Category: All things craft

Time has passed quite quickly recently…..here we are in the third week of December…….not much left of 2019 to get through.

Get through being the optimal words as my back complaint with its associated leg problems has become evident again ( lumbar spinal stenosis )  .   All of which unfortunately limits my walking (which makes it worse) so consequently I’ve not done half the things I’d planned.  I have however read a couple of good books plus knit two baby cardigans…..and watched a fair bit of cricket.

The GP agreed with me that part of the problem really is because I haven’t been doing any regular exercise since we came back from Bowen  I cancelled my gym membership before we left (not a contract one) meaning to reinstate it and my latest swimmimg pass had been used up, both of which I’ve just haven’t got round to renewing.  I have been doing some  physio recommended ‘simple’ exercises at home as well as using some light weight  dumbbells but they obviously aren’t enough.  What’s needed is a more structured method- one where I can’t stop and make a cup of tea when the going gets tough – well, I can stop, for a while – but it’s a bit awkward going to the attached cafes for a cup of tea when you’re all sweaty or dripping wet – and then making your way back to start all over again.  Best get it over and done with, then enjoy the tea when I get home 😊

Do you remember my dear friend who died recently ‘gifted’ her stash of wool to her friends and family.   Well the yarn knit up beautifully but was such a non descript, rather plain bland colour I had to put a pattern on each of them so they didn’t look flat and uninteresting.  You’ll find the previous two towards the end of this post, so all done now  and these two along with anymore I knit in the meantime will go off to the charity later in the new year.

And of course I read more than two books….these were the two from a pile of random library picks that stood out from the rest 😊

Sorry fot the dead – Nicola Upson.  Josephine Tey #8

“In the summer of 1915, the sudden death of a young girl brings grief and notoriety to Charleston Farmhouse on the Sussex Downs. Years later, Josephine Tey returns to the same house–now much changed–and remembers the two women with whom she once lodged as a young teacher during the Great War. As past and present collide, with murders decades apart, Josephine is forced to face the possibility that the scandal which threatened to destroy those women’s lives hid a much darker secret”

A cast of almost all female characters, set in various ‘times’ with the murder as the central focus of the book.   It covered attitudes toward women and their roles, very early women’s lib, developing female ‘friendships’ –  both open and covert – and how they were seen by society.  Lots of twists and turns with a surprise last chapter that tied in with the first one.  The only flaw for me was the jumping from decade to decade (sections set in different times) which I lost track of with having the same characters turning up each time.  Having to turn back to the front page of each ‘part’ to remember which year I was in was a bit of a nuisance.

Last seen alive – Claire Douglas

“Libby and James Hall can’t believe their luck when the leaflet comes through the door. Swapping their tiny city flat for a beautiful house by the sea? Who would say no? But once they arrive at The Hideaway Libby starts to get jittery and increasingly paranoid. She is sure that someone is watching them. Something here isn’t right. And when she suspects their lives to be in danger they swiftly decide to return to Bath. But they can’t pick up their old life so easily. Because this isn’t just a casual house swap. This is something much, much more sinister.”

This one started out quite slowly (almost like the holiday it was supposed to be) then it changed.  Very subtly it became more of a mystery (touted as a psychological thriller) with a murder thrown in for good luck  Twists and turns as the story moves on – secrets are revealed- previous lives and deeds come into play    You never know what’s going to happen with each page turn.   Definitely recommended.

🎄 🍦 🎄 🍷🎄 ⛱ 🎄

I’ve really enjoyed your company (and comments) this past year but I’m feeling a bit tired and weary so think now is the right time to push the seasonal pause button

My love to you all – I’ll be back again in the middle of January

Merry Christmas and a very Happy Healthy Prosperous New Year

Thinking about how quickly this month is going by.

Here we are into the third week already, there’s something marked on most of the  upcoming days and I’m still trying to get to grips with things that happened during the first week!

• Thinking about how most of Victoria must be fed up with our changeable weather.  What we think of as Spring weather (dry sunny and pleasantly warm) seems to be taking a long time to arrive – cold wet and windy are the order of the day with a teaser thrown in here and there.
• Thinking about the days we spent with no landline and consequently no internet courtesy (it finally turned out) of the NBN line layers working in our and nearby streets.  The Telstra technician who came (read that as finally turned up days later) to ‘find’ the fault……over $100 to pay if it was on our side of the socket (entry point) nil if on the other……mentioned it could (more than likely, would) happen again if ‘they’ had to work in the pit opposite our house.
• Thinking about for one reason or another I seem to have spent an awful lot of time waiting  these past weeks.  So many queues – so many waiting rooms.  Luckily I plan for delays and take a book (or knitting) –  good for some situations, a bit awkward in some 😊
• Thinking about a CT scan and how previous findings marked moderate are now read as severe.  How changes happen without you really noticing until, bam, they are very noticeable.
• Thinking about other readings (BP) and how they have suddenly changed.  Family history and pain can do that, the GP said.  We’ll change your medication- ‘cept the chosen one may have side effects.  Like what, I asked.  Oh swollen ankles, nothing to worry about.  Well we’ll cross that bridge when or if we get to it.

AND

So you don’t think I’ve only had ‘pain in the a****’ things to think about…..I’ve been

• Thinking about how pleased I am that choir rehearsals have begun again (for me that is). There is a U3A promotional concert tomorrow morning so it’s been hectic but fun catching up on songs learnt and practiced while we were away.
• Thinking about how lucky we are here in Melbourne to attract international exhibitions at the NGV.  The decision we made to leave The Terracotta Warriors until the last week was so well worth the long wait in line.  A late afternoon slot meant there were no crowds, giving us room to move and look at things from different angles.
• Thinking how glad we checked the pile of gift cards languishing in the bedroom – we forget when they run out – and there was a Gold Class (cinema) one, obviously a present from last year because it was due to expire this month.   The Golfer signed up for a new seniors scheme run by the cinema chain which meant we received discount on the seats as well as food; and you know how they charge like a wounded bull so we were able to have more to eat than originally planned 😊
• Oh and Downton Abbey was what we saw.  I didn’t watch the tv series so not knowing all the back story, to me it was just a grand showy film about the goings on in a ‘big house’ – twists and turns and what seemed to me an ending that left a way for another production about the same characters.

And then there was someone and something I’ve been thinking of for a few weeks now.

Not long after my dear friend died last month her daughters popped in with a gift.  They’d been ‘spreading their mother’s love’ around her friends and would like us to have something of hers.  A bag of mill ends  from Spotlight 😊  Their mother knit for various charities and that was what they wanted us (the recipients) to do.  No problem where I was concerned- I was to knit something for charity and they’d drop in again sometime to see what I’d come up with.

They did pop in again- Just the other day – And this is what I showed themTwo small cardigans (size 3 months) and enough wool left for two more 😊

Are you willing to share the Good, the Bad and the Ugly in your life at the moment?

That’s what I told an acquaintance (a friend of a friend) the other day…..after she said, “I’d get bored stiff sitting about in the sun all day”

Well I said….’I only visit my special little bay, maybe three mornings a week, for about two hours. Arrive about 9.15am, pack up and leave about 11am…..back to the cabin just in time for coffee with The Golfer when he finished his morning round’

You see, you can take a book along and read on the beach or close your eyes and enjoy the fresh sea air BUT you can’t (or at least I can’t) do any Winter Knitting!  Never mind not wanting sand in your sarnies…..sand in your sweaters is just not on lol

I decided to concentrate on small woollies this year (newborn- 6months), took just two of my basic patterns with me, some white, some solids plus a lot of small balls of this and that…..and came up with 10 little baby cardigans.

Three with crossover fronts – an easy fit for newborns.

Crisp yellow or blue stripes old size 18” (3-6 months) in a timeless medium button style.

Same size but with not enough of the green, pink or grey to make a complete garment, after a little bit of thinking, a bit of visualising, I ended up with two of what I call – half & halves.

Same size again, using the same stitch count, here are three solids made to look a bit different by adding a rib pattern on a couple and a few purl  rows on the ‘right’ side of another.

I spent yesterday finishing off, sewing on buttons, checking I’d actually sewn all the seams and generally making them ready to hand over to the charity.

What’s next for my needles?  Thinking…..Thinking  lol.

I have a lot of wool still to use up and a few ideas in mind.   Maybe something a bit larger….possibly for 2yr olds??

A little intro here – as you can see I’ve changed to a different theme.  This post has photos to help check loading time,

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I made use of these last few weeks when it seemed like I was in ‘retreat’ and ignoring the world by fishing out the knitting needles again.  KOGO will be looking for winter supplies to distribute and I’m determined to rid some of my boxes of ‘odd small balls’ of assorted colours.  Some of it is new and some recycled, I was needing just enough to use – one colour as a main and others as contrast.  Result no.1 – 4 jumpers/sweaters for babes about 12 months old.  Not too bright – not too pale – winter knits to take the coldness of winter away 🙂

click to enlarge

Stripey striped sleeves and matching buttons courtesy of the big box that sits behind the couch lol

hhttp://www.knitonegiveone.org/kogo.php?page=aboutus

Boys are on the go – Charity knitting fills a need and is never a chore.