SOCK, a SOCK!!!!

foot model is the extremely handsome Lewis!







After many years of threatening to do it, I've done it!!
I've knitted my first sock, modelled above by Lewis (isn't it sad when you're 11 year old son has bigger feet then you?)
I've the partner of this beauty on the needles at the moment and hopefully will be able to wear them by Monday!!
They are so nice and toasty!

If you never knitted socks before, may I recommend: How to Knit Socks, Three Methods Made Easy by Edie Eckman?
easy to follow and lots of photos to make it even clearer! oh and also if you are a more visual learner look up verypinkknits on Youtube

Edit:

I'm happy to announce both socks are finished!!! Both feet are nice and toasty as we speak!

Is it Spring?

Does Mother Nature know?

Is it Spring or is it still Winter?

Yesterday evening the weather was nice enough to haul my crochet, cup and cake outside, but today I'm sitting rugged up on the couch.

I wish we knew what season it is.

It's not easy to get dressed in the mornings!

Ta DA!!!!!

And here is the after! 

Not much you caned with a 1 inch circle. This will look nice on my bedside table!

What to do when Hubby takes a kid to the dentist!

Ok I admit I'm terrified of the Dentist, so unless I have to go for myself, it is Mr J's job to take the kids to see her.

Mr L needed a filling done so his strong and handsome daddy took him to the Dentist after dropping Mum off at the nearest Op-shop! (See I did give some support! I was in the same town!)

I spend an anxious 45 minutes shopping at the Boort Op-shop (if you're ever in Boort, well worth a visit!)

And thought I'd died and gone to vintage glass heaven! 

I spend up big( $4!) and came out with 6 pirex dessert bowls, 3 cut glass dessert glasses, 2 different ice cream glasses, a cut glass bonbon dish. And finally this darn cute cut glass hair pin dish ( see pics above!)

As you can tell there is something missing from the lid (no idea what, but I'm guessing some sort of stone)

I thought it wouldn't bother me so much, but it did so this morning I'm making something to stick there!

Stay tuned!!

Hello Old Friend!

While putting everything back in it's place after the floods of last week, I found an old box that I hadn't looking in since arriving in Australia! (shock horror, that is 21 years ago!!)
And I found in that box a familiar old friend: my Tunisian crochet hook!! (also know as Afghan hook)
After this find all plans of housework, cleaning of the outside went out the door, as I got to reacquaint myself with this long lost friend!
I dug out my Bendigo Wool Mill cotton and have added another WIP (work in progress) to my list.
I see lovely tunisian crochet dishcloths in my future!

What a Difference a night makes

As of today the flood water are receding at a rapid pace and or town will be the lovely quiet town we love!

Flood waters peaked about 6pm last night and then started to go down steadily!

All in our household are safe and dry!

under water one day, as pretty as ever the next!

looking up the road from my front yard

water is receding

Flood update! (photo heavy post)

you got to get from A to B somehow! (bloke peddling down the street in front of my house)

view up the road from my house

from back door to garage

when the water wasn't too high yet! (it got up to the veranda)

The Floods are coming!

Updated pics of the floods!

Someone is gonna get wet feet!

Our Swaggy waist deep in water

Road Trip planned and canceled

                                                                                                                                    

For weeks I planned a road trip with Ms M to go and visit Ms K

Ms M would get to do some driving and be closer to getting her licence and I'd get to spend quality time with my 2 eldest girls!

Bags were packed and hotel rooms booked! 

Then Friday came and lots of rain was forcast! And we said HA a little rain isn't going to stop us from this 3 hour trip! NO WAY!!!

Saturday morning was here and we're listening to the TV while getting dressed and eating breaky.

What is this?? Flood warnings on our route? HA HA HA we laugh in the face of flood warnings!!

We haven't seen decent  rain in this area in 10 years!! we're not going to let a little flood warning stop us! Ms K is waiting for us! we WILL go!!

So in the car we get and we're driving off in to the Sun rise (after all it is 8am!)

Ms M is doing well driving  in the pouring rain. And we see our first real water on the road! HOLY BATMAN there is a lot of it! and we crawl through it time and time again!

Then a friendly farmer "swimming" home with his news paper (ok he wasn't really swimming but he sure was knee deep in water!) stopped us to tell us it is not a good idea to go on the way we're going coz there is a lot of water on the other side of the bridge!! But if we turn that way and go down that street then left then right we should be right!

So we do! And with his parting words of Should be right ! in our minds we drive off and low and behold the streets get better less water and then: YAY no water at all! YES!!! we're gonna make it to Ms K after all!

With a sigh of relieve we drive on! A good 15 min of nice hardly wet road we come to another bit of road under water!! Are we going to brave it and drive through?

Good thing I checked the side of the road and saw the Floodway sign  and the stick that tells you how high the water is! It was almost 1 metre deep! 

Ms M and I looked at each other and said: OK time to turn around and go home!!

So sadly we did! 

At home we worked out a stretch of road we usually take an hour to travel took us 2 hours in the rain.

Better luck next time we hope!

Wordless Wednesday

The Knitting and Crochet Motherload!

I have rediscovered 2 of my favorite crafts! Knitting and crochet
I was talking to a friend the other day and I worked out I've been crocheting and knitting for 41 years (I know I know! I must have started in utero!) My now 25y old daughter used to wear many a jumper knitted by me, and slept the first 2 years with a Blankey I crochet for her while I was pregnant with her.
So now I've dug out my knitting needles and crochet hooks and have searched the web for patterns, and now I've hit the motherlad of pattern pages! I hightly recommend you all check out the ravelry website and check out the gazzilion patterns there!

Start of a new era!

This is how you do it Son!

Yesterday was the start of a new era in our baby's live! Mr. L will be 12 in Dec and his Dad decided it was time for him to start mowing the lawn! 

After Mr L. donning all the safety gear, Dad showed him how to do it.

Life will be more easy and relaxed for us Mr. J tells me!! We can sit back, enjoy a cup of coffee while watching The Kid do the work!

Relax?? did he really say relaxed??  Does he not know all that can happen with a lawn mower??

Sigh!!!! It isn't easy to let your baby grow up!!

Dang, that lawn looks even better then when Dad does it!

Play Time!

        

 We bought a new camera for a trip overseas  we're planning for next year Sept. So now I'm going crazy taking all kinds of pictures!

By next Sept this little beauty and I should be firm friends!

(image borrowed from the Nikon website)

Wordless Wednesday

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!! OI OI OI!!!

Aussie Jazy with her family and the Mayor!

Another chapter closed! as of 5:30pm today I gave up my Dutch citizenship and took on the Australian citizenship!

A new chapter in my live has started! 

And I'm all signed up to vote in the Aug 21st Election too!

BLISS!!!

What better way to spend an afternoon then with a cup of Lady Grey tea and a slice of freshly baked Apricot Loaf?

We're having beautiful Spring weather here! The sun is shining and I've picked my first bunch of Lavender from my garden this year!

Oh the smell of the fresh Lavender make that cuppa taste even better!

The recipe for the Apricot loaf:

1 cup dried apricots- chopped and tightly packed

1/2 cup sultanas

1 cup boiling water

2 tbsp butter

3/4 cup castor sugar

1 egg

2 cups self raising flour

• Place apricots,sultanas & butter in a mixing bowl, add hot water and stir gently until butter dissolves
• mix in sugar, egg & flour, combine well
• put into a greased loaf tin & bake at 200C for 40 min, cool on cooling rack

( I found this recipe online ages ago, unfortunately I can't remember where! If you do know, email me and I will edit my post to include this information!)

(138 days until Christmas!)

Only 142 days until Christmas!!

Are you starting to panic yet??

I can't believe we're this far into the year already!

I've started to make ornies and presents as well.

I'm hoping to avoid the rush that usually happens in December around here! (and having 2 birthdays in that month as well, doesn't help either!)

I decided to use up some scrap wood and make some wooden ornies, I might even put a few of them on eBay.

 

Spring is springing!

While I'm not a BIG fan of Summer, I do love Spring and a quick look around my garden this morning showed me that Spring has sprung. On almost every tree there are green leaves popping up! Bulbs are starting to show their little heads.

And of course my Potato Vine is in full bloom already and my purple climber thingy ( I know, I know! I don't like using the plants technical names, but I don't know what else to call it! LOL)

I love my purply daisy too!

And Oh My!! what is that wet stuff om the plants??

Let me dazzle you with my knowledge again: it's called RAIN!!

We don't see a lot of that stuff here in this Sunny Dry part of Vic!!

Silhouette! And make it quick!!

Today at work I was asked by a Lady (Hi Nicky!! just in case she reads my blog!!)

could you do me a favour?? I've got a American friend married to an Aussie and it is her birthday next week, and as she decorates her house in Prim Americana I would like to give her something hand made. Could you make one of these( showing me a picture of an Abe Lincoln silhouette)?

Of course I said Sure!! I wasn't really sure how to, so I just had a good think and came up with this!

So Nicky will pick this one up tomorrow at work!

I've been bitten!

Since some time in January I've been reading about the Klosjes craze sweeping the world and now that most of the girls who's blogs I've been reading have finished theirs, I've jumped on the Klosjes (Klosjes is dutch for spools) bandwagon!

I went to Melbourne this weekend for my Mother in Law's Surprise 75th birthday party and decided a girl needs something to do on the 3 hour trip! So what better thing to do then start a new quilt project!!

I've drawn the pattern and am now happily making klosjes!

My blocks are 2 3/4" unfinished and I have 8 done.

I'm using any old scrap I can get my hands on for both the back ground and klosje.

I don't think I'll make 510 blocks like SuperGoof did to make a quilt, but then again who know??

what is that noise coming from the Garage?

It is me!!!!

I've been eying off this cute little Piggy cutting board for a while now and today I decided to grab that piece of scrap wood and fire up the scroll saw and make me one! (pattern found on the Pickled Pepper Patch blog) Isn't it darling??

I also made myself a Toaster cover as my old fabric one was looking a little shabby (and not in a good way!)

Would you like to see a picture of that as well?? (if not, I suggest you close your eyes now!)

No more ugly toaster!! And more display space for me!! YAY!!

Going Greener!

For a long time I've been wanting to make my own washing powder and dishwashing liquid.

First I made the washing powder a week or so ago

Homemade Laundry Detergent (for front and top loaders)

1 1/4 cup bi-carb soda (baking soda)

3/4 cup borax

1 cup lectric soda (washing soda)

2 grated castille soap bars (I use this variety, which I buy at the local health food shop)

You should be able to buy all of the ingredients except the castille soap from your local grocery store.

Mix all ingredients. 

As I have a front loader I only use about 2 tablespoons per load.

( I found the recipe here )

Then I was talking to a friend of mine who makes all her cleaning stuff from scratch and she kindly shared her Dishwashing liquid with me and gave me permission to share it with you all, (she doesn't remember where she got the recipe from, so I am not able to give credit where credit is due!)

Anna's Dishwashing Liquid:

ingredients:

• 1/4 cup soap flakes
• 2 cups HOT water
• 1/4 cup glycerin
• 1/2 teaspoon of essential oil (which ever smell takes your fancy! vanilla, lemon, tea tree the list is endless!)

1. Combine hot water and soap flakes in a mixing bowl ( I keep utensils and bowls used to make my cleaning supplies separate from what I use for cooking!). Make sure the water is HOT!! or the soap flakes won't melt!
2. Mix well until all soap flakes have disolved. Then allow to cool to lukewarm before commencing the next step!
3. Mix in both the glycerin and essential oil and allow to cool completely
4. As it cools you will notice it will become a gel like substance. You will want to break this up by stirring it with a fork and placing it in a bottle (old shampoo or conditioner bottle will do!)
5. DONE!! use as any other dishwashing liquid!

NOTE: this Dishwashing Liquid isn't very bubbly, but then again it isn't the bubbles that clean the dishes!

I have a couple of other recipes I will try out after this one and will let you  know how they went!

I did it!! I can knit in English!!

As English is my second language, I had to re-route my brain (yes I know, some of you doubt I have a brain!!)  to be able to follow patterns in English. Now I worked it out in all kinds of crafts except knitting! I could not get it right, no matter how hard I tried!!

Until this weekend!! I found this Blog and while reading found the entry about the Crazy Cable Knitting Myth! 

And I went off in search for a cable knitting needle (House to Home in town sells them) some wool (local oppy helped there!) and sat down to work it out!

And work it out I did! I haven't even been able to follow a cable pattern in my native language (dutch) but there I was sitting under my blanky knitting away!

I actually was still knitting at 12:08 am as my hubby pointed out! So I rang in my birthday with a pair of needles in hand! What better way to do that!

And another one gone!!

I was a bad girl this weekend! Instead of finishing off some of my U.F.Os 

I started a new one on Saturday.

On Saturday morning I started off cleaning my craft room and came across a bag full of little scraps and got side tracked from the cleaning.

A few days earlier I was having a look through my old Miniature Quilts mags and found the pattern for "Brick Wall" and decided to make that one. I went for the Big 'n Easy version of the quilt (bricks were cut 1 1/4" x 2")

The quilt top was finished at about dinner time Saturday (darn kids and hubby kept interrupting because they wanted to be fed, can you believe it?) 

Hand quilted it on sunday and finished adding the binding at work on Monday. 

And I ended up with a sweet little 9"x12" quilt

Now what to do next?? Finish cleaning the craft room or maybe a U.F.O? 

a Review of Quilting thread

 awhile ago I bought a spool of YLI 100% Cotton Quilting Thread in Natural and in Black, what for you ask??

Do we need a reason besides some far in the future project??

No I didn't think so either!!

Today I found the spool of Natural Quilting thread! (it had gotten lost in the mountains of craft stuff on my desk!)And decided to use it quilting my Mini Brick Wall quilt, and I have to say I am ver very VERY impressed!

No tangling of the thread or fraying either!

And it glides through the quilt sandwich like a hot knife through butter!

I may never use another brand again!

Prim Nesting box

I ventured into the garage today to make this little beauty! I've been eye-ing the instructions on the Pickled Pepper Patch's blog for a while now!

As always the instructions  given were great, easy to follow. I mean even I could do it!!

I did have a hard time though, but not because of the instructions!

I am so used to have my Buddy Lex lying at my feet and looking up at me lovingly every time I bang my thumb with the hammer and turn the air blue with the language ( he used to be so impressed)

It will take me a little while to get used to crafting without him.

R.I.P Lex

Today We had to make the hard decision to put down our beloved dog Lex!

He's been having some aggression problems and we took him to the vet today and she adviced us seeing the age of Lex (he was 12y old, which is old for his breed!) the best thing to do would be to put him down.

She explained a whole list of tests and stuff we could do to see if there was an other options, but when asked what would she do if it was her own dog she said if he was her dog, she'd put him down!

So Lex was put to sleep at 2:30pm with his head on my lap and me cuddleing him and telling him how much we love him and how much he will be missed by all of us!!

Until we meet again my Sweety Pie!

And another one bites the dust!

I did it!! I finally finished another UFO!!

this one is made with a plain red and muslin (100% cotton) and was paper pieced and hand quilted.

I wanted something to give some bamboo batting a test run, and I have to say it quilts like a dream! And even for a small quilt it doesn't feel stiff and drapes great!

The pattern came from an old Miniature Quilts magazine (not sure about the issue, as I can't seem to be able to find it at the moment!)

The quilt measures 20"x20"

And it only took me 6 months to pull my finger out and finish it! (LOL)




(EDIT: the pattern is in Miniature Quilts magazine issue #33, page 42 and is called Indian Hatchet)

Rag Doll

I finished the rag doll! I was easier to stuff it then I thought! (maybe cutting the rags really small helped!)
I really love the feel of the doll (although as Mr L demonstrated, it does hurt when thunked on the head with her!)
The pattern for the doll is by Drakestone Primitves Country Cabin, and was easy to make!
I may need to make me some more!

Funny!

Mr J: Sweety, what would you like for Mother's day??
Me: would a table saw be asking too much?
Mr J: "SIGH" a normal woman would ask for jewelry!
Me: I never claimed to be Normal!!

Rag stuffing

For a while now I've been thinking of rag stuffing a doll!

But was a little worried about the end results: Would it be too lumpy, too floppy etc!

So while I was stitching this little pillow (part of the Mehitable Wright's Redwork Sampler pattern from Pineberry Lane),I decided it would be a good idea to try stuffing the little pillow (4.4"x2.5") with some rags.

Off I went to the local op-shop and bought an old flannel sheet and ripped a 3" section into .5" stripes which I then cut into little itty bits! 

When done with that I firmly stuffed the pillow and I just have to say I LOVE it!!! The pillow feels nice and firm, and I love the feel of it more then when I stuff with polyfill.

Now I can't wait to get going on the doll!

I wonder if I will need more old flannel sheets or will this 1 single bed sheet ( minus 3" I used for the pillow) be enough?

Check out my selling blog!

I've decided to open up a selling blog!
Please check out what I have to offer HERE

I will try and list more stuff on there regularly

I'm in love!!!

Last Friday we picked up our 2 youngest kids up in Melbourne after they spend a week with Oma and Opa (or Uncle Rich and Aunty Kylie) and as they needed some things to wear this winter we decided to take them to the DFO near Moorabbin Airport and shop til we dropped!!

Now I'm not really much of a shoe kinda girl, but I saw the pair in the pic above and HAD to have them!

Life just didn't seem worth living without them!

So I parted with some hard cash for them, and I'm so happy with them! They are comfy and they have a heel, so I look taller when I wear them!!

a Trip to Maldon

Oh what to do on a cold and boring Sunday? Well we loaded the one remaining kid (Miss Teenager decided to spend nights and days with teenage friends (so much cooler then hanging with the old folks!))and headed for Maldon a small goldrush town with a much loved ( by Mr L and his Dad) Lollie shop and of course antique shops and patchwork shop for mum!

below a picture of main street Maldon ( see that hot Mamma in the blue jeans and brown shirt? Yep that is me! I'm surprised hubby could contain his excitement long enough to take the picture! LOL)

  

We had a great lunch at one of the pubs in town and drooled over some shops that were for sale and dreamed about buying one and moving to Maldon. SIGH!!! maybe one day!

Then we made a quick d-tour to Castlemaine to visit Threadbear  quilt shop! WOW that is one great shop! all the repro fabrics I could dream off and then some! Hubby waited outside and at once stage came rushing in coz he could smell the melting credit card! 

On the way back home hubby indulged my (as he calls it "creepy") fasination with old Cemeteries and we visited the cemetery in Maldon.

Now is it just me do you think it is a little weird that both the boys were called Thomas?

I remember seeing a family grave in Holland were 6 of the 8 kids were called Jan (the other 2 were girls) the next boy was called Willem. Did mum and dad have a talk and go: do you think the name Jan is killing all the boys before they are a year old?? maybe try a different one??

Great Op-shop finds 2

I made another little trip to the op-shop! There wasn't much there today but I did find these 2 books!

<-- this one is a childrens book , which was won by Ruby Ezzy at St Marks SS in Millthorpe in 1894
it was the second prize for something (it doesn't say for wat, just My Second prize) Her Teacher was Miss Lizzie Kingham.

And this book  is a 1928 Webster's Ever-Ready
Dictionary of the English Language, Self-pronouncing

I love those old fashioned books! and to think I only spend a tiny amount on them! they were 50 cents each!
I wonder how much use that dictionary will be to me! LOL

Should I be worried??

The other day Miss D said to me: "Mum, I'm bored! I'm going to clean my room!"
Now as if that isn't scary enough from a Teenager, yesterday she ironed for me as well! We didn't have to tell her to do it, she offered and did! And did a good job too!

As a mother I now wonder if I should worry, or just go with the flow?

OH No!!

I was such an un-happy girlie yesterday! The internet was down all day!!
If you saw a  woman walk around town in a daze, not knowing what to do with her hands. Well that was me!!
There was nothing else to do (OK so I could have done housework, but where is the fun in that??) but to fire up the ole sewing machine and sew!

<---So I made this lil Pumpkinhead girl (Jackie Schmidt pattern) and the Snow man below (Cotton Candy Creations pattern)