Lots of Rain and a visit to Dartmouth Dam

 I’m not sure if this post will publish - blogger has dealt me a problem that has ended up with me no longer being able to comment on any blogs any longer unless I do it automously which is annoying! I’ve also had trouble posting so this will be short …..time spent on longer posts that would not publish seem a waste of time.  It has something to do with me having checked my old soap blog and now it automatically thinks I’m registered with a different email address 😡. 

Lots of rain here ……the Murray River is in flood and many of my walking tracks are under metres of water but we are safe here.  The big dams are close to full or starting to overflow …..like Dartmouth Dam up the mountains from Albury about 2-3hrs from here.  It hasn’t flowed over in 27yrs but is now quite the tourist attraction as it flows over its spillway ……we went to see it yesterday - such a grand sight to see.

August Catch Up

Since getting back from Bendigo wool show in July and finally getting back to being able to knit again I've been busy ....... but before I show you much more, let me say that I'm having major issues with my google account/blogger.  I made the mistake of opening a very old email address from when I used to sell soaps ..... blogger/google has now decided that because it was once linked to a blog (which I used as my website)... its now making that my main account log in and no matter what I'm trying it won't revert back to my original one and therefore I'm guessing that's why I've been unable to leave ANY comments on ANY blog since then!!!!  To say it's driving me crazy would be an understatement and I'm not sure what to do without loosing my blog here.

Anyhow ...... this is the scarf I crocheted using some of the purchases : Shamdana Shawl which was based on the pattern but I made quite a few changes to it to get the shape I wanted and some of the texture in the rows. If you want to check it out further you can visit my Ravelry project page to get more info:

https://www.ravelry.com/projects/sharmayne/shamdana-shawl

I've finally finished this sweater that I've been working on off and on now for a year!! I'm soo happy with the results though and it's very warm with the bunny mink.

And finally managed to find enough sun to be able to get it outside blocking for a short time before I brought it back in near the fire to finish off.  

It's based on the pattern called Avenue by Laura Aylor although I decided not to do the sections of stocking stitch and instead making my own stripes using the two yarns

While at Bendi I borrowed a beanie having left all mine behind and for the first time ever I felt like I'd

discovered a beanie pattern that I felt suited me! So I was keen to purchase yarn at the show to make the same pattern up and I'm really pleased with the result.  It's super soft and warm with the edition of the fine mohair mixed with the other yarn.  Winding it into the ball it just looked so fluffy I felt I had to share with you...

Isn't it just sooooo pretty  and flluffy lol

In between all this knitting and crochet there has of course been other things happening ..... like trying to get the craft/study room a little under control!  The problem being that I have about 3 boxes of "stuff" dumped in there from the move together with a pile of paperwork needing sorting, filing or dumping!!  At any rate I made a start on the desk area and this meant having to make a start on this book shelf with the folders (which are there ........ but will eventually need their own sorting out) ......... but for now, at least I have one corner of the room somewhat sorted .......... hopefully I'll be able to make it to the sewing machine before long

  

This one of the other yarns from Bendigo ....... It was actually my very first purchase of the day ...... 

It sung to me  lol and I felt like it needed to be used on its own to show how pretty it is ........ perhaps a shawl of some kind that just uses the one skein of yarn .............

I think I may have found the pattern ........ at least I hope so ...........................  and yes, I've made a start .............. but you will have to wait to see how it turns out .................

In the meantime I was given some lemons and eggs ........... of course in my mind that equals homemade lemon butter (or lemon curd as it's also known) ......... so yummy!!  and it looks just as good while cooking in the pot!

I did have more to share with you but since I'm having such a frustrating time with blogger and photos sitting in the right places for this post, I think I'll finish here and get back to you with other news .......

Hugs Sharm

Bendigo Wool Show Fun

Coffee Stop on the Roadtrip over

All went well and Finally I made it back to Bendigo for the Wool Show!  The last time I was able to go
was back in 2016 so I was super excited and had fingers and toes crossed everything would go ahead ..... It's a girls weekend with a group from Ravelry and a couple of houses next door to each other are booked out from the Thursday to the Monday (although I had to head back Sunday afternoon to go to work on Monday). 

 I picked Jill up from her place (about an hour from here and on my way) and we really enjoyed our road trip and weekend together! It's about 2 hrs or so from Benalla where I picked Jill up from.  Lots of fun was had and a very full day on Friday from 9- nearly 4 spent at the show, lunches and dinners, knitting and chatting, a walk around the town and visits to the Woollen Mills and the smaller Artistry Fair across from the showgrounds ........ so much fun!! Not to mention all the show and tells from everyone's purchases lol

My haul included much needed moccasins, scrubbing brush tops, drizabone boot covers for Pete, Sock ruler, notions and yarn for several new projects and to put with some of the yarn already in my stash.  It's so nice to be able to see and feel the yarn in person.  Lots of ideas for projects swimming through my head lol

The girls came from all over: Canberra, Melbourne, even Adelaide - Not as many made it this year due to the fear of Covid creating issues but we here braved it & won!

It is the Sheep & Wool Show - not just yarn lol - these were the pups still learning and so cute to watch

Judging and posing for the newspapers

Jill & I chose to wear masks as did most people with so many stalls so close together

Jill, Jacquie & I taking a break - that big shed behind was filled with yarn stalls as was a number of other sheds ..... yarn and fiber heaven lol

Brunch time - just a few doors down from the house

 

A walk to the tea shop in Town - couldn't resist a photo of this one!

Our breakfast on Sunday before it was time to head back home ....... and thankfully we managed to get home before the big storm hit!

I worked on a few projects while we were there, but of course started work on a new one since it was obvious I was going to need a new beanie (I borrowed one from Nettie for the weekend as she had brought 2 with her - me, I couldn't find mine to bring) ..... and the pom pom was found at the show - perfect to add to this beanie which I finished knitting up a couple of days after getting home

And just in time as we seem to be getting lots of harsh frosts hitting us here ..... just look at the ice on the car after I had hosed off most of it 

The poor birds were going to have to wait a bit before getting a drink!  We've had quite a few of these mornings - Winter is definitely here!

Winter has Arrived

 Winter has definitely arrived with the cold hitting us as soon as June came ........ Suddenly we have frosty foggy mornings lol ....... The Murray River runs where those trees are behind the houses across the street ..... There is another road behind those houses and then the River.

Don't you love that beautiful big Gum Tree that stands in the front of our place?  When we came down last July to look for a new home, I had a dream that kept showing me a branch of gum leaves - never a bit of the house or land showing, just the gum leaves - such a distinct dream that stayed with me ......... I kept looking at each block of land and house we looked at for a gum tree with no luck ....... Finally believing I had lost the plot .......

 then a random call to come and look at this place (by which time, I'd forgotten to be bothered looking for any sign of a gum tree) ....... we were sitting out the front in the car waiting for the real estate agent to come when Pete remarked "Check out the big Gum Tree, how nice it is!"  I hadn't even noticed, but as I looked up the branch I saw was exactly what I had seen in my dream ..........  When we went inside we were both blown away with how it ticked almost all of our boxes ........... of course it became our new home where we are now .............. and this our first Winter here in it................   I'm loving seeing the seasonal colour changes again!

The Budgie crochet blanket is finished ……. A nice lap size for popping over me if outside reading with a morning cuppa when we have some sun, but the air is still cold.  I’m happy with how lovely and bright it is cheering up the foggy mornings when I’m not heading off to work.

The Queens Birthday long weekend sees the Annual Winery walkabout for this area with all the vineyards ….it also has the big Rutherglen street market which you might remember from previous posts of mine over the years if you’ve been following me for a long while ( of course I wasn’t able to get to them the past 3 years being interstate and also they were not run during the Covid lockdowns) ….. it was wonderful to go and enjoy  …… although I’m usually there with Daughter or one of my friends, this year it was a solo visit, but I had a great time and came away with a few goodies

Mmmmm ..... A terrible selfie lol and my arm was giving me a bit of grief as I struggled to hold my bag and take the photo ............ thankfully it continues to improve and I have even been able to begin small amounts of knitting the past week if I only do it every second day for a short time.

These Mitts are great with a button that allows you to pull the end over your fingers to get them warm as needed or buttoned back to allow fingers to do what they need to do!  The little "lolly look" coaster made from wool is heading to daughter since she really missed not being able to be down here for the market that we did together so many years.

I'm off to tend to some bits and pieces ........ although I do have heaps that needs doing (a declutter of clothing to work out just what I need to keep and throw is on the list ...... but not today ..... I'll procrastinate about that one for a bit longer I think lol

Budgie Blanket

 

As promised I’ve been working on the Budgie inspired crochet blanket filled with striped rows of granny stitch.  I’m so enjoying being able to work on something with my arm but I’m really chomping at the bit to get back to some knitting projects that are sitting in limbo! 

The dark row is actually the teal colour seen below in the basket

Still, I’m having fun playing with these 9 colours just doing random coloured rows with an emphasis on the blue and yellow.  I'm not sure if the teal is a little too dark but I'll see how it looks by the end and may incorporate it into the border to balance the colours if needed.  

 I usually make at least one blanket of some kind over the winter months - something cosy about working on a blanket that as it grows, it helps to keep you cosy while you work on it!  I’m sure that’s why I tend to  do “ just one more row” lol and before I know  it the time is gone!!

It’s quite a windy, cold day here with clouds looking like rain so I’ll likely be doing more on this in front of the fire today!  Head over to Gone stitchin to see what everyone else was working on. 

 On another note - crayfishing season started 1st June - Hubby has been waiting for this for over 12 months!!  He had hoped to get out crayfishing last year when we came down from Qld  to look for a house to buy - but due to Covid restrictions we had to make our stay 3 wks shorter to get back to Qld before they closed the borders on us ....... so it's something he has been hanging out for.  With both of us having fishing licences we are able to get a few each - these 6 gave us enough for Dinner and lunches the next day!!   The season only goes for a couple of months so we will be out again soon for another feed!