Captivated by Craft!

Flowers!

2011-04-13T11:56:00.004+10:00

I love a quick craft project. I've just made two lovely flowers with some organza fabric and a candle. I followed this tutorial.
These 2 flowers took less than 10 mins to cut, burn and sew onto pins.
Fun! Go give it a go :)

Recycled this...

2011-04-11T14:04:00.003+10:00

So I've had this doona cover for years, with the full intention of making a skirt with it, a huge billowing Victorian underskirt in fact. Well I don't have much occasion for a Victorian underskirt so a simple A line skirt was made instead. It just has a simple fold over hem and elastic casing for the waist. I've made it fitted at the waist since I am currently losing weight on Dr's orders....this will hopefully keep me going with that request :P
Anyway, enough chit chat...pictures!

The Doona Cover

New skirt.

Craft's Up!

2011-04-05T06:52:00.004+10:00

I've been feeling the need to shake a few things up in my life at the moment, some of which I will let slide onto my blog to reflect all that s going on here.
A few weeks ago I went to my Dr due to having a headache for 3 days, so intense I kept thinking I was going to be sick. First thing he did was check my blood pressure..hello problem! It wasn't good, I knew by his reaction as the actual reading didn't mean that much to me. Anyways, I'm now on medication, was told to reduce all stress from my life, and he even changed my diet - no carbs, processed foods or salty things for a month to lose a few kilo's to try help the BP come down.
No carbs *weep* Ok so it's not THAT hard, but no more pizza Sundays for me, even though its homemade with generally left over baked veggies on it, not layers of processed meats.
The weight is coming off but the blood pressure is being stubborn. Reduce stress he said...right, goodbye Twitter! Seriously, either it's the ppl I have on there or it's just a Twitter thing, but well over 80% of the feed was users bitching about everything and anything they could. Very little was anything positive and outgoing, which I need. Constant negatives get me down. I have not missed it.

The weather is starting to cool down, harrah! That 3 week heatwave was very hard to handle..my electricity bill proves it, oops! I much prefer the cooler weather, the leaves turning pretty colours and the nights being cool enough to sleep :) Losing some weight and winter coming on means new clothes will be needed. New? Pfft, no way! I've decided since my weight can bounce around dramatically when adjusting my diet, medications and season's that I won't be buying any new clothes, undies and bras aside. Instead I am going to repurpose what I have, refashion it, recycle what I have an buy from thrift stores instead. What's the point in buying new clothes, spending a fortune and only wearing the item one season? Waste of money and clothing frankly.
I love a good op shop find, I'd much rather buy clothes from The Salvos, refashion something tailored to fit my look/shape than buy expensive sacks.
April - Sept is my goal, that gives me the cooler months to sit inside and sew to my hearts content. Knitting is also to be from stash (still) or from ripping back old sweater finds.
Now I am no mad evil genius sewer, far from it, I can sew basic things, so this is part of my challenge...and possibly my downfall in this little challenge I've set for myself :D
I have several skirts planned already, I just need the kiddo to set up the sewing machine for me. My machine is an old Bernina, about 32 years old, all metal, weighs a tonne!
Another thing I plan on making ASAP is a quilt for my bed. Looking at feather quilts the other day for winter I kept thinking there had to be an alternative, a cheaper one too. Basic feather quilt $100+, quilt from recycled materials could be as little as $10. E will need one too :)
I will keep a log of what I pay for any items I buy, if possible I'll find a similar item brand new to compare the price too. Just for added fun :)
Other things I will start to post on here are pictures of things I love...flowers, small homes, organisation ideas, clothing, whatever takes my fancy at that moment. I blame Pinterest.com for this 100% :) I love the virtual pin board, saves me printing out things and adding to my folders I keep. Less clutter, paper wastage, ink, time and effort.
Oh and I have decided, for each new item of clothing I make, one must leave the house...no clutter!
WOW that was a ramble :)

Skirt made from old bedsheet - Tutorial found http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/circle-skirt-from-an-old-sheet

So we've begun 2011

2011-01-18T06:46:00.003+11:00

The last 2 months have been all kinda of crazy. E and I were busy finishing up school for the year, getting last minute lessons done and sent in. We were so determined and one track mind on our tasks we actually finished a week earlier than when school finished. Another bonus to Distance Education :)

J was working and applying for several jobs, finally hitting the jackpot with a job within Newcastle University on the Central Coast. This meant many trips back and forth, organising his contract, starting days, orientation, looking at places to live etc.

We even stopped to look at a place on the way to the Snowy Mts to see his family for Xmas...thankfully on our return we found out the flat was his if he wanted. He took it, so over the weekend I moved him from Newcastle to Ourimbah. I discovered something about him over this move, he stresses WAY too much. When I got to his house to load up the car he didn't have much packed at all. As in, a few bags and that was it! I just had to stand back and bare it. When I am moving EVERYTHING is packed and usually 2-3 days before the move. Guess we do things differently. It's not that he didn't have time, he has had a few weeks to get organised...he just hadn't done it :) So several trips and he was all moved in, then last load I left him to unpack himself, I headed home feeling tired and sore. I was aching, my neck was so tense across my shoulders, not much was different yesterday. Today I feel a little more relaxed.

The lounge is going, that beast also puts me in a heap of pain so we went out and found me a single chair, just something basic but comfy that should help.

My gardens are inbetween crops, I have pumpkins galore growing, 2 tomato plants and some herbs - sadly most died while we were away, Mum said she watered it but the day we were coming home was just very hot and sadly killed off most of the tomatoes, the white czar bean (again dammit!) etc Then the massive floods of QLD, VIC and NSW (and I believe TAS was badly hit too, not hard much about their floods) hit, wiping out so much in it's wake. Ppl have perished, beast and crops..anything that was in the waters path was obliterated. I filled some gardens with as many seeds as I could stuff in them so we don't have to pay outrageous prices for basic veg. I've heard of places in QLD charging $9 for a loaf of bread and $8 for a litre of milk...that is profiteering not rationing! While I might happily bake bread for us, not everyone knows how, so shopkeepers overreact and do the wrong thing. Though I did hear of one bakery that baked bread for 24hours straight and sold the loaves at 80cents a loaf, free to anyone who didn't have the money, now that is how it should be! Both places are in the Ipswich area.

Tomorrow is Mum's birthday, I've knit her a shawl - Shaelyn Shawl for those on Rav - a lovely quick shawl to knit, easy and straight forward. This last shawl I tried to knit Mum failed, I was allergic to the yarn :S Hopefully she likes this one :)

Now it's time to gear up and get ready for the new school year, for us that means organising the "school room" again, we don't need to run out and get shoes, socks, uniforms, bags etc, just need to restock the stationary and wait for our textbooks to be delivered :)

I've cast on some over the knee socks, 4ply on 2mm or 2.5mm needles, either way they are bloody tiny!! These will def be a LONG term project, something I can knit while teaching E. Maybe I'll even finish Evenstar shawl this year :S

Garden's Return

2010-11-10T16:35:00.006+11:00

I am stoked! We are now eating fresh beetroot, beans and peas (shelling and snow) from our gardens. I've even had an onion, yeah it was a bit late, but it got there in the end!

I have several grape tomatoes fruiting and I think it's a Verna Orange also starting to form fruit.

I've just picked more Butter Beans and Stringless Pioneer Beans, I will gather the shelling peas again on Sat, this time I will see if we can get them onto a plate :) E and i picked some the other night, but only 3 unshelled pea pods made it to the kitchen, we were so excited we ate most of them outside as we picked, oops :)

I just love my gardens, they make me happy and I spend a fair amount of time out there picking off bugs, feeding them to the chooks and watching the foodstuffs grow. Definitely the best thing we have done around here was get the chooks and start our many gardens.

Now for some pics.

E is doing well in his Distance Education, I'm surviving as well. He is doing Occupational Therapy now to help him get better movement, which in turn will help with speech and energy levels.

I'm slowly getting knitting done. Working on Evenstar and Ulverstone stole when time allows.

Well, now I am going to go find a cool breeze to sit in, its only 27C but the humidity is through the roof! :P

Babies, Weddings and Lost Mojo.

2010-09-10T07:00:00.004+10:00

Since E started distance education I have barely knit a stitch, and now the mojo is gone.

I've tried around 10 different projects to get the knitting bug going again, but nothing!

It's frustrating me beyond belief. I've tried everything from garter strip to intricate lace, still no mojo. Then J's bed mate and partner had a baby girl on the 3rd of Sept, Aurora was 5 weeks early and approx 1lb. Teeny tiny baby. Even that didn't get the knitting bug into gear, though I have done the straps of some booties, now to find the gumption to complete them.

This weekend we are heading off to a wedding, I am not a fan of large groups, more so when the only person you know is your partner. My self esteem is pretty low at the moment, mainly because I've put on 18 kg in the last 6-8 months thanks to another medication change, grr. Seriously, one lot of medications I lose weight, next lot I gain. These are medications to ease the pain in my spine, but not pain killers. One type makes me crave, CRAVE sugar, yet I am not a person who would normally want sweet foods, I tend to go for more savory things. I do my best to ignore it or have a glass of diet coke to try quieten down the craving. The other lot just make me slow and sleepy. Winning combination huh?!

So anyways, fat girl, new dress, size 20 (I've never ever worn a size 20 before *cries*), room full of ppl I do not know, meeting all J's friends for the first time....excuse me while I go melt into a corner please. Maybe this is pay back for how he met my family, my Nana's funeral. We had only been dating month when that occurred, now its 15 months later and I am about to meet most of his mates at a wedding. Tonight I will met B, one of J's 2 closest mates, and I know he is really hoping we get on, B can be hard to get along with apparently. Moody artist/chef, Yay!

Bright side, it's a weekend away, E is staying with his Granny and Poppy. I'll get to go see Deb who I haven't seen since Bendigo 2009, maybe the knitting mojo will come back when I hang out with another knitter :)

My gardens are going very well, seeds have sprouted everywhere. The beans which are normally one of the first to sprout are taking longer than carrots which are normally one of the last to sprout. Everyday I see some new form of life popping up through the soil and I get excited. Even the Rhubarb seedlings have sprouted, but the two I am really waiting on and most excited about have no yet produced a seedling - Gooseberry and Tomato Currant Mix.

Maybe in the next few days they will germinate.

Last week one of the chooks seemed to be in la la land when I called them in for dinner and bed. Chicken Legs was seriously on another planet. I had to pick her up, heck her over and place her into the chook coop. Net morning I found an egg without a shell had been laid. I can only assume something had scared her or she was feeling poorly and as a result ejected the egg early. Thankfully I've heard of eggs being laid without shells before I even got the chooks, so no stress there. All seems fine now and they are all laying one egg a day. I do love those chooks, hours of entertainment.

Today we are expecting 24C (ohhhh yay some warmth!) and thunderstorms, another yay as I love a good thunderstorm.

Maybe a knitting photo next post. Come home my knitting mojo, you are missed.

The Seeds are Sown!

2010-08-30T15:09:00.003+10:00

Over the weekend I got to go play out in my garden, I moved a few plants, some cabbages and silverbeet that wasn't performing to it's best in the original garden. Then I got busy sowing some seeds into all the gardens. I have drawn up a plan of what is planted where so I can rotate the "crops" as needed. I've has my original garden for a number of years and never bothered with crop rotation as it was a small plot which have a huge variety all tossed in together.

It took Digger's 26 days from order to receiving the seeds, The Lost Seed took 8 days! I'll buy more from The Lost Seed in the future, they are in Tasmania.

Right so what went into the gardens?

Well, here is a list:-

Cape Goosberries
Tomato - Red Fig
Tomato - Mortgage Lifter
Tomato - Moneymaker
Tomato - Verna Orange
Tomato - Amish Paste
Tomato - Principe Borghese
Tomato - Currant Mix
Beans - Sex without Strings
Beans - Stringless Pioneer
Peas - Greenfeast
Peas - Bliss Everbearing
Silverbeet - Fordhook
Onion - Barletta
Squash - Spaghetti
Pumpkin - Waltham Butternut
Carrots - All Season
Strawberry - Bush Alpine
Rhubarb - Victoria
Lettuce - Italian Lollo Mix
Cucumber - Armenian
Broccoli - Green Sprouting

In the next few weeks I will also put in more lettuce, some cabbage (January King) and Parsnips (Hollow Crown), of course more beans, peas, carrots etc will go in to stagger the growing so we dont get a massive crop all at once :)

Gardens galore

2010-08-23T15:09:00.004+10:00

Showing our chook run (1/3) of backyard), Jake is watching them dig a hole, again :)

Smallest frame is our potato tower, as they grow you add another layer of timber and mulch.

Twin beds are 2 x 7 foot. The garden with foodstuffs in it has been there for about 5 years now.

In this pic you can see, at the bottom, part of the big garden. This will be home to spaghetti squash, pumpkins and some climbing beans, peas, tomatoes and maybe some cucumbers in there too.

Summerflies shawl - to wear to wedding in Sept.

Ch ch ch ch Changes!

2010-08-18T07:02:00.004+10:00

Where to begin, so much has been going on here it's like a circus freak show with a hundred of those magic mirrors, everywhere you look something is different.

Let's zip back to a month ago. E had to see a pediatrician, after several tests he decided E needs to go to Occupational Therapy (OT). I got a letter from the OT people and holy moley its a LOT of money. As in $480 just to start of with, that kind of lotta money. Years ago when I was on approx $700 a week take home I wouldn't have even hesitated, but being on a humble pension I was stunned. Each session there after is another $140, fark! I decided to look around, see if public OT was available, NOPE, why? Cause he is in High School and this should have been picked up and done by the time he was in Year 2, ooooh right. You mean when I was saying to the school something is a miss and they told me no there wasn't. Right. Well. No use dwelling on that. He is booked in next month to do the assessment.

Then I get a phone call to "come collected your son, he has been suspended". WTF? My first question was "he ok?" followed by "what did they do to him this time?". It was a stand in Deputy for the day, I arrive and E bursts into tears cause he is suspended and it will go on his record. He was devastated. In front of the Deputy I told E no more tears, I am not angry at him and if he did hit the other kid I was damn proud of him for finally sticking up for himself. Hoping that just doing it once would be enough for these kids to sit back and realise he won't always take their shit. Turns out half his class were pushing him from one kid to another, he told them to stop but they kept going and eventually he started to fall. He tried to grab a pole but accidently got a kid across the face, this kid then started to punch and kick him. Half the class reported E hit him, the rest said no. Because it wasn't clear he got a 2 day suspension.

On the day he was to go back we had to have a meeting, regular Deputy was back. Personally I think this man is a douche, but anyway. We go in and have a talk, he makes out like E did wrong so I spoke up and asked why he hasn't been dealing with these kids for the last 6 months, we complain often enough. He told me he had been working with E, E had no idea what he was talking about. When E was told he could go back to this class he just put his head down and cried. I told Mr McM to put him in another class, they separated a few bullies earlier in the year, surely they could put E into a better class. He said No, then after watching how upset E was for 5 mins he changed his mind. Only to ring me 2 days later and say No again. This from a man who didn't suspend a kid that hit E cause he was in full uniform and seemed like a good kid. Right.

E came home with me.

A week later he was pulled from the school and now does his learning online. Distance Education were all his classes come from teachers at Marsden Park Christian School. He is enjoying it well enough and I spent most of my days now helping him get through the material. Thankfully they like to use videos in the form of lessons/tutorials, great for a kid who is dyslexic. It's a lot of work for both of us and right now the housework is lacking as I work out how to fit it all in. I think it's worth the current chaos if it means I get my happy funny kiddo back, not the sullen, depressed child I've had to deal with for 6 months.

Other news.

I've knit Summerflies and Annis, both are blacked and I took some photos but I am waiting for Emma to arrive this weekend to get better pics. So I will have those up in my next post.

We have built a few extra gardens here the last few weeks and hope to fill then with tonnes of veggies once I have the seeds in my hot little hands. My broad beans have loads of flowers so it can't be long til I get beans, if not, it's green manure. Sweet :)

We hope to get to a point where we are only buying fruit or veg we can't grow here such as bananas and grapes. Right now we are feasting on silverbeet, lettuces, beetroot greens and chives. he onions are growing well and the beets should be ready in the next month for pulling up. Fresh beets, oh yum! The peas have been pulled and E has planted about 30 seeds in his tiny plot, which has all come up in one little area, LOL.

I'll get some photos up ASAP.

Right, keep fingers crossed my car passes rego today and that E doesn't need new colour tint on his Irlen glasses. Off to pick up his Text books for school, exciting :)

I'll try get some pics up next week at the latest.

Play nice :)

A birthday and some shawls

2010-07-25T16:23:00.008+10:00

July has been a busy month here, E turned 13 and we had a small party, with his mates dropping in for food, cake and all night gaming. He had a lovely time, lots of laughs with the boys just all being typical loud teenage boys. He is laughing his butt off as we sang Happy Birthday. Don't you just love the chocolate cake :)

I stopped working on my Feather and Fan blanket/shawl (shown below) to work on a test pattern. Salsa Roja by Celia on Ravelry. It was knit in 4ply Cashmerino by The Knittery and the edge finished of with some Ranco. I enjoyed this shawl and it was a quick and intuitive knit.

The Feather and Fan Shawl from A Gathering of Lace. This I am in love with :)

It has been knit in 8ply Bendigo Rustic in Radiant. I really enjoyed knitting this shawl, the flower motive took some concentration, the feather and fan section took barely any. You knit 3 rows to every one patterned row, TV knitting, simple. I have only blocked the flower motif at this point as I don't have an area large enough to fully block her. Until now that is, we are about to rip the carpet out of my room, so I will block this baby before it ripped up :) I'll add a photo later of her fully blocked.

In Sept I have a wedding to attend in Wollongong. Now it's bound to still be pretty chilly at night so I decided to knit Summer Dew. I am using 3 ply Bendigo Luxury and adding some clear silver lined beads. So far it's an enjoyable knit. The plan is to knit this, then dye it once we know what we are going to wear. I was gifted this pattern by a friend who knows this year has been a rough one. Thank you :)

The Haapsalu Shawl Book Review

2010-06-09T14:22:00.004+10:00

Last month I had my birthday, 35th actually, and as I do every year I buy myself something I really want. This year it was the book The Haapsalu shawl: a knitted lace tradition from Estonia by Siiri Reimann and Aime Edasi. I bought the book from http://www.hobipunkt.ee/english/ and it cost me $67 Australian at the time of purchase. They were very quick with delivery being just two weeks. My book was very well wrapped and secured in a cardboard frame of sorts to minimise any damage during transit. I was expecting it to take about three weeks so when my delivery guy turned up with a parcel I had an odd expression on my face, until I saw the foreign writing on it and squee'd, much to my delivery mans delight :) He knew there and then it was knitting related, haha.

The Haapsalu Shawl

This book is well designed, the layout is crisp, clear and beautifully presented with stitch binding.

The book is large, measuring 25cm x 32.5cm (breaking library rules here :), it has 183 pages.

It starts with a page on Haapsalu itself before the contents pages, which are clearly sorted into pattern types which includes:

Stitch patterns, Lily of the Valley patterns, Pasqueflower patterns, Leaf patterns, Twig patterns, Peacock Tail patterns, Paw patterns, Head of Grain patterns, Butterfly patterns, Diamond patterns and Named patterns with 3 additional pages of Lace Edge patterns.

The book then goes into the History of the Haapsalu Shawl which is informative and very interesting. The pictures I found delightful. I enjoyed reading about Master knitters and how the knitting societies survived wars and where they are heading today. The local High School teaches knitting as part of the curriculum!

Teaching the traditions of the shawl is passed down through the generations, rarely were they written down, they just remembered the lace patterns or picked up a piece and studied it to replicate...heck I want this skill :) I can't remember what I did 5 mins ago let alone a whole shawl of lace.

There are pages on yarns, tools and what makes a haapsalu shawl, how to calculate for edgings how to join to center section (sewing) and of course blocking. I LOVE the way they block and plan on adopting this method, no more freaking pins!

The stitch guide is clear and easy to understand.

Not only does each pattern have its own page with a photo but on several of the accompanying pages it has the history of the shawl the lace pattern was used in (see photo below), again with pictures. It shows you the repeat of the pattern, its up to you how many repeats you want to do, therefore how many stitches you cast on.

This is not a book of shawl patterns, but rather the lace patterns used to make the traditional haapsalu shawls.

This picture shows the pattern used on the right and a shawl knit using this pattern, Queen Sofia Shawl (Queen of Spain), giving a brief history of why it was knit, by whom it was knit and history of the design itself.

I love knitting lace, so for me, this book was well worth the money and will pay for itself in no time at all and is a fabulous resource book for those who love to knit lace.

WARNING: If you do order this book be prepared for the postage, which is more than the book at 25 EUR, this book itself is 19 EUR.

Education System Gone Mad.

2010-06-07T14:05:00.004+10:00

Not only do schools specialise in Performing Arts, Sport or Technology, they now specialise in what learning issues they will take on : Autism, Reading, Behavioral etc
It's a bloody joke! It should not be this hard to find my son a school that can handle his education. His current one "oh we don't do dyslexic kids", this after promising to get funding 3 times. What a waste of Year 7, a waste of his education, and his already crumbling confidence. Because he doesn't have any "tags" to his name it makes it even harder. We just say he is under the dyslexic umbrella to get a look in. Education Dept can't even tell you which school has what programs, no idea what they actually do then. Anyone??
The $600 I've just spent on getting an updated psychological report the school wanted....I had to ask the counselor 3 freaking times to take a photocopy of it. Seriously, I had to ask her how she would know what it was about if she didn't read it..I was told its ok dear I see these things often. WTF?!?

No way lady! The look on my face must have said it all, the third time I said it, it was not a request but a outright demand before she finally got a copy. Next week they have slotted me in for a 30 minute meeting with the welfare officer, who proclaimed he knew nothing about E then babbled like a headless chook when I said that was odd since I personally handed him a copy of his previous reports, the counselor and deputy principal (who was the one who promised 3 times he'd get onto the paperwork for funding for E to have aides). The welfare officer has also informed me that they do not get funding for children under the dyslexic umbrella...huh? Oh but they do for children with behavioral problems. Thanks asshat, but my kid doesn't have behavioral problems, which you would know if you read the reports I handed you, duh!

I've just rung two school this morning to see about their programs and IF E would be better off at their school, first one took my name and number because she didn't know *stunned*, the second was more proficient and again took name and number so she could get the appropriate person to phone me. So now I am waiting on two schools to return my calls.

If anyone out there reading this has any idea how to go about finding information on schools who can handle children with learning issues (our case being communication, reading, writing etc), please inform me. I have been jumping through school hoops for 7 years with little information being given to me. Any and all information I have found I have gained from other ppl or from countless hours searching the internet.

I'm close to pulling him out of school altogether.

Frustrated. Angry. Concerned and feeling verbally abusive of the shitty school system NSW has in place.

The Universe can get....

2010-05-20T08:00:00.004+10:00

They say bad news comes in three's, whoever "they" are, lied!

My family are battening down the hatches and quiet possibly want the world to get the hell off our backs.

In April my grandfather had another stroke, he is still in hospital and will remain so until he can eat solid foods. He is still having problems with liquid foods going into his lungs etc.

Then we had word a family friend was in palliative care with brain tumors, he passed away on Tuesday May 18th leaving behind one of the most loving and fun families I know.

By ANZAC day my boyfriend had a mental meltdown and my grandmother was in hospital with an inflamed knee...but not the same one as my grandfather. J is getting more help for his mental health issues and hopefully will get his world together. Nona needs a knee replacement at some point but won't have it done as she is the main carer for my grandfather, however Mum said her medications were not right and were not controlling the inflammation etc so she was required to stay in hospital to get that right.

My mum has been driving the 90mins each way to the Central Coast to their place to do their washing then visiting both in their respective hospitals. I have offered to do the run as Mum tires quickly now since having her operation in Nov last year. But she won't have it, it's her mum and stepdad and she feels it's her duty alone I guess. We are such a healthy glowing bunch :S

I rang Mum last night to let her know Gonzo had gone and she had more bad news. My Uncle Lance is dying, he has cancer and has withered down to 43kg, he is 6'3"! My Dad is in Western Australia working but doing a mad dash back to New Zealand to be with my Uncle in his last days. It is around now 13years ago they lost their Mum, my grandma Grace, or Fred as my brother and I call her to Emphysema. See I told you we are a healthy glowing bunch! Blah!

On top of all this E is having a horrible time at school with bullies and a school that do nothing! It infuriates me the lack of care at this school. Next Friday I will go pick up his report done by a psych which looks into his learning issues and what can be done to help him. I hope we find some answers. If we do, I am going to use that report as a shield to push, fight and force my way into finding him a good school.

I am at the point where I just want to curl up and cry, but that is not how my Mum raised me. Instead I will pull up my socks and solider on with my brave face on supporting everyone else around me, crying any tears in private when I have time for myself.

When all this started I cast on the Feather and Fan Shawl from A Gathering of Lace in 8ply Bendigo Rustic in Radiant, a gorgeous red shade. A blanket to put all these emotions into, a big hug to myself when its done. So if I have been quiet you now know why, life has been hard and I am fighting in this emotional shitty battle. Maybe soon I will find a place of rainbows and butterflies, a place of no pain or loss...ok so that doesn't exist, so I will take any joy, happiness or love the world wants to toss my way instead cause my family could really do with a good dose of any of those :)

HUGS, big squishy warm hugs!

The world seriously needs more hugs, smiles and love. O X :)

WIPing Along - Still.

2010-04-23T06:55:00.002+10:00

WIPing Along - Still.

Slow but steady wins the race, right? Lord I hope so.

I'm still plodding along on my Heather Hoodie Vest, if you could call it that, since I am just using the basic shape of the piece. I'm on the right front with both back and left front completed. Once its done I will block each piece, sew it up then pick up the stitches for the hoodie and button bands.

I hope to her have completed within the week as no J this weekend means I can knit as much as I like. Besides I have two appointments to attend today, one in which E is busy and I get to knit for an hour.

I've done both squares for the swap and will be posting those out today to Miss Sandybags.

I decided to go with one plain and one lace, I was going to jazz up the plain square with buttons etc, but she has a little one and I don't want to send something unsafe into her home.

I've had my eye on some cute fingerless mitts in someone's projects on Rav, there is no pattern. So, Vintagegrrl and I sat there for a few hours and roughly worked out how it went, then VG opened a book and there it was, harrah, We only had to change one little stitch :) I of course cast on to see if the mitt would work...but then I was good and put it to one side, other wips to finish first! :)

I had a bit of a "stuff the world" moment on Monday and felt down and out, so went on a spending spree. First it was Bendigo Woollen Mills for some Rustic for a blanket I want to knit, colour Radiant (red), also some single skeins. Luxury in Leaf 4 ply, Classic in Berry red and Mallard in 5 ply for a couple of shawls/scarves. For some time now I have wanted a few more cables for my Knit Picks tips, so Knitting Inspirations was next! I bought some cables, some clear tips in 4mm, packet of cable connectors, a set of DPNS 4mm and some yarn, Fleece Artist Trail sock in Topaz and BFL in Wine....well they sent me the right colours but the Wine was also in Trail not the BFL....anyways, it is still pretty, maybe I should tell them the mistake? Was no price or yardage difference.

Chicken Update: our girls are doing well, laying an egg each per day, unless I lock them up around laying time and totally put them off for the day, oops. They are a joy to have and they come now when I call chook chook chook, or if they hear the back screen door open :) They happily follow us around the yard as we do gardening...even the mower doesn't bother them. The eggs started around the 42/43grams now most are around 49/52grams...holy cows batman, I just went out to collect the eggs and we got a 56g, monster egg:)

Hopefully pics next time of finished projects, would be nice :)

Chooks and WIPs Along

2010-04-07T06:19:00.005+10:00

The green hat you see here is Everglade by Woolly Wormhead, excuse my mugshot, it's a beautifully written pattern. Within hours of finishing this one I cast on another, which will be black. My adorable but goofy son put this on over the top of his hoodie and has stretched it, so it's going for another bath soon to hopefully fix that.

Revontuli is done :) I will try get a better pic soon, when we find the sun again. I won't complain as I am enjoying the much cooler weather. There was a knot going from the lovely sunburnt orange to the bright lime green, I had to wind off 36g to match it back up again, thankfully it could be matched up. I am thinking of putting Indian bells on the tips, hippy it up more :)

A week ago I picked up these lovely ladies, Hi-Line Browns. They should start laying anytime now and when they do it's one egg a day generally.

Yesterday I paved under their coop to help with keeping it clean, then lay down straw. I will get some river sand to lay down instead, just used what I had on hand at the time.

Yesterday while I was busy they munched on baked pumpkin, boy did they dig in! We give them scraps and so far they seem to appreciate it.

We got them just before school broke up for Easter, which was great timing, E has loved sitting out the back with them...I too and guilty of this :) Awesome time wasters.

I cleaned up my WIPs box, its just a small 10 litre red plastic container, nothing special. It was overflowing...9 WIPs in total, including the Revontuli shawl above. Well 9 is just nuts for me, so I started a thread on OTF (Rav) to encourage others to sweat it out with me and finish our WIPs.

My Heather Hoodie Vest had been cast on and only 2.5" of ribbing done on the back piece, which is now done. Today I have cast on the left front and hope to have that done by tomorrow. Of course my knitting mojo is usually killed off while J is here, I need to be social :S

I have eliminated the XO cables, not my thing. Instead I am thinking of keeping the channels where the XO's go but leave it plain until I get to the top, above boob level and do an Owl...just for something different. I hope to have this project all done within the week...ok 2 weeks :)

The next WIP to finish is Mum's Aeolian, IF I can ever work out what I have done wrong, if not I will rip it back and either start again or make her a different shawl. She will have a shawl!

Right, back to that hoodie!

The one about the chicken coop..

2010-03-29T07:23:00.008+11:00

Tada! One spunky new chicken coop, devoid of chickens..ok I will work on correcting that this week. This was a Bunnings buy, I should know better, really, but anyways. So I buy the coop in a flat pack, we get it out to the car and it *just* fits. Good thing I borrowed mum's car as there is no way it would have fit into mine. We then get it back home and decide to tackle it after lunch.

I read over the instructions, it's pigeon english as this was made in China. J looks over instructions, we talk about certain points and decide we have it worked out.

However, clearly on the day this shed was being manufactured the Beijing Olympics were on, most of the drill holes did not match up, the front frame (door and panel) was twisted as the layers of metal didnt match up and the job was dodgy. Ok ok, fair enough, the Games were exciting. I decide it's nothing a hammer and drill can't fix. Then we get to the rivets...rivets, are they kidding? We don't have a rivet gun....I get one from mum's work, parts missing.

The next day we ask at several hardware and tool stores if they sell the parts, no, you need to buy a new rivet gun. So we do. We get home, do the 6 rivets and start assembling the whole thing. Now nothing matches up, we start to think we have half the panels upside down...recheck. No its right according to booklet. Hmmm. By now I had broken the drill bit (it wasn't designed for drilling metal), not discouraged I pick up the hammer and a tiny screwdriver. Hello hole punch!! :) Holes punched thru tin to match the ones in the harder metal frame..it all works great and we finally have our 4 walls up. By now we just looked at each other and declared the roof better bloody fit... it did :)

J secured the roof while I prepared dinner. This cool chook coop just took up 10 hours of our lives, I'm sure it shouldn't have taken more than 4. However it is done and we are extremely happy of our achievement, especially with all the modifications we had to do in order to make it all fit together :)

I hope to have three stunning ladies in it within the week, hopefully eggs soon after.

What else is news....

E and I put vegetable seeds out in the garden over the last two weekends, we have peas already poking through along with year round carrots and beans. E got a little ahead of me and can't recall what else he put in there :)

Garden #2 will be build the weekend after Easter, I'm planning on brussel sprouts, container pumpkins, spinach, more carrots, peas etc

A few weekends ago E went to stay with his Aunt and Uncle for a night...they threw him off a cliff!

My mother was only too happy to sign his permission slip.....what a family :)

Where was I? At home making a huge life decision, full of worry I was getting it all wrong....and there my baby was Hang Gliding! Hehehe.

I'll try get the video footage up in my next blog post....you see him run and then, hesitate! lol

Give me colour!

2010-03-09T15:12:00.006+11:00

In recent times I have realised I've finally started to embrace colour. My inner goth is letting in a rainbow of bright bursting shades of every hue. Now normally I wear black, probably about 90% of the time in Winter and about 80% in Summer months. I even tend to knit in darker shades, colours I can hide behind.

Now I crave some colour, I want to wrap myself in bright reds, purples, greens, pinks (who knew!) and blues. I did some dyeing recently, a lovely turquoise blue skein of Knit Picks Bare wool/silk blend, it's so pretty I don't know what to do with it :) I also dyed another skein a lovely red, Waratah red actually. I'm either growing up or pregnant..I vote growing up :)

This is the Knit Picks I dyed red with the first installment of sock yarn from Needlefood Sock Club, pretty pretty :) As soon as I opened the parcel and saw the colours I fell in love with it. I can't decide between Ulmus or Faraway, So Close (even thought I am spinning yarn for this shawl, I can have two, right?). All I know is I want to wrap it around me ASAP.

The picture below is a scarf I am working on for Jake, he asked me to knit him one in dark purples, which sadly my camera washes out. It's done in waffle stitch, quick and easy and I really like the effect.

While surfing Ravelry I came across a blanket done in crochet flowers like the one pictured below. I had to give this is go and this flower is the result. Once I have finished crocheting together Mum's knitted fish blanket I just might order some Bendigo yarns and make myself a bright and colourful Hawaiian Flower Blanket to piece together over the cooler months.

However I should finish my bright cheerful shawl, Revontuli in Kauni yarn as shown above. How funky are those colours? This yarn was gifted to me by a lovely Raveller who knows things have been a little emotionally tough here of late. I have to say I didn't know how I'd go with this yarn as it's quiet rough, but I am really enjoying the texture. Let's hope it softens up once it's had a bath. As I was working on it this morning and getting lost in the colour change I suddenly wondered what it would be like in a wool silk blend... delectable I am sure!

The other things on my needles..the cabled lace vest I mentioned in my last post. However, the lace is doing a big lean to the right, I don't know if once it's block it will be fine or continue to "wrap" around me :S It's now hibernating til I can work it out.

I also have some Sean Sheep Rockbank in Hibiscus (pinks) on the needles, it's a self fringing scarf for me. I'm knitting it in the round, with 20 stitches between 2 twisted stitches, I will cut down the centre when I am done knitting it and unravel the 10 stitches each side and block. Self fringed scarf done and so simple.

I am also working on a roll top sock, the first of the two was completed in Jan 2008, once this one is off the needles it will be my first ever hand knitted by me socks :) I already have one pair which Fiestywench knit for me last year, which I adore and don't want to wear out, hence the casting on of my second sock. I don't think I will even be a big sock knitter, but occasionally a pair of anklets might be in order :)

Winter Knit Wants

2010-02-28T10:23:00.005+11:00

So I've been looking around at some winter knits I might like to knit for winter 2010. I could be dreaming at this stage as very little knitting is being accomplished while my hand is being, simply put, a PITA.

However in my fairytale dreamland I'd like to get a cabled lace vest done as well as the Heather hoodie vest. I'd also like some striped arm warmers, a pair of awesome Love Bytes mittens and to complete Revontuli and Aeolian shawls.

Meanwhile I have the urge to cast on about 10 various knits.

I have some yarn dyeing to knit J a simple scarf. He wants purple so hopefully I get a nice dark purple from the pot for him. I will find a nice stitch and take my time knitting it up. He'd like it about 10cm wide and as long as I can make it, with approx 220m it should be a good length.

I did suggest a Dr Who scarf, but he wouldn't go for it :)

I have been making batts while I have Emma's Inwood-Smith Drum Carder here. I have a lovely green batt I've been spinning on my Golding spindle. I am spinning up some various purple blends for a shawl on my Ashford Traditional Wheel. Yesterday I made a pink batt with loads of milk fibre in it, I hope to get a good yardage out of that for a lace stole, we will see.

Everything new, yet very old.

2010-02-24T16:40:00.004+11:00

While I was away over Christmas 2009 and the New Year I was feeling very optimistic that 2010 would be our year, that hopefully the powers that be would see fit to let us have a year full of new things. New jobs, new location, new school for E, new beginnings and a new life for us all.

Here we are in the last week of Feb 2010 and oh yes we have new things, but not the things I was secretly hoping for.

I guess E got the new school part, high school. It's not a very well thought of school, no surprises for this area, but is the lesser of the two evil's. The other high school changed its name about 2-3 years ago in the hopes of shaking off its unsavory image, I've worked there personally, thankfully for just a month, it was hell. It confirmed to me that there was no chance I was allowing my child to go to that school, even though we are in it's zone. I had in fact planned for him to go completely out of zone, all the way into Newcastle, however we got word too late that E would be going on to high school so it was a scramble to find any school other than hell high. He is miserable at this school, they do not cater for children with learning issues. His confidence has been crushed and I am left feeling like a mother who has failed her only child. Awesome.

Moving on.

J and I have been applying for jobs all over the country, we are simply keen to work and work where ever we can find it. We have been applying for jobs for almost 6 months now, with not one single interview between us. Nada. We are finding it hard to keep a brave face, wondering what it is we have to do to gain employment. We won't be giving up of ever working in libraries, but for now we will apply for other jobs too. J is wondering why we did a 2 year diploma, can't say I blame him, but we will find something.

We are at a cross roads atm, wondering if we should take the risk and move to Victoria where most of the jobs seem to be, or sit tight and keep wondering if it would help if we lived more local to the jobs. E and I are all for moving, J is too but seems to be less hesitant than me. I find this somewhat amusing as it's me who will be leaving behind my family, my house and my son's friends. Only thing holding J here is E and I :) We have two options, move as I just said or stay put, find any work we can and accept it for what it is then be surprised when we finally get a job we can move too. Of course if you look at the pro's and con's we are probably better off staying put for now, since we have cheap accommodation, E has already started high school for the year, I can't be told no pets allowed and then there is a family and friends here. Downside is the lack of work opportunities, the kid next door, the bad school and the feeling of being miserable here.

I'm all for getting out there and finding your own happiness...but at what cost? I mean mere moments ago the brat next door was in our yard trying to take my son's bike ramp, a big black plastic ramp. E caught him and I heard it, so he bailed and went back into his own yard, his mother hearing the commotion upped him for it. Yes they have admitted they have a problem child on their hands and are at a loss. Sad really.

On the sad front, I am sad. Ok ok so its more than that. Yet again I have more medical drama going on. Towards the end of 2009 I was getting increasingly tired, napping once or twice a day. My initial fear was chronic fatigue. I went to the doctor's to get a blood test done, the results were low B12 levels, thankfully not chronic fatigue, been there before and it's not a nice place. This has resulted in getting B12 injections every month. I've just had my 2nd one last week and I have to say this past week I haven't felt the need to nap..except one afternoon after a day of 37C and overnight temps of 26C in the house. The other piece of un-fun medical news is that my doctor suspects the pain in my right hand is rheumatoid arthritis, probably as a result from the damage done to the root nerve that runs down my right arm. I'm on some anti-inflammatory drugs. Here I am at 34yo, my body is falling apart and I want to work, bit of a joke really isn't it. I am a dreamer and will continue to believe that someone somewhere is willing to take a chance on me and employ me. I'm only a little bit battered :)

The worst of it all really is that I am having a hard time knitting, very little is being done. I do have a shawl on the needles, Revontuli, in Kauni EQ (rainbow colourway) yarn. It's going to be a very slow knit. I did however manage to knit a Haruni Shawl some weeks back, it's a lovely pattern and I highly recommend it. I still have mum's Aeolian on the needles which I started on New Years Day. It looks like I am allergic to the yarn, which is a shame as it's just gorgeous. A 2ply lace silk, alpaca and cashmere blend. Now I haven't entirely given up on finishing it, even though it's now been neglected for several weeks. In fact I picked it up a few days ago to knit a row..but horror of all horrors I couldn't get the stitch count right for the row I was up too. Add to it I had hay fever and sneezed several stitches off the needles! I stopped, put her away again and will deal with her again soon enough.

Oh one last point. IF we stay here, I can have chickens and have another baby!!

No no no, not of the human variety, though I could do that of course, but in this case I am speaking about getting a Maine Coon cat. A brother or sister for Garfield. He needs one, really :) A big ginger baby to love and cuddle with and just be generally over pampered, as cats should be.

So while some things are new in our lives, the medical, job applications and school horrors are all really just the same old recycled troubles.

2009-12-13T19:56:00.005+11:00

Ahh she lives!

Yes indeed I do :)

I managed to make it through my Diploma, finishing up on December 4th 2009. It felt good too!

The last 6 months have been a struggle, one big assessment after another. Well more like 3-4 at a time. It was exhausting. I put everything I had into the work, in some classes just scrapping in. An academic I am not ;)

So now that the course is over it's full time job hunting season. J and I both started applying for jobs about 2 months ago, so far not even a nibble. I've put my name down at the library for a book that helps with writing cover letters and filling out selection criteria since neither of us has been taught how to do this process correctly and we know that is what is effecting our chances at gaining employment.

I've been cleaning the house out, removing junk and anything else I don't want to take with us. Where are we going?? Where ever we find work, simple as that. Sure I'd love to end up in Tassie or Victoria, but if we end up in Darwin or Alice Springs we will make the most of it.

But what does one knit in those more hot and humid temps? I just might have to find out :P

On the knitting front not much has happened. I did however get an Aeolian shawl done in amongst the madness, it was something I worked on when I needed some time out. As much as I love my Icarus shawl, this one is fell in love with from the first stitch. She is fully beaded, something I need to try capture in a photo soon.

Anyways, I will be casting on for another Aeolian on Jan 1st 2010 as I joined a group on Rav - Knit 10 shawls in 2010. Not a bad challenge :)

Xmas is going to be at Mum's this year, after lunch J, E and I will drive to Wollongong, about 4 hours south. We are staying there the night with J's ex-g/f's family. Yeah I am ok with that, it's odd I know, but as J says, they are a second family to him. The next morning we will head off early and drive another 4 hours to Talbingo in the Snowy Mountains to spend a week with his family. I'm the only driver, so this is really going to test me, I don't know how well my spine is going to deal with this trip...will take my medications, but I doubt they will cut it. We are taking mum's Rav 4, my 19yo Laser would never make it, poor Betsy Ann. :( I am looking forward to the trip and I will take a lot breaks to try keep the pain levels at a minimum.

We will take a trip to Wagga Wagga, go see some caves and other local sight seeing things J knows about, should be good fun :)

Well that is it form me for now, so have a Merry Xmas, a Happy New Year and above all stay safe and enjoy the holiday season :D

Am I here yet?

2009-09-06T08:29:00.007+10:00

It's taken me forever to find time to do anything with this blog.

I am still undecided on wether to just delete it or to have another crack at doing something with it.

Life is busy, TAFE takes up a huge amount of my time and energy, along with being mum to E and the mals around here. Add to that the BF, J, and I don't have alot of me time these days.

If I do get an hour to myself I am either knitting, baking or surfing the net to stay connected.

Seems I was last here in Jan. Ouch!

Since then I have gone back to TAFE to do the Diploma in Library Information etc. It's been tough, right now I am neck deep in assessments. I hate assessments, I am not an academic person by any means, I prefer hands on learning. Just 3 months to go! Whew!

J and I have been dating for almost 3 months now. It's the most comfortable place to be. Scarey huh! He's had to be thrown in the deep in when it comes to my family. Sadly he didn't get to meet them under nice circumstances, instead it was Nana's funeral. Tough gig, but he handled it very well.

Nana passed away on the 19/08/09 at 94yo. Her funeral was a week later, Lil, Steve and Joe all got time off work to be there. We had a family lunch and a good catch up. I guess that's the problem when we live in 2 countries and over several states.

I went to Bendigo Sheep Show again this year. Had a blast, bought too much, came home exhausted..see, awesome! I picked up a spindle from Spinningwoodie an its brilliant. Slowly spinning some of Mandie's (EGMTK) fibre on to it. Eventually it will become an Aeolian Shawl I think.

Ah shawls! Ok so I have now done Forest Canopy, Queen Anne Lace, my own simple shawl, Icarus (my fave shhh), Ishbel (for Marg), Sunday Market Shawl, and now its Swallowtail for Emma in her handspun. Yeah the lace bug bit me hard.

Ah Icarus! How I love thee!

I've also been on a baking kick - scones, cupcakes, cakes, new recipes for dinner etc Very domestic of me, I love to cook, hate to clean up. Shame.

No idea why that is showing up sideways when in my Pictures file its fine. Odd.

Vanilla cupcakes with No Fail Icing with Vanilla. These were SO yum that the kid ate about 30 of them, very sneakily, in 3 days! I was not impressed.

Next cupcakes I make will be Gingerbread with Lemony Icing. Or maybe Ginger Pumpkin Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache, ohh yum!

Time to get back to assessments *cries* they are SO frustrating!

2009 already?

2009-01-13T08:47:00.003+11:00

I am quiet possibly the world's worst blogger...September being the last time I posted. :(
Let's see, where to begin?

2008 on the whole was good to me, I met new people, did a TAFE course, learned the art of drinking (hey it goes with being a student!), found myself that little bit more, did something fun and outrageous (Bendigo Show - spur of the moment fun) etc.

In December I completed my Cert III in Library and Information Services course. I walked out of that with a Distinction, which blew me away, so thrilled :) I start back in Feb to do the Diploma!

Xmas, as usual, was a non event. So was NYE...I really don't have a social life. Guess I am just a home body type, plus a single parent with no child care kinda keeps you at home not out meeting a shiteload of ppl too :)

I've done some knitting...currently on the needles - Queen Anne Lace - a circular lace shawl in cranberry, Twenny Dollah top- one sleeve to go and about to cast on a cardigan by Drops Design that I adore, in malabrigo :)
Before winter I hope to have the cardigan done, some flip top mittens completed and a hat/scarf combo, or hat and cowl. I might even be a dag and knit up some leg warmers/ankle cuffs, stop the breeze going up the jeans, brrr.
Also I'd like to get Icarus on the needles in the BMFA Silk Thread I've had sitting there for several months. I think I am ready to tackle that silk thread :)

I had big plans this school break, like spinning and going on a holiday. Instead my wheel went for a holiday to Corlette to play with Molly. My car broke down 5 times in a month and cost $1000 which killed off any plans for me and E to take a break away from home :( Frack it!

I bought a laptop so it's easier for me to keep up while doing the Diploma this year, typing is far quicker, less painful and I can get more down than writing. My spine is an ongoing issue.

In Sept a mate, while intoxicated, ran into me accidently. He fractured his sternum and I have a lump in my neck that needs to be checked. My doc however is unsure about it, so back to the surgeon on the 20th of this month. Jake feels guilty about it all, he shouldn't, shit happens, and hey, he had to deal with the pain of having a fractured sternum lol

E is going to a new school as of this year, I pulled him out of RTPS and he is off to THPS. They have already put a progam in place for him, he goes to speechie once a week, his school is right near the TAFE so I can collect him or we can bus it in together....not a bad idea with the rate the car is going lol

I'm looking forward to a much better 2009, it's going to be a good year. YES it is!!

Sorry for the lack of knitting pics, will haul off PC and get some up asap.

Shawls, Flu and Tattoos

2008-09-21T16:39:00.007+10:00

I received some yummy yarn from Tara, 100% baby alpaca in Bruised Bloodwood from Yarncakes. I LOVE this colourway, so much so I stalked and managed to buy another skein of it.

Since doing the Forest Canopy Shawl I have searched for a new lace pattern to tackle. I found Commelina last night and decided that was the pattern for the Bruised Bloodwood. I cast on Commelina this morning, so far, so good!

I've almost completed one end. Once that is done you pick up along the edge and do the body of the scarf. This will be another new step for me, I hope I can do this right :)

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my shawl, much appreciated, HUGS!
I just got E to take a few pics of me wearing the shawl, I am NOT a photogenic person, ever! lol So this is as good as it gets hehehe.

Photos show all your flaws, I'm horrified at some of the pics I deleted. I never realised how many chins I actually had, eep!

Now, imagine losing 20 kilos and knitting smaller articles.....yup, aha...one day, I guess when I am ready it will happen. Today I am just too tired to even think about it. :P

Just as I thought E was getting over his flu bug, I got it! Fever on a 33C day isn't fun at all. I was so cold I curled up in bed under 3-4 blankets. A week later and both of us are still coughing, it just won't budge. Certainly glad I didn't take this bug down to Sarah's. My ribs hurt like hell from all the coughing, I even have swelling on them.
Enough of that topic, ick!

On Sep 12th, 2008 I left class for an hour and went and got this tattoo on my right inner wrist. It's my first tattoo and I love it. Within 24hours I was wondering what I could add to it :) I barely felt it, I was expecting pain and alot of it, but nada. Not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing, cause no pain makes it so easy to go get more done...alot of pain would make me rethink it, lol, well for a minute or two anyways :)

Lace Shawl - I did it!

2008-09-10T19:29:00.004+10:00

I knit a lace shawl!! I can barely believe it, but here she is, and I am SO proud of myself.
Forest Canopy in Cherries colourway from The Knittery.
Blocking this was easier than I imagined and WOW does lace blocking blow my mind.
This is my first 100% lace project and first completed shawl, I've tried other shawls and bombed out. I just may knit this pattern again, but in black :)

Now to find a new project, maybe more lace :)

In other news - the travel gods are against me, yet again I've tried to get a trip in to Wollongong to visit Sarah. Again I had to cancel. This time E was sick, poor baby had a heavy chest cold, barking cough, temps and little voice. Today he seems to finally be over it.
Now to organise again, hopefully this time it works out, I feel so bad about cancelling twice, gah!
Maybe I should go alone?? lol

TAFE is going well, even with the few hiccups involved. I love the little group we have, often a few of them will come over for a weekend and we watch movies, drink, joke around and play singstar! Yes me on singstar, but only after a few drinks lol

It's all good :)

Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show

2008-07-20T09:13:00.004+10:00

Its the morning after....oh boy was it worth it!

So I had grand plans of going to Wollongong to visit Sarah for a few days before the new semester of TAFE starts back. A nice few days away to end school break. Then World Youth Day kicked in, some dude called The Pope arrived and chaos ensued! Delightfully the Pope and his entourage would let us get to Wollongong, however, coming home was going to be a no go. My bus wouldn't be allowed into the city at all! After many sinful words, I saw the light and decided we would give it a miss and try again once his band of merry teens where gone.

Enter the "But you promised to take me on a little holiday mum" plea from the kid. Oh the guilt!
I started umming and arring and trying to work out a new plan, as far from Sydney as possible. I was thinking North, maybe a caravan park on a beach, possibly Coffs Harbour.

Tara and Ali piped up "Come to BENDI, go on, pleeeease", hmm well, I kinda do have the money and all.*

So I play guilt games with myself, over and over I tell myself I can NOT spend that much money on myself and my obsession with fibre, oh the frivolous nature of such a thing. The girls of course told me that hell yes I could and to book my ass on a plane. The guilt consumes me, I ring my mother for some sage advice, like me she is practical, she will talk me back to reality.
Oh course she will, err wrong! Mum tells me to go for it, go have fun, do something so unlike you normally would and just enjoy it. So I did! I booked E and I a return flight. My going is kept secret to surprise a few other online friends.

Thursday night we flew to Melbourne, where the lovely Fiesty Wench (Tara) picked us up and took us to her place in Bendigo, where we were entertained by her 2 little ones and kept in cups of tea by her hubby, over our 40hour stay. Good cuppas Mac, thanks!

Friday, Tara gave me a tour of town so I could drool over all the old homes, Victorian, Federation, Miner's huts etc Just gorgeous, I wants! :)

Tara had to go get more ppl from the airport that afternoon, so E and I hit the Golden Dragon Museum. The Golden Dragon is three seperate buildings - The Temple, The Water Gardens and the Museum itself. The Water Garden looks a little sad, worn and old, but could come to life again with very little work. E seemed nervous of The Temple, so we only looked outside, but the Museum was fantastic. Chinese Dragons, clothing, tools and way of life in the goldfields are all displayed there. It was impressive and we both learnt a great deal.

That night Tara snuck me into the bar where a group where having drinks and dinner, Tia, Neek and Sally were all there and surprised to see me. Our plan worked, we did good!
It was great to also meet Randomknits and Knitabulous there.

Saturday morning - up early and off to the BBQ that Tara had organised. Boy did she do a fabulous job, there was a great turn out, prizes to be won and just a great sense of merriment.
Everyone was reading each others name tags and hugs a plenty were had. I finally got to meet Ali, who marries today, all the best Ali and Andy!

After the BBQ we all piled into cars and headed to the show grounds to dive deep into fibre, sheep, alpaca and wares. Oh la la, did I ever spend up! :) E, Ali and I walked around, buying and explaining to alot of vendors what Ravelry is. We met some lovely ppl along the way, such as Ixchel Fibres, Petlyn Fibre Products, Fibreworks and we finally got to put a face to the names of Mandie from EGMTK and Donyale.

After approx 5 hours of walking around the show we called it a day. E and I walked back to Tara and Mark's while they hauled kids, ladies and fibre in 2 carloads back. It was time to pack the bags, find the plane tickets and come home.

Tara being our graceful host, took us back to the airport (2 hours drive each way ppl - 4 trips in 4 days), where I had a small altercation with a security guy, Mr Asshat. Maybe I will write about that later. grrr.

I got home shortly before 10pm, E and I were both exhausted but extremely happy with our lovely 52 hours round trip :)
Massive thank you to Tara, Mac and kids for having us in your home. Tara, your the bomb! All your driving and organising, very much appreciated, cheers!

*here is a savings tip for you, get bogged down in 6 assessments, add another 5 in class tests over a period of 5 weeks, keep telling yourself NO spending, need car rego, then really save for 10 weeks and hey presto, a shite load more money sitting in bank than you realised).

The Wheel, The Fiber and the Road Trip!

2008-04-10T12:44:00.006+10:00

The family and I took a road trip to The Gong last weekend to pick up my spinning wheel from the lovely Sarah (Knittingand), who then handed over bags to fill with fiber. Her stash is massive, well ok to me it is :) Tia and RB where there also, so it was lovely to meet new ppl and catch up.
The trip was good, my parents stopped along the way to show E and I the sights. Woolongong is pretty, the mountain ranges, the ocean, and boy is it GREEN! I could move there in a heartbeat:)
Ok, so enough of the talking, here are the pretties!
Also here is a pic of the Blue Moon Fiber - Silk Thread in the Raven's colourway Korppi *drool*

I'm here to BRAG! :)

2008-03-31T17:42:00.002+11:00

How spoilt am I?
This spoilt! Jack bay made by Palopinto in the Aussie Knitters Bag Swap. I am so in Lurve! :) See the stitching?? Same as Jack's mouth, awesome detail huh!
!

Handspun me Baby Right Round!

2008-03-09T19:36:00.005+11:00

So a few weeks ago Zephyrama handed over her spinning wheel, an Ashford Trad. I had NO idea on how to spin, so a quick run thru and I then I was on my own. I've used a spindle before, badly! :)

Prepare yourself for something over-twisted, lumpy, under-twisted, generally just a mess.
:) See!
100g = 70m
Mulled Wine

So then I decided that I could do better..hopefully. Grabbed a bag of Shyamal Merino and got cracking. This time things just clicked. 100g = 270m laceweight. I'm super excited over this one :D

Fibre from www.ewegivemetheknits.com

Things get busy!

2008-03-01T14:55:00.005+11:00

First up, its March 1st 2008, so Happy Birthday Nana(94 today I think).

Life has gotten totally crazy here lately. I started full time TAFE last month doing Library and Information Services. I'm enjoying most classes, but not all.
I have found it very hard juggling being full time student with being a solo parent, doing all that needs to be done.
I've managed to knit in a few classes that are slow going, no teacher has asked that I put it away and concentrate, it helps that I can still watch whats happening on the board, talk and keep on knitting lol.
Fingerless Mitts are the Raspberry Mitts pattern on Rav, did these in a weekend.

Jolly Roger Ski Band, pattern on Rav. Also showing off the new hair colours! :)

Hat is The Republic pattern, quick knit, took me one day during classes and finished off at home.

I'm really enjoying these quick knits. I've knitted and felted a bag for the Bag Swap....just need to find time to go get some goodies to add, also time to sew up another bag .

2008-01-29T16:04:00.000+11:00

Poor blogger, you have been neglected yet again, I could blame Ravelry but well...

Ok so really I am just a slacker, 100% slacker!

So, I am participating in the Bag Swap on the Aussie Knitters forum, which is a little nerve racking after seeing what this lot did for the tea cosy swap. I was planning on going to broadband this month but have to hold off so I can do this swap. Yup, tight budget! :(

I have plans to sew my swap partner a pretty Monica Poole Bag, then I will hunt down some knitting treats to put into said bag before posting it off in the week allocated. I think a trip out to Morpeth might be an idea! It will all be fun and worth it. It's probably the only one I will take part in this year.

School holidays are over and E goes back to school tomorrow to start Year 5! Already! My baby! He is even excited!! E hasn't been excited over school since Kindy :)

This year I will be heading off to school also to do a Library course, I'm pretty excited about it all. I go to Orientation this Thursday :)

On the knitting front I am still plugging away on my sock, I goof the heel and need to fix, will do that today!

I also started a Scrap Wrap, its just plain stockinette, different yarns each row, mainly in pinks, greens, cream and purples. 350 sts on 8mm Options, there are so many stitches that I had to order some 120cm length cables :) It works out at roughly 1 sts per cm, so 3.5 metres long...SNUGGLY!:) Thats the piccy above! :)

I did hit a wall of startitis, but I think I have it all under control now. If I just stick to the above mentioned projects all will be good.

Once they are all done, I will concentrate on a new Cardiagn (Ariann) and a shawl, probably Kiri, then finish North Roe. I need some kind of plan here :) Happy knitting!

Sock of Schurch & I have a Victim!

2008-01-09T14:48:00.000+11:00

In craft news, I recieved Charlene Schurch's book Sensational Knitted Socks in the mail yesterday. I ordered it from the Book Depositry in the U.K. on Dec 30th and recieved it on Jan 8th, not bad huh! I have the Class Sock on the needles and hope to complete that today. Making it in bright cherry red Red Heart Soft Yarn. Just because! :)

Vent. So Ravelry. Generally I do enjoy my time spent on Rav, however I am getting over it due to the amount of "experts" on the boards. Starting to think of leaning towards just using the site for its other features. All the "expert advice" makes for a less friendly environment, especially when you get ppl who don't agree etc. No need to be right in everything either, how do you learn if your always right? Maybe I just view the world differently.

I'm amazed at how shut off ppl are to the different circumstances other ppl are in. I for one have very little money, I shop around for my craft, clothes, etc. For example, this past weekend I went to Sydney to visit a group of friends, for me this is a luxury. Why? Because it cost me $150 (petrol, food, etc) They don't understand that for me $150 is just shy of half my weekly income.
Anyway, I'm home, broke and need to start saving so I can knit myself Ariann for winter. At least this cardigan will fit unlike my other baggy arsed clothing I'm slowly shrinking out of. Will start trolling the op-shops for good yarn rescues in a month or so when the bank account looks somewhat ok again...hopefully!

Oh! I also have the name of my victim for the Bag Lady Swap on Rav, did a bit of snooping around last night. Will do some more investigating and start on that ASAP, its not due til end of March, just giving myself lots of time :)

What a Year it's been!

2007-12-29T20:20:00.000+11:00

A month since I blogged, oops, how did that happen? 2007 has flown by much too fast for my liking.

Ok, catch up in point form.

Craft

Shawl moving slowly, 3 rows forward, 2 rows back.

Back to school vest - 70% done, work on it at knitting group only

Koolhaas - I screwed it up row one of chart...5 times, frill! Will try again soon, I CAN do this! :)

Did first felting - bag with duplicate stitch skully. Too fun! :)
Got Knitpicks Option set, OMG best ever needles, love them!

You Snag wristies on needles for mindless knitting over the next night or two.

Started my first sock, its for mum's bday :) See isn't that Ranco 499 pretty!

Personal life

Dec 13th - Paul had heartattack, 20th surgery, today he was home!!

Dec 13th Pam had baby - Sam Michael Anthony Clatworthy

Xmas sombre affair with Paul in hospital, Joe and Karen joined us at Mum's for a dinner on Xmas Eve.

Ethan and I had Brekky with Mum on Xmas morning before she went to hospital for the day.

Ethan lost a tooth today, well ok he was eating candy and it fell out!

Ethan finished Year 4 on 21st Dec 2007.

Washing machined died, pooh! Had to handwash for over 5 weeks, frill!

Major clean out of house from now til end of Jan 2008!!

Disability recognised at Centrelink, got letter yesterday.

LOOK OUT 2008!

In 2008 I hope to get into CRS (help those with disability gain employment etc) and have a job before my birthday in May. :)

North Roe Shawl

2007-11-29T07:19:00.000+11:00

I have been knitting for less than a year, but that hasn't stopped me jumping head first into my first lace/chart pattern. My friend Ann pointed out to me most ppl do not start lace til they have been knitting 18 - 24 months. Oh! I admit I had to chart out the whole pattern, cause the little box highlighted in red just wasn't clear enough for me. Now that I have my extended charts I am finding it alot easier. For a first attempt I am happy with it :) I am enjoying it and thats what counts. Its taking me forever as I can only do a row or two before I have to stop due to pain. I'm back on medication to try control it. I'm like a zombie on these meds, so only taking them at night so I can focus a little during the day. I'm use to some level of pain on a daily basis, but not the zombie stares. Knitting was suggested to me by my neurosurgeon as physiotherapy after surgery on my spine, but sometimes I wonder if its just causing more problems at this stage. Hope not, as I have grown to love knitting.

Anyways, self pity party over (just a bad week, you understand right?). I started this Shawl while I wait patiently for my Knitpicks needles to show up for Juno Regina, its started as just messing around, glad I kept going. On Ravelry's Juno Regina KAL board, PearlsMother has done JR in The Knittery Merino Cashmere fingering weight yarn in the Warm Pinks colourway, and its absolutely frilling gorgeous!! Being of a heavier weight yarn I decided PearlsMother is definately onto a good thing, heavier weight yarn + bigger needles will be alot better for my body. So off I went over to The Knittery webby and found a Overweight (185g - 740m-809yds) skein in Indigo, its less than the pattern requires so I will double check weight of yarn, knit the diamonds, weight the yarn again so I know how much to have on hand for the other end, knit the centre section and hopefully end up with something lovely to snuggle into next winter. My Knitpicks order should be here in 2 weeks time....

Koolhaas

2007-11-18T10:22:00.000+11:00

Ravelry is sharing the love, and I got the Koolhaas love passed on to me from another lovely Aussie Raveler. The magazine was in Friday's mail, Sat I overdyed some yellow yarn into a lime green semi solid, E's colour choice.

Pretty, no? He loves it and thats the main thing. Once I have finished with the pattern I too will forward this mag, just for this pattern, onto another Raveler. I am waiting on a order from Bendigo Mills, which seems to be taking forever! 11 days and waiting, which from all accounts from others that twice as long as normal. It also took alot longer for Knitpicks to send out my order (to Ann, since they refuse to post outside of the USA, grrr. 8 days from ordering to sending.)...in which I have bought myself the Options for Xmas :) Hopefully she will get that Monday her time....and I'll maybe get it around Dec 7th. So so long after ordering *sigh*. All yarns ordered are to make gifts...2 b'days in Jan and one xmas present.

I also just discovered the Lime and Violet pods, they are all freaking hilarious, nutty, fun, fibre loving gals...makes you want to grab a few shots of Sambucca and join in on their conversation. Actually, they are so forthcoming and free, I almost feel like I am evesdropping in on their convo's....which are totally worth listening in to :) Thank goodness I am getting broadband after Xmas, cause downloading their pods takes about 2.5 hours + per show, frill!

So broadband and more pods, here I come...well after Xmas :)

Patterns Galore

2007-11-10T09:40:00.000+11:00

If you haven't spotted the 3 extra patterns added to Knitty.com, then do yourself a favour and go look. There is Intarsia Fun, a hat and matching scarf, a gorgeous cardigan, Oblique, which I feel is out of my limits, as much as I love it! Then there is Juno Regina, which for me at least, is instant love! So much so I started an Along on ravelry straight away *blush*, I just hope the designer is cool with that, she has dropped in to offer help to anyone with the pattern so that is cool.
Also I totally love Brooklyn Tweed's Koolhaas hat, Interweave Knits Holiday Special, which dammit I cant find in Australia. I may just have to buy the pattern before Winter 2008 arrives. With the exchange rates between Aust and the USA as good as they are ATM I decided to bite the bullet and buy myself for Xmas the Knitpicks Options needles. This company doesn't mail to Aust, so I've had to send to a friend first, who will then repost to me. Of course I bought her yarn as a thank you, she puts up with my shit, what can I say? :) Companies should just send International, if we are willing to pay the postage. Us International lot are use to waiting that little bit longer for the parcel to arrive and paying the higer postage costs. Shows you the huge gap that needing filling in Aust....if only I had the cash to start a small yarn business *sigh* I've gotten to the point now I will only buy yarn IF I know what project it is for.....I'm intent on eliminating my stash enhancing habits, not that its a habit really, not yet, so time to make sure it doesnt become one. All the acrylics I have collected over the past 2 years as I taught myself to crochet then knit will be going into several crochet blankets. From now on no more acrylics, they actually hurt my wrist to be honest. Natural fibres seem to move over the hook and needles far easier.
Anyway thats my babble for today, I'm trying to avoid cleaning the house :) Better get it done..
then I can sort myself out and proceed with Juno Regina, yahoo!

Back to School Vest Part One

2007-11-04T15:37:00.000+11:00

Back to School Vest - Fitted Knits - Stefanie Japel

So I ripped out one I did start, yarn hurt to knit with. Bought some Cascade 220 in 2448 Mallard - yummy blue heather. Did a swatched, looking good, cast one and am 4 inches deep into it. I just noticed I have one stitch twisted in the ribbing, we shall name that one Steve, since I was chatting online and knitting, had to rip and obviously wasnt watching and missed that oops. Steve stitch shall stay! Momento yes?

This pic is truer to colourway than the top pic. So far this has been an easy knit, as much as I fear ribbing, its still all good.

Also I bought a new camera, nothing special, but lovely all the same, an Olympus FE-270. It does this weird battery empty thing when its not, so not sure if this camera is faulty or if its just a glitch in the series. Will have to investigate.

:(

2007-10-28T12:40:00.000+11:00

So it seems no one can tell me if my Fujifilm S3000 camera is stuffed or not, no one has the right usb cable to test it, nada.
Frankly now I've given up. It was never the best camera anyways, but the fact I have now buy a new one leaves me feeling a little blue. I'll just buy something basic for now, so I can keep up to date with my craft pics and taking pics of kiddo and kitties.
No word on the Borders job as yet. Or if I got into the Library studies I applied for.
At least kiddo's tv has started working again, yay!
I have no craft to share this post, will have a fair bit to catch up on once I have a new camera :)
On the needles at the moment I have a basic retangle for a felted bag, which I will duplicate stitch a skull onto, the Coronet cable is getting there, and I am looking for my first lace pattern to try..thinking Perdita on knitty.com.

All buttoned up

2007-10-19T11:32:00.000+10:00

All finished! 3 different buttons, just to be different.

Got a feeling this will look better loose and baggy, rather than more fitted as it is now.

Oh well, whats another 12 kilos to shed? Yup, so far 12 kilos of fat and crap have come off this body. I have dipped below my pre neck injury weight, yippeee. Now to aim for the pre pregnancy weight, harsh! :)

Actually, the more I look at other ppl's pic's of this project, the more I am thinking that somewhere at the start I fucked up and went with a different size. I know I didnt want it to be as "baggy" as the pattern looked. I was going for something slightly more fitted. Beginners mistakes, fun fun :) I wont frog it, hopefully once Autumn rolls around I'll be that little bit smaller.

I'm too damn proud of my efforts to go shreading it. Still amazed I camplete this, I really wanted to give up several times. I just knit sooo slow. I'm alot faster with a hook than this 2 stick business. Just to add to my stick issues, I thought I'd throw in an extra stick and do cables! Attempting Coronet from Knitty.com

See this....my first cable!

Happiness :)

Leaf Cropped Cardigan Finished

2007-10-10T14:13:00.000+10:00

So here it is in version 1.1.

A simple button closure with a loop.

Version 1.2 with a corset like closure...which would look better with half as many loops (Thanks Penny, good idea!) and in a cream ribbon to tie in bow.

Not sure which way I will go at this point.

Either way, it will take all of 2 mins to put right.

Am happy with myself for finishing this, the girls dont fit in as they should, but over all I am happy.

Ravelry! Fitted Knits!

2007-10-09T06:40:00.000+10:00

I just recieved my invite! Yahoo!
My username is NakedPippi, no no, its nothing rude!
A pippi is a shellfish you eat, you eat them without the shell, therefore it is naked. :)

Other news - I am having a real bitch of a time trying to find somewhere to get my camera checked. No one seems to have a cable in stock and willing to see if it will work when plugged in. I may have to buy a new camera, which sucks on one hand, as I am use to this one, as crappy as it is. A new one would be nice, but thats taking away food and craft money, dang! I am going to keep on the hunt, til its all fixed or sorted out, I will have to just put up crappy webshots, soz! :(

Yesterday my son and I got all excited when we heard a knock at the front door. Both our faces lit up in excitement, I got to the door first, heh :)
Sure enough some books we ordered a week ago arrived. Ethan got Paul Jennings, Singenpoo Adventures series and was hyper ripping open his little parcel, promptly sitting down and reading. If you know the drama with his schooling etc you will know why I almost cried.

Me, well I jumped on the Fitted Knits bandwagon. I am impressed with this book. I think I picked out about 5-6 projects I wanted to start right now, but am going to swatch for 2 projects today to see which I will then go with. Since we are coming into summer here, I will refrain from certain patterns til Autumn starts to show its pretty colours.

I've finished 2 projects, when the sun comes out I will get some sucky webshots up on here :)

Pretty Puffs Slouch Hat

2007-09-18T10:15:00.000+10:00

How cute is this hat! Pattern is by ArrghMatey at Craftster, her pattern can be found here.

There is also a crochetalong happening.

I used a 6mm hook and a tencel blend yarn. It took me approx 2 hours. This is a nice and easy pattern.

Love it! Not sure it suits me, but I still think this hat rocks!

Organised Craft

2007-09-06T10:01:00.000+10:00

I finished clearing out my craft room yesterday, its all pretty, everything in its place. How long can I keep it that way I wonder.
I was just in there playing around, putting some fabrics together for an applique christmas project, twisted on a foot and put a pin right into side fleshy part near my big toe, PAIN! Even bent the pin in. Crap! Guess I missed that when doing the floors. :(
So now I have my fabrics sorted, ironed and in a basket ready to take to craft tomorrow, how's that for organised? :)
I did a quick sew this morning and made my cat, Garfield, a collar slipcover, found here http://pennysanford.typepad.com/penny_sanford_porcelains_/2007/03/scalloped_colla.html
I made it in a white fabric with black skullies, no additional stuff added.
Will add pic as soon as I can buy a new USB cable for it, puter blew it up & they are hard to find *sigh*

Spring spring spring!

2007-09-03T17:16:00.000+10:00

Today I started cleaning out my craft room (Ok so it had become the storage room), pulling out the collected crap, sorting, filing, moving cupboard units, filling plastic tubs with fabric, bead work, glues, spools of thread, yarn, rulers, pens, books etc. I spent about 3 hours in there. I think tomorrow will be more of the same. So far I am happy with how things are looking. I need to put a shelf up & find a small table to fit in the nook to set the sewing machine up on. I'm looking for a new machine to buy, my Bernina (830) is just too heavy for me to move from home to craft etc. Well back to the spring cleaning :)

Leafy

2007-08-14T20:20:00.000+10:00

I am currently knitting Stefanie Japel's Leaf cropped cardigan from the Knitty website. This is only my second knitted clothing article, outside of scarves, that I have ever knitted. So far so good. No problems at all.

However, being a bigger girl, I will lengthen the cardigan so its not so cropped. I think I will add one or two big buttons instead of the leaf ties.

I am knitting it in a Lime Green, I picked this colour just to simply snap me out of black for a change. And so far...I love it!!

Here is a progress pic.

Projects

2007-08-13T17:45:00.000+10:00

Since this is a new blog for me, I thought I'd toss a few pics of projects I have done on here.

Crochet L'n'L, red velveteen corselette, apron and a small hipster styled apron.

All very girly looking, getting more prissy the older I get :)

Love My Granny

2007-08-12T20:42:00.000+10:00

So today while surfing online I came across the Granny-Along blogspot, again:) This time however, I grabbed a hook and yarn, found some instructions and gave the granny square a go.

Why have I never done these before? They are easy, quick and can be as bright, dull, plain or as multicoloured as you like.

My daisy one is Lime Green and Fushia, with a white daisy.

I instantly planned a afghan in my head and have since started a plain Lime Green square to match the Daisy square.

Please go look at the Granny-Along, there is alot of inspiration and ideas there... more than just ghans I promise :)

Sorry about the pic, had to use the scanner :(

Doesnt do much for the colours thats for sure.