traditions?

I can't stop thinking about Xmas lately and am super excited to be introducing the 'Elf on the Shelf' tradition into our home this year.... The excitement will begin on the 1st of December and I'll be sure to fill you all in on our adventures with our little elf as they happen! 

Do you have any particular Xmas traditions that you like to do as a family? Tree up on the 1st of December? Advent Count Down? Decorating your home - inside or/and out? I'd love it if you shared them with me... :)

In the mean time I've been hooking up a treat, making little ornaments to adorn our 'stick' Xmas tree that takes pride of place in the middle of our dinning table over the Xmas period. 

 

This little pattern was super easy and each ornament took no longer than 15mins each. 

 

I'm using some gorgeous new 4ply cotton and a 3mm hook for these ornaments and if you'd like the pattern the details are complimentary with each cotton yarn purchase... 

 

So, if you'd like some of this gorgeous cotton yarn to make some Xmas-y themed ornaments of your very own you can simply send me an email to jellywares@bigpond.com or pop onto my Facebook page here! note : : stocks are limited!

I couldn't help but share this picture with you all?!! 

My eldest girl, Connie, helping out in the sheep yards this week with her favourite cat 'Foxy'.... I sure do love this girl to bits!

So..... Have you made a start on your Xmas crafting??


** red cotton now SOLD OUT!**

Shearing and Rain....

We've been shearing here this week, definitely one of my most favourite times of year by a long shot...

 

So with the smell of Lanolin still fresh in the air I'm itching to place an Order with Malabrigo for some more yummy Sock and Arroyo yarns... Before I do I thought I'd offer a 30% discount off each yarn for anyone interested in Pre-Ordering.... To Pre-Order simply email me, jellywares@bigpond.com, (or comment below) the shade(s) and quantity that you'd like. 

Normally $28, PRE-ORDER Sale Price $19.60!!!! 

You will not need to make payment until your Order is ready to be posted out from me in Australia - approx 3 weeks. Postage is $8.95 for up to 5 skeins or $13.95 for up to 15 skeins to anywhere in Australia. 

Pictured below from left to right (top to bottom) are the Arroyos shades available for Pre-Order; Archangel, Prussia Blue, Fresco y Seco, Marte, Purpuras, Natural, Indiecita, Sandbark, Reflecting Pool, Pocion, Vaa, Volcon, Plomo, English Rose, Azules, Arco Iris.

 

Pictured below are the Sock shades available for Pre-Order and from left to right (top to bottom) they are; Abril, Impressionist Sky, Lettuce, Indiecita, Ochre, Light of Love, Natural, Violeta Africana, Archangel, Cote d'azure, Terracota, Tiziano Red, Ravelry Red, Arco Iris, Eggplant, Marte.

 

And because its been so dry round these parts for far too long I thought I'd share a picture of the view from our dog kennels from earlier this week when we received a very welcomed 34mm of rain in a couple of hours bringing with it plenty of run off... A saving grace for us here on the farm as many dams were starting to dry up.... 

I so hope that if you needed rain at your place it came down for you too... :)

Little Shoes...

With the cool days upon us I find myself reaching for the hand-knits faster than I can wash them... So this past week I've been making little shoes for the smallest guy in our home to combat this problem... 

 

With 5 pairs now made and the first having been worn for a good week (with washing in between of-coarse), I can safely state that I now have a new favourite 'bootie' pattern... :)

The pattern can be found here and guess what??? It's a freebie too... :) It comes in loads of sizes and is super easy to switch out the yarn recommended for something in your stash - gotta love that...

The yarn I used for this batch of booties was 100% Baby Alpaca, super soft and super warm and apart from a little fluffing after the first couple of wears it seams super durable too... I only have 7 balls left in my Shop, they're down from $11.50 to $8.50 - check it out here or here...

What have you been knitting this week???

Feeling Special....

I feel super special this morning as I enjoy home-made tomato relish from a very dear friend on fresh baked bread...

 

There really is something special about home-made gifts, they're from the heart and just seem to taste that whole lot sweeter - don't you think??? :)

 

This week on the farm we've been busy putting some seed in the ground, a little late I guess but something is better than nothing - right?!?!!

And we've also been busy mustering in some lambs for market...

3 kids and myself have been loaded up on the trusty ol' 4 wheel motor bike for 3 days now - slowly bringing in the sheep... Tomorrow DH will truck some lambs off to market - fingers crossed they sell well for us...

 

On the 'shop' front I've got some super soft baby alpaca lace weight yarn by Malabrigo on Sale check it out on my website - www.jellywares.com

 

And if you're in the mood for a GIVE-AWAY, pop on over to my Facebook page and you could be the lucky enough to take home these hats...

'Ripple'...

I love me a good crochet project and there's none better, in my eyes, than a crochet blanket...

 

My go to crochet blanket pattern at the moment is Attic 24's 'Ripple' - I simply love how quick and easy this pattern is to hook up yet it's so effective once finished...

My blanket making yarn of choice would have to be Cascade Sierra... This yarn is a dream!!! It's 80% Cotton and 20% Wool making it perfect for everyday wear and chucking in the washing machine when the need arises... The blanket has been used and loved by my 4yr old for almost a year now, machine washed and line dried many a times and it still looks new - gotta love that... :)

Do you have a favourite crochet project??? What about a favourite blanket?

Winter Knits....

I'm totally loving that the temps are slowly starting to drop, means that I can finally start to wear the knits I've been working on over the warmer months.
 Back in November of last year I had the pleasure of knitting a design by the very talented Veera Valamaki - Color Affection. I simply love this pattern and during the final days of my pregnancy with Tobie it made for the perfect knitting project - simple,m but not too much so that I got board.... It had just the right amount interesting techniques to keep me knitting happily all the way to the end..... I'm now itching to make a Color Affection in some Autumn shades..... What do you think?? (pop on over to my Facebook page to grab this yarn at a special price.......)

This was my first attempt at composing a blogpost using a Samsung Tablet... So much trickery than I thought it would be... :( Would love to hear if you blog from a Tablet and how you do it...

Facebook....

I finally did it!!!!

 

I've started up a Facebook page for my Jellywares Shop....

 

Pop on over and let me know what you think....

 

There's even a Sale listed on there, 50% off Malabrigo Finito!!

Sweet Little Shawl....

A few weeks back now I made a sweet little shawl using some of the most softest Baby Alpaca that I'd ever come across... 

 

The shawl pattern was 'Dory' by Goodknits and the yarn was Eki Riva's 8ply in Cherry Red and Navy... I used 2 balls for the body of my shawl and not even 1/2 a ball for the edging. The combination of a beautifully written pattern and silky smooth yarn made for a completed project in only 1 night - gotta love that...

So, when some new shades of Eki Riva 8ply hit my shelves yesterday I couldn't help but dream of a new colour combo - light grey....

 

and baby pink.... What do you think???

To celebrate the arrival of more of this gorgeous yarn I've whacked a whopping $3 off per ball - that's over 25%!!!!!! 

Check it out here....

Enriching....

I spent the day in my Shop today - it was cold out and the air was fresh but in the confides of my little knitting shop I felt perfectly cosy...

I was able to put the finishing touches on this pretty beret for a customer and start on a couple of other Orders which I've had in the pipe-line for the past couple of weeks....

I'm always filled with such inspiration after spending a full day in my Shop... The people that I'm blessed to encounter, engage my creative side which is truly invigorating.

By the end of a long day I do long for the comforts of my humble home - as I'm sure any Mother who works would. I miss the company of my girls and their Dad(Brad) but for 2 days a week it's my job to provide for my family away from the farm and venture into town...

Deep down I know that what I do is appreciated  and I really am so very lucky to be able to do something that enriches my soul the way that my little Shop does...

What enriches your soul??? 

A Few More BARGAINS!!!!

After having such a great response to Wednesday Nights Sale I've decided to whack a few more things on special...

So pop on over to my SALE BIN for 50% OFF what's left in stock of my 100g skeins of Malabrigo Worsted Merino.  

I have 24 new shades arriving in the next week or so and thought it would be nice to get rid of my old stock before they all arrive... :)

I've also whacked 30% OFF ALL Pattern Leaflets so be sure to check that out also...

GRAB A BARGAIN!!!!!

I'm having a clean out in the Shop to make some room for the 3 BIG BOXES of Malabrigo which are due to arrive next week.

So today's your lucky day as I'm having a bit of a sale - A 50% OFF SALE!!!!!

I have 4 shades of this gorgeous Ella Rae DK weight Bamboo Silk in 50g skeins

and 7 shades of some of my all time favourite 20ply Pure Wool by the Australian owned Nundle Wool Mill... This yarn comes in a very generous 200g hank!!!!!

Both yarns are a MASSIVE 50% OFF but stocks are limited!!!!!

This Sale is exclusive to my website shop only... 

Living Life....

I'm so happy to report that the morning sickness has finally pasted... HOORAY!!!!!!

These days I just can't seem to get enough of the cheeky little antics of my sweet little Miss

Millie....

This age, 3-4, is just so special - independence starts to grow and exploring becomes that little more adventurous.... 

I love watching her 'living life' - it makes my heart simply melt...

My favourite yarn at the moment would definitely have to be the gorgeous, squishy, Malabrigo Rios... For this hat I used the Ravelry Red shade and worked on this great free crochet beret pattern.... 

Some other yarn I'm loving at the moment is this 100% Merino Sock weight yarn by Skein.... Hand-dyed in Armidale in the most divine shades....

Industrial Age and

Beach Shack....

Also, fresh from the garden tonight I'm cooking up an arm full of Coloured Chard and adding it to the top of an oven baked Spaghetti Bolagnese along with some crumbly home-made Feta.... Yum-O!!!

What are you harvesting and eating at the moment???

Update....

I'm so excited to report that I've finally updated my Shop with some new yarn....
*Silky Merino*

*Rios*

*Sock*

*Arroyos*

I'd love for you to pop on over and check out the gorgeous shades of Silky Merino, Sock, Rios and Arroyos - all by Malabrigo and if you do please tell me what you think, I love feedback!!!!

I also think I now know why I've been on such a lull for the past couple of months... Here at the 'Weekes' family we are very excited to be welcoming a new addition - Yes that means that I'm expecting bub #3, can you believe it???

I'm 3 months pregnant and am feeling a little nauseous - I can definitely say that this time 'round I'm having 'day long' sickness and not just sickness in the morning, blrrr.... Hopefully by week 20 all will be good...

Girl-y Time

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??!!?!!