O.K... I know that I've been a bit slack with the posts over the last couple of days, but a lot of things have been going on in my little world. For starters my DH and I have just purchased a new property, we officially received the keys on Thursday morning so we've been flat out organising things there. Then I started setting up an online store with my sister-in-law Stephi (I'll let you know more about it later) and in between all of that I've still been working full time, trying to keep an organised house, and also fit in a bit of knitting time. Are you exhausted yet??

Here are the mittens I finished for my little princess. I also promised everyone the pattern so here it is...

cast 28sts onto size 3.0mm dpn's.
k2, p2 until work measures 1.5" (this is the rib).
next row inc by 4 sts evenly around(32sts)
Knit until work measures 3.5" (including rib).
K6, K2together (4 times).
Knit until work measures 4.5" (including rib).
K5, K2together (4 times).
Next row Knit.
K4, K2together (4 times).
Next row Knit.
K3, K2together (4 times).
K2, K2together (4 times).
K1, K2together (4 times).
K2together (4 times).
Cut a tail about 5" long and thread through remaining stitches twice, pull tight. Sew in ends using a darning needle. These mittens will fit child 6-12mths.

I started my first pair of socks last night. I just couldn't get the join in the round right and I kept dropping stitches, after 4 attempts at casting on here is what I've done so far.
I'm using the pattern off the link that mandie gave me, so far so good.

Can everyone remember the little jiffy pots that I made about 3 weeks ago out of news paper? Well, my snow peas are growing great guns. They're about 5" tall now and nearly ready to be planted out. I love watching the stages of a plants growth, it's so amazing!!!


Today's 'Get Happy Now' Tip #21 - Work late no more than once a week.

Dog Days of Summer

I've joined a new swap group!!! It's called the 'Dog Days of Summer' Dishcloth Swap. What happens is you get allocated a partner, you make contact with them by the 6th of July by email or posting on their blog. You complete the questionnaire posted on the Swap site, and post it on your blog so that your buddy can find out a bit about you. You have til the 15th of August to send out a parcel to them. Your parcel is to contain:

A knitted or crocheted dishcloth
A pattern for a dishcloth
Some sort of yummy specialty soap
A skein of cotton yarn for your pal to make cloths with
Any other edible or good smelling goodies you wish to include
Total value should be no less than $15, not including shipping.

Registration is open til the 30th of June, so there's still a couple of days left for those of you who are keen to join. The details of how to register can be found on the site.

Here is my questionnaire, happy reading....

Do you knit, or crochet, or do both? Both

How long have you been knitting\crocheting? About 12 months.

Have you knit dishcloths or dishtowels before? No.

What are your favorite cotton yarns? Any as I have never used it before.

Is there a cotton or linen your've been dying to try but have not? No.

Are there any cotton yarns you don’t enjoy knitting with? No.

What type of needle do you prefer using? Metal

What other projects do you enjoy knitting or crocheting? Beanies, Finger Puppets, Gloves.

Do you have other hobbies or enjoy other kinds of crafting? I love sewing, gardening and cooking, and spending time with my family.

What kind of treats do you like? Chocolate? Candies? Nuts? Definitely CHOCOLATE!!

What colors are your kitchen and bath decorated in, if any? My kitchen has black marble bench tops with white cupboards and deep cream walls. My bathroom is ivory and maroon.

What are your favorite colors and what colors do you dislike? Browns, Blues, Greens, Reds. Any colour is fine if it's used properly.

Do you drink coffee? Tea? Other beverages? Coffee of coarse.

Do you have any kids (human or pet variety!)? 1 baby girl aged 9.5months and a whole lot of pets, 14 to be exact.

Do you have any allergies? No

Please share 3 tidbits about yourself that you think your pal and other swappers might find odd or interesting. O.K where do I start... Well I turned straight to my husband for some advice and here is what we've come up with. I guess that the first thing could be that I love animals, the second that I'm very old fashioned and love all things old school and the third would be that I'm extremely motivated and I love having other motivated people around me like my husband.

I Finally Get It!!

I recieved a great CD off Mandie today in the post. Once again Mandie a big thankyou goes out your way. The info on the CD was so inspiring that I couldn't wait to get stuck back into my spinning. So when 5:oopm came I hurried home from work... I've been a bit scared off spinning since my first attemp last week, it didn't go as I had planned it to and I just had a big tangled mess at the end of a couple of hours work. I've been doing little bits of spinning, here and there, over the last week trying to figure out some kind of technique but today after I looked through the CD that Mandie sent me it all just came together.....
Well look at me now. I'm finally getting the hang of it!!! I can't stop for long, I'm just itching to get back to my spinning wheel...

Today's 'Get Happy Tip' #20 - If you are faced with a problem, embrace it.

Picture Problems

There isn't much to report today on the craft front. I've been really busy with office work and haven't had a chance to do much over the last 2 days.

Tonight I made Meat Lovers Pizza for my hubby. He just loves homemade pizza!!! I must admit, I'm quite partial to it myself. I make the base out of a scone dow. It's one of my mums old recipes, here it is...

2cups S/R flour, 30g of butter and 250ml milk. You rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs, then make a well in the middle and pour in the milk. Cut the milk into the flour with a knife. When it resembles a soft dough turn it out onto a floured surface and knead the mixture until smooth (approx 1min). Roll or shape into desired pizza base size, add topping and bake in the oven for 30min at 200'C.

When I got home from work today I was greeted, as I am every afternoon, by my gorgeous Dorper Ewes.It makes me realise how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful part to the country. I have an endless amount untouched bushland right at my back door and I just love it! My dad was lucky enough to purchase some 32,000acres of this bushland (a farm called Pattison) which has 12km river frontage. The family went over to Pattison for a drive on Sunday to do a bit of yabbing and fishing. Here's a pic of the river.I was wondering if anyone out there in blogger world would be able to help me with a little problem that I'm having with the photo upload for my profile. My problem is that I just can't do it!!! Any help with this problem would be greatly appreciated.

Today's 'Get Happy Tip' #19 - Get Dirty! Go camping, do some gardening, just get outside and ground yourself. The experience will bring marvelous perspective.

There's No Place Like Home

Yipee!! I'm home.
I love traveling, and I especially love visiting my mum, but there is really no place like home, especially when you have a young child that likes the smells and surrounds of their own home.
My new car is GREAT!!!!Here's the picture that I promised.While we were driving I managed to finish the red gloves that I started for my little princess this week. Here they are in action....
I also got a chance to start another pair in a dusty pink coloured wool. Isn't it funny how different the same pattern knits up when you use a different brand of wool but same ply? The pink wool has knitted up about 1cm bigger all over then the red wool did. Hopefully I'll finish the other pink mitten tomorrow then I'll post a copy of my pattern for anyone that might be interested.

I'd like to send a big thankyou out there to Mandie from http://www.ewegivemetheknits.com/ for the wonderful link that she gave me to a sock tutorial and pattern. Mandie it was/is just fantastic, so easy to understand that I'm just itching to get started. I'm hoping to make a start tomorrow after I finish my mittens. Here's the link http://www.cometosilver.com/socks/SockClass_intro.htm. This is for all of those other knitters out there, just like me, who find the thought of knitting socks a little bit daunting. This site is the greatest and will help all of you to overcome those fears, trust me....

Today's 'Get Happy Tip' #18 - Seek pleasure from what you have. Once you do that, dealing with your difficulties gets easier.

On The Road Again

I know that I've only just got back from a road trip, but while we were away my husband and I ended up purchasing a new car. Seen as though the car that we're purchasing is literally brand new we had to wait a week for it to be ready. So a week has pasted and we are heading back down to the Riverina to pick up our new car, it's a..... TOYOTA LANDCRUISER!!! How Lucky am I? We're leaving tomorrow morning, staying at Granny's house tomorrow night and heading home first thing Saturday morning. I'll post a photo of the car when I get back.

Look at this amazing wool that I purchased from http://www.thewoolshack.com/ last week. I just love it! I promised a ball of the Jawoll sock yarn to my sister at http://luvabby2.blogspot.com/ but sorry Ab I need them both. I'll buy you another ball in my next order.I'm going to make my first pair of socks with this wool, yes I know that I said that I wasn't going to make socks with it when I ordered it but I just can't resist. The colour is called Cookies 'n' Cream, now isn't that just enough to make your mouth water?
I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the caramel coloured Jo Sharp wool as of yet, but I'm sure that I'll find something. The little pink tin to the left is a lip conditioner and as promised one of these will be in the post to my sister Abby tomorrow. Now I have a question for all of you experienced knitters out there... What is this?
There was one in the middle of each of the Jawoll sock yarn balls and I've never come across it before. I thought that maybe it had something to do with knitting socks. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I'm on the hunt for an easy sock pattern for first time sock knitters. If there is anyone out there that knows of one please feel free to leave me a comment with the details...

Today's 'Get Happy Tip" #17 - Take time out to plan, shop for and prepare a fabulous meal.

A Big Thankyou

Thankyou to everyone out there who offered me advice with my spinning. An especially big thankyou goes out there to my mum for spending most of her afternoon today researching different techniques of spinning for me.

I was a bit under the weather today so I decided that it would be a good idea if I stayed home. My plan was to relax and spend some quiet time with my daughter, kind of. First up my little princess wasn't well either so she slept from 10am to 2pm, that gave me 4hrs to myself. What was I to do? I decided to utilise this time and headed to my sewing room. I construct the top of my Doll Quilt, it didn't take as long as I thought it would. Here it is

I'm still yet to add the border. I just love log cabin and it's so much easier then it looks. All you do is start off with a square what ever size you want, mine is 2'x2', and just keep sewing strips down the sides, round and round, measuring and cuting as you go.

After I'd finished that I retired to the lounge and hooked into some more knitting while I waited for my little darling to wake up. My first mitten following the pattern that I posted last week was horrible. The pattern just feels all wrong!!! Maybe it's the knitter not the pattern. I ended up pulling it undone and starting from scratch, making up a pattern as I went. This is what both mittens look like, the first one being the one that I have unwound....


Anyway, I'm itching to get stuck back into my spinning now that I'm feeling much better, so I'll sign off for tonight and catch you all tomorrow.

Today's 'Get Happy Now' Tip #16 - Recognise that bad hair days have the potential to bring down the best of us. Find and keep a good hair dresser.

Spinning Out Of Control

Can Someone Please Help!!!!!
I bought a spinning wheel from a clearing sale about 3 months ago and decided to give spinning a go. I received my first lot of fibre for spinning yesterday. I bought it from here, http://www.ewegivemetheknits.com/store/Default.asp. Thankyou very much Mandie (she owns the shop), the fibre is just divine! Three days after I had placed my order it was in my post box, now that's efficient. So I have my fleece, I've researched spinning on the web, it's time to start. Last night I set up my wheel and was ready to go. Boy it's a lot harder then I thought, God only knows if I am doing it right!!! I followed a tutorial off http://www.spindleandwheel.com, this is what I have come up with so far...

If there are any spinners out there reading this post can you please tell me if what I'm doing is right??? It feels like I have too many twists in my fibre. I'm not sure if I'm spinning too much of the fibre at one time??? Somebody please help me.....

On a happier note... I have finally started the pair of mittens for my little princess in that red wool that I had in my stash, I posted the pattern last week. The wool that I'm using is such a pleasure to knit with, I wish I had more then just 100g of it.

Today's 'Get Happy Now' Tip #15 - Learn something new. Whether it's a new hobby (spinning) or a new dance. Just find a new interest & go for it!!!

Still Knitting...

I'm back!!! I had a great weekend away with the family. Saturday was the first time that my husband and I have left our daughter alone with anyone for a whole day. It was a refreshing break. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore my little princess and so does my Hubby, but it was just really great to spend a bit of time together, alone, as adults.

We clocked up 1400km of driving on our trip and as a result I have knitted another 2 pairs of gloves. I used the same pattern for both but they have turned out so completely different. One pair were knitted on 3.0mm needles using 8ply 100% merino wool and the other were knitted on 5.5mm needles using 12ply 50% mohair/50% acrylic wool.

I just love fingerless gloves! They keep my hands warm but don't limit the feeling in my fingers when I'm stitching, knitting or writing. The pattern is really easy. All you have to do is...

(free pattern)
cast on 44st if using 8ply wool and 3.00mm needles or 25st if using 12ply wool and 5.5mm needle. Work in garter stitch (Knit each row) until work measures desired length, my gloves measure 16cm long. Cast off very loosely. Sew up side seam. Leave an opening for thumb of about 3cm approx 4.5cm from top. On the grey glove I have added a crochet edge to jazz it up a bit.

I bought some more wool while I was away, not that I need it. I might make some little socks for my daughter out of the white and yellow mohair, the purply/blue is what I made a pair of gloves out of, and as for the green I think that would be great for some socks for my hubby... All of this knitting will have to sit on the back burner for the minute, I'm really dying to get stuck into my Doll Quilt. I've chosen all of the fabric that I'll be using and started to cut it out, I should hopefully have it finished by next week, then I can post it off!!!

On another note... I've found a great blog that everyone should go check out... It's http://purlbee.com/. Her latest post gives you a free pattern for this groovy little frog. It measures 7.5 inches long, is made out of light weight cotton and stuffed with lentils. I'm definitely going to have to make one for my little princess for her b'day in September.

Just A Little Break....

This is just a quick post to let everyone know that I'm having a weekend away. My husband and I decided a couple of weeks ago to take a little weekend break so we have packed up the car and headed down to Granny's (my mum) house for 3 days.

I just love going to Granny's house!!! She always has so many goodies for us when we get there. Just check out these gorgeous little cardigans that she made for my little princess.

(I'm sorry but I've lost this picture on my blogger and I don't know how to get them back)

These are just the tip of the iceberg.... You should see all of the other goodies that she has made us!!! I'll post some more pictures when I get home on Monday.

Anyway... That about wraps it up for the rest of the week. I'll catch up with you all on Monday.

Today's 'Get Happy Now' Tip #14 - Grab a good cup of coffee and go call your Mum...

Eager to Start...

O.K. I know! No more beanie's, I promise!!! (Well no more beanies in this pattern anyway.)
I finished this one during my lunch break today, isn't it just gorgeous! I think the crochet flower really sets it off... I just played around for a while and here's what I came up with...

Crochet Flower Pattern:
Using 4.00m hook & 8ply wool, make a length of chain 20cm long (making an even # of chain).
1st Row - Miss 1ch, 1dc in each chain to end.
2nd Row - 1ch, 1dc in 1st dc (3ch, miss 1dc, 1dc in next dc) 3 times, * 5ch, miss 1dc, 1dc in next dc, rep from * to end. Fasten off.
To make up, roll work beginning with small loops in centre, stitch through all layers at base as you roll. Use loose ends to sew to beanie or any other garment you like....

I'm so excited!!! I received the details of the person that I'll be sending my Doll Quilt to today. She lives in America, but I can't reveal where, it's supposed to be a surprise... I have already decided what design I'm going to do, I'm thinking along the lines of rustic log cabin with a touch of embroidery on the border. All I have to do now is pick out the fabric. Mustardy browns and either blues or greens??? I'm not quite sure. I have until the 12th of July to get it into the post that's just under 4 weeks. I can't wait!!! I think I might have to get started tomorrow!!!!
I posted the link to the Doll Quilt Swap sight a while back but here it is again for those of you who missed it...
http://dollquiltswap.wordpress.com/
Enrollments for this round are unfortunately closed, but the site has heaps of pics of Doll Quilts from previous swaps. It's really worth a look!!!

Now for my next knitting project I really have to do something with that red and cream wool... I know that I said no more beanies, so I'm thinking maybe these little mittens/gloves would look good in red (red will hide the dirt a bit better then cream) for my little princess...
http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/visoppskrift.php?d_nr=b14&d_id=17&lang=en
I hope that everyone has had a wonderful Wednesday, here is....

Today's 'Get Happy Now' Tip #13 - Go Shopping, It really does work!!

Beanie Fever...

Yes... I have made yet another BEANIE!!! I just can't stop, I'm hooked. Yesterday morning I finished a cute little brown beanie with what is supposed to be a butterfly motif on the front.

I've also started another beanie in the same pattern (the pattern that I posted last week from Sara With an H's Blog), I really need a new pattern!!! My sister made my daughter 2 adorable beanie's the other day (pic to the left of page), isn't she just so clever!! She said that she had me a copy of the book that she got the patterns from for me, so I can't wait to get stuck into that!

While I was surfing around the net today I came across the most unbelievable online wool/knitting shop ever!!! It is called The Wool Shack and you can find it here....

http://www.thewoolshack.com

I bought a heap of stuff including some divine sock yarn (not that I will be making socks out of it) by Jawoll in a delicious colour called cookies and cream.... Heavenly!!!

Today's 'Get Happy Now' Tip #12 - Step Outside. Try to get 10 to 15 mins of sunlight a day. It stimulates a hormone known to prevent seasonal blues.

Beanie #2

I finished the second beanie that I was making for my little princess yesterday morning. Now that I have changed the pattern I am much happier with the end result!!

On my way home from work yesterday afternoon I ran in to this lady that I know. She is a very kind hearted women who is always thinking of everyone else! Here's a classic example... She gave me a gift for my daughter yesterday, just because 'she was thinking of us'. Now isn't that just the sweetest thing? Here's a picture of what she gave me....

On another note... I'm now searching for a pattern to make something with this wool from my stash! I was thinking of a red and cream striped beanie, or a cream beanie with a red crochet flower sewn on to the side... What do you think? I'm open to suggestions!

Today's 'Get Happy Now' Tip #11 - Buy a pair of comfy (even outrageously fluffy) slippers. Tired feet get overlooked and respond well to nurturing.

Good Home Cookin'.....

Yum, Yum, Yum! Last night I made chicken, ham and mushroom pies. They were so simple yet so delicious! Here's how I made them.....

300g chicken thighs diced

200g ham diced

1/2 cup of cup mushrooms diced

1 onion

1 clove garlic crushed

1/4 cup of cream

1/2 cup of grated cheese (any is fine)

1 teaspoon chicken salt

1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

puff pastry

Saute onions and garlic, add ham. Cook for 5 mins or until ham is slightly browned. Add chicken, cook for approx 10mins. Add cream, cheese, chicken salt, parsley, salt and pepper. Cook for a further 10mins. Cut pastry and mould it to pie tins, spoon approx 1/3 cup of mixture into each pie tin, place another piece of pastry on top and press down edges to seal, brush top of pie with an egg wash. Bake in the oven at 200'C for 20 mins or until pies are golden.

Then to top it off... for dessert I made some little mini lemingtons. I made these yesterday afternoon after work. This morning I dropped some off to my hubby and his work mates for morning tea, they thought that all of their Xmas's' had come at once.

Today's 'Get Happy Now' Tip #10 - Lay the groundwork for some future fun. Order a book you’ve been wanting to read, or plan a weekend away, whatever sounds like fun. Try to involve friends or family, as well. People enjoy almost all activities more when they’re with other people than when they’re alone.

Bliss...by luv abby

I finished the beanie that I was knitting for my little princess last night. It hasn't quite turned out how I had hoped it would, but that's O.K. I'll just make another one and modify the pattern a bit. Here are some pic's.....

I just thought that I would let everyone out there know that my extremely talented sister has also started up her own Blog. It's great and really worth a look!!! It's called Bliss...by luv abby, you can find it here http://luvabby2.blogspot.com

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone, well what's left of it anyway!!!

Today's 'Get Happy Now' Tip #9 - Associate with happy people, and try to learn from them to be happy. Remember that happiness is contagious!

Doll Quilt Swap

I stumbled across this cute little site today, and I'm glad that I did!!! It's called Doll Quilt Swap, and it's GREAT... What you do is make a mini (doll) quilt using the instructions that they give you on their site and send it off. You in turn will receive a mini quilt back. You can be an experienced quilter or a beginner, it doesn't matter, the team at Doll Quilt Swap will help you out with any problems that you might have.

Sign up is from the 3rd of June to the 17th June. The deadline to send out your completed Doll Quilt is 18th July. If your interested in joining the 'ring' the instructions for signing up can be found here http://dollquiltswap.wordpress.com/.

On another note.... The weather here has been fantastic! Yesterday afternoon, after work, I planted some pansies in my garden. You can't quite see them in this photo, but they're the little green spec in the middle of the straw. I can't wait for them to come out in flower. There is nothing better then fresh home grown flowers....

Today's 'Get Happy Now' Tip #8 - Don't envy people who are happy. On the contrary, be happy for their happiness.

My Next Project

My bag is finished!!!

It has turned out great. All I have to do to it now is hand quilt it and it is officially finished!!!

I ended up using 2.5' squares. 49 for the back and 33 for the front. The stitchery is worked on a 8.5' square. The handles are 3' x 18', they were sewn folded in half right sides facing then turned inside out. Too easy. if anyone wants the full pattern just post a comment and I'll email it to you!!

My hubby and I also got my garden shed finished on Sunday. I'm so happy with it.... I bought it from our local hardware store about 2 months ago for $509 (what a bargin). It came in kit form, in a 2.0m x 0.5m, ready to assemble. The finished shed size is 3m x 2.8m and it's 2m high at its highest point. It has been my yard buy of the year.
Seen as though it is getting pretty cold in my neck of the woods I have decided that my next project will be a flapper hat (beanie) for my little 9mth old girl. I found the pattern on Sarah With an H's site http://sarawithanh.typepad.com/sarawithanh, I love this site. Here is the link to the pattern http://sarawithanh.typepad.com/flapperhat_final.pdf. It's worth a look!!!

Today's 'Get Happy Now' Tip #7 - Always look at what you have done and not at what you haven't.

House Day....

Because I work full time, Monday to Friday 9:ooam-ish to 4:30pm,Saturday is my so called 'house day'. It's the one day of the week that I get to catch up on all of those mundane tasks like cleaning, washing etc... I also do my weekly shopping and then at the end of the day try to spend some time in my sewing room, just me and my sewing machine, sometimes my little princess joins me. In my sewing room this afternoon I got to start and finish the front panel for my pinkwork bag.I'm helping my husband put up my garden shed tomorrow morning so hopefully I will get my bag finished tomorrow afternoon.

Today's 'Get Happy Now' Tip #6 - Learn how to say NO! Practice it when you're by yourself until your good at saying it to others.

That Added Touch...

Yeah!! Thank goodness it's Friday... I might get to have a little bit of a lay in tomorrow morning seen as though I don't have to venture off too work. I shouldn't complain, I have one of the best jobs in the world, and I have the added bonus of getting to take my little princess with me, how lucky am I?
I have finished my redwork (pinkwork) and have decided to sew it up into a bag. I fliped through my collection of Country Threads magazines and have found the perfect pattern... I won't make my bag as big as this one, I'll do 2' squares instead of 3.5' ones.
Todays 'Get Happy Now' Tip #5 - Ring an old freiend, you'll wonder why it has been so long...