Our Trip

Wave Rock 2

The road to the the rock...

Thas was fantastic smooth dirt, all weather road ,very well maintained and not a problem for our Car,meaning no corragation!!

The flowers I found at both Frog Rock and Wagin,in secluded spot near water holes,they looked hardy and were probably a callistemon or maybe a melalucca .

This our Chalet at Wave Rock,very roomy, I cant believe how quiet it was there,perfect to unwind.

These buildings were spread out next to a salt(gypsum) lake where there were small sail boats for hire(we d bring our own cannoes next time) The resort is still under developement with a couple areas obviously half "built",we spent some time trying to determine what they were hoping to finish.On reading the information bits on the obligatory coffee table,we found out the whole Wave Rock and Resort area was developed and continued to be by a group of land owners whos aim was to increase tourism to the area and provide employment for the locals. Good on them,its encouraging to see people getting out there to help their community.

Oh and thats Mums socks from Jane from Moseley Parks Fibre Club 09!!

I finished them just before reaching Wagin so I didnt get many other photos and we were a bit late so didnt stop anywhere on the road. Im really pleased with these though,very thick and should be great for Mum as they dont really have much heating at their house( I should know after spending 4 days in the middle winter there)

My Paddy sitting on the lip of Wave Rock,he was waiting for Sam, Ben and myself,to tell us that Dad and Hew had walked off to see the Hippos Yawn,Id had enough by then,it was 11 oclock and the bakery was calling,lol,it was a fair hike over the other side the rock anyway especially with Sam having fallen earlier and gashed his leg.

Anyway I managed to get a couple of sheepie photos,actually I felt an idiot doing this,Ive grown up with sheep and cattle,also goats and to run around clicking the woolly aspect of the show raised some eyebrows,one lady was obviously amused.So was I when Ben asked "how do you tell thats a boy,Mum?", hmm well after pointing the gigantic appendages he was all set,Sam was agog when a black suffock ram decided to use his ahem, item to scratch his front leg! And I was about to take the photo too....no I refrained,waited til he was more photogenic!!

Heres the black Suffock and white version..

And of course the ones Id come to admire and get a fleece or two from!!!Didnt catch which stud but there some big boys there!!!The owners of the fleece,I bought,the Rintoul Family, were from the Auben Valley Merino Stud which I believe was based on the Pooginook Bloodline near Jerilderie,NSW.The rams were the nicest boys Id seen for a while!!

And of course we couldnt leave without seeing the BIG Ram of Wagin which the boys reluctantly posed in front with Mum...

And of course me trying to get the haul into the back of the van,the boys were not happy having to share their olifactory space with a stinky gost fleece and a sheep on the way home!!!Yes I did add a gorgeous bag of angora to my purchases but more on that and the Fleece next post!!

As Usual

Well,I have no excuse for not updating,it started when the awful fires went through Victoria,I found I couldnt put words down,couldnt sit and ponder as I normally do,there is a draft for a meme that I just didnt get back too,maybe today!

Since I last posted Ive managed to spin heaps,finish a few small items,a couple of kid dramas,trips to specialists etc and believe it or not!!!!!we also managed to get away for a weekend trip to the Wagin Woolarama,Sheep,my dears,loads of big and varied woolly and non Woolly kind,Hubby also saw steak on legs,I believe Ive never seen him veer off direction so fast,ahem I shouldnt talk,I saw woolly goats and I went the opposite direction....the poor boys,sitting for hours to be dragged around looking animals and waiting to talk to the owners..Well they did get to go bush driving with Dad ,with me going crook about my car and its new tires,boys and a sandy bush track....

We left at 8.30 on the Friday,I took that day off as Ive been ill with something yet to be checked ,suspicious of what it is but I wont go into it here...we went straight into Kal as Hubby had checked The Tires the day before and declared at least two were baldy enough to be illegal,hello!!!Id been telling him for weeks or more that we had to look into tires,no he went and bought the mechanics for his self opening gates ....
Anyhoo,we got the tires fitted,left Kal came all the way home to pick up the bits we forgot,important stuff like credit cards,gave me an opportunity to check oldest son again as hed had a nasty gash to his head the night before,he refused to go with us on this epic weekend,it really needed stitches but the Nurses Station was shut and the stupid Health Line was useless...
We got to Southern Cross at about 2 ish,had the most god awful hamburger,(Id been hanging for one at Merriden) talked to mates at the tire service there,Porridge booked a spot to learn to spin at the Southern Cross Show in a few months....

Anyhow,he recommended we check out Frog Rock up the road, a short cut off the tourist road sort of thing!!

It was fantastic,we have sort of worked out there are rocks everywhere in WA,Check out the map I added!!

Frog Rock near Southern Cross

It was a warmish day and all over the rock surface were lizards,(Ornate Dragons,) sunning themselves,the boys were beside themselves and spent a marjority of their time trying to catch at least one,it was hilarious watching them sprinting after these lizards who were much fsater on their back legs!!!! Boys ,nil,Lizards, heaps!!

Me ,I tried to find the frogs making the noises in the sheltered little ponds dotted all over the crevise areas...

Wave Rock,Hyden

We stayed at the resort at Wave rock and it was the best one we have ever stayed at,it wasnt finished but there was heaps of room and could accomodate at least 7 to 8 people,a bathroom to swing a cat in,quiet to the point the crickets and birds were audible but no car sounds at all! The kitchen was great,the living areas was equally so and in short we loved it, even though our stay was short.

The man made wall around the top of the rock was designed to to catch water for the local water supply and still supplements the towns supplies,the whole time we were there was spent on the rock checking out the rock formations etc,It was well worth the trip and even being late to get to Wagin.The best part of this trip was the fact we werent really fussed on time,w just drove around...the bake shop at Hyden was wonderful too,yummy brekky there before we headed off.

I liked the fact it was quiet and there werent a heap of people roaming everywhere,enough to show it was a fav stop for tourist like us though. We plan more trips like this in the future and hope to go again to Wagin and towards Mt Barker and Albany.We still looking at farming areas to buy a farm of some kind and we wont know until we do go and have a look!!!

Ill be back with Part 2 later...

Australia Day 09

We went to the local pool where the Aussie Day Celebrations were held this year,wasnt much brekky left by the time the boys went through the line up! Its was great to see so many people.it coming up to be real stinker of a dya,I left the boys and walked over to the school (bugger got a blister from the thongs!) it was dry and a lot was dying from the heat this weekend so I satyed there and watered for an hour.

Heres our crowd,my boys and a friend captured the whole family!!

A Long weekend

I must apologise for the somewhat disjointed last post,I reread it last night and thought I couldve done a better job, never mind maybe I get it right this time,LOL

Thank heavens its a 4 day break for me,not that Im doing that much hand craft,its more reorganising this hovel,I have to do something about the box's of fibre and yarn residing in abnormal spots.We bought a Futon yesty that hopefully the bunny wont eat(too much).Its bright rd in a false suede sort of stuff and will give me nightmares later keeping it clean but hoping to get a Day cover for it(Tilly loves to sleep on it and boy I didnt realise how much hair a dog can lose in one day)

I also bought a nice rug in blues and at last i feel more mentally comfortable sitting in the lounge room. Later I'm going to shift the sewing cabinet around so it while more accessible too....

I have me eye on another couple of fleeces too and have to figure where to hide them from the male eyes in the house, oh excuse me 3 fleeces, a white corrie,a moorit(Ive spun some up before from that seller and its gorgeous even if it was a bit doggy in character) and a finn fleece,LOVE finn,I remember theres a washed fleece hiding in abox near the freezer...

Anyhoo,Ive finished the ISE& Scarf and am very happy,have a couple of things to add and its in the mail Wednesday,cant do it Tuesday as I have a meeting to attend in Kal and have to grab H... school shirts too,$35 each,what a rip off, well it is a college rather than a normal High School.I m also knitting the last ball of that bunny top that I spun from Ixchel Fibres (Charly) ,Im feeling lazy to add a link so check last post.

We ve said goodbye to any sort of holiday,everyone is running scared of the economic situation and no one is safe when you look at what happened in Raventhorpe , near Esperance.BHP have interests here too and I'm wondering if they ll be cutting back here too.Theres a lot of people glad they went to gold but they aren't that safe as alot of gold mines shut before. Its scary and thats why i keep telling myself Ive stock piled all those fleeces and yarn! Im trying to support my LWS as she ll be having rough time too.She pointed out what shes selling on sale yesty so I thought Id better stock up,well I got the makings of a Gnome...

This year Im going to venture out to the big breakfast with the boys, where the local shire is holding it over East Kambalda I believe,most probably Ill be bored silly and want to come home to do stuff,I dont eat that sort of bacon and egg breaky but Im becoming a hermit when not working so thought Id better do something,other than that I wont be so tired being as I said a 4 day break!!

And just for the sake of a bit of colour heres "some of my new stash"..oops its big picture,didnt check settings..

And one Im currently knitting up for the sake of doing something, and one I just loved,theres heaps more but I wont put them up, already added them on Ravelry

A Lazy Day

Its been hot here,it was 45' in Kal last Monday but only 33 out here at 5 o'clock that arvo,it cooled a bit after that but has gotten hotter again.Not liking that as I have to rake and mow the whole school grounds for preparation for the return of staff etc in the next few days. A bit at a time,watering first up tomorrow and a bit of lawn work here and there and we ll have it beat though..

I'm about 1/4 way through the ISC7 scarf.I'm using the Machinewash 8ply in gorgeous dark red, I thought it was a bit rough to feel but after knitting an angora /merino mix (Ixchel Fibres handspun)

I suppose I couldn't expect anything else.Its grown on me as Ive gotten into it,I actually knit one ball in a sitting which for some is nothing but for my busy life where I'm squeezing in spinning as well its great!

I'm using the Palindrone Pattern and its the second Ive done,very effective and very easy.

On the spinning front Ive nearly finished a stash bag of crossbred/finn fleece I washed lightly and carded,about half a kilo,it seemed very rough but after I knitted a wee bit up last night,cross eyed as it was quite late,Im surprised how much softer it is,obviously not merino but passable as a vest or even heavy socks for winter (a bit itchy I reckon for other times).

My Dad is still quite ill and having more treatment soon and as he was disappointed in not getting handspun socks I'm getting this crossbred done today and going through my fibre boxes to find the last of the BFl and spinning that up.Posted on Ravelry that I wasn't sure of a colour way and Mandie suggested red and black,I'm already swinging towards mushroom,black broken with alpine,might do two lots and see then.Dad has told Mum hes taking his new socks to Sydney to wear them to see the docs,Id love to fly over to see him,surprise him etc,he cant talk clearing and gets a bit cranky but I thought I could at least just keep him company and Id take some sock knitting,be nice if it was his socks..

Poor Mum shes got start the pump and keep watering the garden etc ,it might not sound much but its not good for an older person..at least shes got the chooks and dog to keep her company.

The latest purchase from Ixchel Fibre,Charley has been very busy and im eyeing s few of these,love the wallaby one, cant remember the other names but check them out,yum in a big way!!!

Mandies been busy too and they sold out sooo quick!!! Really want to try some sea cell...pennies I have to keep reminding myself!!!!

On the knitting front Ive stalled on the top down Smoothie,I don't like the sleeves, they narrow down too quick,thinking of ripping back and knitting straight before flaring out for cuff...not afraid to rip back now,usually i just throw it in the corner and get to it later but its such a fun knit and mindless at that,something Ive needed lately...my form of a holiday!! Take alook at the sleeve photo and its obvious,also Im not happy with the undersleeve and if I loosen up the clingy sleeve it may sit better.

Sock knitting Ive gotten only the heel to toe for the cable socks I was working on,during the holidays I carried my little bag around on my wrist while watering and got heaps done,plants got a good water too,didn't shift until I got the 4 row repeat done,only 5 repeats to do on Friday...Picies when finished..

Here a few flowers I collected after I cut back afew things,too good to throw I brought them back inside,lovely grevilleas and one peace rose!!

A new Year

The Silly Season is nearly over well for me, my work has been casual and not demanding but the real work starts this week,I expect tradesmen to appear...I did work out that my next RDO is the Friday before the Australia Day long weekend so Ill have potentially 4 days off,yippee,a lot can be achieved in that time!!

I will if I can, do a couple of hours on the Monday as I have a few sensitive projects that wont survive and I owe 4 hours anyway!!

Hubby is temptorarily back in work and the employment people are ringing everyone on their books as the contracts are about to be realised for the lucky few now that the "Silly Season is over (and the Stock Exchange will back in business,We can only hope!)

Hubby is home today and by golly he is becoming, as my boos said about her own other half "anal " about the back lawn,cant believe it!! hes mowed it several times this last few weeks,normally he believes in waving a few dollars to snare a kid to do it!!!! I think with a house full of teens sleep seems a bit more important,LOL

Ive been spinning heaps,did a two bobbins yesty of pink and black,I want to order another 400 grams of these colours to have enough to make a tee or vest or whatever,I'm determined to destash the fibre stash into yarn stash,i get all excited when I check whats bee building that the choice of what to start first is simply too much!!

I'm in the ISC7 and have two patterns picked but unfortunately Cheryl's in Boulder is shut for another week and I wont get in there for a while .I'm using this time to finish off a couple of projects anyway.

The top down Sweater from "Knitting Pure and Simple" in Smoothie Dk the pink orangery colourway

A scarf using s reversible cable method in Charleys (from Ixchel Fibres) Bunny merino mix that I managed to spin over a couple of days at Chrissy.This 2 ply ( wanted to navajo ply but it would have yeild much less yardage) is the softest yarn I have ever felt ,its simply Divine and I can see a few taking up residence during the year! Hubby's looking /seeing fibre/yarn everywhere!!!!! hes declared that the office he suggested in the future shed will not be big enough and hes betting his left n*t that the entertainment centre he supposed to be building will also become a storage point,Ive promised no fibre but I cant say afew mags and books wont sneak in there....

My dad was very happy with his socks but thought they were handspun,I feel guilty that I haven't done a pair with his health not as good and losing a lot of weight I resolve to spin up some of the last bits of BFL and hand dye it for a pair just for him.Mum will be receiving a air of finger mittens out of that moorit I spun a few months ago. i spun the last lot of BFL on the Roberta but this time i might use the traddie!

On that subject I had a brain wave,I'm going to get Mum to post my old Traddie over so I can repair it,Dad apparently broke something trying to dismantle it,I may have to get a new wheel if the balance is out too much but Hubby reckons it should be ok glued,hes a whizz on woodwork so it should be all good

Im waiting for a largish order of PeachesNcream Cotton from the states,i broke and ordered some,a heap in avariety of colours,Ill be getting abit more later.This is part of my "fill a gift" box so I don't get caught short this year with the Australian Swappers Bday Swap and other little celebrations through the year.i have my eye on some colours that are swirly lemon/white,pale pink/white and few others.Found a great free washcloth site,its on the other compuot so will

link it here when next Im on.

Ive joined Mandie over at EGMTKs Fibre Club and also Jane at Moseleypark as well,I just love fibre parcels and is an intersting way to try different things as well,not knowing whats in the parcels is also fantastic!

I aim to refill my coffers of other fibres too this year if $ allow,Im nealy out of Shetland and BFL, with wants including some Icelandic and Norwegian top ,oh and some Gotland ,found a ripper spot to purchase but have to wait to sort out other stuff first!!

• Lastly my New Years resolve,first and foremost to organise my fibre/yarns,knit up a few pieces for Mum and Dad


• and have a positive outlook and NOT let anyone under my skin this year
  
• build up an art box,I have some water colours,charcoals,and oils, next is a decent box and brushes and then Ill be off!!
• there, three easily I hope things I can acheive,lets see how I go!

A Great New Year and A Properous and Happy one to you all!!

Christmas Eve 08

Wow didn't this year go fast,I found it a bit stressfull both at work and the normal I guess bits that come raising 5 sons, girlfriends and all..

I made a concerted effort not to mention work about half way through the year,it was not nice to find out who your friends were and the lack of support..the end of the year was a lot better with my confidence given a boost with roles given to me by senior staff and their visions for next year.My apologies to those I lent on for a bit of moral support,you know who you are and Ill be eternally grateful for that!

I managed to complete a few Christmas goodies for friends,

• Voodoo Wrist warmers in Merino Heirloom,pale pink
• Spring Hat in handdyed Inca,sorry no photos
• another Hat for wearing with long hair,again no photos,white Inca
• Socks in Cleackheaton Naturals,beige colours in the Campfire pattern for Dad
• A cotton washcloth for a work friend
• a Quilted bag from a Home spun mag, gorgeous pattern a easy pattern that looks wonderful!

I used half a metre of each fabric but had to cut outside into two pieces to make the flower go in the right direction,would like to make another!!



A close up of the details I added.

I loved this pattern,Campfire! So apparently did Dad but he hadnt tried them on when I talked to Mum!

Currently sitting and waiting for job replies for Hubby,his mine shut a few weeks ago,cant remember if I posted here,its been awhile..promises are hanging but its presumed nothing will happen til after the holiday break anyhow

At least hes mowed the lawn a few times cleaned up the backyard and thank G.. I work,thats my peace,LOLOn the spinning front I have a gorgeous bundle from Ixchel Fibres, Bunny fluff and merino,havent done much spinning for a couple of weeks but have now till Sundy off so I hope to do a bit with the Regal Fluff. Ill be going into work Friday to water though,have to make up a few hours after I took Tuesday off,so tired,the thought of Crissy wasnt even exciting.I was given the idea that had the other person not be working I couldnt take that day,bit unfair considering Ive the last two Christmases on my own...couldnt add to that but Im being a good girl and not bringing work here...

Hubby bought me a devine eternity ring last week,five diamonds for five sons,its a cool antique style,love it...Had the opportunity to try on my finger an Arglye Pink Diamond worth an astonishing $10 000.. apparently they only expect to mine the pinks(not sure about other colours) for another two years,if you have one look after it ,it ll be worth a mint!!

Ill be back with piccies...Edited

Piccies and later I post about my gift this year,LOL