Twill tape.

This week my creative space is in full on preparation mode for the Lake House Produce market this weekend. Every other year we've had tables laden down with fruit and veg and eggs but this year due to all the flooding we wont have as much as usual.

This year we are making the most of what we do have.

This week I am concentrating on making things look gorgeous. Good enough to eat.

In between all the family and house stuff I am collecting berries, picking plums, making jams and baking. And in between all that I've been feeding cotton twill tape through my sewing machine to make fancy ribbon. I bought it at an oppy years ago and its been sitting here waiting ever so patiently to become something.

The ribbon will be tied into pretty bows to decorate all the bags of goodies we'll have for sale on the day and to hopefully direct a bit of traffic to our website. Its a bit tricky don't you think?

Its a pretty noisy business I tell ya. I can only manage one bobbin at a time. I wonder if you can get a silencer for your sewing machine....

So what's cooking with you?

See ya!

Wondering...(between 11am and 11.22am).

When I play Mums and Dads with Miss Pepper why do I always have to be the Mum? That's not a game to me.

I over heard Farmer Bren being interviewed yesterday and being asked what his most memorable food experience is. What is mine? What is yours?

How is it possible that we have lice when we've only been back at school two days?

There are zillions of dragon flies around here at the moment. I wonder what that means. Gosh they are gorgeous creatures.

When Farmer Bren takes Miss Pepper with him to take the girls to school and says I should go back to bed because I look tired, why don't I? Why don't I even consider it?

When Jazzy says there is a girl in her class who is cleverer than me, does she really believe it? Could it really be true?

How you are meant to pass through your day when you know that a loved one is preparing for some yukky, invasive hospital testing this afternoon.

Is there is such a thing as a silencer attachment you can buy for your magimix? I've been making bread crumbs and the noise is driving me nuts.

Yesterday when I was stirring a huge cauldron of jam, Liam called me wholesome. Is it possible to be wholesome and cool? Or do they cancel each other out?

When you are explaining something to a ten year old and they say 'I know, I know' do they?

If the colour I chose from all the colours at the paint shop went from being my favourite to I'm not so sure, was it because they named it Brittany?

If you halve a baking recipe, does it mess with the science of it?

Do meringues look better piped or spooned?

Got any answers?? Or questions of your own??

Hmmm I wonder....

Making.

Last night I cast off the Stripey Green Skirt test knit.

I am a slow knitter but this pattern used thick needles and chunky yarn and knitted up quite quickly, even for me.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love how different sequences of purl and knit make such great shapes. Pleats! How cool!

Now I'm just knitting the icord, (thanks youtube lady for the how to), that ties around the waist and holds it up. An icord is a pretty cool thing to know how to knit I think. All you need is some yarn and two double pointed sticks and you can create a cord. Knitting geek! Knitting geek!

When I'm done I'll get Miss Pepper to try it on for size. I'm thinking it'll look a bit cute with a white t'shirt and leggings.

This morning I hooked up a couple of grannies, lined them stitched them on, unstitched them, sewed them on straighter, for the dress for a little Busy girl to wear to a wedding. She's into pockets at the moment apparently. I wonder what treasures she'll put in them.

Actually now I'm seeing it from a bit of a distance, I think I might replace the green one with a cream one. Less in your face I think.

Actually, now I'm not even so sure about the grannies. I think they take over a bit. Hmmm.... better think about that one a bit more.

Today I received a package in the post FULL of gorgeous old patterns from a lovely lady called Glenda who reads my blog and thought I might like them. I do!

If I had time in an oppy to rummage through a pile of patterns, I would choose these ones to buy and to sew for my girls. I love them all. They are just my style.

Thank you so much Glenda!

And I've been baking meringues and making jam for a produce market this weekend. My house constantly feels sticky and smells like cooking fruit but my taste testers are happy.

So on with the week we go.

I hope its a happy and healthy and fun and creative one for us all.

Bye now. XX

Grumpy 2 grateful.

It didn't start all that well this morning. Tired from lying awake worrying about the rain, a loved one with a sore heart, tangles and knots in my knitting wool, girls who tripped over the texta bucket and wouldn't pick them up, a laundry overflowing into the the living room, a visit from a gorgeous friend that turned into a conversation about promiscuous teenagers and left me with a stomach ache and a sticky kitchen.

Nothing was working, everything was annoying me.

So we put on our boots and walked out.

We walked, skipped and danced. We picked and ate berries and plums and apricots. We squealed and sang. We jumped in puddles. We got scratched on prickles and got muddy and wet. We roared like wild animals. It was exhilarating. It was exhausting.

One of us had to be bribed with jam sandwiches to finish the journey. One of us wasn't allowed to take her camera (pic from Bren's iPhone). One of us ended up at Lola's house up the road. One of us was thrilled to show off the lettuce, rocket, carrot and beetroot seedlings and was devastated by a few enormous puddles. And one of us danced the tango with a rose in between her teeth.

Sometimes when we leave the house all I can see is farm jobs that need doing. Today I remembered the reason we moved here ten years ago. I saw the wide open spaces and the trees, I breathed the fresh air and felt excited about this wonderful place to bring up our family.

That two hour walk changed my day, I went from being grumpy to grateful.

I wonder what sort of day you are having. I do hope its a happy one.

I'm off now to watch Madeline with the little girls, eat popcorn and knit a few rounds of the stripey green skirt.

See ya.

ps. More grateful at Maxabella.

Today.

Today I cast on a new knit. A test knit for a girl in Canada. After the grey, grey, grey I've been knitting, I decided to make this one stripey just for fun. I like the changing colours bit. Perhaps I'll work towards a bit of Fair Isle at some point. Maybe.

Today was hot and humid and at times felt like there wasn't enough air to breathe.

Today I sewed a dress for a little girl to wear to a wedding.

Is that the sort of thing you had in mind Cath?

Is it a bit too mixy matchy for you?

Today it poured with rain and hopefully got rid of all those pesky locusts that invaded our house last night. They might do awful things to the farm, but when they were flying around inside last night, it felt just like a horror movie.

Today when it poured with rain it made the usually white Maremma puppies grey. They are still pretty cute though.

Today my big girls went back to school. It was so quiet without them.

Today I did lots of stuff but none of the stuff I should have done. No housework or baking or jam making. Plenty of time for that on the weekend.

I hope your today was great. Did you get much done?

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

See ya?

Meditative.

Creative Space.

Creative?

I'm not so sure.

I don't know if following a pattern to the letter is creative. Knitting when it says to knit or purl, or yarn over, or knit two stitches together.
I have questioned the creativity in long rows of knit and purl before. This pattern is a bit different to that one though. This pattern never lets me relax for a minute. This pattern has a complicated sequence called deep waffle stitch at the start and end of each row. Just enough to keep me interested.

This pattern also has darts in the waist. A little bit more interest.

But creative?? I'm not sure.

I guess I did choose the three grey speckled skeins of yarn I am creating a garment from.

At the end of the day, this knitting project has been the perfect buddy for these anxious days and nights waiting and watching and stressing as Mother Nature wreaks havoc on communities all over the world.

Meditative? Yes!

Soothing?? Yes!

Grateful for a craft that occupies my hands? Oh yeah!

Thinking of those in cyclones, flood, snow and fire affected areas.

Of course, I'm not forgetting those in areas of political unrest either.

I hope your Thursday has a little bit of creativity in it.

Kitchen table makings.

Miss Pepper is threading me a necklace.

Miss Jazzy is drawing the best drawing she has ever done.

Miss Indi is making bunting for her new bedroom.

Do you recognise it?

And I am pressing some old hankies.

Its funny how time changes. The summer holidays used to seem endless when we were little. Long hot dreamy days that slowly tuned into weeks. But these past six weeks feel like they've flown by. We haven't done nearly as much as I'd thought we would. But we have hung around here a lot. We have really slowed down and followed our days where ever they have led us. Not many plans but lots of adventures.

I feel sad about the girls going back to school in a few days. I will miss these rambling, drifting days. I am no good at routine and don't really like watching the clock for drop offs and pick ups and always being prepared for the next thing.

But I will enjoy some quiet time. I will enjoy packing up from a meal and not having to make any more food again until the next meal and I will enjoy hanging out with the littlest and doing some three year old things with her.

And its less overwhelming this year because half way through we'll be heading off on our caravan adventure.

A huge and happy February to you lovely people reading along. May Mother Nature be calmer and may we all feel creative and inspired.

See ya!