wattlebirdies

BICARBONATE BRILLIANCE

2012-02-06T12:39:00.000+11:00

This is what I've spent the last couple of weeks doing, cleaning glue off the floorboards in my crafty room, when I took up the carpet I found it had been glued onto the floor. I was just going to get the floor sanded but because of the glue several sanding places either raised the cost dramatically or could not guarantee a good result. When I asked what if I clean the glue myself and then you just sand the floor ready for me to polish the answer was "there's no way you will be able to get the glue off" in other words, suck it up. The hardware shop people said the same thing you can't just remove the glue and not make a mess of the polished boards. That's now about six people who have told me I can't do it and I don't know what I'm talking about. The top photo shows the before and after the floor was totally covered in hard glue and dirt so I washed it with hot soapy water to get a better look at the glue problem. The hot water made some of the floor sticky so I had the idea to use bicarb of soda as it's gentle non toxic and great for sticky label patches. It totally worked!!! I did fairly small patches at a time, wash in hot soapy water, sprinkle thickly with bicarb and then spread over patch with hand, adding more water if floor is to dry it needs to be quite wet to work well, leave for ten minutes or so then scrape off, the bicarb turns the glue to an almost chewing gum consistency. Some areas needed several applications, the photos below show the glue after the bicarb soak ready to be scraped. Problem solved! now if I can just get my huge stash of fabric, fibre and yarn organized I might be able to start and finish a project or two.

YULE TIDINGS

2011-12-25T10:24:00.000+11:00

It's great when you find something that is exactly what you have been looking for, the white Gnome is this years new Christmas decoration. I would have liked him to be a little bigger but he's perfect in every other way. I love all white critters and my collection is gradually growing. This years Christmas is on the small scale with lots of small presents for my niece Lilli and Swedish gingerbread for every one as well as the usual cash. I haven't blogged for ages, I've been extremely tired there's been a lot of lack of sleep and after a while you become a little zombiefied and unable to speak in sensible sentences. This morning I found the tea towel I lost last night in the freezer! why? how? who knows.

2011-09-28T15:20:00.000+10:00

Spring is definitely here, it's a warm and beautiful day. I can only manage a short post as my online connection keeps disconnecting, the phone company just can't seem to be able to fix my telephone line. Furgus is letting me take his photo while being scratched all without biting, he still has his watch it crazy eyes. My new book arrived! I usually buy second hand but it was cheaper to buy new how odd. I've just watched "Julie and Julia" the film about the blogger Julie Powell and the cook Julia Child, I didn't read the book about the blog but her blog is still there to read. The bottom photo is the boned, stuffed and encased duck that was part of the last dinner in the film. I'll add the link to Julie Powell's old blog when my computers feeling more co-operative.

APPLE GREEN

2011-09-09T12:25:00.002+10:00

My first mitten has been languishing in my knitting basket for quite awhile now. I've been unable to knit due to the extreme Furgus scratch and bites on my right hand, payback for the teeth cleaning vet visit (that cost $288.00 by the way). He managed to cut right through the skin and I had to have two tiny stitches, my hand is still stiff and a bit numb but has healed perfectly. There have been heaps of leeks in the vegetable garden and my garlic is growing well. I planted small patches all over the garden rather than one large plot as it can get mildew, I'm hoping that this will reduce the size of the loss if I have any problems. I think I must have been channeling cindy2paws when I chose some new kitchen bits and pieces, love apple green in the kitchen.

VIVA LE TOUR! WITH HANSA MITTENS

2011-07-21T15:11:00.001+10:00

It's been almost two months without blogging, here's just a sample of the hectic last month. Family member in intensive care after operation then goes home then back in hospital again, phone line down for over a week! can you believe it, all calls redirected to mobile then internet connection down, that was fixed pretty quickly thanks to netspace. This month I decided to join the ravelry Tour de France 2011 knitting kal, my project would be one pair of mittens using two colours Scandinavian style. Colour selection was tricky the fingering balls I liked were just too expensive for a first project as there was going to be some frogging going on. On the second trip to my yarn shop and armed with at least ten different patterns all I came away with was another set of needles and several balls of black. I had some green DK that had four strands of yarn so I spent the evening unplying and rewinding to make a ball of fingering in a nice easy to see green. All of my procrastination took up the first week of the tour, mitten on needles actually being knitted was on the first of the mountain stages. I chose the Hansa Mittens by Tuulia Salmela because of the nice pointy top and the gusset thumb, the colour pattern isn't too hard for a beginner. The bottom photo shows the gusset, Tuulia Salmela can be found on ravelry as Tuulia and her blog is Knitlob's Lair-Louhittaren Luola . Will I get both mittens done by the end of the tour? I don't think so but I'm sure I'll have one done. We had to take Furgus to the vet today he's having his teeth cleaned it's the first time I've had to leave him there. His meowing was so sad but the nice vet after hearing his cat home story let me leave my mohair scarf in his cage. There's always a risk with anesthetic so I'm waiting for the O.K. call.

GNOMUS MAXIMUS

2011-05-22T16:12:00.081+10:00

My Gnomey Hat is finished and as you can see it's a little on the large size. The original pattern has a longer piece at the back and ear flaps. I decided to simplify the pattern so it would be an easy first hat project, I carefully wrote out every row and measured exactly where to start the decreases. While I was knitting flatmate and I watched The Last Of The Mohican's so instead of stopping and measuring I just took a wildly incorrect guess so we didn't have to have a break from the film. The band has stayed flat after blocking and the lopi-kid mohair mix (x1strand-lopi,x2strands-kid mohair) has made a soft, warm and thick fabric. I've offered to make the flatmate one in any colour of his choice but sadly he's declined. After digging around in my stash I found some lovely red mohair perfect for a second Gnomey the first swatch is off the needles I have about one more to go to get the gauge.

The wonderful pattern used is the Gnomey Hat by Eskimimi Knits

Swedish Christmas decorations wearing little Gnomeys.

FELTED BOOTIES

2011-04-30T16:15:00.000+10:00

The slipper booties are finished and they're warm and toasty. I gave them one hot wash but I think they could do with more felting. There's still quite a bit of fluffiness and I would like them to be a little denser. The next item on my Winter list is a gnomey hat, I'm still working out yarn combinations (from stash) to make the correct gauge. I wonder how many sets of needles you need to have in your knitting kit so when you want to start a new project you don't need to go and buy more. The pattern has a gauge of 13 stitches = 10cm I'm knitting 16 stitches so it's either new needles or thicker yarn. I thought one strand of Lopi plus two of mohair should be about right and be super warm and soft. I'm not sure if a black gnome hat would look like a gnome or a witch? red would be nice and is a traditional colour but it has to be from my ever growing stash. So more digging around in plastic boxes and trying to remember what I actually have squirreled away.
Pattern link Felted Slipper

KNITTED SLIPPER BOOTS

2011-04-21T11:30:00.000+10:00

The weather has been cold and wet, time to start wearing my ugg like boots (Skecher's). It seems I still have trouble with the top of my foot aching whenever I wear a firm shoe. I've tried to knit slipper boots before but the result was not very successful. They were to big and the wool did not felt well, I did several test squares and they felted fine so it must be something about the whole kitted object versus a flat test square. I even tried boiling them for an hour or so but that just made the house smell like wet sheep. After a pattern search I found the perfect pair. The photo shows the boot before the added top band.

Felted Slipper Boots by Biscotte

I've used two strands of Lopi so they are extra thick and firm, I've also closed the front slit, picked up stitches, joined and knitted around the top to make them longer. All I have left to do is the top on number two, Furgus loves to help by killing the wool balls and any hand he can reach. On Sunday I cooked a very simple and totally satisfying dinner, sausages with potatoes and last of the summer vegetables from my garden. The cold weather has almost completely stopped the zucchinis and I only managed to freeze a small bag of peas, the rest were enjoyed raw. Flatmate brought home a CPR practice kit with a very creepy plastic man, I wonder who designs these sort of things. To top off another week of live micecapades Furgus gave me an extra special gift one young live rat. The one thing I have a phobia about, stand on the table screeching kind of phobia. You know when Furgus has something alive by his meow so I went into the kitchen ready to deal with a mouse instead there was a panicked rat. I jumped onto the kitchen table while Furgus played with it, I was screeching and pointing , the rat was screeching and that made me screech even more finely he took it outside. Three hours later I found the rat in the kitchen again this time almost dead but not quite so the poor thing had three hours of Furgus torture. I wrapped it in a tea towel and it had pleading grateful eyes all I could do was ask flatmate to deal with it when he got home from work.

ZIGS AND ZAGS

2011-04-04T17:34:00.001+10:00

On Thursday we went on a drive to Mount Field and on the way flatmate was pointing out landmarks it's sort of a game, animals are included we have to see at least one native animal a trip, anyway he called Mount Direction and I thought what a good name for my mittens. I think crazy zigzag for the top, something like a mix of zigzags from the photo above and stripes on the palm and a gusset thumb with stripes. On the walk to the waterfall we spotted a pottaroo but all I managed to photograph were little glowing eyes and native fish. The little mouse is one of the many Furgus has been playing with inside, it's a native mouse and they make a whistling sound to communicate. They don't seem to eat meat and they're not garbage mice so saving one or two doesn't seem so bad.

EARTH HOUR

2011-03-26T23:01:00.000+11:00

To night is the start of Earth Hour and this is my lounge room at 8.30 PM, a small gesture and a cute bunny. Furgus has invented a new game called catch a mouse and let it go inside, then sit back and watch as I run around trying get it outside! there have been three today so far. I'm sure he likes to hear me squeal if the mouse jumps on me. I've started to knit again, for some reason over the last year I just haven't had the thinking energy to start or finish a project but the last two days have been great and I've been working on swatches for mittens.

LIONS AND TIGERS

2011-03-07T15:02:00.001+11:00

On Sunday we went to Zoodoo with a couple of friends to see the white lions, they're only half grown and the male already weighs 160 kilos. Zoodoo actually let you into a caged section so you can take photos without the glass in the way. They came right up to us the male charged the cage playfully and just before he was looking right at me when I managed to take his photo it was just like a domestic cat pouncing. They also did the same with the tigers and they even let you hand feed them a piece of meat with a pair of tongs. I'm not big a fan of animals in captivity but Zoodoo is part of the breeding program to save the gene pool, also if they don't want to play or eat in front of an audience then they don't have too. None of the big cats seemed to mind people watching them and the white lions were showing off and playing with toys. The photo of the tiger below you can just see the caged section where you can go in and see them up close, that's right where I took his photo when he looked at me. Furgus is completely better and spent an evening guarding the remote control. His open mouth means will bite hand, arm, fingers so I just had to leave him to it.

PINKEYE POTATOES

2011-02-28T14:41:00.000+11:00

I've had mixed results so far with the vegetable garden but just look at the lovely pinkeye potatoes. I might be the only person who can not grow a pumpkin or a yellow zucchini or even the most easy of all vegetables, Blackjack zucchini (for the whole season I have only managed three full sized). I can now say I grow my own pinkeye's so all is not lost after all. I gently cooked them in water without salt, then tossed them in some butter, snipped chives, a small amount of chopped mint and freshly ground black pepper, totally yum.

FELT FRIENDS

2011-02-26T14:21:00.005+11:00

I just could not resist this little craft book by Naomi Tabatha and it's in English which is good because I have a bit of trouble deciphering Japanese how to pictures. The stitching is so neat and small, this will be the hardest part as my hand stitching is still a little uneven. It's raining today so I have the perfect excuse to start sewing I'll try a kitty first as the shape isn't as complicated as some of the others. Furgus came home with a bleeding paw on Wednesday night and he would not let me look at it. He hissed, snorted and growled as I chased him around the kitchen and the floor ended up looking like a crime scene. So a trip to the vet was booked, it's so sad that whenever we put him in his travel box he thinks he's going back to the cat home and gets really upset. The sore paw turned out to be a bite, the nice lady vet gave him an antibiotic injection instead of tablets, it lasts for fourteen days so much easier. Furgus was so well behaved at the vet he didn't bite and he only snort-growled once when his teeth were looked at. A little extra spoiling when we came home made him a very happy cat.

AMELIAS NEW DRESS

2011-02-21T16:05:00.002+11:00

This is my gorgeous new monitor an Acer S221HQL, also brand new speakers and keyboard, this has made such a difference no more squinting at the screen next, on the list is a new printer. My computer had a couple of problems including sound which I thought could be the speakers but it turned out to be more serious, wiped motherboard drives not by me but a well meaning family member. I've found a great computer fixer in the Hobart area called Computatune. Greg Burns will come to your house plus he's very reasonably priced, new customers about $60.00 ish for the first hour he can do anything with Windows.

The only crafting I've managed has been a dress for my Blythe doll, I'm a grown up with a Blythe doll fascination and I would secretly like to have more Blythe's but I'll have to save all my gold coins again before I can buy one. I wasn't a girl that liked Barbi or dolls it was our dog and cats, books and drawing instead. Someone gave me a large china Shirley Temple doll when I was little, her teeth used to glow in the dark and I couldn't go to sleep unless she was covered up. The cover always seemed to fall off during the night and I was sure she was a haunted doll because she would always end up back in my room even when I hid her outside.
Mental As Anything were in Hobart last Friday night so some friends and I decided to go and see them. The venue was a little scary ( older bogans) so our group felt a little out of place, but the band was great. Martin Plaza is much shorter in person and they can still belt out a song in tune. There was sing-a-long fun for everyone.

PEAS PLEASE

2011-01-21T18:40:00.001+11:00

Fresh from the garden purple podded peas and a couple of mammoth snow peas. This will probably be the last of them as the plants were damaged in the freakishly strong winds we just had. I was lucky and got to spend a day at the beach Cremorne and then Clifton (below) , totally perfect beach weather the water was warm and almost no wind. I spent most of the time covered head to toe and with a layer of super extra strong sunscreen designed to attract a thick layer of sand, probably part of the sunscreen rating.

This is my favorite way to serve meatballs, you can do this with any sized meatball I just like small ones. The basic recipe is called Bitkis, they look a little yellow but that's just the grated carrot . All you do is arrange the meatballs in a single layer or leaning one against the next for larger patties. Cover with cooked tomato sauce I use the plain bottled tomatoes from the supermarket. Add some garlic slithers, fresh thyme sprigs (push into sauce) . Spoon some firm plain yoghurt, decorate with some parsley and cracked pepper heat until bubbling, serve with some mashed potatoes.

NEW YEARS EVE

2010-12-31T15:42:00.002+11:00

The year has flown by and the house anniversary has already been celebrated. My new year resolution is not to make any, so it seems I have made one after all. I've spent today updating my links list, paying any unpaid bills, putting away Christmas decorations and poking around in the potato patch (the little potato above is almost to cute to eat). Furgus is trying his best to stay cool, I had to cut off some knotted fur as he just will not let me brush him. He bites, hisses and then when you think he's forgotten about it he will ambush you and bite the back of your leg. Five brush strokes is all he'll put up with, it used to be three so maybe by next new years eve I'll be up to ten.

Have A Happy New Year.

SILVER BIRDS

2010-12-30T17:07:00.001+11:00

My red birds now have little silver friends and they look like they're chasing each other all over the Christmas tree. I managed to make two Christmas stockings, Rudolph for my flatmate and Cats for Furgus. Kirstie's Homemade Christmas did make sewing a Christmas stocking look easy but I had to do some fiddling because I couldn't remember how to layer all the pieces so you only had to sew each stocking once. I made the lining a tiny bit smaller so it would fit inside. I used to work in wardrobe years ago and an older wardrobe Mistress told me it was bad luck to sew something perfectly you should always include a tiny mistake. So I never feel bad when my stitching is wobbly I'm just keeping an old tradition alive.

BUNNY LOVE

2010-12-16T15:28:00.003+11:00

This is what happens when you have a cat with a strong personality and who thinks the sewing table is his personal space. I had to give in and let Furgus have his afternoon siesta in peace otherwise there would have been a fang and claw situation. The cat material is a flannelet and has been in my stash for years, perfect for a cat stocking. How do you draw a good Christmas stocking shape? my first attempt looks rather more like a stumping than a stocking. I'm almost tempted to make bags instead, just straight lines! no funny bits. Look at the lovely bunnies, I have a thing about all white objects and I wish these three could come home with me. Sensibly I thought there are still presents to organize for other people, bunnies will just have to wait.

ESTHER DEAN'S GARDENING BOOK

2010-12-11T18:18:00.000+11:00

This little book is an eBay find, the book and postage were less than $10.00 total bargain. My first garden bed was a traditional dig \ de-stone \ weed \ feed and it took weeks to complete the soil was so hard there were so many rocks and the grass just kept coming back. That bed now has two sorts of potatoes thriving so it was worth all the hard work.

Then I read Growing Without Digging it sounded to simple, I've seen no-dig gardens before and they workout to be quite expensive with lots of layers. Esther Dean's bed construction is straightforward and easy.

1. make a frame, can be anything
2. layer newspaper 1\2 cm thick
3. layer with pads of lucerne hay

I watered at this point as it was a hot day.

4. sprinkle organic fertilizer
5. cover with loose straw about 20cm high
6. sprinkle some more fertilizer
7. tip a circle of compost 10cm deep & 45cm across
I used a potting\compost mix 3\4 compost 1\4 potting mix
8. plant seeds or seedlings in the circle of compost

9. lightly cover with loose straw and lightly water

The photo above shows the the circles of compost and seedlings coming through the straw, you don't have to cover the whole bed with potting\compost mix just in the places you want to plant in. So far they are thriving, the seeds have germinated faster and are healthier.

I'm going to make three small Christmas stockings one for the flatmate, one for the Furgus and one for me. Do other people give their fury friends stockings with more than one gift? here are two fabric choices so far I think Rudolph will be the flatmates and I'm not sure about the hearts I think I'll use the mushroom fabric from my stash for me. Now just have to find something nice for Furgus, I must be going mad will a cat even notice the pretty fabric? and do I really care.

MAKE DO AND MEND

2010-11-26T18:40:00.007+11:00

Make Do And Mend, I'm challenging myself to a mend, make and sew challenge. My grandmother taught me how to darn and how those simple stitches could be used for all sorts of things like socks, jumpers and even sheets. The first project has been my pink sheets, these sheets are really thick and are to nice to turn into cleaning rags. The fix- thread is Gutermann 100% cotton and I'm using my old wooden darning mushroom, after the sheet was washed the stitches blended in a little more than the photo shows, score out of ten for neatness 61/2 my Grandmother's stitches would not have shown at all!

I've been spending some time turning the junk room into a crafty computer room. There's still a lot to do and still unpacked boxes from the move. I've set up a temporary sewing table in front of the window, Furgus likes to have afternoon naps there and does not like the sound of the sewing machine. All of my fabric, yarn, fleece and sewing stash has been sorted and I'm in the process of putting it all in plastic boxes. The Idea I had is to buy two matching pine cupboards/wardrobes one for yarn things the other for sewing things, plastic will have to do for now.

RAINY DAYS

2010-09-19T15:11:00.001+10:00

It's raining again today so a cup of hot chocolate and some garden reading matter is just the the thing to make you feel Spring might be around the corner. I want to get the rest of my Spring seed orders in but the choices are huge!!! I've counted twenty six types of tomato and fifteen types of pumpkin. There are some seeds that can't be sent to Tasmania unless they have clearance by customs, I think they need an extra treatment? anyway I've found three good local seed sources that have great variety.

The Lost Seed http://www.thelostseed.com.au/
Rangeview Seeds http://www.rangeviewseeds.com.au/home.php
Southern Harvest http://www.southernharvest.com.au/

I've been madly digging garden beds ready for planting It's slow going as the ground's very hard and full of rocks, I just hope there will be room for everything. My foot's almost better but I can only wear shoes that are either loose slip on or lace up, no more lovely Mary Jane's or heels. Here's Furgus keeping watch over his domain.

BEWARE KILLER CAT

2010-08-15T15:40:00.006+10:00

It's been a long time since my last post, I fell over and cracked two bones in my foot. How I managed to do this is still a mystery but it involved an orange cat, a brick holding open a door, stairs, and an arm full of wood (in no particular order). All in all I've been feeling a little down as well as rather silly, Furges was of course completely unharmed. Small projects are all I can manage at the moment so I'm knitting hexagons for a throw. I'm using a two colour cast on ready for joining them together so the back looks as neat as the front, the first swatch looks a bit to messy.

MAY DAYS

2010-05-22T14:09:00.023+10:00

My new-old cup only cost $1.50, another total op-shop bargain. There's been so much work to do in the house and garden that finding a quiet moment to write has been hard, plus the computer started to make a very annoying high pitched whine. The whine turned out to be a slow vibrating fan so I used some WD-40 and that seems to have done the trick. Furgus has turned out to be a supreme mouser although I'm not to keen on the occasional live one he brings inside. The living room has a new lamp and I bought a matching shade for the overhead light as well. Here's a happy Furgus after a day of helping me in the garden.

EASTER BROWNIES

2010-04-06T12:21:00.003+10:00

I didn't manage to do any special Easter cooking this year we were to busy painting the lounge room. Instead my Dad made the most lush chocolate fudge brownies for everyone. Be warned, you can't stop at just one.

Triple Chock Brownies
2 x 100 gr blocks Lindt dark chocolate (either 70 or 85 per cent cocoa)
125 gr butter
3 tablespoons cocoa (Dutch if you can get it, but Cadbury’s will do)
1 and a quarter cups white sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plain flour
1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 175 degrees. Line a 20 cms square pan with cooking paper (this is very fiddly but worth it), then coat lightly with vegetable oil spray. Melt the chocolates, butter, and cocoa in the microwave, stirring often, check after 1 minute.
2. Whisk the sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl until combined, about 15 seconds. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until smooth. Stir in the flour until no streaks remain.
3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 35 minutes.
4. Let cool completely on a wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours, before removing from the pan and cutting into squares.
To make ahead
The uncut brownies can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Do not cut the brownies until ready to serve or they will dry out. When taken from the fridge and cut they will be very hard. This is normal.
Note: wrap each pack of chocolate in a tea towel and bash evenly, back and front, with a hammer on a brick or concrete. This’ll break the chocolate into small bits so you don’t have to bother breaking it up by hand. Just unpack the chocolate and let the bits fall into whatever you’ll be melting it in.

BACK TO BLOGGING

2010-04-04T17:45:00.001+10:00

Meet Furgus, He's six years old and was hiding behind a door in the last room at the cat home. He's doing really well, I'm slowly winning him over with good food often and heaps of love. The lounge room walls have finely been painted it took four coats and twelve litres of undercoat to cover the forest green suede effect. They're now Wattle ID "sunnydale" a warm cream. Once the undercoat was done the ceiling looked filthy so we had to paint it as well. The windows are next project they need to be sanded, filled/sealed and painted inside and out . Another big job but one I can do without any help.

GOOD LIFE

2010-02-15T17:25:00.021+11:00

My front yard looks green, but all the green bits are weeds. The plan I think will be to make raised garden beds and have the veg garden in the front yard. The front yard has a gentle slope, gets all day sun and is sheltered by a concrete retaining wall. I hope my new neighbors will not mind living next door to "The Good Life" house. Lovely Saint Valentine tulips!!! and this week the green lounge room will be painted a warm cream.

CHRISTMAS BEETLES

2009-11-19T13:50:00.008+11:00

You know Christmas is just around the corner when these lovely beetles fly in for a visit. It's another warm and sunny day but the usual calm has been disrupted by a gaggle of painters. The colour scheme the owner's chosen is grey with blue trim! so this little happy house now looks like a little sad house. I can't wait until the contract is completed on the 21 December. We have already started to pack up things we don't need to use, it makes the settlement date feel closer. I'm going to leave the new house pink for a while and concentrate on painting inside and getting the lounge room floor sanded and polished before we move in.

HOME SWEET HOME

2009-11-13T17:31:00.006+11:00

I've been to busy to blog or keep up with other bloggers, the great news is the house in the photo soon will be mine. My offer was accepted today at 11.50 am! the contract will be signed on the 21 December. The outside colour's a bit girlie, the three bedrooms are painted in very intense shades and the lounge room is a blotchy dark green. This was the main reason it hadn't sold and the fact the garden has been overgrown for months. Overall it's been well maintained an ideal first home, plus I got it for less than the asking price. Home Sweet Home.

1 MILLION WOMEN

2009-10-04T18:16:00.013+11:00

Climate change, global warming and living in a sustainable way are important to my friends and family. This website is a fun way to chart your progress and be counted among the 1millionwomen of Australia who want climate action and change.

Overview:: We are 1 Million Women - daughters, mothers, sisters and grandmothers inspiring climate action. Our goal is to collectively cut 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas pollutant triggering climate change. Every woman who joins has a personal goal to cut 1 tonne of CO2 from their daily lives within a year of joining.

BUTTONS

2009-10-02T17:30:00.002+10:00

I'm a bit of a miser these days, so when I went shopping for buttons I just couldn't justify splurging on them when they were over $1.00 a pop that's how my button collection started. There are rules- must be cheaper per button than I can buy here in Hobart (including postage). Must be an interesting button in colour, shape or pattern. They have to be used, no hording my pretties. So 17 vintage buttons, price under $10.00 total bargain!!!

BLACK COTTON CARDI

2009-09-29T17:47:00.014+10:00

I've had to find a new pattern and yarn as the charcoal wool cardigan just wasn't working out. When I took what I'd knitted so far off the needles it seemed to be extremely long and stretchy. I could wrap it around my waist twice!!! and as I'm shaped like a large wombat I new something was wrong. So from the stash KATIA 10 ply bulky cotton-black, pattern DROPS 108-40 the test swatch matches exactly the yarn gauge and this time there will NOT be any changes to the pattern. I'm knitting one size larger as the cotton doesn't have a lot of give and I'm more of a cover up sort person. So far it's going smoothly but I've only knitted three rows.

FLOWER FROGS

2009-09-06T15:13:00.005+10:00

I love flower frogs, this one is just like the one I've bought on eBay. There's something about green depression glass that makes me want to collect as much as I can find. It reminds me of Summer, grass clippings and aprons covered with flowers. On the knitting front my cardigan developed a problem (two holes) on the right front band. I was watching television not my knitting! then had to frog back almost to the beginning the holes turned out to be loose tension on the moss stitch part. I've decided it's time to find another cat, it's been two years since Ziggy (a very large, curry loving ginger and white moggy) had to be put down at the ripe old age of 21 3/4 human years. So in two weeks we'll visit the cat home and rescue a grown up cat as they seem to be the last to be picked. Ziggy was a rescued cat not from the cat home but from a friend who was leaving Tas, if I hadn't taken him his next stop was the cat home.

SEAMLESS CARDIGAN

2009-08-21T13:37:00.008+10:00

Instead of glandular fever the extreme pain and swelling of my face, neck and glands has turned out to be a troubled tooth. My glands have been going up and down for about three months, there have been Dr's visits, blood tests all to no avail. So I did some research and came up with teeth! the dentist took one look found the culprit straight away. Poor tooth was in death throws and had to be removed, 24 hours later nearly all the swelling has gone there's no pain and I can drink warm tea and coffee. NEW KNITTING, I've started a seamless cardigan in a light charcoal fleck. The pattern is a mishmash of three patterns, I'm using the edging of the Debbie Bliss Cardi. (above), Elizabeth Zimmerman seamless sweater from Knitting Without Tears, I love the look of round yoke sweaters and cardigans, and a Drops A-line for the decreases. Just look at this gorgeous bunch of kale it's a most beautiful purple black almost to nice to eat.

MY GRAN

2009-07-31T14:24:00.008+10:00

This is my Grandmother Lillian Blanche Pennyquick and although looking at this photo makes me sad it also brings back good memories. We used to spend most of the school holidays with her and we were aloud to run completely wild. I used to hate brushing my hair so when I was at Gran's I just didn't, she never forced me, she would wait until the night before we had to go home and after a bath I'd sit on the old poof in front of the fire and she would gently comb out all the knots. She also gave me some very good advice, don't get married before you're 25- 27 would be even better, always work and always have your own money in your own account. In this photo Gran's just received an award for being the longest serving postmistress in Australia (at that time) she died at age 82 in 1987 and was STILL working in the post office. There were chickens, wild hares, rabbits, cats, possums, if you were lucky field mice, a horse called Charlie and sheep who would sleep next to the bedroom window at night and snore. I used to have a war with a farmer about traps, he used them-I hate them, so I would hunt them down and set them off. We would go on all day explorations and as long as we got home before dark we could go anywhere.

MOHAIR UPDATE

2009-07-20T14:55:00.007+10:00

The wrap is now over halfway done and kindly held up by Dan my flatmate. It's raining today so I'm going to make bread rolls to have with dinner tonight, the lounge room is toasty perfect for rising dough and the smell of baking bread is so delicious. Pushing Daisies has become a total addiction and I want to bake pies of every kind. I now have three pie funnels all I need now is the perfect pie dish, my heart's set on this one, Emile Henry in plain white it's just right for a single crust pie. Maybe chicken/leek or beef/mushroom, or spicy apple.

MORE MOHAIR

2009-07-13T14:38:00.006+10:00

I'm now at the halfway mark with Mrs DEagle's wrap, It's been a fast knit thanks to the Tour De France, so hopefully she'll get it this winter rather than next years. First we had gastro now we have flu all thanks to D's work, I've been so cold, sore and achy all I've managed to do is a quick visit to wool shop, knit a little and plant some kale. kale's the most fantastic veg, I add it to everything! usually just wilted.

SNOW DAY

2009-06-25T16:38:00.003+10:00

Mt. Wellington 7.00 AM, this photo's about a month old , the first real snow day of Winter. I love snow and cold weather, gumboots and mittens. On really cold wet school nights and after a hot bath, as a special treat we used to have grilled cheese and tomato on toast with mugs of hot Ovaltine made with milk. My brother would have five heaped teaspoons of Ovaltine, I'd have three.

GRAVEL MOHAIR THROW

2009-06-21T17:39:00.007+10:00

This colour way's called GRAVEL (TeAwaWools Soft Spun Mohair/col-1233/12PLY/100gm), it's a lovely mix of black-grey-off white and a touch of midnight blue. So this is going to be another throw this time for my flatmate's Mum. I'll use 2x hanks, 10mm needles, cast on 90 stitches and the pattern will be blocks of knit x10 st./purl x10 st.

There's been two confirmed cases of Swine Flu at Mr. D's work ( my flat mate) he works in a hotel so it's not surprising. There were lots of protocols everyone had to follow while they were waiting for the test results and special gloves/masks/cleaning products to use. Mr. D said pigs around the world would be breathing a sigh of relief as they're not a favorite menu item at the moment.

SLIPPER BOOT UPDATE

2009-06-14T14:39:00.005+10:00

The Aunt Alm Dorm Boots originally had two rows of purl in between the shaping rows of knit (k-p-p-k) if that makes sense, the outer (k) rows are the decreasing rows. I changed the purl to knit, it looks much neater. There was also a rib cuff that I've deleted, I'm sewing the two layers together and I'd like them to come just over the ankle so there's no need for it . I've struck a bit of a problem with the inner boots. The wool I'm using for them isn't as stiff as the carpet wool they're the same size and shape as the outer boots but when I joined the sole seam the shape changed and the seam doesn't fit well. So they've been frogged! and I'll try knitting them using a Turkish cast on.

ORFORD

2009-06-08T13:55:00.007+10:00

While some major electrical work was being done my flatmate and I left the electricians in peace and drove to Orford. We stopped at Scorcher's Cafe for coffee and a piece of caramel cheesecake which was totally over the top in a good way. Spring beach was perfect, Orford always seems warm even in winter. Here are my new sensible boots that cost only $33.00!!! boys size 5 they're a little bit big but are fine with thick socks.

SLIPPER BOOTS

2009-05-21T12:43:00.005+10:00

I've decided to knit a pair of booties instead of buying a new pair of Ugg's, the basic pattern is Aunt Alma's dorm boots with some changes. I'll felt together two separate boots the outside layer is made from carpet wool with the sole knitted with two strands (sole left open) and the inside layer is a soft pure wool knitted with two strands (sole closed) . The idea is to knit or use Kitchener stitch to join the boots together at the top cuff, sew the two layers together, sew outer sole closed then felt. I love buttons! here are the latest ones added to my stash.

CATCHING UP

2009-04-30T15:44:00.007+10:00

I haven't been very good at keeping my blog up to date so this is what I've been up to. Waved at the Sea Shepherd, made lots of Easter buns but forgot to take any photo's of them when they were cooked, made up "learn how to knit" and "learn how to crochet" packs all from my own bits and pieces for a fund raiser, start another knitting project this time using my own pattern (it's going to be a neck warmer). Learn how to use my beautiful new camera Pentax K200, and get over the flu which for some reason made my eyes extremely sore .

FINISHED HEXAGAUGHAN BLANKET

2009-03-20T13:11:00.008+11:00

Well here's the finished hexagaughan blanket, all the organizing and sewing up was done by cadbury's keeper I don't know how she managed to work and move house as well. This is the first knit-a-long where I've sent something overseas I didn't think my knitting was good enough before. I've just finished a set of organic cotton face cloths including a mitt for Mum's birthday now I have to start another mohair throw this one is for Dan's Mum in a lovely charcoal colour. On a sad note, my brother's dog Junior was hit by a car last week. How he managed to sneak out I don't know, he died very quickly and without any pain, the driver didn't stop but we think they just didn't know it was a dog not a pothole.

THE BOTHWELL SPIN IN 2009

2009-03-04T13:07:00.005+11:00

On Friday I went to the Bothwell Spin In, said hello to the lovely alpacas then made my way around the yarn and fibre stalls, then watched a hall full of spinners spin. The top photo is hand spun super fine hand knitted lace, the white piece is medium weight super soft hand spun wool and it's knitted in one piece! it's finer than it looks in the photo. I bought a niddy noddy, 2x skeins of black alpaca (from Quamby Park Alpacas), 2x skeins of brown/cream mix wool (from Waratah fibres) and a maintenance kit for my spinning wheel. I managed to get this all done in 1 1/2 hours as we had to get back to town early. It was really special to see so many spinners in one place and to see people I only have contact with on the net. Colonial Lake Books were there as well but I was to shy to say it's me Amanda from Hobart and I love your books. I love the lady with the bright red spinning wheel it was the only coloured one I spotted.

VICTORIAN BUSH FIRES

2009-02-10T15:36:00.010+11:00

When I was growing up we spent a lot of time in the country, each summer there were bush fire threats one year a fire came very close to my Grandmother's house two paddocks away. We had our fire plan and the house was fire ready but nothing prepares you for the heat , smoke and shear terror luckily it didn't get any closer thanks to the local fire service and volunteers. When I see the remains of town after town I want to do something to help. So I've donated to the

RED CROSS, SALVATION ARMY, RSPCA, WILDLIFE VICTORIA, there's also a Ravelry group called "Packages Down Under" where they are organizing care packages and yarn, needles etc packs, also you can knit 12"x 12" squares for blankets and there's a competition, all the information is at serendipity .

SANDLAND WARE

2009-01-29T13:27:00.009+11:00

I now have three pieces from the CITRONE range by Lancaster & Sandland LTD. there's something about the creamy white and the yellow back that I love. This is the year I'm going to buy a house.

MY DREAM HOUSE

1. Would have room for mohair goats
2. A large vegetable patch, fruit trees
3. Chickens
4. Separate studio with power, water etc
5. Polished floorboards
6. Gas heater
7. Gas oven etc
8. Solar hot water
9. Grid connected solar panels
10. Grey water collection
11. Heaps of storage space
12. large rooms with high ceilings
13. Lots of water
14. Heaps of CHARACTER!!
15. Be by the sea

The reality will be very different, some of the Green options I can add to the house over time but space versus being close to town, town wins. I have to be close to a bus line as I don't drive. The dream lives on, you never know.

MORE HEXAGAUGHAN"S

2009-01-14T16:13:00.005+11:00

Here are the last of my HEXAGAUGHAN'S the colours are softer than in the photo's. I'm not happy with the way the SSK PSSO turned out if I make any more I'll try knitting the stitches together. It's been so HOT, to hot to knit or cook at least we have cool nights with a sea breeze. When I lived in Melbourne my flat was like an oven and the cicadas would keep me awake for most of the night if I had the windows open.

HEXAGAUGHAN KNIT-A-LONG

2009-01-09T16:21:00.003+11:00

The Great Hexagaughan Knit-A-Long is on! the Norah Gaughan lovers at Ravelry have started a KAL where everyone knits and sends their work to a nomminated address where they will be sewn into a very large blanket for Norah Gaughan. The extra hexes will be made into more blankets for charity. I like the idea that there will be hexagons from all over the world in one piece of work. I've made one so far and I'm hoping to make another two or three by Monday when they will be posted to America, the deadline is the 01-02-08 so they should get there in plenty of time.

COMPLETED MOHAIR THROW

2009-01-04T17:21:00.006+11:00

Here it is! the taller than my Mother mohair throw, it's wider than it looks and very stretchy. I tried to do a swatch using the fir cone pattern but it's to tricky for me, the dark wool didn't help either. The scallop pattern is easy but hard to see using the brown wool so I thought a chevron pattern might work, time to try another swatch.

BROWN FIR CONE THROW

2009-01-01T18:03:00.005+11:00

I've decided to knit a wrap\throw using brown wool and the fir cone pattern from the Harmony Guides volume 2 page 59. The pattern does not seem to complicated so I'll start the swatch tonight and see if I'm able to manage it. I think the pattern looks more like peacock feather eyes, there's a scallop pattern that would look good if fir cone's to hard. You know your getting old when there's a LOUD doof doof party in your street and you can't be bothered getting out of bed at 4.00 am to call the police even when you can smell the rubber from the wheelies. I told myself never mind you can have a nice afternoon lay down with a good book. Happy New Year!

NEW YEARS EVE

2008-12-31T19:21:00.004+11:00

I was about to take down the Christmas Branch when I thought I'd take a photo. I had to open the back door to try to get more light in and the breeze kept making the birds move. I kept the decorations very simple this year (less to pack away). What to knit next? a fast moving throw for me? or the zip up vest from Yarn Magazine for Dan or my Brother. Tonight I'm knitting a couple of dish cloths, though the cotton was expensive so I think I'll call them face washers and put one in Mum's birthday goody bag.

PIPARKAKUT CHRISTMAS BISCUITS

2008-12-27T17:17:00.008+11:00

These biscuits are thin, crunchy and very spicy. The sugar content is high so they burn easily, I've found that working with smaller sections easier to handle and I roll them out between two sheets of plastic.

PIPARKAKUT

1 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp dark syrup
1\2 cup water
200g unsalted butter
2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1\2 tbsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground cardamom
zest of one orange
2 tsp baking soda-
(bicarbonate of soda)
4 cups plain flour-
(all-purpose)

Melt sugar, syrup and water in a saucepan.
Place butter, spices and orange zest in a large mixing bowl, add the melted mixture.
Stir until the the butter has melted.
Allow to cool.
Blend baking soda together with the flour.
Quickly mix the ingredients to a smooth dough.
Wrap in plastic and let rest overnight in fridge.
Lightly roll portions of the dough with a rolling pin.
Cut out shapes with cookie cutters.
Place the biscuits on silicon/baking paper.
Bake the biscuits at 200-220 C degrees for 5-8 minutes, middle shelf.
Check the biscuits while baking as they BURN EASILY!

My oven is a little temperamental so I have to stand watch right next to the oven for every batch. So I usually make them at night when it's cool and it helps to turn the tray about half way through the cooking time.
I finished Mum's throw at 1.00 am Christmas morning. This is the first year I've included handmade presents and Mum and Dad seemed to really like them. The colours of the mohair gave her skin a pink glow but not old lady pink. Then on Boxing Day I spent most of the day sleeping and I'm still tired.

NEW CHRISTMAS DECORATION

2008-12-24T15:19:00.004+11:00

I'm almost ready for Christmas! there's still the sewing in the ends of Mum's throw/yurt. I think it's now taller than me! I'll have to get someone to hold it up so I can take a photo. To night in between doing the last few bits and pieces I'll make the Piparkakut biscuits (Finnish ginger/spice). Last year I was still baking at 11.00am Christmas day. Each year I like to buy one new Christmas decoration, this year I found this lovely candle mobile at kiki.k . When we lived in Sydney my family grew up best friends with a Finnish family called the Larkso's so we would have two Christmas's a Scandinavian one on Christmas eve then our more Anglo one the next Day.

DUCKCLOTH FABRIC

2008-12-21T16:11:00.003+11:00

I've found a really nice online fabric blog/ shop called duckcloth . I found the scooter piece on sale and the Christmas panel I just couldn't resist. The red scooter has a more natural linen colour and there's two full repeats of the pattern. The Christmas panel is crisp and bright, not like my bad photo. What to make? the scooter will be a drawstring bag for a friend (she rides a scooter) and I'll make two little Santa Stockings with the Christmas panel.

THE ALL ORGANIC FARM

2008-12-18T13:19:00.005+11:00

Today is an exciting day! we have just had our first box of organic goodies home delivered from The All Organic Farm. I spent $51.29 and as you can see apart from the fruit and veg there's also Elgar Farm unsalted butter and mozzarella, Sunday Hill blueberry jam, a large jar of tomato puree and a huge bunch of fresh herbs. Ive always had a vegetable garden but this house has three large native trees and a real problem with ants so I'm limited to pots.

BEETROOT RELISH

2008-12-17T17:44:00.017+11:00

BEETROOT RELISH

INGREDIENTS
400 g grated beetroot
175 g grated green apple
1\2 red onion diced

1\2 cup white wine vinegar

1\2 cup balsamic vinegar
1\2 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1\2 teasp Dijon mustard

METHOD
Heat a splash of oil in a large saucepan and saute onion until transparent. Add all of the other ingredients, cook on the lowest heat for two hours until it resembles jam, then cool.

FAVORITE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

2008-12-15T17:50:00.004+11:00

This is one of my favorite Christmas decorations I've collected twelve of them over two years from Habitat during their Christmas sales. Each year I used to do a different colour scheme but for the last couple it's been red, white and silver. One year green, white and silver would be nice but then my red birds might get upset. I wish we had a white Christmas tree but they are just to expensive. Mine is homemade from dead branches painted white it doesn't look as even as the shop ones but it still does the job. This year all white fairy lights are on my shopping list the wires need to be white as well.

CHRISTMAS BALLS

2008-12-12T17:46:00.006+11:00

I found the Christmas Bauble pattern on a site called canadianliving.com the pattern is actually from the book Handknit Holidays by Leigh Radford, and the pattern is Christmas Ornament. This is the larger size with an attempt at embroidery I think more practice is needed before I can give one as a gift. The knitting's fine but my stitching is a little 1.00 am crazy. I used red wool first but it looked dull and flat so the idea was to find some red sparkle beads in my stash of shiny things. No red shiny beads but I found some glossy embroidery thread! how I have this I have know idea as I'm not a hand stitching person. So the effect is a raised shiny snowflake? just don't look to close.

NEW SECOND HAND COMPUTER

2008-12-07T18:10:00.002+11:00

The 6Th December was my birthday and this was the picture from my Cat Calendar. (by B Kliban) I now have a fantastic computer with XP thanks to my Dad, he's upgraded to a brand new whiz bang Apple and very generously passed his older one to me including monitor. I'm behind with my Christmas list!!! but I've almost finished Mum's throw, this has taken forever!!!
This years cooking will be Finish spice biscuits and I've found an easy recipe for beetroot relish. I was going to make small orange & almond cakes but I haven't found the right tins, not to big or small about 20 cm wide and 10 cm tall. I like to give everyone one handmade gift as well as our traditional gift vouchers (ready for the Christmas sales).

ORANGE AND ALMOND CAKE

2008-11-13T14:49:00.009+11:00

We went for a drive on the weekend to Remarkable Cave which is past Port Arthur and it rained buckets as soon as we left the car. I was desperate for coffee so we called into the Eagle Hawk Cafe (top picture) for coffee and cake, here's my version.

ORANGE AND ALMOND CAKE based on the CLEMENTINE CAKE by NIGELLA LAWSON

4-5 oranges 375 g total weight
6 free range eggs from happy hens
225 g sugar
250 g ground almonds
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder

Put the oranges (whole) in a pan with some cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 2 hours.
Drain and when they're cool cut in half and remove pips.
Then pulp everything - skins, pith, fruit- in the processor.
Preheat the oven to 190 c / gas mark 5.
Line a 21 cm springform tin with silicon paper.
(Do the next bit by hand)
Beat the eggs, add the sugar, almonds and baking powder.
Mix well, adding the pulped oranges.
Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for an hour, when a skewer comes out clean (you may need to cover with foil or silicon paper after about 40 minutes to stop the top burning) remove from the oven and leave to cool, on a rack but in the tin.
When the cake's cold, you can take it out of the tin.

ULTRAMARINE SOCK YARN

2008-10-31T15:22:00.003+11:00

I LOVE this colour!!! Ultramarine Panda Wool by Crystal Palace Yarns, 51% bamboo-39% wool-10% nylon-Dl 9573- lot C from YARNOMAT. Now I have to find a sock pattern that I can actually knit, I'm waiting for Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch to arrive.

NEW SWEDISH TEAPOT

2008-10-25T12:03:00.008+11:00

Meet my new Swedish teapot, or is it a coffee pot? Price $6.00 ( postage extra,ebay). The blue's a very dark midnight colour and the inside's warm cream.
The SOUTHERN SUMMER of SOCKS has started but I'm still trying to find yarn and patterns. I think I'm an advanced beginner so the patterns need to have more detail in the instructions and not be to hard. Last year I managed only ONE sock! bad pattern and yarn choice, my knitting was to tight even though I did a swatch.

DRESSES FOR LILLI

2008-10-14T17:25:00.008+11:00

I've found some lovely fabric on sale so I'll make two dresses for my brother's daughter Lilli. The pattern is Burda 9799 both will be view (B), bottom photo the fabric's called floral fancy and I'll add sleeves. The top photo the fabric is a mix of carnations and roses it should make a lovely Christmas day dress, I'll add bow at the back to make it more festive.

FAIRY FLOSS WOOL

2008-10-02T18:03:00.002+10:00

This is my second lot of carded wool ready for spinning, it looks like fairy floss! I'm using a small cat brush with wire prongs I think it's called a flick brush. So far it's been easier to work with small pieces I seem to loose less wool this way and have more control. At first I found the wool sticky to spin but then I realised I had been trying to spin some of it backwards, so now all the wool is going in the same direction it should be easier to spin. The wool hardly smells at all and lanolin has made my hands nice and soft I just need to get a large amount ready so I can get stuck in and learn to spin.

SPINNING WHEEL

2008-09-24T14:12:00.007+10:00

This is my new second hand spinning wheel (photo by wooltassie/ebay) it's an Ashford Traditional I'm not sure how old it is, the price was $180.00 I'm hoping to pick up on Thursday/Friday this week. How to learn to spin? I've found there's a Hand Weavers Spinners and Dyers Guild of Tasmania inc. I'll start there first and they have all sorts of things to rent and buy as well as workshops. My knitting has been very SLOW lately, I've been to tired to concentrate I'm only half way through mohair throw for mum. Is it going to be cheaper to dye and spin my own yarn? that's the excuse I've used, I can't wait to start!!!

TEAPOTS

2008-09-13T14:00:00.004+10:00

My Apple Tea Set arrived on Friday (e-bay) when I first saw it I thought apple teapots need apple tea cosies! now all I need to do is figure out how to make one. The new Knitty is out!!! but I'm still waiting for Vogue Knitting and Knit Scene to appear. The ABC are going to play some Hitchcock films starting with Vertigo, I love the look of his films.

MORE MOHAIR

2008-09-11T12:10:00.002+10:00

I was in Spotlight last week sifting through the end of season yarn box and I managed to find 500 gm of the same dye lot (colour no:20-eggplant, dye lot:750655) for only $2.00 a ball. The blend is 50% mohair 50% acrylic I usually prefer at least 70% mohair so it will be interesting to see how a 50/50 blend compares. My household has been sick with a flu/virus for three weeks, virus being the key word- no antibiotics. So I missed out on a trip to Adelaide for a large birthday bash (Dan's family) there were at least 250 people.

MOHAIR WRAP FOR MUM

2008-08-21T19:06:00.011+10:00

This is the wrap/throw I'm knitting for my Mother and the Ravelry Olympics. I'm in gift giving pentathlon! Go Team Oz !!!! the needle size is 10 cm and it's 2x rib. The ribs are soft and flowing but I think I'll need to get some more mohair as I want it to be bigger than a scarf and smaller than a blanket.

TEAL

2008-08-05T16:03:00.003+10:00

I found a fantastic angora mix jumper for $6.00 last week. Is this colour Teal? it's more blue with green the photo makes it look more green, after frogging there's about 300 gm of 8 ply. I LOVE combining colours like this, I think this would look better if the red was more a raspberry colour.

MOHAIR FOR MUM

2008-08-03T17:25:00.003+10:00

This is Te Awa Wools Soft Spun Mohair in Scotch Thistle, 100gm the colour's actually a little warmer than this. I'm going to knit a throw/shawl for my Mum, she likes my big grey scarf so I'll use the same size needles for her. The yarn came from Tasmanian Wool Suppliers, http://www.woolsuppliers.com.au/

GREY MOHAIR SCARF

2008-08-01T16:30:00.002+10:00

Here's the finished grey mohair scarf, I used size 15 mm needles and plain knit stitch. I wanted a loopy puffy look rather than a flat thick look. We now have broadband!!! yay!!! I can visit Ravelry without freezing my computer. My favorite yarn store is now on line www.woolsupppliers.com.au my latest purchase was The Harmony Guide number two and 100gm=200mt ($17.00) hank of soft spun mohair in scotch thistle by TeAwa Wools it's a lovely soft mix of pinks, blues and lilac perfect for a shawl for my mum.

MORE MOHAIR

2008-06-01T17:26:00.003+10:00

I've had an extended break from blogging, knitting and my computer, but I did manage to add to my stash. This is a red/orange 5 ply mohair, I also have 1 kg charcoal wool 8 ply, 250 g red fluffy mohair, chocolate lama hand spun... I really do have a stash now!!! the grey mohair scarf is done and it's so warm. I've started a wide scarf/throw using the cream kid seta for my mother but it's been unpicked two times so far, first the needles were to small then the pattern didn't work, so this is attempt number three.

MY YARN STASH

2008-03-23T16:56:00.004+11:00

I just couldn't resist this YUMMY hand dyed mohair from The Spindle Tree, 100g-200m for $23.00!!!. I think I'll knit a wrap/stole on large needles, the colour is a little lighter than the photo. The new Yarn magazine has finely arrived! I didn't have a look until all jobs were done, dinner cooked, washed up and I had a cup of tea with a warm chocolate hot cross bun!!!. We are thinking about getting broadband it seems my dial up connection is getting even worse, when I try to do Ravelry things it takes so long and after a while it freezes!!!!! this is so anoying.

New project idea, TEA COSIES!!! I'm in the middle of test no1, might try felting a swatch to get a firmer result.

WRISTLETS

2008-02-25T19:37:00.002+11:00

This is the first hand warmer I've knitted, there was a little trouble around the thumb I'm still getting used to translating patterns into normal English!!! the wool mix has a little green in it so it's not as blue as the photo. Number two is almost finished the pattern said three hours but I've taken about five days, I'm a very slow knitter.

WRISTLETS FREE PATTERN

2008-02-16T16:54:00.005+11:00

The two top photo's are my op-shop finds, blue wool is totem shade 9009 and the black/white mix was a jumper with silk, cotton and wool with a small amount of mohair that took ages to unravel! The bottom photo is how they look together . The free pattern is from knit.1 magazine winter 2007 . there's a very sweet sheep as well. The pattern uses a fiesta wool/silk mix, the gauge is 5 mm needles, 19 sts, 23 rnds to 10 cm, using St st. So what I did was try different yarn and needle combo's until I had the gauge right. The picture has pretty good detail so I could see that the yarn was quite thick, all I have to do now is get knitting!!! http://www.knit1mag.com/

St VALENTINE

2008-02-15T14:08:00.003+11:00

This is my favorite mug! I don't use it any more as there's a crack in the handle. The artist is "B. Kliban" (1935-1990) and he based his cat pictures on his real life tabby cats!, love cats now hold my pencils and brushes on my desk.

First Knitted Colour Work Test

2008-02-05T17:44:00.000+11:00

This is a test swatch for " Snowflakes Tam Pattern" by Strings And Sealing Wax. I simplified the motif as I wasn't sure if I could handle colour work. It's a bit hard to see (having trouble with my photo's flaring) the colours are blue/white on black background, The pattern has x3 colour changes in the trees dark to light but I didn't have any leftover bits to use. I think I'll knit a simple Tam first to get used to the style of pattern then go for gold with Snowflakes!!! I love the way the trees line up on the Tam top. PS I'm on Ravelry! as wattlebirdies but there's not much to see yet. Have a peek at strings and sealing wax and her lovely patterns. http://sasw.blogspot.com/

First Sock Finished !!!

2008-01-29T12:57:00.000+11:00

Here's the long over due photo of my finished sock from last year. There's one HUGE problem, I haven't been able to knit sock number two as I've lost my pattern notes. I'm usually more organized than this but we had friends staying at Christmas - New Year and the spare room had to be a bedroom ( all my craft-art and computer bits and pieces live there ) . I'm still hoping they'll turn up as I unpack the last boxes.

2008 Resolutions

2008-01-28T13:50:00.000+11:00

This year I will be a fearless Knitter.
Cook a new vegetarian dish at least once a month and like it.
Knit/sew for charity.
Take the Indie challange.
Give more handmade gifts.
Organize ALL our cupboards.
Sell my felt birds/animals at Christmas.
Go to our local Indie cinema more often.
Exercise!Exercise!Exercise!
Make our house as GREEN as can be.

cacti flower

2008-01-26T17:47:00.001+11:00

It's been two months since I've been able to blog!!! poor sick computer, has anyone tried to get something fixed over Christmas-New Year without it costing an arm and leg as we say in Australia. Just look at the flowers on my cacti !!! they only last about a day, I look forward to them every year. The funny thing is for about three years they were cream not pink.

green sock update-heel done!!!

2007-11-29T17:30:00.000+11:00

Look at this I've done the heel!!! all thanks to southern summer of socks !!! tinkingbell, rose red and kms gave me CLEAR instructions. Now I've done it I can't believe how simple it is to turn a heel!!! green sock looks longer in the photo than it really is, the length is 26 cm from the top to the bottom of the heel and I have about 5 cm more to knit of the foot before I can start the toe. The plan is to finish before the last day of November!!! then complete second sock by Christmas, I'm hoping that the second sock will knit up faster as all the problems have been ironed out already.

Japanese mulberry paper

2007-11-22T17:31:00.001+11:00

Here are two little Japanese paper decorations, I found them at the craft fair in Deloraine. I wish I could have bought one of every type but I'm happy with just two.
I'M STUCK!!! I'm having trouble with the heel of my sock, it started fine then I got to this line of the pattern: TURN HEEL- 1st row- k13, k2tog, k1,Turn. I asked around and was told that it just meant turn as you're not knitting in a "round" any more, sounds simple but why then didn't the other rows of the heel say that???? By luck I've just found an old secondhand Patons yarn craft book and Turn means: Bring yarn to front of work, slip next stitch onto right hand needle, take yarn to back of work, slip stitch back onto left hand needle, then turn and proceed as given in instructions. This is so confusing!!!! is this called a wrap??? if it is why didn't they just say wrap???

Bunnies

2007-11-12T14:54:00.000+11:00

A sad day on Saturday, the bunnies we were bunny sitting went home, we had them for over a month and got used to having them around. Dan made a large run for them it had to be divided in the middle otherwise they would fight. Bunnies are rather funny, not quite tame and not wild. They liked to box each other through the chicken wire and eat all my fresh herbs. Black bunny would thump her feet and White bunny would sit up on her back legs sniffing the air. They both liked to toss their food bowls around even when I'd freshly cleaned the hutches, but they were always ready for a cuddle.

First sock update

2007-11-09T13:27:00.000+11:00

Green sock update, I'm almost up to the heel!!! all the decreases are finished!!! I just need to knit a few more rounds to make the length 21cm. I had a tiny splurge to celebrate, 1x clover plastic needle holder, 2x sets of needles size 2 and 2-25. On the 19-o9-07 I ordered Favorite Socks by Ann Budd at my local book shop, it's still not here, they didn't send the order until the 10-10-07!!! will it come before Christmas? sometimes living in Tasmania can be annoying, we just don't have enough variety and orders can take forever. I try to buy local rather than large chains, so orders usually take a while but 3 months is so long to wait, it will be a nice little extra present. I'll wrap it and put it under the tree with a card from me to me!!!!

Tasmanian wool

2007-11-07T19:02:00.000+11:00

Here are my craft fair splurges!!! Ringrove Collection-natural colour wool, 1x 238g's the colour is lighter than this (top photo) and brushed kid mohair, hand spun by Tasmanian Woolie Crafts 1x100g's, 1x116g's (bottom photo) both are Tasmanian grown and made. They are so soft, I wish I could have bought heaps more but Christmas is just around the corner so I'm saving for lots of presents. No luck finding sock blocks, I'll have to buy some via the net.

El Dia de los Muertos!!!

2007-11-01T12:01:00.000+11:00

Today is the first day of the festival "the Day of the Dead" ,"El Dia de los Muertos" so here's a fitting image (by Patrick Murillo for azcentral.com) will I look like this before I ever finish a pair of socks ? I hope not!!! Friday 2-11-07 I'm going to the Deloraine Craft Fair !!! there will be more than 200 stalls, so I should find something to buy, I really want some yarn, knitting bits & pieces also sock blocks, there's going to be some Japanese hand-made mulberry paper and indigo dyed cotton textiles, my fantastic partner Dan will drive me up and drop me off, he'll go for a bush walk, meet me for lunch, go off and do something else then pick me up on the way home. He can't stand slow walking with too many people around, he starts to look like he's about to run the 100 mt. dash!!!

Halloween Cat

2007-10-31T15:55:00.000+11:00

spring flowers

2007-10-30T16:41:00.000+11:00

Lovely spring flowers!!!, I've joined my first knit-a-long (kal for short) the southern summer of socks. It's great to see so many fantastic sock knitters in one place and heaps of new websites to visit. Plus everyone's really chatty, I'm still shy with comments but I hope by blogging I'll be more outgoing.

first sock

2007-10-29T14:01:00.000+11:00

This is the start of my first knitted sock, the wool is 8ply and easy to work with. I did a test square to check tension but when I knitted the rib my tension is looser so I'll have to go down a needle size for the band. The cast on is plain-purl to match the rib. I thought it would be a good idea to do a test sock first to sort out any problems, so far each step has had them.

knitting

2007-10-28T14:43:00.000+11:00

I've become totally obsessed with knitting, when I was in school it was totally hopeless, to tight or loose. Mum was a basic knitter, she worked full-time so she didn't have much time to spend on projects, she'd knit something every couple of years or so. I tried again in my 20's but chose the wrong pattern and yarn for a beginner, a sleeveless polo-neck with a tricky stitch and shaping, yarn was a cotton loopy bobble blend in white, what was I thinking? anyway it was a total flop, it stretched and sagged and my flatmates said it looked more like giant sea sponge, this put me off for quite a few years. So back to this year, at the beginning of winter I bought a handmade pair of socks from a local fair ( we called it the granny stall, as all the items were made by granny's) the socks are the warmest, softest I have. I WANT TO KNIT SOCKS !!! when I looked on the net there were so many fantastic blogs, free patterns and tutorials, I never get tired reading them. Something clicked in my brain and I new this time I could do it!!!. It was crochet first, five scarfs later (2'd picture is alpaca scarf,Patons Inca) then I started knitting, lots of practice first, now I've completed my first ever knitted scarf, checker board pattern (first photo). The next step 8ply green socks, Patons pattern. I can now cast on and do basic stitches on 4 needles, the join is still a bit wonky but it's almost right.