knit nutt

TC Iggy!

2012-01-27T10:03:00.000+11:00

It's already a little soggy around here and looks like the winds are going to pick up!!

But fear not - the camp I am in is rated for category 5 cyclones, so it willbe a wild ride, but hopefully no Wizard of Oz action ;)

Dogger!

2012-01-16T08:59:00.000+11:00

For so long now (it feels that way, anyway!) we have been working Fly In Fly Out (FIFO) so have been unable to have a dog in our lives - a very important element for both my Shweetie and I which we sorely miss.

Luckily for us, our land-mate (like a house-mate, but he is sharing our land with us rather than our house) has recently brought a wonderful fluffy person in to his life!

She is extraordinarily gorgeous as you can see!

It is a thing of wonder and magic to have a four legged, canine person around again and we are thoroughly enjoying her, despite her numerous escape antics!

P.S. She is actually SLEEPING below, in the same stiff-legged manner that our family husky-kelpie adopts!

Rock Rock Water

2012-01-16T04:39:00.000+11:00

I am always intrigued and somewhat amazed by this formation of rock in a nearby town. They seem to bend from the straight-as-a-die pylons below, into this almost flexible bamboo-like rock structures.

There is a water wall of some height too, crashing water falling over the edge like a sheet of liquid glass. All in all a rather fun area when you stop to look at elements you might always walk or drive past without giving an extra moment to absorb the aesthetic :)

Foxy

2012-01-15T12:15:00.002+11:00

Although we have had our fantastic 200cc scramblers for a good few years now, I have always borrowed gear and never had my own helmet... until NOW!

Using some generous Christmas funds I went out to fit and find the perfect lid. I don't like austentatious, flaunty gear, and with motocross there's a fair bit of, shall we say, 'showman-ship' with brand names and all sorts of carry on. I was thrilled to find this helmet, and stunned to find that a 'small' was the best fit for me, even with my boofy dreadlocks!

I love the simple colours and lines; it reminds me of a nice vintage black and white 57 chev, appropriately named 'Whitewall'. It was in my price range too - it's worth paying for a reliable brand and good quality, but those that were $300 - $600 stayed on the shelf!!

I managed a couple of rides before my bike had to be taken off to the reliable milk crate for repairs - the back shocky was out :( However, since then the replacement has arrived and Sir Shweetie has fitted it, so come my next R&R I can ride again, in personalised safety style!

highlights

2012-01-13T08:39:00.000+11:00

We have had an action packed holiday from work; spanning Christmas, New Year and my birthday, and also a wonderfully long visit from Sir Shweetie's son, Scamp. He had never been to Tasmania or seen our land before so we spent two weeks in glorious adventures of the 11 year old kind!

I thoroughly enjoyed having a longer than usual break from work - some time to reacquiant myself with my land, my love, and the reasons for working away and doing all that hard stuff.

Such adorable balls of light wispy fluff - a neighbour's cat had kittehs

Tassie sunset, who knew they could be so vivid?

Greens from our garden

Now it's back to work, but I have more photos and stories to tell to keep the holiday alive in my memories of the fun times

Airport Warmers

2012-01-12T16:30:00.000+11:00

I saw these in a store at the Melbourne airport yesterday and was quite enamoured.

As with any knitted item though, it would have been a travesty to purchase them rathert han make them myself! To that end, I have snapped an image of them and recorded it herein so that I can refer back and knock some up one day! Love the three wooden buttons and the charcoal/black stripes - super cute!

The Big Smoke

2012-01-07T20:53:00.004+11:00

I spent a day in town today collecting supplies in an excited frenzy for a Picnic in our Paddock I'm holding tomorrow to celebrate my birthday. I went a little crazy and found all sorts of delightful things including a Party Dress!

I am particularly delighted that it is a size 10 :D Although to be fair, dresses aren't that form fitting so it's almost cheating ;)

Recently I was accused of owning a "Mormon like" collection of underwear - due, I expect, to my entire set being black cotton jocks - no lace, frills or colour. I had never really noticed how utilitarian I am with the smalls department, and today rectified the fact!

Terrible photo due to overcast weather (eep! Picnic?!) and grubby phone camera lens... But I assure you they are frilled, fun, and fantastic!! :D

What I'm Crafting On

2012-01-06T15:53:00.000+11:00

Can 'craft' be a verb, do you think?

For the sake of my post title, I do hope so!

What I'm crafting away on at the moment is a lovely knitted cardigan for my dear and lovely Mama. I bought the yarn from a lovely yarn store in a small town down south of WA while holidaying there with Mum.

A sample had been knit up using the yarn and a feather'n'fan stitch in to a glorious blanket Mum particularly adored. Hmmm I know a pattern for cardigan entirely in feather & fan! So thus I commenced on my first Liesl, one of Ysolda Teague's wonderful patterns I've danced around for a long time now; admiring and enjoying others' knitted versions on Ravelry.

I have knit a little further than the picture above, and am thoroughly enjoying it. The feather and fan pattern is repetitive enough to memorise easily and I can almost knit the lace row without looking, so it's okay for social outings too.

The colours of this Sirdar yarn are gorgeous, and such fun to see row by row which shades will emerge and how they will blend or contrast with the preceding row. The rainbow parts are some of my favourites :)

Things I'm Excited About

2012-01-04T17:23:00.003+11:00

Some of the wondrous things I'm excited about lately;

1. Delicious meals cooked at home, from garden and local produce, eaten in good company while watching the light change to dusk

2. Produce from our garden!! ( note: the carrot pictured was minute but delicious)

3. Going to the movies tomorrow for the first time in months; I LUFF going to the movies. This time it's a personal favourite; Sherlock Holmes! Olde Worlde + Magical Mystical Adventure + Spunky Lead Character Who Is Slightly Mad Genius = ExtraDoubleLUFF!!

4. Planning my parents' visit to Tassie and our land! :D

5. Planning a Picnic in Our Paddock for my birthday this weekend :)

What's got YOU excited lately??

Mini Blooms

2012-01-02T11:28:00.000+11:00

My sweetie loves finding these minute flowers in our fields and wild gardens.

He also loves presenting them to me, and I love receiving them :)

(though I don't have a small enough vase!)

Boom Stick go Boom!

2012-01-02T09:15:00.001+11:00

In or household we support recycling - but sometimes in an unusual twist from the normal Pop-It-In-The-Recycling-Bin way. If it's made of metal chances are it'll be hanging from a tree branch in the general vicinity of base. Target practice is surely one of the most fun and satisfying forms of recycling!

This milo tin (? Bit hard to tell now!) met the final demise when I cracked the shotgun the other evening.

Our double barrel has a barrel selector switch to fire either top or bottom barrel first. Occasionally, very occasionally, it decides to fire BOTH barrels first. Luckily I don't get bruised or feel sore when I fire the shotgun, even with both 12 gauge barrels going off ;) The tin, however, did feel it!

Textured Tissues

2012-01-01T18:54:00.002+11:00

I found this utterly rad tissue box at the bargain shop the other day. They had LOADS, and only $1.00!

Super fun when one's knitting obsession can extend in to other areas of life :)

May your 2012 be as fortuitous and joyful as the discovery of this knitterly tissue box! Hope you all enjoy times of peace, fulfillment, joy and contentment.

Garlic Balls

2011-12-29T10:55:00.000+11:00

Not cooked garlic balls, but GIANT. PURPLE. GARLIC. BALLS....

Our neighbours have quite the magnificent and productive garden, which hosts these tremendous heads of garlic.

Impressive, no?

turn around point

2011-12-28T22:48:00.002+11:00

This is the turn around point on my runs here in Tassie.

Up north it's a more significant moment to reach the turn around point since it is double the distance. But the moment is always significant no matter where or how far you've run to get there. You touch the point (give way sign, gate post, whatever it may be), conduct a few half way stretches, sit ups or pushups, then run back.

p.s. I was trying to find a suitably festive picture or photo to post with my well wishes for a wonderful, safe, magical, and lovely festive season for you all - but alas, it got later and later and now here we are! So please take my well wishes, photo-less but none the less sincere xo

Spinning Optim

2011-12-27T17:16:00.001+11:00

When I visited the Bothwell Spin In oh-it-feels-like-so-long-ago I bought a few bumps of intriguing 'optim' fibre from Ms Gusset.

I've been spinning one of the colourways over the last few months, in between stints away at work, busy times at home and so on it has taken some time, but I have now finished it off.

I spun it finer rather than thicker, but haven't done a Wraps Per Inch test yet. Nor have I measured the length that I can remember.. but I'm sure I would have written down how many rounds in the skein as I was winding it.. ah well, the number is probably somewhere...

The resultant yarn spun from 'optim' is silky and shiny - very nice and a little bit posh. I plan to knit a kerchief/shawlette for a friend from this skein, but have many other projects on the go and in the queue at the moment, so it may end up with a different destiny by the time I get to it.

This leaves my spinning wheel empty - nothing on the go at the moment. I have some knitting projects I am very committed to at the moment, so don't know how much time I will put towards spinning. But I also have about two weeks of time off in Tassie, so maybe I will spin up another little bump of something while I have some time on my hands.

Ocean Ornaments

2011-12-26T12:55:00.001+11:00

I haven't been myself lately - which happens to everyone now and again, I know. It's been the last few months really, but I've been feeling it more and more. Have to just ride it out I suppose, until things feel more at home again.

This festive season has still been sparkly and bright though - spent with family, sharing good food and laughter. Yesterday evening however, my Gran had a nasty fall and broke her ankle in several places in a very messy and gory way. We called an ambulance and within a short time she was sorted out and on her way to hospital where she is now in theatre having her ankle operated on. My goodness, the ambulance paramedics were fantastic - I'm sending big warm fuzzies out in to the cosmos for all the paramedics and ambos out there; they were so calm, competent and in control.

Spending time at Dad's house I saw these intriguing fuzz balls on his dining room dresser...

My Dad is a beach boy, has been surfing since he was 12 and loves the salty sea. I wasn't surprised then, to discover he had found these washed up on the shore. We did some research and found they are called Posidonia Oceanica or Neptune Grass. This plant grows in underwater meadows in the Mediterranean, causing balls of fibrous material that wash up on shores nearby (you can checkout the full wiki here). Well, Australia isn't really 'nearby' but sure enough here they are, like little fuzzy ornaments from the ocean.

Rock Ruins by the Road

2011-12-19T08:59:00.002+11:00

While on the return drive from our wonderful time down south, Mum and I kept an eye out for some ruins she knew to be nestled on the side of the road....

We found them!
I find them so enchanting with all the greenery gradually reclaiming the rock.

They aren't particularly ancient ruins; an old roadside inn. Mum and I walked over the walls and areas trying to imagine which would have been the kitchen, the guest rooms and so on. Very fun, and very magical :)

Too Tightly

2011-12-18T11:26:00.002+11:00

Oh dear...

I recently knit a hat for a boy, but not whilst in the boy's company... uh oh, I bet you can see where this is going?

I used a simple ribbed pattern (Jacques Cousteau pattern) and the glorious, always delicious malabrigo worsted - the beanie turned out very nice. But too small!! Ah well.. it is only JUST too small, so the boy is attempting to make it fit but force... wool does tend to 'give' a little, I find, so hopefully it will only be uncomfrotably tight for a short time ;)

yarning away

2011-12-13T17:28:00.003+11:00

Oh my.. the whole month of november and no post?!
Such is the crazy whirlwind of this work stint!

Last R&R I spent a glorious few days down south with my lovely Mama. We did all sorts of fun, soul-nourishing things so I'll post a few photos over the next couple of days bringing the blog up to speed with R&R.

One of the fabulous adventures we embarked upon was a trip to the nearby yarn store....

We fell over a bit in there, I blame all the glorious yarn fumes....

Nice super duper chunky wunky yarn for a beanie for a boy...

Worsted yarn for another beanie for another boy - a nice mix of blues

I fell in love with this understated skein and couldn't leave it behind. Something for me maybe? A shawl of some type - I love wearing shawls as scarves :)

These rainbow wonders are for a cardigan knit up for my Mama :) I'm already trucking along through it and it's knitting up wonderfully. More on that later!

It was such a fun and delicious day out - we drove through the gorgeous countryside, chatting together all the way, we had some scrumptious snacks and meals along the way to keep us going. We will have to do it all again soon, Mum!

Run Buddy

2011-10-28T08:44:00.000+11:00

I have committed myself to running. I try to run every day, even if it is hard, raining, I'm tired, busy etc.. etc.. [insert excuse here]. I very much like the Lance Armstrong quote: "Not everything that is good for you, feels good for you"

I have a running buddy up North when I'm away at work, but here in Tassie I run our track on my own. Well, it turns out I have another running buddy; this one not even human....

I saw these footprints side by side as I was returning from my run the other night - a devil? a quoll? whoever they are, they share the running track with me and that feels nice :)

Lupins

2011-10-27T13:42:00.002+11:00

Yesterday we sowed our first wee crop of anything - this time, lupins!

We borrowed a funny little engine powered plough from our neighbours and chug-chugged a long strip of ploughed earth, with one of us walking behind sprinkling in the seeds and tucking them in.

It will be an interesting experiment to see whether they prefer the wet land or the dry land, how long they take to sprout and also how long they last before wallaby nibbles ensue!

Brief Glimpse

2011-10-26T17:17:00.002+11:00

We experienced a brief glimpse at livestock, and duck wrangling - it was lovely, they were lovely, but this short story has a sad ending.

We were very excited and raced out, bringing home three Muscovy ducks (two boys, one girl) who we names The Muscovyteers; Athos, Porthos and Aramis.

They had a pond, they had little corrogated iron shelter and we adored them; 8 weeks old, still growing out their wings, they would snuggle together in sibling companionship and all share the one little pond.

Unfortunately we were unprepared; the fence and corrogated iron bunker they slept in did not prove sufficient protection and on their second night one was taken and the other two left dead in the hay. We had planned to buy a good sturdy duck hutch the following day and now are kicking ourselves for not being more responsible and making an interim measure for their security over night. Their lives were in our hands and we failed them.

This is a devastating and vital lesson to have learned, and my word, we will only need to learn it once.

Sated & Singed

2011-10-23T22:04:00.002+11:00

Slightly singed, with the faint aroma of burnt protein - but oh how I adore poi :)

Skeet skeet skeet...

2011-10-22T16:43:00.002+11:00

Two boxes of fun...

R&R Begins

2011-10-20T14:19:00.000+11:00

Potatees

2011-10-05T04:05:00.000+11:00

A few weeks ago, whilst still on R&R, I plugged in some potatees!

They're not plugged in using the traditional method involving dirt - instead they are in hay with a layer of hay over the top. Once they sprout through we will continue covering them with hay as they go to get more and more 'tatties!

Hey, crochet!

2011-10-03T04:12:00.000+11:00

Sitting outside in the evening on R&R, a bottle of my favourite cider in my hand, the stars winking above, sharing the excellent company of my shweetie skoota and our friend Caballo I cast on (is this the correct term, fellow crocheters?) for a crochet blanket to keep my knees warm!

I am using worsted weight pure wool from Bendigo Mills, striped with a ball of delicious fingering weight Noro yarn (can't remember whether it's silk garden, kureyon..etc..). The blanket is very simple; a giant granny square that I'll continue round and around on until I run out of yarn! I am hooking two rounds of black then a round of the colourful Noro. So far it is turning our very well indeed and I am thoroughly enjoying crochet.

Since the balls of black yarn are rather large I have left the project at home to be continued on my next R&R.

Front yard Flow

2011-10-02T13:11:00.000+11:00

We plan to eventually build our home on the edge of our eastern most cleared paddock. The river flows past all of our clearings and the waterway in this paddock is very lovely indeed.

A fallen tree from who knows how long ago provides height for a wee waterfall in one spot.

Prior to our wonderous gas hot water system we would use the river for our daily bath (a quick bird bath given the temperatures at the time!) but now we enjoy it for purely leisure activities, well apart from cleaning clay from our shoes as my Skoota is doing here.

I can't imagine a nicer front yard ;)

Too Taut!

2011-10-01T04:00:00.000+10:00

You may remember this Rastafarian yarn destined to become a Bontanic beanie?

This week I commenced knitting; delighted with the feel of the wool on my metal needles, it was bliss! I cast on the 96 stitches as per pattern, with appropriate yarn and needles but since I am knitting for a larger cranium I deliberated on whether I would need to reassess the size or press on. I find ribbing and wool both to be misleading and changeable since both can stretch out after several wearings, leaving the item too BIG!

Not being in physical proximity to the recipient I measure my notebook and stretched the 12cm length of ribbing around it to gauge the circumference.

Uh oh! The notepad is 10th SMALLER in circumference than the recipient's noggin, so I have decided something must be done. I don't want to mess with Jared Flood's wonderful design and clever decreases so I've decided I'll unravel what I've done and cast on the prescribed number of stitches but on a half size larger needle.

Anonymous

2011-09-30T10:16:00.000+10:00

I have been in Perth for some training these past few days. When I was leaving the CBD yesterday I walked past this fantastic installation:

Fantastic! I really must get my act together and contribute something like this to an unexpecting neighborhood somewhere...

5 Fruits :)

2011-09-28T16:01:00.000+10:00

This last R&R was one of the most blissful R&Rs i have had; relaxing times at home with no set agenda or stressful to-do list, walks through our wilderness, discussions of house placement, design and planning for our future, and some of the loveliest moments with my True Love.

We planted five lovely trees; a crofton apple, red Fuji apple, pink belle apple, a Napoleon cherry tree and a stunning flowering almond.

I have a pictorial snap shot sequence of their journey to planting....

Delighted discovery at the nursery, 30% off!! That meant two trees became five :D

We decided where we would establish our first grove and marked out the placement of these first five trees. These will provide the driplines future trees will be added to.

On the top photo you can make out the sticks with pink tape marking placement. The photo below is looking down the slope rather than up, so they are much clearer.

After a few days waiting patiently to be plugged in the almond and pink belle decided to start flowering anyway :) well, the almond was already stunning, it simply became more so!

We arranged for a chap to bring his excavator and auger attachment to bore out the holes - the ground was so hard it would have taken us days with the matic!

We filled the holes with green wood, decomposing wood and bark, compost and other goodies - using the German technique Hugel Kulture

It was enjoyable to research and decide which tree would be happiest where and to finally plug them in. As a final measure of care and welcome we put three stakes in place around each tree with an industrial plastic wrap skirt to keep them cosy and hopefully possum-free!

I'll be sure to keep you posted on their progress and how they're settling in :)

Platypus Stake Out!

2011-09-25T04:35:00.000+10:00

On my very last day of R&R there was an excited hhallooo from my shweetie down at the river. I dashed out and he told me a platypus had just been nuzzling about in the river! So I set up a wee chair and sat there with my coffee and an umbrella - a stake out!

It was some time staring at this rootball where the creek's water had eroded a nice little platypus possie under the tree's roots... waiting.. waiting...

Then all of a sudden I noticed bubbles! The wee critter had eluded my attentive gaze and exited the root ball by some secret underwater passage! I had my camera but was only able to snap these blurry shots before the gorgeous platy was gone!

They truly are one of Australia's most enchanting creatures :)

Like the Wind!

2011-09-24T20:30:00.001+10:00

I ran SIX kilometers tonight!!

For those of you who know me offline you will realise this is quite a feat, since I've never been particularly sporty until this recent paradigm health shift.

I am absolutely DELIGHTED!!

Let's be honest, I actually JOGGED six kms*, I didn't 'run' per say. But considering it was only a few days ago that I realized I could jog more than 500metres without stopping, 6000metres seems extraordinary!

Hurrah :) So glad I invested in snazzy running shoes while I was on R&R, somehow I think they're going to get a work out ;D

* 6 kilometre = 3.7miles

Perfectly!

2011-09-20T16:25:00.000+10:00

Perfectly Delicious!

I discovered this bizarre and hilarious cider at our local bottle-o.

It is not only perfectly delicious but perfectly well suited to my current craft as I am crocheting up a giant granny square rug at the moment - perfect!

Halt!

2011-09-15T07:36:00.002+10:00

I've been knitting up a wee beanie, or I HAD been knitting up a wee bubby beanie until this happened;

It's actually happened to TWO of my five double points so I was left unable to keep knitting. I tried valiantly to continue with the snapped needle but it kept snagging and I couldn't push the stitches along... yech. I tried to customise something from work but luckily I'm in the airport now heading home so the knit won't be on hiatus for too much longer :)

Not long now!

2011-09-12T08:34:00.000+10:00

I can almost smell the air already!

There has been knitting!

2011-09-05T07:40:00.000+10:00

This one DID happen up here - I had some left over malabrigo so decided to whip up a Calorimetry; a pattern I've wanted to knit for some time now - ages in fact!

Here is version one - which I ended up completely ripping out and redoing.... -_-

I was happy to do so though because it really was quite a quick knit, and I just wasn't happy with the little holes the short rows created. Also, you'll see I added a cable to the otherwise regular ribbed pattern. It's the cable from the Snowtracks Cap pattern but on this Version 1.0 I knit up the cable was too close to the side and was affected by the short rows - it kind of went all slanty which detracted from the look of the cable.

Rip rip rip....

I've reknit the headband now and am very happy with it. No photos of the finished item yet since I still need a button for the closure, so that will have to wait til I'm home. I love this style of head band though - a nice thick band that holds my dreads back out of my face and keeps my ears warm too!

There has been Spinning!

2011-09-04T09:35:00.000+10:00

Not lately, back when I was on R&R.

I'm spinning up the lovely Merino 'optim' fibre I bought from Ms Gusset at Bothwell last year. It is smooth, silky fibre and very nice indeed!

I'm only spinning bit by bit since I keep flying off to work before I finish the bobbin - let along ply and set the twist! I may leave this one unplied though.. the jury is still out on that one. This coming R&R I am quite determined to finish the spin so I can skein it up and take it back to work to knit with!

Not very zen

2011-08-31T13:50:00.001+10:00

Right now I badly want to be at home at these pictured spots, not where I am right now.

I'm lucky to be employed and have these opportunities. I'm trying very hard to stay positive and well - but it feels a bit like Struggle-Town at the moment. Thank goodness I have lovely pictures to look at and remember WHY I'm here.

Over so soon?

2011-08-21T18:50:00.004+10:00

I spent all of Friday in the air or various airports as I made my way back to work in the West.

It was a glorious and salubrious week off but, as is always the case, the time flies by and before I can believe it is truly happening, the week of R&R is over and it's time to head back to the grindstone.

I spent a little bit at the airport and had some very pretty entertainment on the flight as a result :D I have a distinct and incurable fetish for stationery so the 36 colour marker set and lovely Rollbahn notepad were a delight!

Now I am back on the island; terribly early mornings, long days of work, and zonked out evenings for the next 25 days. The internet is very slow and set upon each evening by hordes of voracious construction workers all trying to email and cruise the 'net; so blogging may be intermittent. At least the weather is divine, and the sunrises beautiful :)

Spirits Un Dampened!

2011-08-17T18:13:00.000+10:00

When I got up this morning the weather radar looked like this:

But no amount of impending rain was to stop me or dampen my spirits! I had a chicken coop to build!

Phase 1: A flat pack garden shed

Phase 2: Everything out of the boxes

Phase 3: Roof, door and all panels assembled

The rain had been consistently drizzling and pouring which made the electric drill a bit tricky!

After Phase 3 and a cuppa the weather radar still looked like this:

While I have a great wet weather coat and quite enjoy being out in the rain, working in pouring rain is not a power tool's best environment, so I packed it in for the day. We'll see how much further I can get towards chookdom tomorrow!

Highlights :)

2011-08-16T08:41:00.000+10:00

Lamb + jumper = adorable

We met this charming girl at a friend's farm :)

Having a wood stove in the bedroom - the crackle, the clunk of shifting wood deep in the belly of the dark glowing dragon sitting in the corner, keeping us snug.

There's something magical, special and very romantic about it :)

A friendly frog in the water tank ( he was reluctant to hop off!)

What will tomorrow bring..?

Outback Shower

2011-08-15T19:37:00.003+10:00

We're not really in The Outback. That term suggests red dirt, fine bull dust, willy willies and short stubbies worn with double bunger thongs.

We're a much richer, darker earth with moss and mushrooms, liquid sunshine and warm woolly coats in winter.

Our shower however, has a definite Outback feel to it.

Have you ever SEEN a more Australian shower?!
I am completely smitten :D

It is wind-proof, well drained, very user friendly and nicely roomy inside too! Hot water at the turn of a tap, the hoswer head gives a wonderful thick rush of water too - none of this piddly restricted flow nonsense.

My shweetie welded together the frame and used recycled corrogated iron for the weatherproofing. The door latches shut and there's even a little string of waterproof LED lights inside for moonlight showers!

Very dreamy :)

Cosy and Wonderful

2011-08-14T18:38:00.000+10:00

I returned home for this week of R&R to a most wonderful sight!

The sea container we bought 4 weeks ago may look the same from the outside, but my sweetie has turned the inside in to a Cosy DREAM!

Not only was I presented with choc milk and daffodils when I got off the plane, but we now have a warm, clean, dry, snugglicious den with a REAL full sized bed and proper mattress :) I feel very very lucky and very very cosy

R is for...

2011-08-13T05:42:00.002+10:00

R&R: Rest and Recuperation
RELIEF!

At the airport now waiting for my connecting flight through to my land and my love.
Knackered but grounded, can hardly wait to stand on our land again and hold my sweetie nice and tight

Drunken Hobo Mitts! An FO at last!

2011-08-01T12:19:00.001+10:00

Several weeks ago, during June, I cast on for a small pair of short fingerless mittens for myself - and they are now complete!

I started the mitts because my hands were SO cold in the desert mornings when I was working at the last project. I had a fantastic giant windproof, waterproof, high-visibility jacket... but my poor little hands were frozen when the wind blew up the sleeves!

I thought I would be able to whip out these small mitts super quickly, and I was off to a good start. But then I picked up the age-old-construction worker habit of hitting the Wet Mess each night after work for a 'wind down' and my knitting production came to a screeching halt!

In any case, I finished them off a couple of weeks ago in Perth when I was attending some training before flying up to this current project, but it's not really cold enough up here to wear them! They have turned out well and I am glad to have them tucked away in to my bag in case the weather takes a turn for the frosty.

They'll be perfect when I'm on R&R in the cooler climes of Perth and Tassie, and are delicious in the 100% alpaca I bought at Bothwell from one of the local Alpaca vendors. I refer to these type of tiny fingerless mitts as 'Hobo Mitts' and since it was my drunken behaviour that caused such a delay in the production of said mitts I have christened them the Drunken Hobo Mitts! ;)

p.s. It's awfully hard to take photos of your own hands...

Drainage

2011-07-27T21:38:00.001+10:00

Apologies for such intermittant blogging lately. I blame the drainage - energy drainage, that is. This is what my alarm clock set up looked like when I set it on Monday night.

This morning it was better, half an hour later for all of those times. But I am definitely feeling the pinch of busy work and busy mind. Bear with me! There has been crafting, photos were taken and details will be shared; for now though it's time for nigh' nigh's

A Little Bit Yummy

2011-07-19T21:31:00.000+10:00

I won't lie to you - it's a LOT yummy and has been my favourite drink for a few months now.
Sweet, unusual twist and not overly 'boozey'; such a tasty cidery limey strawberryy delight!

An unexpected surprise from my lovely Mama when she came to visit in Perth while I was there for training - she brought a carton of this scrummy treat with her! Since it's a little bit Swedish and a little bit exotic it's also a little bit pricey, so it was such a wonderful treat to have unexpected Rekorderlig at hand!

Do you have a special favourite treat?

(Yes, I'm one of those people who drinks from the bottle rather than decant to a glass (I draw the line at a wine bottle though!) and drinks flavoured milk from the carton rather than a straw)

Cosy Birthdays

2011-07-18T08:03:00.000+10:00

I knit up these wee cosies for gifts a few months ago - they are such a fun, sweet, quick knit to put together and were very well received!

They are a little fiddly, especially the sleeves, since they are so tiny - but therein lies the charm!

Now my Gran and Grandad will hopefully be able to find that particular key (front door, garden shed... ) ever so much more easily since it will stand out from the rest!

( These are knit from Amy's delightful pattern found on Bare your Threads )

Dreadly Update

2011-07-17T09:54:00.000+10:00

My dreads are going very nicely, thanks for asking :)

They are finally 'proper' dreadlocks (really proper, not proper like I thought they were within a month of getting them done and now look back and realise how UNproper they were for the first 8 months or more!) and I am in love with them very much.

I had a lovely guinnea fowl feather attached to one dread for a while, but it eventually broke due to being crammed up in to a hard hat while I was at work.

I still have several bits of treasure nestled away in the dreadleys, including a tiny wee bell!

Boy Beanies

2011-07-16T20:34:00.000+10:00

I'm casting on for two beanies for two boys. Well, men actually, let's be honest - but I'm a fan of alliteration so we'll go with 'boys' for now.

Both are very dear to my heart so I want the finished knits to be well made but also suit the person in style, colour and over all design.

So far I am thinking of Westknits' Botanic for one beanie; utilising black as the structural colour and a striping of rasta colours (red, green, yellow) for the feature. This was an easy choice since he had requested rasta colours.

The other beanie will be knit from a skein of Malabrigo Worsted in 'Garden Gate' but the design is a little trickier since it is a surprise knit and I can't even contact the recipient to ask mysterious style questions like "simple or complex?" - "slanty or straight?" because he's out of phone coverage!

Perhaps another Westknit pattern, the Windschief hat... but I'd like a fold up brim to ensure the ears are kept nice and toasty. A bit of interest, but not over the top. I've been hunting all through ravelry and can't seem to settle on a pattern. Too plain? Too cabled? No fold up brim, but could I add a brim or would it look odd?

Maybe I will incorporate one of the cable features on to an otherwise plain ribbed hat. That way there is an element of interest, but the whole beanie isn't a tangle of cables...

Do you have any favourite beanie patterns? Please leave a comment to share your faves, I'd love to hunt them out too!

Boxing Beer

2011-07-16T17:02:00.000+10:00

In Fremantle today I noticed this age-old 'billboard' (circa 70s or 80s?) above one of the hotels.

I'm a huge fan of the boxing kangaroo and am glad to now have learned his favourite beer so if I should meet him out and about some time I can buy him a drink.

Family

2011-07-14T22:25:00.001+10:00

It has been such a nurturing and recharging week staying at my wonderful Dad's here in WA. I fly off to the next project soon but have been attending training in Perth which gives a welcome opportunity to see my loved and precious ones.

I spent a treasured Sunday breakfasting as a whole family with Mum, Dad, my brother and his wife. The rest of the day was spent visiting my grandparents with Mum and Dad. Such a special and nourishing time to be with both Mum and Dad together. I've been a little unsettled lately so to be surrounded by unconditional love was exactly what I needed.

Please Be Courteous

2011-07-13T10:18:00.000+10:00

I don't know if you can see it very well since the photo is awfully dark and the digi-screen so distant, but these signs have been above the freeway at a few spots here in WA lately.

In this odd, disjointed, nomadic lifestyle I tend to notice different little things about the places I flit between since I am away for a while then return with fresh eyes.

I was delighted by this sweet sign politely suggesting drivers be kind and considerate :)

P.s In case you can't see, it says "Please be courteous when merging"

Up Up

2011-07-07T15:34:00.003+10:00

and away

Taj Ma-Tainer!

2011-07-07T10:40:00.003+10:00

As of this morning we have a new addition to Chez Sash'n'Skoot... another 20 foot sea container!

Things had become pretty dire in our wee van - as I sit here now with laptop on knee my toes and fingers are so cold they are numb (and I keep having to fix typos since my fingers aren't typing so well!) and I can hear the regular 'tap' of water dripping from the leaky roof on to the cardboard lined floor. Yep, high-falutin' stuff, isn't it!!

It has gotten to the stage that boiling water inside the tiny 'van combined with warm-blooded human breath condensing on the roof, the interior of the van is so damp we have mould growing on things - yes, actually growing on items inside. My poor spinning wheel had a coat of greenish grey fur when I came back from break last week :( Luckily our wonderful neighbours have taken Arthur (my wheel) in and will dry him out, clean him off and give him a nice oiling.

Something needed to be done. We're on a very thin financial tightrope at the moment but breathing in mould spores is never a good situation, neither is trying to live with damp clothes and seeing all of our belongings gradually being destroyed by water damage and creeping mould. Gah!

So we have bought this extra sea container to use as a dry room. We'll set up our bed, a table and chairs, wardrobe and perhaps a bookshelf in there and continue to use the caravan for cooking and such. It will be blissful to have somewhere warm and dry. Our neighbours have also volunteered a long term loan of a pot-belly wood heater, ooooooh!! How divine! Since the container only arrived this morning and I fly out of Tassie back to the west in 3 hours I expect things will look somewhat different and be substantially more hospitable when I return! For now, I'm glad we have invested in a positive step for our physical and mental health, just in time for winter!

Returning home

2011-07-04T08:46:00.002+10:00

I've been finding it an unusually difficult transition settling back in to home now that the project is over and I am back for a week. The first morning I was home shweetie had gone off to work and I took a stroll on my own in the frosty morning to reacquaint myself with the land.

Cold frosty grass, check. Abundant wallaby poo, check.

River stones, check.

Toe-numbingly icy flowing waters with their healing glow, check.

The roots of one of my favourite trees, still gnarled, wild and ageless, check.

So all the boxes are checked, I must be home. I'm feeling more settled now, but I fly out again in three days - this industry is a hard task master. I spent four and a half weeks away this time and made some close connections and dear friends - who knows if or when I'll ever see them again? Now a short touch base at home and I'm off for 5 weeks on a different project with different people. It's a whirlwind I tell you - but it's a means to an end, and I just have to keep the goal in mind.

red dust

2011-06-15T22:04:00.000+10:00

Please excuse the relapse in posting. I've been getting up early, working 11 or 12 hours then coming back to camp and (let's be honest) spending the evening at the Wetty after a shower and a call to my shweetie. But I'll get back on board soon - I'm knitting socks now and again during lunch break times and even now I'm tackering out this post at 10pm even though I want to be up at 4:30am! Life still goes on around FIFO work, but it can be a little sporadic compared to the norm

RDO Roadtrip!

2011-06-08T20:50:00.000+10:00

Today was a Rostered Day Off (RDO) so a few of us took the two hour road trip out to a teeny little outback Aussie town for supplies and adventure!

It was a great outing; perfect weather, a good crew of blokes in the bus and the little town was lovely.

On the way back we stopped in at Karijini National Park for a short wander which was (if you pardon the pun) GORGE-ous (haha!).

I adore Karijini and find it a magical and special spot.

No time for a swim this visit, unfortunately, but we certainly achieved our day's exercise walking up and down the huge stone steps to the Fortescue Falls!

Another 10 days til our next day off (normally every second Saturday but we had to work last Saturday so the RDO was postponed to today) but I feel refreshed and ready to tackle the fortnight of work with great gusto and good cheer!

Tried and Plied!

2011-06-07T16:05:00.002+10:00

A few months ago at my local spin in I was shown how to make an Andean bracelet by the fabulous and illustrious Dean. For the non-fibre focused reader, or indeed a fibre focused reader who hasn't used a drop spindle before, I will explain! An 'Andean Bracelet' is a method of wrapping yarn around one's hand to make a loop which will then sit happily on one's wrist allowing the spinner to ply the two ends of one long strand into a two ply yarn (sort of looks like an old fashioned barber pole)

Above you will see the wrapping; around one side, loop over the middle finger back down that side, around, up the other side, loop over the finger and back down .... ad infinitum!

And above you see the finished yarn, plied together into who-knows-what length and thickness. I have the day off tomorrow so will have some time to write down the details and decide what to knit it in to!

Spindle Singles

2011-06-06T17:47:00.000+10:00

It had been some time since I had a play with my drop spindle, but now that I am up up and away from my lovely home I do need some sort of creative nourishment and soul food, so this (combined with my knitting of course) is it!

Obviously my little Ashford traveller wheel is far too large to take up to the Pilbara for Fly-In Fly-Out work. Even such things as moisturiser and a water filter were out of the question since the bag limit was 10kg. Mores the pity since the sudden change from drinking rainwater and showering in fresh river water to the terribly harsh and hard water up here has left my skin extremely sensitive and red rashed in some areas. Not pleasant!

So it was with delight that I took out my little drop spindle and spun the last of my sample fibre. It really is such a portable way to get a daily dose of fibre and very enjoyable! My arm certainly felt it after a while but that almost makes it count as exercise too I reckon!

I'm happy with how the singles have turned out, though the colours of this fibre that came in my spindle kit don't do anything for me. I am very much looking forward to plying the singles and then knitting up my first drop spindled project!

Plants vs.

2011-06-03T20:04:00.000+10:00

ZOMBIES!

Such a very fun little game, and quite addictive too. Also one of the primary reasons people seem to get an iphone; the games!

I feel more myself now than I have the last couple of days settling in to camp. I can tell when I am not 100% because I don't knit, read or do anything else even mildly productive with my time off. 'Plants vs. Zombies' has filled in those gaps but now that I am a bit perkier again I will crack out the knitting and spinning and get my productive boots on! Did you realise it's 6 months and 22 days til Christmas?? :D

Pictureless Post

2011-05-31T21:40:00.000+10:00

My first day at the new job, new site, new project etc is at an end! I am tucked up in bed after a wonderful call to my honey at home - it is well past my bed time!

No reading or knitting, straight to lights out - tomorrow will be a busier day (and an earlier start!) since my inductions and training are all done so now I'm out in to the thick of it!

Ps things are feeling good again :D

Return to FIFO

2011-05-30T21:12:00.000+10:00

I have arrived in camp here in the North West of WA And been allocated my little room.

It's actually a not-so-little room by camp standards so that is a welcome surprise. I have unpacked my things ( not many since there is a strict 10kg checked and 4kg carry on limit) and am very ready to snuggle down with my book for some zonk out zone out time.

It is always an exhausting week or so to settle in to a new job, new project, new camp and work site, new people etc etc so much to remember! Plus a 5am start which I am very much out of practice! I'm feeling a little glum to be away from all my favourite people and beautiful Tas, but I am very lucky that one of my good friends from a previous job is here in the same camp as me! What a blessing! Ok nigh night for now, thank you for all the comments on recent posts, I do love to read them :)

Unblocked Binkie

2011-05-30T15:00:00.000+10:00

I don't think I ever used the word "binkie" or had a security blanket as such. I did have a favourite soft toy - a little dog, aptly named "Doggie", with a zip up furry jacket (he's still around, tucked up in to an archive box with my other adored soft friends until we have a proper house to unpack them in to). This recently finished knit may eventually be someone's 'binkie', in the not-right-now-please-but-when-we're-ready fullness of time.

I only JUST managed to eke out enough of the handspun to bind off and am very glad I made it since I wanted the blanket to be as big as possible from the 200g of my handspun yarn.

I have yet to block the blanket out (and will post more details on the knit process when I do) but wanted to snap a few quick shots and put them up before I headed off up north again for work (you can see the packing bedlam all over the floor in this last photo!). I'll be away for 4 weeks so I wanted some proof of my knitting progress before then!

p.s. Two posts in one day! Two posts within one hour!?! Madness! I board the third plane for this leg of the journey in ten minutes but have had a fair bit of transift time - it does wonders for blogging, hmm?

Slight Disappointment

2011-05-30T14:46:00.001+10:00

I need a little bit of consolation - not much, since it's over a very trivial yarn related disappointment, but a little.

I recently skein-to-ball-wound the second of two skeins of gorgeous alpaca I had brought home with me from Bothwell in March. The first ball was all I dreamed it could be; the colours an exquisite blend of green, brown, purple, blue all tinted with a faint teal - the opal-like colours that had drawn me to the yarn. The second skein... well, there in lies the disappointment, see?

Despite being in the same 'dye lot' they are so different!! Look at all that pink and red that barely gets a mention in the first ball!

It will be ok though since I had planned to knit a striped garment (this yarn and a solid grey) with the yarn in anycase. So I would have been alternating skeins probably all along, and doing so will reduce the stark difference between the palettes. And they are both lovely balls of yarn and lovely colours, even if they are different. So it's still disappointing, but luckily slight :)

Transit

2011-05-29T11:51:00.002+10:00

Flitting about in transit waiting for my connecting flight and look what I saw on the toilet door!

Seldom does one encounter positive graffiti, apart from lovey-dovey 'Her 4 Him 4 Eva' type devotions. I was very happy to have chosen such an auspicious cubicle :)

No more monkey business!

2011-05-28T18:40:00.001+10:00

Time to head back to the coal face...

2011-05-25T20:34:00.002+10:00

I brought this lovely lady home with me yesterday and am rather smitten. Only $6 from an honesty box stall in a gorgeous garden full or fully mature trees of a myriad of species. Wonderful to see what this little one will become. A mass of tiny star shaped leaves in stunning ethereal autumn colours - absolutely glorious!

Further Touristing

2011-05-24T22:39:00.004+10:00

A full but fabulous day yesterday touring up the coast. We saw spectacular views, amazing geological formations and finished the day with some adorable critters at a friends farm.

We were exhausted as we drove home and plan to have a quiet day on the block today; cups of tea, pottering about, sitting by the river reading and drawing. Hopefully it's as relaxing as we plan!

Outings!

2011-05-24T22:39:00.002+10:00

I typed out a post on my wee iPhone but it has been eaten by the internets... So rather than not post at all (since I'm too tired to peck out more than these few lines) I will share some photos from the last couple of days with my mother in law visiting :) we've all been having a very nice time, especially with those big ol mugs of chocolate there!

Three Deadly Dreadlies!

2011-05-16T21:48:00.002+10:00

It's unusual to be around some fellow Sisters of the Dreadlock so we took the opportunity for some happy snaps! Aoife in the middle and I both have dreads a year old. Mystee on the left has lovely long 4 year old locks.

All those deadly dreadlies between us can lead to some dreaded.... DREAD ENVY!!

Be warned... it's ugly.

We calmed down again for a shot of the back length...

But the peace didn't last long - the wild amazonian woman in us all couldn't be held back!

RRAAWWWRR!!

My First Earthbag!

2011-05-15T21:22:00.002+10:00

Yesterday i laid my first ever earth bag! There will be many more before we finish this little construct (not on our land, not yet anyway!) so I will get a lit of practice!

Today!

2011-05-12T17:11:00.000+10:00

The sun came out!
It was a wonderful transformation from a cold night and morning to a sunny day :)
Brief moments of light rain but not enough to interrupt action or turn the day grey.

We didn't lay the slab, but prepared for it with vigorous vegetation annihilation around the building area and removal of said matter to the mulch heap. I took some shots of yesterday's finished wall too:

(can you tell I had to join two shots together??)

It will dry a lot lighter than this so it will be interesting to see the FINAL final result once the concrete-earth mixture has completely cured.

An off topic request : Does anybody have suggestions for tea that will 1. Reduce headache 2. Settle the stomach (peppermint I think?)
It doesn't have to he a tea that does both, but I'd love some tried and true methods to reduce these symptoms in a natural way. Comfrey? Raspberry leaf? Please leave a comment if you have any advice :)
P.s I'm looking at you to lead the way here Bon! I bet you have a natural arsenal against various gripes! :)

Today

2011-05-12T09:06:00.000+10:00

Today it is raining which is lovely for our little water tank and to hear the sounds of rain falling all around. I'm still under the weather with a weird mixture of body aches, regular stomach clenching cramp and a headache that keeps coming back each day and night when the aspirin wears off. I've been sleeping poorly lately because the aforementioned discomforts and have been dreaming most unpleasantly of torture, death and zombies - actual zombies, the scary kind, not the endearing dopey ones on video games you can defeat with a pea-shooter. We were lined up to help lay a concrete slab today but all bets are off since the heavens have opened so we shall see what adventures we end up getting to!

--A snippet of my current knitting project--

Render and Reptiles

2011-05-11T20:00:00.003+10:00

Another action packed day and the retaining wall at our neighbours' is complete!

Here I am with a fellow Sister of the 'Locks as we sift the earth to refine it to appropriate render ( plaster ) grain.

One person would shovel from the ute tray down on to the screen the other person is holding over the wheelbarrow and jouncing up and down with gusto! That allows the fine earth to fall through and the larger clumps and stones bounce merrily off the screen and away.

Render mixed, we set to work 'reptiling' the lower section of wall. This is the application of round globjules of render producing a scale-like effect.

It is incredibly fun building with this method 'Super Adobe' aka Earth Bagging.
No photos of the finished creation since the fading light threw long photo-obscuring shadows.

I Got to the Top!

2011-05-10T19:45:00.002+10:00

Last week we took the bikes for a super-fun squirt down our track then, spurred by the delight of racing around through beautiful wilderness with the man I love, we zoomed off up our Hill Top. It is really rather steep the incline up to the Hill Top which is, I daresay, why Skoot stopped a third of the way up on the nice flatfish keyline before the real hill climbing begins. Thrilled with my apparently obvious skills at extreme trail biking and the inherent ninja ability for dodging slippery moss bits and rocks I whirled past him and continued up the hill. It was only just before reaching the summit that I remembered the words of caution he had spoken a few days before.. It's not the ride UP that is gnarly, but the crazy slip-sliding descent back home!

Ah well.
I made it up, as you can see, and as evidenced by this blog post I made it back down again too - and all in one piece no less! (one physical piece that is, nerves may have been otherwise)

A busy day today working on friends' farm but SO much fun. However I've been a little under the weather and out of sorts the last few days so after the shoveling, mixing and render applying of today I am all tuckered out! Not even energy enough for stockinette in the round, and I think I'll see if I can convince Sir Shweetie to refill my hot water bottle for me so I don't even have to get out of bed!

p.s: That is part of our road wending its way along the green hills and vales :)

Saturday Spinning Sunday

2011-05-08T11:56:00.000+10:00

Wishing all mothers, grand-mothers and motherly figures out there a very content, well-loved and wonderful Mothers' Day xo

We are having the weekend 'off' and I have spent a little time spinning this merino optim in the warm sun which has been most enjoyable :)

FO: Handspun Mount Rowland - Fire & Ice

2011-05-06T10:44:00.000+10:00

When I first bought two braids of this gorgeous Mount Rowland fibre from the Tasmanian House of Fibre I was immediately reminded of a Robert Frost poem - Fire and Ice.

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice

To keep these contrasting colours separate I pre-drafted the fibre, pulling apart the soft, cloudy locks and ordering them in groups; red, red-yellow, yellow, yellow-blue, blue.

I spun the fluff in that colour transition and when the two bobbins of singles were finished I navajo plied the yarn in order to keep the colour groups together.

I really do want to get a jumbo bobbin for my wheel since I had to split the yarn in to two separate bobbins at the singles stage and thus had two skeins rather than one at the finish. But in this case it will still be fine and simply left me with a 'fire' skein and an 'ice' skein.

I completed the 'fire' skein first and had it all set and ready for entry in to the local show. Unfortunately it didn't receive any placings, but it was good fun entering the skein and it certainly stood out from the others; being the only navajo ply and one of the only multi colours.

I'm tremendously happy with this handspun and very glad I went with two 100g braids so I now have 200g of handspun to knit up.

I have already cast on, choosing a simple pattern which will allow the changing shades and tri-twist navajo play the major part on a simple stockinette stage.

Therapeutic

2011-05-04T20:03:00.002+10:00

Today has been a hard day with a few tears shed. When my shweetie was at the stove making a (very tasty) shtirfry he saw me standing vacant and fidgety nearby and suggested I go and do something relaxing and nice to unwind and calm down.

I have always enjoyed winding handspun from the swift into a ball by hand; I love to see all the different colour combinations as the ball grows. I'm about to go and hop into bed with Sir Shweetie and a delicious mug of hot chocolate and I am casting on something new with the newly wound handspun. Current Works In Progress or not, I am casting on something new as a special treat.

p.s. Our drier runs, quite miraculously, off the genset and gave me a lovely moment just now at the end of this difficult yucky day - taking out all the luxuriously, guiltily warm clothes and shnuggling them before bringing them back inside. Small pleasures, hey?

Blissful evening!

2011-05-02T20:42:00.003+10:00

A parcel arrived in the mail today, brown card casing immediately broadcasting a book was carefully stowed inside!

It is an evening of bliss; reading fresh pages while sitting out in the crisp air, hearing the crackling and popping of roast vegies in the camp oven.

A Ball of Lovely

2011-04-30T19:45:00.002+10:00

I took a luxurious moment, over my cooling cup of coffee, to wind some lovely yarn from skein to ball.

It is one of the two skeins of alpaca I purchased at Bothwell in March. Such beautiful colours, it makes me think of a muted woolen version of the palette of colours and hues in an opal.

p.s 'lovely' is definitely one of my favourite and most used adjectives, but sometimes something is simply so nice I feel 'lovely' should be a noun too!

Generous & Green-Thumbed!

2011-04-30T08:27:00.002+10:00

Our lifestyle is one of forced frugality at the moment until we are both returned to the bonds of regular employment. Of course we can still keep food on the table, but as luck would have it we are also surrounded by generous and green-thumbed neighbours who share the bounty of their gardens with us!

The above box of 'dinner' not only consisted of delicious organic pink eye potatoes but the cooking herbs and condiments too! We boiled up the potatoes and ate them with butter and herbs. As I was eating them, warm, perfectly cooked and delicious, I realised these spuds had been hidden down in the earth only two hours before - culinary bliss!

A huge bowl of pumpkin; skinned and cut all ready for roasting before an enthusiastic mashing in to pumpkin soup. I kept the seeds out so that the neighbours (and we too!) can keep on keeping on and have the ready items to produce another bumper harvest next year. The lovely folks who presented us with the giant pumpkin don't even EAT pumpkin but always grow it in their garden for their friends :)

We are very lucky (and well fed!)

Inspired Baking

2011-04-29T09:20:00.002+10:00

I am an avid reader of (fellow Tasmanian) Cindy's blog 2paw. For those of you who may not have encountered this fabulous blog, Cindy regales the reader with tales of her two furry labradorious companions, her incredibly productive crafting endeavours and posts wonderful recipes and terribly inspiring culinary treats!

I adore baking and have been stoked into the flames of action by some of Cindy's recent posts. I extricated our small convection oven from the deep recesses of the sea container and was delighted to find our wee generator would run the oven! Since it takes a not insignificant amount of power to heat the oven up, I decided to bake TWO deliciousnesses in the one session.

Sticky Gingerbread Cake:

I was amazed at how much treacle, golden syrup and other scrumptious naughty ingredients went in to the saucepan for this one, but the results are so moist and tasty - very nice! I didn't have fresh ginger, but the cake was still zingy and flavoursome. I had more mixture than would fit in this round cake tin so I make some small cakes in a muffin pan too.

Honey Pear Cake:

Ooohh this one was my favourite of the two. An upside down cake with such a moist, warm, delicious top where the pears are all soft and imbued with the honey flavouring. I left it in a smidgen longer than required (by happy accident) which made the bottom (which was the top as it was cooking) quite firm, just this side of crispy. The result was a wonderful juxtaposition of texture - soft moist top, firmer chewy base, what a delight!

I have a bag of apples that are almost past eating stage, so I can feel a Honey Apple Cake coming on!

Thanks you for the continual inspiration Cindy - both cooking and crafting!! :)

Sunny Progress

2011-04-28T08:51:00.003+10:00

Another stunningly sunny day yesterday and we are pushing through the To-Do list setting up our little caravan shed and sea container home; sorting out, rain proofing areas with guttering, organizing, installing shelving... We plan to build our house next summer but in the meantime we're trying to render this little redneck camp as practical and homely as possible!

The addition of the 6m x3m shed has done wonders providing a place for storage of tools and eventually a workspace for sewing machine and screen printing press (!!!) which I am extremely excited about. That stage is a little way off though, lots of sorting, arranging and tidying before we get there!

p.s I am still playing about with my blog set up too, which will be a bit-by-bit process given the busy-ness of real life at the moment, I hope it's not causing anyone inconvenience or messing up RSS feeds :)

A blog by any other template...

2011-04-24T21:00:00.000+10:00

I'm playing around with a new blogger format - please bear with me, hopefully the peculiar postings and weird layouts will be minimal!

Sunshiny Day :)

2011-04-24T18:24:00.003+10:00

We woke this morning to a weather report we could hardly believe but were delighted to behold; four straight days of 'fine' and a glowing sunny globe!

So far the forecast has come true allowing us to get loads of very necessary and industrious progress around our wee camp set up. Sunny outdoors weather is bad for crafting productivity though! But now that we're relaxing after a satisfying day I may sneak in a few rows here or there :)

Motie Run!

2011-04-23T20:49:00.001+10:00

I had forgotten quite how fun it is!

A run along our bottom road on the block, through the paddocks and past the water, mud, buttongrass and startled a fish at the creek crossing. Then back to camp via the high road - spotted no wallabies, a bit early and I expect they heard us coming!

Friends from Pages

2011-04-22T09:58:00.007+10:00

I have just finished the audio book of An Echo in the Bone, the latest book in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. I admit I am left with the feeling lonesome and forlorn knowing that these people I have spent so much time with are now static and on pause for another year or so until the release of the next book! I can reread the series, which I plan to do, but it is always difficult coming to the end of a series and realising that is IT for now!

I started reading this series many many years ago and have adored it ever since. For those of you who haven't read these books I HIGHLY recommend you find them and read them. Right now in fact. Yes, go on - don't even finish reading this post! Off you go in a wild flurry of handbag and car keys out to the library or your local bookshop or download it online to listen while you knit or garden. GO!!

...

Now I assume you have returned from whichever method you chose to acquire the first book and have dutifully returned to finish reading my post before you delve in to the pages. A wise move too, since once you crack in to the book I imagine you will find it verra difficult to put down! These books are an incredible mixture of historical fiction (very accurate and engrossing), romance (but not a mills&boon type), and would you believe it - time travel! I can say without a doubt that these are my favourite books of All Time.

So bereft was I on finishing the eighth book the other day that I hopped on the net to immediately order one of the books in at the library (since goodness only knows where my copies are, buried in the sea container somewhere!). I have decided to read the fourth book again, Drums of Autumn. Out of sequence, I know and I'm sure I will pick up the series from the start again after that. But this book holds special parallels to what we are experiencing in our lives right now. Pioneering, stretching out in to virgin territory and land with no house, no buildings or infrastructure and constructing a life from scratch!

Whilst on the net I also discovered a few extra goodies in the Outlander series that I didn't know existed ...!!! I know! So I promptly bought The Exile, a graphic novel side story - the combination of another of my favourite things, graphic novels (like a grown up comic book). I can hardly wait!

What is your favourite book or series?

Popping Up Everywhere

2011-04-21T19:02:00.004+10:00

The rain has been consistently on and off today (but mostly on, let's be honest) and the weather is definitely becoming more moist around the edges.

On a walk today I noticed mushrooms and toadstools popping up absolutely everywhere!

Some are a caramel brown colour, earthy and slender stalked.

Others are as glossy and red as a button.

They are so tactile and inviting, fragile but also rather firm on their wee stems.

I leave them as they are though, and I don't think I'll try them - things might go a little Alice Down The Rabbit Hole if I did..!

A Pause for Paws

2011-04-20T08:14:00.000+10:00

Things have been hectic here at Chez Sash'n'Skoot. We finally finished putting up and arranging the giant 6m x 3m shed last week but things are absolutely chaotic with random items strewn everywhere, boxes half open, sewing machine, lathe, washing machine and all manner of other things gradually finding their appointed place amongst the flotsam.

So until I can find myself amongst the madness, here are some cute shots taken weeks ago - since I got in trouble at my spin group yesterday for neglecting the blog *grin* The Deepest Darkest beanie i nearing completion, I have another beanie on the go too (a nice big super bulky one!) and some other crafty adventures too. But for now, nature;

Here is a Devil paw to scale, against my gumboot toe

Sometimes the mud is perfectly thick and sets with perfect paws - so detailed!

We're not exactly sure, but we think these must be wombat paws as they are much bigger than the others

This wee Devil chap must have been practising his dance moves...

Barn Raising!

2011-04-13T18:34:00.003+10:00

Today we had a good ol' fashioned barn raising! You know where the local folks and neighbours give you a hand to put it all together and there's singing and dancing, boot-scooting and hilarious antics?!**

Well... until the rain came back and we had to all pack up and retreat, muddy and soggy!

But tomorrow is a new day and our giant shed will be wonderful!

** Note; singing, dancing and boot-scooting may not have actually occurred.

Rosie Little Piscoe

2011-04-11T14:45:00.000+10:00

I realise I may have put the horse before the cart a little with my last post on the Deepest Darkest Tasmania beanie - who said anything about cream coloured handspun?! Well now I will explain :)

I had enough of the black alpaca fibre to knit one side of the beanie, but needed more to do the inside-outside. We would like to eventually have alpaca on our land so I sought out a local breeder and we took a visit to ogle the alpaca cuteness, get some advice on keeping alpaca and of course pick up some fluff too! The alpaca ladies recommended fleece from an alpaca named Piscoe who had won several shows for his beautiful soft huacaya fleece. The fleece is a slight off-white the alpaca industry refers to as a 'rose'. It is so incredibly soft and dreamy, I could shnuggle in it all day!!

I haven't spun fleece much before so it was a new experience. Luckily, my shweetie likes handspun to be rather rustic so that worked very nicely as there were occasional tufts which I didn't bother to smooth out since he likes them! I also tried to emulate the same thick and thin yarn I had made with the dark alpaca. It turned out to be almost exactly the same, hurrah!! I bought a good 300g (for only $5.00!) and still have a large amount of that left, so I'm sure I will have some left over after spinning enough to finish the top of the beanie!

75% of Deepest Darkest!

2011-04-11T07:36:00.000+10:00

The Deepest Darkest inside-out-double-thickness-turn-up-cuff-watchman-beanie is coming along very nicely indeed!

I am now well and truly in to the cream section, or toffee I should say, as it has already been described as a chocolate and toffee mixture which is very apt! I am copying the black section exactly such that when the two beanie are put inside one another they will be very snug and maintain a good fit on Shweetie's head without sagging or stretching out as other beanies have done!

Unfortunately I have run out of the toffee cream so must spin up a little more before I can continue!

Big Ball of Electric Yarn!

2011-04-10T18:31:00.003+10:00

No really, it is!

It all began when we bought our block but were working away so went a very long period without actually visiting the land. Our dairy farming neighbours obviously thought noone was using or wanting the land so they let their cows through across the shallow river crossing to graze happily on our lush and lovely pasture.

Unfortunately for them we came to visit, fixed our fences thus making it clear that yes we DID own the land all of a sudden... no more cows! In fact they didn't even come back for their electric line and battery which they had strung out around the perimeter of our paddock to stop the cows from straying to far in any direction.

Well we've waiting two years and noone has come to claim it, so I have wound up allllll the yarn (I should have put something in the photo for a size comparison - it's BIG!) and plan to knit something terribly arty out of it!

Superfun Day Out!

2011-04-10T08:36:00.000+10:00

This week I took a day trip out to visit the Tasmanian House of Fibre head quarters with two ladies from my local spinning group - we had an absolute ball!

We stopped for fresh strawberries on the way and to walk slack-jawed through an amazing store filled with all wonder of amazing gifts, toys, masks, dolls etc.. and on we went to see Sue and her alpacas of the Tassie House of Fibre.

Sue is just so. lovely. and her daughter Taylah is equally delightful. We had an excellent time talking fibre and wheels, and I admit to ogling shamelessly at all of the lovely fleece, fibre and goodies in Sue's store!

I came away with these four beautiful batts of carded alpaca in such gorgeous colours with a lovely spritz of shimmer throughout!

I also bought a drop spindle kit which came with a little bit of carded fluff to practise on. I am thoroughly enjoying the drop spindle experience so far, and once I have it all under control I plan to spin up the four lovely batts on the spindle rather than my wheel!

Our return to the working world is imminent since savings will only last so long, and now that I will be flying a decent distance I won't be able to take Arthur (my wheel) with me on the trips, so a drop spindle was just the ticket to keep my hands in the fibre while I'm away!

CHAINSAW

2011-04-09T08:59:00.000+10:00

A very necessary and very farmy farm tool has been added to our arsenal!

We bought our first chainsaw as a joint birthday pressie and are spending careful and safety conscious time getting used to it! (just look at the concentration on my face!!) With several felled trees along the side of our new roadway we are industriously sawing them up and will be well and truly stocked for firewood next winter once the wood has cured!

(For potentially concerned readers, fear not! I am wearing all the required safety gear; ear muffs, gloves, safety glasses and even steel capped boots! And a lumberjack shirt too, for extra penache)

Movement

2011-04-07T19:50:00.003+10:00

Saul Alinsky said;
“Change means movement. Movement means friction. Only in the frictionless vacuum of a nonexistent abstract world can movement or change occur without that abrasive friction of conflict.”

We have had both change and movement.. and friction. Today felt like a very difficult day but thankfully that difficulty has passed and while we were heated and horrid to each other earlier in the day we are now at peace and feeling more settled. Our change and movement came in the form of our sea container arriving (yay!!) on Monday and relocating our camp yesterday and today up to the prepared pad where the container (Colonel Mustard) is positioned.

This new camp site feels wonderful and we are thrilled to bits to have all our goodies here with us at last! It is somewhat (read, thoroughly) frustrating to have such an inability to access any of said goodies however! The container is jam packed full of boxes and cupboards, awkward shaped and weighted objects, a queen mattress and so on. But we have extricated a few choice cuts and are delighted with our finds - it's like a treasure chest of wealth after living the last 2 months in very basic (but lovely) existence.

Different shirts! Running shoes! An extension cord! Shiny egg flip! Oh what treasures they are to us!!

I have also found some long hibernating (but not forgotten) knitting projects and of course my stash *sigh of bliss* This beanie is one such aaaallmost finished hibernating item retrieved from Col Mustard, started months (years?) ago in pre-dread days but it is now, as you can plainly see, a very practical beanie option! Now, to attach those pompoms or not....?

Tea Time!

2011-04-05T21:07:00.000+10:00

All of a sudden....

Out of the blue...

I am now a tea drinker!

Only black of course and with a liberal dose of honey :)

Marmalade Mitts

2011-04-03T13:12:00.000+10:00

When I was 6 or so I saved up my pocket money 'til I had $60 to purchase a fish tank and goldfish. I named them after various breakfast spreads; Vegemite (a black fish with goggley eyes), PeanutButter (speckled), Marmalade (vivid orange) and so on. As goldfish do, they were found before long floating on the top and others took their place. All but Marmalade. He lived on through two new sets of fishy friends until I gave up with companions and kept him on his own. We were good pals until he eventually passed away, extra fancy flourishing fins and all, when I was 22! He made it to 16 years!

I have known Bon for even longer than Marmalade, although we met at around the same time I took Marmalade home. Bon is one of these incredible friends one has (if very lucky!) who stays a true best friend through all of life's turns, twists and changes. We can go such a long time without seeing each other; both caught up in the goings-on of our lives, but then when we reconnect it is as though we only saw each other yesterday. To have known someone for 78% percent of your life, and been bestest buds with them for 14 years or so means we are so close and have been co-conspirators on almost all our our journeys through relationships, fun stuff and hard stuff, fads and obsessions.

For Bon's birthday this year I wouldn't be there in person so prepared a wee parcel to post off. Luckily it arrived just on time and had these warm mitts amongst the other bits and bobs.

Bon has always been an enthusiastic handknit recipient - the kind of person you want to knit EVERYTHING for because you know they love it and will get extensive use from every stitch! I'm sure these Marmalade Mitts will keep her wrists nice and toasty warm whenever the wind tries to blow up her jacket sleeves!

Happy Happy Birfday Bon :) Hope you have a fantabulous year ahead, I'll be there with you every step of the way! no matter what geographical distance lies between us!