A WIP & a pup update

Remember that knitted donut I posted about way back in october? Well - here is another little snippet of that project. And me demonstrating my completely unco-ordinated way of double knitting. Some days I just wish I knew how to do it continental style....

This rather lurid looking thing (the orange doesn't quite scream council worker in the flesh - I am just lazy and use flash photography...) will become Dilby's xmas present. I have completed the body and one sleeve- but no sneaky-peeks of those because, although Dilby's mum Lucy-lou does know what I am making, I want the finished project to be a surprise.

For those of you in the blog-o-sphere, this is an article of my own design and experimentation. And my first go at double knitting. And before you think I am a two circs kindagal, I actually prefer dpn's, but it was too difficult with the colour work to balance the multiple pointy sticks.




I have been playing around with my spinning wheel a bit, and finally figured out how to make a (fairly) even yarn. This is gorgeous emerald green merino that I bought from spin'n'knit at the crapbook and beads expo way back in August. I love the shine I am getting off of the yarn (probably a product of over-spinning) and it is a pleasure to spin. I like to sit at the wheel and chill with an audio-book on my ipod. It's my last week (ever) in the office this week, and then I probably won't have a job until March, so I am hoping in my leisure time I may be able to take a class or two at virginia farm wool works, and perhaps even learn how to ply...


And in dog news - Pierre has been learning all types of new tricks. Some we even trained him to do...

Provided you have treats at the ready, he will shake (hands, not shiver), balance way up on his hind legs (stand on tippy-toes, not beg while sitting on his hindquarters) and leopard crawl (drag his tummy along carpet)

Tuffers did discover another trick he had picked up when playing catch with him the other day - when mistakenly tossing his toy onto the dining table, P did a fair bit of sniffing before leaping onto a dining chair, as a step to jump on to the table. We now have to ensure that all the chairs are completely pushed in around the table to keep the pup away.

i love borders....

The post in which we understate the return of my digital camera and photo-posting abilities..

One of the best promos I have ever signed up for is the Borders Books email list - this week (or rather, this weekend, fri and mon inclusive) you got a whopping 40% off when you purchased four books, and 40% one dvd or cd....

I recieved the email yesterday morning (a little late seeing as the promotion had been running for two days already) and made a mad dash after work to the Bondi store in order to score a book for Tuffer's xmas present....

You see, Tuffers didn't want any old book - no, he wanted a very expensive cookbook...

...which I purchased today after standing half an hour in the checkout queue. The book is The Cook's Companion by Stephanie Alexander and has a RRP of $125.

I was a bit sneaky with my purchase - you only get the discount if you are buying full price items, so even though there were a couple of this Tome (and given that this is a very heavy book, Tome is really the only word for it) with a sale price of $99.95, I grabbed one without a sale sticker and with the 40% off it came back down to $75 - the better deal by far.

Of course, Tuffers knew I was going to chase after this Tome so I gave it too him as an early present when I got home. Also, he will be heading across the country to spend xmas with his family in Perth, and it would be riddulus if he packed this mammoth there and back again. The other upside is he was so inspired that he cooked a yummy kangaroo and cous-cous meal for me tonight :)

So of course - what other books did I buy? A fantasy novel in the series I am currently reading... and two volumes to add to my kniterature library...

...yes, I finally got a copy of Zimmermania to add to my own shelf!

Also, on a whim I grabbed Knit 2 together - had a flick through and am rather interested. A kniterature review will follow in the future.

All up the books cost me just under $140 - not bad considering two were hardcovers. I like to think that I paid full price for Tuffers book, $15 for my novel and got the kniterature for free.

Just as the visa was being process, I noticed behind the checkout, season two of House was no long on sale. So I grabbed that at 40% off too.

On top of all this, Borders is having another promo that for every $75 you spend you get a $10 voucher to use in January. I received one voucher with my book purchase, but the DVD purchase was put through seperately, so even though I spent over $150 in one visit, I only got one $10 printout. When I brought this up, they did a manual override to print out another voucher, and ended up giving me another 2! So there you have it - that's why I love Borders. I have $30 to put towards my next Borders visit. I am thinking Kaffe Fassett's Stitch Library to add to my kniterature.- its expensive at $75, but with $30 off it would almost be worth it...

And while I am on the topic of kniterature - I want to send a message to all publishers and bookstores, somewhat in line with Brenda Dayne's knitters manifesto.

*WARNING : RANT STARTING*

I am an accomplished and experienced knitter. I am sick of books that exploit the fact that knitting is fashionable and someone would take it up just look cool or because a celebrately got paparazzi'ed with the pointy sticks...

I DO NOT want "Learn to knit books". I DO NOT want "Basic knits for beginners". I DO NOT want patterns for needles larger than 7mm. I DO NOT want "groovy knits for cool girls". I DO NOT want "easy projects cos knitting is cool".

I DO WANT books that contain challenging patterns. I DO WANT to learn complicated techniques. I DO WANT to learn more than one way to cast on and cast off, increase, decrease and complete colour work. I DO WANT to learn more about the history and traditions of the craft. I DO WANT to be able to get these books locally (not through internet or mail order!) I DO WANT all the knitting books to be on the shelf labelled knitting...

*RANT OVER*

sorry - I just got so gosh-danged sick of all the 'knittin for idiots' books I had to paw through in order to find something with a little more than garter and stockinette stitch in it.


In other news - I stopped off at Starbucks for a Gingerbread Latte (it doesn't feel like xmas without them) and saw the BEST bear-ista ever. Little green aprons with Australia embroidered on them! For those of you who don't know, I was a Starbucks partner (employee is such a tacky word!) when they first opened in Melbourne, and was thoroughly brainwashed by the company. (It has gone from being my second-place to being my third place (TM)) I didn't buy one of these cuties, but dang-it, am wishing I had now. Next time I drop by for a caffiene fix I am sure there won't be any of these left. (sorry for the tacky picture, I didn't have my flash on)

attention wool lovers or those wanting to fight the drought

Want to help a sheep or lamb in a drought stricken area? Well,
I can't link put you in touch with all the farmers suffering along with their animals in the drought, but if you want to help, one woolly critter at a time, check out adopt-a-sheep. For just $35 bucks you can help a lamb, ewe, wether or ram for 100 days - ensuring they get enough feed and water. And you get a cool certificate too....

ugh - white!

I read an article recently about how Victorian brides wore white, not to show purity, but to show how wealthy they were that they could afford a dress that they would only wear once (after all, it was white, it got filthy, they couldn't clean it, and no-one would be caught dead in a dirty dress)

It got me thinking...

For the past four years, I have had a job where I have had to wear a white uniform for 6 months of the year.

Stark white.

Blinding white.

White, from the tip of my hat all the way down to my shiny shoes.

White pants, white shirt, white shorts, white skirt, white socks.

Of course, nothing attracts filth better than white. A pen placed in your pocket will always leak. A passing summer storm will leave muddy spots around the hem of your trousers. A small scratch on your finger will always bleed on your shirt.

The napisan challenge happens on a regular basis in our house.

Of course, every day I have dressed completely in white, I have dreaded spilling my morning coffee all over my clothes. And this morning - two weeks to the day that I walk out of this job and never wear that uniform again - I decided to try wearing my daily caffeine dose. And oh yeah, it was a full-to-the-brim coffee.

White is a very unfriendly colour - unfortunately, I can put my uniform away and never wear it again. I started thinking about brew-friendly uniforms, and I think that's why the army wear fatigues. Not to hide in the bush - to hide their clumsy coffee stains.

My whiter-than-white uniform became a 'hang-over friendly' beige in desperate need of a napisan bath. And this happened 15 minutes into my day no less.

I blame my clumsiness on not yet having drunk my first coffee of the day.

Vogue knitting followup

I got up this morning to find the following email in my inbox -

Thanks for writing. The charts are on the way via snail mail.

Unfortunately, when charts are as complicated as these, they cannot be reduced to fit in the magazine, and we just don't have the space to print them in full size.

Please feel free to email me directly if you have any tech questions.
Regards,

If you are considering a subscription with Vogue, I say go for it. It was great to get a positive, polite and timely response from their customer service.

I like to ensure that, as a paying customer, I get my full entitlement*. Vogue obviously is aware of their consumer's rights :)

*This does sometimes mean embarrassment for Tuffers, when I order customised food and drinks. But hey - if I'm paying I, just like Meg Ryan's Sally ".. just want it how I want it..." Who wants to pay for something sub-standard?

a touch of whimsy...

following on from yesterday's post in regards to charts not being published in magazines, I sent the following yarn harlot inspired letter to vogue today...

Dear Vogue Knitting,

I absolutely adore the patterns in your current (holiday) publications. Especially the asymmetrical / fair isle sleeve / eastern inspired sweater on page 21. However, I am incredibly disappointed that the charts for this design are not included in the magazine. I find it rather inconvenient that I require access to the internet in order to download part of a pattern I have already paid for by purchasing your publication. Furthermore, I find it incredibly short sighted that this chart is constructed in full colour, as I do not have a colour printer at my immediate disposal, and in greyscale the chart becomes rather murky and difficult to read. There also appears to be some problem with the chart for the sleeve - every time I try to open the PDF file, I get an error message from adobe, and it causes my web browser to crash.

In order for me to make this lovely garment could you please mail me a full-colour hard copy of the chart for the front and the sleeve and to the address listed above?

I have recently paid upfront for a full international subscription, and am in need of some assurance that you will endeavour to help your subscribers to create the wonderful patterns they purchase the right to make when they buy your magazine.

Yours Faithfully

I received the following automated reply -

Thank you for your message.

Due to the overwhelming volume of mail we receive, we cannot answer every comment. We do value your input!

I'll keep you posted if I hear anything else back...

However - I did get my new YARN mag today :) How yummy is the yarn ice-cream cover :)

Again they have come up with the goods - a great interviewee, patterns that use cotton, and a great article on different types of pockets. Kudos to yarn for continuing to teach knitters more than 'this is a knit / purl stitch'.

I also love that people I know are getting street cred as designers. (Celia had patterns published in an earlier edition) And congrats to M-H's for her first published pattern. I love that cotton sweater!

I wish I could go to the mag-nation knit-in, alas - I'll be getting to Melbourne a week too late. I'll have to send sis instead

And speaking of sis - she and Nico have arrived home from their "extreme holiday" in New Zealand, and she has finally updated her blog - since about October.

a new future project

Flicking through the latest Vogue knitting, I discovered lots of asthetically pleasing patterns, but this one I have decide I must knit at some stage in the future.

It's unique, I love the fact that it is asymetrical, and the use of fair isle to create something that has an eastern feel to it, rather than a traditional european article. Of course, the fact that it is green has nothing to do with the fact it caught my eye ;)

I'm not such a big fan of the mock-obi, I think that may be hiding the fact that there is no shaping to create that loverly fitted look. But a couple of subtle darts should fix that.

It is really dissapointing that the chart for the fair isle isn't included in the magazine. You have to print it off from the Vogue website. It kinda takes the fun out of it - I'll have to print it off when I have access to a printer and pop it in the mag, so when I finally get around to making it I'll have it all in one place - who knows how long it will be up on the web.

Now I just need to find a good substitute yarn that's available in Oz. I think this would look fantastic with the sheen of silk, but I want something a tad bit more elastic. Possible a wool / silk blend. Any suggestions welcome - leave me a comment :)

more things to play with...

today I got a bulky envelope in the mail - celia found out about my desire to try a little kool-aid dying, and as she has moved onto the real dyes, send me her left over packets. I love personal mail (as opposed to bills and bankstatements).

Also, I found the pattern-a-day knitting calender at a borders store yesterday.

I'm off the pub-knitting :) Need to finish a couple of gifts before xmas :)

*hello to my secret pal - hope your week is going well*

rainbow paddle pop socks

*no FO pictures - but I dropped my camera off at canon today. seems that there may be a bug with my camera that they will fix free of charge yippee. but I doubt I will get it back in the near future, or even before christmas*


Remember this funky yarn I found on my roadtrip?

well it has been slow knitting but I finally finished one knee-hi jaywalker from one skein. The colour is incredibly funky - it knits up like a streets rainbow paddle pop. I get ice cream cravings whenever I sit down to knit them.

Now, due to the fact I need to get a few gifts finished before the silly season I will be suffering a little second sock syndrome until the new year... oh well.

Ned the knitter...

Just got back from knitting at Rubi and Lana and was surprized that we had a little celebrity within the group today.


A gentleman entered the store and introduced himself as David. This was followed with a barrage of questions such as "Blue mountain David?", "Sticks-and-string David?" and "Podcast David?". Thou none of us had met David before, we knew him from the cameos he has been making in the blog-o-sphere recently.


And why is David so famous (or, perhaps infamous)? Because he happens to have a really unique podcast at sticks and string - by an Australian Bloke who knits. The show is updated every saturday, so get thee along and listen.


Because I finally met David (who has become a regular at SSK) I decided to pass on this clip I found at youtube


hope you enjoy, cos I did...

Kniterature - Wendy knits

So I may have missed the knitting calendar at Borders the other day, but when I checked out the craft section (which is a complete dog's breakfast - the shelf labelled 'knitting' had few books of that topic, they were spread all the way from 'interior design' to 'antiques and collectables'. A librarian would have an aneurism!) I found this little gem.

Wendy would have to have one of the best knitting blogs on the internet (if you haven't seen it go check it out). I think she has, on average, one FO per week. And I'm not just talking socks, or even pairs of socks. Wendy completes intricate fair-isle and fingering weight aran sweaters with an effortless breeze. She is rather inspirational and makes you wish you could knit while sleeping, eating, and showering so you can keep up with her speed. So when I saw her book wedged between *shudder* scrapbooking techniques and the quilters stitch bible I knew I would be adding to my kniterature stash.

The book is mainly a knitting memoir - Wendy's personal knitting journey. There are patterns spaced out within the text, and the patterns begin with the simplist beginner projects and build up in difficulty to projects such as a steeked fair-isle sweater. There is no annoying "how to knit" lesson, and the garments are shown on everyday people (I guess Wendy and her friends). It more detailed the yarn harlot's Knitting Rules and Yarn Harlot, and has the great knit-biography of Stitch'n'bitch without the 'try-hard' feel or the too-cool photos. As a memoir, I knit it from cover to cover. As a pattern-book? Well, I will definately give the generic toe-up socks a go, and I like a couple of the tops with lace edging.

And why am I so keen to buy the books of knit bloggers when most the content could possibly be found on the website?

1 - because I like the way they write (obviously, or else I would visit their blog anymore)
2 - the books have been edited, and therefore are a little more refined and flow better than a blog that sometimes is just thrown together so you can get a post out (admit it, we have all done it)
3 - who wants to curl up in bed with a cuppa and their computer? Give me a good book anyday!
and finally..
3 - the books are written by knitters. They have patterns that they know will work (most designers' have awful ways to complete a project - they tend to work in flat fabric, not shaped knitting) . They understand the buzz words and the lingo (most writers wouldn't know the difference between 'ripping' and 'tinking'). And finally - these people enterain and inspire me to try new things with my knitting. I think they deserve a little success for that.

So go out and treat yourself to this book (if you're on the border's email list they have 30% off vouchers this week - so really, you'll be saving rather than spending money!)

in case anyone wants to buy me the obligitory calendar this year...

every year I seem to get a calendar in some way, shape or form for xmas - so I thought I might leave a few hints of what might be appropriate....



a page a day.... a pattern a day - can't be beat...

thou it is proving difficult to find (shoulda bought it when I saw it - was sold out at borders when I was there last night, however, there were plenty of *shudder* the crochet version) so there is another choice...


From the stitch'n'bitch francise - had a peek and looks rather interesting. Some patterns, some facts and some tips... and without the pages and pages of 'learn to knit' that is annoying with the book.



This one has great novelty value. Each month has a flower and each day you get to pick off a petal. There's a happy thought for the day on the back of the petal. Oh so cute and girly... but sometimes things are overly sweet...


So you need a little subversive cross-stitch to tell it like it really is.

the instructions...

1. Write a post linking to this one in which you explain the experiment. (All blogs count, be they TypePad, Blogger, MySpace, Facebook, &c.)

2. Ask your readers to do the same. Beg them. Relate sob stories about poor graduate students in desperate circumstances. Imply I'm one of them. (Do whatever you have to. If that fails, try whatever it takes.)

3. Ping Technorati.

Okay - how fast is the blog-land? I'm doing my bit to help. Read about the experiment here. Follow the instructions above (particularly if you have a knitting blog - geeky fibre artists of the would unite)

I'm off to ping technorati...

Here's another cute pic of Pierre (c/o Momma Tuff) to reward you for your help with this research....
 

Q&A

My SP9 sent me a few questions a while ago, and seeing as without photos of my WIPs I am in need of a little blog fodder... so I present the following...

do you like spicy? i noticed there's a favorithe indian restaurant you frequent...so i would assume at least mild spice you can tolerate! (i LOVE spicy!!!)

I love a little mild spice, but flavour rather than heat. I do have a favourite Indian restaurant(Blu Ginger in Nth Sydney, for those of you playing at home) but my favourite dish is butter chicken. Tuffers and I are a big fan of brunch on weekends, and my special dish is a tomato, capsican and red onion relish I like to throw a little fresh chilli in with for a teeny kick. I also like to throw a little chilli spice / sweet chilli sauce in when I'm whipping up a spag bol or lasagne.

does pierre wear clothes? if so, what kind? what colors? does he like treats and other yummies? what's he allowed to have? not allowed to have?

At the moment (coming into summer), P doesn't wear clothes, but seeing as he is such a little dog, he hates getting wet, and we will be moving to Canberra next year (some would say Canberra is proof hell does, in fact, freeze over) I think he may be in need of some warmer stuff. However, I pledge to only dress him in tasteful clothing (nothing reminiscint of tinkerbell or legally blonde) carefully handmade, and no brands (the exeption may be a driza-bone dog coat, but it's an aussie icon, will keep his fluffy coat dry, and isn't a diamante gucci pashmina for puppydogs...) My sis bought me a book of knits for dogs, so I will make something for P, but nothing that makes him look like I haven't outgrown the need to play dolls (such as a tiara or tu-tu)

In regards to treats - it appears quarantine has a bit of a problem with anything made from animal by-products. The dry kibble-like treats my ISE pal sent me made it through with no problems, but whatever you sent this time is going to be incinerated and destroyed :( The only thing he isn't allowed is the stuff that is unhealthy, and dangerous for dogs (ie chocolate)

He also likes soft toys he can 'kill' and pick up and drag around for a game of catch.

do you have any specific allergies to food stuff? anything food wise you absolutely CAN NOT stand?

No allergies to food, and it is fair to say that anything that most things I don't like won't make it through customs and quarantine.

anything that is hands down, no question...a favorite food of yours? do you do organic? only organic?

I- like candy... I have a big big sweet tooth. As far as organic goes, I'm half a dozen one way, six the other. (okay - I don't have a preference) I have to say, I made those green tea muffins yesterday - and despite looking like a prop from a ghost-busters flic prior to going in the oven - they were fantastic. Keep the surprises coming. But occaisionally feel free to chuck in a sample of american candy like reeses or milk duds or tootsie rolls (now that I know you're in the US!) For some reason these haven't caught on here.

coffee? tea? preferences in either category? (ex. green jasmine tea, ethiopian or colombian coffees, flavored coffees???)

I love coffee, I love tea... I love the java java industry...

I used to work at starbucks. I have been thoroughly brainwashed. Coffee - good. Tea - good.

Tuffers and I often will share a pot of tea - we will brew anything from english breakfast to 'Budda's Tears' (a great herbal blend by t2)

any particular colors in yarn you prefer over others? any particular needle sizes you are in need of? any notions? books?

As you have no doubt already guessed, I love green in all shades. However, probably due to the fact we are coming into summer, I am being drawn to nice, bright, bold, primary colours. The colours you dress kids in before they can choose their own clothes. Look at me colours :)

I don't really need any needle sizes, but as I tend to have more than one (or ten) projects on the go at once I welcome multiple of the same needle size. My preferences:- circular or dpn needles, usually nothing bigger than 4.5mm, and I like the feel of bamboo or wood.

I have recently started making my own stitch markers, so I like funky beads to make these with.

and, of course, I have already hinted that I'm keen to try some kool-aid dying :)


Another pic of the pup courtesy of my dad. Doesn't it make you want to come and visit the harbour city and take a cruise?

SP9 update

I recieved my first Secret Pal package - and it looked like it was sent by the Weasley's! (I would put a picture up, but my camera has decided not to play the game... anyone know a good camera repairer)

The box was completely covered with stamps!

The entire postage between the USA and here paid in local stamps! I will pass them all onto my mum who is a bit of a collector. There was also a bit quarantine sticker on the outside, and a bunch of paperwork inside. The treats for Pierre,were apparently of a dangerous nature....

However, the gorgeous mint green silk blend wool, the yummy cashew snacks and the green tea muffin mix all made it through. I have some other treats for Pierre - but it is a bit of a shame.

However, now I know that my pal is in the US, I will make a teeny-tiny request... I have about 15kg of top waiting to be spun.. it is currently all a bland white. I would like to try some kool-aid dying (hint - hint)

Just because a photoless post is a boring post, here is a pic of P as a scruffy puppy, taken by my dad a few months ago when my parents where visiting. Isn't my boy such a poser!

Home alone

Pierre's second favourite toy is the cardboard tube from inside the toilet paper roll. Obviously, being made of paper, this toy has a very short life-span, a day or so, before one of P's humans through out either a manky, wet, drool filled piece of cardboard, or picks up several hundred scraps of paper that in a previous life were once a toilet roll inner.


So what does a bored puppy who is home alone for several hours do when he hasn't got his second favourite toy to play with?


He goes to the bathroom to find his favourite toy.... (the cardboard tube with the paper still on it....)

He grabs the end of the paper....
drags it past the shower...
all the way into the hall before going back and doing it again...


...and the best bit...?

when his humans come home they give him his second favourite toy to play with (after they have cleaned up the toilet paper mess)

Mecca!

Oh yes - my sis and I travelled to Bendigo woollen mills to go shopping in the infamous back room...

This is the 'seconds' or 'clearance' room... my oh my... Bendigo Woollen mills sells cheep natural fibre yarns... but it gets even cheeper here....


No... your eyes are not decieving you. They do sell it by the kilo!

Yes... sis and I went home with a few kilos of yarn between us. More than worth the drive out there.

wool museum cont...

The second gallery at the museum is dedicated to the processing of wool... scouring, carding, combing, spinning, dying, weaving, knitting, finishing... here tuffers learnt a little bit (like why I was insulted when I was given a 15kg garbage bag of top and he called it manky sheep fleece) and was a little interested in the big industrial machines used for processing. While I liked looking at the big mechanical processes, I really prefer the more human way of doing things... like this adorable little 4-shaft loom... I want, I want, I want.
I spend quite a bit of time playing with this, infact, so long that Tuffers went all the way through the rest of the museum and had to come back and find me... and then do all the museum again with me :)

I was rather interested in this machine. Can you guess what it does? The items on the wall may help... Yes, it is a sock knitting machine. It was used by Scalliwags socks before being donated to the machine, but there is a loverly little story book full of photographs with this machine about how it was made by a husband and wife who both worked for underwear companies (he for holeproof, she sewed toes in stockings) and he built it from spare parts he brought home from work with him. In the end they built about 13 sock machines and had their own business before selling them all to Scalliwag.

We continued on to the third gallery which had "quilt-art" on display, but I can't show you any pictures of this featured exhibit because it was a strict no-photo display. There is some info on the wool museum site though :) There was also a good exhibit on Public Service animals (not to be confused with those public servant animals...) such as Quarantine beagles, customs canines, mules, horses, camels, carrier pidgeons and sled huskis that have all served the Australian goverment in some way. They even went down to the nitty-gritty of cane-toads and how they were a big mistake. This exhibit was aimed mainly at children, with lots of demos and buttons to push... at this stage I think Tuffers was over the place and wanted cars and crash-test-dummies, so he rushed through while I played around.

Here endeth your virtual tour of the National wool museum through my POV:)

The national wool museum

Even after spending all of my youth in Geelong, I had only been to the National wool museum once, to see a 'Treasures of Egypt" exhibit that had nothing to do with sheep...(I think I learnt that the Egyptian clothed themselves in linen because animals were "unclean"???) But given my ever expanding love of textiles, I dragged Tuffers along to learn a thing or two about the boom and bust wool industry (to settle his manly pride about going to a girly textiles museum, I promised Tuffers we could go to the Ford Discovery centre as well, but when we got there we discovered only two things, neither to do with cars;
1. it was a tuesday,
2. the Ford discovery centre is closed on tuesdays...)
This automated rug loom is focal point of the wool museum - the ramps to the galleries circle around it, and you can purchase carpets made on it. (Aparently the punch-card system used for the automation was then adapted to be used by those pianos that make themselves, and even that cool street organ we saw at floriade - yes, the loom came before all of that)
Fleece anyone??


Yes, that is real wool just sitting there - I should have included something in the photo for scale. In fact, there are mountains of fleece just sitting around (with various signs saying please touch but do not take) the first gallery of the museum, which is all about the farming of sheep. You learn about breeds, breeding and black sheep (aka genetics). Animal husbandry, drought shearing, woolclassing and auctions. The million dollar bale, and the thousands of bales of wool going to be destroyed when there were no buyers.

Tea break anyone?


On the way to the second gallery (wool processing, which will be the next post) There is this delightful display of knitted fancies, kindly made by the local guild :)

to market, to market..

Every spring and summer, my Pop does a market tour of the Bellarine Peninsula, peddling wares made by him and my Nan...
The majority of his stall is knitted toys, and crocheted homewares made by my nan, but also plants he has propogated, windchimes made from recyled cutlery, and gorgeous boxes and chests made from recycled timber. As you can see, my grandparents are very hard-working for retired pensioners :)
As a trip 'home' isn't complete without a trip down the coast, and Tuffers hadn't seen my Pop's market before (and hence where my weird obsession with knitting comes from), He, Pierre, Mum and I piled into Mum's car and went for a drive to Queenscliff.

First and foremost, we found Pop's stall, where I purchased a couple of Nan's toys (elephants in sailor suits for friends kids) after much haggling (I tried to pay full price, but Pop doesn't like to charge family much, if anything, but I appreciate the skill and hard work, and that my grandparents are pensioners and if nothing else, need funds to replace their materials)

After this, we explored the rest of the market where we found this most irresistible stall "Tea with Alice cupcakes"


FuIll points for attention to detail and presentation . It was very difficult not to buy one of everything on the stall - and the cupcakes were as delicious as they looked.

Of course, the big surprise of the day was when we found another papillon puppy. This gorgeous girl was a little shy around boisterous Pierre, but we managed to get her to pose for a pretty pic.