Christmas knitting...

Is a go!
I have been doing my Christmas knitting, I have completed 3 cotton carry bags with another one on the needles. I have a lot to go. And did you see my Christmas Tree on the bottom right hand corner, well be sitting down when you do have a look at it, because it says 42 days to Christmas. Now that is scary.


I have made up a sheet with a list of what I want to knit for charities in 2010, and what I would like to knit for Kiama and Albion Park Shows in 2011 as well as personal knitting. The list is quite long. I have made up a sheet so I can do a stocktake of all my stash, that way I can match it up with things on my list and as it has been a goal for the last 2 years to knit all my stash, hopefully it will become a reality in 2010.

My work has an Award which is given to an indoor staff member and an outdoor staff member each year for volunteer/charity work. This year I have been nominated for the Robert East Award. Robert East was a Councillor at my work when he died of Cancer about 3 years ago, he did a lot of volunteer work in our community and outside our community. I am so happy to be nominated for my knitting I do for charity, which most of you know I love doing so much and is probably the majority of the knitting I do.

Some of the girls I knit with had been knitting some "Gorilla Knitting" for Viva La Gong Festival held last weekend in Wollongong. Here is some pieces around the tree. Most of it was displayed on the light posts in the mall. It all looked very affective. It will be displayed for about a month, then taken down and made into blankets for charity.

A busy life

Things are really busy around here, not photos of knitting... yes I have been knitting. I am knitting some string shopping bags for Christmas Gifts.

I am going to try to mostly do a homemade Christmas Gift for family and friends this year, and probably only buy something for my own children their partners and our grand-child.

As DH is still out of work it is more of a need to do this than a want, although I must say it is something I think about doing every Christmas, but never actually get around to it.

I have made a list of people and a list of gifts, so hopefully it will all come together. I also want to go through my stash and stocktake a list of everything, then try to use what I have for the gifts. Although I don't know how much of the same colour cotton I have that I need for all the string bags. Another item to go with the bags will be dishclothes, then some homemade biscuits, slices and maybe mini Christmas cakes, time will tell.

I hope to get some pictures of knitting done soon, but a very special thing is happening on Wednesday and that will take up a fair bit of my time, my youngest son and his fiance are coming home for a while, in between jobs. We haven't seen them for 2 years coming this Christmas, they have been working in WA for 2 1/2 years. The next job is in NSW about a 5 hour drive, so that will be a good thing, just a long weekend trip to visit them, I can make some long weekends regularly out of my accrued leave time banked up. Everyone is so excited, our eldest son is excited as he can't wait to introduce his daughter to his brother, and he is going to pick them up from the airport. Wish I could be there to see them together, but I will be at work and will have to wait until I get home (I am going to finish a bit early and get home as quick as I can).

Wow....nearly two months without a post

Boy have I been slack....read very busy since my holiday. I haven't had time to post or read my favourite blogs. I have to get more time in the day.....not sure how I will manage that, but I will try. Sometimes other things are more important......like have #1 son, dil and grand-daughter move back in with us, so in between going to work and home things to do, I spend most of my time enjoying my grand-daugher while she is living with us. She is 15months now and a real little monkey, can climb like no-bodies business. Loves being outside and loves the pool. I can see barb wire on the pool fence and maybe even electrification of the pool fence to keep this little one on the right side of the fence. It is adorable when she comes walking into me of a night while I am sitting in my lounge chair trying to knit or read and she has a book in tow and says 'up', so up she climbs as I try to finish the paragraph or row and quickly get the knitting or book out of the way as she is already perched up on my lap ready to read to her.

I have been knitting this last week doing some gorilla knitting for the Viva La Gong which is on very soon in Wollongong. The knitting is going to be stitched onto the light poles in Wollongong Mall for the festivities. And you never know where else they may turn up.

What else have I knit, the old brain isn't working so good at 10.30pm, time I was in bed as it is another work day tomorrow. I keep waiting for the call from the Lotteries Office to say we have won millions of dollars........still waiting and dreaming.

DH still hasn't found work. Getting a bit stressed about that. Growing vegetables so it won't be too bad, how many ways can you eat strawberry's, tomatoes, broccoli, rhubarb, potatoes, capsicum, zucchini, cucumber and chilli's......let me count the ways. I would love a couple of chooks, that way we will get our protein each day with fresh eggs, but DH hasn't been convinced we should have chooks. Even tried to bribe him with the grand-daughter would love to have some chooks.

Just remembered what I have been knitting, just need to sew it together and get some buttons, ribbon etc to finish off. I am knitting a 3 piece baby set for Kiama Show in January 2010, and have started on a baby dress for same show. I am still decided if I will knit for Albion Park Show which is early January. I have a list of things I would like to knit, but time is creeping (steam rolling) up on me.
Pictures will be coming after I sew all the bits together.

Knitting Again

I have picked up the needles since getting home from our holiday, wow 5 weeks without knitting, I didn't even go into a yarn store while in USA. We were busy taking in all the wonderful places we were visiting. I didn't even get time to do a holiday blog which I though I would be able to do.

I am knitting a scarf in a boucle type yarn, it will be for a charity. I need to get back into charity knitting and get my stash down to about 2 projects in the house at a time, well that is my goal and I have been trying to do that for nearly 2 years now, and only buying yarn to knit things for my grand-daughter.

On friday night I decided I needed something nice to knit at Wollongong Stitch N Bitch on Saturday, so I got our the Patons Serenity Bamboo and Cotton in a very nice light pink. Bought at my very favourite yarn store CR&K Daisy Designs at Fairy Meadow, I bought it at camp in April. I wanted to knit my grand-daughter something with it and I had a look on Ravelry on Friday for a pattern of a dress to knit, I found a lovely one knit top down, no seams, now that has to be a good thing it is called "Violet Dress Pattern".

I started it on Friday night and finished it this morning (Sunday), gotta be happy about that. A very easy quick knit and so soft in the Bamboo Cotton mix. I didn't make it a long as it says my grand-daughter is only 13months old, it finished the increase rows then did the border and cast off.



I tried it her this morning and it looks great, I just have to sew in the ends and I am going to crochet an edge around the armholes, which isn't in the pattern but I think it will look more finished.

I'm back home

I have been travelling in the USA for 5 weeks. What a great time we had.

I will catch up with my knitting and blogging soon.

Patons Heirloom Patterns

I love the old baby patterns, I do have this pattern in a very old Patons book. Patons have now bought out a lovely pattern book of Heirloom Patterns and the cardigan I have knitted for my grand-daughter is the same as I had when a baby and I did knit for my boys - in blue naturally.


I knitted this one in Shepherd 4ply pure wool in a beautiful soft pinkfrom my very favourite LYS - CR&K Daisy Desings at Fairy Meadow. It looks lovely on grand-daughter. I knitted the 12 months size. That is a good thing with the new Heirloom book is that the sizes for all the patterns are from newborn to 12months, which is great for the one's I really want to knit now she is coming up 12months.

This blue jacket will probably go to Guardian Pharmacy for charity. I have noticed that the guardian pharmacy are not sending our knitted items overseas to Mongolia anymore, but are distributing the items to Australian charities. I am now knitting some small baby beanies for my charity knitting, this will be good for my stash busting efforts, which are still going. I got this acrylic yarn from a shop in Kiama which was closing down a few years back I might add, it has another owner now.

I am still trying to read the blogs I have listed along with new ones, I mainly lurk without commenting, not that I don't won't to comment, just that sometimes I don't have the time to spend commenting, but I am there.

Still Knitting

I have been busy, with work, getting settled in our new home, being sick (gastro and now a cold - all from grand-daughter).

I have been knitting, I have finished the knitting on grand-daughter's jumper from the yarn I dyed at the Knitters Retreat in April, I do have to sew it up. Below is the yarn I dyed still in the skein and then in balls. It is an Australia pure wool 8ply from Flinders Island yarn. It dyed and knitted very nicely.

Photo's are loading very slow so I will put more up when they load quicker.

I have knitted her 2 beanies, 1 hat, and 2 pairs of mittens with a 3rd pair on the needles.

The hat is an old pattern, I actually hat one when I was a baby, from a Patons book. It is a pixie hat with braid at the front. Very pretty. The pattern is for 3ply yarn, but I did it in Shepherd 4ply pure wool as I like the darker pink colour.

The mittens are knitted in Sirdar 8ply Fair Isle yarn, they look so cute. They are suppose to have the long cord attached to thread through the child's sleeves, but I am not keen on that idea, so just crocheted a cord and attached at the wrist to tie up.

So the stash knitting is going along well. Still way too much to get through as usual.

Still smelling my roses each day, they are so beautiful in perfume and colours. I even have Ruby (dog) smelling the roses that I cut before I put them inside. She must think I am a very silly human.

Christening & Stimulus

My grand-daughter was baptised at the end of last month. Here is a photo of her and her dad. She was just beautiful.
I am writing this post on my new toy. Thanks to Mr Rudd (Prime Minister). An Acer Aspire One. It is a 9inch screen notebook. I got it for our holiday to USA in July/August this year so I can store photos and hopefully have a holiday blog.

I have the annual Knitting Retreat next weekend I can't wait, knitting, catching up, eating, knitting, dyeing, knitting what a great weekend we will all have.

I'm Back...

We are all moved, Friday 27 March was the day and what a big day. We finally closed the door on the removalist at 6.30pm.

We had a house full of boxes, every where you looked there were boxes. Shit now we had to unpack. But first I had to clean, not that I wanted to, not that I thought I would have to. But I needed to. It all looked nice and clean, but it wasn't. Saturday morning was pack away the kitchen, but first I had to clean and it took 4 1/2 hours. Not happy Jan!

After a week and 2 days in this home we finally have the boxes in the hallway off the floor, some are unpacked, some are moved to the correct room where they will need packing away or unpacking. The 2 toilets are leaking inside the cistern, went to Bunnings to get things to fix them, didn't work, DH not happy, will have to buy the whole guts of the toilet tomorrow. The first big down pour of rain happened early in the week, all the gutters overflowed with water, what we thought was a nice big covered outdoor area became a wash with water. DH spent 4 hours saturday afternoon on the roof cleaning out all the gutters. Again not happy. What happened to people maintaning their homes, not the people in this one. Looks can be very decieving. We are slowly getting everything the way we want it.

#1 son, daughter inlaw, grand-daughter could be moving from the city back to near our old home, so we could be doing more moving on Good Friday, yah! Atleast it won't be ours and it will clear out a room at our home which is storing some of their things.

This is the first day back on the net, and that was a mini drama in itself. We have a house with 4 phone points, 2 include fax points. We had 2 phones connected to 2 of the points, and connected the internet to the point in the room we have set up as my craft/study room. Couldn't get the internet to work, rang the provider, worked through some issues with them, still didn't work. Tried other options, then rang provider back to say it was the phone line. After going through everything again the guy asked me to disconnect the other phones, kitchen point out, phone still working, bedroom point out, phone disconnected. Don't you hate that. The guy rang me back on my mobile (should have done that earlier and saved some phone costs). In the end the only phone line working for the internet and phone at the same time is the study line. When we connect the phone to the bedroom point it stuffs up the internet connection. So far so good. We have 5 cordless phones so only need a phone line point for the home base phone. So out with the other corded phone which DH wanted to have, I was so happy about that. I am not telling him that he could still have that phone in the kitchen point, as it cleared space of the breakfast bar in the kitchen. Makes me happy.

On the knitting front, I am in a smaller room for my craft/study room, so it looks a mess, but I will have to knit through it. Not a problem, maybe by 2015 it might be all done. Yes that is my goal again this year to finish all my stash. Can't see that happening this year though. I am doing a special little guys rug in football team colours. So happy knitting.

Daylight savings ended last night, so it was dark earlier tonight, but the best thing will be it will be light when I get up in the morning. Gotta love that.

I am tied from non stop unpacking, I am going to bed. Goodnight! Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite.

moving, knitting, working, life is full

Life is full at the moment, we are packing up our home and moving to another home we have bought. We have been packing things for weeks, you feel like it should be all done, but no-where near it yet. We are down sizing aswell, so we have to be brutal with what we are keep and what we chuck out. Yesterday while unpacking a trailer load of boxes into storage for the next couple of weeks, I said to DH, wouldn't it be nice to chuck all this away and get all new stuff. Would save a lot of packing I can tell you. Maybe next year I might start getting some new stuff, one room at a time, now that would be lovely.

I am still knitting the 3x3 moss stitch baby hooded jacket, I am up to the hood, so not much to do now. I have also knitted 2 mens beanies to go to Victorian fire victims.

At my every other tuesday knitting night (this tuesday night yahoo) I will get some royal blue, maroon, and yellow acrylic for a special little fellows blanket. (another fire victim, one we know through blogging). That will be my knitting project while moving. I have packed all my knitting stash, patterns, I have kept my needles though, I can always buy wool - right!

Did I tell you I got a set of Addi Clicks, I started knitting with them the very next night to getting them. They are so nice to knit with. I can see me getting a lot of use from them.

DH, myself and a couple of good friends went for a ride to Katoomba, I love the Blue Mountains. Katoomba has turned pretty hippy since our last visit. We lived there in late 1980 - 1981 while DH worked on the Railways. #1 son celebrated his 1st birthday there. We had lunch at the Paragon Cafe, it is a National Trust site. They have really nice meals and they also are famous for their home made chocolates. They had an easter chocolate of a rabbit on a motorbike. I would have got it but I didn't have anywhere to put it, if I put it down my leather jacket it would have melted. I did tell DH we should drive up there one day or for a weekend.

Victorian Bush Fires and Friends worldwide

My LYS told me about this blog site that is helping the people in the bush fires in Victoria. I have been looking this morning and it is a great site. Please go and have a look there probably is something you can help with even if you thought there wasn't.

It has a lot of things that need putting together for the people there, it has a place to donate money if you wish, donate recipes, donate craft items. Thank you to the people who put this site together you are wonderful.

Here is the site http://www.handmadehelpsout.blogspot.com/ now quickly go and have a lot.

Our Tribe a group of knitters/crafters got together a few years back and did some knitting swaps, we have stayed in touch via our blogs, emails etc over the years. One of our tribe is from the bush fire area and lost her husband, her dog and her home. She and her son are OK, they were away at the time of the fires. The fire went through their area at over 300ks an hour, no-one had time to save anything let alone themselves. As a tribe we are pulling together again for her and her family. This is the great thing about these blog community, they are worldwide, most we have never met in person and most we never will, but we always know we are there for each other, no matter what. And that is so special.

If you are allowed to day dream and most of us probably do alot. My daydream today was that I could have enough money to hire a large car and get the Australia members of Our Tribe together to drive down and help out our friend as her husband's workmates are closing their work place down for a day next week and going out to clear the 5 acres up for her, that will help with the re-build of everything for her. I do believe in dreams, and wish this one would come true. But in reality I don't have the money, but all our thoughts will be with them all next week and with our tribe friend and her family for ever.

Kiama Show Wins

Here are the photo's of the knitting I did for Kiama Show.

The baby dress in 3ply pure baby wool won 1st place.
The baby shawl in 2ply pure baby wool won 1st place.
The matinee jacket in 3ply pure baby wool at bottom won 2nd place.
The mauve 3 piece set didn't win anything, I think they want bonnet, bootees and matinee jacket as the set.
They are all knitted in Shepherd Pure BabyWool, it is really nice to knit with and looks great knitted up and you know how I love to knit with Australian wool, gotta get behind our yarn makers and farmers.

Kiama Show & Knitting section

Knitting in this house has been the main priority lately with having to finish items for Kiama Show which is this weekend.

During my lunch time today I walked over to the show to see how my knitting went. Pretty damn good I must say.

The Baby Shawl – 1st Prize
The 3 piece Baby Set – nothing (I am sure they like the old fashioned 3 piece set of bonnet, bootees and matinee jacket – I did the hat, jacket and long pants as my 3 piece set)
The Baby Dress – 1st Prize
The Matinee Jacket – 2nd Prize

Pictures of all the above to come (hopefully over the weekend)

Very happy with the results. But next year I will try to convert them to more modern baby wear with another modern 3 piece set and I will do an old fashioned one as well.

I am now on my ‘stash busting’ knitting, I have put most of it out on the floor and the plan is to go through it all, then look through patterns and pick a pattern for the yarn, and just keep on knitting.

I don’t have any other knitting projects that need doing at the moment, so the stash is the number 1 priority.

I have been back at work at week now, it hasn’t been too bad I guess, it has been extremely hot here the past few days, so it is nice to be in an air conditioned office during the heat. It doesn’t stop me knitting though, DH and I sit out on the front verandah of an early evening, have a chat while I knit, it is lovely until the sandflies decide that we taste pretty good to them. I need to get the aeroguard on us before going out at that time.

Grand-daughter is 6 months old next week, the time is going by so quick, it is just lovely having them living with us while she is so young, we get to spend time with her when we get home from work while they are cooking dinner. She is so cheeky. They are thinking about moving back to Sydney as there is more work there for #1 son. We will miss them, but it will be great to have a home to ourselves for a while and they need their own space too.

Back to knitting……………I am working on a baby jacket with hood, in a 3 x 3 moss stitch rib, that will get 3 balls of baby yarn out of the way. Just need to make the time to sort through yarn and patterns to match them up.

Wow 2009.....

and it is already the 3rd of January....a bit of a blure new year to now.

I have finished knitting the mauve baby set for Kiama Show, I just have to sew it all together.
I am knitting a baby matinee jacket for the show now and have just had to rip back about 8 rows of 164 stitches each row in 4 ply yarn, not my idea of fun, but it had to be done, so tonights knitting will be catching up to where I was before I ripped it back, that took about an hour or so and with other things happening it means 2 or so days of knitting lost.

I have to download some knitting photos and take more after sewing together the mauve set.

Happy new year to everyone, and 2009 is going to be a great year....well I keep telling myself that, and the power of the mind is going to win through here you know...so mind just get with the program will you.

Busy time all around

Time is just passing way too fast. I can't believe it is December next week. DH turns 50 tomorrow...WOW...I will be sleeping with a 50 year old......now that is hard to believe. I guess it shouldn't be as I am only a year younger. Don't feel it though, I thought at 50 we would be so old, not have much mobility, and be wrinkly. Glad I was wrong. I won't add the grey hair as we both have lots of grey hair, thank goodness for hair colour.

I have finished the hot pink cotton and bamboo top for me to wear to DIL's party Saturday week. I also knitted a shrug for grand-daughter in the same yarn, pretty nice.

Over the October long weekend while in Beechworth Victoria, I visited a lovely shop - The Ardent Alpaca, so lovely, it was a freezing cold spring day, they had the wood fire going, beautiful and cosy. The have alpaca clothing, blankets and knitted clothes and knitting items. I bought a Keyhole Scarf kit with a lovely handmade wooden button. I knitted the scarf on the weekend, finishing on Tuesday night at "every other tuesday night knitting". It is Oro Inca Alpaca yarn from Peru 70% Alpaca 30% Silk, it is sooooo soft.

I am now knitting for Kiama Show at the end of January 2009, I have started with Shepherd 4ply Baby pure wool in a lovely Mauve or Lilac colour not too light and not too dark. I thought the pattern went up to size 1 as I am going to knit things that will fit grand-daughter next winter when she is 9 mths - 12 mths old, but unfortunately the pattern I chose only goes to size 6 mths. Not all lost as our cousin's wife has just had her 4th child - a girl, so she will be 6 mths next winter, so after the show I can gift it to her.

I have decided that next year (2009) is going to be my "Lace" knitting year and "Learn to Spin" year. As most countries have a "Year" of something, those 2 are going to be my own personal "Year" of things to do. That will use a lot of my stash up. Yeah I know....my goal of using all my stash by the end of 2007, then became use my stash by end of 2008, will hopefully be the end of my stash by the end of 2009. I would love to have just enough yarn for 3 projects at any one time. I like to finish things before I start another thing. Hey that's me.

SNB this saturday, with secret santa, I have to wrap my secret santa gift to take, make a birthday cake "Cherry Ripe Chocolate Mud Cake" for DH birthday. #1 Son and DIL are shopping today for the birthday food, heaps of fresh seafood, and they have kicked me out of the kitchen tomorrow afternoon while they prepare the food for dinner tomorrow night. Yahoo, gotta love them, that way I am free for SNB. I get to have a great afternoon knitting, chatting, etc then come home to an already prepared birthday meal. We will ring #2 Son and DIL in WA after dinner so DH and all of us here can speak with them.

Pictures of the finished items may get to here over the weekend, not sure though, plan to get the christmas decorations out on Sunday and sorted ready to go and pick out a tree, cut it down and get it home to decorate the following friday.

Two new Knitting books

I had ordered some time ago from Amazon.com two books by Nancy Bush. Knitting on the Road which I had been wanting to get for a couple of years now and just kept forgetting about it. That was until I read about Knitted Lace of Estonia.

I checked out the price at Amazon.com and decided to buy it, it had to be put on order as it hadn't been released at the time. To make it worthwhile postage wise I ordered another book by Nancy Bush Knitting on the Road.

They arrived on Friday. The lace knitting and the stories that go with the lace are really lovely. One day I will knit some things from this beautiful book. Just have to get through a few other knitting projects first. And as I ordered them before the almighty aussie dollar dropped so low, it was really good buying.

Wow what is with blogger tonight, not that I am complaining, but after a few weeks of having to wait forever for pictures to upload, these two uploaded in about 3 seconds.

Quick Knits

I have knitted 2 pairs of Fetching fingerless gloves over the weekend. One for me and one for a work colleague. I love Heirloom yarns and the Cashmerino is really nice to knit and looks great when knitted.

I have made progress on the pink top for me, I am doing the armholes of the back, it is a nice and easy knit. I need it finished by 6 December for a party with a hot pink colour theme.

Addi Clicks

Yahoo! My LYS - CR&K Daisy Designs at Fairy Meadow have ordered a few sets of Addi Clicks. I have a set on order along with some other knitters who are pretty impressed by them. I can't wait until they arrive.

I ducked into my LYS yesterday morning to get a couple balls of merino cashmere for a pair of fetching to make for a work colleague who has a new job in a much colder town to where we are now. I got two balls of the Heirloom Cashmerino, love it, it is just great to knit. I made the pair on Saturday arvo and night, then realised that one is about 1 or 2 rows bigger than the other, so what to do, knit another set one bigger than the other, so I did, and I am about 1/2 way through, only one smaller one to go. I will finish them tonight. Pretty good 2 pairs of fetching from 2 balls of cashmerino. Beautiful.

I have covered the 100g challenge with my local knitters guild for November. I bought 2 balls of Anchor Magicline No3. which are 5og each and from 2 balls made a lovely string back. I think string bags will be making a come back as more places around here are going plastic bag free. My local Council which is where I work wants our municipality to go plastic bag free, it will be intereting to see how they go about it and how long it takes to become plastic bag free. Intereting concept. Good idea too.

Another project finished

I have finally finished the baby blanket in powder puff yarn that #2 son sent me to knit a baby blanket for his brother's baby. Photo is about the same professional picture that I normally manage to get. I need to really brush up on photo taking skills.

I have gotten back to the bright pink top for myself in Patons Bamboo & Cotton that I started on the October long weekend. The pattern is looking very nice, and is an easy knit.

Also on the needles I have a cotton bandage for people being treated with Leprosay in Niger, this is a good knit for when the brain doesn't want to play fair with the pattern knitting on the top, I am trying to do a few rows each night after putting the top knitting away. It is actually twice as long as the picture now, it took 21 minutes for the 3 pictures to load, and what do knitters do when waiting for something, they knit!

Just for the sake of it

I am not really in the blogging mood, I have been stalking you all though and enjoying reading your blogs and keeping up with what is happening in your life.

I have taken pictures, not very good as usually, but pictures all the same of the bamboo cardigan. So as I should post something here it is.

Holidays, spring clean, bike long weekend away

And not a thing got done.

Firstly had extra 3 days holidays to spring clean house, DH had accident at work, rolled the bull dozer completely over...result soft tissue neck injuries, broken elbow and ligament damage, 3 days in hospital. No spring cleaning done.

Bike long long weekend should have started on thursday to ride to Lennox Head for a HOG National Rally over the long weekend, couldn't go, as DH can't ride, bath himself or do much else with arm in plaster. A friend gave me a hug on Wednesday night at HOG meeting and told me he would have a great time for us, and would tell us all about it when they got home. Thursday afternoon received a phone call from the group were were suppose to be riding with, that same friend had an accident, his bike went in front of a car and he died instantly, so shocked I still can't believe it.

Decided to go to friends at The Rock (near Wagga Wagga), drove down friday, friends father had a heart attach a few days before, was air lifted to a Sydney private hospital, had a qaudruple heart by-pass on Monday.

We went to Beechworth in Victoria on Monday with our friends, it was so cold. All the wonderful shops had wood fires going, so warm inside. The Beechworth Sweet Co. was great, it had beautiful, colourful gollywogs, I wanted one for Grand-daughter, but at $79.50 for the girl doll it was a bit too much, it was so bright and lovely though, I will have to look around for one later on. I went to the Ardent Alpaca store, wonderful, it had lovely clothes, blankets etc in Alpaca, and they had a yarn and pattern section too, now I was smiling. I did buy some yarn to do the keyhole scarf pattern, I got a really nice wooden button and I joined their knitting club and got samples of the colours and yarns they stock. They have a 1ply alpaca yarn, you should have seen the scarf knitted in it. It looked lacey but wasn't.

Forgot something funny, on our way to Beechworth, we ran out of petrol in Albury, at traffic lights, thank goodness they now have a by-pass as we were on the old highway when it happened, not much traffic around, so here were 3 nearly 50 year olds, pushing the car while DH jumped in drivers seat and steered the car, with his good arm, around the corner. We laughed so hard I nearly wet myself. Girls stayed in car while guys walked for petrol. Had a good storm on the drive back to The Rock, put the wood fire on, oh so cosy and nice. Next, kettle on, hot chocolate and coffee all around, and some chocolate to eat....nice!

Got home tuesday afternoon, help #1 son mow lawns, did some washing, rang work to organise thursday and friday off, so no work until next monday. Doctor's appointments for DH on thursday and friday and a funeral on friday aswell.

And to top that off, #2 son and fiance are moving back home in December and he wants his room downstairs back (not that it has been used by anyone else, it is still how they left it. I want to put grand-daughter in it, #2 son wants him and his fiance to share the living area downstairs with #1 son, daughter-in-law and grand-daughter. I want him to use the bedrooms upstairs. Family... I wish I could just get him to agree, telling him hasn't made him realise it won't work with the lot of them downstairs, and he won't budge about giving his room up, even when I told him it was just storing his stuff and he would need to move it upstairs....oh the joy of adult children moving back home. Oh damn I have missed Packed to the Rafters again tonight, I guess I should just look at my life at the moment, that would probably be pretty close.

As for me, at this moment I have a very tight chest, this worry isn't going to be doing me any good.

As for knitting, I have finished the 100% bamboo cardigan, very nice I must say, I finished off a cotton bandage for charity for leprosy aid overseas, and have managed to knit a bit more on the baby blanket in powder puff. I just don't have photos yet.

What a beautiful day

It is the weekend and the weather is just beautiful. It is going to be hot, not that I like too hot.
I have tried to take a decent photo of the baby shawl, grand-daughter is getting alot of use of it. It goes on her bassinette each night, although it is starting to get a bit hot for it, atleast she is getting use of it while she can.

I am nearly up to the armholes on my bamboo cardigan, I am going to do a couple more rows so it is a bit longer than the pattern says.

I am still knitting the powder puff blanket for grand-daughter, it was getting long so after discussions about the length I am knitting another part the same and will stitch them together so it will be wide. It is a good adult knee rug size at the moment, so with another width added it will last a lot of years.

Knitters Guild today, so the baby shawl will get shown off again today, then it will be with baby without having to be taken away from her to show people.

I bought some Patons Serenity Bamboo and Cotton in Hot Pink from CR&K Daisy Designs at Fairy Meadow (my favourite LYS), and a pattern book, not sure on what to knit, I have got a short sleeve top off Ravelry which has been knitted in this yarn. DIL's birthday this year is having a "Pink" theme, so I am going to knit a pink top to wear.

Pictures to be uploaded later, blogger not playing well this morning and won't upload my photos. yahoo......3 hours later I can upload photos.

Spring has Sprung

Boy is it hot today, after the last week of like 1 degrees in the mornings to a top of around 15 and this morning at 6am it as 20 degrees (celsius), heading for 26. So after a quick change after going outside and realising how hot it was I walked down to the local school to vote, we have Local Government (Council) elections today for NSW. It is always a bit of a worrying time when you work for Local Government, wondering who the new councillors will be, in our Council area we have 9 councillors, we will get a few first timers as out of the 9 who were in the last 4 years only 5 have stood for re-election. And with a previous General Manager standing for election well that is just to damn scary. It could be a good thing or it could be a bad thing, depending on how much he will push the line between Councillor and employee which is everyone from the General Manager down. After the 9 councillors are decided then they meet and will elect the Mayor for the next 12 months, and they do that each year for the 4 year term, so it can change each year.

I did get a bit side tracked with the knitting and reading bit, but I have monday off so besides going for lunch with my family I plan to get some reading done as the book is due back at the library on Wednesday. The distraction was 4 pairs of knitted mittens for grand-daughter, as it has been pretty cold here still and the wondersuits with the mittens in the sleeve are getting a bit tight on her little hands.

Last night I managed a few rows on my short sleeve cardigan in the 100% bamboo, it is going to be a long knit to the armholes, well it always seems that way when knitting all in one piece. I haven't bothered with the blanket this week, maybe next week that will get a look in.

My printer isn't playing fair this morning, I am trying to print some baby pictures and it just won't do it. I am going to go out to the garden and take my frustrations out on a few weeds.

News Flash....Cleckheaton 100% Bamboo now in store

CR & K Daisy Designs at Fairy Meadow have just received a shipment of Cleckheaton 100% Bamboo and Patons Serenity a Bamboo & Cotton yarn. Along with a couple of new pattern books for these yarns. I got to go through the box and have a sneek peek at the new colours and pattern books. The new colours are really nice, I can see myself knitting a few of the patterns.

I bought the 100% Bamboo in Aqua to knit myself a nice little short sleeve cardigan or top, not sure which one as I really like a few of the patterns in this book. The Bamboo is sooooo soft. And comes in some really great colours. The pattern book is Book No. 967 100% Bamboo with 12 designs in sizes 6 - 22.

I have decided on the pattern which is on the cover (first photo) in the colour in second photo (53 Aqua) and have cast on.

The pattern edge is now finished and I am now on the straight knitting. It is worked in one piece till the armholes, the sleeves are knitting then all knitted together on a round yoke, minimal seams. Yah gotto love that.

I will be doing this while still knitting on the powder puff baby blanket. I only cast on 100 stitches and it is a nice size for sitting watching TV while knitting, but with 7 balls it will be way to long, it would probably go longer than a single bed if I kept knitting. Rae at CR&K Daisy Designs suggested knitting half the balls in one square then knit another the same and sew them together, so that is what I am going to do. I have started the second piece. It will be a lovely size for grand-daughter and a lovely gift from her Uncle and Aunty, and one she will be able to use for a long time to come.

I hope to be finished both in 2 weeks as well as finish reading a great true Australian story "Almost Perfect" by Kelly Denly (new book out) she has 8 children is around my age and so far is a great read, I can't put it down once I pick it up.

I plan to do an hour knitting on the top for me, an hour knitting on the baby blanket and an hour reading each night, that is after doing all the normal household things we have to do after work each day.

Shawl is all done...

Finally after 6 months of knitting on this baby shawl it is all done. I finished casting off last night, wrapped it in a pillow case and put it through the gentle cycle on the washing machine. It is now spread out on the dining table drying. It looks beautiful. It was still looking pretty much like a big blob early Wednesday night while still casting-off, but it soon began to look like the beautiful piece of work it is.

It is knitted in 3ply pure wool by Shepherd (machine washable) on 3.25mm needles. I used circular needles throughout and ended up on a 1.5 metre long circular. Even though it was taking over 2 hours each row for the last 20 odd rows or so (over 2,231 stitches), it was still an enjoyable knit, especially when it is going to my grand-daughter.

I told her parents last night that I want to know the second they are even thinking about having another baby so I can get started on a baby shawl for that baby. I plan to knit one for every grand child, whether it be one or how ever many I end up with.

Now I am onto the blanket that #2 son sent yarn over for me to knit for the baby, this is just a plain stocking stitch knit (he wanted something that she could use for a while to come). Will be all caught up when that is done, well except for WIP's and all my stash.

Still going....

I am still going on the baby shawl. Only 22 rows to go. I am having a flexi day off work tomorrow and hope to get atleast 10 rows done. Each week I make a commitment to finish by the end of that week, then the week comes and the week goes, so my new commitment is to have it finished, washed, blocked and ready to go out for a visit to SNB next Saturday (end of August). Then I can let grand-daughter have it to keep her warm for the last few weeks of winter, which it turning pretty cold now and will probably be cold enough for a couple more months to get some use of it.