Worth the wait?????

Hi again to everyone, and apologies for being so slack.  I don't have work to share just at the moment, and time is short.  Thank you to all who have expressed concern for my absence.  I am trying.  I wanted to quickly share this gorgeous flower with everyone.  Quite some years ago, probably around four, I was given a small piece from a succulent by a long time friend, Joan.  Her husband couldn't stop bagging the plant, but she insisted it 'had a very pretty flower'.  Well, after four years watching this scraggy piece of 'cactus', my reward was this bloom.  And, yes, Joan was quite right.  The bloom was gorgeous, and huge.  There was only one on the entire plant, but so worth the wait.

I took a photograph from the back too.  I'm not sure why, but I just thought it might look nice.  When you look into the photograph, you can see lots of smoke haze in the background, the result of so many every present fires in and around our area at the moment.  Sadly, there are many more areas which are being threatened.  I believe a number of them have been started by lightning strikes.

Both of the above photographs are shared as taken, but the one below has been cropped and slightly enhanced in PhotoShop.  I really can't stop looking at it, and have decided to get a print made to send to Joan for Christmas.  I don't see her very much, as we don't go visiting, and neither does she.  Anyway, for all of you, please enjoy, and thanks again for your friendship.

One gorgeous bloom

 

Family News

I am sorry I have not been blogging for some time.  Thank you so much to those who have kept in touch.  Things in my life have changed somewhat, and at this point I find it very difficult to continue blogging.  There seems to be a never ending list of jobs to be done, and I haven't found how to stretch my time out to meet those needs.

I must share some family news.  Our family increased by one little female a few weeks ago.  We have a new grand daughter, and hopefully her life will be full of love, health and happiness.

Thank you once again to all the wonderful ladies who I now call friends, ladies from near and far.  My life is the richer for knowing so many wonderful people.

Classic Navy

I can't help it...........I'm still knitting, and thought I'd share one of the recently completed shawls I've been doing.  This lovely lace shawl is made using a pattern I purchased via Ravelry.  Hope you can see it here.  I love all the designs by this lady, Bev or Boo Knits.

I hope this photograph will show the lace design detail.   The pattern offers several size choices, by simply adding more 'solid' or more 'lace', such a great idea.  I've just finished working on another one in a different colour, and with beads.

I purchased this wool last year from this store:-  http://www.pickupstitches.com.au/ when there was a little sale happening.  It is Heirloom Baby Pure Wool in 4 ply, and lovely to knit.  I used 6 x 25 gram balls, plus a bit on the 7th.  The picot cast off takes a surprising amount of yarn!!!

Despite being a knitter for many years, I've come to realize there is so very much I do not know.  This pattern introduced me to a few different things, and of course, the chat on Ravelry, with links to tutorials, etc., is so enlightening.  I have to admit to not paying much attention to blocking in the past, but I now have a new found respect for same!!  This is how the shawl looked just after it had been soaked in warm water, wrapped in a towel, stood on, then stretched and pinned within an inch of it's life!!!  I'm sorry, but there is no other way I can describe 'blocking'..................LOL

And just another photograph - a close-up.  Of course, I didn't get very adventurous with colour.  I can't resist good old classic navy.



If you are looking for something like this, I can really recommend any of the patterns in the Boo Knits range.  They are all delicate, yet the instructions are extremely easy to understand - both written and charted.

Now I'm off to 'block' the second version of this pattern.

Niebling Knitting

I have been knitting.  I know, I've told you, but now I'm going to share this lace table mat with you.  I finally found out that this design has a name, although it wasn't stated in the ANNA magazine that features the pattern.  My very learned sources on Ravelry gave me the good oil, and this design is called Quadratische Decke, by none other than the famous Herbert Niebling.  I've even found that he had a wife whose name was Linda.  And, after a bit more Ravelry chit chat, it seems Linda was also a designer of knitting and crochet.  

For those of you who are interested, this table mat was done using #60 Coats Mercer cotton in Ecru, and was knitted using 1.5mm needles.  It began life with only eight stitches, but by the time I got to the leaf/petal part on the outer border, each row had in excess of 1100 stitches, with the patterning rows taking almost four hours to complete.  Even knitting the intermediate or plain knit rows took ages!!

This close up shot will show you the leaf/petal design in the corners.  It feels so lovely to pick up, so light and airy.  I only used about 50 grams of thread.



I'll finish with another photograph of the whole mat, showing the tape measure so you can see it's size.  For some reason this shot has a slightly more yellow tinge to it, perhaps a reflection from the tape, who knows.  I am up for some more Niebling knitting, but will do a few ladies' shawls to give my eyes a rest from the fine thread.  

Enjoy!!

Meet The Monster

Hello again, and my apologies for being absent.  I have been really busy with other things, and seem to have totally lost my mojo this month.  I am back to watering the garden for my neighbour, and will be doing that for about three months.  I have been knitting, and will have some to share soon, but at the moment, I'm contemplating how I'm going to come to grips with the above piece of machinery!!  This is my husband's idea of the ride-on mower I hinted about.  I would have been satisfied with something much smaller, but this is what I have to learn to use.  I have to tell you I am not comfortable with machinery most of the time, and all these levers, etc, are making me a little apprehensive.  I am watering the lawn, it is growing slowly and greening up, so I won't be able to put off the 'lesson' for too much longer................LOL.........wish me luck.

And, just so it's a little more comfy, I made a custom fit seat cover for it on the weekend.  I used a remnant of camel coloured polar fleece that has been in my cupboard for a number of years.  It's lovely and soft to sit on, and should soak up some of the perspiration that will be inevitable at mowing time.

Thank you to all who have been keeping in touch with me.  I am still around, but have not had anything to blog about, apart from partly finished knitting.  I'm typing this and watching two pale headed rosellas at the drinking station.  They are staring down some other smaller birds, and will not yield.  It appears they think the water is for their use only.  One has just backed itself down into the water, whilst holding onto the side of the old dish - it's an old deep fryer from way back...........  It is so funny watching the birds having their bath in it, especially the magpies!!!

I should be back in a few days to share a piece of fine lace knitting. 

Early morning visitors

I want to share some photographs with readers.  We have been having quite a deal of 'noise' each morning, mainly from the cockatoos that have found the crop of chick peas close to our house.  The photograph above shows a small flock that had just swooped in ready for breakfast!!

I did manage a zoom in shot, but not sure how clear it will come up.  We will soon have galahs as well, and I suppose the corellas will find the crop too.  They all seem to love something different to chomp on.  I suppose it will be a free for all when the peas begin to set and mature.......

Our dogs have also been barking quite a bit lately, which often means an echidna has found it's way around their little 'town'.  We actually found two this morning, burrowing into the soil, trying to find a spot for their daily rest.  This one is now hardly visible, having burrowed deeper into the soft soil.

Both were within reach of one of the dogs, but all he could do was bark and look bewildered.  This one was very close to that dog's chain anchor, and in slightly harder soil.  After I took this photograph, we managed to get a shovel under it, and take it away a small distance where the soil is softer.  It can sleep there for today, and perhaps the two of them will waddle off later tonight.

*********

I will just let readers know I shall be absent from blogging for a little while.  One of our sons had a house fire on the weekend, and will be in need of some assistance in the coming weeks.  Everyone is fine, and not all of their stuff is gone.  They were very lucky.  Unfortunately, accommodation is virtually non-existant where they live, so that is creating some drama.  I am sure they will step up and manage the best way they can.  Our children have never really 'needed' us for much, and are confident, competent adults.  Having said that, I feel there will be times in the next few weeks when we will need to be around to prop them up.  

I had just made a start on a new knitted lace tablemat, a Herbert Niebling design, taken from yet another of my ANNA magazines.  This one is being worked in #60 ecru thread, using 1.5mm needles.    I did have a hiccup caused by 'not following the map'...........  Note to self - read and take in what all the symbols mean, and save yourself some 'unknitting'.  Yes, I know I should use some thread lifelines, but perhaps I am just too damned stubborn.  There was no design name given, as has been the case in other issues.   As I've been working away, and if I can't find a pattern name for this, I think I shall call it 'Phoenix', as I've decided it will be a gift for my DIL when she gets her life back in order.  Some of the patterning resembles [to me] flames rising, giving me a distinctly 'phoenix' feeling.  I would be grateful if anyone knows this design's name, as I do not have any HN books, just a collection of some of his patterns in ANNA.   The photograph below will show my progress prior to the 'unknitting'.  I'll probably be at a standstill in a day or so.

Trying to Relax

It seems so long since I've posted.  I managed to get the BAS bookwork done, and as I'm still feeling in a rather creative abyss, I decided to take advice from friends and go back to something I know [well something I partly know].  As you can see, I've been knitting!!  This lovely little table mat has made me feel very happy.  I have been trying to get back to lace knitting for some time, and also extending myself by using graphed instructions.  I've not done this to any great degree, so this is another effort.  The table mat measures twelve inches in diameter, and used just one 20g ball of #20 cotton.  The little 'prop' is a fancy pill holder.  It has a china painted tile in the lid.  It was a gift from myself...........LOL........[read - I saw it, I liked it, and I bought it].

This close up shows a little more of the design.   I found the pattern in one of the many ANNA magazines that I have. There are so many gorgeous lace projects in these magazines, I simply don't know which one to do next.  I will just add here that I started this on Thursday afternoon, and finished it early this morning, despite being away Friday AM, and busy with other things for much of the weekend. 

I did a little swap/barter with one of my patchwork group friends.  She had lots of ecru crochet cottons in varying thicknesses, and couldn't see herself using them.  As I prefer to work with this colour, I offered to relieve her of them.  She in turn decided she would make use of some of the knitting yarns I had in my 'hamper', as she knits a lot for charity stalls.  Perfect solution all round.  I took a quick photograph of the cotton, and hope the flash didn't make it too hard to see.  I have found a lovely Herbert Niebling table centre [quite large] in one of the ANNA magazines, and now that I have the cotton, and feel I've conquered my fear of knitting graphs.............well...............here's hoping.