Mistakes are valuable.

They show us the correct

path to take next time.

Good morning to you all! A big Happy Birthday to hubby today,, he’s turned....

53 years young and is in pretty good shape for an old rooster!! Lol  I have had some emails from bloggers in blogland regarding my header photo. Where was the photo taken you ask? It is actually from our trip to Italy on the island of Capri. It is in the lovely  San Michele villa of Axel Munthe.  I would love to make this image bigger but can’t work out how to do that. Can anyone help me with that?

Had a fantastic week, lots of started and not quite finished projects. Here’s what I’ve been up to....

Cute little top down baby cardigan knitted in 8 ply. This one is for sale, any queries email me.

Knitted a couple of sweet owls using bits of  leftover yarn. These are both made in 8 ply yarns.

How sweet are they?

It must be the season of the owl because here I have made a start on another owl using fabrics.

Love the beaded eyes?

And speaking of material......is this not heaven? An enormous bag of fabrics given to me. The owner no longer wanted the material?????? What is that? Lol

 

A bit of Christmas happening as well. I'm still going with this project, need to stitch the hearts on to the tab.

I had a lovely cup of tea with my ratbag friend Heather,, of course the afternoon was fabulous with her company (she didn’t act up too much). This incredible friend of mine is on a roll with these rather special little aliens. Take a look.....

 

 

Girl ones and boy ones

I love the way Heather has stitched all sorts of bits on the aliens, and these little creatures are about 7 inches tall. They must be a pretty good project to do, it’s rather kept Heather out of the trouble she would normally get into.....Love you to bits Heather xx.

I had bit of a search on the net yesterday and did you know that Italy has 29 volcanoes. – some active and some extinct. How does such a small country have so many volcanoes??!! We still plan to go back there regardless of the volcanoes. Today I am planning to wonder back out to the shed before it gets too hot and keep going with my projects. Last weekend the plan worked, so I hope it does this weekend too. Have the best weekend ever!!!!

Cheers, Anita.

 

The world’s greatest treasure

Is the small, simple pleasure of

spending our time with good friends.

Well, hello there!! What a glorious morning it is in my little corner of the world today and I hope yours is too. I woke up so early this morning that all my ironing is done, minutes for meetings typed and sent, washing already on the go and my instinct is telling me that I’m going to get lots of time to knit and sew today. I wonder how well that plan works out?? Lol

I found some super duper yarn at the local craft shop this week and knitted this cute little baby top.....

Love the colours!

It is a favourite pattern that I found free on the net.

Sweet as

Click here for the pattern.

Another favourite pattern....click here for instructions.

Hubby and I shot off to the suburbs on Saturday morning and found more yarn. How did that happen? There’s going to be lots of knitting going on around here.

Can’t  forget about the beads I found in Spotlight. I did have a look around my own town but couldn’t find these sort of beads, that’s why I didn’t shop locally.

And this is my little project I’m on at the moment.

Christmas is coming.

A cute little Christmas boot, pattern found in a magazine. When I finish posting this morning that’s where I’m headed....out to the sewing shed.

How about these eggs?

 

 

Blue eggs!!!!

Unusual colour you say? Absolutely. I actually saw these eggs at the local agricultural show and thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. No, they are this funny colour. One of the farmers told me the breed of chook that lays these eggs are called Araucana.

Hubby came home a couple of nights ago from a farm and had been given 2 cartons of eggs. Yes, these funny little blue eggs were in the carton.

Well I’m about to head off to my sewing shed to keep making my Christmas boot. Hope you are all having a fantastic Sunday and everything is going great for you.

Cheers, Anita.

 

When we are chafed and fretted by small cares, a look

At the stars will show us the littleness of our own interests.

-Maria Mitchell, Maria Mitchell, life, Letters, and Journals

A huge hello to you all, yes, I have resurfaced once again!! I have to say since taking the plunge and going to gym, my routine has certainly changed and I think I’m now getting my act into gear. If you are trying to decide whether you should go to gym for your health, I would recommend that you do it. I feel so much better in myself and my fitness is by far better now than it was. It isn’t just about losing weight but also making sure your body is in good working order. I have made sure to keep my craft work going, and what have I been up to these last couple of weeks?........

These little cuties.....

 

A cushion made from yo yo’s.....

Another one in the making......

A potato chip scarf, pattern found here....

A friend of mine put me onto this super soft yarn. Many thanks Ashlee!!

Lovely Heather shared her material find at the Op shop. Heather you are so sweet for sharing and I always say nice things about you!! Lol

And some cooking....... Little quiches that won’t last long.

 

A visit to the public library and the discovery of a fantastic cooking book. Loaded with great recipes.

 

This week I also visited the breast screening van for a mammogram. As it was my first visit I was a bit concerned as I have heard a few horror stories and a couple of positive stories. After it was over and done with I have decided there was no need to worry, it didn’t hurt. Don’t put this visit off, if you’re due for a check up......just go. I want to be healthy so I can revisit my favourite place in the world......

Italy

Cheers,  Anita.

Going for broke!!!

Everything nourishes

what is strong already.

-Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice.

A big hello to you all. I have made a last dash at making as many craft projects as I can before I go back to work. I have had a lovely two week holiday and now the time has almost come to an end. Come and look at what I’ve been up to.......

Heather the feather strikes again.

She gave this material to me on her return from holidays over in Queensland. 
 

The material has turned into this....

Very pretty

Unfortunately there is no pattern to this bag, I just saw something similar in a magazine and thought I would make it up as I go. The bag is about 7in x 6in, layered with rows of gathered material and cute handles. This will be used when Heather and I meet up for morning or afternoon tea at our favourite cafes around town.

A new tablecloth using random scraps of leftover materials.....

 

A knitted cotton top for Miss Shae for the coming summer...

A knitted cup using 8 ply yarn....

A Christmas place mat that I will keep for Christmas...

A wonder around my lovely rose bushes, taking in the warm weather outside....

And what are these you ask???....

Slippers!

 

Here is the pattern if you would like to knit some.

Slippers with soul pattern

Size 4.5 needles    8 ply yarn

Cast on 5 stitches and knit 6 rows

Next row: Increase in 2nd stitch of each row until you have 22 stitches on the needle

Next row: Increase in each stitch to 44 stitches

Next row: Knit 2, purl 2 for 15 centimetres (6 inches)

Next row: Knit 2 together across the row, giving you 22 stitches

Next row: Decrease in 2^nd stitch at the beginning of every row until you have 5 stitches.

Knit 6 rows and cast off.

Fold in half and sew the rib sides together and then 5 stitches on top together to form strap. Let me know how you go.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend and have a great time doing all the things you love to do. I'll be roaming around the garden and trying to squeeze in every last little bit of time doing knitting. I've been going to gym 3 times a week over the holidays so I'm resting my aching bones and muscles!! Exercising is good for you!! lol.

Cheers, Anita.

Busy week

 

 

 

To be

or not to be?

Hello to you all on this very  over cast Sunday. I’m  enjoying two weeks holiday and it has become very apparent that if I have time on my hands...I get into mischief. I’m really trying to decide whether to be good or not, and the ‘or not’ is winning!! I had made a start on some beaded dolls and had a spare girl left over. I have decided that seeing as John the Principal is off all next term that his lovely wife Jane would need a survival box.........

It is filled with the beaded doll whose dress says ‘No bullying zone’.....that’s in case he does any general nagging......

 

No Bullying zone!!

chocolates to give her strength and some ear plugs (I don’t really have to explain those).

I have also been a good gal too. In my last post I shared a website you could visit to make lovely Italian food. We thought we would try the pizza....lovely tasting crust....

Yummo

Turned out nice!!

We added some pepperoni and it tastes divine!!!! The recipe is made for a large tray but we halved the dough and made 2 pizza’s.

Since most of my life I have been a sloth, never doing any exercise, I have changed my ways and  started  going to the gym. We have a treadmill that I’m using now and decided to make a hanging bag to put my water bottle, remote for the stereo and my mobile phone in.

 

 

Very cute

I have been asked to join our local artists in making gifts for the tourist centre, and I’m absolutely stoked. It has also given me a new path to take with my craft work. I dropped a whole heap of handmade things off on Friday so it will be interesting to see where this takes me. I am honoured to be given this opportunity.  Hope your Sunday is ticking along nicely.

Peace be with you always, Anita.

 Some people you just have to tease!!!

I'm a wicked girl!!

All is change: all yields

its place and goes.

-Euripides

Buon giorno to you all! We are enjoying a lovely long weekend here in my part of the world and it is the start of the school holidays. I have been up to mischief again, how unlike me! Sometime ago I made a replica doll of our local high school Principal (who has a fantastic sense of humour and we love to terrorize him), now I have made a new jacket for the “John” doll. Many thanks to his lovely wife Jane for supplying the material (lol) and to Marilyn for handing me the parcel with the material in it!!! Do you love his new coat?

The wool dangling down is from where we tried to hang the doll once!!! oops!

How cute is he in his jacket?

I am really looking forward to plodding around the garden these holidays, here’s some super fab pics of the garden.....

Geraldton wax

Geraniums & stock

During the week I have found time for more knitting too... If you are interested in making any of these patterns I have linked them in previous posts, so you can go back and get the patterns from there. Some of the patterns are done in 8 ply and 3 or 4 ply.

 I thought I would share this with all those lasagna lovers out there. On a recent trip to Italy we stopped off at a fantastic restaurant to try their food. The lasagna was to die for and if you want to try the recipe just type in the web address on this card and have a go.

 

See where one of my tea towels from Rome ended up....I can't bring myself to use it, just admire it and remember.

 

  I watched the Dockers and Hawks footy match yesterday and so sad for the Dockers that they didn’t win, maybe next year guys. I’m off to visit some favourite blogs of mine now, so I do hope you enjoy your weekend.

Cheers,  Anita.