The Icing Swirl Hat ... a very slouchy version!

It's finished! My first Ysolda knit the "Icing Swirl Hat", mine is a very slouchy version!

I decided to use the "larger" size in the pattern and ended up with a very slouchy but Oh so comfy beanie beret. I love it and it is going to be perfect for winter when its super chilly. I can slop this on my head and be toasty all day long!

I also think I may have stuffed up and added a couple of extra rows and this enhanced the "sloppy-ness" but I'm not too phased. It's all part of learning really and this pattern was a great one to learn on.

I think as a relatively "beginner" knitter the only way to learn is to make mistakes, and if the pattern changes slightly I tend to try and role with it! Like in this pattern! I still love this slouchy beanie and LOVE the colour too! This was definitely a great starter Ysolda pattern and I plan on building up my knitting skills through practice to tackle another Ysolda knit!! Watch this space!! :o)

Stylish Blogger Award...

I was recently contacted by a lovely Blogger friend (Tamara) who nominated me in the Stylish Blogger Awards!!

I am very surprised to have been nominated and have been seeing LOTS of awesome Bloggers all around Blogland being nominated so I feel very lucky, thanks Tamara!!

So according to the rules I have to do a few things...

Firstly I need to link back to whom ever nominated me (Tamara of One Craftee Mumma! Thanks again, You're very sweet!)

Secondly I have to mention 7 things about myself.... Okay here goes...

1. I was born and bred in a small country town and have always LOVED the country. I've moved away a couple of times but always find myself back here and now I have a reason! I met my lovely partner Roger here at one of the Mines where he works as an Engineer.

2. I have 2 sisters, (one older and one younger) and we are all SOOO different! During our schooling, kids at school didn't believe that my older sister Kate and I were even related because we look so different!

3. I am currently studying a science degree at university (a BA in Equine Science to be exact) via distance education, but have always loved craft and arts and design. In fact when I left school I started studying at a private arts college in Sydney in an Advanced Diploma of Communications and always thought I'd end up working in design... but here I am today!

4. I LOVE to travel! So far I have spent time in India, The Philippines, Hong Kong, Fiji and New Zealand most recently.

5. I spent my 18th birthday in India teaching Kolkata children to speak English whilst on a Pilgrimage in 2007

6. I am a huge worrier. This is probably my biggest struggle, I tend to worry about unnecessary things and jump to conclusions before I need to! I'm currently working on this bad habit!!

7. I LOVE to Blog! (In case you hadn't noticed!!) When I learnt to crochet and knit last May I became so inspired to craft and share my crafting and everyday life I guess and I love it!

Okay... I think that's it for the "7 things about me". Lastly I need to pass this award on to somebody else who deserves it so I'm going to throw it to Jodie at Jellywares!!

Jodie is an awesome blogger and a good friend and I have been following her blog for quite some time now so I definitely think she deserves this award! If you don't know of Jellywares, head on over and check it out!!

That's all from me for tonight. I'm having a quiet night in, catching up on some study tomorrow morning and then off to another knitting "Stitch and bitch" session in town! I can't wait to craft up a storm and share it all with you tomorrow afternoon!

See you then!

My first Ysolda knit!!

So back here I was talking about how much I wanted to try and make something by the awesomely talented Ysolda Teague. Well.... this week I did it!

Thanks to my friend Jodie of course who helped me start it all off in knitting/crochet class last weekend! I was soooo excited to start the gorgeous pattern from this cute book which I am now a happy owner of...

I LOVE this pattern book and all of the great projects in it! This is the first book by Ysolda, closely followed by her Whimsical Little Knits 2 (which I plan on adding to my collection very soon!) I am already planning my next knitting project from in here!

My first Ysolda knit is this little beauty...

It's called the "Icing Swirl Hat" and its a gorgeous (and actually quite simple surprisingly) slouch beret hat. For something different (because I've already done a crocheted slouchy red beret) I decided to make this baby in a nice blue 12 ply Cascades yarn. So far I am about 3 rows from finishing!!

So far its a little hard to tell how its going to look as a finished project but I am sooo pleased with it and excited to finish it tonight and try it on!

Look out winter here I come!!

I'll post pics as soon as I get this little one finished!

Happy Australia day for tomorrow too folks! I hope you've got something "Aussie" planned! I'll be attending a BBQ and hanging by the pool no doubt. It's suppose to get up to 44 degrees here tomorrow! Crazy hey?! It's definitely summer time!

Currently Reading... A Home Companion

When we were in New Zealand in December last year I stopped by your everyday bookstore to have a sticky. I LOVE books and have a terrible habit of buying lots and never getting around to reading them. This year I am determined to attack my bookshelf to start (and finish!!) reading the books that I never got around to reading!

Whilst in the bookstore I came across the book "A Home Companion... My year of living like my Grandmother" by Wendyl Nissen. Wendyl is a New Zealander and a great writer at that.

I don't know about you, but I love reading and hearing about alternate, organic methods of doing things and Wendyl is all about natural, new and different ways to make your life greener!

So far the book has documented the first few months of Wendyl's year of trying new "green" methods for making things around the home like organic pest spray, laundry liquid, beauty products and even sunscreen! At the end of each chapter she includes recipes for these things (also recipes for some foods too!)

I'm really liking this book! If you're not into reading a book and prefer to get stuff via the net you can visit her website here and you'll find all of her recipes on there too! Great huh!?

Are you reading anything at the moment? Any recommendations? I love a good book recommendation!

A little bit country...

Lately I've been listening to some older albums that I have loaded onto my laptop and I'm finding some old songs and artists that I'm loving all over again!!

Right now I'm listening to Miranda Lambert's album "Kerosene". This was Miranda's first album and I remember loving her debut song "Bring Me Down" when it was first released and now I'm falling in love with it all over again!

Yep, it's a little bit country but I love it! Her music is truly catchy and is great to listen too!

I think you might dig it too! (even if you're not into country music)

What music are you listening to right now??

A beautiful parcel

This week I received a beautiful parcel from my Aunty Barb. Boy was I surprised when I opened it!

You see, my Aunt has been working on a new label called "Living Tiny" for quite some time now and last week she emailed me to let me know that she'd be sending me some samples of fabric that will form part of her new line of hand screen and press to go with the Living Tiny range.

When I found the little parcel sitting on my desk at work I was soooo excited to see what she had in store for me and I was BLOWN away!!

Not only did I receive some absolutely gorgeous samples of her hand screen printed fabric and paper, I also got some snap piccies of some of the products that will embody the label when it launches in February/March this year.

I'm so proud of Aunty Barb and everything I have seen so far has really inspired me! I can't wait to make something beautiful out of the small samples!

Here's a sneak peek at what I received... (I'm positive you'll LOVE it!)

Above at the top is what Aunty Barb gave me as my birthday pressie - her first screen print! I love it! Below are samples of some of her printed fabric designs. I'm in love with the birds... too cute!

^^^ More cute fabric samples of the Chook print. ^^^

^^^ Aunty Barbs original "Geoffrey bird" designs printed on paper ^^^

I can't wait to see what else "Living Tiny" has got in store when it officially launches this year!

If you're interested to see more from this line keep an eye on this
website for more details!

Well done Aunty Barb, and thank you for sharing some of your amazing work with me! I can't wait to see more!! xxoo

22 Candles...

Yesterday I had a birthday and now I can officially say that I am 22!

Two ducks on the pond... 22!

I can't believe how fast my year as a young and sprightly 21 year old went! Seriously... so much has happened in just a year and it feels like yesterday when most of it happened and it was a whole year ago!!!

I was lucky and got spoilt and got many many beautiful birthday wishes that made me feel very special and very lucky to have great friends and family to make me smile!

We ate cake... this one to be exact!

Not quite 22 candles but one is enough!!
We spent time together as an extended family (me and some of my gorgeous cousins)...

We managed to take a picture together to document the event (which is a HUGE deal because Rog is usually trying extra hard to hide from the camera!!)...

And boy was it muggy last night!! We had a BBQ at my parents home and it was like sitting in a sauna! The weather all over the place I think is a little crazy and its currently trying hard to rain here but all we seem to be copping is the humidity!

Now I'm off on a girls weekend with my 3 best friends to spend some time together drinking cocktails, shopping, eating and laughing together! I'm so looking forward to continuing the birthday festivities with some of my closest friends!

How has your week been?! Is it humid where you are? Or flooded for that matter?!!

See you after the weekend, keep smiling!

QLD Flood Appeal

So around Blogland lately (and all over the news) you have probably noticed a large amount of people talking about, raising funds for and auctioning items off for the QLD flood crisis.

It's SO horrible to see what has been happening to so many people up in the "sunny state" of Queensland. I can't believe the amount of water that has just devastated the area!

So, in amongst all of the horrible water damage and flooding, I came across a local lady who is also a blogger that is auctioning off a gorgeous skein of yarn to help raise funds for the appeal. As a knitter/crocheter (and mega yarn lover!!!) I absolutely jumped in to bid and add my funds to a very worthy cause.

If you are also interested in donating with the potential to help a lot of people as well as earn a little something for yourself in return, head on over to here.

With a little bit of help we may just make a difference!!

A Farm Girl

I've grown up in the country and all my life I have always felt that I am a true "farm girl". I've spent time living in other cities and have spent enough time there to know that I am a country girl through and through.

Don't get me wrong, I love lots of the things that the cities have to offer. I LOVE shopping (I'm quite and addict actually! lol), I love great food, good wine, I love to dance at cool clubs, I love the beach and I love the accessibility of ANYTHING and everything in the city! I also love my cute BF that was born and bred in the big city!! hehe

But there's just something about the country that keeps bringing me back. Maybe its the open spaces, the animals, the people and the places? Most probably because it's always been "Home".

During the New Year break from work, a friend helped me bring my horse back in from the paddocks of a large and very grassy property outside of town to my parents home in town. I hadn't realised how much I missed working with her and having her waiting to see me every afternoon.

Last night I spent some quality time with my Dad and my girl "Splash". I managed to snap some piccies and these remind me of just why I love being a Farm girl! You can't do this type of stuff everyday in the City!!

Gotta love the perks of living in the country. There might not be many, but we make the most of it out here!! x

Dad's own...

Ever since I was little I've known my Dad to be a "meat and 3 veg" kinda guy and has always been the king of the BBQ. So it doesn't surprise me that I am also a lover of any meat and a HUGE fan of a good BBQ (especially one cooked by Dad!!)

This week I decided to use one of Dad's recipe's and re-live a little bit of my childhood! I remember my sisters and I helping Dad make these when we were little. Gotta love them, so easy and so meaty, great with gravy, or my fav... tomato sauce!

Dad's Rissoles...

Here's what you need to make a batch this big (about 15 big meaty rissoles)

1kg beef mince

1 large onion chopped

A good big splash of Worcestershire sauce

An equally large squirt of tomato sauce

1 - 2 eggs (depending on the amount of mince you may need to use 2 eggs)

Salt & Pepper to taste

(Roger's added extra's - Cumin and dried Basil flakes)

Mix all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty and mix well! Sprinkle some plain flour onto a chopping board and start rolling balls of the mixture and roll in the flour to coat. Make the rissoles as large or as small as you like.

Once all of the rissoles are rolled, heat up the pan with some oil and cook the rissoles on a medium-high heat (make sure its not too high so you don't just burn the outside of the rissoles in stead of cooling evenly through) Flatten slightly to cook through.

Then you're done! Yum! I usually just whip up some gravy using Gravox to go with the rissoles. Mash potato goes really well with these too!!

Yummo! Enjoy!

Thanks Dad! :o) xxoo

Lusting...

Lately I've been lusting over sooo many amazing knitting and crochet patterns that I can't wait to get my hands on and sink my teeth into!

If only I had more time to sit and relax and knit and crochet and create!! Currently I'm lusting over this gorgeous Ysolda Teague creation called "Belle"! This pretty beanie makes me dream of the winter time!

I think I'm in love with pretty much EVERYTHING by Ysolda! All of her patterns are adorable knits! I only wish I was a more experienced knitter to take on some of her more "advanced" patterns, like this one...

And this one!!

Maybe these three patterns can go onto my 2011 to do list! I have sooo many knitting/crochet projects on the go at the moment I think I need to finish those before starting one of these gorgeous patterns. I just can't help but get so excited and enthusiastic when I see such beautiful projects!!

Firstly, I need to finish off Roger's headband and then my sister's slippers! (I've made one and a half I just need to finish them off!! lol)

What crafty goodies are you lusting over at the moment? Have you got any good knitting pattern suggestions for a new-ish to knitting beginner (ME!!) ??

Into the new year...

Hello 2011! I'm surprised how fast you've come! How scary is it how fast time is going? I can't believe it half the time... I'm almost 22, my little young cousins are not so little anymore, work is getting busier, so is my life and the days keep on rolling on by!

So far this year I've already done quite a few things that have made me smile including babysitting a special little bunny for my good friend Jodie and her cute little girls Connie and Millie. Bunny and I had some good times together whilst Jode's family was on holidays, I learnt a lot about rabbits (such as they poo a WHOLE lot!! Gross I know! lol) and enjoyed doing a favour for a friend. Today, I was surprised by the girls with a gorgeous gift for taking care of their beloved bunny "Paws".

Firstly, underneath the cute hand painted wrapping by Miss Connie were these gorgeous matching plates!

Then I found this cute artsy note book to jot lots of important notes down in!

Thanks so much Jodie, Connie and Mille! I love all of the gifts and loved having Paws over at our place! I'm so glad you trusted me with your special new pet from Santa!! lol

Also this year I've been getting my "knit" on and have finally motivated myself to continue working on a project that's been waiting for my attention for a loooong time!

Roger's headband!!

I'm finally making progress on this little one and I can't wait to finish it and see it on Rogers head! I'll post pictures as soon as I get it done!

What things have you been up to so far this New Year? Any big plans for 2011??