Catch Up Time

 The weeks have been flying by with the days slipping through my fingers so I need to catch you up on all sorts of things but I'll try to make the wording short and work through the photos ...... 

Firstly - apologies for those that sent comments and I didn't reply to ..... I had a gremlin enter my email inbox and I'm in the midst of sorting throug 15000 plus emails ....... now down to 13000 ish

September ...... I started off crafting wise by crocheting up a couple of items for the campervan and also made a couple of drawstring bags for various items to keep them organised but easily stored 

And after a week  or so of vertigo - I fell down a Gnome hole as it saw me knitting my very first ever Gnome which I actually really enjoyed watching come together ...... Meet Gneil (pattern: Gnome Pun Intended)

Gneil was sooo much fun and it just happened that the designer was about to have a Gnome MKAL ........ 

I couldn't decide which one and figured I'd give them both a go ..... this was after Clue 1 - Clues will arrive throughout October.  I'm hoping to have Gnumpkin completed by the end of October with Gnettle not far behind.......

During some decluttering I stumbled upon a WIP so I decided to get it finished and give myself another cowl to wear

Another Test Knit for Fogbound Knits - something I haven't done for quite a while...... must be almost a year...... this was a fingering weight double beanie - I should have gone for a larger size as this fits very snuggly - I didn't account for the double fabric when I tried it on whilst knitting. I'm sure somebody will enjoy it

Also managed to knit up another Road Trippin Beanie which is also nice and warm and little  more comfortable to wear

A start has been made on the "In Control" travel caddy ..... I'm halfway through it - can't say I'm enjoying the process but I know I want the finished item so I'll continue to plod along..... 

The other excitement for September was to attend a sewing day retreat with Christine and Silvia west of Melbourne where we had a lovely day stitching.  It was very popular (and crowded) with 130 women in a hall...... so a tad squisshhy ...... but fun non the less.

Of course spending a couple of nights at Christines also included us taking off for a shopping trip lol

A new dress may have also found its way into the shopping bag, but we won't talk about that lol

And then October arrived ......... I've started working on a little jacket - Idalou by Fogbound Knits 

We've finally been able to stop feeding the fire, but still have some cold morning and nights.  This lovely fellow started chatting to me as I came in from the morning walk making it clear he would like some rolled oats put on the feeding tray if you please lol

Which leads me into the garden........ with spring all the flowers are beginning to bloom - I'll leave you with these and catch you again soon - very soon I hope!

Look What We Did.......

She's yet to be named (I'm leaning towards Annie) .....

Our new to us Aline Campervan.   Something I never thought would happen but a chat on the way into Wang a couple of weeks ago and ...... Bam!  She has to get her NSW Rego sorted first and Pete is working on some Ute topper configurations for a little boat with a small 15hp motor and we will be taking her for our first trial adventure.  Lucy is most impressed with her and smells upcoming adventures!  She folds right down in just a couple of minutes into a trailer - no canvas to get wet or dirty and so easy.

Come on and I'll show you inside ....... she will be getting our (my) special touches once she has been to the mechanic to get her important Blue Slip for registration ...

A nice inner spring double mattress which lifts up to reveal heaps of storage,  Fridge, Microwave, hot plates and sink 

And comfy chairs with a table and more storage at the end (including a hanging rack for clothes) - its all we need and it came with an annex which we can pop up when we decide to stay somewhere for a bit longer

We are actually planning a Big Trek next year leaving here in May and making our way up to Townsville and then over to Broome in WA from which we will decide which way to head back...... so lots of planning ahead.  I'm excited I won't have to search for dog friendly cabins a year in advance!

Excited ??? Totally!!!

Its been busy around here since I last blogged ..........  The Fusion Quilt is finished and I'm super happy with it - 

Front and Back .....

Joining and Edging:   

It even managed a Trophy Nomination in the HPKCHC Ravelry Group which was nice. (and yes, I do plan to make that post showing how to make one)

Lots of projects made over the past couple of months - some gifted, some requested to purchase and
some for here

The larger wood fire we installed over the Summer has been a blessing - its been keeping the house super warm (we haven't needed to turn on the gas at all this winter and its been much colder this winter).  Its also been busy helping with the cooking at times, keeping the kettle hot and drying the clothes.

The fence between us and next door which was falling apart and quite low was pulled out and a digger brought in to get out the stumps from the Yukkas the neighbour had growing that had moved the fence and posts out of shape ........ and then I was enlisted to help with the fence building over a few days!   

Above - fence down and digger finishing off (our house is left side with water tank in foreground) 

Below: working out how to attach it to the brick garage (neighbours) that forms part of the boundary line - and thats my vegie garden which is why I wanted it completed before Spring hits

Below: Posts are in

Fence pretty much completed - I didn't get a finished photo from the neighbours side which shows it all (looking towards our house)

It's soooooo lovely having it done and sooooo nice to have that privacy and not being asked what I'm doing each time I walk out the back door or checking what washing I'm hanging up.  We've also had a pool blanket installed so that hopefully we can use the pool a bit more this year (its a solar one that is meant to help heat the water a couple of degrees and also reduce the amount of water that needs topping up all through summer....... Guess we shall see. 

Working on decluttering I came across a yoghurt/cheese maker I had bought from Aldi a couple of years ago and shoved into the cupboard (Things were way too busy when I had Dad to see to every day)....... anyhow, when a friend down the road mentioned she had started making her own yoghurt and saving quite a few $$ I decided to give it a go .......   This is the little beast - makes no sound whilst working and the yoghurt is lovely ..... you pop it into the strainer so it can get rid of excess fluid and then

A couple of hours later you have this .......

I gave the cheese a go the other day and ended up with this lovely round of a Feta like cheese - I'll be making more of it for sure

On other notes the past few weeks have seen me reading this from the library which I'm half way through and really enjoying .......

More knitting ...... longer fingerless gloves

I'm in the midst of planning to make this - just trying to get a few more of the things needed to make it

And walking of course ....... thankfully the weather is beginning to change - just a little - today its back to freezing but the signs of Spring are in the air.

 

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