July Begins

 And here we are at the beginning of the final half of the year …..how quickly it’s going!  I took part in Friday Night With Friends Here working on a new cowl I just cast on.

 I wanted to finally use this divine Angora Bunny yarn I purchased quite a few years back - it’s only a small skein of around 110 metres so finding a simple Cowl that I can cast off when I get to the end of the yarn was not as easy as you might imagine - It was purchased one year whilst at the Bendigo Wool show held in July - unfortunately I

won't be getting over to it this year- its been a couple of years since I made it there for one reason or another 

 …..I’m using one of Laura Aylor - from her Four Calling Birds pattern - it’s so squishy and soft and delicious to knit with and should be lovely to wear on these Frosty mornings we’ve been having here in Corowa these past few weeks! Well, before I even finished this post - waiting for my photos to upload I have completed the cowl (half the size of the pattern) but I had only 6 inches of yarn left at the end of binding off as I played chicken wondering if I would make the entire bind off

Yesterday I got back to work on my Fusion Quilt - which will become the main focus for July.  I managed to finish off the top stitching of all blocks and complete another pile of 10 blocks with blanket stitching - which leaves 1 more pile of 10 to do blanket stitching on.  There are 40 more blocks to edge once this is done.  And for a break from Blanket stitching

squares - I’ve been joining  some of the blocks into their vertical  rows using a crochet stitch pattern. 4 Rows are now complete (6 more verticals once all the blocks are ready).   I’ve had a lot of questions and interest about this quilt and so I’ll be doing a dedicated post or 2 in the next couple of weeks. 

As you can see - Row J is awaiting the Blanket Stitched edging which is used as the base for the crochet work.

The chookshed challenge is Number 9 - I have my 2 lists with the sewing item being something for the gift bag and my knitting list showing Socks!  And oh ……how I do need more knitted socks. They are so nice and cosy to wear over the cooler months and I enjoy watching them emerge ……. I’m not entirely sure what pattern or what yarn I’ll be using just yet …..perhaps I’ll go stash diving today?  Since my last post I managed to finish off my last pair of socks doing the 2nd sock as a toe up after my terrible attempt at the cuff down and sewing up the toes!

And I also finished my Pressed Flowers Cowl which I have been wearing

And after having had Bella here with us for the past 10 days which developed into lots of jealousy and a reduction in what could be easily done - we are back to normality.  The first thing after all the frosts was to collect our crop of Pumpkins which grew from the compost. I'll be roasting some up to make a nice batch of pumpkin soup and also putting some mashed pumpkin into the freezer  in serves to make pumpkin scones throughout the next few months. 

 Harvesting usually puts one in the thought process of planning ...... So naturally, I’ve been contemplating the garden …….. we lost a number of our roses last year when the Mister accidentally got his sprays mixed up and sprayed them with round up instead of the rose food …… they didn’t survive!  I wasn’t going to replace them - however I’d like to be able to gather rose hips to use so I guess I will be putting in more roses in the coming weeks! 

We were lucky to get a lovely walk in this morning through the bush area of the common around behind the Golf Course

The Kangaroos took off when they saw us coming along the track - some heading further into the bush whilst others took to the green grass on the Golf Course

It started to rain just as we were almost home ....... and it's still raining now - perfect for more crafting and sitting by the fire relaxing ....... Lucy has snuggled herself into her bed beside me and apparently has brought one of her stuffed toys in with her .....

Until next time, Take Care, and big Hugs .........

Sharm  xoxo

FNSI and a Crafting Update

I joined in with FNSI with Wendy here and managed to work on my Pressed Flower Cowl which I've continued on today and managed to get another couple of rows of flowers done - its looking so pretty and I'm really happy with how the yarn has worked up so well in this project with the white which helps to make it "pop" ..... What do you think?  I also trialled a couple of different ways of joining my fusion blocks and have decided to use a dc on both sides to join them which results in this nice row of chain on the top and a flat join at the back - perfect since I want this to be easily reversible so all the Tilda fabrics are showcased! 

 I'll probably do a bit more on my sock tonight to have a break from both of these items - plus I'd really like to get this second sock finished by the end of this month so I have a 4th pair of knitted socks to help keep my feet nice and warm .....

 I thought after the last post I should probably share my crafting over the past few weeks ...... I've been keeping busy sewing, knitting and crocheting.......  I'm really concentrating on getting the Fusion Quilt worked on at the moment which you will see a bit further down the post.

First I should share the finished photo of the Turtle Mandela Hanging that I gifted Stacey and John - really happy with how it came out and they were thrilled.

Then there have been a number of little witches hats in minature .  I made the first one as a fun thing to do and sent a photo to my DIL who was very keen to have a brown one with a green band and she was thrilled when it arrived and got a great photo of it with her cat lol

One fingerless glove completed in May ...... the other one is still waiting to be started ..... soon?? I could certainly use them at the moment with our cold mornings! We had -3 this morning and lots of frost to wake up to - the bird baths were frozen solid still at 9.30 this morning!

And I've managed to complete 60 of the 100 blocks that will be crocheted together to make the Fusion Quilt ...... I plan to make a separate post about the process as I've had quite a few people asking about it, but I'll wait till its completed first - that way I can also show you how I joined them.

Time for me to go and start the dinner now but at least I feel I've caught up here a bit.

Hugs Sharm

Katy Perry; Harry Potter and Melbourne

Me at the Harry Potter Exhibition

We've recently had a long weekend with the Kings Birthday ..... a few days before that I headed to Melbourne on the train - knitting was the go as I worked on a sock.  It was to be a very big few days ....

Starting with Shopping and enjoying walking around the city ......

Came out of here with a couple of balls of yarn and with the big Dymocks Bookshop the level below I purchased a book and enjoyed some morning tea from there

Thursday morning was a catch up with Carly and little Abbie so we could celebrate her 1st birthday - I couldn't believe the first thing she went for was the knitted cardi I had made her ... and she wasn't letting go lol..

Carly was more than happy to put it on her and she then had fun getting into the other gifts we had popped in the bag for her ....... She is such a sweetie

We had stopped at shop that specialised in chocolate ...... I couldn't go past this amazing chocolate croissant which just oozed warm melted chocolate everywhere .......YUM! 

Friday Morning Stace and I headed off to the Harry Potter Exhibition ..... I'm not totally into it like some are and have never read the books and only recently watching all the movies (I do enjoy the group on Ravelry - lets face it - its all about crafting multiple items lol) - But the exhibition was lots of fun and had quite a bit of interactive stuff to do.

The Sorting Hat from the Movie & riding
the broom in Quidditch

In the Dining Hall

Stace sitting in Hagrids Chair in his hut

Stacey and John got the keys to their very first house and I was able to give them the Turtle Mandella Wall Hanging which they both loved ....  Stace and I did a bit of cleaning at the new house - they have painting and a few repairs to do before they move in sometime in July.

Saturday Night was why I was down in Melbourn as Stacey and John had gifted me a ticket to the Kay Perry Concert (with Stace) ....... My very first ever concert and what a show it was!  She was fabulous.   I had a great time, but came home quite tired lol.  It's taken me a week to catch up!

A couple of short videos - not sure if they will work since I've not uploaded videos before ....

Anyhow ..... this was my very first ever and likely my last ever live concert and it was Fun!  But now I'll leave you with me heading off to the 9 3/4station to catch the train home after a very busy weekend.

Sock knitting on the train .......

Birthday and Crafting

My Birthday month and I've been spoilt ....... Stacey and John made sure I put aside the 7th June to be down in Melbourne and I would have to wait till my birthday to find out why ........ So, I'll be attending my very first live concert with my daughter!  It's going to be a busy weekend as its also the settlement on their home (but not moving then),  as well as a few other things planned for the time.

Renee knew how much I fell in love with those cute little tea tins and the breakfast and afternoon teas are divine!  So then this package turned up right on my birthday ....... I just LOVE these tins and once empty they will all be heading to the sewing room lol

Pete found this cosy hoodie as well as a USB heated travel blanket to help keep me warm as we enter into our cold winter month ahead.

On my birthday I also had to head to Wangaratta to get the review on my hand and get the stitches
out - they are pretty happy with it but there is still one little spot which is swollen so have to keep an eye on it and head straight back if any changes!  So whilst in town I decided Miss Lucy would really love to get this for me ......   

As well as a number of patterns, it also has all the information on how to work out measurements  and the various types of heels and information all in the one place which is what I'm really needing as I'd really like to get into making more socks and having a bit of fun with them!

Deb gave me a lovely bag of goodies when we got back from taking Lucy and Bella for their morning walk on my birthday ....  

We had quite the funny start to the walk - at the end of the oval are large paddocks and at the moment a number of calves are in there ......... a couple saw us coming and came to the fence to talk ..... and then this happened .......

So Cute lol ..... and yep, Fog in the background.

I'm on a crafting roll at the moment which enjoyable ........  The Turtle Mandela Wall hanging which I'm making for Stacey and John as a Housewarming Gift is almost finished ...... in fact when I finish here I'll be working on hand stitching the binding down and then it will be completed!

It started with hand sewing the shell pieces down using blanket stitch.  And then using the machine to stitch down (machine blanket stitch) the outer shell, head and flippers

  It's been a fun project and I was really wondering what to do about the quilting side of it - until our Chookshed Zoom yesterday when Janice came up with an idea and I went with that - so pleased with how it has turned out.  This is the first time for me quilting that isn't "in the ditch" and I really enjoyed it!

I've completed the first fingerless glove and will be casting on the 2nd one before long - once the wall hanging is completed

Speaking of casting on ....... I started this last night which is "The Pressed Flower Cowl"

I love how this coloured yarn is working up with the white.

And of course I've been doing a bit more on my Fusion Quilt with the first row now having all 10 blocks completed with crochet edges.  Row B has been put together and top stitched but waiting now for the hand stitched blanket stitching which needs to be completed before the crochet can begin.

Otherwise things here are actually quite pleasant which I'm enjoying!  I'm hoping things can begin to settle down around here and I might actually be able to enjoy a bit of quiteness and peace.  Well, I'm off to make a cup of tea now and do some of that hand stitching.

Hugs

Sharm xo