For Lucy

Had lunch this week with my very dear friend Lucy who gave me a few clues regarding lighting and camera settings for digital photographs. In my last post I showed you a picture of the Imagination baby jacket which turned out a little on the dark side. Lucy, the white paper trick didn't work but the camera light setting seemed to help .. well it's a little bit better than the original. What I have to remember now is not to cast my own shadow on the subject! Anyway, this is how it turned out ......



Temptation has struck, courtesy of the mailman who today brought the latest Bendigo Woolen Mills colour chart. Oh my what gorgeous yarns !



Its not that I NEED any more yarn but they are so very hard to resist. Interesting too that some of their Classic range now also comes in a 10ply which will make things much easier if us Aussies want to use American patterns - so many of which are available for free on the net. Now, let's see -- that Holly looks nice, as does the Seaquest, Poseidon, Silver Twist .. oh decisions, decisions.

Stash Bustin'

I watched a video on YouTube on Saturday and was motivated to give this little jacket a try. For this one I used Moda Vera machinewash 8ply crepe with a 4.50mm hook, however I think I'm going to tweak the idea a bit and use 4ply next time.



The colour doesn't look quite right in the picture - don't know if its the dark background or the lighting in this room but the jacket is white.

You know when you see something that you really must have but don't know where to find it ? That's what happened to me when I read this post on Clara's blog and saw these nifty wool needles. Hope you don't mind me pinching your picture Clara.



If any of my fellow Aussies have seen these in any of our shops, can you please let me know where I can buy some. I mentioned them to a lady in my local yarn store today and she said she has some similar so I guess they must be around somewhere. Wouldn't they be great for threading ribbon or elastic ?

Nice Surprise

I found out this afternoon that a little purse I entered in our CWA branch competition went on to the group competition this week and was selected to go on to the State Conference at Nowra in May. Of the items I put in, I was expecting my Queen Anne's Lace scarf to have done the best so the outcome was quite a surprise. Here's the purse which is done in 4ply cotton with a 2.25mm hook.



I don't expect to do well at State level but feel honoured to have got this far.

The lovely knee rug that Robynne made is also off to the State competition. You'll recall I showed you a picture of it a few posts back. I have my fingers crossed that she'll do really well as its just gorgeous.

Spotlight Knitting Party

After all the dreadful news coming out of Japan regarding the horrific devastation, loss of life, potential nuclear disaster and now a volcano eruption, its hard to be cheerful but I want to share with you something that has really brightened my day.

On Saturday I attended the Spotlight Knitting Party at their Queanbeyan store. It was a very pleasant day with a mix of people and activities. A few of us were knitting skull caps which will be sent to the Australian troops in Afghanistan (to wear under their helmets), then there were two young girls - one learning to knit and the other making pom pom monsters and doing loom knitting. During the afternoon a few ladies arrived - one wanting to learn how to crochet and another just needing some help with starting off a granny square. There was also a 'guess how many balls in the basket' competition and I received a phone call yesterday telling me I had won !! Here's my lovely prize ..




and this is what was inside ..



Would you like a closer look ?






... a total of 30 balls of Moda Vera yarn - Cinderella (4), Noemi (1), Marvel 8ply (7), Flurry (10) and Pure Wool 8ply in all the same dye lot (8).

Madison was very excited and most interested in what was on the table. You'll have to excuse her bad manners but the girl just couldn't help herself.



and do you know what ? Being quite camera shy, one is all we're gonna get !!!!!

Look and Link

I have to show you this pic of the most gorgeous blanket a member (Robynne) entered in our CWA craft competition yesterday.



The colours in the picture are a bit brighter than the autumn shades in the blanket. This is done in pure wool and if you have a look at the close-up, you'll appreciate all the work that has gone into this exquisite item.



I hope it does well at our Group level goes on to the State Conference to be held at Nowra this coming May.

A few people have asked where I got the pattern for the poncho-sweater in my last post. I'm not sure this is the exact same pattern but here's the link for one that is very similar.

Happy crocheting

Got it !!

Here's the pic of that poncho sweater I told you about in my last post. For the life of me I couldn't get it to not rotate when it uploaded yesterday so I took drastic steps and got rid of a few programmes on my computer that were probably in conflict with each other and will just stick with Windows Live Photo Gallery.

My oven has been 'on the blink' for a few weeks but I'm happy to say that its now fixed. Yaaaaay !! I've had such trouble with this oven which is a top of the range European model (better not say the brand) .. anyway, a technician from the head office in Sydney came down today and spent a good hour and a half rewiring, putting a new type of fan in plus other stuff - all at no cost to me. I was so excited that I felt the urge to bake something ..



... apple and cinnamon muffins - yum - and since the oven was on, I decided a casserole might be a good idea for dinner.

By the way, have you ever wondered why people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

A most beautiful time of the year

Its hard to believe that summer is over - we've had such funny weather lately but now its time to look forward to the beautiful colours of autumn that our city enjoys each year. Its also time to start thinking about getting the winter woolies ready for when the cold hits.

I had an email from a friend yesterday asking for suggestions for some yarn someone had given to her. I've never heard of this particular French yarn - the tag says "Dubucher" and "Bois Joli" from "Tourcoing France" but my friend can't find a picture anywhere on the web to show me. Anyway she says it's a cottony-look yarn of boucle type in pinks/whites and reds and my friend instantly thought Scarf and hat set for mothers' day for the refuge she supports. We figured its between a 5 and 8ply so I suggested a V-stitch neckwarmer and made up this little one to show her ... (have to get two buttons to go where those pink needles are)



I'm now about to try out a hat pattern to go with this neck-warmer .. found it on the net and its called Damian Beanie, (made by Meg Dec 2007). I think the V stitch is very suitable for boucle type yarns as you don't have to actually work into the stitches - just into the spaces.

Also finished off another two projects .. such a lovely feeling isn't it?



I can't post a pic of the baby's poncho sweater which is the second of my FOs ... no matter what I try, the picture uploads rotated and I don't want you all getting a sore neck trying to see it. Another challenge to try to overcome tomorrow.