BLESSED SPEEDY

Its the first week of December and Christmas week For me the last few years at Christmas time have been really hard, sad and challenging with mum and Garys dad passing at that time and other things going on in our family I dont think Ive even really put up a "proper" Christmas tree since before then - maybe a token thing at the last minute, but this year I decided to "try" and decorate So December 1 saw us putting up our tree and wreath and a few other decorations around the house and I must admit Im glad Ive been making various Christmas items to as that helps! And in a nod and happy/sad memory of Mum Ive bought a poinsettia to sit on the kitchen sink, which Mum always did - it was always in the way (yep achieving that) and some time between Christmas and New Year Mum would ask me to take it to my place to bring it back to life as she had either over watered or forgetten to water it - most times Ive been successful in keeping it alive until mid year however our w...

Oh this is so late and apologies! The days just seem to be running away I finished a lot of things at the end of November - Firstly some socks Pattern is agatha socks and yarn is west yorkshire spinners solids and was bought from the Wooly Thistle in the UK (Isnt that a great name for a shop!) Second pair was a test knit and the pattern is called Proper and the yarn I used was NFA Merino Superwash I went to a class and made these super cute Christmas cards - thanks Julieanna! Reading wise I finished a few! Thanks Sarah for recommending this book to me What a nice read but with some twists and turns It tells the story of Augustus (Gus) and January (how do authors come up with these names???) two people have been hurt a lot in their past, both are authors and living next to each other temporarily They make a pact with each other and thats about all I can say otherwise I will spoilt it for you Its a four and a half star read for me as its stayed with me for a while I loved this so m...

Another productive week! Firstly something for me! This is the Tolsta tee, I used Fiddlesticks Cedar yarn which is a rayon/cotton blend which I bought from Skein Sisters in Sydney. I made the size 3 and it fits perfectly. The orginal pattern doesnt have any yarn overs to make the holes in - just plain knitting but I like the pattern detail. I also made it a bit longer than written in the pattern as I didnt want it cropped. Ill call this one a success! Next I did a painting loosely based on the project we made last week at art journal group. It was fun and I then cut it up and made cards from it and had a nice leftover strip too that made two bookmarks And finally I made a zippered bag using a foundation and zip kit from June Tailor called the craft clutch and used up some leftover bits I had so it was good to put them to good use. Megan has already claimed this and another success! And Ive also just realised another week with three different crafts represented - knitting...

The second week of November and a few things to report I finished these super cute socks - Kitty Ankle Socks. I was gifted the yarn and pattern quite some time ago (make that several years ago) so it was good to get them made I like the mirror reflection colours Next I made this baby quilt for Garys sisters daughters baby and posted it off - I hear that she loves it so thats great! Its a simple panel that I quilted and bound - the design is cute I bought it from Patchwork Place in Bendigo And finally the paintings I did at this weeks art journalling class with Jenni - super fun and got a pretty good result I think (mind you it looks nothing like her sample!) So productive in three different crafts this week! Onto reading - I read the physical book of The Amberglow Candy Store by Hiyoko Kurisu This was a quick read and a lovely palate cleanser It tells the stories sort of by fable of Japenese people who have a problem in their lives and they somehow wander into the amberglow candy ...

November! Just one month to Christmas - but we wont panic will we? This week has been quite productive - Ive been busy on farm with cow AI selection, lots of board meetings and because I have been getting up early to do the bull selections I have a good couple of hours to do crafting stuff - hence the productivity First finish was this cute stitchery - again one that has been sitting around to do for quite some time and I realised yet again how much I enjoy doing these sort of projects Next finish were these mitts - they are the snow and ashes mitts and used the leftovers from the snow and ashes shawl I finished a couple of months ago - in fact I used nearly all the yarn I had left which is awesome as the leftover pile of yarn is quite big And finally I finished this cross stitch - which again I enjoyed once I counted properly!!!! It by Kim Diehl and originally the pattern was written to be embroidered on a bag but I think I will hang it in my crafting/office area - its pretty appro...

Ok where did the last 10 months go? Im too scared to blink as it will soon be Christmas Heres what I achieved in the last week of October 2025 Im really enjoying the weekly art classes Jenni Finn is holding and Im slowly getting a bit braver This is a painting I did at home following what we learnt in class - its not perfect but Im really happy with the sky and clouds in this one! I also went to a class in bendigo at the patchwork shop there - the class was taught by my friend Lynne and it was a slow stitched bowl - its not finished yet and a bit tricky to photograph atm so I will post that when its done I also went to another class with Barb Smith (woodcutters daughter) and did another Christmas fabric painting - this was so much fun! Excuse the big shadow across the pic from my camera! And heres the other painting class I did with Jenni - again fun techniques and something different No yarn stuff finished - but its close!!!!! Now onto the reading side of things The House of Mem...

Third week of October which in our family is affectionately known as "birthday week" Aimee and Sarahs birthdays are on the 16th and Megan and mine are on the 17th so lots of birthday love for us A highlight for me personally on the farm this week was John Blum coming to look at our heifers - hes been doing this for close to 30 years and helps choose the correct bull for them to be joined to for their next pregnancy and to hopefully correct any issues that they might have. Im blessed he is still coming to our farm to do this as he has retired and only visits a handful of farms now - one of which is ours. Ive learnt so much from him about cows and bulls! And then my birthday.....one memory that came up from two years ago was mum being determined to write herself on my birthday card even though she didnt have much sight - this is treasured by me and meant so much then as it does now - and I still miss her everyday She loved doing something for my birthday with me I treated m...

Im playing catch up a bit as Ive got behind (again) However in this week I finished probably the hardest colourwork item Ive ever knitted This is the Mammoth Cowl and yes it was a mammoth effort! Every row on the chart was different (except for the ribbing at the top and bottom) of it but I think its well worth the effort If I was to make it again I think I would go down a needle size - I was also scared I would run out of yarn but thankfully I had enough! I also finished the book "Birds of a Feather" by Tricia Stringer This is my first Tricia Stringer read - how can I have missed her in my reading life before now? I like to read and support my Aussie authors as much as I can, but this author has slipped through the cracks. But I am rectifying that now, Birds Of A Feather really does live up to that old adage that birds of a feather flock together. I enjoyed the small town coastal vibe of this town. I live in a small town myself, and understand the small town gossip, the...

Well nothing finished this week so instead Im going to share the fabulous time with my daughter Sarah and her family - Kris and Ollie visiting us It was Ollies first time on the farm and he had a lot to see! Hes a boy who loves to look at things with a "how does that work" look in his eye - probably because of his engineer dad! And then of course nanna had to take him to the park in cohuna while sarah was being spoilt! What a great park and area we have! And then of course all too soon they were on their way :( Thanks Sarah for milking and being you, thanks Kris for all those box thorns you pulled out and thanks Ollie you have our hearts