Smile!

Happiness looks gorgeous 

on you :)

.....v.....v.....v.....v.....v.....v.....

It is 9am in the morning and I'm just wondering where the sunshine is? Perhaps we will have some later? lol

 Dear Lord....if I promise to be good today, maybe we can have sunshine soon? (I hope all my friends out there are not choking after my promise :)

I thought this week that I would have the 2 cot blankets finished but I'm in shock!!! I am still going on with them. Here I show you one that has been stitched up and now all I have to do is the scallop edge and stitch in the ends. 

 How do you like my buttons? I have had them for a while but they had been misplaced in my sewing shed. I believe my little friend Heather the feather had given these to me as a gift.

  I was given this little project during the week from a work mate. Over the holidays I plan to make it up.

 This is my most favourite magazine in all of everywhere!!! The Homespun magazine has been the provider of many happy sewing and knitting hours. The patterns are super fun and I just love it.

 

 Have a look at this great idea.... a pacifier tag or, as we call them in Australia...a 'dummy' holder. I do not know why we call them that. Perhaps someone out there knows why?

 

 As the blankets have become too big to take to work and do at lunch time, I have been also working on this beanie. It is knitted in 8 ply yarn and fits a small child's head.

 With the leftover yarn I made this little doll cardigan for a cabbage patch kid doll.

 My friends....it is time for me to get dressed and attack my house work. Not something I relish but a thing that has to be done. 

When I start my ironing I will be putting on some beautiful music by Anthony Callea. He is a fabulous singer of Australia (Italian parents). I get lost in his songs as he breaks out into Italian language throughout some of his songs.

Sending out hugs to Rylee, Brianna, Dusty, Edge, Piper....my cute nieces and nephews who make me laugh so much. Warm wishes to you. Have a wonderful Birthday tomorrow Brianna.
                                              
Another beautiful day we have to enjoy, live and make memories with. Do it justice my friends.
Ciao, Anita.
                                                             

Laugh with me...

 Happiness is like jam;

you can't spread even a little,

without getting some on yourself.

Good morning my little petals, I hope I have found you all well and in good spirits. I've had a funny and mad week this week....most of the chaos being caused by me!!! lol 

I was given more hours to work, so that saw Thursday afternoon and all of Friday back at work in the office. I must say it was heaps of fun. I usually get the pleasure of stirring up the kids and staff members that travel through the library, but working in the office I had access to parents and other staff members that I don't see much of. It was heaps of fun for me!!!

As I'm in such a silly mood, I thought I would let it flow into my blog today as well. First I will be 'normal' and then I will be....something else.

Come with me for a walk....... 

This week at the local library I found these fantastic books. The crochet book is packed full of modern crochet stitches that I can actually understand.

 I've managed to finish one lot of the squares for one of the baby cot blankets, and I'm very happy with them. These are the colour mix I will use for the second blanket. By next weekend I will have the finished blankets to show you...with love.

 Oh this photograph has fallen on its head!! You can still see it though. A knitted beanie in 8 ply brown. Ready and set for the markets.

 Some mauve coloured yarn that Heather the feather 'made' me have. She's so bossy! lol

 Some yarn that I have never come across but everyone has been telling me it's pretty good to knit with. It is a cheap yarn from a cheap shop but to my surprise it is very very good.

  Last night I had a go at vegetable lasagne, it turned out pretty nice. I found a recipe for it on the internet and instead of bechamel sauce, it used ricotta and parmesan cheese mixed together. 

That was nice but the consistency was thicker than I would've had it. I will make it again though using bechamel sauce.

 Now...all the normal stuff aside, here comes the funny stuff. You can all have a laugh with me as I take you through the next lot of photographs. If you don't know it Australians are known for laughing at themselves and poking fun...just for a laugh. That is why we sometimes get into trouble in other places, but here it is very 'normal'.

This will be especially for my Italian blogger friends who can have a chuckle and I will too. 

The town where I live has many similarities to Italy. We have our own historic sites. Our own Trevi fountain, Spanish steps and Roman forum. 

Here goes.......

This is our Trevi Fountain 

                                                       um...er....sorry...no coins here!!!!!

 Our statue like Julius Caesar!

....but we only have this one.

 Hugo Throssell

The River Tiber

(Avon River) for here!

 Our version of the Spanish Steps.

We have a few stairs less though. About 132 steps

short.

 Our Roman Forum.

This is the biggest gathering of any old buildings 

around here. lol

 Rialto Bridge...our version

 Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius

 ......bollards like around the Colosseum...and don't think

I can find anything to even resemble the Colosseum!! lol

 Mt. Vesuvius....no lava here.

One of our oldest buildings in town....almost as old as those in Rome...not! But in another 2850 years it will be as old. lol

 Now to get more on the normal side of life......this is a view of our town site. We are within valleys and hillside, a beautiful view. This is a section of our town site from the top of Mt. Ommanney.

 The Australian country side is pretty awesome, with much natural beauty to take in and chill out to. Very relaxing I must say. This photograph has been taken in the winter time, so it's lovely and green. I do tell you though, long grass in the winter or summer is always suspicious to the good old Australian's.......we think about snakes all the time!!!! lol

 In our town we are fortunate to have these beautiful creatures just roaming around the river side. These two are actually very close to our main street and they just laze around in the sunshine. We have many white swans in our town and we are a breeding capital for these magnificent creatures.

I hope you've had a great giggle with me, I certainly loved it. We all know you can find beauty anywhere, it just depends if you're looking. The very best wishes for the coming week, have fun creating, living and being happy. They're all good elements for the soul.
Ciao, Anita.

Precious memories

                               No act of kindness
                                    is ever wasted
                                      - AESOP
  
Good morning to you all! I have a sweet story to share with you girls today. At the markets last weekend a lady approached me and asked if the crocheted items on our stall was mine. I told her it was and then came her request. Out of her handbag came two crocheted squares, one completed and the other still had to be finished to the end of the row.

These two precious squares were made by her Mother, who has now passed away. The lady wanted to give her own grandchildren something made by her Mother. Each of these squares are to be used in 2 separate cot blankets and I have threaded a pink piece of yarn through these two squares. I will use each of these precious squares as the heart of the blanket as these will be the loved pieces for the family.

                                                                 

I warm to the gesture as my own Mother passed away years before I had my own precious boys, so I know they both missed the opportunity to have something special made for them by their Grandmother. They did however, get loads of things made from Heather the feather and I knitted heaps of stuff for them too. Those precious things are packed away with love. My boys won't be missing out on any memories. We always look for the positive in all situations.

                                                                                 
As the weather has turned pretty cold around my part of the world, it's tea cozy time. I have found a fabulous colourful pattern with heaps of cool looking flowers on the top.

 

Heather and I went to the York markets yesterday with steady sales and a crisp cold day, we had a fun filled morning. The scarves, cowls and beanies are starting to be the favoured items on our stall. Looks like we will both be busy over the next couple of weeks re stocking.

After the markets I decided I needed to plant all the lovely plants I purchased from lovely Anne and Harry, the neighbouring stall owners from 'Our Patch". As I came to the front yard I noticed flowering on some of my bedded plants. How lovely are these flowers? The white flower is from a plant I had purchased from Harry and Anne last time. They look wonderful guys!!! 

 This is a purchase from yesterday. Very cute! I love the red tint running around the brim.

 This was only going to be a quick post today as I'm scratching for time a bit. lol Before I take off, thanks for the giggles and your help this week Brianna and Rylee....you both make me laugh so much. Francesca and Verbena...thank you for keeping the love of Italy in my thoughts. Thanks to my wonderful blogger friends who visit my blog and leave positive comments, they keep the fun alive.

                                                                    
This week I will be concentrating on the two cot blankets and knitting some beanies. I will also concentrate on burning the fire wood my hubby has brought home....I know he likes that. lol

Have a truly smashing and fun week ahead.
Ciao, Anita.

Life without friendship

is like the sky without the sun.

 ...........

In my part of the world the forecast for the weather is a sunny day and the brightness has already started right here. I went hunting through my sewing shed for all the lovely leftover pieces of bright yarn I could find and decided to combine them into like the brightest star in the sky.

As I have traveled through my lifetime I have discovered there are many kinds of love: the love of a husband/wife; the love of a friend; the love of a parent. All are important kinds of love for the soul, however. the love of a child just blows you out of this world.

I was having a chat to some of the kids in the library the other day and the subject was about the garden path I want to make in my garden. I was saying how I needed to find nice flat rocks that would be more even to walk on and look super...to give it my Italian touch. What a discussion it was with the kids, their views and ideas take you right back to basics. The giggling and chatting was the best. I said I would have to ask one of the farmer friends of mine if I could walk through their paddocks to find some nice rocks.

The next week, dear Dusty came in to the library and said "Mrs Hayes, I have something for you'. Out of his bag comes 2 perfectly flat rocks. He had visited his Great Pops farm on the weekend and found these 2 beautiful rocks. He still had our conversation on his mind. Friends.....I can feel your hearts melting from here, I do not have to say any more. Awww..

PS. those 2 rocks, by the way, are exactly the sort of rocks I am after.
Thank you so much Dusty.

This week's project's have been stitching rotten old buttons lol....on to finished works. Some gorgeous neck warmers are now completed for sale at the markets. They were both knitted in an unusual yarn that I have not seen before, but very very soft.

                            Lovely cheeky Milo looking on....

Another groovy little beanie on the go........

 

 A gift from a friend. In this box is Angora rabbit fur. Oh so soft to the touch. Many thanks Kylie! I realise your poor little rabbit is now bare but it's worth it! lol I've never spun angora rabbit before but I'm going to have a go at it.

 

I leave you all now to enjoy your weekend. Here in Western Australia we will be celebrating a long week end. We are celebrating Western Australia Day on Monday, so that gives me the extra time to finish off some more craft work...oh did I say the word 'house work' in there anywhere? No? I didn't think so.lol
Ciao, Anita.