What's Wrong With Me????

Thanks for all of the great feed back on the drawstring bag. I'll try and get the tutorial done and posted by sometime next week so stay tuned.... :)

I can't believe that this knitting/crochet bug is still going... There really must be something wrong with me at the moment... LOL!!! I usually get bored and move on after 1 or 2 projects but now I'm up to project number 5 with another 2 already in progress and due to be finished tonight, can you believe it??? Well I can't!!!!!

Here's some pics of the face washers I made for a friend who's b'day is this week. This one is knitted using a gorgeous cotton/acrylic yarn by Patons and this pattern.....

And this one is crochet using 100% cotton yarn by Sullivan's (the same stuff I used for the nappy cover) and this pattern. Even though both yarns were the same ply (thickness) this crochet cloth feels SO much chunkier....

I'm going to try and make some homemade soap to go with these cloths, only if I get the chance, and I have the fabric all cut out and ready to be sewn for a drawstring bag (same as the one in the last post) to put it all in.

Drawstring Pouch and some Mittens...

I whipped up this little reversible drawstring pouch on Sunday night using just over half a metre of fabric in an attemp to help my little sister learn to sew a bag of her very own....

It was so super easy and if anybody is wanting me to do a tutorial for one just leave a comment and if there's enough interest I'll try and get one up on my blog in the next couple of weeks.
I'm using this one to carry my latest knitting project around in, a washcloth which will be a pressy for a friends b'day that is coming up very soon. I can see many more of these little bags in my life, they're just fab and ever so handy to tote that latest project around in.

I've also managed to crochet a pair of these mittens for bub #2. They should match the little booties just nicely. Now all I need is to find a little singlet pattern, anybody know of a good one out there????
Take Care and happy crafting.... :)

Knitted Slippers

Not too many words today....... I got a chance to knit these slippers up for bub #2 last night though while watching a bit of T.V.

They were sooooo quick and easy that I think I might have to knit another pair up very, very soon... I used cleckheaton bamboo, what a gorgoeus yarn!!! Seen as though I've purchased 4 x 50gram balls of it and these little treasures only used about 1/4 of one I can't wait to use the rest of it up, maybe on a matching singlet and mittens... What do you think???Take Care.... :)

Knitted Nappy Cover....

Thanks for all of the lovely birthday wishes for my little princess Connie....

I've had a chance to do a bit more knitting of late and whipped up this little nappy cover.I used cloth nappies with Connie and intend on doing the same with bub #2. I always dreamed of having homemade nappy covers like these ones. Hopefully I'll get a heap more knitted up in several different colours before he/she comes along.

It's so hard to pick colours for 'baby stuff' trying to keep both sexes in mind... Yes that's right I still don't know what I'm having yet, don't get me wrong the surprise is going to be just lovely but DH and I had kinda talked ourselves into finding out the sex at the last scan but unfortunately the nurse was unable to see anything..

Hopefully this green cotton yarn isn't too dark... I used cotton yarn to try and make it as cool as possible as my little bub will be wearing this in the middle of summer.

With such beautiful Spring weather here over the weekend I got the urge to plant some more seeds....

Strawberries and Garlic Chives.... YUMMO!!!! I've always wanted to grow berries and don't know why I never have.... Any tips for great strawberry growing out there???

Take Care.... :)

Happy B'day Baby Girl......

I can't believe that my little princess turns 2 today....These pics were taken at the surprise party that Granny held for her last Friday night. She had the best time as you can see by the look on her face...I've loved every minute of our first 2 years together Connie, my little princess, and can't wait to see what adventures the next 2 bring.

A Bit of Sewing Time....

Over the weekend I got a chance to whip up a couple of skirts for my little princess......

All I did to make them was cut a 12' x 32' rectangle out of some fabric from my stash, stitched the 2 12' sides of the rectangle together to make a tube, hemmed the bottom, stitched on some cute trim then hemmed the top and inserted some elastic. Too easy!!!!

I'd say it's about a size 2-3... I got the super cute trims from Reprodepot about 6 months ago and am so happy with the quality that I can't wait to head on over there again to buy some more of their trims...

Seen as though my little girl is pretty obsessed with putting things in pockets at the moment I added a pocket to the one below...

Next on the sewing agenda is a couple more of these aprons and some light weight pants for Spring...

Thanks for all of the advice on the gates from my last post... After changing my mind several times I've finally come to a decision... I'm going with the less-fancy option of the gate in the first pic, with the added swirly bit on the top of coarse.. I can't wait to pick them up this weekend from Mum's and when I do I'll show you all some pics!!!

Take Care... :)

Slowing Down A Bit.....

I finished that cardi that I started a couple of weeks back but am yet to take a pic of it all sewn up so this one of it finished and ready to be sewn up will have to do for now... :)Isn't that green just divine??? I used the same yarn that I did back here and loved every minute of it... It's so super soft and lovely to knit with....

We started pulling down and building a new fence around our farm house last weekend and I'm finding alot of my spare time consumed by this task so the knitting has slowed down for now.... I'm getting some specially made gates from my Mum's engineering business and from her many designs I'm finding it hard to choose between these 2.... I'm leaning more towards the first one as it was named after my little princess 'Connie' but I think it may be needing a little swirly thing added to the top like the one in the second pic to jazz it up a bit... The second one is good too but maybe the mesh down the bottom needs to be on the diagonal like the first one.... Decisions decisions???? I'd love to hear what you think??? Any feed back would be great!!!!!

Take Care and have a FANTASTIC weekend!!!!!

Still Knitting....

I still can't believe that I've now finished 2 knitted projects bigger than a scarf or beanie.....

This little 5 hour baby sweater (even though it took me much, much longer than that!!!) is so super cute I can't wait to knit up another one.... I knitted up the 8-10pound baby size (it's about the same as 3-6 month, my baby was 8 pound and there is no way that this would of fit her at birth). I finished it off with a little red velvet ribbon, next time I'm thinking a couple of buttons at the top would be pretty cute too...

I've now started on another cardie and can't wait to get it finished... If only the knitting bug had struck back at the start of Winter, not at the end... LOL!!! Oh well, just think of all of the cute Summer things I can start knitting soon.... Take Care :)

Knitting Bug....

With babies popping up (or should I say out?? LOL) every where at the moment the urge to pull out the knitting needles has stuck again... This time I've actually finished something bigger than a scarf or gloves... It's this cute little Debbie Bliss Shrug.....

Now I'm a pretty novice knitter at the best of times but with the help of You Tube and a few handy 'how to' video's it was a breeze mastering this super easy pattern by Debbie Bliss...

I started this shrug on Tuesday night and finished it last night, talk about instant knitting gratification!!! Seen as though the knitting bug has well and truly made it self at home I couldn't help but cast on this little number this morning before work.... It's going to be a gift for a girlfriend who's due to have a baby girl in a couple of weeks... Her colour preference was red, not pink, RED!!!! I can't wait to see how it turns out...

Just one last note before I sign off for today.... I'm so grateful for all of the inspiration and support that all you bloggers out there offer each and every day. If it wasn't for this 'network' of supportive people I really would find it hard to focus on a daily basis like I do....Take Care and THANK YOU!!

The Growing Challenge....

I've decided to join in with Melinda's Growing Challenge.... The #1 rule of this challenge is to grow 1 additional type of fruit or vegetable from seed than you did last year.... Now for those that have never grown any fruit or veg before, ever, well that's OK, there's a huge support network over at Melinda's website for gardeners of all skill levels.... The aim of this challenge is to get people growing more fresh fruit and veg at home....

Isn't this a fantastic idea??? With the growing cost of living these days why not ease the pain by growing your own produce.... I've had a veggie patch for as long as I can remember and the flavour of your own home grow fruit and veg is AMAZING!!!!

This year I've decided to have a go at growing green squash from seed. I came across these fantastic Jiffy Pellets (or seed raising pots) at my local hardware shop the other day and just had to give some a go..For $5 you get about 24, that's pretty good value don't you think????

Seen as though my hands were already dirty from potting my seeds I decided to plant 1/2 a dozen of these trees (I bought them from here for $1.80 each for those interested) outside the boundary of the house yard.... It's a bottle-brush and is among the hardiest of Australian native trees. This is a must, the hardiness that is, for where I live. Our annual rain fall out here is usually only about 6 inches (which translates into VERY BLOODY DRY!!!!!) LOL!!! Once they're established they should have beautiful red flowers through the months of Spring which will be great for attracting birds.

In amongst all of this 'planting' yesterday afternoon I couldn't help but snap this shot of Fog (our dog) keeping an eye on a potty lamb for me.... All of the potty's are back out in the paddock now but still like to come and visit me at the house in the afternoons....

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and in some way or other manage to get your hands dirty... Take Care :)

A Bit of Everything....

I found a great recipe the other day over here for 'beyond easy beer bread ' and just had to give it a go....

I added some mixed herbs and grated Parmesan to the basic mixture and it turned out absolutely delicious..... I still can't get over just how super easy this bread was to whip up, not even an hour and that's everything!!! Give it a go I'm sure you'll be amazed too...

There is one catch though, if you only enjoy the lovely fluffy white bread that you buy at the bakers or reproduce in the bread oven at home after several kneads and rises than this bread may not be to your liking.... It has a fairly heavy texture that resembles savoury scones so be prepared for more of a damper than a bread (maybe I've done something wrong here, let me know if you get a different result).....

I'll definitely be making this bread again!! It's just perfect served with a steaming hot casserole in winter (which is how my little family enjoyed it the other night)... I tried to toast it the next day for breaky but wasn't too happy with the result... I prefer it still warm from the oven lathered in real butter....YUMMY!!!!

I'd love to hear about any of the yummy bread recipes that you may have hiding in your favourite cooking book.... I'm dying to give this recipe a go over here... It looks sooo delicious!!!

On the farm front, we gathered up the old girls on Sunday so we could mark their babies... For those non-farming bloggers out there I won't go into too much detail but this is the process where the lambs are ear marked and taged, castrated, and have their tails docked (tail docking helps to prevent fly strike)... While the little princess was in the shearing shed 'helping out' she stumbled across a container of used oil that DH left laying around at just the right height for little girls to reach..... WHAT A MESS!!!!
Even though the nights and early mornings have been absolutely freezing compared to usual for this neck of the woods the days have been divine.... With both DH and I finishing work early yesterday, for a change, we loaded up the trailer and headed out with the little princess wood cutting for the afternoon...With all of this extra cool weather we seem to be burning a lot more wood... A trailer load that would normally last 2 weeks is bearly making it through one at the moment.... DH loves burning a bit of hollow wood in amougst the solid stuff, he thinks that it helps to get the fire roaring..... What do you think??? Do you have a wood fire? If so what's your wood preference????

Take Care.... :)