Ok!

Christmas is over,2 days back at work and I worked my RDO so I could have 4 days,yep! 4 days off .

Being Fridee afternon,I ve had a shower to remove all the pulverised roo dooey off me and in me(as in ears and nose) not sure how much I swallowed but we wont go there... from the MTD chewing up the lawn(what there is of it,got very scorched yesty in the 43' heat) so thought Id update here before taking the boys to the local pool

I got covered with the forementioned everytime I turned around with the wind blowing the dusty bits straight over me,next time Ill get the boys to make a wee movie and you can all see it in motion,LOL But I did notice that pumping up the tires helps to speed up a bit too,I spent nearly an hour yesty disarming and searching everywhere for the necessary parts to be able to even pump the retched things up.I was hoping to cut the sports oval early but by 10 it was turning a little nasty, temp wise,now Im watching that Cyclone up North, and I may be out there bright and early Monday as any rain on the field now will make it vertually impossible to cut with this partly useless ride on! Anyone else out there use an MTD,the green and yellow Yardman model? Parts are different to the US ones, getting the right ones here is almost impossible! Anyone got a match,oops I didnt write that......

Iv nearly finished the second bobbin of Mandies 1st edition of the Fibre Club and am dyeing to start the Optum,I aimed on having one bobbin done to start the Entrelac Socks from IK Holiday Knits,tried entrelac before and it doesnt like me but Im biting the thing by the 'needle' and want to try it again (last time it was wash cloth..)

With Christmas done Id like to show off my pressies that wonderful Santa dragged down the skinny chimney!

My oldest enlisted the aid of a friends Mum who was working in Holey Sheet to

pick this!Vanilla,magnolia and apple scent,just beautiful...And the other boys were led by Son no3 to seek out this pendant(by the way P has beautiful taste in jewelry,never failed to surprise me) and Dad helped them with this! The big box(with prompting from me earlier this year,seeing that a gift voucher from my LWS wasnt going to happen,only wanted a wee bit of Patonyle)..

A very Good Friend ,P found this little treasure(as DH reminded me I had a similar one put away for her and clean forgot it but Ill tuck it away and get a nice pair of socks done and surprise her later)

But the biggest surprise was this!

Dh actually carried it down the street in Kal on his shoulders and told us he'd been shopping for the family,it was heavy but he didnt spend much on it,I was none the wiser til Chrissy Morn when he had changed the label to say it was for "Mum from the family"! Only after taking all the paper off did I realise what he d done,must have been having a dumb blonde moment there! He was very pleased with his suberfuge! I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall as he had to help the lovely lady as the sewing shop wrap it all up,she really got in the swing of Christmas he reckoned,Ill say, considering how much she had on it,a nice late shopping trade for her,LOL

Of course I had to give it a demo to show him what it could do! Its packed away til I find a special spot for it!

Im so looking forward to the Socks That Rock Club starting even though I have far too many UFOs !And I have my eye on some Noro Silk Garden from the UK too, the colour is quite rare now and Id like to snatch up a bit to make that vest from Knitty before winter arrives! Its a pity not more of the shops here stock this yarn as it costs a small fortune to ship from O/S!

Anyway Ill finish off now with a basket of flowers picked from my garden, messy as it is at moment, similiar ones were going for $ 20 to 40 at Woollies!!!! This was our table centre!

Christmas Day 2007

Me and my Boys

L to R,

Hew, Pat, Mum, Tom with Sam and Ben at front

Kambalda, 2007

Heres to Dad if you can see this, with lots of love!!

PS its a bit of a case of Spot the Mum!!!!

Ho Ho Ho! and I dont care if thats not Politically correct!!!!

I knocked off 2 hours early today so I could get back here to do a bit of dusting ahem is that cleaning? Id much rather play with Mandies lastest batch from the club!!!! Alas i fell asleep on the bed catching flies , didnt scare the kids they were nearly doing it too!!!

Ive made a heavy trifle and its cold cuts for lunch and we re going to continue christening the new BBQ and roast the chickens and veggies for the evening meal! Followed by the fore said trifle and pavlova minus Strawberries mind you,their excuse was bad weather down south (myfoot) but we ll try some other berries that arrived in this week!

The Tree is up and the boys and I managed to find the last gold star tree topper in Target (we went with gold and red this year,blue and silver last time)

I think other than spending up on the BBQ and my new sewing machine we re pretty much good on the amount spent on the kids!!

We ve had quite cold starts to the day for a week now and its going to be like that for Christmas morning too!So with threats to the older ones not to wake up the juniors at 4.30 we may get a sort of sleep in!!!

A bit worried about my Mum stuck on her own with Dad still having treatment in Sydney and the river is rising though I doubt she will be cut off at least not until Dad gets home anyway.They ve had heaps of rain too so a bit of green pick might even make an appearance!!!!

A heap of DVDs hired and food laid out Im looking forward to a nice day!

I ll take this opportunity to say A Very Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy if not Prosperous New Year

A Parcel For Me!!!!

My!!! Am I going to be busy......Mandie,you re a star! these colours are delicious and the Optum gorgeous to touch,will have this stripped and ready this weekend!!

Ive had a quick peak(more like rip open parcel and devour contents) at magazine after the 'foddle fibre' routine...well worth the money,I can see a few nice things there that are certainly gift value galore!!!! cant wait to start the socks,woops too much to do, Ill settle for a stash enhancer element there!!!

And many thanks for the thoughts and jiggles too!!!!

A Fluffa says 'Hi' too.....

Im Baaaack!!

Long Time No Blogging...

The Christmas preparations at work and the " round" of social events that I dont normally attend have taken their toll on my time and added to the usual tiredness I seem to suffer lately...

First up ,Im happy to say that Son No 2 again was awarded a Scolarship, and son No 3 was the clearest and best speech presented at the End Of Year Presentations, being part of the School Council this year he shone among the crowd of staff as being able to speak well and clearly so we could all hear.A majority of the staff mumbled and even got their words mixed up!

Son 5 was dissapointed to have not recieved an award but it was mainly for some twit of a teacher doing the usual of telling their students that they have to come to the Big Night in case they were getting an award,he was so convinced that she knew something that he believed her.Im more wise myself as next year( if we are still here) to warn the boys ,Not to expect anything(Mums and Dads get special letters so we do know before hand)....

Son 2 got his award for the consistant high standard of work throughout the year but he always won awards for the most consistant even through sport. You know what you get with him,even i can say that,LOL

I managed to finish the most urgent washcloths for the Teachers etc and have two to finish for other friends and family and hope the post is able to deliver on time!!!

Im currently putting the binding on Mums Quilt and hope there's enough to finish it but have resigned to the fact I may not finish it in time for the last delivery at her end,probably Saturday!

Im waiting excitedly for the ISE5 parcel to arrive and am thinking that the long way( Surface not Air) may have been used,Ill post something about it on that blog later if nothing arrives in the next week or two!

We've cool weather here and its great as it means the gardens and lawns at work are going to get a small chance to grow abit before the real heat sets in.Its been around 12 to 21' here over the last three days with a bit of rain not enough to actually relieve our watering restrictions but it will allow me to hold back a couple of days in watering all but the things under cover.

Its nice to have long pants and jumpers on for a while,I bet Xmas will be in the high 40's and humid.......I hope to finish the knitting projects but am looking some real woolly ones that Id love to have finished before next winter... Been looking at those snowy pictures on a few US blogs ,the Trees look great with a window drop like that but I don't envy the power bill to stay warm.....Read about the cold front stalling over the Plains and have no doubt there were a lot of people very cold..

At the Annual Christmas Tree, Hubby and I were asked by friends to volunteer to take part in the massive sausage stand where we end up giving away 1000 snags as part of the celebrations!! We managed to do so and had about 20 odd snags left over ,ran out of bread about 50 so it was paper wrapped ones towards the end... It was loads of fun!!!

I finished a skein of merino silk from EGMTKs, gorgeously soft and very hard to give up,I gave it to our lovely Principal who mistakedly told me she s a knitter too!!!! LOL I knew what to do straight away, it was suitably recieved and I pointed her in Mandies direction ....I think it came out in a close to 8 ply but recommended her to use 3.5mm to 4mm needles to achieve the softness!!!! K.... had a pattern already in mind by the time I left the office!!!!

I didnt get a great picture but it came out a soft salmon pink colour and I renamed it Pink Lemonade as I couldnt remember Mandies choice ,sorry Mandie,hope you dont mind the name change!!!!

Oh and heres a piccies of the fabulous desert( Strawberry Pav with Apple Crumble) I had at Son No 3 Year 7 graduation dinner,it was a wonderful night though at first I thought our table was a bit stilted....

You can see now how busy we ve been for the last week or so and through it all I was suffering from some disgusting upper airway infection with a dry cough and fatigue,it was not nice.Hubby was also battling to get home from work to bath and attend these Chrissy celebrations,thought he was going to miss out on a feed a couple of times, likes his tucker he does,LOL

Tea Cosy Swap!!!!

Its arrived,a parcel of the bestest Tea Cosy,the colours are very me!!!The bikkies are yummo and the tins are simply wonderful,i can see a lot of use out these!!! And Jody must have been stalking my blog as she included the Rowan Book 5 and already Im planning on waht I will knit out

of it,the "Grandpa shirt" for definite!!!!!

Thank you Dear Tea Cosy friend its been fantastic over here in "Wait a While Country",LOL I read that post and wondered if was I the lucky one!!!!!

YaaHoo

YooHoo! Its my day off and have great news as well I was happy to oblige.BUT Im not telling yet 'cause the recipient has to wait for a while,officila stuff and all,probably not interesting to others but a great relief for me!!!!!

On the fun side!!!! I got Mandies Fibre Club No 1 issue and boy I cant wait to play after spinning a bit of merino silk for an urgent gift itll be all go!!!

I copied this meme from Mandie just for the fun of it!





1. Name one person who made you laugh last night.Just one? Hew and heaps others

2. What were you doing at 0800?Laughing

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? eating Breaky

4. What happened to you in 2006?I was awarded the 12 months relief for my current job,Ive got it now permanently...

5. What was the last thing you said out loud? PATRICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he was about to assault my new Christmas toy that sings Jingle Bells

6. How many beverages did you have today? 2 cups of Dilmah Tea in a pot of course

7. What colour is your hairbrush?Black

8. What was the last thing you paid for? Christmas Staff Dinner,lamb roast with vegies and a fruit basket,very nice....

9. Where were you last night?At the Bowling club for Dinner

10. What colour is your front door?Federation Green

11. Where do you keep your change?In my Knitting bag,the kids get poked so dont get much out of it,he he he...

12. What’s the weather like today?Warm but cooler than yesty,its about 25'

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavour?Choc chip and vanilla

14. What excites you?Payday,parcels and happy family

15. Do you want to cut your hair?No its very short now

16. Are you over the age of 25?I wish I dont have to say yes....

17. Do you talk a lot?Probably but I dont care....

18. Do you watch the O.C?Whats that! I watch House MD and Cold Case...

19. Do you know anyone named Steven? Yep

20. Do you make up your own words?Sometimes,LOL

21. Are you a jealous person?No envy yes,LOL

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’. No Can Do

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. Kym my mate and Assistant ,

24. Who’s the first person on your received call list?Lee,Head Cleaner at school called me at 3.45 am yesty....

25. What does the last text message you received say?hmmm,"thats gd then lol havin fun" and thats after getting this "2 skimpyz n a hooka kool" ,interesting what teenager sons can send to their unsuspecting Mum.....I had texted him to find out if he was ok as we were at the Staff Dinner.

26. Do you chew on your straw? not much

.27. Do you have curly hair?I reckon my hair as a life of its own,goes where it wants but never curly as I would love!!

28. Where’s the next place you’re going to?The kitchen to get a cuppa

29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? Certain Cranky teachers who are wanting Holidays closer! It doesnt take much to say good Morning ,I get them though,they re the last on the list to get the light globes changed,maybe then they'll see Im am a valuable friend to have? No I dont think thats vindictive either,Im a trainey Teacher teacher LOL......

30. What was the last thing you ate? Ginger marmalade toast

31. Will you get married in the future? God no,6 males in my life will do me for a lifetime

32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? nope cant answer that the Video store is crap and Im too tired to bother anyhow

33. Is there anyone you like right now? Everyone,its still early in the day,Giggle....

34. When was the last time you did the dishes? Ive got a dishwasher,it will fit somehow!!!!

35. Are you currently depressed? Hell noIm pinning Mums Quilt today and its great day!!!!

36. Did you cry today? Nearly did when Sam threw flour and water mix into sink where it splattered everywhere......

37. Why did you answer and post this? 'cause Im felt like doing it,thanks Mandie for posting yours!!!!! By the way love that new colour of the tencel merino....................................

A long time

I just couldnt bring myself to sit and "yarn" on here this week,the world just seems to be weighing heavy and my mind too preoccupied,

Mandies special Fibre Club Parcel will be here soon(really excited about that!!!) and although I have yet to "empty" the only wheel I want to play on, Im so looking forward to seeing what she s put in,I feel I may be a bit conservative so this 3 month club will hopefully allow me to experiment a bit!!!

Ive nearly finished the preset list of handcrafted gifts but I fear as Xmas approaches Im adding to the wish I had more time List as I really want to surprise a few more treasured friends,And I have only 2 weeks,YIKES... to finish that baby shawl.....

The weekend is spent catching up on the chores I cant get to because of work,the pools open so any spare time is spent watching the kids frolick. (And throw in an unexpected visitor or two to recieve some free tomato plants from Hubby,Ive spent my free craft time cleaning up after 6 little or big piggies,GRRRRRR)

Im not really a water person though I do jump in occasionally and if I can get a nice spot, its the ideal time to work on the dishcloths/washers Im doing as small gifts for various staff and teachers(I wonder how many choccies they'll get this year!!)

Im loving the baby shawl and am 20 rows short of starting the exciting bits of lace,I think there ll be around 790 sts in the lace part so im seriously doubting Ill get it done in the time I wanted,LOL But the recipient is letting me know where she going in Perth so Ill be able to send it on!!!!

For Goodness Sake

As usual I checked the news this arvo before the other stuff and was amazed to see this story!

Is anything safe for this traditional time of the year!

Im not terribly religious(not all of my boys are even baptised,ooh I hope I dont offend anyone here) but this time of the year has become a time to get together if not in person but also by phone etc. Ive never been to Midnight Mass but Id like to drag the family along once before they get too old to boss,LOL. We are having candles by Candle Light at school this year and thats the only Christmassy things happening,no more Xmas Craft Day to be politically correct as well,the kids loved it,lots of fun and the excitement of the coming big Day.A sign of new times?

With the drought the lawns are suffering baddly and I beleive the excessive roo population and the chemical content of the scheme water is causing problems,dry spot,fungal outbreaks and the occasional Lawn Beetle infestation is not helping particularly when we havent had any decent rain to wash and cleanse.There definitely not as much nice lawn to sit on this year...

Onto Christmas...I look forward Colourful cards arriving (which I intend doing early this year) though in recent years that seems to be a fading custom too! I choose specially coloured ones and even match them to the people they are going to,even the messages inside are carefully worded.

None of my boys liked Santa photos but loved to watch from afar and the sound of Christmas Charols I love,especially "Hark the Angel Sing" and I can play quite a few on the electric organ.

On the subject of cards I bought a few bits to start off making our own but havent gotten around to getting the stamps,embossing tools and powders,hmm... oh and dimensional paint for added interest! I did see a sheep stamp that was very cute,wrapped in tinsel with Beware of sheep if I remember correctly...looking back theres heaps I havent got,oh well next year....

Im off to the Girls Night In on Saturday night in Kal with a bunch of other girls from work,a bus ride into town and one is making a letal(by the sounds of it) cocktail,should be fun,a quick trip to town this arvo saw yet another pair of shoes that were a bit more upmarket than the usual flatties! To be worn witha top that i bought last Chrissy for the Staff Do and havent had a chance to wear again and jeans 'cause everyone else is....Ill try to think to get Hubby to take a going out piccie on Saturday night,LOL

PS Dont look at the dog hair floor or the work boot spider veins,ugh!!!!

On the fibre news,Ive been busy with this....

These are Optim tops from Gods knows where,out of my stash anyhow.....soft and silky

cant wait to spin it...The below ones I think are Merino...done separately Ill pick an order and spin to that,spipey yarn will result,I decree...

Renovation delights

I dont think Ive put any piccies up of the nearly finished kitchen so thought Id do it today as I havent got any other knittery news,the only finished item is for the Ravelry Tea Cosy Swap and the recipient may pick up on its colour and that would ruin the fun!!!

The grey bits on the wall at the back are the cutch combed parts Hubbys done to help make the wall tiles stay fixed(Bloody mess he makes too ,bits everywhere and he leaves it for me to clean up when I get home from work)!!!

From the other end and of course B.. wanted to take a picture too :)

And a couple of the near completed back verandah and car port,Hubbys dashed off to Kal to get himself a pick and post hole shovel to dig the trench for the new water line hes putting inso he can attach the two garden taps(also so the new earth for house apparently )

Its a varitable mess but hopefully if I plan a BBQ for Christmas it may get cleaned up as the inside did today when Mr Bowler himself called in! Even the kids pitched in,what can I say,I do Not feel like house work after most days at School,LOL

Oh and the lawn is usually lovely and green but as Hubbys been home for some time I rarely get the chance to"sneak" some water onto it though the plumbagoes are thriving and everything needs a hair cut! Heres the car port,we hope to put an automatic gate so we can drive in without getting out of car though I would rather the old fashioned way,LOL

Im off to have a catnap as Hubby has nicked off with my car so I have an excuse not to go to the pool for a while (I have a new book to start....)

Nearly the end of the week

Daylight saving is killing me,I cant start later in the day 'cause there are too many jobs I have to do before people arrive at school .
Havent done any spinning and I was hoping this weekend looked great for that until Hubby said we had a special visitor early Saturday,hmmm well I told him he'd better get his skates on and clean up a bit as I have to do groceries Friday arvo after work,though thought I might knock off a wee bit earlier as Ive worked over nearly an hour this week for various reasons! I suppose Ill have to cook something for smoko too,choccy cake seems easy! BUT there goes my sleep in!!!
Ive nearly finished the tea cosy for the Ravelry Teacosy Swap,think Ive got the colurs just micky mouse too,absolutely love the pattern from Knitty and easy but effective,Ill be running one up for us later!
Have to post ISE5 parcel this week coming and hopefully the TC as well!
Sharon over at Ramblings Ravings and Rovings is a regular visitor but have to disappoint today as I havent done any photos of anything but hopefully this weekend?
Next week will be interesting but I cant reveil anything yet till its all over but I will say I havent done anything like this before,nerve racking and certainly an experience,probably not exciting for some but for me? hmm we ll see... for some the weekend spinning /finished UFOs etc will be more interesting,LOL
PS Anyone interested in this? I have one lovely person already(from last post)!!!
I commented on In a Spin and am passing on this, haven t seen the movie "Pay It Forward" but thought the idea is neat,Thanks Rosie!!! so will search out the film as well!
“I will send a handmade gift to the first three people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week… but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.”
Ive seen it on other blogs and thought Id put it on here! Sounds like fun and open to lots of little gift ideas so we ll see how it goes!!!Leave a comment if interested and Ill email you so we can organise addresses etc!

Another weekend...

Before I forget,I commented on In a Spin and am passing on this, haven t seen the movie but thought the idea is neat so will search out the film as well!

“I will send a handmade gift to the first three people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week… but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.”
Ive seen it on other blogs and thought Id put it on here! Sounds like fun and open to lots of little gift ideas so we ll see how it goes!!!
Leave a comment if interested and Ill email you so we can organise addresses etc!

It was my day off on Friday and you'd think I would be a bit more rested but I slept a good deal yesterday and I suspect if I had a couple more days off Id probably sleep them away too!

Enjoyed Friday though,went shopping and bought a couple pairs of jeans(one size up as Ive put a wee bit on,grrr) and a pair of 4/3 at Target for $29,pleased with them ,size 8 a great fit. I had a shopping buddy with me,a special friend needing a friend and a break for the day and we had a ball checking out each others butt (much better than breaking ones neck in trying to see everything in the mirror,) to make sure we didnt buy the wrong thing,LOL

After a mad dash to finish a bit of Xmas shopping I called in at Chez's to pick up some goodies for the ISE5 and some special yarn to dye for the Tea cosy swap on Ravelry!

I managed to get that dyed today and so far its the colour as requested,just hope the tone is right,Iwont show it here incase she wanders by....However I will show the other bit I worked on when its dry! Its different to the TCS,but just as yummy!!!

Im nearly finished the first washcloth,should have it done ages ago(read that as this week) but have so many on the go that each is growing so slowly.I ve also started the shawl for the J who is my sons Aide at school ,expecting in January,I hought an Heirloom Shawl might do the trick(meaning i wanted to do it and J gave me the excuse) Must find a separate special gift for her too,nealy 3 years shes worked with Son 4 and without her,he wouldnt be where he is now!The shawl is out of a book I bought of Ebay and is Patons Layettes and Shawls Book 1095,gorgeous simple patterns that Ill make good use of in the furture!

This wash cloth is Sugar n'Cream in a cinnamin with blue, green and dark pink destined for a male teacher but Im a bit concerned with the amount of pink thats come through and am hoping the Cinnamon Soap from Mandies will make it more masculine,he he he,see how it goes!

Im nearly at the end of it and then I want to do a mint one to go with the choc mint soap!

Unfortunately I havent made it to spin like I wanted to but maybe with the pool opening this Cool weekend I may get some done there!

I think I made it into the Socks That Rock Club and have been issued a number, have to post off a form airmailed this week to make sure!

Im also looking forward to trying out Mandies Fibre Club too,cant wait to see what she will surprise us with,limited spaces but I hope I can join when it opens!

Lokked at a new sewing machine too while in town and am very tempted but have to check out my budget first and having a nice little tax return helps,I could call it my Chrissy Present? A Janome Professioal Memory Craft 6000, on special until Xmas when Ill know if I can afford to pay it off!I was after a carder but after looking at this machine I felt it was worth looking at!!!! Im setting myself up for a time when I wont be working and Ill have all the good quality macines to last me! We dont know yet when we will move from here but when we do I have to start over with looking for a new job etc, it will be a bit tight for money but at least ill have all the goodies!!!!!

A finished item and a teapot

I finished the ISE5 scarf ,here artfully posed near the roses! Its turned better than I thought,so light and lacy,only 50g here and enough to wrap and tuck,the remainder ball looked too dark and I didnt want to risk too much colour change!!!

And the faithful teapot for my Tea Cosy Pal....

Now Ive finished the scarf I can start the Cosy....hmm a bit stuck for a pattern,could do the lovely flower one I did last Chrissy but I feel like change....

Hmm A Bit of Break

Its been a while...So tired and daylight saving is coming up,yuk,who can get out of bed at 3.30 am (oldtime) and go to work for 8 hours and remain sane?
A few people like it including my assistant and partner in crime who just puts puts the youngest to bed according to clock,easy for some .Last summer I had an average of 4 hours a night and had to have a catnap during the day if I could get it... I reckon it cost me at least $500 last year in medical bills as I was quite sick and saw a Doctor and the rest is History.. This year Ill only be starting at 5 or 530am when theres too much to do before Staff and Students arrive,blowing the grounds,weed /pest spraying! If I start at 6am Ill be at work till 2.30pm!!! Well see how it goes!!!
On the knitting front Im nearly finished the ISE5 and am very happy with it.In the next little while I have to do a Tea cosy for a Ravely Swap and 4 face washers and also hope to spin and knit another of Mandies lovely tops that I ordered this week. That reminds me ,must go pay her too,so it arrives in time!!!! Making it easy for other gifts though,saw the most delightful little succulents in the Nursey,hope they have more in for Xmas!

Got It Done!

I made it with two junior sewers hanging on every move and battling them to leave the Olfa blade alone...
I'm really happy with this top,its turned out a Queen topper size but will also look great over a single bed.This design is a slash 'n sew style in case anyone wants to know ,easy to do but fun because of the colour play,inexpensive 'cause I used a lot of plain homespun! I may put a special little something on the back,depending on time!
Id love to do another as a lounge cuddle rug in Flannels....


Its done,I just need to get the wadding and backing....and pick off the threads of course.....and in the post to Mum!

A warm Sunday!

I spent all yesterday on the Computor typing and organising my assistants application for a job,Im fast gaining a reputation for being able to do these darstardly things,note a reason why I use Sometimes Unwilling Guru,LOL.
Ive come to conclusion that I should keep my thoughts to myself and maybe then Ill have some time to do things that get put off to help others.
Not that I really mind,I love helping people and most of the time they are happy recipients.Im really going far out to help my Mate here with this job 'cause I hope not to have a new person start and find them not "nice"! Beside I prefer to work with a friend and definitely not a undesirable.... leaving that to imagination...
Anyhow today Im running around like a beheaded chook,cleaning as I go and hopefully Ill be able to cut and sew the finishing border on my Dear Mums Quilt top as it was her B'day on Friday and lousey timing ,Dad in Hospital having major Cancer Op and Mum is on the Property on her own and I didnt time things tro have aspecial Pressie posted last month,yes Im doing the real guilt thing!! Couldnt even do a Flower thingy as they would have been dead by the time she got them,Back of Bourke sort of thing!!!
So Im going all out to do this Quilt today,get the wadding this week when I have to go into Kal to get the Ride on lawnmower out of its hospital.Ill be able to pick it up quickly(the wadding I mean ) as I know the lady well enough in shop for her to have it ready to go!!!
Sort of playing with doing some crazy Quilting with some gold or gold toned thread to high light some sections.... Will have a think.....
Leave you with this....Some minor birds having a bath! Hear the wattle birds laughing in the background!

Home again!

We arrived home from Perth 1.30am Tuesday and I went to work at 6,does that tell you anything about how I may have felt by Lunch?, definitely something the cat dragged in ,by the back legs. Im only just starting to appear sane and normal in some kind of way!

We both came to the same conclusion that, that will be the last Perth Show we will attend, well at least with kids!

Hmm, where do we start first!!!

It wasnt the money,thought most things were reasonable well priced,it was the stifling crowds ( did hear an estimate of 200 000 passing through gates )and the size of the grounds, it ages to get to all the things we wanted to look at! Our boys were well behaved and didnt whinge TOO much!

If I peddle fast enough Ill get the blow dryer going!

After an hour lined up at the ATM on the second day I gave up doing anything much,couldnt find the arts and craft stand til it was too dark to take any piccies and I was really a bit nervous of doing so in case the owners objected(some people are a bit funny!)

Son No 1 doing his thing! A tail whip where he spins the bike frame and reseats before he lands!

DH telling boys about how it works,most hilarious is the fact a lot of the historical farm machinery we grew up with and even used at some time or at least our fathers did!

No I dont feel old.....

I did score a 100g of luscious chocolate Alpacca top hand carded with a bit of silk and 500g of white plain Alpacca from a lovely lady in the huge shed that housed the show Alpaccas and a few pink pigs(including Durocs too).

What I was mostly excited about with the fibre was that the white bags were processed by the Goldfields Mohair Farm near Bendigo,the choc one she did on her own carder!! This lady was the best! The other one who also had a stand showing some bits including yarn and articles made up was simply not interested when I attempted to converse about spinning and carding etc,I seriously doubt she knew much at all.The first lady was full of interesting information and generally it was a great to talk to her.Wished I had been able to buy some of her processed Alpaca, gordeous blue and a mossy green,they were of varying weights/lengths so I couldnt add quickly enough and seriously I had to keep some change for the kids to go one the rides(poor things had been living on promises all day!) I do have her card however and will make contact later to get some then!!!

I will be back.......

Katy My new Friend

ITs HERE!!!!

Mandie sent this over this week and Im thrilled to bits and cant wait to use it!! And that lovely thread in the bag tooo!! Thankyou ,youre a lovely person,made my day!!! I still owe you that sample of Icelandic baa baa and Ill also put in a bit of that lovely black fleece Im working on too!

I first thought to ply it(the yellow thread) with that lovely bobbin that I finished off but I will pursue socks I think,anyway I have plenty of fluff still and have am nearly finished another lot of Mandies roving so methinks perhap it will marry very well with it!!!!Hmm Ill wait and see,maybe theres a spot for me in the ringside this Sundie?

I present Katy such a precise lady.... with two worn out bobbins!

And look what I found hiding in my messy garden this morning!!!Been waiting twelve months for these to show and theres more colours to come!!!!

Roll on Weekend

What an exhausting week,we had to make sure all the gardens were pristine as far as the roos would let us,for the Art Exhibition and then set up and mark the field for the Annual Athletics as well.All was going well more than usual as we had some lovely people volunteered to mark up the track while we did the field!

The S#%t hit the fan when we found out that the V....... surveyers had flown out that morning, but the boss and his main man were going to do it after school the night before the event,panic stations as it actually takes quite a few hours to do this job.Come 3pm I went down with our trusty line marker with a lent battery from a local buiness and we are on the way,thankfully even with the blockages and breakdown all was completed by 7pm under lights and the sports went ahead like a dream,phew!!!!!

I am so stuffed,I had 2 late days and some how sleep is evading me too and havent been able to spin,though I started another pair of Opal Snake socks for a Xmas gift but havent been near my spinning Wheel/s,maybe thats whats wrong..withdrawal?

I did however recieve a box of goodies from lovely Mandie! Ill post a picture later but it had the Precision Lazy Kate and a few parts and dye of course. Ill put it together tommorrow in between packing Hew up for Country week in Perth. Mandie put an extra goodie in too so Im hoping to spin a bit more to try this out....wonder what she has in store for us this Sundie!!!!

Oh before I forget,the Art Exhibiton was also a success and this year I put in my Quilts that Id made over time and a lot of people made some lovely comments!!! I must take some photos hopefully tommorrow,before they re all taken down!!!

Ps Sharon!! that flower in a pot under the spun bobbin is indeed my own plant and Im very pleased its flowered so well as it was an expensive plant to buy!!!!

Ill leave you with another lovely flower piccie!

Argh 'tis a Lovely Day

Edited to add at bottom of post
A gorgous day,I finished a bobbin of Mandies Lotus Blossum,very happy I am.Ill be spinning a bit of white up and dying that to match so I can knit a pair of socks with this,it reminds me of Opal Petticoat!

I havent really got much knitting done this week but plugged along on the patonyle wool socks and finished them.

Im also at the heel of 2nd Baudelaire sock,love that pattern but a my Nightime project it only gets a little while as my eyes go crosseyed with tiredness!

On the work front I was awarded my position as Senior Gardener, hip hip horray!!!!! No doubt a couple may be miffed for reasons of their own,but Im very pleased as were quite few staff(must be the cakes I bring in on Smoko days) and they gave me this!!!I love getting flowers(or any gift as we all do) but this was totally unexpected which made it so nice! Im lucky to work with a lovely bunch of persons!!!

Ill finish with a nice veiw from my pride and glory at work,an Ornamental Cherry!!!!!The best its ever been!

Cravings.....

I was just surfing,just some innocent surfing to unwind from work before H gets home from his jaunt and demands attention(Husbands can be worse than babies....) and I came across THIS..I want to knit it ,real bad and you know!!! I would wear it to bits (next winter of course) ,honest!!! The Grandad Top.
But I cant justify the price tag for a book that I d only use for one pattern....humph.....

A much a frogging we will go!

Sharon this is for you!!!! Would love to see a few more of Mandies tops spun and finished from everyone who has been in that weekly Sunday night crush!

This poor scarf has been to that pond 3 times so far but I reckon its safe this time round!!!

Shangri La in the personalised Old Shale Pattern,I did this in 50sts if I remember rightly to get the right width and hopefully have enough to finish it a decent length, as its probably destined to be a Xmas gift. I love the way the colours are comimg through in variations just like waves, as the pattern suggested.....

Something interesting

While looking for customer support for the Victoria I came acros this on Youtube Ive had a go at spindling but Im afraid Ill stick with the wheels,I get more done.LOL maybe Im not as dextous as I should ? but this lady had me interested as Ive never seen a supported Spindle such as hers!

Hmm

I thought I better post as I probably wont have time this weekend with the others arriving home tonight sometime,I would like to get the house into some sort of order after another long week.

The greatest news ever is that I have been awarded the position as Senior Gardener,note I changed it from head gardener after the partner of a senior staffy made a somewhat suggestive comment to my husband who was furious and declared #&@ must be a fruit loop,LOL. Anyway I pleased as its permanent and providing I dont stuff up in th next 3 months everything will be hunky dory!!! Now I will have to coach my assistant in applying for that position now....

The not so great "news" is that ive picked up the virus that has floored quite a few in town but with me its all head aches(sinus,not hardly a sniffle thank heavens) and fatigue,didnt take time off but did go home an hour early for a couple of days...

Ive finished spinning one lot of Mandies Tops that I bought, Shangri-la which I ve started to knit into a wide scarf using the Old Shale Pattern, Im gambling on having enough yarn to get a decent length but as Im using singles and fairly fine I may get away with it. Hope I dont have to Frog it mainly because I dont trust singles to be very strong though Ive already undone a bit of it with little damage!!

Also in the bad news bit spinning wise, the Victoria wheel lost a bit off the base of the conrod so its now bandaged up with a bit of electrical tape to support it, I have my suspicions on how it happened and believe its a design fault. I emailed Louet North America but havent had a reponse yet. It needs a new conrod which I wanted to have as a spare anyway because of the way its connected to the wheel. Im also going to contact the lovely lady I bought it from to see if she may have a quicker response from the company,surely theres some support since it cost a mint to start with.I may have to start looking at Lendrum as a portable wheel(hope Hubby doesnt read this!)

The line points to the bit that broke off,the top half of the conrod the the flexible bit is screwd into.I hope I dont get into trouble for showing this picture of the Vicky ......

And now for some extra info on that lovely shrub that I posted about recently!

Chorizema cordata, Australian Flame pea, Im going to put a few more of these into the gardens and one day when mine is more mature Ill add some there too.... the link is of Images on Google as I found it hard to find any information on how to grow these plants that was condensed enough for linking but at least these show the variation of these gorgeous plants. I usually give them a trim back about a third after flowering to maintain a shape.The best part about these plants ,The roos havent eaten them,yet.....