Catching Up on a Rainy Monday Afternoon

Hi everyone! 

It has been literally weeks (if not months) since I have blogged about something not CAL or Captain Poprocks related... everything jut got crazy busy all at once! 

I've started a new job at the Law Society, assisting with their Thought Leadership project. Plus, June to August is also the busiest time for youth exchange, as we are interviewing and finding overseas placements for our outbound students who will leave in January, as well as receiving and training the inbound students who arrive in July. 

Our Days for Girls project has also exploded (in a good way!) in the last few months - everyone wants to get involved! We have just sent 100 kits to Papua New Guinea with the Rotary Club of Umina, 100 kits will be going to East Timor in a few weeks time, and the next job is 200 kits for Cambodia in September (which is terrifyingly close...)

Our kits in PNG!

Our major fundraiser for Days for Girls is coming up on 24 September - we are putting on a High Tea, with delicious sandwiches, sumptuous hot morsels, and gloriously decadent sweet treats to enjoy, along with as many cups of tea and coffee as our guests can manage, AND an opera singer!! If you live somewhere around Sydney and would like to come along, here's the invitation! 

Just about everything is locked down now, so in the last week I've had a bit more time to do crochet... finally! (a bit like this post really) My crochet life is full of WIPs at the moment, and not nearly enough finished things.

I love this little cutie patootie - and just need to sew on her ears and weave the ends in on the blanket and she can go off to her new owner! The Heidi Bears animals are definitely among my favourite things to make. This pattern is Nellie the Elephant, and you can get it on Ravelry here.

I have an order for 5 (yes five!) mini kangaroos and joeys coming up! They are very cute, but a bit hard on the hands to make with 4 ply yarn and a 2.25mm hook. I've made all the parts for two more kangaroos and they just need stuffing and sewing. One set has been requested in "Tiffany Blue", so with any luck I'll be able to steal a bit of my mum's time in the next few weeks to do some yarn dyeing! 

While I finish off some other things, the joeys are having some well-supervised childcare at the Kangaroo Creche with my candy animals (and a rogue Yoshi). 

My Tie-Back Tunic is coming along! The back panel is done, the front is underway (although I am having a disagreement with the pattern) and one of the waist ties is complete. I absolutely adore the yarn - Cascade Heritage Solid in Wine, and Cascade Heritage Hand-Painted in Roses (75% Merino Wool, 25% Nylon). 

Plus the texture is just so nice (and the colour is more accurate in the photo below)...

Finally, because I don't have enough things to do already, I've started Polly Plum's Lotus Moon Tile CAL, using up my Stylecraft Special DK stash. The flowers are so beautiful, and the pattern so well written! 

And my trusty Zig Zag Project Tote has been called into service again! Lucky I didn't line it - the bag really needs to stretch a bit to squish all that yarn in it..

Phwoar, writing it all down makes me realise how much I'm doing. It's only 3 weeks until the Carousel CAL starts - do you think I'll get most of this done by then?? 

I better hop off the computer and get hooking!!! 

Success at the Sydney Royal Easter Show!

Hello everyone! 

Just a short blog post tonight, but I'm exploding with excitement that I just have to share with you all!!

Tonight was the Preview Exhibition for the Sydney Royal Easter Show Arts and Crafts Competition. You might remember that I entered a Road Trip Scarf, a candy happypotamus (General Millie, Captain Poprocks' future wife) and my Rainbow Twist and Turn Bargello Afghan into the competition. It was my first time entering, so I wasn't expecting anything - just getting my entries on display would have been amazing.

BUT! I did so much better than that! Not only did all three of my items end up on display...

... I won SECOND PLACE in the Crochet Art section for the Rainbow Twist and Turn Bargello Afghan...

... and FIRST PLACE (BLUE RIBBON!!) FOR GENERAL MILLIE IN THE CROCHETED/KNITTED SOFT TOYS SECTION!!!!

Plus, by the time we got to the exhibition, an hour after it opened, the scarf and happypotamus had already been purchased :D :D :D 

I'm still fizzing about the place several hours later, just so excited and thrilled and beaming like an idiot (see above pictures for proof)!! 

THANK YOU all for your support and appreciation for the crochet work that Anne and I create! It gave me the confidence to enter the Show, and I am just so happy with the results! 

Finally Finished... Tuesday?

It's been a wet few days in Sydney! We are just never happy here - either it buckets down with rain and we complain about the wet, or it doesn't rain for days on end and we complain about everything being too dry :P

I know it's only Tuesday, but I have been trying to clear up my WIP (works in progress) pile and fiiiiiiinally have a stack of things to show off :)

My dragon is finished! Isn't he adorable??

Plus, I managed to finish my Stained Glass Afghan last night! I used JulieAnny's Stained Glass Afghan Square pattern for the pieces, joined them with double crochet in aqua (single crochet for any American readers), and then edged it with a dc row of aqua and then back-loop-only trebles in black, to make the aqua row stand out. I'm really happy with how it came out! Plus it is so thick and warm :) 

The sun came out for just a few minutes today, especially for me to take photos for you!

All my scarf orders are up to date (so if you want to order one, now is the time). I am also experimenting with more colour options, including this one called Jewel Mix:

Isn't it dramatic?

Bits and bobs

Hello everyone! I'm so sorry it's been so long between drinks - we had our holiday to Vanuatu where the internet access was very limited, and since our return I have been either too tired to do anything, or madly organising a dinner event for work. Phew! 

There is a post on its way about Captain Poprocks' adventures in Vanuatu, but I am still going through all the photos to make sure I put the best ones up here ;) He is still in hibernation anyway - possibly recovering from his kava experiences...

Here are a few projects I've had on the go for the last few weeks:

1. In Vanuatu, I decided I needed a macro-crochet project - something made on a hook bigger than 1.5mm! I fell in love with a stained glass afghan square pattern by JulieAnny (pattern can be found here), and it worked up so so nicely using some 8 ply variegated yarn left over from another afghan. So far I have done all of the "stained glass" pieces; now to just finish the colour frame and put them all together!

However, the finishing off has been put in the "to do" basket for now because...

2. I just could not resist the amazing HeidiBears' new DRAGON (!!) pattern! I wanted to do something a bit different with the colours, and was inspired by a CanToo star giraffe my mother is making. The pieces are exactly the same as the usual African Flower, but with the colours in a different sequence, so they make stars:

He's coming along pretty well - just needs his spines (which are almost all crocheted) and wings (which will take a bit longer). The dragon will be on sale with Wrapped with Love shortly, but he will be $100 rather than $60 as he has three times the pieces of the other animals, and has taken me a solid week so far! 

I'll probably get the spines on before Smaug goes into the "to do" basket as well, because...

3. I have absolutely fallen in love with Zooty Owl's Road Trip Scarf. I have seen so many beautiful pictures over the last few weeks! Isn't it just gorgeous!

When I got my Spotlight catalogue and found that the Moda Vera Fayette (a lovely variegated wool/acrylic blend) was half price, I knew it was meant to be. While it's possible I went slightly overboard on the purchasing, I got $160 worth of beautiful yarn and stuffing etc for $110, which is a pretty good deal! Here's my loot with my trusty rainbow bargello bag :) 

So, hopefully over the next few weeks I'll be able to get at least one of these projects finished :) I do also have some orders coming up for Wrapped with Love, but it isn't too busy at the moment if you want to get in early for Christmas/birthday orders for your little ones (or big ones!). 

On a final note, at the fancy work dinner on Thursday we had the most gorgeous table arrangements of Australian native flowers, and I got to bring one home. I am so lucky to have these beautiful flowers decorating my living room this weekend :)  

 

Coming soon - The Adventures of Captain Poprocks: Melanesian Magic!

Captain Poprocks visits the Great Ocean Road

Hello everyone! 

Captain Poprocks and I have just arrived home from a week's holiday in Apollo Bay, on Australia's Great Ocean Road. We travelled down together with my sister Kathryn and my mother Janelle to watch Kathryn run in the Great Ocean Road Ultra Half Marathon!

(You can read about Captain Poprocks' last adventure here)

We stayed in a lovely apartment in Marengo, which is the next village along the Road from Apollo Bay. It had a gorgeous view of Bass Strait, and we spent many lovely hours crocheting and drinking tea on the balcony.

The race was very exciting! Kathryn was participating in her very first half marathon, and it was an ULTRA half marathon! She has been training and fundraising with CanToo, and organised with her Rotary Club to dollar match donations to support End Polio Now to take advantage of the matching from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Altogether she raised $8,488.00, which is a pretty amazing total! Mum and I found a spot along the final stretch to watch all of the runners come in. When Kathryn came around the corner, she was even still smiling! 

                                   

We are so proud of Kathryn for running so far, and finishing her first half marathon in pretty close to the time she was aiming for! 

               


                       

She was pretty tired afterwards though...

Captain Poprocks got into some photos with the other CanToo runners who were participating in events over the weekend - even scoring a drink in this one!

After the race (and recovering from the race), we did some exploring of this beautiful part of the world.

There were amazing beaches...

... incredible rainforest...

... craggy coastlines ... 

... beautiful farmland ... 

... memorials to the building of the road (you can read about the history here) ...

... and even some yarn bombing! 

The Captain was a bit naughty once, when he scuttled onto a someone's land to get a better look at the river:

We also enjoyed some really good food - definitely know where to eat again if we go back next year!

On the way home, Captain Poprocks got to indulge in one of his favourite pastimes - puzzles and games.

Overall, we had a wonderful trip and I am definitely hoping Kathryn (and maybe some more friends?) will run the Great Ocean Road Marathon next year so we can go back! 

But Captain Poprocks? I think he just wants to hit the beach :)