Monday, April 27, 2009

A Wild Sea

Yesterday was a great weather day – wild and stormy. High tides made it even more spectacular.

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This is the pier which usually has a lot more of the pylons showing. People often fish very safely on the bottom jetty.

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Seconds after this photo was taken, I went to join Murray to have a look at the bay. We were dumped on by a wave shortly after and got a soaking. Had to go straight home to change and pull apart my camera and dry it out. Soaking in salt water is definitely not recommended practice for camera equipment

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I returned in the afternoon for more entertainment. Madey, me niece, came with me. She was keen to go swimming and had her bathers with her. However, I wasn’t too keen for her to do it because I knew I wouldn’t be capable of saving her.

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This shows you how windy it was.

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Looking across the Bay towards the pier.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

A Whole Lotta Flowers

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Amazing what can be done in Photoshop. I like all of them.

A gift from a friend.

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Thanks Mitty. Whenever she visits I get flowers from her garden

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Granny squares

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I think I’ve wired the basic granny square.

These are actually quite large granny squares. Each of these has used the whole skein of wool. I will have to purchase more because I need them large enough for cushion covers.

I crocheted these with Lincraft Prism - A variegated yarn in gorgeous colours.Composition: 70% Wool, 30% Soybean. Grams: 50gm. Needle Size: 6.00-6.50mm. Meterage per Ball: Approx. 65 Metres. Tension (10 x 10cm) 16 stiches x 20 rows and it costs AU $6.99.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Truly, when is enough ENOUGH?

I have discovered a new interest. As if I didn’t have enough. As it is I am all over the place trying to do everything. But I love them all and don’t want to give anything up. So, jack of all trades and master of none is maybe what I have to settle for.
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Yes, my new obsession is sea glass. It is "treasure from trash." Sea glass started out as bottles, broken buoy lights, anything made of glass which has been polished and frosted by the sea. HERE is a site that gives the lowdown on sea glass.
The beauty of this interest is:
  1. I get outside into the sea air
  2. Exercise
  3. Murray comes with me if he is available
  4. Flynn, the dog, also comes and has a wonderful time in the water
  5. I come home with treasures
  6. And it is so good for the soul to be at the beach in all kinds of weather
So far I have discovered that this coast has a plethora of clear and brown sea glass. It is a thrill to find green and I can’t wait to find some other colours – blues and pinks would be good.
You may well ask what I am going to do with such treasures. I have a few ideas but right now I just like finding and looking at them.
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These aren't my discoveries, but an example of other colours.
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One possibility of sea glass potential. Visit HERE if you want to check out more examples.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Unravelling crochet

I have had the urge to learn how to crochet for more than a year now. To start with, I searched in vain for someone to teach me how. Then I lined my Auntie Pat from Geelong up. However, it’s a two hour drive and so far, haven’t been able to organise the trip. So then I started teaching myself. To start with I had no idea and it was very frustrating trying to learn from books. I had more success watching videos of How To on Youtube.

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I’m slowly getting there and still have a long way to go, especially with knowing how to read patterns.

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But I now have this type of granny square wired. Now I want to make a rug from granny squares. Isn’t it weird how you change over time? As a teenager and young adult my paternal grandmother was a prolific crocheter and often supplied us with items she had crocheted, including rugs. I never really took to them and they went under appreciated. But now I am wanting to make them myself.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Adventures and weaving

The weather is glorious. We took grandson no. 2 exploring at Two Mile Bay this morning. I will definitely have sore leg muscles tomorrow – big climb down a cliff and up again.

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No, not this actual cliff, but one equally as high but a tad more climber friendly.

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We found this weird and wonderful creature – a crab of some sorts, among other treasures.

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When we came home I completed some weaving. For a TAFE project I am including some honeycomb weaving so before I start on the final piece I thought I would experiment at home with some honeycomb weaving to familiarise myself with it’s properties and potential.

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It was easy to weave – not at all complicated.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Just can’t help myself

This is what I bought at the Stitches and Craft Show here in Melbourne. It was almost a month ago but it is difficult showcasing a personal weakness. Took a while to decide whether to admit to it or not. At least I stuck to a theme.

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I have had my eye on Noro yarns for a long time now. This was the first time I had seen them in real life.

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Have never heard of ‘JOY’ before. Couldn’t resist the colourway. It is a merino wool produced in Italy and I can find very little about it on the net.

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So with all these beautiful colours I had to have some plain yarn to balance things out.

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And this is the total of my purchases in one basket.

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They are so luscious. Now what to do with it other than stare at it.