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

Me Time...

The girls are in bed and DH is away on 'business' so tonight I'm pulling an all night-er... I've got a gorgeous book, my favourite red wine and a really good Internet connection (for a change). So after I've shared my latest creation with you all I'm hitting the couch, in front of the fire, for some much needed 'me time'.....

The latest project hot off the needles is this 'star' stitch hat....

I'm really loving this gorgeous 12ply pure wool from cascade and am so thrilled to be stocking it in my shop....

I've also managed to cast-on for a divine scarf which is featured in the 2nd Ysolda book. I'm using some of the delicious Australian 8ply Alpaca that I have featured here this month....

Here's hoping your having a gorgeous Monday and that in between all of the chaos you get a chance to have a little 'me time' also...

Hugs..... Jodie xx-xx

Sheep Work....

Firstly I'd like to say a big thank you to all of those who commented on my last post and emailed me in regards to the loss of puppy Lucy... Your kind words made the world of difference and for that I am forever thankful..... *hugs*

Today the weather was perfect!!! The sun was shinning and it was a heavenly 21'C, just right for a little sheep work.... Lamb marking was on the cards and while Brad (DH) and I worked little Millie watched intently, and Connie built mud pies for a special little lamb... That was until Connie found a secret fortress, the old sheep race and coaxed Millie and her new lamb in to play a while....It wasn't long before Millie decided enough was enough and it was time to escape....Connie was not impressed, can you tell???

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

Little Puppy Lucy.....

Today has been a sad one here at 'Darling Downs' Station with a very special member of our family passing away.... Little Puppy Lucy put her life on the line and lost it protecting me and my girls and for that I am forever thankful....

Let me explain..

Every Tuesday Morning the girls and I head out for the long walk to collect the mail... It's a great time for exploring and usually takes just over 2 hours.

This morning made for a gorgeous walk, the sun was shining and there was loads of wild-life out, maybe too much...

Connie was riding off up in front, Millie was tagging behind with me and the cats and dogs were following intently... Little did we know that there was one hell of a brown snake up ahead on the road 'sunning' itself.

Thankfully Little Puppy Lucy is never too far away from Connie girl and as soon as she spotted it's glistening coat on the red dirt road she bolted in front of Connie and did her damnedest to scare it away....

A lot of things happened in amongst all of this commotion even though to me it seems like not much happened at all... To save you all the gorry details poor little Lucy was bitten and the cries that we heard from her mouth were enough to turn any-one's blood cold...

My 2 girls were horrified as the impact from the snake was instant and our precious little puppy was paralyzed and died within a couple of minutes...

At the very second I saw that snake lay it's dirty fangs into the side of our beloved family companion I cursed... I cursed so load that I'm sure the neighbours 15 km's away heard... Why had I chosen to live so far away, so isolated from veterinary help and an anti-venom that just might have helped our little puppy???? What would I have done if one of my girls had been bitten instead????

So on the long walk back to the house there was a lot of 'Why Mummy's' from Miss Connie, my ever curious 3 1/2 year old, and even though all I wanted to say was 'it's just not right' I put my Mummy hat on and we talked it through....

We loved you very much Little Puppy Lucy... You sure are going to be missed.... xxxx

Braided.....

Another chunky project flies off the needles this week with the completion of this 'Braided' scarf. I used more on my delicious 20ply Nundle Wool for this project and the pattern is one of Susan.B.Anderson gorgeous designs. What a bonus that it's offered as a FREEBIE....

This woman truly is a pattern writing genius and I'm lucky enough to now be stocking a range of her amazing books at 'Jellywares on Marshall'....

I've also had the chance to do a bit of crochet...

The flower on the front really sets this little hat off. I purchased this great book recently.... And am loving it for finding gorgeous flowers to add to my 'plain jane' projects.......

What great books have you purchased recently???

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

Prototype....

One of my beginner knitting classes wanted to work on ear flap hats so armed with some gorgeous cascade Eco wool I set to work creating a prototype...

It definitely needs a little tweaking and I'm sure that after I make a matching one for Little Millie the pattern will be just right.... What do you think???

Hugs.................. Jodie xxx

p.s... If you happen to be in Cobar tomorrow call into 'Jellywares on Marshall' for some dairy free goodies. I'll be serving......

Ginormous!!!!

After all of the great feed back on my chunky crochet hat from last week I decided that it definitely needed an over-sized flower added to the side...

So armed with some gorgeous charcoal 128 cascade chunky and a simply divine purple button, I set to work creating something ginormous for the side of my chunky hat...

I'm so thrilled with how it turned out, what do you think???I can see many more of these over-sized flowers adorning my projects from now on...

Hugs.......................... Jodie xxx

Gorgeous Fibres....

Being surrounded by gorgeous fibres 3 days of the week has really made it hard to think about anything else but knitting (oh, and crochet too).... So the latest project hot off the needles (a 10mm circular to be exact) is yet another chunky cowl.
This one has a lace pattern worked through it and the shade of yarn that I used, vintage grape, is that delicious looking that I swear I could eat it all up...

If you're loving this pattern, it's a freebie when you purchase 1x200g skein of the super chunky 20ply from my shop. Just write 'lacy cowl' in the comment section of the checkout and the PDF will be emailed to you within 48hrs. Happy Knitting!!!!!
Hugs...... Jodie xxx-xxx

Chunky Charm...

I think it's official, I'm absolutely hooked on Nundle's 20ply pure wool.... I love it's chunky charm and how super quick it works up. The bulky warmth if provides is just divine especially on a fresh morning...

This little scalloped hat is a project one of my crochet classes are working on.

I'm thinking that maybe I need to add an over-sized flower to the side, what do you think???Here's hoping you're keeping warm while the temps are starting to drop where you are...

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

pattern particulars coming soon

Itching.....

I'm loving the cool afternoons of late, they're just perfect for rugging up....Hand-knits are always an essential when the temps drop and my most favourite at the moment would have to be this super simple little tri-peak hat...

I used my very first ball of hand-spun to make it so it holds a very special place in my heart...

And when it tops my little Millie's head my heart just melts!!! I'm so itching to spin up some more.....

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

Granny Love...

I had some gorgeous ladies in the shop today for a 'learn to crochet' class... We went through the basics and then started on some granny squares....

I am so impressed at how well they all picked it up and am looking so forward to our next class next week... I made a pastel cotton granny......

And an earthy pure wool one to show how different 2 kinds of yarn can look in the same pattern....

I love granny's and if you do too stay tuned for my pic tutorial coming very soon...

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

(crochet classes are every Thursday and Saturday, call into the shop for for more info)