Fiddling Around

I missed Sunday's check-in for the Year of Projects but to be perfectly honest, I really don't have anything much to report. The weather has been cold, wet and miserable and I've been in one of those 'bleh' moods which has resulted in me just fiddling around and not achieving much.

Decided to do a bit more on the poncho which I started when issue 25 of Simply Crochet magazine came out - they're now up to issue 44 of the monthly mag, so let's see, that makes this WIP nineteen months old.

I think a few more rounds will be enough then a nice border rather than fringing will finish it off. Can you see all those ends I'm going to have to sew in? Ugh !

So when I got tired of working on the poncho I rummaged around in my craft room for some nice yarn and started this scarf. Nothing like a bit of variety to brighten things up eh?

I haven't used this Red Heart Boutique Midnight before but it's quite soft and nice to knit. I don't think you can see the silver shiny bits in the yarn but it livens it up in a subtle kind of way.

Work is still going on in my front yard and if it wasn't for the wet weather, it would have been finished about 2 weeks ago. As it is now, the landscaper told me yesterday that we probably won't be able to drive on it for another 2 weeks. My daughter is parking her car on one neighbour's circular driveway and my car is at my other daughter's place but tonight I'm going to ask the other neighbour if I can leave my car on their front yard as I really need to go to a few appointments later this week. Oh dear, such a bother but it will be worth it in the long run. Here's where we're up to ...

That's all from me for now. If you'd like to see what Year of Projects is all about, pop over to Ravelry and be inspired by the other bloggers taking part.

Year of Projects - week 3

Its been a cold, wet and miserable week in my part of the world and I know lots of folk would say 'perfect weather for crochet or knitting'. Alas, not so as I've been really sick again (third bout) with this horrible bug that seems to be going around. Like a cold but nothing I have experienced before. Anyway, hopefully it is slowly starting to get a bit better so I might be a bit more productive this coming week.

I finished off this little Angel blanket for Angel Blankets Australia (NSW) which is one of the Knit4Charities projects for July. I used King Cole Baby DK and its a free corner to corner pattern which you can find here.

Since upgrading to Windows 10, all my photos have got mixed up. This is really bugging me and if you know how to get them to display in year order (from recent to older) please let me know. While looking for the shawl picture, I came across this little token thingy which I made ages ago. Its the perfect size for either a dollar coin or one of those tokens you put in the slot to release a shopping trolley. Video tutorial here. Very handy to have on your keychain.

My poor landscaper is just about tearing his hair out with the way this weather has been hindering progress on my front yard. We are a little further advanced so fingers crossed that next week might see a few sunny days.

Almost time for bed but I might do another 8 rows on my Hitchhiker which is growing ever so slowly !!

Have a good week.
xox

The Never Ending Hitchhiker

Some time ago (possibly six months or more) I joined in with another blogger friend to make the hitchhiker scarf which seems to be going on and on and on. I must admit this has been hibernating for awhile but now that I've joined the Year of Projects, I'm now motivated to get this finished. Managed a few more 'teeth' on the weekend so here's my progress report ....

Yarn is Bendigo Woollen Mills 8ply - 4.5mm needles. My plan is to go as far as this ball will take me, then finish off.

The weather here continues to be overcast and wet, whilst great for staying indoors and knitting, isn't so good for the landscapers doing my front yard. The road base for under the pavers went down a few days ago so at least its not too bad to walk on but not being able to park our cars is a pain in the proverbial 'you know what' !! Here's how it started off -

Progress so far -

As I write this, the dog is going berserk and I hear the workmen arriving - let's hope for some sun (well at least no more rain) and a bit of action today.

xox

Back with a Plan

Apart from being sick with a horrible viral infection for several weeks, I have been in a bit of a rut with regard to blogging, crocheting, knitting and just things in general. Its now time to try to get back to normal and so I've decided to join the Year of Projects (Year Six) which is a Ravelry group well worth checking out if you're looking for lots of friendship, support and motivation. SO, without further ado .....

As this is my first week, I need to provide my list for the year - in no particular order (links provided)

• Bumba 
• Security Blanket Bunny
• Call the Midwife baby blanket
• Hitchhiker scarf
• Angel Blanket (Premature shawl) - FINISHED 21-6-16
• Angel Wings Pinafore
• Fingerless Mitts
• Unforgettable Scarf
• All in One Baby Top
• Mapleton Small Shawl
• Child's Jumper
• Ayasha Cardigan (Tunisian) sorry no link. 

That should do for a start. As you know, I do lots of projects for charity so the above won't be the only things I hope to make this year. Oh, by the way, Year of Projects runs from July to June so if you want to give it a go, there's still time to join in.

Since I last blogged, I have been supporting a few of the Knit4Charities monthly projects, the most recent, to provide chemo hats for the Canberra Oncology unit. I made six - here's one of them ..

For my regular visitors, its been a few months since you've seen my little grandson Oliver who will be 20 months old next week, so here he is helping celebrate my birthday yesterday.

That's it for now. Hope I still have a few friends out there in the blog-o-sphere (its been sooooo long).

xox

Oh how busy I have been

Seems ages (and it really is) since my last post. For the past 5 weeks I've been rather busy, mainly as a result of doing a course with U3A (University of the Third Age) called "Declutter your Life". The project I focused on was my craft room which has been an absolute disaster since I had to merge two rooms into one a while back - the craft room and the room where I had loads of books, computer and all its bits and pieces and of course the overflow crafty stuff. The U3A course has been very inspiring and motivational. I did take 'before' photos but I'm not sure if I'll have the courage to show them to you but when its finished I just might show you the 'after' shots.

With all this activity going on I haven't had a great deal of time for much else. A little bit of crochet for my CWA branch - this scarflet which is a free pattern on Ravelry by Suzetta Williams. I've made this before and always like the way it turns out. Easy too which is a bonus. For this I used Superfine 100% Merino 8 ply (DK) Wool with a 4.50mm hook.

During the paperwork clean-up I came across two recipes hand written by my late mother and I'd like to share them with you here - also so I can find them again when I want them. They both sound yummy so if you decide to try one please let me know what you think.

Peanut Slice

Ingredients:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup coconut
1.5 cups self-raising flour
4 ozs margarine
small pkt salted peanuts

Method:
Mix together sugar, coconut, flour and peanuts. Stir in melted margarine and mix well. Press into greased slab tin and cook in moderate oven 15-20 minutes.

Walnut Slice
Ingredients:
2 cups self-raising flour
2 cups brown sugar
115 grams butter or margarine
1 egg
1 cup milk
carb soda, spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt

Method:
Rub ingredients together in a bowl, then divide into two portions. Put half into a biscuit tray and flatten down. To the other half, add 1 beaten egg 1 cup milk, 1 teaspoon carb soda, 1 teaspoon spice, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Beat all together and pour over the base. Sprinkle with walnuts and cook for 30 minutes in a moderate oven.

There is one more recipe which is for Peanut Crisps but I'll keep that till my next post.

Before I finish off, the family need to say hello. Oliver spent last weekend with his Mum at Bermagui on the NSW south coast - he loved playing in the sand.

 And the view from the balcony of the unit they rented wasn't too bad either.

Madison and Quincy couldn't stay awake long enough so here's a shot of what they do best ..

Bye for now. xox

FOs and a Bit of a Giggle

One of my new years resolutions probably should have been to blog more often but then you know what happens to resolutions!! Seriously, I've been trying to think of something I should plan to do this year and top of my list of course (again) would have to be to get my craft room into some kind of order. Following hot on the heels of that would have to be to finish some of the UFOs still lurking around the place.  Having said that, I have finished some small items (not UFOs) - a few for charity and maybe a couple for the gift stash.

These are toddler hats (8ply with a 5.00mm hook) and I just love this pattern which you can find here.  Its only double crochet (Aus/UK trebles) but its the placement of the stitches that make it look a bit different. The pattern is in six sizes ranging from 2-3lb preemie to child. I'll be making lots more of these.

Knit4Charities is an Australian group I belong to and we support a couple of different charities each month. One of the charities I chose to support for January is Knitting for Australian Rescue Dogs (NSW) and decided to do a dog blanket. Well, I've named this the Ugly Dog Blanket - not for an ugly dog but I think the two colours, although perfectly lovely by themselves look absolutely yuk together. However, I'm sure the canine recipient won't mind - hope not anyway.

Hmmmm do you see a theme happening above? Must try to find some other colours in my stash !!

Another beanie for charity ...

... and a couple of little 'on the spur of the moment' projects ..

Now for a laugh .... some of my Aussie friends who read this blog will know that my late husband was a very 'proper' kind of a man - rather shy and modest. I was going through some old files the other day and came across a clipping from TV Week in Adelaide where Errol was the manager of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's radio 5AN  at the time. It portrays my man in a slightly different sort of way. The clipping can speak for itself.

That's it for now folks !!

xox