Viva Botswana

Happiness is like a butterfly,

the more you chase it,

the more it eludes you,

and if you turn your attention

to other things,

it comes and sits

softly on your shoulder.

Henry David Thoreau.

I have met some rather interesting people. A team of people travel to Botswana on missionary projects and a couple of years ago this team was responsible for building a school and delivering much needed clothing. That year several of my friends were asked to knit beanies, which we did lovingly. This year these amazing people are off again to help another community there with clothing and other help.

Unfortunately, I got a late start but have knitted several items that will go with them.

With all the wool given to me this year, I have started to crochet all the little balls of leftovers to make a blanket. The African baby top, that is available free online, has come in very handy at this point. I have knitted it some of the wool given to me and it has come out bigger than usual. Still cute none the less.

A friend of mine who is involved with this amazing group of people came over and shared the photo's that were taken on one of those trips to Botswana. I saw some of the beanies I had knitted and it felt rather strange to think were my beanies are. They were in Botswana! The photo's were very raw photo's, the way these people live, mud huts, hot dry land, no running water, salt of the earth, but smiles on the faces of these people.

I realize that sometimes when we are complaining about the water not running from the tap fast enough, or it's too hot, too cold (which I myself am an offender!), we are very fortunate.

Hoping the week ahead brings you all you could wish for. Kind regards, Anita.



Show weekend

Life is like a cup of tea,

it's how you make it.

Irish proverb.

Finally I have resurfaced. All the hard work getting a quiz night ready, show entries finished

and dropped off to the show and show day over. It has been an amazing week and the last hard

mile is ten days of full-time work. I had so much fun at the show and I managed to win 9 place

cards, 3 firsts, 3 seconds and 3 thirds. Heather did very well too and her entries were just lovely.

My short sleeved cardigan was a winner.

I was happy with my rabbit family who came in third. Notice to the left is a green frog, that is Heather's work. Sorry about the wire in the way, I was too late to snap photo's before the gates went up.

I found the loveliest vintage child's bonnet pattern knitted in 2 ply, gorgeous to knit up and impressed to see her win 1st prize. Ratbag Heather's work is the knitted pieces next to mine.

 Had to show this photo off. Not my work but a very clever lady who won 1st prize in the crochet section. Isn't it lovely? I kept going back to check it out, such fine work.



 I help out as a volunteer at the show and the members are a cheeky bunch of trickers. This morning was clean up day and I took my shoes off to stand on the benches. The guys kept saying to me 'come on it's time for a cuppa'. I finally said OK I'll be there in a second. When I went to see where my shoes were, they had taken off with them. One of the other ladies helped find them and I marched into the kitchen were all the culprits were sitting and immediately grabbed two offenders by the ears. They blamed everyone else of course but I knew the real purps.

I am so ready to start making things for next year's show, I'm really hooked!!! I hope you will all enter your local show with fantastic things you make because it really helps make it a great community for all. The rest of my weekend will be spent ironing, which is a far cry from any sort of fun. See you soon. Kind regards, Anita.

Happy Father's Day

To the world you are

one man,

to us you are the

world.

Happy Father's Day to all the Father's out there, I hope you are having a glorious day. Here in our neck of the woods the sun is shining (right at this moment anyway) and Pixie thinks he is in heaven. A cup of coffee and a cooked breakfast, he's on top of the world. My male tribe are all up the back yard right now fitting a stereo system into Brandon's car. It's quite funny to see them all buzzing over a new sound system.

I on the other hand have been buzzing about my craft work and what I have managed to finish this week. I have made to cloth dolls and a cushion to use as prizes in our Quiz Night coming up in a couple of weeks time.

I had a little stitchery that I wasn't too sure what to do with so it has become the centre piece of the cushion. I wasn't really wrapped in the cushion as I was making it, however, now that it is completed it isn't half bad.

On the show front, I found a cute little hand puppet set to knit from an old book. The funny thing was that by the time it came to knitting the tongue, the instructions on how to knit the tongue was not listed!!! so I just made my own. The puppets will go to the library after the show, they will be loved there.

And still having fun with knitting, I thought just for something different at the show, I might make a cup with yummy cakes to wet the appetite. I must say, while I was knitting the cup all I wanted was to drink tea.

I have almost finished knitting a baby top for someone special, so I won't show and tell that one until the stork has arrived. Kind regards, Anita.