Back to all things Home ......

I've had a rather extended weekend with rostered days off on Thursday, Friday and again yesterday!  That meant I had time to get my cleaning, washing, numerous errands done including taking Scruffy to the vet yet again (this time for an injection to help with his arthritis and a check up on the toe) ....... getting all of that done left me to have the time to dedicate to some crafting!  I spent  a wonderful few hours on Saturday with a friend from the local Ravelry group meeting up at the café here in Bundalong and getting a one on one spinning lesson from her!  So my first actual  spinning of more than a tiny handful .......

 and then learning to ply it and turn it into a skein! A rather small skein I admit, but hey, it's my first ever and I'm soooo pleased!!!!  As has been the case in the past, I took my wheel up (another 2nd hand one which I thought was right), but alas it was missing a vital part! (This was the case with the other wheel I tried to learn on a year ago) .... Luckily Jill had brought her travelling wheel and let me learn the basics on it.  Hopefully the missing part will be replaced before too long.

 While I was out spinning and knitting, Pete was busy with some of his burls.  It's great to see him having time to do some crafting of his own, and I can't wait to see how these come out!  We've been burning these bits of wood for years in our wood fire without even thinking twice, until recently when our friend from up near Gympie showed Pete what he had been doing with some of them, so since Pete had a few here he is giving it a bit of trial .......

 It's been soooo cold here this past week I felt I needed a beanie that I could pop on for around the garden and out walking! A lovely easy pattern which I enjoyed making.  I picked up a couple of balls of Cleckheaton Country naturals from the Wangaratta Woollen Mills when I was there meeting up with the girls last week - I haven't used this yarn before, but I was really happy with it - lovely to work with, nice and squooshy lol and it feels quite warm!  In fact I'm sure I picked up a couple of balls of this when we visited Cowra a year or so ago .... I need to pull it out (or perhaps in with the stash now living in Qld??)

Getting back into basics I managed to get some baking done on Sunday morning as well. I really do enjoy baking from scratch and using whatever fresh ingredients I can ...... Managed to use some of our pumpkin for the scones, fresh walnuts for a date and walnut loaf that was still in the oven when I took the photo, and lemons from one of the ladies up the road for the lemon drizzle cake!  We are set for snacks for the week and then some!  Over the weekend I also set about knitting up a few swatches - it seems that Laura Aylor is having a Mystery Knit Along which will make up some type of shawl/ wrap ....... its all very mysterious ........  You can make it in either fingering

weight (4ply) or dk (8ply) and there are 2 sizes of wing span 70 inches or 80 inches. After wrapping a tape measure around me, I'm happy to go with the 70 inches and since I'm after a lighter wrap (hopefully for those cooler mornings/evenings down by the beach lol) I'm using fingering weight - some wollmeise in Igor and some 4ply Bendigo Luxury in Mink and mixing those with some delightful Cascade Heritage Silk - all from my stash I might add!  I think they look nice together, although it took 3 swatches to work out which size needle I'll be using ...... let me know if you plan on taking part in the MKAL!  Click on the link above to see more about it.  I love the way the colours look against the wood - seems it would be a lovely wrap to wear through the woods as well ..........

Yesterday I decided I needed to bite the bullet and get those houses finished off for the Down the Rabbit Hole BOM ........ it felt very good to get them finished off and sewn together! So now I'm caught up on the May pattern at last!  I had soooooo much trouble with these houses and I've had to add bits in and they sure would not get any prizes for sewing or quilting, but they are done!  I sure hope the rest of the quilt gets better from here .........    It's lovely to feel like I'm actually beginning to catch up on some home things again! 

Organised Chaos

 

Good Morning to all of you who might be popping in to see if I'm still around!  Thankyou to those lovely ladies who have been so kind in dropping a line to check on me since it's been over a month since I last managed a blog post.  I would say we are in an organised state of chaos around here - work has been super busy for the both of us, and we seem to have had some busy weekends, and a few without any internet access which has resulted with blog posting just not happening!  So let me give you a very quick catch up ....

I managed to get the blanket for grandson Jaxson completed during May!   May is also my birthday, just a few days after Mothers Day. It passed by with Pete getting take away Pizza for the night - being a work night and no other friends or family close by. Stace did her first ever ribbon embroidery - actually embroidery of any kind! She confesses to not actually enjoying the sewing process lol

 Parcels arrived from the kids and grandies which was nice

and Pete bought me a lovely shadow box light and a frame for the house name for the new house (unsure what name will go in yet)

 Pete managed to win yet another radio station competition giving us a double pass to Winton Raceway to see the supercars.

Pete managed to win yet another radio station competition giving us a double pass to Winton Raceway to see the supercars.

He has also been super busy doing some loads of wood and finding some burls he's been having a bit of fun with, (some of the designs inside are amazing ) ......

and also finding a couple of slabs of slate which will get made into garden seating for the new house.  He is going to be keeping himself rathe occupied when we do finally sell here and he retires!  I do love that he will have interests to keep him well and truly occupied.







The Beehive Cabin has become the storeroom for the packed boxes and so the beehive has had to have a temporary move inside. 

 In just 8 days time we have a removalist booked to take half our contents up to Maryborough. We will be heading up there for a 2 week "vacation".  I've been kept busy organising and making bookings to have Solar panels and hot water installed; the split system

which we purchased last time is to be installed; concrete quotes for a section under the house ........ and Dad looks like he will catch the train up from Brisbane for a couple of days to visit with us as well.


Meantime our little Scruffy became unwell ........ dental issues requiring some surgery to have 4 or 5 teeth removed -

unfortunately they went a bit crazy with the shears and shaved his face right up past his eyes which was a bit of a shock and we are not totally happy about - sure hope the fur grows back quickly!

As per usual handwork helps to keep me sane!  Although I've certainly been battling with the sewing on the BOM this past month!!!  I've learnt that I do not particularly enjoy sewing little pieces by machine - which has come close to being thrown out the window a number of times this month!!!  I'm now a little behind on the BOM, still attempting to get 40 houses made up to put into 4 rows ....... I really do want to get these done before we leave as I have the June pattern to get completed as well and it will be July when we return from our holiday!  

All I can say is  - thank goodness for YARN!!!!!  Knitting this shawl (a test knit for Laura Aylor called "So happy together" ) was wonderful therapy and its quite a big shawl for any of you who like to be able to wrap around a few times! Love the edges!
Winter has definitely kicked in the past week and so my walking which had improved has become much less this week - less sunlight before and after work and foggy mornings on days off make for slow starts to the day!  After such a long post catching up I'll leave off here as I have today off work and much to get done! Hope you all have a wonderful day
Hugs Sharm xo

Scruffy is too cold and still recovering - he's decided Bed is the best place this morning.........

A February Wrap Up

With yesterday being the last day of the month of February, it's time for a quick wrap up ...... This month I've managed to spend quite a bit of time on various projects - mostly of the larger kind, like the crochet rug, and the Quilting BOM

as well as my blogging hexie tablecloth which is coming along nicely now, and I've begun piecing the flowers together and started to attach some of the hexies to the middle section.  Doing that is also helping me to work out how many extra hexies I need to make.  And since its EPP week, I'll link in with Anthea and continue to get a few more hexies under way..........

At the end of each month its the OPAM report, and I'm pleased to report that I did at least complete one project this month - a nice little  crochet journal cover which I designed and made up for a friend for her birthday.  I added a couple of little crochet flowers to finish it off.

On the home front  Pete and I celebrated our 32nd anniversary on the 23rd of February. For the past few years we have taken holidays around this time and celebrated in various places around

Australia, but this year having the house here on the market its far more difficult to make plans.  Since Pete bought us both new fishing rods and reels just the week before, I decided I should get him a little something too ....... I found this in one of the Jewellery Shops in Wangaratta during a lunch break.  When we were first going out together we would often play cards with another couple.  It's been years since we've played cards but with retirement and a new move coming up, I thought just maybe we might find another couple who enjoys playing cards for matchsitcks (no money ever involved in our games lol).

And at the Yarrawonga Markets this month the quilting Bus from Charters Towers was there ........  I found a few items and then just as I was picking out a couple of fat quarters for the quilt, Pete stopped in and assisted with picking another couple of colours he thought would also work with them ..... which of course they did and I was more than happy to add to my little pile ......

 I'm a little late getting this post out today, but I've been feeling sick all day - thankfully Scruffy has been beside me keeping an eye on things! 

Close to Home

Hubby was lucky enough to be working close to home on Friday, which coincided with me having

the day off work and actually being at home for the most part of the day ...... since he was just a few doors up at the end of the back lane, I was able to catch a few snaps of him working.  Normally I wouldn't bother doing this, but I thought it would be good to grab a few shots since once we sell, he will be retiring.  He was working on machines when we first met 34 years ago - so it would be a shame not to share some of that here on the blog.


Friday was also FNSI with Wendy our wonderful hostess, and with the day off, I decided to start early - finally making a start on my big project for the year "Down the Rabbit Hole" (a monthly block of the month project). Let me just say that I'm most certainly on a learning curve with this project ...... and making this circle took till part way through today to complete -  I have to say I was pretty happy when it actually worked!!!  I'd even cut an extra wedge since I was pretty sure with my bad cutting that I was going to have a problem with it joining together! But Blow me down, it actually worked!!! 

I love the dragonfly fabric!

While you might think I just worked on this, let me share that it was only completed with lots of coffee breaks and de - stressing - sitting with crochet  hook in hand edging blocks ....... and even crocheting a few  together in their rows (as per my initial idea for this rug).   So it seems this BOM will assist in getting other projects completed at the same time!! lol

Anyhow, so now back to the quilting biz, and I'm up to the part where I have to sew down the stems ......... let's hope that's more interesting than how it's sounding, or at least quick if nothing else!

Oh, and I should share that Thursday night hubby was invited to a big private sale at one of the fishing tackle shops - he asked me to tag along with him and surprise ........ he ended up buying both of us a new rod and reel each that will be getting used when we move north!  I was pretty happy to get to have a rod and reel purchased that actually suits me and is nice and light to boot!!
Well on that note, I'm off to do a spot of reading before heading off to bed. 

January Project Wrap Up

Wow, the First month of 2017 has come to an end ...... already???  I feel like I'm still in the midst of my planning for the year - Guess I'd best get onto that before I blink and its over lol 
Soooooo ...... Wrapping up the projects for January - Oh, and And don't forget that Kris and Peg have just opened the books for OPAM 2017 to keep us all moving along with our various projects! 
I completed a knitted Beannie for daughters partner ready for later this year when winter comes upon us ...... It's rather colourful, but he likes that type of thing - I'll give it to him next time I'm down in Melbourne!






 ..... I got started on the crochet rug which is being made specially for the veranda on our new home up in Maryborough ..... I'm pretty happy with the progress since it's gone from planning and looking for a suitable crochet block and working out my colours to having completed 15 Glacier (Grey), 7 Snow (white) and 5 Wisteria (Mauve) blocks.  According to my little diagram I need a total of 48 blocks and I've yet to work out just which method I plan to use to join them together.  Also I had to try getting more cotton, which I really wanted in a "Slate" type of colour, but being picky I wanted it in either Bendigo or Stylecraft DK since I prefer the drape of these cottons than some of the others I've previously used ........ seems neither of them are keen on a dark

grey cotton colour and in fact I'm very disappointed with the limited colour range that Bendigo has - I hadn't realised that they don't even have a true Red in cotton????  Anyhow by default I've now decided I need to go with the navy colour ...... nocturne (stylecraft) and French Navy (Bendigo) are pretty much identical so I discovered when the orders arrived!  The Rose Pink won't get used in this project - its mostly there so I could see the difference between it and Wisteria in the same photo! 

The signature tablecloth is making progress - I'm so looking forward to using this when we finally get up to Maryborough and I have ladies come to visit and enjoy some sewing and cuppa time!  I was blessed yesterday when another signature hexie turned up in my mail box ........ this one came from Narelle from Pins and Whiskers.  Narelle also hosts "1 Xmas Item a Month"...... Thanks so much Narelle, I'm looking forward to making your hexie into a flower for the tablecloth ....
Here are the flowers thus far ........ I need to work out what colour will be going between them all

Blogging Tablecloth Hexies

Next up .... The Valentines Day swap  (hosted by which I've managed to finish and have posted out today (that will have to wait as it's meant to be a surprise ). 

The "Down the Rabbit Hole" BOM released a surprise pattern for us to make while we waited for the release of the first part of the quilt ........ I had lots of fun making this hussif (a sewing caddy that rests over the arm of your chair) and I think the carrot was a fun addition!  I had a smile on my face the whole time I was making this ...... sew cute!!!!  It also meant I had another "finish" for the month of January - giving me a total of 4 actual finishes (including the secret sewing for the Initial Heart Swap).  The blocks can't be counted as finishes until the full project is completed to prevent those pesky UFO's piling up!

Progress on the January BOM  pattern from  "Hand picked Wardrobe" (see the link on my sidebar) ..... its not quite completed just yet ..... I plan to get this January block finished off later today since I have the day off!  Hooray!!!  I really enjoyed putting this block together and working on the stitching.  Looking forward to the February Block when it gets released later this month - don't forget that Val has been kind enough to make this a Free Block of the Month too!  And that my friends is my stitching round up for January!  I have to say that I'm feeling somewhat pleased with my progress thus far for 2017 - Lets hope it continues lol

Happy Happy, Sewing Time

Wendy hosted FNSI on Friday and I'm truly grateful to her as it really got me into the sewing kind of head space I needed to get going on some things ....  Note the several projects all on the go on the dining room table as I joyfully moved from one to the other depending on what was going on around me .........

 First I finished off the crochet squares in the "Glacier"  colour for our Crocheted Veranda Throw - its now sitting in a plastic tub while I wait on an order from Bendigo yarns, and an order from Deromores (UK) . I would have preferred to use all Bendigo cotton for this project, but unfortunately their colour selection is somewhat limited.

Next on the agenda was to begin doing something with the lovely little Elephanz embroidery..... I had to do it twice when I made a bit of an "oh dear" when I forgot the pen I had not used for such a very long time didn't actually erase when you ironed it ...... nope, apparently I should have wet it!  Oopsie!!   So I got some practice doing a second one!

Moving on, and by now it was Saturday afternoon and I was itching to get back to the sewing ....... so,  as you might have read, I'm taking part in the BOM, "down the rabbit hole " by Sarah Fielke which I had seen on another blog (oh how I wish I could remember who else was doing this and where I saw it???  Is it you?? Whoever it was - a big thankyou as Sarah explains things so well in her videos as well as having the pattern sheets!) .... anyhow, she also includes little surprises as part of the BOM we pay for apparently and sent through a lovely little "Hussif" pattern with video instructions for making it up.  Although it certainly wasn't compulsory, I just couldn't resist when I saw the carrot pincushion in it!  I've still got a tiny bit left to finish it off, it's been such a while since I've done much sewing and I first had to dust out the sewing machine and give it an oil,  but here is a snippet .............

 I'll show you the rest once I get it completed,  which I would have done, if I hadn't been blog hopping on Saturday morning while having breakfast ....... 

Val Laird had a post about a lovely wall embroidery  over 12 mths which she is doing as a freebie (check out my sidebar for the link), and it really spoke to my heart.  It will be a good reminder as I stitch the verses and it  will then make a perfect little wall hanging for our new home!  So since I didn't want to go and buy anything for this one, I had to stash dive in the fabrics I'd unpacked the other day - I really did not want to have to go and undo that box again  (thankfully when I pack boxes I number each one and have a book with the list of the main items in each box) ........ instead I had to undo a different box  (number 26 ), to pull out my cutting mat and ruler lol  ......... Why did I ever think it would be a good idea to pack up the Beehive with all my crafting goodies???  Still, I surely have more than enough to keep me occupied for a while!!!  Naturally I had to get creative with the fabric scraps I had and try to work out how to get the amounts out of what I had ....... this ended up taking way longer than I had ever intended it to take, so I've yet to begin on the actual embroidery yet!  But I do have the pieces all cut now (except for the "cream on cream" ones) and in little plastic sandwich bags!

 

I don't think the sewing smile left my face all weekend!   The table sure has been covered in sewing goodies - Hubby just smiles and nods appropriately......    It's all going to have to get cleared away this week as we have an open house here on Saturday ...... fingers crossed and prayers please for a house sale!
Have a great day everyone!
Hugs,   Sharm