Holiday pics + a washer.

It's Monday morning and the girls are back at school. I should be unpacking, washing, organising meals and starting on my 'to-do' list, but instead I keep coming back to the computer to sort through the holiday photos.

The best thing we took with us on holidays was our coffee machine.

When Bren first suggested it I thought it seemed silly but it ended up being fantastic.

Instead of getting everyone up and dressed to walk into town every morning to sit in a cafe so we could get our fix, we could relax and enjoy the slower pace in our own place.

The biggest milestones were definitely the girl's improved swimming.

Indi neatening her strokes, Jazzy getting rid of the floaties and Pepper trusting her's enough to get around without the blowup ring too.

There were many funny moments but the 3 I can think of right now are a)Pepper calling her new stuffed turtle toy Armpit. b)Jazzy watching in horror that Indi could feed herself with her toes and then threatening to tell Zac Efron and see if he still wanted to marry her. c)Indi telling me one night that she thought the waitress must have put too much alcohol in my cocktail because I was acting so silly.

On strict instruction from my parents, who met us half way through the trip, the girl's set out to find the best ice cream. We tried every shop in town and ended up with a clear consensus. It was a place that made their own gelati and sorbets in house from local fruit. This place also made the best coffee in town which was quite convenient.

The girls would say their bathers were the best thing bought on the holiday but I would say the prepaid broadband modem thingy that plugs into the side of my laptop was brilliant.

Of course as on any holiday with little kids, there were plenty of bites, scratches and blisters but nothing that still hurt the next day. In fact Jazzy's and Pepper's eczema disappeared due to the humidity in the air and the softer water.

I started knitting again last night. As I still haven't got any more of the wool to finish my first project I started my second, the washer suggested by Tammy, in the comments on this post. The pattern is from here.

There were also a lot of suggestions to join Ravelry which I have but to be honest I'm not sure how it all works and how to get going.

If anyone has any knitting patterns for beginners or any suggestions as how to navigate Ravelry I'd love to hear them.

I hope your Monday is a fun day and that you have a great week.

I Can Knit!

There is a shared memory in my family of a time when I was little, when after sitting quietly by myself with a book for a while I shouted 'I CAN READ!'

Well last night I had a similar life moment.

I CAN KNIT!

Thanks of course to Mrs Doily for the idea, the needles and the wool.

Thanks to Leonie for faxing me through the hat pattern.

Thanks Mr Google for putting me in touch with all the online lessons for casting on, knit stitch, purl stitch and stocking stitch.

And thanks Bren for putting up with my ignoring you all night last night and speaking the instructions to each stitch out loud over and over.

I do find knitting a bit clumsy compared to crochet and it is much harder to pick up stitches once you have pulled a section apart but I am starting to find the rhythm and I am really enjoying it.

If anyone out there has some inspiring knitting sites, ideas or patterns for beginners I'd love to check them out.

Crochet Methadone.

When I first decided to join Jodie's washer swap I scoured the internet for patterns, filling a whole bookmark folder with the links I had found. I made heaps of them; circles, hexagons, hearts and squares, made with all manner of different combinations of stitches.

This went on for a while and then I discovered amigurami and went off on a different tangent.

So of course when I got the email telling me that it's time to get the gear in the post I had a bit of a panic.

After a bit of looking back and a bit of thinking about what I like to use in the shower I decided on this pattern for a face washer. I made it out of a bamboo/cotton yarn and it is soft and luxurious feeling.

I also made up the sunflower dish washer/potholder from this pattern.

The soap I included was hand made by Kate from Daylesford's Cleopatra soap. It is lemongrass, lime and ginger and smells absolutely delicious.

I'll pop my package in the post when I take the girls to school in the morning. I hope my swap partner enjoys it.

In other news, my lovely friend Doily Steph came over for a visit today.

Steph is a bit of a keen knitter and presented me with the gorgeous wool and bamboo knitting needles in the picture below. She told me she thought I would find knitting patterns a bit more practical than crochet ones.

When Bren came in for lunch he asked Steph why she was setting me up for another addiction?

She laughed and told him she was trying to get me off the crochet addiction.

Ah, said Bren, like crochet methadone.

Saturday Softies.

It began as a rainy Saturday lesson in finger knitting for the five year old and hand knitting for the eight year old. 

They mastered the techniques pretty quickly and soon there was ropes of the stuff.

It took me back to being a kid and finger knitting for hours but not having anything to do with the product.

So I suggested making some dolls and each of them knew exactly what they wanted.

Jazzy drew me a picture of hers.

I then made the doll which she stuffed and drew the face on.

I made the dress to her specifications and sewed on the hair.

It makes me giggle that my obsession with all things crochet has spilled over onto my girls and now even their dolls have to have flower hair accessories.

This was Jazzy's first ever attempt at sewing on a button.

I am so proud.

Then of course the doll needed it's own handbag with a pocket.

I was only too happy to oblige.

Indi, my owl lover, was also very decisive.

She cut out all the pieces, turned it inside out, stuffed it and was very specific about where I sew each bit.

It was only at the very end that we realised that spotty owl didn't have anywhere but his ear to tie his scarf.