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... 

Baby Knits

I love knitting for babies and 2 of my most favourite things to knit for little girls would have to be this Abagail Sweater

and this sweet little Scalloped Lace Baby Hat....

Both these knits I've made many a times for my 2 little girls. I've also made these 2 classic knits for many friends baby girls and feel such warmth to see them wearing the same special knits as my very own babies...

For my latest Abagail I used the new Arroyo. I'm loving this fingering weight Superwash Merino and nearly can't believe that it only took 1/2 a skein to knit the entire cardigan - gotta love baby knits!!!!

For the Scalloped Hat I used 1/2 a skein of some gorgeous Silky Merino in the softest shade of purple.... 

We are so looking forward to welcoming our new little baby into the world before the year is out and you just never know - maybe there might be a few more Abagail's and Scallop Hats on the horizon if our latest little one is a girl too... *^_^*

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???

Yarn Addiction....

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!!!!

Have You?????

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???!!!!

Silk-y Goodness........ *winner*

When I first saw Debbie Bliss Pure Silk I knew it wouldn't be long before I'd have to have some of my very own..... Well, guess what??? I now do!!!!! *squeel*

So with all of this Silk-y goodness I just couldn't resist playing around a bit and came up with this little bookmark.... I just love this stuff!!! It's delicious to use and drapes so beautifully when crocheted up into lace... Have you ever used silk fibre/yarn before??? I'd love to hear what YOU thought of it...

Thanks to everyone who entered my give-away... There are so many great stories which makes it so hard to choose just 1 winner so I put my 6 favourite into a hat and Miss Connie drew out the winner..... So, Congratulations....... Knitter Sue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Email me your snail mail and I'll pop your Noro in the post asap...

Instant Gratification.........

I'm loving using super chunky wool this Winter....

(hat made using cascade magnum - $22 per skein from my shop)

It works up so quickly which makes it perfect for those instant gratification projects....
(fabric covered button by me *^_^*)
From 1 x 250g skein I easily get 2 hats for my girls.....

This one is destined for my shop though....

I'm hoping it will be the perfect fit for a gorgeous little girl who lives just down the road from my shop...

Hugs........... Jodie xx-xx

Silky Goodness....

I was so excited when I received a parcel last week loaded with Silky Noro Goodness!!!! I've always admired Noro from a far, dreaming of the day our paths would meet.... Now that they have I am definitely not disappointed, this yarn is everything I had ever imagined it would be and much, much more!!!

This humble 100g ball is destined to transform a simple scarf pattern I've been working on into a master piece.... :) On another yarn-y note, I've been busily playing around with crochet beret's this past week and am now finally pleased with my latest 'felted' creation.....

I used Cascade's Bulky Leisure which is a super soft 50:50 blend of Alpaca and Cotton. The 50% Alpaca lends itself to felting nicely, creating just the slightest 'brushed' effect when washed in a hot soapy mix... It made for the perfect head warming device on Saturday night as the temps dropped into the negatives and we enjoyed a bonfire with some gorgeous friends... (Millie and I in the glow of the fire)
Hugs................ Jodie xx-xx

On The Road Again

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

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

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

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

Still Knitting...

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

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

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

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

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

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

Beanie #2

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

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

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

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