New Stuff

Blogtoberfest 2010 kicks off tomorrow and I am a bit excited about it.  I took part last year and while I did not quite manage to blog every day of October, I went close, I had fun, and I met new bloggers too.

There are a couple of new things here which I thought I would point out.  Maybe you already noticed? 

I have added some pages to the top of my blog: 
One for linking the Kid Craft activities that happen here, one to link Recipes I have shared and one as a Travel Tips place to review parks and child friendly places to stop and explore. 

I can't believe there is a book to help people travel with pets, but not children!  We are on the road a lot and it is always good to know if there is a good park ahead to plan good breaks for the kids.  There is nothing under that tab today, but tomorrow there will be!

Maybe you have a great park near you and would like to do a guest post? 

Let me know, it would be very welcome!

Car Craft

Possum and her 'on camera' smile!

When you have a big drive ahead of you it is a good idea to prepare some form of craft to take along for the ride.  I have had Shellee Floyd's Cap Sleeve Shirt pattern here for awhile but had never got around to casting on.  It seemed like a great and easy choice for in the car.

I finished this one, a small size, and the better part of another in the next size up on the return trip.  It is such a great knit and I was happy to cast on another moments after finishing the first one.  I won't blog the second until I have finished it, I had better keep something up my sleeve for Blogtoberfest :)

Back Home

After the big trip south we are home again, and very glad to be back!  It is now hard to believe that we drove through two States and a Territory and back again but the piles of washing to be done are a bit of a reminder.

The service was beautiful, and tragic, and I am glad we both went.

As a welcome home present there was a package from Kylie at Indigo & Quince. 

I had forgotten about the Jellywares washer swap!

I was a bit lucky, and a bit spoilt with this package which includes not only the washcloth. soap and seeds portion of the swap but also local Cobar fudge, buttons from the Jellywares shop itself, and some beautiful teas which I am looking forward to trying.

Thanks Kylie, it was wonderful to come home to such a wonderful swap gift :)

Bitter Sweet

Today I get to meet the special baby who I knitted this Milo for.

I wish it was under happier circumstances.

Spring

I love Spring.

The colours, the new growth...

....and the sometimes temperamental weather.

The Mr. has been putting the chainsaw he won to good use which is lucky because today is COLD!

My Creative Space

As per my last post I don't feel very creative right in this moment, but all is not lost because I have a couple of small things to show off from before the wheels fell off.   Thank you to everyone who left me a comment, your support and comforting words are just wonderful in a time of need.

This is my Mobius Cowl and I think I love it. 

One ball of Noro and a couple of comfy hours on the lounge and I was done.

Have you played around with a Mobius Strip before?  Very cool!

I also posted off my washer (with soap and seeds) for the Jellywares Washer Swap. 

A car trip south to Wagga for a funeral is on the cards in the next few days so I think I will get ready to cast on a Cap Sleeve Seamless Shirt for Possum.  

The soothing knit knit knit might be a good thing on this trip... 

For more creative spaces visit Kirsty :)

Why?

Yesterday a work friend of my husbands lost his wife to a brain tumor.  They didn't know she had it.  They should both be at home celebrating the birth of their third child, a little girl just two weeks ago.

I am SAD.  I am ANGRY. 

I do not understand why bad things happen to good people.

I am only part way through knitting a baby gift and now I don't know if it is appropriate to give a gift.  What do you write on the card? 

Why can't I stop crying?

Crayons

I first saw this ages ago and started keeping the stubs of broken crayon and small ends thinking one day I would give it a go.  I thought it would take ages to save enough pieces but this is only a 12 month supply of odds and sods.

The kids both love them and while they have been used as an art medium, they have also been stacking blocks, towers and who knows what else in a small child's imagination.

I suspect I should have greased the pan, or allowed them to set longer before trying to turn them out.

I had to apply a small degree of force...

Next time I will use patty pan papers :)

I love Buttons!

These buttons are just too cute!

They are handmade by Jo at The Bird & The Fish and she does a wonderful job.

I bought some for Possum, some for Blue, and some for me.  I don't know what special project they will be used for but it does not matter, I will be ready when I find it!

I was very excited when I checked into Jo's blog today and discovered she was running a button club over the next three months!  There are options too, girl club buttons, boy club buttons, unisex club buttons and a brooch club as well.  Something for everyone :)

I signed up for the brooch club and I am a tad excited about it!  They would make great Christmas gift ideas too, but I know I won't want to give any away so maybe I should put my name down for two spots...

This and That

My creative space this week is a bit of this, and a bit of that.  I have been sick, and I have been dabbling.

After all the good comments on my blue canvas, I decided to do the 'bright' canvas too.  I want to do one in pink for the girl but I discovered that I have very few pink scraps in the stash so that idea has been put on hold for now.

I caught a bug which has seen me drink a lot of tea, at least I have a lot of good tea here in a variety of flavours so it was not a boring diet.  Last night I managed some toast and I feel good again this morning so I hope I am cured.

I signed up for Jellyware's Spring washer swap #4 so I will be getting comfy on the lounge later with some cotton.  I should be cleaning up the house, but I have only been healthy for five minutes and don't want to rush it ;)

For more creative spaces click over to Kirsty's. 

A Spiderweb Block

This block was the first completed block for Around the Block Round 2.

It is for Amy over at Badskirt and I am a little bit in love with her block choice and the fabric she sent out.

I had never made a Spiderweb style block before and I really like the end result.

The tutorial by Heather Ala Mode is fantastic and Amy's quilt is going to be wonderful when it is done.

Happy Father's Day

There was plenty of Dad related crafting going on just before Father's Day.  Possum loves this tie she made at the local Story time session run at the library. 

Both kids coloured in a photo frame and set of coasters at Playgroup during the week and I love the fact that this was the first craft session they both sat and took part in together.

To really mark the day as special, Blue took his first proper steps today, all by himself!

Happy Father's Day, and thank you for being a wonderful Dad :)

Creative or Crap?

The smalls have been doing a lot of creating this week both at Story Time at the local library and at Playgroup.  In an attempt not to be outdone I decided to cover a canvas using my fabric offcuts that were too small for sewing, but too good to toss out.

I am not sure if the end result is creative, crap or somewhere in the middle. 

I was thinking of doing another 2 of these, one mostly pink and then one in bright fabrics so I can put all three in the kids playroom.  Will see how I go...

For more creative spaces visit Kirsty :)

Around The Block Round 1 ~ Wrap Up

 It feels like a very long time ago that I signed on for Chaletgirl's quilting bee Around the Block and yesterday I posted the last of the packages back so round one has finished.

I learnt so much off the girls in this group.  My sewing wasn't always as good as I would have liked but most of the time I did OK.  I loved getting blocks back in the mail during my month and I loved knowing that each month I had a part in creating something great for someone else.

July was Jan's month and she sent out precut borders and asked us to create a centre block for each of them.  This quilt will be for the 'Princess Room' at Sewjourn when it is finished. 

I hope I get to see it one day!

MJ  was last with August.  She asked for Indian Star blocks and wanted us to add in a bit of fabric from our own stash to one point as a reminder of all the girls who took part in the bee.

What a great idea :)

Round 1 is over, and I have already started on Round 2, but will leave that for another post.  It feels like a long time between finished projects these days so had better spread them out!