Saturday, August 27, 2011

Life's little and big stuff

Well it has been a hectic month as my Babcia (grandmother in polish) broke her leg badly and is currently in hospital. She did have a turn for the worse after the surgery but was quickly stabilised and is hopefully getting better by the day. She was telling Little Ma to comb her hair the other day and that is always a good sign when she starts mothering her adult children again. Also I can't remember if i have mentioned or not but Noah left us just before my trip in July to Fowlers Gap. He is currently in formal training but we all miss him heaps and it is much quieter. So we have all been feeling very tired, worried and stressed with normal life stuff and the unexpected life stuff, so when Little Ma told me she was going to meet up with some RSB puppy educators last week to do some travelator practise i commented "You and what dog" as we did not have a dog she said "Maybe i am tempting fate" and she did. An hour later a friend called to ask if we could take on another RSB guide dog-in-training as she was moving house and has a new job. So last monday night this gorgeous boy joined our family.



He is Baily and my-o-my he is a heart breaker. Has those long droopy eyes that say 'i'm so sad but a few cookies will cheer me up' or 'yes i ate the cats food off the table while you had your back turned but really i'm sooooo sorry and i WON'T do it again' he did do it again twice more. lol I think a Baily was just what we needed and has brought a smile to all our faces. I took him to uni with me the other day and he was so good just a bit scared of the bus but managed that after some persuasion. : ) He is about 6 months old and a very lean and lanky boy. It was quite a surprise to get a white dog after expecting a black one, as thats the only colour we normally get and prefer because Tim Tam is black and colour co-ordinating your wardrobe to two different dogs that shed carpets daily is not an easy or cheap task, so naturally we are totally confused as to what to wear. lol oh and did i mention he snores like a fog horn. I know this because he sleeps in my room. I envy Tim Tam right know because he is quite deaf so also sleeps like a baby. lol
He played with the water from the hose today which he found very fun and refreshing.





Though slightly confusing when the water stopped. lol he is such a joy to watch.


I have also got my second green house ever. and boy is it an upgrade from my first, which was a little 40cm x 30cm plastic box. this is my new one and i really am in love. It was from a trip to Bunnings which Little Ma has discovered is great for exercise as it takes a while to walk all the isles just browsing. Was only $50 so got a whole heap of seeds including yellow zucchini, mixed strawberry both white and red, california poppies, silvias, Lebanese cucumber, basil mix, roma tomatoes and some more. Have planted them in plastic tubes which Trees for Life use and placed them in bottle crates. Have planted five to ten of each as that is all i had time for but do plan on doing some more when time permits.




Although i have been terrible to my garden and mostly ignored it since uni started back I do still enjoy a walk through it in the mornings and afternoons. It is a good garden and can manage without to much care at the moment. These are the surprises i have had while on my walks.





More soon i hope
Hugs MnM

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Knitting for yourself?

Well uni is back, work has again started and knitting has hence taken a back seat.
But over the holidays both Little Ma and I made a big effort to do as much crafty stuff as possible and even finish some UFO.
Little Ma has been working on this Wakame Lace Tunic from the Knitting Daily website. She had intended it to be for her, however a friend tried it on and it was as if it was made for her and her only. She looked stunning in it so now lives with her and is occasionally loaned back when needed. lol
Has anyone else ever had that happen?
I know i have made things for a particular purpose or person but once finished seemed to be destined for another use or person then i first had in mind.




This is a scarf i started over holidays and am still working on. I used the 2 colour brioche stitch which i discovered on a knitting/crochet community website called Ravelry. From that inspiration i found this wonderful website dedicated to the
  • Brioche stitch
  • The instructions were very easy to follow and i found that if i held my yarn in my left hand in a European style the pattern could be done in one graceful motion. I am loving working with this pattern. This is how my scarf is looking so far. Am using some handspun wool (green) and silk (black). Notice it has two sides which are of different colour : )



    This is one of my UFO that i have had sitting on my shelf for a fair while now. It is also made from some handspun wool and silly me decided it was a great idea to make a shoulder wrap using a daisy wheel and then sew them together. It is a very time consuming project but finally finished and even had enough wool to do a few rows of crochet around the edge to give it some stability. I was pleased with the final look though.



    Holidays were also a busy period for our crafty projects because we sell some of our handspun items in the
  • Handspinners and Weavers Guild SA
  • This wrap is off to there Littly Glory Gallery which sells members handspun crafty things. As there is only so many crafty things you can give to your relatives before you have fitted out there entire wardrobe. lol The guild has a stall at the Royal Adelaide show so fingers crossed someone will want a wrap to keep them warm.

    Happy crafting MnM