FNSI

Friday was the monthly Sew In night with Wendy  from Sugalane Quilts. It's a virtual meet up every 3rd Friday night of the month........  and a good reminder that there is only another week left of the month to get any finishes completed before a new month explodes upon us!  So far this year, I seem to be doing mostly knitting - currently working on 3 major projects, which just happen to be all by the same designer - Laura Aylor.   They are currently in various stages - but Friday night (and most of Friday as well) was all about attempting to complete the sleeveless dress I've been knitting up ....... and yes, I completed the knitting part of it!!  Now I just have a number of threads to sew in, and it needs to be washed and blocked so the hem sits nicely - which is why this post has been slightly delayed....... I wanted a good shot of it to post up lol

For those of you who are curious about my other two projects ....... Park Slope is a t-shirt which will be great for Autumn and Spring weather




And Ingonish which will be super warm in the midst of winter since it's made with a thick 10ply yarn.  I love the design on the front of this - but I have to say I was not overthrilled with this yarn - perhaps that's because the yarn I chose got so held up in the post, I ended up purchasing whatever was available locally.

 I'm really enjoying my knitting these days and look forward to getting a few pieces into our wardrobes.
Hope you all have a great day
Sharm

Continuing with the Travel

As promised I'm back to share how the rest of our travel holiday went ......

River at Maclean

From Glen Innes and the standing stones, we headed up the New England Hwy to stay overnight in Gatton which was the closest place we could get to where my Dad currently lives and spent some time with him helping him to tend to a few things including looking at moving back to the area he grew up in and has spent most of his life.  So after leaving Gatton, Rosewood and Brisbane behind we headed down the Pacific Hwy in the hope of calling in at a number of coastal townships..........



Instead we were met with major traffic works which had traffic slowed down to just 40kms in many places, and lots of traffic lined up trying to get onto the highway ....... thus after one stop for fuel, we were not game to even stop for a drink until we made it into Port Macquarie where we ended up staying for a couple of days!

Our cabin was right where we got to look out over the water.  The rocks right along the river section have been painted and decorated  in all sorts of ways by people over the years









While we were there, we bumped into a couple we had met briefly at Copeton Dam, and ended up spending the rest of the day with them and heading out on a boat cruise with them which was lots of fun!    

 

After spending 2 nights here, we were ready to move on heading south and making our way around the outskirts of Sydney as best and as quickly as we could!

DH was pretty keen to go and have a look at Blowering Dam which he has often talked about heading to for some fishing, but had never got there ..........









.........so after checking out the map and taking a turn off at Gundegai........

 we ended up heading to the little town of Tumut and stopping in a cabin there right on the Tumut River for another couple of days............

Blowering Dam is located in the Kosciuszko National Park .....

and in the morning, on the dam, it was cold as you can see by what Pete is wearing.  But as is the case with all holidays, at some point they come to an end and it was time to head back home again.  All in all, we had a lovely time away together and it's been nice to share some of that with you!

 

National Park - unfortunately we didn't catch any fish here
  

30 Years!

We've been away on a holiday celebrating our 30th Anniversary!   Thankyou to those who have emailed or posted a letter to see if we are ok here, its nice to know we are missed when my blog gets a bit behind.  Since I'm a bit time poor with back to work, I'll post our trip in a couple of posts.......

Time seems to fly by these days......  anyhow, a week after our anniversary we took off on a road trip with the boat behind ...... heading across the border into New South Wales ....... 
 

Our first day of travelling was just the perfect day, with good weather and apart from some minor road works and a herd of cattle scattered across the Newell Hwy  we kept on travelling for just on 13 1/2 hrs to Inverell.  Here we stayed in the town overnight

And had the best breakfast of the entire trip!!!  I absolutely fell in love with Inverell.....

We stayed at Copeton Dam just out from Inverell for a few days (no internet, so no blogging)...... but we did go out fishing with DH catching a Cod which being legal size, we were able to keep!  He caught a couple of other fish while there, but let them go again :)

While he was out fishing another day, I took advantage and went out in my kyack














and had some fun taking a number of photos! 








 I loved all the big boulders, ferns, ferral goats and the landscape around the place ....... not to mention how peaceful it was!

 

We were staying in the caravan park at Copeton Dam in one of the cabins there, and with school holidays over, it had minimal people there and was just so wonderfully peaceful and relaxing...... I could have stayed here for a much, much longer time ..........

As well as knitting, I'm currently reading the Diana Gabaldon books - the Crossstitch, or Outlander series which started as a series on Foxtel not so long back.  So when I found out that a little town not far from Inverell has the Australian Standing Stones........  well, I was able to talk hubbie into allowing a detour to have a look see..........    These are found at Glen Inness on the New England Hwy.  They were placed here as a tribute to the Celtic Heritage Australia has and the town was chosen out of a number of towns who put in for the privilege.  It was an agreement between the Austrlian Celtic Society and Scotland to allow this .........
It was fun to stop by and see them ....... but then it was time to keep going as we planned to call in on my Dad for a day or so to see how he was going.........   I'll leave you with these 2 photos of the standing stones, and continue our trip in the next post........

Congrats......

About an hour ago I put all the names together for the giveaway ......... doing things the old fashioned way  each follower who commented on the any of the 3 posts had numbers put beside their names and then the numbers were written on scraps of paper  and popped into a little jug - Scruffy was overseeing the process
My eldest son who is still living with us at present was asked to draw out the 3 winning numbers - no photo allowed - he thinks blogging is weird (but online games played with others from all over the world are ok......... we shall say no more lol) ........... except

 CONGRATULATIONS   to the 3 winners ........
Terry  from Terry's Life

Christine from MacDonalds Patch

African Aussie  from africanaussie blog

Each of you win some of my homemade natural soap and candlemelts  - I will be sending an email to the 3 of you shortly in order to get your snail mail addresses to post out your parcels which I hope you will enjoy using.  The candle melts are placed into the top of an oil burner (like you would normally put scented oils in) with a little tea candle under to melt it.  You will find once it cools it will harden back up due to the beeswax (handy for keeping dust out) and you can use it over and over without it getting dusty and gritty like what happens with oils.

Yesterday Pete and I went into the Swap Meet held in Wangaratta........ since I'm trying to declutter I was keen not to purchase anything, but what could a girl do when her hubby buys a couple of little items for her..........  we have a small collection of blue glass bottles in the bathroom and he found this pair of blue vases for $1 each ....... and then found this darling little blue lantern which I've popped some essential oils in to help keep the bathroom nicely scented! 
 

Last Chance and FNSI

Yep,  this is your last chance if you are a follower and if you haven't left a comment in the past 2 posts to take part in my giveaway to celebrate my 5th Blog Anniversary !!  It's quite a milestone and to think I have over 100 followers is simply amazing, so it's only fair that I share the love. Tomorrow (Monday - Australian time), I'll be drawing out the 3 winners.



And speaking of winners, I had a lovely surprise when a package arrived in the mail not so long ago - I was a winner with the December OPAM and received this lovely little kit from Kris of Tagalong Teddies

After a year of knitting I was hoping by the end of this year I might have skills enough to be able to volunteer to do a test knit for a designer, so I was super excited (and nervous) when Laura Aylor mentioned she had a test knit open for an easier knit - and even more of both when I was accepted as one of her testers ...... so I've been busily trying to work on it to have it completed by the 16th Feb ! Eeeek, not too many days away!!!   So  with FNSI this is what was keeping me busy all night!!

 I do have to add that I'm really enjoying this knit and love the way it's shaping up - knit from the neck down in one piece - so no sewing bits together after you finish knitting which I find a massive plus!!   Laura has some fabulous knitted patterns - you can find her on Ravelry where she has a group and holds knit alongs to assist with anyone knitting up her patterns.  If you are not familiar with Ravelry, you can click on her name it will take you to her blog.

I actually have 2 other knits going at present which are both Laura's patterns - currently on hold while I get the test knit completed - I'm happy with the way the this sleeveless dress is beginning to shape up considering I'm using yarns I have in my stash!

"City in Winter" - a sleeveless dress by Laura Aylor Designs

Back to knitting for a bit before I head to bed - I'll be back tomorrow to draw the winner - Good Luck everyone!!
Hugs
Sharm

Wanderings and Blogannivsary Giveaway

Tomorrow I celebrate the 5th anniversary of Country Fragrance!  We were living in Townsville when I first decided to start my blog, and back then it was with the intention of being able to share with family and friends as we made the big move back to Victoria, to a little country spot in the North East of the state.    Over the 5 yrs I've shared how we have transformed this little cottage, family moments, crafts of various types, gardening and cooking.  
I really want to thank those of you who stop by to visit with me here, and especially to those of you who stop in and leave a comment, it's always nice to know I have company,  and I've enjoyed getting to know others from somewhat near to those on the other side of the globe ! 
 So I thought you might appreciate a little giveaway -  it is open to anyone who is a follower, as I feel it is my followers I need to thank .....all you need do is leave a comment on any of my posts from yesterday, up till Sunday night (Aussie time).  On Monday I will draw out  3 winners ............who will receive one of my handmade natural soaps (olive oil, essential oils, herbs) and a couple of my handmade candle melts (beeswax and essential oils) - Oh and you best mention if you have a favourite smell, I can't guarantee you will get it, but you never know your luck .....

Varieties here- Choc mint, Vanilla and Coffee Bean, Orange Cinnamon

Beeswax Candle Melts - essential oils include lavender, orange, lemon, rose, patchouli

For something new this year, I've decided that Wednesdays will be the day I share something to do with wanderings .....hence it shall become Wednesday Wanderings  .......... This week I'm sharing a few photos from a little town also in the North East of Vic, about 90kms from me....... Beechworth 
Some you may be familiar with Beechworth Honey, so I've taken a photo of inside the shop for you......

My January OPAM finishes were small due to the dental work, but I did get a dishcloth crocheted and a made a little knitted cowl which should come in handy in winter

Gotta run, talk soon I hope,
Sharm

Teething Problems

I'd much rather start my post with something pleasant, so I'd love to let you all know I'm having my 5th blog anniversary later this week.  I plan to get a couple of little giveaways together.  I really appreciate it so much when you spend the time to come and visit with me, and even more so when you leave a comment.    I've also seen my followers have managed to make it over the 100 in time for it also, a double celebration!!!!!   So the giveaway will be open to all those who follow my blog ........ You'll just need to leave a comment  on a post from now up till the weekend .......but I'll let you know more about it in a couple days time .....

I seem to have missed quite a bit in blog land over the past couple of weeks .......you see, 
Over January I've had to undergo some major dental work, which has involved having to go through 3 visits to the dentist to sit in the chair and have all my top teeth removed ( with the last 6 coming out last week). Some people are lucky enough to have the procedure done in hospital ........guess I missed out on that.........  I feel like all I've done in January is have a mouth full of pain ........ Now it's just a matter of getting used to having this top plate ( which is proving a little more difficult than I had imagined).  If anyone has any tips I would love to hear them please!!!  One thing, I've managed to loose some weight not being able to eat much lol


Hugs sharm