Something warm to wear to Bendigo #3

An oversized/slouchy beanie to keep my head and ears warm :) Loosely based on this pattern.

Something warm to wear to Bendigo #2

Here are the mitts I made :) The pattern is Raspberry Mitts from Ravelry.

I have a bit of this wool left so have cast on a beanie and hope I have enough left!

And in a cool fluke I remembered I have a (warm) sleeveless jacket/vest that matches the colour of the green/petrol hat I made so I won't look completely mismatched ;)

Something warm to wear to Bendigo

It was with trepidation that I delivered my 2 entries for the Wool Show on Saturday. It was also with a touch of sadness as I really, really love that hat and would've liked to WEAR it next weekend. So after delivering it to the lovely Dot in Wheelers Hill I met a few of the 'Rocketeers' at The Wool Village in Brandon Park and bought 100g of a Chunky Fireside to knit another one. Here 'tis :)

I am now on the hunt for a nice/quick mitten pattern so I can keep my hands warm :) Stay tuned, I shall update with pics as I go. I have no matching wool so am going to look like some weird freaky woollen lady with mismatched knits all over :P (unless I make a trip to Brandon Park during the week to buy more of this..... which is really too far to go, isn't it?)

Future MTB star?

So the boy is a boy and anything Dad can do he wants to do, too!

Today was round 2 of the Fat Tyre Flyers' 2009 Winter series and we all went along. He requested number three-one-one for his bike so I made one up last night and hubby attached it to his bike. Boy was pretty pleased :)

We arrived just before 9 and the race finished at 1, he was on his bike the whole time! Riding around and practicing up and down hills and on dirt and gravel and mud. He wanted to race but was not impressed when the officials pointed out that Juniors need to be 13, "I'm nearly thirteen, I'm already 3." was the reply.

:)

Oldapaca

The boy has come to that stage of wanting to do everything "all by my self!" and wanting to help with so many things around the house. The latest want to do is spinning :)

He was very happy when I got out some "oldapaca" to try. He especially loved it when the tail of the yarn disappeared into the orifice of the wheel :)

Afterwards I showed him an Alpaca in a book and was told "Nooo, that looks like a sheep!"

Loving my new hat

Remember this wool? Well, look at it now..

This pattern is very cool, knit sideways with short rows to shape it, it's a bit different..

I was a bit sad when I finished it that it was small but after blocking it fits me (although I usually look like a criminal when I wear a hat) :) I was planning on entering a hat in the wool show, not sure if this is the 'right' pattern for that but am prob going to send it in anyway.. it's different and funky :) (I have a mental picture of baby jackets and booties and the like, I really have no idea what the show entries will be like!)

Giddyup Horsey

I flicked through an old photo album the other day looking for 'teenage' pics for a forum I am on.

These are me from 14 though to 17.. Every photo of me in the album was with horses! No tragic late 80s fringes or hideous deb dresses and the likes for this little black sheep ;) although I suspect you'd find a few bad hair shots in my Mum's pics of me (and not a horse in sight I'd guess!)

Made me a bit sad though, that horses were once such a huge part of my life and yet these days I am lucky to ride once a season.. I do fully intend to get another horse (or two or three...) one day but for now it's not an option.

This is Petit Cheval, more commonly called Chevy, he was my first pony who I leased from a friend at Pony Club, he taught me lots and was a funny character.

Hayley was a lovely mare when we bought her but she went a bit feral after a few months - I sold her to a more experienced rider who wouldn't kill themselves trying to ride her. On the ground she was as gentle as anything but on her back she was crazy. I think with retraining she would've gone a long way. (These days I'd do it myself but back then not enough experience).

This is my beautiful Pache Pony - Apache - who had been through it all a million times and gave me back my confidence after a few scary falls from Hayley. He was a super cool little boy and heaps of fun. The true 'all rounder' he could do it all with style ;)

Here is one of 'my' racehorses, I worked in racing stables for a few years, it was an interesting lifestyle and had some fun times but we all need to get a 'real' job sometime and the early starts were hideous so I moved on.. Although after that I worked with the horses at a circus and as a drover/stock hand so I couldn't quite break the horse habit straight away.

Crimson Rosella Dyed Scarf - Finished

Here 'tis :)

Holiday Nostalgia - Blog This Challenge #5

In perfect timing, we've been away this weekend to Rushworth to official at a rally.

My idea of a perfect holiday is a family camping holiday. A few years ago we invested in a pre-loved camper trailer and it is awesome. We now camp in style :)

I love going into the forest and especially enjoy the fun and speed of rallies; we don't compete at the moment but it's good to get out there all the same.

My favourite parts of a weekend away are seeing the boy being a boy - getting dirty, playing with dirt and sticks and roaming the bush. He loved exploring with his new head light.


Love the sunset and the transformation from day to night in the forest, the birds go still and quiet and then the night animals come out to play.


Cooking dinner on the fire, mmm fire roasted potatoes are the best. These were served with rissoles & gravy.


The reason for our visit, start control for stage 1 and 6 at the NCCA Nissan Nightmoves rally. Here is a well equipped control table ;)


And the start line; sending the cars on their way..

Warm & Cosy

Have been doing some fleece prep tonight..

This is the Merino I plant to spin up for my second Bendi entry.

First pic is raw fleece.

Next is combed but unwashed; it is really clean apart from lanolin so am going to spin as is and wash it afterwards.

Here is the Alpaca I started combing a while back; I ran it through the drum carder and this is the result, lovely and soft I am very much looking forward to spinning this. I borrowed the carder from a friend in my knitting group, it's very cool!

Lastly is Jess who kept me company by the fire ;)