Winter is here

 

Winter has arrived Down Under, and here is another pair of socks! These are for hubby, who really needed some, as our new rescue doggo Shaggy had destroyed his favourite socks...

This is my first pair of toe-up socks, first knitted on Magic Loop and first made with DK yarn! I used the Fast Forward pattern by Kate Atherley and enjoyed making them - it really is a kind of magic, the way a ball of yarn is transformed into a pair of socks. The yarn is called 'Fireside' - handdyed DK yarn from HeatherMaid on Etsy.

Now that hubby's socks are finished I've gone back to my rainbow socks. The first one is almost done!

Winter is coming

 It's almost winter here Down Under and the nights are getting colder. Recently I dug up my beloved handmade socks again, the very first pair I ever knitted, back in 2017 when we lived in Sydney. Oh no, there was a hole in one of them!

I could have mended that hole, but the soles were also getting very threadbare... Time to knit a new pair!

In May 2017 I bought some blue self-striping sock yarn in Melbourne, when I was there for the National Gymnastics Championships. I made a start on the first sock (they were meant to be for my gymnast son), but then in July we went to the Netherlands, where my mother-in-law taught me to crochet... and the sock disappeared from sight... until a few weeks ago!

I was pleased to find that I still knew how to knit, and surprised at how much I enjoyed it! After a few weeks of knitting regularly both socks were finished (I had to Google how to cast on, as I had completely forgotten!). They fit very well, just like the previous pair (I used the Basic Ribbed Socks pattern by Kate Atherley for both pairs).

I'm very keen to do some more knitting in the coming months, so have ordered a few balls of self-striping yarn from HeatherMaid on Etsy.

I've already started knitting with the rainbow yarn - it's so much fun to watch the colours appear!

For this pair I am using the Pin Striped Socks pattern designed by Julia Swart. Can't wait to add the afterthought heel to my sock-knitting repertoire!

PS I am also quilting the t-shirt quilt, bit by bit. I tried an all-over pattern, but that wasn't a success, so I am now quilting in the ditch. It's about halfway done. Not really enjoying that part, but still excited about the quilt itself. Stay tuned!

Progress

 

 

My Sea Colours blanket is progressing nicely - about one quarter is done now. I'm really enjoying crocheting it.

 

 

I ran out of white yarn recently and had to order more from Bendigo Woollen Mills. While waiting for that order, I started another project: a flamingo! My youngest son had asked me to make one for him.

 

 

The pattern is from the book Crocheted Wild Animals by Vanessa Mooncie. In 2019 I made an owl for my middle son from that same book.

 

 

I like having more than one project on the go, as when you get tired of one, you can work on the other for a bit. I'm about to start on a third project as well, a housewarming present for a friend. Just waiting for the yarn to arrive... Stay tuned!

The last post of the year

 

 

2020 is almost over, and like everyone else I am glad to see the end of this year. Although the Covid situation here in Queensland, Australia, isn't nearly as bad as in many other places around the world, the pandemic has still had a large impact on our lives. The worst thing for me personally was that I couldn't travel to the Netherlands when a loved one got sick and died back in July.

Crochet, along with reading and running, has been a good way for me to deal with everything 2020 threw at me. I finished 12 projects this year - big ones, like my Up North Cardigan and the Lotus & Blossom Mandala, and small ones like the four colourful dishcloths (the fourth one was finished yesterday!):

 

 

I didn't do any sewing, quilting or knitting in 2020. I did discover a new craft: embroidery. I made two pieces and I really like both of them, but I don't think I'll be making any more anytime soon.

 

 

 

The best thing for us in 2020 was that after almost 14 years in Australia we finally bought our own house!

 

We moved in a month ago and are very much enjoying making it ours. The mandala has found a spot in the living room:

 

 

While unpacking boxes I came across this quilt that I made many years ago. I put it up on the wall over the dining table - everyone loves it!

 

 

Wooyung, Thinking of Holland and My Calendar are in the hallway:

 

 

Cycle of Life is also in the living room:

 

 

And my whole amigurumi family is on display on top of the bookcase!

 

 

There are some other quilts that still need to be put up on the walls, and of course it's too hot at the moment to have quilts on the beds.

Meanwhile some new balls of yarn have arrived for my next crochet project...

 

 

 

I hope you will visit this blog again in 2021 to find out what I am going to make with these!

Having said that, thanks for visiting this year, I appreciate it. And I would like to wish all my readers a happy, creative, and especially healthy 2021 - here's hoping that life will become a bit more normal soon.

Jacaranda time

October is jacaranda time in Queensland. There aren't as many jacarandas on the Gold Coast as in Brisbane, but that only makes them stand out more. Here are a few pics of my favourite jacarandas in our area.







Meanwhile my Happy Whirl shawl is slowly growing:



The second colour change has happened! Can't wait for the purple to appear.



I have also made a start on my fourth amiguruME doll. Stay tuned for a reveal soon!

Melbourne

Last week youngest son and I travelled to Melbourne to watch his eldest brother compete in the Australian Gymnastics Championships. Unfortunately Hugo injured his knee on the fourth apparatus during the first competition and was pulled out. His team won gold on the day and thankfully he could join them on the podium, crutches and all!



He had an MRI the next day which showed that his ACL was torn. Bad news, as this means he will need surgical reconstruction followed by 9-12 months of recovery. He's taken it in his stride however, and has signed up for a judging course, so he can still go with his clubmates to the State Club Championships at the end of June, and judge instead of compete. He also hopes to do some coaching this year. The brilliant photo below was taken by one of the photographers of WinkiPop Media minutes before his injury, high-fiving his coach after a succesfull rings routine:



Hugo's injury understandably put a damper on our stay in Melbourne, but Robert and I did get to do some sightseeing and met our Dutch friends for dinner, which was lovely. It was Robert's first time in Melbourne and he loved seeing the autum colours - something we don't have here in Queensland! (more Melbourne pics on my photo blog here)



I took him to Hosier Lane to see the street art, but he wasn't very impressed - he called it Stinky Street!



We did like this painting (more street art photos on the photo blog here):



Here is another kind of street art - an art deco mosaic constructed in 1933 by Napier Waller on the facade of Newspaper House in Collins Street (more art deco photos on the photo blog here, and some art nouveau photos here):



We really liked the cubes in Flinders Street:



There was even a crocheted one!



I had brought a ball of yarn and a hook but didn't do any crocheting. We did visit my favourite shop in Melbourne, Morris and Sons:



I bought some yarn as a souvenir ;-)



Love the warning on the label!!



All in all we did have a good time, but were happy to go home on Sunday (Hugo flew home on the same day with the Queensland team). Robert hopes to go back to Melbourne in December for the ballroom dancing championships!

Easter

How was your Easter weekend? Mine was perfect - my yarn arrived on Thursday, so I spent a lot of time crocheting diamonds, while listening to an audiobook or watching Netflix (got through series 1 of Victoria over the weekend!)



I made twenty-three background diamonds - only 157 to go! (or more if I want the blanket to be rectangular instad of square...)



It was wonderful to have a break after the hectic first term of the year, settling in our new home. We are very happy here on the Gold Coast but it has been exhausting; new jobs, new schools, new clubs, finding our way around, making new friends. Especially doing all that for the second time in just over a year...

However, we didn't just stay at home and relax - we decided to explore some of the beautiful Gold Coast Hinterland and went to Mount Tambourine on Sunday and to Springwood National Park on Monday. There we did the 4k hike to the bottom of the Purling Brook Falls - it was very muddy and slippery after all the rain we've had, but well worth the effort!



You can find some more pics on my photo blog.
My youngest son has taken possession of my old DSLR and brought it along as well. Love this photo my husband took of the two photographers in the family :-)

Straightforward mitts and more

My husband asked if I could make some fingerless gloves for him, so last week I spent most of my free time on this pair, so he could wear them before winter ends here!



I used Scheepjes Stonewashed yarn (cotton/acrylic) that was gifted to me in the Netherlands, and a free Ravelry pattern by Mone Drager: Straightforward Mitts. The pattern is well written, easy to follow, and I love the effect of the twisted rib!



I've also done a bit of crochet, to keep up my newfound skills:



Spotlight had a yarn sale, so I stocked up on cotton in sea colours - I'm planning to make something like this baby blanket (might be a bit ambitious...)



I've also bought a large crochet hook and dug up my t-shirt yarn:



This could become a bathroom mat... I'm enjoying making it, and actually finding it very useful, because the thick yarn makes it easy to see how the stitches are formed.
To be continued!