Followers and Word Verification

Pandy kindly told me that I didn't have a followers button on my new blog.  Thanks for letting me know, Pandy.  It was very much appreciated.  Word verification has been removed, too.

New Beginnings

The Missus and I went our separate ways a few weeks ago.  I have a new life and part of it means a new blog.  I will be deleting this blog sometime over the next week or so.  My new blog is Keep Calm, The Kettle's On!  I hope to see you there!

Peg, if you are reading this, I will email you with all the necessary details re OPAM.

Sunday Morning

Early this morning I photographed a couple of the pink bottlebrush in the back garden.

They were planted to attract insects and birds into the garden as well as be beautiful.

They are all a bit too small for both the nectar and insect eating birds, but in another 18 months time they will be just the right size.

While this was going on Tim waited patiently for his bath and pondered the meaning of life budgie style with a lot of chattering and excitement.

Wanda wondered if it was really necessary to go outside to have a bath at all, as she prefers to wade through one of the drink bowls.

Something..........

I had an orphan hand pieced bobbin block I wanted to do something with.....A hankering to do something with red fabric, a space against a small, odd shaped wall in the ensuite bathroom which was crying out to have something done with it, a wicker basket full of loo rolls which needed something to cover them.  Something also needed to be done about needing a doorstop and I really wanted to have something finished early this month for OPAM.........I'm glad I could think of something to do about it all! 

Love Cats was started in January last year.  I think it is time for a finish!

January OPAM Finish

From having watery cups of tea when I was very young......... 

Tea has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.........

Without tea, I'd feel like there would be something missing in my life.....

I've laughed, cried, celebrated, mourned and everything in between over a cup or mug of tea. 

I added to my tea pot collection today with a small, shiny, black number (cheaper than chips @ $5 from Kmart), which brings it to a grand total of twelve....and a couple of plungers.....but only one tea cosy.

 

So as I cut a piece of dowel for this little wall hanging, I will remind myself that no matter what happens, I need to......Keep calm and put the kettle on!

OPAM 2013

Waaaayyyy back in 2009 and then 2010, I joined OPAM.  I'm looking forward to joining Peg, Kris  and all the other OPAMers this year.  My IPS is slower than a wet week tonight, so I can't get anything much to load, so I am going to have to leave you with a Threadbias link for my January finishes.  Hopefully it will be behaving tomorrow and I can get everything up on my sidebar!!!!!!

No Go Mojo

My crafting mojo went to play out in the sunshine a couple of weeks ago and got lost!!!!  It seems to be playing hide and seek with me at the moment.

It ran back in and stayed a while for a knitted hat.  I like knitting in the summer....having reverse cycle air conditioning helps there. lol  I'm a slow knitter, so yarn sticking to hot hands isn't a problem.  Also, if I knitted during the cold weather, I'd be knitting for the next winter! lol

This hat started as Hot Head by Alex Zorn from the book Stitch 'N Bitch by Debbie Stoller.  I didn't have any 12 ply yarn, so substituted that with 8 ply Colorado by Heirloom and made the appropriate adjustments for the number of stitches.  Next, I decided that I had a hankering for knitting in the round, so changed to circular needles after casting on.  After knitting a couple of inches (following the pattern 2x rib pattern) I thought the yarn would shine if it was in stocking stitch instead of rib.  So I changed that.  When it came to shaping the crown, I used the pattern as a guide, until it came to the last few rows, where I completely ignored it and ended up with a little dimple at the top....I always say that more can be learned from making mistakes than getting it right all the time......It is not a disaster and I can live with it, but will remember for next time to finish it at eight stitches instead of four!

I like the hat and have decided to call it The 8 Ply Hat.  I am really happy with the fit and like how soft the wool is.....I'm so happy with it that I wore it all yesterday afternoon (in the aircon...it was 38 degrees C/100 degrees F) before I washed it!

This is the only decent photo I can get at the moment of a little runner and tea cozy I'm working on.  This spooled ribbon will be used to make a loop at the top of the tea cozy.  It's been sitting in my stash for a few months, waiting for "something" to do with it.  

Lestat was being a pest because he wanted his tea two hours early inspecting my progress on Catz by The Chook Shed.  The plan is to quilt through the applique using the raw edge method, add buttons for eyes and hand stitch details such as whiskers, then quilt little hearts in a continuous line in the borders.  I'm not quite sure what that is going to look like yet, but I do know that I'll draw it on some cheap and nasty greaseproof paper (it has to rip out easier than the Glad baking paper I used recently for some fmq), then fmq it.