The Australian Sheep and Wool Show 2016 - Part 1

My Mum and our stall while we were setting up!

Hello there! 

How are you going, good I hope! 

Today has been an interesting day, my mum and I have packed up a whole lot of my yarny wares and headed to Bendigo for the Australian Sheep and Wool Show, which starts tomorrow and goes for the weekend ( Friday15th July- Sunday 17th) .  This is the first time I've had a stall at a big wool event, I tried to cram as much yarn as I could into my car, but there were still things I had to leave behind due to lack of space.  I hope I have brought yarns people will like to see!  We spent the afternoon setting things up so we are all ready to go in the morning.  I have already spotted some gorgeous yarns that might have to come home with me, and that's just on my neighbours stall!

So this is where I'll be for the next 3 days, it's going to be a fun few days for a yarn lover like me! 

If you're coming to Bendigo for the Show come and say hello, we are in the Education and Technology marquee, behind the Festival of Lamb! 

If you can't make it to the show, here's a few pics of our stall, so you can still feel part of it!  

.......little packs of Nikkim cotton, and Star Making Kits......

.....lots of MoYa organic cotton in all the pretty colours.......

.........and here's some Misti Alpaca Hand Painted Chunky goodness! :) 

I'll try and post tomorrow about some of the things I see at the show! :) 

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A market and a ripple

1 + 2 This is my stall at the Somers Winter Market which was on last weekend.  It was such a lovely day, lots of people through who were really into yarny things, so I had plenty of lovely crafty peeps to talk to.  People are so encouraging and kind in their comments and support, I am really looking forward to the new season at Emu Plains Market, it starts in October so still some time to hook up some stock. :) 

3 + 4 This is a new blanket I started the other day, even though I have heaps of things to do at the moment it is always nice to start a new project!  It is a ribbed chevron pattern that I am calling 'Skinny Ripples', just standard rows of dc in a chevron pattern worked in the back loops for a nice texture effect.  I was going to use some different colours, but in the end I went with some old favourites.  It is hard to work against your personal colour sense don't you find?   I  think it is going to work out lovely, although it is smaller than I had anticipated with the chevrons making my chain row not seem so long!!  You live and learn I guess! :) 

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Thank you so much to everyone who has signed up for my Yarny Love Club so far, you guys rock! 

I am having fun making some cute things to add to the yarny goodness, I hope everyone likes them!  Still a few days to go till sign ups close, but I am so grateful for all the interest shown in this little club. :) 

Have great week everyone! 

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Weekly stills and a winner!

1 + 2  Last week I made some more Galilee Booties, getting ready for the start of the market season coming up soon! These are really fun to make and strangely satisfying as a completed project. 

3 + 4 A couple of snaps from my stall at the Seaford Handmade Market on the weekend, a very cruisey market and a lovely day out. :)

5  I am thinking about making a blanket with this gorgeous fluffy mohair.    I am going to do a chevron striped blanket with different width stripes of colour, I think it will look good, and it will be lovely and soft! 

6  This is how I found the cats when I got home from the market yesterday, they know how to make themselves comfortable, I'm glad I can provide them with a crocheted bit of cosy for a sleep!!! 

How was your week? 

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And I have a winner in the 'Flowers Abound' ebook giveaway!  

Thanks you so much to every one who entered the giveaway, I am not the only one who likes a flowery granny square it seems :) 

So, without further ado, Congratulations Angela, your comment was the lucky winning number 7! 

If you could email me your email address that would be great. I will get a copy of the ebook sent to you ASAP  :) 

Thanks to Shelley for the great giveaway, 'Flowers Abound' can be found over here if you missed out in the giveaway.

That's it for the moment, I hope you have a great week, talk soon! 

Winter wooly day.....

Hello! 

How is your week going? 

  

Mine is good, lots of fun wooly things happening, I'm busy but in a good energising way, lots of new, interesting ideas swirling around, and some exciting plans coming together.  

It has been good planning weather, sooooo cold and dreary, perfect for rugging up and getting some serious hooky time in front of the fire and heater.  I'm trying a couple of winter markets this year, so I'm making things to stock my stall. I'll have to show you soon what I've made so far! 

Wool seems to be all around me these days, my little shop is slowly growing, it is so much fun deciding what new yarns to get in and what other crafty goodies to stock, my customer numbers are growing slowly but surely, (thank you so much!!) and I am able to spend a lot more time doing 'shopkeeping' and crochet type work these days, it feels like a 'real' job! :) 

Anyway, I had a little wander around my studio this afternoon, 

and noticed lots of colourful woolly goodness, 

so thought it might be nice to have a little colour hit on a Winter's day. :) 

.......piles of pastels for hats .......

....and  I have been pompoming like a mad thing!  

What's your opinion, pompoms on beanies or no pompom?  

I like a pompom, but not everyone does.....

.......new brights in the shop, tomorrow I've got to upload them onto the online shop, lovely Sportwool from Filatura di Crosa......

... a colourful corner with washers waiting for edgings and blankets layered up......

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That's about all I have now, just a little snippet of my wooly day, I hope you have a great day too!

Talk soon! 

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Snap shots

1.  How does Frank always seem to find the most comfortable spot in the house to have a snooze? 

It must be his special catty senses, he can sniff out a pile of 

blankets from the other end of the house. :) 

2 + 3 + 4.  Crochet making this week, I've been making things for the last EmuPlains Market for this season, so some striped hats, hearty washers and flower embellishment packs, I have a few more hats to go and then its onto slippers if I have time. :)  As soon as this market is over I am starting a new blanket!

5. . Studio progress shot, well actually it is all finished, and I am moving things in this week, but I am going do a proper tadah  post and a little photo tour of it very soon, ( it is looking so good!)  so here is how it looked with the floors finished and the painting done.  

I ended up just going with a white called "Snow Egg' for the walls and ceiling, as I think it will be easier to let the yarn colours shine this way.  The rest  of our house is VERY colourful so I have actually found it quite good to give my eyes a colour rest, and really noticed all the colours in our kitchen/family room when I go back inside, it is a bit like sensory over load! 

6. Just a cute shot of some colourful things. 

Love my flower canisters, they are finding a new home in my wool studio of course! 

Have you got a big week ahead?  

I hope you find time to do some fun things too, it's important to do things that make you happy don't you think? 

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Have a hearty day! :)

Hello! 

 I hope you are having a fabulous week!

Before I pop off to bed I thought I'd show you a little thing I made last week, some heart bunting.  

I have been a bit fixated on hearts recently, and these cute little flags are an idea I had for some left over cotton, not enough for a complete washer, but enough for a square!  I might put a little recipe together for these, they are fun to make and make a cheery addition to a wall I think! 

I'm planning to make some nice long strings for the studio, I ended up painting it all white, so there is lots of scope for colourful decorating! :) 

So what have you been making lately? 

Something big and long term, or a quick crafty fix?  

I am finding that I am making lots of smaller things, at the moment, like this bunting, due to another market in April, but then there is a break over winter, so I think I will be able to start some bigger projects, maybe a couple of blankets. I have seen a lovely motif that I want to try, isn't there always another idea to try!! :) 

Have a good crafty day! 

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Makings this week.....

Hello! How are you going today?

 I'm just popping by here to share a few crochet makes from this week, I have been so busy finishing things off for the market on Saturday, i have had no time for blogging or anything else really!  

....I've made some more little booties, this time in sizes that will actually fit on little feet (the last lot I made were very cute but far too tiny!).........

....and I have made 5 more heart washers, tonight I have to edge them all, so I am going to have a little Deadwood marathon ( I am really enjoying this series, Bullock is very cool! ).....

........and I have finished off my little decorations with a picot edge. I crocheted two flower circles together so they are the same both sides and can twirl around without looking terrible on one side.....

So now I am off to my edging, I might try and take a little photographic tour of the market this time and show you some of the lovely stalls, there are plenty of them! 

Talk soon......

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Catching up....

Hello! How have you been going?  

I've been pretty busy with this and that, nothing extra special, just normal life and preparing for another market.  I thought I'd pop in here and show you a couple of things that I have been making these last few weeks.  We spent the Melbourne Cup weekend at Philip Island, so I took a few little projects to keep me busy and not eating and drinking too much! 

Here's a bit of what I've been up to.....

....hooking away like a mad woman!  These round puffy flowers are destined to be Christmas decorations, I am planning on bringing them to the Emu Plains Market next weekend, I'll have to make sure they get finished!  I think they will look cute dangling from a tree.   I am thinking of making a couple of table top pompom trees to take to the market as well (thanks for the suggestion Angela! xxx), and I want lots of crochet decorations to hang from them.  Must get cracking!

...I have also made a couple of extra heart washers that need finishing off too.  (I am sensing a bit of a theme today....)  I had some of these at the last market I did and someone saw them and gave my card to a friend of theirs who owns a shop in Mornington, and long story short, I have been asked to make some for the shop, so I really need to make a few more!

.........aren't these roses beautiful?  Straight from my garden, I had a lovely half hour picking these this morning, I think I have a thing for pink roses, I have several different shades of pink, but not many other colours.  There is nothing like a garden wander to get you enthused about growing things again.

I went out this afternoon and started the mammoth task of clearing my veggie beds, I have bought a few seedlings to plant in each area I clear as a reward for each little achievement. We will have veggies this Summer, even if they are a bit late!

......and I found a whole heap of broad beans ready to pick under all the weeds ( plus a nice haul of potatoes), there are plenty more too, I have a recipe for smashed broad beans that you mix with some grated sharp cheese and a bit of olive oil and eat on bread or toast, a bit like a chunky dip, it is quite yummy, must make that soon.....

Well, that's about all I have for the moment, I have had a delivery of some new colours in the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, but need to take photos, so will show you them next week, Have to say I am warming to some of her more muted tones more and more, quite lush indeed!  I have added them to the shop over here if you'd like to check to out! 

Have a great day, talk soon!  

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A crafty bee in my bonnet. A wooly pompom tree.

Hello.  How is your week going? Good I hope! :)

Well, I have been quite busy with a little idea that just had to be made before everything else I have on my to do list.  

Do you ever get ideas like that?  

Where you just have to make something and see if it turns out how you are imagining?   

I certainly had a bee in my bonnet, and I couldn't concentrate on any of my other makings until it was out of my system!

The idea I had was for a wooly pompom branch that could be used as a whimsical Christmas tree and adorned with decorations like my flowers and stars. I like something a bit quirky for my Christmas trees and I like the spindly nature of branches, this was just taking it a bit further down the cute road with the addition of pompoms!

So I got out my wire and masking tape and bent and stuck that wire into shape, then I got out my wool and wrapped the wire in lots of greens and reds ( a little bit Christmassy).  Next I made a heap of pompoms and then sewed them onto the wire frame, and tadah, all finished and out of my head!

........here is the start of my pompom collection......

....and here is how my wooly pompom branch has finished up, a bit of a folly, a whimsical twiggy branch with pompom fruits at the end of each twig, it is very hard to photograph as it is so spindly and an awkward shape, it looks much better in real life, but you get the idea.  It is actually making my happy just thinking about it!  I think it will look very over the top hung with flowers and stars and maybe some crocheted leafy vine........ :)

While I was making the wire bits I had envisioned making up about a dozen branches in different colours all covered with a rainbow of pompoms and selling them at my market stall, like a forest of pompom trees, I think 3 stems would make a lovely Christmas tree alternative don't you?   

But by the time I had actually got one to the finished stage ( many, many, hours later) I was thinking that this will just be a home project for our Christmas, they just take so long to make and are quite fiddley, I don't think it's a viable item to sell, (maybe just for special people if I am asked). 

So I am going  to make up the other stems at my leisure and just keep them at home for a crazy display.  It is looking a bit sad just with pompoms, must get out some other things to add to it! 

So now I can get back to making things on my to do list!  It is alway good to have a little crafty interlude with a side project!  I am inspired to keep making pompoms, and am thinking some pompom garlands would be a nice addition to my stall instead! :)

Have you made anything completely just for fun, to try out an idea that won't leave your head?

Have a great day, talk soon! 

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Handmade Christmas Making......

Hello, how are you going today? 

I am having a good day, nothing special, just food shopping and general housey things, but I like days like this.

Firstly, I'd like to thank you for the lovely comments on my last post and your ideas for reinvigorating   bloggy energy.  I think I will just continue to blog when I can and not worry too much if it's not everyday, I think I am too casual for anything like a formal schedule, so this blog is just going to go with the flow, the same approach I take to most aspects of my life.  Thank you all for your continued interest in Little Woollie, I have a few new ideas to try out over the next few months so I'll see how that goes. :)

Well, suddenly Christmas doesn't seem that far away, (eek, nearly November!) and once again I am finding myself tossing up how much of a handmade Christmas I'll be able to achieve.  I'd love to make some of the gifts for my family this year, I don't think I'll worry to much about all the boys I have to buy for, they are not really into handmade stuff, but I could do some baking for them, they do love a homemade bikkie or 2.

I am thinking that cute crochet washers and a nice piece of soap would be a nice little gift for my friends, I like making the washers so they should be fun to make.

I am doing a couple of markets between now and Christmas, so I am also trying to make some things that would be good presents for people to buy, maybe for teachers or other people we get little gifts for at this time of year.

So I have been making these little milk jar covers in multicoloured stripes, I think they look so cute in a group!  These jars make good small vases and you could pick a posy of flowers and give a cute jar of flowers to your favourite teacher, or you could stick a nice candle in one for a candleholder, or you could fill it with some bright coloured fine liners for a cute pen holder.......or you could fill a shadow box with different patterned one for a very cute wall display!  

These small milk bottles can be picked up cheaply from 2 dollar shops, or you could keep your eyes open for interesting shaped bottle and recycle bottles that are finished in the kitchen, I think a little collection of different shaped and sized bottles with there cute colourful cover would be a lovely present! Cute and thrifty, gotta love that!

.....I just had to pick a few ranunculus from the garden and colour match them to their vase....

.....and a couple more gratuitous flower shots, just because I can't get enough of their gorgeous colours.........

So, are you making any presents this year?  

I am going to make a few decorations too.

Have you been following the Handmade Christmas posts over at One Crafty Mumma?  Mel is one organised girl!  She has lots of ideas and links for handmade things this year, I am getting on board a little late, but there is still lots of time to get making!

During the week I will have a look around the internet and see what Christmas decorations I can find and share with you all next week.

Have you got any handmade ideas for Christmas this year, any secret crafty plans?

Have a great day!