Still Hot.....

While the needles were still hot I cast another singlet on for Little Millie.... This one is done in plain rib and is a tad bit narrower than the yellow one from a couple of posts back... It fits nice and snug and would be just perfect under clothing in the cooler months.... Hang on, it looks pretty darn cute on it's own with some bloomers too so I guess you could say it's an 'all seasons singlet'.... *^_^* Thanks for all of the lovely comments on the lacy singlet, I'm almost finished the PDF pattern and will post it as soon as I am... I was thinking of doing this ribbed one up as a PDF also, what do you think???

Here's hoping you're having a lovely start to your week...

Take Care :)

Swap Sign-Up....

SIGN-UP'S ARE NOW CLOSED.....

For those of you who might be interested, it's sign-up time for Round 2 of my little Washcloth Swap.... With Spring fast approaching, I thought that a washcloth/seed swap would be a fun idea this time 'round....

So for this swap you'll have 4 weeks (same as last time) to create a washcloth for a 'secret' partner..... You can either knit, crochet or sew your washcloth, the choice is yours..... We had a variety of all 3 crafts in the last swap which made for some great looking cloths...

For the seed part of the swap, you will gift to your partner some seeds for their up and coming Spring garden, 1 packet will be amply... They can be seeds you've saved yourself or one's bought from the store, it really doesn't matter as long as they grow.... ;)

Once sign-ups are closed and numbers are finalised an email will go out to everybody containing a little questionnaire and guidelines for this swap..... So to sign-up for Round 2 of the Washcloth Swap just leave a comment on this post.....

Take Care..... :)

Summer Singlet.....

I've been trying to design a knitted singlet pattern for Little Millie over the past couple of nights... After casting off this morning and adding a few finishng touches I think I might finally have it mastered....

It fastens at the back with a button on the left side, is made using 8ply cotton and 4mm needles and only used 3/4 of a 50gram ball to make up so you can just imagine how super quick it was/is.... :)
The size is approx 6-12 month and if I had of made it a tad longer, and used up the rest of the ball, I'm sure it would fit right up until 24 months as the lace pattern has a heap of give in it....
I have another one on the needles, minus the lace work, as I type this, the perfect additions for Little Millie's Summer wardrobe....

I was thinking of doing the pattern up as a pdf, would anybody be interested???

Take Care.... :)

Rustic Bowl....

I've been working on something for a very special blogger over the past couple of nights.... She's a bit of a bowl fanatic and now after a lot of trial and error I think I've created 2 rustic little bowls to add to her collection..... You see the special blogger in question sent me a package about a month back. This is my way of saying thank you for her trouble.... So if you're a bowl fanatic and you've sent me something in the post recently, keep your eyes on the mail as something special is headed your way... *grin*....While I was at a clearing sale on the weekend a lovely lady asked if Little Millie and I would like our picture taken.... Here's what she took....I'm usually the one behind the camera, very rarely in front of it... LOL!!! So it was a nice change to have my pic taken with one of my little angels....

Take Care :)

Setting Goals....

This coming Spring/Summer I've decided that I'm going to try and make as many of the clothes needed as I possibly can for Miss Connie (3), Little Millie (8 mths), and Myself (28).....

I set a goal to make for my girls over the cooler months and managed to do this for 75% of their wardrobe... With the warmer months being much easier, as you need less clothing, I'm hoping to do better this time round....... :)

Last night saw me up late sewing some little shoes for Millie. There are lots of great tutorials out there for shoes similar to these little cuties and after reading through a few of them I decided to make up my own version that are reversible.... The pair above are made out of flannel and the 2 pairs below are 100% cotton with the pair at the front being lined with flannel....Little Millie wore the cotton pair lined with flannel all day today and they didn't fall off once, what a bonus!!! We had a really great relaxing weekend outside tinkering around in the garden (you can read about it here on my new garden blog).... Here's hoping you had a fantastic weekend also....

Take Care... ;)

Re-Purposing Tin Can's.....

After planting out a heap of veggie seeds for my up and coming Spring garden last week I decided that some new plant labels were in order... Armed with a couple of old tin cans and a pair of scissors here's what I came up with.....

To make some for yourself first you'll need to give a couple of used cans a good rinse out with water and allow them to dry.....

Then cut the top and bottom off your cans.....

Now cut the body of the can open so that it lays flat.....
Cut this flat section into a heap of 1cm strips, I got about 16-18 strips per can.....
I like to round one end of the stick off by cutting it in a curve like so....
Now using a large nail scratch in the name of the seed (or plant) that you just planted.....
And you're done, how easy was that???? What do you like to use to label your garden plants??? Do you do anything with you old tin cans to re-purpose them???

Take Care.... :)

Designated Cook.....

Just a quick post to say a big THANK YOU to all of the swappers from the recent Washcloth Swap.... Everybody has received their parcels and after some fantastic feedback I'm so pleased to report that you all thoroughly enjoyed the swap... :)

For those that are interested in joining in on round 2, sign-ups will be up at the end of next week and open for a month....

Shearing is in full swing here at 'Darling Downs' and being the designated cook I've seen just about enough of my kitchen for the week... LOL!!! This morning along with Jam Drops, Caramel Slice and Chocolate Fudge Cake, the Shearers (and my girls of coarse) enjoyed some of these little gems, Orange Cup Cakes, for morning tea.... Yes, I still have oranges... LOL!!! Thank Goodness I'm down to my last 20..... This Orange Cup Cake recipe is so super easy, you just chuck everything in the one bowl, give it a bit of a mix, bake it in the oven and you're done.... Here's the recipe....

Orange Cup Cakes....

1/2 cup butter,1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup o.j., 2 eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 1/2 cup SR flour, 1 tablespoon orange rind.

Combine all ingredients and beat on high for 3 minutes...

Pour mixture patty pans, should make about 24 patty cakes...

Bake for 15 mins at 180'C...

Allow to cool then ice with orange butter and top with coconut....

orange butter...

1/3 cup butter, 1 1/2 cup icing sugar, 2-3 Tablespoons o.j., 1/2 teaspoon orange rind...

blend all ingredients together until light and fluffy....

Take Care.... *^_^*

Keeping It Simple....

When DH asked if I'd make him a hat a couple of weeks back I nearly fell over... I was both shocked and excited..... You see, he's never really wanted anything 'homemade' for himself, or should I say any 'handmade clothes'........ This was my chance to show him that homemade's really not that bad... LOL!!! Under strict instructions to 'only keep it simple' I got to knitting.... To my delight he absolutely LOVES the finished product and has worn it for the last 2 chilly mornings while mustering on his motorbike... *grin* I sure am one proud mumma!!!!! Can't you tell???

With a trip to town planned for this morning I whipped up a new skirt for Miss Connie....

I know it's hard to see, but I made it out of red cord and attached a ribbon to the hem using this great technique.....
We're shearing this week so life may become a bit hectic in my neck of the woods... What's going on where you are??
Take Care :)

For the beanie I just cast on a multiple of 12 stitches (96 in this case) using a 4.5mm circular needle and 2 bendigo cotton 8ply yarns knit together. I knit in k2, p2 rib for 2" and then knit in stocking stitch until my work measured 10" from the beginning (my DH has a HUGE head and also likes to have extra length so that he can fold it up)... For the decrease I followed the instructions as set out in this great little beanie calculator...

Swap Parcel............

This afternoon waiting for me at the mail box was a parcel from my swap partner, Sue. I ripped open the post pack and this is what I found....

Lots of little purple packages just dying to be opened... *^_^*
The first revealed a cute little mouse made by Sue herself for Miss Connie.....

You've hit the nail on the head with this gift Sue... Connie LOVES squeak squeak mice, can't you tell.... The next package was some soap, a picture frame and a draw smelly, all of which are absolutely lovely!!!!

Then there was a package for Little Millie, a sweet as can be striped cardi.....

The last package was the washcloths....

They are both just gorgeous Sue, you sure are one clever lady!!! I love the placement of the label on these, very professional.....

This really has been a super fun swap and I've really enjoyed hosting it... I've loved everything that has been swapped so far and can't wait to see what the last 4 swappers receive.....

For those that might be interested, I'm thinking about hosting a round 2 of this swap and will have sign-ups open in a couple of weeks....

Take Care :)

Mulching Machine....

For Mother's Day this year DH and the girl's bought this Mumma a Mulching Machine....

I can't begin to tell you just how much I love it!!! I can feed it sticks the thickness of my wrist and it turns them into tiny little wood chips without blinking an eye.... And when I fill the top up with leaves, weeds, hay/straw or what ever else is laying around the garden it produces masses and masses of beautiful mulch for my veggie patch...

So today while the sun was shining and I was outside with the girls enjoying every minute of it, I got to work and filled up my garden trailer....

After a total of 20 mins with my Mulching Machine I'm now ready to start topping up my garden in preparation for Spring....

What has this lovely Spring like weather got you doing in your garden??? I planted out some tomatoes that I've had growing inside on a sunny window sill for the past 6 weeks today, a bit earlier than last year but the temps are a lot higher around here this year..... Fingers crossed they still do o.k....

On the Washcloth Swap front there have been some great packages landing in peoples mail boxes this week... Debbie, Izi and Sue have all put pics up on their blogs, which are really worth a look... Fingers crossed my swap partner will receive hers in the next couple of days, I posted it yesterday, but you never do know with Aust. Post... LOL!!!

Take Care :)

Hanging Towel....

With the send date for my swap fast approaching I picked up the needles and knit the cloth I had picked out for my partner.... It's more of a hanging towel than a washcloth, but I love it all the same and think that my partner will too.... I've decided to team it up with a few little dish scrubbers..... The first one that I made I stuffed with a sponge and to be honest, I don't really like how it's turned out. So this one will stay here at 'Darling Downs' with me.....The second one I made is just perfect!!!! *grin*I used the 2 yarns from the hanging towel knit together for this one and am so much happier with how the finished produce looks all sewn together.... I have another one of these cast on as I type this, with a bit of yellow thrown in for good measure.... :)

The hanging towel pattern is a freebie from here....

The first scrubber pattern is a free download from here...

The second scrubber pattern is a freebie from here....

Here's hoping your having a lovely Sunny almost Spring like weekend like we are here... Take Care :)