You have to fight through some bad days
😒 to earn the best days of your life. 😊 

Well hello there! I have surprised myself very much. Here I was thinking that with a broken tendon that knitting and crocheting was going to be right out of the question.....but no. I still managed to pump out a few items and I am thankful to my amazing hands.

 

My first check up to see how my finger is recovering was last week. You will notice that my pink splint has now changed colour to black. It has something to do with the mood change about the whole thing. I don't find it funny anymore. 😂😂😂😂😂😂 Not at all. This Monday will make it five weeks done in the splint and three more weeks to go. 😮

 Let me show you some of the things I've managed to make in the last few weeks......💖💖 These little baby boots are part of the collection going to a friend of our family. I've stayed with the brown tones for this little baby we're waiting for. The striped white was a special touch I thought I'd include.

 A little woolly hat will join the collection

However, these boots are part of an order for one of my customers. The boots will have a matching hat and I'm already happy with how the pattern is turning out. Considering I was convinced I would not be able to take orders for the next few months. I'm very thankful.

Just while we're on a happy note here, have a look at this cute poncho that is almost completed. A couple of pom poms or something still needs to be attached to the ties. This will be joining the items for sale at the markets.

So this is all I have right now in the way of my hand made items but there is always the garden to fall back on. The garden has always been my go to place, somewhere I can be alone with my thoughts and with nature. I was very lucky this week to be quick enough to snap up this pedestal. Pretty hey?

Once I brought it home my front yard suddenly was moved around and changed. You may remember in a previous post I showed you all my bird bath I purchased. This big fellow has been moved from the back yard to the front yard.

Still on a good roll here.....here are some of the terracotta pots that I scored for only $20 for 25 of them.

We don't have an overly large property so I've decided that perhaps I could get dwarf fruit trees. Below is my dwarf apple tree.

We've just come out of our long, hot, drawn out summer and even though many of the plants are struggling, I'm amazed that my rose bush has been able to present beautiful roses.

💘 Meet Frank 🐱

 

Let me introduce to you Frank. Frank is now 14 weeks old and we are his second owners. We love him.

He is as cheeky as he looks, one would know this is typical. lol Biting, scratching, pouncing, eating my knitting patterns, taking off with my wool and then looking absolutely sweet.

Probably tired from a night of eating my knitting patterns I'd left on the coffee table.

....and no, Milo doesn't like him. We still love Milo anyway. There's enough love to go around.

Well my friends, it is very late at night so I better try and get some sleep. Over the last few weeks sleep has evaded me but I'm slowly catching up. I send you all big hugs and good wishes.

Ciao, Anita.

 Life is full of surprises.....

You never know what will hit you 😎

You may have noticed I have been missing for a while, and there is a reason for that. 😅 Further down in this post you will see why. This will also be the reason why I haven't made so much in the way of knitting and crochet. However, I have pushed on to make some gifts for a family friend of ours who is having a baby soon and also a couple of makes for the markets.

Below is a cute little part knitted, part crocheted set for baby Pie. A simple but classic pair of boots and a crocheted woolly hat, just waiting to go on the head of this little baby we are waiting on. lol  

For the markets I have made this circular vest in indigenous colours. These have been a very popular item at the markets and I struggle a bit to keep up with supplies on this item. The vest is done up with a single button and basically you can make it as big or small as you like. This vest would fit up to a four year old.

So, I'm really loving these little crocheted sandals for babies. These are the third pair I've made and each time I change the design. I like how easy they are to make and also they are just a bit different to the every day boots that are usually made for babies. This are made out of cotton so they won't be so hot during this summer weather of ours.

Here is the sloth staffy dog of ours. Milo is loving the summer because my family keep letting him in the house because of the 40C heat for days in a row we're having. So lazy has Milo become that our next door neighbour asked if anything had happened to Milo because they never hear him anymore.😯 You should see his face when I put him outside. lol Crushed and devastated.  😁😁

One of my most favourite things in the world is boxing. I love it. One of the reasons I got into it is.....it's going to sound strange and some people don't agree....but whatever and too bad, I fear home invasions. You see it on the news all the time, on Facebook, newspapers etc. I would want to be able to at least try to defend myself, or keep the person at bay until help comes, or even give myself a chance to get away.

Here I'm with an incredible boxing instructor, James, who I have much respect for and he is a credit to our community for all that he does.

Now comes the interesting story 😂😂 At a class several weeks ago we had a new girl join us who had never done boxing. I pair up with her and we are going to be doing 'uppers', I have the mitts on and she has the boxing gloves. I demonstrate to her how she will do the uppers and how I will hold the mitts. The movement she did was not an upper, nor was it anything I've ever seen before...😃😅😅😅, nor was it a hard hit. 

This is what happened to my finger and worst of all is that it didn't hurt and I didn't notice my finger until I went to have a shower when I got home. I couldn't believe it. I looked at my finger like it had two heads. All the redness and skin peeling and blistering is a reaction from a tape that I used to splint my finger until I could see the doctors.

 By the time I got to see a hand specialist and had tried several other kinds of splints, the skin on my finger had really become angry and sore. Once at the hand specialist they said there were no broken bones but that I had mallet finger, meaning the tendon was broken.

They made up a splint and at the moment they asked what colour splint would I like, I actually still had a sense of humour and told them I'd have a pink one because it was my pinky finger that was wrecked. I don't have my sense of humour any more. lol I have to wear the splint for eight weeks and then they hope it will have mended. If not, I have to wear it for another two weeks. If it's still no good then surgery and then guess what????.......back in a splint again.🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

The worst thing is i can't knit!!!!! or box, use dumb bells, bars 

😭😭😭😭😭😭

 

 On a happier note, I was scratching through some boxes and found my mum's thimble. She had given it to me many years ago and I felt very honoured because she bought this with her when she lived in Austria just after World war II. I cherish it so much. My mum was born in Italy but lived and worked in Austria before migrating to Australia. I miss her so much. 

Now that I have a stupid finger, it will be a test for my patience and certainly it has slowed me down with what I make. I do realise though that there are many worse things I could have than just this stupid finger.  I have been blessed to have woken up this morning and had a beautiful new day even with this stupid finger. 😇

 I'm taking off now as it's getting very late at night. I hope you all are in good health and enjoying making beautiful things. 

Ciao, Anita.

 

 You can't go back and change the beginning but you can start where you  are and change the ending.   

                                                                               -  C S Lewis

                                                                                                                                                                    

Well hello there you lovely people. How are you all going?  I'm very sure I've gone bag crazy! 😂💫 Even though our weather has been mostly in the 40C temperature, I have been out in my sewing shed, pressing the accelerator on fast speed and sewing up all these cute little bags.  I've loved it. I'm trying to build up my stock for the Visitor Centre and also for the markets that start up again in February.

I have so much lovely fabric stored away that I really need to put that crochet hook and knitting needle down and sew some more. I now don't work on a Monday or a Friday, due to hours being reshuffled at work. Same hours but all crammed into three days. That's fine for me, so those two days are now dedicated to producing some lovely creations.

My oldest son Brandon and I have made a new vegetable growing area. I have tomatoes growing at the moment and they're positioned in full sunlight. This new area is in filtered sunlight under a tree. I purchased three heavy plastic raised garden beds. I have to admit, I do not like plastic at all. The world is full of too much plastic. On the flip side though, I really love how these raised beds fit in this small area and the sunlight will get to the vegetables as they grow.

My latest project is........another bag. This time I have crocheted the bag. Finally I'm getting through those little lengths of yarn and feeling very pleased that I found a purpose for that little piece of yarn. Yes, I've let you into the mind of a crazy woman. 😄

I still have to line the bag with a pretty fabric and find an idea to be able to close the bag.

Now for something a little different....these little crocheted baby swing tops. I didn't actually have a pattern for these but I did just zoom in on the photo on the internet to guess how the pattern may have gone. They seemed to have turned out just fine. I've used cotton yarns and 8ply and 4 ply, and simply went for it. The element of surprise in how big or small it would turn out was fun. lol

Of course, I always have enough time to knit a little pair of woolly boots for babies. That is like a therapy for me.

Talking of therapy, I'm about to take off to go back into my sewing shed to continue with my projects and making more goods. Everyone take care of yourselves both in body and soul. I've been having a little peek around your blogs too and you have all been making some very pretty things yourself! Thank you for your lovely blogs, I love visiting you all. 💖

Ciao, Anita.
 

🎉 Welcome 🎇

Buon Anno a tutti! Happy New Year everyone! 

Hello there to all my lovely friends. I'm looking forward to this new year and for all the good things it may hold for us. I suppose last year was full of ups and downs but in reality, every year does. 😄 We had an amazing Christmas and we even were blessed to have some family members come around to celebrate with us. Heather the feather dropped by for a while too, but she's considered family anyway and it was nice to see her.💕

Well, I've fallen in love with the pretty cotton dress patterns that I've found on Pinterest and in particular, this one pattern that I have repeated many times. I enjoy the pattern, it is easy and so pretty. I have now found another pattern that is becoming a favourite, and that would be the dress in the darkest yarn in the photos.

What do you think about the cute little sandals hey? I had a tiny bit of cotton left over and by chance (scrolling through Pinterest 😂), came across this sandal pattern. So I have found a nice little set to crochet and sell at the markets.

My dress collection is growing and when we go back to the markets in February, I will certainly have some beautiful creations to sell to our community. I hope they are received well. I'm sure they will be. The middle dress in the photo is a slightly different pattern that has a ruffled short sleeve to it. 

I am surprised at the cost of cotton yarn though. Getting it when it's on special is the best way to go for profit but it's getting to the city at the right time. Our craft shop has closed down in our town and there is no other craft shop 😓.

   This poncho is much more pretty and interesting in the flesh than in this photo. It is an unusual soft yarn that is varied in colour and so so soft. I will be adding a contrasting colour for the tie and the edging. Perhaps a yellow or orange shade.

  Milo......big savage hunting dog......😆😂😆

Now, do you like this simple, knitted baby romper? I made this using no pattern. I'm becoming an expert at looking at photos on the net and counting stitches and giving it a try. I'm always trying to save the dollar, so if I just take a chance to see how good my copying skills are and it works.....then I'm going for it.  lol

This blue baby jacket is another one of those guessing the stitches from a photo, I'm so naughty. But one thing I did do was the crab stitch around the edges. That was my addition. I rather like to look it gives to the finished item.

A friend of our family is having a baby this year and I've started making some cute things for the baby. They already know they're having a baby boy so I'm on to it. There last name is Brown so I thought I'd go with the brown tones for the baby. I know I will have such fun making gifts for this little fellow. Come on now, no comments about the lack of buttons. lol You all know how I am with the buttons. 

Now it's time for me to get some lunch, or to bother some one in this house hold. They are both things I love to do, eat and bother people. lol Looking forward to visiting your blogs soon.

Ciao, Anita. 🌷