I can use stash for it. I have a surprisingly large fabric stash for someone who hasn't really quilted or sewn much before ;)

I have also been knitting, but as it's a gift for someone (who might read this blog), this is all you get to see for now-the project tucked in it's travel bag.

Plans

2010-10-27T16:23:00.003+10:30

What? You want to know where I've been? I'm back here because I want to make some crafting goals, and this seems the best place to keep track of them. It's possible I'll catch up with what's happened since I was last here-you never know ;)

Nov Goals
1. Finish Caitlin's vest-this is black and plain and soooo boring, so at the moment I'm working on doing half an hour daily to get some progress without losing my mind. I've finished the back and am 13cm into the front. Thank goodness it doesn't have sleeves!
2. Start & finish both KAL (knitalong) hats in Woolly Wormheads Mystery KAL . I've got stash yarn lined up for this already.
3. Finish Mayrose Beret-I've already started this and I'm hoping to get a fair amount done on this in the last few days of October.
4. Work on Fred & Albert which is a cross stitch design. I have a rotation planned for my stitching, and this is to be my focus piece, which means it will be worked on the most. I'll go into my rotation plans in another post. If I finish up the 10hrs planned for this piece I'll move onto the next piece.
5. Look at my magazines/patterns and see if I want to do any Christmas sewing/crafts.
6. Load more knitting stash onto Ravelry.

I'm planning to make a more concerted effort next year to use things from my stash. I don't plan not buy anything, but I'd like to use more of what I already have. I'll work more on my plans for this in the next couple of months.

This weekend Ron & I head to Melbourne for a weekend away by ourselves. We haven't really made any plans other than going to see Mary Poppins on Saturday night. I'll hopefully be back next week for another exciting installment!

2010-How Nice to Meet You.....

2010-02-09T18:14:00.005+10:30

So-3 months without blogging........ where to begin. I survived the cough/virus that laid me low in October. I did eventually get to have my root canal (in late November from memory), but my endodontist had the sad news that he would be unable to complete it permanently. This has resulted in an appointment with an oral surgeon, and now surgery (with general anaesthetic-thank goodness) to remove the offending tooth, the wisdom tooth that is lurking behind it (it is not currently causing any problems but would when the molar is removed), and also any repairs to my sinus wall that is required as the wisdom tooth is right next to it. This is all in my top jaw which apparently is better-less nerves lurking there apparently. I will be happy to have it sorted once and for all-it's recently started to ache again. All this excitement will be happening on Feb 19th-hopefully I will be up and about fairly quickly afterwards. Enough of the health details-we are all healthy otherwise.

So-let's see what else has happened. There was the usual end of year school/work/other get-togethers. December started with the end of school, continued with Christmas preparations (we had my mum, dad & sister staying with us and my brother & his family also joining us for lunch), and finished with Jamboree preparations and packing. Luke had a great time at Jamboree (away 14 days total) near Sydney. I'll see if I can track down a photo or two. Caitlin got to have a week trip with Ron's parents in Melbourne. It was extremely hot that week, but they still had a great time. Again, I will have to track down some photos. While Caitlin was away, Ron and I had our own trip over to western Victoria. We stayed at Dunkeld which is just south of the Grampians. We had a lovely time and would love to go back in autumn again. The rest of January was taken up with school preparations as both kids went back to school on January 27.

Craft wise......I have finished off two pairs of socks (both were WIPs) and started another pair I think the pattern is called Charade-free pattern on Ravelry-knit with Bendigo Miami which is a wool/cotton/nylon blend-ideal for summer knitting)-they were my travelling knitting on our holiday when it was cool enough to knit.

I've also knit two lace (nothing too complicated) scarves-one for my mum and one for my sister for their birthdays. I need to make myself one before winter. I don't have photos of these-I forgot to take some. Before Christmas I knit up two mini stockings for Caitlin's teacher and student support officer. These were very quick to make-I shall remember them for next Christmas. The pattern is somewhere on Ravelry. They are knit flat and them seamed. I used Heirloom Baby 4 ply.

For the Embroiderers Group Christmas swap I whipped up a Christmas ornament (a Mill Hill kit). I love these as there is minimum finishing required. Self adhesive felt on the back after trimming and you are done.

I've got a few other things on the go, but I'll go into them in another post. I'm going to knit and keep cool.

We Made It

2009-10-31T21:46:00.004+10:30

Well, we made it to the end of October, and hence Blogtoberfest. It does feel like it's been a close run thing. As I've been getting better, slowly, Ron of course manages to pull both quad muscles at softball. He is not a happy chappy to say the least-he's never a good patient as he hates being sick or out of commission. Lying around doing nothing (ie getting better) is not his cup of tea.

My plan for tomorrow is keeping cool (we've been getting some 30+C weather), doing minimal housework, and some reading, knitting and/or stitching.

To finish up, here's a photo of Caitlin dressed up for her Brownies disco-in case you don't realise, she's dressed up as Doctor Who-complete with sonic screwdriver and Tardis.

Just Another Day

2009-10-30T22:29:00.004+10:30

So, only one more day left of Blogtoberfest. Just as well, really, as some days really aren't that interesting to blog about. Like today, for example. I had a better night (hooray), got kids to school, read some, slept some, did some housework, etc, etc. Just watching some Harry Potter on TV now before bed and hopefully another better night's sleep. I have been feeling better-still having coughing fits and some congestion, but definitely less than before.

Here's a picture of the paddock next door-those cows had better get eating-the grass it up to their knees.

Blogtoberfest Day 29-No Inspirational Title Available

2009-10-29T21:58:00.003+10:30

Look, a knitting picture! It's my sock progress, or lack thereof. I've picked it up this evening for a while, but it hasn't seen much action in the last few days. It's knit using Bendigo Harmony (or actually Heirloom Breeze-which is exactly the same thing) which is an 8 ply wool/cotton/Lycra blend.

I had another ordinary night-my throat and muscles are getting pretty sore now at times which isn't helping. I had another quiet day at home (no socialising or crafting for me) and I think I am getting better slowly, but it's very frustrating. Still, I got to have some reading time. I will play tomorrow by ear (or chest?) but I don't have to go out-Caitlin does have a Brownie "disco" but that is later so Ron can take her if need be. I'm hoping to feel well enough to watch Caitlin play softball on Saturday, but again Ron can go solo if necessary.

I am going to knit for a while longer (luckily I am up to the foot where I can knit around and around with no brain power required) before some medicine and another try at some proper sleep. Only two more posts to go in Blogtoberfest!

Now With Added Photos

2009-10-28T22:39:00.005+10:30

Look, a photo! Actually two of them. It's our Hawthorn tree (I think so anyway-I did some searching on the web last time it flowered) and our ornamental cherry tree. Spring is definitely here-it was warm today, and should be 36°C on Sunday.

Otherwise-quite a good night sleep wise. Had some more sleep once I had got the kids off to school and had breakfast, coughed up a lung and had some more medicine. Had a quiet afternoon. I'm finding that towards the end of the day I'm getting the tickle thing in the throat which sucks, but generally I am getting better-slowly.

Tomorrow I would usually spend the morning at the primary school helping with the newsletter, and then going to knitting in the afternoon. I have a feeling that I may have to give both a miss, as they are both social events and involve quite a bit of chatting which seems to irritate my cough...... Luckily I can stay at home and read or knit or stitch.

I'm Over It

2009-10-27T22:46:00.004+10:30

As in, I'm so over this cough/virus thing, not as in, I'm feeling so much better. I had another night of limited sleep, and decided to visit the doctor (starting to feel like a second home, unfortunately). The good news is, I have no infections. The bad news is, I have no infections. All the symptoms are the virus, so I have to wait it out-rest, fluids, coughing. Oh, and as the "productive" part of the cough clears, I may possibly end up with a dry cough that lingers for a few weeks. Let's hope not. The cough seems to be heading towards that now, with that kind of "tickle" that sets off a spasm of coughing. Sorry that this post seems to be all about the cough, but at the moment that's my life-how long since I took some Sudafed (for the congestion-just to add to the fun), how long since I coughed, trying not to talk too much as that seems to make me cough.

I did make it to Caitlin's school performance-it went very well, and she did a great job. Ron took some photos at the matinee, but I don't have the energy to download them now-maybe tomorrow.

Nearly at the end of Blogtoberfest-I'm pretty impressed at my effort. Unfortunately, there's been too much sickness, and not enough crafting lately, but let's hope that changes soon-for all our sakes!

Exciting Life & Times

2009-10-26T22:36:00.004+10:30

Today's wrap up:

got kids (both-yay!) off to school
rang dentist to change root canal appointment to next Wednesday
had nap-still poorly, but improving slowly
revived, lunched, washed clothes
knit on sock-turned heel, picked up gusset stitches, am now well onto foot, but still no pictures-while listening to podcasts/audiobooks
did emergency food run to IGA
swept floors and cooked tea
ate tea and did dishes (Ron to school council meeting)
watched Top Gear and then Ashes to Ashes while unpicking unsuccessful green choices on stitching, and then a little on Christmas Ornament
read blogs & emails
bedtime

Tomorrow's possible agenda

proper food shopping in morning
if feeling poorly/unmotivated this could be done in afternoon
Ron to go to Caitlin's matinee performance of school play at lunchtime-he'll then work from home in pm so he can go to softball practice
will need early dinner as evening performance is at 6.30 until 7.45-Luke and I will go to this one
maybe even take a photo of something, somewhere for the blog

And the cough goes on........

2009-10-25T22:09:00.004+10:30

Even less to report today than yesterday. Had a less than stellar night-lots of coughing and congestion, and not much less sleep (for both me & Ron). After some sleep this morning, I am improved, but not, I fear, enough for the root canal. Caitlin is definitely much better (I can tell because she is back to her usual chatty self). Luke & Ron both seemed to have avoided any illness thus far. I've spent this evening watching Australian Idol (I got sucked in a couple of weeks ago when James Morrison was a guest) and am now watching Rove-my excuse is that I am too sick to change the channel. I'm hoping to feel better tomorrow so I can get caught up a bit around here-Ron has been holding the fort while I've been unwell, but there's a always things that need doing. And of course, it would be nice to feel well enough to knit or stitch....

Cough, cough

2009-10-25T00:18:00.003+10:30

That's as good as the sound effects get on this blog. This post is a bit late, but having naps when unwell puts my body clock out, somewhat. (I figure that it's still Saturday night) Can I just say that the coughing is getting old very quickly. Fingers crossed it clears up soon, otherwise the root canal will have to be delayed. Other news:Caitlin's softball team drew-she did well apparently and got a couple of runs, no-one else is sick and Caitlin seems just about totally well (finally), I finished the heel flap on my sock, and I think (third time lucky) that I have found a green thread that I am happy with for my stitching. That's all for now-here's hoping I get a decent night's sleep.

I Didn't Post Yesterday Because....

2009-10-23T22:11:00.003+10:30

......I was sick. I suppose it was on the cards, but I'm not thrilled. Caitlin didn't go to school Thursday or today. She is on the mend, but they had a four hour hike today, and we figured that would have been too much after being sick since last Saturday. Hopefully, she will be well enough for softball tomorrow morning. I'm still not feeling great-sore throat, ears, head, and a....well.......productive cough. I'm hoping it clears up quickly-mainly, before next Tuesday (aka "D" Day-Dentist Day) as my tooth still hurts and I want to get the root canal over with.

On a brighter note, I started my second sock, and am up to knitting the heel flap. This weekend is hopefully fairly quiet, with only Caitlin's softball (if she's well enough), and Luke has a scout thing on Saturday.

Well, that's it for today-I'll just finish watching the James Bond movie and then head to bed.

News

2009-10-21T22:28:00.005+10:30

Good News:

Caitlin slept through the night
Ron is home
I did the food shopping, and went to library and Spotlight

Not-So-Good News:

Caitlin was still not well enough for school
my tooth has been hurting more/more often
I'm not sure if Caitlin will be well enough to go to school tomorrow
I didn't cast on my new sock
I'm worn out from the "personal counselling" with Caitlin-she can be a real worrier

I'm not making any predictions for tomorrow-they just end up biting me on the you-know-what. Oh, and the photo is one of the roses from Ron-they are opening up nicely.

Back to the Doctor

2009-10-20T23:30:00.004+10:30

Well, it was option 2, with a night of little sleep thrown in. After I went to bed, tried to get to sleep, gave up and took dome Panadol, went back to bed and got an hour's sleep.........Caitlin woke me at around 1am with very nasty ear pain. Some Panadol and time later with no improvement, and a very upset girl, I rang the 24hr medical helpline to check what I should be doing. Giving her some ibuprofen and a hot pack seemed to help enough that she (& I) could get to sleep-after 3am. I got up to make sure Luke was up and moving before heading back to bed while Caitlin was still sleeping. Fast forward to a doctors appointment at 3pm, and we have ear infections, so antibiotics are picked up. We will see how she is in the morning before deciding on school or not. Let's hope for a better night tonight.

Ron is hopefully home by 3pm tomorrow-I still have shopping, library and Spotlight on my to-do list.

On other news-I finished a sock. Given that it is an 8 ply, ankle sock that needed only the toe shaping & grafting to do, this may actually not be such a huge achievement, but it's still done. Casting on second sock tomorrow. I might even take a picture of the finished sock. The action never ends around here.......

The Post Without The Mini-Series

2009-10-19T23:17:00.005+10:30

A bit late with this post-I've just been watching "The 39 Steps" on ABC IView (I love IView-especially since we get it unmetered with our ISP). A most enjoyable adventure movie with nice sets and an even nicer leading man.

Since it's a bit late, I won't write a long post-nothing too eventful happened today, but then I was going to reminisce about Australian historical TV shows and mini-series but I'll leave that for another day. Bet you can't wait. So-today:

Caitlin stayed home-now the virus has moved to her ears and she's developed a cough-I'm hoping for improvement after tonight's sleep.
Ron had a rough day with a gastro attack, but now seems on the mend. He won't be home until Wednesday afternoon.
It was sunny and warm.
I had a phone call from a friend from Melbourne (we've been friends for....31 years) and we are hopefully catching up for coffee here in Adelaide in a couple of weeks time.

Tomorrow-depending on Caitlin, possibly grocery shopping and the library (newest Terry Pratchett book is on hold)-was going to pop into Spotlight for some knitting yarn (cotton) on sale but the sale doesn't start until Wednesday. Or, it could be a doctors visit, and a visit to the local IGA for emergency items. I'm hoping for the first list of options, for all our sakes. Speaking of our local IGA (it is fairly new-we had no supermarket), the picture above is a coffee in my new favourite mug, picked up there-for less than $3.

Sunny Sunday

2009-10-18T18:28:00.006+10:30

Ah, the sunshine! And 25°C tomorrow (although we do get 5°C overnight). The chooks (Copper and Ginger) both enjoyed the warmer, drier weather with a nice dirt bath.

I've got a picture of my new start, "Tend Your Garden' by Prairie Schooler. I was not really happy with the lack of contrast between the two greens. The second picture shows more stitching but with a lighter green. I think it looks better.

I am hoping that tonight I can finish up a sock, and start another, so that I have some "pick up, put down" knitting.

I'm not sure if Caitlin will be going to school tomorrow-we will see how she progresses. Ron has pretty much finished the setting up he needs to do, but still has to train someone, and hasn't yet sorted any new flights.

Off to sort out dinner-beef casserole from slow cooker, served with mashed potatoes-yum!

50 Years

2009-10-17T23:16:00.004+10:30

This evening we had a BBQ tea at my in-laws house to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Their children had been prepared to organise a bigger event back in the local hall of the area where they had lived most of their married life with friends and family, but the in-laws requested something much smaller, for their immediate family only. As there are five children, and many grand children, this is still not that "small". Only Ron and three of the grandchildren couldn't make it. It was the usual relaxed and jovial evening, culminating in a lovely black forest cake being cut by the happy couple, and a speech by Dad which, as usual, contained a "story" (Dad has a never ending supply of stories). This one told of a neighbour who had a theory that you couldn't win an argument with your wife, and apparently once tried and ended up with the full milking bucket tipped over his head. Here's a couple of photos from the evening :the cake, and the speech.

I think I need to stop making plans. Caitlin woke me last night at 2am to say that her throat was very sore. I put her back to bed with some Panadol, and the next morning contacted her coach to say she was ill, and managed to actually get a doctors appointment on a Saturday morning. I figured that it was a viral thing, but if I didn't take her to the doctor, it would end up being tonsillitis or something and then I would have great trouble to find a doctor on a Sunday. I was right (about it being viral) and after she put herself to bed in the afternoon and slept for several hours, she felt somewhat better. I think she will be better by Monday.

Poor Ron was disappointed at missing the celebrations. The reason he is over in Perth is to help with an office move, and the actual move happens at the weekend to inconvenience the least number of people. He sent me a text a few hours ago saying that things weren't going well and that it was going to be a long night. He hopes that he can finish up sometime on Monday and maybe catch a flight later that day.

We do not have any plans to go anywhere tomorrow, so we will have a quiet day, and maybe we will even get some sunshine. I am not going to be holding my breath, though.

Another Plan

2009-10-16T22:10:00.005+10:30

My stitching plan seems to be working fairly well, although I didn't get as much done during the school holidays. I made a new start yesterday-not the one with the fabric problems. I'll take a photo when I've got a bit more progress. I'm currently stitching with two shades of green, and I'm not sure that there's enough contrast. I'll do a bit more before I decide if it's OK or not.

The other plan I am referring to would be, of course, a plan for my knitting. Now this is not as detailed a plan. I tend to have several projects on the needles, as some need more concentration, and some are better for travel or times when concentration isn't possible. Now that summer is (allegedly) here or arriving soon, the heat is another thing to take into account. Items like blankets and woolly jumpers and cardigans are no fun to knit in the heat, even in front of the air conditioner. An ideal knitting project for the heat is socks. They can be as simple or complicated as you like. I've decided to participate in the Southern Summer of Socks. I have two pairs of socks already on the needles that I want to finish (both have practically one sock finished) and then I would like to knit another two pairs. So that's the plan-I will also work on other WIPs that aren't socks.

Further news on the Dalek washcloth-Caitlin received a thank you note from her friend at Brownies tonight, as well as a photo of her with the cloth. Her mum told me she just loves it-she's a 7yo Dalek fan!

I think a hot chocolate is in order before I head to bed in preparation for a fresh morning watching the summer sport of softball (with my coat, scarf & fingerless mitts).

A comment on my Blogtoberfest effore so far: I haven't missed a day (except for the scheduled post that didn't work, and that was totally not my fault). So far, so good.

Look What I Got

2009-10-15T16:38:00.003+10:30

This is what got delivered to knitting group this afternoon for me. Long-stemmed roses from Ron-no "special" day today-just that he misses me-aw! The added bonus is that he supplied some photo fodder for the blog. They are safely in water now.

It's official-I am done with winter. This cold, grey, dreary, rainy weather needs to stop. We need spring. We might get some nice weather next week, but I'm thinking that the coat, scarf & mitts will be needed for the first softball game on Saturday.

I gathered some threads up for a couple of new projects I want to start soon. Maybe even tonight. We'll see-I should also put a thread or two into the Christmas ornament I've got going.

Tomorrow will be an "at home" day excepting for ferrying kids to and from Brownies & Scouts. I also need to go shopping for food for Ron's parents 50th wedding anniversary BBQ on Saturday. Let's hope the weather is better than today......

The Boring Post

2009-10-14T22:29:00.004+10:30

I have no pictures. I have no craft progress. I have little news.

It rained (a lot) last night, and one of our gutters got blocked, so I got Luke to climb the ladder and clear it (there's got to be some side benefits to being the grown-up).

I went to the dentist. I have an appointment for Tuesday week for the first stage of the root canal. I could have had an earlier appointment, but only if I sacrificed my knitting group (i.e. went on a Thursday), which was not on. The dentist was very nice, and explained things well.

Caitlin went to her birthday party, but as the birthday girl didn't open her presents at the party, we are unsure of the reception of the Dalek washcloth.

I have hit a snag with my stitching. One of my new starts has been delayed due to the fact that piece of fabric I thought would fit the design is, in fact, too small. I don't have anything else in my stash to suit (which is hard to believe) and since browsing online, I am more confused than ever. Tomorrow will be busy (morning at school and afternoon at knitting) so I won't get to any stitching until tomorrow evening.

I have done some investigation into the matter of scheduling posts, and have found that it is not me that is the problem, but Blogger. It is a "known issue" and may be fixed eventually.

So, a quite dull post and well done if you made it to the end. I am thinking that heading to bed with a book might me a good idea........

When is a Root Canal......

2009-10-13T21:51:00.000+10:30

........not a root canal? When it's a root canal consultation. That's what I've got tomorrow, so in one way it's good news, as I have to get Caitlin to and from a birthday party after school tomorrow, and Ron is in Perth. In another way it's bad news, because it will be longer until I get the tooth fixed.

It has been very windy and rainy here-we've had over an inch here in the last 24 hours with more to come. It's also been quite cool (max 13°C) so when it does heat up it will be a shock to the system. {also-do you see the degree symbol there? Luke taught me how to do that the other day-you can teach an old dog new tricks!}

The Dalek washcloth is finished. I hadn't sewn in the ends when I took the picture, but there was some rare sunshine, so I snapped a photo while I could.

I have to say that I am not terribly fond of bobbles. I think they are the equivalent of french knots in embroidery-they are not as neat and uniform as I would like.

I also finished my 5 hrs (actually I have no idea how long I actually stitched-it was very stoppy/starty over quite a while) on my Mystery Quaker Sampler. I didn't take a "before" picture, but I did the motif on the right hand side.

Before I get to choose my next project to work on, I have to do some mending. Because of the wintry weather, it's too cold for Caitlin to wear her shorts, and since she has a hole in her winter trousers, I get to patch them up. There's no point buying new ones as who knows how much taller she'll be in 6 months time-that's if I could actually find any in the shops..........(because we all know that the warmer months start in July).

Day 12-Blogtoberfest

2009-10-12T22:30:00.002+10:30

Well, reality went fairly well today. Ron made it to Perth safe and sound, kids made it to and from school safe and sound, and I made it to the dentist and had my filling. I popped into the craft shop afterwards and had a good browse. I also picked up a bit of stitching fabric, some threads, and a hank (skein?) of yarn. I will have to take a picture tomorrow when there's better light.

I also finished the Dalek washcloth, and a photo of that will have to wait for tomorrow also-once I've sewn in the ends. I got very little craft done at the weekend, so it was good to get this finished several days before it was needed.

We had great weather at the weekend-we went for walks at Victor Harbor on the Saturday, and found some rock pools at Lady Bay on Sunday. Our unit at Normanville was just over the sand dunes to the beach which was nice for a stroll.

That's just a few of the shots we took over the weekend. Sad to say, but in the family shot I am not standing in a hole-I think Ron might be as he is still taller than Luke.

I am off to hit the sack shortly-tomorrow is fairly quiet-I shouldn't have to go further than down to the main street.

We're Back

2009-10-11T22:38:00.004+10:30

Just a quick post-we're back, had lovely weather and a great time. Tomorrow is a severe reality check with Ron heading to Perth for 9 days for work, the kids heading back to school, and me heading to the dentist. My scheduled post didn't seem to work-I will need to investigate what happened (or didn't) there. More details (hopefully) tomorrow, but for now, a picture from the weekend.

Ta Da!

2009-10-09T16:51:00.002+10:30

Hopefully this post will magically appear on the 10th of October with me being nowhere near a computer. Meanwhile we will be somewhere else, enjoying some quality family time (or not!). This weekend is somewhat of a sacrifice for Ron as it is Bathurst and one of his favourite times of the year. I have the camera, so there should be lots of reminiscing to be done when we arrive home. For now, here's a random shot taken quite a few years ago.

See you tomorrow.

Get, Ready, Set,..............

2009-10-09T16:46:00.002+10:30

Well, we are pretty much packed. Good grief-it's a pain packing for a couple of days-you take as much as you do for a couple of weeks. It's been added to that we have to take our own linen & towels. Here's the most important luggage:

This contains all the crafting, books, and a couple of DVDs. Hopefully, another post will appear tomorrow-nothing extensive, but it will be interesting to see if it works. See you i another couple of days.

What To Pack?

2009-10-08T22:55:00.004+10:30

Today-food shopping, knitting at knitting group, thinking about projects I can take on weekend away. Also, we had power, which was much appreciated. I have also done some investigation, and found that I will be able to schedule a post for Saturday. I just have to click on the link that says "Post Options" and it will be easy as falling off a log ( as they say-I will take their word for it).

So, packing tomorrow. I have food for dinner and breakfast. I have snacks. I will (and the kids will do their own) pack some clothes & bedding. Then there is the all important craft packing. Several years ago I discovered that I could knit when I was a passenger in a car. I cannot read or stitch without getting headaches or carsick. I therefore need a fairly simple knitting project for the car travelling-Ron will do most of the driving. Something a little more complicated can be taken for night time, as well as stitching if the mood takes me. I might have to pack my desk lamp-lighting can often be unsuitable for craftwork. I have made a good start on the Dalek wash cloth, and that will be my first choice for the car also. I'm thinking I might pack another washcloth/dishcloth pattern and yarn as a back up, as well as my WIP Hey Teach which I have no pictures of, but am mostly finished the back. Stitching-wise I'm not sure yet, but maybe a couple of Christmas ornaments? I will see what takes my fancy tomorrow. And of course I'll throw in a crossword book, and a novel or two...........

No pictures today, but I'll have to come up with some inspiration tomorrow as I'll have to write two posts.

Best Laid Plans Part 2

2009-10-07T22:10:00.004+10:30

So......those plans I made yesterday?
Let me go through today's happenings in order. I got up at around 3am to take some Panadol (this is good news as far as I can tell-sore tooth=nerves still alive=better chance for root canal to work). Woke again around 6.30am when Caitlin came in to tell us that the power was off. This was lucky for Ron as this is around the time he gets up for work. Phone call to ETSA (electricity company) that power should be restored around 8am. At around 9.30am we still have no power and recorded message now says that power should be back my 4.30pm....... Take Caitlin to softball practice-do not go food shopping as we have no power. Go home and boil kettle in caravan (gas stove) for coffee-shops down main street (we are in a busy tourist town) are mostly closed, including shop that makes good coffee. Yet another recorded message tells us that we have an underground fault in our area, and the estimated time for power is now 2.15pm. Lunch is sandwiches, and hooray for the caravan stove for my coffee. We receive a phone call from ETSA at around 1pm to say that they are still trying to find where the fault is exactly underground and that generators will start between 1.30-2pm to give us power. At 2.45pm we are back! A quick check of the freezer brings relief that I do not have to have a frantic cook up of all the meat in the freezer (the only thing that seemed affected was a loaf of bread....). Luckily this has happened on a coldish (max 15C) spring day and not in summer. Fast forward through washing, coffee made inside the house, some internet (including booking accommodation for the weekend away), plugging the cordless phone back in, making dinner, dishes, watching Spicks and Specs to around 9pm when..........the power went out. We figured that they had maybe found the fault and had to turn off the generators to "plug" the proper power back in (see my superior understanding of how this all works). My plan to light lots of candles to make the power come back on more quickly (like how if you get something out to read when waiting for the bus it makes the bus turn up earlier) did not actually work for half an hour or so. The photo above is me with my candle, knitting the dalek washcloth.
Looking at my plans for today, I did get most things done except for that food shopping. I did pick up a few more things from the local supermarket but I'll grab some more things on the way back from knitting & library tomorrow afternoon.

I have days where I don't go online, but not being able to go online when you want to feels totally different and really shows you how much it is the first place we go to for information & contact with the world outside your direct neighbourhood.

We have booked a unit/villa (I am not sure of the difference and when booking accommodation was suitably confused) down on the Fleurieu Peninsula for Friday and Saturday nights, so I should only miss blogging on Saturday. We will go for a bush walk, maybe see a whale (or have they left already?), and all manner of things. Now that I have made the booking, the next big question will be............what stitching & knitting will I take? Tune in tomorrow to see the answer!

Best Laid Plans

2009-10-06T22:10:00.004+10:30

That's what this picture represents-my best laid plans that didn't happen (yet). My plans today were

food shopping mostly not done-this will get done tomorrow when Caitlin has softball practice
washing done for today
knitting dalek washcloth the picture above shows how far I've got-sunshine in the garden=weeding and such, and then visitors arrived-hopefully I can make a start shortly

Tomorrow, therefore, will include:

Caitlin to softball practice in morning
food shopping-see above
more weeding/gardening if weather permits
some knitting/stitching
booking somewhere to stay for Fri/Sat night

as well as all the usual.

Round (and round) the garden

2009-10-05T21:09:00.006+10:30

I did no actual gardening today, but decided to take the camera out around the garden while it is still green here and take a few snaps. It's been so wet here that our local reservoir is full and they've been letting excess water back into a river (sadly not the Murray). I am sure that when we get some finer/warmer weather everything will dry off, and the wetness and greenness will seem a distant memory.

There's a selection of flowers, including my last dutch iris, my vegie seedlings (Roma tomato, basil, chives) and Copper (a very curious chook who wanted to know what I was doing and did it involve anything edible).

Tomorrow-food shopping, washing (scout camp went well, but as with any camp=washing), knitting a dalek washcloth (Caitlin has a friend from Brownie's that is a big Dr Who fan as well, so this will be part of the gift-pretty sure it will be unique).

Cindy-I wanted to leave a comment on your blog, but it wouldn't accept it. Any ideas what I was doing wrong? I just wanted to say that perhaps rolling hills would look nice on the cardigan( or maybe a fox stalking....or maybe that would traumatise the poor child).

Day 4

2009-10-04T23:25:00.009+10:30

So it's day 4 and I've run out of catchy post titles already. Luckily with Blogtoberfest I can use the day number when inspiration fails me.
Sunday summary:

Daylight saving started-most clocks changed-still need to change mobile phone time
washing done
some weeding done
grand prix watched
craft photos taken

All in all, a quiet day, but that's how I like my Sundays. The photos are not great-it was either too dark inside, or too glarey outside. First is my progress on The Drawn Thread's "Sampler Gameboard"-stitched with DMC on some natural linen of some kind. This is a long time WIP so most details are sketchy in my mind........

I even took some photos of one of my knitting projects. The colours are not at all accurate-it's a much darker green/purple/blue combination (called Vineyard). It's the "Forest Canopy Shawl" in a hand dyed 8ply wool that I picked up at the local Spinners & Weavers Market Day earlier this year.

Tomorrow is a public holiday here, so Ron has a day off work, and we have nothing particular planned except collecting Luke from his camp.

Shopping Score

2009-10-03T18:55:00.004+09:30

We survived shopping. I am not one who looks forward to shopping for the sake of it. I do not say "Let's go shopping!" as a rule, but we needed things. As is usually the way, we found some of what we were looking for, didn't find some of what we were looking for, and even found something we weren't looking for.

The one thing I "found" but didn't even know it existed, is this:

It's a (sideways-thanks to Blogger) ticket to a talk & book signing by one of my favourite authors, Diana Gabaldon, at my local library (sorry that the picture is so dark, but it's laminated, and it's very dark & gloomy here today). It's the only one she's doing in the state-I don't really know why it's going to held there rather than anywhere else, but I'm not complaining. I'm going to be doing some rereading of her books (although I have the first three on audio book so I can craft at the same time) so I will be up-to-date when I get the new book.

Tomorrow is a free day, and hopefully better weather so I can spend some time in the garden, before stitching or knitting whilst watching the Japanese Formula 1 Race. Maybe I'll take some craft photos as well-maybe......

The Whole Tooth

2009-10-02T21:37:00.004+09:30

Well, it's been a busy day, but Luke is at scout camp, and I visited the dentist. You need to use your imagination to feel how exhausting arriving at that state can be, but I feel worn out now. The prognosis for my tooth was that a deep filling I had about 5-6 years ago (and I did not know that it was so big or deep) has finally caused the infection (well I think it caused it-I have literature to read-the dentist-thought it was a bad enough experience? -it now comes with homework) or whatever (see above comment for my lack of ability to explain what the dentist told me) which, in a nutshell, means that I can (a) have a root canal, (b) have the tooth extracted or (c) ignore the discomfort until an abcess forms and I am in agony and the nerves die and then have the tooth removed. I am going with option (a) so an appointment with a specialist has been made (for after the school holidays). If anyone has any horror stories regarding root canals, please keep them to yourself. If it's going to be awful, well, it's going to be awful, and I don't need 1 1/2 weeks of worry to add to it. I am happy to be ignorant in this instance. I also need a filling, and that delight will also be after the school holidays-two days before the specialist appointment. Luckily both places have craft shops nearby to ~~bribe~~ distract me after the event. And who knew that there were root canal specialists? (obviously not me) Is there so much variation in root canals that these specialists find it fascinating? I have to say that drilling out root canals day after day would not make me bound out of bed each day-but perhaps I'll change my mind when we get the bill...........

Again, I have no photos of my exciting day (and for that you should thank me!), but trawling through my pictures, I found one that I haven't posted. It's Caitlin's softball team (who won last season). Training has started for the new season, and I think that there's only three or four players from last season in the team (it's under 12s-mixed).

Ron may be playing this year as well-quite a few of the dads of last season's team have joined together with some younger lads who have outgrown the U16's to make up a team. They have yet to find out if there will be a second division for them to play in, or whether they will join the A grade. It should be very interesting and lots of fun.

I am going to do a bit more surfing of the web (does anyone say that anymore?) and then get to bed because we have a day of shopping tomorrow-I feel exhausted just thinking about it.

Blogtoberfest

2009-10-01T23:18:00.005+09:30

I have signed up for "Blogtoberfest" - there's a link in the sidebar, but basically it's a commitment to post at least once a day for every day of the month of October. Can I do it? Who knows? The worst that will happen is that I don't. We may be going away for a couple of days at the end of the school holidays, and although I've read blogs where the blogger writes a blog in advance and somehow sets a timer to release the post at a set time, I'm not sure I have the capability with this blog.

We've nearly finished the first week of holidays, and Luke is off tomorrow for a 3 day scout camp in preparation for the Jamboree in January. I took Caitlin & a couple of her friends to the movies on Monday-it was her belated birthday outing. Because her birthday is in the middle of term, there are no new kids movies released, as the new releases are kept for the school holidays. We went to see "Up" which was lovely. I do enjoy the kids movies that have something for the adults too. Saturday we are heading to the "city" to hit the shops. There is much shopping we need to get done-shoes, clothes, knitting, softball mitt, jewellery,......... Poor Luke will miss out-unfortunately for Ron, he will not.

Craft-wise I haven't really stitched or knitted much since the holidays have started-what routine I had seems to have gone out the window. I need to take some pictures of the progress I have made, but because I have nothing to show, and it's night time and therefore a bad time to be taking pictures, I will show a picture of a project I am planning on starting soon. It is quite large (as usual with most of my stitching projects)-"Marriage of the Minds" by The Drawn Thread. The quote comes from a Shakespeare sonnet (and it has featured somewhere in a book I have read sometime in the last year-but I cannot work out which one-I read quite a lot.....).

Speaking of reading, I love my libraries (I belong to two). Caitlin & I have visited both this week, and we have quite a large & varied selection of books, DVDs and audio books now. I have also quite a few books on my hold list, including Sock Innovation or here for a non-Ravelry link.

I had better head to bed-tomorrow's exciting schedule includes: getting a 13yo boy to pack for camp, going to dentist for sore tooth examination (me), and writing another riveting post for the blog-the fun never ends ;)

Some progress at last......

2009-09-20T20:39:00.009+09:30

Two posts in a week-who would have thought? I must point out that the picture featured in the last post was the first project in my rotation. It's the Patchwork Sampler by Jan Houtman stitched on 36ct linen with 1 strand of DMC over 2 threads. Here's a picture of the progress after I've finished 5(ish) hours working on it.

I've also included the photo that I took before I started stitching, as I've worked out that the progress is much easier to see that way. I did enjoy working on it, and I also worked out that I want to rechart part of it to remove the "title" and replace that with continuations of the motifs. I don't think that this would be ideal for a focus piece.
Next up was Celtic Autumn which is being stitched on 28ct Jobelan Stitches & Spice "Tundra". This one might be a candidate for a focus piece-I will see how I feel when I've gone through the list. Here's the before & after pics.

This week I also want to get some work done on a couple of Christmas ornament WIPs as well as some knitting.

We have one more week of Term 3 left, and then it's 2 weeks of holidays. In other news, our next door neighbours have put their property up for sale. It's a lovely property with a pool and potential for subdivision, so it has a substantial price tag. They had an "open house" this afternoon and it was interesting to see the cars that prospective buyers drove-Porsche, Mercedes, Audi, BMW......... We will have to wait and see if any of them move in next door.

Hopefully I will be back soon with more progress, and maybe even some knitting pictures.

I have a cunning plan...

2009-09-14T13:04:00.005+09:30

Well, I'm working on one, anyhow. The rate I'm posting this year seems to be working out at one per season. Hopefully this become more, but this is not what I am referring to when I mention the plan. It's a stitching rotation. Before I elaborate, I will quickly update family news, so that you can read and move on, if you have no interest in my stitching & knitting.

We survived winter quite well-it was not that cold and quite wet- which was good. Kids continue to grow and do quite well at school. We had our house re roofed and insulated (note-not reinsulated, because we found when we got the bathroom renovated that we had NO insulation whatsoever-just the tin attached to the roof beams!!) which has made a huge improvement in the temperature in the house as well as markedly improving the look of the house. Last month we had the sad news that my Uncle Albie passed away. After a bit of juggling, I hitched a ride with my brother down to the SE and then over to Western Victoria for the funeral. It was a bit surreal at times as it ended up part of the trip with Mum, Dad, me and my brother & sister-just like old times?! It was also a bit strange catching up with other relatives that I haven't seen for 20-25 years. The summer holidays (gasp-so soon?) are starting to come to mind as we will be having Christmas lunch with my family here this year (and also those who don't live in Adelaide will stay with us). Early January Luke will be heading off to Jamboree for 2 weeks, and Ron's parent will take Caitlin on a mini holiday for 1 week of that time. This means that I will be child-free for 1 week of the school summer holidays. I'm not sure what we will do, but Ron & I plan to have a mini trip of our own.

Enough of the chit-chat, now to the stitching. I have recently felt my stitching mojo return-I don't think it has been fully back since I've recovered from my tendonitis in my elbow. Along with this urge to stitch, I have felt the need to get a rotation started. I have used one in the past, with some success, and want to get stuck into some old WIPs as well as a few new projects. I've rummaged amongst the WIPs and charts, and come up with a starting list. For my first run through of the list I will work on each project once, just to see how I feel with each project. I may possibly decide on a focus project (one that is worked on more than once each time through the list) or not-I will decide after the first run through. I may even ditch some projects (not really likely as I looked at all the WIPs and still like them). Because a lot of the projects (all right most of them) are on the large size, and none are close to being finished, I'm introducing a few smaller/simpler projects so that I will get some finishes in the near future. I've still got some Christmas ornaments to get done (have done 2 and have 2 that are partly done) because I will have exchanges later this year, as well as teacher presents, and I want to send off at least one to the Vic. bushfire families. I'm not sure how I will work this into the rotation-maybe one night a week until I'm caught up? For the rotation, I'm going to give the "min 5hrs/max 10 hrs" timing thing a go, and tweak it if need be. My plan is that I will take a picture before I start stitching on a piece, and then post again with the progress.
I am still knitting, and will continue to do so as it is handy when less concentration is needed, but I do find that I knit less in summer. Our local knitting group is still going and a few new people are attending, so at the very least I will knit there each week.
I think I will stop there, before this post just stretches on & on........ Off to stitch for a while is it quiet.

Winter Welcome

2009-06-09T16:48:00.005+09:30

I'm not sure if I'm welcoming Winter, or welcoming anybody who might read this in Winter. I quite enjoy Winter- the sound of the rain on the roof (we've had rain!!), the wood fire, the ability to do things without suffering heat-stroke....... One thing I don't enjoy, and that I tend to forget about when I am longing for cooler times in the heat of Summer, is the gloomy grey skies we get here in the Hills. Of course this is usually a prerequisite for rain (which is good), but gloom does not always equal rain.

Now I encounter the dilemma of the blog writer who returns after (let me go check) 3.5 months-do we try to update what has happened in the time elapsed, or do we pretend there was no break and just take up where we are...

Let's see-how about I do a quick summary of things that stand out at the moment

kids are surviving school quite well
both keep growing at an alarming rate-I will be the shortest in the family again sooner rather than later
Caitlin's softball team squeaked into the Grand Final, and then won-she plans to play next season, and the "dads"(including Ron) are planning to make up a Men's B Grade team-should be interesting
Luke broke his arm playing tennis at school about a week before the school holidays
this was not ideal as we went to Lake Bonney at Easter, and a lot of the activities he likes to do involve water-we all had a good time nonetheless
Ron has been hither and thither for work-usually short trips, and just within Australia
we got our bathroom renovated (I actually forgot about this and had to go back and add it)-more details and pics another post

No doubt there has been other happenings, but nothing that comes to mind right now.

I finished the model stitching, and am currently finishing up some more, now that I've got more thread that I needed. Unfortunately with model stitching there are no pictures, but there is stitching happening. I did have a finish-a UFO that was started quite a few years ago-called "Random Thoughts" by The Drawn Thread. Here's a picture.

There has also been knitting-once the cold weather kicks in, the urge to knit warm, woolly things is strong. I had an urge to knit gifts for Mothers Day-a neck warmer for my mum, and fingerless mitts for my mum-in-law. Both were finished on time (although Aust. Post let me down) and appreciated. I'm also working on a jumper for me (back & front done-now on sleeves), a shawl and a baby cardigan (for friends). I need to take some pictures (both for here and Ravelry).

Well, back to winter-need to put some more wood on the fire, check the soup in the slow cooker, and maybe squeeze in a few rows of knitting before I need to get dinner ready.

February Dragon*

2009-02-24T21:15:00.004+10:30

It's been about four weeks since I last blogged, and the main reason it's taken so long has been the bushfires in Victoria. Our worst natural disaster, the current death toll is 210 people, and at least 7000 are homeless. Fires are still burning in Victoria weeks later. There are stories of great tragedy and great heroism as well as wonderful generosity which outweigh the stories that might make you despair of the human race. Being too far away to help out in a physical way, we've donated (over $100 million has been raised so far). Just about every school, business and group seem to be raising funds-I've never seen anything like it. There are also various initiatives in the craft/blog world to make handmade things for survivors as well as restash our crafting friends in Victoria. At the same time as the bushfires, around 60% of Queensland was under water. What a country we live in. We've had similar conditions to those in Victoria, but have been lucky so far to avoid any major fires. We've still had no rain (the odd shower) since the middle of December, so it's extremely dry here.

On to other things (briefly)-I've spent the last 4 weeks stitching on the model. It's mostly done-the magazine has it for photography for the next issue (it's being released in parts), and then it will be back to me for a few more days stitching. I'm planning on using the next few days to go through my WIPs (both stitching and knitting) and work out which ones I want to be working on in the near future. Maybe I'll even take some pictures.

To finish, here's a picture of our Easter Lily. This was planted in a garden bed that is basically dirt-no other plants (they had been moved) and consequently hasn't been watered (I think we forgot that there was anything else planted there). A couple of days ago I noticed a shoot, and it's now flowered. Ideal plant for there conditions, really.

* February Dragon is a novel by Sth Australian author Colin Thiele about a bushfire (aka the February Dragon)

Hot

2009-01-31T16:32:00.005+10:30

That says it all, really. The South Eastern area of Australia has been extremely hot (5 consecutive days 40C (104F) and above, with the hottest here in Adelaide at 45C (113F) ). We have been lucky here in that we've suffered no power loss (there's been power off in various areas) and so far South Australia hasn't had any majow bushfires. It's not looking good in Victoria with a big bushfire east of Melbourne. It certainly wasn't the ideal weather for the first week back at school. Both kids seem to have settled in fairly well-only 10 weeks to go until Easter and the next school holidays.

We have a new addition to our chookyard. She's been named "Copper" and has coped surprisingly well, considering the heat and new surroundings. The older chook was quite indignant that there was a stranger in her yard, but has adapted. Here's a shot of her on her first foray out of their yard, trying to keep cool on the back veranda.

I've been stitching on the model sampler this week, but took a break to start Dark Cherry which is a HAED QS which is one design that quite a few stitchers are trying to finish by the end of the year. We are getting pages every second month, and there is a monthly SAL. I'm a late starter. and won't post a picture yet as I've only done a 100 stitches or so, but it's nice to have a new start.
I'll also be stitching a Christmas Ornament next month-I will wait to see the poll results before making a decision on which one.

Speaking of new projects, here's a picture of my new knitting project. One of Ron's workmate's wife is due to have a baby in the middle of next month, so I'm knitting the cardigan (they know it's a girl) but since I've only cast on, there's no picture of that either.

Before I go, I promised on my craft stash that I wouldn't post Luke's "first day at high school photo", but I didn't promise not to post any other photos. This photo was taken on Australia Day at a local breakfast. I forgot to mention last post that he is now officially taller than me (I'm 5'4") and he takes mens size 10 shoe (Ron takes 8s).

RIP Pecker

2009-01-24T16:08:00.007+10:30

.....Pecker being one of our chooks, if you didn't know her. She was put to sleep by the vet after suffering from a virus and complications. She was one of our family for over 4 years, and will be sadly missed (I know she was only a chook but she was a nice chook!). A new addition to keep the remaining chook, Ginger, company is most likely to arrive tomorrow-hopefully the place she will come from will have some tips about integrating a new chook with an old one. The picture provided was one of the few I could find, and was taken and modified by Luke years and years ago for a school project.

Going back a couple of weeks, I celebrated my 40th birthday with a bbq with family. Unfortunately, both my Mum and my brother and his family were unable to attend due to illness, but we still had a lovely day. Here's one of the few photos from the day (artistically shot by my daughter).

I've been getting some crafting done also (tennis and cricket season is ideal for this) and here's some finishes. The advent calendar was finished in 2008 (not the best photo, but I was wanting to pack away Chistmas decorations). The other two were ornaments I started in 2008 but finished this year.

This is "Sing Noel" by Primrose Needleworks from The Gift of Stitching Ornament Issue 2008. I changed the colours somewhat to make them less pastel.

This ornament is called "Christmas Delights" by Cats Whiskers Design Studio and is from The Gift of Stitching Ornament Issue 2007. I used a Needle Neccessities green (#139).
There should be many more ornaments here during the year as I will be trying to stitch an ornament a month-starting next month, so I'm working on finishing up a few I started last year. I will also have a finishing spree, where I plan to actually make these into something.
I've also re-entered into the model stitching world, now that I feel my arm can withstand stitching to a deadline. I'm currently stitching on a mystery sampler for The Gift of Stitching magazine, so I won't have any pictures anytime soon on that.
This week looks ideal for crafting of any kind as the forecast temperatures for the first week back at school are for 41C, cooling down to 39C on Friday-blah! Uniforms are organised, shoes are bought, stationery has arrived (it gets home-delivered and didn't arrive until about 2pm yesterday) and hairs are cut. I just need to label Luke's books and we should be ready..........well except for the early mornings-just as well it will be a short week!

Insert Snappy Post Title Here

2009-01-02T14:05:00.006+10:30

I quite often have trouble coming up with post titles, especially when I don't have a specific subject for the post (e.g. when I am summarising weeks/months of activities due to slack posting). I'll copy myself from my last post and give a brief run down of what we've been doing since then.....

bought that new caravan I mentioned last post.
attended new parents information sessions for Luke's high school (and he attended his transition day as well).
spent the day at the cricket (someone at Ron's work was giving away members tickets). Unfortunately Ron couldn't go, but he let me go, so I spent a lovely day by myself.
participated in and/or attended many end-of-year functions for various sports, school things , brownies and scouts.
helped set up the school gym for Luke's Yr 7 graduation, which was lovely.
went to Carols By Candlelight (which was enlivened by lightning -in the distance, thankfully, and a little rain-but it's so dry here, we love rain!).
organised for Christmas which we spent down at Kingston SE (about 4 hrs away) with my parents and sister.
enjoyed the weather on Boxing Day by going to a local beach where you can drive onto the beach and swimming and playing beach cricket.
just recently celebrated the start of the New Year by having a street party with quite a few of our neighbours.
taken down the decorations and getting the house back into gear in time for a family BBQ that we are having to celebrate my 40th birthday in just over a week's time. And family adds up to somewhere between 30 to 40 people-immediate family.........
fun things also such as knitting, stitching, sewing, playing on our new Wii, catching up with my knitting buddy Bobbie who is temporarily back in Adelaide.
my arm seems to be doing well-I just need to not overdo things and keep stretching it.
Ron's work is going well-the company he worked for went into administration, and since then into liquidation, but he's got a six month contract doing exactly the same job (his old company had the contract for the IT for Santos but he's now working there on contract). Bonus is that contracting is good money, but there is no pay for public holidays, and the six months the contract runs for has most of the year's public holidays. We should find out later this year what's going to happen (either work directly for Santos or another company takes over the IT contract). The guys that are working there should stay there-we'll see what pans out.
we also have some more uniform shopping to do for Luke (fun for the whole family) as well as shoe shopping (will the fun never end?).

I think that's enough rambling for now - I need to go do some housework, as well as some sorting out in my craft room (guess which I prefer).
Finally, some photos from the Christmas Pageant. I still need to dig up those photos with Ron and his moustache-he has them at work somewhere.

Back so soon?

2008-11-10T17:00:00.004+10:30

It's only been a week since I was here last - I shock myself!

So-the last week in brief......

Ron's growing a "mo" for Movember - pics to come soon, but he already has quite a good one already, but there is some grey.

We sold our Jayco camper trailer (for about only $500 less than we bought it for 7 yrs ago) , but have got our eye on a pop top close by that might be just what we are looking to upgrade to. We're in no rush, so we will see what is around.

Caitlin was able to miss a softball game to go to the Christmas Pageant so the kids and I (Ron stayed at home to sell our camper) braved the crowds to sit in the rain (well it was only showers, but still...)

I decided that I deserved a day off so I journeyed to the showgrounds for the Craft Fair. There was very little in the way of knitting or embroidery supplies, but luckily I have also become interested in stitcheries/patchwork/quilting etc. I took a class from the Thimblelady in hand quilting which was fun-I must do some practice soon. I will have to take some pictures of my purchases soon too.

I've finished some stitching on some ornaments-I will need to work out how I want to finish them and get that done so I don't end up with too many to do at once.

Please excuse the oddly cropped pictures-I'm still working on using the software that came with our new printer/scanner. The snowman ,white ornament, and the Peace tree are all from last year's Just CrossStitch Ornament magazine (I actually stitched the snowman earlier in the year, and the white one in Oct). The Sampler Tree (I will look up the proper names for these designs and the designers later and edit the post) was from last year's ornament issue of The Gift of Stitching magazine .

I'm off to the city tomorrow -mainly to meet Ron and look at bathroom tiles and setups (did I mention that we are looking to get our bathroom renovated in the next 6 months?) - but I'm sure I'll get some browsing done too. Maybe even some Christmas shopping-although I have already done some.

I'll have some pictures of the pageant next time-they are still on the camera and I'm not going to go hunting for it now.

Dormant or Extinct?

2008-11-03T22:21:00.007+10:30

Long time, no see........... So how do you write a post on a blog when you haven't been near it for 11 months? A blow-by-blow description of each month's events? (supposing, of course, that I can remember what happened) Or perhaps start with what is happening now, and if something occurs to me, or nothing exciting happens (?) I might return to the past. I'm going to go with the latter.

I stopped blogging in December last year when things got hectic (as they do at that time of the year), but did not get going again when I ended up with Tennis Elbow which meant that for some time I was doing little or no crafting or using the computer. I'm not back to 100%, but it is about 90% and I can stitch and knit, but not for unlimited amounts of time, and with lots of stretching.

I've found a few pictures-"Flower Sampler" model that I finished just before Christmas last year, and a couple of ornaments that I finished up recently for our stitching group's yearly exchange with an English stitching group.

And here's some irises from our garden.

I'm feeling the need for a list or two, and maybe a vague plan to organise what craft I want to get done in the next couple of months.........We'll see how long that lasts.

I also have to have a plan of attack for the craft fair that I plan to visit on Sunday. There's nothing worse than wandering about, overwhelmed by all the stalls, desperately trying to remember what you wanted to look at or buy.

I'm off to keep stitching on more Christmas ornaments-I'm really enjoying the quickness of these at the moment.

Mystery Revealed

2007-12-05T15:53:00.000+10:30

I have a feeling that I won't be suddenly posting on the blog everyday. The November experiment (posting everyday or nearly everyday) ended up with the grand tally of 6 posts. We live and learn.

Since my last post we've had several events, but the first of these was our trip to the South-East to Kingston SE for my mum's 60th birthday party. Luke had a sleepover for scouts on the Friday night so we left home early on Saturday morning, picking him up along the way. The weather was just lovely, which was a change from the weekend of my dad's 60th nearly 2 years ago when we had temps around 40C. I don't have a lot of photos as I have never been in the habit of snapping everything. Some people seems to view a lot of events through the lens of their camera or video camera. Some moments are ideal for photo taking, but a lot of the time I prefer to enjoy the moment or event without worrying if I got a good shot of it. I also spent a lot of the day organising food and chatting to people (some that I haven't seen for some time). The younger kids had a great time as Mum & Dad have a cubbyhouse in their new backyard, and we really didn't see too much of them. They played quite well together as young kids do, even when they don't know each other well. Luke helped out with setting up and serving-he's at the age when he doesn't want to play with the younger kids, and there were no other kids his age there. I am also able to reveal the mystery project that I have been working on-a knitted lace scarf for my mum. It got favourable comments from quite a few people, and I was happy with the way it turned out. The yarn was 2 ply 50% silk/50% wool from The Knittery in the Denim colourway. This yarn is just lovely-the loveliest yarn I've seen. The pattern was "Scarf with Clarence Border" from Victorian Lace Today, and I really had to stop myself from casting on something else from this book for myself. It was a fun knit, and it only took me about a week, I think. Yes, I do tend to leave things to the last minute, but I went for something simple because of that.

Now, some pictures.....

The birthday photo shows Ron and my mum trying to get the candle to stay alight in the breezy conditions (and the lovely cake that my SIL LeeAnne baked & decorated for the occasion). The various pictures of the yarn and scarf are not the best in terms of colour-some were taken in bright sunlight, and others with flash. I think the picture of the yarn is the closest to the true colour.

Last week, Caitlin and her Brownie Guide group participated in a local Christmas Pageant, with the theme being "Nursery Rhymes". She was dressed as a cat for their nursery rhyme-The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe, and Ron drove his parents' vintage truck as their "float".

Only 1 week and 2 days before the end of school-we have 2 BBQs and one concert to go before then and then we have some quiet time before Christmas. This year we are having Christmas lunch at home by ourselves, with dinner at Ron's parents new home with his family.

Craft wise I've been busy finishing up the model I'm doing for Naomi from Stitches N' Spice, which should be done by the end of this week-I will take photos when it's finish. I've got a tea cosy to get finished for a knitting exchange, as well as some Christmas ornaments for the kids' teachers. I'm itching to get back to some WIPs-both knitting and stitching, so maybe there will be some more progress on some projects that haven't been seen lately-but not for a couple of weeks.

Please forgive the strange set out with the photos-I have great trouble with Blogger and the way it decides to display pictures-I don't seem to have much trouble uploading them-just getting them to line up in a halfway normal manner. I'm giving up today, and going to do something more productive.

How many days?

2007-11-18T16:33:00.000+10:30

Only 4 more weeks of school to go! The year's just speeding by. The weekend's just about over too; just dinner and end of day things to do. Yesterday we spent most of the day in the garden weeding, mowing, and generally tidying up. Luke has been initiated into the way of the mower, so maybe the "normal" lawn will become his domain? We have about 1/4 acre that is basically paddock that Ron mows with a heavy duty push mower (it's too rough for a ride on). There's still more to do outside, but we got a good amount done-luckily it wasn't too hot yesterday.

Today we went into the city to the Botanic Park for Ron's work's Christmas Picnic. Even though the weather was hotter today, it was very pleasant in the shade. Everyone had a great time-Caitlin had her face painted, got a temporary tattoo, got a balloon animal from one of the many clowns, and went on one of the bouncy castles. Luke & Ron both went on the Circotron, and I had a nice back & shoulder massage. There was plenty of yummy food & drink, and a good time was had by all.

This week should be fairly straight forward-I was going to say "normal" but I'm not sure if that applies. Saturday will be an early start as we head down to Kingston for my mum's 60th birthday party. We will head back sometime Sunday in time for work & school.

I've been working on the secret project, which is coming along nicely, and have just realised that I will get a big chunk of knitting time in the car this weekend (at least 3 hrs each way). I also need to start Christmas decorations that I make for the kids' teachers each year, as well as my Embroiderers Guild Kris Kringle gift, and then there's the advent calendar that I need to sew.... Luckily I'm not planning on making lots of homemade gifts for Christmas this year!

The next couple of days are going to be much cooler than first thought-we were heading for 37-39C days, but now we've got 31-27C. Much more comfortable-and the forecast so far for the weekend looks to be warm (30C) but not overly so-thank goodness.

It's Heating Up

2007-11-15T20:35:00.000+10:30

Well, so much for good intentions. First I had a day where nothing happened-well, nothing interesting anyhow. Then it got busy and I didn't have time to blog, and before you know it-here we are 9 days later.

Here's a few shots from the pageant-held through the main streets of Adelaide. We had a lovely day, but to get a good spot and allow for street closures it meant an early start for us (Luke & Ron left home at 5.15am, and Caitlin & I left at 6.15am). You can see the streets at dawn, and then later as the street began to fill up. We actually got to hear most of the bands (last year we seemed to be in a spot where every band had a break from playing).

Luke's camp went well, but he was very tired as he got home from camp on Friday afternoon, had scouts that evening, and then up at 5am for the pageant.

This weekend we hope to spend Saturday getting work done in the yard. Sunday is Ron's work family picnic in the Botanic Gardens. It's usually lots of fun, but the forecast is going to be fairly hot (36C) so shade will be at a premium. We've got another few hot days after that with 39C forecast for next Tuesday. We're hoping it will cool down after that as we have my mum's 60th birthday in the South-East at the end of next week.

Tomorrow will be me getting housework out of the way early so I can work on a secret project in front of the a/c and cricket before the kids get home from school, and the weekend begins....

Shopping!

2007-11-06T20:31:00.000+10:30

I was going to take pictures of my purchases from our shopping trip today, but Ron had snagged the memory card from the camera, and now it is dark, so you will have to wait until tomorrow. Bobbie & I went to The Yarn Barn, which happened to have everything on sale, as they need to make room for new seasons stock. I picked up 8 balls of Jo Sharp DK Cotton in a nice blue, a skein of Filatura Di Crossa Centolavaggi (laceweight merino) in white, the Harmony Aran book, and a Fibretrends Mobius Scarf pattern. We next went to the Button Bar which stocks KnitPicks, and both stocked on up a few accessories we needed. Apparently the owner is also getting lots of Clover accessories-depending on the suppliers, maybe by the end of this month, or perhaps in January. We browsed Borders, Dymocks and Angus & Robertson, but didn't buy any books. It was good to see a lot of titles in print-some I thought I would like were not to my taste, and I did see one which I have ordered through Fishpond at a lot cheaper price. We also squeezed in a coffee and lunch break, before heading back to pick up kids, etc. All in all, a lovely day.

This afternoon has been busy with baking (supper for Luke to take on his camp) and packing, but tomorrow should be fairly quiet, so I should be able to catch up before a busy end to the week.

Here's a few more pictures from our holiday-kangaroos which would come and feed on the grass in the caravan park in Hall Gap (in the Grampians in Victoria), and various pictures around that area, including one which shows some burning off far in the distance.

Don't forget (especially those of you who don't read lots of blogs and may not know) that you can click on the photos to see a larger version.

Nearly every day

2007-11-05T20:42:00.000+10:30

I knew I would miss a few days-because I've been blogging at the end of the day, it can easily forgotten with all the activity that happens.

Sunday was a quiet day as predicted, especially as we had a maximum of 14C and some more rain. The rain is more than welcome, but it does make strange to have the fire going in November.

I got organised and took some photos of some of my knitting-finished and in progress.

The pink/black thing is a lace sock (knitted in TOFUtsies-a soy/cotton/chitin[something to do with shellfish] combo). Next is the beginning of a log cabin blanket-similar construction to the quilted kind-the pieces are knitted together-not sewn. The somewhat bright item is a short-sleeved jacket I'm knitting for Caitlin out of Lincraft Bamboozle- a bamboo/cotton blend. Lastly is a cotton dishcloth-commonly known as the Ballband Dishcloth.

Tomorrow I am off shopping with one of our knitting group. Should be fun browsing craft and book shops together before the "fun" of Christmas shopping starts. Luke has a 3 day camp starting Wednesday and the weather looks great for that.

My Boyfriend's Back

2007-11-03T21:39:00.000+10:30

Well, my husband's back. He got back this evening, and things are getting back to normal.

I took a look at my blog archives, curious to see what was happening a year ago. The main events early November were the craft fair, and the Christmas pageant. This year I have decided not to attend the craft fair. I told one of my friends at our knitting group this, and we decided that we would rather go shopping in the city, and also to the Yarn Barn, a LNS that is not so local to us. So hopefully this week we will be off to shop! Weather permitting, the pageant will be still on-next Saturday, in fact.

I was going to add a few more holidays photos, but blogger isn't co-operating at the moment.

Tomorrow should be a quiet day at home, with maybe some gardening and knitting.

Every Day?

2007-11-02T16:50:00.000+10:30

Firstly, I want to thank those who read my blog, and those who leave comments. I am planning to write very regularly this month. In the US (and anywhere else that wants to join in, I guess) a thing called National Blog Posting Month, where participants post to their blog each day for the month of November. Being realistic, I don't plan to post every day, but would like to give it a go for most days. We'll see how it goes.

Ron is currently in PNG (Papua New Guinea), and has taken the camera with him, so I will have to use photos already downloaded, rather than taking anything new, for the moment.

Since I last posted we took part in the Long Walk. The weather was particularly nice-around 23C and sunny.

Here are a few photos I took during the day-vineyards, walkers, and a picture of the kids outside the Bridgewater Mill which was built by an ancestor, John Dunn.

The next day the weather was not so kind, with very nasty winds and rain which almost caused disaster at the wedding of Ron's workmate that we attended.

This tree top fell during the ceremony, but as it was on the other side of the winery, no-one knew about it until afterwards. Somehow it fell between all the cars, and hit nothing and nobody. We had a lovely time, and did much dancing, although many of our muscles protested with the aftereffects of the Long Walk.

I promised last post that I would have pictures of Caitlin's socks, and as it has been a while since I had a FO (finished object) to show-here they are.

They are knit using a basic sock pattern by Ann Budd from her book "Knitters Handy Book of Patterns" using Sullivans sock yarn. The yarn is quite thin, and as I have a fairly loose tension, I used 2mm needles. The first time Caitlin wore these, blue dye stained her feet, but after a wash (in the machine) the colour lightened and the yarn "bloomed" a little. The ball is a 120g ball, and even though these are a women's small size, I have quite a lot left. The main thing is that she likes and wears them, and they wash in the machine.

I think I will end off there-one of the advantages I can see about posting every day is that the posts won't be so long. All that "catching up" makes for big posts.

Where I go on and on....

2007-10-24T10:24:00.000+09:30

I'm not going to do a holiday post at this time, since it's been about 2 weeks since we got back, and I have more recent events to chat about. I'm thinking I will find some photos each post and give a summary - but in snippets.

We did have a great time-were away for 10 nights and covered quite a few kms. I did get to Bendigo Woollen Mills, and Caitlin started knitting. She's not done so much since we've been home, what with school and other distractions. Here's a couple of shots along the way. We have Luke in front of several the the Twelve Apostles. You can probably see that the weather wasn't the best for coastal sight-seeing. Caitlin is posing on some beach area we found just out of Apollo Bay, just before we headed north towards Ballarat. The kids had a great time on the beach and rock pools, and found a friendly Border Collie to loved to play fetch. The final photo is in the Grampians. Caitlin is "posing" and Luke is looking his pre-pubescent self when asked to look at the camera.

Now, back to current events..... Since we arrived back: Ron has had his 20th school reunion, been up to the Cooper Basin for the week, kids have started back at school for the final term of the year, we had a school working bee on a day when it was 33C, followed a couple of days later with 15mm of rain and a max temp of 13C. Coming up we have a wedding this weekend (someone from Ron's work who's not been there all that long so I haven't met) with not many people I will really know-but at least Ron isn't in the wedding party this time. Oh, and before that we have the school's "Long Walk" which is held every 2 years and retraces in part the journey many pioneer women walked from up here in the Hills down to produce markets to sell and buy produce sometime several times a week. This year it is being held on a school day, so it's been structured so the younger children have easier and smaller sections to walk. Luke & Ron are doing the longest part, while Caitlin & I will be doing the intermediate section. The weather (considering what we've had lately) looks to be good. Later this term we have a camp for Luke, Ron going over to Papua New Guinea, Christmas Pageants, Christmas concerts, a 60th birthday party for my mum, and who knows what else.

Having got the other things out of the way, I will turn to craft (as I usually do). Most recently, we went to a garage sale that had advertised "knitting yarn" in the newspaper ad. Generally Ron pops into local garage sales looking for parts and tools for his car restoration project. He had standing orders to look out for ball winders, but had so far been unsuccessful. I didn't have my camera with me, but i saw what happens when stash goes bad. It was quite sad-most of the garage sale was in a garage (funnily enough) and the lady (who we found out later had been the knitter along with other arts and crafts) just kept dragging out boxes and garbage bags of wool and yarn. It hadn't been stored all that well so there was some dust and dead bugs to deal with (not that bad), but it was tragic-there was so much and it was such a mess. I wasn't the only person scrummaging through all this-there were quite a few. I ended up with 7 balls of older Patonyle (yellow, red, bright blue + one ball of navy), 27 balls of 25g Heirloom 4ply in teal, navy & red and a couple of balls of 10ply cotton. I also happened to ask her if she had a ball winder-and she did! I'm yet to test it out, but Ron has lubricated it with a silicone lubricant, and it seems to wind fine. Caitlin got a small bag of yarn odds and ends and we got this for $10. I was thrilled as I never seems to get any bargains from op shops or the like. I was fairly restrained and only got what I thought I would use for sure. I've finished Caitlin's socks (I'll post pictures next time with more details) and am currently working on a little cardigan for our latest family addition. Our nephew and his wife, Paul & Kristen, had a little baby girl, Holly, while we were away on holidays. I also have to stitch up a Christmas ornament for our annual Christmas exchange-I have found a kit that should be ideal-just need to go start it.

Talking of exchanges-I'm participating in a Tea Cosy Exchange-in which we knit a tea cosy for our secret partner, and maybe other kitchen accessories, and send it off with some related goodies for their enjoyment. To assist our partners, we are showing photos of our teapot, so they can knit something that will hopefully fit. Balls of Bendigo 8 ply, and Patons Patonyle added for scale ;)

And I've worked out one reason why people show close-up pics of flowers in their gardens (other than they look pretty)-it's so no-one can see the weeds.........

Easy as Falling off a Blog

2007-09-26T20:34:00.000+09:30

You know it's been a while since you've blogged when you have to back and read what you last wrote about... The reason I have given up my procrastinating ways (for now) is that I am feeling poorly and don't much feel like doing anything else. I'm hoping I feel better tomorrow as we will be leaving on Sunday for a family trip (down to the south-east, along the Great Ocean Rd, up to Ballarat and Bendigo, and home via Halls Gap and the Grampians), and I have things to get organised as well as my Knitting group, a school meeting, and my Stitching group.

So, let's see. Since my last post we have : had the party (and sleepover), attended the 24hr International Pedal Prix, kept attending the Knitting group, had my stitching girls getaway weekend, and just general life.

Spring is here-and Summer is looking to be long and dry again. We didn't get much rain in August, so things will be drying out before long.

As far as crafting goes....I'm still stitching away on my model (on the home stretch now, but had hoped to be finished). Knitting-wise I have finished the beanie I had to reknit for Ron. I haven't knitted lately on the Mystery Shawl as it isn't a pick up and put down kind of project. Here's a bad photo of my progress. I am looking forward to getting back to this, but it has to wait, for now.

I've also started a little cropped short-sleeved cardi for Caitlin in a pink/orange variegated bamboo/cotton yarn from Lincraft. I haven't taken any pictures of that one though.

I have got a few pictures of the purchases I made at the Mt Pleasant Wool & Fibre Festival-better late than never, right?

I also got some more yarn (from the same seller as the pink) in a blue/green colourway, but my photography sucks, so you'll just have to use your imagination for now ;)

As you all know, I love to join in things. This summer I have joined Southern Summer of Socks which looks to be lots of fun and no pressure, except the pressure you put yourself under. Participants have been listing their own challenges, and I have decided to do the same.

1. Knit a pair of socks using the Magic Loop Method.

2. Knit a pair of toe-up socks.

3. Knit a pair of socks from each of Favorite Socks and Sensational Knitted Socks.

I think that will do for now. Both those methods will be new to me and I would like to try them as I currently am a top down, dpns gal. The reason for challenge no. 3 is that although I have these books and love them, I have not actually knitted anything from them-yet.

Oh, and I am on Ravelry as AussieLeo. I just checked and see that I've been on there since July 6-I still have to update lots of pictures on there, but it's lots of fun, and I love being able to see different people's projects.

Hopefully I will get to post before we leave-if only to let you know what projects I am taking with me! We plan to visit the Woollen Mills at Bendigo-and any other shops we see on our way.

Tag-You're It

2007-08-11T18:44:00.000+09:30

I was tagged in Dishrag Tag-my team is "Downunder Dishies". Unfortunately the box didn't arrive on Wednesday as I could have knit my cloth on the bus trip down to Wakakirri rehearsals. The performance was on Wednesday night so we had 2 round trips to the city on Wednesday. The performance went really well with our school winning the "Best School in Public" award which is judged over the whole day including rehearsals and the night of the performance. Caitlin also got to be one of the school representatives who speak after the performance. She was the understudy for one of her friends who was fairly apprehensive about the whole public speaking thing, so Caitlin was prepared, and she did a great job. We don't find out for another week or two whether we make it into the finals.

Back to the Tag. The box was delivered (to my door by the postie) on Thursday around lunchtime. Here is what I got from Clare:

a huge ball of cream cotton, a ball of teal green Heirloom 8 ply cotton, 2 packets of yummy fudge, and of course, a "dishrag" knitted in cream cotton in moss stitch. It was all lovely, but I had to get cracking! I decided to use the green cotton for my knitted cloth, and chose a pattern from Dishcloth Boutique called Kitchen Cotton which was a pattern based on 1x1 rib.

Here is a picture of what I posted to Melanie on Friday: 2 balls of Sugar 'N Cream cotton, a couple of yummy treats, and my completed cloth. Whew!

I had the opportunity on Thursday to attend a knit-a-long in a nearby town (Stirling). There were only 3 of us, but I thoroughly enjoyed it (although I missed out on afternoon tea because I had to leave to pick up kids from school). I have instructions to bring WIPs, and my Knitpicks needles for some show & tell next week.

At the moment life seems all about "the party" which is in a week's time, but I am also working on the model, or knitting (beanie & socks) when that's not suitable. I went to the Mt Pleasant Wool & Fibre Fair today, but will save details for another post.

Must go watch Dr Who, do dishes, and stitch.

August already??

2007-08-01T16:14:00.000+09:30

Apparently it's August........ And I'm not really ready yet. Ron's birthday is in 2 days (luckily he requires very little in the way of preplanning), but Caitlin's 9th birthday in in 2 weeks and 2 days and I have nothing planned as yet. We have the school's Wakakirri performance next week and I have been busy helping with costumes and attending rehearsals. Luke had his first Pedal Prix race on Sunday (it was a 6 hour race) and the 24 (yes, that's 24) hour race in September. We had 2 teams in the primary school category and came 2nd and 11th (we think-the results for anyone who finished after 3rd aren't up yet-160 teams were racing altogether). I have a stitching weekend planned for later in August which will be lovely-stitching, eating, talking, sleeping (and not necessarily in that order) will be a great break. I also have a model for Stitches and Spice to be finished-I posted about it here .

So-what have I been doing? I finished the model for The Gift of Stitching-I think it will be in the next issue. We had 2 weeks of school holidays-which included visits to the library, shopping centre, aquatic centre, Harry Potter movie, grandparents for the kids (and a weekend away for me and Ron), other grandparents staying with us, 5yo birthday party (costume of course). We've had one and a half weeks of school since then-feels like about 5 weeks.... We've bought and read the new Harry Potter book-no queueing for us though-just picking it up at the local Kmart on the Monday.

Knitting-wise has been quietish, although I did knit that tension square, and discovered that I have quite a loose tension. So much so that I had to use 4mm needles to get the correct gauge with the 12ply wool. I fixed up the weird pointyness of the beanie, and unravelled this beanie because it "relaxed"when I washed it to the point that it was unwearable. I skeined the yarn and washed it, reballed it, and have started to reknit it. Oh, and I joined Mystery Stole 3 because no-one can get sucked into the latest thing to join like me! I am still up to Clue 2 (I think Clue 4 has been released) but I am not in a rush to keep up. I'm knitting it in JaggerSpun Zephyr in Ebony (which is a 50%wool, 50% silk laceweight yarn) with some blackish beads (scavenged from my bead stash) and using a Knitpicks Classic Circular in a 3mm size. I told you I have a loose tension. I will take a picture-one day. I even knit the swatch.

Oh, and I knitted my portion of this and signed up for dishrag tag which is a knitting relay of sorts (competitive knitting-very Australian-we have 2 teams). I told you I was a joiner.

Here's a couple of pictures-since I took them back in late June I thought I had better put them up. It's the view from our backyard towards the "non-town" side of us-we live right on the edge of town-literally. I hope to have some more up-to-date pictures for the next blog entry, which hopefully won't be so slow in coming.

It's the weather for knitting

2007-06-19T10:02:00.000+09:30

Well, getting knitting supplies anyhow. It's been very wintry here. The end of last week had some very cold nights. As in about -3C. That's cold for us, as we are in a temperate climate and it doesn't snow here. Then the nights heated up to around 3C or so, but the days started to get cold. Like a maximum of 11C and yesterday it was about 8C at 3pm. We've had some rain, but we are on water restrictions until the end of July at least. This means that we can't water our gardens except with buckets, and the same for car washing. There are other restrictions for businesses which will probably impact them more than the private restrictions will impact us. Not sure if anyone was likely to be watering their gardens at the moment, but it goes to show you we need a lot more rain to really break the drought. We would prefer normal rain-not like the shocking weather that NSW has been experiencing.

As promised, I have a picture of my ISE4 goodie haul. I've been wearing the scarf, but it has also kindled the desire to knit myself another scarf suitable for wearing outside in the weather we've been having. I've got that couple of balls of the loveliest 80% alpaca/20% wool that is so soft that I'm debating about stitch design. Just need to knit my 7cm on the rug first............ I did finish the beanie for KOGO-although I may have to reknit the last 2 rows as I didn't look at the pattern, and it's got a weird pointy thing happening.

Yesterday was a good day as far as knitting stash went. Interweave Knits Summer Issue finally made it to my local newsagent. Not a huge amount of designs I would want to knit, but it is an interesting read anyhow. I also got some plastic dpns from the local op shop, as well as some interesting buttons (I was also keeping biscornus in mind-I have yet to make one). I also got my Bendigo order which has my Rustic 12ply in Agate for the Central Park Hoodie, as well as a ball of the new Boutique yarn which is 65% wool, 25% Bluefaced Leicester, and 10% mohair in Ruby. Well, the Boutique was on special, and I already had free postage........ Here are some pics of the yarn.

The Ruby is a deeper red than that-around DMC 816 if you happen to think in DMC colours. The Agate reminds me of DMC 451-it has an almost tweedy appearance up close. I think the Ruby will become a scarf-it is only 200 grams, and it feels lovely and soft, but not too fuzzy. I really want to knit a tension square for the hoodie, but that will have to wait for a bit.

Stitching wise, I have been plugging away at my model-it's a very long design (about 560 stitches long) but very narrow-well the part I'm working on is, but using Q-snaps makes it manageable-even if I am having to move them regularly.

I'm off to throw more wood on the fire and get some stitching done. And try not to knit a tension square.............

Phew!

2007-06-14T22:02:00.000+09:30

It's been a busy week or so. Actually it's been about 2 weeks since I last posted (that's sounds like I'm in confession lol). Caitlin went on her camp and had a good time-well except for the last couple of hours when she started to feel decidedly seedy. Since the campsite was only about 15 minutes away, the teachers rang me and I took her home. It was pretty good timing as she was able to get over the tummy bug in time for the movie night at the local cinema that we had organised as part of the school's social committee. We had around 140 people turn up (we saw Shrek 3) and supplied supper afterwards which was good but it was a lot of work to organise it and I'm glad it's over.

We also had some visitors from Friday night until Monday morning (we had a long weekend here) at fairly short notice, but luckily they aren't the sort to need a lot of special preparation-it was my Mum & Dad who live around 300km away. It was great to have them up here as we haven't got to catching up with them in the flesh since Christmas.

Luke was also on scout camp during the long weekend-he thoroughly enjoyed himself, and was glad that he didn't have to choose between Shrek and scouts.

Monday night Ron flew up to Brisbane for work and is due back tonight-his plane has been delayed by at least half an hour, but he gets tomorrow off as he had to do some extra night work while he was up there.

My ISE4 package was sent last week-I quickly took a picture before I got it posted off. It's knitted with 4ply Merino Cashmere in "Dark Reds" from The Knittery . It was lovely to knit with and felt so soft. It's just a simple Feather and Fan lace pattern with a garter stitch border as I didn't want anything too busy with the variegated yarn. I also added a pewter figurine (of a goanna), bookmark, and a cute little sheep made of roving. I didn't add any food as I wasn't sure what I could send to the US and I didn't have time to find out ;)

I received my ISE4 parcel-I haven't taken any pictures yet-perhaps tomorrow. You can read all about it here .

I've been stitching on my models. I've had to put the "Flowers"aside for the model I'm stitching for Kirsten from The Gift of Stitching as it is due sooner. Speaking of The Gift of Stitching, if you are a subscriber you will have seen my stitching in the latest issue-the pincushions. It gave me a fright at first because there are pictures of the back of my stitching as well as extreme closeups of the front of some of them. However all the pictures look lovely and Kirsten gave me a lovely mention at the end of the magazine. You can also see the pincushions at Stitches and Spice under the Gift of Stitching kits.

Knitting-wise I haven't done a lot. I'm knitting a beanie for Knit One Give One and have just received the rug from Rugz 4 Kidz which I will be knitting 7cm on before I send it on. These are ideal for picking up and knitting on when I don;t have the time to get my stitching out. I also want to knit up some tension squares for a couple of projects I have in mind for me. Not sure when they would get started though. I also rediscovered a couple of balls of a lovely soft 70% alpaca, 30% wool yarn that would make a lovely scarf for me........... There's also knitting I want to do for the Guardian Angel charity project, fingerless gloves for Luke, a cardigan for Caitlin, socks for me, etc, etc.

Other news-Dr Who is back in 2 weeks time! It will be on Thursday nights though at 8.30 so we will record it and watch it at a later time. I've also discovered some DVDs at my library that I've somehow been oblivious to"-the "Hornblower"series with Ioan Gruffudd. And there is 8 of them. Nothing like a historical swashbuckler with a nice leading man ;) Maybe I can fit in a trip to the library tomorrow?

A special hello to my family lurkers out there! And also thanks to people who stop by and comment.

Rain drops keep falling on my head

2007-06-01T10:20:00.000+09:30

Well they would if I was silly enough to stand around in the rain. We've had a lot of rain in the last week or so-around 3 inches, so the ground is getting all nice and soggy. I'm hoping for a little fine weather early next week and the weekend following that, because Caitlin has a school camp, and then Luke has a Scout camp.

I've started a model for Naomi of Stitches and Spice . It's called "Flowers" - you can see it here if you scroll down a bit. I'm stitching it on 32ct Belfast linen in her colourway "Hannah's Rose"-it's under Spice Blend on her website with Gloriana silk in the colourway "Jacaranda"-which is a brown strangely enough. I've got a picture here-not a good one as it's still raining outside, but I wanted something here so I can see my progress. I will be rotating this for some model work I am doing for Kirsten of The Gift of Stitching. I won't be stitching on any of my things until both are done, but I will do some knitting as a break now and again.

Speaking of knitting, I have a couple of FOs to show you. Firstly a pair of socks that I finished early this year sometime-quite a while ago anyhow.

These are knitted with OnLine Supersocke that I got from last year's craft fair, using a pattern on the Patonyle pattern book which I then tinkered with a little. It has 2x2 ribbing at the top, 4x1 ribbing for the leg, calf shaping, and an Eye of Partridge heel. These were much easier to knit than my first socks as I didn't have to work at juggling the dpns. The yarn was nice to work with, and I had a small amount left from the 100g ball.

Next are a pair of bedsocks I knit for Caitlin. I used some Clinker yarn that I picked up at Kmart and dyed using food colouring. It's around a 10 ply I think-I used 5mm needles. Pattern was from Ann Budd's The Knitters Handy Book of Patterns . I did something strange with one of the heels-it was supposed to be a slip stitch heel, but when I was stitching the second heel-noticed the first one looked totally different. Never mind!! I also found that Caitlin has a big foot-I knit the womens small size and they have a bit of room for growth but not much. And she is not quite 9yo. The yarn is fluffing/pilling where she has worn them with slippers but I'm not too fussed-they were cheap to make-and fast!!! I love the knitting with the bulkier yarns.

I'm going to go and stitch for a while before lunchtime-also need to go and block my ISE4 scarf.

A little of this, a little of that....

2007-05-24T12:54:00.000+09:30

Thought I'd do a quick post before it gets too long since I've posted. Of course I had to then go and take a quick photo or two of some WIPs, and then download them, and then realise that I haven't posted any photos for a while.

I've finished my ISE4 scarf (except for a light blocking and weaving in the ends). It's lovely and soft, and my photos really aren't that good. It is sunny here today (which it hasn't been for quite a few days here) but also windy which isn't conducive to photo taking outside.

I've started, and almost finished a pair of "Fetching" fingerless gloves/mittens from knitty but fell short-just. I either need to get another ball of the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran (colour-Teal-luxury to knit with!) or rip 1 and 9/10 of the pair and redo with smaller needles.........

I've got some more model stitching coming up-another project for The Gift of Stitching - details to remain a secret until published, and also something for Stitches and Spice. This one will most likely be a sampler of some kind, and will be used as a model at various craft fairs around Australia.

I haven't done lots of my own stitching lately but did (are you sitting down??) work on my Chatelaine's Medieval Town Mandala. I've just cut some fabric for Long Dog's St Sylvestre which I have had in my stash for a long time. The fabric is "Dawn Light" in Belfast linen and the thread I am planning to use is DMC 4240 (a blue/purple variegated cotton). For the moment I have pulled out my L&L Celtic Autumn because I am in the mood for a bit of straight-forward stitching. Here is a picture I took today-not the best but it's windy outside!

Just a few more pictures. We made a special trip a week ago to the Kernewek Lowender or Cornish Festival which is held every 2 years and which we usually attend as Ron's ancestors are Cornish. This time we weren't planning to attend as it was no longer on a long weekend. The reason we made a special mid-week trip was that Ron's great-grandfather was being featured in the "Dressing of the Graves" and his parents wanted Luke (as the great-great-grandson) to lay the floral tribute. The picture on the left shows Ron & Luke with Ron's parents next to the grave. Below that is knitwear sighted in the wild. A lot of work went into that! And also a picture of school children waiting through the boring speech part before they get to sing. We made a day of it and pottered around a couple of the towns. One of the advantages of being there mid-week was that we avoided the crowds and traffic.

I am having a quiet afternoon as we hosted the "Biggest Morning Tea" at school this morning to raise money for the Cancer Council and I was the main organiser. We have a movie night (Shrek 3) coming up in a couple of weeks and I have to print up posters and tickets for that so I am having a quiet time before I move onto those tasks.

Think I will load some of the latest podcasts onto my MP3 player and stitch on Celtic Autumn.

Stand on your head and whistle "Dixie"

2007-05-09T16:55:00.000+09:30

Sometimes I wonder about our family.........my daughter, Caitlin, asked my husband, Ron, if he could stand on his head and whistle "Dixie". Of course he can, and so he had to demonstrate. I did take a photo but it's still on the camera which isn't here right now.

I do have several photos from the school holidays which I haven't posted yet. We went into the city (Adelaide) to see this exhibition at the Art Gallery. It was highly enjoyable-I came away with an urge to learn to write hieroglyphics. We also had to visit the SA Museum which is next door. Caitlin also had a mission to see the pigs in Rundle Mall (life size bronze pig statues to clarify) so I had to take photos.

Another thing I haven't provided (but said I would) was some links to my model work for The Gift of Stitching editor Kirsten Edwards. If you are a subscriber to the magazine, you would have seen some of the models, but you can also see some pictures at Stitches and Spice - you need to click on the "Gift of Stitching Kits" link. The two that are my work are "Stitcher's Wallet"and "Quaker Mail Art". They are always fun to do and who wouldn't love to get paid stitching with hand dyed fabric and silks!

I've read quite a bit on various sites and blogs regarding the Knitpicks needles-both circulars and dpns, and happened across this Australian online shop that was new to me Knitting Inspirations which happened to have both and with the full set on sale. The Deluxe Set is available in quite a few Aussie online stores, but I've only seen the dpns here at Prestige Yarns which also stock the smaller circulars and all the bits separately. So I've ordered the Deluxe Kit and a set each of 2mm and 2.5mm of the dpns from Knitting Inspirations (my latest model work payment went towards this). Oh, and I also bought the Egyptian Garden when Martina released it as a downloadable chart last month. Not that I will be starting anytime soon as I have 3(!) Chatelaines as WIPs.

Currently I am trying to finish off The Drawn Thread's Random Thoughts which shouldn't take long as I have decided not to do the border and hemstitching. I found a note that I started this in July 2001 so it is past time to become a finished object. Here is an old scan I found-I am a bit further along than this now though. I'm also over halfway on my ISE4 scarf-see my sidebar for a link to the exchange-I'll post more details about the scarf I'm knitting another time.

Don't faint...........but I finished something!

2007-05-01T13:46:00.000+09:30

Really!! I did-and what is more I am posting about it. It's "The Sampler Sampler"by Brightneedle-stitched over one on 32ct lugana (what was I thinking?). There are 28 different colours (mostly Anchor) and the stitch count is 105 square. There's a lot of work in that tiny piece (it's about 8 cm square) but it looks lovely and I'm happy with it. I started this mumble years ago-well before I contemplated stitching a HAED (which are usually stitched over one and are huge).

We all survived the holidays-more about them another post as I have to go to the post office and school shortly, but one of the major things that happened here was that it rained. And rained. For a few days even. We ended up with about 100mm or 4 inches in the old measurements. There are more showers forecast for later this week so it's looking good. I will have to look up what rain we've had in the last year, but it's not been good.

Bad, bad blogger!

2007-04-21T18:58:00.000+09:30

So it's a few (5-that long??) months since I've posted............. I regularly read other blogs but just don't seem to get around to posting on my own. I thought I would just start from today, and update what has happened in the last few months as I go.

It is currently school holidays (1 week down, 1 to go) and it's been a busy term. Caitlin is over at a friend's house for a play (it's been nearly a week since they saw each other!), and Ron has had to go into to work for some kind of upgrade thingo, so Luke and I are having a quiet afternoon/evening. I've got a quiche in the oven for a "goodbye neighbour" lunch tomorrow, but then I am all set to stitch and watch football (AFL) .

As far as craft news-well it's been busy and somewhat varied. Our group at the Embroiderers' Guild is due to put up our display next month, and I really haven't had much in the way of finishes in the past year. After rummaging through my WIPs I came up with Brightneedle's The Sampler Sampler . This has been a WIP for a long time......it's over one on 32 count evenweave so it's not that big, but I'm hoping to finish it in time for next Thursday. We also display WIPs, and I'm going to take my Chatelaine "Convent's Herbal Garden Mandala". I'm hoping to get a little more done before I take it off the scroll rods. I've done some work on Celtic Autumn as well. Since the beginning of the year I've been doing some model work for Kirsten Edwards (the editor of The Gift Of Stitching-the online stitching magazine-see the link in the sidebar). It's been most enjoyable getting to use Stitches 'N Spice fabrics, Dinky Dyes silks, and flower threads. I'll link some pics another post. There has been some knitting-I have finished my original pair of socks (last year), knit another pair, started several things, joined the International Scarf Exchange, and so on. I need to take some WIP pictures and load some links, but will save that for another post. I do have a picture of my first pair of socks for your viewing pleasure. Nothing exciting, but I have the hang of double pointed needles, as well as the way socks are constructed, and as an added bonus the socks didn't fall apart when I wore them ;)

Only 5 Weeks To Go

2006-11-19T21:24:00.000+10:30

Sorry-but I figure you all need to suffer with me. Although, since we aren't having either Christmas lunch or dinner at home this year, and at most 3 guests staying, I really don't have that much to worry about. That is, if you don't worry about the 10 nephews/nieces I still have to shop for, or my 2 kids presents, or Ron's parents, or..........(well you get the idea-we do have some shopping done, and I have plans to hit the city on Wednesday to get most of it done)

A couple of weeks ago we, along with 320,000 others journeyed to the city for the Pageant. It is the Big One (hence the capitals lol) . We did the parent sacrifice thing and got up early on the weekend to catch the bus into the city. Even though we caught the earliest bus there was it wasn't early enough to save Ron from this.

It wasn't ideal but it wasn't that bad-coffee makes up for a lot ;)
I also want to award the person who came up with the idea with free chalk with the Saturday paper a sainthood. Just think about it.........320,000 people-so by my reckoning at least 160,000 kids (hold on-I need to lie down after typing that) sitting around for hours (we got there 2 hours before it started and look where we were sitting-others get there much earlier) and hours and hours.........really frightening! But some chalk and free run of the city streets and you get this

We had lovely weather, caught a bus straight home afterwards, and I even had a little time to visit a couple of book shops-which I will revisit this week to do that Christmas shopping as well as some shopping for me :)
Now for some pictures of the floats

I'll catch up later this week with other things-maybe even take some pictures of some WIPs.........

My Pickings

2006-11-03T12:06:00.000+10:30

......from the craft fair. It seems to me that every year the number of quilt stalls gets higher and the number of other stalls dimishes. Being a fair distance away, it isn't financially viable for a lot of the businesses from the eastern states to make the journey over here, so we have a lot less stalls than the fairs over there. That said, I did have a nice time, but bought little in the way of stitching supplies. Since Stitches and Spice wasn't in Adelaide this year there was just about no threads or fabric. I did find some yarn (sock yarn + some extremely soft baby alpaca) & Addi Turbo circular needles as well as some stitcheries, and other bits and bobs. Since I have also put in an order with Bendigo yarns, and am still looking for fabric & thread for Paradigm Lost, I am quite happy with my haul, but I did miss rummaging through Naomi's fabrics and threads.......

This weekend is loking fairly clear at the moment (other than the Adelaide Christmas Pageant tomorrow morning) but Christmas is getting nearer and that means bbqs, concerts, dinners, etc, etc and Ron is away for work for about 10 days in a couple of weeks so I guess we should enjoy the ~~peace~~ time at home while we can!

I am off to have a bite of lunch and settle down with "Bones" to stitch some Celtic Autumn.

Autumn in Spring-or is it Summer??

2006-10-31T21:07:00.000+10:30

Celtic Autumn, that is. I started her about a year ago and she has been in hibernation for most of that time. I have worked on her a little bit lately here and there, and decided she was an ideal project to accompany me on my stitching weekend with 6 other girls. Here is the current picture-everything above the skirt is my weekend's progress . She's stitched on 28ct Jobelan (Tundra) from Stitches and Spice. We had a lovely weekend, with much talking, eating, drinking and stitching. It was a little sad though-my buddy Mel wasn't there since she had the weak excuse of being in Dubai............ I did some stitching, drinking and laughing for you Mel-maybe we can time the next one for your next visit here?

The holidays went quite fast, and the last term is well under way-we have already had a working bee, Wakakirri final, and school picnic. It is extremely dry here (we apparently had 1mm of rain for Oct) already-a lot of areas already look like it is the end of summer.

I am off to the Craft Fair on Thursday-I have the kids booked into after school care so that I can go to the fair, and then on to Guild afterwards. I'm not sure what I will end up with as there won't be huge amounts of stitching supplies, but I will see what I can find ;)

A Picture of a Nun.....So Far

2006-10-11T18:04:00.000+09:30

I finally set my mind to finishing off part 2 of the nun (aka Convent's Herbal Garden by Chatelaine) and, of course, it really didn't take that long. Matters were helped by Caitlin going to a friend's house this afternoon. Here is a (not very good) picture of my progress so far........

I am taking a break from this now, and am working on setting up a rotation (again! lol). I also want to start a new HAED. Yes, I know, another one.........but this one is special. My good buddy Annette has recently started this one, and I want to do a SAL with her as she gets through her chemo, and other various treatments and struggles to beat her breast cancer. Besides, it will be relatively small, as I am not stitching the background, and only has 50 colours, and I am so looking forward to stitching something that looks like something and isn't just background.

School holidays have been pretty good so far this week-it was hot today (well 30C seems hot at the moment) and it is supposed to be hot again tomorrow. Bushfires are a big threat this summer year-restrictions will start early this year because of the bad conditions. With so little rain, things are already drying out, and today was the second total fire ban here. Apparently there was a fire not too far from here, and lots of others around the state. Well, have to go throw some food together, and gather up my supplies for my new project (Babysitting-HAED/Ravenscroft).

We are back, and some pics

2006-10-07T18:13:00.000+09:30

We got back yesterday-had a good time despite some extremely windy weather for a day or so, and I am attempting to catch up. There has been much to catch up-and I don't mean all the holiday laundry, or the grocery shopping on a Saturday morning at the supermarket which is being remodeled in the school holidays (still better than doing it with the kids-marginally). There has been BB kerfuffles, and the Yarn Harlot got married.

Anyhow, I haven't got holiday pics yet, as the camera is where I am not, so I have some older pics for you instead. Two weeks ago, Ron & I participated in the Bay to Birdwood Run, which is a vintage & veteran car rally. Ron's dad owns a 1926 Chev truck, but we get to go in the rally. It has about 1500 vehicles and takes about 1/2 a day. It wasn't the best weather (especially as the truck doesn't actually have side windows as you will see in the picture. Coats & rugs were the order of the day, and we did have fun.

I have updated some of my WIP pics in my Webshots so it does look like I do some stitching....
Here is my latest pic of Patchwork Sampler-it is my Thursday night piece at the moment, as I need something I can stitch on when I am talking.........

Not sure what I will get done over the next week (being school holidays) but I'm hoping to come up with a plan. I would like to get the part of the nun that I am (still) working on finished, and perhaps pick up a HAED for a change. But that is open to change-as usual!!

Hello-Goodbye!!

2006-10-01T22:53:00.000+09:30

Just a super quick note that we are going away for 5 days tomorrow............hopefully, I will be back with a blog entry quickly after we get home. Just going to the coast a couple of hours from here-fishing & rock pools for the kids & Ron, and peace & quiet for me........(sounds like a good plan you think?) Lots of other things to do, including a couple of craft shops to visit. I have stitching & knitting packed-I have found that I can knit when we are travelling. Catch you all soon!!

I took some pics......

2006-09-07T13:32:00.000+09:30

........and am going to post them. Firstly a picture of "the nun". I know I said I would take a picture of it when I was done with part 2, but I figured I would do a picture now. I have had to put it onto scroll rods, so it's going a little slower as I have MTM on rods in the stand and I'm worried that if I take it off the frame it may not go on for a while!!

I also have a picture of a facecloth that I knitted-nothing complex but it's nice to finish something occasionally. Caitlin has already claimed it! I used an Anchor cotton yarn from Spotlight and this pattern

The colours are brighter in real life, and it feels quite soft.

And just to finish off, I found a photo of Caitlin on her first day at kindy so you can see how she has grown in 4 years.......yikes-that went fast!! lol

My, how she's grown......

2006-08-30T14:03:00.000+09:30

Of course, the title would seem more appropriate if I had a picture of her as a young child or baby............

This is Caitlin, now 8 years old, on the day of her party, which was blessed by extremely unseasonally delightful weather. This, as you may imagine, made a party of 9 children much pleasanter for all concerned ;)

Ron has been to Moomba, and returned (in time for the school performance and Caitlin's birthday).

I have picked up a sleeping WIP - Chatelaine's Convent's Herbal Garden (aka the nun, because it's so much quicker to say lol), and enjoying it. You can see what it should look like when it is finished here Convent's Herbal Garden I'm thinking that I will finish part 2 (it was originally published as a monthly mystery of 12 parts) and then reconsider what I feel like working on.......... I will also take a picture then too so you can all see just how far I have to go!

I have Luke home with a yucky cold/virus (just picked him up from school) so I am going to look after him (whilst trying to not catch the thing myself!!)

Gasp

2006-07-26T20:03:00.000+09:30

......yes, I am posting again already. It is day 3 of week 1 but for some reason I was thinking earlier today that it was week 2 (time flies!). I have already had one meeting and have been working on kid's costumes........I have a whole bunch of things to work on at home. And there is another meeting on Friday morning although that is only a welcome to new parents.

Now, for the promised pictures of the beanie....

Shown here modelled (somewhat reluctantly) by the recipient Ron (DH). Knitted in Cleckheaton Country Silk (very nice to knit with) with a ridged rib brim and ss top.

I think I will stop now instead of rambling on aimlessly-a coffee and some stitching or knitting sounds just the thing though ;)

Holidays are over!

2006-07-24T16:20:00.000+09:30

School holidays that is. And we survived. We went to the museum, art gallery (an eye opener for the kids what with all the naked statues/paintings etc LOL), fruit & veg market, shopping centre, library (crafts etc here also) as well as usual fun stuff and both kids got to sleep over at a friend's house (Ron & I went to Pirates of the Caribbean 2 that night).

Ron is heading off to Moomba for a 2 week stint in a weeks time, but he will get 2 weeks off afterwards, although it won't be immediately after he gets back.

My computer has been amalgamated with a laptop so I can use the laptop in the house and take it down to my stitching room and put it in a docking station to use the scanner, printer, etc. All the photos that I have saved are still on my old hard drive (which Ron still has to transfer some things from ) but this laptop has a card reader thingo so I can post a couple of pics that were still on the camera.

The socks are the ones I knit for Luke for bedsocks and the car is Ron's new possible WIP. His Mum and Dad are getting ready to sell one of their blocks of land and Ron would like to restore this old Holden if he thinks it is viable..........it is currently in the garage under inspection.

I have been stitching on TW Storyteller and finished my first sock-the second is on the needles but has been superceded by a beanie for Ron as he has lost his and it gets cold of a morning on the way to the bus :)

I may start a Long Dog design of some kind soon-I caught up with my buddy Mel visiting from Dubai (only saw her for a couple of hours but she still managed to enable me lol) and saw her St Georges.........beautiful!

Have to go do some housework stuff-hopefully I will updated more regularly.........

Just Do It!

2006-07-05T14:17:00.000+09:30

.....as they say! I have been putting off posting a new entry as I want to put up pics-model, bed socks, etc, etc, but whenever I get the time to blog I am not near my computer in my stitching room (where the cord for the camera lives and hence where all the pics also live). Because of this I don't blog at all. So I am "just doing it" and will get to the pics one day.

Nothing startling has been happening-we have all recovered our health; Ron got back yesterday from Melbourne for a couple of days work. School holidays start next week for 2 weeks-I have already booked some activities at the library for the kids, and have a few other trips planned, but hopefully it will be relatively uneventful (I say relatively since we are dealing with kids here LOL).

Craft wise I haven't been doing heaps of anything-I did finish Luke's bedsocks which do fit him (with some room to spare-essential in a 10yo who's feet are almost as big as mine) and he wears every night. I am back to my sock-turned the heel and will get back to them but am knitting some bootee/slipper things for our neighbours' new baby which should have been born last night. I picked up the Yarn Harlot's (aka Stephanie Pearl-McPhee) new book Knitting Rules! which I had ordered through Angus & Robertson and enjoyed it very much. Also discovered that a shop here in town stocks yarn (mostly wool as it is a shop that stocks woollen products ie clothing, underblankets, etc) and at reasonable prices which is handy to know, I think. Stitching-wise I haven't done heaps, but I did pick up TW The Storyteller which hasn't seen much action since I started it on a stitching weekend. It will likely become my Guild Thursday night project since HAED designs can be tricky to concentrate on when much chatting is going on! Which reminds me that at the end of Oct a group of us from our Thurs night Guild group have a stitching weekend. We hire a couple of units about an hour's (??) drive from Adelaide and spend the weekend stitching, talking, eating, shopping, more talking, some drinking, etc.

OK-well that will do for now-hopefully pics will get done sooner (or later) but I'm off to have some quiet time before I have to go get kids from school..........

Been sick..........

2006-06-17T20:18:00.000+09:30

.......not an exciting title, I admit, but says it all really. I originally had some sort of cold/virus thing, and when that was nearly done, we got hit with a nasty gastro bug. Thankfully Ron didn't succumb and we are all mostly well, except for our tender digestive systems.

Caitlin was luckily recovered for her Zoo Snooze (it would have been the end of the world if she had had to miss it!).

I have (between illnesses and after recovery) been working on HAED Owl & Pussycat, as well as HAED Snowflake QS. I actually looked at MTM (Chatelaine's Medieval Garden Mandala) as it is still set up on my stitching frame in my stitching room, and am contemplating working on it for a few hours each week-disasters aside! LOL Oh, and 3 weeks until school holidays........

I finished off a scarf in a chunkyish yarn for me today and must get Luke's bedsocks done now.

Oh, and it's been cold here at nights-like really cold!!! We expect it cold as we are up in the hills, but regularly under 0C is colder than I expect and -5C is just...........brrrrrrrrr!!!!!!! The days have been mostly clear and warm(ish)-ie 13-15C but that is the reason for the cold nights.

Must go and get kids to bed so I can have a coffee and stitch......or knit.........

Woohoo!

2006-06-03T17:45:00.000+09:30

I finished the model-no pic at the moment as it is still on the camera and the cord is down in my stitching room. Actually I finished it at the beginning of the week, but since then it has been fairly hectic. Most of Wednesday was spent waiting for Ron's mum & dad to arrive at the airport (we didn't wait in the airport-but their flight kept getting delayed for various reasons, but we eventually got them). Thursday was spent at a seminar (it was interesting). Our group at the Embroiderers Guild has just put up a display and I dragged out the 2 Mirabilia's that I have done for that (not framed, but I am planning on getting one of them framed at least with my model stitching fee). I am planning to take my camera to take some pics next week (actually I planned to do that last Thurs..........) and will also get some WIP pics of some of the girls' (that is females-not necessarily young LOL) work. Better go forage for some food for dinner before the natives get restless.

Yep, I'm still alive

2006-05-22T20:18:00.000+09:30

.......it has been awhile since my last entry-you know how it goes...'I will do an entry tomorrow!'. We have had Mothers Day since my last post-had a lovely day-although I still have to go to the local nursery and choose a plant for my stitching room garden as part of my gifts.

What else? Ron's parents are currently overseas-they are just going to part of Canada and Alaska for 3 weeks. Luke's camp went well-he had a great time! I have had to brush up my chess skills (what I have of them LOL) as Luke has joined the school chess club and likes to practise against me. I can still beat him-at the moment!

Stitching/knitting news-I have 3 small motifs and some border left on the model so I'm hoping to post it off by the end of the week (I haven't done any today as I was anxious about our chooks-they disappeared yesterday and were away overnight. I was convinced they had become fox food, but they had been rescued by a neighbour down the street and put over their fence into another neighbour's yard as he mistakenly thought they belonged there. The chooks will no longer be so 'free range' in the future!!........but I digress) Knitting wise I haven't really done anything....although I did start some bedsocks for Luke (his feet are so big....and they are done on 2 needles so ideal for when kids are reading to me, etc). I have also been giving some thought to what I will stitch on when the model is done.....I haven't dragged out all my WIPs, but a few that might make the shortlist are: Storyteller (Teresa Wentzler), a Chatelaine, and a HAED or three. Not sure which ones......and I do have a vague yearning to start a new one....a QS? or Scotland? Who knows?? When I am musing I might make sure all my WIP pics are up-to-date and show you.

Better go and stitch (I have borrowed a few more talking books which works better for me than TV-much harder to get distracted visually)

Oh, just a little something to share with you.....questions at the tea table from a 7yo.....after asking about worms (ie tapeworms) and being told that it wasn't a topic for discussion whilst eating, she asks "Well, then, can you tell me about how the world was made???"........sigh..........they don't tell you about that at ante-natal classes!!

Brrrrr........winter is on the way!

2006-05-07T13:46:00.000+09:30

After some fairly mild Autumn weather, we have had some quite wintry weather in the last 24 hours or so. Yesterday was very windy (gusts of 90km/h nearby) and about an inch and a quarter of rain. Today is cold (max expected 12C) and we keep getting heavy rain showers with a bit of hail thrown in for good measure. Definitely a day for the wood fire and pumpkin soup (yes, I actually made some soup for lunch!!)

The kids are back at school (one week down for this term) and Ron is back at work, so hopefully life will settle down somewhat...........Luke has a school camp next week (3 days) so I must get organised and pack & label things for him. Caitlin will have a sleepover later this term (called a Zoo Snooze as it is in the Adelaide Zoo).

What else? Oh, if you are a regular reader of my blog, you may remember my discovery of blogs-as in how many there are (huge number) and my reading of them. Well, when reading one of these many blogs recently I clicked on a link to a podcast-a knitting podcast, Cast On , and so have discovered yet another new world of which I was ignorant! True, I have only listened to this one particular podcast, but there are LOTS out there. Oh, and also talking books are online-these are read by volunteers and are from the public domain so they are free. I haven't tried any yet, but I will for sure and let you know what I think. I have found that stitching to audio is ideal for me. Here is the link for Librivox.

Speaking of stitching, the model is coming along quite well-I really want to get most of it done this week, and since this week is relatively free (i.e. no meetings at school, etc) I think this is doable. I am looking forward to rummaging through my WIPs/stash when I am done and see what appeals!

Anzac Day and some pics

2006-04-25T09:40:00.000+09:30

Today is Anzac Day here in Australia (reminds me-must go check if I have ingredients for Anzac biscuits that I have promised to bake). We went to our local Dawn Service-first one for the kids. Caitlin wasn't over keen, and complained about how sore her feet were (quietly thank goodness!). Our town is fairly small but there was quite a large turn out-it was cold but not too bad-lovely & clear. We also went to the local hall for breakfast-toast(with Vegemite), coffee, and Anzac biscuits-very Australian! (and you could have Bundy Rum in your coffee-v traditional, but I declined as I imbibed enough Bundy in my Uni days to keep me going for the rest of my lifetime-ahem)
I have also finally got some pics for your viewing pleasure-the Easter ones are still on the camera, but I've got those foggy cow pics (doesn't everyone??) and a couple from our childless weekend away (how long ago that seems! - reminds me of a post I will make in the future, musing on childbirth, kids, school holidays and shopping during school holidays-bet you can't wait!!)

The cottage above was divided into 2 1/2s but was very nice & cosy. The other picture shows the street we were on-note the slate drywalls-there is a slate mine nearby and it is everywhere! The cow pictures above are taken from our back yard looking into the paddock next door-we get the pituresqueness (note the new word!) without the hard work!

Well I must go and think about baking biscuits (with my oven from hell) and doing some more stitching (on the model). Suffice it to say that I am way behind where I would like to be but am getting there.............more stitching/knitting chat another day-I have ~~rambled~~ imparted enough news for one entry.

Back Again........again!!

2006-04-20T23:08:00.000+09:30

We made it back from the Riverland yesterday, so I thought I'd just briefly pop in and post a quick entry. Had a lovely time-the weather was pretty good considering Easter was quite late this year. Kids had a great time swimming (!) and fishing, etc. We do have some pics but I haven't downloaded them yet-still catching up, finishing the unpacking and washing. Hopefully a more interesting entry with pictures will be available soon!!

Back Again (for a little while.......)

2006-04-09T17:58:00.000+09:30

We are back from our kids-free weekend.............it was lovely, quiet, and restful. Now we have 4 days to get organised and packed for Easter. Each Easter we travel ___ km (I have no idea-takes us a couple of hours or 3 to get there towing a caravan?) to the Riverland where we have a caravan site on the edge of a lake. We usually end up staying about 6 days so a little organisation and packing is required.

On the stitching/knitting front-yes I have done some-no, I haven't finished anything! I will have to put "taking pictures of WIPs" onto my "To-Do List" (yes, I have on started for this week). I usually get some stitching/knitting done at Easter time too (small lamp is on my list already!)

Yes, I'm Still Alive.........

2006-03-30T22:21:00.000+10:30

........haven't been on the computer much for the last few days....week?? So it's taken me a while to catch up with emails, reading blogs, etc, etc. Let's see-the Commonwealth Games are over (enjoyed them very much) and I didn't reach any of my goals. Problem was that I set some goals willy-nilly (as I am wont to do) and didn't really plan how I was going to actually achieve them. Quite a lesson there really. I am still working on the model (struck a hitch at Guild tonight as I realised I had left my pattern home-luckily I could ring Ron and get details of part of the border that repeats so I could get some done tonight!) and have done very little on the sock. I had to start a babies beanie for my new(ish) nephew.

Ron & I "celebrated" our 14th wedding anniversary on the 28th. I say"celebrated" as we have a weekend away to ourselves in just over a week's time, so celebrations as such have been postponed. And yes, time does go fast-life is such a cliche sometimes (and if someone knows how to type with accents over letters can you let me know? I'm sure it will come in handy sometime)

Well, I am going to get some more of the model done-page 1 is almost done so if I get cracking we might get a photo tomorrow sometime.

Finally a pic

2006-03-19T13:54:00.000+10:30

post started 19th March..........

Well, as promised, here is a pic of my model WIP-finally! My wrist/arm seems to be better-although I am trying to alternate knitting and stitching to make sure I don't overuse any tendons/muscles. My sock is coming along nicely-it's still taking a bit of getting used to juggling all the needles, but I'm getting better! Oh, and I finished Caitlin's scarf too so I only have 1 knitting WIP (we won't mention stitching WIPs LOL).

OK, well, since Blogger was having a fit over trying to post a pic, I decided to finish my entry at a later date which is now..............

I have obviously done more since then-am off to Embroiderers Guild tonight so hopefully will get even more done.

Oh, and Autumn seems to be in its Summer phase-we've been having max temperatures around 30C or a little higher-although the nights have been quite cool. We had a lot of fog the other morning-I did take some hopefully pituresque photos of the cows amongst the fog in the paddock next to us so I might post some of them another day-but don't hold your breath!

Getting Better!

2006-03-15T16:58:00.000+10:30

Thanks for the good thoughts! They must have worked cause my wrist has been improving daily-still not sure what caused it though. I have done some stitching and knitting the last few days (actually I sent Ron to Lincraft to get me some dpns today as I didn't have the right size for socks). I need to get stuck into the model too-I promise to get a pic up soon-really!

Luke turned 10 a couple of days ago-my, that decade went fast! lol We had a nice, fairly quiet day (which he prefers) and one of his favourite things was that since it was a public holiday, he didn't have to go to school.

As it looks like my wrist will allow me to knit/stitch I have been musing on my Commonwealth Games goals (I have made a Pittman comeback!) and after finding out exactly how many days it is (12) am getting an idea of what to set. I'm thinking to start & finish first pair of socks, 2 pages of model done (well, approx-some motifs spill over so I may not do exactly 2 pages), and lose 1kg (I go to WW on Wed so that will be a 14 day challenge). I will also finish Caitlin's scarf (that should be done tomorrow-nearly done) and I may possibly assemble some of those knitted things ie poncho, baby cardigan, etc. Note I said may.

I will probably work on either the model or cast on and start socks............or maybe both?! Need to go do housework kinda things so I can settle down later and stitch while commenting on all the countries outfits.........maybe trying to knit on 3 needles will work perfectly for this (depends on horror factor of outfits..)

Ow! sigh

2006-03-11T16:37:00.000+10:30

I'm just posting this as an update on my wrist/arm/whathaveyou as I suspicion that I shouldn't be using the computer..........I am guessing that I have some kind of tendonitis or similar (not that I have much knowledge in this area) but as it's Sat today (and Mon is a public holiday) it will be a few days until I can get to my GP. I was bad yesterday and knitted for a while.......but it so sucks that I really can't stitch or knit.......and I really wanna!! Maybe I should change my name to Jana Pittman or Ian Thorpe-my Commonwealth dreams of glory are fading fast.

Foolin' Around

2006-03-09T11:11:00.000+10:30

Since my wrist/arm is sore I am fiddling around on the computer (trying to stay away from stitching/knitting)
Let's see if this works

You Were An Owl

You are stealthy and secretive - no one knows the true you.
You are a seeker of freedom, and you are comfortable with your dark side.

What Animal Were You In a Past Life?

There are lots of fun quizzes at this site......so if you have an hour (or so) to ~~waste~~ spare, go for it!

Bargains and other things.........

2006-03-06T19:04:00.000+10:30

I picked up a bargain today........I figured I would go to my local Salvation Army shop to rummage for knitting supplies. I ended up with 6 pairs of double pointed needles for $3.50 (one was a bamboo set). Since I have never knitted socks I wasn't sure what my tension is like so I got what looked like a lot of different sizes-if I end up with duplicate sizes, I will just have spares!

At the weekend Caitlin decided to start her cross stitch kit that we bought in the summer school holidays........I wasn't sure how it would go as she can tend to be a perfectionist and is not always known for her patience or attention span. She's worked on it in small bursts (she's 7yo) and took it to school today for show & tell. She's using my 6" Q-snaps at the moment, and getting the idea pretty well (oh, and the design is a purple dinosaur-she's not into a lot of "girly" designs). We'll see how she progresses........

I've finished knitting the poncho-just need to sew it together now. The model is coming along nicely-I will post a pic soon, but the camera is sown in my stitching room and I can' be bothered right now. I am musing on giving myself a Commonwealth challenge a la Yarn Harlot's Olympic challenge......not sure what form it will take and also the CG are 10 days from memory.

Oh, learnt how to do a new cool thing. Of course, it helps when your almost 10yo son is a computer ~~nerd~~ expert. And it's using code. Maybe you can teach an old ~~dog~~ girl new tricks?

On another totally different note, remember the "Healthy Eating" committee?? Well, the meeting for this term is tomorrow............. And as we have a state election in a couple of weeks (groan) healthy kids has come up as an election policy/issue. If the current government is re-elected they will legislate against any junk food in canteens, etc...........So much for a quiet little committee! (and it's ironic that I am the convenor for this committee when I attend WW, gym, and have one child who eats a very limited number of foods)

Well, Mythbusters is about to start (when I was a kid we watched The Sullivans and Sale of the Century as a family...........but times change!) and I've rambled enough for now.............

Welcome Autumn!

2006-03-01T16:01:00.000+10:30

Today is officially the first day of Autumn..........hooray! I'm not over fond of Summer, and I do like Winter (except for the cold mornings).

Update on craft-model has arrived so it has been started-love silks!! I'll post a pic probably tomorrow sometime. I've also been working on the poncho-nearly done-should probably get the knitting finished this afternoon-ideal to work on when kids are around and have friends over. I'll have to work out how to assemble it tomorrow. I also got stuck into my stitching room yesterday-it needs some more work but things are at least in the boxes/folders etc that they should be-yes and a dust and vacuum wouldn't hurt either.....

Things I have learnt about knitting on the web in the last week or so:
1. There are lots of knitters out there
2. Sock knitting is taking over the world
3. Bamboo/wood/plastic needles are better than metal ones.
4. There are lots of entertaining blogs out there devoted to knitting.

Also regarding knitting-I have in the past noticed that my tension is somewhat tighter than the norm (not that I have ever bothered with tension squares etc! lol) but in my tidy up/rummage yesterday I found a Patons "how to knit" book and it actually had a pick of how to hold the needles..........and it is not the way I do it.........and I take my right hand off the needle to wind the yarn..........maybe this is why I am slow and have tight tension??? I am going to have a practice on Caitlin's scarf when I am done with the poncho. Oh, I also found 1 baby's cardigan (with cable on front) and a toddlers jumper both finished except for the......finishing.........my MIL (mother in law) is coming over Sat afternoon so I might rope her in to help me/do it for me. Not sure who will actually get these garments but at least they will be done.

It's hard to believe that it's March already............Luke will be 10yo later this month and we also have our 14th wedding anniverary. We've got a weekend away early April (as in kid free) up to the Clare Valley so that will be our anniversay celebration.

I have another day at home tomorrow so I hope to get lots of model stitched in between housework...............

I've become a blogophile

2006-02-25T15:42:00.000+10:30

I can't seem to help it............people have links on their own blogs to other blogs, where there are more links, .............. It's a vicious circle, or do I mean a slippery slope? Thanks to some hints, and major hand holding from Mel (in Dubai), I have got my own Blogroll. When I have some things to ignore (ie housework) I will update my links too, now that I have some small inkling of what I am trying to do.

I decided to work on my Patchwork Sampler on Tuesday-didn't get a whole lot done, but I have remembered why I decided to start this so hopefully it will get some more action in the near future. I also have been rummaging through my knitting.....stuff........for the want of a better term. I have ditched several UFOs that for various reasons will never be finished (ie half of a mitten first started for my son who now has hands almost as big as mine, and also started without checking my tension so it was likely that I wouldn't have enough yarn anyhow). My knitting WIPs now consist of a scarf for Caitlin (daughter) which will resemble when finished an electric blue feather boa, and a poncho for myself (kit from Spotlight with spec. yarns and using elongated stitch which is new to me).

I have materials for a model (cross stitch) on their way to me. It is a sampler from The World of S, and Australian designer and will be stitched with Dinky-Dyes silks. Here is a pic of the sampler. I will be working on this for the next 6-8 weeks or thereabouts-I have only done some smaller models so the timeframe is hard to estimate. I'm thinking that I will probably alternate the model sampler with another stitching project, and some knitting. Not sure what the "other" project might be. I had some urgings to work on The Storyteller (Teresa Wentzler) which hasn't been stitched on for.........well over a year. And there's also MTM which (since I saw someone's-Carol's I think, with Pt 5 nearly done) has been whispering for some time. Who knows?? I certainly don't!!