Cute

I bought an outfit for the Baby yesterday:

I think he'll look pretty cute in this. Especially if I make a matching eye-patch and single black sock aka faux peg-leg. And possibly a parrot for his shoulder...

Hello friend!

When I went out to hang out some washing this afternoon I found this little (or big, really) fella sunning himself (or possibly herself) on the pavers:

It's an eastern blue-tongued lizard (I think...) - it was probably about 40cm (16") long. I snapped this photo before hanging out the washing and by the time I was done it was gone! So I didn't get to see it flash the blue tongue! Oh well, maybe I'll see him (or her) again some time. I hope so, because they eat snails and slugs - great for the garden!

A commitment

Sorry about the dearth of posts lately - my mum has been visiting the last two weeks and it was just a bit harder to take photos and write posts etc. Not that we were out and about a lot, I have to admit there was a lot of sitting around and knitting and me teasing her about knitting for other people instead of her next grandchild - not that it had any effect!



But even though she didn't mention it once while she was here, her visit did make me feel guilty that I STILL have not finished the lace shawl I started for her in April 2007 (!!!). The last time I knit on it was April this year! Oh dear! So I pulled it out on Sunday after she'd gone home and realised I'm just over half way done (a bit more than I thought - hurrah!).

(sorry about the crappy photo - it's too long to fit anywhere to photograph easily!)

I know I can't get it finished by Christmas, but her birthday is in early April, so I figure I've got 5 months (including November!) to finish it - that's 10% per month, or 40 rows - totally do-able, right?

In fact, since Sunday, I've done two repeats - that's 16 rows - only 24 more to go until the end of November! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I have a dilemma

Hmmmm....what should I do?

Baking?

or Knitting?

I shall have to have a piece of cake while I ponder this weighty issue.

(thanks Husby for my birthday presents!! OK, I know I chose and bought the Barbara Walkers but you did real good with the Julia Child!)

Sunday Sky: Jacaranda watch - week 5

I know it's Wednesday, but I did take these photos on Sunday, honest!

After a month of next to nothing, while all around me jacarandas are a sea of purple, my jacaranda has finally decided to flower (mostly...there are more than a few leaves on there too, which really shouldn't come out until after the flowers are pretty much done).

Hurrah! And to give you an idea of the purple carpet we'll get soon, here's a taste - husby mowed the lawn only a few hours before I took this photo, so you can imagine what it would be like after a few days!

Jacarandas are really best seen at a bit of a distance - I think that's a huge part of their appeal - in amongst the general green of most trees, you get these gorgeous bursts of purple - it's a delight to walk down the street and see the purple haze.

And for Alwen, and others going into winter, here's some flowers - my rose bush, bursting out all over the place:

And the pink roses - which were mere buds last week - are now in full bloom:

(Well, they were on Sunday, after yesterday's 37C (98F) scorcher, and subsequent cool change and rain, most of them are now petals on the ground!)

Keeping Track - October 2009

You know, I really thought I was going to be good this month, I had such good intentions. Well, you know what they say about good intentions - road to hell and all.

It started with the Stash Reallocation afternoon tea. Yes, I planned just to get rid of stuff, not bring stuff home...oh well. I did get rid of 4 x 50g balls - and only brought home the equivalent of 6 x 50g balls - so not too bad, really. Couldn't pass up Rowan All Seasons Cotton and Heirloom BabySilk.

And then Ecoyarns had to go and have a sale - 75% off SWTC Yin - this is a lovely yarn, a blend of wool, bamboo and silk. The lovely Ms 2Paw had given me a precious skein earlier this year, and so the chance to add to it, to make enough for a garment - at 75% off (did I mention that already?) was too good to pass up. So now I have 9 lovely skeins - it's an 8ply (DK) with a generous 150m (165 yd) per skein.

Finally, I had to buy yarn to make the crochet cable blanket - it's done in cotton, which I don't tend to stash (well, except for dishcloth cotton), so clearly I had to buy some! And crochet eats a lot of yarn, so I had to buy quite a bit! Six big 150g balls!

Best get knitting and crocheting, hadn't I!

Oh yeah, and this:

In: 32 x 50g balls!

Out: 10.5 x 50g balls

YTD: 197 x 50g balls...um, that's nearly 10kg of yarn I've added to the stash this year...oh dear.