Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Thanks!


Yesterday I was very surprised and happy to see I had been given this award by the lovely Victoria from Yarn Round Hook. Thanks Victoria!!

Apparently I have to tell 7 things about myself, so here goes

1. I love to cook. And to eat. (I think I'm a bit of a glutton)

2. I love bookshops and books, I have no problem justifying book purchases for anyone in our family.

3. I have to admit I have been totally sucked in by the 'Twilight' series. I read all 5 books in 1 week, I was so hooked! Stephanie Meyer knows how to write a mean story! There is nothing like a bit of escapism to brighten your day.

4.I learnt how to crochet about 6 weeks ago, and now my mind is full of things I want to make!

5.I have a Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design (although I have never worked in the industry; I went and had babies instead), and love being 'a creative type'.

6.I try to be semi- self -sufficient and grow a lot of our vegies all year and also fruit in summer.
I am involved with our local community garden as well, so what I don't grow at home I can generally find down there.

7. My family are fantastic! I am really close to my mum and dad and sisters and their families and my in-laws, and I am trying to create a similar 'atmosphere' for our boys to grow up in so they can experience the strength of a strong connected family. (You know what I mean?)


There are my 7 facts, and now I am supposed to pass the award onto 15 other blogs I've come across, however since I haven't been blogging for long I will give it to 4 other blogs -


Most of these I found through i-crochet, so check it out if you like crochet!
I'm off to leave a comment for these guys and then bed is calling I think!
Have a great day. Jules

Monday, August 30, 2010

at my house.....

A fairly standard type week at our house...........

.....I have 8 big lamb shanks sitting in the fridge that I am going to make delicious soup with tomorrow. Also a bit of baking in stall to fill up the biscuit tins. A yummy dinner in my nice stripey soup bowls; looking forward to it already.....

....Orthodontist appointment for my eldest; an ongoing jaw widening saga that makes me want to defend my boy and his 'extreme' mouth.......

.....Lions Quiz final for middley, lots of general knowledge swatting up ,( it's amazing how much info they can cram in their brains and then spout out in front of an audience and with a time limit), Go Team !!....

....Basketball breakup dinner at La Porchetta, that might be a night off the diet for me...

....try and get some extra exercise to off set pizza!....

....work an extra shift (not really looking forward to this, so many things I'd prefer to be doing!)..

....Scouts, tennis lessons and after school plays should just about wrap it up....

.... and I might try and get some gardening done ( heaps to do out there) and some crochet is calling my name, so that will be in my spare time!

I'm sure there is other stuff we will be doing but that just evolves as the days play out.

( I'm playing along with Lou and her 'at my house' sharing, check out what others are doing at there places on her blog)


Have a great day!
Jules

Thursday, August 26, 2010

my creative space #2


This is about as close as I have got to doing any real creating today, lots of thinking and planning but not much production as yet! Max my youngest is home feeling quite unwell and coughing up a storm so I guess I have been a mother more than a crafter today, which is fine. It's nice to feel needed by your kids occasionally, mine are growing up so fast it feels like they will be out there on their on steam very soon and I'll be lucky to get a visit on Mothers Day! ( I do exaggerate - they are only 14, 12 and10 yrs old so I have a few good years left, but that's how it feels sometimes.)
Maybe I'll get some crocheting in tonight, you never know...
Have a good one!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Granny blankie WIP


I managed to sit down yesterday and start some more centres for my granny rug.


Here is a close veiw of some of the squares, and below is an update of how many I have done.
( I should have finished one more to make it a proper rectangle, but never mind). I am making progress slowly but surely, and I'm sure it will look 'squarer" when I block all the squares. I have never blocked any work before so I'll ask a stupid question - do you block as you go, or do you block all at once when you have finished all the pieces of your project? If you block as you finish each square along the way, do they lose their 'blockiness' if there is a long time before they are all sewn up? As you can probably tell I am still pretty new to the fine art of crochet!





These are some of the lovely colours I bought recently, some are for the granny rug and others are for projects yet to be announced( I haven't quite decided yet!) I do want to try one of the beautiful flower garlands that I found on a lovely blog called About Mo and Me. They are so gorgeous, I want to make a whole jungle of them! There is lots of other inspiring crochet eye candy on icrochet.


Maybe a whole heap of little flowers in gorgeous pastels ,or a few interesting potholders for the wall? Who knows?





Went for a little walk in the garden in between showers today and found a few lovely hyacinths in full bloom, so waxy and snowy white, and the perfume is divine!!! I think they look very pretty in the little pink cup. A small retro moment! You've gotta love it.
Have a great day!
Julie

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Spring is in the air!!!!



It has been a beautiful day here; after a week of cold, windy, rainy weather the sun was out in a cloudless sky and Spring feels just around the corner. Our manchurian pear is always the first tree to blossom in our garden and it is a gorgeous sight with the little white flowers popping open everywhere. How blue is that sky, hey? BEAUTIFUL!!




My poppies are looking a bit battered from all the wind, but are covered in new buds that are bravely opening into the most vivid colours in the garden; always welcome after a few months of winter greyness. The bees are loving it too, with several fighting over the same flower, pushing each other out of the way in their eagerness for fresh pollen.



More poppy colour.


I think the reddish pinkish ones are my favourite.





I think I must be coming down with a case of spring fever, as I was overcome by the urge to clean today, something that doesn't happen to me very often!!! It happens so rarely, in fact, that I had to photograph the result of a massive cleanup of my kitchen, it just looks sooo nice all clean and tidy. And I can see the benches!! (Usually fairly well covered with general household junk). If only it could stay this organized, I'd feel more like the domestic goddess I know is lurking somewhere inside me!(DEEP inside me, it has to be said!) I still love my kitchen and all it's colour and am glad we chose colours that make us happy and are right for us, and didn't worry about what other people thought of our choices. I love the results!

I am going to try and take advantage of this fleeting cleaning frenzy and tackle a few other rooms in the house that are in desperate need of some attention, there are a few to choose from!

I didn't really progress much with my crochet this weekend, but I did buy some lovely wool on Friday that I might just have to photo this week and show you , lots of lovely colour!!
Bye and have a great day!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

my creative space

This is my super chunky scarf that I finished today! It kind of reminds me of a gushing waterfall of colours. It is made from some lovely Colinette chunky yarn and was wonderful to knit. I thought the different thicknesses in the wool might be a pain to work, but I didn't find it a problem, and I think the different weights of the yarn made the pattern more interesting. There is a lovely range of colours in this wool and I am really pleased with it - plus it is sooooo warm! The pattern is a rib variation with a ruffle edge, I found it on the internet somewhere ages ago, and I really like how it works up. (Haven't quite got around to figuring out how to add links to blogs - what a newb, but when i do I'll try and find it again and link to it)
Thought i would try and add this to the My creative space Thursday thing I came across on Kootoyoo. (figured out the linking thing I think! Yah!)

See how long and warm it looks and how the colours are slightly different on each end? (Thanks to Max for being a super model boy,I know it's not really cool modelling mum's hippy knitting but he did a great job and managed to smile for me!)


Lovely thick/thin multicolour wooly ribby goodness!





And just to finish off - finally a break in the rainy weather and my little niece Bianca and I did some flower picking and came up with this posy to take home for her mum (my sis). Such beautiful poppies, the colour is so vibrant and cheery, has to make you smile! Bea was pretty pleased with herself too!

Have a great happy day!




Saturday, August 14, 2010

new granny square love


Hello! I thought I would show you the start of my next crochet creation. Inspired by the sunburst granny pattern at Sarah London's page, this is my next blankie, maybe for my sisters new baby in January or maybe not! These 2 photos show the squares without the orange ones...





.....and these are the squares with the orange rounds. Has a completely different feel doesn't it?






I think I might make something with just this colour palette, I quite like the coolness of the blues, red, white, and greens all together.





Here are the first 9 completed squares all mixed up together, I am happy with the colours and how they sit together. I think it should look nice and cheery and bright when its all finished, the orange gives it a bit of a lift I think. We will see how it looks as it grows!

Have a great weekend, we are off to Melbourne for a night in the city with the family, should be fun! Bye!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Knitty dolls

i

It's been a busy week around here, lots of normal mothering busy stuff, and worky stuff and exciting family stuff - one of my sisters and her man has announced she is pregnant with her 2nd child! I had thought our extended family was pretty much complete, so it is really nice to think there will be a new addition to the clan. A new baby is always great news and I'm sure Lily ( my niece, 9years old and very excited at the idea of a little bro or sis) will be a big help to Kate.

Sooooo.... it got me thinking what I can make her for the new bub. Nice granny square blankie? Cute little hats? Lovely softies? There is too many gorgeous things to make! Sigh, I just can't decide, I might have to make her one of everything, the baby isn't due until January so I have heaps of time!

Thinking about babies and kids led me to some photos of some dolls I made. The doll sitting on the blue chair was my first ever attempt at a knitted toy. I got the pattern from a Clare Garland book and I was pretty pleased how she turned out. She was a present for one of my nieces 4th birthday and she got a great reaction. I have made quite a few dolls like this now as my other nieces didn't like missing out, and I enjoy making the little clothes and sewing the faces.
The doll on ther cabinet is my most recent doll creation, I am surprised how different the face is, she looks friendlier than my first girl, but no.1 is kind of quirky which I like. I guess this is an example of crafty evolution, every time you make something it turns out a little bit different!






I have started some new granny squares in the "sunburst" pattern that I found from Sarah London's page. This is such a nice pattern to work! I'll have photos soon I hope!
Have a great day and thanks for visiting! Bye.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

where do you crochet?



This is a corner of our family room with my nice blue sleepy hollow chair (a little the worse for wear, after 14 years of children romping all over it), and some crafty stuff that is generally spread in various parts of the house. I like to sit here in the afternoon winter sun and do a little hooking if I have a spare half hour. I often sit here to eat my lunch or read a magazine, it's just a really nice spot in our house!




This is part of my first crochet effort my lovely red and green granny square rug, I am really happy with the colours and how vibrant it is ( you can see it hanging over the back of my chair in the top photo). The next thing to do is decide on a border and finish it off!



This is a cushion I am making in similar colours to the granny. My blue owl is something I made to experiment with fair isle colour knitting, once again similar colours. (I think I keep coming back to favourite combinations, no matter how I try to do something different). I think he's kind of cute! Being a novice, I made the pattern too complicated and it was slow going making the owl front, I am happy how he turned out and I learnt a lot, but I would simplify my pattern next time!

Do you have somewhere you particularly enjoy crafting in?
Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a great creative day!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Hi there!






Helloooooooo anybody out there!!

This is the first post of my blog which I would like to dedicate to all sorts of woolly yarny endeavours! I'll introduce myself - my name is Julie, and I am the mother of 3 fab boys who keep me on my toes. Together with my husband, we live in a lovely spot on the Mornington Peninsula. Our house is generally in a state of mild chaos, kind of under control, but I can usually find something I'd rather be doing than housework, so it tends to the messy side! ( I do love it though when I eventually get around to a good tidy and the house looks great.)

I have always loved knitting and have lots of sewing spurts over the years too, but the catalyst for this blog was my recent discovery of crochet, and the fact that i can now crochet YAAAAAAH!!
It was a lot easier to pick up than I anticipated, I decided on the last school holidays that it was time to learn, so a copy of 'Crochet for dummies' was found at the library I bought a few different hooks, and hey presto, 2 days later I had the basics under control!
I have to say I am pretty addicted to my new hobby, it is soooooo much quicker than knitting
( I still love this too though!)
Anyway, I also found lots of fabulous, creative, amazing other blogs and a great thriving community of talented people that I want to be a part of!!


I love love love love all the colour!



So this is my start!! I am trying out the African Flower motif . It is soooooo
pretty!





This is my first attempt at crochet in the round to make a cushion cover , I am pretty pleased with it! ( sorry about all the weird font issues and underlining , can't work out how to turn it off)

Anyway thats all for now and thanks for visiting my little blog! Good night!