The Week That Was 30.06.2012

Well, it's been a bit of a slack week in some ways but busy in others. I managed to get back into the gym this week, although tuesday's effort was cut short when I got called down to the pool. It seems Sue had done something to her should that was causing her a great deal of pain and she needed my help to get changed. It seems to be something similar to what I have although mine has settled down quite a bit and it's very hard to tell how bad it is with her as she has a very low tollerance for pain.

Yesterday was the last crochet class for the term so we had a big morning tea to celebrate. I only had one pupil this term and she was only there about half the term so I got to work on various projects of my own uninterrupted for most of the time. Classes start back of the first Friday in August so I have about 4 weeks off from that. I wonder if I'll have anyone to teach next term.

Since it's the end of the month it must be time to have another look at my to-do list. Not a lot has changed recently but here it is anyway.

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Bottle Cosies in more team colours

2 String bags

Teapot Cosies

Fan Bookmark

Tea Towels

bag holders

Current Work In Progress:

Rose Clan Dress Tartan Rug
Crochenit Cot Blanket (trying a method for doing rows that are longer than the hook)
Toddlers Jacket
Jumper (sweater to you Americans) for me
Tea cloth in #40 cotton

Blanket from pattern in my head done in Tunisian Crochet

Koala Amigurumi – pattern by Planetjune

Things I'm itching to get started on:

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

Banner for Stall

Table Runners for each Australian state and territory.

Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner

Spiral Blanket (saw one on the internet and figured I could have a go at it without the pattern)

Platypus Amigurumi – patter by Planetjune (I've already had some interest in this one so it looks like I could sell a few of these)

Plenty there to keep me busy for a while.

Richard.

FO Friday 29.06.2012

I almost didn't have an FO Friday pic for you today because I forgot to take a photo this afternoon. Good job the camera has a flash.

Slanted Scarf

A very simple pattern (which is about the limit of my knitting) but it still took me a while to make. The slant is created by making a stitch at one end and knitting 2 together at the other end of every other row. I already have someone interested in buying this one so I'll wait until after I see them to give them first refusal. I just hope that people won't look too close and see the uneven stitches or mistakes that I've made.

Well, I've made it through half the year without missing a Friday. I wonder how much longer I can keep this up. If Sue has her way I may have a little trouble posting in a couple of weeks as she wants to do a trip to Canberra so she can visit the Computer Fair and a few of our friends. We'll just have to wait and see what happens there.

As usual, I linking up with Wisdom Begins In Wonder, Susan's I've Made Friday, Tami's Amis and Just Winging It. Check them out and see what everyone else has been making.

Richard.

WIP Wednesday 27.06.2012

I have made a lot of progress on most of my projects this week. I still haven't got around to sewing my hoodie together and I still need to get some more wool so that I can finish it off, but I've had plenty of other things to work on, and here they are.

Rose Clan Dress Tartan Rug

 Still going, I think I'm almost to the halfway mark.

Squares in Squares Blanket

 Just the border left to do, then sew in the ends and call it finished. It currently measures 1.06m (~42") across and I'm not sure how I'm going to photograph it once the border has been done. I may have to fold it in half like I do with the tartan.

Crochenit Cot Blanket

 Still going strong on this one, adding a few more rows each week.

Koala - designed by Planetjune

 Finished the body and stuffed it, now to do the limbs.

Segment 5 of Daffodil Teacloth

 I managed to add a few more rows to this one, plenty more to do though.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

I've got past the arm holes and am now working on the body. I will go back and do the arms later.

I'm linking up with Tami's Amis, Ginny's Yarn Along, Kristine's Ambassador Crochet and Nicole's Keep Calm, Craft On as usual. Check them out to see what everyone else is doing.

Richard.

Love the Lord your God

Deuteronomy 6:1-9 NIV
These are the commands, decrees and laws the lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. Hear, O Israel: The lord our God, the lord is one. Love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Sermon Notes
 
Some of the great texts in the Bible are deceptively simple. We can read the text and spend time meditating over it, and after doing so you come to the realization that the truth is so important and so clear that little can be done other than repeat it over and over again. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 strikes me as such a text. I want to share with you just briefly this morning three points we can take from this text. The writer of Deuteronomy suggests three good reasons why it is important for us to love God. We love God, first of all, because of who he is. V4 The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Yahweh revealed himself to the people of Israel. He had chosen them to be the people through whom He demonstrated his love for the world. God had let them know that he was not just their God as one god among many but God alone over all creation. We also love God because of what He has done for us. This admonition to love God comes to the people in the context of a book designed to remind Israel of her covenant with the God who delivered her from the bondage of Egypt. He made himself known to her in the very act of redeeming her. By grace she was brought into a very special relationship with God. In Jesus Christ God made himself known to the whole world as a saving, redeeming God who desires to bring men and women into a relationship with himself. And the third reason why we love God is that this is the way he wants us to respond to his love. There is certainly a recurring theme in the book of Deuteronomy where people are instructed by the Lord to respond to his gracious activity by loving him. And of course our motivating force behind the love we are to have for God is his prior love for us (1John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.) So what does is really mean to love Him? Well, Chuck Colson says, the beginning of loving God is a passionate desire to obey and please God – a willingly entered into discipline.

My Copious Notes

I didn't actually take any notes today, I just sat and listened.

May God bless you richly this week.

Richard.

The week that was 23.06.2012

I kinda forgot to post last Saturday so this should probably be titled "The Fortnight That Was" but I suspect that no one even noticed anyway.

Last Saturday was market day and I had a reasonably good day. I only had 3 sales but one of those was a $30 scarf so I was quite happy with that.

I finished my Cert III course this week and now have 3 weeks off before I start my Cert IV. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself for 3 weeks but I figure I can get in a bit of crocheting and maybe a bit of exercise as well as a bit of web design. The plan is to start work on a web site for my wife's bookkeeping business and another for my web design business. How far I get with these will depend on how motivated I feel.

Since I finished all my school work by Tuesday morning I managed to get to Craft and Cuppa, for which I'm supposed to be the co-ordinator. We farewelled one of the crafty members of our church as her and her husband prepare to go home to Cootamundra next week. We had another farewell for them this evening as half the church congregation met at a local chinese restaurant for dinner.

Today we also spent some time running a barbecue at a local hardware store so it has been quite a busy day. The store provides everything except the food and the manpower for charitable organisations to raise some extra funds so we like to take advantage of this offer whenever we can.

That's it from me for this week. I hope you all had a good one.

Richard.

FO Friday 22.06.2012

Before I show off my finished object for this week I'll give you all a little background story.

I started making bottle cosies a while ago but haven't managed to sell any yet. When I originally made them I figured I would start with local football team colours thinking that they would be more popular that the NRL or AFL team colours, and the local teams used similar colour schemes anyway. It seems that I thought wrong. Everyone was telling me I had the wrong colours, but they wouldn't tell me what the rights colours were. Last Saturday found me at the local markets and once again I got told that I didn't have the right team colours, but this time I got told which teams they wanted, so here is the first in Geelong Cats colours.

Bottle Cosy in Geelong Cats Colours

I probably should have done the hoops narrower so that I could fit more in but I think this should be OK. The other one they wanted was Carlton which is all navy blue so it will be real easy (unless they want the logo on it). I've got plenty of time to make it as I'm not going to markets again until August.

If you want to see what others have been making, check out Tami's Amis, Wisdom Begins In Wonder, Susan's "I've Made Friday", Natural Suburbia and Just Winging it.

Richard.

WIP Wednesday 20.06.2012

Well, it's Wednesday again and I've been very busy and have lots of WIPs to show off.

Rose Clan Dress Tartan Rug

 I've managed to find some time to thread a few more chains through. There is a lot of red in this one.

Squares in Squares Blanket

 One more triangle to go then I can start on the border.

Slanted Scarf

 This one is almost finished, but I already have a finished object for this week so I'll leave this one until Saturday.

Segment 5 of the Daffodil Teacloth

 I've been able to spend a bit of extra time on this this week so there has been quite a bit of progress.

Koala - A Planet June pattern

 My first Planetjune pattern and my first Australian animal. The stitch marker is about where the nose will be on the finished object.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

 I've added a couple more rows to this. Today at craft group I had a couple of requests to show how I got the crosses.

I have a bonus for you this week, one of Sue's WIPs.

Pram Blanket with Diamonds

This is a pattern Sue worked out for herself.

As usual, I'm linking up with Nicole's Keep Calm, Craft On, Tami's Amis, Ginny's Yarn Along and Kristine's Ambassador Crochet.

Richard.

Strength in our weaknesses

We had guest speaker again this morning so there are no youversion notes.

The main reading was from 2 Corinthians 12:1-10
 
¹ I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. ² I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. ³ And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— ⁴ was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. ⁵ I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. ⁶ Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, ⁷ or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

A reading was also taken from Psalm 139

¹ You have searched me, Lord,

    and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

Since we are the creation of God, God know us and our abilities, therefore, when He asks us to do something we shouldn't question Him and tell Him that we can't do it. He know that we can, even if we need His help.

His grace is sufficient for me!

May God bless you richly this week.

Richard.

 

FO Friday 15.06.2012

We're going out tonight so I thought I would get this up early.

Here is my FO for this week.

Rose Garden Teapot Cosy

This will be added to my Madeit store next week if it doesn't sell at market tomorrow.

As usual I'm linking up with Tami's Amis, Wisdom Begins In Wonder, Natural Suburbia and Just Winging It.

Richard.

WIP Wednesday 13.06.2012

Greetings all. It's Wednesday and time to show of my progress this week.

Squares in Squares Blanket

 I'm not sure that this is coming out exactly as I had envisioned it but it still looks good and it's getting quite large.

Crochenit Cot Blanket

 This one is still growing very slowly.

Slanted Scarf

 I still have a bit of wool left so I'm going to keep going until I run out.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

 Another couple of rows have been added to this. I can only do a couple of rows of this before my arthritis starts complaining so it's going to be slow going I think.

Segment 5 of Daffodil Teacloth

Just a few more rows have been added to this.

I've been concentrating on getting my FO done for this week so didn't spend any time on the Rose Clan Dress Tartan Rug or my Hoodie (which still needs to be sewn together).

As usual I'm hooking up with Ginny's Yarn Along, Kristine's Ambassador Crochet, Tami's Amis and Nicole's Keep Calm, Craft On.

Richard.

Respect

The officers are on furlough this week so the sermon notes aren't on youversion. Instead I have the bible readings from today's message.

Leviticus 19:32 (MSG)

"Show respect to the aged; honour the presence of an elder; fear your God. I am god.

 Ephesians 6:5-8 (MSG)

Servants, respectfully obey your earthly masters but always with an eye to obeying the real master, Christ. Don't just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ's servants doing what God wants you to do. And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you're really serving God. Good work will get you good pay from the Master, regardless of whether you are slave or free.

 1 Peter 2:13-17 (MSG)

Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government.

 1 Peter 3:7 (MSG)

The same goes for you husbands: Be good husbands to your wives. Honour them, delight in them. As women they lack some of your advantages. But in the new life of God's grace, you're equals. Treat your wives, then, as equals so your prayers don't run aground.

 1 Peter 3:13-18 (MSG)

Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy.

My Copious Notes

When I was growing up I was taught that I should respect all adults, everybody's property and the law. That doesn't seem to happen much these days. A lot of people lie, cheat, steal, damage other peoples property and a whole lot of other things to show they they simply have no respect. When will they ever learn?

May God bless you richly this week.

Richard.

The Week That Was 09.06.2012

Another week has finished and what a busy one it was.

College this week has been a bit of a mad rush to get things finished as I had a couple of projects that needed to be handed in. Next week promises to be just as busy as there are more projects and reports to be completed and handed in. In a couple of weeks I should be able to sit back and relax for a couple of weeks before the Cert IV commences next semester. I probably should worry more about these reports and things I have to do, but I just seem to summon up the energy.

We got an email from a local craft store the other day telling us that there was going to be some knitting in public and discounted yarn happening today but when we got there there was no one knitting and no table set up for it anyway. We hadn't intended to stay in any case so we just bought some yarn and headed off to a nearby town to do a little more shopping. Sue wanted to visit the lolly shop there and we were very naughty, buying lots of lollies. I do hope that Sue is keeping an eye on her sugar levels as I wouldn't want her to end up in hospital or anything.

That's about it from me for this week, I hope you all had a good one.

Richard.

FO Friday 08.06.2012

Another Friday and another Finished Object.

Shopping Bag Holder in Variegated Purple

Another shopping bag holder ready for markets.

Now I need to figure out what I'm going to have finished for next Friday.

As usual I'm linking up with Wisdom Begins In Wonder, Natural Suburbia and Tami's Amis.

Richard.

WIP Wedndesday 06.06.2012

I'm running a little late today so I'll just get into showing my WIPs.

Rose Clan Dress Tartan Rug

 This is starting to look more like a tartan than a striped blanket.

Squares in Squares Blanket

 These triangle are getting very big now. I couldn't do more than one in the week and still have time to work on other things.

Segment 5 of the Daffodil Teacloth

 A few more rows added to this.

Crochenit Cot Blanket

 I ran out of yellow so I had to change colours a little early.

Slanted Scarf

 This one is still growing.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley.

The rows are getting too long for the cable so it's getting hard to flatten it out for a photo.

Check out Tami's Amis, Ginny's Yarn Along, Kristine's Ambassador  Crochet and Nicole's Keep Calm, Craft On to see what other people have been making this week.

Richard.

Emotionally Mature

The Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37 NIV
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

Becoming Emotionally Mature

In our final week in our journey to emotionally healthy spirituality we are looking at the emotional part. We've spent weeks looking at different pathways to healthy spirituality, now we bring that together with being emotionally mature. Christ calls us to have a spirituality that is truly connected. Where my love for God and my love for people are inseparable. The parable of Good Samaritan is a great example of an emotionally mature person. The first two men in the story have a disconnected spirituality. They somehow have separated loving God and loving others. The Samaritan on the other hand saw the man and had compassion. Jesus said 'go and do likewise'. The emphasis is on the word do... go and do! For us to grow into emotionally mature adults there are two basic keys. 1. Examine our origin - how did we learn to express feelings and emotions? 2. Take practical steps of discipleship to grow. It takes work, but a caterpillar doesn't turn into a butterfly overnight. This is your spirituality having an impact on the deep iceberg parts of who you are so that you truly are different in the ways that you relate to people. The process will be worth it.

My Copious Notes

I think the sermon notes say it all this week and there is little that I could add. The song we sang after the sermon was "Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God" and I think it said a lot also.

My God bless you richly this week.

Richard.

The Week That Was 02.06.2012

Winter has official arrived in this part of the world and I can definitely feel it in my joints. Athr likes to make his presence known at this time of year and a number of my joints kinda ache all the time, but I just have to grin and bear it, and keep moving things because they will freeze up if I stop.

This week has been a pretty standard week for me. Plenty of crochet and a little bit of knitting being done. The teachers at college are starting to remind us that the semester, and therefore the course, are rapidly coming to an end and we still have plenty of work to get finished.

Sue is busy planning our holiday for next year, looking at destinations, checking out aircraft, cost of flights and all that sort of thing, as well as hire cars and keeping me up to date with what she has found so far. I think she is getting excited about this one as it will be the first time she has left the country. I can't say that I'm getting excited about it yet, I just have too many other things to keep my attention, and it's just over a year away yet as the trip is planned for July/August next year. I guess I will get a little more excited about it when we have the money to pay for it and it becomes a little more real. It will be the first time I've left the country since arriving here almost 54 years ago and I'll get to see the place I was born.

We went for an ecumenical prayer breakfast this morning as I didn't have any markets to attend. This also means that I haven't made any sales this week. It would be nice if people would at least leave me a little feedback on my Madeit store but there doesn't seem to be much happening there either.

That's it from me for this week. I hope you all had a good one.

Richard.

FO Friday 01.06.2012

Friday is here again and I don't have one FO to show you, I have two!

The first was made completely by me.

Shopping Bag Holder

 Another shopping bag holder. I figure I'll make a few more of these so that I can give people a choice.

The second is kind of a joint effort.

Matinee Jacket

Sue did all the knitting then gave it to me to sew up, sew in the ends, add the picot edging and the ribbon. I know Sue did the bulk of the work but I still think it counts as a joint effort.

As usual, I'm hooking up with, Tami's Amis, Wisdom Begins In Wonder and Natural Suburbia.

Richard.