Lucky find

Tuesday on the way home from the weekly grocery shopping, I drove past a local op shop and something bright hanging on an outside display caught my eye.  From  distance I was fairly certain what is was.  Closer inspection revealed I was correct.  I paid the grand sum of $8.00 for these two blankets and after a soak, good wash and dry on the line, they have come up looking lovely.  Worn but very acceptable.  I couldn't leave them there in the shop knowing how much work had gone into them.

You can never have too many crocheted blankets.

Have a lovely day everyone,

Anne  xx

Cooking, Camellias and crochet

Hello, how are you today?  All is well down in the south, the sun has been shining for a few days which has been lovely. 

I am pleased to announce that Miss G. is finally learning to cook.  Sunday night is her designated night and after going through my cooking files which are basically recipes I've ripped out of magazines and put into folders, she chose to make pasties.  We decided to adapt the recipe and added some lean beef mince to change it from a vegetarian recipe.  We kept the vegetables in the recipe, just cut down the quantity.  The recipe called for curry powder and cumin which was a delightful addition to a normal pasty recipe.  We used bought puff pastry rather than a pastry made from scratch as the recipe called for.  They were absolutely delicious and we all agreed we'd love to have them again.

If anyone wants the recipe, just let me know.

I made some blueberry muffins, always nice with a cuppa when the weather is cold.

Some of the Camellias in the garden have started to flower adding some much needed colour when the sun isn't shining.  I bought some inside to display on our dining table.

I started joining some of my granny squares together to give myself some encouragement.  I'm not a patient person and I want my blanket made and finished yesterday.  I can also get a better idea what I'm doing as I've not planned this blanket properly at all.

I've just received some cotton yarn form Yarn Over to make some dish and wash cloths.  Ordered Friday, received Tuesday....excellent service.  Next post I'll show you my new yarn and share a recipe for the self saucing pudding I made on Friday night for dessert.

Until then, take care everyone and thank you for stopping by,

Anne  xx

P.S.  I have decided to implement comment moderation again as the spammers have returned.  I would rather not have comment moderation on, but I hate spam.  Thanks for your understanding.

Gardening and crochet

Hello everyone, how are you?  Today was much warmer, a lovely 13C which meant it was the perfect day for some gardening.  With overcast skies, no wind and just a misty rain at times, I knew that rugged up in warm clothing and with gum boots (wellies) on my feet, those weeds were going to be history.

There is nothing quite as rewarding as seeing a garden bed minus weeds and it was choked.  And gardening is always the perfect time to have a good ponder on life, mull things over, release some stress and enjoy the sounds of nature.  The kookaburras were exceptionally noisy today.

Some plants were pruned, something that should have been done in autumn but I was off overseas enjoying the delights of Europe instead.  There is another long section of this border along the driveway yet to weed and I haven't even touched the garden beds in the back yard.

A bright blue wheelbarrow (very muddy) is just the thing to cheer up a dull day.

After working for a couple of hours, my back and knees were protesting so it was time to go inside for some lunch and a sit down.  How lovely it was to cosy up on the sofa with my wool and hook, have a rummage through some grannies already made and contemplate how many more I will need to make for the blanket in my mind to become a reality.  I've no plan whatsoever really, just merrily hooking away at large and small grannies in the hope one day I'll have enough.  I've joined some together to get a sense of what it might look like....hmmm, lots of green and pink in there.

I had Stripey keeping me company and later he kept my legs toasty warm.

He is such a beautiful boy.

So I've passed a rather wonderful day doing things I love like gardening and crocheting.  Now it's time to think about dinner which will be baked fish with dill, home made baked chips and salad.  There might just be a self saucing pudding tonight too with lashings of cream.  Just the thing for a cold winter's evening.

Have the most wonderful weekend everyone.  I look forward to finding out what you all get up to on your blogs.  Thanks for taking the time to stop by.

Anne  xx

Endings and beginnings

This week marks the end of an era.  An era of the primary and high school education of our girls.  This Friday, Miss G. has her last school assembly which is a bit of an event to say the least.  I know there will be tears of sadness and of happiness.  Sadness because one phase of her life has finished and happiness because there are new things to look forward too, new challenges to face.  There will be changes for me too with no more school drop offs and pick ups.  When I first started taking the girls to kinder, I thought of all those years ahead of me and now I'm at the end of them.   It's truly amazing to think and wonder where the time went

 

It's been a bit of a contemplative time for me these past few weeks so I've been keeping myself occupied in my spare moments with making stars for Christmas bunting.

Working on my giant granny square throw.

I've been enjoying the flowers in the garden.

Bungee snuck into the photo.

The first rose of spring.

Trying to take photos of the elusive and shy Wattle birds feeding from the Chinese Lantern.  This photo is taken through the window and not clear because of the fly screen behind the glass.

Can you see him on the left of the photo with his head upside down.

I've been tidying up the pantry and getting rid of some of the plastic storage containers.  I found these wonderful glass containers at a discount shop for $1.00 and just the perfect size for herbs and spices.  Here they are draining and air drying after a good hot soapy scrub.

This is a very satisfying sight.

I've been making wholemeal Melt and Mix Shortbread to keep the biscuit tin full.

And I've been working on my portrait painting.  I must say I now have mixed feelings about the painting as it has been worked on quite extensively by my teacher.  My teacher is very good but unfortunately gets carried away when showing you how to do a technique which results in important aspects of the face such as the eyes being her work and not mine.  I suppose this sound quite silly, but I really want a painting to be my work with it's imperfections and not my teachers work.  I must sound ungrateful, I really need her to teach me how, just not do it all.  The hair has been worked on extensively by my  teacher too (not yet finished), once again I needed to learn the technique, but not have it all done by her.  Grumble, grumble.  Anyway, here's the painting.

I must admit I fiddled with the eyes just a little when I came home from class.  I softened the lines that make up her eyelid and eyes and darkened the colour of her eyes to a darker brown.  I can see all the imperfections I made to her eyes but I feel better about it having some of my touch.  I will say happily that the nose and mouth are all my work.  I sound very picky, but I am quite passionate and pocessive about my paintings and want them to be my work.  O.k., I think I've said enough on the subject for the moment.

In other news, I can report that Miss C. is going for her drivers test this afternoon.  For all the Australian readers out there, I would have to say that sitting the computerised hazard perception test first is ridiculous.  The computer imagery for the driving conditions and situations is not clear, dodgy at best.  After her 4th attempt, Charlotte finally passed this morning and her Dad is going with her for the test this afternoon.  Fingers crossed for a successful outcome.

I'm off out to get my hair attended too and perhaps check out the delights of Spotlight.

Take care everyone,

Anne  xx

Granny square throw, fabric and a pin cushion

Hello, how are you?  I'm tucked away inside today with the return of chilly weather and rain.  Yesterday was a typical spring day for where I live, four seasons in one day which included hail.  So back to indoor activities for me.

Here is my granny square throw to date.  I'm enjoying the process of choosing which colour will be next.

My purchase in Spotlight the other day was fabric.

The next photo is a better representation of the colours.  Vibrant aren't they?

I deliberately didn't crop this photo at the top because I like the way the bowl of oranges compliments the orange in the top piece of fabric.  I'm planning on making a quilt from this fabric.  Just a plain quilt made from squares, nothing fancy.  Would anyone have any tips on what size my squares should be.  I don't want anything too small, too much sewing.  :)  Karen, would you have any tips for me?

The other thing I would like to make is a toiletry travel bag for my overseas trip next year.  I'm wondering if I could make if from oilcloth so it would be moisture proof.  I would like a pattern that has different compartments to store items in.  I hate toilet bags where everything just rolls around together.  That is what I have currently and it's falling apart, so time for a new one.  Does anyone know of any patterns that might meet my requirements?  Any suggestions, information or links would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

Now for the pin cushion.  I haven't been making them, I am the pin cushion.   I've been having a course of accupuncture to help with various complaints such as hot flushes etc.  They are reducing slowly, but the biggest change I've noticed is in my irritation levels.  Things just don't bother me in the way they use too.  I am amazed at the difference I feel and would describe it as feeling mellow.  Has anyone else had an experience with accupuncture that they would like to share?  Positive or not I'd love to hear.  You can email me if you don't want to comment publicly.

I have one last photo to share with you.  Miss G. needed a baby photo for submission to the school year book.  All our baby photos were taken before digital cameras were around so we scanned this one for her when she was six months old.  It is a little faded so we adjusted the colour as best we could.  Can you believe the smile on her face!

I have gorgeous baby photos of Miss C. too, so I must scan some of those to share with you.

I hope you are all having a great weekend,

Anne  xx

Flowers and cushions

Hello everyone, how are you?  I've been tip toeing in the garden through the bluebells, azaleas and camellias, not the tulips as I don't have any.  I picked a little posy of azalea blossom and some of the seasons first bluebells to cheer up the window sill near the kitchen sink.  I do look out onto garden when I'm doing the dishes although there aren't too many spring flowers yet.

The vase is a soft drink bottle which I kept from a lunch out one day.  It was so pretty and just the right size for this spot.

The camellias are still flowering which is so lovely.  As I can't see them from inside, I picked some blossom  to enjoy. 

 I love the contrast of the glossy green leaves against the red and pink blossom.

See the fabric behind the vase in the photo below, that is two cushions I made from the fabric that inspired my bright coloured granny square cushion.

Can you see two little paws in the bottom left hand corner?  They belong to Stripey.

I've started making my giant granny square throw in bright colours which is currently about the size of a cushion.  Lots more to do yet to make it big enough for me to snuggle under.

I'll be back soon with a painting update.  Take care,

Anne  xx

Granny cushion and a new painting

Welcome spring and if you live in the northern hemisphere, autumn.  I'm glad we are heading toward sunnier weather, warmer days and longer daylight hours.  I'm longing for spring flowers in the garden, no mud under foot and a fresh breeze that brings the smell of blossom like Jasmine.

I finally finished my bright coloured granny square cushion, it's a little higildy pigildy, but then it's that sort of cushion.  It's not meant to be perfect in how it's made or how it looks.  It's a cushion made for comfort and cheer.

I believe I might starting making a granny square throw with the wool I have left over and there's plenty.  It will be a little (or big) project to pick when I'm having a cuppa or something to keep my hands busy after tea at night.

I've started a new painting, a portrait!  I am wondering just what I might have taken on!  As you can see, my lady is faceless.  Last night I was in the zone and sketched the outline and started painting.  Today I had to perform surgery on her, including liposuction, as she looked so badly proportioned.  I fear I have given her the shoulders of a swimmer, her head may be to small and I'm sure there are many things which my teacher will be helping me correct.  However I'm fairly pleased with how I've started out all by myself!

While I was folding up washing today, I was thinking about how fortunate I am to be in the position where I can pursue my interests.  Not only do I have the time, I have eyes and hands, a creative mind and a peaceful environment in which to work.  I'm very lucky indeed.

I hope all is well in your world.

Have a lovely evening/day,

Anne  xx

Bright colours

Some time ago I bought some fabric which I loved because of the bright colours. 

The colours inspired me to start work on a granny square cushion and I'm nearly finished the second side of the cushion with only 5 more rows to complete.

I love these colour combinations so much I've decided to make a throw as well.  Thankfully I have plenty of wool left in these colours.

Another day of beautiful sunshine and another sun bathing opportunity for the girls.

They must be feeling very happy with sunshine and free ranging and rewarded us with two eggs today.  I feel a spot of cooking coming on.  

Speaking of cooking, I made apple muffins and gingernut biscuits on Sunday night and now there are only two muffins left and less than half the biscuits.  I can't keep up with the appetites of this family, I tell you.  Hubby keeps telling me to stop making yummy things to eat, but if I don't, well you should hear the grumbles.  Thinking I would have to bake again today, I suddenly remembered the carrot cake I had in the freezer.  A couple of weeks ago when making a carrot cake, I doubled the mixture so I could bake an extra one to put in the freezer.  Saves on electricity too when you double recipes.  I use to put leftovers in the freezer from our dinner meals too, but now hubby takes them to work for lunch.  :(  Perhaps I'll have to triple my dinner recipes!  Do you double recipes so there are leftovers for the freezer?

Bye for now,

Anne  xx