BLESSED SPEEDY

The weather outside has been frightful But the crafting inside has been delightful (and reading too!) I feel like Ive had such a productive week, finishing off things that have been started a little while and making a couple of super quick projects as well Ive been busy on the sewing machine (aka Pamela Blanche as she is known) and made some placemats as well as finishing a table topper I also knitted this super quick and easy scarf - The Local Scarf - which was a kit from Skein Sisters in Sydney And as the Olympic Games has started look out for quite a few knitting projects finished as I love watching it! On the reading front I finished reading the physical book of the Duke and I , book one of the bridgerton series by Julia Quinn. Ive of course watched the series on Netflix and listened to it on audio book but wanted to read it as a book in my hand and it didnt disappoint. It is set in England in the time of the "ton" and high society and is the love story of Daphne

Its been a long cold week and Ive been really unwell Im slowly improving but must admit the cold and windy weather hasnt been helping things (or the fog!!!) I had to cancel all the meetings I was supposed to go to - including a tour of the MCG and the Bendigo Sheep and Wool show - but my heart is warm thanks to some mates who rang me from the sheep and wool show asking if I "needed" anything and that they were happy to go and get it for me :) Because I have been inside and hardly venturing outside at all Ive got a fair bit of things finished and read! Read on! Firstly I finished the second sock of a pair. The first sock was knitted in 2011 as a test knit and as it was toe up (not my preffered sock knitting method) its been languishing for quite some time. Finally second sock is done though and the yarn is beautiful and soft and I think the pattern is great too - the yarn is Natural Fibre Arts NFA superwash merino and the pattern is Better Be Gryffindor by Heidi Nick Next i

Well after the excitement of our Queensland holiday its been back to work on the farm. Our amazing staff looked after the farm so well while we were away and it was their turn for a holiday. It was back to reality though - cold, wet and muddy as can be seen by this pic of Garys motor bike! Yes he should have been using the quad bike but he didnt realise how muddy it was! WEve been busy AIing cows, milking, feeding out hay and fixing fences - fun times! And to top it all off I somehow caught a nasty bug while away and am now spending all my time coughing, sleeping and feeling miserable. Ollie and Sarah have had it as well so they understand how I feel. Hopefully I feel better soon as I have a busy week coming up Nothing finished on the crafting front (well a quilt is almost finished - Ill show you that next week) and no books either So........hopefully next update will see me healthy and well and firing on all cylinders

We all got quickly settled then it was off to the beach for a BBQ tea - and we realised the excellent value of a $2 plastic cricket set Gary was king of the kids teaching them how to bat and bowl ANd that set the tone for the rest of the trip! There was lot of sun, fun and laughter and the odd melt down but we all still love each other and would do it again tomorrow! Gaz loved pushing Ollie in the pram! And we got to see Ollie have his first swim and dip in the ocean - he will be so blessed growing up around water! So as you can see so many fun times and too many to list! And Gary was quite "taken" (his own words) in Ollie and Ollie was quite "taken" with him too! We will be back!

As promised heres a little photo dump of our time spent in Queensland. First time ever all our family has holidayed together - all the three girls plus their partners and kids. On the Sunday night aimee and family and megan and gary and I went to the football at the MCG to watch Carlton play against Richmond. Most of us were barracking for Carlton, however Declan follows Richmond so we sort of tried to support them as well. Carlton won and some were sad. And it rained but that was ok we had fun. Then it was an early start to the airport and off we flew to Queensland! Of course those that had not yet met baby Ollie had to and those who had (LOL Me) got reacquainted. I couldnt believe how much he had changed in two weeks! Stay tuned for part 2!!!!

And what a week its been - Ive been back in Queensland, but with the whole of our family which has been tiring but a blast! Ill do a seperate blog post on that as we did A Lot I have however managed to finish a few things that were just about finished before I left and they are now Firstly the Flower Pot Quilt by Kim Mc Lean and I most used Kaffe Facet fabrics from a kit I got from Honeysuckle Patchwork when they were still open (Miss you Nicky!) I need to stop making such huge quits as they are very difficult to photograph! Its also quite heavy due to all the applique But here it is And heres the label too I also finished a pair of Vanilla Latte Socks using clever Self striping Yarn - these are for my stepgranddaughter Evie who requested them and who am I to not make something for someone who asks for them! She lives in Queensland and I had hoped to finish them while I was there and gift them to who but it wasnt meant to be so I will have to post them I havent finished any books -