Desert Pea Pattern

Hi

Ive just uploaded a new pattern to Ravelry & Etsy

You may notice the link on the sidebar

I hope some of you like it and wish to try it

Its fairly simple, with just one lace row

The name I chose for it was the colour of the yarn of the first sample - 

Bendigo Woollen Mills 8ply Luxury called Desert Pea.  

Sadly the colour is discontinued.

But I love the second one I made in Ruby :-)

So expect to see lots popping up here ;-)

Link here

Or click on the links in the sidebar

Have a wonderful day

This & that

Hi :-)

Not to sure what to write, but want to ..... so I'll share some of my latest projects.  

Some for sale here (Made For Little Ones) and others for family

A couple of sets for newborns

The Easy Ombre Hat

Fingerless mittens for GD's

And some ear-warmers, which will probably be needed right now :-)

A quick update

As most people are probably as busy as I am at this time of year, I will just make this a quick update.  Can't show everything, just in case ;-)

A little top/dress for GD2 to match her beautiful blue eyes :-)

Pattern - Bendigo Woollen Mills PT 8416 (Inspiring name - not)

Yarn - Bendigo Woollen Mills Cotton

Details here

Again for GD2

Pattern - Olearia by Tiki

Yarn - Bendigo Woollen Mills Cotton

A little sewing too

This set is for GD1 :-)

She did manage to score a few other skirts before gifting - hahaha (pattern is from various sources on the net including Threading My Way)

I made the hair clips too to finish off the set

Are you all ready for the festivities?

We celebrate on Sunday to make it easier with all their families they have to visit

Grandchildren make it so much fun

I have been enjoying singing "Rudolph" and "Santa Claus is coming to town" etc

Hope you all have those who are near and dear to you to visit and share time with

And for those who are so far away :-( send a lot of cyber love 

(I have three in this category and miss them like crazy)

Somethings don't change

Sorry for the intermittent posts.  

Despite my idea of trying to get back to posting at least once a week-ten days, life seems to be passing by at breakneck speed, and now its over three weeks.

So I'll check my photos to see what I have been up to ...

A few pairs of these for my Made For Little Ones Shop

These pair of booties as a challenge from my local Knit4Charity Knit&Natter from this pattern ....

and, for the first time, really disliked making booties.

Project was too fussy and difficult to seam up for me to enjoy

And started this .... 

... for a new grandchild due early next year.

My fourth!!!!!  (vbg)

Yarn, of course, is Bendigo Woollen Mills 8ply Cotton

This blanket has a very long way to travel.

Close to a mile for every stitch

Hope you are all having a great week and are prepared for Santa :-)

Yummy yarn

Quick post to share a project I made with a new yarn in Australia

Cleckheaton Superfine Australian Merino Wool - patterns & colours here

It is divine to work with and so soft.  

Sadly it is definitely a luxury.  

But sometimes we have to do these things to support our local farmers ;-)

Cardi is, of course, Aussie Swing (available on Ravelry and Etsy) and Booties are Acqua e menta - my project link

I just popped this set into my little shop - Made For Little Ones

Have a great weekend :-)

I succumbed ........

Hello to those who are still popping in and saying hello.
I was surprised to read comments on the post after such a long gap between posts.  But they made me very happy - Thank you

So what have I succembed to?????

SOCKS!!!

For years I have admired all those pretty socks that others have made.  But I could not understand as to why to knit socks???  They aren't expensive and there are so many types out there.
And if I am being honest, they scared me a little.  Especially with all I have read.

But I decided to challenge myself and try something new and find out what all the Yahoo is about hand-knit socks.
So with all I have read, and knowing myself, I decided to knit two-at-a-time so as not to suffer from 2nd sock syndrome :-).
I also prefer to knit booties from the bottom up, so of course its toe-down for these.

Amazingly enough, after one tiny hiccup, I found Judy;s Magic Cast On easy!!!!
And I am so enjoying knitting these - no rush, in my own time

But I wonder if they will fit :-)

Pattern is The Time Traveller on Ravelry - my project notes are here

Have a great day

Hi

Hi
Very, very, very long time between posts.  Sorry.
I thought I would try and see if I can get back to having my little say
Life has been busy with beautiful grandchildren to play with and lots of knitting for them :-)

So I will start with a few of the projects for them

My youngest granddaughter wearing a modified "Granny's Favourite" and "Suspension Bridge Booties" pattern made from the lovely, soft Bendigo Woollen Mills Milky Way

"Aussie Swing" made from an unknown cotton in my stash

I made this lovely "Aussie Swing" set for her when she was born.  Made from Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 4ply.  Obviously, she is a little big for it now :-)))

Have a wonderful day and I hope I'm back soon

Wonga

Hi everyone

Sorry, its been so very long between posts, but grandchildren are time consuming and so entertaining.

And I have three now :-)

Just popped in to share a new pattern from me

With my eldest granddaughter modelled and selfie :-)

This pattern reminded me of a vine growing with little flowers.

So I named it after an Australian plant - Wonga Wonga Vine

It is available in my Ravelry Store (see sidebar link) and my Etsy Store too (also on sidebar)

Hope you are all enjoying your children and grandchildren as much as I am :-)

Old is New :-) again

Ok, so once again another vintage pattern :-)
Hope your not tired of them yet ?????

This picture is from the pattern

and this photo is my version

and here is a close up of the pattern

 

This pattern is called "Treasure" and is available in my Etsy store

I can't wait to see my granddaughter in it.

It's perfect for those days when it turns just a little cool.  It is a cropped style

 

Yes, I couldn't wait.  I did try it on her. ;-)

 But the photo will be nicer in a lovely summer dress

 

More details can be found on my Ravely project

 

Have a great day!!!

Another Vintage Pattern - Old is New Project

And my love affair with vintage patterns continues
It may have something with how cute my granddaughter looks in it as well :-)

It is worked in 3ply yarn and with 3mm needles.  Not something I usually use.  But I was lucky enough to have been gifted a cone of Superfine Australia 3ply crepe yarn, and it was the perfect colour for this project.  VBG
I do need to work on my knitting embroidery skills though :-(

But I love it!!!!!

And here is a very active 18mth old wearing it.  It's the best photo I could get :-)

If your interested, the pattern is available via my Etsy shop - here

My patterns

Not too sure if anyone is stilling dropping in around here :-) - me included  :-(

Time is just flying by

And I now find it difficult to write a post

The ones in my head are great

But then when I go to write, I feel that its not worthwhile typing   :-(

 

BUT..... 

 

I just noticed that my Southern Star pattern has 98 projects from Ravellers!!!!

and Aussie Swing is at 42!!!!

 

Both patterns have links in my sidebar, if your interested

 

Just thought I had to say something

VBG

 

So donations are being made to Knit 4 Charities on a regular basis with sales of Aussie Swing

 

I am so chuffed

VBG

Dilemma answer

To those who wondered how I resolved my dilemma

 

Well - Baby Kina won

As we hoped that the rain would have called the cricket off, so we had other plans

Unfortunately, no rain where he played cricket

But the Kina is finished!!!

 

But with todays cooler weather and more rain, I'm wishing my Tappen Zee was finished!!!

 

Have a great day

Dilemma

What do I take with me today while I sit and watch hubby play cricket - a lightweight & small, cotton Baby Kina OR my Tappan Zee, which is on the long stocking stitch body section ( Zee would probably keep me warm on this cool, rainy day) ?????

Hi

A long time between posts

With a new granddaughter to play with, time flies by  :-)

Just thought I would share another Aussie Swing project with everyone.

Actually have had to make this set twice so far.

Seems the new Mums love the colour & the style

Pattern - Aussie Swing (cardi)

Sourball (bonnet)

Yarn - Bendigo Woollen Mills 4ply Luxury in Brick

And granddaughters version

Fwd: Ripples

Fwd: Ripples, originally uploaded by Aussie Maria.

I am trying a new way to write this post, until I get some necessary add-ons

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you may have noticed the lack of crochet ripples, even though I really love the look of them.

I have had trouble with my starting rows, and even though I worked the pattern out ...... Eventually, that first row bothered me greatly. It just was not right. So I ignored ripples and admired them from afar.

Btw I found out since that I really don't like going back and forth. I am crazier than that, round and round is my thing

I have had a pattern sitting in my Ravelry queue for forever, and last November The time was right to give it a go - A Very Special gift was required

So .............

Projects

Hi everyone

You may have noticed my lack of projects over the last couple/few/lots of months.

Well I have been crafting

Just felt that my posts were getting a bit b-l-a-h

But today I felt like sharing a few of my favourites with you

All have been Ravelled here

Borrowed the baby to see size and fit, as I sort of designed it.

Her Mum loved it, so bought it from me  :-)

By the way, you may have noticed a new button at the top of my side Bar

"Made It" - Made For Little Ones

Well that goes directly to a little shop I opened

I'm hoping I might be able to sell a few projects

At least enough to help pay for the ever-rising costs of posting away my charity items

Fingers crossed for me please

And you thought there was no crochet ......

I really wanted to make this pattern (old memories), but had so much trouble with the starting chain - no give and so very small.

Then I tried foundation dc/sc - that gave me the little bit of stretch and width I wanted.

Don't know why it took me ??? times to work that out   :-)

And for those in Australia

Hope the horses are lucky for you today!!!!

Old but not quite vintage

Hi everyone

Anyone know what exactly makes things vintage?

I have always taken them to be roughly over 30 years old???

Anyway, I would like to share with you something I started all-but 29 years ago

And I also finished it well within a year

Must have had some time up my sleeve back then  :-)

Don't know how - as hubby frequently was away for work and three babes under 13 months!!!

Oh, that's it - hubby was away   :-)

Anyway, back to what I want to show you

For anyone who is interested here are the meanings -

A = Australian Flag

B = Brolga

C = Cockatoo

D = Dusky Hopping Mouse

E = Echnida

F = Flannel Flower

G = Goanna

H = Honeyeater

I = Ibis

J = Jabiru

K = Koala

L = Lorikeet

M = Magpie

N = Numbat

O = Orchid (native)

P = Platypus

Q = Quokka

R = Rosella

S = Swan (Black native)

T = Tawny Frogmouth Owl

U = Urchin

V = Violet (native)

W = Wallaby

X = Xtraordinary Lizard (Frilled Neck)

Y = Yabby

Z = Zebra Finch

Bye for now

Quiet but busy hands

I'm still here

Just not very talkative (in general)

But busy fingers

So here are a few little projects

Turn A Square Tiger

As a little gift for a friend who is a NRL Tiger supporter

When hubby saw this for the first time (may be the only time) he requested one for himself

BTW - I have made other items in the past for hubby, but he is a very warm person and mainly lives in T-shirts with a very light jacket in winter.

So here is Turn A Square Bulldog

A scarf - just because

Noro One Row Scarf

Close Ups of the pattern at above link

And if your remember way back here and this little mess

One person guessed right

And I finally found the missing item

Koala

Now he/she is hiding in the flowers (will be when the weather warms up) because I can't decide if its name is Kenny Koala, will need pants; or Katie Koala, will need pinafore

I am so sorry I caved in

Hi everyone

Thank you for your suggestions on my "title".

It would seem that the general census loved Kim's suggestion of "Ambi-stitchual"

But I am surprised that no-one suggested - Ninja Hooker or Hooking Ninja ☺☺☺

That's enough fun and frivolity

You should know by now that I prefer to knit/crochet with natural fibres (except maybe Mohair) and that a HIGH priority for me is to use Australian fibres because they are one of the best in the world and it supports our local industry.

Well, I'm very sorry to say that I caved in.  It's my LYS fault as they suddenly had stock of a small amount.

I bought Noro Silk Garden!!!

Couldn't help myself, I have been admiring the colours for years in various projects on Ravelry and blogs

Yes, the yarn is natural fibres - 45% Silk, 45% Kid Mohair, 10% Lamb's Wool

But its a Japanese yarn

So I thought, one ball just to try it

It's a thick to thin yarn

And its high level of silk.

A couple of days of mulling over a project that I would wear and show off the lovely colours and use only one ball, I finally found something.

Very plain and simple

My attempt at taking a photo in the mirror of the back of it ☺

And if anyone's thinking "Wow she did well out of one ball!!!"

I have to be honest, I was a wee bit short and needed a second ball  :-(

Pattern here

 

So what am I sorry about?

The yarn quality of the Noro

I know it was thick and thin, but the thin part was almost like knitting with string, so very rough.  The thick part was a bit better, but not very soft at all.  Very hairy to the touch. With the high quantity of silk in the yarn, I thought you would have been able to feel it - Nope, NOT AT ALL!!!!

And then when I was sewing up the one very small seam - the yarn broke, not once, but four times.  It stretched and became like fleece separating!!!

The colours are gorgeous, but at $14 a 50g ball - not worth it to me.

This has been my one extravagance with yarn and I am severely disappointed.

So the grass is not greener on the other side

Now in the last photo there is a glimpse of another project

This is made with Australian yarn - 75% Wool, 15% Silk, 10% Mohair

So very, very soft and you can definitely feel the silk

Reworked Souths Blanket

Hi everyone

Some of you who have been around for a while may remember this

This was D3's Xmas blanket for her NRL team - Souths

She really wanted something bigger

So I undid all the borders back to this .....

So that makes it 7 x 7

Adding a few more squares, it became this

So big I could not get high enough to get a full photo of it  ☺

11 x 13 squares a total of 130 x 155 cm

And quite weighty

While I did love the outer border on the original blanket (which was worked in htr/hdc, one row per colour), I did not know if I would have enough wool left to even do one of this border.  So there is a small border of one row of each colour worked in sc/dc

The wool of course is Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic in 8 ply

I'm still waiting for input as to how it works for D3 - but she was most appreciative of what I had done ☺