Scrapbooking pages

I have been busy with these pages (and working on another 7 other double pages as well.) Finally found a reasonable scrap shop here...and can get some nice papers and other bits and pieces as well.

Steph's wedding

Bridge Climb

Kelly and Theo's wedding Karen and Steve's wedding Pixie Photos these 4 are a work in progress. They are photos of weddings we have been to over the years, I am currently tracking down old friends to update "where they are now" Until the ringing in my ears is resolved I can't cope looking down at a 45 degree angle for too long!

Spring Fling in Autumn

Here is my latest knitting project complete (and I wore it today). Spring Fling by Jordana Paige 

Knitted from Lana Grossa Asia Wool

Scrapbooking memories

Scrapbooking is something I have been meaning to do for a long time. I want to get the photos I have taken into some sort of order and make them easier to look at, and cull them down a bit. I have been buying bits and pieces for many years, and this week I actually got a couple of pages done. Some of my scrapping friends and I are doing a challenge by using the same layout each month. This is what I came up with for my October challenge. Our Ski Trip to Austria in Feb 2008. Now I have finally done a couple of page layouts, I am keen to keep going...now can someone tell me how to squeeze in an extra couple of hours in each day?

Osnabrück Nadel und Faden 2008

I love Osnabrück, this is the second time I have been there, and it is so peaceful (on reflection maybe it is so peaceful, because I am by myself).

I had a great couple of days at the craft fair, and enjoyed looking around and talking to other crafty people!

I bought some gorgeous fabrics and yarn for some future projects. There were some interesting quilts on display, mainly art quilts for wall hangings.

Osnabrück is a town that had a large wall around it (some of it still exists). The cobbled streets and building are lovely to wander around.

After the craft show, I went into town to have a look around and get something to eat. All along the footpaths, people were sitting on garden/outdoor chairs. I was a bit confused by it all, but thought perhaps later on there was going to be a concert or something.

I went back to the hotel, and after 9pm, I went back out to see what was happening.

An enormous Trödelmarkt. Flea/Second hand market. The Trödelmarkt was an all night, family friendly event. Start at 9pm, and went all through Saturday night and all day Sunday.

People were claiming their places during the day with their seats, but they were not allowed to bring their tables and stuff to sell until after 8.30pm.

So, no concert. However it was interesting to see what people were selling and what other people were buying. There were 2 spinning wheels that perhaps I would have looked at a bit closer, if I didn't have to carry it on a train back to Berlin.

The "die hard" buyers had their torches, as it got dark they would use the torches to look over the tables to make sure they didn't miss any bargains!

Peacock Feathers Shawl

pattern by Dorothy Siemens. Currently up to Chart 4. It is the first shawl, and first lace project I have tried  I can only manage to do about 4 rows in one sitting. I am scared I will make a big mistake in the pattern, and this mohair yarn doesn't frog well at all! There has been a bit of swearing when frogging the mistakes.

Beaded Bracelets

I bought some beads at the Melbourne Quilt Show, and made some bracelets when I was in Melbourne. I went to Harmony Beads in North Balywn (opposite Coles on that scary corner with the trams and 5 roads all joining together), to match up smaller beads with the larger beads. These ones were done with a clover "knitting nancy"..I don't know the correct name for it. They were fun to make, and I have bought some more beading wire is different colours to try, and also some different clasps.

Oak Ribbed Socks

A 6 week break in Australia, and I managed to get a few things done (but not too much) This pair of socks was a simple project that I could work on without needing to look at a pattern very often! The pattern is by Nancy Bush, from Knitting Vintage Socks Book knitted on 2.5 mm needles Yarn Tausendschön Handgefärbte Sockenwolle

2008 Quilt #13

Another tumbler for a baby girl, Cayley MacKenzie, just a little bit bigger than cot quilt size.

will these tumblers ever end????

No idea...but I am hoping that by the end of the year, the box of tumbler pieces will be finished....and I have found a super cool pattern to work with 2" strips that I want to tackle next year.

2008 Quilt # 12

Cameron's Blue Churn Dash.

Cameron's favourite colours have always been green and yellow, but he has now changed to blue. So this one had to be altered from my original plan. He is thrilled with it!

2008 Quilt # 11

Alexander's Red Churn Dash. I have been collecting these black and white fabrics for about 10 years, and finally had enough variety to make this.  Red is Alexander's favourite colour, so this is perfect for him!

June Xmas Ornament

The June Ornament for our stitch along with our internet group.

The design is called Merry and Bright by Little By Little Design Co.

Drop Stitch Scarves

These are fun to make, and once you have the pattern worked out, you can do it from memory! This pattern is by Christine This one is made from Alpaca Wool from Fibreworks. Colourway: Happy Wanderer, worked on 4mm needles This one is made from 2 different colour balls of Noro Kureyon, worked on 4.5mm needles. I worked on 2 rows, then swapped to the second colour for the next 2 rows and so on.

Retro Rib Socks

Here is proof that sometimes you can get your knitting needles on the plane! (A good idea to go and ask at the security gates and show them your knitting before you check your bags in, and if they won't allow it, you can put it in your main luggage!) Thankfully with our long delay in the Canary Islands, my knitting was allowed, and I managed to get this much of the second sock completed,it was a very long delay!!!

I love this pattern! It comes from Favorite Socks by Interweave Press Retro Rib Socks by Evelyn A. Clark I love this wool! The wool is from Fyberspates, Alpaca Sock wool, it is so unbelievably soft to wear!!! knitted on 2.5mm needles, 1 skein.

A Hat fit for a Boyfriend

A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend by Stephanie Nicole

This is the name of the pattern, please do not think that I am knitting this hat for my boyfriend, because I don't have one. However if George Clooney, or Harrison Ford come knocking on my door, I might change my mind and have to knit them a hat!

My photo does not do this pattern any justice. It is a brilliant hat pattern, and I will knit this again sometime soon.

I had it finished in 2 days!

Fibreworks 8ply merino 1 skein of "Black Range Blues"

Knitted with 5.0 mm circular needles (40cm long), and double pointed at the top end

2008 Quilt # 10

Another Tumbler..... I played with colour on EQ5 with this one, to try and create opposites. I sewed the entire top, and when I look at it now, I feel like I have made a large mistake by sewing 2 quarters of it the wrong way around. I guess I am feeling this way because the last few quilts I have made with these tumbler blocks was to colour it from the inside to the outer.... I like it! :) I just can't decide which way I want it to hang??  This one is for Libby Hassinalli.

2008 Quilt #8 & #9

I am counting this quilt as 2, because it is double sided! 

I still have a stack of tumbler blocks....I think they are multiplying in the box when I am not looking! I am keeping this one for myself.

Waterlily rainbow jumper

This jumper has been a long time in the making.

This is the second time I have knitted it. The first was last September, over the next few months I lost a few dress sizes, and it was too big.

So, I frogged the entire thing and started again. It had been sitting in the basket beside the couch, just waiting for the ribbon to be sewn on.

Finally last night I stitched the ribbon on. It took less than 5 minutes.

The Pattern is Waterlily Rainbow Jumper from the UK magazine, Knit Today, Issue 6 the yarn is Colinette Tagliatelli Size 7 and 8mm needles

Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern

Pattern by Nancy Bush, from Knitting Vintage Socks book 3.0 mm needles Yarn Tausendschön Handgefärbte Sockenwolle Colorway Engelstrompete I only had 300metres of this yarn, so I had to make them a bit shorter than the pattern suggested. 5 pattern repeats of Row 1-10

May Xmas Ornament

Here is the May ornament that our cross stitch group are working on each month (from the Just Cross Stitch Christmas 2007 magazine)

I chose the Erica Michael's Design. 

I have a lot of these aida strips, and trying to use them up. The design was too large for the width of the fabric, so I adjusted the pattern a bit.

The yellow thread that I used, should have been white, but I don't have any coloured fabric at the moment (that I want to use for these ornaments), so that had to be adapted too.

Fancy Silk Socks

Fancy Silk Sock by Nancy Bush, from Vintage Knitted Socks book

needles: 2.5 mm  Yarn : Fyberspates Sock yarn

Once I finally got the hang of this lace pattern it was fun to do, but I struggled with Row 9 every time I did this lace pattern. It shouldn't have been that hard, but I mucked it up every time on the first sock, and then finally got the hang of it for the second sock!

Calendar Month: April

Here are the latest monthly designs I am working on. April is finally finished!

I don't know why these are taking so long to do (something with my sock obsession I think!). Once I start one, it only takes 3-4 nights to complete.

The top three are Lizzie Kate Flip Its, the next 2 are from Rainbow Gallery and the last one is Bent Creek. I changed the wording on the Bent Creek one, it said "April Glooms", which didn't really sound right when it isn't going to be displayed with the other Bent Creek designs. So I changed it to April Showers, which was most suitable this April, we certainly had a lot of rain in April!

Here are the current finished pieces.

2008 Quilt #7

Here is a blue tumbler block quilt finished. I am stunned with how many more blocks I have of these, and have no idea how many more quilts I can make from them all. This one is for Michelle McLeish.

April Xmas Ornament

Stitched but not sewn into anything yet.

Mosaic Maker

Testing Mosaic Maker , Hey that seemed to work! (Thanks Pennie for helping me out!)

2277 tumbler blocks transformed

All the strips I previously sewed have now been cut down to 3 3/4" strips. That took me ages to cut them all to size. I managed to watch 5 episodes of Desperate Housewives Series 3, whilst cutting ( I set up my cutting board in front of the TV). 

Then I sewed all the strips together. I love Post It Notes. I had labeled the strips in order. There were only a few strips where I had miscounted the pieces, and needed to unpick a bit, but nothing too frustrating. Only once they were all sewed together and ironed flat, did I look at the final top. 

I am thinking of using these 2 as a front and a back. I need to think about the quilting before I make this decision. I will probably want to do the same with the 3rd one, and need to make a 4th top. No problem, I have so many of these pieces left to sew! The above quilt top goes from yellow in the middle to blue on the edges. The bottom quilt top goes from blue in the middle to yellow on the edges. I think this would work well as a double sided quilt. I am not sure about this quilt top below.. When I look at it in the photo, to me it looks like I have sewn the 4 large squares the wrong way. I have to think about this one a bit more.

Clapotis

I finished the knitting of my Clapotis (pronounced Clap-Oh-Tee).

It has been sitting in the basket waiting patiently for my to block it so I can wear it.

Today I found some coated stainless steel wire for 1.40 euro each (bargain! proper "knitting wires", I priced at 30 pounds today on google)

Now I am waiting impatiently for it to dry....I love it!! :)

2277 tumbler blocks

2277 tumbler blocks sewn together into strips = 3 larger than lap size quilts.

I have no idea how these will look yet, I haven't spread them out side by side. I have just been following the colour layout I played with in EQ5, and hope for the best! I will wait until I have all the strips sewn into a top before I look at the finished top..hopefully I have sewn the colours in the correct order.

Here is the "left over" tumblers I still have to play with...I have already made 7 quilts out of these, there must be enough for another 3-4 quilts there!

You should see what a difference I have made in the stash pile though...it is a great way to clear out the "what to do with this" fabric!