Look What We Did.......

She's yet to be named (I'm leaning towards Annie) .....

Our new to us Aline Campervan.   Something I never thought would happen but a chat on the way into Wang a couple of weeks ago and ...... Bam!  She has to get her NSW Rego sorted first and Pete is working on some Ute topper configurations for a little boat with a small 15hp motor and we will be taking her for our first trial adventure.  Lucy is most impressed with her and smells upcoming adventures!  She folds right down in just a couple of minutes into a trailer - no canvas to get wet or dirty and so easy.

Come on and I'll show you inside ....... she will be getting our (my) special touches once she has been to the mechanic to get her important Blue Slip for registration ...

A nice inner spring double mattress which lifts up to reveal heaps of storage,  Fridge, Microwave, hot plates and sink 

And comfy chairs with a table and more storage at the end (including a hanging rack for clothes) - its all we need and it came with an annex which we can pop up when we decide to stay somewhere for a bit longer

We are actually planning a Big Trek next year leaving here in May and making our way up to Townsville and then over to Broome in WA from which we will decide which way to head back...... so lots of planning ahead.  I'm excited I won't have to search for dog friendly cabins a year in advance!

Excited ??? Totally!!!

Its been busy around here since I last blogged ..........  The Fusion Quilt is finished and I'm super happy with it - 

Front and Back .....

Joining and Edging:   

It even managed a Trophy Nomination in the HPKCHC Ravelry Group which was nice. (and yes, I do plan to make that post showing how to make one)

Lots of projects made over the past couple of months - some gifted, some requested to purchase and
some for here

The larger wood fire we installed over the Summer has been a blessing - its been keeping the house super warm (we haven't needed to turn on the gas at all this winter and its been much colder this winter).  Its also been busy helping with the cooking at times, keeping the kettle hot and drying the clothes.

The fence between us and next door which was falling apart and quite low was pulled out and a digger brought in to get out the stumps from the Yukkas the neighbour had growing that had moved the fence and posts out of shape ........ and then I was enlisted to help with the fence building over a few days!   

Above - fence down and digger finishing off (our house is left side with water tank in foreground) 

Below: working out how to attach it to the brick garage (neighbours) that forms part of the boundary line - and thats my vegie garden which is why I wanted it completed before Spring hits

Below: Posts are in

Fence pretty much completed - I didn't get a finished photo from the neighbours side which shows it all (looking towards our house)

It's soooooo lovely having it done and sooooo nice to have that privacy and not being asked what I'm doing each time I walk out the back door or checking what washing I'm hanging up.  We've also had a pool blanket installed so that hopefully we can use the pool a bit more this year (its a solar one that is meant to help heat the water a couple of degrees and also reduce the amount of water that needs topping up all through summer....... Guess we shall see. 

Working on decluttering I came across a yoghurt/cheese maker I had bought from Aldi a couple of years ago and shoved into the cupboard (Things were way too busy when I had Dad to see to every day)....... anyhow, when a friend down the road mentioned she had started making her own yoghurt and saving quite a few $$ I decided to give it a go .......   This is the little beast - makes no sound whilst working and the yoghurt is lovely ..... you pop it into the strainer so it can get rid of excess fluid and then

A couple of hours later you have this .......

I gave the cheese a go the other day and ended up with this lovely round of a Feta like cheese - I'll be making more of it for sure

On other notes the past few weeks have seen me reading this from the library which I'm half way through and really enjoying .......

More knitting ...... longer fingerless gloves

I'm in the midst of planning to make this - just trying to get a few more of the things needed to make it

And walking of course ....... thankfully the weather is beginning to change - just a little - today its back to freezing but the signs of Spring are in the air.

 

July Begins

 And here we are at the beginning of the final half of the year …..how quickly it’s going!  I took part in Friday Night With Friends Here working on a new cowl I just cast on.

 I wanted to finally use this divine Angora Bunny yarn I purchased quite a few years back - it’s only a small skein of around 110 metres so finding a simple Cowl that I can cast off when I get to the end of the yarn was not as easy as you might imagine - It was purchased one year whilst at the Bendigo Wool show held in July - unfortunately I

won't be getting over to it this year- its been a couple of years since I made it there for one reason or another 

 …..I’m using one of Laura Aylor - from her Four Calling Birds pattern - it’s so squishy and soft and delicious to knit with and should be lovely to wear on these Frosty mornings we’ve been having here in Corowa these past few weeks! Well, before I even finished this post - waiting for my photos to upload I have completed the cowl (half the size of the pattern) but I had only 6 inches of yarn left at the end of binding off as I played chicken wondering if I would make the entire bind off

Yesterday I got back to work on my Fusion Quilt - which will become the main focus for July.  I managed to finish off the top stitching of all blocks and complete another pile of 10 blocks with blanket stitching - which leaves 1 more pile of 10 to do blanket stitching on.  There are 40 more blocks to edge once this is done.  And for a break from Blanket stitching

squares - I’ve been joining  some of the blocks into their vertical  rows using a crochet stitch pattern. 4 Rows are now complete (6 more verticals once all the blocks are ready).   I’ve had a lot of questions and interest about this quilt and so I’ll be doing a dedicated post or 2 in the next couple of weeks. 

As you can see - Row J is awaiting the Blanket Stitched edging which is used as the base for the crochet work.

The chookshed challenge is Number 9 - I have my 2 lists with the sewing item being something for the gift bag and my knitting list showing Socks!  And oh ……how I do need more knitted socks. They are so nice and cosy to wear over the cooler months and I enjoy watching them emerge ……. I’m not entirely sure what pattern or what yarn I’ll be using just yet …..perhaps I’ll go stash diving today?  Since my last post I managed to finish off my last pair of socks doing the 2nd sock as a toe up after my terrible attempt at the cuff down and sewing up the toes!

And I also finished my Pressed Flowers Cowl which I have been wearing

And after having had Bella here with us for the past 10 days which developed into lots of jealousy and a reduction in what could be easily done - we are back to normality.  The first thing after all the frosts was to collect our crop of Pumpkins which grew from the compost. I'll be roasting some up to make a nice batch of pumpkin soup and also putting some mashed pumpkin into the freezer  in serves to make pumpkin scones throughout the next few months. 

 Harvesting usually puts one in the thought process of planning ...... So naturally, I’ve been contemplating the garden …….. we lost a number of our roses last year when the Mister accidentally got his sprays mixed up and sprayed them with round up instead of the rose food …… they didn’t survive!  I wasn’t going to replace them - however I’d like to be able to gather rose hips to use so I guess I will be putting in more roses in the coming weeks! 

We were lucky to get a lovely walk in this morning through the bush area of the common around behind the Golf Course

The Kangaroos took off when they saw us coming along the track - some heading further into the bush whilst others took to the green grass on the Golf Course

It started to rain just as we were almost home ....... and it's still raining now - perfect for more crafting and sitting by the fire relaxing ....... Lucy has snuggled herself into her bed beside me and apparently has brought one of her stuffed toys in with her .....

Until next time, Take Care, and big Hugs .........

Sharm  xoxo

FNSI and a Crafting Update

I joined in with FNSI with Wendy here and managed to work on my Pressed Flower Cowl which I've continued on today and managed to get another couple of rows of flowers done - its looking so pretty and I'm really happy with how the yarn has worked up so well in this project with the white which helps to make it "pop" ..... What do you think?  I also trialled a couple of different ways of joining my fusion blocks and have decided to use a dc on both sides to join them which results in this nice row of chain on the top and a flat join at the back - perfect since I want this to be easily reversible so all the Tilda fabrics are showcased! 

 I'll probably do a bit more on my sock tonight to have a break from both of these items - plus I'd really like to get this second sock finished by the end of this month so I have a 4th pair of knitted socks to help keep my feet nice and warm .....

 I thought after the last post I should probably share my crafting over the past few weeks ...... I've been keeping busy sewing, knitting and crocheting.......  I'm really concentrating on getting the Fusion Quilt worked on at the moment which you will see a bit further down the post.

First I should share the finished photo of the Turtle Mandela Hanging that I gifted Stacey and John - really happy with how it came out and they were thrilled.

Then there have been a number of little witches hats in minature .  I made the first one as a fun thing to do and sent a photo to my DIL who was very keen to have a brown one with a green band and she was thrilled when it arrived and got a great photo of it with her cat lol

One fingerless glove completed in May ...... the other one is still waiting to be started ..... soon?? I could certainly use them at the moment with our cold mornings! We had -3 this morning and lots of frost to wake up to - the bird baths were frozen solid still at 9.30 this morning!

And I've managed to complete 60 of the 100 blocks that will be crocheted together to make the Fusion Quilt ...... I plan to make a separate post about the process as I've had quite a few people asking about it, but I'll wait till its completed first - that way I can also show you how I joined them.

Time for me to go and start the dinner now but at least I feel I've caught up here a bit.

Hugs Sharm

Katy Perry; Harry Potter and Melbourne

Me at the Harry Potter Exhibition

We've recently had a long weekend with the Kings Birthday ..... a few days before that I headed to Melbourne on the train - knitting was the go as I worked on a sock.  It was to be a very big few days ....

Starting with Shopping and enjoying walking around the city ......

Came out of here with a couple of balls of yarn and with the big Dymocks Bookshop the level below I purchased a book and enjoyed some morning tea from there

Thursday morning was a catch up with Carly and little Abbie so we could celebrate her 1st birthday - I couldn't believe the first thing she went for was the knitted cardi I had made her ... and she wasn't letting go lol..

Carly was more than happy to put it on her and she then had fun getting into the other gifts we had popped in the bag for her ....... She is such a sweetie

We had stopped at shop that specialised in chocolate ...... I couldn't go past this amazing chocolate croissant which just oozed warm melted chocolate everywhere .......YUM! 

Friday Morning Stace and I headed off to the Harry Potter Exhibition ..... I'm not totally into it like some are and have never read the books and only recently watching all the movies (I do enjoy the group on Ravelry - lets face it - its all about crafting multiple items lol) - But the exhibition was lots of fun and had quite a bit of interactive stuff to do.

The Sorting Hat from the Movie & riding
the broom in Quidditch

In the Dining Hall

Stace sitting in Hagrids Chair in his hut

Stacey and John got the keys to their very first house and I was able to give them the Turtle Mandella Wall Hanging which they both loved ....  Stace and I did a bit of cleaning at the new house - they have painting and a few repairs to do before they move in sometime in July.

Saturday Night was why I was down in Melbourn as Stacey and John had gifted me a ticket to the Kay Perry Concert (with Stace) ....... My very first ever concert and what a show it was!  She was fabulous.   I had a great time, but came home quite tired lol.  It's taken me a week to catch up!

A couple of short videos - not sure if they will work since I've not uploaded videos before ....

Anyhow ..... this was my very first ever and likely my last ever live concert and it was Fun!  But now I'll leave you with me heading off to the 9 3/4station to catch the train home after a very busy weekend.

Sock knitting on the train .......