Tip of the Week: Health: Avoiding candida with antibiotics

WARNNG: don't use lavender oil during menstruation as it increases the flow and lengthens the period. The usual warnings apply for pregnancy also.

My first of many tips:
When on antibiotics, keep lavender oil in your bathroom cabinet. I know you can get products to take with antibiotics to avoid thrush but they can be expensive. Use lavender oil with a carrier on the inner thigh and buttocks each time you take a tablet and you will not get thrush!

I am SOOOOOOOOO over this jumper and disappointed with it - it has gone from being one I couldn't WAIT to make, to being the bain of my life! The rib is boring as bat**** and once I started the front, the 2 little stitches of reverse stocking stitch did my head in, such that I gave the whole 14 stitch pattern away and just did the rib all the way up. I also didn't like the big ribbed panel in between the seed stitch panels which stretched across the bust - looked odd. I got fed up with having to chop and change the stitches every 10 rows AND most of that panel got lost in the cord anyway!!!

Think I stitched up the neck a bit too high - was worried it would be too low for classroom but could be an inch lower at least really.

Began on 3.25mm as could NOT find any 3.5mm needles in my stash or in shops. Did both sleeves and back but the back piece was too short after stretching it out so restarted on 3.75mm. Made M size on these needles as I didn't want it clinging and showing all my rolly bits ahahha. Added 3 inches length to back but then too long so had to pull out 1/3 of the back (was up to shoulder shaping.....sigh!) Only added 2inches all up. I knew if I didn't undo it, I wouldn't wear it. Friday 2nd Aug; unpicked it......that hurt...literally. Nearly up to neck shaping. Fingers, wrists, thumbs, elbows, shoulders hurt.....so does my butt from sitting on it so long, knitting lol. 3/3 rib is very tedious on this size needle.

GRRRRRRRRRRRR. OH, for the glory days of knitting when close enough was good enough.
This yarn has an EXQUISITE sheen and stretch to it.                  

Sleeves:
Didn't have my reading glasses when I started so began making increases along ends of rows rather than two stitches into row, as recommended in pattern. Worked out still. Decided to make decrease of knit 4 together when decreasing at the armhole as didn't get the required stitches to decrease otherwise- too few stitches decreased. Pattern says 3 but won't work.

Finding the pattern a little tedious - small needles, same ribbed pattern on back and sleeves, slow progress, sore arms!

Sat Aug 10th: Began front. Did 6 rows and already fed up with the two stupid reverse stocking stitches! Have had to keep redoing them the following row SO decided to give the 14 stitch change a miss also. Much of this pattern obscured by cord anyway so couldn't see point plus cabling on different row as well - just want this sucker finished.

V Neck Edge
UGH! What stupid instructions!!!!! Decrease for the neck at the sleeve edge? Yep, made sense. Well, I haven't done a V neck in about 10yrs so I was rusty BUT the wording of this really didn't make sense to me. When you divide for the v in the centre, you'll do the left side first. On the RIGHT, you'll pick up the stitches from the holder but make your extra stitch straight away. I did mine at the end of the back row which made the seed stitch border look higher on one side of the v than the other. I'm going to crochet slip stitch the centre a little anyway so won't matter too much - don't like the gap left there with the division and no seed stitch.

I ended up omitting the p2tog as it looked REALLY ugly so opted for a sl 1, k1, psso one stitch in from the edge. Prob should've made it two but I had reached my limit from unpicking it 4 times! grrrrrrrr. Unfortunately, I had too many stitches because after the initial multiple decreases for the armhole, I didn't know whether to keep decreasing that way or stop? Again, the wording....sigh. I just had to keep decreasing until there were only 33 st left for the shoulder decrease. Got to the 18cm length limit with two stitches over...35 SO first two decreases after that for the shoulder, I dec 5 each row then reverted to 4 as stipulated.

Omitted adding extra stitch for 9cm neck edging as going to slip stitch with crochet needle to join.

What hallucinogenic was I on when I did the first side? I CANNOT get the other side the same.....groan. Unpicked it 5 times......sob.

Well, unpicked a total of 9 times. Front and back are joined but the decreases didn't meet perfectly. Not impressed. Also, the 9cm band for the back of the neck was a right royal pain. It was too long and even after shortening it by an inch, is still not sitting right because the outside stitch is too wide and the band buckles. If I hadn't invested so much time in this, I would've unpicked the whole damned thing. Now time to re-knit the sleeves then depending on the amount of yarn left, I may need to stitch a small collar to cover the loose seed stitch border on the neck back. And the hits just keep on coming! THEN have to do the icord!!!!!!!!!!! Completely unimpressed to find the rib patterns front and back don't match; 2/2 rib and 3/3. HOW did I miss that when reading the pattern?

Sleeve is 2inches short of armhole and I am NOT happy. I've meticulously recorded each row for front and back and they match. Likewise, I've recorded every row and every decrease and the sleeve does not reach the shoulder! Going to have to unpick this.....will this pain and suffering never end? The decrease instructions for the sleeve are ridiculous! Ended up decreasing 9 times 1 stitch at each end every four rows instead of two. Fits!
Sleeves are a bit long now but doesn't matter...I just just roll them up a little. Also, my hands were so sore after making 3m of icord so I only did the front panel. I think it needed to be two cable panels above the first to give it more of a diagonal look rather than one panel as you go across - looks a bit too straight. Nevertheless, the jumper from HELL is done! NEXT PROJECT???

Hi

I've just gone to check out the yarn for my next project and realised it's 8ply grrrrrrr. WAS SURE I bought 10ply but have just been on the website to check it and .......it's 8! The bonus is that there's 400m on each ball so I've got 1200m/1312yds so if I make the small size which was for 39" bust, I MAY be able to get away with making it on 4.5mm needle instead of 4mm which will make it a comfy fit. If I HAVE to use the 4mm, at least it will be a snug fit. Maybe I'll start with the sleeve first? This is the jumper with the cowl.....rather like the cowl so will see how much yarn I have left. According to the measurements, it will be 4inches too long for me SO there's another saving on the yarn. Reckon 4" front and back should save me a couple of hundred yards which will go into lengthening the sleeves: I'm not a short sleeved person when it comes to jumpers. The yarn I bought for this project is from Bendigo Wool Mills is called Tasman Blue and is incredibly soft....that's pictured below.

I'm not fussed with the collar on this as it's a small, round neck, which I don't wear well. Am going to have to make it lower and wider. Rather like the cowl too but will have to see how I go with the sleeves to know whether I'll have enough yarn for the actual jumper.

I'm hoping to finish the Bergere orange V-neck sweater this week. I made the sleeves first on 3.25mm needles as I had no 3.5mms (stipulated by the pattern) and 3 shops I visited, had none in stock. Can't believe that for all the sets of needles I DID have, the one size I needed, I couldn't get! Once I did the back though, it became clear that the length was lost in the stretch of the garment as it rode up. I started it again on 3.75mms....still no 3.5mm in the shops! Once upon a time, near enough would've been good enough but I knew that if I didn't fix this, I'd never wear it!!!

I'm about 2/5 through the front now, having already re-stitched the back and I'm hoping to get away with using the 3.25mm knitted sleeves so I don't have to re-knit them on 3.75mm I've made the body on. This sucker has killed me....tiny needles and boring rib back and both sleeves grrrrrr. Can't wait to get it finished so I can get on to my new blue cable knit!

Cheap Yarn For Aussies

Well, when I die I'm sure that I will flash back to many memorable moments yet I wonder how many of those moments will be emblazoned with images of YARN!? lol. I have spent SO many hours, days even, on the computer, trolling websites for cheap yarn, sometimes, to no avail. In order to perhaps provide assistance to fellow Aussies who do the same and perhaps know more than me, or less, I've decided to make a list of the websites/companies I purchase yarn from overseas. If ANYONE finds this useful, then I've earnt one brownie point from the bloke upstairs. If others see fit to contribute to it, all the better ; together, we will work to make the world a better place for Aussie knitters hahaha. I will add to this list over time and invite you to do the same :-) Happy knitting, OH, and crocheting!

*Please post ONLY companies who ship to Australia*

 www.yarn-paradise.com (by weight eg 1660g = $24.90. Several options avail varying price, according to speed of delivery required. I always receive my goods within 5-7 working days)
www.abundant-yarn.com
www.herrschners.com (aka yarnsale.com)
www.marymaxim.com
www.royalyarns.com (International Shipments: $14.99 FLAT RATE and sent via USPS International First Class or International Priorty Mail. If postage is dramatically higher than $15.00, we ALWAYS seek your approval for the additional shipping charges) 
 www. supermart.com

I have visited you, Blog, over the last 14months, but with little activity or interest due to work constraints. I am back in the hope of new and exciting things. Something has happened to change my world and I am hoping it will begin right here.

Tomorrow, I will join my family at a my uncle's graveside. Sadly,  he finally succumbed to liver cancer. I thank God that his suffering, and the pain endured by his wife and surviving son, are now over. We will miss him terribly but are comforted in the belief of the hereafter. He is reunited now with his parents, and beloved son, taken from us too early at the tender age of 16. God speed uncle Bob. x Here's a little something for you, written by me.

Loss

 

Though angels lie in silent wait

Another soul to the Lord to take,

Mourn their loss and grant them wings

For now they are cradled in the arms of our King.

Free from earthly bonds of pain

We toll the loss like silent rain

Earth angels alight, reach out a hand

To comfort and quell the grief of man.

Know that you are truly blessed

That the Lord will grant you peaceful rest

Sweetest dreams will come your way

We will all be together again…......

some day.

Wheel Of Fortune for 2012 and Sewing Projects 2222 and 6799

SO, worked on my new wheel for this year in the last days of 2012 with a friend. We cut pictures of everything we wanted to manifest in the new year from magazines and voila!....within 2 days, two had already manifested!!! BRAVA!

Hubby chatted to a mate who's a Cabinetmaker about what he could do to re-vamp our kitchen doors and Rob immediately offered to let Pete use his workshop to do the job! SO EXCITED!!! I will finally get a quality but inexpensive makeover for our kitchen. It's presently left me with open cupboards but I don't care as I know it's a project started at least. The second 'eureka' moment was scoring a pattern at the fabric shop for a shorts style jumpsuit. I had a picture of Jennifer Hawkins in one on my wheel. Can't wait to whip that one up now!  Looks pretty simple but I have to get another project done first...





 A couple of years ago I bought some stretch cotton for this Vogue dress. Once I read the reviews on Deepika Pattern Review though, I had second thoughts. Comments gave the indication that there was 'bagging' around the waist gathers and one lady had decided to stitch the gathers flat. As I am short waisted AND have a little pot belly, I opted out of making that one. Bugger. I really now want to get stuck into using the fabric that I have already bought and stashed. Now that the fabric shop down the road has closed, its counterpart in Balcatta is far more expensive and I can't seem to jag any fabrics I like for $7-$15 per m any more. Disappointing. I don't want the hassle and expense of silk chiffon OR silk satins but there's little available other than these in prints. Also, the bengay stretch I used to get at Greenwood is not stocked at Balcatta....rats! All in all, my choice of fabrics is now limited. I rarely find any  fabrics I like at Textile Traders so I shall have to check out the much lauded fabric shop in Vic Park....though I'll have to pack a picnic lunch to get there lol.

ANYWAY, back to the pattern..........I've opted to make a few outfits in preparation for my return to work in a few weeks after a near 3yr hiatus. My body is not the same shape as it was and I absolutely refuse to pay $150 for a lined dress I could whip up in a few hours for a quarter of the price. Same with some GORGEOUS chiffon tops I saw in Forever New......again $150 as the neckline is sequinned.  I CAN DO THAT!!! Again, I have STASH of 3 chiffon fabrics!!! So, here's what I'm getting started with... I'm using my stash of mocca stretch cotton on New Look 6799, the fitted dress bottom right. I've bought white topstitching cotton to give the dress a nice trim. Think it'll look FLASH!

After this one, I'm keen to make one of those obscenely expensive chiffon tops using Simplicity 4659. I'll shorten it a couple of inches, again due to me being shortwaisted, otherwise I look cut off at the legs lol. Debating whether to make a cami top to wear underneath or line it ...just hate that look where the chiffon dulls when the lining finishes and you can see the colour of trousers or a skirt at the bottom of the shirt.....but that project and its details will have to wait lol. ONE AT A TIME!

Report Time

Well, the end of the school year in Australia brings report time!
Both my boys have achieved some great results this year thanks to some hard work at home, some consistent effort on their part, and some bloody good teachers. There has been some significant achievement in areas where grades have gone from C or D to As, and we are SO proud of both our boys.

Wish the report card for my birthday was as good. Afraid it was one of the worst days of my life, filled with stress and tears brought about by people and factors outside our control. THANKS BE TO GOD, that influence is now behind us and we can move on, but seriously, as friends and family have already acknowledged,  we HAVE  already had more than our fair share of pain and stress in the past. BLAahh. Anyway, we look forward to a quiet Christmas with loved ones, friends AND family, who've yet again proven, that we are loved and valued by them all. So blessed we are to have such an awesome group of people around us. I've always borne witness to the phrase "It could be worse," but in the last week, each day seemed to have found a new low. Still, we have come out the other end of a difficult situation so we move on! AND, yes, there is always someone else out there who has it worse than us, this I know.

SO, we head into Xmas with very few gifts organised for our kids. What do they NEED? Little. What would they like...a few things, but what to choose for them? Ugh. Too hard a question lol. Might make myself a cuppa and go finish Bec's capecho. At least then one more garment can go on the 'Finished' section of the Craft Report Card for 2011 ahahhaa.
K

Remembering Pop Ben

Well, it may be Thanksgiving in America tomorrow, but it WOULD have been my grandfather's birthday. Benjamin Cecil Barbour Hodder was born Nov 25th 1905 in Perth, WA. He and his sister were the only two to survive of four, born to his parents. Alas, his father William, had previously lost his first wife and their son, and after moving state and re-marrying, he and his wife Zoe, lost their first two children at 7 weeks and 5months of age. Losing his parents early, Ben spent his formative years at an Anglican care facility. He never spoke of his childhood and it wasn't until YEARS after his death that my genealogy research revealed the sad truth of his life before we knew him as 'Pop'.

He's pictured above with my grandmother. Their life was full of turmoil. It wasn't until years after they both passed away that the truth of their relationship came to light. Victims of circumstance and an era in time, I don't ever remember them sharing a happy moment together. I do love this shot though....it's a real 'Bonnie and Clyde' style shot taken mid 1940s. Pop served in the Australian Army at home and nan worked in a munitions factory. Due to deafness in one ear, pop was turned down for active service.

And here's a photo of me as a child in the kitchen of my grandparent's home. Both sets of my grandparents were like surrogate parents to my sister, brother and I. We went to school up the road from dad's parents and would usually eat our meals with them, even coming 'home' for lunch from school. It was literally only 8 houses up the road. Both my parents worked full time, so much of my life was spent around my grandparents. I loved them to bits.

 When I think of Ben, I remember his room in the sleepout, the trips of Mundaring Weir he would take my sister and I on, the jelly tot lollies and his glorious gardens, front and back. With great gardeners in my gene pool on both sides of the family, I don't quite know how I missed the green thumb...guess you can't be good at everything though. He had more sheds out the back than we could poke a stick at lol, and we would always be plaing in one of them. Sadly, he left us aged 82 after suffering terribly with angina for many years, in 1986. Miss him terribly still. Love you always Poppy. mwa xxx

Diagonal Cables Cardigan

Well, here we go....another horrid pattern lol. Seems like everything I turn my hand to with needles lately ends up vexed. This is a Patons pattern and it's gorgeous, but SO verbose with the instructions.



The cabling section is listed in rows 1-26, then the stocking stitch instructions, then the beginning of the actual pattern to get it started. Unfortunately,  once the cabling pattern is started, the increasing instructions become confusing and you lose track of the increases through the cabling. Also doesn't help that the cabling and increase instructions are on different pages! Suffice to say I've unpicked it 9 times so far! GRRRRRRR. There has GOT to be a better way to write this pattern as it's so verbose. I ended up writing it up as a table for ease of use. I've yet to work out how to save it as a PDF so if you'd like a copy, email me and I can forward the text document to you.

So, this is a Xmas gift.....we'll see how we go as I now have the beige capecho to finish and the sleeves to re-stitch on Em's cream capecho...I know...why do I do it? It wasn't intentional, but with my back and shoulder giving me grief inconsistently for a month, it's been hard to sit and knit. The right front is done, so while the pattern's fresh in my mind, I'll get the left front done, then knock up the back. That'll be pretty easy as it's straight stocking stitch. I'm aiming to have these pieces done within the next week! The sleeves are HEAVY cabling, but I think I might shortcut these and just do the cable section up the middle front of the sleeve. It's a very dark purple so that will feature the pattern, which may get lost in the darker colour anyway...well, I've convinced myself that's for the best hahaha.


Here's the actual cabling section. The increases are made BETWEEN the stocking stitch and cabling sections. I've used Red Heart Super Saver Solids on this which cost me about $20 AUD. It was purchased about 6 months ago from supermart.com.
 Although the patter says to use 4.5mm and 4mm needles, I found the tension too taut so upped them to 5.5mm and 5mm. They're perfect. This is an XL which I'm making for a friend for Xmas. She is not a very large girl, but I've allowed for her 'ample bosom', wide shoulders and she likes to wear skivvies underneath her jackets. The large looked a little on the small side. Let you know how I go for sizing when she puts it on!

Here's the finished front. I have to say that I thought I'd done something wrong with the shoulder being so high as it doesn't look like that in the pattern picture, but I've looked at anothe of these jackets on ravelry.com and found Britt's looks the same SO.....mine is all good too!

May be my tension but I've also found the cabling a little tighter than the stocking stitch. When I wash and block it, I'll straighten it up.


Onward ho!

Remembrance Day

Today is Remembrance Day, when we commemorate the guns falling silent at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month at the Western front, after four years of fighting. The two minutes silence, now one, was suggested by Australian journalist, Edward Honey, who was working in Fleet St at the time, and was supported in England and Africa as an appropriate and fitting tribute to the fallen soldiers. King George V asked everyone in the British Empire to observe a two minute silence in memory of those who served, in recognition of their fight for freedom and victory.

My beloved great grandmother, Alexandrina, lost her first husband at the Ypres in 1917, and like so many war wives, had to bring up her 8 children alone. She is pictured here 3rd from the left, with one of her daughters, first left.

Alexandrina, or Alice as she was called,  went on to marry a wonderful man, Alfred Ernest Cardinal, and together they had another 3 children, one of whom was my maternal grandmother. As a keen Genealogist, I am often reminded what a remarkable man Alfred must have been, not only to take on 8 children, but to be a father to them, and three more. My grandmother never wanted for food in the great depression as they lived on an orchard in Armadale...she was indeed, quite lucky. Any reserves of food such as fruit, vegetables and eggs they had were bartered for meat, such was the system of trade in those days!

Even in her dotage I remember visiting my great grandmother's home, where we would hunt for eggs in the garden and I once told my nan that Nanna Cardinal would be cross because someone had taken the eggs out of the carton and put them in the garden! lol. We would pick mini potatoes and she'd boil them up on her cast iron wood stove,  eating them with lashings of butter. She was such an extraordinary woman...even had to kill the chooks for one of her sons who just couldn't bring himself to do it lol!!! She also won the best garden in Gosnells 10yrs running. I remember her with great fondness.

So today, not only do I give thanks and prayers to Frederick Metcalf and all those he served with, but the women who kept the country running while the men went off to fight for King and country...the grand adventure, so they thought. May time never weary them and may they always find grace in the Lord's embrace. Karen Cosson  (C)

Sadly, the only picture I had of Frederick has been lost.  Lest we forget.

Adriana's Scarf

Not overly happy with the end product in cotton...note to self: use acrylic or wool next time. This is the 4th Irish Lace Scarf I've made and they're certainly getting quicker to whip up. This one is for Kyle's teacher, Adriana, for her end of year gift. A quick couple of days work and not even $10. Jolly good I say! OH, and by the way, remember the pattern is free at  ravelry.com

Minimum's Birthday

Well, it was Miriam's birthday, my husband's stepmother, on the 7th and after a stressful year, thought she deserved a special cake...I DO need to keep up my cake decorating skills after all! Anyway,  as my father in law, Bill, was getting her an IPad, I thought it would be appropriate to make an IPad cake, so I searched the internet for ideas. The icons took shape quite quickly and I chose some that were of 'sentimental value' lol. They're accountants, hence the +/-/= etc signs and she loves her cooking and music, hence the others. The uggboot.....lol, is DEFINITELY another story! hahaha. Well, after finishing up at Kyle's cricket, I trotted off to finish the cake. Crikey, it took me almost an hour JUST to dye the icing black and I used an almost full bottle of black dye ON IT! Apparently, there were dark green 'exhibits' for days afterwards! (sorry, but quite funny as I didn't eat the icing, though everyone else DID!)

Miriam was SO excited, apparently only the second cake EVER made for her in her life. Sad, I thought. She's a little estranged from her daughter who married into money and her son lives in another state so I think she was quite touched that I went to all that effort when her own kids hadn't. She carefully took the icons off for safekeeping before she cut it and we tucked in.

And 'Minimum' you ask??? lol. When Brayden was little, he just could NOT get his mouth around her name, so began calling her Minimum....it stuck ahhaha. So, happy birthday 2011 to Minimum! And her age????? late 60s, though a lady never tells!  Hope I look that good at her age. We didn't take any photos of us all though....had too good a time drinking and enjoying each other's company. I shall try to get an updated one soon.

Hannah's Quilt

Phew...better late than never! Finally finished Hannah's Alphabet Quilt last week. I'm quite happy with it except for one thing...and no, you don't need to start going through the alphabet lol. It's the colour of the blocks on the lower left...they're the same. Luckily, it works because the whale has water moving from one block into another and distracts the eye, and any 'religious' quilter, and I mean that literally and with no disrespect, will tell you that there must always be a mistake in any quilt so as to be less than perfect...only God is perfection! SO, there's my deference to the Lord above...my error lol.

I only used scraps, which are still overflowing from the container I might add. OH, and I snipped the binding AT THE FRONT....got that HOT flush of adrenalin when I did it! NOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooo! Well, being the Queen of lean and having learnt the 'waste not, want not' adage from my depression raised grandparents, I decided to put tabs on it to cover the snip and make it a wall hanging. Unfortunately, cot quilts have a limited life with children so this one will live longer as a wall hanging AND be a 'poorly rug' for her beautiful Hannah to cuddle . Her big brother Jude has one I made for him as a baby too.
 Hannah's Quilt :

 

Jude's Quilt

Both these beautiful patterns are from Hot Possum. You can buy the patterns from their online store.

Ladybird Totem

It never ceases to amaze me how much life can change in a short period of time. I was distraught, to say the least, about something over the weekend and sought solace through spiritual prayer and my cards. Nothing overt came to me and I have to admit, I rarely read for myself as I am not always objective, but then I headed off to visit a lady my daughter saw a few weeks ago. What she told me was truly amazing...about my past, verifying my future.

While I waited in the parking area of the building for her to come get me, a rather large ladybird flew to my left forearm and proceeded to have a wander. I was stunned by how long it stayed on my arm...a couple of minutes...unusual I thought, for a ladybird. Well, I made some wishes, including those for world peace and an end to poverty (and with no intention of flippancy I can assure you!) and when it appeared the old girl was still not going to head off on her own, I moved her onto my right arm and raising it, ousted her into the breeze. I watched her fly for a few seconds, then she seemed to just vanish. Thinking nothing of it, I then went upstairs with my new friend, Rohini, and to my astonishment, as I sat with her to begin the reading, the first thing I focused on in the room on her carpet was....YOU GUESSED IT! A ladybird! It was sitting there.

Well, I thought it odd at the time but said nothing and off we went into the depths of spiritualism, palmistry and the cards. Indeed, some enlightening and powerful things were imparted to me in the hour I was with my new friend. I came away feeling much happier about the horrible situation I felt we were facing. Day 2 however...and this is where things get creepy...NICE CREEPY...I'm talking with a friend on the phone....looking out my french doors, I'm telling her about the ladybirds when I notice, and remark with a laugh, that I'm now looking at a ladybird crawling across the top of my fence, ADDING, with complete irony, that it's now raining outside, and not lightly. We're both having a laugh when I notice ANOTHER ladybird, and another and another....until I realised they were literally bringing the leaf litter on the deck outside my bedroom doors, to life! I then imparted the tale of the little jumping spider, or money spider, which has been sitting next to my toilet roll holder in the bathroom in almost the same spot for 24hrs! Now, normally, these things are just an annoyance to me, and I would've flushed him lol, but in light of the ladybirds, I thought better of it today. Now I've google searched the signifcance of ladybirds, I am CERTAIN that this is the answer to my prayer. The message to me was clear, but let this be a message to you also, you who may come to read this passage, that miracles and the answers to our prayers are all around us......we just don't often recognise the small, DIMINUTIVE  nature of them sometimes. Look for the messages and miracles around you every day....!

 The Ladybird is now my personal totem.....what's yours?

Thankyou God and the lady divine!

Blogger Bogged

WHY do Blogger keep changing the goal posts??? I've been trying to get into my blog for almost a week now and ended up, in frustration, trying to set up a new one and import the old. It SAID the previous blog had been imported but there was certainly no evidence of it! The reason for the new blog??? I couldn't get the 'new post' button to come up where it used to be. I've just now signed in in the hope of them maybe having identified a problem and fixed it, but was basically going to delete them both!!! Instead, I find it's on the dashboard and no longer showing atop right on my page when I go to sign in. I DO NOT understand why it says 'create a blog' when I'VE ALREADY SIGNED IN TO MY OLD ONE! Maybe I'm missing something??? To my utter disbelief now, after spending hours searching the net for help and being refused entry to blogger and google help forums, I've just logged in again and BINGO! I'm in. Unbelievable. So incredibly frustrating, yet there was STILL no 'new post' icon on my main page or 'design' for that matter, until I previewed THIS POST, only 'create new blog' and sign in. The only way to make a new post is to go into my dashboard, which I've never had to do. The 'new post' button/icon has not shown up for a whole week even on the dashboard page!? Confusion, annoyance, aggravation....yet, within 1min....solved. Don't get it!!!?

Anyway, that problem sorted, here I am again talking to myself.....cathartic. Been an amazingly crappy and depressing few days. Just when you think things can't get any worse...they DO! lol, but what can you do? I saw a picture on Facebook of a man wearing flattened plastic bottles as shoes tied on to his feet with string. Well, life's not quite that bad but I fear it's not the best it's been either.

Knits: Purple Capecho

Well, mumsy's capecho is 95% done. Here it is in its almost finished glory lol. I had to wait for her to try it on as I've amended the sleeve...as you would already know!??? It's a bit firm around the lower part of the jacket SO I'm going to knit two corners for the lower front to square off the front of the jacket AND a triangle for   

the centre back to add width for her bust.

This is the centre back, where I'll put the extra panel to add width. I will try two pattern repeats to see how it sits....it may only need one triangle, not two.









 The pentagons across the bottom here are the from the left side of the jacket. The armhole has been formed by the second pentagon's top right hand side and the two shoulder pentagons.The two pointed peaks at the top of the armhole are the pentagons either side of the shoulder seam.

I've tried this on mum, so know it fits well. I deferred to my sewing expertise on this one, as it's been a bugger of a jacket. Gorgeous, but painful! The mistake I made, which I will remember for #3 (yes Virginia, there is a number 3! ...much to my horror) is to NOT stitch the lower panels together before doing the rib around the armhole. Mum didn't want a sleeve, preferring a ribbed band.....all very well and good EXCEPT knitting it on circulars IN a circle was nasty! I haven't got the nerve to unstitch the pentagons...cut patterns will not make me happy AT ALL!

The only other thing to do on this jacket then, will be to stitch a smaller version of the neckband to lengthen the jacket a little. We'll see how it goes!

Ex Student Catch Ups - Lauralee

I was lucky enough to have lunch with an ex student and her husband a couple of weeks ago. I taught her in my Yr 6 class 17years ago! She has been living overseas in France, England and now, Tortola. Her husband is a lawyer and the corporation he worked for, transferred him overseas. They are lucky indeed, to have been able to travel so extensively, and their tales are truly fascinating. I still see the little 11year old girl's eyes twinkling when I talk to her. Such a funny thing...she was one of three girls in that class who had a 'sleepover' for two nights at our home. It was Christmas Eve when the girls went home and I could hear two of them asking if they could stay another night. lol. We lost touch for a few years when a call came for me at the school I was working in. Lauralee had had a dream and remembered the name of the school I'd moved to! We met up again and have been in touch for years since. Thanks to fabulous Facebook, I get to keep in touch with 'Lolly' as I've always called her, and many other dear ex students. Here we are at lunch. LOVED that leather jacket she was wearing...France or Venice...can't remember which....witch! lol

Capecho

I bought  this pattern some time ago, and started making it for Bec's August 10th birthday in Bernat Big Ball Cream, but it was soon looking MASSIVE.


I was making the medium, but after completing 4 pentagons, realised it was way too big. A quick search on ravelry.com showed me I wasn't alone with size issues. Bec is a size 12 Australian and this fits a much larger 18-20. I have since decided to give this one to another girlfriend, Emma, and make another for Bec. Still having some issues with setting in the sleeves, unfortunately, but a message to 'foxtales' on ravelry.com...my lifeline, that site...has revealed that I am ALSO not the only one to have had issues with the SLEEVES! One lady, Inna, put it quite succinctly I think, that the designer must have been drunk when she wrote the pattern and that the picture taken by Vogue here is NOT quite accurate. I made the mistake of showing the cream jacket to my mum, who loved it so much, she decided to claim one for herself, for Xmas.....hence the purple capecho!

Emma's Capecho

I have finished the cream capecho of Emma's but not set in the sleeves yet. They've been pinned and unpinned a dozen times! Everything else on the jacket is done. Now that I'm 90% finished with mum's purple jacket, I'm having the same problem...thought maybe it was just me misunderstanding the pattern and that by starting afresh with the second, I could iron out the initial issues, but that's not happening. The panels are pentagons, made up of 5 triangles with a central cable, but the edges around the sleeve are FOUR sides, not 5, so they don't fit. I am going to try this:
cast on enough stitches for 4 triangles and set
THAT into the body of the jacket. Let you know how it goes!

Mum's Capecho

Scarves are YUMMO! What's next???

Well, it only took two weeks to whip these up. They're deceptively heavy but look gorgeous. The pattern is free as I said, and very open to creative license so get stitching! This one is for Bec, whose birthday is coming up in August. The red one below is for Emma, whose birthday is in November...did it early while the pattern was fresh in my head.

I used some scraps on this one, hence the multi-coloured rosettes. Didn't do the ball centres though as they obscured too much of the inside coloured yarn and I didn't have enough of that yarn to make the centres.

Pretty happy with it though. I sent Bec a picture of the scarf with a red and black leaf, and she chose black leaves, so I also opted for not doing the picot edging...was just too much for the scarf.

I have enough yarn to do a red one for myself too! Takes about 600yards of yarn. I've used Red Heart Classic, which is about a 10ply in Australia, or a Medium 4 in US. I bought it from supermart.com and each scarf has cost me approx $10. 




Needless to say that Emsky is not too happy having to wait until November 30th for her gift BUT, she'll have to. Judging by last year's weather then, she might still get some wear out of it in the evenings here.

Problem now is, what is next on the agenda? I'm thinking I should do the scarf for ME next, while the pattern is fresh in my head, but I have a few other projects 'hibernating' so could do one of those? Don't need any of them until Xmas though...

Knit One, Crochet ...none! lol

Wretched crochet patterns! They just don't seem to have the same written rules and 'conventions' as knitting. You do a double crochet and leave 3 stitches, do a treble and leave four...bla bla lol. I'm trying to read the pattern for the Irish Lace Scarf from Ravlery's free pattern base, to make it for a friend's birthday in August, but it doesn't look right. I've checked the pictures of garments already made by people on the Ravelry database and they do actually look like mine though the pattern picture itself looks more linear, while mine and others' seem more 'rounded'. Still, perhaps I just need to work a few more rows to see how it looks 'en masse' rather than just 5 or 6 rows.

I just adore the antique style of this garment. It's been on my favourites list for a while but I've only used one crochet pattern before and that took a little fiddling to get my head around. Although I can actually DO the crochet stitches, I am not so crash hot at interpreting the pattern write ups.

Have decided to use some stash wool and am going to make Rebecca's scarf in light blue Katia Baltika. Around the roses, I'll put some lace in a cream cotton, just to add to the antique look of the piece. Can't wait to see it finished but that means I'll have to get it started lol!!!

My girlfriend Emma has requested a cherry red one for Xmas so THAT will be a great look in this pattern too. If you love it as much as I do, check out ravelry.com for the FREE pattern!