Oz-tralien: November 2010

The days are gallopping by & I seem to get less & less done each week.

It is only 3 weeks until we go on a holiday with the family. There is much anticipation & organisation going on. Flights, accommodation & all the rigmarole that goes with travelling times eleven people.

I'm sure MOTH thinks this will be like our previous holidays with our adult children, he seems to have forgotten that activities are not quite the same with a 7 month & 6 year old in tow. No drinking until all hours of the night or doing exactly as you please, when you please. This is the first family holiday with the grandchildren & hopefully there will be a few more in the future.

My knitting is progressing well. It would seem I've had a bit of a 'thing' for shawls of late having knitted 7 of them & 2 scarves. There was a pair of socks in there for our GS-so I did at least have a change!

On my needles at the moment is a 'coral' top for my DIL-its progressing quite well- only 1cm to go & then it's the bottom band & finished, this has been a quick knit & hopefully it will fit. The problem of knitting for someone when they aren't nearby to try things on as you go.

Today I mana

ged to get some sewing done. Mostly I have just done little dribs & drabs of it & not produced anything much at all.

First up was a minky wrap for DD's GF who we did up a baby bundle for & she liked the wrap so much she's asked me to make another one. Heidi's request was for the same XOXO Cat fabric I had used for DD's change mat for her baby but there wasn't enough, so I pieced 6.5" squares of the cats & a purple fabric, bordered the whole thing in a lime green & then did the binding in what was left of the cats, hopefully this will suffice-all on hot pink minky as requested.

Not long after DD's baby was born we spent a lovely morning in at the Glebe Markets & DD liked some little singlets she saw. The lady who was selling them had done a great job embelli

shing them, but like a true crafter I knew I could do them just as good & save money as well.

It was a few months ago.

I did not think to take pictures, well you don't do you? Would be a bit rude!

Thing is, I don't remember what she did to them that made DD like them so much!

Out came all the ribbons, trims, laces & whatever I could get my hands on & I think I came up with 3 little cute tops that will bring the humble singlet out from under the outer clothes & be its own fashion statement. I will not be making these to sell. They were lots of fun but very time con summing & more than fiddly-especially those babooshka applique dolls- lets face it I did shrink the design significantly!

Yesterday I embroidered on 3 tea towels. I purchased the linen for these back in June when in Melbourne. Used a simple design & heavy weight cotton thread, no stabilizer in the hoop & hooped up the fabric. The back looks as good as the front & with no stabilizer to pick or wash out they were quick to make up. Certainly not a cheap gift, so I'll have to choose who I give these to.

Last weekend saw MOTH & I out in the garden taking a few pics. I managed to get one of a rather large blue-tongued lizard in the garden- he had gone by the time MOTH had found his camera, changed