Friday Night with Friends...

It's Sunday morning and I'm finally writing a post about FNwF! 

I joined in with everyone who had signed up but didn't 'last long'. By 8.30 I was very weary and headed for bed! I know that sounds extremely early, but that was 8.30 Western Australian time or 10.30 Eastern Standard time. That day DH and I had flown over here to Perth for 13 days of sightseeing as WA is a state neither of us has visited. And it's the time of the year that WA is famous for its wildflower displays. 

We are staying in an apartment hotel right in the city, with good lighting and some comfy chairs...just perfect for a bit of knitting! 

I brought along that 'started' project that I recently found amongst my yarn stash. A few of those long rows soon had me feeling weary though! Lol. But I still had joined in 😉

Friday Night with Friends...

First Friday of the month means FNwF...a link up of crafters in Blogland, for an evening of stitching, knitting, crocheting etc. Cheryll, over at Gone Stitchin' blog is the lovely organiser of this event.

I finally got started on a new project...a throw in DsD2's  favourite colours. Sometimes I eagerly start a new project, but other times I dither around and nothing ends up being started. And this was the case with this throw. I've been 'gunna start that' for two months!! Lol.

It's that quick and easy favourite design of mine...a slipstitch pattern which results in wavey stripes. Best of all, it 'grows' quickly!

While I'm happily in 'starting mode', I will probably start another throw that I've planned to knit for ages. It will use up some  Robin brand fancy yarn I bought on EBay a few years ago now. I like to have a couple of projects with all those stitches already cast on the circular needles ready to go...no procrastination about starting then! Lol

Friday Night with Friends...

It was the first FNwF for 2016 here in Australia last night. And all throughout the world as Friday night comes to the various time zones, bloggers will be working on various craft projects and then sharing these via blog posts. 

I was working on a project that I originally started in early 2011...no that wasn't a slip of the finger on the keypad...I started this project when I was on 6 months long service leave in 2011!!! In that year another blogger, Kaite Matilda from Bathhurst, invited myself and some other knitters/crocheters/textile artists etc to join her in her project, 'Knitted Minestrone', where the participants would devise projects to use up scraps of yarn. And there was a blog of the same name where we posted progress. There were some great projects but I can't direct you to the blog as when Kaite decided to change direction in her crafting journey she notified us that she was closing down the blog. 

I decided on just one project that I would work on for the Knitted Minestrone project...a throw. My 'scraps' were considered to be a bit long by the other participants but being mainly a 200 plus stitches on the needles 'project person', my 'ends' weren't enough for a full row so I went ahead with my throw. 

The smaller amounts of these went into my Knitted Minestrone throw.

So in 2011 I did bands of scrap colours stocking stitch interspersed with black garter stitch bands.

I loved doing it but I put it away when we went for a 7 week driving holiday in the US from early March that year. When we came back home I was doing other projects and forgot all about this one.

I think maybe I did some more work on this throw in 2014 as there was a third band of colour...but not much as I'd run out of scraps. And then last year, I somehow lost my mojo, but that was then! 

The other day I took out Knitted Minestrone. It had been carefully stored in a zippered jumper storage bag as there are woollen yarns in it and those moths/silverfish just love those yarns as we know. Also in the bag was a ball of scraps that I'd forgotten about...what a bonus!

Once again, I was enjoying the project and on and off for the last 2 days, I worked on it and late into the evening too of course!

So after dinner last night, I turned on the air con and continued on to finish the latest band of 'scraps'.

So I've now finished 4 bands of scrap multi colours and am working on a black garter stitch band.

Last night I also took out my scrap/oddments basket and ended up with a big ball wound from scraps...so I'll be able to work on when I finish this lot of black garter stitch. 

As well as my scraps, I have also been using some lovely hand dyed wool from Nanette. When she found that the moths had been in this ball of yarn, Nanette offered it to me to use as it would be just scraps when I cut out the 'motheaten' bits...which I did! 

Very pretty colours! ( this is only some of the scraps not what was salvageable from the whole ball!!!) 

And I figured that as the project was discontinued, there are no rules any more. So I also got out my 'Mystery ball' that I had bought from Knitch a little while ago...(sorry it doesn't seem to want to rotate!)

But some of the yarns in this ball are too thick, so I'm picking and choosing' what I include in my throw. 

Thank you Cheryll for hosting FNwF. Why not visit the other FNwFers using the links on Cheryll's blogpost?  http://stitchingcubbyhole.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/fnwf.html

Friday Night with Friends...

This was the last FNwF for 2015. 

I spent the first part of the evening at a school Christmas concert where my niece's daughter Lucy was  excitedly performing...Lucy is in the orange...a 'fox in a box'...

My DD2 had helped with the makeup...

After the concert, DH and I headed home, had dinner, and then I started FNwF in earnest. I sewed hexagon flowers until I ran out of 'basted' hexagons...I've only partly stitched the flowers, but the shapes are all in place around the centres.

And I finished the night by glue basting some more, ready for stitching on Saturday morning. 

I'm really enjoying this round of the HexieDownUnder swap...maybe because I have less commitments for other things at the moment. 

Friday Night with Friends...

Yes I valiantly joined in with this monthly event last night. I had taken some yarn and a crochet hook with me hoping I'd be well enough to join in. So...

The variegated yarn was where I started last night. It wasn't long before I realised that I was quite tired,so the crocheting was packed away and I put the CPAP machine on and fell fast asleep for nearly 9 hours!!! ( yes the night staff let me sleep; no obs in the middle of the night!) 

This morning I did a little more crocheting...

And as you can see that tablecloth in the photo, you know I must be home! I'm resting as told, as well as walking up and down the hallway every hour or so, and doing the physio breathing exercises.

Not doing so well today with this 'instrument of torture'; can only get 2 balls to rise to the top when I inhale, but it might be better tomorrow she says hopefully. 

A bit of TV...recorded episodes of a favourite show of mine.

DH is out at the moment attending a 100th birthday party for lady who was a neighbour of DH's family when the boys were growing up. I look forward to hearing how it all went. I can imagine it will be like a big reunion. 

Friday Night with Friends...

The first Friday night of the month in Blogland, is Friday Night with Friends (FNwF) . As the night rolls on through the various time zones, 'crafty' bloggers work on their individual projects, then share on their blog the progress on the various projects. Cheryll over at the Gone Stitchin' blog, is the organiser of this event and in this post of hers you can access the links to all those who signed on for this month.

So, what did I work on? Since I came back from our holiday I have alternated between sewing hexie flowers, and, joining donated squares into blankets. (Just before we went away I was given several lots of squares from a few sources but left the joining of them until we came home.)

And it was the latter that I worked on last night. 

I finished putting together 30 squares which used indigenous colours. One of the other ladies in K4BN had crocheted the squares for me to join, as items in indigenous colours are very popular and are so often requested by community groups that the group supplies items to, for distribution to their clients.

On Tuesday at a Knit and Natter, I was shown another way to join squares which is quicker and uses less joining yarn. 

Instead of the dc (or sc in US terms) into each space like I usually do...

I was shown this method that does, 1 dc, 3ch and then 1 dc in the space after the cluster of trebles. 

The join is strong and looks neat, so I'm happy to continue using this method. 

And I finished the blanket with just 2 rows of double crochet around the edges. 

I use a lot of black yarn joining squares and earlier this year my supply was starting to run low. I checked out a number of stores online, (as well as Big W, Spotlight, Lincraft etc) and kept 'doing the sums' with adding postage etc and eventually found a listing on EBay for 12, 100 g balls of acrylic 8 ply. Adding on the postage, the unit price came out to be $2.60 a ball, a good price for us here in Australia. And I started using this supply yesterday...using the method of joining I described in this post, should mean this stash of black yarn should last awhile.

On Tuesday I took several bags of squares along to the Knit and Natter hoping to find some volunteers to join them...I was feeling overwhelmed with all the squares that I had to join. I'm pleased to say that 2 people took all the squares and I feel a great weight has been lifted. I'll be able to get on with some other projects of my own. And there is a lot more free space in my sewing room. Also, I've found renewed enthusiasm to join the remaining squares (I only gave away half of what I had to join) and have joined/made  6 blankets since last Tuesday!
Hmm...I've had a few goes at trying to get these photos to insert without rotating...no luck!

 These are the the squares that I gave away!

 Why not visit some of the other participants in FNwF? Just use the link to Cheryll's post.

Friday Night with Friends...

First Friday night of the month is FNwF in Blogland and after missing the August one, I was determined to join in this month!

I continued to work on my hexie flowers for an Instagram swap that I signed up for. The plan had been that I would work on the project while we travelled so that when we arrived home, I would have them all ready to post. Didn't happen did it? I needed better light and my magnifier was definitely needed, neither of which I had with me, so progress was extremely slow. 

I had glued a number of hexies to the papers whilst on holiday so have been doing a few stitching sessions this last week. Last night during FNwF saw the most progress...but still a lot to do. The flowers in the foreground were a request for 'mix it up'; others wanted the 'petals' cut from the same fabric and the other pair were 'eye spy' with 'mix it up' petals. 

The flowers ( we have to make 2 for each person in our group of 17 people) have to be sent to the members of the group by September 30, but I had received some before we left on our trip on July 22 and there were another 7 lots waiting for me when I got home last week. They are all so beautiful; the fabrics used are so pretty.

First photo is the hexie flowers I received in July...

And the ones which arrived while we were away. It was like Christmas opening all the envelopes! :-)

We had to list the colours/ themes etc that we wanted. No surprises...I asked for blues, teals and purples :-)

Oh well, instead of writing about stitching these, I'd best get on and stitch some more! 

Friday Night with Friends...

First Friday night of each month is FNwF where people from all around the world sit and stitch or knit and crochet and then write a blog post. 

I'm working on an Instagram Christmas in July Swap at the moment so that the items are all finished and ready to mail by July 13. 

Hexie table centre...

Another row to stitch on and then the finishing which takes a little while. ( I will put some iron on Pelon behind the hexies and then use an acrylic felt as the backing as I don't need to 'hem' it to shape) 

The main project is a cushion cover but I can only show a little peek as the middle bit will alert the recipient that it's for her and it's all a big secret. 

I sewed the last border on last night so now just have to make the cushion. 

And lastly I did some crocheting...

Such a lovely night crafting this week...unlike the last FNSI! Lol

Friday Night with Friends...

Last night was FNwF; lots of people around the world working on projects and then sharing via our blogs. 

My evening turned out to be a little different to what I had expected. Yesterday, my part of Queensland was deluged by heavy rains which caused flash flooding in some areas. The road north was cut off in a number of places due to water over bridges etc. DD1 rang as she was leaving work asking if she could come to our place as she couldn't get home...her housemate was in the same predicament so she would be comng to us as well. I raced around changing bedding and bathroom cleaning, but I could have taken my time as the traffic was in gridlock...a 10 minute drive took nearly 2 hours. In that time J's (DD1's housemate) car had broken down and a police officer had helped push it to the side of the road. My wonderful DH went to 'rescue' J and eventually we had both girls home here. There were lots of tears, but hot showers, dry clothes, food and red wine soon helped. 

The girls took a 'selfie'...they were dressed in track pants and some new T shirts of DH's...they looked so cute in the 'big clothes' :-)

Eventually the girls and I sat down in the lounge room and I started my FNwF crafting...

This month it was crocheting again...I've continued to take small/tiny squares and make them bigger. The pile of 10 inch squares was growing, when another K4BN member dropped in last Wednesday with some donations, including some crocheted squares. This meant that I almost had enough squares to make a new blanket...

Yvette's lovely squares..

Last night I enlarged the last few squares and with the 9 from Yvette, I had the 30 that I needed.

The pile of tiny squares is getting smaller...

And I even started to crochet the squares into strips...

Update on the girls...J's car still won't start and the RACQ is unable to attend to all calls, so the girls have gone home to Griffin in DD1's car and will continue to call the RACQ number. It's a lovely sunny day and the washing machine is working hard! 

Friday Night with Friends...

Last night, being the first Friday of the month, was FNwF...although I should add that due to the number of time zones around the world, it is still Friday night in many places! lol, Cheryll organised this event each month and this time 52 people signed up to join in.

I traced a design for a new stitching project...just a glimpse as once again this is a secret project :-)

And I knitted...yet again a secret project but the recipient doesn't read my blog so I can show more than a glimpse.

Unfortunately my forearms and wrists were a bit troublesome again for some reason when I knitted yesterday afternoon, so during FNwF, I only knitted in 'fits and starts'. Consequently  during the evening I just did 3 colour changes.

So for some of the evening whilst resting my arms, I googled using the iPad and subsequently visited some interesting sites...hmmm...in this case the word 'interesting' probably means sites with the potential for spending money on even more fabrics :-/

I particularly liked this  2011 post from Cabbage Quilts blog where this blogger shares all the sources that she used to build up her Liberty prints stash. I still haven't visited all the sites in her suggestions (and possibly some of the site no longer exist as it is 3 years!) but the ones that I have visited had me 'drooling'. lol. I must be good though and remember that I have signed up for a Westwood Acres Liberty Club for the next 11 months...but those scrapbags at Liberty Charms and Alice Caroline Supply are tempting interesting! 

FNwF...

It's the first Friday of the month, so that means Friday Night with Friends! So as Friday night rolls around to all the Time Zones, bloggers from all around the globe join in to work on their individual projects. The Sign-up is over on Cheryll's blog and I'm sure it's not too late to sign up for this month's FNwF. http://stitchingcubbyhole.blogspot.com.au/

Tonight I did some more work on the knitting project that I wrote about in FNSI last month...remember it's a secret project so you don't really want to see another blurry photo of the back of the project...but I will say that the project is nearing completion with just 2 more horizontal blocks of colour to go...

The other project that I worked on tonight was that I finally made a start on another dog quilt for DD2...well not for her exactly...for her partner's dog, Missy. Apparently Missy was a bit jealous of the quilt I made for Jimmy, DD2's dog, and tries to take Jimmy's quilt. So I offered to make Missy one of her own...as you do! Lol. 

The block I made tonight is a free pattern on Craftsy, called the Bow Wow Kennel Quilt, except I made it smaller, as I want to add other blocks...the Craftsy pattern block makes up as a 24" square quilt. 

As you can see in the photo, I also have some 'puppy' fabric to 'play around with' too. The ideas for how I'm going to continue with this project, are swirling around in my brain at present. But I'm sure Missy will be happy with how it all turns out! :-)

Use the link in the first paragraph to visit Cheryll's blog and then use the Sign up Widget there to visit other FNwFers...

Friday Night with Friends...

Firstly, as the stats show that people are  popping in via the Grow Your Own Blog Party link, you will find that post here.

And I have a Giveaway which will be drawn on February 15 here...

Last night being the first Friday of the month, was FNwF where people from all around the globe set aside some time in their Friday evening (which because of all those different time zones rolls on a lot longer) to sit and create; sewing/stitching/quilting, knitting/crocheting , general crafting etc.. We are all grateful to Cheryll from Gone Stitchin, who organises FNwF. 

There were 61 of us who signed up for last night. (the link in the previous sentence will take you to Cheryll's blog post where we signed up and you can use those links to visit other FNwF ers.)

So what did I get up to? 

Blanket #8 ; a hotchpotch of 'orphan squares' ! I finished joining the squares yesterday afternoon and last night I started crocheting a black border, to 'tie it all together'. The sad news is that I still have a pile of orphan squares...the pile has not decreased very much! lol!                                                  

But I will put them aside for now.

I only crocheted for part of the evening...some knitting time too!

Now this looks like a collar the way I 'posed' it for the photo. But it's another chevron/ripple stitch throw...I always like to have one of these on the go as I find them relaxing to knit. And it looks like it's going to be in my favourite colours again :-) As you can see I use circular needles to knit my throws but in the 1980s when I first started this sort of knitting, I used to jam all those stitches on straight needles. 

Lastly I want to write a few words about how the farmers in many parts of Australia are struggling in severe drought conditions; watching stock die and crops fail. The prices of feed have skyrocketed making things even more difficult. Bloggers like Chookyblue are documenting what is happening firsthand...I'm a 'city slicker' but I'm hoping that even I can do something to help...farmers produce my food but it's getting hard for them to do that. 

I'm sure that Shez won't mind me using this poster from her blog...

I think it says it all!

What have I been reading lately?...

The two books I'm going to discuss in this post were recommended in a column in our Saturday newspaper a little while ago, and I was able to borrow both of them from the BCC library!

The first book is 'Get Well Soon; My UnBrilliant Career as a Nurse' by Kristy Chambers. 

As the title suggests, this book documents the writer's journey through university through to a number of years working as a nurse. Any book about a nursing career has to have  some confronting sections, but Ms Chambers throws in humour to soften those 'bits'. Her language is a bit crude at times but as a teacher I heard all that in the playground whilst doing 'yard duty' and without mentioning names, some of our 5 DDs have been known to use similar words too. Sensitive souls probably would find some of the chapters hard to read. So what does that say about me? I enjoyed the book and took very little time to read the book...I was enthralled and sometimes I rejoiced with the writer and sometimes I did feel sad about the things that she wrote...but a lot of things in life are like that...highs and lows...But I did laugh...at the funny bits...

The other book was another that kept me enthralled and I finished it in double quick time. (for me who normally falls asleep over books at night) The Farm by Tom Rob Smith is set in both London and a small farm in Sweden. As I started reading the book I felt that same feeling of  'menace' that I get when watching  the TV series, Wallander, which is also set in Sweden... Smith develops his characters so vividly for the reader. The book builds to a climax and then there is the most unexpected twist...it was wonderful! I believe that the genre of this novel is psychological thriller and it 'had me in its grip'...I loved it!

And now I'm off to do some knitting for Friday Night with Friends...

Oh! And the Doctor Blake Mysteries second series is on ABC1 at 8.30. DH is making me a cup of coffee as I type this, so I best be off...

Don't forget that Giveaway...drawn on February 15. And remember if blogger won't let you leave a comment, use the email button on my profile page...the link to that page is under that old photo of me on the lefthand side of the blog. Good luck :-)