Woolly Weekend

Saturday was Winter Solstice otherwise known as the shortest day of the year! In Brisbane that means

 a difference of around 3.5 hrs daylight from the shortest to the longest day and further south in Melbourne it accounts for a difference of around 6.3hrs!  It also means that as from today (Sunday) the days will very slowly begin to increase and point us towards Summer ....... but for now, and the next couple of months we still have Winter ....... so I'm taking advantage and knitting with my scrummy warm wool I have here in stash! 

 Joining in with FNWF, I worked on my Sirracco ..... this is worked on the side and I'm now past the halfway mark with part of the back done and another arm seam to go and then the edges to put it all together.

But I found we had some extra cooler mornings with some of those cold winds and figured I could use a cowl when walking to and from work ........ I decided on Valkyrie Cowl by Laura Aylor (Fogbound Knits) and I wanted to use this lovely soft worsted weight Tundra but there won't be quite enough of it .......... The Slate Luxury left over from the crocheted blanket I finished a couple of weeks back seems to be a close match

so I'll do a little bit of striping with them both ........ it seems to be working well so far - hard to believe it was such a close match.  The Tundra is just a delight to knit with and I can't wait to be able to wear it! I managed to get into the cables section and had planned to keep doing that while watching some TV, but I wasn't too good at being able to keep track of the cables and the show so I didn't get as much done as I had planned
Yesterday as Pete was going around the yard he came across a fruit bat (still alive) but obviously got lost or was unwell ...... they carry disease so we didn't tend to play with it!



The garden is beginning to flourish and I was surprised to find that one of our summer glady's decided to flower ........ this is our favorite one - I dug it up before we left Bundalong and I'm pleased to see it has flowered here in the garden.

A couple of other things were found in the garden ...... a little bat stopped for the day to sleep it off .........

And we found these crazy little beetles climbing on the stems of the passionfruit - we have no idea

what they are and neither it seems do the neighbours so we don't know if they are good bugs or bad bugs ........anyone out there know what they are?  Well it's Monday morning here now and I'm needing to get breakfast and get to work - have a great day everyone
Hugs
Sharm xo

One for Us

Last year after moving here, I decided that come this winter up here it would be nice to have a ripple
 blanket for our bed ...... so I started on a Queens Size Ripple Blanket using Luxury 8ply (dk) yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills.  Its lovely to work with, but was way to warm to be able to continue over the Summer months.  Once it cooled down I was able to pick it back up and Ta Da ........ all finished!  I decided to put a lace edge on either side of it to hang down and kind of finish it off.

Now, I had thought this had posted at the start of the week, however I've just returned and found it still sitting as a draft .........

And now I'm working on another knitted top ....... the photo has come out sideways so you may have to turn on your side to actually see .   I'm amazed that the self striping has actually worked so well in this particular pattern!  I had no idea it work like that when I started this and had expected pooling rather than striping!  Hope you all had a lovely weekend!  No long weekend up here, so its back to work this morning for me ....... catch you later!

Back on Line at Last!!!

"Tillandsia" completed

I'm finally back on line after a number of months struggling with a failing lap top, an IPad that kept freezing on me and lots of "life"!!! (Including Hubbie having an accident with a 9inch Grinder cutting into his thigh - thankfully he didn't loose his leg and the leg has healed well, although it's been a bit of a treck with it).
  Today I managed to purchase a new laptop and I'm so, so happy!!!  After taking the old one to get fixed and not even being able to get back up on line before it crashed again (I was busy trying to download all my stored documents and photos onto a portable harddrive whilst it was working as I'd been told the motherboard may not last much longer ...... I got to turn on my laptop 3 times before it just would not turn on at all ........ and so I've been

hanging out for the June end of tax year sales Whooo Hoooo!!!! It was worth it as I've saved almost 50% off what it would have cost! ....... Anyhow, that's enough of that as I have quite a bit to catch up on it seems ...... and apparently the March post I thought had gone through was still sitting in a draft box and hadn't published.  So here is the abbreviated version:  First of all OPAM ........
March Finishes:  These 2 Verandah Throw Cushions I had fun crocheting and I finished up a test knit "Tillandsia" which I'm really happy with!

April saw me finally finish "Brookhill " Shawl and I worked on cutting up some stash I had here (with the backing fabrics being around 20yrs old!) ....... I managed to work up a nice quilt for our bed

As for May ....... well I was busy working on the crochet blanket for our queen size bed and got as far

as part way through the border when I ran out of yarn ....... more has been ordered and I'm waiting for it to arrive ........ meantime I'm working on this knitting project which will be another top!

May was a time for celebration as I had my birthday; and we celebrated being in Maryborough a whole year together with Pete having been 1 year retired (and before you ask ....... I'm actually working 4 days each week so a little more than I was before our move).
During my time without being able to blog we had our 2nd eldest son land in hospital with appendicitis (going from the mine site out West Qld to Cloncurry hospital to Mt Isa Hospital for the opp); our daughter has had severe back issues; Pete's Accident, a nephew died ........ and amidst all that of course - I've been working ........ things have been just a tad busy around here.  Of course heaps has also been happening in the yard and garden area ........ but I might keep that for the next post ........
In the meantime its great to be back ......I've missed blogland and I do hope to see some of my old bloggie friends drop back in again.

Hugs Sharm

knit, Knit, Work .... and OPAM

I've been a little caught up the past couple of weeks - had a skin cancer removed from my face which thankfully is the lower grade type and is now healing quite well with the aide of vitamin E and Primrose oil drops which I obtained from the chemist in a handy little tube!  I've been out and purchased a foundation with a 30+ SPF (Maxfactor) - surprisingly reasonably priced as well.

We also had our 34th Wedding Anniversary on the 23rd Feb but Pete was just back from an overnight Fishing Trip with a couple of  his mates and was feeling more inclined to spend the day and evening at home, which kind of worked for me as well.  Next year we will do something special. 

Before Blocking

So for February OPAM I managed to get a crocheted shawl made for the neighbors birthday and 4 face washers.  What I do want to share with you is the difference that blocking can make to your finished knitted item.  This is the shawl all completed with ends sewn in but unblocked.  Notice it's a little uneven, the lace sections seem rather "smooshed" together and the full size appears to be covering the 3 blocking mats ........... now look at the difference it makes blocking it ...... here it is on 4 blocking mats all pinned out drying.  To block an item you need to give it a wash or at least rinse it, then roll in a towel to get the

After Blocking

excess water out and then shape and pin it out on the blocking mats using blocking pins to hold it till it dries.  It will bounce back slightly, but will retain the shape and keep the lace sections enhanced showing them off.  I thought I'd do this as I've had a few questions about the difference blocking makes and if it is necessary.  I find it's absolutely necessary for a garment to get its full size and shape too!

I'm afraid I'm running late with OPAM, but I really need to get myself a new laptop!  This one is many years old and it take forever to load everything ....... making a post on here is tedious and very time consuming which kind of puts me off - it can take half and hour just to get it switched on and loaded!!!  I've tried several apps on my IPAD to make posts but they just don't seem to work easily at all (perhaps because it's dated as well - although only about 7 or 8 years old as opposed to my laptop which is more like 11years of age!

Right now I'm working on a test knit for Fogbound Knits (Laura Aylor) - a little top which will be lovely for the Autumn and Spring weather ........ and possibly quite usable during our Winter up here in the sub tropics where we don't get the constant low temps lasting all day .  I've also been busy in the garden but haven't taken photos to be able to show you just yet - each time I went to take photos yesterday it rained lol  This morning I'm hoping to just get this post finished before I have to go to work so it doesn't end up another day before posting.  I'm loving this yarn I'm using, but I'm having to add bits of grey to it as I know I'm not going to have enough to do the whole thing.  There is a lace section yet to come which I'll work up in the grey.  The pattern is called Tillandsia.  If you click on the link it will take you to my ravelry project page where you will find more info.  I do love that with the top down patterns you can try them on to see how it's fitting to make any adjustments rather than having to wait till the whole thing is completed!

Exploring

We decided to go for a bit of a drive on Saturday and headed up to Bundaberg about an hour from here.  All around this area and north its a  Sugar Cane District - these smaller guage train tracks are seen all over the place as the smaller cane trains are used for bringing in the cane harvest to the mills.  No matter if its a crop of Canola, Wheat,(like we had around us down south) or Sugar Cane ....... There is just something about seeing acres of cropping that brings a joy to my heart (something I don't seem to get seeing acres of housing sprawled out).  .

But going through Bundaberg and heading out to the coast was the plan on Saturday.  We wanted to see what the coastal area of it was like ........ This is where the Bennet River flows out to the ocean ........

And further along the surf crashes onto a Rocky Shoreline.  There a couple of smaller areas of beach where we saw people swimming, but for the most part it was very rocky.....

Until we headed up to where the Mono Turtles come in to lay there eggs in the sand dunes along here .........  Of course we were there in the mid morning and it was very hot so naturally the turtles were nowhere to be seen - although the signs tell us they head up at night during breeding season.  I managed to entice Pete to walk the 500mtrs along the Board Walk .........

And I felt like it was worth it when we finally saw such a lovely little beach!They certainly know

where the sandy beach is!  Its a protected area and the sand dunes are not to be walked on.  It must be an amazing sight to see of an evening!
How lovely is this beach!

Meantime, I found my chair pads had just about worn through, so it was time to pull some material

out of my stash and run up a couple of new covers ...... 
I really love this fabric. It's a heavier cotton that I had originally purchased to make myself a skirt with ....... but that hasn't happened and I needed new chair pads since the old ones were literally falling apart!

I only have a limited bit of this material and hope to use a bit more of it on the veranda, so decided to use this other material for the other side.  I'm rather pleased with how they turned out!

And Pete has done a wonderful job replacing broken timbers and sanding back rust to get this poor

old seat looking oh so wonderful again!  I plan to make a couple of cushions for it and also for the wrought iron swing chair up the other end of the veranda .......... hopefully next weekend!  But look what arrived while I was at work yesterday!!!!!  Part of it will be used in a crocheted blanket I'm making for our bed for Winter (once its cool enough to start working with wool again lol).  Hope you all have a wonderful day ......

 I'm off to work shortly so I'll have to catch up with everyone a bit later


Hugs Sharm

Roundup

It seems like January 2019 has come to a close already!  The days fly by and before you know it a

week has passed ........ things you thought you might have gotten done, remain undone ....... like some penfriend letters I've been going to sit and write the past few weeks since getting back from Christmas in Townsville!  On the other side of things, the excitement of a new year usually sets things off in other directions and crafting projects get underway once again.  OPAM has commenced and I managed a total of 7 items this month (5 dishcloths and 2 kitchen towels)..... its a start!

This weekend we headed down to Brisbane to celebrate my Dad turning 90!!!  He actually has an older Brother who is 92 (who couldn't make it) and 2 of his sisters still living!  We had a great time catching up with cousins and my Sister Kathy and her hubbie Jim managed to fly over from New Zealand for the weekend.  As you might be able to tell, I think the highlight for Dad was the cake and being centre of attention for quite a big photo shoot as we had lots of different members having their photo taken with him!

Afterwards Kathy and I were able to catch up a bit more and went for a lovely walk along the Wynnum foreshore chatting away ...... then after farewelling them, Pete and I went for a bit of a walk around the town ....... it was rather nostalgic seeing my old Primary School lit up.  Part of the grounds have been sold off and the school no longer is open .... I was there for Grades 1-4 and part of 5 and it holds some wonderful memories.   Many of you will be aware of the flooding in Townsville at present, so much of my weekend has been spent on the phone with our son and friends who live up there.  Our Son and his family have been lucky so far that the house they just purchased prior to Christmas has not gone under water - they are cut off, but safe.  Other friends have had to evacuate while others are still watching and waiting.  Prayers are going out to all those currently affected by the flooding in North Queensland.  Take Care,  Hugs Sharm

Buttons on My Floor .....

So today I'm taking stock of all my WIPs .....I'd really like to see many of them become completed items this year!   Well, that was the plan ...... then I went searching for my container of embroidery cottons which  SHOULD have been with the project I was last working on (the Woodland Table Runner) .......  

After searching for an hour and knocking my tin of buttons all over the sewing room floor, Walking down to work in the garden (which seemed better than picking up the buttons at that time ) ........  I came back up and found them!! YAH!!!  So I sat and worked a bit of stitching on the Woodland Runner!  
I'm also hoping to work my way through some of my stash....es........ yep, that would be plural!  You see I have a material stash ........ and then I have a yarn stash ........ and then there is quite the stash of other various crafting bits and bobs.......   and it would seem a Stash of UFO's!!!

See the Bees on the Palm Flowers

I'm also Linking in with Jenny again this week on her study of domesticity and this week it's right up my alley!  All about observations and creativity.  I've always found those two link together in just about every aspect of my life!  I love to "see" things .. Sometimes I try to capture it with a photo (but I only have either my phone or ipad and the zoom is quite limited)...

and then often find my mind wandering to endless possibilities for crochet, sewing and gardening options in particular!  In fact on our 12 hr drive back from Townsville at Christmas time, I found myself unable to sit and crochet as normally happens on our long trips, ....instead this time I was busy taking photos of various landscapes and things I saw from the

Look Closely to the right behind the trees ..... see the Camels! I saw these as we were driving down the highway!!

car, think about how I could incorporate some of those into crochet plans for items I hope to make during the year ....and hopefully share here with you all.

So while I spent the morning doing a few chores, gardening and working on my embroidery project ..... Pete had gone to Lentil Dam again to do some fishing.  I knew he would be gone for a few hours which is why I decided to take advantage and have some time at home all alone to play lol  He caught his first Barramundi!!!  And even better ........ he brought it home!  I have a lovely lot of fish fillets all cut up which will do a few meals!!! Yum!  Nothing better than fresh caught fish - and it certainly helps lower the grocery bill this week!

Well it's almost time for me to go and cook dinner so I'll finish here as I want to do a bit more work on a Christmas UFO I found today ...... I'll be sharing that tomorrow I hope!

HaVE A WonDerFul EvenIng EveryONe  :)

Hugs Sharm  xo