Seasonal Yarn Club.....

This morning while the kids played at the back step I set about my usual 'week ending' activities.... Mowing the lawn is one of them and as I laboured at this task I couldn't help but feel just a little saddened --- you see, I have a beautiful garden which I work very (VERY) hard at. But, a beautiful garden needs water, right!!? Well, we haven't had any substantial rain here on the farm for well over 12 months and the water supply that I use for my garden is all but exhausted - DH estimates approx 2 weeks left of watering and that's it!  

 

My house water situation isn't much better - probably 3 weeks left if I'm really careful!

So, to escape my reality, just a little, I pack up my kids and put on some nice clothes and we all head to town for the day on Fridays. I walk through the shops and go to the library and eat 'out' somewhere nice and visit 'whoever' and do the running around that needs to be done for the farm and it's just lovely! 

 

And I forget that we've been pushing scrub for hungry stock for way too long, and that my vegetable garden is almost non-existent because the constant run of 40'C+ days has all but fried everything, and that the damns are drying up, and that my rainwater tanks are near empty, and that the dust storm that came through last night has left a haze on almost every flat surface in my home, and I just breathe!!! And when I get home I'm better!!!

And I love that I live where I live, drought and all!!! I love that I have a husband who is strong and loving and when all looks grey and overcast but there's still no rain in sight, he pulls on his boots and takes us for a fly....

We've had this plane for well over 10 years now and she's definitely something we couldn't live without. She might not get up in the sky every day and sometimes even months pass without us looking at her. But, when we do go up in her, kids and all, it's just perfect!!

 

In the still of the morning, usually before the Suns had a chance to rise, I've been busily working away at 3 special projects --- a pink scarf for my Millie, a mystery KAL for me and some notes for a new 'idea' I've been playing around with....

 

A couple of days ago I launched a 'Seasonal Yarn Club' over on my Facebook page... The response has been amazing and with a few spots left I thought I'd share it with my blogging friends as well.

If you're on Facebook you can check it out here. Otherwise these are the details, copied for Facebook...

I'm launching something NEW and EXCITING here at Jellywares --- A Seasonal YARN CLUB!!!!!

My 1st 'YARN CLUB' will be for the Autumn Season and here's what's involved: for each of the 3 months of Autumn I'll be putting together a package unique to its month. Each package will contain a pattern/yarn combo specifically selected to represent what Autumn means to me.

By joining this CLUB you are signing-up to receive 3 individual packages; 1 in March, 1 in April, and 1 in May. Each package will contain yarn of the highest quality, a pattern to match, and a special "treat" (exclusive to CLUB members ONLY!). All packages will be posted via registered postage on the 1st Tuesday of each month.

THE COST TO JOIN MY AUTUMN YARN CLUB IS $74.95 (this price includes registered postage for all 3 packages).
To join simply email me (jellywares@bigpond.com) and I'll put you on the 'list'. Sign-ups close on the 21st of February and places are limited!!

note : : packages will be tailor-made for both KNITTING and CROCHET, please state your preferred technique when emailing.

just perfect...

We have been lucky enough to celebrate the 1st b'day of our gorgeous boy, Tobie, this week...

What can I say?? This little guy has simply stolen all of our hearts and we couldn't imagine a life without him in it, not for one single minute! To celebrate we had a bit of a party out here on the farm - just the girls and I and DH, but you know what, that was more than enough and we had a super time! ~ there was cake and sparkles and all kinds of outside fun to be had by us all!!

 

After already having 2 babies grow up in my home I've learnt that they don't really want for much in the way of material processions. So, we ditched the store bought gifts this year and celebrated Tobie's special day in a different kind of way - 2 new rabbits and a few handmade treasures were all we(he) really needed...

 

By the squeals of excitement, from all 3 of my kids, when our cute little bunnies were unwrapped I can already tell that they are going to be a huge hit!

 

Connie even made Tobie a little crochet blanket to keep his new littlest critters cosy...

 

And you know what? She just kinda taught herself how to crochet this week and this is her first creation - pretty awesome, even if I am a little bias because she's my girl and all...  

She just said to me about a week ago that the thinks she has watched me do it for long enough and that she thinks she can kinda do it by herself....

 

So, I watched, and helped a little where needed, and she slowly fumbled her way through her first granny square and you know what?? It's just perfect!! Don't you think?

 

In our garden this week we are happily harvesting beetroot,

 

lots of beetroot, and loving that our depleted pickled beetroot stores will now be replenished...

How have things been at your home this week??

Routine....

Last night, while my home was all quiet, I got to my usual evening cleaning routine - clear off the bench, wash up the dishes, pick up whatever the kids have left laying around, tidy the sitting room, put on some washing (hang some out too), sweep the floors, etc.......

Although most days my cleaning is some what rushed, every now and then I get in a little rhythm, put some nice music on, and really clean things up... I must confess, I'm really not that good at the whole 'cleaning' thing - oh how I wish I was though!!! I'm more inclined to be out in the garden or helping in the sheep yards, much more my style... But, I do love me a clean home - don't you???  

 

above : : my kitchen table at the end of the night

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We've had visitors here on the farm over the past 4 days. Just down the road from where they live in Victoria is a gorgeous little Orchard and we're lucky enough to be gifted boxes of fresh fruit each time they visit... The 5 kg's of apples are almost gone but I still have a box full of pears.

 

Got any good ideas for Pear recipes or preserves???  

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I love my mornings, after breaky the kids and I head outside to the vegetable patch. We water and weed and fertilize and plant and generally just hang out until it's time for school to start (about 9am)... This morning we were super excited to finally see some fruit on our Zuchinni and Cucumber plants....

Won't be long now and we'll be adding 'harvesting' to our morning routine too...

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So........

Do you have a morning or evening routine? 

Do you like to wake up to a tidy home or do you work better in the mornings? 

Do you like spending your time inside or out and about??? 

HORRIBLE!!! (and a 'winner' too)

The view from our schoolroom window yesterday was HORRIBLE!!! There was dust and wind and all manner of things YUCK happening out there that made for a good excuse to be inside for a change - that's my Connie girl peering out the window...

 

But thankfully by the end of the day the wind had stopped and the dust had dropped and we were able to get out and enjoy a few of the things we love... Playing in the dirt and tending to the girls (our chooks) and counting all the new baby calves (yes, we have loads of them 'dropping' at the moment - more on that later) and poking about in the garden and dotting on baby kittens, I could go on and on....

 

And a bike ride to finish off the day was just perfect...

Today in my garden I'm noticing how much these gorgeous 'brown mignonette' (I think that's right) lettuce have been growing... These seeds were saved from a friends garden years ago and are a real delight to see popping up in mine this year.

And I'm super excited that my heirloom grape vine cuttings are finally getting some legs!

 

Last, but not least, the WINNER of the little give-away I was running last week is Tracy from Sunny Corner Farm....

Can you please email me your address Tracy and I'll pop your favourite 'Dotty' washers in the post tomorrow when I'm in town... :)

Helping Out Pop...

I just love me some hand-made goodies - don't you??? 

My latest purchase is from a Facebook Shop called 'Luv Abby'. I'm totally crushing big time on this Shop at the moment. You see, this Shop is a little special to me - it's the brain child of my big sister Abby (hence the name) and about a month ago she branched out from her usual handmade yarn-y craftiness into making brooches, earrings, hair clips and the like.

These super cute little bird-y earrings where picked up for only $7.50!!!

 

And I also got these teeny flower hair pins for my girls and they were only $5 a pack - great value hey??!!

 

And then I couldn't go past grabbing myself one of these super cute GIANT 'burnt birds' for myself - it was only $15!!!!

 

You can check out Abby's Shop here and if you do I'd love you to let me know what you think...

So, do you like to Shop for handmade goodies like me?? What's your favourite Shop?? Have you bought any off Facebook before? Where?? I'd love to hear ALL about them!!! :)

This weekend saw my girls head out for the day with my Dad to help out their Poppy with his sheep work... I was so proud when I went to pick them up, they had worked so hard... I sometimes forget that they are such independent young girls who can already stand their own so very well - they are only 5 and 7 you know... 

I could feel my chest puffing out with pride and tears welling in my eyes (but I chocked them back in) as I watched their Poppy kneel down at the end of the day to tell them how very proud of them he was - I don't think I could have been happier then I was that Saturday afternoon.

Holidays...

School holidays are here and with it comes an essence of unstructured routine that we can't seem to get enough of here on the farm... It's so nice to be able to put the school books up for 3 weeks and enjoy each others company...

I always enjoy the Sept/Oct school holiday break - I'm not sure if it's because my b'day falls over this holiday or that the garden seems to be glowing at this time of year and there is always many a job that needs tending; planting, weeding, pruning, building, harvesting, re-planting, transplanting, propagating and the list goes on...

This past week I've been harvesting golden beets, my first for the season... 

 

I pickled this bunch the same way that I do my 'blood beets' here... From 4 medium sized beets I was able to fill a 400ml jar - approx 1 1/2 cups of chopped beets...

 

I've also been transplanting seeds that I've been raising with my girls - 'mini muncher' cucumbers (6 plants planted - for a start) 

and more 'bull's blood' beetroot (20 planted with this lot)...

 

My girls have there own veg on the go again this year. Their pea plants are by far their favourite! They grow so fast, the flowers are gorgeous and it's always such a thrill to see how quickly a delicate flower will turn into fruit practically right before their eyes.

 

My trusty old passion-fruit vine got a much needed pruning this year and has bounced back with glorious new growth to thank me...

 

After attending a garden party back in May and being super excited to rush back home and plant my 100+ cuttings I am happy to report a good 4 months down the track 75% of them have struck... So this school holidays I've started planning where all my new roses will live - in, amongst and around my garden...

 

My girls and I love a good slice!!! This slice is packed full of all the yummy things I love; organic oats, poppy seeds, local honey, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, coconut and good quality butter!!! (if you'd like the recipe simply say so in the comments, I'd love to share... )

 

And with the weather simply divine in the evenings at the moment we're still enjoying regular camp-oven dinners...

I now have a little 'fire-pit' right next to my vegetable patch (made from the base of an old water tank). So while DH lights a little fire as the sun goes down and works some magic with his old cast-iron pot the girls and I tinker in the garden - weeding, watering, planting and transplanting... A couple of beers and a wine later and we're all enjoying gorgeous food and it's so nice to not of had to cook for a change - I love me a camp-oven dinner... And now that Tobie is up and walking he just potters around too, taking it all in...

And to finish off a rather long winded post (thanks for hanging in there is you've made it all the way to the end)... This month I've been married for 8 years - WOW!!! Where has that time gone??? 3 kids and a hell of a lot of good memories later and I can safely say that the man that made me his wife back in 2005 is still the love of my life!!! - how lucky am I!!!

Happy Anniversary Brad... xx

Shearing and Rain....

We've been shearing here this week, definitely one of my most favourite times of year by a long shot...

 

So with the smell of Lanolin still fresh in the air I'm itching to place an Order with Malabrigo for some more yummy Sock and Arroyo yarns... Before I do I thought I'd offer a 30% discount off each yarn for anyone interested in Pre-Ordering.... To Pre-Order simply email me, jellywares@bigpond.com, (or comment below) the shade(s) and quantity that you'd like. 

Normally $28, PRE-ORDER Sale Price $19.60!!!! 

You will not need to make payment until your Order is ready to be posted out from me in Australia - approx 3 weeks. Postage is $8.95 for up to 5 skeins or $13.95 for up to 15 skeins to anywhere in Australia. 

Pictured below from left to right (top to bottom) are the Arroyos shades available for Pre-Order; Archangel, Prussia Blue, Fresco y Seco, Marte, Purpuras, Natural, Indiecita, Sandbark, Reflecting Pool, Pocion, Vaa, Volcon, Plomo, English Rose, Azules, Arco Iris.

 

Pictured below are the Sock shades available for Pre-Order and from left to right (top to bottom) they are; Abril, Impressionist Sky, Lettuce, Indiecita, Ochre, Light of Love, Natural, Violeta Africana, Archangel, Cote d'azure, Terracota, Tiziano Red, Ravelry Red, Arco Iris, Eggplant, Marte.

 

And because its been so dry round these parts for far too long I thought I'd share a picture of the view from our dog kennels from earlier this week when we received a very welcomed 34mm of rain in a couple of hours bringing with it plenty of run off... A saving grace for us here on the farm as many dams were starting to dry up.... 

I so hope that if you needed rain at your place it came down for you too... :)

This Week....

I'm lucky enough to be able to eat straight from the paddock where I live and this week saw us cutting up a couple of lambs to feed our family, and friends, for the next up and coming month...

 

DH is by no means a butcher but he sure does do a great job cutting up and preparing meat for his family... 

 

Sunday in my home is 'baking' day... Every Sunday I like to fill up the cookies barrels to last us the week and this week I pulled out some old faithful recipes that always seem to please... Fairy biscuits,

 

Monte Carlos - not even the littlest member of our family can resist these... 

and chunky chocolate cakes... Yum!!!

 

This week has also seen the girls and I planting seeds, excitedly awaiting what our most productive growing season of the year has to offer... 

 

And although this little Miss was feeling under the weather today I couldn't help but take a few snaps of her in this cardigan...

 

I made it for her back at the start of Winter and can safely say that it has been a much loved addition to her Winter wardrobe... 

 

She wears it all of the time and it's the perfect shape for keeping her chest and back warm without too much 'bulk'......

 

The pattern is 'Liesl' by Ysolda and for the version that my Millie is wearing I only used 1 skein of Malabrigo Rios - I know, awesome - right!!! I made the smallest size without sleeves and used 5mm needles...

Other projects I've been working on this week include this table cloth. I'm using a gorgeous cotton/wool blend, now to sew in all 176 ends - WOW!!!!

 

And with my eldest girl turning 7 in only a couple of weeks I've also been hooking away at a ripple blanket for her...  I love this pattern!!! For this version I'm using Cascade Pacific 12ply (acrylic/superwash blend) and a 6mm hook...

And because everybody needs to have a little fun every now and then, last weekend saw us attend the Louth Picnic Races... I can't believe the only picture I took for the whole day was of the fashions on the field...

What have you been up to this week???