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Thursday 1 December 2011

Hi

Still here, but no Internet access Then a holiday! So likely no contact till New Year Missing my Internet friends Have a wonderful and safe Christmas

Monday 14 November 2011

Santa and Christmas

Before the mad rush of Christmas (and Thanksgiving) start
I thought this might be a gentle reminder
It's from this book - The Book of Santa Claus
It has beautiful old pictures of Santa


I have always loved books
Especially childrens books
And so slowly, but surely, a collection of children's Christmas books are piling up here

Anyone else have some that they love
I would love to add them to my, at the moment, tiny collection

Someday, there will be a grandchild that Grandma (me) can read them too

Thursday 10 November 2011

Just thought I would share ......

...that I just spent 10-15 minutes walking home in the rain!!


and no, I haven't lost my mind
or I don't think I have
....???????


It's just with temps in the 30's for quite a few days
And humidity in the very high 90's
And a body that is continually on over-heat now days

I was thoroughly enjoying a very light and gentle bit of rain falling on me



And to top it all off
A gentleman offered to share his umbrella for the short distance we were on the same path

Who said chivalry was dead!


Tuesday 1 November 2011

Projects

Hi everyone
You may have noticed my lack of projects over the last couple/few/lots of months.
Well I have been crafting
Just felt that my posts were getting a bit b-l-a-h

But today I felt like sharing a few of my favourites with you
All have been Ravelled here

Borrowed the baby to see size and fit, as I sort of designed it.
Her Mum loved it, so bought it from me  :-)




By the way, you may have noticed a new button at the top of my side Bar
Well that goes directly to a little shop I opened
I'm hoping I might be able to sell a few projects
At least enough to help pay for the ever-rising costs of posting away my charity items

Fingers crossed for me please



And you thought there was no crochet ......
I really wanted to make this pattern (old memories), but had so much trouble with the starting chain - no give and so very small.
Then I tried foundation dc/sc - that gave me the little bit of stretch and width I wanted.
Don't know why it took me ??? times to work that out   :-)


And for those in Australia
Hope the horses are lucky for you today!!!!




Tuesday 25 October 2011

Stewing

Hi

I have had an idea stewing in the background for a while using Elaine from Down Cloverlaine's patterns.
She has a few new patterns out lately - which, by the way, she shares for free.
When I saw them, I knew immediately that I would be knitting two of them

Koala Cloth - details here

Baby Joey - details here

As for the idea - well, it needs a bit more stewing


Tuesday 11 October 2011

Almost Wordless Weekend

 
Hunter Valley Chocolates
which is right in front of Petersens Wines (Champagne of course)

Accommodation - The Carriages

Wildlife

Choir Boys

Thirsty Merc
Meatloaf
(from the big screens)

By the time Meatloaf came on stage it was dark and very, very wet - as in the rain had set in
So my poor little camera had a very hard time taking this shot (the best of about 20!)

Saturday 1 October 2011

Field Wonderful

Well Allison, from Field Wonderful, certainly made me feel wonderful, when I received these beautiful goodies in the mail from a recent give-away that she ran

I have never used this yarn before and it feels wonderful
And thank you so much for the little packet - any guesses what's in it?
I must say Allison, you must have a little ESP going
As these particular items have been on my mind of late, searching, searching, searching
Very, very handy for me

P.S - Just noticed that it is Canadian Yarn - my very first and goes well with my fascination with Canada and north - very happy  :-))

Thank you for the lovely parcel, Allison

And this lot is off to Brisbane for K4C (sidebar) COTM - PIPA


Many of these projects you will already have seen, others have been stockpiling to make the postage worthwhile, especially as it just went up 20%

Got to love making preemie outfits, its a fantastic stash-buster!


PS - Glad you liked the Anzac Slice recipe like I did  :-)

Monday 26 September 2011

Old but not quite vintage

Hi everyone

Anyone know what exactly makes things vintage?
I have always taken them to be roughly over 30 years old???

Anyway, I would like to share with you something I started all-but 29 years ago
And I also finished it well within a year
Must have had some time up my sleeve back then  :-)
Don't know how - as hubby frequently was away for work and three babes under 13 months!!!
Oh, that's it - hubby was away   :-)

Anyway, back to what I want to show you


For anyone who is interested here are the meanings -
A = Australian Flag
B = Brolga
C = Cockatoo
D = Dusky Hopping Mouse
E = Echnida
F = Flannel Flower
G = Goanna
H = Honeyeater
I = Ibis
J = Jabiru
K = Koala
L = Lorikeet
M = Magpie
N = Numbat
O = Orchid (native)
P = Platypus
Q = Quokka
R = Rosella
S = Swan (Black native)
T = Tawny Frogmouth Owl
U = Urchin
V = Violet (native)
W = Wallaby
X = Xtraordinary Lizard (Frilled Neck)
Y = Yabby
Z = Zebra Finch

Bye for now

Thursday 22 September 2011

mmmmmm

Hi everyone

I don't usually share recipes, but just thought you might like this one, which I found here


This was just after it came out of the oven and before it was found  :-)

Anzac Slice

1 cup SR flour
1 cup coconut
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of crushed nuts (I used dried fruit instead)
125g melted butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
1 egg

Preheat oven 180C and grease a slice tin
Mix all ingredients together. 
Press into slice tin and bake until golden (about 15-20 mins)

Could not be simplier

Hope someone else enjoys this too

PS - SR Flour is Self Raising Flour - Self-rising (or self-raising) flour is sold premixed with chemical leavening agents, usually baking powder
Golden syrup is a pale treacle.  It has an appearance similar to honey, and is often used as a substitute for people who do not eat honey. It can also be used as a substitute for corn syrup.
Molasses or dark treacle has a richer colour than golden syrup, and a stronger, slightly bitter flavour

Hope this helps Barbara

Wednesday 14 September 2011

Quick Hi

Just dropped in to say a quick Hi

Just keeping an eye on these little angels  ;-)  for a short time


Rescue puppies who my D3 named Ginny & Frankie
Cross Jack Russell/Chihuahua puppies
Only 6 weeks old

Quick photo taken with my phone, sorry for the quality

Yes they do sleep a lot
But boy, they go crazy when awake

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Old is New Again

Hi everyone

Well it seems that a couple of you already had the same idea as me and dug out your old patterns.

Pat from Hooks and Books reworked the lovely little Hug Me Tight.  And boy does it look cute!

Jane from Papillion Gold had already beat me to it.  She has a lovely little 'Puss' project which got swamped by the big He-man jumper she made  :-)

Jenny from Justjen has worked a vintage pattern for gloves.  And then worked another beautiful cable pair.

Here is another vintage pattern
Which I think is very cute

Sleeveless Hug-Me-Tight
Details here
From this pattern book


And if you thought I was not crocheting  :-)
Well I have had some granny squares hanging around for mmm..... well a very long time
And I went looking to make something practical with them, just not a blanket, and it would be for a charity
So .....  I loosely used this pattern and got this

Yep, unblocked.  It's an acrylic, so I don't like to touch it too much.  Probably explains why it was sitting there for so long

And to end this post with a weird question - anyone else enjoy 'Wild Boys' last night?
Nice to see "Australian" history for a change

Oh and did I mention Gourmet Farmer Series 2 has started - Thursday nights SBS
Thoroughly enjoyed Series 1.  Missed the first show of Series 2.  But I'm hooked again  :-)

Hope the sun is shining where you are
Unless you would prefer it to rain - gently though please  :-)

Wednesday 31 August 2011

Old is New Project

Hi everyone

It seems a few of you are lucky owners of some of these precious Heirlooms of our Past.
Me, well there was a LARGE group of families who all seemed to being having girls, so we just kept passing our child's 'best' clothing around n around n around
Funny that I never kept anything, especially as I love "old things"  :-)

Just thought you might like an update on my "Old is New" project

The completed set is from Patons 1283 Heirloom 4ply Collection
The yarn is b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l Cleckheaton Bamboo 4ply
So soft, lovely sheen and such beautiful drape (which I hope you can see below)


Details here

I have decided to set myself a little challenge
To complete at least one pattern from each of my vintage pattern books
As you will see, I will be picking the baby patterns, mainly because they are so quick and oh so cute

Anyone else feel up to the challenge of digging around in your old patterns and completing one, or two, or .......?
No rules, anything goes
Ok, sorry - one rule
Please blog about it so that I can see your lovely projects
And find those lovely old pattern books


And just another quickie here
This lot is off to Tassie
To be made up with other squares into blankets for "Betty's City Kitchen"


This is a challenge on Knit 4 Charities A-Long

Thursday 25 August 2011

New or Old, Old or New

Hi everyone
This post will have to have a few photos to explain the story.

Recently I have wanted to do some lace knitting, but only small projects, what better than baby items.  There is always a charity that can use them throughout the year.  So I thought I would build up my stocks and be ready for them.

And for the crocheteers that visit, well I have been trying to work those beautiful lace baby clothes, but for some reason I struggle with the first few rows.  The sizing seems way off no matter what yarn or hook I try.  But I will soldier on, as there is one pattern in particular that I want to make, for sentimental reasons  :-) It was a gift for my babies, and I loved it.

So saw this pattern book and thought "that's a good start"


And yes, it does have one very cute crochet jacket too, if I can master the starting size issue.

Decided that this pattern would be a good intro back into the world of lace and babies - well it has been 30 years  :-)


I would like to share with you a little something I have a LARGE love of - old patterns and clothing.
So using this Heirloom pattern reminded me to have a look for a particular old pattern book I was after.
Ended up buying 4 of them  :-)
This was the one I was after


For this pattern, as I made 2 of them, one for each first/second born  :-)

And then I spotted this  :-)


Funny how some things just keep popping back in to grab your attention

Also spotted this, which I remember making, but just can't remember who for, lots of water under the bridge.

 And no, I have NEVER had this pattern book.  But I have had a few Patons Pattern Books!!

I am curious as to how some of these patterns were ever knitted.  The photos I have shown you are quite large and clear compared to a lot of the patterns in the other books.  It would be guess work, or just loving a pattern name as to which to knit

There are a couple of crochet patterns too, if anyone is interested in having a look-see

Wednesday 17 August 2011

Crochet Toddler Fashion

"Up-to-the-minute play suit (top, pants and sun bonnet) in easy Granny Squares" c1971
And there is more where that came from  :-)

Well I did laugh when I saw it too
But then I made this

I thought this idea might work well with children of various ages for charity
Details here
And the pattern is here where you can see one that is in action and way drapeyier(?) than mine

Thursday 11 August 2011

Quiet but busy hands

I'm still here
Just not very talkative (in general)
But busy fingers
So here are a few little projects
As a little gift for a friend who is a NRL Tiger supporter

When hubby saw this for the first time (may be the only time) he requested one for himself
BTW - I have made other items in the past for hubby, but he is a very warm person and mainly lives in T-shirts with a very light jacket in winter.


A scarf - just because
Close Ups of the pattern at above link

And if your remember way back here and this little mess
One person guessed right
And I finally found the missing item

Now he/she is hiding in the flowers (will be when the weather warms up) because I can't decide if its name is Kenny Koala, will need pants; or Katie Koala, will need pinafore




Thursday 21 July 2011

Blog Posts

Thank you to all who left a comment on my last Post about reading other Blog Posts
I learnt that there are lot of different options that I had not even thought about
And that some of us do things exactly the same  :-)

Every day brings us something new to learn

Monday 18 July 2011

Blog Posts

Curious
Sometimes I wonder about too many things
Nothing important or life changing
Usually nothings in particular

So I am going to ask for your input with this one

It's about blogging posts
Do you?????

1)  Read them from RSS Feeds or Email (by subscribing)?
2)  Or do you blog hop to each site?

Me personally
Well I receive feeds and emails

So that's one vote for No 1. !

Friday 15 July 2011

Hats

Hi
Well I could not help myself, so with the scarf mentioned here, I whipped up one of these too


Details here
Yarn - Heirloom Easy Care 8ply

and then I found out they will be going to Perisher shortly
so I had to do this for the hubby  :-)

It is a big on Pooh, but he has a child's head size (Pooh not the hubby  :-))
Details here
Yarn - Bendigo Classic 8ply in Koala and Almond

Items are posted and fingers crossed they like the surprise

Tuesday 12 July 2011

My Sunday

All photos were taken with my basic Mobile Phone

Browsing through here


Crossing on two of these


Driving on roads like this



Having lunch here


And enjoying views like this


Hope everyone had a lovely weekend
What did you get up to?


Sunday 10 July 2011

Witches Wicks

Hi everyone

This is what working with acrylic does for me



See that little piece of skin lifting near the cuticle
Well that catches the yarn
But only with acrylic, no probs at all with natural fibres
Thankfully this should be nearly the last of the gifted acrylic which I am using for charity items

My Mum use to call them "Witches Wicks"
Don't know why or where the name came from

Anyone else have a name for them?