WIP Wednesday 30-11-2011

The last day of spring in this part of the world, and after some really hot days (mid 30s) things have settled down to a much more comfortable temperature (mid 20s), so it hasn't been too uncomfortable for crocheting and knitting. According to the bureau we should get a few more days until things start warming up again, and the temperature should start getting real uncomfortable (high 30s - low 40s) and we will have to fire up the air coolers.

In the meantime, progress has been made.

Knitted Scarf

Another 20 rows has been added to this and started the last ball of yarn. It's kinda a pity but the pattern with the yarn doesn't seem to flow from one ball to the next, or maybe I was using the balls in the wrong order. Ah well, it still looks OK to me and I'm sure it will be functional.

Crochenit Cot Blanket

A couple more rows have been added here. Still a long way to go with this one.

Toddlers Jacket (Zoom by Ellen Gormley)

Finished making the second sleeve and started back on the body. I think with the next one I will make the sleeves in the round so that I don't have to sew anything up.

Sleeve 1 of Hoodie (Dawg by Drew Emborski)

Finished the increases so now it's just keep going straight until I get the right length.

Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner

Only a little bit has been added to this as I have put it aside to make sure I had something for FO Friday. I hope to be able to get back to it soon.

That's it from me, check out Tami's Amis for more WIP Wednesday goodness.

Richard.

Special Guest: Gary Raymond

We had a special guest for this morning's meeting. Gary Raymond is a retired police officer. He told us stories of his time in Rescue and Homicide. I had trouble taking notes for tonight's blog as I was more interested in listening to his stories than writing anything down, as a result my notes are a little disjointed but I hope I got the gist of his message.

He started by asking the question "Why do we go to church?" Some answers we came up with include to worship, to pray, to be fed, because God tells us we need to, to learn how to defend ourselves from the devil.

Next he asked why people don't go to church. No time, don't feel like it, don't believe, don't want to believe, scared were some of the answers we came up with.

If a police officer pulls you up for speeding, not knowing the speed limit won't be an acceptable defence. The law is there to protect us and the police are there to enforce the law. You would never expect a police officer to write out a speeding ticket for someone and then ask for it back telling the person that they would pay the fine and take the points off their license, but God did just this when Jesus died on the cross. His law is their to protect us, to make our lives better but instead of penalizing us for breaking it He took our sins on Himself so that our record could be clean.

When police officers give evidence in court the don't tell the court how they feel, they provide facts. We need to allow the holy spirit to show us the fact of God's love. Jesus will stay on our case even if we deny that we need Him. God doesn't want to be a remote God, He wants to dwell within us.

Phillipians 4:6-7 tells us "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

We eed to thank God at the same time as we make our requests. God can be trusted and He gives evidence.

God is very cleaver with His timing, even when we doubt it.

Jesus specialises in taking messes and turning them into miracles.

May God bless you richly this week.

Richard.

The Week That Was 26-11-2011

Another busy week has come to a close and it's time to look back at what's been done.

This hasn't been a very eventful week with much of it being business as usual. The only exception to this was that crochet and knit class had been moved to Wednesday morning and, since we were already booked for something else, we had to cancel it for this week. I'm not sure what event the community centre had on on Friday morning that prevented us from having our usual time slot, but that's the way things go sometimes.

On the crafting front, this morning I took the stall down to Benalla expecting to have a fairly miserable day weather wise. We did have a shower early but it ended up being fine for the most part, and I had a pretty good day sales wise. I only had 2 customers but those 2 customers spent $93 between them (anything over $50 counts as a good day).

Since I now have a week off from the markets I thought it might be time to review my to-do list, so here it is.

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Set of Wine Glass Socks
Frog keepsake pouch
Large Turtle (sold today)
Pink booties (sold today)

Current Work In Progress:

Rose Clan Dress Tartan Rug
Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner
Crochenit Cot Blanket (trying a method for doing rows that are longer than the hook)
Knitted Scarf
Toddlers Jacket
Jumper (sweater to you Americans) for me

Things I'm itching to get started on:

Doily in #40 cotton (I've had the pattern for a while)
Tunisian Crochet Dishcloth (for tutorial I want to write)
Crochenit Knee Rug (same as Cot Blanket and will also use up some of my stash of 8ply)
Crocheted Slocks
Something from my "99 Granny Squares" book
Something in Tunisian Crochet Lace (I'm thinking of modifying Ellen's Jacket pattern by substituting a lace stitch in the main body of the pattern)
Something from Ellen's new book.
A doily from an old pattern book I bought.
Australiana2.0 Table Runner (finished the design last week)
Banner for Stall (in the design stage)
Table Runners for each Australian state and territory (ACT is in design stage, remainder yet to be started designing).

I'm sure there are other things to be made to replace items that I've sold but at least one of those (a cot blanket sold today) are being done by Sue so I won't include them here.

Richard.

FO Friday 25-11-2011

Another Friday is here and I have managed to finish something this week, although I did have to look for something that I could finish quickly just to make sure.

Pink Cross Bookmark

Yellow Cross Bookmark

I sold one of these last Saturday and had a lady ask me for one in pink so it's not like I didn't need to make them.

Now I need to find something quick for next week.

For more FO Friday goodness check out Tami's Amis.

Richard.

WIP Wednesday 23-11-2011

Hi All, lots of progress here again this week even though I took time out from my long term projects to make a couple of quickies so that I would have something for FO Friday.

Here are the long term projects I have been working on this week.

Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner

Back of Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner

I'm not look forward to sewing in all those ends, and I have barely started! It's going to take almost as long to sew in the ends as it does to make it.

Tunisian Crochet Toddler's Jacket (Zoom by Ellen Gormley)

Almost finished the second sleeve and only just now noticed the striping on the first sleeve. Quite an interesting effect I think.

1st Sleeve of Hoodie (Dawg by Drew Emborsky)

I am still having trouble taking photos of this, the colours never seem to come out right.

Knitted Scarf

If I fold it in half and wrap it around my neck the ends will now go through the loop, but only just, and I still haven't started on the last ball of yarn.

Crochenit Cot Blanket

I switched to yellow this week. Still plenty more to do here.

Some of these might slow down a bit this week as I don't have crochet class to teach. There is something else on at the community centre on Friday morning so they moved classes to this morning and I couldn't be there because we had something else on. It will be back on Friday morning again next week so it will be business as usual again then. I may still work on a couple of these projects on Friday morning but I will be sitting in front of the TV at home instead of an air conditioned hall.

We have a market on this Saturday so I will get a bit more crochet time then, I just hope the weather man is wrong and it won't rain as predicted.

That's it from me. Check out Tami's Amis for more WIP Wednesday goodness.

Richard.

The Week That Was 19-11-2011

Another Saturday night and time to think about what we did this week.

One thing we didn't do is go to the gym or the pool after Monday morning. Sue hurt her shoulder during her Monday morning Aqua session and has been struggling a bit with it ever since.

Another thing we haven't done this week is housework. We really do need to do some soon as we have an inspection on Tuesday and we don't want to upset the real estate agent or landlord. This is a nice place and we would like to stay here for a while.

I had another sale on my Madeit store this week and received some very positive feedback. I'm a little disappointed about selling so little on-line with only 2 sales in 6 months. Of course, if business picks up I could have trouble keeping up with demand but that seems a more desirable thing than not selling anything.

We had a market at Thurgoona this morning and , while I received plenty of compliments, there wasn't much in the way of sales, so it hasn't affected my to-do list much. I do need to make a couple of bookmarks, one to replace the one I sold today and another for a lady that would like one in pink. That should at least give me something to show for FO Friday as they are quite quick to make.

That's it from me for this week. I  will wait and see what I sell next Saturday morning before I review my to-do list again.

Richard.

FO Friday 18-11-2011

Another Friday has arrived and all I have is a couple of Teapot Cosies that I finished this week.

These teapot cosies were ordered by one of my on-line customers and I'm just waiting for her to pay for them before I ship them off.

For more FO Friday goodness, check out Tami's Amis.

Richard.

WIP Wednesday 16-11-2011

Another Wednesday and more progress to show.

I started my first intarsia project.

Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner

The pattern actually call for a cross stitch pattern on a Tunisian simple stitch backing but I thought I would try it as intarsia anyway. It look like a simple enough pattern but it sure gets messy once you get a few colour changes happening.

I have completed the front of my hoodie.

Front of Hoodie

And started on the first sleeve.

Sleeve of Hoodie

Finished the first sleeve of the Toddler's Jacket

Tunisian Crochet Toddler's Jacket (Zoom by Ellen Gormley)

And also added a few more rows to the crochenit cot blanket.

Crochenit Cot Blanket

And even managed to finish off a couple of teapot cosies that I will show off on Friday.

As usual, check out Tami's Amis for more WID Wednesday goodness.

Richard.

Holiness

The reading this morning came from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-28

A company's charter or constitution tells us what the company is all about. The Salvation Army's doctrines are the equivalent of a company's charter and tell what the organisation is all about.

Holiness is dynamic, it is a living relationship.

The Salvation Army is built on holiness with many of the song in the song book being about holiness.

The Hebrew word for holiness directly translates to "separate". God is separate from the world, the Sabbath is a day for people to separate themselves from work, priests were separate from the rest of the population.

Christians should also be separate from the world, our thinking should be different because we should have the mind of Christ, we should be separated from the world to Christ.

Moses brought the law but with Christ came grace and love.

God says "be holy because I am holy" (Leviticus 11:44). Jesus reiterates this in Matthew 5:48 and Paul also told us to be sanctified like our saviour.

We are to be the hands and feet of Christ.

May God bless you richly this week.

Richard.

The Week That Was 12-11-2011

This week I have been so busy on major projects that I failed to finish anything. This has only happened a couple of time in the past and this is the second time in three weeks. It kinda makes me feel like I may have been slacking off, even though I know I have been busy.

One area that I have definitely slacked off on this week is exercise. I only went to aqua on Wednesday morning this week instead of the usual 3 sessions in the gym as well as the aqua. Maybe I have just been a slacker this week.

We finished the week on a high note with a night out at the Salvos with Albury Salvos Got Talent. It was a great night and lots of fun. Win did have a couple of serious acts with a couple of piano recitals, some poetry and a performance by our Euphonium player.

That's it for this week.

Richard.

Move along, nothing to see here (again)

Yes, another Friday has come and I don't have any finished objects to show. I suppose that's what I get for having so many large projects. Ah well, the teapot cosies should be finished in the next few day so I should have something to show next week.

If you want to see some FOs, head on over to Tami's Amis.

Richard.

WIP Wednesday 09-11-2011

Another Wednesday and plenty of progress happening here.

I was planning on making a start on Australiana2.0 this week but an email that I received on Friday meant a change of plans. The lady that I sold a couple of teapot cosies to a couple of months ago ordered 2 more, so I put aside my plans in order to get these made up as quickly as possible.

She asked for one to be tan with pastel coloured flowers.

Tan Teapot Cosy with pastel flowers

And the other to be deep purple with bright coloured flowers.

Deep Purple Teapot Cosy with flowers yet to be made

I am making quite good progress with these and should have them ready for the post on Monday. I just hope the weather doesn't get too sticky like it has been the last couple of days. It's very had the crochet with acrylic in this sort of weather.

Other projects that have seen progress this week are :-

Rose dress tartan

I have finished the mesh part of this project and will be putting this aside until the weather cools. It is far too hot to work on this already and we haven't even hit summer yet.

Toddlers Jacket in Tunisian Crochet (Zoom by Ellen Gormley)

I started on the sleeve because I figured it would be easier to work on it flat although the next jacket I do I might try doing the sleeves in the round to avoid seams altogether.

Front of Hoodie

The heat doesn't seem to slow me down with this one. Maybe that's because it's wool and not acrylic. I just wish I could afford wool for all my projects.

Knitted Scarf

This is now longer than I am tall but I still have another ball of yarn to add to it. The ladies at our church craft group reckon I should keep knitting until I run out and make a scarf that rivals Dr Who's for length.

Crochenit Cot Blanket

I'm still plugging away at this at crochet class, but only when I'm not teaching.

I have a market this Saturday so that will give me a bit more crochet time, although I'm not sure which project to take since the weather is getting so warm. I'm sure I will have some more progress to show next week in any case.

Check out Tami's Amis for more WIP Wednesday goodness.

Richard.

Planned Giving: Covenant

The reading this morning came from Malachi 2:1-9

We all make promises but often break them (or at least fail to keep them). Today we made a covenant (solemn promise) to the church to bring to God our best.

God has made many covenants with us and He has never broken any of them. To Noah He gave a rainbow and a promise to never again destroy the earth by flooding. To Abram he gave a new name (Abraham), circumcision and the promise to make him the father of many nations. To Moses he gave the ten commandments and the promise of a new home, a land flowing with milk and honey for his people.

When we make our promises to God we need to rely on His strength to keep them.

May God bless you richly this week.

Richard.

The Week That Was 05-11-2011

It's been another busy week here on the border. We've had our usual gym and aqua sessions, although we skipped the gym on Thursday because Sue's brother and his wife were calling in on their way back from Tassie.

It seems I may need to review my to-do list again due to an email I received last night. The lady that I sold a couple of teapot cosies to earlier in the year wants 2 more! I got most of one done today, just need to sew it up and make some flowers for it. I put aside the yarn for the second and I expect that I will be able to get the body of it done tomorrow. The flowers are always a bit fiddly so they will take a little while to put together.

Tomorrow morning at church is going to be kinda special as I'm presenting the crest rug to our officers. This is something I planned to do when I first started making it although I didn't know at that time that I would be presenting it at Albury Corps on planned giving Sunday, but that's the Lord's timing for you.

That's it from me for this week, hope everyone had a good week wherever you you were and whatever you were doing.

Richard.

FO Friday 04-11-2011

Hi all,

Unlike last Friday, I actually have some finished objects to show you.

I managed to stiffen an angel and stick all the pieces together.

Angel Tree Topper

I was my first effort at stiffen crochet fabric and I'm not sure that I did a great job of it. I will have to see if I can do better with the bells. I just need to find or make a bell form that's big enough for them.

I finally finished one of my long term projects.

Tunisian Crochet Mitred Square Blanket

It's great to get one of my bigger projects of the hook. I have had a bit of trouble blocking this as I don't really have anywhere that I can lay it out flat and I can't find the iron (it's probably still packed).

On another note, I promised a bit of a show report and pictures, so here are pictures of my entires to the Albury Show.

Salvation Army Crest Blanket

Rose Hunting Tartan Rug

Me and my prize winner

This weekend we are having our planned giving meeting and since I planned to give this to the church ages ago it seems somewhat fitting that I'll be doing that on Sunday morning.

That's it from me. Check out Tami's Amis for more FO Friday goodness.

Richard.

WIP Wednesday 02-11-2011

This has been quite a productive week, especially since I volunteered to sit in the craft hall of the local show and keep an eye on the exhibits. I couldn't not take any projects with now could I?

I took 3 projects with me and spent most of the time I was there (3 hours on Friday and 8 hours on Saturday) working on them. Here are the projects I have worked on this week (that aren't yet finished).

Front of Hoodie (Dawg by Drew Emborski)

As you can see, I have reached the arm shaping. Another 28 rows and I will reach the neck.

Crochenit Cot Blanket

I managed to start the next colour but kept having trouble with stitches falling off the other end of the hook because I wasn't paying attention to how full the hook was getting. If I had been watching I could have managed a couple more rows.

Toddler's Jacket - pattern by Ellen Gormley (GoCrochet)

I'm making quite good progress with this and am thinking I should have used a longer cable. I will be up to the part where the sleeves separate from the body shortly and that will relieve the pressure.

Rose Dress Tartan Rug

I have even managed to find some tome to work on this one and have almost finished the mesh. My biggest problem now is that we're getting closer to summer and the weather is warming up and it's getting to warm to work on this. Once I've finished the mesh I'm going to put it aside until April when the weather starts to cool down.

The Tunisian Mitred Square Blanket is currently hanging out to dry. I don't have any blocking mats so I'm hoping that stretching it out across the clothes line will do the job. If it doesn't then I will have to resort to my previous method of ironing it flat. I any case, I will post a picture on Friday.

I have also finished stiffening the angel. I'm not sure that I did a great job of this, but it was my first attempt at stiffening crocheted fabric. I still have to do the bells but I will have to play around with some paper mache first (I can't find and bell forms big enough so I going to have to make my own).

Another thing I have been working on is a new Australiana pattern. I made this one a couple of years ago and now I have redesigned it and am ready to make Australiana2.0. I also plan on doing table runners for each state and territory in Australia but I'm having a little trouble finding the inspiration needed for this.

I will be back on Friday with pictures of my finished objects as well as some pictures of my entries for this year's Albury Show. In the meantime, check out Tami's Amis for more WIP Wednesday goodness.

Richard.