A busy life

Things are really busy around here, not photos of knitting... yes I have been knitting. I am knitting some string shopping bags for Christmas Gifts.

I am going to try to mostly do a homemade Christmas Gift for family and friends this year, and probably only buy something for my own children their partners and our grand-child.

As DH is still out of work it is more of a need to do this than a want, although I must say it is something I think about doing every Christmas, but never actually get around to it.

I have made a list of people and a list of gifts, so hopefully it will all come together. I also want to go through my stash and stocktake a list of everything, then try to use what I have for the gifts. Although I don't know how much of the same colour cotton I have that I need for all the string bags. Another item to go with the bags will be dishclothes, then some homemade biscuits, slices and maybe mini Christmas cakes, time will tell.

I hope to get some pictures of knitting done soon, but a very special thing is happening on Wednesday and that will take up a fair bit of my time, my youngest son and his fiance are coming home for a while, in between jobs. We haven't seen them for 2 years coming this Christmas, they have been working in WA for 2 1/2 years. The next job is in NSW about a 5 hour drive, so that will be a good thing, just a long weekend trip to visit them, I can make some long weekends regularly out of my accrued leave time banked up. Everyone is so excited, our eldest son is excited as he can't wait to introduce his daughter to his brother, and he is going to pick them up from the airport. Wish I could be there to see them together, but I will be at work and will have to wait until I get home (I am going to finish a bit early and get home as quick as I can).

Wow....nearly two months without a post

Boy have I been slack....read very busy since my holiday. I haven't had time to post or read my favourite blogs. I have to get more time in the day.....not sure how I will manage that, but I will try. Sometimes other things are more important......like have #1 son, dil and grand-daughter move back in with us, so in between going to work and home things to do, I spend most of my time enjoying my grand-daugher while she is living with us. She is 15months now and a real little monkey, can climb like no-bodies business. Loves being outside and loves the pool. I can see barb wire on the pool fence and maybe even electrification of the pool fence to keep this little one on the right side of the fence. It is adorable when she comes walking into me of a night while I am sitting in my lounge chair trying to knit or read and she has a book in tow and says 'up', so up she climbs as I try to finish the paragraph or row and quickly get the knitting or book out of the way as she is already perched up on my lap ready to read to her.

I have been knitting this last week doing some gorilla knitting for the Viva La Gong which is on very soon in Wollongong. The knitting is going to be stitched onto the light poles in Wollongong Mall for the festivities. And you never know where else they may turn up.

What else have I knit, the old brain isn't working so good at 10.30pm, time I was in bed as it is another work day tomorrow. I keep waiting for the call from the Lotteries Office to say we have won millions of dollars........still waiting and dreaming.

DH still hasn't found work. Getting a bit stressed about that. Growing vegetables so it won't be too bad, how many ways can you eat strawberry's, tomatoes, broccoli, rhubarb, potatoes, capsicum, zucchini, cucumber and chilli's......let me count the ways. I would love a couple of chooks, that way we will get our protein each day with fresh eggs, but DH hasn't been convinced we should have chooks. Even tried to bribe him with the grand-daughter would love to have some chooks.

Just remembered what I have been knitting, just need to sew it together and get some buttons, ribbon etc to finish off. I am knitting a 3 piece baby set for Kiama Show in January 2010, and have started on a baby dress for same show. I am still decided if I will knit for Albion Park Show which is early January. I have a list of things I would like to knit, but time is creeping (steam rolling) up on me.
Pictures will be coming after I sew all the bits together.

Knitting Again

I have picked up the needles since getting home from our holiday, wow 5 weeks without knitting, I didn't even go into a yarn store while in USA. We were busy taking in all the wonderful places we were visiting. I didn't even get time to do a holiday blog which I though I would be able to do.

I am knitting a scarf in a boucle type yarn, it will be for a charity. I need to get back into charity knitting and get my stash down to about 2 projects in the house at a time, well that is my goal and I have been trying to do that for nearly 2 years now, and only buying yarn to knit things for my grand-daughter.

On friday night I decided I needed something nice to knit at Wollongong Stitch N Bitch on Saturday, so I got our the Patons Serenity Bamboo and Cotton in a very nice light pink. Bought at my very favourite yarn store CR&K Daisy Designs at Fairy Meadow, I bought it at camp in April. I wanted to knit my grand-daughter something with it and I had a look on Ravelry on Friday for a pattern of a dress to knit, I found a lovely one knit top down, no seams, now that has to be a good thing it is called "Violet Dress Pattern".

I started it on Friday night and finished it this morning (Sunday), gotta be happy about that. A very easy quick knit and so soft in the Bamboo Cotton mix. I didn't make it a long as it says my grand-daughter is only 13months old, it finished the increase rows then did the border and cast off.



I tried it her this morning and it looks great, I just have to sew in the ends and I am going to crochet an edge around the armholes, which isn't in the pattern but I think it will look more finished.

I'm back home

I have been travelling in the USA for 5 weeks. What a great time we had.

I will catch up with my knitting and blogging soon.

Patons Heirloom Patterns

I love the old baby patterns, I do have this pattern in a very old Patons book. Patons have now bought out a lovely pattern book of Heirloom Patterns and the cardigan I have knitted for my grand-daughter is the same as I had when a baby and I did knit for my boys - in blue naturally.


I knitted this one in Shepherd 4ply pure wool in a beautiful soft pinkfrom my very favourite LYS - CR&K Daisy Desings at Fairy Meadow. It looks lovely on grand-daughter. I knitted the 12 months size. That is a good thing with the new Heirloom book is that the sizes for all the patterns are from newborn to 12months, which is great for the one's I really want to knit now she is coming up 12months.

This blue jacket will probably go to Guardian Pharmacy for charity. I have noticed that the guardian pharmacy are not sending our knitted items overseas to Mongolia anymore, but are distributing the items to Australian charities. I am now knitting some small baby beanies for my charity knitting, this will be good for my stash busting efforts, which are still going. I got this acrylic yarn from a shop in Kiama which was closing down a few years back I might add, it has another owner now.

I am still trying to read the blogs I have listed along with new ones, I mainly lurk without commenting, not that I don't won't to comment, just that sometimes I don't have the time to spend commenting, but I am there.

Still Knitting

I have been busy, with work, getting settled in our new home, being sick (gastro and now a cold - all from grand-daughter).

I have been knitting, I have finished the knitting on grand-daughter's jumper from the yarn I dyed at the Knitters Retreat in April, I do have to sew it up. Below is the yarn I dyed still in the skein and then in balls. It is an Australia pure wool 8ply from Flinders Island yarn. It dyed and knitted very nicely.

Photo's are loading very slow so I will put more up when they load quicker.

I have knitted her 2 beanies, 1 hat, and 2 pairs of mittens with a 3rd pair on the needles.

The hat is an old pattern, I actually hat one when I was a baby, from a Patons book. It is a pixie hat with braid at the front. Very pretty. The pattern is for 3ply yarn, but I did it in Shepherd 4ply pure wool as I like the darker pink colour.

The mittens are knitted in Sirdar 8ply Fair Isle yarn, they look so cute. They are suppose to have the long cord attached to thread through the child's sleeves, but I am not keen on that idea, so just crocheted a cord and attached at the wrist to tie up.

So the stash knitting is going along well. Still way too much to get through as usual.

Still smelling my roses each day, they are so beautiful in perfume and colours. I even have Ruby (dog) smelling the roses that I cut before I put them inside. She must think I am a very silly human.

Christening & Stimulus

My grand-daughter was baptised at the end of last month. Here is a photo of her and her dad. She was just beautiful.
I am writing this post on my new toy. Thanks to Mr Rudd (Prime Minister). An Acer Aspire One. It is a 9inch screen notebook. I got it for our holiday to USA in July/August this year so I can store photos and hopefully have a holiday blog.

I have the annual Knitting Retreat next weekend I can't wait, knitting, catching up, eating, knitting, dyeing, knitting what a great weekend we will all have.