Collector Pumpkin Festival

Last weekend we headed up to Collector to their annual Pumpkin Festival which was great! Lots of yummy food, interesting things to see and lots for the kids to do. I was really surprised when they announced the heaviest pumpkin of the festival. How heavy you ask....

Yep - that's 253KG. It was huge! We did the totally tourist lean-on-a-pumpkin-for-a-piccie thing...

Then we checked out the decorator pumpkins - these were the kids faves... Patted the alpacas

Boys sat on tractors while girls had ice cream

Then needed to chill out after all the excitement!

Last but not least we had to have a squizz at the scarecrows on the way back to the car. This one caught misters eye...

A day in the life....

.... of my 3 year old

Fridays are special 'Mummy-Charlotte' time and we have gotten into a routine - dropping Izaak at school then heading to our local shops. We each get a trashy mag from the newsagent and then head to the coffee shop for a hot choccie and piece of cake to enjoy while we each read our respective mags. Charlotte's this week also had a bunch of 'bonuses' - stick on earings, rings, lippy etc - absolutely perfect for a three year old girl!


Stuart has been staying with my parents this week and so after our coffee we went to pick him up and the little miss couldn't have been happier to get some Stuie love!

She dressed herself this morning - pick the child of the knitting mother!!

And finally, we picked up the little master of the house whose day at school included art and craft today - meet the newest member of the household - Mr Green ;-)

Tomorrow we're off for a family adventure to the Collector Pumpkin Festival hopefully it will warm up a bit - we're all struggling with the temperatures at the moment!

wow - just wow

...nothing more needs to be said really.....

A knitting update

To say that life around herehas been cazy would be an understatement and as a result any sort of crafty activities have been on hold. Until this week. Easter, while marking the school holidays and two weeks of my adorable boy being at home also marks uni holidays which means for two whole weeks there are no lectures to attend, no tutorials which I need to go to and relative freedom.

So... what have I been doing with all my free time? Getting crafty - that's what!

Pattern - Stacked Eyelet Cowl (Rav Link) (Non-Rav Link)

Needles - KP 4.5mm 40cm cable

Yarn - The Yarn Cafe - Sock club colourway "Pistachio"

Comment - When I opened my Yarn Cafe envelope and saw this yarn I knew that it wanted to be a cowl for this winter and the stacked eyelet is a pattern that I've liked for a while. Nice and simple, good for variegated yarns, I thought it would work well with this yarn which it does. I've used the yarn doubled as it was a 4ply and I wanted something a bit more chunky. It's snuggly and warm and just right for two brown winter coats that I have. I've still got about 30gr of this yarn left so I'm thinking I'll pair it with a plain beige 8ply to make some fingerless mittens.

Pattern - Tweedy Cabled Cap (Rav Link) (Non-Rav Link)

Needles - KP 4.5mm 40cm cable

Yarn - Some generic 8ply 100% wool picked up at Kmart for $2 per ball. Used about one and a half -not bad for about $3.00

Comments - Izaaks beanie from last year was looking pretty sad and more Jewish skull cap-ish than keep-your-head-warm-beanie so we decided he needed a new one. He sat at the laptop with me and we trolled through Rav for a while when he saw this pattern and loved the cable at the front. Apparently it's very ninja band like? Anyway, I didn't do as many rounds as the pattern because he doesn't like things covering his ears so it's quite a bit more shallow than the written pattern. Finished in a day though - quick, easy, nice knit with good shaping and I like the way that the decreases use the pattern as a design feature. If I could wear a beanie I'd want one like this

Pattern - Test knit for fellow Raveller

Needles - KP 4.5mm 40cm cable

Yarn - Malabrigo Worsted

Comments - This is a test knit for a pattern that is yet to be released and at the moment, doesn't have a name. I really like it though, nice lace pattern with straight rows for a rest. This pattern also recommended a Russian bind off which I had no idea how to do so it's been a good motivator for learning a new skill as well. It's snug and the Mmmmmallll is just so warm and cosy. This was my first FO in Malabrigo and it certainly won't be the last. This yarn is somewhat special, it being a birthday gift from George and all so I wanted to do a good job with it. I think I managed that! This is very yarn savy as well - less than half a skein for this little baby. I had 56gr remaining. I'm planning another one of these about half the size for the little miss of the house who is desperate for one "just like you Mum" Sometimes she's just too cute!

Pattern - Waffle Stitch Fingerless Gloves

Needles - 5mm straights

Yarn - Malabrigo Worsted

Comments - This is the 56gr left over from the cowl and given the cooler weather that we're having in Canberra this week a pair of fingerless gloves seems only fitting. It is strangely nice knitting flat for a change and this is a good looking, well written pattern which is perfect for the half skeins of the stash. I've done one and am 8 rows from finishing the second. There was a period of panic where I thought I was going to run out of yarn but I'm going to be fine and will end up with a few grams left over. I really feel like I've gotten the most out of this skein of yarn. I cast on 40 rather than 36 as I do have larger than normal hands and I'm a tight knitter but I need not have bothered. They would have been big enough with the 36 and are, if anything, a touch too big with the 40. I'm not going to block them - I don't want them to grow any bigger. Can't wait for the cowl to dry though - I can have matching cowl & gloves! yay!

So that's what has been happening in the crafty stakes here since Friday - I'm really enjoying having the extra time to get projects finished. I've also knitted exclusively from stash so that makes me feel good as well. The next things on the needles will be gloves for the kids and a beanie for Charlotte. I like the little projects too - being able to start something and finish it wthin a few days has fed my 'instant gratification' needs. I'm also feeling the need to crotchet so the hook may well come out in the next few days. Yay for holidays!

Easter...

at our house included

...Easter crafting to share with some friends over lunch

...some backyard camping with George and her brood which was great. Nothing like waking up in a tent and then walking 10 steps to be inside a nice warm house with all the mod cons!

...a few choccies - a rabbit for each of the kids plus a few eggs

...lots of knitting - including 2 FOs - more details to come later and another cast on to happen this afternoon

...some chill out time at the National Folk Festival. First time experience for me but I'll definitely be back next year with the kids as well. It was a really great night out. Will post a more detailed post later but it was fab.

...having pide for dinner with my folks while watching the rugby

...the best bit of easter? Chilling out with these two adorable little people who really make getting out of bed each day just a little bit easier. I love them more and more each day

Tough times

The past few weeks have been tough - well probably the past month really and as a result I haven't been online or blogging much. Things in our house are slightly messy and awful right now but I'm hoping it will all pick up again soon.

We're now just one week away from holidays for the boy and myself which I am absolutely and thoroughly looking forward to! We plan on doing lots of nothing during the break - a few day trips planned here and there but on the whole I think we both need time just to take a break, rest, relax and refresh. So six days, 3000 words and two shifts to go before the first half of the semester is over and done with for me. Izaak is doing well at school although this week has been messy with his normal classroom teacher being away. In saying that he has surprised me with how well he has coped with the change in routine. Charlotte on the other hand. Well, Charlotte is just being Charlotte. Enough said about that.

In crafty news I completed the favourite colours swap recently. My swapee is a purple lover so I went back to the old faithful - clapotis - with some 8ply Waratah Fibres. I'm not sure of the colourway because I'm not sure where the ball band got to. Slightly scratchy while being knitted but it softened beautifully on blocking. This swap had quite a long time from sign up to post out and as a result I collected quite a few more things that I had realised. A few things here... a bit there and it soon adds up! Anyway, the purple parcel that I posted out....

No parcel for me as yet but fingers crossed it'll be in the first few days of next week. In other yarnish news my absolute favourite store - the yarn cafe - had a recent offer which I couldn't resist so next week should be a deliciously yarny mail week. Due to the rather large amounts of yarn coming in I'm destashing this week to make some room (and dosh!) for the new stuff. Am working on a lace project for myself too but will share piccies once I've got more done.

Izaaks class are presenting their item at assembly today so the girl and I will head up to the school in a little bit and see how it all goes. Then it's cake and coffee with the people who we were neighbours with years ago. Her daughter is a few months older than Charlotte and the girls get along really well so it'll be nice to catch up with them again.

Anyway, that's all folks! Till next time....

It's been a while....

since I've posted so here is a long overdue catch up post....

Kids - are lovely.

Izaak is doing well at school although there are some issues with one of his class mates which is causing much stress and tension for myself and for the little man. Trying to explain why some people make better friends than others to a seven year old is significantly more difficult than I anticipated. He has made a lovely friend though who is a really good influence on him and vice versa. He received an award at assembly last week "for a geat start to 2009. For trying very hard to finish work tasks. Well done Izaak!". I made it to the assembly and the look on his face was priceless. He's been really nice lately - let's hope it lasts!

The little miss is being a little miss. Three is much harder than two. I'm hoping four is the turning point otherwise there is quite a high chance she won't make it to five. There are alot of changes going on in her life though so it's kind of understandable. She is changing FDC at the end of the month so no doubt that will start a whole new set of behaviours! Overall though she is lovely when she isn't screaming, hitting or whinging. Really. She is.

Uni - Is feral. 'Nuff said really.

Craty Stuff - What? What's knitting? Seriously there has been no action on the knitting front. When I'm not at prac, with the kids, cooking, cleaning or doing homework I'm catching up on sleep. Maybe soon. There are grand plans if only I had the time! I'm loving Brown Owls - different crafts with different people. Can't wait for Sunday as we're doing embroidery which I haven't tried before. Fun.

Other stuff - We've been camping the past two weekends which has been great. I can definitely recommend Wombeyan Caves for any other camping families out there. About 2 hours from home and it's a beautiful spot. Quiet and peaceful but interesting as well. The kids walked and walked and walked which was nice for them to get out and get some decent exercise but was also good because they both were going to bed early and sleeping well! The little miss didn't make it home and those of you familiar with Georgie's work might spot a show award winner in the photo. My little lovely was lucky enough to be the recipient of Mrs Perkins which she adores. I feel so blessed to have such a talented and generous friend. Thanks George!

Thats about it for now. I feel like we've done so much but at the same time done nothing?