Placemat and Coaster

These were my first attempt at Tunisian Crochet. I couldn't figure out which part of the stitch I was supposed  to go through and obviously went through the wrong part. It makes an interesting talking piece anytime people come to my market stall.

If you check out some of the other stuff that I have made in Tunisian Crochet (one of my tea cosies and a couple of blankets) you will see that I have figured it out now.

Christmas Stockings

This is what you get when you don't know how to translate yarn weights and hook sizes. These were meant to be something you could some special gifts in but are barely big enough to fit a couple of coins. They do fit a "Baby Born" doll however.

For my second attempt I decided to make something that matched the sizes given in the pattern.

My third attempt used an 8 ply yarn and followed the pattern. It still turned out smaller than the pattern indicated but is still large enough to put some small items in.

Christmas Angel

This is one of those patterns that I've done a little experimenting with. This uses the pineapple stitch in the body and the wings and one of the things I did was to make a couple of these in three colours, the head in yellow, the wings in blue and the body in red (which just happens to be Slavation Army colours). I don't have any photos of those and, unfortunately, this one is a bit blurry as it was taken with my phone.

Living Memorials

This weekend has been quite enjoyable, learning about the history of the Albury Corps, playing in a large band again and learning more about God.

Today's meeting was the culmination of the 125th anniversary celebrations and while you could understand why some of the things that were written in the corps history book were there, some was a little odd. They even recorded the day that a door was installed on the men's toilet. Why this should rate a mention is beyond me.

Today's message was based around Joshua 4:1-9 and 19-24, where the Israelites were called to collect stones from the middle of the Jordan River (which God had dried up so they could cross) and piling them together as a memorial for future generations.

We were told how only 2 of the adults that walked through the Red Sea actually entered the promised land because God wouldn't allow the others to enter on account of their disobedience.

The Jordan wasn't stopped until the priest carrying the ark stepped into it. This shows us that God expects us to move forward in faith before He opens the way. He still wants to do great things among us but we need to show that we have faith to trust Him.

If you have giants in your life (impossibilities that you can't see a way around), remember David when he faced Goliath and do likewise. Trust in God and He will bring you victory.

Sitting in church doesn't make you a Christian any more than sitting in a hen-house makes you a chook! God calls for us to be living stones, a memorial for others as a sign of what can be achieved if you have faith.

The week that was #4

Another busy week has come to a close, and today was the busiest of all.

I'm still working through the stash, frogging anything that doesn't look likely to be completed (mainly some of my wife's projects that seem to have been separated from their pattern and yarn, some even from their needles). I still have a couple of bags to go through as well as a few other containers.

I have also made some progress on the order that I've been working on and should have it complete by the end of next week.

Sue and I managed to get to band practice on Thursday night and weren't the only ones there, so we did actually practice. For those that are interested, Sue plays clarinet and I play trombone.

I got some extra practice on Friday afternoon with the arrival of the Territorial Mobile Mission. They are here to help celebrate the 125th anniversary of The Salvation Army in Albury.

Today we and the mobile mission had an outreach at Bunnings. Due to the wet weather they allowed us to play inside.

This evening we were entertained with a concert by the Mobile mission. A few old songs, a few new ones, a bit of fun with the timbrels, etc. We finished the night  with supper which was, in true Salvation Army tradition, over catered. There will be plenty of food left over for morning tea tomorrow.

They breed like ...

... rabits! This cute and cuddly family are quite easy to make, although they don't seem to be very popular. I have sold one of the large ones and 2 of the small ones but the medium size pink one has been going to market with me for quite a while.

Bookmarks, bookmarks and more bookmarks

I have made quite a lot of these. The cross at the top is my favourite as it's made without breaking off the yarn. All the other crosses I've made you have to break off the yarn at some point to do the cross bar, but not that one.