it’s that time of year

It’s just eight weeks from tomorrow!

I know it’s getting close because of what's coming off my sewing machine:

First I made this apron (on behalf of DD) for a “Secret Santa Swap” at Caring Hearts Community Quilters. DD was given the panel (called “A Christmas Gathering”) but there’s no way she has time to sit at the sewing machine with two very active under-threes! I’m sorry some of it is missing but this is as much as WM took! I love this so much I’d like to keep it for myself! So would DD (who was conveniently wearing a red tee-shirt when modelling)!

 Secondly, this book which I started last year and never finished -- a gift for the Grandsons who both love books. Older Grandson will love identifying the animals and Younger Grandson needs cloth books because he still puts everything in his mouth and his teeth damage cardboard books!

 This has nothing to do with Christmas but I am so glad to finally have it finished!

First the inside view with its two generous pockets. My teacher, Kerry, and I designed this bag as we went along.

It had to fit this panel (designed by Kerry, embroidered by me) and will be used to carry my sewing/embroidery supplies.

It may look small the way I’m holding it but in fact it is 38cm (15 inches) wide, 35.5cm (14 inches) tall and 18cm (7 inches) deep.

It is actually a very deep purple colour as shown on the sunlit (right) side of the bag, not the royal blue shown on your left!

Goodbye to the green eco-bag from the local supermarket that used to carry my sewing supplies!

What about you -- are you crafting gifts for Christmas?

one skein challenge revealed

Yesterday at the monthly meeting of our chapter of the Knitters’ Guild of NSW, we had a display of items knitted for the One Skein Challenge – what can be knitted with 100g of yarn or less? Here is a detail of my knitting:
Some of you who are members of Ravelry or who read a lot of knitting blogs may recognise this as the Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark (a free pattern on Ravelry). I deviated from the written pattern by not adding the nupps (a type of small bobble) in the Lily of the Valley pattern (the denser knitting towards the edges of the shawl) and by adding an extra five repeats of the Budding Lace pattern to the body of the shawl.

I knitted it Misti Alpaca – 100% baby alpaca in a hand-painted, lace-weight yarn. It's the first time I've knitted with alpaca and I was a little surprised at its fuzziness. It is very light and very soft. It’s hard to see the colour in my photos but it’s a blend of charcoal and denim-blue. The Misti Alpaca website (from where I copied this photo) says the colorway  is “Ashes”.

When I finished knitting the shawl, I was very disappointed about how small it was but I forgot to allow for the magic of blocking. It is 140cm (4ft 8in) across the top and therefore quite a nice size now!

And I still have 48g of the 100g I started with!

adding to the stash (with purpose)

Life has been really hectic since the conference at the beginning of the month. I have been knitting but not much sewing has been going on.

However, there has been some time to add to the stash – and have others add to it!

At the end-of-winter sale at the Big Box Store I bought six metres of polar fleece. This will be used to make doggie blankets for the local animal shelter.

I won a 45cm x 45cm (18” x 18”) piece of beautiful fabric from Ink and Spindle from Helene’s blog. It is organic cotton/hemp. I have no idea what I will do it – at the moment I just admire it! Thanks, Helene.

Several months ago, Cindy, of Tops to Treasures, made me smile with one of her fabric purchases (from Hancocks). When she finished with the fabric, she kindly offered to send me a small scrap for the “I Spy” quilt I will eventually get around to making for my grandsons. Along with the scrap that made me smile, she also sent these:

Older Grandson will love this monkey fabric and those synchronised swimmers (on the left) bring a big grin to my face!

And here is part of the original “scrap” that made me smile. It is so ridiculous that I just cant help grinning!

Thank you so much Cindy!

On the yarn front, there have also been purchases “with purpose” and a couple just because I could!

Firstly, I needed yarn to knit a blanket for my new great-nephew. I didn't knit in advance because I was hoping the baby would be a girl -- I have a lot of pink cotton in my stash!  But it wasn't to be, so it was off to the store for some "boy" yarn! This is a bamboo/acrylic blend which means it can be machine-washed: a quality most young mothers appreciate!

While in the Big Box Store I found a new range of yarn – “new” in the sense that I have never seen this brand before. They had three varieties – a 100% wool in an 8ply, a silk/merino blend in an 8ply (DK weight) and the one I purchased – a 4ply sock yarn. All of them are very reminiscent of Noro yarns but at about half the price!


I returned to the Big Box Store on Wednesday to see what they had on sale. I wanted to knit a lightweight (summer) cardigan for myself. I need it to go with everything in my wardrobe. I didn’t go with any particular pattern in mind so had to guess how much yarn I would require! I can do that with no problems in 8ply but I think I miscalculated when I bought 20 x 50g balls of this viscose yarn:


Just as well it was on sale! Viscose is a plant fibre, originally wool pulp, but has been treated to be super soft. It also has the most beautiful sheen which is hard to see in the photo. I really wanted the grey but they only had fifteen balls and it was three different dyelots – and yes, there was quite a discrepancy between the shades of grey in the balls.

I could also imagine a beige or stone-coloured cardigan going with everything in my wardrobe so I also bought fifteen balls of this cotton/acrylic blend.

This colour is so wrong – in reality it is a lovely, soft beige colour.

I have had no success with cotton in the past – it always stretches way out of shape on the first wearing so I’m hoping the acrylic will help it maintain its shape but that it also won’t be too hot.

And, I couldn’t resist the last two balls of this yarn on special. I can imagine this 50% wool/50% acrylic blend as the Lady Eleanor Stole (Ravelry link) – a lot brighter than the original!

I’d better get knitting if our great-nephew is to get his blanket and I am to get a new cardigan!

not what you expect in spring

For those who don't know Australia, let me explain: I live in Sydney, the largest city in Australia. It is situated in a temperate climate zone. The metropolitan area of Sydney is large - it is about 60km (37.5 miles) from the outer edge of the western suburbs to the city. The entire metropolitan area is on the coastal plain and affected to a greater or lesser extent by the coastal weather patterns.

It's mid-spring in this part of the world. Last Friday the temperature in some of the western suburbs was a very warm 35*C (95*F).

West of Sydney are the Blue Mountains, which are part of a range of mountains that run down the east coast of mainland Australia. Just 56km west of the edge of metropolitan Sydney, lies the mountain village of Blackheath, elevation 1065 metres (3494 feet).

Here's what the railway station looked like yesterday (thanks to Kelvin at Blackheath for his permission to use these photos).




Surprised? So were all the people who went to bed in springtime and woke up in mid-winter!

busy but not with stitching

Just dropping in to let you know I'm still here. The rest of this post describes my week since last Tuesday and there's no stitching to be seen here -- you have been warned! :-)

Thank you for all your good wishes and prayers for Lorna as she recovers from the accident in which she broke her shoulder and as she adjusts to life without her husband of more than sixty years. Thanks, too, for your lovely comments about WM's orchids - he appreciated them all.

Life has been extraordinarily full since my last post which was published while I was still at the church conference which went from Friday night until lunch time Tuesday. For those who are interested in such things, it was a very powerful conference and this "stray" has returned to her Father, body, soul and spirit! I'm happy to share more by email -- just ask!

On Wednesday, another member of the Knitters' Guild of NSW and I travelled halfway across Sydney to teach 16 primary-school-aged children to knit (with the help of one of the librarians). No photos were taken; as you can imagine it was full on!

The Caring Hearts Community Quilters met on Thursday morning but I decided not to go - I needed some space to sort through things I had learnt and other issues arising from the conference. DD and the grandsons arrived on Thursday afternoon and stayed for dinner.

On Friday, WM and I went to the Opera House to hear the Sydney Symphony Orchestra; the highlight of the concert was Ravel's Bolero -- excellent! We stayed overnight in the city and after a buffet breakfast headed west in the rain.

This time I was at the Upper Blue Mountains group of the Knitters' Guild, teaching a lovely group of ladies the rudiments of lace knitting. I was more than ably assisted by the same Guild member and I couldn't have done it without her -- thanks so much D. No photos were taken that I'm aware of - we were much too busy!

This week has proceeded more normally with church on Sunday, sewing class on Monday and a massage yesterday. Today I plan to do three loads of washing and some shopping before my monthly embroidery class this afternoon.

I'll be back before the end of the week with stitching-related content, I hope!

So, as Porky Pig says on Looney Tunes, "that's all folks!"

he grows orchids too

Down in the back corner of our garden, in an area where I rarely go (especially in winter when there is no need to go near the swimming pool), there is a small shade house.

WM took me down there last weekend. This is what’s inside.



All of these orchids were given to WM by an elderly friend of the family who is a wonderful gardener. He has looked after them well and been rewarded with these gorgeous blooms.

A couple of weeks ago, the same friend gave him this little miniature in bloom.

Aren't they beautiful?

This post is dedicated to the orchid-growing friend whose 86-year-old husband will be buried today. She has been given a "pass" (from hospital) to attend the funeral after falling down an embankment at home the other day -- a fall which resulted in a broken shoulder and several stitches to re-attach her scalp!
We love you Lorna.
Rest in peace, George.