First Christmas Project for 2013!

Yes, I have started a Christmas project! (please don't ask why I haven't concentrated on finishing one of the other zillion projects already underway!! lol! It's just what I do!!)
After checking out this lovely table runner by Samelia's Mum the other day I decided to have a go and to use it to try machine quilting too. My machine isn't fancy, and I am not all that crash hot on the straight neat stitching, so we shall see how that bit goes soon, but for now, here is my pieced top

Not too bad and all from my stash, so that is a good thing. The instructions were really easy too and I think I may add it to my list of projects for other leftover fabrics, non-Christmas themed. I hope to also have a go at the Snowball Topper too and use the same Christmas fabrics so they will kind of match and they can be for the hall stand and the coffee table at Christmas. If I can get the wall hanging don that I mentioned last post, then I will have that to match too with them all using the same selection of fabrics .... well, that's the plan! ;)
Have a great week! K x

July plans ....

Well, I have a few plans, but of course the school holidays take up the middle 2 weeks of July, and we are half way through them already, so I am not sure how successful I will be at completing all my plans. We shall see .....
Knitting/Crochet: Still going on the jumper. Started a cardigan for A2 and a Larksfoot blanket for my Grandpa (in his footy team colours for Father's day)
Sewing: Still need to piece that cowboy quilt, then quilt it and the foursquare quilt that has been basted for a few months now! oops! Need to make some fruit shaped beanbags for A3's birthday games too.
Papercraft: Preparations for the little guys birthday with some food signs and drink labels and maybe some thank you notes to have ready to send out soon after.
So, not too much really! ROFL!!! sure!!!
I was also checking out the And Sew We Craft Christmas in July Linky party and I have seen a couple of nice table toppers/runners (thanks Samelia's Mum!) and I know I have a stash of Christmas fabric from *cough, cough* 13 years ago! Actually that is another UFO guilty secret! I have a Christmas quilt/wallhanging that I started at a one-day workshop in 2000 and finally finished pieceing about 3 years later .... and yet it is still not quilted and bound! Something else to add to my list ;)
Anyway, I think I might give one of those projects a go to use up some fabric and also to try machine quilting on them. I usually handquilt because I am not sure I can sew straight enough for machine quilting, but on a small project I might be okay. It might be a nice gift for someone too. And there is also this lovely wallhanging from Blossom Heart Quilts that I might add to my list too ....
All right, that's all  from me, back soon to let you know how I am progressing!

PS I will also be doing the July block for the Modern Blocks QAL too! I haven't forgotten that one!

He is VERY cute!

Something I did get finished last week!

Yes, I made him a very hungry caterpillar beanie! I used a beanie pattern I have used before (2 strands of 8ply to make it chunky and warm) and then adapted some free instructions I found online to create the eyes, nose and antennae. Lots of fun and this photo featured on his birthday invitation too. I will also be creating a few other VHC themed things in the next month, so I hope to share them too.

Knitting update

Slowly, slowly! I have finished the back of the jumper and an almost up to the shaping on the front, yay! I decided to do the jumper not the jacket so I had one less 'piece' to knit and also no band with buttonholes ;)
Here is a photo of it from last week, so it is a little longer now.

I know it is going to look nice when it is done, but I can certainly see why the pattern is marked 'P' ... for patience!!! the pattern is certainly time consuming! I will keep plodding along, though with the hope my little guy will still fit into it when it is done!

1st Birthday planning

Yes, I know I am 'supposed' to be keeping on with my knitting, but in the back of my mind I have been planning little one's 1st birthday party and I decided I would like a picture of him to put on his invites which means getting organised soon. We are going with a Very Hungry Caterpillar Theme - not all that original I realised after trawling Pinterest lol! - but cute and colourful and perfect for our little guy.
Anyway, getting back to what is delaying my knitting ....

Can you guess what it is? Hope to finish it on the weekend and I can share a proper photo next week :)
Other than that, I am having an open house this Saturday for my stamping customers, so I have been busy setting up for that, but I have enjoyed getting to play with new stamps and colours .... if only there were more hours in the day!!!
I have to admit to myself that I am not going to get my cowboy quilt pieced by the end of the month, but it will be top of the list for next month ... and I am getting excited about the July block in the Modern Blocks QAL!!! Lots to do in July, that's for sure!
Back soon! K x

Next one to finish off ...

So, earlier this year, I started putting my UFOs or 'works in progress' into one of those big plastic tubs with the idea that that would make it easier for me to grab them out and finish them ... hmm, not altogether successful so far! lol! However, now that I have finished the crocheted top, I thought I would pull this project out and try to get it done so my little man can wear it.

Confession time ... I actually started this 3 years ago! And I only got half way up the back! Oops! I have written on the post it note that I was doing the 12 month size, but counting the stitches it looks like the 18 month size, so I think it will be a good size for Aaron as he is 1 at the end of winter. I haven't decided yet whether it will be the sweater or the cardigan, I'm leaning towards the cardigan though, I think that will last him a bit better than a sweater and I know I have some buttons that I think would look good on it.
Heading off now to get going on it.

Cute model

The little crochet top is done and here it is being modelled by my little miss ....

I am really happy with how this worked up. It is a little shorter than the pattern suggested I make it, but I was getting a little short on wool and decided it was better to do a couple of rows less than have to try and match wool I bought 2-3 years ago! Plus I was happy with it being a  bit shorter so she won't sit on it quite as much and catch it on things. As you can see, she is pretty happy with it too!

Do you pin?

Are you a pinner? And by that I mean a virtual pinner? I do love Pinterest for lots of ideas and inspiration. It's definitely my go to site for party planning, so great that you can see the pictures before you head to the links.
Anyway, just thought I would share the ModernQAL pinterest board if you want to follow along and check out the blocks all the other talented ladies are creating.
Have fun checking them out!

Close to finished

I am really enjoying crocheting this little top! Being worked in the round means there won't be any seams to sew up at the end, just a few yarn ends and I did some of the top ones earlier. I have about 4 more rounds to go, then sc around the armholes and it will be all done, That will make about a week to create it, not bad. I checked it out and it was a pattern I bought via Ravelry. Definitely worth it!

  

As you can see, I am working on it while tucked up under the quilt my aunt made for our wedding and the remote isn't too far away! I have been catching up on some Downton Abbey while I keep busy :)

Something new ...

With my ripple blanket, I enjoyed the fact I could sit on the lounge and work on it, or if it got cold, or I was wanting to put my feet up at night, I could also work on it in bed. Neither of those things are something I can do while sewing with my machine! lol! So, although my second UFO challenge of this month is to finish piecing the cowboy quilt top, I did want to have a crochet project on the go for when I need something to do on the couch. Now, I do admit, if I looked in the boxes and bags in my craft room, I probably could have found something half finished (please don't judge me!!!) but I decided to start something new! Plenty of time for me to work on the other UFO in the coming months!

Isn't it a cute top? I thought it would be great for my little miss over a long sleeve top during winter and if she doesn't grow too much, maybe as is in summer too. As you can see, she saw it on the table and was telling me she wanted me to make 'this one, mama!'

The yarn is again from my stash (yay!) and I will decided as I get further down whether I add the band of contrasting colour or not. I also probably have enough to make it a dress by continuing further along, but that may not be allowed if 'someone' starts demanding to wear it!

I am pretty sure the pattern came from Ravelry (I had printed it off and stuck it in a 'to do' pile), but I can't remember if I bought it or not. So far, so good though, just about to start down the front and back so that the armholes are created. Hopefully more to show soon!

Ripple Blanket finished!

Yay!!!
Remember way back in February, when Mel over at One Crafty Mumma organised a crochet blanket Ripple along? I know,it's a while ago now! I have been rather slack with keeping up with my blanket, however, I have finally finished it!

The first half went quickly, but the second half did take me a while, however I am so glad I stuck with it. The coziness of it is just lovely and it has been keeping me warm as I have been working on it!

I lay it out to measure it and my model decided to roll all over it, but it measures approx 41" wide by 46" long. A decent sized lap blanket anyway and my yarn calculations worked out really well. A little bit of the lavender left, I had to use a little of a second ball of cream which had a different batch number, but the same dye number, so that wasn't noticeable, and then I decided to add 3 rows of single crochet (with 1ch spaces) around the edge to finish it off, which used up pretty much all of that second ball. So approx 6 balls of 8ply yarn all from my yarn stash using a 5.5mm hook.
The other thing that makes this blanket special is that the yarn was added to my stash from my Nanna's stash. Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to her late last year when she passed away and it has been really hard since then to not be able to visit or pickup the phone and just talk to her. Some days I still forget that she isn't here anymore and of course, the last month or so with Mother's Day and her birthday have been a little less happy occasions this year. My grandpa began sorting out the cupboards early this year and knew that she would want me to have her knitting and wool, so I inherited a yarn stash as big as the one I already had, and working on this blanket with the yarn I know my Nanna had chosen at one time or another has helped me feel closer to her, just for that bit longer.

Thanks for the inspiration Mel and I am happy to have it ready and waiting to be gifted to the right person! Have a look here to see Mel's and some other beautiful ripple blankets!

Kids Mother's Day gifts

In the April school holidays I thought I would get a bit organised with the kids (the 2 big ones, at least!) and make a head start on a couple of Mother's Day gifts. I wanted the kids to be able to do something a little crafty, but not something I had to do too much with, more that they were creating themselves.

And then as I was thinking what we could made for Nanna and Grandma for Mother's Day I thought we could make some flowers using cupcake wrappers and pop-sticks. They cut out and coloured in some leaves and stuck them on too.

 Love the concentration here!

Nice and colourful .... but what to do with them .... Aha! Because I have had to formula feed, yet again, I have an abundance of formula tins and this time I really refuse to put them in the recycling bin, so I have been on the hunt for ways to use them and get them out of the house without actually throwing them out! So I cut slits in the plastic lid of the tins and then we poked the pop-sticks through, then we baked some biscuits the day before Mother's Day and the kids decorated them (lots of sprinkles!) and we popped them into the tins.

Nanna and Grandma loved them, including the handwritten label by A1 ..... and I got rid of 2 more tins!

I used several at Christmas time by decorating the outside with scrapbooking paper and a 3D flower on the top, then filled them with my Christmas baking. Everyone commented on them, they couldn't believe that's what they were and several tried to give the tin back to me "for me to use again"! LOL! I also read about using them as a bin-bag dispenser, so out came my scalpel and I cut a cross in the lid to feed the bags through and our roll of bin bags is now easy to find in the cupboard under the sink and doesn't come unrolled through the cupboard all the time!

Block 2 already!

I was very excited about having my first block completed in the Modern Blocks Quilt-a-long that I visited And Sew We Craft early yesterday to see Block 2 and this afternoon got to work cutting and piecing. This block was chosen by Tonya at The Crafty Mummy, head over to her blog for the instructions.
Here is my block ...

I wanted to show off one of these gorgeous flowers on this print, so I made sure it was in the square I cut for the large piece. And I chose the striped fabric for the ends of the 'spool' because I felt they would fit in with that shape. It was also handy to help my sew straighter for those thinner pieces to have the stripes to guide me!

If you look closely, you can see I used the blue floral fabric in the Follow the Leader Block, but the small size of the triangle didn't allow much of the flower to be shown, so it's nice to be able to do that on this one.

I am also starting another block for a Mystery Block of the month quilt that I purchased a kit for. I have blocks 1 and 2 so far and am about halfway through piecing Block 1. It's kind of exciting because when you purchase the kit you get a variety of fabrics (in a colourway that you can select, mine was blues and greens) and then you put it together, so I suspect it will be a lovely scrappy kind of quilt when I am done, and the great part is I won't have to worry about choosing the fabrics, just go with what arrives! Hope to share the finished block soon!

UFO Challenge

As you would know if you read through a few of my posts, I need a bit of motivation (kick in the backside!) to get moving on some projects! I love to get going on projects, but then often find I lack the time needed to finish them off (when it gets to the fiddly bits :/) and so they sit there and sit there, waiting ....
Tonya, over at The Crafty Mummy has started up a 'Finish a UFO Challenge' to inspire those of us that need some help to get these projects finished and out on display/gift them/use them/etc instead of them gathering dust waiting for the final touches.
My first UFO Challenge is 2 part
1. Finish my Ripple-a-long blanket! I have to stitch in all the ends and then I decided to add a border too as there are a few wobbles along the sides that I would like to tidy up and I think a few rows around the edge will make it look nice and 'finished' and it won't be sitting in my basket waiting for me any longer!

2. Finish piecing my cowboy quilt top. I started piecing it a few months ago and got sidetracked and the pieces got dumped in a box! I need to get them out and put them together so I can then start on the quilting. Luckily I took the picture below so I can figure out the layout of the unpieced bits again!

 Okay, so that is my plan for June! Let me know if you are joining in too and what your plans are

Block 1!

A few weeks ago I saw that one of the blogs I see on facebook, And Sew We Craft, was having a Quilt-a-long. I want to try out more piecing designs and improve my skills so I decided to give it a go and now I have finally finished my first block! Check out And Sew We Craft for the details of the Quilt-a-long.
First (of course!) I NEEDED some fabric ;) It just so happened that the weekend I saw the QAL info, I had been looking at a gorgeous fat quarter bundle at Fabric Patch and then they announced it was on special! yay me! Here is my beautiful bundle of Flutter fabrics by Riley Blake.

Once I received my bundle, I picked up some coordinating homespun in a cream colour and then it has sat there for 2 weeks!!! Finally got my backside into gear though, and have completed the block for May ready for the new one in June.
Here is my little helper, she is concentrating hard taking the pins out of the blocks after I stitched the cream squares on. She was so excited to be helping!

And here is my finished block..... (link to instructions here)

Slightly wonky of course! But, once it is eventually quilted hopefully that will be less noticeable.
Very excited to see the next month's block now and hoping to get it done earlier in the month this time!

Ooops! Has it been that long?!

Wow! Those school holidays flew past and already we are in week 5! How did that happen?! Scary fast!
I don't have anything to show you right this minute because I am downloading on my computer and it is taking for...e...ver so I don't want to risk interuppting by plugging in the camera or anything, but I will have some things to share soon.
I wanted to put it out there too, that I am hoping to join in one (or maybe 2!!) quilt-a-longs! I have some fabric here and if I get off the computer shortly to get my other jobs done, I will get going with the block for May! Exciting stuff!
I have been visiting lots of blogs lately and I am really enjoying reading about these kinds of projects, where everyone makes their own version in their own home but can use the internet to share their work. It's a lovely idea and makes the lonely nights you might spend doing your crafts at home by yourself seem a little less lonely :)
Off to get some work done while this computer keeps downloading and hope to be able to share my block soon!

Batman party!

I have to apologise for no Ripple-a-long update this week .... I have done NO rows!!! oops! I promise I will definitely get back on track this week though ... if for no other reason that it is rolled up on the floor next to my bed and I trip on it almost every time I get up! lol!
However, I have been busy planning my boy's 7th birthday party, so I have some photos to share ...

 

This is the cake I made on his actual birthday when my parents and in-laws came over for tea. My first proper go at using fondant to make the decorations - lots of fun and A2 had fun sitting and playing with play-doh while I played with the fondant!

Favor boxes - for girls and boys :)

 Ready to go.....

 My superheroes! A2's costume is from a couple of years ago, I added a cape to the shoulders and a 'logo' to the front of a long sleeve onesie (she added the tutu when she got dressed!). A3 is wearing a onesie with a red singlet over the top to which I had sewn a square of felt to the shoulders (a little bit gathered to create a cape look) and then I created the 'Robin' logo and stitched it to the front = boy wonder! and A1 (birthday boy!) is wearing the costume he received as a gift!

 Cakes and biscuits - bat and superhero shield shaped biscuits (really recommend Bisk-Art for shaped cookie cutters! Awesome prices and service. the cutters were packaged so carefully for posting too!)

 The Batman rag quilt! I only started it last Sunday night, so I was pretty impressed I had it finished and ready for Thursday morning!

 And it was covering a Lego table! This table was made by gluing 4 baseplates (Liquid nails) to an $8.95 IKEA table! Awesome price and he is stoked to be able to build on a sturdy surface instead of on a carpeted floor.

 A2 with the card she made for her big brother! 7 logos stamped because he was turning seven!

 Cake for the party - more fun with fondant!

I used an oval fondant cutter to cut small ovals first then a scalpel to cut out the bits to create the bat shape.
so, that's what I have been up to this week! Hope you like the pictures and would love to hear your thoughts :)

Catch up photos

I managed to get the photos off my phone! Yay! Even better, it was me that figured it out, hubby kept saying I needed new software, but no, I just needed to tell the phone to connect (although I had to go looking in the menus to figure this out!)
Anyway, I have already shared my updated photo of my ripple blanket, but here is one of the taggie blanket I made .....

And the dress for A2 .....

My sewing of clothes needs some improvement (and perhaps using a proper pattern might help? lol!) but they look okay and she is happy with them, so that's the main thing.

And lastly these are a couple of baby boy cards I have made. One to send to my friend with the new baby boy and one for my 'box' of cards to be ready to send .... in my aim to be better organised!

Slacker!

Sorry, I have been a bit slack on here lately. My little man was very grumpy in the evenings and nights last week (tooth popped through on Saturday, yay!) and then on Saturday hubby and I succumbed to the colds the kids had been trying to share with us :(
I have also been spending some time preparing for the upcoming birthday party! Can't believe my big boy is turning 7! Batman party accessories are all sorted and then I decided last night to go ahead and make the Flannel Rag quilt with the Batman flannel I had bought (with some matching plain flannel) .... smart idea to do this when my head was foggy and it was already 8pm! I did manage to get it all cut and pieced, and am about halfway through snipping the edges - my fingers needed a break, hence the blog post! I will share some pictures next weekend after the party.
Anyway, here is an update photo on my Ripple blanket ...

It's 3/4 the way there, I don't think I will get anything done this week though, but then I will be getting stuck into it as I would like to have it done by the end of the school holidays ... then I can start the next blanket!

No photos!

I have happily got a few things finished today but I took pictures on my new phone and now can't figure out how to get them onto the computer to upload! Argh! It tells me I need new software, but times out when I try to download it and then can't seem to connect as a disk drive. Thinking I may have to get hubby to check it out for me tomorrow as he is at work right now, so I'll have to get back to you with photos .... but I'll let you know what I have been up to ....
I made a little taggie blanket for a friend's new baby boy. It's flannel on both sides and I used a piece of iron on pellon on each piece so it was a little thicker and after I top-stitched the edges, I also stitched his first initial 'J' in the centre to add a little bit of 'quilting'. I was really pleased with the end result and think I will make some more of these in the future. Oh, and I also made a card to go with it :)
I also finally finished a dress I began to make for A2 last winter! It's a pinafore style and in pinwhale cord, silly me though thought maybe I could make it reversible and used a plain cord to line it, but I just couldn't get the hem right so I have ended up using binding to stitch around the bottom edge. It's not too bad, but just not really what I wanted, and of course has now ended up being a bit long ... maybe that means it will last her until next year too though?! Oh well!
There were also a couple of other cards I have made for upcoming birthdays and of course my Ripple-A-long blanket! It's slowly growing :) Off to keep working on it now, hope to be able to share some pics with you soon ...

Soft bunnies!

Happy Easter to you!
just wanted to quickly share the bunnies I made for my kidlets. I showed the Faux chenille one I made the other week and I was going to make faux chenille ones for my boys too, but I found a cool flannelette fat quarter bundle at Lincraft and they had 30% pre-cuts .... so I made there's using the same pattern, just no faux chenille! My big boy got the Transformers one and little man got the dinosaur one, very cute and they all cuddled them and were pleased, they didn't even complain that they only got one egg in their 'nest' with the bunny and then just a few others around the house that they had to hunt for! They got lots of treats from grandparents too and also an auntie, plus school/joey scouts and playgroup too, so they did not miss out, but I was pleased to be able to give them something they liked without it being food-related!

anyway, hope you are enjoying your weekend :)

Birthday gift for a boy

A friends little boy is turning 3 and we were invited to a party for him this week. We don't normally do gifts between our kids, but because we were seeing him for the occasion I figured it would be nice to have a gift for my little miss to give him. I had a look through my supplies and realised I had the right thing sto make an Eye-Spy bag, so that's what I did! It's one of those bags filled with beads (the ones you can use in doll/bear making) and a few little toys mixed in so then when they look through the window panel in the front they can try and find all the things in there.

I meant to take a picture of all the things I was about to put in there and print it out as a little reference for him, but I forgot :( Oh well, he will still have fun looking for the things and he even came and sat a couple of times and had a look again which was lovely considering we were at a playcafe and he left the 'fun stuff' to come and play with it!
And you can also see the little card I made to go with the gift - love the pinwheel die!

Ripple update ....

Slowly, slowly ... I haven't got as much done this week as I had hoped because I've had a few busy evenings, but any progress is something I guess :) Here is a photo ....

Look at all those ends that need darning in! I should sit and do that one night instead of another row to make it look tidy ;) Loving how it's keeping me warm now too as it grows, perfect for the cooler evenings on their way! Back soon :)

Cute as a bunny!

I spotted this cute Faux Chenille bunny tutorial a couple of weeks ago and thought it would be a perfect non-chocolate gift for my kidlets this easter. don't get me wrong, they will get a bit of chocolate too! ;) ..... however, I like to give them something different as well.
I decided just to use some scrap fabric from my stash, it probably won't be quite as soft not being flannel, however the chenille effect will be the same. I also did one side with a piece of towelling instead of chenille on both sides. 

As you can see, this is the material after I stitched all the lines and then I had a bit of fun with my rotary slash cutter ;)

and then my cute little bunny! I added a button each side for eyes too and as I type the poor little creature is in the washing machine! That's how you get the material to fray and become soft and fuzzy like chenille. I look forward to how it looks once it dries and then I will share a pic of that too.

Nananananananana ....

Batman!
Pow! Thwack!
My firstborn is turning 7 in a couple of short weeks and although we normally do parties every other year, I caved and said yes to one this year ;) He so enjoyed the Pirate party last year and we had a lot of stuff happen last year as a family, yet he has been so good this year, so I really felt he deserved it (can anyone say 'softie'? ;)) Anyway, he Requested a Batman party, so I have been busy making and sourcing some Batman party supplies .... a bit difficult considering they have discontinued the current design and the new design is due in store 'about mid-March' .... I finally pointed out to one place on the 13th of March that the middle of March was 2 days away! That comment was met with a blank look! Argh!
Sigh, so I made the invitations myself (I would have done that anyway) but annoyed with myself I forgot to take a photo. Will have to make up the spare and get a photo of that to share. And then I have been sorting out a few other things like prizes, etc. Keeping me busy and especially when I see other stuff that I want/need for A3's 1st birthday party in August and buy that too! Oops! Oh, well, I guess at least I should be organised for that!
Off to try and get that little one to sleep and then a few more ripple rows done so I can share it again with you this week .... happy Saturday night, people!

Rippling in the car

I managed to spend about half the trip yesterday getting stuck into the Ripple blanket and here it is so far ...

Just over half-way! Well, that's if my calculations are correct! lol! I'm happy with how it looks and it will be a nice little either baby cot size or kids lap size when it is done ..... I think my little miss has been eying it off, actually! Was glad I didn't get car sick trying to crochet in the car this time as it was definitely good use of the time and I learned that I can play Eye-Spy and crochet at the same time!
I also made a start on a beanie for A1, I'd found a ribbed pattern online (need to find the pattern again so I can link) and he had been asking for one, so that was a nice change for my fingers on the way home.

Road Trip

So, today we drove 3 hours to go to the christening of our nephew/cousin (on hubby's side) and then 3 hours home again! Sigh! I was not looking forward to that much time in the car as A1 doesn't really sleep int he car anymore (he's almost 7), A2 has never been a good car sleeper, usually falling asleep 5-10 minutes before reaching our destination and A3 looks to be following in his sisters footsteps. So, I packed snacks (fruit, crackers, water, sultana and seed mix, plain popcorn, and finally a couple of prepackaged snacks if we got desperate!) and I thought about what would keep them busy on the trip. Well A1 and A2 being 6 and 3 I decided to pack the MegaSketcher. I figured it was less messy than colouring in the car and we wouldn't need to sharpen anything! lol! And I also decided to pack a clipboard with some travel games. I printed them off on cardstock (some from the RACV website and various others) plus some blank A5 paper and I decorated an A5 clipboard for each of them. I also packed a few crayons (figured this was simpler than pencils re sharpening) for them to complete the bingo sheets or draw with.

I covered some cute wooden clipboards (from Officeworks) with some scrapbooking paper (love the Tombow multi-adhesive!) and just sanded the edges a little where the paper overhung. I will probably sponge them with some matching ink, but they were fine for the moment.
I wondered how long until they asked for Daddy's phone (they know he can play videos on there!) but I was pleasantly surprised!

Baking day!

'Days' actually ;) lol!
I am loving the cooler weather (even though it's still in the high 20'2, but that is cooler that the 30's, that's for sure!) and have been enjoying cooking meals and snacks this week. I also discovered the reason for some of my recent baking fails :( is my SR flour isn't right (long story but hubby is a flour miller AND my supplier, so there were words spoken!!!) my cakes and cupcakes lately have been flat and taken AGES to bake and I thought I was doing something wrong or had grabbed the plain instead of SR, but when my Nanna's Cream Cake recipe did not turn out right I KNEW there was something wrong! So, this week I have added some Bicarb soda to the flour and, boy, what a difference! Still not quite right as I need ot work out how much i need depending on how much SR I am using, but MUCH better! Yay!
So, yesterday I baked Cheese and Pumpkin Scones and a Pumpkin and Sultana Cake (this is one I had a fail with a fortnight ago, much better this time!). and today I made curried chicken triangles (with pumpkin and cauliflower) for lunch then made a Banana Loaf, mmmmm! It's great that I am able to add these to the freezer and I plan to make a couple of Zucchini Slices early this week to add to the freezer too.
Sorry, I didn't think to take any pics, but I will try to remember next time :)

Going slow :(

I started off going really well with my blanket last week, but my ezcema has fared up rather badly on my hands so I have had to stop for a bit :( not happy Jan! I think it was all the hot weather we had here (in Adelaide) and even the cream isn't helping much as it's cracked the skin, so need it to heal so I don't bleed all over the blanket!
Hoping to be able to do some on the weekend as we are heading out to the country for a christening, so if hubby will drive I am hoping for 6 hours of crocheting! LOL! Umm, I think that's probably a bit much, but even a couple of hours solid would be good!
Back soon with some photos! :)

Week 1 : Ripple-along progress

I have a couple of other projects to share pics of later this week , but tonight marks the end of the first weeks of One Crafty Mumma's Ripple-along so we are sharing pictures of our progress. Here are my first 14 'bands'!

I got to 13 1/2 by Thursday night then got caught on other things the last 2 days so got stuck back into it tonight and have now done 2 more 'bands'. As you can see, mine is not a pattern with 2 rows/1 band per colour. I was recently gifted some wool, so I decided to use colours from that stash instead of buying more. I had 3 balls of the yellow, 2 of the lavender and 1 of the cream, and after I crocheted 2 rows I weighed what I had done (I figured the foundation chain weight would just give me a little bit of leeway) and then used that weight to plan the pattern for my blanket. It remains to be seen whether it will work out correctly at the end!!! I hope to do 8 repeats of the pattern (yellow, lavender, cream, lavender) and then finish with another section of yellow. If I have enough I would love to have 9 repeats, but we shall see how it goes ....
See you again next week with a few more rows!