Upon A Hill

Seasonal Tree

2012-01-26T15:43:00.017+11:00

I've been wanting make one of these seasonal tree wall hangings for a while.

Two home schooling family friends, with whom I was having a craft days at their places last year, had these felted trees that they had made on their walls. I would look at those pictures longingly and kept thinking to myself I really need to pull my finger out and make one of these for my home. I always admired the seasonal wool tree pictures that I saw on blogs and in a book, More Magic Wool by Angelika Wolk-Gerche, which I bought a few years ago. So it has been on my craft 'to do' list for a while now.

Last week there was a felting day with a family support group that Lou and I are in. Just over a year ago Lou was diagnosed with PDD-NOS / Atypical Autism . This is the first time that I have ever mentioned it on my blog. I never really had the desire to talk about it so openly to the bloggerverse. This blog has mainly been about my crafty adventures, not my personal (well, Lou's) stuff. I have to say that blogging and looking at blogs has been my escape from this reality to keep me sane...:)

If you are a regular reader, you probably noticed that I've changed my blog name. The name Loopity Lou, which I started with a few years ago, came up because while I was breast feeding Lou, I would knit. Lou was on the boob a lot so I would pass the time by knitting. Being a bub, Lou would grab at the wool and get tangled in loops of wool. My nick-name for him was 'Loopity Lou'. I used to have to explain that to people who know us when I would mention the name of the blog. I would get a few odd looks knowing what was going on with Lou. I thought that now we have moved our home and had a huge change in our lives, my blog need a new name too. Anyway, I'm babbling on and getting away from what I was posting about......

The family support group does activities for families (well, MUMs) and Wet Felting was one of those. We were meant to make a banner to represent our family. There was only a few of us there and I asked if I could do my own thing, which was OK. I've done wet felting a few times so I kind of knew what I was doing. I brought my own wool along just in case they didn't have the colour range that I would like to work with.

It was just as well I did, as I didn't like the colours that they had. I used their white pre-felted back, for which I'm grateful as it saved me so much time layering the wool to make the back of the wall hanging. The rest of the wool was from my stash from when I was needle felting. It was so much fun and a workout. I needle felted the tree into place lightly, being careful not to break my needle because I didn't bring some foam to needle felt into. I think needle felting the tree into place on the pre-felted backing help it to not distort in the wet felting process. I was worried that the tree would smear all over the place and be a waste of wool.

I'm happy with how it turned out. Now I have to find some old branches on the ground and sew them onto the top and bottom of the wool picture and hang it up on the wall. And as the seasons change, change the wool lying on top of it according to the season.

Raggle Taggle Gypsy Girl

2012-01-22T21:34:00.005+11:00

I still haven't found the camera cable yet to charge up my camera and upload my pictures. So the next best thing - find a friend who blogs.

While I was out with my good friend Bhodi, she used the camera in her phone to take some pics of our crafting at the coffee shop today. I encourage you to drop into her blog, say hello and check out her art work and crochet. She was kind enough to put a picture of me and my knitting on her blog.

Now back to finding those cables ....:)

I'll Be Back Soon!

2012-01-19T08:45:00.002+11:00

Hi to anyone who still drops by and reads my blog after this long break. :-)

I didn't expect to be so long away from blogging. Time has really flown by.

In that time we have had a new member to the family of the furry kind, a chocolate Burmese cat called Marty. I would post some photos but the camera cable and other bits to upload photos are still packed away in one of the many boxes around here. So my camera sits on my dressing table, flat battery waiting to be charged up .

Why is my camera cable packed in box? Well, I can proudly say that I have put my roots down in the Blue Mountains. Yep, my partner and I bought a house!!!!!!!!!............

No more renting. No more 18 year old clueless property mangers. I have a moved to a 1/4 acre block "upon a hill" (yes, new name for the Blog). The house has the most amazing views and after all these years I can have chickens again. In the last few rental properties, the landlords wouldn't let me have chooks. I'm very excited about that!...... I pinch myself.

So, I've been busy unpacking and getting a feel for our new home. I haven't been doing much crafting. My knitting is packed away, I have a few UFO's to complete and my wool stash is getting a bit crazy. Once I can find my camera cable and charge up my camera, I can start posting again very soon.

Clara Vest

2011-09-08T19:31:00.007+10:00

Just off the needles.

This is another freebie off Ravelry. The vest is called Clara Vest, if you want to Ravel it.

The Yarn I used is Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed 113 Russett. I used just over 6 balls.

I'm loving the freebies.

I have been working on this vest for a while. I'm not sure why it has taken me so long to finish it. It's not a hard pattern - it's really easy. I think I got bored part way through knitting in one colour. Don't get me wrong, I love the chocolate brown of this Jo Sharp wool. I think I've been spoiled with all the bright colour changes of Noro.

I didn't knit a button hole. I'm using this wooden red broach to pin the cardigan together.

Paper Castles

2011-07-24T15:22:00.007+10:00

I came back from the shops yesterday and in the time I was away, Katie made herself this amazing castle from cardboard and paper.

She saw a castle at her brother's friend's place last week and wanted a castle of her own.

I'm so proud of her - instead of hassling me to buy one at the shops, she researched how to make one of her own.

She found how to make the castle here .

{This Moment}

2011-07-22T13:54:00.009+10:00

This Moment

A Friday ritual. Single photo - no words -capturing a moment from the week.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

Silk Garden Sock

2011-07-19T11:07:00.003+10:00

Look what just arrived in the post today!

4 Balls of Noro Silk Garden Sock Wool at $10.49US a ball!
Webs / Yarn.com have a Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn Sale.....

I'm off to cast on a Kaleidoscope!...

Happy Knitting..........:)

A Bit of Winter Window Colour

2011-07-17T17:33:00.006+10:00

It's been a bit cold, grey and cloudy up here so we made some window stars to brighten up the house. The star above is on our back door. Lou helped me with the folding of this star.

The sun shines through it in the morning, that is, when the sun pops it head from the clouds......:)

I love window stars as they always put a smile on my face with their bright cheerful colours. They look amazing when the sun shines throught them.

We made our window stars out of kite paper from Winterwood. I copied the star pattern from Crafts Through the Year by Thomas and Petra Berger. Don't look too hard at the Blu-Tack spots as we are renting - Blu-Tack is easier to take off than sticky tape.

Winter Sandcastles

2011-07-15T21:15:00.005+10:00

Living up in the mountains, we are a few hours drive from the ocean. We have a stream next to the bush track near where we live to wallow our feet in instead. It has little fish and yabbies, and it can have a strong current just like the ocean if there has been a lot of rain.

My kids love this spot. We call this little bit of sand and water 'the beach'.

The environment is constantly changing at this spot. Some days there is more sand than others. The yabbies often come out to play, but this day it was a bit cold for them.

But it wasn't too cold for Lou to make Winter sandcastles....:)

Turtle Neck Vest

2011-06-19T17:15:00.001+10:00

Here is another finished UFO that has been in my stash for a while now. Well, it's not quite finished. It is sitting gathering dust, sulking on my dressing table until I am able to go back to it to redo the shoulders and armholes. I'm not happy with the way the armholes sits. It curls up under itself at the back. I'm not broad shouldered - it's more my shoulder shape than a fault with the pattern. So I'll have to rip back and re-knit it. My hair is hiding it in the pics.

The Pattern is :- Turtleneck Vest from Eclectic - a Jo Sharp pattern book.

Frosty Mornings

2011-06-13T20:47:00.008+10:00

Winter has greeted us with frosty mornings lately, which is very exciting for Lou, who thinks it's snow - and that must mean it's Christmas time! He doesn't understand that we live in the Southern Hemisphere and that it is usually hot at Christmas time for us, but he took great delight in telling any passer by on the bush track that it was Christmas time.

We found this cocoon. I'm not sure what it is but it has put itself in a precarious position on the bridge - straight underneath us was a steam of icy cold water. Lou found this little sticky insect sleeping bag quite interesting. We were wondering if its inhabitant has survived the cold or if it has perished in the cold overnight temperature.

Today I brought my camera on our morning walk, set it to macro and snapped away. I love the way the ice crystals have formed around this bridge nail. The bridge was covered in ice - little feet had to tread very carefully because it was very slippery.

These ice crystals look like hundreds of little stalagmites frozen onto the leaves and stems of the plants in the valley.

We do get snow occasionally here but it not enough to cover the ground. It tends to melt on impact. But my kids live in hope that one day this winter we will get an overnight fall of snow to cover the ground................:)

Noro Vest Design 26

2011-06-10T18:15:00.001+10:00

Winter is here today and it's really cold up here in the Mountains. I'm sure it's snowing somewhere very close - I can feel the ice in the wind.

Autumn has skipped me by. I had all these ideas to post some beautiful autumny pictures on my blog. I've just been so busy, time has just flown by. I just haven't been on the computer all that much at the moment. I seem to go through phases of being on the computer a lot but in the last few months I seem to be on it a lot less. I have all these pictures I have taken that I can blog about but my life seems to be pulling me in another direction - which is not the computer! So sorry if I haven't been dropping in and commenting on your blogs in the last 2 months.

Well, I have gotten some knitting projects done, so I'm getting through my UFO's and ordering some wool on line as well. Webs have had a big sale.

This vest I started about 2 years ago. I made silly mistakes from sleep deprivation so I frogged it and started again. My knitting speed is getting faster - I got this vest finished in 3 days, which amazed me. I was sick in bed with a gastro bug so that's where I found the time to knit (after I stop chucking my guts up LOL...:) ).

The vest pattern is from Jenny Watson Noro Mini Knits Two. The wool I used is Noro Kureyon.

I found the increases on the side made it a little bit baggy on me under the arms and the back. If I was to knit it again, I wouldn't knit the increases on the back piece - maybe knit a few more stitches in the beginning. I didn't knit the 1x1 rib around the arm that the pattern stated. I just knitted 4 rows. The wooden button is from Lincraft.

Gem & Fossil Museum

2011-04-28T15:19:00.007+10:00

The Gem & Fossil Museum...

It has been on our 'local places to check out' for a while now. Last week we went on a little road trip to Bathurst to see the Sommervile Collection.

I love the look of these amazing fossils with every detail preserved.

The collection is housed inside an old school building which has been done out for the Museum.
It was a private collection that has been donated.

Fossilised Dinosaur eggs

Here is collection of amber with insects

and a lizard entombed in the amber.

A closer look and you can see its backbone!

There were lots of beautiful specimens to look at but my camera battery was dying so I didn't get many pictures.

Pyrite

Not sure what this is called.

It looks like some sort of quartz sea anemone.

A beautiful pink Rhodocrosite crystal.

Outside the museum.

Gilet court d'ete

2011-04-26T19:41:00.005+10:00

I finished this short sleeved cardigan today. It is a freebie off Ravelry. It's called Gilet court d'ete by Marie-Adeline Boyer. It is a quick uncomplicated knit, knitted from the top down.

The yarn I used is Noro Taiyo colour 6 which I got on sale for $9.49 US on WEBS web site.
I used 2 balls. I have enough left over to make Katie one as well...:)

Katie took these photos - she thought it was hilarious that she took a picture of my butt ( I edited the pic) when I asked her to take a picture of my back....:)

Noro Love...:)

2011-04-04T16:44:00.005+10:00

Look what arrived in the post today!.....

Lois from the Knitter's Guild told me about some web sites that have Noro sales. I bought 7 balls of Noro Furin reduced at $7 US a ball. The Noro Kureyon Sock wool was $11.50 US. While the Australian dollar is so high I thought I'd get a few things that would be double the price over here in the wool shops. The web site I bought this wool from is Yarnbow and the shipping rate is $13.95 US. I'm eyeing off some Noro Retro at the moment.

I bought this Araucanda wool for $6.75 US.

Such pretty colours - I love the mix of pinks and purples.

"Chestnuts"

2011-04-03T19:44:00.007+10:00

Today we set off to do some chestnut and walnut picking at Kookootonga Nut Farm. It was a beautiful Autumn day. I have wanted to go chestnut picking for a while now but I always seem to miss the season each year. This year I got an email from Anitra from the Fruit and Nutree Network about chestnut picking and roasting today at Kookootonga.

They are amazing looking nuts. They covered big old trees in bright green spiky pompoms and when they are ripe and go brown they fall to the ground where the kids and I picked them up, careful not to get spiked by the outer spikey shell.

As you can see in the photo, the kids got a bit enthusiastic and nearly filled the bucket (at $8 a kilo!). I'm not sure how many kilos we had. I mentioned to the kids before we got there we would only pick up a small amount and only get what we need, not to go crazy and fill up the buckets! It s hard not to it so much fun for them.

So we tipped out the bucket under one of the chestnut trees, picked out the fattest nuts and put them in the bucket. The rest we left there for the next person to come along and pick up. There were a lot of people so I don't think they will be there for long.

We ended up having just over a kilo, which I was happy with. The chestnuts and walnuts came to $17 all together. So, I was in budget. The person before me spent $100 on Chestnuts.

The bucket after the cull....:)

After picking, the group of us that were with the Fruit and Nut Tree network set up a picnic. A lady called Anne set up a portable BBQ, lit some BBQ coals, and we were set for roasting the chestnuts. We had to cut slits on one side because they can explode like popcorn, which a few did. We stood around and talked, watched and listened about what we can do with chestnuts and a bit of history about the nut.

Here, we are turning the nuts over. The smell that was wafting from the BBQ was amazing.

It's been quite a while since I have eaten chestnuts. I had forgotten what they tasted like but I remembered that I liked them. I think they where oven roasted when I last tried them but BBQing them gives them a nice smokey flavour. To me, they sort of tasted like a powdery sweet potato. They are best eaten warm.

Jet Gloves

2011-04-02T18:34:00.003+11:00

Wow - time has flown between posts. I've been away from the computer for a while trying to finish some UFO's.

Katie is modeling these fingerless gloves that I've knitted up. She is holding these beautiful Japanese wind flowers from my garden that flower in Autumn.

The gloves are knitted with Jet wool that I got on sale for about $3.50 last year at a clearance sale. I cast on 34 stitches, knitted rib, 2 knit, purl 2 to the end. I knitted to about 7 inches then cast off. Sew up the sides - easy peasy. Quick, cheap, warm gloves.

Sock Wool

2011-03-08T15:43:00.005+11:00

I picked up this sock wool on the weekend from Spotlight on sale for $2.50 a ball......!

Now, I need to finish my first sock that I started nearly 3 years ago....:)

{This Moment}

2011-02-11T22:12:00.003+11:00

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

My little girl is growing up!.........

{ This Moment }

2011-02-04T19:59:00.005+11:00

{This Moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Summer down the South coast 2010/11

Cicada Shell Craft

2011-01-31T20:34:00.004+11:00

These pictures where taken before Christmas, but I thought I'd post them anyway...:)

They look very sweet sitting there crafting away.

About 2 months ago there was an abundance of cicada shells on the trees around our neighbourhood. My boys have gotten a nice collection of them to decorate.

They were painting them and decorating them for the Christmas tree and the nature table.

I love the sparkly ones with the glitter on them.......:)

{This Moment}

2011-01-28T22:52:00.005+11:00

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Katie and Sunny Boy drumming in the park,

with gorgeous Emily and John from Hands , Heart & Feet

Ok, I know it's 2 photos, but I like them both.

Afternoon at the Park

2011-01-25T19:12:00.009+11:00

It's been such a wet, misty, cold Summer here in the upper Blue Mountains, it was nice to get out of the house and enjoy Summer before it skips past us. We went to the local park to have a run around and get some fresh air.

Katie built another one of her faerie houses for the park faeries.

The maple leaves are just staring to change colour to remind us that Autumn is just around the corner.

Oops... Sunny Boy's faerie house just got stuck by hurricane Lou.

There goes hurricane Lou.

Busy Bees at work

It was nice to meet another mum with her little one at the park.

( Australian Magpie)

Teapot!....

2011-01-24T18:45:00.006+11:00

Anyone for a cup of tea?

This is a free pattern from Living Crafts' blog http://www.livingcrafts.com/blog/ .

Type in 'tea pot' and scroll down until you get to the free teapot pattern by Patricia Kessler.

I made the teapot from wool felt scraps I found while going through my craft stuff recently. It's a great pattern for using up scraps of felt.

Tomatoes! Tomatoes!..........

2011-01-23T19:50:00.007+11:00

Today, Lou harvested these tomatoes from our two bushes. With all this rain and me neglecting my veggie patch, I'm amazed we got these little treasures. My other veggies died or rotted, so I salvaged what I could and pulled out the rest. It's a bit heart breaking that 2 years in a row my veggie patch has been a flop. I wonder if it is because where we live now in the upper mountains, veggies don't grow as well.

Lou loved feeling the smoothness of the tomatoes. He was so tempted to squeeze them. He has done that to a few fresh eggs in the past. Now he's a bit older, he resisted the urge to squeeze. He seemed to be enjoying playing with the tomatoes gently so I let him play there for a while.

Lou's necklace is made of amber. I bought it in an opp shop for $3. It was tangled in the jewellery stand with some tacky plastic beads - the people who worked there must have thought it was plastic, not realising what it was. I was so excited because Lou lost his other amber necklace that he had as a baby.

The bowl is turned from a Camphor Laurel tree. It still has an amazing smell. I bought it recently in an opp shop for $3.50. It was under some other stuff so I was excited when I found it. Wooden turned bowls aren't cheap to buy (the ones turned here, not the imports) so to find one in an opp shop in good condition is quite rare for me. I have a thing for wooden bowls.

The Camphor Laurel is a weed in Australia. It grows huge and has quite an invasive root system.

Aren't these tomatoes cute - they remind me of light bulbs.

I think they are called Yellow Pears. Hopefully, I'll get to find out what they taste like...:)

Last Summer I grew them but Lou picked them and threw them to the dog next door to eat. We also had a lot of rain that split a lot of them, and the Bower Birds ate the rest. I thought I'd have better luck this season.

Beautiful Summer colours....:)

Roll up. Roll up. The circus is in town!.......

2011-01-22T20:01:00.008+11:00

The Circus has come to town!

There was fire juggling,

tight-rope walking,

sword balancing,

hula-hooping while playing the violin,

and of course, a unicycle!

There were other performances I didn't get a chance to get photos of - I was enjoying the show so much. Doesn't matter - it gives you a general idea of the show. If you are a local, go check out the show. It will be finishing its season soon.

The kids loved the show so much they now want to join a circus! LOL

Katie's Fairy House.......

2011-01-21T22:34:00.006+11:00

I found this out the back the other day. Katie's been building a fairy house with bits and pieces she has found around the back yard ...

... complete with a clothes line ...

... and half buried treasure.

Poncho In The Mist.....

2011-01-12T00:21:00.005+11:00

After spending over a week down the south coast on the beach feeling like we just had a week of Summer, we said goodbye to the sun and came back to the cold foggy mountains. Here I am in the middle of Summer knitting away, rugged up under my quilt with a jumper on!..... Crazy weather!....

Last Sunday I met up the lovely ladies from the Ravelry group, " UP The M4", that meet at the Red Cow pub at Penrith one Sunday a month to do knitting in the pub. I caught the train down the mountain with all my layers on, only to peel off like an onion once I got down there. It was lovely to meet other people off Ravelry. Most of the ladies there I have met at the Blue Mountains Knitters' Guild. Hopefully, I'll be back next month.

My first finished knitting of the year! I won't mention the other items that I have being frogging.

Katie took these pictures. She is such a great photographer. The photos are hazey because I live in a permanent fog up here. The camera even picked up the fog (LOL).

The Pattern is from a leaflet by Heirloom. I bought the pattern years ago and the wool is Naturally Mohair plus(?). The colour of the wool is brighter in real life. The wool looks a little washed out on the monitor. This wool has been in my stash for while now. I did start something with it but didn't like it. I got the wool in the bargin bin at the Katoomba Knitting and Needle Craft shop, picking up the last 3 balls. My goal this year is to finish the knitting projects that I have started and get through my stash. I'm running out of storage space....(LOL)

Welcome 2011

2011-01-11T12:45:00.004+11:00

New year eve fireworks at Ulladulla Harbour....

Christmas Bickies

2010-12-21T07:56:00.008+11:00

Lou was getting into some Christmas cooking yesterday with a bit of help from his big brother and myself.

We were making Christmas Bickies for Someone, who loved these Spelt ginger cookies last time she came to visit us from Sydney. So, we made a batch to send down to Sydney for her.....:)

Lou samples the biscuit dough. I have to keep an eye on him as he loves to eat a lot of this biscuit dough.

After the biscuits have cooled down, we decorated them with icing. This is harder than it looks. We didn't have a piping bag so we improvised with these instead.

Good messy fun!

We had to wait for the icing to set then pack them in their box, off to Sydney. We did eat a couple - for quality assurance reasons, of course...:)

Star Lanterns

2010-12-17T13:48:00.006+11:00

I love these star lanterns. They make a beautiful, hand made, and inexpensive gift. I can't take all credit for these... Lou did the water colour painting and his Dad folded the paper to make the lanterns. Well, I did oil them..... ;)

I got the pattern from a blog that no longer blogging, but if you google Waldorf Star Lanterns, I'm sure there might be someone out there who has a tutorial on their blog.

$2

2010-12-12T23:08:00.003+11:00

Look what I found at the opp shop yesterday in a bag for $2! This beautiful wool is from Rowan. The pink wool is a another brand of wool, but aren't they beautiful colours together. I'm not sure what you would do with 25g hanks - it wouldn't go very far.... maybe some crocheted flowers. The other hank is 100g.

At the moment, they are in my freezer for a few days to kill any hitchhikers. I usually do this with any wool from the opp shop just in case I missed something.

Reds & Oranges

2010-12-09T19:27:00.006+11:00

Katoomba Knitting and Needlecraft have a sale on at the moment. I got this Jo sharp Silkroad Aran wool for $5 a ball. I have no idea what I'm going to knit up with it yet, but I love this burnt orange colour. I'm sure that if I ferret around Ravelry in my 1308 listed favorites........;)

I'm sure I'll find something.

I also got 2 skeins of Araucania Ranco Solid on sale too. In a yummy terracotta red colour, I would like to make a triangular shawl with this.

Apples

2010-12-07T14:16:00.006+11:00

Apples!.........we have apples!

Ok, it's only 6 of them.... but our tree is only 1 1/2 metres tall.

Little Lou is very excited. He has been going out each morning, checking on them to see if they are ok and still there.

On the other hand, something keeps eating our strawberries and the rest have gone mouldy from all this rain.

Day 19: Are we there yet?........

2010-10-19T22:14:00.002+11:00

Are we there yet?.........

Have we arrived at the end of Blogtoberfest?

Too tired to post anything interesting today.

I've been out all day and this evening.

See you tomorrow...:)

Day 18: Noro Silk Garden Sock

2010-10-18T17:33:00.002+11:00

When I was at Penrith on Saturday afternoon, I popped into the Wool Inn.

I didn't leave empty handed........I love these colours.

Is there a Noro Anonymous?

Day 17: Market Treasures

2010-10-17T20:58:00.008+11:00

Today I had a market stall at Lawson Markets. I sold clothes that I don't wear any more - just moving on stuff with my friend, Mon. It was a slow day but I still made over $100, which I was very happy with. Me, being the Bower Bird that I am, found some treasures to bring back to my nest.

The Moroccan box was $15. It's heavy - I couldn't stop picking it up.

The silver pendant ($10) has two hands painted on it with all these little symbols on them. The lady who sold it to me said they were Ayurvedic pressure points. Anyway, I couldn't stop looking at it. The delicate painting on it is beautiful.......

The purse/handbag I bought ($5) is hanging off my bookshelf. It is a work of art in itself with delicate hand embroidery from India around the old mirrors.

And last was the first item I bought - the lantern for $10. It is a little battered in parts but nothing that can't be fixed.

I wanted to say hello to Nicole from Going Green, who I met today at Lawson Markets. It was lovely to meet a fellow Blue Mountains blogger who is also doing Blogtoberfest.

Day 16: Woolly Bargains

2010-10-16T21:36:00.005+11:00

I went down the mountain today and popped into Lincraft. They have a wool sale on at the moment and I picked this wool up for half price at $2.99 a ball (Wool, Acrylic and Alpaca mix). I have plans for this wool ....:)

I couldn't believe it... We got snow here today. Not enough to cover the ground but big snow flakes falling out of the sky - just to think I was wearing a T-shirt a few days ago.

Day 15: "Masked Devil"

2010-10-15T16:24:00.014+11:00

Yesterday after dropping my son off at school, Lou and I walked back through the bush and came across this wonder not far from our home.

We discovered this cicada coming out of it's shell.

Lou and I went back home to get Katie, who was off school sick. We didn't want her to miss this.

Katie was excited. She thought it was a Yellow Monday.

We sat for a while trying to protect the cicada from the sun and birds. Usually, cicadas come out of the ground in the evening in the safely of darkness when the birds are asleep. The cicada is very vulnerable at this stage and their wings are very delicate. They need to be able to pump their wings out. It was cold and windy. Katie was worried that its wings would dry out and it wouldn't be able to pump them out.

Katie carefully got the cicada onto a stick and brought it home.

Here the cicada sat on this stick in my kitchen for a few hours, pumping it wings in the safety of our home with Katie and Lou watching and keeping a check on her (girl cicada). Their wings are moist and if bumped they can deform easily, making the wings useless for flight. Sometimes you see cicadas with deformed wings when they come out of the ground during the day and the sun has dried them out before they can fully pump them out. Or, they have fallen off their shell onto the ground on their back and haven't been able to flip themselves around and their wings set all bent and misshapen. Katie found one like that the other day.

When her wings were fully expanded, she put them into place to dry out completely.

Now, what was amazing was that we left her there for a few hours. The kids and I got on with other things - we baked cookies, so the kitchen was nice and warm. When we came back to check on her she had changed again. She developed back markings on her head and her tail turned black.

This type of Cicada is called a "Masked Devil". It has a black stripe that goes between its eyes like a little mask. In all my years of looking out for cicadas and collecting them as a child, I haven't seen this type before this season. I wonder if it is native to the upper mountains region.

We kept her until my son got home from school. Then we thought it was time to release her back into the wild now that she had safely gotten out her shell.

We went down into the bush and found a gum tree that would be a nice home for her.

Off she goes......

Bye bye!.........

Day 14: Zzzzzzzzzzzzz....

2010-10-14T20:37:00.001+11:00

So tired ......

Too tired to post today.....

... exhausted by that bundle of energy, Little Lou.

Day 13: Front Garden

2010-10-13T19:33:00.002+11:00

Here is a glimpse of my front garden at the moment.

Spring time in the Mountains....

Day 12: DragonFly

2010-10-12T19:11:00.002+11:00

Dragonfly on the washing........

Day 11: Visitor

2010-10-11T19:46:00.005+11:00

This afternoon we had about 30 minutes of sunshine. When I came in to make a cup of tea, I stopped and admired how lovely the light looked on my crystals and the Daisies that I'm going to try strike roots from. I'll leave the Daisies here on my window sill, change the water now and again, keep an eye on the ends to see if roots strike, then pot them on.

As I was standing there, a little feathery visitor came to say hello....

Day 10: Necklace

2010-10-10T21:45:00.000+11:00

On a trip down to Bega a few years ago we stopped in a little town. I can't remember what the town was called but there was this nick-nak shop where I bought this pendant. It is silver, lapis lazuli, turquoise and coral.

At the Bead and Gem show a few years ago I bought a few pairs of really daggy earrings that the stall holder was selling cheap to get rid of. I bought them for the beads which where lapis, coral and turquoise. I pulled them apart and threaded up this necklace, which I think works well with the pendant.

Day 9: Ducks

2010-10-09T19:05:00.003+11:00

Today it cold, wet and misty...

... lovely weather for ducks. ;)

This lovely couple live near the stream near my home.

I love the beautiful markings on their feathers.

Day 8: Cicada Boy

2010-10-08T19:19:00.008+11:00

Yep!...... It's that time of year again.....

These bugs live underground for about 7 years then emerge for about 2 weeks, make a hell of a noise, try to avoid being eaten by birds and caught by kids while trying get their leg over (well, in their case, legs) - then die. And the life cycle goes on again....:)

Yep!......... It's cicada season.

"My mummy found a cicada. It wasn't a Green Grocer, or a Double Drummer, or a Black Prince - it was a Yellow Monday...........;)" - by Sunny boy age 6..........;)

On our walk today we found our first cicada for the season. Sunny Boy was so excited. The cicada went on the walk with us for a little while and he proudly showed him off to the other bush walkers that passed us by. I made sure Sunny Boy put him back in the spot where we found him on the way back out of the track. We know it was a he because only the boys make a noise, which has been described as a little car alarm.

Watching my son brought back memories of my childhood Summers, collecting cicadas and letting them crawl all over me. And having a competition with my brother and the kids in the street where I grew up as to who could collect the most in one day and who could collect the most different types. We kept them in a box inside near our back door then after a day or so let them go. I remember one morning we woke up with cicadas all over the kitchen because we didn't put the lid down properly. My mum wasn't impressed... (lol)

In Sunny Boy's hands are the empty cicada shells which we found on the trees.

Day 7: Sari Silk Scarf

2010-10-07T20:25:00.008+11:00

When I was sorting through my wool stash, I came across this scarf that I was working on made out of sari silk. I love the beautiful vivid colours.

Modelled by Katie.

And a big thank you to Bonnie @ Fat Chick Designs (another Blogtober blogger) for featuring little ol' Me (LOL) on her blog. Go pop in and say hello.

Day 6: Big Mozzie

2010-10-06T18:48:00.002+11:00

Big Mozzie

Day 5: Cheeky Monkey

2010-10-05T18:33:00.007+11:00

One cheeky monkey jumping on the bed.

He fell off and bumped his head.

Mother rang the doctor and the doctor said,

'No cheeky monkeys jumping on the bed!'

We had a little bit of an accident today. Little Lou fell out of his bedroom window. There is usually a bit of dowel that stops the window from opening up fully so little people don't fall out (the window is set low - as we are in a rental property, we can't do too much to it). Anyway, I opened the window up a few centimeters to let some fresh air in and didn't check to see if the dowel was in place, as I got distracted. The dowel had been moved so the window could open up fully. Lou fully opened the window and leaned on the fly screen. It didn't take his weight and he fell out the window (about a 1.5 metre drop) onto the concrete path below. A trip to the hospital to check him over.... Luckily, he just had a cut and a sore head.

Day 4: Bush Walking In The Rain

2010-10-04T17:29:00.007+11:00

It has been raining up here in the mountains for a few days now and I got sick of being stuck in the house. So I said to the boys, "get your gumboots and raincoats on, there some puddles that need jumping in".

Off we went on a bush walk or should I say puddle walk as most of the track seemed to be a never ending stream of puddles.

I was amazed at how many other raincoated bush walkers we walked past on our journey, saying how nice it is to go for a walk in the drizzle. The colours of the bush look so beautiful with the rain on it. I didn't get many photos as Lou just wanted to keep walking. I had to keep my eye on him - the stream next to the track was flowing very fast today.

The rain held off for most of the walk but it seemed to drizzle on and off. We tried not to stop for too long in one spot. In the back of my mind, I was wondering if we were going to pick up any hitch-hikers of the blood sucking kind....;)

Yes, we were leach free when we got home.....

We stood still and listened to the frogs croaking but not long enough for leaches to climb on us.

Day 3: Noro Cardigan WIP

2010-10-03T09:20:00.007+11:00

Noro Silk garden 279

I love Noro wool. When I go to the Wool Inn, as soon as I walk into the shop my eyes are diverted to the beautiful colours of Noro. I'm like a child in a candy shop. I take forever to make a decision, which I'm sure drives the ladies down there nuts. My head gets full of possibilities of what I could create. If you have been on my Ravelry page, you would see how many favourites I have - not that I ever knit that much but I like to keep them as a reference.

My birthday was last August. Mum and Dad give me birthday money. Mum said go get yourself some nice wool and with that, I did.

Rib Detail Cardigan from Knitting Noro by Jane Ellison

As we're in spring, coming into summer, the wool shop is getting low in the Noro section so I didn't have a real lot to choose from. I know I can order on line but I like to see and touch what I'm buying when it comes to wool.

I really like this colour way when it is a ball of wool. As I'm knitting it up, I'm not so sure. Funny, I usually go for brighter colours but my eye kept going back to these colours. I have the front almost done... now for the back and the sleeves.

Blogtoberfest; Day 2 Window

2010-10-02T12:07:00.005+10:00

Ok... I have put the widget on my side bar. Now I am committed for each day for the month of October to blog every day. Can I do it without boring everyone in blog land when I get desperate and blog about anything and everything? LOL......This should be fun :) Well here goes...

Welcome to Blogtoberfest! It's not too late to join in the fun. Just press on the Blogtoberfest widget on my side bar and follow the link. Go on, I dare you...;)

Spring is here but it still cold up here in the upper mountains. I'm still wearing jumpers and layers to keep warm but that hasn't stopped my garden coming into bloom. It is so beautiful at the moment. I've been picking flowers to bring a bit of the outdoors indoors. I am really taken with the Forget-me-nots at the moment with their pretty little blue flowers. A lot of my bulbs didn't flower this year. I got half as many daffodils as I did last year. I wonder what happened?

Busted!......Lou trying to knock the pegs off the clothes line.......with the rake!

Dress Ups

2010-10-01T18:02:00.004+10:00

Look what my Big Sister did to me!.......

Rainbow Chookies Mobile

2010-08-11T17:10:00.005+10:00

A while ago, my son's kindy teacher from last year gave me a bag of scrap wool that was left over finger knitting and knots. She was going to get rid of it thought but I might be able to do something with it. So I took it home. Katie and I spent a few hours untangling and undoing finger knitting and lots of knots. The bag has been sitting in my stash of a while now. I pulled it out the other day and knitted up these cute little chickens.

I have seen hanging bird mobiles in the Indian nik-nak shops made with recycled material. I love them but they have been a bit pricey. I thought I'd make my own with recycled wool.

Here's how I did it.......I cast on 12 stitches, knitted a square so that when I folded it over it made a triangle. Where the sides match up, sew the side up and stuff it with wool or poly fill. Sew the other side up and sew on some little scrap red felt for the wattles. I had some wooden beads that I used from a necklace that I got from the opp shop a few weeks ago, knotted an old bell on the bottom and a key ring up top, then threaded it together with some strong thick beading thread. Easy....:) It was a great way to used up wool scraps and odd beads.

Winter Woolly Tree

2010-07-28T18:13:00.008+10:00

Up here in the misty mountains, I've been busy having a little break from the computer. It is nice to come back, sitting in front of the computer with a cup of chai, after a few weeks and see what everyone out there in blog land has been up to. I haven't been able to leave comments on some of your blogs as the word verification has been playing up.

I have been needle felting a tree that I promised my son's kindy teacher from last year that I said I would do for her. Things take their time in this household at times.

Well, here it is; a winter tree - bare, brown and woolly. I hope she likes it - I'm worried it might be a bit scary for the kindy kids. At some angles it looks like a hand reaching up to the sky. It was replacing another bare tree she had that got broken. I am tempted to put leaves on it. I'll see what she says when I see her.

There was a beautiful fog up here today - not so good for driving but Lou and I went for a misty walk, occasionally getting big water drops hitting our head from the heavy dew dripping down from the trees. We found a little spot that was perfect to take these photos.

Lou brought his tea cup full of sultanas for the walk.

Vintage Hues

2010-07-07T19:05:00.005+10:00

I have finally finished my cardigan! It has been sitting in my stash for the last few years. I bought the yarn at Spotlight on sale for $3 a ball - I bought 10 balls. This yarn is discontinued now. Not bad - a knitted cardigan for under $30.

I love these colours - the orange isn't so bright in real life; it looks very bright on the monitor.
I found this broach by Dick & Dora at an up-market dress shop here in the upper mountains. It is a wooden leaf. Usually my clothes shopping is done in the opps shops or the car boot markets but I like to have a sticky-beak in these shops. I'd been looking at this broach for the last few weeks in the shop window - I was really drawn to it. Funny how we get drawn to things. Dick & Dora have a web site and they are also on Etsy. They are from Tasmania. I like buying things from Australian Artists.

Finally finished one of my many UFOs.... The wool is Vintage Hues By Cleckheaton.

The pattern is also from Cleckheaton - New Vintage Hues (952), design #1: Cardigan, edge to edge with set-in sleeves.

Feathery Visitor

2010-07-06T19:01:00.007+10:00

Tomorrow we have our dreaded 3 monthly rental inspection :(

So I've been busy cleaning our home so we pass the inspection and keep the real estate happy and our landlord happy.

I had the window open to air the kitchen out and this little visitor arrived to say hello.

I love magpies. I love their song. When I lived Dublin years ago, I really got home sick for the warble of magpies in the mornings and crickets chirping at dusk.

10

2010-07-04T20:35:00.003+10:00

Look who's now 10!

Happy belated Birthday

for the 17th of June.

We love you very much.

xxxx

Next year Mummy will be more organised with her posting.

We've just had a busy couple of weeks.

Belly Blessing

2010-06-26T20:59:00.009+10:00

A close friend of mine is having a baby mid August - around my birthday (LOL).

Today we went to her belly blessing party.

The dads took the children to the park as the women

sat around the kitchen table, listened to a beautiful song and wrapped a ball of wool around our wrist a few times and passed it on to the next person so we were all connected around the table - a circle of friends. One by one we introduced ourselves while we told our stories of our mother's names and how far back we could remember the names of their mothers. It was interesting that most of us could only remember as far back as our grandmas, maybe our great-grandmothers. Some of us read poems, blessings, gave gifts and talked about birth.

After the next six weeks or when the baby decides to come into our world, we can cut the string that bound us around the table.......:)

When the dads and children came back from the park we painted her belly (and another friend who was there and due about the same time). The kids had a great time painting the pregnant bellies. There was lots of giggling by the mums to be and the children. We watched the babies wriggle in their mother's belly as we were trying to paint.

It was a beautiful afternoon. I even caught myself getting clucky for a brief moment...LOL

Katie took a photo of me painting.

The painted bellies!

Katie got inspired to paint her brother's face and anyone elses face she could find.

Katie wanted to be a tiger so she got me to paint her face. I have a new admiration for face painters - it is not as easy as it looks....:)

Winter Spiral

2010-06-24T20:32:00.005+10:00

Through the darkness we shall go

with our lantern all a-glow

Hearts grow warm our way grows bright

As we jounney in the light.

Though its dark and cold this night

We can trust in this small light

If we hold our Lantern true

courage grows our deeds to do.

{This Moment}

2010-06-11T19:58:00.007+10:00

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by Soulemama.

Autumn Owl

2010-06-08T17:25:00.006+10:00

I have just finished my first custom order. I hope she likes it.

I have been needle felting on and off for nearly over a year now and I have either donated my work to the school craft stall or given them way as pressies. This is the first time I'll be actually making money from my craft. I meant to do this for her over a month ago. I have kind of been procrastinating. I had a little fear that it might not be what she wanted. I just had to push my fear aside and just get on with it... and here she is - Autumn Owl.

I love owls and I thought the branch needed a bird on it. The owl is made with mulberry silk. The eyes and beak are wool. I love the colour of the red wool on the doll's dress - I used up the last of it. I'm going to have to dye some more wool.

Winter Mushrooms

2010-06-01T18:19:00.009+10:00

Winter has arrived. It was a lovely sunny day today up here in the mountains. What a way to welcome winter by cooking a green chicken curry from scratch. I have just joined a women's cooking circle and I have met some wonderful ladies. We are from all ages (12-70 years) and different backgrounds, and we all come together to share our knowledge of food and cooking. We all had a go at pounding the ingredients to make the green curry paste with the mortar and pestle. It smelled so delicious as we were making and cooking it - and we get to eat it.... and this is a free group . Meanwhile, Lou was happily making playdough from scratch with the mobile minder (child care worker) in the next room.

Afterwards, Lou and I went to the park for a play and we came across these amazing mushrooms. They were so beautiful. I was amazed that they got to grow so big and flawless. There were a few that looked like some snails had eaten them.

I don't know what they are called but I was blown away by their beauty and their size. I don't think I have ever seen mushrooms so big in real life. Some of them were the size of a bread and butter plate.

Here is one next to my shoe to show how big it was.

I warned Lou not to touch them but he couldn't resist jumping over them....:)

Lacy Baktus

2010-05-30T16:14:00.001+10:00

I finished this last week. I thought I would never get it finished. LOL..:)

It is my Mother's Day pressie for my mum. Yep, I know Mother's Day was a few weeks ago but luckily for me, mum is somewhere in the Australian outback and won't be back until early June. I couldn't spend mother day with her this year. After all these years of sewing for me, making my clothes as a kid and altering clothes that I buy from opp shops that never seem to quite fit me, I can make her something to say thank you. .....:)

Little Lou chose the wool at the Wool Inn in Penrith. Funny, I was tending to go for the bright coloured wool but I couldn't decide - so I let Lou choose. Lou seemed to go for these earthy colours with a hint of blue and purple. The wool I used is Noro Silk Garden sock wool. I knitted it up on 3.25mm needles. It has purple in the middle of the shawl but you don't see it in the photos.

The pattern is called Lacy Baktus by Terhi Montonen - another freebie from Ravelry. I first saw this pattern knitted up on Waldorf Mama's blog.

Vegetarian Eye Monster!

2010-05-28T11:11:00.004+10:00

"It's not a meat eating monster it's a vegetarian monster"

quote Sunny Boy aged 6

Little Lou turns 3

2010-05-24T17:50:00.005+10:00

Happy 3rd Birthday Little Lou,

mummy's little angel. Don't grow up too fast...:)

XXX

Happy 6th Birthday, My Sunny Boy

2010-05-11T17:47:00.006+10:00

Happy 6th birthday

for last Friday, 7th May.

Mummy has been a bit late posting this.

You had a wonderful day. Some of your friends came around to celebrate with us.

Your big sister, Katie, took some great photos.

We ate all the chocolate beetroot cake - yum!....

and had lots of fun.

I found this cute photo from when you were about 3 months old. Nearly six years later you have still kept that funny little grin...:)

Fingerless Gloves

2010-05-03T18:51:00.008+10:00

I've been invited to a birthday party this Saturday (woo-hoo) - a child free party my friend said. It's been a looooooong time since I've been to a party without kids. It's going to be weird actually finishing a sentence. I'm so used to having short conversations. I'm allways chasing Lou around. LOL...:)

My friend has been talking about making fingerless gloves. She is tall and has long arms, which I never noticed, but she was saying that long sleeve tops never seem to fit the length of her arms and her wrists are always cold in winter. She wanted to make herself some wrist warmers/gloves to keep warm. So I went through my stash and found this ball of Jet by Patons. It's an alpaca/wool mix that I bought from a bargain bin at the wool shop at Katoomba. I love these autumny colours.

I found another quick and easy pattern off Ravelry. This pattern is an easy basic rib pattern : -knit 2 purl 2.

I cast on 34 stitches and used size 5.5.mm needles. I was amazed at how quick these knitted up. I used up almost all the wool to make the gloves 7 inches long. Only a tiny bit of wool was left over to sew up the sides.

I think I'm going to have to go through my stash again to knit myself a pair..:)

Anzac Biscuits

2010-04-25T20:35:00.004+10:00

A Basic Anzac Biscuit Recipe

1 cup plain flour

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup of desiccated coconut

3/4 cup brown sugar

125g butter

2tbs golden syrup

2tbs water

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper or grease baking tray. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Stir in the oats, coconut and brown sugar.

2. Put butter, golden syrup and 2 tbs water in a small saucepan. Stir over a medium heat until melted. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda (it will froth).

3. Pour the butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir until combined.

4. Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls. Place on trays, about 5cm apart.

5. Press with a fork to flatten slightly. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown (or slightly longer for crunchy biscuits).

6. Set aside on the trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack so it cools completely.

Anzac Day 2010

Lest we forget

Happy Lou...:)

2010-04-23T08:59:00.001+10:00

Happy Lou...:)

Bush Walk

2010-04-20T18:00:00.010+10:00

A couple of weeks ago (before I had this cold) it was a beautiful sunny day so we headed off for a bush walk up here in the mountains. I feel very lucky that I have such a beautiful spot in the world to live that is not that expsesive (well, my landlord just put my rent up $20 a week - I'm not happy about it but I won't go into that here).

We patted numerous mossy rocks that felt like velvet.

We looked a different rocks. Here's some beautiful sandstone rock which had rings like a tree.

We found a tree hollow and looked for little elves, fairies and gnomes, but no one was home.

This track had a little stream which we followed. It ended at a cliff edge that dropped for a couple of hundred meters.

We crossed stepping stones, ...

... climbed rocky stairs while the boys climbed the railings, ...

... and found ant holes that little Lou so desperately wanted to stick his finger in.

He did put his finger in one - lucky no one was home. Nothing like the curousity of little ones! They love sticking their fingers in any holes, don't they ?(LOL). Lucky we have five fingers on each hand - lots of spares! ;)

Finally, we got to the end of the track. It was such a beautiful view. We sat and listened to the wind pick up and howl around us, watched the birds flying by, and just sat there taking it all in.

And a little snack of Rice Wheels and water.

And of course, we had to have an ice cream too. ;)

Autumn Gardening

2010-04-17T15:05:00.007+10:00

Finally, a lot of the leaves are starting to drop in my garden. Lou and I have been doing a little bit of raking up of the leaves.

Lou is a good little worker ;) He put his gardening gloves on, got his rake and
wheel barrow that is falling apart, ...

... raked up leaves and took them to the new veggie patch where they will compost with our kitchen veggie scraps over the next few months.

.... and off he goes!

I started making a second veggie patch a few months ago. I dug up the soil and sieved it to get out the rocks and this pesty bulb of a weed which takes over the veggie patch. It is just as annoying as onion weed but not as hard to get rid of. It has a purple flower and big clover like leaves. I wanted to grow carrots and onions in this spot. A few days later we had all this rain that washed all of my hard work away. The boys did have a great time in the muddy swamp that mummy made! So lately it's been a little boys quarry for the last 2 months.

I got my partner to do the digging to turn the leaves in to the soil. He does it so much better

than me! LOL

But one thing lead to another

and we kept finding rocks.......

....... and more rocks.

and a huge rock!

I got excited. It would make a lovely garden feature - keep digging, let's see if you can dig it out. In the end it was bed rock so my partner buried it. We just have to be mindful of what we plant there because it does come into the veggie patch a bit.

Well, for the last few weeks I've been fighting off a cold and now it has finally beaten me. I have been in bed with night sweats, aching bones and this really bad headache. I couldn't even do any knitting in bed - Aaarrrhhhh! I am so close to finishing my cardigan. I was also too tired today to make it down the mountain for this month's Knitting Guild meeting. :(

This is my first cold, and hopefully the last, of the season - that's why I've been absent from the computer for a while.

Autumn Leaves

2010-03-24T20:35:00.008+11:00

Today I dusted off the needles and made a doll for my friend's daughter. It is for her birthday this Saturday (Autumn baby).

It's been a few months since I'd done some stabbing!... After a quite a few hours (including tea breaks & cuddle breaks), here she is - Autumn Maiden. I finished her this afternoon. Funny, this doll ended up being taller and thinner than the other dolls I have made. The bark of the tree is made with different coloured brown wool and a little bit of mulberry silk which doesn't show up in the photo. I was inspired by crab apple tree outside the window with all the different coloured leaves on it. Even the doll's hair has Autumn colours on it (which also doesn't show up too well in the photo).

I hope she likes it. I'm sure she will - she is a sweet little girl. I love giving hand made gifts and knowing that in the home they're going to they will be loved.

Katie was off school today so Lou and her were playing together most of the day. That's how I got the doll finished in one afternoon (LOL).........

" Lou's Fried Eggs"

2010-03-23T20:35:00.005+11:00

Time has flown by since my last post. I've been busy doing not a lot really, but I did manage do a little bit of craft.

Lou and I made some fried eggs (yes, he helped me pull the stitches through the felt). I saw these at the Steiner play group and I had to make some.

I love these eggs. They're so easy to make - a bit of white felt, a bit of yellow felt and a little bit of stuffing to make the egg yolk stand up a bit.

They look really good as play food. Lou loves playing with them too.

Autumn

2010-03-07T17:34:00.005+11:00

Autumn is here. The leaves are slowly changing colour to yellows, reds, oranges and purples - my favourite colours. :)

I love the Mountains at this time of the year.

It's getting cold in the morning and evening. Winter is just around the corner - where did that Summer go? I have just gotten my woolly jumpers out this week and I've been wearing my scarves (there's one on the knitting needles half way through. I'm trying to de-stash and get through my wool this autumn/winter).

I've changed the nature table to Autumn colours of yellows and oranges. Soon it will be full of treasures that the kids pick up on our walks.

I love this view from my kitchen window. Across the road is a pine forest. I've been watching the Black Cockatoos finishing up the last of this season's pine cones on the trees. These pine trees are not native to Australia - in fact they're classed as a weed and one day they will be chopped down. They're slowly regenerating the area - the pine tree needles that drop make the soil too acidic for the native bush to grow underneath. It's a bit sad in a way. Some of these trees look very old. So in the mean time, I'm enjoying the beautiful view that I have out my window.

The Green Speckled Slug

2010-03-05T22:21:00.005+11:00

I want to introduce to you my daughter Katie's new blog,

The Green Speckled Slug.

She would love you to pop in and say hello...;)

Musical Lou

2010-02-28T17:37:00.004+11:00

This morning I heard a little musical tapping noise in the kitchen. To my surprise, it was Little Lou making music with a cup and containers that he filled with water from the water filter.

He was having a great time tapping away with a pencil, listening to the sounds the cup and containers were making. He noticed the difference in the sound between the glass filled with water compared to the plastic containers filled with water. It was so cute to watch him discovering his little world....:)

Luckily I had the camera near by. He didn't know I was there when I took the first shot.

I found these guys lined up asleep near my front door this week. Oh.... to have chooks again...:)

Klaralund

2010-02-22T16:00:00.004+11:00

Finally, I have finished my first knitted jumper. I started this jumper about 2 years ago, then I had to unravel it. I lost a bit of weight which I didn't expect after my 3rd child, Little Lou. He is a big eater - he's 14kg and I'm still breast feeding him. Some days I think food goes in my mouth out my breasts. So now I have a bit yarn left over for a scarf or gloves.

The pattern I used is Klaralund from Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton. It's a very easy pattern and is just 4 pieces sewn together. I made the body a bit shorter as I wasn't sure how it was going to look. I think that if I knitted it longer it would have been a tent on me. The sleeves are a bit long but it's not going to bother me too much. I'm happy that I have finally finished it and I learned a new stitch, mattress stitch, to sew my jumper together without showing where it has been joined.

I used Noro Wool 84 J, a mix of reds greens brown and pinks. I love this colour way.

Book Review: Who Killed Dave by Linda Cockburn

2010-02-21T10:04:00.008+11:00

Who Killed Dave?

Linda from Living the Good Life had a book give away on her blog. You had to read her book and within 8 weeks post a review on your blog. Now, it has been more than 8 weeks (sorry Linda).

Who Killed Dave?

Dave and his dog, Bundy, are the most disliked neighbours in Kaos Court. When Dave died in mysterious circumstances and the finger pointed at the residents of Kaos Court, they start pointing the finger at each other. Robyn is the main suspect according to a TV poll. The more Robyn tries to find out what went on that night, the more trouble she seems to find herself in!.....

It's a funny book but if menage-a-trois, tarot, phone sex and swearing easily offends you, it might not be a book for you (certainly not for young readers - I had to shoo my 9YO away a number of times when she tried to find out what I was laughing at).

I enjoyed reading it but I don't think it is a book I would necessarily have bought as I tend to read more non-fiction. I did love Linda's first book, Living the Good Life, as it is more the type of book I like to read. It is about her journey of living sustainably on a suburban block for 6 months, not spending any money except for bills. They grew what they could and bartered for the rest. I loved the fact that there are tips on how to harvest and cook snails, as well as their nutritional value! No, I don't think I could eat a snail no matter how much garlic was on it (LOL).

Thank you Linda for sending me the book....:)

Scarfy Come Home!..........

2010-02-10T20:20:00.001+11:00

It has been so wet up here in the Blue Mountains. We, and half of the mountains, had leaky roofs - our gas fire was leaking down the chimney and out the bottom of the heater.

There has been lots of thunder and electrical storms up here as well as hail. So, I've been off the computer for a while and have been doing some knitting, trying to get through my stash of Noro wool.

I have almost finished a jumper. All I have to do is just sew it together. I'll post about that soon.

I knitted this scarf in two nights. I love Noro wool. I love the bright colours. It is a bit pricey but I love the finished look of the colours. I used Silk Garden, colour way 205 - it's pinks and purples. This pattern, Scarfy Come Home by SpillyJane, is a freebie from Ravelry. This is an easy pattern and knits up so quickly.

There was sun today for the first time in days so we went down the bush track, not far from my place, to take come pictures before Little Lou started to wander off. He was excited as he thought we were going for a bush walk. So, I'm looking a bit serious in a lot of the pictures - there is a stream near by that is flowing very fast from all this rain we have had up here. It's usually a gentle flowing stream. I'm just keeping my eyes on him - he is a very fast little boy. I didn't want him getting to close to the water. I'd like to think I don't look that grumpy all of the time (LOL) - maybe it was being couped up in the house for days. I was feeling all arty-farty and wanted some pictures in the beautiful bush I have surrounding me where I live (and any excuse to get out of the house). :)

South Coast

2010-01-29T23:40:00.008+11:00

Holiday Snaps

Finding Treasures

Lake

Rainbow Lorikeet

Green Grocer

My Son

Flathead Fish

Hanging out at the beach

Kite Flying

Black Cockatoos

Happy New Year :)

2010-01-01T11:08:00.003+11:00

Happy New Year!

I'll be back in a couple of weeks.

I'm off to the sun and sand of the south coast.

Have a safe and happy new year.

xxx

Summer Crafting

2009-12-29T18:57:00.005+11:00

My friend asked me to make her a nature table doll with a face. Here is my first attempt. I was worried that she would look a bit hard looking. My friend liked it but I wasn't too fussed with the face. It's actually quite hard to needle felt. I'm sure there is a technique to needle felting faces but I couldn't find any free links.

The tree I needle felted on her dress was inspired by the flowering crabapple tree in my front garden. The flowers, I made with silk.

I found this on my craft table..... My son's kindy teacher had this tree that was in her store room. It is broken - the base is made of clay and wire with wool wraped around it. I was going to reuse the wool and make a needle felted tree for the nature table in her kindy room.

My son made a bird nest for his budgie. He raided my craft box for the thread - I thought it was so cute but he did leave my craft box in a mess (LOL).

"Merry Christmas"

2009-12-25T21:12:00.006+11:00

"Merry Christmas"

to everyone out there in Blogland.

I have enjoyed another year looking at all the amazing, creative, inspiring and funny blogs out there all over the world. Thanks for stopping by and visiting my humble little spot in the Blue Mountains in blogland and leaving your kind comments.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas Day and your tummies are not aching too much from all that Christmas dinner ;)

xxx.

Florabelle's Cardigan

2009-12-21T20:04:00.008+11:00

Finally, after all these years of casting yarn onto needles I did it! I KNITTED A CARDIGAN..... and finished it. I also learnt off You-Tube how to make a button hole. I'm no longer just a scarf knitter. I have fulfilled my 2009 knitting resolution which was to knit either a sock, a cardigan or a jumper. YIPPEE! :)

OK, OK..... I know it's only a doll's cardigan. Maybe for 2010

I'll attempt a full size cardigan and finish the sock I've been working on ....

Florabelle's cardigan, designed by Waldorfmama, is a free pattern from Ravelry and is quick and easy to knit.

Our Humble Veggie patch

2009-12-04T20:29:00.004+11:00

There's nothing like going out into the backyard and harvesting some fresh vegies for that night's dinner :)... A little while ago, I put in a new veggie patch at our new rental place even though the landlord wanted to come and tell us where to to put it!.... Well, I went ahead and put one in anyway. The yard here is really quite small and an old garden bed was the only logical spot to put it - anyway, he'll be coming to do some repairs next week... I'll find out how he feels about it and you never know, he might be so impressed with the veggie patch I might get my letter box so my mail doesn't get wet (LOL). There was a letter box here once... it has now rotted away and it just a hole in the brick wall of the fence outside the house. My mail mostly falls out and gets wet in the rain.

Little Lou has been doing such a keen job watering the vegie patch (and the fence, the rocks, the sand pit, his brother and even the next door neighbour... oops). We have just been enjoying the butter lettuce and rainbow chard. Soon we'll have tomatoes, cucumbers, chillies, capsicums and herbs. I hope the bower birds and snails don't eat it all before we get to it :)

Look MUMMA, a snail!

"A Gift of Love"

2009-11-29T17:11:00.009+11:00

Today I attended the sewing day at my son's Kindy, where other mums and I made little dolls.

Now sewing is not my strongest crafting skill, but I gave it a go. I had to pull my sewing apart and start again because my doll's head was off-centre. I was too busy chatting away and not paying attention to what I was doing (LOL).

"Yabbie, Yabbie, Yabbie - Oi, Oi, Oi"

2009-11-26T18:47:00.011+11:00

The weather has been warm again so we've been off to the local water hole for a swim. I love the fact that it's a 15 minute walk from our home. We're so lucky to have this so close to us.

This water hole is right next to the bushwalking track, making it an ideal spot to dangle your toes in the cool water on a hot day. It was a lot shallower last weekend when we went for a bushwalk through here but it has filled up a bit from the rain we had earlier in the week - OK for older kids but a bit tooooo deep for Little Lou.

........ a close up of the waterfall - home to a number of very feisty yabbies!

(Watch your toes!..)

When we got there yesterday, I got talking to a teenage boy who grew up in the area. He was telling us that this water hole used to be so deep that you could dive into it and jump off the rocks into the water. Over the years it has filled up with sand ( a lot of the rock around here is sandstone).

This spot is just right for little people - not too deep. Katie and her brothers are trying to catch yabbies and little fish.

Katie caught 2 yabbies and a fish (which ended up being the yabbie's dinner). She got a first hand lesson about the food chain. Katie felt bad about the fish being eaten. Next time she said she will bring 2 buckets - one for fish, and one for yabbies.

Katie did a sand sculpture of the yabbie and let her yabbie friend go with a full tummy.

Some locals that share the waterhole with us .......

Crimson Rosella

I feel like a bit of a goose. Last night I was editing my blog roll and talking to my 5 year old son at the same time. I clicked on the wrong button and managed to delete my blog roll! Now I'm brain storming, trying to remember who was on my blog roll. So please don't be offended if you've been on my Blog roll and find you are no longer there. It is slowly being reinstated (LOL).

This was a knitting blog once!

2009-11-24T15:52:00.010+11:00

As I started this blog as a knitting blog, I suppose I had better post some knitting!......:) LOL

There has been a bit of cool weather in the Mountain's for the last few days, which is nice after those hot days we had. There's been a bit of rain and fog as well.

It's been nice weather for knitting so I finally finished this Edgar scarf (a free pattern off Ravelry). It's for a friend as a thank you/Christmas present from Lou and I as she will no longer be running play group next year. We're going to miss her. I hope she likes it - she is always admiring my Edgar scarf when I've been wearing it at playgroup this winter and she kept asking me for the pattern, which I kept forgetting to bring for her. I knitted the scarf with Katia Scotch Tweed - it's a silk-cotton mix. It's been sitting in my stash for a while now, waiting to be knitted up into something. It's green with blue flecks in the yarn, which doesn't show up in the pictures.

I saw this scarf knitted up on Stacy's Blog "The Barnacle is my Totem" a while ago. I loved the way it looked so I followed the link to the Purl Bee - Summer Shimmer scarf.

I knitted it up with Noro Silk garden. I lost the tag in the move so if any one out there recognises this colour or the number on the Noro tag, I would love to know what it is. :)

Usually I take a pic of the ball of wool to post up but this time I didn't. The yarn looked quite pretty as a ball but as I was knitting up the scarf, I wasn't too fussed with the way the colours were coming out. It might be a bad match of wool to this pattern - this pattern might be better with a single colour yarn, not striping yarn. So off to the frog pond it goes...:(

"Spring Flowers"

2009-11-16T10:47:00.005+11:00

Spring Flowers!.....

"Chicken Maiden"

2009-10-30T19:02:00.009+11:00

A little while ago I dyed some wool blue. I was after a light blue icy colour to make a King Winter doll. The blue wool that I had dyed came out too warm - it was a beautiful turquoise colour. I wasn't sure what to do with it. I started needle felting the body of the doll, not sure of what sort of maiden she will become.

As I love chickens, I thought.......... Chicken Maiden. At the moment we can't keep any chooks as our yard is too small. Yes, I even thought about a chook tractor with 2 bantams but with 3 kids that love playing outdoors, I don't think there is enough space for the chooks to escape and hide, particularly with an over-enthusiastic 2 year old with lots of cuddles to give. Also, 1/4 of the backyard where I am renting is concrete - not a very happy place for chookies. I know that once I get my own place, I'll have chickens again.

So, here she is..... The chicken maiden collecting the eggs with a little spring chick at the back of her dress, which is very cute...:)

"Festival of Joy"

2009-10-12T19:48:00.012+11:00

On Saturday, the Blue Mountains Community Gardens at North Katoomba had their Festival of Joy.

The rain held off for a little while. We got there a bit late. Most of the kids activities were packing up but we did get to see some live music and have a yummy cup of chai.

One of the veggie patches

Herbal Spiral

This sculpture is a work in progress. We were here 2 years ago making our little mark on this huge mosaic. It is nice to see that most of it is still there and has stood the test of time.

A red love heart that I did with my son who was 3 at the time. He stuck most of the red tiles on with a bit of help from his Mummy. If you look hard enough you can work out a heart!..... LOL :)

It was nice to see it again after 2 years.

This is Katie's work from 2 years ago. She made up a story as she was mosaicking about the elephants and the peacock. They were on a journey somewhere - we have both forgotten the story now. But Katie was so excited to see that most of what she did that day has still stuck. She did another part of the mosaic on Saturday but it was starting to rain and I didn't get a picture of it.

Belly Dancing in the rain

Yes, this sword is blunt. One of the belly dancers was performing with this sword but my camera was getting too wet, so I missed the picture. Katie was happy to reenact the performance for you :)

Cuddles for Mumma

Little Lou wandering

This is a hut that a Medieval reenactment group had made.

"Fairy Spotting"

2009-10-07T14:06:00.003+11:00

It's been so cold, misty and rainy up here in the Blue Mountains for the last few days. It was lovely to go for a wander out into the garden this morning, looking at all the spring flowers and soaking up the sunshine. It's a good time to go fairy spotting too! Just as well I had my camera with me..........;)

~"SPRING"~

2009-09-29T08:13:00.001+10:00

Spring maiden hanging out with her Gnome friends.

I made these for the end of year craft stall for my son's school.

Now that I have my new glasses. I can see what I doing close up with out the headaches.

So I been away from blogland for the last week or so. Busy catching up on a bit of crafting and knitting.

Felting Workshop With Pam De Groot

2009-09-13T19:08:00.006+10:00

Today I did a felting workshop with Pam De Groot, a famous felt artist here in the Blue Mountains. We started off with a flat bit of felt and experimented with different fibre textures, silks and wools. The flat piece of felt I made didn't look that exciting - so I didn't bother posting a photo of it here.

The second item we made was a felted bowl. I loved this. I want to make more of these as they would make great Christmas presents.

We put layers of wool over a template, turned it over and added more layers of wool.

When we had enough layers, we added bits and pieces from a mixed bag that we bought from Pam. It had wool, mohair tops, bits of silk and other fibrous odds and ends. We felted it onto the wool to decorate the outside of the bowl.

We cut a hole to take the template out then shape the bowl. There was more to this process but I am leaving a bit out - this is only to give a general idea. To know more, you need to go to one of Pam's workshops.

What I like is the ever changing process of the felting. I never know how it is going to turn out. I have a general idea but I always get pleasantly surprised.

Rice Play

2009-09-04T14:24:00.011+10:00

The wind has settled down a bit. It's been so windy - I've been watching birds being blown over my roof as they are trying to fly.

It was a nice morning to go out on our balcony. We had some paper and rice. With the rice we made pictures - just a bit of fun with texture and form. The boys played with the rice through their little fingers, changing shapes, just letting their little fingers go where they want to go on the paper.

Lou got a bit excited - after a little while rice was going everywhere (LOL good fun :) ). And of course he, like most 2 year olds, couldn't help himself and had to have a nibble on the rice. He wasn't too keen on the uncooked rice which he spat out quickly. :)

His big brother was more gentle with the rice, making creatures and talking about what we saw in the picture. It was like looking at clouds and how we see shapes and forms. :) And like the forms that we see in the clouds, they're not permanent either......

..... just enjoying the moment.

The Rental Blues

2009-09-02T22:45:00.003+10:00

Do you know what really shits me as a renter? We make it our home for the time we are there, transform the place, then move leaving the house 100% better, nicer and CLEANER than when me move in. Yep, it's happened again..... we moved into someone else's filth. I have been busy cleaning a very sticky, greasy kitchen and cleaning this orange nicotine grime that's over everything!

Not to mention that on the day we moved in, the carpets were only cleaned the day before so when Lou sat down to play with his toys he had a wet bum and knees from the carpet. There's no garage to put our stuff in while it dried so we had to move in on wet carpet and hope it didn't get ruined.

...... And to find out that the landlord wants to tell us where to put a veggie patch when we plan to do it.... aaarrrhhh!!!. My ex-next door neighbour gave us a brilliant reference - she told how we transformed the backyard from weeds to a beautiful native garden and tiered veggie patch. We had to make the backyard a bit more child friendly - that's why we did it up a bit. Anyway, that's what got us this place (according to the real estate). I think the new landlord thinks we are going to do a backyard Blitz on his place! I'm over doing up other people places to make it look more homely and not a rundown rental. Hopefully, this will be our last rental place - we are saving for our own place.

But it is a lovely place in a beautiful spot in the Blue Mountains. I do feel like I'm in a holiday house. I have a pine forest out my kitchen window which I never get sick of looking at. In the afternoon the sun shines through it - it's so magical. We are next to a bush walking track but it has been too windy to go bushwalking with the kids.

Katie has a beautiful cubby house..... just have to be careful of the bees!

On the Move

2009-07-21T18:48:00.006+10:00

Yep, we're on the move - packing, sorting, decluttering....

I'll be back once we're settled in the new place.

See you soon!

XXX

Woolly Rainbow

2009-07-15T19:26:00.003+10:00

At the end of last year, my son's kindy teacher gave me this bag of wool odds & ends, half finished crafting, finger knitting, pom-poms and knots. She asked me if there was anything I could do with it. It was a mess. Anyway, after a few hours of detangling I had this beautiful woolly rainbow.

Ummmmm.... let me see what can I do with this.

What about little rainbow baskets for little people to keep their new found treasures in ?

I think it's time to learn to crochet.

Now, I have to try and get past a chain stitch ;)

"Winter Flowers"

2009-07-10T16:39:00.012+10:00

Lanterns on the Banksia tree

Shining out so cheerfully

Can you keep the dark away

Lovely winter flowers

Wattles with your tiny suns

Underneath the Scribbly Gums

Warm our hearts till springtime comes

With it sunny hours