Hot & Not....

The Hot...

Sarah Murdoch on the cover of the Women's Weekly- minus the airbrushing. I could go on & on about why this is so hot, but instead I will simply say, buy this magazine-please! I never buy the Women's Weekly, but I made a point of buying the November issue. The best way for editors to understand that we want more realistic images in our magazines is for us the support them when they choose to use them.

Bendigo Woollen Mills. I just received my first wool purchase from them & I am a fan. I am still enjoying knitting, even as the weather warms up.

Baby cuddles. There's nothing better than having a tiny little baby fall asleep on your shoulder, it's even better getting to enjoy this without the broken sleep. As a bonus not only does Mish make beautiful babies, she also makes delicious chocolate hedgehog!

The Not...

Ralph Lauren. I don't even want to say anymore on the subject.

Co-sleeping. Lovely in theory, but at the moment the reality does not involve a lot of sleep, at least for me.

Lack of exercise. I am really missing getting to go for a run & I am starting to realise just how much I enjoy it. Exercise definitely helps me to decompress & with small kids that is pretty important.

Visit Claire to see what else is Hot/Not.

Mini Train Ride...

Today my parents & I took the kids to the miniature railway in Eltham. I was quite amazed to watch them shovel coal into the little steam engine, I guess I wasn't expecting the trains to be so authentic.

Apart from the queues & the windchill it was a perfect way to spend a Sunday. The prices were very vintage & we got to have a lovely long ride.

Willow's hat had it's first official outing & Willow enjoyed the ride but not the tunnels.

And as a added bonus, after the train ride Ryder got some football time with his Pa.

Lovely.

The Quilt Project...

Image from the quilt project.

Tonight I went to see the the finished piece created by Kirsty & all the participants in the quilt project. It was wonderful to see all the pieces together & how the very diverse red squares worked together as a whole. It was also lovely was spend some time with such a creative bunch of women (& men), both participants & voyeurs.

Kirsty has also put together a website documenting the project & participants, & it is well worth a look, as is her debrief here.

Big thanks to Kirsty for organising such a special community project, I was very proud to be a part of it. Now I just need to decide what to do with my square!

Hot & Not....

The Hot...

Starwars. All of a sudden my children are calling themselves Luke & Leia, & Ryder was beside himself when he found a Starwars book at the school library yesterday. It may be time to make Willow a costume of her own.

This is Australia by M Sasek. I was very excited to discover this book is back in print & add it to our This Is collection. As with all his books, I love the illustrations & I have been enjoying reading this one with Ryder.

The quilt project on display this friday, can't wait too see it all together.

The Not...

Dropping Roger off at the airport today, you can follow his amazing adventures on twitter, whilst my adventures shall be far more mundane.

Waiting for the postman. I am sure Australia Post hoards my parcels & then delivers them in bulk. I want my mail, the good stuff, not just the bills, they deliver them quick smart. Grrr...

Christmas decorations. Well they are hot at Christmastime, but not in October! I know this happens every year, but it's still not hot.

Thanks to Claire for the Hot/Not inspiration.

Marque #2...

So the cable hat has been completed, again.

I made some alterations to increase it's size & although it is still a tiny bit smaller than I would like, I couldn't bear frogging it a second time.

Naturally I finished the hat in time for some glorious Spring weather, but I'm sure it will still get worn at some stage.

I plan on make a small matching scarf before next Winter, but I guess I have plenty of time to decide on a pattern & make a start.

Luke Skywalker...

If you ask me Ryder is a perfect young Anakin Skywalker, but as he has only seen Episode IV, he doesn't really know who that is & it is far too difficult to explain!

So, Luke it is. It turns out the Oliver & S PJ pattern makes a fantastic Luke Skywalker costume when made with a nice linen/cotton blend. I simply omitted the exterior tie, & made a karate-style belt. Add some ugg boots & a lightsaber & you are set.

We have a bit of a star wars buff on our hands right now. Ryder & I had a date at the Star Wars exhibition last week, if you are a fan, it is well worth a look.

Shallow...

I was so excited last night when I finished this little hat. My first hat & cabled to boot! I was looking forward to seeing it on Willow & feeling proud of my knitting achievement.

Unfortunately after spending far too much time trying to get it to stay on her head I had to admit that the hat just isn't big enough. Is isn't even a matter of stretching it, it basically isn't deep enough & so when I managed to get it onto her head it popped off & flew through the air as soon as I let go of it. Not what I had in mind.

It's a pity because the wool (that Kate gave me) is beautiful & apart from the size issues, the pattern is great. I think some frogging is in order & a do over with a few alterations.

Hot & Not....

The Hot...

All things knitting. I know, I know, stop with the knitting already, but I really can't help it. Look how beautiful these bamboo needles look, what's not to love?

Ryder wearing his new tie. So handsome.

The Beechworth Sweet Co. We visited Beechworth on the weekend & the sweet shop is fantastic & well worth a look. I dare you to leave empty-handed.

The Not...

The weather. Spring, where art thou? I know we need the rain, but 1/2 way through October, a bit of sunshine would be nice.

The washing basket that threatens to take over the house á la the blob & that is just the clean pile!

The amazing overseas trip the Roger is heading on soon. Not only am I extremely jealous, but as an added bonus I get some quality single-parenting time. Did I mention I don't cook -eek!

Thanks to Claire for the Hot/Not inspiration.

Handmade Tie...

Recently I put Ryder in one of Roger's ties & although it was way too big for him, he looked rather cute & was very happy to look like Daddy. Both boys requested that I make Ryder some ties of his own & I was more than happy to oblige.

I had some navy linen in my stash & some very cute airplane fabric, which I thought would make a cute surprise in the lining, perfect for a 4 year old boy.

I used the purl bee's tie pattern, which was super easy to follow, it just involves lots of ironing & hand sewing!

I think a few more of these are in order, now I just have to teach Ryder how to tie it!

Sewing for Knitting...

So before this turns into a knitting blog, I thought I had better do some sewing. Given my new favourite craft, I couldn't resist this fabric from Aunty Cookie, perfect for a knitting bag!

It's been a while since I've made a boxy pouch & the finished product is a bit bigger than I had planned, but I think that is a good thing in case I graduate to bigger projects down the track.

I interfaced the exterior fabric & also quilted some batting into the base to give it some extra stability, but it is still a bit floppier than I would like. Inside I put a large pocket on one side & a divided pocket in the other side, so I can keep some extra knitting equipment, like row markers & my needle gauge on hand.

At the moment I have another cap sleeved spring shirt nestled inside, this time in a lovely bright purple.