Confab Day 2

Just a wonderful, fantastic day and this is how I feel ..



so ... I'm sorry but you'll have to wait for all the news and pics.

G'nite !!!!

Confab Day 1

After waiting such a long time for this day, I have to say it was so lovely to meet 28 fellow Knit4Charities members plus Pam and Kerry. Today we met at 4pm for registration, a get to know you session and a casual meal. Kerry and her wonderful helpers did a magnificent job of putting together our confab bags which contained such an array of absolutely fantastic goodies. There was much fun, laughter and chatter as we 'met' each other in the flesh at long last. For members who were unable to attend this year, I took a few photos to share with you. The first pic is our Confab bags and the KAL bag - no idea what we'll be making but our homework tonight is the first 40 rows. The second pic shows one of the six tables of excited members checking out the contents.




Kerry then gave us a rundown of what to expect tomorrow and announced the venue for next year's confab to be held at Wallaby Rise which is nestled among 107 acres of natural bushland and opposite beautiful Lake Glenmaggie, 30 minutes drive from Traralgon in the Gippsland area of Victoria.



I'm sorry if the quality of these pictures isn't too good but I left a few items at home and am working with what I have at hand.

Some of you will know Jane from Papillongold who designed a lovely square which is now known as the Rejoicing Square - here's a pic of Jane giving Kerry a rug she has made with these squares for one of our charities.



And here's a close-up ..



Di Jones brought her beautiful cathedral window afghan to show us .. isn't this gorgeous



Now I must get on with my homework (40 rows) and try to get some sleep as we have a 7.45am start tomorrow !! Last night in the motel carpark, a car alarm went off at 3am and woke EVERYBODY - I do hope that doesn't happen again tonight.

One day to Confab

Well, the time has come at last and I've arrived in Woolgoolga on the north coast of New South Wales for our Knit4Charities confab which officially starts tomorrow, although a few of us early arrivers will be getting together for dinner (and bingo) tonight at the club across the road from the motel where I'm staying for the next three nights.



I know there are a few fellow K4C members who read my blog so I'll try to keep you up to date on the activities during the next few days.

Weather-wise its rather dull but in spite of the weather, I'm sure things will brighten up while we're all here and Woolgoolga will never be the same !!!

Granny Mandala

Oh did I have fun making this ! The old fashioned granny stitch has always been one of my favourites and as I said in my last post, I've been wanting to make one of these mandalas for ages. While I was making it I was wondering about the meaning of mandala and thanks to google, found out that in describing both material and non-material realities, the mandala appears in all aspects of life: the celestial circles we call earth, sun, and moon, as well as conceptual circles of friends, family, and community. So, when I look at my mandala it will be a reminder of all the wonderful cyber friends I have made over the years.





Actually, I'm not too sure about the edging and might end up taking it out and doing something else. Can you see how it tends to curl a little ? My blocking board is too small so I tried steaming it with the iron but it still won't sit completely flat. Any suggestions will be very welcome.

Time flies - 19 days to Confab

Yes, its now only 19 days to the Knit4Charities Confab (conference) at Woolgoolga on the beautiful north coast of New South Wales. I can remember when we first started talking about this - doesn't seem like 18 months ago !! I've been busy preparing the handouts and making samples for the crochet class I'll be teaching, so haven't had much time to make any of my charity projects ---- with the exception of this little baby's hat ..



For this hat I used Patons Dreamtime 8ply and it took just under a 50g ball. Love working with wool !!!

I've notice lots of people I visit are having 'blogiversaries' so I'd like to congratulate them and say how much I enjoy visiting their blogs. I get such inspiration from seeing what everyone is making and really have a strong urge to make a granny mandala like Alice's on CrochetwithRaymond. Hmmm maybe I might just go and fiddle around in my stash to see if I have some suitable colours and start one today.

Those flowers I got for Mothers Day last Sunday are still looking good -



Now, let's see ...... purple, mauve, pink, bright pink, red even, blue, peacock, green, lime (yes lime), orange maybe .... omg mandala madness !!!!

Garter Stitch and Gifts

I have two lovely new pattern books to show you today - one is a sort of stitch guide with each stitch (or pattern) made with just garter stitch (not one purl stitch). I think this will open up lots of possibilities and I'm looking forward to trying out some of these interesting stitches.



The other book is from Leisure Arts and is "Dressing Up Baby". It includes five crochet sets, each outfit includes a blanket, jacket, hat and booties. The yarn used is a medium weight with a 5.00mm hook so our Australian 8ply should work ok for these patterns.



Yesterday I told you about the beautiful shawl I received from Anne F in the Australiacrochet group's Mothers Day exchange, and said I'd take a pic to show you today. Anne's work is lovely and I will treasure this generous gift.



My family also gave me some wonderful gifts - this Lazypatch suit from my youngest DD and her husband, is like wearing a duvet (doona) but they say it softens after a little while and then feels like you're just wearing a t-shirt. I feel the cold badly so my daughter figured this would be the ideal gift for me.



And these beautiful flowers (plus a box of Darrel Lea Hard Centre chocolates) were from my other daughter and her partner who also took me out for lunch yesterday.



So, there we are ....... sorry today's post has been a bit picture heavy and I hope I haven't bored you all to tears. Thanks for visiting.

Happy Mothers Day

Hope all the mums have had a lovely Mother's Day. I've had a wonderful time with my family and am now going to grab the needles and yarn and spend a relaxing evening doing a bit of knitting.

This week has been a bit exhausting but fun. I went to Sydney on Monday to see Simon Gallagher and Julie Anthyony in a concert at the Sydney Town Hall which was fantastic. They certainly compliment each others style.



Spent the rest of my time in Sydney shopping and recovering in the hotel room which was right in the middle of the city and so convenient to everything. I had a lovely big corner room and this was the view from one of my windows ..


That's Park Street with part of Hyde Park in the background.

I participated in a Mother's Day exchange on Australiacrochet and received an awesome gift from my partner. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow after I've had a chance to take a photo.