Felted slippers and spring flowers

Made these felted slippers today (although more correctly they are fulled because they have been knitted first), from the BWM Murano wool using this pattern Marsh Felted slippers. Before felting they were about 30cm long (12 inches) with the heel 19cm (7.5 inches).

After first hand felting they were firm but not small enough and one slipper was larger then the other. But after a second felting with a lot of kneading and rolling using bubble wrap, the slippers have shrunk to 25cm (10 inches) long and 13cm (5 inches) for the heel so much firmer.

Added a knitted rib to complete these cosy slippers. Just need to sew on the leather soles and they are finished!

        
                               Callistemon and Grevillea blossoms in the garden

                                              Maiden hair fern

                                An old favourite

Three birthdays

A red knitted dress for Emilia who is turning three with a moss stitch bodice finished with a  crocheted picot edging. Made in BWM Luxury 8ply in Brick
 

 A green lace cowl for my sister in BWM Luxury 8ply in Bracken. Pattern here http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/peachpetal-cowl but finished size was 22 inches (56cm) wide and 15 inches (38cm) long as I like cowls to drape well.

A red horizontal knitted scarf for an aunty turning 90 years of age. Hope it brightens her day!

Murano

Just received this order of Murano wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills. Fabulous colour and 100% wool but it is at least a 10ply yarn not 8ply as suggested on the label. The stripes are a bit regular for my liking in stocking stitch and look much better in seed stitch. In fact I think I probably prefer the back of the work so may have to start this again...

Teddy helper

 Nana's little helper...

The jumper is finished and fits well.

No side seams just a three needle cast off at shoulders.

Recycling again...

Since I wasn't happy with the fit of a jumper I made last year decided to start over with a better pattern. Choose an easy pattern from this fabulous book and was delighted to find that it is a continous knit in the round without seams. Have not tried this before for such a large item but it's easy going without purl rows. At this rate will have it finished for this season!

The finished jumper should look like this and will be making the alternate neckband without the buttons.

This hat and scarf is a gift for a friend who has been very generous with his time recently.

The King of the jungle...

Another of Miss Aine's delightful miniatures. Pattern here at Ravelry. My lion is made with 8ply/DK wool with 2.75mm needles and I used a boucle yarn for the mane and end of the tail. Size is 9cm/3.5 inches.  A birthday gift for a special little boy.

A girly gift

 

a little blue vest 

 

   and some new slippers for Emilia

 

 with leather soles and wadding 

 

sewn together with some strong dental floss tape

and finished at the ankle with three rows of fine hat elastic so they won't slip off busy little feet.

It's a wrap...

Finished the Mara shawl and will be wearing it as a wrap. Handy for just some cosiness around the shoulders for these Autumn evenings while sitting at the desk working. Soft and warm.

Mara

Recently found a full pack of this soft Merino yarn at Vinnies (400 gms) and after looking through various patterns, found this very popular Mara pattern http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mara-3 

The yarn has a hand spun appearance and I am using 6mm needles so the finished item will have a good drape. Have changed the increase loop over, to knit through centre loop instead to reduce the large holes in the original pattern. These stitches are made from right and left to create a sloping stitch either side of the centre line.

 I'm not really a shawl person so will probably wear it more like this as a casual scarf/wrap. Hope mine looks as good as this.

This little female possum visited last night and as you can see she much prefers a soft apple to the beans. She is not very big, about the size of a small cat, and is quite tame.

In the pink

Some more charity knitting items including an odd ball cowl. Seemed like a good idea at the time but finishing off all those ends was a pain. The cowls are quite long so have been folded for the image. Can't stand skimpy cowls as they need to be long enough to drape well so they look good.

Although the date indicates it is Autumn here in Sydney, it is warm and sunny and the veggies are surging ahead. This is the second crop of beans this season and almost ready to pick. Fortunately they are not to the possums' taste so can be left uncovered unlike the other veggies that have to be covered in a net to foil these nocturnal visitors.

Eriskay

Recently discovered my Eriskay jumper waiting to be finished so finally knitted up the neckline and have sewn it together. http://aussieknittingthreads.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/eriskay-update.html This is made from my own  homespun from a Merino fleece from my family's property in western NSW that was sold some years ago. This was a difficult jumper to make because of the complex patterns that are formed in panels across the garment. Each row is different so requires some concentration. 

The zigzag represents the waves; the double diagonal lines are marriage lines; the diamond pattern is the home; the small mesh lines represent fishing nets; and the starfish (or snowflake) and ropes are obvious patterns.

My g.grandfather may have worn a fisherman's gansey like this as he was a lobster fisherman and ferryboat man between Ulva and the Isle of Mull on the west coast of Scotland. My g.grandmother, who was from the Isle of Skye, probably spun wool and knitted these traditional jumpers for her family. They immigrated to Australia on the same ship in 1853 with their families and were married in 1863 in Hamilton, Victoria.

Summer knits

Have been busy completing my current family history book so everything else has been pushed aside. http://amostindustriousman.blogspot.com.au/  With a short term subscription to Ancestry to access some English records from the 1700s, have tried to maximise the time needed to find the right documents. 

However have still managed to do some knitting for charity including these jumpers for older children, a cowl and some hats. Seem to have a lot of single balls of wool accumulated from Vinnies and others, so sorting them into groups of colourways for hats. Unfortunately most of the old wool is not machine wash so unsuitable for children's garments but probably okay for hats.

Christmas in our house...

It is mid summer here in Sydney and bright and sunny, so Christmas Day will probably be about 30 degrees. The family are arriving in the next few days with a late arrival flying in on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning we will wait for the other two who live nearby to arrive and will then open all our presents together and probably sing some carols at the piano. Then it's lunch outside and Christmas cheer followed by a swim in the pool for some or a siesta for others. There will be catch up calls on Skype too with several in-laws in Europe now that we are an International family. As well, of course, there will be fun and games with two small children, and lots of laughter. This Christmas may you and your family too enjoy health and happiness, and a bright and prosperous New Year.   

This lovely Christmas wreath is made from the NSW Christmas Bush that is a large spreading shrub that develops small, delicate red sepals around the seed capsules in December. Thought you might enjoy this unique Australian Christmas plant.

Leaving home...

This little group of friends are setting off from home in Sydney and travelling across the country to new homes in South Australia. The teddies have been waiting patiently for some time but now they are the ready teddies and this week were joined by three little dolls who will be making the trip with them. It is such an adventure but they are all looking forward to meeting the children and making them smile.
( K4C challenge for http://www.accare.org.au/ supporting rural families in need)

Shepherd's delight

Dusk from our treehouse in the Blue Mountains