March 2020

Hallo Every-one, rather over-due for an update methinks.

So the whole world is in the grip of a pandemic, a virus named Corona Virus or Covid-19. It can be fatal for more vulnerable members of society so several entire countries are in lock-down...ie stay at home unless you are in an essential job, need to shop for food or medications. These strategies have come gradually as the virus spreads rapidly and people are still socializing despite being told to keep 1.5 to 2 metres away from non-family members. Restaurants, bars, cinemas closed last week and we are restricted to 20 minute visits to nursing homes. Any-one returning from overseas must self-isolate for 2 weeks and there are some big fines for any-one not complying with this law.

Today our schools have closed for teaching, they remain open to supervise students whose parents are working. My daughter has been home-schooling since the start of the year as they prepare for their bus trip, Jess's school closed 2 weeks ago and Charlie has been kept at home to avoid infection. Cody is doing his TAFE work from home at Grandad's...not an ideal situation for a young man to be so isolated but at least he is safe and has a roof over his head.

Which brings me to Dad(86 yrs) who has been in a nursing home for 25 days now and is very unhappy...he cannot understand why he is there with all those 'old people' but he truly could not live at home any longer as he needs constant care which we are not able to provide. He blames me for his 'incarceration' although the hospital doctors told us it would be unsafe for him to go home, his short term memory is awful but the cancer still hasn't manifested itself with any pain etc. I do hope he'll settle soon, he's also fallen 4 times since he went in.

Joe and I have stayed at home for almost 3 weeks now, I shopped carefully before we started this and was also very grateful for our small stock-pile which I learned about from Rhonda's blog and the forum when it was running. I've been out twice for fresh fruit and vegies which are now running low so I am trying to order on-line from Woolworths but they are so busy that I can't place my order.

https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-simple-art-of-stockpiling.html

Joe usually stays at home so this doesn't mean much change to him but I am enjoying the time to actually rest and also to catch up things such as de-cluttering our clothes, pruning shrubs outdoors, growing lettuce, silverbeet and lots of fresh herbs...even having time to sweep regularly makes such a difference. I have cut up old clothes to make toilet wipes (google family wipes) as toilet paper of all things was the first thing to disappear off the supermarket shelves when panic buying began about 3 weeks ago!

I'd been to library and borrowed 8 novels before they closed for the duration so I am reading them now.Foxtel have given us free documentaries, I am really enjoying that...Alaska is now on my bucket list.
 I'd also bought lots of yarn from Spotlight while it was on special and have been making these basic small blankets from them....250 sts of 8ply on a 4mm circular needle and then alternating the colours and using a wide variety of stitches in bands of 12 rows

This one is plain garter stitch but there's nothing plain about really and it's so simple I can knit it anywhere...a lot was done while Dad was in hospital for 11 weeks before he moved to the Aged Care home...

Dinner tonight will be pasta with a sauce cobbled together left-over roast chicken, frozen red capsicum and some rather watery bolognaise sauce I'd made and frozen...will boost it with chili, anchovies and olives .

I am so very grateful for so many things these days, our home is comfortable, we have power and running water and plenty to eat. Our families are safe too and that means more than anything.

How are you managing? Are you locked down where you live? Do you have any tips for easy meals or simple pastimes for children?

Big love, stay safe
Sue

Feather and Fan Keyhole Scarf

Details of the scarf I made as promised. I've used that lovely Jeans yarn that I bought at Spolight but sadly they no longer sell it.

You'll need

size UK8 or 4mm needles
around 100gms 8ply wool(perhaps a little more)

Feather and Fan is worked over an 11 stitch repeat pattern plus whatever you'd like for a garter st border...I've added 4 sts at each side here and so cast on 41sts. ie 4 sts per border and 3 x pattern repeat.

Row 1 Knit to end
Row 2 K4, purl to last 4 sts and K4
Row 3 K4, (P2tog) twice, (M1, K1)3 times, M1, **(p2 tog) 4 times, M1 K1 3times, M1** repeat from ** to last 8 sts, (P2 tog) twice and K4
Row 4 K4, purl to last 4 sts, K4

I continued with the pattern until the work was around 20cms/8inches long then made the 'keyhole' by working on the first 15sts until that part was about 10cms long. Place them on a sts holder and work the next two parts to the same length~~ the middle 11sts and the last 15sts give a nice even width and also make it easy to keep to the pattern.
Once done you simpley work across the three sections to make them one again and continue in pattern until the work is about 36 cms in length or when the two ends are the same length once you have threaded the end through the keyhole(I placed the work on a spare length of wool and tried it on for size.)

There are lots of patterns available for this type of scarf, a beginner could make a simple garter sts scarf perhaps?

Hooroo for now,
Love, Sue
xxx

*M1 make 1 st...I knit into the wool in between 2 sts to form another  st or you could knit into front and then the back of the knit sts to increase that way

Just adding this pattern too after searching high and low for it, I made this cowl in 2015 with a 200gm ball of Bloom from Bendigo Woolen Mills, it can be worn twisted and doubled for extra cosiness

Purl Ridge Cowl

Craving Oranges

Don't you just love the way your body tells you what it needs? Day 12 of this bug and all I want is juicy mandarin oranges...at the greengrocer's I hefted each by hand looking for the heaviest and therefore juiciest fruit. All that Vitamin C must be good for me! Those apples are this season's...they are very crisp and firm, there was also a new type of apple with an very dark almost black skin, must try them soon too...

I've made a cable stitch 'beanie' for my nephew, Jack...he's a young fashion designer now with an eye details so I think he'll love working out how the cables are formed...it's a free ravelry pattern ...

I'm also smitten with these 'knotted' scarves and another type called a 'keyhole' scarf

Celtic Knot Scarf

I've made this lovely keyhole scarf already...it's that no longer available Jeans yarn from Spotlight...
I'll post the instructions separately soon...

We've had an incredible amount of rain recently, Elizabeth's bus is leaking and weeds are sprouting everywhere. Speaking of weeds, David turns 10yrs old on Saturday...how did that happen?

Vera is settled into a lovely nursing home with her own room and ensuite bathroom, I haven't been to visit yet as I don't know if I'm contagious or not...I cancelled my blood-work appt yesterday just in case. The 'flu virus is killing people so it's best to stay indoors if you can.

Last night we had lamb chops for the first time in years as they are rather expensive. These were delicious and so very tender...Joe carefully cut off all the fat but I just hoovered up everything but the bone lol I fried off onion and capsicum and 1/2 t curry powder and cooked rice and raisins and fried some tomatoes separately too. Tonight we'll have Italian style sausages and pasta and there's left-over Indian chicken for lunch from the freezer.

So that's us for now,
Hope you're well and happy too
Love from Sue
xxx

Knitting and a Bus

I seem to have been knitting these squares forever, at least 2 years, it's 100% wool and very heavy, very random too, knit 6 varied squares, join them end to end and add them to the side it suits best. This is the first time I've knit a border too, size 5mm needles and 12 stitches;start sewing it to the edge once it's nearly long enough as you will have to stretch it slightly to keep it tight...I also finished a pair of 8ply socks for Wendy, my SIL...it gets quite cold in Albany in Winter...

  This is a free pattern and I made these last year but hadn't given them away, the pattern is from Joyful Toys and is called Peter Rabbit, it uses very little wool...

Joe's chemo is going well and his brother is on the same treatment in Canada...it's to stop the basal cell carcinomas associated with Gorlin Syndrome that they both have. Enough with all this cutting them out, Joe looks like a patchwork himself these days and it's very painful.

Elizabeth has finally been in position to buy a smallish bus which she plans to gut and turn into a camper and then hit the 'frog and toad' with her 2 younger boys....she's had enough sorrow recently to last a lifetime so let's hope this is a turning point in her life...she will never be homeless again anyway!

Lots of work ahead but it's so good to have a goal isn't it?

Dad has gone on a holiday too...he's gone down to Albany to my brother and SIL's home for a few days. He'll come back on the bus which takes about 6 hours, quite an adventure for an 85 yr old.

I've tried some new recipes since we got home, this eggplant curry is particularly good, frugal and easy too and I made some basil and spring onion pesto with basil from the garden that had grown so much while we were in Tassie...I added a few roasted cashews too...one jar is in the freezer to keep it very fresh...

and how's this for colourful...a white chocolate cake with white chocolate buttercream made by Bree, it had 2 little troll dolls on top later!

So that's all for this quick update, I hope all is well with you,
Love, Sue
xxx

Knitted Hearts

I made a few knitted hearts last month to decorate gifts...they can then be kept as Christmas tree decorations or as I like to do hang them from door handles around the house...they are quick to knit and use minimal wool...

these are gifts for our grand-daughters, musical tins of shortbread from Aldi...one kept tinkling even when it was wrapped up! Can you see that one is wrapped upside down too...never a dull moment around here lol I used wrapping paper this year because I found 3 full rolls at Dad's house that Mum bought years ago...

  The pattern I used is here: it's a ravelry pattern by Amanda Berry. Have you joined ravelry? It's completely free to join and has thousands of free patterns, tutorials and groups for knitting and crochet, I love it.

I did like this Christmas Day photo, Charlie is obviously tall enough for me to lean on now and Bree never stopped laughing, we had all sorts of treats for dinner, oysters, king fish that Bree treated with lime juice and served raw, prawns, ham, turkey, gozleme and our favourite salads of course.

 The top of the china cabinet looks like a museum setting, the clock is from around 1905, the photo from 1955, the robin is by Beswick China and is rather battered these days, the china on the right is from the UK in 2000, Auntie Brenda bought me the watering can. I don't know how old the crystal vase is but it's quite unusual in that it has a crystal base or foot...the card was Joe's anniversary card to me...he excelled him himself this time ;)

I took Dad to see the specialist on Friday about the hernia that was noticed last time he was in hospital in October....it appears that most of his stomach is above his diaphragm now instead of below it! It's not causing any pain and the surgery would be too risky at his age but he will need to get to hospital very quickly if he feels ill or pain. Old age is not for sissies is it?

So on that cheerful note I shall leave you...oh! our new neighbours have planted some roses...these almost match the ones on my china...

Bye bye xxx

That Sunset

Thank you all for your lovely comments yesterday...head over to Winwick Mum's free tutorial with step by step instructions on sock making, she even discusses wool and needles first and she's lovely to talk to if you need help. I love to watch the construction techniques as the sock takes shape in all it's parts...so much more than a sock 😃

Last night we had this spectacular sunset, I borrowed Joe's Samsung mobile/cell phone as I've noticed that he and Bree take much better photos with them than either of our cameras can...something to work on methinks...

Silence is golden too!
Love from Sue
xx

Happy New Year

Hallo my friends, just a few photos to post and to wish you all a Happy New Year/Bon Annee!

We had a nice quiet Christmas and are just pottering along, this Summer has been mild so far compared to some we've experienced.

My old barbecue looked quite charming in the early morning light after I'd watered all the pot plants...I spray painted it this bright blue last year, inside the hood behind the front pots is a great space for storing tools and pots. My chandelier and birdcage were rescued from the verge where they'd been out discarded as rubbish...(grrr)

the silverbeet is still going well although I have given up on growing tomatoes as the little green caterpillars are relentless and I won't use pesticides...

Have also become as obsessive knitter these days...lots of socks...these are Winwick Mum's free pattern, I have used Bendigo Woolen Mills 4ply Merino and Nylon yarn for these socks for Joe...Christine has blocked hers but I don't feel it's necessary...

I made a second Feather and Fan stitch scarf with the Jennet wool from Northern Yarns in Lancaster , the first one was posted back to Lancaster to my cousins who sent me the wool...

and Spotlight had that gorgeous Jeans yarn on special again so Charlie will have two posh jumpers this Winter lol...it has some nice wooden buttons on it now...it's such a soft acrylic and a delight to knit with...pattern is free of course from ravelry, Meabh's Cardigan (isn't she a cutie, Charlie wouldn't wear the hat so I'm not making that...am also making a complicated French pattern for him and am knitting the collar for the third time as I watch tennis on telly...

Dad is doing quite well but now I'm making him 7 meals a week, it's a challenge as he needs small meals of soft foods and is rather fussy, I plate it up on a bread and butter plate and write what it is, when to eat it and hot or cold otherwise he will just eat rubbish and then have indigestion again! Cue really bad photo...

In other news our dear Rhonda has been unwell but is in great spirits and has started her blog again, just if and when she feels like writing, I can't tell you how much influence her simple lifestyle has had on me and many thousands of others, do have a look if you haven't already...

Down To Earth blog

Always leave them laughing...Charlie is now just the right height for his ole Nana to lean on lol

Christmas Day <3 My tablecloth is a length of Christmas fabric from last January when it was 75% off the original price. I forgot to get the crackers/bonbons out so that's one thing less we'll need to buy this year lol

Keep well and be happy,

Love Sue

xx

My New Cardigan

I found some beautiful yarn in Spotlight called Jeans because it looks like denim. It was half price at the time so I went 'hog wild' (says Joe) and bought 9 balls/900gms intending it to be a Summer project. I didn't know how beautiful it was to knit with at that point and finished the whole cardigan in less than 3 weeks...so very soft and luxurious for an acrylic yarn and see how it looks like denim...

I downloaded a free pattern from Spotlight, they have quite a few and they are quite modern too and here is the finished cardi...Free Pattern

When I went back to choose some suitable buttons the big ones I needed would have worked out at $20...almost as much as the garment so I came away disappointed and empty handed. However several days later I came these wooden buttons from 'Timber and Thread' in a different part of Spotlight and snapped them up for $1.50.

I used less than 600gms for the cardigan (and the sleeves are a little long) so I had enough to make this little vest which is very warm...I already had the pretty floral buttons from Buttons B Busy , a local Mum with a small home-based crochet and button business...this was also a free pattern from DROPS designs, large size

Now I am stalking the knitting department waiting for this yarn to come down in price again!
It's called Jeans Yarn and there is a gorgeous soft 'baby blue' I'd really like next :)

I'm still undecided about what to do with the wonderful surprise package of Jennet wool I received from my cousins Fiona and Joff recently...so generous of them and I want to do it justice...here they are with the lovely Kate from Northern Yarn(Kate is wearing her new 'Carbeth' knit which is one of Kate Davies many clever designs)...

I have 300gms of 4ply wool to use and cherish so will keep searching for that 'perfect' pattern.
Have also cast on a red jacket for myself while I think about the Jennet wool lol.
Ciao for now,
Love from Sue
xxx

Around the House and Garden

Hi Every-one,

Just a few photos from a busy week...I've decided to knit myself a cardigan for the first time in nearly 40 years...I like to have a small project and a large project going at the same time so I am still knitting the socks and found this free pattern on the Spotlight site, it calls for pure wool but it never really gets that cold here so I chose this yarn called 'Jeans' instead and am using 7mm needles to get the right size...it's so very soft and drapes beautifully...the back is finished...it really does look like denim doesn't it?

While outside taking the knitting pic I also snapped the lovely silver beet/chard and some of the parsley that is growing like mad with all the rain this Winter...

I moved the table round and would like to pressure spray the paving soon as it's very grubby, also got the washing on the line at last...have been buying up slightly damaged lanterns mainly from Bunnings, it will look nice when I put some tea-light candles in when it warms up properly...

Carol-Next-Door has been feeding the wild  Indian Doves for years and recently the local galahs have discovered the free feed...they sit up on the TV aerials loudly discussing their business and are surprisingly tame, cocking their heads when I talk to them...

I hope you've had a good week and all is well with you and yours,
Love from Sue
xxx

Knitting Away

Thank you dear friends for your loving comments on the previous post, Priscilla will be greatly missed by every-one who knew her. Yesterday Will and the children laid her ashes to rest in a plot that they can visit when they wish. Today should have been their ninth wedding anniversary.

I'm trying to get back to writing blog posts and am working on a rather complicated one for the Vietnamese soup known as 'Pho' which is difficult to pronounce and sounds something like 'far'. It's Joe's favourite and he's very impressed by this version of it, will post that soon.

I have been spending the Winter knitting and reading, caring for Dad, supporting my daughter and her sons and I've also started collecting indoor plants again. This little house is rather dark so the plants have to be re-arranged daily or taken out-side for some extra light but they are beautiful and such a pleasure...apparently they enhance our lives with more than just oxygen and I find them very relaxing to care for. It's exciting to see a new leaf unfurl ;)

We didn't grow this Buddha's Hand but isn't it a beauty? It's a type of citrus that has no juice/flesh/seeds...grown for the novelty the skin can be zested for flavouring cakes etc

Charlie is now over 2 yrs old would you believe? I've made him 3 vests/tank tops this year;unfortunately the first was pure wool Fair Isle and was washed by his Dad in hot water, it now fits his dolly!!! The next two are in a self=striping acrylic...

Have also made 2 Paddington Bears from this pattern , have used 100% wool again and had to buy the toggles from an Etsy vendor in Toronto would you believe but they really finish off his little duffel coat...all the wool and the kilt pins in his hat came from Spotlight...

The last thing to show you is this easy 8ply knitting for ladies socks, using up the rest of the self striping acrylic from Charlie's jumpers; they knit up so quickly especially compared to using 'sock yarn'.
The free pattern comes from Winwick Mum , it's probably more suited to intermediate knitters, in the past I have always used 'Silver's  Sock Class' which is also free and more of a tutorial...

ETA Christine aka Winwick Mum has drawn my attention to her 'Sockalong' blog post where she takes absolute beginners step by step through the wonderful process of knitting socks...thanks Christine x

love the heel detail...such a clever construction method...

I haven't even worn socks for such a long time but it's been so cool and wet this Winter here while the rest of Australia is struggling with the worst drought on record...it's frightening to see the photos of the parched land and dying animals.

So that's my round up for now, thank you for waiting so long for another post, let's try and make it a regular thing! Yes Dear!

Love Sue
xxx

Knitting, Rain and Warm Food

Will start with the rain...after a whole week of none we've broken local records and even had hail one morning.
 I saw pink and grey galahs hanging upside down from power lines, wings out-stretched enjoyed a refreshing shower. I saw a huge black crow splashily bathing in a muddy puddle without a care in the world. Doves walked back and forth along the top of our fence looking like a Gary Larsen cartoon but my favourite was this little wood-duck. While I was knitting in the car and waiting for Joe at the dentist(he broke a tooth and needed a filling) I heard what sounded like a cat mewing loudly. When I opened the window it was this little chap/lady thoroughly enjoying the pop-up pond in the car park...what a funny noise they make...

It swam back and forth totally unconcerned about the cars coming and going...they actually nest in trees unlike other breeds of ducks.

Recent knitting includes this lovely free pattern for a diagonally knit washcloth , I've finished 3 in 8ply with 4mm needles and have ordered some 10ply(worsted weight) from Bendigo Woolen Mills to try it on the larger needles as per the pattern...

Then I read about a lady using up all her odds and ends of wool on very large needles so I found by 10mm needles and all my pink and white wool and made this in less than 2 days...all I've done is cast on 30 sts, knit around 10 rows in garter st, work a row of yarn fwd, K2tog to end to create a bit of a pattern, it's very loose and snuggly at the same time and cost nothing...

On to warm food...we've been enjoying lots of soups...this one is made from the left-over roast vegs and corned beef...I even found a stray sweet potato growing in the front garden, that beetroot gave it a beautiful colour and I added some frozen green beans for bulk...

Last night we had a sausage meat and pasta bake, I topped this the breadcrumbs I had in the freezer and only used the meat from 3 pork sausages with some chopped mushrooms so it was very thrifty.
I've just walked up to the letterbox and my neighbour, Vera, called me in to give me this enormous leek she'd bought on special yesterday...she'd like me to make Leek and Potato for my dear Dad who can't wear his dentures...easy to eat...aren't people wonderful? The prize leek...

I have some dianthus seedling to plant today, they are like small carnations and seem to last at 2 years...I like to have flowers in the back courtyard...

Now unfortunately it's not been all sweetness and light this week with the news that Joe's step-brother has been murdered in Canada, such a shock and we're still waiting to hear what the motive was as Pierre was a very easy going, likable man. RIP Capitaine...my mother-in-law has now out-lived her first 3 children...no-one should do that...

Joe has had surgery on his nose to remove a possibly dangerous basal cell carcinoma, he has sts inside and out and is very sore, let's hope they got it all this time as they missed some cells last time.

Priscilla isn't doing very well atm either. The Vit C infusions have come to an end and she is quite exhausted now. The doctors have found a bed in a respite facility to give her complete bed rest and hopefully stress and pain relief for the coming week. At the weekend she and Will had all three younger children baptised together with all their god parents attending too...this is my favourite photo...

So we all just muddle along as best we can don't we?
Hope things are going well for you,
Love from Sue
xox

PS was just sent this, these 2 guys were born 83 yrs apart but have such a deep connection...