Little bit scared ....

that I am getting hooked again  ;-((

Not intentionally

Been reading about other things actually and there they were   :-(((((

oh did I forget to say what ;-))))))

absolutely beautiful quilts I see on some blogs

Oz Comfort Quilts

Never Too Hot To Knit

Helsie's Happenings
kaite yarngarden
Sew Many Quilts - Too Little Time
Just-Do

Retro Mummy

to name a few I have become hooked on recently

some learners, some very experienced ones

and all but one led me astray

cause I was reading about other things

and then they show quilting   :-(((((
they are conspiring against/for me  ;-)

I do so love hand-made quilts

Wish I had the time and space

But more importantly

THE SKILL!!!!!

Starting to crave one

Know the colours I want

Pretty open about the pattern

Looking can be so bad

And just found a book I picked up at Salamanca Markets in Hobart in April

Everything is conspiring against me

BTW, here is a small glimpse of those markets

and then at the very bottom of the photo you then walk up a small incline to the top and

Hobart, Tasmania

Hi everyone

Well I did say that I would share some thoughts and photos of my trip,
and so I start ......

This post may seem disjointed as I will be writing this in bits and pieces

Now, you should all know that this has completed a long held Bucket List wish

I have now visited every state and territory in Australia

Some only very briefly and one teeny bit of the state/territory

Others are repeated visits and much more extensive

Now while Tasmania has patiently waited for a visit from me, I have found that I have a very large and strong connection with this beautiful little state.

My family history research has turned up quite a lot of my ancestors from here.

So on my trip to Hobart, we spent a lot of time just looking and feeling the atmosphere

I know there are many things now that my ancestors would never have seen

But as Hobart has kept a large amount of their old buildings and historical attractions, I got a glimpse of what it may have looked and felt like

View from Derwent River and hidden in the clouds is Mt Wellington

 

Just to document my direct ancestors who started their families in Tasmania.

1.  Thomas DRISCOLL - Convict, arrived in Tasmania in 1852 from Cork, Ireland ; almost immediately became a Policeman in the Colony ; had two wives and a total of 22 children!!!! (g-g-g-grandfather)
2. Mary LEARY/O'LEARY - Came free to Tasmania from Ireland ; wife of above ; had 13 children (g-g-g-grandmother)
3. John CHEW - Convict, arrived in Tasmania in 1848 from Somerset, England (g-g-g-grandfather)
4. Ellen QUILL - Convict, arrived in Tasmania in 1851 from Limerick, Ireland ; wife of John CHEW (g-g-g-grandmother)
5. Mary QUILL - Convict, arrived in Tasmania in 1851 from Limerick, Ireland ; sister of Ellen QUILL (g-g-g-grandaunt)
6. David RADLEY - Convict, arrived in Tasmania in 1845 from Essex, England (g-g-g-grandfather)
7. Emma Jane ROBINS - Born in Tasmania in 1837. Wife of David RADLEY.  Details are sketchy on exactly when her parents, William & Jane ROBINS (g-g-g-g-grandparents), arrived in Tasmania (c1833), but they were in Victoria c1840 (g-g-g-grandmother)
8. John VICTORSEN - Came free to Tasmania from Germany via England (g-g-g-granduncle)

View from Mt Wellington of Hobart & north on a beautifully clear day

Tasmanian Wool Co.

Lookee what I picked up in Hobart

At the Tasmanian Wool Co in Salamanca Place of all places

Supreme Possum Merino Yarn 4ply Silk!!!

A beautiful soft yarn

Bit of mixed feelings about this

I do love 'Our' Possums

Have had, over the years, quite a few as wild 'pets'

Well, they at times would hand-feed from us

Particularly one 'Mum' who we would see over many years

And I believe they are protected in a lot of areas of Australia because of their low numbers

But someone, somewhere, sometime, took Possums to New Zealand

Where they are now considered pests

Destroying their native wildlife and flora

Much like Cane Toads have become to QLD, and now unfortunately NSW, maybe even VIC

So they are 'harvested'

And rather than being a total waste

Their coats are put to use

As New Zealanders are almost like cousins, cause of their closeness and their love of living in Australia  :-)

I decided to buy some and try it out

Did I mention how soft this is

Very eager to try it out

Apparently gloves and socks are popular with possum fur

But this is special yarn with a mix of merino, possum and silk

So something special I think is necessary

Please pop on over to Kiwiyarns Knit if you would like to know more about it or just to read a wonderful blog about yarn and New Zealand in general

Home again

Hi everyone

Well, I did make it back, extremely relunctantly, from Hobart
And what beautiful weather she turned on
I haven't even looked at what little photos I have taken as yet
Spent most of the time just absorbing the history and picturing what my ancestors may have seen.

While I was away, in my head, I wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote posts
But now, well they seem very relunctant to turn up
Probably too many re-works in my head

So please excuse my lack of posting
Hopefully it will work itself out and turn up here

And I'm madly trying to catch up with the blog world I missed (well, I'm skimming really)
And hopefully fingers will get back to crochet and knitting - books are the preference at the moment
It's ALL gone haywire   :-)

Cotton......... Dreams........

Hi everyone

While there has been lots of knitting going on lately, mainly for charities, my fingers have been crying out to do some crochet.

I have the yarn - Bendigo Woollen Mills 8ply Cotton,  purchased gradually over 6 months

I had an idea of what I wanted it to turn into.

But I am a pattern follower, a bit of one I liked, a bit of another, and another.

Then I was not too sure about the colours I chose, it was limited, and not quite what I had in mind.

Then I kept thinking of what else I could make with this beautifully soft cotton

Round, and round, and round, I have been going for this 6 months

Until the urge became so strong, I just had to crochet

Stick with the original idea of bits of this and that

This is only the first part of the process and I don't like working it this way - Normally

But its great this time

This is turning out to be a 'different' project for me

Just in the way the process is working

You can also see in glimpse in the photo of a small knitting project, a pair of Pocketbook Slippers for a charity.

And another Kate Morton book (do you remember this one, The Forgotten Garden), only started it yesterday and I'm almost half way.  I love her style.  I love it so much, I went and got the hardcover of her latest "The Distant Hours".  I was hanging out till next month to get it in paperback, but when it was so cheap, as much as normal paperbacks, how could I resist

Back when I was younger, I always bought hardcovers of my favourite books. They keep much better than paperbacks, and I am always careful with books.

Now to the dreams

I have been sleeping very, very, very badly lately and last night, after hours of tossing and turning, I had a mixed up dream of a PS3 Assasins Creed Brotherhood style game

BUT

it involved crochet and knitting, projects and puzzles

I woke up with a grin on my face

Wish I could remember it, maybe I could have patented it and made a fortune

By the time you are reading this, a very long held dream of mine will be coming true.

I will have visited every state and territory, even if only briefly, on mainland Australia!!!!

Much like some of my ancestors

But that's another entirely different post

I will be in the wonderful state of Tasmania - Hobart mainly!!!!

BTW - Happy Easter and a thoughtful Anzac Day