busy...

Hello there! Yep, I'm still here... just really busy.

We've been packing down the husband's old workshop & boy is it time consuming. So much stuff!
I haven't had any time to do anything else. So there is no crafty goodness to show, no delicious baked treats & nothing happening in the garden either. Luckily, the end is near & normal programming shall resume shortly.
I should also say that it hasn't been all hard work. Last weekend we went to a 30th, a 60th, lunch with a friend & a wedding! I've never been so social in my life.
Part of shutting down the workshop is selling our beloved truck. If you know anyone who would be interested in our 1948 M series bedford... it's listed here. Here it is ripping around our top paddock.

on a roll...

I know it still doesn't look like much, but there has been great progress on the baby cardigan front. I've managed to increase several times & even the casting on extra stitches didn't phase me. I sat infront of the fire last night (yes, it's still cold), I slowed my breathing & with the hum of the fire in the background, I found my knitting zen. Everything was calm & purposeful & had a lovely rhythm. I do hope I can find this place again, it was very nice & relaxing.

my place & yours :: on the shelf...

I've had a very overwhelming & hectic weekend, involving a horribly cantankerous pig, a few grumpy customers at work, a sore back & very little sleep. I'm trying not to think about it too much, so this is all I shall say about it. I do hope your weekend was lovely & smooth sailing.

I've joined in with pip & various others in my place & yours. These shelves sit above my sewing table, providing storage & inspiration. Here's a little run through of what's up there...
:: every issue of mixtape
:: various craft books for inspiration
:: old tins full of supplies, embroidery thread, cotton reels, quilting pins, buttons, wooden pegs and much more
:: old filing drawers full of zips & doilies,
:: canisters full of fabric scraps
:: watercolour pencils for doodling
That's pretty much it, give or take a little.

a verdict from the tin...

Oops, I just realised I had put monday the 17th & today is actually the 19th. Goodness me. I should definately find those screws that have gone missing from my head since pregnancy.
Anyway, without further adieu... the two lovely winners of my pincushion giveaway are::
Beck from Dandelion
&
Tracey from Bountifully
Congratulations! I'll be in contact with you to get your addresses.

daydreaming...

I've been a daydreamer lately. As alot of my time is spent feeling pregnant & tired, I feel this is quite a suitable way to pass the time.
Here's a few of my dreamings:
:: all the delicious ways of using our egg surplus once all of the girls are laying
:: if mum will make her awesome berry marscapone pavlova for christmas this year... it uses eggs
:: my christmas present list... can I achieve all of the pressies I wish to make
:: the list of items I wish to start making, perhaps to sell in a little online shop
:: thinking of possible names for our little one
:: if I'll score some more flannel sheets at the oppy this week... for my nappy making
:: of all the preserving I hope to be doing this summer... I recently scored 20 fowler jars at the oppy for just $10
:: of the sun coming out & the weather being warmer & wearing less than 4 layers at a time
That is most of it. There's so many daydreams floating around in my little head, it's awfully hard to catch them all to write down.
Have a Superb weekend everybody!

This is a shot of mum's pavlova. Isn't it just divine! I just want to frame it.

my creative space...

I'm still working on the little project I started last week. These pretties are the second installment, waiting to be sewn up & attached. I can't wait til it's finished. Then I'll do the big reveal.
See more creative spaces over at Kootoyoo.

Have you entered my giveaway?

score...

Who needs an oppy, when the tip gives just as good!
As we live in an area with no waste collection, so we take our rubbish to the tip ourselves. It has made us super conscious of the waste we produce & how we can cut down for the sake of the earth.
Our green waste is composted, alot of scraps go to the chooks & what they can't eat goes into the compost heap. We recycle as much as possible... whether that means taking it to the recycle centre or finding a new use for the container in the home, garden or shed. Care is taken to not use plastic bags when shopping, make better choices with product packaging & buying in bulk. With all of this put together, we only make one 10 litre bag of waste each week. More often than not, the bag doesn't even get full!
Now please don't get me wrong, I'm not preaching or saying how great we are... I'm just excited that simple steps are all it takes to changing the way we treat the earth.
My next step is to divert the water from the washing machine into a tank for garden watering. Not that we need it right now. Our three water tanks are overflowing & it just keeps raining. Winter has officially packed it's bags & moved to october, strange creature.
Well! wasn't that an outburst! I did get a little sidetracked. Now, where was I? Oh yes, the tip. Look what I found... an old pants hanger. There's a section of the tip where you can purchase unwanted goods for a few dollars here or there. So far in our travels, we've found an old kitchen chair, a vintage motorcycle helmut, a wheel barrow, a whipper snipper & various other items that I cannot recollect right now. And you should meet the old guy that runs it too. He's english & has the best silver twirled handle bar moustache I've ever seen. He spends his spare time curating the garden with various ornaments. Imagine Barbie, walking hand in hand with a dinousar over a bridge & through fields of succullents! Too funny.Have you entered my giveaway?

patiently knitting...

Now, let me be honest here & tell you that I haven't knitted a thing over the last year. I've been all crochet a-go-go while my collection of knitting needles stand in their jug, looking glum. And, I also must warn you... that I've never knitted anything from a pattern or anything that involves increasing & decreasing... aaaargh! I just don't have the patience. But now my friends, I am throwing all fear aside & knitting a cardigan. It's a lovely little ribbed piece that was featured in the winter family circle. It's knitted all in one go, so no scary weird sections that I then have to wrangle together. As the cardigan is destined for my wee baby (when it comes out) two balls of 4 ply is all it requires, which is quite economical I think.
I've decided to make the newborn size, which means I have approximately 185 days to complete it. After starting three times already, I think I'm on a magnificent roll. Wish me luck!
That gorgeous fabric sitting underneath is from the latest amitie mail-out. It's just so pretty, I don't know what to make with it. Any ideas?

a little giveaway...

In the spirit of blogtoberfest, I'm hosting some giveaways throughout the month.
The first I shall start today.
I've been in pin cushion mode & these two lovelies are up for grabs. I will draw two winners, who will each receive a pin cushion & two fat quarters of the below fabrics. I'll also throw in some other, yet to be decided goodies.
All you have to do is leave a comment on this here post & I'll draw two winners next monday the 17th. I am also happy to post anywhere.
Good luck my dears.

layers...

Woohoo! Our girls have started laying, well one of them at least. Here's yesterday & todays efforts, both just under 50gm. The first one must have come as a bit of a shock. She had laid it right beside the driveway & when Samuel arrived home he found the cattle dog guarding it & looking very self important.
We're now going to celebrate with a boiled egg & soldiers each. Ooh I hope they're good.

from scraps...

I'm learning to love leftovers... of fabric that is. It is to be found that they come in quite handy when one wishes to make a patchwork pin cushion. Finished off with a vintage button.

something to show...

Here's the quilt top I was nattering on about the other day. I'm going to bind it in a dark blue to even out the heaviness in the centre. I did use some vintage florals, so I hope they're not too girly for a little boy.
It was an effort to take a photo of, it's quite windy outside & too dark inside. This was take five. I'd like to thank my lovely husband who assisted, as long as he wasn't included in the shot.

tired...

Not much to say today, I'm very tired.
I caught up with some girlfriends for afternoon tea, which was lovely. I got to show off my growing bump & catch up on what's been going on.
On the way home, the boy & I picked up a bassinet & cot that we bought off ebay. Such a good bargain, $85 all up. I'm a frugal lady I am, no point in spending big money I say. And plus, I'd much rather buy second hand & look after the earth.
Well, that was alot more words than I thought I had. Must go to sleep now. Goodnight.
I leave you with some beautiful flowers in my garden.

letterpress love...

Have you checked out Bespoke Press lately? They've just finished a gorgeous range of letterpress prints by 10 different artists. You can purchase them in their shop or if you're really lucky you might win the whole set! Visit their blog to enter the giveaway. Here's one of my favourites. It's called “Geraldine & Walter In Love” & it's illustrated by Chrissy Lau.

works in progress...

Yesterday I was very productive indeed, in the studio that is. Due to my pregnancy lethargy & a healing right hand, housework is very unappealing. Have you ever tried to wash dishes with 1 & a half hands, the right hand is also not not allowed to get wet. It is very frustrating & not very successful. So at the moment, my kitchen is a mess & I'm sticking to meditative, easy going crafts.
I pieced together a quilt top for my nephew, it's very red & blue & a little bit retro. I hope he & his mumma like it. I'll show a pic as soon as I can get a decent photo of the darn thing. I always forget how hard they are to photograph. I was on a mission when I was making it, I managed to sketch the design, cut all the pieces & sew it all up in just a few hours. I'm clearly not as pedantic as I used to be, it's a lovely feeling... less stressful. Ha ha.
I also started a little project for the nursery, here's a sneak peak. I'll give you an update tomorrow. I've completed the first part, just a few more pieces to finish. Can you guess what it will be?

oh lotta...

I purchased another craft book off fishpond. How can I resist when the prices are good & the shipping is free if you spend $50. So about once a month, I get a craft book for me & a interesting biography for the Samuel. We are both very happy when we see the postman coming down the drive. Apart from the fact that he's mildly scared of the dogs when they go running full pelt at him. You should see the look on his face! They're just excited, I always tell him.
Anyway... my latest purchase is Lotta's Simple sewing for baby. I've already bookmarked the projects I want to make. All I need now is to source some of the more specific fabrics & then away I go. I'll keep you updated with my progress. I figure I have six months, if I start now that is.bloomers

snuggler

nursing pillow

portable change mat

It's raining here again, we've had some hail too. I'm in my studio, looking out on it all. Playing with ideas & sorting through my fabrics. I think I'll start on a quilt top... I just have to decide which one.

in the orchard...

After visiting & photgraphing the moo cows, I took a walk around the property. There's alot going on in the garden right now. Lot's of flowers & young leaves & fruit starting to form. I'm quite happy to see that the apricot trees are doing well. All three trees have little apricots forming. I can't wait to make apricot jam.

There's a couple of other fruit trees starting to flower now. I'm still not sure what they are, they have the white blossoms shown below. Maybe they are an apple or pear.

The grapvines are just bursting with the beginnings of bunches. I'm not sure what variety they are either, I'm just hoping they are sultana grapes... that would be wonderful.

On my walk I was joined by both dogs & all four chickens. They all followed me around quite happily, through the long grass. We're very fond of the chickens, they are funny little things. Unfortunately the haven't started laying yet. You can't get dud chooks, can you? Oh, I hope they lay soon. I'm starting to lose hope.

house guests...

Well not in our house exactly... but perhaps in our top paddock.

A farmer from down the hill has lent us two of his pet cows to keep our grass down.

Both of them are ready to calf either this week or next, so we shall have some wee baby cows to cuddle. I'm quite excited, it's wonderful having animals around.

crafting with a hook...

Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments on my post yesterday.

I feel blessed to have such lovely blog friends.

Here's a couple of crochet projects I've been busy with lately. After the dinner party we recently had, I realised that I didn't own a single trivet! How embarrassing... not really, I like the drama of it though. So I decided I could make one & after pulling it out & re-starting a few times... I produced something that is quite trivet like in appearance & practicality. Marvelous.
I also whipped up this tiny granny square pin cushion. It's just too cute.
Well, that's all from me today. We're off to Melbourne for a 1st birthday party.
Have a lovely weekend!.

let's celebrate!!!

There's much to celebrate here at the kaboodle maison.

Firstly... I'm going to be a mumma! My husband and I have done some crafty work & produced a baby. It's in the oven cooking & shall be ready to come out on the 16th of April. We are super excited & I've being doing lots of research deciding what to make for our wee one. Here's the pics from our 12 week scan.

Secondly... this is my 400th post! I can't believe I've written or photographed that much. Thanks to all of you who read my blog & leave inspiring, supportive comments.

Thirdly... it's october. This means summer is nearing & daylight savings will start. Woohoo! It also means Blogtoberfest is underway. I'll be having a couple of giveaways to celebrate all of the above, so check back in soon.
I'm a day late, but I'll try & post every day with all the interesting things that are going on in my part of the world.
Make sure you visit Tinniegirl & Curlypops, the festival ringleaders.