What's in my bag...

After reading Fox's Lane's post the other day baring to the world what was in her bag that day i thought it was a great idea and so i'm joining in, to be perfectly honest, what's in my bag right now is pretty unremarkable but it has ebbs and flows of being filled with a lot of auxillary cr@p!

Today though there is this:

From top and left to right is,

* My bright RED purse, a birthday gift from my SIL - that is a pic unto itself lol

* A piece of ribbon i cut off a top i wore on Australia day and thought i could use in my sewing or knitting - there was 2 of these...

* A stitch marker i got given to me by Woolly Butts when i bought a skein of hand- dyed yarn from them

* A glasses cleaning cloth

* 2 hairbands, one given to me by Trudie, made with a lovely covered button, the other is Nina's

* The usual so i don't get caught short!!

* Burt's Bee's lip balm, i love lip balm :)

* A can of impluse in case I forget to perfume myself when i leave the house lol

* My work ID and nursing licence

* My mobile phone

* Emergency moisturiser - i like my pins to look well moisturised all the time but often only think of this as i'm getting out of the car lol

* Socks that i wore to work yesterday lol! They are now in the wash!! (i only wear them at work not to and from which is why they're in my bag at all...)

* Baby wipes - always handy esp when you have a baby!

* 2 biro's - one is a cool syringe shape haha the other is a 'rep' pen that got given to me by our rep for prosthetic knees and hips :)

* Cabling needle - my on the go knitting is a cabled cardi for my SIL and has been residing in my bag a lot but it's getting big now so it gets put in and out when i know i'll have an opportunity to knit :)

* Swiss army knife bought while in Switzerland in '09, it's the handiest thing in the world, great for emergency nail repairs, knitting etc, it also reminds me of Europe :) Can't wait to go back!!! Next time skiing!!!

Christmas is the time of year....

...Time for joy and time for cheer!

I LOVE Christmas and am a bit sad that it's all over for another year, the kids had a fantastic time despite the terrible weather and the wettest day of the entire year in our area! I did a bit of Christmas crafting, not as much as i would have liked though so next year i'm starting MUCH earlier!

Pictured is a Blossom Bolero patter by stitchymama and knitted in Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, a pair of Flippant thong socks for my MIL, i actually LOVE these lol and a knitted pear decoration for a swap i was in, i think that pear is my most loved FO of 2010, very pleasing indeed :) There were a few other knitted and sewn items amongst my gifts ;)

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas for 2010! I'll leave you with a pic of the kids on the tramp that Santa left, they've been on it every day and not even monsoonal rain can stop them lol!

Every wool obsessed mother's dream realised...

My little girl cuddled up on the couch knitting with mummy - bliss :)

mid-year resolution check....

Hmmm, well as we race toward the 6 month mark of 2010, i've been thinking back to my new year's resolution of destashing the fabric and yarn here. I'd have to do the math but i think the incomings and outgoings from the stash equal a bit of failure on that one - oops!

SO, i'm officially back on the bandwagon, i'm resisting temptation and being inspired by what i have on hand here again and have heaps planned from my stash. I'm recommitting for the 2nd half of the year!

Got a couple of FO's to show off since my last post - all i think from yarn that i ordered in specially oops lol

A pair of mismatched ulitmate longies - i redid the legs soo many times but i think the colour change was just slightly longer on the tail end of the ball and even alternating didn't fix it. These are now residing in their new home and i wish that i had have just did one leg jsut one more time. They do, however, have a beautiful feel and are made from lovely cestari superfine merino, very soft and thick :)

Also, finally did a dress for Nina she's a tall 6yo so there's a lot of knitting there! It's made to Tikki's Eden's Eve pattern in Anchor magicline of Nina's choosing, it fits great, she mostly wears it to bed though lol! At least it's getting used though and it's the only one of my recently FO's to use stash yarn - oops haha She's also wearing her crocheted hat from her talented Nanny ;)

A purple Rainbow dress for my niece, fits like a glove and is too cute for words lol! Got the ribbon from Spotters for less than $1 and the yarn is BWM luxury 8ply.

Finally i have off the needles my first finished adult garment knitted to Andrea Pomerantz' 'Rosamund's Cardigan' pattern using Cascade ecological wool - this yarn i can't go on enough about, i love it, it's minimally processed Peruvian Highwool. My cardigan actually smelt like a farm animal when it was wet blocking, for some reason i found that exciting lol. It's soo wearable in our mild climate here and will be perfect for winter days here in the tropics :) I'll have to get FO pics when my husband is home but i've got a little teaser - lamo haha

Sewing challenge done and done....

Due to shamefully failing my March challenge, i got stuck in and got my April challenge done and dusted today. Ok i'm thinking of adding some embellishments but for all purposes...

I used Vintage Ric Rac's tutorial for a one hour bag. Having the one hour time fram made it a challenge within a challenge and i've also never made a hand bag as such either. SO that makes this little number a triple whammy. It's made for my little princess Nina, who hasn't cast her discerning eye over it yet - finger's crossed - with some stash scraps that i've had for an age and a couple of buttons that i've had for longer lol.

And just to prove that i can make a softie i'm linking the most recent softie i made to the March challenge even though she was made in Feb and has seen quite a few cuddles since then and her felt is starting to pill! Made to 'One Red Robin's' Chibi Doll pattern, i love her, too cute :)

cough, cough....

That's been me all week, bleurgh, i really HATE having a cold, i see it as a waste of my time and energy, and you don't get much sympathy either, not that i really want it haha

Despite being a bag of germs i have managed to push out a few FO's although i have failed my March challenge to sew a softie on time haha. I will finish it cos the fabrics were expensive and it is destined to be a gift for my new niece or nephew to be :)

First up, i'm supposed to be at a baby shower as i type and have spent all last week creating this little masterpiece, knitted to Tikki's rainbow dress pattern, NB size in Bendigo Woollen Mill's luxury dyed by Woolly Butts, 'spinifex' colourway. I love this patter and yarn together - too cute!

Second, for my old friend Buddy, a faithful companion for the last 15 years, he wandered into our yard as a stray and never left, i'm so glad you did Bud :)

Looks like the proverbial sitting there like that but dog jumper's do don't they lol! Knitted in Bendigo Woollen Mills classic 5 ply 'Poseidon' (held double for a bit of thickness for him) to Cosmo's Coat pattern so simple and very adaptable to any dog.

Lastly, a bit of a first here, my first tension swatch haha I bought this wool with view to do a Rainbow for my niece, but alas i think it is just too thick for our climate for a dress, it will instead turn into a vest or similar for Nina who has claimed the wool as her own. I'm in love, it's like knitting a party!

The yarn is Cestari superfine dyed by Ladybug loops :)

Happy weekend!

kez

A wrap up...

A wrap up of the last couple of weeks a few FO's sneaking their way out of here and some stash busting as well :) I'm really starting to notice some *ahem* room, in my wool basket which is VERY exciting!! Got a little ways to go yet and my 'queue' is getting longer by the second!

I've got some secret squirrel stuff off the needles and from under foot done as well but i won't post pics yet just in case!

First up - my first pair of longies for Oscar! Done using Shannon's pattern from Crafty Desire's and using her gorgeous gradient split yarn. I think they look pretty awesome and have already been put to good use as trackies in this cold rainy weather we're experiencing all of a sudden. They aren't lanolised yet and i haven't managed to get an action shot but, my, they are sooo soft and look completely funky!! I like them sooo much that i'm knitting another pair the same with plans for a third pair too all out of stash! I'v had this 'alien' yarn sitting around for aaages. It was the last ball left from a stocking at Woolly Butts a while back, i'm so happy with how it's knitting up, perfect for little boy's pants :)

Also i've cracked the whip on myself with the March sewing challenge, i made a start the other day as soon as i got my drool-worthy selection of fabrics from Kelani, but i finally interfaced it all and started sewing it together today, i'll do all the handsewing this week and then the finishing next weekend to come in before the end of March! That's the grand plan anyways lol

Back to my knitting now, i can't waste a perfectly good rainy day on the puter when i could be curled up knitting on the lounge mmmm even the thought is warming!

til next time

kez