Hello! I miss autumn already, as I sit here listening to the rain on my roof. I managed to get out and about in the sunshine on the weekend (how could I not? Glorious!).
My quick knit cowl, just off the needles and modelled by my girl.
Autumn goodness.
Knitting projects on the go (and maybe 2 more out of shot. Hmm). Tis’ the season of the sticks!
I rescued an Ikea Poang chair from the side of the road this week. It was all alone by the bus stop and looking for some TLC. The kids egged me on as I assessed its sav-ability and popped it in the back of the car. It was missing its slipcover cushion, and I knew I had a spare at home. It was the frame that needed attention.
The woodwork looked mostly like this:
The chair frame fabric looked like this (that’s mould, not dirt):
It took an hour to undo the chair frame with an allen key, unpick the frame fabric and use it as a template for the new fabric frame, cut out and sew up the new fabric frame, and clean up the woodwork. And then the Poang looked like this:
And the back shot (with dodgy french seam not caught down):
Add a cushion slipcover and the almost-9-year-old is a happy girl with a new chair for bedroom reading. And I am happy to have performed another successful roadside reno for the princely sum of $0.
My handprinted swap fat quarters have been sent off, and I have received three back so far. I enjoyed the hand printing, and carving my own block from easy carve rubber. I went with one design and two colours to keep it simple:
My block was 5″ x 3.5″ in size, and I used a roller to re-ink the block and print the pattern over and over. Thanks to Leslie from Maze and Vale for organising the swap. I am off to the Finders Keepers Market this weekend, and hope to pick up some Maze and Vale fabric sample packs.
This is the cabinet I rescued from someone’s hard waste last year. It is now in my craft room full of wool. That’s right. Every drawer. And then there is the 2 plastic tubs full of wool. Let me hear you say handknits!
I’m currently working through the stash since my own mother, who has an impressive fabric stash of her own, made comment on the size of the wool stash.
I have a vest for myself just off the needles. I am knitting a beanie for my brother,which was going great until my pattern omitted the K2tog in Row 7, which meant I had to unpick several SSK. I am planning some mittens and a shrug.
If you are on my gift list this year you’d better like handknits. Show and tell pending. Given my current blogging rate, that could be late winter.
I’ve been churning out these little purses for gifts this year, for some sweet girls and for the kids teachers. After 12 purses, I’m glad to put those aside for a while. They are a quick make, and cater for all age ranges of gift recipients. I used fabric mostly from my stash plus a few I bought from Spotlight.
Today it is on to the baking.
Blueberry buns for breakfast tomorrow. I make these every Christmas Day Breakfast, along with a fruit salad and some juice to set us up for the day.
Fudgy Wudgy cookies. Serious chocolate overload.
I also made the popular Three-Layered Peppermint Bark, which I make every year. As far as I can see, it is the only proper use for those pesky candy canes the kids get given at school from their class mates. As chief taste tester, I can vouch for it’s goodness. The bark and cookies are destined for gifts tomorrow. Extras are in the freezer to cope with school holiday madness later in January.
Merry Christmas! I hope it’s a good one.
Done. Dusted. My bookkeeping study is done. It was an epic last half of 2012 as I crammed in way more study than I should have. And 3 exams. Ugh, that brought me right back to Year 12 VCE with a thud. Pretty pleased with myself now it’s all over, and I got high distinctions for every subject.
I recently caught up with some old friends at my 20 year school reunion in country VIC. Wow. Blast from the past. I loved catching up with my school bestie, we agreed that neither of us had changed.
I stayed with my bachelor bro in the 100-year-old farmhouse he rents. Mia was particularly taken with the pull cord light switch. I loved the tin plate ceiling and wall panels. We spent the last day of our road trip in the Grampians. Such a great day tripping around in the ute.
Now that the study is over, I have my Christmas shopping to finish up. And craft to craft! And the house is a tip. Yeh, there’s that too.
Last Saturday, a cunning fox visited at an unprecedented 11am in the morning. Seven of our eight chookie girls were taken. The lavender Araucana was the only survivor, huddled and scared away from the carnage. The lavender Araucana is the nervous Nelly, or as I call her “The Panic Merchant”. One of my favourites, she has a “the-sky-is-falling” disposition. And rightly so.
Here are some of the girls when we got them, at 8 weeks old last October. And more recently, running to say Hello and pecking at my gumboots.
I spent yesterday picking up the feathers that are strewn everywhere. I can’t stand to look at them.
I grew up on a farm, I know how it goes. We have lost chooks before, but only one at a time. Seven? Well, seven was a bit much to handle.
You move on, you dust yourself off, and you keep on going. Ari and I picked up 3 new girls today. A point-of-lay Isa Brown, and two 8-week-old babies: another Araucana and a Light Sussex. They won’t lay until about 22 weeks. They are settling in, with the babies separated from the older ones. The Lavender Araucana has no time to be lonely now, she is too busy puffing herself up and looking in charge.
I can’t wait until the girls get home from school to see them, and fuss over them. As we start over again.
I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is exactly how I want my kids childhood to be: making up games outside, exploring, climbing, digging, being together. Like my childhood was.
Well the proof is there. I have become a once-a-month blogger. Thought I’d better get a quick blog post in before July passes by.
We have been partying hard here, with an 8th and 10th birthday to be celebrated. The birthday cake is a big deal around here. There are weeks of birthday cake book perusing. I have the Women’s Weekly one from the 1970’s which my mum used for us, plus some others collected along the way. Ari likes to flick through them at least a few times per week. I have happy memories of a few cakes I received as a child from the Birthday Cake book.
Ella’s 10th birthday cake.
Mia’s 8th birthday Octopus cake.
minxy-moo 