Merry Christmas

With Christmas already upon us, I will be having a break from the blogging world. 


I hope you and your family a wonderful christmas and a fantastic new year.


Have a safe and happy holiday and I will be back in 2011.


xx

sunday shopping

Red Lizzi will be at Marlston Waterfront Markets, Bunbury this Sunday 19th December from 9am - 1pm. This will be our first market stall in Bunbury so if you are in the area, come down and say hello and pick up some great presents for family and friends. 

from here 

Hope to see you there xx

back on my bike...

After recovering from lack of faith in humankind from the near bike stealing experience, Santa has arrived early and I am now back on my very inexpensive, back pedal brakes, lack of gears, no suspension, loud ringing bell, blue bike.

 It is a definite shock to the system with no suspension but the hardest thing is dealing with the single speed factor. I tell myself it is a way to get fitter faster.


Does riding my bike to my day job through the week balance out all the upcoming festive season feastings?

time to vent...

START VENTING HERE...
When I woke up this morning, packed my bags for my day job and got on my pushie for my commute to work, little was I to know how the day would end for me.
At about 4pm this afternoon there was an email sent round to the whole office building stating that someone had just tried to steal a certain bike from the bike rack which is right outside the staff entry to the building I work in. 
As soon as I read the first few words of the email I knew it was going to be mine.
And of course it was!
As I got out of my seat and raced downstairs a few fellow cyclists were heading down as well to make sure that their bikes weren't damaged or taken.
What I found was this.

 

My bike chain/lock chopped by bolt cutters and they got a fair way through the heavy duty bike lock that I only bought 2 weeks ago. 
Now I have many names for these two people that have done this and who potentially could now have my bike, but for this purpose I will be a calm and controlled adult and refer to them as Rotten Scoundrels (RS's). 
If these RS's hadn't been disturbed by someone leaving the building while they were in the middle of this hacking they probably would have got away with the crime and I would be bikeless.
What cranks me more than anything is not that I could have had my bike stolen, but that I am going to have to drive to work (public transport is basically non-existent) until I save enough money up for a cheap "commuter" pushie so I won't be so out of pocket if the RS's manage to try and steal my bike and get away with it. I am not going to let these RS's get me back into bad habits - I am determined to get back on the bike and ride to work once again!
It's now in the hands of the police and the CCTV footage around the area which will hopefully help pin those RS's down.


... VENTING FINISHED

My Creative Space...

For the last six months, since we moved over from the east, I have been reluctant to get out the big guns (DSLR). The trusty point and shoot camera has been serving me well on our travels. It is quick to grab when a memorable moment appears right in front of you, small and compact and does capture a pretty good image. It is also showing the signs of heavy use with sratches all over it from all the adventures it has been on with us.


But with some overcast days and a not so tidy yard to shoot in I have been forced indoors to find little nooks in the house to shoot my wares and needed the control of the big guns. And I am quite happy with the results. 

I also love this fabric in two of my favourite colours - green and orange - They are journal and address books' handmade reusable covers (soon in my etsy store). The journal even has a space to hold your pen so you can get those ideas down whenever you need to!

I think its time for the point and shoot to have some rest and relaxation time while the real camera gets to work. 


For more creative spaces pop in to Kirsty's 

My Creative Space...

Although the weather is getting warmer - I am warming to rummaging through my yarn stash. 

I've finally finished that project - I just love the colours and the textured knit of the scarf - who would have thought all those colours just look so right!

the white i am using for this baby set of mitts and beanie is a stark contrast to the scarf buy my eyes are adjusting

and I have plans to knit a little surprise for my secret santa (at my day job)

Hopefully I don't get carried away into "making" all my christmas gifts this year! 

Do you have any grand plans for a handmade christmas?

Don't forget to check out more creative spaces here

Red in a box

On the weekend Mr and I and the 2 dogs went for a lovely walk around the Leschenault Inlet. Red and Lizzy also got to jump off the jetty and go for a big swim with the sea scouts in their canoes.
We didn't realise how much fun they had and how exhausted they were until we found Red fast asleep in the backyard.

It doesn't look that comfortable but since then we have found Red having his regular afternoon kip in the box.
Thank goodness we had finished with the spinach that was once growing in there!


What weird and wonderful places do your fury family members find to curl up in/on?

he has got the bug!

Mr has never been one to take to new technology. 

But recently he has gotten the bug. 

image

He has moved on from hating me spending too much time on the internet to reading websites I show him to logging onto the net, searching online everything from bike trails to tyres and spare parts for anything and everything, sending emails and posting on forums. 
I come home from work and he is there on the net, puts the computer down to eat dinner and then back on until he gets a bit tired! He is so addicted that this is the first time this week that I have had a chance to get on here at a reasonable hour! 
So hope you all had a great weekend and hopefully I will back sooner rather than later!

fabric-a-holic!

I have just opened a red lizzi store on CRAFTUMI and you can check it out here. Craftumi is a sister website to madeit! which has australian sellers selling art, craft and hobby supplies. I have some fabrics for sale on my red lizzi site and they are at bargain prices for a limited time! Here are a few of my favourites!

       

     

bad news sucks...

I am still in shock. Last week my best friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. At only 38 it is not fair that anyone has to go through something so horrible. Soon after I found out about my bestie, I found out my sister's friend also has cancer.  

I am over 4,000km away from her. I feel so helpless being so far away, so angry that something like this is happening to her, so scared for her and what she has to go through over the coming weeks, months, years and so frustrated that we (humankind) have no cure for such a horrible disease like cancer (yet!)
I feel like I am failing her for not being there - so like any rational, crafty person that is 4,000km away, I took solace in the hook and made a little something for her.

It may be tiny but holds a whole lotta love for her from me to help her through the tough times ahead for her and her family!

I am also selling these pink ribbons here and donating all money from sales to the Australian National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Today (Monday 25th October) is Pink Ribbon Day and October is Breast Awareness Month. It is a timely reminder to all women.

how time flies...

I sat down in front of the laptop tonight and noticed it has been 2 months since my last blog post! Jeez sounds like confession...  (but i digress)

I guess when I look back there has been a hell of a lot going on over the last while and with one thing after another i just haven't taken time to sit down and share with you what great and not so great things are happening in my life. 

Then there are others out there in blog-land that have been blogging their hearts out for blogtoberfest 2010! Yes it's on again this year - You can read about the history of Blogtoberfest over here! Hang in there guys, it's the home stretch now and only a few days left.

But I took some time out today. It was my day off from my day-job and took the dogs down to the beach for a run and a swim in the sunshine. It was a bit windy so we took shelter in one corner of the beach. Lizzi was straight in the water while Red ran around the sand looking for a makeshift ball that I could throw for him. 

Next thing I look up and there are about 5 dolphins no more than 20 metres off shore - at first i thought there may have been a sick dolphin in the group, but they seemed more concerned about taking shelter from the choppy water. Lizzi had no idea they were there and for a little while were only about 10 metres away from her. The dolphons were quite happy jumping up and swimming around and hung around for about half an hour. Pretty special sight! (Note to self: take camera when walking the dogs to capture these awesome moments!)

What a lovely day!

Hope you all had a lovely Monday too!

My Creative Space...

The winter weather has found me rummaging through my wool stash for a little knit diversion (and to give me a break from the pink project). 
I have had this Noro Kureyon screaming at me to knit up into a groovy textured scarf. 

How long will this "little" diversion take?
A day? or two? or three?


For more diversions, come and play over at Kirsty's place too.

sew much fun

On Saturday I went to a monthly sewing group hosted by Glenys at her patchwork/craft/quilt/fabric store Craft Collections. I was one of the newbies in the group for the day. 
There were gorgeous quilts and sewing projects over the walls which found my eyes wandering to all day. Some of the ladies in the group had made these. 
I am yet to make any quilts. I think I know deep down that once I start doing patchwork and making quilts I will be come addicted and won't stop. I guess quilts are like that packet of tim tams in the cupboard. Once you open the packet you can't stop eating them!

the sewing group in action

There were tasty home made treats all day to keep us motivated. My favourites were the scones.

 There was lots of chatter, show and tell, sharing of ideas, skills and knowledge. I was on a mission to get some unfinished projects completed. To my delight this fantastic bag is finished - made from japanese retro style prints. It has been in the 'to do' pile for a while so I am glad to have it move onto the store rack. (Thank you Robyn for modelling the new bag) Pop into my store soon and you can see it there.

I met some welcoming and talented people at the sewing day. Thank you to everyone for making me feel welcome and a special thank you to knowledgeable Nikki who showed me how to lower my feed dogs on my sewing machine. 
Would you believe that I have had my sewing machine for 16 years (and still have the manual) and hadn't managed to find the little lever (or read the manual) until now. (Note to self: read the sewing machine manual to find out what else the machine may be able to do! ) 
I have always wanted to try my hand at some free-hand sewing! How endless are the possibilities...

My Creative Space...

is a bit wonky.
I have finally finished the wise old owl. Wish I was wise enough to know how fiddly it would be sewing all his bits and pieces on. Although he seems a bit wonky, I think someone will get a nice surprise when the mail man delivers him soon!

 

Now onto my next project. Can you guess someone's favourite colour is pink!

Taking some advise from Jenni and knitting in the round I hope to enjoy the lack of sewing up at the end!
For more (not so wonky) creative spaces pop over to kirsty's place.

the weekend

A wonderful weekend with good friends, good food (great cheese) and good fun! 
Here are a few other highlights...


Found 2 interesting recycled pieces of fabric at a garage sale on saturday for my stash

A local craft store had a 30% off sale on all things knitting and crochet on Saturday, so I bought a few more hooks, wool and little bits and pieces

I started and finished a little elf beanie for a special little mister back in Katoomba (off to the post office tomorrow for me)

Decided to make a blanket with some of the wool from the Saturday shop. At first I thought I would do a granny square blanket. My Gran made me one and I have always wanted to make one for myself but after knitting one square, I thought it may not be a very warm blanket. For this project, I am hoping for a warm blanket so I have decided to make the blanket a bit more snuggly and have started a different style. It has 150 stitches across and will be green, blue and white stripes (unless I buy more colours) I will keep going till I am happy with the length. I think I have bitten off quite a bit with this one and it may be a long term - behind the scenes - project when I sit down after dinner and relax and have no deadlines to meet.

the granny square

  

the striped (long term) blanket project

I also started to post my knitting and crochet projects on Ravelry. My friend Kel is there. She was the one that got me started on Ravelry. You can find me at redlizzi. Come by and say hello, share your projects and any pointers you have about starting out and getting to know your way around the site. I have only scratched the surface of the wonders that are hidden there! It does have some great people and great projects you can check out. I have also found a pattern there and am about to embark on an epic project for me. 
But more on that later...

My Creative Space...

I'm still hooking along and loving it. 
Check out my new crocheted beanie in my Etsy store. (Thank you to Ms S for modelling). 
It is an all year round beanie. Just right to wear in any weather. A perfect neutral colour that will go with anything!

What colour wool to use next? I could have a rainbow of beanies...
A different one for each day?


For more creative spaces, pop into Kirtsy's place.

sewday sunday

I finally started sewing again and have finished the first skirt in the new series for girls. There will be sizes 2T - 6T (AU) available very soon.

No chickens were harmed in the making of these skirts.

I saw this chicken fabric a couple of days ago and just fell in love with it! I couldn't leave it on the shelf and ended up buying the rest of the bolt! I couldn't resist but to make little girl's skirts with it.
Maybe I was reminiscing about having chooks in the backyard as kids...
Maybe it's that I am driving past farms and farm animals everyday?

My Creative Space...

This week I am tidying up loose ends - literally.
Mr Owl is getting stuffed and all sewn up.
The beanies are getting their final touches so they are wearable - one has already found a new home!
And I am sneaking in a bit of hooking practice here and there - check out my latest little feature...

Check out more creative spaces or share your own over at Kirsty's place!

I'm hooked...

I have been trying to finish off a knitted animal for a special little person. (Yes, it is meant to look like an owl of sorts) But I have been having trouble with the eyes as they require reading a crochet pattern. Not happy with compromising with some form of knitting, I needed to learn how to read a crochet pattern, and soon. 
This is the point I realised  how much you depend on your circle of craft friends to help you at times like these. 
So as I haven't met any crafters over here yet, it was off to the local fabric / craft store. I knew they had a sewing group that meets there once a month on a saturday so I headed down  and found a couple of lovely ladies who showed me how it was done as well as a little more about other crochet stitches. After some very bog thank yousI set off home to finish those eyes! And here is the (nearly) finished product (he just needs stitching up!)

I went to bed that night quite contented with the knowledge I had gained and the endless possibilities...

Then on Sunday I knew I had a problem. 

While the boys (we have a few friends staying with us from NSW) were out fishing I dragged out my favourite 20 ply wool from here and managed to hook a beanie, then another, and another and another as well as a few flowers! I love the purple flowers with the orange beanie! These and others will be in my store soon!

 

I had to go and make dinner so I would stop hooking. Unfortunately the boys didn't hook any fish for dinner.

My Creative Space...

I have this fabulous green wool from here and have been trying to find the perfect thing to make with it - it's the last ball left!
So with a new niece arriving the other day, I was determined to find a little knitted animal I could make. Most of the animal patterns I find are crocheted and look a little fiddly and the fact I cannot understand a crochet pattern also doesn't help. I can crochet but it's more like freestyle crochet, hook it here and there. 
After much searching I found a knitted animal that looked possible. The only catch was that it required 4 knitting needles! Not having ventured past 2 needles as yet, I pulled out Mum's old stash of needles and found four matching ones and set to work. After a few false starts I finally got the hang of it. 

hoo am i?


For more creative spaces check out this place

are you one?

Collector
Saver
Accumulator
Squirrel
Stasher
Call it what you will, I am one (ssshh I am a hoarder!). Well maybe that is a bit harsh (maybe not) but I do become attached to certain things that I struggle to part with and they are accumulating as the years tick over. 

I thought I would share with you a few of those things that the dust has been swept away from as I unpack the boxes from the recent move...

Lollipop - my first and only doll growing up - I was a bit of a tomboy and loved playing with dump trucks and lego! My sister had all the barbie dolls - I just never went there. Even though Lollipop would have had a hard life being dragged around on family holidays and sleepovers (and maybe a ride or two in the washing machine) she has hung in there! I remember mum making all her outfits, PJ's, skirts, dresses, and even an evening dress! Ooh and I can't forget that hat - that is her hair under there!

My favourite plaster and stone decorated jar made by 3 year old Me with a little help from Mrs Duschane and Mrs Kerr at Preschool - the plaster is chipping away and stones are falling off every time i pick the jar up but it can still hold stuff and looks very cool - It has lived on my desk since forever!

My (old) collection of knitting and crocheting patterns - from way back when - this stash doesn't include the ones that were published since I was born!

A few highlights from the stack

I just love the cover of this book

and this - fabulous purple outfit but would you swim in it at the beach?

Fragrant crochet bag - it's been living in my undies drawer for at least 20 years. I had forgot about it until I started packing up the house in the Blue Mountains! It no longer has a lovely fragrance and the colours have faded slightly but I made it! It even has a chain stitch string to hang it up with! 

I have only scratched the surface - Is it just me or do other people hold onto the little things from their past ...

cold as ice...

Winter is really settling in now. Mornings are reaching zero and ice is formed think on the car windows each morning! 

So Mr, being the industrious soul, thought we should get the fire in the house going to save on those rising electricity bills. Just one thing, we have no fire wood. Great news Mr says one day after work, 'I've found some FREE firewood' 

Free?

But surely there was a catch? 

Of course there was!

I was to be dragged out of bed one Saturday morning with chainsaws blaring and sawdust flying everywhere, so we could get this wonderful FREE firewood! Fantastic, the wood has been chopped in rounds, on the trailer, and eventually in our backyard. Then the hard work begins! To chop up the wood and stack it! (What a gentleman - I only had to stack the wood) After this lovely day out, we gather some kindling to get ready for a toasty night in front of the fire. Too easy right? 

WRONG!

I leave Mr to light the fire only to find there is smoke oozing from the door of the fire, the fire alarms letting out their ear peircing shrieks, and eventually there is a thick layer of smoke forming from the ceiling nearly to the tops of our heads! After several persistent attempts to keep the fire going and finally a further inspection, Mr announces that the flue is blocked! 

So, while we wait for the real estate agent to get things sorted (oh the joys of renting!) and try to rid the house of the smokey aroma we are curled up on the lounge wrapped in good old blankets and doonas!

I also couldn't resist in dragging out the trusty "purple people heater"!

Made me thankful we don't have to go to this much trouble anymore!