The Best Ta-Dah .. but not of the crochet kind !

After being in hospital since Tuesday, was the wait worth it?  You bet !!  Sorry about the quality of that pic but recovery room staff are no doubt better nurses than photographers. If you don't mind indulging this very proud Nanna, I'd like to share some of the pics we took today.

Mum and Dad (above) holding their darling little bundle of joy.

My two beautiful grandsons - I don't know what Ryan (my other daughter's 12yo son) was doing to deserve the screwed up face and tongue poking out. Guess we'll never know.

I usually shy away from showing my picture but I guess there's no party without punch !!

How's this for a perfect FO ?  Can't you tell he's a much loved little boy? (That's his Dad's hairy leg you can see behind him there. I took the photo over Dad's shoulder and didn't realise his leg was showing.

Bye for now ....
Dorothy
xox

Crochet Catch-Up

Although I keep in touch with most of my fellow bloggers by commenting on their posts, I'm feeling a little bit guilty for not having done a post of my own for so long. Lots of 'things' have been happening in my life but I won't bother you with details. 

The most exciting news is that my new grandson will be here in a couple of weeks, with an expected arrival date of November 19. Of course this may change if he starts to grow too quickly - DD is now being monitored twice a week. She is going to be a 'traditional' mother and keep him looking like a baby rather than a little adult. I like that as they're only babies for a short time and there's nothing nicer than to see a baby in those 'nice little things'.  I've been busy with the hooks and needles, of course. This little matinee jacket is done in Australian 4ply with a 3mm hook. The pattern is from Vicki Moodie's book "Crocheted Matinee Jackets".  

Apparently he was a bit short on hats (according to DD) so naturally Nanna came to the party and provided these two.  With summer days approaching quite rapidly now (today is 29C) he probably won't be needing many but the knitted one is stretchy so might come in handy for next autumn.

 I can't remember when I started this pram/car seat blankie but with not much more than the last few rows and border to go, it was easy to turn this UFO into a FO. I used Bendigo Woollen Mills "Luxury" which is a beautiful soft Aussie 8ply machine washable wool.

The pattern is called Cloud Soft Shells and is from Leisure Arts book called "Our Best Baby Afghans". (Leisure Arts #2853). There are 54 gorgeous patterns in this book so if you're planning to treat yourself to something nice for Christmas, check it out. At the time of writing this post, there are 5 copies listed on eBay and a couple are priced really low.

I have a few other UFOs lurking around in my craft room and I've decided to TRY and complete at least one a month. I think the reason I have so many UFOs is that I see something I like on other people's blogs or somewhere on the internet and am motivated to make whatever it is myself. Then, especially if its something big, I get bored with it or see something else that I just have to make ...... and so it goes. Can you relate to this? Its obviously lack of self control but I suppose when it all boils down, if you're enjoying your craft, that's all that matters.

My son-in-law has been wanting to do a bit of gardening (surprise, surprise) so we went to Bunnings the other day and bought lots of plants - a couple of Nandina shrubs, lots of marigolds and petunias and this Kangaroo Paw plant which is my favourite. Kangaroo Paw is a plant native to Western Australia with flowers that resemble kangaroo paws. It is grown in home gardens and as a houseplant. Now its just a matter of trying to keep the dogs off the gardens and hoping that son-in-law retains his gardening mojo. Fingers crossed for a colourful display at Christmas.

Thanks for visiting.
xox

Looky Looky - Lucky Me

A few weeks ago I entered a blog give-away at One Yarn After Another and was fortunate enough to be the lucky winner of this gorgeous yarn ....

It arrived today and is so soft and will be perfect for making something for a certain little man who will be entering the world in about 6 weeks time. I haven't seen this yarn before and am looking forward to searching around for a nice pattern to use. Thank's so much for this give-away Bev - it was such a thrill to win.

xox

Green Cathedral and other stuff

Thought it was about time I popped in to say hi and to let you know what I've been up to lately.  I had another trip 'up north' (about 700 kms north to be precise) and while there was able to do a little crochet, lots of house-selling repairs and re-listing, and the occasional little excursion.

As some of you know, my youngest daughter Natalie and her DH are expecting their first baby, a little boy (about the middle of November) so of course my focus these days is on baby projects. I did this My Chelle jacket in a couple of nights while watching telly ....

My friend Bev Matheson designed this lovely (and easy) pattern which you can get from either the link above to Ravelry or on Bev's blog, One Yarn after Another .

Also felt like some mindless crochet so bought some acrylic from the $2 shop and whipped up this scarf another night.

I had a few hours to spare a couple of days before leaving for home so I took myself for a short drive to the Green Cathedral which is on the shore of Wallis Lake. If you blinked while driving through the little town of Tiona, you'd miss it (both the town and the Green Cathedral). Services are held every Sunday and at other times, the odd tourist can be seen wandering down the track to this beautiful place.

down the path we go

check out those tall trees - bet they've been here awhile

looking towards the pulpit - see the pews made from trees

and from the pulpit

Turn around - what a peaceful sight

Speaking of peace, on the way back to my car I spotted this Peace Pole 

Nice sentiment in these troubled times eh ? 

Bye for now

xox

Crochet Ta-Dah !!

Yes, I know that's a dumb title for a post but its the best I can do at the moment.

Here's my latest FO which is now nestling nicely in the top drawer of my grand-son to be's tallboy.

The sleeves were meant to be long but I ran out of yarn so we ended up with short sleeves which will probably better suit the weather for when Bub's due. Also should have had three buttons but I could only find two that suited the colour (which, by the way, is more of a baby sky blue than what it looks in the pic). The pattern is called "Bruce" and is from a little book I've had for ages called "Crocheted Matinee Jackets" by Vicki Moodie. I used 1 x 100g ball of Big Baby 4ply with a 3.50mm hook.

I'm still working on getting my craft room sorted out so haven't been doing as much crochet or knitting as I normally do - just fiddling around with little things. One of my Aussie Knit4Charity friends is turning 50 next month and is having a cyber birthday party which should be fun. She has asked if everybody who is 'attending' makes a three round motif to send so she can add the last round and join them together to have a memento of the occasion. We're all doing the same pattern ... here's my 'gift' ...

Breaking news ....... Local police hunting the "knitting needle nutter" who has stabbed 6 people in the last 48 hours, believe the attacker could be following some kind of pattern.

I'm outa here ... see you next time.
xox

July Jottings .. and just in time

I've been very slack of late with regard to my blog and I'm hanging my head in shame !!! I didn't want July to go by without a single post so I'm just going to briefly let you know what I've been up to these past weeks.

I celebrated my birthday on 7th with my beautiful family. Natalie baked the most decadent cake and I'm sure I must have gained at least ten kilos after enjoying my share. There are four layers of chocolate cake in there with chocolate icing between each one and as you can see, the whole thing is covered in more chocolate.

Earlier in the day I met my dear friend L at the club for a lovely lunch - always a most enjoyable few hours. She is such a thoughtful person and gave me these pretty flowers which are still happily enjoying life on my front porch.

Quincy and Madison have decided that they might as well be bed buddies, especially now that the cold weather has well and truly hit us. Not half spoilt eh?

I joined a newly formed group who are crochet/knitting items for HeartKids and other patients at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. Its a Facebook based group and in one week there are already 59 members. The hospital has especially requested beanies for the little babies so in the last week I've done 7 but haven't got photos of all as yet. Will take a pic before I send them off. Here are the first few anyway ...

Time for a little neck exercise here thanks to Blogger !!

At the moment I'm feeling rather tired as I've been reading till the wee small hours and it has eventually caught up with me. The book I finished early this morning is called "Cold Grave" by Kathryn Fox. The title is a bit misleading as there are no graves in it at all - in fact the story takes place on board a luxury cruise ship. Although its fiction, it was very thought provoking, interesting and offered an insight into what goes on behind the scenes on board a big ship. Its a good read if you're looking for something to while away the hours.

Probably the most exciting news for July is that my daughter and son-in-law are expecting their first baby towards the end of November  and it's a little boy. The latest ultrasound shows him clearly and he's so cute (and of course I'm not at all biased). Out comes the blue yarn .....

Well, that's about all for now. Hope to post more often in August.

Bits n Pieces

Today I was the recipient of a random act of kindness which was a new, and I must say lovely experience for me. I was walking in to the local supermarket when an older couple approached both carrying boxes of chocolate coated pretzels. The man walked up to me, handed me a pack and wished me a nice day. At first I thought they were giving out samples of a new product but the lady explained that 'he' liked them (that's why they had so many) and he wanted to make me happy.

Mission accomplished - I felt great, they were happy and I have something yummy to enjoy tonight!

Received another interesting parcel in the mail the other day. While I was doing a bit of online shopping from a shop in the UK, I saw these Addi Weave-Knit needles. They weren't cheap but I had to have some.

With these needles you can knit and weave at the same time so it will be interesting to have a play with them when I finish my other 5 UFO's.

I've been fiddling around with little things lately as I haven't had much time to devote to my crochet or knitting. I made these Pocket Book slippers for our CWA craft stall coming up in July.

 

Before you put them on, they look like little pocket-books, hence the name. Apparently nursing homes love these as they stay on much better than some others and are good for people confined to bed. They'd also be good for travellers on long flights as they're small enough to pop into your handbag. (I've tried several times to rotate this next pic but it doesn't want to play properly so you'll have to skew your head sideways to see it properly - sorry.) If you'd like the pattern, its here.

 

That's all for now - hope to have something more to say (and show) before too long. In the meantime, see you at your place.
xox

Crochet find

After having lunch with an old friend today, I popped in to the Vinnies op-shop for a bit of a browse and came across this pretty throw which I couldn't possibly leave there. As a crocheter, I can appreciate the time and effort that has gone into making it and feel it would have been rather sad to have left it sitting there.

At $7.50 it was more than a bargain and I'm almost certain its made in wool as its quite heavy and has that wool look and feel. Measures 40 inches x 36 inches and has 90 little squares. There's not a thing wrong with it either so I'm very happy.

Have a great weekend everyone. I think I'm going to have a bit of a read-a-thon this weekend.  xox

Busy Time

Gosh, I've had a very full month but things are starting to get back to normal so I hope to be blogging more frequently. I do read all my favourite blogs by other people every day and have enjoyed your lovely photos of crochet, knitting, gardens and travels.

The biggest of our events was on Easter Saturday (April 19) which was my eldest daughter's wedding. You know I want to show you some pics don't you? Here are a few ... to start with, of course we had to get a quick look at the reception set-up the night before.

The first pic was taken in the evening after the decorating people finished and the second one taken, as you can see in daytime.

Here comes the bride - about to leave home.

The new Mr and Mrs along with the not so new Mr and Mrs, my grandson and me.

My very dear friend L was official photographer on the day and I will be showing you some of her wonderful shots soon.

As far as crochet goes ..... well, it hasn't really been going anywhere much. I whipped up this hat one night and started two more projects while I was away doing some family business on the north coast of New South Wales week before last.

I feel a bit ashamed of myself with regard to that last one - I couldn't help myself and ended up buying enough of this cheap horrible acrylic yarn to make a baby's blanket. I was staying in a motel and had to fill my evenings in somehow .... didn't I?

Anyway, with the house on the market and all the associated tasks done, on the day before I was heading for home, it occurred to me that I probably won't ever be going to Forster/Tuncurry again so did a little drive around to take one last look. This really long bridge links the two towns and spans Wallis Lake about a kilometer from the heads. Dolphins are often playing in the area and I was hoping to see some but unfortunately it wasn't my day. Mind you, it was low tide so that may have had something to do with it.

And so the sun sets on Tuncurry beach. It was around 5pm and while those in Canberra were freezing, you might notice some people here at the end of the beach were still in the water enjoying themselves.

Its Mothers Day here in Australia tomorrow - also in the US I think, so I'd like to wish all the mothers and grandmothers, a very happy day. xox

Good and Bad !

Well, the good news is that I've now got Outlook back as my email program which I much prefer to Windows Live Mail that I sometimes find a bit frustrating. However, the bad news is that my desktop pc has presented me with the black screen of death. Actually I don't think its actually 'dead' - my eldest DD and my son-in-law were trying to do things on it this afternoon while I was out shopping and 'somehow, something went terribly wrong'. Have to call a geek in the morning as its beyond my 'expertise' !!!  Thank goodness I have a laptop to fall back on. Its three years old but has only had about 2 weeks of use and has spent the rest of its life in a bag. I'm a bit concerned about all my files on the desktop as I need to prepare a financial report for a meeting on Friday.

My life has been so hectic lately - DD1's wedding is less than 2 weeks away now (April 19) and last minute details are underway.  Not much time for knitting and/or crochet I'm afraid - just an occasional row now and then when the opportunity presents. As a pre-wedding 'experience' my girls visited the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra to Meet a Cheetah. They're braver than I would be ....

 At the moment I'm collecting, on behalf of Knit4Charities, donations for a charity called Warming Beautiful Souls (search it on Facebook if you're interested) and one of our members made this wrap which I think is rather lovely.  Might try something similar one day. Its made up of 8 inch and 4 inch squares.

Finally, I want you all to know that I haven't forgotten you - each morning over breakfast I enjoy visiting your lovely blogs and I hope you'll forgive me if I sometimes don't leave you a comment. After the next few weeks, perhaps things here will get back to normal.

Bye for now. xox