Don’t wait for the 

perfect moment,

take the moment and 

make it perfect.

Well good morning my little cupcakes, I hope I have found you all healthy and in sound mind. I wish I could say the same about myself. I am at least..very healthy.  Lol 

After having worked full time the last couple of weeks, and being grateful for the extra time given to me, I was pleased to go back to my usual timetable so I did lots of sewing last Friday. I have made progress with my Christmas items and will hopefully have lots of Christmas goodies to sell.

Would you like to see some of the things I have made? Come on then my pretty girls, grab yourselves a hot cup of tea or coffee, and we’ll go for a cruise.    

A while ago I purchased this precious fabric and as I used it on my many projects, the more I fell in love with it. I have now used up the last of it making a set of fabric Christmas coasters and a little tote bag to put them in when storing them away. 

 The bag closes up with a draw string ribbon tie with beads on the ends. 

 Now I'm on a roll with the fabric coasters so I had some Mickey Mouse Christmas fabric. I decided to make another coaster set that has a small fabric bag filled with lavender and a small pouch to put it in. 

 Let me just side track you all now and show you my crocheting. I'm pretty good at side tracking people....oh....and myself. I'm called Dory sometimes, but I'm happy with that nickname. lol

I have discovered that even though we have our warm weather happening here in Australia, people are still wanting knitted baby clothes to give as gifts. After the winter season at the markets, the supply of baby booties and beanies has started to dwindle. By the looks of things there were lots of girl babies born this year. Where has all my pink stuff gone?

A short sleeve baby cardigan in a simple treble stitch has been very popular, and this photograph does not show the colour well. It is actually a beautiful peach colour. 

 Two more Cardigans but this time with long sleeves. The couple I had at market sold very quickly. 

 Now back to the Christmas mood. I just can't resist this little guy. A cute Christmas reindeer. I'm still working on him though. I need to tie a knot in each of his legs, add bells and ribbon to the knots. He or she, will also have a big ribbon done up around the neck and the antlers painted. Oh yes....and stitch on his other ear.

 I can't resist the fabric yo-yo!!

Did I manage to put you in the Christmas mood? I hope I have helped you get there. lol I am now counting down the weeks before we all go on school break over the summer and I'm getting very excited at the prospect of those glorious weeks off. 

My lovely Italian blogger friends find it interesting at the fact the Christmas season is celebrated in hot weather over here, whereas their Christmas is in cold and snow. I would so love to be there with you ladies. xx  

Next post I will have some cute knitted baby booties to show you. I am still sewing them up and putting ribbon into them right now. Thanks Maria, the yarn is so nice to knit with.
Have an awesome Sunday girls! 
Ciao, Anita.

Look for something positive in each day,

even if some days you have to look a little  harder.

Hi my lovely friends, where did that week go? I have been working full time these last two weeks and it has reflected in the amount of crafting I have been able to do....or not do. I have just run a marathon at work cataloguing and covering hundreds of books. I am so grateful that I was given extra hours in which to do so and now I only have a couple of hundred more books to go. Lol

 

This week I was able to crochet a little baby jacket in a very simple but effective pattern. It is crocheted in 8 ply yarn and in a dusky pink. I’m not certain I particularly like this dusky pink, but someone will love the colour.

Our Ag. Society wind up was last night and every year young Fiona presents certain people with little gifts and a funny yarn (story) about something they got up to during show time.....and beyond.

It was pretty hilarious as to what people received and after hearing the story behind each person’s gift, I am worried at how Fiona’s mind works.

Here is what I received....I say no more; I am innocent.

(For my Italian blogger friends, this is what is written on the pencil case....I Fart Rainbows). 

 I keep promising to start up a Facebook page and that will be my next mission. This cute tea cosy will be one of the items for sale. It won first prize at the show, so I am happy about the quality and would love to see it make someone else happy too. 

 We finally worked out why Milo is a strange dog....we started thinking he had come from outer space but we now remember that he was actually born on Halloween!!!! 

 That really.....

 explains things!!! 

Oh yes...what’s this? Good try Milo.

More booties for sale. I'm thinking $6.00 is a fair price.

 I know you all probably escape with your lives and sanity after visiting my blog, but I have to say....that there is some culture in my life. Strange but true...and....lol....I have now scrambled your minds. lol

I found this awesome DVD at the local library and I spotted that Michelangelo was included in this collection (as you would expect it to be). So home it came with me and it was amazing to watch. 

I remember when we went to Florence and visited the Accademia Gallery to see the Statue of David, we also came across four large sculptures known as the Slaves or Prisoners. They were begun by Michelangelo for a grandiose project for the tomb of Pope Julius II della Rovere. 

Yesterday was very hot here, a staggering 39C and today is going to be very warm as well. I took the opportunity this morning to check out some of my garden. A couple of plants took a beating in the heat yesterday and most made it through....

 Country charm is always found in roses

 My beautiful Bottle brush tree with its stunning red brushes

 I have this one day left of the weekend so I must fit in as much backlog of housework as I can. It doesn't sound very fantastic does it? But it must be done, so I will just be thankful I am alive and all will seem better.

What more can any of us ask for? I am grateful for many things and one of those are the family and friends who surround me and make my life so special. I surround myself with family members who make me happy and are a pleasure to be around. I am also grateful my hubby knows how to work the washing machine. Thanks for your help with that Pix. xx

What makes you happy? I bet when you sit back and have a good think....there will be many things. Have a wonderful Sunday my friends. Peace be with you all.

Ciao, Anita.

''Friendship is....

a simple recipe:

      

1 cup sharing, 1 cup caring and

3 cups of insanity.

A beautiful morning to you all! How was your week, I hope it was fantastic? My week was awesome....I was surrounded by fun people and friends, did lots of knitting, had extra hours at work and made some extra money. Pretty cool week for me really.

I suspect my sense of humour is going to continue down ‘crazy path’ as I age. I had this delusion that I might perhaps ‘grow out of it’, but alas.....I am mistaken. Last weekend Heather the feather and I were cruising around on Pinterest and came across a hilarious crocheted creation. Trust Heather to be with me when we discovered this..... 

Isn’t this crazy and funny?

 A tissue box cover! This is my version that I made during the week. All you have to do is pull a tissue out of his nose. Lol I am taking this to the library with me to give the children a laugh. I have to tell you all....the children at school have a super sense of humour and that is where I learn half of the funny stuff I know. Perhaps they can help me name him?

I have become quite a champion at this crocheting business and now I can create novelty things not only by knitting them but I can crochet them as well.

 I posted about some crocheted bunny security blankets a little while back and they were so popular that they have all been sold. Here is the beginning of a new one.

 I have always found the garden to be a place of peace and serenity (not when you see snakes though!!! Lol) and many wonderful thoughts and feelings come to me while enjoying a stroll amongst the plants. I have discovered that you don’t even need to have the biggest yard full of plants but you can find as much pleasure and peace in even a collection of an interesting patch of the yard. I have several of these little patches both in the front and back yard.

 This is one of my favourite places. There is not much really in the way of plants but I see the geranium with its bold red flower, the nasturtiums with the yellow and orange tones, the earthy colours rocks on the ground and that magnificent wheel barrow. I love scratching around pulling out the few weeds that pop up here, and just the feel of that area. Lovely.

 “Milo...are you wrecking that ball?”

Oh no...she’s caught me! 

“...um...er....No I’m not doing anything wrong!”

 “You better not be breaking it!”

“No mummy darling, I’m an angel!”

(I will just quickly finish nibbling this bit....)

 This needs a good pull too...

Awww...nearly got it.  

 Enough crazy stuff, back to the pleasantries now. Lol Here is my finished baby set. This is from a older knitting book where the instructions made sense and one could actually follow the pattern. No ssk in this knitting book. Yay!! The pattern for the top is Feather and fan stitch, which in older days was called Shale lace. 

The armholes and neck were crocheted with a cute edging to finish it off. The pants were from another pattern within the same book. I’m very happy with how it turned out.
 

What will the coming week hold for us all I wonder? I take things as they come. Sometimes we have problem after problem, sometimes we cruise along fine. Whatever comes my way I will just roll with it. My plans though are to be as happy as I can, crochet more bunny blankets and to get as much cataloguing done as I can at work. If this is all I have to worry about, I’m thinking my life is pretty wonderful. 

May you also find all the happiest thoughts and enjoy the fantastic things that come your way.

Ciao, Anita.  

                         

Friendship isn’t a big thing...

It’s a million little things.

-Unknown.

--o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—

Good morning to you all! In my part of the world we are in for a scorcher of a day, expecting 36C....a very warm Spring day don’t you think? I will be in a hurry to get my ironing done before it gets too hot.

During the week as I was photocopying at work, one of my work mates casually mentioned that Christmas was only so many days away!!!!! Oh heck!!!! Didn’t that put me into a spin. Lol. I had been fluffing through my Christmas fabrics to start getting prepared to make things, but when someone actually says how many days to go, it kind of puts it into another perspective - Panic!!!!

I got cracking this week making some reindeer....

They’re made from calico for the body, yo-yo’s for the side decoration and rope for the legs. It is an easy project and it’s from an old edition of Homespun magazine.

Well there’s a start to Christmas, but I have still been ploughing through the strips of leftover fabrics from the cream, black and crimson colours. From them, I made a small table mat to go with the cushion and the bigger table runner. I am now happy that I have used it all up.

I still have some knitting to show you but I will have to wait for the next time I blog. Why do I have to wait you ask? Well let me ask you something.......who of you out there has a teenager at home? What goes into their bedrooms...such as a camera.....is almost lost in the dark abyss and who dare enter the dark abyss when it is only 7am? Not I!!! If you wake the sleeping teenager, they might grow claws and fangs. Lol

What will you be doing with your wonderful Sunday? Some knitting, sewing, gardening or perhaps just relaxing? Whatever you decide to do, enjoy yourself, thank God for this wonderful glorious day, breath in that fresh air and be ever so happy for each new day.

Ciao, Anita.