Bendigo Tales

  I had a fabulous long weekend with a great bunch of girls from one of the Ravelry groups!  I left on Thursday morning taking my time heading over to where we were going to be staying and making sure I made a stop over at the Bendigo Woollen Mills!  I've been wanting to make a nice big afghan/blanket for our queen sized bed and had planned on getting the 200gr balls of yarn from here........... I ended up with these colours,
3 of each one

and looking to crochet the Chunky Comfort Afghan by Lion Brand.  It's a free download available on line.

This being my first time to the Bendigo Wool Mills I was pretty excited to see the huge area with all the lovely yarns....... and then there is the "back room" with specials......... hmmmm, what can I say except there were some that just couldn't resist jumping into my overflowing basket to come home with me.............

There may have been others that tagged along, but they are staying out of site for now....sshhh
Onwards to Carisbrook, to the big farmhouse, Lochinver,  where the 12 of us were staying!  It fit us in nicely (3 bathrooms helps plus a couple of small cottages right beside the big house for overflow rooms lol). 

 

The reason for the gathering, which has become an annual event now (since last year apparently), was to visit the Bendigo Wool Show with all its woolly goodies and likeminded people with an appreciation for yarns and handmade items.  I was not disappointed!!  I managed to make a lot of purchases, picking up all the items that I had written on my list, plus a few lovelies that were not on the list lol.


Learning how to use my new Swift and Ball Winder...Ta Dah!

I hadn't actually met any of these ladies in person before, but I couldn't have asked or planned for a better time!  We all brought food to share and everyone shared meal prep, cleaning up, stoking of fires and car trips. 

Angora Rabbit Yarn purchased at Bendi

In the Vintage Button Shop at Castlemain

 

Merino and Mulberry Silk...... purchased from Castlemaine on our Saturday outing.
 

A fantastic time that I plan to be popping in my calendar for next year!!
I now have so many projects lined up waiting to be made its going to be interesting to see which ones make it to the hook or needles first!! ......... and yes, I did also get quite a nice bit of my knitting done........ almost the entire front of dh's stripey jumper!!  He was pretty happy when he saw that................. now to get the sleeves done.

Have a fabulous day
Hugs Sharm

Christmas in July Update

This parcel of goodies in on it's way....can't tell you to where, or who, or what....cause it's a secret.....ssshhhhhh........I had meant to post it off on Thursday when I was heading to Bendigo for my girls weekend away at the wool show ( that post will be coming shortly..), however I managed to leave it sitting carefully on the table in the little cabin........hopefully Aussie Post works well to get it there for Friday.

Countdown to Bendi!

It's rather cold outside this morning...I see we had a decent frost overnight leaving the grass white and crunchy this morning.  Although there was frost sitting atop various things around the garden, photos just didn't seem to capture it, and at zero degrees I had no desire to do more outside after seeing to chooks, kookaburras and magpies lol  The sun is out now, so it looks like it should be a lovely day.

I'm on countdown now till I head to Bendigo for the wool show and a nice long weekend away with a group of girls from one of the Ravelry Groups. 3 more sleeps!!!!  Can you imagine how excited I am??  It's been about 10 or maybe even more years since I went away for more than a night on a girls time out type of thing.   I head off on Thursday morning..... early, since I have to drop eldest son (who is currently living with us and without a car), into Wang...... a great excuse to just keep on going and get an early start to my time away :)   It means when I get to Bendigo I get to do a bit of exploring of shops, perhaps catch up with somebody for a coffee and head into the Woollen Mills to look for some wool to make a nice big blanket/afghan for our queen sized bed!  I'm looking to crochet one with a few different colours....... not sure yet of the pattern (I had been leaning towards the corner to corner, but I may change my mind)....... I'm thinking something with stipes........ and since our bedroom is very small and doesn't get huge amounts of direct sunlight into it, the colours need to be warm, yet bright and light................ hmmm, does that even make sense???   I have the swatches that were sent out by the woollen mills so I can at least begin to get some idea of colours....... if I could just choose a pattern!!

Naturally I have a list of various knitting and crochet associated items I'll be looking out for........ I've been saving up ....... the money from selling some of soaps and eggs is being used to stock up at Bendi!   It will be a weekend of woolly pleasures and I'll be sure to get some photos so I can tell you all about it when I get back on Sunday (although it could be another day or two before I get my post up lol).

Meantime, I want to get the house cleaned up, a bit of baking done, that horrid ironing pile up to date ......blah blah blah........ you know...... in the hopes that when I return the house will still be sparkling with minimal cleaning/ chores to attend to ........ cause I will likely want to use my last week of hols to play with all my Bendi goodies!!
Hope you all have a fantastic week.........
Hugs Sharm

A Bit of Stitching

This week I decided to join in with "Friday Night With Friends" .  With Winter here its been quite cold and the little cabin has had no heating...... so Friday during my lunch break I managed to pick up an oil heater from Bunnings - pleased to say it has worked brilliantly and I only need to have it on the low temp to keep it warm.  Although it's Friday Night, my sewing  tends to continue on the next day (in between a bit of cleaning, washing and the trip into town for a few things lol).

With my helper keeping an eye on things, I managed to get a bit of secret sewing completed for the Christmas In July Swap.
Once that was done I managed to finish off a small table runner I started on a few weeks back, did a bit of mending and made a start on a cover for Petes Chair which is showing signs of wear and tear around the head rest.  It was my grandmothers chair and she left it for Pete when she died, as they always used to joke about it being his when she died.

I've come to the conclusion that while I might be able to sew various items and do embroidery and applique..... quilting is just not one of my gifts!!  It seems no matter how small the item, I still manage to have puckers and such. 

So yesterday afternoon I put down the sewing machine and picked up the knitting needles again.  I'm on a mission to try and knit or crochet up 5kms worth of yarn by the 7th August...... it's called The Stash Dash and it's being held over on the Ravelry site by The Knit Girllls. 

 If nothing else, it sure is encouraging a lot of us to get projects finished!  I've actually completed a crocheted bag, my stripey crocheted afghan, my berry ripple slippers, the baby booties, several dishcloths,a hotpad  and my hitchhiker scarf since the start of this year! More knitting/crochet than I usually get done in a year....... and I have a cowl just waiting for buttons, which I finished last night! Of course cooler weather sure helps with spending time with wool :)   So whatever you are doing today, I hope you have a productive day.
Hugs Sharm

One Foot Forward, One Foot Back......

At least that is how it seems around here this year!  At least I've managed to finish off knitting my hitchhiker scarf all ready for  me to take off to Bendigo with a group of girls for a few days and visit the Bendigo Wool Show!! 





This is me wearing it to work, and here it is just after it came off the needles........

 My time is somewhat spread this year between several life crises for our family, so the house is showing that quite clearly!!  I have numerous piles of things that are part way being sorted or cleared...... or just piled  because I'm not sure what is actually there!!!  In a smaller home, which we have been in for the past 4 and a bit years....... too many things and the place looks like a "bomb has gone off". 

 Add to the fact that it is winter here with the wood heater going ........ so we have the wood box beside it, the kettles on top keeping water heated for cuppas and dishes, clothes airers in front with loads of washing from the 4 adults currently living here ..........  although, it is quite cosy and when you take a photo it sure looks much nicer lol  (especially since I've managed to take the photo so you can only just see an item of clothing in the corner lol) The chair beside it is actually piled high with the folding I've just done!

Naturally, as any other crafter would know, that does not stop various craftwork from continuing on!!  Knitting is the flavour of the season for me at present and I have several items on needles right now..........  I'm following a couple of KALs on the Beginner Knitting group on Ravellry  in an effort to re aquaint myself with knitting skills after a 23year break!   In the pic the KALs include a woodland cowl (the soft pink) and some slippers (strawberry cream ripple) which will be for daughter.  The yellow cotton is a mystery KAL and we currently have received the first 2 clues. 
The Blue and Grey stipe will be a jumper for DH.    The multi coloured ball is waiting for me to get started on a little baby hat to go with the booties I crocheted up for a long time friend who is having a baby very soon.

There has been a bit of sewing and other stuff happening out in the little cabin, but it's in need of heating out there, plus the items I'm working on are for the Christmas In July hosted by Cheryll.
Which reminds me...... its FNSI this Friday night!  I am so all over the place this year, I've barely remembered which Friday night is the virtual Sew In....... Cheryll has all the details on her blog page which you can find if you just click on the link above. 

Take Care, and have a great day,
Hugs Sharm