Monday Mayhem 17.01.2022 - 2021, the year that was.

Hi all, I almost forgot to post this again. I would normally do this on the first Monday of the year so I'm a little late. 

Firstly, here is a list of the projects that I completed last year. 

43 Comfort Bears (a little short of the one a week that I usurping try to make).

3 blankets (knee rug size) 

2 bunnies

2 bags

1 produce bag

1 drink bottles cosy

1 dog coat

That list is a bit smaller than other years but it has been a bit of a different year. 

I currently have a few projects that I'm working on. They include 2 queen bed size blankets, a cot blanket and a bunny as well as Comfort bears.

Normally I would give you my to-do list but I have scrapped it. I have decided to close my shop and don't need to make anything more for it at this time. I will be trying to sell everything on Facebook so check my pottage over there if you want something that I've made. 

The other thing I usually tell at this time are my targets for the new year (Idon't make resolutions). They are to finish the year with no more projects than I started with (something that I have failed to do most years) and to lose weight (something I have managed to do the last few years, I'm currently 117.2kg).

That's it for now. Until next time, have a good one. 

Richard. 

Monday Mayhem - Periodic Update 26.02.2018

I figure it's about time I updated everyone on what's been happening. It has been a busy couple of months since Christmas and I need to look back on what has happened.

I have managed to keep up with the one comfort bear each week as well as working on other projects. My to-do list keeps growing but I don't seem to be getting much time to work on it. Here is what it looks like now:-

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Teapot Cosies
bag holders
Sunhat and Bootees in white & pink
Matinee Jackets in pink and purple
Tiny Dogs
Heather Hippo
Large Witch
Large Penguin
Shopping Bags
More dinosaurs
Small Rabbit
Panda
Small Penguins
Frog Keepsake Pouch
Ankylosaurus
Bottle Cosies in more team colours (Bulldogs, Geelong, Essendon and West Coast)
Medium Bunny
Tiny Duck
Large Bunny
Small Turtles
Bonnet and Bootees
Platypus x 2
Koala x 2
Tommy Tortoise
Towel Toppers (Tea Towels)


Current Work In Progress:

Comfort Bears
Tunisian Spiral Blanket
Yarn Eater (Hungarian Crochet) Blanket
Story Time Blanket
Moogly CAL Blanket
Double Knit Butterfly Blanket
Corner to Corner Picture Blanket 
4 Graduation Owls
Large Jug Covers
Simple Owls

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)
Table Runners for each Australian state and territory (currently trying to design the ACT one).
Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner
Picture Blanket (need samples so people can see what they might be getting)
Article in Broomstick Lace
Article in Hairpin Lace

I have been signed up with a different college for the course that I started two years ago but now I thinking that I don't really need a diploma as I don't really need a job, at least not a full time job anyway.

I have also been helping out a friend who's wife left him for an old boyfriend. Unfortunately, he is only on his learners so needs a fully licenced driver to sit with him. I had hoped that those duties would be over by now but he failed his driving test so it's going to be a little while longer.

On another note, after losing only 2kg last year, I have manage to lose 3kg so far this year. Here's hoping I can keep it off this time. I took up delivering catalogues and I think that might be helping.

That's about it for now. Until next time, have a good one.
 
Richard.

Monday Mayhem - The Year That Was 2015

In some ways, 2015 was a year to forget. Two trips to the hospital to be probed (one of which I'm still revovering from) and a cancelled holiday due to have to pay for a removalist haven't really made it a good year.

On another note, I did manage to finish quite a few projects and I went through my Friday FO post to make a list, and here it is.

Trauma Teddies - crocheted     47
Trauma Teddies - knitted            4
Jug Covers                                       2
Drink Bottle Cosies                      20
Toys                                                10
Beanies                                          13
Scarf                                                 1
Blankets                                           2
Man-Bag                                          1
Baby Jackets                                   2
Bootees                                            2
Doilies                                              1
Shopping Bags                               3
Display Box                                     1

Not all these were made completely by me, the knitted trauma teddies were knitted by someone else and I just sewed them together and stuffed them, and one of the blankets was started by my wife.

As usual, I have a big list of things to try and get through this year and I'm sure I won't get through them all, especially if I sell things and have to add to the list. Here is my current to-do list.

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Teapot Cosies
bag holders
Jacket, Pants and Hat sets
Sunhat and Bootees in white & pink
Matinee Jackets in pink and purple
Tiny Dog
Heather Hippo
Large Witch
Large Penguin
Shopping Bags
More dinosaurs
Small Rabbit
Large Jug Covers
Panda
Small Penguins
Frog Keepsake Pouch
Ankylosaurus
Bottle Cosies in more team colours

Current Work In Progress:
Toddlers' Rugby Pullover
Trauma Teddies
Tunisian Spiral Blanket
Yarn Eater (Hungarian Crochet) Blanket
Story Time Blanket
Moogly CAL Blanket
Double Knit Butterfly Blanket
Corner to Corner Picture Blanket
Bamboo Stitch Beanie
Toddler's Jacket
Slippers for me (not sure if I will extend then to slocks)

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)
Table Runners for each Australian state and territory (currently trying to design the ACT one).
Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner
Picture Blanket (need samples so people can see what they might be getting)
Article in Broomstick Lace
Article in Hairpin Lace

That list should keep me going for a few years.

That's about it for now. I wish all my readers a happy and prosperous 2016.

Richard.

Monday Mayhem - Show Wrapup and Other Stuff

First, the show wrapup, which I meant to post this last week but I kinda got distracted and forgot.

I had seven items entered this year. In previous years I have won multiple prizes but this year I only won one. The woollen baby blanket was judged second in its category. While it is a little disappointing to only win one prize I suppose it is better than not winning anything  (which I'm sure some people did).

Spending time in the craft pavilion gave me the opportunity to spend a bit more time on the story time blanket so I made good progress on that last week. I don't expect to be able to work on it much outside of crochet class on a Friday morning as it is too heavy to have on my lap over summer. Unfortunately, there are only four weeks left of this term before we begin our Christmas break.

Now for the other stuff.

Sales haven't been particularly good lately but I may have an order for some graduation owls. I received a message through my shop from someone who wants four of them but they want them in Brisbane by the 17th. I don't think I can make that deadline but I plan on making them anyway. I have let the person know when I think I could have them delivered and am now waiting to hear back from them.

In the meantime, I thought it might be time to show you my to-do list, since I haven't posted it for a while.

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Bottle Cosies in more team colours
Teapot Cosies
bag holders
Jacket, Pants and Hat sets
Sunhat and Bootees in white & pink
Matinee Jackets in pink and purple
Tiny Dog
Heather Hippo
Large Witch
Large Penguin
Shopping Bags
More dinosaurs
Small Rabbit
Large Jug Covers

Current Work In Progress:

Toddlers' Rugby Pullover Trauma Teddies
Tunisian Spiral Blanket
Yarn Eater (Hungarian Crochet) Blanket
Story Time Blanket
Moogly CAL Blanket
Double Knit Butterfly Blanket
Corner to Corner Picture Blanket
Shopping Bags
Bamboo Stitch Beanie
Graduation Owls



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
Table Runners for each Australian state and territory (currently trying to design the ACT one).
Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner
Article in Broomstick Lace
Article in Hairpin Lace

This to-do list isn't getting any shorter.

That's it from me for now.

Richard.

Monday Mayhem - 01.09.2014

I have been a bit slack with posting my weekly updates lately. Mainly because I am finding that I am getting to the computer a little too late at night. So this is going to be a bit of a summary of what has been happening here over the last month.

Apart from all the crochet, knitting and knooking that has been happening (which you would have already seen if you have been following my Wednesday and Friday posts) life has been going on much the same as it has for the last few years. Last month I went back for more blood tests and doctor's appointments as a follow to having been diagnosed with diabetes. It seems that I'm not quite bad enough to warrant medication for my sugar levels but, because of the diabetes, the doctor has decided that I should be on medication to bring my cholesterol under control.

The markets last month were a bit of a let down. The one I have been attending regularly in Mt Beauty was very slow with only 4 or 5 stall holders in attendance and not many people looking to spend their money. I also went to the Baby Bazaar for the first time last month and it was quite disappointing . There were quite a few people around but they didn't seem to want to spend their money on my wares. There were a few people that seemed to be interested in some of the items but they found excuses for not buying any of them.

Both Sue and I have had our ups and downs with our health, mainly the usual aches and pains that come with all the itises and other ailments that we have, but this morning Sue had a fall. I had asked her to do something with all the paper work and other rubbish she had been piling up on the floor as it was making it difficult to get into the cupboards and making it awkward for her to get to her desk and this morning she lost her balance while carrying in her breakfast and she fell, aggravating things that she had been having trouble with for quite a while. With her being unable to get up am me being unable to help her (she is 120kg) I had to call for help and an ambulance and police arrived in due course. The result is she has seen the doctor again today and is in more pain than usual, being unable to do much at all with her right arm.

For those that are interested in seeing what my to-do list looks like now, here it it.

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Bottle Cosies in more team colours

Teapot Cosies

bag holders

Jacket, Pants and Hat set in blue (need a couple of other colours also)

Sunhat and Bootees in white

Large Jug Covers

Small Jug Covers

Tiny Duck

Tiny Dog

Heather Hippo

Large Witch

Large Penguin

Current Work In Progress:

Toddlers' Rugby Pullover
Trauma Teddies

Tartan Blanket – taken over from Sue

Woollen Baby Blanket using Motifs from Ellen's book

Bootees

Hanging Towels

Baby's Jacket, Pant and Hat set

Christmas Trees

Christmas Stockings

Teddies for a guy at church

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
Banner for Stall

Table Runners for each Australian state and territory (currently trying to design the ACT one).

Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner

Dinosaurs (bought the patterns from PlanetJune)

Plenty of work there to keep me going for quite a while.

That about wraps it up for August. I hope you all had a good one.

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 28.06.2014

The last couple of weeks I have been trying to things better. Trying to do my exercises as often as possible although I can find excuses for not doing them (this week my left knee has become swollen and my right knee has been playing up a bit). I have also tried to get my crafting mojo back by setting myself daily targets although I seemed to have missed today's target.

The diabetics educator wanted me to increase the number of times I check my blood sugar levels so I try to make sure I check them first thing in the morning and then 2 hours after each meal. Sometimes that isn't possible (Sunday mornings I'm in church 2 hours after breakfast). I'm still trying to figure out if the meals I'm having are actually having an effect on my bsl because it seems to be different all the time whether I've eaten the same things or not. I will just have to check with the doctor next time I see her.

This week we had the last of our Red Shield meetings for a while. We still haven't got the final figures but we are definitely down on last year. From the figures that I've see, we're not the only corps that hasn't made their target. Our next meeting is in October so we will probably get the final figures then and find out what our target is for next year.

It's getting toward the end of the month so I guess it's time to revue my to-do list, so here it is.

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Bottle Cosies in more team colours

Teapot Cosies

bag holders

Jacket, Pants and Hat set in blue (need a couple of other colours also)

Sunhat and Bootees in white

Large Jug Covers

Small Jug Covers

Small Penguin

Tiny Duck

Tiny Dog

Heather Hippo

Large Witch

Large Penguin

Current Work In Progress:

Toddlers Jacket
Trauma Teddies

Tartan Blanket – taken over from Sue

Tunisian Lace Wrap

Knooked Scarf

Woollen Baby Blanket using Motifs from Ellen's book

Bootees

Hanging Towels

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
Banner for Stall

Table Runners for each Australian state and territory (currently trying to design the ACT one).

Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner

Dinosaurs (bought the patterns from PlanetJune)

I have added a few toys that I sold ages ago but never got around to remaking.

I think that's it for this week. I hope you all had a good one.

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 14.06.2014

This has been another up and down week. I haven't done my exercises as often as I should and I have been having trouble finding my crochet/knitting/knooking mojo. I seem to be too easily distracted by things I find on the internet and my tablet games. I haven't even got around to finishing off the photos from last year's holiday.

What I did do this week included making up a couple of hanging towels, making a trauma teddy and finishing two others that someone else knitted, singing at a concert at an old people's home and attending a knitting party at our local Spotlight.

On another note, my blood sugar levels have been going up and down like a yo-yo. I'm not sure if this is normal at this point in time but I'm sure the diabetes educator, dietitian and doctor will eventually tell me. Since I haven't been given a strict diet to follow or medication to keep it under control I guess I will have to wait and see.

I was originally planning on spending the day in Barnawatha with the ladies of the North East Victoria Yarn Lovers but we didn't get up until late and didn't get out of the house until after 1pm so we opted for the knitting party at Spotlight instead. There were a few of the regulars there and I we met a a couple of new people. We tried to get some of them interested in our Craft'n'Cuppa or the Friday morning crochet classes but time will tell if we were successful.

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

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 07.06.2014

I have had an up and down week this week. Some days I have been full of energy, ready to do anything that need to be done and others I've been quite tired and ready to go back to bed. I don't know if that has anything to do with the diabetes or if it's simply because I don't sleep through the night due to circulation problems.

Both Sue and I have had problems with our right shoulders this week. Sue felt that hers was bad enough to warrant a trip to the doctor's but the doc seemed to think it was just bursitis and has sent her in for ultrasound. Mine may be similar (it feels much the same as my left shoulder) and the best thing I can do for it is keep moving it.

Today was market day in Mt Beauty and I had a good day. It wasn't really anything to write home about (no cartwheels today) but I ended up in profit so that was good. Once I got home though all I could do was sit in front of the TV and go to sleep. That could be because I got up at 5:00am to get to Mt Beauty by 7:30.

We have an inspection this week so the next couple of days will be spent making sure everything is reasonably tidy and all floors, walls, benches and anything else that needs to be are clean.

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

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 31.05.2014

This week has been about getting back to normal (whatever that may be) after the business of Red Shield. I'm not real sure what normal is at the moment or what it should be since my recent diagnosis. It seems to involve checking my blood sugar twice a day and losing weight, at least that's what the doctor would like to see.

Since I have to change my lifestyle a bit in an effort to control my diabetes I have started an exercise program. It's one I found on the internet. It involves 9 exercises, each one done for 50 seconds, so it's only a short program. The first day I did it I was puffing like an old steam train after the first 50 seconds. I intend to keep it up for a while, hopefully extending it with other exercises as my fitness improves. I will see how it goes.

I saw the diabetics educator this week and she wants to see all my BL figures also. So far they are up and down like a yo-yo, but that is to be expected apparently. She gave me some reading material which explains where my readings should be and a few other facts about diabetes and I am slowly reading through them. I get to see the dietitian next time I go so we will see what she says.

Other than the stuff I have to do because of my diabetes and my crochet and knitting there isn't much else happening around here so that's about it for this week.

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 24.05.2014

Twas the night before Red Shield and all through the shed, people were preparing for the long day ahead.

It has been a busy week this week with doctors visits, crochet class, Red Shield collecting and a wedding. Sitting at tables, smiling at passers by and thanking them for any donations that they care to give has given me plenty of time to work on my projects which can be seen in my Wednesday WIPs post, but that's not all that has been happening.

First, the doctors visit. This was a follow up to the blood test I had last week and it has been confirmed that I have Type II Diabetes. Not really what I wanted to hear but not unexpected. At this point in time the doctor hasn't put me on medication, she just expects me to do something about it myself to start with. This means getting back into some form of exercise, which isn't particularly easy when you have two dickie knees. I also have to test myself twice a day and watch what I eat. We will see what happens with this.

Red Shield collecting has had its moments this week including a fight that broke out near the table where one of the participants picked up an item off our table to throw at his opposition. On another day someone decided to take off with the bucket but didn't get anything because it hadn't long been placed on the table and no donations had been received yet. At another location someone else had moved into our spot and taken our table for the day. It turns out that the position had been double booked and, since we turned up late, we missed out. There have been some good moments also like collecting more than normal today at the same venue we missed out on collecting at yesterday.

The wedding today was lovely. The bride wore purple and the bridesmaids wore white and the bride was given away by her eldest son. Not exactly a normal wedding but it was a beautiful ceremony none the less.

Tomorrow, if you hadn't guessed with my attempt at poetry at the start of this post, is Red Shield Sunday here in Australia. It is a day when we send groups of people out into the community to knock on doors and collect donations on our behalf. It will be a long a busy day, giving out receipt book, handing out maps and counting money. The bank will even open for a short time so that we can deposit our takings and not store all that money on the premises. I will, of course, be doing my part and I urge all my Australian readers to please give generously.

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

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 10.04.2014

How is it that I can't find time to do everything I want to do even though I'm not working? There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day! I think I slept in on a couple of occasions so that didn't help.

This week, amid all the shopping, craft'n'cuppa and crochet classes both Sue and I had blood tests and doctor's appointments. Sue's blood test came back pretty good but it seems that I may have been eating a little too much sugar lately. The doctor wants me to go back and have another blood test but this one will take two hours.

Today we had the launch of the Red Shield Appeal. This marks the start of the busiest two weeks on the Salvation Army calendar. If I haven't got something more important to be doing then I will be spending time at one of four collection points around the city. I'll make sure that I have a project or two with me so I can get some work done.

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

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 26.04.2014

This week has been a week of decisions. The first decision was to give up on my studies. Trying to keep up with housework and looking after Sue while studying just didn't seem to be working. I was getting too far behind on my studies and the housework wasn't getting done either. It is yet to be seen if the housework actually gets done now but at least there is one less thing demanding my time.

The second decision involved our online shop. I decided that I needed a Facebook page for it to see if that gets it any more attention. On that page I will be highlighting different products that we sell and showing off the newer items that I am adding each week. We will have to wait and see how that goes but I did get at least one like on the first day that I had it up.

Today we went for a little drive down to Wangaratta to check out the Wang Woolly Day. There was quite a bit there that I would have bought if we didn't have so much already on hand or had a specific project for but we didn't buy anything. In some ways it was a little disappointing as there wasn't as much there as I thought there might be but I did see a couple of ladies doing things that I hadn't tried yet, broomstick lace and hairpin lace. I don't know if I will ever try either but at least I have now seen first hand how it's done.

It being close to the end of the month and with good sales at recent markets I figured it was about time I reviewed my to-do list. This is what it looks like today.

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Bottle Cosies in more team colours

Teapot Cosies

bag holders

Hanging Towels

Small Bunny

Jacket, Pants and Hat set in blue (need a couple of other colours also)

Sunhat and Bootees in white

Fans Bookmark

Current Work In Progress:

Toddlers Jacket
Trauma Teddies

Tartan Blanket – taken over from Sue

Tunisian Lace Wrap

Doily from an old pattern book I bought

Woollen Baby Blanket using Motifs from Ellen's book

Frida Fish

Matinee Jacket

Bootees

Hanging Towels

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
Banner for Stall

Table Runners for each Australian state and territory (currently trying to design the ACT one).

Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner

Dinosaurs (bought the patterns from PlanetJune)

There is plenty there for me to work on but if someone commissions something from me I will happily take it on (I know, I'm a sucker for punishment).

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

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 19.04.2014

The last couple of weeks have had me thinking about my priorities and my future. I am now quite a bit behind with my college work and am finding study very hard to concentrate as there are so many distractions like housework, Sue and my crafting. I didn't get assessment 4 in on time, I'm going to be over a week late with assessment 5 and there is little chance that I will be able to do 6 and 7 on time ( 6 is due tomorrow night). It all just seems too hard and I'm considering giving up on this diploma. Do I really need it? Will it really help me in the future? I'm not sure about either of those questions.

On a more positive note, I went to Beechworth today for the Easter Market and had a really good day. I only had 5 sales but those 5 sales added up to one of the best days I have ever had at markets. While it does seem like a lot of hard work for just $76 profit and I now have a number of items to add to the to-do list I think it was worth it. I will now also have to check my Madeit store to make sure that nothing I sold today is still listed there as it would be embarrassing to sell it twice.

There seems to be quite a bit of interest in selling through Facebook these days and I might look into it for myself. I may not actually sell on the Facebook page but instead use it to direct people to my Madeit store and try to get some extra sales that way. I could also use the Facebook page for custom orders as I'm not sure that Madeit is really set up for that sort of thing. I will definitely have to look into this as soon as I decide what I'm going to do about my study.

With this being Easter weekend there is quite a bit going on. We had our Good Friday service yesterday morning followed by the Stations of the Cross and tomorrow we need to get up very early for the dawn service. We're expecting a few people from other churches to be there to help celebrate the rising of our Lord.

That's been my week this week. I hope you all had a good one.

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 05.04.2014

I just checked back and see that it has been at least three weeks since I last did one of these updates, and quite a bit has happened in that three weeks, although I won't go into all the gory details, unless someone asks for them.

The main one was the prostate biopsy that I went in for a couple of weeks ago. It was most uncomfortable, quite painful and made just that much more awkward because the theatre nurse was a lady from church. The reaction I get from various people when I tell them this varies depending on the gender of the person I tell. The guys are sympathetic towards me and the women want to offer the lady in question therapy. It would be amusing if it weren't so uncomfortable, and if any woman wants to tell me about how bad her mammogram was I will have no qualms in giving her all the gory details of what I went through. On a more positive note, the test came back negative, however, they miss one in ten so I have to go for further tests to make sure I'm not one that they missed.

I have managed to keep up with all my assessments for college in spite of my little meltdown a few weeks ago, although I still need to do one before midnight tomorrow, and I'm still waiting for some sort of feedback to tell me if I'm doing OK or if I'm barking up the wrong tree. Looks like I might have to spend a couple of hours tomorrow to try and get this one done anyway.

There have been a couple of markets in the last couple of weeks and, while I haven't sold a lot of stuff, it has shown up some deficiencies. Namely in the area of boys baby clothes, so it looks like I'm going to have to extend my to-do list again (and I thought I was going so well). I might have to take time out from the towels to see what I can do about this deficiency.

Today's market was at My Beauty, a 200km round trip, and, while I only sold two pair of bootees, there was a positive vibe with quite a few people complimenting me on my work. I even heard from one of the other stall holders that he had overheard a couple of ladies talking about the quality and diversity of the stock I had and their surprise that it was a guy that had made most of it. Unfortunately, compliments don't pay the bills or replenish my supplies. Ah well, maybe the next couple of markets will be better.

I have two more markets this month. The next is at Myrtleford and the second at Beechworth on Easter Saturday. Myrtleford hasn't been particularly good lately but Beechworth has been quite profitable in the past so I'm hoping it can be even better this year.

That's it for me for the last few weeks. I hope you all had a good one.

Richard.

Wednesday WIPs - 02.04.2014

I have been very busy this week, trying to get assessments done for college, visits to the doctors and crocheting like crazy. I think I managed to work on all my major projects this week and even managed to finish one.

Here are my WIPs for this week.

Woollen Baby Blanket

Another 4 motifs have been add to this one. I think I'm almost at the width that I want but I will need to measure it up just to make sure.

Tunisian Lace Wrap

Not a lot has happened on this one this week but I'm sure I remember getting it out. I should of taken it with me when I went to see the specialist but I was running late and didn't expect to have much of a wait when I got there. I had to wait about 40 minutes! Just think how much I could have got done in that time.

Murray of Athol Tartan Rug

It looks like I'm going to have to rip out what I have done on this as my tension isn't the same as Sue's. I thought she would have used at least a 4mm hook but it looks like I need to go down to 3.5mm. I guess the yarn will go further that way.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

I think I made pretty good progress on this one. About 8 rows to go and I should be ready to sew up the seams and finish this one off.

Cheval Set - Large Doily

I found another mistake in this and had to rip back a row so I only got one new row done this week. There's only a couple more rows to do and then I start working on the smaller doilies in the set.

Knooked Scarf

I got about 20 rows done on this while at the markets on Saturday afternoon. This is my first time at knooking in rows and I'm finding that the curl seems to be the wrong way. It's curling the same way my tunisian crochet does instead of the way my knitting does. I guess that is because knooked knit and purl stitches are done in much the same way as tunisian knit and purl stitches. In any case, it is unusual to see stocking stitch curling down on itself instead of in from the sides.

That's it for me for now. Be sure to check back on Friday to see what I have managed to finish, and check out the link in the sidebar to see what everyone else has been  making.

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 22.03.2014

This week has definitely had its ups and downs. Most of the downs came from my college work. I almost threw in the towel this week and gave up on it because it just seems so hard. I don't know whether it's that I'm not getting the classroom interaction or that the work is quite difficult but it got to me this week.

On the up note, I seem to be flying through my crochet at the moment even though I'm not giving it as much time as I was before I started this course. I actually managed to finish 4 items this week, two of them were long term projects. This probably means that I will only be finishing smaller items over the next few weeks and you will have to wait a while for the larger items to get finished, but I might be able to start a new project this week.

We heard from the people that are going to be motorizing our garage door. They're coming in next Friday to do the job so it looks like I will be spending some time rearranging things so that they have room to work. I'm not sure when I will find the time or the energy to do that.

On another note, I will be going in to hospital for day surgery this week so that will take another chunk of my study time. I just don't know how I'm going to get anything done this week with all the interruptions.

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

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 15.03.2014

This week has been quite eventful with trips to the doctor and other testing facilities. Sue's shoulder has been giving her trouble to the point where she is having difficulty with the simplest of tasks. Last week I took her to the doctors and to for x-rays and ultrasound, this week our first outing was to the chiro to make sure everything was in place then back to the doctor so he could get a piece of her (a punch biopsy) for testing. At this point in time the diagnosis is a frozen shoulder and she needs to go back to the ultrasound place to get an injection.

Fortunately, other than the odd dizzy spell (vertigo can be quite nasty) and a rash in my nether regions (a week of hot days seems to do a bit of damage), my health has been pretty good.

On the crafting front, everything is moving along although I did run into a small problem this evening. I can't seem to find a container of buttons that I know I have around here somewhere. I'm sure they will show up eventually but I made need to make a trip to the shop to buy some so I can finish the jacket that needs finishing.

I am having a few issues with my study and I'm starting to think it may be too hard doing it through distance ed. I need to confer with my fellow students and then I need to write reports which is something that I'm not good at at all.

I didn't have any markets today so it has given me a chance to try and catch up with things although there is still plenty of things to catch up on. I have managed to have a look at my to-do list and make adjustments based on what I'm currently doing and what I've completed recently so here it is.

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Bottle Cosies in more team colours

Teapot Cosies

bag holders

Hanging Towels

Small Bunny

Current Work In Progress:

Toddlers Jacket
AustralianaV2

Trauma Teddies

Baby's Jacket, Pants and Hat Ensemble

Tartan Blanket – taken over from Sue

Tunisian Lace Wrap

Doily from an old pattern book I bought

String bags

Woollen Baby Blanket using Motifs from Ellen's book

Robot

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
Banner for Stall

Table Runners for each Australian state and territory (currently trying to design the ACT one).

Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner

Dinosaurs (bought the patterns from PlanetJune)

There is still quite a lot on there even though the "market stall" and "itching to start" sections have shrunk a little.

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

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 08.03.2014

The last few weeks have been quite different. It has been busy and some of the things that have happened have eaten into the time I need to use for study, so I think I'm a little behind.

A couple of weeks ago, Sue and I traveled to Canberra for a weekend away. There were several things we wanted to do including getting Sue a new pair of glasses (the glasses she likes to wear can only be found at an optical store in Canberra), getting Sue a new desktop computer (she doesn't like the screen  size on the laptops that she has and decided on a desktop rather than plugging in an external monitor) and we wanted to go to the show and meet up with friends.

On the Sunday morning we attended church and met up with a few more friends and then went across to the Hyperdome for lunch. When we finally got back to the car, Sue decided it was time she checked her phone and found a message from a cousin. Is it strange that our first thought was to wonder who had died this time? Maybe the fact that it was about this time last year that we received a message from the same person telling us that one of Sue's family had passed away that made us think this. It turned out that Sue's father's mother's cousin (I think that makes her a first cousin twice removed but I don't know for sure) had indeed passed away.

Of course, this news meant another trip away and we found our way to the cemetery at Bundanoon and then on to  the Uniting church.

So, after all these interruptions to my study I still had to get my first assignment done and submitted. I made it with a few days to spare. Now I'm going to have to work on at least one assignment every week for the next 7 weeks.

To finish this three week period off, today was market day in Myrtleford (I missed Mt Beauty last week due to an issue with the weather) and it was supposed to be a big day. There seemed to be quite a few people around but not many were spending their money, at least not at my stall. I only managed two sales but they were enough to push me past my break even target so I suppose it wasn't too bad, and I gave out one of my business card to a lady that was interested in buying one of my blankets. If that sale comes through it will make up for last month when I didn't sell anything.

Well, that's a summary of the last three weeks here in Rose Manor. I do hope you all had a good one.

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 25.01.2014

It has been a while since I've done a weekly update. So long, in fact, that I've forgotten when I did the last one so I figure I had better go back a few weeks.

We went away for Christmas, visiting Sue's brother and sister-in-law up in Dubbo. It was a most pleasant few days, but we didn't really do anything particularly exciting.

A couple of weeks ago we had temps up into the 40s for about a week and that made life a little difficult. During the first half of that week we went down to Bomaderry (south coast NSW) for a bit. We had dental appointments in Sydney on the Tuesday so that wasn't very pleasant but it was a lot cooler than at home so it was kinda offset. When we got back to Bomaderry we went into Nowra to pay a visit to my father and step mother.

 On the Wednesday, being our 14th wedding anniversary, we decided to do a little exploring and headed to Minimurra Falls. After seeing how much it would cost to park the car to walk 2.5km there and back we decided that there were other falls we could have a look at. After visiting Carrington Falls we headed toward Robertson for lunch then across to Fitzroy Falls, down through Kangaroo Valley and back to Bomaderry. It was quite a pleasant round trip. We then picked up Sue's aunt and headed over to her cousin's place to meet up with the rest of the family.

When we finally got back to home it was 43C and we didn't feel much like doing anything. This kept up for a few days.

I was planning on getting back into bowling this week but something came up, or at least tried to. I think it was the previous night's dinner. I woke up that morning with my head spinning and my stomach doing backflips. Sue tried to get me down to the doctor but we only got around the corner when breakfast want to make another appearance so I ended up in the back of an ambulance for the first time. It seems that I had vertigo and needed more drugs to take care of it. My head still spins a little and my balance seems a little out at times but a least I'm keeping my food down.

Not much else has happened recently. We're now gearing up for all our usual activities. Sue will be back at college soon and I will be back to teaching crochet. I will have to give the college a call soon to see if I can complete my course this year.

Hope you all had a good one.

Richard.