Progress

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.........

....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

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.....

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

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

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

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

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

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

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........

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

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....

......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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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......