Knitter Sue

2008 - FO No. 40

2008-10-13T17:43:00.003+11:00

Another finished project!
Pattern: Honesty from Sublime Organic Cotton Book
Size: 8-9 years (71 cms)
Yarn: Smoothie DK 2.4 balls (100 gm balls)
Started: 9th October Finished: 13th October 2008

I couldnt resist this yarn when I saw it at Spotlight. It is quite pretty knitted up and no pooling occured at all. I wish I had bought a little bit more of it. Oh well perhaps if they have any left when I visit next time I might grab some.

Isabelle modelled it and says that she likes it so I am hoping on the cooler summer days that she will wear it. The color looks so pretty on her too.

Now for the updates on the tiny kitties who are growing up so quickly. They have now got some little teeth and have begun to bite each other playing. They have also started walking around although a bit wobbly on their legs and look like they are drunk which makes everyone giggle.
The kitty in the front is Oscar and the one behind is Pippi. Pippi has little striped back legs so it reminds me of the stocking Pippi Longstocking wears. Oscar is a real sweetie although he likes to lie on Pippi's belly and use it as a pillow. Oscar seems to be quite taken with watching Lachie too so everytime he is near he watches him and stares. Well that is the update for now, and thank you for the lovely wonderful comments about my tea cozy and the cardigan. I really would like to knit some more of those cardigans as gifts in different colors. Ooh which reminds me that our friend's son and his partner had another baby boy last week calling him Logan, and our next door neighbours had a baby girl yesterday morning calling her Chloe. The baby gift basket has come in quite handy this month!!!

2008 - FO No. 38 and FO. No. 39

2008-10-02T15:46:00.002+10:00

Here is another cute picture of the kittens. They were one week old yesterday. I have had them inside in the study with Daisy to cool off a little bit. Daisy seems to be suffering with the warmer weather today.

Now for the knitting update.

First up FO No. 38 which is a tea cozy for my swap partner in the ravelry aussie knitters swap. I made this one from the Simply Knitting Issue No. 44. out of some Spotlight cotton, Down to Earth, which is a nice thick cotton. I knit mine on size 4mm needles as the pattern called for fluffy yarn and 4.5mm needles. Instead of felting mine I left it as is to show off the wonderful cables. I do have to say that the pattern as written had a few problems with it though and I had to add in accomodate a few stitches on nearly every row as they forgot to include the increases that were made. I do hope that my swap partner will like it. It is a bit short for my very big teapot though.
Started: Tuesday 30 September, Finished 1 October 2008
Yarn: Down to Earth Cotton from Spotlight, 1.4 balls
Color: Aqua blue

Now onto FO. No. 39.
This little jacket is for my friend's daughter whose baby is due in December. The pattern is from the Classic Collection in White Peter Pan book 276. It is Design 1. There are so many other nice patterns in this booklet too. She likes traditional baby knits, nothing too modern so I am hoping she will like this. I have put green buttons on it for the picture but havent sewn them on as yet. I will wait until she has it and then put appropriate buttons on the cardigan, although the little green flowers would be quite cute for a girl.
Started: 23 September - Finished 1 October '08
Yarn: About 4 balls of Zara merino from stash.

Okay so that is it for now. Next up should be a finished teddy for a 1st birthday present. Off to finish knitting the head and arms and legs. Bye for now!

Meet the Tinies!

2008-09-30T17:53:00.002+10:00

Meet Tiny 1 and Tiny 2. They are one week old tomorrow already. I really dont know where September has gone, it has just flown by. Anyway back to the new kitties. Their color is more true in the picture on the left. I got Paul to hold them for their modelled photo shot. The one on the left is fluffier than the one on the right so I think it might be a boy. Daisy's mum had 3 kittens and both the boys were really fluffy and Daisy was the non-fluffy one so I am thinking that the other little kitten is a girl. I am hoping to find them new homes just before Christmas, no price involved for them, just for them to find good owners which I think is the most important thing. They are both so lively too which is great. I love hearing them squeak away when Daisy thinks they are asleep and she can have a bit of a walk around. She rushes right back to the box to make sure everything is okay. I am hoping they open their eyes on the weekend. Okay that is the update on the kitties for now and if I get time tonight to do some seaming there may be an FO tomorrow!

Busy Busy

2008-09-27T10:03:00.003+10:00

We have been enjoying the first week of school holidays. First up Isabelle had swimming lessons for 5 days and has improved greatly in her swimming. We saw a few friends at the pools too which was nice to catch up with.

Secondly Daisy (who had returned after 8 months away and we thought had died) came back to have 2 tiny new kittens on Wednesday morning. They are so cute and very active babies too, they dont stop wriggling. We will need to find new homes for them just before Christmas. We dont know what the sexes are yet as it much better to decide when they are a few weeks old.

My 2 school friends turned up on Wednesday with their children for a little get together. They are on the left and middle of the above photo. I hadnt seen them for quite a while so it was good to see all the kids together and playing well together too. We went to the local park down the road and they rode scooters and played on the playground. When we got back they played cricket in the front yard which was fun for all of them.

Thursday was spent running around to do the groceries so the pantry was full again. Lachlan had his friend over for the day so it is always good to be prepared for teenagers appetites.

Yesterday I looked after my friend's 8 year old son for the day as she had to go to work. We had fun going to McDonald's for lunch and doing a bit of kid shopping. Pokemon cards were the order of the day so they spent the afternoon playing cards.

Today I am going to my sister's for a grand final bbq. I would like to see Geelong win but I have a feeling that the Hawks might just get up and win. I dont barrack for either team so it doesnt really bother me who wins.

Knitting Update

I finally finished one sock on Wednesday night. I have cast on for the second one too. I have also nearly finished a baby jacket for a friend which I started on Tuesday night and is knitting up so lovely too. No photos until I have finished though. I am going to try and knit some sleeves for Isabelle's cabled gray sweater today so that will be finished too. I do hope to have some more knitting time next week as we havent made any plans as yet. I also received my copy of the new Mason Dixon knitting book. Can I just say that I love it so much. Great patterns and great stories. I always tend to love knitting books with stories in them or backgrounds of the knitters in them. I have also ordered some new Heirloom cotton from Ozeyarn. They have released some new colors this year so I ordered some brown, blush and denim. The denim will be for my swap present which I still havent restarted as yet. Hopefully this week.

Oh I must thank you all too for the lovely comments on dad's sweater. I havent had a chance to reply to all those emails so I am going to cheat and say thank you here. I hope you all have a wonderful day (and Grand Final day)!

2008 - FO. No. 37

2008-09-23T12:18:00.002+10:00

My dad's sweater was finally finished last night after trying desperately over the weekend to finish it off (which did not happen due to small children needing playtime and coloring).

I dropped it into him last night and it is a perfect fit thank goodness. I really didnt want to have to rip it back and reknit it, but unfortunately no modelled shots so this one is it, which was a bit hard when it was 7:00 at night.

Pattern: PT 813 Bendigo Woollen Mills

Started: 1 week after visit to Bendigo Woollen Mills

Finished: 22nd September 2008

Yarn: Bendigo Woollen Mills 8 ply, 21 balls, color bone color with ginger flecks in it.

I have to say that this is the first sweater I have ever knit for my dad. Now I know why my mother doesnt really like knitting him so many sweaters but he is a justified handknit lover and wears them almost every day in winter time so he does deserve them unlike my son who gets handknits, wears them once and pops them into the wardrobe never to be seen again. Now I can hopefully finish up 2 birthday knits for friends, 2 birthday gifts for October and November and a few little items for Christmas. Ooh nearly forgot I also started my tea cozy for my next swap with the aussie knitters which was a lot of fun last time and I hoping this one will be too.

How Sweet!

2008-09-19T08:56:00.002+10:00

I received a lovely award from Laurel during the week. Isnt she just gorgeous for giving me this. Thank you Laurel for being so lovely.
So now the rules for extending this honour onto other delightful bloggers out there:

- Post the award on your blog
- Add a link to the person who gave you the award
- Nominate 4 others and leave a comment on their blogs so they can
pass it on.

So here are my 4 lovely ladies who I always love to read

Kellie, a wonderful mum, quilter extraordinaire, wonderful costume maker, and a very generous person and now wonderful internet friend

Prairie, who designs and makes beautiful toys and creations, love every one of them that she showcases on her blog

Lera, who is a fantastic mum of 6 gorgeous children

Annie, who is one of the most beautiful knitters of baby items I know and I love all her photos and creations everytime I pop over to read a new post.

I do hope that you enjoy all the ladies who I have chosen and have fun reading their adventures and seeing all the wonderful gorgeous things they create. I cant wait to see who they choose too.

Knitting Update

Not a lot of knitting has been going on apart from my dad's sweater. I only have one sleeve left to knit up. It feels as though it has been going forever (which it probably has) so I am determined to try and finish it over the weekend. It felt as though I was knitting a blanket last night whilst trying to finish the first sleeve. After that is completed I am going to start my swap partner's present, no peeks as yet as I havent decided on the final pattern.

I am also waiting anxiously for my new Mason and Dixon knitting book to arrive. I have seen some wonderful photos of projects around blogland and they all look fantastic. I cant wait so I hope the postman hurries up with it.

Family Update

My virus has finally gone away. I caught another virus that the kids had last week on top of the one I was getting over but now I feel back to normal for the first time in probably 2 months. Poor Isabelle also caught some tummy bug so I spent all night until about 3:00 in the morning holding her hair out of the way for her to be sick. Not a nice sight or a nice mess for me to clean up but that is what we mummies do dont we. She is still home today but is getting better and starting to eat food again which is good.

Isabelle starts swimming lessons on Monday so I am excited that she is going to be able to do something after school and learn at the same time. She enjoyed the lessons with the school last week since she hadnt been since she was about 3 years old. With summer coming I am determined to at least get some time at the beach on some nice days so she can have a little swim in the ocean.

Ooh I just found out that my high school is having a reunion next year. It should be interesting to see all the old faces that I know. I still see some people around town from school but never really had them as friends. I am hoping to catch up with 2 school friends these holidays. We have known each other for about 34 years now and attended primary school and high school together. We all have children around the same ages too so it should be fun if we can get together and have a nice day out.

Well that is it for me today, speak to you all once the sweater is finished.

Smocked Dress

2008-09-15T09:18:00.002+10:00

Sometime last year a few bloggers mentioned about some fabric from Spotlight that was already smocked and how it made great dresses. Well on Friday I popped back to Spotlight (after looking for Lion Brand Cotton, only to be told we are a C store and dont stock it), and found some really cute fabrics that were already smocked. They had a much better range of fabrics to choose from this year so I decided to sew some for Isabelle. Here on the left is the ladybug dress. I only had to cut it out to the right width, make some straps, hem and stitch one side. How easy is that. The other blue dress with butterflies and ladybugs doesnt seem to want to load for some reason, believe me I have tried to load it all weekend. The fabric looks much cuter in real life as you cant really see the ladybugs in this photo very well. Isabelle has already worn both of them this weekend with the lovely weather that we had. Half an hour to make 2 dresses is definately worth the smiley face.

2008 - FO. No. 36

2008-09-12T16:52:00.003+10:00

Pattern: Design A Sirdar 316

Size: 1-2 years

Yarn: Pure new wool, gray and red

Started: May 2008 Finished: September 2008

I have made this to add to the gift basket of baby knits. I have decided that it is better just to knit a larger size so when it grows perhaps it will get more wear out of it. Hopefully the recipient will like it. The only thing I hated about this was knitting the face, I really do not like intarsia knitting at all. After a gentle pressing with the iron it seemed to smooth things out much better.

Thank you too for all the wonderful birthday wishes and the lovely comments on the quilt that my sister made for me. I really loved reading them all and I will pass them onto my sister too.

Tomorrow some sewing to show you all!

Birthday Quilt

2008-09-11T08:56:00.002+10:00

I had a lovely quiet birthday yesterday. Lots of well wishes for the day from you lovely friends in the internet world and from my friends and family too. Thank you so much, you know how to make me feel special for the day. I received lots of beautiful gifts but the most favourite one of all has to be the beautiful quilt above which my sister has spent the last year making for me. It is all handquilted. She is so talented. I think I was in shock at receiving such a special gift but I will treasure it forever. I dont know whether to put it on my bed where I know the kitty cats and the kids will hop on it or hang it on a wall in my house. Perhaps I will just keep it somewhere so that I can use it on the colder nights to snuggle into. My sister is really quite talented at making quilts so I feel extra special that I now have one to treasure and remember my 40th by. She did put a label on it naming it my 40th birthday quilt.

Onto other things, the new Knitty is up with lots of great patterns. I have spent the morning printing out some faves that I do intend to one day knit up.

Firstly, Twist and Shout, although I would have to find an aran weight yarn to knit it up in.

Hermia (adult version of Helena). Now I would love to knit this, I just need to knit the smaller version first.

Retrofit which would be great for Paul or Lachlan, or even maybe me.

The baroque socks which look beautiful with all the twisting cables. I would love to knit these for me but will wait until the other ones are finished.

I have also another FO but I will post about that one tomorrow for you all. At the moment Isabelle is home sick yet again so I am hoping lots of panadol and TLC will help her feel better. Only one more week until the school holidays start and I think I am so ready to have a sleep in. Enjoy your day!

40 Today

2008-09-10T08:21:00.002+10:00

Oh another birthday! This one is entering a new decade which I hope is an improvement on the last decade. They say life begins at 40 so I am definately looking forward to it. Chinese food for dinner tonight (my favourite) so no dishes to wash or chores to do, although I have a few today. My auntie and my best friend have already called this morning wishing me Happy Birthday. The day can only get better. Speak to you all later.

New Knits Planned

2008-09-05T20:49:00.003+10:00

I am so happy. I have been looking for this book for quite a few months. This last week I popped into my LYS and found a copy of Peter Pan Toddler Knits and bought it straight away. I am planning to knit the cabled cardigan and cabled top for Isabelle. It actually goes up to 72 cms across the chest so it will fit her. I just hope she can get enough wear out of them before she outgrows them. She has put on about 7 kilos this year as she has broadened across her hips and shoulders. She seems more balanced now than before. She loved these patterns when she saw them. I already have some purple Sirdar DK for the cabled cardigan. I also love the stripey sweater too and have plans to knit a few in different colors for gifts for Christmas for my nephews and a friend's 2 grandsons. She is expecting 3 more grandchildren too in the next 7 months so I will have to get some knitting in of baby clothes.

I also bought the new Patons Book 1289. It uses Smoothie DK and Serenity. They all have some great new colors too. I am planning on knitting the red hoodie, although I might knit mine in pink. I also adore the striped cardigan but would have to knit it a lot longer to cover my extra weight around the middle.

As for us, we are all home sick with yet another virus. I have a respiratory one where I felt like I had to keep taking deep breaths all day and my ribs were aching. I visited the doctor yesterday and he said yes I had an infection so now more antibiotics. Just as I pulled up in the driveway my mobile rang and Lachlan came home from school sick. He looked awful so I booked him into the doctors along with Isabelle. They both have a virus where you get stomach aches, sore bones, sore eyes, headaches, temperature, and feeling nauseous. Isabelle's temp wasnt as high as Lachlan's but both are now on medication too. The doctor did say in the last 4 to 5 weeks they have had so many patients with viruses. Usually they get a few but not usually such an overload. It is supposed to be due to the very cold winter we have had. I have to say that I am now over being unwell and hope this is the last lot for the year. Nothing worse than not feeling yourself. I am hoping by the end of the weekend that we all feel better in ourselves. Lachlan is off to camp for 2 days next week so I wanted him to be okay with his hike and not pass out from not feeling well. He should be much better by then, just hope it doesnt snow next week there.

I finished up the father's day shopping for Paul from the kids. I couldnt get the gift I wanted for my dad as they had sold out. I bought him a grow your own mushroom box. He loves gardening so I think he will enjoy it. I bought one for the kids too and Isabelle helped me set it up and gave it a quick mist. Hopefully in the next month we should get some mushrooms that are nice and fresh to cook and eat. I cant wait as I love mushrooms.

I also bought some new sensor outdoor lights for the front garden. Some were a bit old and not working as good as they should be, and the cats broke two of them from playing around near them and one got stolen. I have put the new ones closer to the house so hopefully no mishaps or sticky fingers will pinch them.

I have also been going to see Isabelle swim this week with her school. She hasnt been for about 4 years for lessons so it is great to see her enjoying all the new things to learn again. I am going to put her in for the swimming lessons after the holidays as she will love it. It has been nice to sit with some other mums and have a chat and a coffee whilst watching them swim. A nice way to spend every morning, although the pool does get quite warm inside.

So that is the catch up for this week and hopefully there will be some FO's when I feel like I can breathe again properly and my ribs arent as sore. Ooh I nearly forgot, Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there for Sunday.

Roll Necked Cabled Sweater

2008-08-28T14:13:00.004+10:00

This is a knit I am making for Isabelle from the Sirdar Book 318, Lazy Days & Holidays. I love most of the patterns from this book but this is probably the second item I have knitted from it. This is the back piece of the Roll Neck Cabled Sweater and I am using Smoothie DK in a grey/purple color. I am over halfway on the front piece now so I am hoping I can get it finished by next week. I started this a few months back but put it aside to knit a few other items, including my dad's sweater which is so big that I am taking a break from it. I have completed the front and almost all the back of dad's sweater, but after I finish this then hopefully I can motivated to start the sleeves.

I have also started shopping for Christmas pressies, and hopefully 2 should arrive next week so I shall you all then. I also changed the colors of my blog trying to inspire a bit of summer/autumn feel to it. I am hoping we get more rain before summer but the warmer days make you want to get out and do things outside. The kids have been weeding the vegie patch, which is full of weeds and will hopefully be fully weeded by the end of the weekend. We will be planting some peas, corn and tomatoes this year. I am hoping that we will all eat the vegies that we grow this year. I am not sure the kids will eat the tomatoes though. Happy gardening and knitting!!

Socks and A Sunnyboy!

2008-08-22T09:21:00.004+10:00

Now dont be shocked, yes I do actually knit something other than kids knits. This is the progress of my Uptown Boot sock which is quite an easy pattern and looks great too. I think I am addicted to it. The green Cascade sock yarn is quite lovely to knit with, and yes those dpns I bought are truly wonderful, so light and easy to use and no slipping off of stitches either. I am so glad that I bought them, a great investment.

Next to my sock is a sunnyboy pouch which Buttontree Lane sells on her etsy store. I have ordered 2 more as Christmas pressies for my sister and my mum. The sock can actually fit in that bag too, it justs looks smaller because the sock is in front. It is actually quite big and roomy. She has a lot of other fabrics too which are fantastic so if you feel like spoiling just pop on over and see her shop. I think she is refilling her store next week. Hopefully my sock should be finished today or tomorrow. All this wet weather has made me feel like sitting and knitting and not ironing, which is the household chore I dislike the most, perhaps because it piles up so quickly around here. Must do some later on, after a bit more sock knitting I think.

I have also been reading - The Memory Keeper's Daughter was an intriguing book and a bit sad too, but I could see both sides of the character's lives. I devoured that book in 2 days so it was great.

- Stephanie Pearl McPhee Casts Off, a great read so far and funny. I didnt like her Knitting Rules book for some reason and didnt even finish reading it. This one is much better like her earlier one that I read.

Next up I am reading the second book to Fablehaven. My son read it in 2 days. We read the first one which was fantastic, a bit like Spiderwick Chronicles I think. If you have children around the 10 year old age and up I definately advise they read that book if they like fantasy stories. Isabelle is waiting until she can read a bit better, perhaps when she is 8 to read those books so she will understand the words a bit better. So far she has read 11 books of her fairy series, and there are 63 books. They are supposed to be for 8 and over but she loves reading them. If she doesnt know a word she asks me what it is and then later on tells me what has been happening in the books which is great. I love that my children have a desire to read novels like I do. I am going to order the new Harry Potter book, Beedle the Bard, and the new Eldest book too for Lachlan for Christmas.

Thank you all too for the lovely wonderful things you said about the wrap cardigan. I am hoping to get to the post office today so that I can mail it off. Have a wonderful weekend.

2008 - FO No. 34 and FO No. 35

2008-08-18T16:26:00.004+10:00

Pattern: Gathered Scarf
Yarn: Heirloom Pizazz (acrylic) 3 balls
Started: Last week some time and finished today

This scarf is for my friend's birthday which is on Thursday. I used an acrylic yarn as she likes something that is easy to wash with having a small baby and working in child care. I do hope she likes it as I really like the pattern and the yarn isnt scratchy either.

Pattern: Cable and Lace wrap from Baby Knits
Size: 6 -12 months
Yarn: Heirloom Whisper (acrylic) but really nice, about 3 balls and a litte bit.
Started: Thursday 14th August
Finished: Monday 18th August

I really loved knitting this and the pattern was so easy, although if I were to knit it again I would do set in sleeves, as they were quite difficult to sew in and a bit of a weird shape. It would work just as nicely with flat edges on the sleeves and also sit nicer too. This is off to a friend in the USA whose baby is due in about 6 weeks so I do hope it makes it there before she has it, and it wont fit for quite a while so it should be okay. I do plan on knitting another one for my friend's baby girl for Christmas in a different color. I can see this being another one of my faves.

Tomorrow's post should hopefully show some progress on my new pair of socks, Uptown Boot Socks. I do hope they turn out okay. I spent time today winding the yarn up. I am so excited as I will be using my new harmony dpns, and I know a few of you wanted to know what I think so the verdict will be in tomorrow.

We are still being harassed by a few bugs here and there with coughs and colds, but hopefully soon they will clear up. Isabelle was unwell last week and today my ribs hurt, just muscular I think, and Paul's ribs hurt from coughing so much. I would just love a decent night's sleep without having to venture to some other room to try and sleep without hearing Paul cough through the night. Perhaps some vitamins and honey and lemon drinks tonight.

Well I am off to cook the roast for dinner, the beef with mustard is cooking at the moment. See you tomorrow!

Knitting Update and More Internet Shopping!

2008-08-15T09:35:00.003+10:00

I finally remembered to post some WIP pics of my knitting. I have been very slack in posting them for the last couple of months, I think ever since I did my list of WIP projects.
These are the 2 sleeves of the Cable and Lacy Wrap from Baby Knits by Lois Daykin. I am making this for a gift for another blogger who is due very soon so I hope she will like it. This is the 6 - 12 month size, and the body is done in 1 piece so I shall cast on for that today. The sleeves were cast on yesterday and I managed to finish both of them last night.

The postman came knocking on my door again this morning. I had ordered some Knitpicks dpns from Meaghan who runs a wonderful online knitting store. There are 6 different sizes from 2.00mm to 3.25mm (and a set of 6 for each). They are beautifully colored too and I much prefer wooden ones as the metal ones tend to be very slippery when I knit socks.
I also ordered some Cascade Heritage Sock yarn. The color is 5612 in case anyone was wondering. It is a beautiful shade of green and I am thinking of knitting some cabled socks in these, but cant decide which pattern yet. I also purchased the Inspired to Knit book which has some really beautiful patterns in it. I do hope to knit one from the book for myself, but I did see a few I could knit for my sister too. She doesnt knit at all so I knit her some items and she quilts things for me which works out well for both of us. So that is about it for now, must get back to some housework which I sometimes wish I didnt have to do instead preferring to sit and craft. Wouldnt it be nice to do that more often.

Internet Shopping

2008-08-13T09:12:00.003+10:00

Hi I'm back. My computer is all fixed now, finally. I had a nasty virus that kept interferring with things. Now everything is working perfectly and my anti-virus is working properly too.

Just before my computer went into be fixed I had been doing a little bit of internet shopping. First of all the Wool Shack was having another of their wonderful sales. I had been having a bit of a longing for some yellow yarn to knit with, but no luck finding what I wanted. Do you ever feel like that with your knitting where you want to knit with a particular color. When I went into their sales page I found some of this on their website and had to buy some straight away. I bought 10 balls so I am sure that it will be enough for what I want to knit. More on that later.

I also bought some of Aunty Cookie's wonderful fabric. She is such a great designer and I love the fabrics and trims that she makes. Now I will be able to whip up some little gifts for Christmas and a few for me too. I really must get back to some sewing. I havent touched it for a few months now, havent really been in the mood, but this week I have had the urge back to sew again. Perhaps it is knowing that winter is nearly over, and yes it has felt like winter this year, freezing cold where you feel it in your bones. Knowing that Spring is just around the corner is like a little bit of happiness peeking around the corner. I am hoping that with the warmer weather the kids and I can get out to the park with our dogs and have some fun in the sun. We have been inside driving each other crazy some nights (me referreeing the kids) as they have energy they havent used up with being inside so much.

On Sunday Isabelle, my mum and I ventured to Gisborne for a knit and crochet meet up. It was great fun to see Dawn, Sharon, Liz and Cristina again, and Maree too who colored her hair since last time. It is so nice to be with people who enjoy their craft, whether they crochet or knit. It doesnt really bother me about whether the person who I am sitting with is doing either as my aunt is a beautiful crocheter and always made things for me that I loved for my kids. Paul's grandmother crocheted me 2 runners for my bedroom drawers a few years back which were quite lovely. I will have to pull them out for a photo session one day soon and show you all. So I hope to meet up with those lovely ladies again next month to see what great things they are making. I cannot believe how cold it was at Gisborne either after coming out of the warmth, and then mum informed me that Mt. Macedon had snow which is only about 10 minutes drive away so that explains the icy air.

So that is my catch up for now, I am off to do a bit of housework and finish off a scarf that I am knitting for my friend's birthday. She is staying over on Saturday night with her 2 kids, so I am hoping to finish it and wrap it so she doesnt see it. Have a great day!

Computer Time Out

2008-08-08T17:57:00.003+10:00

Just letting you all know that I will be away from the computer for 3 days at least until Monday afternoon as it is off at the service centre as it attracted a virus which has been making it play up for the last day. Hopefully on Monday everything will be back to normal and I can continue reading blogs and emails, so dont stress if dont email for the next few days. At least I will be able to do lots of knitting and hopefully have lots of UFO's to show you.

Missy and Katie

2008-08-08T11:05:00.002+10:00

Isabelle had a wonderful birthday party. She received lots of wonderful presents but I think the most favourite present she received was these 2 little sock monkeys that Kellie made for her as a gift. She has a wonderful blog, full of adventures about her gorgeous children, her absolutely beautiful quilts and crafts that she makes too. She just had 2 amazing parties for her twins. I only discovered her blog a few months ago but I absolutely love it. You know the ones where you cant wait for the next post to see what she has created and written. She was so generous to make these for Isabelle as a birthday gift. Isabelle would like to say thank you for such a beautiful gift and she loves them as you can tell by the photo. I would like to say a big thank you to you too for being such a wonderful person too.

Now the smaller is called Missy (for mischief like Isabelle is sometimes as she informed me), and Katie is the bigger one. They are both sisters which was a wonderful idea by Kellie's daughter Jessica. Even my 9 year old niece loved them and asked Isabelle if she could take them home. I am sure that is a seal of approval.

Guess Whose 7 Today

2008-08-06T12:38:00.003+10:00

The cheeky smile says it all. Isabelle has grown up so fast and I cant believe how the years have flown by, especially since school started.

She is still a cheeky miss but lovable and caring too which counts for a lot. This was taken this morning before school. She had all her hair cut off last week as we were getting sick of combing out the knots so now we are knot free and no more screams from brushing.

We are having her nanas and pop, her auntie and my niece and nephew over for dinner tonight, so lots of yummy food (chicken parmigiana and scalloped potates) and then birthday cake for sweets. She wont eat much though as she will be too busy playing with her cousins I think.

Happy Birthday sweetheart!

I've Been Awarded

2008-08-05T13:36:00.004+10:00

What a lovely week with two people giving me this lovely award. I feel so honoured to have Claudia and Amanda nominate me. Thank you so much ladies, and I am going to nominate you both too.

So here are the rules:

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person.
3. Nominate at least 7 other people.
4. Add links to those blogs on your blog; and
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

So here are my 7 people which is very hard to choose as there are so many great people out there creating and writing wonderful blogs.

Amanda of Joli House - she has wonderful photos of all her projects and her children too. I love what she creates, her little adventures that she takes, and her gorgeous daughter creates lovely handknits too.

Claudia of Mr. Puffy's Knitting Blog Another wonderful lady who is a great knitter and has the cutest beagle.

Rhonda of Knit Obsession who is a wonderful knitter and also has cute granddaughters that she knits for too.

Cindy of Knitting Park who knits the most gorgeous cabled sweaters. I have to say that I love cabled sweaters and she is a favourite of mine as every project I want to make too. She finishes everything too, so I am sure there are no UFO's in her knitting basket.

Leslie of Annie's Market who is a fantastic knitter, has wonderful photos which look like they were photographed for a knitting book. I love reading her blog and only discovered her through ravelry a few months ago. What a wonderful discovery.

Elin of By Elin is a fairly new to me blog but the most gorgeous knitter. You have to check out her beautiful new CPH she just finished knitting. She inspires me to knit you know.

Marianne of My Photographic Life who is a wonderful knitter, newly married, and has very cute grandchildren, and takes little holidays to beautiful places too.

Julie of Little Cotton Rabbits who has a knack for knitting the most wonderful knitted animals in little clothes. She is just so talented and if you havent taken a peek at her blog yet rush right over now and take a look at how clever she is.

Now ladies I look forward to seeing who you nominate, and remember it is always a great way to discover new blogs you perhaps havent even seen yet, as I know I always click on one I havent heard of before and have a peek to see what their creating.

Now I hope you all have a wonderful day today as I will be busy putting together my birthday post for my daughter.

Crochet Get Together

2008-08-03T17:26:00.003+10:00

Today was the day to learn to crochet and meet some really wonderful ladies too. In the photo is Liz who had a beautiful scarf on, and she even had a knitting needle bracelet and brooch. They were so nice, and standing next to Liz is my new wonderful crochet teacher, Cathy who bought along presents for everyone and lots of crochet books and projects she had made. She is wearing her lovely neckwarmer and jacket which she made herself too, just beautiful. Seeing how well she crochets and so quickly inspires me to keep going with this new to me craft too. I did manage with Cathy's help to actually learn to increase and decrease, and the actual concept of shaping. I have half a head of a little toy done so we will see how much I remember shall we during the next week when I hope to get some more practice in. Sharon is another inspiring crocheter and her lion is just adorable. She also made a bag out of rags which looked fantastic. Instead of throwing out old linen, just cut it into strips and crochet away. What a marvellous idea Sharon.

Isabelle had a wonderful time playing with Liz's daugther, and a little girl from her school too. She didnt want to go home at all, and I kept having to go back to the slides to collect her so we could go home. I do hope that we can all get together again soon and it was really love to meet you all too.

Twist Collective

2008-08-02T09:44:00.002+10:00

I have just been reading about the new knitting site Twist Collective. I dont know how I didnt know anything about it but I absolutely love it. I have already purchased 3 patterns, Victoria, Bonnie and Jali but will have to wait to print them as I need to purchase a new cartridge for the printer. Well they are saved away on my files so I can print them at a later date. The site has some other really beautiful patterns and I am thinking of purchasing one or two of the sock patterns to knit up. I will have to pop on over this afternoon and read all the articles too. How wonderful and exciting for the knitting community.

Onto other knitting, I have almost finished knitting Isabelle's vest out of the zoomy yarn. I didnt do any of it yesterday as Lachlan was home with a sore throat so we sat and watched the Spiderwick Chronicles. I loved it, how great a movie. I think Thimbletack was my favourite character, and I could really relate to how he changed his image when he got angry. Pity the honey wouldnt work on me in a temper tantrum. Hee hee!

Tomorrow is the meetup for the crochet girls too so I have put together a few of my books, not that I have used them yet. I did try and crochet a little bit yesterday but it got all ripped out. I have so much trouble trying to understand how to increase and then do the correct stitches. Tomorrow hopefully I will come back a little better learned about this craft and be able to create something worth looking at and using.

Thanks for all the knitty love about the duffle coat too. I think it is one of my favourites, but most of the items I knit out of the cupcake yarn are my faves as I love the feel of it and the colors are so vibrant and different too.

Well I am off to do some boring housework and my catalogue deliveries before it rains (doesnt look like it will) but we did get some much needed rain this week and a thunderstorm yesterday just as I had to pick Isabelle up. The weather here changes so fast so I better go prepared. Hope to see you Monday with some nice pics of the girls I get to meet tomorrow.

Have a great weekend.

2008 - FO No. 33

2008-07-30T14:02:00.002+10:00

Pattern: Duffle Coat from Double Knits Pairs of Patterns for Babies and Toddlers (Zoe Mellor)

Size: 1-2 years

Yarn: Cupcake Moda Vera yarn, about 6 balls I think.

Started: A few months ago, finished today

Buttons: 8 toggles

I knit this with no intended recipient in mind, but I really do love the pattern. This is one of my favourite baby knit books for toddlers too of course. I went to my LYS today and purchased the toggle buttons which I just love for duffle coats. I think it turned out rather nicely, pity they dont make them in a bigger size as I could see Isabelle in one of these in a lovely red or green color.

As for other knitting, I am knitting a cabled jacket for a friend's son's first birthday, another cabled sweater for Isabelle which is half done so far, a zipped jacket for Isabelle out of some gorgoeus Smoothie DK (I think I really have an obsession with this yarn lately), and I am planning on starting a cardigan or sweater for my niece's birthday which is in November. I still have another baby girl gift to knit which wont take too long to do, and my dad's jumper which is half done too. Busy, busy, busy and I think for the first time in ages I have no sickie germs hovering around making me miserable. Yay for happy days!

On Sunday at 1:00pm I am meeting some lovely new ravelers who are also crocheters (and a few knitters too I think). It is at Mumbo Jumbo so Isabelle can come along and make some new friends too. I am really looking forward to it and hopefully I will have some crochet to share too. If not, then I will pop in some knitting just in case I am really bad at crocheting.

2008 - FO No. 32

2008-07-27T13:33:00.004+10:00

Pattern: Cleckheaton Cocoon Book 951
Pattern Design 8 and 8A in premature size
Yarn: Cocoon - rasberry, 2.5 balls
Started: July Finished: July 26th 2008

This little pattern is just so cute I couldnt resist making the hat to go with it. It is so tiny and cute.
Isabelle received an early birthday present, a So Real Baby doll so we decided to model the outfit on her. Now Isabelle has said she would like one for her baby. I am sure I can pick another pattern to knit for her doll out of the same book. I do hope that Corrie likes it and I will be popping it into the post tomorrow morning as she only has about 1.5 weeks until her new twins arrive.

Blogger Pressies!

2008-07-23T09:26:00.003+10:00

I have had a few hard weeks lately (as you all know) and I have been reading a few blogs who have had some contests. Well would you believe that I won 3 contests in the last few weeks.

First of all was Corrie's fabric scrap parcel (which Isabelle loved). No photo though as I think Isabelle sifted through most of it and decided she could use it. Cheeky monkey that she is.

Secondly yesterday the parcel man delivered a pressie to me from Jellywares. Look at all those lovely fabrics. I have ideas already for them. Make sure you pop on over and read her blog too, as I really enjoy it.

Third up, this morning I received my wonderful gift from Rose Red. I had to guess the number of shoes she had. I didnt win but I was a random winner, and a very happy one too. Look 2 balls of regia silk sock yarn. I have never used this before but it feels so lovely. I also got a little painted knit card, and a block of Green & Black's Organic Dark chocolate with spice and a twist of orange. I have never tasted this chocolate before so I get to see what all the fuss is about. A few aussie swappers received them in their parcels.

I feel so lucky to have received so many wonderful gifts along with my swap pal parcel this week. It has helped me through a very hard time. I have to say thank you to all of you who sent me hugs to help through the sadness. There is still a lot of emotions going through my mind and some are very overwhelming, but blog reading is a great way to deal with this and for me to keep blogging keeps me from thinking about all the sadness too.

My SIL's funeral was lovely and the church was full to the rafters which I expected it to be. She touched a lot of people in her life. She never stopped giving to others although she suffered from a disease which caused quite a lot of pain at times. The 2 people who spoke about Kathryn were asked by her to in the last week of her life. Organised as she always was she never left anything unorganised right up to the end. They captured my SIL's spirit perfectly and spoke so beautifully too. Her sisters and her parents who are great people are coping and I promised to say in touch with them as they are family too. Her mum says she knows where I live so she will pop in for a cuppa one day. I think I will plant a rose for Kathryn in our garden as she absolutely loved roses. I have to thank Laurel to for knitting a hat for my SIL when she found out she was to have chemo. Sadly that didnt happen but I am going to give it to her daughter when the time is right. So much happened in the last 7 weeks that I didnt get the chance to give it to her but I know that her daughter will love it, so thank you Laurel for your kindness.