thepinetrees

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2011-09-07T18:59:00.002+10:00

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband xx

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2011-09-06T18:15:00.002+10:00

Playing around with some bits of leftover dyes and the drum carder today - fun!

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2011-09-05T20:44:00.000+10:00

Tomorrow's breakfast - toasted muesli, and yoghurt - I make mine in an esky with a few jars of hot water and an old jumper to keep it warm overnight.

And yay for spring and sunny weather!

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2011-09-03T17:08:00.003+10:00

A bit of bubble whistling (blowing bubbles is old news I'm told) after a fantastic birthday party. Thanks for the great time Courtney and John. (More tomorrow, I'm exhausted!)

Friday

2011-09-02T22:23:00.000+10:00

Joining in with Courtney for a week of photos...

In the kitchen today - vanilla almond butter, buckwheat flour for buckwheat pancakes, and ginger kefir. I use this recipe for the kefir - yum!

Knitting away on a cardigan - I'm attempting to use one skein of BFL/silk lace from Skein to make a summer cardigan for myself (my lovely friend Ell gave me this beautiful yarn, thanks Ell xx). Carding some alpaca into batts, and making a little smock for a birthday girl.

And tomorrow we're off on a little road trip for a birthday party!

15.6.2011

2011-06-15T17:01:00.000+10:00

Back (is it really that long since I've posted?) with something bright in this miserable weather - a quilt I'm working on for Mase.The wonderful Emily and Ell gave me a pack of rainbow squares for this - thanks guys! :)

day seven and eight

2011-01-08T20:22:00.002+11:00

Oops! Not going too well on the photo a day thing..... Found some time for some spinning today - thought I would haul out my old wheel and give her a whirl.

Not sure what I'm going to make with this.....I'm not really a pink kind of gal. Perhaps a scarf, or some mitts.

day six

2011-01-06T20:26:00.000+11:00

Folding window stars from Gardenmama's great tutorial

day five

2011-01-05T22:49:00.000+11:00

(growing up much too quickly)

day four

2011-01-04T15:52:00.001+11:00

Baking for the wheat eaters today :)

day three

2011-01-03T15:57:00.000+11:00

The first knits finished this year - a Milo vest for Max, with another on the needles for Ollie. My first time doing cables - I don't know why I put it off for so long!

This year I plan to try and make as much of my kids clothing as I can (while they're still young enough to like what I make....). Pants and a winter coat are on the list, along with some long underwear for winter using this pattern. I don't think I'll go as far as socks.....and I did buy a couple of pairs of jeans last year - I think they're a bit beyond my skill level!

a photo a day

2011-01-02T20:12:00.000+11:00

Joining in with the lovely Tara and posting a photo each day in January....today I'll post two, because we were away camping yesterday.

First camping trip for my boys, and we had heaps of fun :)

yarn along

2010-12-15T20:16:00.000+11:00

Well, that was a long break! Thought I'd get back into the blogging groove with a yarn along post.

Finishing off the last of the Christmas knitting - only the thumb on one mitten to go and I am done! I borrowed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle from the library last week and I'm very much enjoying it so far.

I'll be back later this week with a bit of a catch up post.

yarn along

2010-11-11T13:54:00.000+11:00

Here's what I'm knitting and reading for this week's yarn along (apologies for the photo - the weather is dismal here today)

I'm knitting Max's Christmas hat, from Malabrigo worsted, using the Karlchen pattern. I finished the mitts from last week and they are really cute - will post some photos later in the week.

The kids and I are enjoying An Eyeful of Soot and and Earful of Steam by Nan Hunt - this is one of my books from when I was little and I think it's out of print now unfortunately. It was one of my favourites and I remember Mum reading it to me and making all the funny train noises ;)

As for me....I'm reading school curriculum - I really need to start a new novel, it's perfect weather for snuggling up with a good book.

orange and vanilla

2010-11-09T15:36:00.000+11:00

I snuck into the kitchen today while the kids were asleep and had myself a bit of kid free baking time. You know, the relaxing kind of baking where no one fights over the eggs, the bowl doesn't skitter to the floor, and you don't have to explain why the hand mixer only has two beaters instead of three, and that this spoon surely has more cake batter on it than those two measly beaters.

So I made some orange and vanilla biscuits - recipe from my darling lemon thyme via ecomilf

but with vanilla and orange zest rather than lemon and rosemary.

Beautiful with a cuppa. Another recipe to add to the GF collection.

bits of happy in my day

2010-11-08T19:49:00.001+11:00

flowers in a jug

flowers from my boys, lounging cats in patches of sun

flowers on my pillow - another tablecloth redo.

a finished mitten

the return of "Sir Cardigan" (cicada) - summer can't be too far away :)

quick crafting

2010-11-06T17:55:00.000+11:00

Finding a few moments here and there for some Christmas crafting - wool felt balls for the littlest.

a simple picnic blanket

2010-11-05T09:03:00.001+11:00

A few weeks back my friend Emily gave me a pretty tablecloth that was her grandmother's. Unfortunately I knew that if I used it on the table it would be ruined after one meal, my kids are such messy eaters.

I love old tablecloths and linen and wanted to use it regularly so I thought a picnic blanket might be just the thing to use it for.

I backed it with some nice soft cotton fleece and sandwiched a tie between the layers so it could be rolled up securely.

and tied it together with some embroidery thread at the corners of the pattern.

It's had a lot of use already. (Much better than the beach towels we were using!) Thank you Em for the lovely cloth :)

yarn along

2010-11-04T09:04:00.000+11:00

I'm joining in with Ginny over at small things today in her yarn along - post a photo of what you're currently reading and knitting. Sounds good to me - reading and knitting are two of my favourite things!

So here's what's in my basket at the moment: some Malabrigo worsted and a pattern for mittens (nothing actually on the needles as I've pulled them out twice). I'm making these mittens to match Oliver's Christmas hat. I'm reading Making A Family Home by Shannon Honeybloom - I'm really enjoying this, it has lots of lovely ideas.

reuse

2010-11-03T13:54:00.000+11:00

I've set myself another challenge lately (along with my yarn diet) to try and reuse or re-purpose things around the house. I used to do this quite a bit....but I think I've gotten into bad habits lately and have been buying new instead of making the things that we need.

So yesterday I went through my stash and found a nice soft ladies wool/angora jumper (in a very unfashionable style.....). First up I made a soaker for the little one, from the front and waistbands of the jumper, using the pattern I posted about previously.

Using the sleeves and the back of the jumper I made a pair of longies and a pilot cap using the really great pattern from Sew Liberated, sized up for a 2.5 year old.

The cap was a big hit and was worn all morning. (this is apparently a 'smile')

And finally we were in desperate need of some new face washers - I go through a lot with three mud loving boys.

Enter a fitted flannel sheet with a tear in the middle. We now have fifteen double thickness face washers, a few polishing cloths for using with beeswax polish (using the worn piece in the middle), some elastic for crowns and hats (we seem to make loads of paper crowns that always need elastic round here), and the hems will be used for ties for tomato plants.

I suppose a lot of people wouldn't bother re-purposing things like this, but I think for an hour of my time, and a bit of thread, it's worth it :)

modelling wax

2010-11-02T09:34:00.001+11:00

We love using modelling wax around here - it smells great, you can reuse it and it doesn't dry out. Unfortunately it's also quite expensive, and we go through quite a bit - so I had a go at making some myself using the great recipe over at Wild Culture Farm.

I used some local beeswax, and I think it turned out pretty well. A little sticky, so next time I might use a little less oil. I tried out some colours by using some scrapings of a beeswax crayon - I think I could get more intense colours by using a clearer wax, and some paste or powder food colours perhaps.

soap

2010-11-01T13:01:00.000+11:00

Making soap here today using this great recipe from Jellywares. I make soap from scratch, but it's nice to make some that's safe for the kids to help with.

We altered the recipe a little - I used coconut oil and some cocoa butter. Also I didn't have any milk powder, so we left that out.

My mold was a little big, so the bars turned out a bit small, but they smell delicious.

Becky also made an oat and lavender and a lemon version of this recipe - they're on my list to try next :)

thirty one

2010-10-31T21:55:00.000+11:00

(completely unrelated curtain photo)

Well, it's the last day of blogtoberfest - I didn't think I'd make it through, but I have to say I really enjoyed it. I don't have much to blog about today, as I spent the day out and about catching up with two of my high school friends, which was a lot of fun, and I left my camera to have a rest at home.

Thanks to everyone who visited and who left lovely comments over the last month :)

thirty

2010-10-30T18:44:00.000+11:00

Beautiful crochet covered stones made by a lovely friend - some of my favourite things :)

twenty nine

2010-10-29T14:49:00.000+11:00

Enjoying the simple things today, and feeling grateful that I'm able to stay at home with my wonderful boys and watch them grow :) Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

twenty eight

2010-10-28T20:43:00.000+11:00

Sewing today - some new fleece nappy covers for a certain little person with chubby thighs.

I use this pattern - very easy, I just used my sewing machine (because I couldn't be bothered to re thread the overlocker with white thread), and it takes about 20 minutes.

twenty seven

2010-10-27T21:02:00.000+11:00

Started sewing my blocks for the quilt block swap........but I'm not so sure on the contrasting fabric. I think I'm going to unpick and go for something different. Perhaps another patterned fabric.

(not long to go on blogtoberfest......blog post inspiration is at an all time low!)

twenty six

2010-10-26T20:24:00.000+11:00

twenty five

2010-10-25T19:37:00.000+11:00

I'm setting myself a bit of a challenge to spin and knit only from my stash for the next few months.....

I don't have a huge stash, but I think it's enough to keep me going for a while. Here's hoping I have the willpower to resist yummy yarn and fibre ;)

twenty four

2010-10-24T20:38:00.000+11:00

twenty three

2010-10-23T15:43:00.001+11:00

Baking today - trying my hand at substituting gluten free flours in favourite recipes. We seem to be able to tolerate oats here - so I made Anzac biscuits using this recipe.

Instead of the wheat flour I used a mix of millet, rice, corn and potato flours. I also added an egg and some xanthan gum to glue it all together.

Surprisingly they turned out great - crunchy on the edges and chewy in the middle - yum!

twenty two

2010-10-22T16:59:00.000+11:00

Sigh.......the DIY mullet strikes again (Now, where are those clippers.....)

twenty one

2010-10-21T19:51:00.000+11:00

The first of the Christmas knitting - a hat for Ollie. I'm using the Little Pip's Acorn Hat pattern and Malabrigo merino worsted in forest. I hope to be back with a longer post tomorrow when my brain starts functioning again ;)

twenty

2010-10-20T19:26:00.000+11:00

Around our garden today.

(I have a cold at the moment so I'm not much use for anything other than sitting around drinking tea. I hope to be back to more than just photo posts soon)

nineteen

2010-10-19T18:25:00.001+11:00

early morning

eighteen

2010-10-18T14:40:00.002+11:00

So this is what I was working on last week in the shed - a set of playstands for the kids. Scott helped me put them all together yesterday, and the kids have been playing "shop" all day today :)

I used this plan from Eric's Projects, but I made mine quite a lot taller (because of my tall kiddies) and longer, so that they could all play inside together, and fit their little kitchen in too.

I used pine, and a thick piece of hardwood as bracing under the seat and just polished the wood with my regular beeswax polish.

I really enjoyed making these - next up - make some clips to keep those cloths in place :)

seventeen

2010-10-17T19:52:00.000+11:00

I had the best weekend this weekend - lots of knitting and laughter with some fantastic ladies, so I don't have many photos - only a random shot of Emily's knitting basket.

It's wonderful to have such good friends :)

sixteen

2010-10-16T20:45:00.001+11:00

Really really tired tonight - so I'm sitting down to relax and start on some Christmas knitting for the boys. More tomorrow :)

fifteen

2010-10-15T16:30:00.001+11:00

No finished project to show today - I needed some more wood, so hopefully Monday I'll be done.

With all this miserable weather I've been spinning a bit lately. At the moment I'm finishing off some shetland/carbonised bamboo from The Thylacine.

I hope to make a shawl for myself from this - possibly this one.

fourteen

2010-10-14T10:40:00.000+11:00

In the shed today. I hope to have a finished project to show tomorrow :)

thirteen

2010-10-13T18:18:00.000+11:00

Self portrait day (aaaaaargh!!!!!!) for Blogtoberfest ....

("bullied" via skype by a certain group lovely ladies to post this.)

twelve

2010-10-12T19:36:00.000+11:00

BMX track fun!

eleven

2010-10-11T16:23:00.001+11:00

The weather here has been wet, wet ,wet and windy! But we headed out for a walk yesterday afternoon to Wollomombi Gorge and Dangars falls.

It was very beautiful - nice and cool, and hardly anyone else around.

This is the top of Dangars Falls - you can see how windy it was. The falls drop about 120m, and there was a lot of water so it was a good time to go.

In other news we had our visit today to be assessed for registration for homeschooling, and were successful and I'm so pleased! It's really a weight off my mind. (Scott thinks I worry too much ;) ) So I think a celebration is in order for tonight!

ten

2010-10-10T21:04:00.000+11:00

Ollie's beanie finished this morning. Using this pattern with a bit more rib added on to make it stay on little boy's heads.

nine

2010-10-09T20:14:00.001+11:00

A bit of a sewing post today. Apologies for the photos - I realised it was already 6.30 and I hadn't done a blog post or taken any photos. - whoops!

Anyway, I've made a bit of a pledge to sew myself some nice cool summer clothes this year. First up I hope to sew New Look 6774 in views I and D with the shorter skirt. I like the cross over top part on this dress, and the fact that you can mix and match.

Next up: six metres of hemp terry to be made into nappies for Ol. I don't find making nappies that enjoyable......I've been putting it off for a while, but I really need to get it done!

And last but not least, I'm having a go at making a quilt. The girls in my knitting group are doing a quilt block swap for each other. Above are some fabrics I bought for my quilt.

And here is my practice block - it was a lot of fun! This month I'm making Tara's blocks.

eight

2010-10-08T16:51:00.001+11:00

On the needles at the moment:

A jumper for Max from handspun. I just have to add the sleeves, and fix up a little mistake in the hem....that happened at knit night. I find knit night not really the best time to knit - because I'm always laughing so much I always lose count, or drop a stitch or knit when I should be purling.....

and a little beanie for Ol made from his wool he dyed yesterday - I think he did a pretty good job with the dying!

seven

2010-10-07T15:06:00.001+11:00

Kids dye day with lovely friends

Heaps of fun!

(Do you see a gorgeous little baby lying on the couch in the background? So cute!)

lots and.....

.....lots of beautiful yarn dyed.

thanks everyone :)

six

2010-10-06T19:15:00.000+11:00

starry lantern

five

2010-10-05T17:23:00.000+11:00

I've been a bit busy today - I seem to have the spring cleaning bug ;) So not much really to report.....

But we had a nice afternoon getting our wool ready for our dye day this week - the kids are very excited about it!

I have to say I am too - it will be lovely to catch up with everyone.

four

2010-10-04T18:14:00.000+11:00

Christmas crafting started early this year - dolls for my two older boys. These were started very early......for last year's Christmas in fact - whoops! I found making these a lot of fun, but I think I have the hardest part ahead of me - embroidering the faces and crocheting (eeek!) the hair.

I have a few other handmade presents on the go at the moment, but I'll save them for another post - I have the rest of October to get through yet ;)

three

2010-10-03T17:10:00.000+11:00

More rain.....kids away with Scott for the day.....

..... a quiet house and six months of homeschool planning done. A very productive day despite the fact I spent most of it in bed ;)

two

2010-10-02T17:32:00.000+10:00

So...it was a rainy day here again today, with a bit of pottering round inside and a quick trip to the op shop, and a loooooong trip to Bunnings. Is it just my kids that go crazy once they set foot inside Bunnings?

But I did find a few wooden bowls for our collection....

......which came up nicely after a bit of a polish (recipe here minus the lavender EO). Not bad for fifty cents each :)

Today we also started washing some fleece. On Monday the kids and I will card it. Next week we are having a dye day (food dyes) with the kids and some friends. So we'll dye up this fleece at the same time as the yarn, and I'll spin it into yarn later for them.

one

2010-10-01T14:23:00.000+10:00

So - my first entry for blogtoberfest.......I wonder if I can post every day. Now that we're all over the winter colds and flu I'm going to give it a try.

We've had a painting day here today - does anyone else remember doing these kind of paintings at school? (I remember them as being a bit more bright and interesting for some reason ;) .....) The kids enjoyed making 'fireworks' paintings though.

And some painting for me too, some wooden toys I've been making for the kids.

comments

2010-09-10T17:31:00.000+10:00

An anonymous user left a pretty unsavoury comment on here the other day, so I'm changing the comments to registered users only :)

WIP...

2010-06-24T15:02:00.001+10:00

Thursday.... better late than never?

I've been working on a pattern for little boy pants that caters to cloth bums, bandy legs, chunky thighs and good storage for 'broomers' (matchbox cars). I think I've almost got it right, it just needs a wider waistband and a bit more height in the back.

This is what I was knitting in my last post. A pair of teeny newborn longies (no, not my newborn) in some hand spun. So cute and quick to knit!

Enjoying this cake. It's actually like cake, not a gluey blob like most of my GF baking ;)

A photo for my sister - recognise that coat?

good things on a cold day

2010-06-22T19:31:00.000+10:00

warm breakfast - creamy quinoa porridge

hours of fun with toilet rolls and some marbles ;)

knitting in bed and a nap after lunch

getting out of the house

2010-06-21T12:41:00.000+10:00

That was a long break from blogging! We've been bouncing from one cold to the next the last couple of months, and I haven't picked up my camera in ages, so haven't really had anything to show here :(

Yesterday was the first day in a while that we've all been pretty well so we took a picnic to Cathedral Rocks national park.

The walk was beautiful. We didn't climb to the top of the rocks as it's a 1.5 hour trip just to the base (by that time the kids were pretty tired)

It was nice and chilly - I think winter is my favourite time for going walking.

Dipping their hands in one of the little creeks (which were icy!)

banksia

2010-06-21T11:41:00.000+10:00

randomness

2010-04-29T13:36:00.000+10:00

(reading together)

Sigh... almost a month since I posted here...eek. Things have been busy, with school, lots of playing outside in this beautiful weather and knitting - lots of it.

Some random photos to get me started blogging again...

the latest craze - climbing and jumping ....

again and again....

...especially by this fearless one ;)

Latest knitting - a shawl for my Grandma who turns ninety next month. (I need to get this finished by next week, wish me luck...) I'm using Bendigo Woolen Mills Melody for this - it's really nice and soft.

In progress...and finished

2010-03-31T19:57:00.000+11:00

New project on the needles: Toasty mitts using some hand spun. I was given the roving by a friend (who is opening her own shop soon, yay!) for my birthday, and I just love the colours (thanks Em!). I'm making these a bit longer so I can use up all 100g.

Finally the feather and fan shawl is done! One shawl down, only three left to go..... (and multiple other half finished projects lurking in dark corners he he!)

...and I finished sprucing up the wheel I blogged about a while back. I decided not to stain it, and just left it natural, with a few coats of beeswax polish. All it's bits and pieces are different colours, some are faded, and some are stained with years of oil, but I kind of like it that way :)

Autumn colour

2010-03-30T18:49:00.000+11:00

Lots of yellow, orange and red round our house at the moment...and beautiful autumn weather too

our creek covered with fallen Robinia leaves

Red and orange marionettes - from Toy Making with Children , the boys dyed the silk for these with food colours. I wish I'd had this book when Max was a baby, it's fantastic.

Orange sweet potato loaf, from More Gluten Free and Easy with home made (inspired by Little House on the Prairie) by the kids butter, yum :)

Yellow breakfast polenta

almost as good as porridge on a cool morning

butterfly

2010-03-16T18:17:00.000+11:00

rescued from our driveway..

2010-03-16T14:31:00.000+11:00

WIPs

2010-03-04T20:40:00.000+11:00

Two new projects to add to my ever growing list....

I finished spinning and dyeing this optim for my sister yesterday, so I can finally knit that (really, really late) Christmas/birthday present.....

This stuff is sooo soft and easy to spin, I love it.

Scott bought me another wheel on the weekend - it spins beautifully, but it was so dirty, and dog gnawed, so I've taken it to bits and am refinishing it - hope I don't stuff it up!!!

I've been a bit absent from here lately as I seem to be spending most of my time chained to the stove he he!....we are now gluten free around here, and the difference in Max is amazing, he is a different, happy, relaxed kid, it's awesome! It does take a bit more time in the kitchen than I was used to though, but I'm starting to to get the hang of it, so I hope to be posting more here soon.

2010-02-26T14:48:00.000+11:00

A bit of sewing - pajamas for the little one:

Using the 90 minute shirt pattern - really easy enjoyable pattern, I'll be making heaps more.

Shetland triangle

2010-02-14T15:52:00.000+11:00

Finally a finished knitting project! A Shetland triangle for Granna's birthday this month.

This took about 2.5 skeins of Malabrigo silky merino, and about two weeks to knit.

I really enjoyed this pattern - it was quite easy - even for an absentminded person like me! It made a medium sized shawl using this wool, but I think it's light and open enough to be used as a scarf too.

(Thanks also to everyone who left such nice comments about my hand spun in the last post!)

off the bobbin

2010-02-09T13:07:00.000+11:00

Finally getting round to spinning this up - fibre club from EGMTK

It's a merino tencel blend - I love the way it turned out.

saturday walk

2010-01-31T11:50:00.000+11:00

We're trying to make a weekend walk a regular thing,

this time we went to Mount Yarrowyck.

The walk was a fairly easy 3km. Max walked the whole way with only a small mishap involving a stinging nettle.

We had the place to ourselves, apart from one lone wallaby and a kookaburra.

cover

2010-01-29T15:36:00.000+11:00

A quick fix for my ugly diary.

I used a wool scrap found at the op shop and this tutorial, modified a bit.

I'm hoping this will remind me to use it, rather than scribbling little lists that float off and get lost ;)

catch up

2010-01-25T19:13:00.000+11:00

The last couple of weeks have flown by. We've been settling into our new routine of homeschooling with Max. It's been going great - I'm so relieved! He is really loving the one on one time he gets, and loving what we've been learning

(making a beeswax snail)

I ordered a curriculum, just to give me a bit a guide. It's a little boring, but I'm trying to make it a bit more interesting, while still sticking to what's required by the board of studies (gee they expect a lot of a five year old!).

We've been getting most of our 'work' done in the mornings, when everyone is fresh, and using the afternoons for music, craft or mucking around outside.

The felted play mat and the blocks are a couple projects we've been working on - the boys had a great time sawing and sanding and polishing the blocks. They love playing with them, and Olli has a great time knocking them all over! :)

...in progress

2010-01-08T14:37:00.000+11:00

A handspun Thorpe hat for a certain boy who turns three on Sunday.....here's hoping I get it done! I suspect the crochet edge will be my downfall..... The roving for this was from the wonderful Lisa

Ruffle edged garter stitch shawl - really boring, but really stretchy and cosy for round the house in winter

Some Optim from Nundle Woolen mill I dyed 250 grams, only about 100g left to spin...I hope to make a feather and fan shawl from this. I really enjoyed spinning the optim - very easy, although my plying could still use some work ;)

a couple of recipes

2010-01-04T20:29:00.001+11:00

Today I made up a batch of two scrubs that I use all the time, so thought I would share the recipes here. They're very simple to make and great if you're like me and can't use the soapy type scrubs sold at the shops.

Almond, oat and honey scrub - for your face

Equal quantities raw almonds and oats

Honey

Grab a handful each of oats and almonds

Wizz in blender until fine (this batch was a bit chunky...oops!)

Take a teaspoon or so of the powder and mix with honey until it's a nice consistency. I use an old tupperware container as I'm pretty clumsy and would surely drop a nice glass jar in the shower ;)

(This only lasts about a week mixed up, so I just make up a little at a time, and store the rest of the dry powder in a jar. )

Sugar body scrub

Just mix sugar with coconut oil (or any oil that you like, I put some hemp seed oil in which is the green stuff you see)....

....until it's like damp sand. Easy!

eta: I still can't post comments for some reason, so sorry everyone.

(Becky the soap recipe is from Down to Earth)

2010-01-01T18:07:00.000+11:00

We took a drive today to Metz Gorge, to get out of the house. It's been raining for a week and we were all going crazy.

We were the only ones there - it was lovely.

Bakers Creek Falls

Can you see two little faces peeping out from behind the tree? She has a joey in her pouch almost as big as she is :)

last minute Christmas crafting....

2009-12-24T08:06:00.000+11:00

Beeswax pomanders for our tree. Just a softened lump of wax stuck with cloves.

Not much to look at, but they smell amazing

Our snowy Christmas scene that we finished up yesterday. The boys are obsessed by snow, as we never get any, and especially not at Christmas ;) So we made some with fabric and lights and a few branches and pinecones.

Some little gnomes round a fire

Mr and Mrs Claus

I used this great gnome child pattern from here

It fits a chopped off dolly peg perfectly

The kids had great fun finding little gnome houses and treasures to decorate this with.

Happy Christmas to everyone :)

2009-12-21T19:35:00.002+11:00

I've been waiting for one of these to open for a week so the boys and I could look at the different parts of a flower together.

I find it fascinating - the more I look, the stranger it seems!

(colouring our flower pictures)

2009-12-18T16:17:00.000+11:00

Ever had one of those days where you feel like running off and becoming a hermit? When you realise how things really stand, well, I had one of those days yesterday. It was a real eye opener....

One of the reasons I started this blog was to focus on the good parts of my days, so I don't dwell on the crappy parts too much :).......

(I wish our swing set was big enough for me to do this )

(I really should climb more trees too)

(I'm glad I didn't weed that garden, and so are the bees)

(I'm sure he'll hate me when he's older for dressing him in seersucker knickers, but he looks so cute and chubby in them)

(I love it when my kids sleep (or pretend to) for two hours while I knit and relax...phew!)

Overalls

2009-12-16T17:36:00.001+11:00

I finished these little overalls for Olli today after finding that no one sells comfortable summer clothes for bigger babies anymore. (yes I know he's more of a toddler...)

These took me about an hour and a half to make (with the usual interruptions...) The pattern is from Kwik Sew's Sewing for Baby book. I had always avoided sewing overalls as I thought they would be very fiddly, but these were really easy.

They're reasonably roomy in the bum too for going over cloth nappies (although I think they could do with a bit more room). I'm making some more with snaps in the crotch for easy changing.

2009-12-15T21:58:00.003+11:00

Two storms in a day - full water tanks and lots of mud :)

(eta - for some reason blogger wont let me post comments, so apologies for not responding)

random photos of our days...

2009-12-13T21:14:00.001+11:00

lanterns (using this great tutorial)

birthdays (we have a five year old - eek!)

smoky days (from fires....it is hot and dry)

admiring the neighbor's horses...

and hundreds of these butterflies in our garden

Had time to do a little dying yesterday. This was to make something for my sister, I love how it turned out, but the wool sheds horribly - unfortunate because it is beautifully soft. Any ideas for what to make with it...(a knitted cat perhaps? hehe!)

2009-11-30T12:36:00.000+11:00

Summer seems to have arrived here early this year....

It's been very hot here lately, some days have been above 35 degrees, it makes it hard to get motivated to do anything other than sit in front of the fan!

The kids have really been feeling the heat, and have been ratty and grumpy, poor things

A cool spot in the shade

I've been working away on a heap of knitting, but most of it is for Christmas presents so I can't show! I have quite a few woollies in progress for Oliver to wear when we visit Canada next year (so excited!!!) which I'm hoping to finish soon.

The kids and I made these little wool roving angels for the tree the other day. I saw them on Frontier Dreams (love that blog!) and decided to give them a go using this tutorial. Very quick and easy.

Swift I made yesterday afternoon - it's pretty rough, but works surprisingly well.....no more using the back of a chair to wind wool (and less swearing too)

wonderful weekend

2009-11-17T13:02:00.000+11:00

I was lucky enough to go to a Ravelry meet up this weekend - it was so much fun knitting and laughing (lots!) and eating beautiful home made food with these fantastic ladies (and also a very cute baby boy!).

Lots of lovely projects.

Amanda and her beautiful wheel

Tara using her spindle - look how fine the wool is - you can barely see it!

We made some little wet felted bowls too....thankfully my monstrosity is obscured by that post ;)

The beautiful view

hmmmm....

2009-11-11T17:14:00.000+11:00

Where was I while this was happening? Reading a blog post about babies pushing chairs up to benches and getting up to all kinds of mischief of course....

afternoon light

2009-11-06T15:50:00.001+11:00

little lights

2009-10-16T15:13:00.000+11:00

An afternoon project to keep little boys with sore toes occupied: some candle holders.

We used a couple of old glasses, a glue stick, and some wax paper (from here) ripped into little bits.

(although blowing on all the little pieces to make them go everywhere is much better fun)

After all the gluing, two little candle holders, one each, so no more fights after dinner about who blows out the candle ;)

what we're up to......

2009-10-14T13:57:00.000+11:00

We're having a rare 'inside day' here today.

Ollie's been busy since he found out you can push a chair around and use it to get into and onto everything...

Max is having a day on the lounge after he dropped a large wooden box on his big toe - ouch. It's slowed him down a lot and it seems pretty painful so I got out the laptop and put on a DVD to distract him from it. So he's been quite happy sitting there..... watching a recording of my sister's wedding......(his choice, he's such a funny thing!)

I've been put to work by Mase to make some korknisse for the Christmas tree. These are so easy and cute, they only take about half an hour to make.

I don't think our first effort will make it on the tree somehow, she turned out a little creepy, what with the death stare and the crazy cat lady hair ;)

Garden

2009-10-13T20:14:00.000+11:00

A few photos of our garden.

We had a big storm last night with thunder that shook the windows, much to the children's horror.

This morning everything seemed to have grown a few inches, and it's all lovely and green.

(I love these funny yellow green flowers, not sure what they are though)

baby love.....

2009-10-02T16:50:00.002+10:00

having a sleep on my lap :)

:

2009-10-02T11:51:00.003+10:00

October already....

We've been busy here the last week or so doing lots of crafty things on top of the usual day to day stuff:

Spinning, and Christmas knitting. Some sewing for the boys.

Trying out basket making, using pine needles (we have truckloads of those....). I used this
tutorial, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. It's a nice mindless kind of thing to do while I'm outside with the kids.

I have a long list of things to get made for Christmas....not sure how many I'll get done :)

On top of that I'm trying to figure out which if any curriculum to use for Max next year.....aaargh! Decisions!

what happens when you sit down for a cup of tea....

2009-09-22T12:45:00.003+10:00

three children hide behind the lounge with a pair of scissors and give each other crazy mullet hair dos.....

sigh...

polish

2009-09-18T12:14:00.002+10:00

I gave my spinning wheel an overhaul yesterday - changed all it's little hooks, bands etc and gave it a polish and an oil.

I made a new batch of beeswax polish:

1 part beeswax
4 parts oil (olive or linseed)
essential oil

combine oil and beeswax in a double boiler, stir until the wax is melted. Add the essential oil. I don't bother with the essential oil, and I use olive oil because I use this to polish wooden dishes that we use for food too :)

Anyway, my wheel spins so nicely I wonder why I didn't do this ages ago?

Ready for some lovely new wool from here. Very good for little hands to squoosh!

Cake

2009-09-17T07:31:00.002+10:00

I'm in a bit of a rut with the blogging at the moment....the kids seem to be keeping me very busy lately. I'm going to try and post a photo each day for a while to get me motivated.

Todays photo.... German apple cake (from here)

This is a great recipe - It stays nice and moist, and I have successfully substituted the apple with carrot and pear. I think it would be a good recipe to hide zucchini in too ;)

sunset

2009-09-01T18:05:00.004+10:00

from my kitchen window

2009-08-29T19:33:00.003+10:00

Peach blossom

2009-08-27T12:18:00.000+10:00

Weekend

2009-08-24T20:20:00.002+10:00

Spent the weekend at spinning camp!

So much fun knitting and spinning and dyeing with lots of lovely people!

Stripes

2009-08-17T17:48:00.002+10:00

New pants for the bub, using the rainbow dyed wool.

Spring?

2009-08-11T14:45:00.002+10:00

Beautiful warm springlike weather today, we all kicked off our shoes and 'wore our feet' as Max would say...
(could those toes get any chubbier?)

:

2009-08-09T13:44:00.003+10:00

(enjoying a visit from 'Aunty Nerydeewah') photo by Scott

Malabrigo Shawl

2009-08-09T13:23:00.002+10:00

Birthday present for the lovely Nerida.

Used about 3 skeins of malabrigo silky merino, which is so beautiful to knit.

:

2009-08-04T16:23:00.002+10:00

(pollen)

Knitting like a crazy lady on something secret that I left 'till the last minute (of course)
Be back later in the week.