Jelly Wares

Poppy and Connor....

2012-01-30T22:48:00.000+11:00

Just before Xmas we were very lucky to welcome 2 new little kittens to our tribe..... Meet 'Poppy' (and yes that's me, raw as raw, with all my lines exposed - something I'm trying to embrace)...

And here's Millie's 'Little Connor'.....

We sure do love our cats 'round these parts.... :)

Pebble....

2012-01-27T10:56:00.000+11:00

I love knitting for babies, there's just something special about it - don't you think???....

And if I had to pick a favourite pattern for a newborn it would have to be the 'Pebble'...

I love the way this little vest is designed to open out flat - it makes those sometimes awkward newborn change times seem oh so much more simpler.....

If you've followed this blog for a while you'll know that this is my 3rd 'Pebble'. This one I've made for a lady who has been nothing but warm and generous to me since we met a few years back. She and her family have welcomed the most sweetest little girl, Tilly J, into the world on a very special day - Xmas Day!!!

So with another knitted project off the needles a new one has begun... This time using some scrummy silk/cashmere and a gorgeous Kirsten Kapur pattern - I can't wait to tell you all about this new yarn once this project is finished...

but until then - Happy Knitting!!!

Seasonal

2012-01-23T14:15:00.001+11:00

Last week we were gifted 2 big boxes full of the sweetest home-grown Nectarines I think I've ever tasted (thanks Hansen family) so what were we to do with this yummy, juicy, extra ripe seasonal fruit apart from eat it??? Make Jam of coarse....

Having never made Nectarine Jam before, and a lack of being able to find a recipe in my trusty old preserving book, I decided to 'wing it'.....

My girls started by removing the seeds from the fruit and slicing the flesh, thinly, until they had enough to fill a 4 litre pot. I then placed the pot full of sliced fruit on the stove over a low heat for approx an hour (do not add any water or your jam will be too runny) - the flesh will be all nice and gooey like baby food after this time.

We then added 4 cups of sugar to our baby food goo and bought it to a simmer. Because Nectarines have a very low pectin level we had to simmer our mixture for approx 2 hours before the 'setting' stage was reached. A good way of telling if you've reached this 'setting' stage is to have a small plate handy in the freezer, place a teaspoon of your hot mixture onto the cold plate and freeze for a couple of minutes. If, when removed from the freezer, your mixture wrinkles and separates when your finger is run through it than your jam has reached the 'setting' stage - remove it from the heat and bottle it. If the mixture doesn't wrinkle simmer for a further 10 mins and repeat....

We've also got an abundance of passionfruit here on the farm at the moment so I tried my hand at some passionfruit syrup, so far so good it's a hit with the whole family!!!!

For our syrup we took 2 cups of fresh passionfruit pulp, 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water and bought it all to a rapid boil for 10 mins.

While it was still hot we poured it into some sterilized jars....

And then I couldn't help but pour it all over a butter cake that we'd made the day before and fill it full of cream - so delicious!!!!!

I'm still knitting away happily and have been dying to share this shawl with you all...

The pattern is Sand and Sea from the Coastal Knits book and the yarn I've used is Malabrigo (lace for the green and sock from the edging)

What can I say.... I simply loved making this shawl. There was just enough detail to keep me interested the whole way through and I even learnt something new - picking up wraps from a purl side. I can see another one of these simple lightweight Summer shawls whipped up very very soon....

And thanks to my little Millie, it's being modelled just beautifully..... :)

{{{{Big Hugs}}}}
Jodie

Summer Afternoons

2012-01-16T11:58:00.000+11:00

The windy weather this past week has been just perfect for kite flying....

So we've been making the most of it, as you do, getting our fill of windy action with some friends!!!

Connie (my 5yr old) even enjoyed a fly,

and loved every minute of it!!!! Next time she might even be ready to go solo...

Summer afternoons spent like this - finished off with a BBQ of coarse, are up there with my favourites - how 'bout you??? What's your favourite way to spend a Summer's afternoon where you come from???

Absolute Bliss

2012-01-10T13:44:00.001+11:00

WOW!!! Can it really be the 10th of January 2012 already???

The past 18 days since I last posted have been absolute bliss.... Loads of things have been happening, here's a brief run down - there was Xmas (of coarse), a gorgeous trip to Sunny Queensland for one of the best 6 day holidays we've EVER had, a delightful New Years Party on the gorgeous over flowing Darling River with a group of friends (both new and old which is always nice..), A visit to Nanny's place, a perfect pool party here on the farm for my little Millie who is now 3 - OMG!!!! And to top it all off we were blessed with a visit from some special friends this morning - they've travelled all the way from Victoria for a week away.

Also, in amongst the excitement we've been trapping goats like crazy (which is usual for this time of year) but with the scorching temps reaching well up and into the 40's for the past week (thank goodness today is a mild 32'C) the new Jumpoline (thanks Santa... *wink*), some bubble bath and a sprinkler come in very handy for cooling everybody down a little - and yes I mean EVERYBODY!!!

Thanks for all of the Xmas and New Year emails that have come through. A few have been wondering where I've been and if all is well - I promise, all is well here on the farm, a little chaotic at times but still very very well....

So................. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!!!! Sorry it's 10 days late....

Here's hoping you bought 2012 in with a bang and that this year finds you taking a little more time out to appreciate the simpler things in life.....

Extra Squishy

2011-12-23T21:53:00.000+11:00

I love gardening and nothing brings me more pleasure than a nice, squishy, green lawn!!!!

I love taking my shoes off and sinking my toes into it on a warm Summers day....

All the while watching my girls roll, jump and play on its vast expanse as they hope and wish that if their extra good Santa might just bring them that jumpoline they've been praying for (don't you know that's what they call trampoline's these days... LOL)....

So with only 2 sleeps to go I do so hope that Santa got their Xmas letters this year - we really would love a jumploine for our squishy lawn...

Merry Xmas - Jodie xx

Last Minute...

2011-12-08T13:25:00.001+11:00

Can it really only be 16 days til Xmas????

Now that our tree is up the mad last minute present crafting has begun. Is it like that at your home??? Do you seem to leave A LOT of things to the last minute like me? For some reason I thrive on the thrill of getting things accomplished at the last minute - stupid, I know, especially when I still have 2 quilts to finish and a dress to make.....But, here's a pic of something which I do have finished - the package of goodies that I sent off to my Festive Swap Partner...

And thanks to this gorgeous recipe over at 'The Shady Baker' I am now totally hooked on Basil Pesto - and what a great way to use up all of the excess that I have in the garden at the moment don't you think...

Stirred through some gorgeous home-made pasta with extra sharp cheese on top - DIVINE!!!

Sweet and Tender

2011-11-30T15:48:00.001+11:00

This week I've been busily harvesting golden onions from my garden - bunches and bunches of them... I like to plait mine and hang them in my dark pantry to dry out, this way they last us all the way through Winter (that's if we don't eat them all ofcoarse... LOL!!!). Nothing quite beats the fresh, sweet, tender taste of freshly grown onions... What do you do with yours???

We've also been lucky enough to be picking tomatoes and sweet hungarian peppers.

Have you ever preserved peppers??? I'd love to have a go at roasting them and preserving them in some kind of vinegar brine - got any recipe ideas?? I'd love for you to share them with me if you do...

Over the past couple of days I've had quite a few emails from my Swap ladies letting me know that they've sent out their parcels. This is great news as there is still a week until the deadline.... I'll be sending my parcel off tomorrow. I've made my (secret) partner the 'Grandmother's Fan Dishcloth' that I wrote about here. I just love this pattern and can see many more of this dishcloth made in the lead up to Xmas....

The Art of Crochet

2011-11-27T14:48:00.001+11:00

The past couple of weeks have been some what of a blur but every single minute of the blurry haze has been thoroughly enjoyed - that's for sure!!!!

After returning home earlier this week with my 2 littlies in toe from a week long 'Homeschooling Camp' I had just enough time to gather up some supplies, make sure DH was equipped to take care of our girls, pack up most of my Shop and head off down the road to Bourke for a few days.... I was invited over to teach a group of gorgeous ladies the Art of Crochet...

Thank you so much for your gorgeous hospitality Anna!!! I had the most amazing time teaching all of you lovely ladies and was so inspired to see what some of you had created since our last meet....

It truly makes my heart sing to see spark in the eye of a new-be crocheter - and let me tell you now, these girls eyes sure were a SPARKLING!!!!

Over the past couple of weeks I've also managed to finish a few crochet projects of my own, some for the gift giving and some just because... The first was my Willow Doily Blanket that I blogged about here....

Then I made another one of Lisa's Super Simple Wreaths.

This time I used the decadent Malabrigo Chunky Merino in a golden shade and a 10mm hook (the little butterfly is a free pattern from here if you're interested)...

And then I couldn't help myself and I made ANOTHER Willow - this one is my favorite by far...

I am totally in love with the Malabrigo Organic Cotton that I used for this blanket. It has made up so beautifully and has transformed this simple blanket into a gorgeous table cloth - don't you think???

What have you been up to these past couple of weeks???

Adding Them Up....

2011-11-16T22:27:00.001+11:00

I'm away at a Home-schooling Camp with my 5yr old Connie at the moment, have been since Sunday, and with all of the 'to-ing' and 'fro-ing' (and sitting around) I've managed to knit up another 15 stars using the tutorial in my sidebar for the sick kids I told you all about back here.

That will bring the total amount of Stars crafted up by the incredibly generous community of Cobar (and surrounds) to 267, WOW!!!! Not many to make now to reach our goal of 280 before the 10th of December - when we send them off to the Westmead Children's Hospital for Xmas...

Are you involved in anything for Charity this Xmas???? I'd love to hear about it.....

Wool Cheque

2011-11-11T08:50:00.000+11:00

This time of year always makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside - I think it's one of the best things I love about being married to a sheep farmer. We've just finished shearing and the smell of sheep manure and wool is in the air....

So yesterday afternoon from the deck of the Shearing Shed we watched our cleanly shawn sheep grazing out across the flat and proudly loaded up our truck with this years wool clip..

And at the end of it all there were smiles all round...

With hopes of a big Wool Cheque come Xmas - we sure do love this time of year...

Making A Start...

2011-11-07T17:52:00.002+11:00

Thanks to all who are joining in with my Festive Washer Swap - it's great to see some old faces returning for another round... I'll email you tonight with all the details...

After a trip to town today to stock the pantry I made a quick stop by my shop and picked up some essential cotton so that I can make a start on my Washer for the Swap...

I'm using the decadant Malabrigo Organic Cotton for my Washer in the Earthy 'Pacae' Shade... What's your favourite Cotton????

O.K...I'm now off to sit down with a cup of tea and wind up my yarn.... Tonight I'll be clicking away on the remake of a Grandmother's Classic - oh what JOY!!!

Washcloth Swap...

2011-11-06T08:47:00.000+11:00

As soon as I saw 'Grandma's Fan Dishcloth' I knew I just had to make one for myself....

(picture from here)

Well, that got me thinking - it sure has been a while since I've had a little 'Washcloth Swap'.

So how 'bout it???? If you'd like to join in on a Washcloth Swap with me simply state your interest in the comments....

Let's keep this one small, Sign-Up's will close as soon as I get 10 friendly Swappers up for the giving....

You'll have 4 weeks to craft a Washcloth up for an Anonymous partner to bring a bit of festive cheer to their December....

Crochet Xmas Wreath

2011-10-29T15:03:00.000+11:00

I love Xmas and this week has seen me crafting away on a new Xmas Wreath to adorn my home this festive season....

This was such a super simple pattern and OMG can you believe that it's FREE!!! Thanks to the amazing talented Lisa over at Good-Knits and her Simple Statement Wreath I am officially in the festive spirit!!!!

This project took me a total of 30mins - awesome, right!!! I bought my foam Wreath from Spotlight for $5 and used about a 1/3 of a skein of super chunky Nundle 20ply and a 10mm hook. I now can't wait to felt up some crochet berries to add as well - what do you think???

Knitted Star Tutorial

2011-10-26T21:02:00.001+11:00

I've been knitting (and hooking) away at stars over the past couple of weeks in an attempt to bring smiles to the faces of the 220 kids who are stuck in the Westmead Children's Hospital over Xmas this year. My local community is helping out as well and we already have a whopping 60+ stars adorning the Charity Tree in my Shop.

So, today I thought it would be fun to share my little knitted Xmas Star pattern and to make it even easier I've put it into a tutorial...

Let me first begin by saying that this pattern was not entirely designed by me - I picked it up off a gorgeous elderly lady who happened upon my store last year. She briefly told me a simple equation for crating a 6 pointed star and from there I've crafted a 5 pointed one as well....

Before we start, gather up your supplies. I'm using 5mm straight needles and some Malabrigo Worsted (approx. 10ply). These stars don't even use 5g of yarn so scraps are perfect!!!

Abbrev : : k = knit, sl = slip, k2tog = knit 2 stitches together, psso = pass slip stitch over, st = stitch.

If you have trouble with any of these stitchs I'm sure Mr Google would be more than happy to help you out with a how-to...

Using the Long-tail method cast on 66 stitches.

Row 1 - Knit 4 stitches, (sl1, k2tog, psso, k8) 5 times, sl1, k2tog, psso, k4.

After Row 1 you should be able to start seeing the points of the star forming as numbered in the picture below....

Row 2 - k3, (sl1, k2tog, psso, k6) 5 times, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3.

Row 3 - k2, (sl1, k2tog, psso, k4) 5 times, sl1, k2tog, psso, k2.

Row 4 - k1, (sl1, k2tog, psso, k2) 5 times, sl1, k2tog, psso, k1.

Row 5 - (sl1, k2tog, psso) 5 times.

Row 6 - O.K... Now you're nearly done - (K2tog) 3 times, k1.

Cut an 8 inch tail. Thread the tail through the live stitches....

Pull up tight and sew the short row closed like so...

Now, if you'd like a 5 pointed star - it's even easier, simply cast on 55sts intead of 66.

You will be repeating Rows 1 - 5 (repeat what's in the brackets of each row 4 times instead of 5).

I hope I haven't confused you too much yet... :)

So, by casting on 55sts instead of 66 you will now only have 5 points to your star instead of 6....

After Row 5 cut an 8 inch tail, thread it through the live stitches on the needle and pull up tight....

Sew in your ends, make a loop at the top for hanging and you're done....

Pretty easy, right???? In the picture below I pinned out each of the points of the star on the left and steamed it with a hot iron. This makes for a much nicer pointier star - don't you think???

Enjoy!!!! *^_^*

Hooked!!!

2011-10-22T20:21:00.000+11:00

This past couple of days has seen me hooking away on a very special project which will be added to my Xmas gift giving pile this year..

Thanks to the introduction to an amazing on-line Mag by the gorgeous Jenni over at Baa-me Knits I'm now totally hooked on Craft Sanity!!!! Have you heard of it before??? Well I hadn't until earlier this week (thanks Jen) and I just LOVE IT!!!!

This week I've also been busily knitting (and hooking) away on stars (37 to be exact) for a charity thing my local community is working on...

It's super exciting and I can't wait to tell you all about it in the next couple of days... So, until then - Happy Hooking!!!!

Special Gifts....

2011-10-16T20:29:00.000+11:00

I must say - the most special gifts of them all (to me any way) are those that are hand crafted by people who are dear to you....

There's just something about them, it's as though the thought and love that's gone into every minute of making them oozzes out each and every time the handmade gift is adorned...

Thank You so very much Suze for my very special brooch!!! I love it so, so much and look forward to it now being a fixture in my Spring/Summer wardrobe for the remainder of this year and many more to come...

Girl-y Time

2011-10-13T13:20:00.000+11:00

We've been harvasting handfuls of Bok-Choy everyday this week and our most favourite way to eat it is steamed, seasoned and stirred through some yummy rice noodles - simple but GOOD!!!

Have you grown Bok-Choy before? How do you like to eat it??

On the Shop front I'm very excited to now be stocking 12 shades of Organic Cotton by Malabrigo. It's 100% Certified Organic Cotton with Natural Dyes added which are environmently friendly and free of chemical agents. I'm hoping to have them up on my website within the next week or so but if you can't wait until them email me and I'll send you through a detailed description with pictures of the shades I have in stock...

After many long discussions DH and I decided 3 weeks ago that it would be a good idea to bring the girls into town to the Shop with me on Friday's and Saturday's. These will be our days for girl-y time...

There'll be Library visits, a little stitching, some play time at the park and of-coarse the usual Shop stuff....

We're taking each week as it comes for now and even though at times it gets pretty tough here in the Shop with the girls, especially when it's super dooper busy, I really am lucky to be able to spend the time that I do with them, they're only this young once - right??!!?!!

30

2011-10-04T10:35:00.003+11:00

On Monday I turned 30!!!

I had a gorgeous day filled with delicious food, freshly picked flowers and loads of outside adventuring....

My girls helped pick and prepare the sweetest lunch that had all of the things this Mummy loves - home grown veg, garlic, cheese, handmade pasta and deep fried fresh herbs. Yes - deep fried herbs and they're AWESOME!!!! Today we had oregano, YUM-MO!!!!!

I was also spoiled by some gorgeous local ladies in town on Saturday. We had b'day cake and the sweetest little party. Thank you Suz, Lois, Caz-y and Rory, its been a long while since anybody (other than my family) has made me feel that special....

Jewel Blue...

2011-09-30T20:14:00.001+10:00

Today I sewed the buttons on the first of my Xmas gifts...

This little cardi was made using the super scrum-my Malabrigo Worsted in shade #32 - Jewel Blue and the pattern 'In Three's'. I've made the size 4/5 for my 5 year old Connie Girl and it's HUGE!!!! It will definitely fit her this time next year and this time the year after as well - that's for sure...

I also got the chance to pickle up some of those yummy beets from my last post.

I simply chopped off the greens, leaving an inch still on the root and boiled the beets until they were tender.

I then rubbed off the skins with a napkin and chopped off the inch of greens that I left on the top. While still hot I sliced my beets into wedges and stacked them into a sterilized jar where they sat while I prepared my brine...

To make the brine, bring 1/2 cup of white sugar, 1 cup of white vinegar, a few whole cloves, some peppercorns, a twill of Cinnamon and a little root ginger to the boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat and cover for 10mins. Strain the brine and pour it over the beet wedges in the jar and seal...

These are perfect to eat straight away or you could leave them in the pantry for a good couple of weeks for the flavours to infuse a little more...

What are you harvesting and preserving at your place this weekend???

2011-09-29T13:48:00.002+10:00

We're happily harvesting beets and carrots at the moment...

It sure is a beautiful time of year to be scratching about in the garden. That is until you happen upon creatures of the slithering variety, they sure do mack my skin curl....

So long big brown snake - you are not going to be missed....

Corner of My Home

2011-09-21T05:51:00.000+10:00

Thanks to an early start to the warmer weather this year my beans and pumpkin are coming along nicely, flowering and already producing fruit...

Over the weekend I was extremely fortunate to attend a clearing sale not too far from home. There I scored a 7 piece Olive vinyl lounge suite for only $50 and its history intrigues me. So now it sits in my home and here's a picture of just 1 of the 7 pieces...

On a wall in my study/office, a special corner of my home, this cosy seat sits. Many a sleepless night is spent in front of the computer here, where inspiration flows freely and motivation is abundant... Here I hope my new seat will find a well deserved home and although you can't see too much (and this pic may be a little blurred), from where I sit things sure do looks sweet....

Mustering...

2011-09-19T22:28:00.005+10:00

'Round these parts we like to Muster our Stock by air...

It helps us cover vast distances in a shorter amount of time....

So thanks to the help of our friendly Gyro pilot - Luke, we were able to clean out some back paddocks and sell off some goats.

And all the while Miss Connie picked flowers.

This really is a beautiful time of year.

Art In Motion....

2011-09-16T15:49:00.005+10:00

This week I've been hooking away on a couple of Queen Anne Scarves. I used the gorgeous Taiyo yarn by Noro which was a dream and they're now all finished, wrapped with a bow and ready for the giving...

I'm so thrilled I finally got some quality computer time this morning to upload what I have left in stock of the Noro Yarn onto my Website...

This stuff sells like hotcakes!!!!

And I can totally see why - it's like Art in motion when you're working with it. I love the colour changes and am always surprised at how they all just seem to work together.

Have you used Noro before??? What did you think of it???

Shop Update

2011-09-15T12:41:00.004+10:00

I've uploaded 6 Malabrigo Yarns to my Website this morning and to celebrate I'm offering 20% off what I have remaining in the Malabrigo Chunky.

So pop on over if you're looking for a bargain as they're selling out FAST!!!

**leave now if you're a snake lover**

We shot our first brown snake for the season on Tuesday.

I was pushing a wheel-barrow full of sheep pooh back to the house yard from the shearing shed when I almost stood on this little bugger.

It was so close to the back lawn it wasn't funny - the very place my 2 girls had been playing not 2 mins before hand.

This has definitely been a wake-up call, yet again!!! Regardless of the size of these snakes they are DEADLY and when you live isolated like we do it sure does feel good knowing this snake won't be around tomorrow...

Today I'm.....

2011-09-09T14:24:00.004+10:00

Putting the finishing touches on some hats for a gorgeous lady from Broken Hill

and enjoying wearing my Shalom just one last time before the heat of Summer arrives...

The wind must be blowing off snow somewhere today - brrrrr it's cold....

Simple Country Life....

2011-08-31T23:04:00.000+10:00

It's always busy round here this time of year as we prepare for the long hot Summer...

There's dam fences to mend, stick piles to burn, goats to muster, garden beds to prep, veggies to plant, sheep to shear, more fences to build (and mend), fence lines to clear and if you're one of my girls, pockets to fill...

Today, while I mended holes in old fences my girls helped out in other ways....

They piled up sticks, collected flowers for drying and filled their pockets full of rocks - eager to take home for washing and painting, these always make the perfect gifts.

We really do love our Simple Country Life*!!!*

Skinny Taiyo

2011-08-27T10:46:00.003+10:00

I've had this crochet scarf made for a couple of months now and just love it..

I love it that much that I thought I'd share the pattern with you all... This scarf works well with any wool but for the striping effect that I have in mine Noro Taiyo is a must.

So grab yourself a 6.5mm hook and 300yards of yarn (make sure it's thicker than a 10ply) and we'll get started*!!*

Skinny Scarf Pattern

There are only 2 stitches that you need to know for this scarf, chain and half double crochet(hdc) - if you've never done a hdc before follow this link for a great easy how-to.

O.K. now that you have your materials and you know all of the stitches you need to make a REALLY long chain. Don't worry about counting just chain until it's long enough to wrap around your neck a few times loosely, mine is about 2.5m long.

Row 1 - hdc into the 3rd chain from the hook and in each chain across.

Row 2 - Chain 2, turn and hdc in each hdc across.

Repeat Row 2 until you run out of yarn (I got 7 rows from my Noro Taiyo).

Fasten off, sew in your ends and you're done!!

I also like to add a couple of buttons to one of the narrow ends of my scarf so that I can fasten it into a loop around my neck but that's totally up to you.

The red skirt is something I came up with at the start of the month when I was in desperate need of an outfit to wear to the Picnic Race's down the road at Louth.

It's a simple box pleat construction made using a similar technique to this one over at Burda.

just the right amount of 'BULK'....

2011-08-25T13:45:00.003+10:00

I've had this shawl off the needles since May but for some reason forgot to blog about it

I made it to enter into the 'Knitted Shawl' category of my local Agricultural Show and am so thrilled that it actually won 1st Place!!!!

I used the super simple 'Damson' pattern from the Whimsical Little Knits 2 book ($22 in my shop). Ysolda you are a pattern writing GENIUS!!! I loved every minute of making this shawl from the start right up to the blocking at the end....

The Malabrigo Sock yarn was the perfect match for this shawl and used up all but 10 yards of the 440 from the 100g skein. With only 1 skein in this shawl it's perfect for wearing right now, as the days start to warm and the nights are still a little chilly - it's just the right amount of 'bulk'.

I currently have 4 shades of the Malabrigo Sock left in my shop if you're interested - they're $19.40 per skein!

I also made the skirt I'm wearing in these pix to wear to our local Picnic Race Day. I used this great tutorial from Burda and some Raw Silk I scored from the sewing shop down the street for $5 a metre. My whole skirt cost a total of $7.50 - WHAT A BARGAIN!!!!

Klamath....

2011-08-19T18:03:00.001+10:00

I've been working on a couple of shawls for a dear friend over the past couple of weeks and with their completion last night I couldn't wait for sunlight to share some pictures with you all...

The pattern that I used was the awesome Klamath - a FREE download off Ravelry...

It has a whopping 14 PAGES!!!! But the designer really explains the whole process of the construction of the shawl perfectly - even a beginner could tackle this one...

I used some of the divine Malabrigo Silky Merino which will soon be added to my shop and I'm absolutely loving the way that it drapes with this pattern.

You are an amazingly kind hearted and generous woman Judy and I do so hope you love your shawls!!!!

Shortbread....

2011-08-16T08:05:00.000+10:00

Last Friday a gorgeous friend popped by my shop for a bit of 'knitting time' and with her bought the most delicious shortbread I'd ever tasted.....

Kylie, your shortbread's are amazing and thank-you so very much for sharing your super simple recipe with me..... I made my first batch this morning, adding passion-fruit butter to half and orange jam to the other half - they are absolutely D E L I C I O U S !!!!!

So, here's the basic recipe for the shortbread and you can add anything you like to the middle of them for extra flavour.

Kylie's Shortbread

Blend 1 cup of plain flour, 1/2 cup of icing sugar and 1/2 cup of butter with a dough hook in a mix-master (I use a kenwood chef) until it all comes together like a dough.... Press teaspoons of the mixture into a mini muffin tin. I used the point-y end of a wooden spoon to poke holes in the middle of my shortbread, approx 3/4 of the way down. Fill this up with jam, chocolate, curd, fruit, nuts etc, this is totally up to your taste! Bake at 170'C for 20mins or until shortbread is browned all the way around the edges. Remove from oven and leave in pan for 5 mins before turning out to cool on a wire rack....

Dirty Hands...

2011-08-15T08:02:00.002+10:00

This morning I've been planting out some of the seedlings I've had growing for the past month or so on the front veranda - protected from the elements....

There is at least 20 Pea plants (mixed),

120 Golf Ball Carrots,

and too many Beetroot's to worry about counting... Next up is the task of separating all of the onions, ready for planting some time today as well....

Are you getting your hands dirty this morning?? If so what's going in the ground (or pot) where you live?

If you can remember back here, I thinned out some Iris plants and transplanted them all round my garden...

Over the past couple of weeks, as the weather starts to warm a little, they've found their legs and are looking as healthy as one could hope - bring on Spring and maybe a bloom or 2...

French Press Slippers

2011-08-13T16:34:00.003+10:00

I've had the Crochet French Press Slipper pattern set aside for quite some time now, waiting on just the right shade of Malabrigo Worsted to come my way.

Well, when my latest shipment arrived this week and I saw the gorgeous Coco colour-way I knew it was time to start hooking....

This pattern was so quick to whip up (3 hrs MAX!), looks super cute and the finished slippers are SOOO comfy on my tied feet...

I made the size 7/8 and a used a 5.5mm hook(not the 5mm they recommended) - they fit my 8 1/2 foot perfectly! I didn't even use 1/2 a 100g skein for my pair of slippers - now that's value!

Bread....

2011-08-09T12:42:00.003+10:00

While the wind whips away outside today we're snuggled up inside, not too far from the wood fire - making bread.....

As I set a 'honey & oat' loaf aside for its final rise and clear off my side of the bench Connie puts the finishing 'sprinkle' on a special concoction of her own.....

So tell me, do you like to make your own bread??? If so, are you a bread-machine kinda girl or do you like the process of making the whole loaf from scratch yourself?

I go both ways and feel that each method is equally as good as the other. My bread machine is used every other day and produces the yummiest crusty white loaf my family and I have ever tasted, where as the oven is used twice daily to produce small, crunchy, mouth-watering, Artisan style loaves.

Am I making you hungry yet????

HOME

2011-08-04T12:34:00.003+10:00

We sure are glad to be home....

After 4 long days away nothing quite beats the feel of your own bed as you nestle in for the night. Connie's camp was loads of fun but when I walked through the front door last night and took a deep breath in - it sure was good to be home...

Are you a 'home-body' like me too or do you prefer spending time out and about???

Shop Update

2011-08-02T06:32:00.004+10:00

I've been trying my hardest to take a snapshot of what yarn I have in the shop at the moment and load it onto my website.... So far I've only managed to get through all of the 'Cascade' and still have 'Malabrigo', 'Debbie Bliss', 'Noro', 'Nundle' and then there's the 'hand-spun' to snap....

So, with a new shipment of Cascade hitting my shelves this Thursday there will be 26 shades of 220 Heathers,

4 shades of Alpaca Lace,

20 shades of 128 Chunky,

16 shades of 220 Sport.....

12 shades of Cotton Rich,

7 shades of Sierra,

and 50% off the last 3 shades of the Arcadia I used for this hat...... Phew.... I've even added new postage options for the website too with any order over 3kg getting FREE postage - pretty cool hey??? And the most you'll pay on any other order below 3kg is $11.20...

Home-Schooling....

2011-07-29T06:52:00.000+10:00

I get quite a few emails asking how we're going with Connie's 'Home-Schooling'. We're all really loving this new and exciting stage in our little girls life and enjoy being able to share the experience together as a family....

But, it does engulf us ALL with 'learning' taking place in just about every corner of our home as well as extending outside into the garden, paddocks and surrounds. Some days it can seem to be quite a struggle and it's on these particular days that we all take a deep breath and a well deserved break...

So this coming Monday we're hitting the road to attend yet another Camp - this will be the 3rd for the year. These are a great way to meet other like minded families and helps build an outside support network...

2011-07-28T14:47:00.003+10:00

Nothing beats the smooth silky texture of fresh home grown eggs - poached and served on top of fresh picked greens for lunch is our favourite way to eat them at the moment.

Are you a hoarder???? Well when it comes to chairs I guess you could say I am... I picked these 4 up for $9 at a clearing sale over the weekend.

The yellow one would have to be my favourite for sure! With a good clean, a few repairs, a bit of a sand and a generous rub down with some good ol' bees wax these will look good as new... Don't you think???

The knitting needles are still running hot and the start of last week saw the completion of this little hat for a friend at the WCMA.

I was so thrilled to walk into her office on Wednesday this week to her sitting there proudly wearing this sweet little hat. Robyn - you look absolutely gorgeous in it....

On My Verandah.....

2011-07-26T17:52:00.003+10:00

There are boxes of books awaiting unpacking....

And a rusty old tin full of burnt forgotten treasures, begging to be turned into something...

If only I knew what...????

2011-07-22T15:58:00.004+10:00

This crochet hat is destined to keep the head of an English Teacher warm for the remainder of Winter...

I love everything about it from the chunky Cascade 128 in the gorgeous charcoal colourway, to the rusty red shade of the 220 heathers that I used for the flower right down to the hand painted button... It all just seems to work - don't you think???

Well, my friend (the teacher) did, she absolutely loves it!!!!

Switched Off!!!!

2011-07-21T08:49:00.003+10:00

On Sunday, around midday, my trusty 9 year old computer decided to bite the bullet and refused to fire up... So for the past 5 days we've been 'switched off' from the world - no emails, no blogs, no Internet, nothing!!!!

Now we're facing the frustrating battle of trying to recover all of those important things that are trapped inside our lifeless old computer as we place it in the hands of a technician..... I'm in town today trying to catch up on my fav blogs and reply to as many emails as I possibly can.... Has your computer ever decided to bite the bullet??? What did you do???

Thankfully I've had some knitting to keep me sain with the completion of a super squishy cardi (thanks again for your help with this one Mum)........

This one is for a friend so is extra special... I love the chunky Cascade 128 yarn that she chose and the delicious cappuccino colourway is super scrum-y too... The pattern was 'Iced' and I used mega 8mm needles and followed the size 38' bust instructions to fit a size 10 woman.

Winter-y Weekend....

2011-07-16T20:43:00.000+10:00

I knew it wouldn't be long before I started whipping things up using my NEW NORO!!!!

This is a scarf/neck warmer/mini shawl for a friend and fellow lover of Noro....

Here's hoping you're keeping warm on this chilly, wet, Winter-y weekend....

Yarn Addiction....

2011-07-15T06:37:00.003+10:00

Hello - My name is Jodie and I am addicted to yarn!!!!!! It's been 45mins since I last fondled the new deliciously decadent rainbow coloured balls of Noro that arrived in my shop earlier in the week....

You see - the only down side to me owning a yarn shop is that most of my stock makes it's way home with me before it even gets a chance to hit the shelves....

It's truly not my fault, I promise... But when 8 skeins of Paris Night Malabrigo whisper sweetly that they want to be turned into this cardigan what am I to do, just leave them there??? And when 2 balls of violet infused Taiyo scream out to be whipped up into this top/dress for my littlest Miss, seriously - what am I to do???? Grab 4 just in case - right??? I could go on like this ALL DAY LONG!!!!

Plans Change....

2011-07-12T20:21:00.000+10:00

Today we had plans of heading to the 'big smoke' for a couple of days. We were going to eat out at a nice restaurant, for lunch and dinner, and even do a little retail therapy (I know, I know it's only Bunnings but - I'm currently painting the outside of my house and need supplies)....

Well, our plans changed a bit and here we are still hanging out on the farm doing our usual chores. Watering some old ewe's locked up in a paddock, mending torn work clothes, spending time in the veggie patch, entertaining 2 adventurous little girls, repairing DH's busted sheep truck,

and amongst it all finding some down time for a little more crochet...

Getting the chance to whip a few more jug covers up - adding rusty bells to the edge, instead of buttons, for something a little different...

You know, as much as I was looking forward to getting away, I really do love just hanging out on the farm... Even if I'm eating lamb chops on the BBQ for dinner at the end of the day, instead of a meal in a restaurant...

What Would You Do????????

2011-07-11T18:02:00.005+10:00

At the very edge of my piano sits my almost finished Shalom.....

It's been sitting there for a couple of weeks now, staring at me....

You see, I've hit a bit of a brick wall with the sleeves. I have 1 finished but don't like the way it's sitting, or should I say 'Ballooning'. So, do I rip it back and start again or do I leave it for a couple more weeks in the off chance that I might change my mind and actually come to like the 'Ballooning' sleeves after all????

What would you do????

'Big Knit'

2011-07-09T07:24:00.001+10:00

I've had the Kerrera pattern and the 8 skeins of Malabrigo that it needed set aside for quite some time now...

I just love Gudrun Johnston's designs and this was going to be my 'Big Knit' for Winter.....

I oohh-ed and ahhh-ed over it many a nights and now with the help of my Mum and her super fast knitting hands this 'epic' knit (you're so right Caz!!) is finally finished......

I love the fluffy look of the Malabrigo Worsted and the patch like packets on the front. The double garter stitch border is also a favourite feature of mine and the reverse knit stitch panels at the top of this cardigan really set it off....

I can already see myself spending many a chill-y days (and nights) snuggled up in my new favourite cardi....

Ohhhh yeah, did you happen to notice my brooch????

It's the work of an awesome designer from Strawberry Hills - NSW. I love her quirky style and couldn't help but buy 4 brooches last week when she had her $10 brooch sale...

Sweetly Scented....

2011-07-07T04:59:00.000+10:00

Can it really be Wattle time already?????

It feels like only yesterday that I was picking this gorgeous flower from my garden, but has it already been a whole year???!!!!

Thank-you Mother Nature for giving me beauty such as this. Golden, delicious, sweet scented blossoms in a time when frost's and naked trees are the norm, Winter, you never cease to amaze me.......

Passion-Fruit Butter (Curd)

2011-07-05T05:29:00.000+10:00

Feeling in the mood for some deliciously decadent passion-fruit butter to fill some homemade shortbread tarts I raided my freezer for a bag of pulp and set to work making a small batch of 'crowd pleasing' passion-fruit butter....

Here's the Recipe.....

Ingredients - 10 passion-fruit (pulped), 1 & 1/2 cups of white sugar, 3 eggs (lightly beaten), 180g butter.

Method - Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and whisk over a very low heat until the mixture thickens and resembles honey. Do not allow the mixture to boil or it will curdle and you'll have something that looks more like 'scrambled' eggs, not honey.

Pour the mixture into sterilised jars and seal immediately. Keep in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.

This is delicious spread on toast or my favorite way to eat it is spooned into pastry cases and topped with freshly whipped cream - YUM-MO!!!!

Also, when scanning through the books on Sale at my favorite on-line book store last week I came across this little gem....

Having heard great things of this Author I quickly snapped this book up and now that its arrived I am so pleased that I did.....

It's just gorgeous!!!!! Filled to the brim with fantastic doodles, inspiring quotes and awesome activities - all to help fuel, excite and motivate the creative mind...

Have you bought (or read) a great book like this lately?? I'd love to hear what it was...

Have You?????

2011-07-02T12:55:00.003+10:00

I've had this little cardi off the needles for quite some time now and thought it was high time that I shared my version with you all....

The pattern is 'Liesl' by Ysloda ($6 from my shop), the yarn is Malabrigo Worsted ($11.40 from my shop also) in the almost black colour-way 'Cypress' and the needles are 8mm's.

This is the second Liesl I've made but my first with sleeves (well if you can call them sleeves at this length - right??? LOL!!!)

I just love this pattern!!! It only took 2 skeins of yarn to make up, can you believe it????
It's construction is one of my fav's - top down and seamless. The sleeve stitches are placed onto some waste yarn so you can continue with the body section. After casting off the body the sleeves are then worked in the round too - just what I like!!!

One of the things I love most about this pattern is that no matter how many completed version's I see, I'm yet to come across 2 that look the same. There are heaps of variations for this pattern which makes it a versatile knit for all ages, sizes and tastes....

Have you knit a Liesl yet???!!!!

Inspiration....

2011-06-30T20:26:00.002+10:00

After seeing this post by Kate I knew that it would only be a matter of time before I crocheted a 'Queen Anne' for myself...

I love this pattern; simple enough for a beginner yet flash-y enough to 'woo' a crowd....

I used 1 x 100g ball of Noro Taiyo and a 6mm hook for my scarf and what can I say - I absolutely LOVE-IT!!!!

Thanks for the inspiration Kate.....

Curious.....

2011-06-26T22:05:00.008+10:00

Today we took advantage of a gorgeous day and spent most of it outside...

We had pancakes on the veranda in the sun for breaky and by 10am I had a picnic packed and we headed out into the paddock for a good 4 hours of wood cutting - and exploring....

That afternoon was spent in the garden, thinning out and re-planting Iris's.DH thought a bonfire dinner would be a great way to cap off a perfect day spent outside....

So, I gathered up some potatoes and wrapped them in foil, raided the freezer for some homemade lamb sausages, grabbed my freshest batch of sour cream and a big jar of tomato relish and we all headed outside for dinner....

These are my favourite kinds of days - the ones that are totally unplanned but just seem to flow and work.

You see, I'm not much of a list maker ever thought sometimes I wish I was and I'm a little curious - are you??? Do you need a list to get you through the day or are you a 'fly by the seat of your pants' kinda girl (like me) - hoping for the best at the end of a long day, praying nothing important has been forgotten...

FREE!!! Crochet Jug Cover Pattern.....

2011-06-21T22:27:00.000+10:00

With the cooler weather, in my home, I find that we are more likely to drink water at room temperature than chilled from the fridge.

So out of necessity I've been crocheting 'Jug Covers' and would love to share this pattern with you all...

To start - Grab some of your favourite 5ply cotton (I'm using Debbie Bliss Eco Cotton in a Teal shade) and a 4mm hook.

Thread approx 20 buttons onto your yarn. Make sure they thread on easily or you'll find it difficult later on when you need to shuffle them down the yarn as your jug cover grows.

Jelly's Basic Jug Cover

(note : : my jug measures 16' round the top)

Round 1 - Chain 3, 23 treble in the 3rd chain from hook. Join with a slip stitch.

Round 2 - Chain 5, treble in same space, miss 1 treble, *(treble, chain 2, treble) in the next space, miss 1 treble*. Repeat between * * around. Join with a slip stitch to 3rd chain.

Round 3 - Slip Stitch into chain 2 space. Chain 6, Treble in same space. *Treble, chain 3, treble in next chain 2 space*. Repeat between * * round. Join with a slip stitch to 3rd chain.

Round 4 - Chain 1, single crochet in same space, *Chain 6, miss chain 3 space, single crochet in next space*. Repeat between * * round. Join with a slip stitch in single crochet.

Round 5 - Slip stitch in the next 3 chain. Chain 1, single crochet in same space. *Chain 7, single crochet in chain 6 space*. Repeat between * * round. Join with a slip stitch to single crochet.

Round 6 - Chain 10 (position 1-2 buttons on the 7th chain), *Treble in next single crochet, chain 7 (position another 1-2 buttons on the 4th chain)*. Repeat between * * round. Join with a slip stitch to 3rd chain.

Fasten off and weave in ends.

These little covers are so addictive and take no more than 1 hour to make.

My New Favourite Hat...

2011-06-19T21:16:00.003+10:00

After seeing this hat in the 2nd Ysolda book I knew that it was only a matter of time before I made one for myself....

So armed with a delicious skein of 'Electric Blue' Cascade 220 Heathers ($7.50 per 100g in my shop) I got to knitting....

This is the perfect hat pattern if you're looking for something a little different. It has just enough detail to keep you interested right up to the very end.

Blocking is a must once finished, and trust me - it's really worth it!!!!

Free Ride....

2011-06-14T19:09:00.001+10:00

New life is abundant on the farm this time of year....
And as we muster in the ewe's for crutching a few stragglers get a 'free ride' with the girls to the shearing shed....

On the cropping front, sowing is done and dusted for yet another year and it's great to see seeds germinating already - all we need now is some follow up rain come the end of the month to turn these little seeds of 'not too much' into lush plants of hope and promise.......

Shalom Sanity....

2011-06-12T20:41:00.000+10:00

I've been in search of the perfect 'everyday cardigan' for quite some time now and when I stumbled across this version of the gorgeous Shalom my heart just skipped a beat. So armed with a massive skein of Cascade Eco Yarn in the sweetest shade of grey I set to rolling....
I'm so excited to start slowly knitting away at this little project which is just for me! There's something therapeutic about knitting garments for yourself, drifting away as the needles 'click', escaping, even if only for just a few minutes, into a world of knit-y bliss......

Also, the urge to re-purpose hit this week and I turned 4 of my girl's baby 'bunny rugs' into warm fluffy doona's....

I followed this great tutorial and had 2 snugly blankets finished within 3 hours...

Just Perfect!!!!

2011-06-06T23:54:00.004+10:00

Sunday saw my Mum, DH and I feeding a hungry tribe (331 to be exact) of friendly faces here on 'Darling Downs' Station for the 2011 Royal Flying Doctor Car Trek.

We had the best time and loved every single minute of it!!!!!!

From the nervous week of crazy preparations as we cooked like mad women to the amazing people we met as they passed through. Sharing their stories and some even staying on, just that little bit longer, to enjoy a beer by the fire as the sun went down at the end of a very long yet rewarding day...

Challenging.....

2011-05-24T22:55:00.001+10:00

It appears that amongst the sugar coating and silver lining I've come to a bit of a cross-roads...

Something BIG is about to happen and all though at the moment it seems a little 'surreal' I'm sure, NO.... I know...... It's going to be great and we're going to be fine...

So if you've been wondering where I've been this past month or so, bare with me.... I'll be back to normal as soon as I possibly can, just give me a chance to catch my breath and gather up my family as we start to embrace a very exciting (and challenging) stage in our life...

Hugs - Jodie xx-xx

Independent Women???

2011-04-19T20:51:00.000+10:00

Most days my girls are up to their elbows in dirt working along side their 'Daddy' in the shed or out in the paddock........

I do so hope that all of this 'hand's on' learning they encounter will enhance the young independent women that they will hopefully one-day become.....

One can only hope, right????

I'm Back!!!!

2011-04-08T22:02:00.005+10:00

O.K... You're probably thinking - 'Where The Hell Have You Been?'... Right????

Well, there really is no 'good' explanation for my blogg-y absence. Things just got on top of me and blogging, unfortunately, was the thing that fell be the way-side... But, I'm back now!!!!

I'm so thrilled with all of the great feedback from my 'Video-Blog #1' that I've finally made '#2'...

(if this doesn't work, again, follow this link) There's 25% off some gorgeous yarn and another great Give-Away so be sure to check it out and let me know what you think...

24hr Bug.....

2011-03-21T20:30:00.002+11:00

In the darkness of my bedroom DH clicks his mobile phone to capture these progress pictures of my latest knitting project......

My poor girls are bed-ridden (in my bed of-coarse) due to a '24hr bug/wog' that seems to be lingering for more like 48hrs..... sigh....

So amongst the spew-y towels and stink-y sheets I'm putting the finishing touches on this super cute extra slouchy hat that I started on Friday (pattern 'Norie' from 'The Shetland Trader' book)...

I'm using a gorgeous cotton/angora blend yarn that I'll tell you more about later....

But for now, I'm off to snuggle with my girls and pray that they sleep well through the night and wake with settled tummy's...

My Very First Video Blog!!!!!

2011-03-19T09:53:00.009+11:00

After many out-takes my first 'Video Blog' is finally finished....

I so hope you all like it and I'd really love to hear what you think...

For those of you who are finding you can't veiw my Video Blog, follow this link and it should hopefully work...

Top-Down Shrug Pattern

2011-03-11T09:33:00.004+11:00

This is something new I'm working on......

I'm really enjoying having a hook in my hand for a change as I try to finalise this little shrug pattern so I can put in up in my sidebar as a freebie - What do you think???

Wordless Wednesday...

2011-03-09T03:51:00.000+11:00

more here

Making Me Smile Today......

2011-03-06T09:29:00.002+11:00

A new knitted 'Rainbow Pickle' for Connie-Girl (details here)....

A cute little top made with the sweetest of fabrics, just for my Millie (thanks Nik, I loved sewing this little number together).....

And the most adorable little dolly's that I still can't believe only cost me $2, and that's for the pair!!!!

What's making you smile today???

Homeschooling....

2011-03-01T15:45:00.002+11:00

This year sees my almost 5 year old, Connie, entering the world of Homeschooling. Here, on the farm, although we have a schoolroom most of the 'school work' is done elsewhere... So today, while DH heads 1000 km's down the road with a load of Dorper Ewes on board, the girls and I are hanging out at home, enjoying a little down-time.....

We've been blob painting, water-playing, puzzle making, drawing and oh so much more....

I was so nervous about starting this adventure into Schooling with Connie. Would I, or more to the point, could I provide her with all the things her growing mind needed??? I've read many a book in search of this very answer and you know what???? I'm a great Mum and I love my kids and at the end of the day this is what's important...

Homeschooling is definitely the right decision for us, right here, right now, at this time in our lives..... I love seeing Connie's development, her reactions to certain tasks and the wonderful things she creates daily. We are lucky to call the 'world' our classroom, being able to follow interests and passions as the need or urge arises....

We are enrolled with The School of Distance Education and our curriculum and supplies are sent out from Dubbo. Every thing we need is boxed up and arrives at the farm every 4 weeks; library books, craft supplies, activity packs, toys, construction sets, EVERYTHING, even info packs for the Mumma!!!!

You see, back when I first started talking with people about homeschooling and how it was a possible option for my girls, a family member (quite close to me at the time) was quick to shoot me down. She insisted that I was robbing my girls of a life, a life that was only achieved by attending a 'proper' school, a life that was supposed to be better.....

So here's my question to you, be honest now, would you home-school? How do you feel about those who do??

'1 on 1' Sewing Class...

2011-02-24T21:30:00.002+11:00

My last sewing class this afternoon saw us whipping up shirred dresses.....

In 1 hour we were able to turn 1/2 a metre of fabric into something super sweet and at a fraction of the cost you'd expect to pay in any normal clothing shop....

I really love the simplicity of these little dresses and for around less than $20 (including class) you too could make one....

The size range is unlimited as they're customised to fit... You can go backless or strapless, thin straps or thick straps, there's even halterneck or why not some ties - the choices are endless!!

So, pop on into Jellywares Cobar for your '1 on 1' class or keep watching this space as I put the finishing touches on my pattern which will be available for purchase very soon (pre-order's welcome)....

Late Summer Vest.....

2011-02-23T20:29:00.002+11:00

I searched for just over a week for the perfect first project for my new Malabrigo Worsted....

I started a cardi for myself in this gorgeous shade, rich chocolate, but after finishing 1 sleeve decided to rip it.... Don't you hate that????

But, then I found this - A Plain Vest.....

And it's just PERFECT!!!

I made the size 1 for my size 2 (26month old), added an extra inch to the body length before starting on the sleeves and cast on 4 extra st's on each sleeve.

This little project used less than 1 100g skein of Malabrigo Worsted and took just under 2 nights on the couch worth of knitting (approx 4 hours). I love how the colours of this kettle dyed yarn give it an almost aged look to this super cute 'Late Summer Vest' - Malabrigo I am in LOVE!!!!!

Blissful...

2011-02-21T18:20:00.003+11:00

The squeals of excitement were hard to contain as 'Connie-Girl' rocked her way through her first dance class on Saturday morning...

She ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT and is now dreaming of some day dancing just like 'Angelina Ballerina'...

Could life be more blissful for my little 4yr old??? I think not!!!!

Glad To Be Home....

2011-02-18T16:48:00.001+11:00

We had a great trip down to the City with the biggest high-light by far an adventure on a Ferry topped off by a delicious meal. Miss Connie even got to drive for part of our 'Ferry Adventure' which made for quite an excited little girl for the rest of our trip...

I'm always glad to return home after a trip away and with goodies waiting to fill the shelves of my shop who wouldn't be - right???!?!?!!?

I'm so excited to now be stocking a range of fabric packs and bunting kits by the gorgeous designer Yardage Girl....

They hit the shelves this morning and are already proving a huge hit!!!!

For all of those who have emailed me about updating my On-Line Shop, I'm currently working on a 'new' layout and am hoping to have everything finished with all my stock listed in the next month or so.....

Today We're.....

2011-02-14T14:29:00.003+11:00

.....packing up the car and heading away for a while....

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!!!!

See you in a couple of days or maybe even a week.....

That 'Green' Girl....

2011-02-11T14:08:00.005+11:00

Yesterday I was finally able to put the finishing touches on my 'Green Girl'..

What can I say..... I love everything about this little project!!! The fact that it's knit from the top down which makes it seamless, BONUS.... The gorgeous Cascade 220 yarn in that amazing Apple Green colourway that I chose to use, AWESOME!!! The little turned over collar, single button closure and super sweet puffy sleeve, DIVINE!!!! The fact that I only used 280grams of yarn for this whole project, yes that's right less than 3 skeins which is less than $20, WOW!!!

I love finishing a project on a good note, how about you????

If you'd like to make a 'Green Girl' for yourself the free pattern can be found here and my pattern notes can be found here....

Stacking Up Shelves!!!!

2011-02-10T15:08:00.006+11:00

This morning saw me unpacking parcels and stacking up shelves....

My long awaited shipment of Malabrigo has arrived and I've already picked a favourite from my 20 new shades.... This gorgeous shade in the 'Worsted' is aptly named 'Apricot' - now isn't that just DIVINE????!!!

So if you're looking for some delicious 'Sock' or 'Worsted' Malabrigo yarn than you can get it from me....

Yes, that's right!!!! I currently have 10 shades of each the 'Worsted' and the 'Sock' yarns, with more arriving soon...

The 'Worsted' is $11.40 per 100g skein which yields 209yards. The 'Sock' is $19.60 per 100g skein and boasts a generous 440yarns.

The Single Ply Hand Dyed incredibly soft Merino used in the 'Worsted' makes it perfect for a cardigan or scarf. The Plied Light Fingering weight Super-wash Merino of the 'Sock' makes it ideal for that gorgeous shawl pattern that you've been itching to make....

I'm now off to cast-on for a gorgeous Cardigan using my favourite scrum-my Apricot Worsted... Thanks for the inspiration this morning when you came to show me the progress you'd made on your version of this cute little number Nara....

Join In....

2011-02-04T21:01:00.000+11:00

hmmmm... I was thinking.... I'd really love a new dress....

It needs a pocket big enough to fit a small ball of yarn in, oh, and some lace would be great too....

And what would a Summer dress be without shirring, right????

Just Perfect!!!

So, if you'd like to make one for yourself we're making them in class at Jellyware's on a Saturday morning for the next couple of weeks, pop in to 'Join In'....

Also, don't forget 'Stitch and Bitch' from 2pm-6pm tomorrow, Saturday the 5th of Feb. It's FREE!!!! All you have to bring is yourself and a yarn-y project to work on...

My Crochet Kerchief....

2011-02-03T15:59:00.004+11:00

I made a cute little Crochet Kerchief for one of my sisters a couple of years back for her b'day. I loved it then but love it even more now after a couple of alterations to the original pattern (freebie from here)....

Here's what I did.....
Using a 5mm hook and some delicious Cascade Sierra Yarn (approx 10ply 80%cotton/20%wool blend) follow the smaller size instructions on the original pattern and ch72. Repeat Row 1 only 2 times (not 3).
Next, don't use another ball to continue on with the triangle part of the kerchief, simply sl st across 12sc and start the triangle instructions from here.
Skip the finishing row of the 'Triangle' and the 'Finishing' instructions too. Fasten off and weave in your end.
With your starting tail, sew your straight sc edge together to form a ring/headband, you want it to be a firm fit as the cotton will slightly stretch with wear.

And that's it!!!! One super cute headband perfect for keeping your hair out of your face in this humid weather.

Way Back When

2011-01-30T22:10:00.003+11:00

It seems that as the temperatures soar higher the work load increases round here...

With the mercury creeping up past 40'C today we load into our truck and hit the road. When DH gets called out to collect and cart stock, more often than not it's a family affair....

Some loads can see us travelling for hours up dusty old tracks but they're the trips we love the most!!

They're the ones that reveal hidden treasures... Like the 100yr old cottage that we stumbled upon today, lined with decadent pressed tin and echoing a time gone by.
As I listened to the Cocky tell the old building's story I longed to see what it would have looked like 'way back when'....

25% Off and a Little Stitch 'n' Bitch.....

2011-01-28T12:19:00.002+11:00

I knew when Molly arrived from Alana it wouldn't be long before I was knitting it for my girls too. And guess what??? I might even have to knit one for myself!!!! This pattern's sizing goes all the way up to Large Adult - AWESOME!!!! (I am now stocking this pattern at 'Jellywares on Marshall', email me if you're interested)

I don't currently stock the yarn that Alana calls for in the pattern so I substituted it with some of the divine Debbie Bliss 4ply Rialto which I do have in stock. This 100% extra fine Merino Wool is squishy and silky smooth and is by far one on my favourites by Debbie Bliss....

So if you're yet to give this gorgeous Wool a try, pop into 'Jellywares on Marshall' as it's 25% off, with any Pattern purchase, from today until the 15th of Feb.

Also, if you're in Cobar tomorrow we're having a little 'Stitch n Bitch' at 15 Marshall St from 2pm to 6pm. It's free and all you have to bring is yourself and a yarn-y project to work on... I'd love to see you there!!!!

YAY!!!!

2011-01-28T05:20:00.000+11:00

I finally think I got it.....
The sleeves are well on their way to recovery (after I balls up my first attempt) and I can actually see the finish line on this super cute little cardi and you know what??? It might even be in the next day or so.... YAY!!!!!

I Had To!!!!

2011-01-27T13:00:00.001+11:00

This morning I woke ever so early, eager to spend some '1 on 1' time with a special little lady....

You see, with skeins and skeins of delicious yarn surrounding me these days it's hard not to be seduced into yet another knitting project, leaving my poor neglected sewing machine to sit and collect dust.... So, at the start of this week I made a date, I had to!!! If I didn't write it down, book it in so to speak, it was never going to happen.....
'Janone Jan' and I spent 2 glorious hours together and look and what we accomplished.....

3 super cute little dresses......

All wrapped and ready for the giving.....

Have you been making any special dates lately???

Forgot...

2011-01-21T20:41:00.001+11:00

I made this little crochet pouch back in November last year and for some reason forgot to post about it...

I loved making this!!! To start with make 2 x 'cup' shaped objects, an inner and an outer. The inner needs to be about 1cm shorter in height than the outer so that when you sew in your zipper it doesn't get snag-ed.
Fold your outer in half, measure the opening, buy a zipper to match this measurement and hand sew both cups to the zipper. I sewed the outer on first and than place the inner inside the outer, wrong sides facing.... Pretty simple hey???

You could use any stitch you like on the outer cup (I used a mini puff stitch) but it's best to keep it simple on the inner cup with 'single crochet' only...

I'm currently stuck in a bit of a rut re-working the sleeves on the cardi that I started while away on holidays earlier this month, the darn things are too SHORT!!!!! If only a little fairy could magically appear and help me finish off this super cute little number, I'm so itching to wear it!

Take 2...

2011-01-14T14:03:00.010+11:00

I loved how quickly my first 'Spring Garden Tee' flew off the needles that I couldn't help but cast on for another one S T R A I G H T - A W A Y....

This time I used the 80% cotton/20% wool blend yarn Sierra by Cascade (I currently sell this yarn in my shop for $9.50 per 100g skein). I made the size 3 month and had about 5g to spare from a 100g skein. So that means that this little Tee cost me less than $10 to make, now that's a bargain!!!!!

I really love how the little lace-y details on the sleeves creates an almost ruffled effect when finished....

This little pattern was/is such a joy to knit that I can't wait to cast it on yet again, this time for my Miss Connie in the size 3....

If you're interested in a copy of this pattern I am currently selling them. Contact me via email for more details.... Also, don't forget to enter my 'Debbie Bliss' giveaway here for your chance to win some of the delicious yarn that I made my first Spring Garden Tee with........

Blog Auction...

2011-01-12T21:41:00.011+11:00

I've been watching the Queensland Flood Devastation on the news over the past couple of days with tear-y eyes. I'm fearful of what the next 24hrs will bring the residents of Queensland, especially when the river is predicted to peak at 4am in the morning...

These poor, poor communities that have an extremely long road to recovery ahead of them after the peak of the river water subsides... There is currently 43 people still missing and 12 people confirmed dead....

So when local blogger, Kylie, emailed me today to ask if I could pop on over to her blog to check out the yarn auction she was hosting to raise funds for the flood effected residents of Queensland I couldn't load her blog page up fast enough....

I'm such a yarn junkie and this beautiful skein of 70% super-wash merino/30% sea cell she has up for auction will make the perfect accompliment to my 'yarn stash'...

I love the fact that the funds used to purchase this yarn will be going directly to the people who need it most through a donation on the Queensland Government Telethon website...

So if you'd like to make a bid on this gorgeous yarn to contribute to the Queensland Flood Appeal just pop on over here and place your bid... :)

These 2 blogs (here and here) have auction's on at the moment too, also raising funds for Queensland...

Debbie Bliss Give-Away......

2011-01-09T22:44:00.006+11:00

My first FO (finished object/project) for 2011 is this cute little Spring Tee by Alana for my Mil-Mil. It was her b'day present and I made it using a gorgeous Sky Blue shade of yarn by Debbie Bliss from her Eco-baby range...

You see, I'm very excited to be stocking a large range of Alana's patterns this year in my shop, Jellywares on Marshall....
Alana is the very talented lady behind the podcasts that I told you all about back here. Yes, those very same podcasts that I became totally A D D I C T E D to that kept me glued to my computer for weeks... Well, that was until DH found my 8 year old 'MP3 player' (I can't believe that baby still worked). Now I'm mobile and my 'Knitting Pod-casts' are mobile with me....
O.K... Back to the patterns, this little Tee comes in such a large size range, 3month to girls size 14. That means that I can make one for each of my girls every year for many, many years, now that sure is great value for 1 pattern, right????

This Tee is knit from the top down which means NO SEAMING, my favourite type of knitting... It has the cutest little lace-y caped sleeves and the trickiest part of the whole garment is the neckband which is a series of picked up stitches worked in the round in garter stitch, now that's not hard now is it???

O.K... Because I love the yarn that I made this Tee out of so much I thought it would be fun to have a little give-away....

So for your chance to WIN 1 x 5og ball of Debbie Bliss Eco-baby, a gorgeous 5ply 100% cotton (valued at $9.50), in the same shade that I've used in the pictures above, just leave a comment on this post letting me know what's inspiring you at the moment.... Is it knitting podcasts like me (if so which one) or have you found a book (I'd love to hear about it) that you just can't seem to put down.....

I'll draw the Winner at the end of the month so you have 3 weeks to enter....

What Do You Reckon???

2011-01-08T07:01:00.000+11:00

When I arrived home from our extra long family break/holiday I was welcomed by an abundance of ripe passion-fruit, 40 to be exact, all waiting for me on the ground, just below my trusty old passion-fruit vine....

It's taken me nearly 4 years to finally grow a vine that is healthy enough to produce an abundance of fruit and an abundance of fruit it is bearing...

So with visions of passion-fruit wine (be very excited) in my head I pulped my 40 passion-fruit into zip-lock bags.

These are now headed for the freezer until I have enough pulp needed to create my very first brew of passion-fruit wine.... YUMM-O!!!!!

Another fruit ripe on the vine at the moment are heirloom Tommy-toe tomatoes....

These babies have had a pretty hard start to life. You see about 3 months ago 80 head of sheep decided to have a little party in my garden when I went to Sydney for a long weekend with DH and my girls... I arrived home to a TRASHED garden and have been too devastated to share pictures with you all... Everything, and I mean E V E R Y T H I N G was gone. Grapes, tomatoes, roses, jasmine, apples, cherries, pomegranates, citrus trees, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, shrubs, vines, oh and did I mention my tomatoes, my 30 odd heirloom vines ALL GONE!!!! Well, not all gone, the stalks were still left so I guess that's something, right???!!!

Well, thankfully we had just over an inch of rain that very same week which gave all of my little bare stalks a boost of energy and they got to work recovering....

So now 3 months down the track I'm starting to see greenery again and small amounts of fruit, I'm so glad that everything is recovering... I spend a lot of time in my garden and to have it all vanish over a couple of days was heart breaking to say the least... I hope those darn sheep got a belly ache for being so cheeky....

Tomorrow we are heading out in DH's plane 'Charile' for a joy ride....

We might stay out all day, heck we might ever bed up somewhere for the night.... We're thinking fishing, on the river, with a nice cooked meal maybe even an ice cold beer from this place, what do you reckon????

Our Little Mil-Mil.....

2011-01-06T20:58:00.000+11:00

2 years ago today we welcomed a special little girl into this world at 12:30am....

She had a gorgeous head of copper-y hair and the tiny-est little kissable lips I'd ever seen....
We named her Millie Rose but now she is know as 'Little Mil-Mil'....

She is ever so generous with her contagious smiles...

And will talk your ear off if given half the chance....

Her favourite thing to do is sit outside and soak it all up

with her many feline friends....

She loves being poked and prodded...

And doesn't even mind helping out in the sheep yards now and then....

We've taken her on many a road trip....

And she always manages to smile through the heat of a long and exhausting day out at a clearing sale....

She loves crusin' round the farm checking on the stock

and it's a real hoot when Dad lets her drive....

She loves exploring on the motorbikes

and is happy just 'hanging-out' in the shearing shed while everyone else gets down to work...

But the one thing that our 'Little Mil-Mil' loves most of all is her big sister Connie....

And you know what.... Connie loves her just as much!!!

So, Happy B'day Mil-Mil!!!! We couldn't imagine a moment of our lives without you. You're our special little girl and we love you so very much... xx

Happy New Year's

2011-01-01T10:34:00.003+11:00

As we welcome the 'New Year' I'm thrilled to be able to sit, relax and enjoy my kids as we holiday in Sunny Canberra. A lot of this has been happening while we've been away and I'm loving it....

Yes that's right, knitting... I'm working on something new and guess what??? It's for me!!!!

Happy New Year's everybody.....

Hugs - Jodie xx

New Friendship Forming....

2010-12-28T11:23:00.002+11:00

As our Xmas visitors drive off down the road and the dust slowly settles we're blessed with some quite time to sit and reflect a little before we hit the road ourselves for a 'Family Adventure'...

There is a new friendship forming...
As we welcome our newest member to the family... She has long floppy ears...
Teen-y tiny whiskers....

A cute button nose....

And a personality to boot...

Her name is 'Paws'

And I think she'll fit in just fine around these parts, don't you???

Every year we like to try and get away somewhere 'new' for a family holiday. This year we're heading down to Canberra, tomorrow in fact, to introduce the girls to the big wide world of Science and Art. QUEST-A-CON is the first of many attractions on our list to visit..

Do you live in Canberra??? Is there anywhere that you think we would love to visit??? Do you know of any good yarn/craft shops??? What about a good op-shop???

See you in a week... xx

Coin Pouch Tutorial....

2010-12-24T17:20:00.000+11:00

O.K... I know I've been promising this one for ages, well I FINALLY got around to taking the pictures of each of the steps of the pouch so now I can finish the tutorial...

Before you start, if you are unfamiliar with the way that I crochet, I use American terms, not Australian/English so to me a dc is really a tr to those English at heart...

If you get stuck on any of the stitches in this tutorial, I'm sure Mr Google will be more than willing to help you out, or you could even email me if you like...

Let's get started..... Using a 3.5mm hook and some YUMM-O Debbie Bliss Eco-baby (5ply) chain 3. You are now going to work 11dc into the 3rd chain from your hook (the 1st chain), this will be your 1st round.

Your starting ch3 counts as a dc so you should now have 12dc, right??? Join this round by slip stitching into the 3rd of the 3 starting chain.

Round 2 - ch3, dc in same stitch as joining slip stitch, 2dc in next dc and in each dc round. You should now have 24dc, right?? Join this round by slip stitching into the 3rd chain of the starting ch3.

For round 3 and 4 we are going to increase evenly by 12dc each round.

Round 3 - ch3, dc in same stitch as joining slip stitch, 1dc in the next dc. (2dc in the next dc, 1dc in the next dc) repeat round. You should now have 36dc. Join with a slip stitch to the 3rd chain of your starting ch3.

Round 4 - ch3, dc in same stitch as joining slip stitch, 1dc in each of the next 2 dc. (2dc in the next dc, 1dc in each of the next 2 dc) repeat round. You should now have 48dc, right??? Join the same way you did for round 3. It's now time to work the sides of our bag which is really easy....

Round 5 - ch3, dc in the next dc and in each dc round. You should have 48dc. Join the same way you did for the previous round. Your bag should now turn up and start to take shape...

Round 6 to 9 - Repeat Round 5.For the next round we are going to work some wholes to tread a cord through to close your bag, this is called an eyelet round.

Round 10 - ch3, 1dc in each of the next 2 dc, skip 1 dc, ch1. (1dc in each of the next 3 dc, skip 1 dc, ch1) repeat round. Join the same way you did for the previous round. 12 ch1 spaces.

Round 11 - ch3, dc in the next dc and in each dc and ch1 round.. You should have 48dc again, right?? Join same as you did for the previous round.

You can finish your bag off here or you can add a picot edging it's up to you... (the picot edging instructions are up next after the cord)

We now need to make a cord for our bags.

Ch72, sc into the 2nd chain from your hook and in each ch across. Picot edge - ch1, (sc in each of the next 2dc, ch2) repeat round. Join the same as for round 11. Fasten off and weave in all your ends. There you have it, 1 finished little coin purse/bag ready for last minute gift giving...

Marry Xmas - Love Jodie xxxxx

Last Minute....

2010-12-23T13:27:00.002+11:00

With only 2 days left til Xmas I thought it might be fun post a couple of quick last minute Xmas-y type projects for you all to do...

The first 1 is for some Xmas String. Once you start on this stuff you won't want to stop and before long will have it hanging everywhere in your home...

This pattern is written using American Crochet Terms. If you are unfamiliar with the stitches I’m sure ‘Mr Google’ will be able to help you out...

Abbreviations : : ch-chain, slst-slip stitch, dc-double crochet, st-stitch.

Using a 4mm hook and some 8ply yarn chain 20.

*Work 6dc into the 4th ch from the hook, skip the next 2ch, slip stitch into the next ch. Work another 6dc into the opposite side of the chain that you worked the last 6dc into (12dc in total, slip stitch into top of 1st dc (1 circle made). Ch 20 and repeat from* until your Xmas String is desired length, I like to make my strings a minimum of 20 circles long.

Simple Hey???

Stay tuned tomorrow for a cute little Tree Decoration and I might even be able to pop up the coin pouch tutorial that I've been promising for months... xx

Thrifty Finds....

2010-12-21T21:30:00.001+11:00

Following on from this gorgeous blog who is following on from this just as gorgeous blog I'm posting of my latest 'Thrifty Find'...

I was lucky enough to attend a clearing sale last weekend and while there scored a few bargains in the process... The first was this little red suitcase for $1, yes that's right, $1!!!!

And when I opened it up it had a fabulous surprise in stall for me.....
A working vintage-y typewriter....
Can you believe it???? I can't wait to load it up with paper and start my typing adventure...

And you know what??? At that clearing sale I loaded the back of a little truck up for a whopping $50!!! What a bargain!!! So over the next couple of weeks I'll give you some sneak peaks as to what goodies made their way home with me... :)

On the garden front, I'm starting to pick my passion-fruit and they are absolutely delicious!!! Look out Xmas Day and homemade pavlova topped with fresh passion-fruit... YUMM-O!!!

I've also been picking zucchini and squash daily with this lot picked this morning...

I'm still waiting on my Tomatoes to ripen which is odd for this time of year. I guess it's due to the extremely WET season we're having for a change...

How's the garden going at your house at the moment, what are you harvesting???

Podcast's....

2010-12-20T16:00:00.000+11:00

I am totally going to give this friend a big kick up the but when I see her next.... You see on Friday afternoon she made a comment in passing about a 'podcast' and how it mentioned a yarn that I stocked in my shop, Cascade 220...

I never thought any more of it and then that same friend was in my shop the very next day and we spoke of this 'podcast' once again. So that evening I sat down with a very tall glass of Red and let Mr Google guide the way, I had to find this so called 'podcast'...

Have you ever heard of Alana fromShe designs the most gorgeous patterns, has an inspiring blog and if that's not enough she also does regular podcasts. The podcasts are AMAZING and I'm finding myself drawn to listening to the whole damn 46 of them....

So the reason why my friend gets a boot up the arse (totally tongue in cheek) is that listening to these podcasts means that I sit at my computer while the dishes stay in the sink and the house stays a mess. But while I sit and listen, I knit, so I guess it's a win even if it is only a little one... *^_^*

And the latest project I cast on for just last night while listening to the podcasts using some of this divine yarn was the Woodland Shawl by the Thrifty Knitter. I'm only wanting to use 1 skein so am following the notes on this Ravelry page...

This morning when I ventured outside to do a few jobs (yes, I peeled myself away from the 'podcasts' for a few hours... LOL!!!) can you believe that I actually had to garb a beanie??? Yes, that's right, a beanie.... In the middle of December when the temps are normally scorching and you dare not step outside for fear of dying of heat exhaustion I had to grab a BEANIE!!!!

And that got me thinking... I don't think I've shared this one with you all... I made it in Winter this year for my shop but loved it that much that I had to keep it for myself... I used the gorgeous 128 Chunky by Cascade and the shade is the most amazing blue I think I have ever seen...

What's hot on your needles at the moment???

6 Days To Go!!!!!

2010-12-18T18:01:00.009+11:00

This week in sewing class we've been working on some cute little dresses.... I have one in red on the go at the moment, perfect for Xmas day!!!! Can you believe that it's only 6 days until Xmas???? Well, for a change, I'm actually organised with only 1 thing left to do, sit back and enjoy this gorgeously festive time of year... How about you, have you got it all under control yet???

A big thank-you goes out to the 26 fantastic swappers that joined in on this round of my washer swap... There are still a few girls who are yet to post out, some due to flooding and others due to computer difficulties but all in all it has been a great swap...

Here's the washer that I made for my secret partner. I made it using 85% recycled Australian cotton, a gorgeous new product that I'll be stocking in my shop come the new year... Thanks to all bloggers who have put photos on their blogs of the goodies they created for the swap...

Becky has posted about the gorgeous parcel she sent and received here, Pesky Pixies has posted about her super cute Xmas-y washer here. Tracy has some great pictures up on her blog of the very generous swap parcel she sent her partner here. Fiona has posted here about what she made her partner, the mug rug is gorgeous and really worth a look... Toni has a sneak peak at the start of what she made her partner here. Over here, Cosmic-creepers has her parcel all wrapped up and sent and some super pictures of what her partner sent to her... Jules has posted her washers over here along with some sweet little crochet Xmas decorations. Sharon blogged about the lovely washer she made for her partner here, she even dyed some of the yarn herself, clever cookie... Jewells has a picture of the little angel washer that she designed for her partner here. And last but not least, Kylie has Raveled her amazing festive washer here.

For those swappers who do not have a blog, email me with some pics of your washcloths and I'll pop them up on my blog next week sometime for everyone to see...

Crowd Pleas-er.......

2010-12-14T20:53:00.005+11:00

I love this time of year, all of the parties and dinner guests. Diets are thrown by the way-side as visions of decadent Xmas spreads fill people's imaginations... A favourite budget busting crowd pleas-er for us this festive season would have to be these little gems... They are deep fried battered potato wedges, devilishly good, and here's how we make them at my house....

Deep Fried Devil's

ingredients : : 2kg of spuds (batter will easily cover 3 kgs if your hungry), 125g plain flour, 250ml milk, 1tspoon salt, 1/2 tspoon pepper, 1/2 tspoon baking powder, 1 egg, 1Tspoon melted butter (cooled).

step 1 : : peel and wash potatoes. Slice into thick chip like wedges approx 2cmx2cm. Place in a steamer and steam until just tender. Set aside to cool slightly

step 2 : : in a medium bowl mix all dry ingredients. Add 3/4's of the milk and whisk until combined. Add remaining milk and egg, whisk until smooth then add melted butter.

step 3 : : heat oil in a deep pan, we are deep frying after all so make sure there's enough in there to cover your wedges sufficiently. The oil is ready when a 2cmx2cm cube of bread is added and turns brown within 1min.

step 4 : : dunk each wedge into the batter until well coated using tongs and then deep fry until golden brown, approx 3 mins.

Serve with your favourite dressings, homemade Caesar works a treat, so does chunky salsa or sour-cream and sweet chilli, the possibilities are endless....
What's your go-to crowd pleas-er this festive season????

Happy List....

2010-12-13T23:41:00.002+11:00

With the rain comes wet wool and humidity and with that comes fly-strike...

So this week while we wait for the paddocks to dry out so we can finish harvest we mustered our old Merino Ewe's and bought them in for crutching....
Miss Millie was very excited to find a little lamb who was obviously missing a Mum....

And before we knew it these 2 were best of friends....

So we now welcome yet another poddy lamb to the tribe... *^_^*

And I must say that it's definitely at the top of my 'Happy List' for the week....

Some other things that are making me happy this week are - my 2 beautiful girls and my very strong husband, long phone calls to my mum in the middle of the night just because, beautiful fibres that I wouldn't have if it wasn't for my shop, the ever supportive blogging community and their gorgeous comments and lastly 'life'... Even though sometimes it really sucks I wouldn't be anywhere else doing anything else, I truly am lucky to live the life I do....

What makes you happy????

Re-Assessing.....

2010-12-08T14:10:00.000+11:00

Since I last posted we've had just under 5 inches of rain... After what was a promising start to the 2010 harvest season we are now looking at disappointing crops of shot wheat.... We're trying to stay positive, re-assessing our options, deciding whether or not to still sell our wheat even though it will now only bring $140 per tonne (if we're lucky) instead of the $300 that it was just over a week ago... sigh....

All the while we are ever so thankful that we still have a crop to strip and there will still be some money hitting the bank to lessen our burdens... We are not flood affected and have not lost everything, it's going to be tight for a while but at least we have something, right????!!??

Last Friday DH had a phone call from a friend who told him of a farmer at Walgett who took his life that morning with a riffle. He had a wife and a young family and after 10 years of drought and disappointment thought that this year would be his saving grace... So, he went in deep and planted up big... He has lost everything due to the rains and now his family has lost more, him.....

Jelly Xmas Star Tutorial

2010-11-29T20:55:00.003+11:00

With Xmas not too far away I thought it would be fun to do a little crochet Xmas decoration tutorial....

You'll need some 8ply yarn (I used heirloom super fine Australian Merino Wool) and a 4mm hook.

(note - american crochet terms are used for this pattern)

To start, make a foundation chain of 5, join with a slip stitch to the first chain to form a ring.

Round 1 - ch3, 2dc, ch3, *3dc, ch3. Repeat from the * 3 more times (5 dc clusters and 5 ch3's total). Join with a slip stitch to the 3rd ch of the starting ch3. Round 2 - slip stitch into the next 2 dc and into the first ch3 space. ch3, 2dc, ch3, 3dc, 1hdc in 2nd dc of next dc cluster. *3dc, ch3, 3dc in next ch3 space, 1hdc in 2nd dc of next dc cluster. Repeat from * 3 more times.

Join with a slip stitch in 3rd chain of starting ch3.

Round 3 - Sip stitch into next 2 dc and into first dc ch3 space. Ch3, 3dc, ch4, 4dc, 1sc on either side of hdc from previous round.

4dc, ch4, 4dc in next ch3 space, 1sc on either side of next hdc from previous round. Repeat from * 3 more times. Join with a slip stitch in 3rd chain from starting ch3. Fasten off and weave in ends...

These stars are great sewn into a garland or hung by themselves on your tree would look divine. Why not make them in a thick cotton for a Xmas-y themed washer...

Swap Button

2010-11-29T10:44:00.006+11:00

For those who are in the Xmas Washer Swap I've made a little button up for your side bar...

To add it to your blog like mine is on the right of the screen here's what you do.....

Right click on the picture above and save it onto your computer.

Go to the Design page of your blog and select 'add a gadget'.

Once in this wizard, scroll down until you see a gadget titled 'Picture', click on this gadget.

Once opened, you will see a field box at the top labeled 'Title', here I have named my picture 'Xmas Washer Swap 2010'.

Next you will see a box labeled 'Caption' leave this blank.

Next is the 'Link' box, here l typed - http://jellywares.blogspot.com/. This will mean that whenever anybody clicks on this picture it will take them straight back to here.

Now time to add the picture, in the 'image' field you will be selecting to 'add an image from your computer'.

Select 'Browse' to find where you saved the image.

Make sure that the box labelled 'shrink to fit' is ticked before you upload your picture...

I hope this all makes sense but if you have any problems just shoot me an email and I'll do my best to help you out...

Also could the following people please email me if you're still wanting to be in the Swap, I don't have your email addresses yet....

Lily Boot, Shammy, Kerrie B, Sarah & Leigha.

Please Don't Rain Today!!!!!

2010-11-27T09:40:00.005+11:00

Thanks to all who joined up for my Xmas Washer Swap... Keep an eye on your inbox as partners will be emailed out tonight, YIPPEE!!!!

With Xmas less than 30days away now I've slowly been putting the finishing touches on my handmade Xmas-y decorations for the shop...

The first super quick but overly effective decoration to adorn Jellywares on Marshall's walls this week is a Crochet Xmas Star Garland....

This was so much fun to make and as soon as we finish Harvest the pattern particulars will be available on my sidebar... I also have a knitted version for those crafty peeps who are yet to learn the art of crochet so stay tuned... *wink*

Thanks for all of the gorgeous comments and emails of late regarding our harvest. As I look out on the horizon this morning I see black skies and storms brewing, 20-40mm of rain is predicted for our region this afternoon. Please, I beg you, don't rain on us today!!!!!

Almost Ready...

2010-11-22T07:02:00.001+11:00

As we wait for 1 last Header (Harvester) part to arrive the anticipation grows as our crops etch their way to being ripe for 'stripping'.... In just a matter of days Harvest will begin and if all goes well these tiny little seeds will be our meal ticket for the next 6 months...

We've watched paddocks of bare red dirt turn to lush green pasture which then finally hayed off into golden wheat fields and have waited patiently as the months passed by in the process. We're so thankful for the rain that fell just when we needed it and for a mild start to our hot Season that has shone just the right amount of Sun.... We've been lucky enough to dodge the locust that are ever so present on several other parts of our farm...

And now, with all fingers crossed, we hope for a successful harvest..... So if I'm a little distant over the next couple of weeks it's because this hectic time has engulfed me and my little family as we work hard 'round the clock to get our precious grains of gold to the silo's... Hopefully bringing with it some festive cheer for 'Darling Downs' Station....

Frumpy??!!????!!!!

2010-11-13T09:28:00.005+11:00

Last night when I asked DH what he thought of a new skirt I'd made I never expected the response that I got, actually I'm still pretty disappointed.... I guess I can be grateful for his honesty. I'd of hated him to tell me I looked gorgeous if he never really meant it but when he told me I 'looked frumpy' my heart sank..... WOW!!! When did I go from the 'sexy' woman he married to a 'frumpy' wife???

I stewed on his words all night (because I'm good at that) and this morning when I woke decided to wear the new skirt regardless... Hell, I don't mind looking like a frump if it makes me feel good....

What about you??? Have you been called 'frumpy' lately????

Are You Like Me????

2010-11-12T16:13:00.003+11:00

Sometimes I think about a blog-post that much that I think I over think it, have I lost you yet??? LOL!!!

(new skirts we're making in sewing classes at 'Jellywares'.)

I even sometimes lay in bed at night thinking of the words that I'm going to write to go with the gorgeous pictures I've taken that day, I think, think, think those darn words right out of my head and by morning all I am left with is pictures and no way of writing how they make me feel...

(1st sewing class project)

So for the rest of this month I'm just going to upload my pictures and let it flow from there... Sometimes there may be words but then again sometimes there might not....

Are you like me???? Do you think too much too???

Jelly Wares

Poppy and Connor....

Pebble....

Seasonal

Summer Afternoons

Absolute Bliss

Extra Squishy

Last Minute...

Sweet and Tender

The Art of Crochet

Adding Them Up....

Wool Cheque

Making A Start...

Washcloth Swap...

Crochet Xmas Wreath

Knitted Star Tutorial

Hooked!!!

Special Gifts....

Girl-y Time

**30**

Jewel Blue...

Corner of My Home

Mustering...

Art In Motion....

**Shop Update**

Today I'm.....

Simple Country Life....

Skinny Taiyo

just the right amount of 'BULK'....

Klamath....

Shortbread....

Dirty Hands...

French Press Slippers

Bread....

HOME

*Shop Update*

Home-Schooling....

On My Verandah.....

Switched Off!!!!

Winter-y Weekend....

Yarn Addiction....

Plans Change....

What Would You Do????????

'Big Knit'

Sweetly Scented....

Passion-Fruit Butter (Curd)

Have You?????

Inspiration....

Curious.....

FREE!!! Crochet Jug Cover Pattern.....

My New Favourite Hat...

Free Ride....

Shalom Sanity....

Challenging.....

Independent Women???

I'm Back!!!!

24hr Bug.....

My Very First Video Blog!!!!!

Top-Down Shrug Pattern

Wordless Wednesday...

Making Me Smile Today......

Homeschooling....

'1 on 1' Sewing Class...

Late Summer Vest.....

Blissful...

Glad To Be Home....

Today We're.....

That 'Green' Girl....

Stacking Up Shelves!!!!

Join In....

My Crochet Kerchief....

Way Back When

25% Off and a Little Stitch 'n' Bitch.....

YAY!!!!

I Had To!!!!

Forgot...

Take 2...

Blog Auction...

Debbie Bliss Give-Away......

What Do You Reckon???

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Shop Update

Shop Update