Gephart836

Bloomin' Great

2012-01-27T21:40:00.000-05:00

Geraniums

Paperwhites

African Violets

I think there is something magical about flowers on my windowsill blooming in the middle of winter.

Toodles...L x ♥

P.S. I just caught site of my garden daffodils poking their little heads out checking for spring. I squealed with excitement!

I ♥ daffodils.....

And then there were.....

2012-01-26T19:27:00.003-05:00

I'm going to get into some SERIOUS trouble if someone doesn't block Craigslist on every computer within a 100 mile radius and ban me from the local flea market.

Yes, it's another machine.

I won't tell you how many I have now, but if this keeps up I'll need another hand to count them on.

Here is my latest find.

Singer 66 - lovely 'Red Eye' decals

1919 - same year as my house and that's why I bought it right? right???

Pricely Sum - $20 tooo hard to say no at that price

* * * :: Before :: ***

Actually not quite before, she was covered in cobwebs, but luckily no spiders.

*** :: After :: ***

Looking far less rusty and much more shiny.

I've put my hand crank on her because I can't convince the Mister to work on her wiring. Fairly certain that he won't appreciate my handy work with wiring and me burning the house down.

She sews like a dream.

Must be off! I promise to stay well clear from Craiglist now and the Flea Market. But I will tell about the other machine that came home with me last weekend too another time.

....oh my gooodnesss....
....i think i need help...

Toodles....L x ♥

P.S. Please excuse crap lighting and overloaded kitchen table, also affected by crap.

What Comes Next?

2012-01-21T18:50:00.003-05:00

Sorry for so long between posts, I've been catching up on housework since our return home from holiday and trying to hold onto the 'holiday buzz'. I won't bore you with tales from the Magic Kingdom, although we did have a most fantastic time.

Naturally of course I took a little knitting with me. Much to the horror of my boss (who was convinced I'd never make it through security with needles) and my children. But knitting a few rows took my mind off (just a little) my fear of flying and helped me wind down afer long days of walking.

A fabulous little pattern this one was. All knit and no purl, perfect for my simple knitting skills. The wool I used was from a scarf I crocheted some time back and unravelled. It didn't crochet well, it was quite stiff, but it has knitted up very nicely. The stitches look a bit wibbly-wobbly, but I think that is mostly because the yarn was crinkly from being frogged and not my crap knitting skills.

Because my brain can never be focused on just one project, I've also been slipping in some crocheted squares when I've had the odd spare minute.

Not sure where these squares will take me, but they come together quickly and give me a break from knitting.

Speaking of which......after a long 5 hour car journey last Sunday, one sad good bye and too many tears leaving Big J at university the Mister indulged me and took me to a lovely yarn shop by Big J's university.

I cannot speak highly enough of the lovely lady at Mosiac. She was most helpful and more importantly very patient while I picked out some lovely yarn and a pattern to get started on during our long trip home. Normally I can hold it together quite well when we say good bye, not so much this time. Thank goodness for a lovely husband and local yarn shop.

Just a simple ladies vest which will hopefully (fingers crossed tightly) be my first proper knitted garment. It's going well so far and the wool is super duper soft!

Of course even with these two projects on the go my mind is buzzing with ideas and drifting onto other things I am itching to make. I am trying VERY hard this year to stay focused - no more than two projects at a time. Of course I haven't clarified whether that is two projects of one craft at a time or two projects total. So I could end up with two knitting projects, two crochet projects....Help me!!!

Toodles...L x ♥

Home Again :: Home Again

2012-01-13T11:25:00.001-05:00

We're home now from an absolutely amazing vacation.

I can't feel my feet, but that's OK because I'm still on a Disney high. I never knew I could walk so far and for so long. The 'magic' sure does keep you going.

Will stop by again as soon as I get stuck into tackling "Mount Washmore".

How does one vacation create so much dirty washing?

Toodles... L x ♥

P.S. I tried to blog while I was at Disney from my iPad, but it kept telling me I had reached my blogger capacity for photos. Does anyone have any advice on that?

Eeekkkk!

2012-01-06T16:20:00.000-05:00

.......my first Saroyan scarf is finished!

I absolutely L ♥ V E D every second knitting this sweet little scarf. Perfectly perfect pattern for this novice knitter.

I've already worn it to work two days!

But I won't be wearing it next week.

'Cos next week the Gephart clan is travelling south.....

South to warmer lands....

South to see the M O U S E !!!!!

Needless to say this household is a eeking and squeaking with excitement as this is our first trip to see the Mouse!

So I'll be absent from my little blog for a week (nothing new there). But I'll be back with Mouse stories for sure.

Toodles....L x ♥

Saroyan Snow

2012-01-03T19:37:00.000-05:00

It's snowing at our house.

Nothing remarkable about that.

What is remarkable is my knitting.

Started on December 28th....

and still going strong!!!!!

In fact it's nearly done.
I love this easy peasy pattern.

Toodles...L x ♥

Getting Things Done

2012-01-02T18:19:00.001-05:00

I've not made any resolutions for this new year. I am utterly hopeless with them. I did resolve at 8:00am on the 1st not to give into Little J's 'Pester Power' and then found myself having a weak moment at 11:12am. So I said phooey to all New Year resolutions and resolved not to make any. I have however decided that 2012 will be the year of 'getting things done'. Which basically means, tackling the cr@p I've been putting off!

Lining the a little pouch I knitted and felted with what I consider 'great success', but feared lining and tackling the zip.

Using my 'surprise' birthday pressie from the Mister - YES another sewing machine - a VERY sweet white Singer Featherweight. First time in 16 years the Mister has actually managed to surprise me.

Finally finishing the final round of my sampler blanket AND photographing it. It's been finished for a few weeks, but by heck it's been hard to get a decent photo of it.

Using the fine, but cold weather to get an outside snap of it's beautiful colours and stitches.

Middle J and I FINALLY tackled the wall in the living room. Thanks to an ice storm two years ago and some dodgy gutters and downspouts and a leaky chimney the wall got VERY wet outside, which caused the paint to bubble inside. Gutters have been replaced, chimney removed so I plucked up the courage to tackle it with my scraper, along with Middle J's help. Who knew this old, cold, horsehair plaster wall had once been painted red?

For the first time ever I'm attempting to grow some Paper whites inside - seems to be going very well so far.

Yes, your eyes don't deceive you this is ANOTHER sewing machine. I finally decided to tinker with an old (1910 to be precise)Franklin treadle machine the Mister picked up over the summer. I've mastered the problem with the needle - it was too short - but now I have to master the actually treadling bit! Who knew it was so jolly hard?

It's hard to believe this old machine is older than our house!

Well I've tackled alot today and I'm feeling quite good about it. I have however just been informed that I haven't tackled the dinner yet, so I best get cracking and feed my hungry men-folk.

Hope your New Year is getting off to a great start too.

Toodles...L x ♥

:: Happy New Year ::

2012-01-01T21:47:00.001-05:00

May the New Year bring you peace, hope and happiness.

How I Spent Christmas....

2011-12-26T16:45:00.000-05:00

I know normal people spend Christmas Day with family enjoying the festivities, but as its just 'us', meaning me and my boys with no family for a few hundred miles, we don't normally leave the house on Christmas Day. So as to be expected, once the gifts were opened, the turkey was in the oven and I was orphaned to the XBox I decided it was time to tinker with a recent Etsy purchase (oh and enjoy my amaryllis which has four of the most magnificent flowers).

You see the evening before I decided to give the my little Singer 99 a 'go' after Big J had rewired the motor and foot pedal for me. It's a little beauty of a machine which I purchased for the pricely sum of $20 on Etsy. Quite similar in size to my Featherweight 221-1.

Of course, despite all my cleaning, oiling and TLC there was still a problem with the tension. So I took it upon myself to take the tension button apart.

A huge mistake!

I mean H U G E

and I knew it the second I did it.

I scoured the Internet, swore profusely at it, stomped my feet and even shed a tear and I still couldn't get the button back together properly.

One major melt down later I decided that even though it was Christmas Eve, and most people would not be reading email, that I would email a very nice gentleman who had pestered in the past with my endless questions about old sewing machines. He's a lovely chap and I do encourage you to stop by his blog if you're even the tiniest bit interested in purchasing an old machine.

Much to my surprise and luck, he replied most promptly on Christmas Day! I was thrilled beyond belief and with his clever guidance and pages he sent from an old Singer manual I managed to get my old sewing machine humming along quite nicely within a couple of hours.

Isn't it just amazing who you can meet and what you can find on the internet? It really is the most resourceful tool ever and you can meet the friendliest of people. I never would have gotten this machine fixed if it wasn't for my internet 'friend'.

So while the men-folk fought the evils on the XBox and the turkey browned up nicely (perhaps a tiny bit too brown) in the oven, the Singer 99 and I finished up my little Christmas Quilt.

A wee bit late for this year, but it will bring fond memories for next year.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas!

Toodles...L x ♥

♥ Merry Christmas ♥

2011-12-24T17:05:00.003-05:00

Merry Christmas!

All the best to your and your family on this wonderful day.

Toodles...L x ♥

Sweet Stitching

2011-12-20T20:32:00.000-05:00

I believe this festive season has made my arms long and my pockets short. Normally it is quite the reverse.

After looking longingly at many many issues of the 'Molly Makes' magazine I finally succumbed and bought a copy.

It was the little 'free gift' of embroidery that really got me.

The magazine is very sweet, but at $12 it's a wee bit pricey for me. Of course as it has travelled across the pond, I quite understand the high cost in this country.

I loved every minute stitching these little girls. I really wish we had a magazine like this on our side of the pond. Or perhaps that it was more within my budget.

I promise to be back before the 25th, but in the meantime I will wish you all a very merry holiday season.

Toodles...L X ♥

PS - I must do more embroidery in the dark winter months. Scanning wins hands down over trying to take a photo with dodgy light!

44

2011-12-12T20:26:00.001-05:00

It was 8:07am before I realized today was the first day of my 44th year on this planet.

I only remembered because Little J said

"Mummy, what's the date today?".

Yes, the Mister had forgotten too. But that's OK, there was ice cream cake when I got home and the most wonderful pressie ever!!!!

Toodles...L x ♥

P.S. It was a 'well planned in advance pressie', not something he picked up quickly on the way home, so he hadn't actually forgotten.

From No. 23

2011-12-09T17:41:00.001-05:00

The other day, perhaps just a few weeks back I discovered the most delightful blog. The lovely lady behind this fabulous blog has the most adorable dog, Milly, is super talented at quilting, knitting and many many more crafty creations and of course writes the most delightful blog. I love her writing style and her posts always make me smile.

Anyway, after reading this post I fell in love with the little guy. I was overwhelmed with joy when his creator offered to make one just for me!

Yes!

Just for me!

He arrived today, along with his travelling companions.

There were tears when I opened the parcel.

I was lost for words.

The Mister was in awe. I don't think his smile could have been any bigger.

I'm thinking this little group will not be stored away after the Christmas.

I'm thinking this little group will ALWAYS have pride of place on my mantel.

Thank you No.23!

Toodles...L x ♥

P.S. These guys are teeny tiny. Baby Jesus has to be smaller than my little finger and I have very small hands!

Camera in a Coma

2011-12-07T17:33:00.001-05:00

I have found that since the nights are drawing close earlier and earlier - meaning by the time I get home at 5:30pm it's pitch black - that this early darkness, along with my full-time job that barely lets me see the light of day during the winter, as set my camera into a sleepy little coma and I find little to no time to take photos that are worthy of my blog. Those two days a week when I am home seem to slip by entirely too fast before I get my camera clicking.

However, I have used a few of my precious weekend hours to do a little early morning quilting before the men-folk of the Gephart rise.

I use the patterns from this book which I ad♥re! If cyou are ontemplating venturing into the world of quilting, starting small is the way-to-go. It's what got me hooked.

I love to sew/knit/crochet and listen to a good movie, usually one I've seen a few thousand times before, so watching the screen is not always necessary. At the moment I'm hooked on Larkrise to Candleford. I've downloaded all three of the seasons currently available on iTunes and I have watched all of them numerous times. Yes all three season at least twice each - working from home has its advantages.

I'm enjoy putting together little stars to make a teeny tiny little quilt. They come together quickly and are easy peasy to make. I'm not wild about the fabric - not sure what I was thinking when I bought these patterns, but oh well. I might try a little tea staining to age the quilt abit when I am done.

What I am really L♥VING is the machine I'm using to put them together. As you may or may not remember, I have two vintage machines already (this one and this one), both of which I find far more pleasing to use than my modern electronic one that has been banished to the cupboard.

The other day, while the Mr. was perusing the dusty shelves of a newly found flea market he spotted a sad and rather grim looking Singer 66 on a bottom shelf looking rather forlorn, but with the wonderful price of just $20. I was dubious about the purchase - it was covered in dust, grime and cobwebs and the cord had practically disintegrated. But the Mr. was certain that she was worth her price tag and perhaps a few bob more. Before I knew it she was bought and in the boot of my car.

After some serious cleaning and removal of her motor, we found some wonderful shiny bits, quite a few scratches and not much left of her decals, but that was all forgive once we discovered she's been around since 1925!!!!

It took quite a bit oiling to get her bits moving again and after a little rummaging on the WWW I was able to find her a little hand crank, so her motor was no longer needed.

Yes, she looks a wee bit rough (better in real life, the photos are crap due to lack of sunshine) and I believe she has been well used, but if I look this good and still operational when I am 86 years old I think I'll be quite happy.

She sews like a dream with her new hand crank, even though it has taken some getting use to on my part. I still find my foot looking for the sewing pedal each time I use her! It makes me chuckle.

The mister has promised to fix her little box, it's looking quite tatty, but he assures me it's all fixable.

I have not admit that she is not the first sewing machine 'we' (that being me AND the Mr. - I will not accept responsibility for our 'collection' alone) have rescued this year. Yes there are more, well just two, but I'll show you those another day.

So if your in the need of a sewing machine, I highly recommend searching the shelves of your local flea market/thrift/charity shop. These old beauties sew like a charm.

Must be off! I smell the dinner burning.....again....

Toodles....L ♥ xxx

P.S. Speaking of burning the dinner.

I made Green Bean casserole last night, a special request from Little J. This is something that I normally only make on Thanksgiving or Christmas, but he was persistent in his request for his 'favorite' dish.

Two bites into he says "Mum, this doesn't taste like the one you made on Thanksgiving. Did you do something different?".

One guess what I did different?

Yes, that's right, I ever so slightly over-cooked (they were dark brown not black, so I shan't say I burnt them)the french fried onions which I put on top and then hastily mixed them in!!!

Needless to say Little J didn't want to eat his green bean casserole.

Lantern Embroidery

2011-11-30T17:25:00.001-05:00

I've been struck down by the dreaded lurgy this week, but I've been fortunate to be able to work from home whilst overseeing the various workman going to and fro. They've been making every effort possible to leave as many muddy footprints in my house as possible. I swear they searched out every muddy puddle in my garden before traipsing through my house.

Oh well, my house is toasty warm again with a fancy new heating system.

Anyway I've just popped by to ask your ideas on the lovely linens I found the other day at a flea market for the pricely sum of $6.00. Hard to believe such beautiful handwork could be bought so cheaply. This little set is three napkins and a table cloth. I'm not sure what to do with it, I fear using it for table coverings living in a house with 1 boy and 3 men. They have no regard for such beautiful stitches.

Do you have suggestions?

I would love to hear your ideas.

Toodles....L x ♥

All Set

2011-11-24T09:00:00.001-05:00

Now I have some very simple fingerless mitts to go with my hat! As much as this yarn made me cry when I bought it, now I'm really really really in l♥ve with it! Just need to win the lottery before I can purchase more.....

Happy Thanksgiving to all those who are enjoying the day!

Must be off.

I have a date with a rather large bird and the oven.

Fingers crossed.

Turkey + Oven + Me = Disaster.

Wish me luck!

Toodles...L x ♥

P.S. The lacy edge on my mitts/hat is just Stylecraft - love this yarn too, even more so because lottery winnings not required to purchase it.

Almost Done!

2011-11-16T17:49:00.001-05:00

My crochet sampler blanket is nearly done. Despite the craziness of my life at the moment. I think it is my all time favorite crochet blanket. Every second of making this has been a joy and I've learnt a few new stitches which I just love.

But before we get on to my blanket, take a look at these beautiful trees on our street. All the other trees have lost their leaves, but not these ones, they are just now looking magnificent. I don't ever remember these trees being so vibrant.

I snuck these photos in today when the men I have in my house were up in the attic. Yes I have a man in, actually men in! Sounds exciting doesn't it? But it's not, rather stressful actually.

Anyway, they already think I'm a little nutso, so they didn't need to see me taking photos of my street and my crochet. so these were taken in haste.

So please ignore their crappiness.

Bobble Stitch is one of the new stitches I learnt, kinda fun, but a bit of a yarn hog.

BTW - Should you ever consider installing a brand new type of heating system into your 100 year old house, be prepared for stressful times. I never knew I would be so protective of my little house!

Crochet Cable Stitches (those teal ones) - Loads of fun, my favorite new stitch I think!

I also never knew that forced air heat would involve making so many holes in my hardwood floors and horsehair plaster ceilings - oh my! I'm not sure if I would now prefer my rusty old hissing steam radiators over many many holes....hmmmm...too late now I guess.

X Stitch Crochet (those blurring light purple ones), another cool new stitch.

I also never knew that a long brown sausage dog (Sally) could bark so much! Every time the workmen moved she barked - silly old goose she is. Woof! Woof! Woof! Is all I heard for 6 hours today whilst I was working from home.

Random Crochet Stitching - every row is different, which I found starting a new row exciting every time.

Another thing I also never knew was how many wet leaves one workman can drag through my house. Don't workmen know how to wipe your feet? Tomorrow I'm putting up a sign - either that or I'm going to the office to work!

Now I've just made it to the final round - the edge of my Crochet Sampler Blanket. I'm attempting a picot edge, but I'm not sure about it just yet. What do you think?

And here she is in all her glory! Almost done. Almost.....isn't she a beauty???

I have a feeling my life is going to be chaotic till the new year with two other projects which involve workmen scheduled for before Christmas and adult children coming and going from the house multiple times which require Mr. VW's chauffeur services.

Oh and then there's Christmas. I believe someone said today it's only 38 days away! Yikes! I haven't even thought about it yet....oh my!

Well thank you for stopping by this evening, I hope your world is slightly less chaotic than mine!

Toodles...L x ♥

Life

2011-11-14T17:44:00.001-05:00

Life has been seriously getting in the way of blogging these days, but fortunately not creating, only photograph taking. So as I left work this evening with my poorly neglected blog weighing heavily on my mind, the sky caught my eye and I took this terrible photo with my Blackberry. Honestly, the sky was gorgeous, but the photo is seriously crap. Now I must admit I took this photo with great haste for fear of being caught by one of my co-workers - most of whom already think I'm completely bonkers.

I promise to catch up with you all in the next day or two. I love this little blog and refuse to let it suffer any longer.

Toodles.... L x ♥

That's That Then

2011-11-02T19:31:00.000-04:00

Do you remember this post? I honestly thought there was something wrong with the way I knit, but based on your lovely and very helpful comments I appeared to be wrong. Then my lovely friend Louise sent me this link and I thought "Ah ha! That's it! That's how people knit so fast and don't drop their right needle." Not only was there another way to knit, called 'Continental', but my style of knitting had a name too 'Throwing'.

I thought it was my "ah ha" moment, it looked easy peasy and sounded fancy, this "Continental" knitting. I had visions of cardigans literally flying off my needles. Rushed to grab my trusty needles and wool and set to work studying the video.

And my 'ah ha' moment vanished as quickly as it appeared.

So I am now FULLY resigned to my knitting technique. There is nothing 'continental' about my knitting, no fancy sounding name for me, I am and will always be a "Thrower".

Rest easy knitting needle stash, there will be no bonfire, but you must be content with my no classy, needle chucking (throwing) technique.

Toodles... L x

P.S. I have to admit other names of my knitting have come to mind - Thrower - Chucka - Tossa??? Ok that last one isn't very appropriate, but it did give me a little chuckle.....

Catching Up....

2011-10-30T15:02:00.001-04:00

Actually, I'm not sure it's possible for me to catch up on anything these days, I have more projects on the run that I could be creating for the next 10 years it seems. If you dare, take a look at my current on-the-go nonsense:

:: My Sampler Blanket - which is coming along very nicely. I love working on this blanket, the prospect of a different stitch each row is quite exciting. I've even managed to teach myself a few new fancy stitches.

:: Granny Stripe Blanket - yes still a work in progress after more than a year (yikes). To be honest I only work on this one when I catch it out of the corner of my eye and it makes me feel guilty. I adore the colours and of course love the stripes and can't figure out why I find it such a chore.

:: Sea Blue & Grey Ripple - after the disaster of a cardigan and the random purl row in the midst of all the garter stitch I did the least sensible thing EVER. I bought a ton of lovely grey wool and decided to have another go!!!! Like different wool would make a difference - WRONG. Well my second attempted lasted two days before it was thrown in the corner during a little temper tantrum. In order to lift my spirits I decided to combine both lots of wool/yarn and get to work on a ripple, because there is nothing more soothing than rippling back and forth on a ripple. It's working and its taken my mind of building a little bonfire with my knitting needles.

:: Little J Cascade Blanket - Yes you read that right, another blanket. Well I haven't started it YET,although the wool is calling me......lovely Cascade 220 Heathers.

So it appears I'm stocking piling again for some world blanket shortage. However, if the weather we had yesterday were to continue for the winter, we're going to need all the blankets we can get. I think we ended up with about 4 inches.

Fortunately (or unfortunately for my blanket madness) the sun is shining today, although it's a wee bit chilly out.

Thank you for dropping by for a little visit today.

I must be off as there are two big orange pumpkins ready to be carved as it's Trick or Treat night in our neighborhood tonight.

Happy Sunday!

Toodles . . . . L

One of Those Days.......

2011-10-16T19:14:00.001-04:00

Today has been "one of those days".....it's only saving grace, it was SUNDAY.

Today I have:

finally admitted defeat on my cardigan knitting project - I had added a safety line when I started the sleeves and all seemed to be going well until I removed the safety line and discovered a random row of purl stocking stitch on my ALL garter stitch cardie! I finally admitted defeat. Secretly though I think I was relieved as it was starting to become a chore and I didn't like the way it was turning out. I've started this instead with the yarn.
dropped a dozen eggs on the way home from the supermarket - yes they all broke. I salvaged 4 to make a quick omelet when I got home.
picked the final flowers from my garden, only to discover that it wasn't just flowers I picked - thank you Mr. VW from escorting the spider (eek!!!!) and ladybird outside.
discovered a horrendous crack in our front stairs which runs up one wall, across the steps and completely through the other wall - yikes!!!!!!

On the upside, tomorrow is Monday and I have the day off. Yipppeee!!!!!

Thank you all for your well wishes for Linus. He seems to be a tiny bit brighter today and this afternoon he even managed to bark at some deer which were passing by the back fence, which he hasn't done in ages. He has three more trips to the vet this week for fluids to help flush out his kidneys - my fingers are still tightly crossed.

Thank you SO much for stopping by today, your comments are so uplifting and really the highlight to my days.

Toodles.... L x ♥

Peas, Carrots & Pegs

2011-10-15T14:32:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy two weeks here at the Gephart and my apologies for my long absence. There just doesn't seem to have been a spare moment in the day lately.

I spent the last two weeks tending to our little Jack Russell, Linus who has been quite unwell - the vet even said he seemed depressed! That has worried me to no end for some reason as I never know that dogs could get depressed, but he certainly has not been himself. Hopefully now he's on the mend now, we have our fingers crossed tightly for him.

Today for the first time in days he had the energy to come out into the garden with me. It's mighty windy here today, so I had to make sure he was rugged up warm in his coat. We harvested the rest of our carrots and while my back was turned I found him having a little munch! A very good sign.

Before Big J hopped off to college at the end of summer he sowed some more peas which we are now enjoying. This is probably the only batch that made it from the garden to the kitchen. Not many, but I'll pop them in the Shepard's Pie tonight along with the carrots.

I had a few fleeting spare moments the other night to whip up a little peg bag for a dear friend's birthday. I made her one last year and this year she asked for another - one to take out to the garden washing line and one for her washing line in the basement. She's one of the few Americans I know that realizes there are ways to dry clothes that don't involve a dryer.

It's a gloriously sunny, but windy day here today and I have plans to plant more bulbs in my garden. The trees are looking magnificent with their Autumn colours and I hope to be able to pop out for walk this afternoon to take a few snaps. I haven't taken any this year and the leaves are falling fast.

Well I must be off. Little Linus is due for some 'afternoon tea'. He's on five meals a day as we're under instructions to fatten him up and he's loving every minute of it.

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend.

Toodles....L x ♥

Sampler Blanket

2011-10-02T14:42:00.001-04:00

Brrrrr.....

I've just come in from outside where I thought I could spend a few minutes working on my latest project.

Silly me.

It's freezing outside. Probably explains why the Mister has turned the heat on. Mind you, I'm not complaining. After a long hot summer I'm loving this cool weather. We've even had a few flurries of snow up the road about 8 miles on top of the mountain.

So I've hauled my new project and my *new* basket back inside and will try to block out the sounds of Little J blasting zombies on the XBox and enjoy a few more hooky lines on this lovely Sunday afternoon.

I must say, the nasturtiums are enjoying the cool weather. After 12 years of living in this house and planting them without fail every year, this is the first time they have grown and flourished. I ♥ love ♥ these flowers. They remind me of the cool winters in Perth and how they grew like weeds in our back yard. No annual planting necessary, they just popped up through the rocks of our terraced backed yard.

In a real leap of faith this year the Mister and I decided to purchase an apple tree. We don't have particularly green thumbs and our home is also occupied by a small boy re-known for severing limbs off of trees and other various greenery when he's outside pretending to save the world from evil.

It's sort of a fancy apple tree. A wee bit pricey, but that's because it's been grafted. It should, in theory grow 5 different types of apples. Yes 5! Thus allowing us to have just one tree in our tiny yard. In fact it had the most delicious apple on it when we purchased it. So fingers crossed that we will a/ follow the instructions provided by the nursery so it will survive till spring and b/ that Little J won't decide that we only need just 4 types of apples.

We've had loads of rain these last two weeks. The ground is very wet and soft, which a certain brown dog (Sally) is thoroughly enjoying. She's dug the deepest hole known to dog-kind and even though her nickname is 'the stomach' she won't even break from digging to come and eat her dinner.

There she is, bum in the air, digging like there is no tomorrow in our old veggie patch.

So back to my new project.

Hmmm...I'm loving this one.

It's a creation out of my head. A sampler blanket of sorts. Just random rows of stitching, making some of them up as I go along, practicing new stitches on find on the w.w.w, but which makes it very difficult for me to ensure I don't increase/decrease the stitches row after row.

A couple of times I've had to employ the counting skills of the Mister to ensure I'm on track. That's because my counting skills are quite crap. It takes but a mere blip in my concentration for me to lose track. It goes something like this for example if I count in two's - 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, 30... You can see where that leads right? Or when I get to 58, 59, 70...like the sixties don't exist at all. Luckily the Mister is quite happy to lend a hand or a count in this case.

Yes, yes, I've added a few stitches and lost a few row after row, but it's still fairly even.

Anyway. I must be off! Although it's Sunday afternoon I must still nip to the shops in order to feed my family this week. They do like food you know. ☺

Happy Sunday!

Toodles . . . . L x ♥

Meant to Be

2011-09-24T17:56:00.002-04:00

I'm having a wonderful Saturday today and thoroughly enjoying the coolness of September after our endless hot summer. The leaves are changing already in our part of the woods and I've decided this could be my favorite season of all. Tomorrow I've got some lovely plans to start planting more bulbs in the garden for spring and I'm actually quiet excited about it - silly as it may seem. The mister has picked out some lovely Irises and Crocuses and of course I'm going for more daffodils.

The delightful tin above was a fabulous find at the thrift store that I fell in love with a few weeks ago. The pattern is sort of embossed and the colours are just so vibrant. There's a few scratches, but I thought it was the perfect home for my latest project - The Red Mare - which I found here. It's the most delightful pattern and the lovely blog owner has offered it for free.

Well I must be off. I hope your weekend is as pleasant as mine.

Toodles . . . . L x ♥

A Quilt for Jasper

2011-09-13T17:59:00.000-04:00

In case you were wondering, it was the dinner burning last night. I'd like to blame a new cooker and a new saucepan, but the general consensus from the rest of the Gephart occupants is that my blog is to blame! How dare they. Anyway, I'm convinced it just a matter of time before blackened french fries are on the menu somewhere.

Speaking of my blog interrupting things around here, if you can believe it the Mister actually asked me as I was about to wrap this little quilt up if I'd taken a photo yet? Without a touch of cheek, he was completely serious. Shocking eh? Of course, he did say it after I'd cooked the dinner, so being well fed he knew blogging wasn't going to get in the way of his stomach.

Actually, now i think about it, it was the Mister who chose the colours for this quilt. Yes he did. He was quite helpful last Friday evening in the fabric store. I don't believe he had an ulterior motive. He's know to be helpful now and then and he knew this was a very important little quilt.

You see this little quilt is for my bosses dog, Jasper. Yes, yes, it's a little quilt for a very little dog. And not the first quilt I've made for this sweet little pooch. He's a love of a little dog and my boss adores him (often admitting she adores him more than her other half, but not in some weird creepy way, if you know what I mean?). So making this little quilt was a real pleasure and I'm 100% certain that Jasper (and his owner) will be well pleased.

Toodles... L x ♥

I am not Alone

2011-09-12T18:35:00.001-04:00

I'm just ducking by very quickly to say a hugmungous thank you for the lovely wonderfully reassuring advice I received on my knitting. Do you know how much of a relief it was to hear that it's ok to drop your right needle? Knowing I'm not the only person who when they drop a stitch it automatically means the entire project will be frogged? I smiled and sighed a big sigh of relief with this wonderful advice from some folks who's knitting I am in awe of and dream to be able to knit like them one day.
So here's what I've done ::

Frogged the cardigan in progress, all except the first three rows. If you can believe it I actually managed to pick up the stitches successfully! (It's amazing how many stitches you can rescue with the pointy end of a stitch holder)
Ditched the stocking stitch and reverted to plain old garter - don't panic I'm making the easiest top down cardigan pattern ever invented.
Chucked the metal needles and reverted to bamboo two sizes up - I seem way more relaxed with bamboo or it's harder for me to make tight little stiches with them.

Bought myself some proper stitch markers - bits of yarn just weren't working as I kept catching them in my knitting. The story of this purchase at my LYS is another story that I hope never to relive. Let's say my LYS is not a place I'll be frequenting anytime soon.
Sighed a very deep sigh of relief, relaxed and found myself a comfying dog/child free place to knit.

And it's working. I'm loving my knitting. Today at lunchtime I knitted a couple of rows AND browsed a magazine. No swearing or dropped stitches and I was smiling at the end of lunch.

Again BIG BIG thank you for your support and advice. Glad to know I'm not alone as I wade into the knitting pool.

Must be off, I believe that's the dinner I smell burning!

Toodles . . . L x ♥

Knitting - What Do I Do Wrong?

2011-09-08T20:18:00.002-04:00

So I finished my hat and in the end the yarn I used was fantabulous.

Best yarn ever.

Unfortunately totally out of my price range for anything larger than a hat. I am VERY pleased with the way it turned out and the fact that this pattern came out of my head. I added a little crochet trim to fancy it up abit. I've worn it round the house the last two nights looking like a complete loon - it's hardly hat weather here.

This hat really got my knitting courage up. Possibly a little too high. In fact, so high I thought I'd take a stab at a cardi. Which I've already started. And which I've already shed tears over.

Yes, bit too ambitious eh?

Here's my problem.

I'm really hoping you experienced knitters out there can help me. You see, my stitches are too tight. I remember my Mum telling me they were too tight when I was a little girl learning to knit. I try really hard to be more relaxed, but I am terrified of dropping stitches. But here lies the problem, if I do drop a stitch, its gone. Poof. Gone. It's almost impossible to pick them back up. If I realized I've flubbed even one stitch on the pattern I am far too terrified to unravel and pick up the stitches as they seem to vanish.

I also can't figure out how to not drop my right needle to wrap the yarn. Everything I read says don't drop your right needle. My books show all the fandangled ways of wrapping the yarn around your fingers so you don't have to drop the right needle. I just end up tying all my fingers together! But I think this might be why my stitches are so tight.

I really really want to knit something other than a hat and at this point it seems all I can manage. At the rate I've knitted hats this last year, I could grow three more heads and still be able to cover them on a chilly day!

I've bought dozens of books and Youtubed myself to death. I don't know anyone locally who knits and I fear I may have to overcome my fear of the snobby ladies at the LYS and join one of their expensive classes.

Please, does anyone have any useful tips for me?

I do hope I'm not alone in this boat.

Well I must be off. I'm off to do some crochet, try and put my knitting in the too hard basket out of sight for a bit as I've run out of tissues and bad words.

Toodles....L x

A Guest For Dinner

2011-08-31T20:16:00.001-04:00

Has fast as Little J left the dinner table this evening, a small old rather cantankerous dog called Linus thought he could slip in unnoticed.

He has his eyes firmly planted on the salad bowl - this dog loves carrots!!!

Don't fret, he was only there long enough for me to take a photo.

Silly old dog.

Toodles... L x ♥

Gift Yarn - The Project Reveal

2011-08-30T19:51:00.002-04:00

I was waylaid on my way to write this post as my lovely Uncle M just rang from London to check in and make sure we survive Irene. He doesn't ring often and he's always such I delight to chat with and I love hearing stories of his new allotment and travels around the U.K.

So I'll be brief, even though I've been dying to finish and share this project made from my lovely gifted yarn.

It's the loveliest softest yarn I have ever worked with and I have since ordered more!

Even ordering this yarn from across the pond it still works out way cheaper than any yarn I can buy locally as shipping from here is free! Oh and the service was fantastic.

I knew as soon as I saw this yarn that I would make the lovely Louise's Granny Shawl Pattern.

I absolutely love it.

I can't wait for the cool weather so I can use when I sit on my front verandah or watch Little J run at the park or on the chilly cold winter evenings in our old drafty house.

Thank you -Thank you - Thank you Louise

for sending me this delicious yarn!

Must be off!

Toodles... L x ♥

A Short Woolie Tale

2011-08-28T12:03:00.004-04:00

I do promise to try and keep this short.....

I trip to Blacksburg to drop off Big J resulted in the surprise discovery of a yarn/wool shop right next to our favorite burger joint.

What a lovely surprise I thought?

The Mister gave me permission to make a small purchase, but as the boys were waiting ~~impatiently~~ happily in the car, I had to make my purchase in haste.

With the goal to stretch my $$ as far as possible, I bee-lined it for the sale bin - 50% off.

Hastily made a selection based on colour and softness...

Fell head over heels in love with two skeins...

Glanced quickly at the price...

Restored my eyeballs back to sockets...

Succumbed to pushy sales assistant pushyness...

Made purchase...

Ran to car...

Instantly had the worst case of buyers remorse...

I mean the worst case EVER, the sick to my stomach what-on-earth- have-I-done worst.

Even at 50% off this yarn was SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive than any yarn I've ever bought. Plus the colour didn't seem quite the same once I got a really good look at it.

How the heck did I fall in love with this????
I very nearly wept. (Of course I was already a tad teary eyed with saying goodbye to the Big J.)

For the six hour car journey home I randomly stroked my yarn, trying my bestest to love it again.

Devised various plans to make something brilliant so my love would be restored.

After the journey to Blacksburg and back I was exhausted and the yarn was promptly plopped in my woolie basket.

On Friday night, in the quiet of my bedroom, the boys downstairs saving the world on the XBOX, I tried knitting with it, casting on and off several times and when that failed crocheting with it to no avail.

Saturday night, determined to make something with this expensive purchase I cast on enought stitches to make a make-it-up-as-you-go-along hat with my pointy DPNs. (Clearly at this point I'd lost my mind.)

Watched some bang bang shoot 'em movie with my boys....

And fell in love with my yarn again!

So much so that the Mister has even entertained the idea of me buying more of this yarn to make a cardigan.

Nuts eh?

Must be off!

Toodles...L x ♥

Sunny Sunday

2011-08-28T11:45:00.002-04:00

Just a beautiful breezy cool sunny Sunday here today.

Just the weather I like.

I've been for a little potter around the garden to enjoy my flowers.

I was delighted to see that the tomatoes I'd grown from seed, which grew SOOOO SLOOOOOWLY once I put out of the garden, had sprung out of no where in the midst of the marigolds and had tiny little drop shaped fruit growing!

Yippee!

I hope the weather with you is as beautiful as it is here.

Happy Sunday!

Toodles L x ♥

What A Week

2011-08-25T18:06:00.002-04:00

We've had quite a week this last week at the Gephart. To be honest, it's been a bit exhausting.

So far we've

Made the 12 hour round trip journey to take the Big Boy back to school.
Prepared the Little Man for the 4th grade.
Been a little shaken by an earthquake
And are now preparing for the Hurricane.

Only two calls and one text from Big J with "Oh Mum, I forgot"..and.."Oh Mum, I need xyz or $". Not too bad really considering we left a whole box of stuff behind!

Little Man rose at the crack of dawn yesterday (even after going to bed at 11:30pm)and had a thumbs up first day of the 4th grade.

Yes, we felt the ground move Tuesday. To be honest, at first I thought I was having a "turn", even after experiencing several earthquakes when I lived in California. Luckily, just a little shake to break up another boring day at work. Little Man and Middle J were at home on the beloved XBox and never felt a thing!

Well the hurricane thing is debatable. It's not supposed to come anywhere near our neck of the woods/mountains, however, Middle J is supposed to go down to his friends house on the coast in Virginia on Saturday. So he is most definitely not amused that a Category 3 hurricane has booked the same time to arrive there.

So that's my week folks!

Bring on the weekend.....

Toodles...L xo ♥

P.S. I know the typewriter has nothing to do with my week, but isn't it cool? Little J found it at a flea market for $10 and it's just too cool. We've spent the week typing messages to each other - loads of fun.

I Made This!

2011-08-21T15:51:00.001-04:00

My apologies for the long delay, but I will keep this short and sweet and spare you the details of my absence.

I am very proud of this little knitted bag - YES - knitted! Honestly, yes honestly, I knitted it - seed stitch too!

I've discovered the more you knit the better you get at it!

Must be off. Promise not to leave it so long again.

Toodles... L x ♥

Pattern: Apart from the mistakes, I did my best to follow a lovely little pattern in this book.

Wednesday

2011-08-03T20:36:00.003-04:00

Hello!

Happy middle of the week to you.

I hope you are all having a lovely week and the weather is treating you nicely. The weather here has been quite generous today and dropped a few degrees. We even got a few spots of rain today and for that I am very grateful. My poor wee garden has had to put forth quite an effort to stay green this summer. In fact, it's hanging on my a thread. Along with a terribly hot summer, there seems to be a zillion more bugs than ever. Every time I go into the garden to water I end up with a gnat in my eye! What is it with gnats? And why do they thing my eyes are a good place to hang out? My boss is even less fortunate, she always ends up with one up her nose!
Anyway, I've just dropped by ever so quickly to thank you all for your lovely comments on my basket. I'm certain with some practice I could improve my basket weaving skills. Anyway, my last little effort, once I've lined it with some fabric, is destined to carry my pegs (clothespin for my US readers).

Speaking of baskets, I've been on a bit of a mission recently to find myself a good project basket. I'd had my eye on one of these (just like my Mum had), but the cost of shipping was just ridiculous! One eBay seller estimated the cost of shipping at $100 US! There was no way I could talk the Mr. into allowing that purchase. Heck, I'm not sure I could have talked myself into it! Anyhow, whilst browsing a local thrift/antique mall I came across this beauty for a mere $4.00. I'd discovered many many baskets in the store, but they were either well over priced or too flimsy. This one was stuffed under a table and filled with magazines and a very happy bargain for me. Not quite what I wanted, but it will suit perfectly.

Of course, I took a few minutes to line the basket so my needles and hooks and such wouldn't fall through the cracks and get lost. I've never lined a basket before. It wasn't an easy task, but it also wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I quite pleased with the results.

Anyway, there I've managed to ramble on for a day after only intending to type up a few lines.

Must be off.

It's Wednesday and as usual I must go watch my favorite show.

Toodles....L x ♥

P.S. I just wanted to say, very quickly, a huge thank you to all the lovely people who spend a few moments of their day to tap tap out a little comment on my blog posts. They really truly do make my day. It's so lovely to have the support of so many people!

Basket Case

2011-07-31T12:51:00.004-04:00

Last Sunday, or perhaps it was the Sunday before as I've lost track of the days with the sweltering heat we've been having, we took a little jolly down to Harper's Ferry. If you've been reading my blog for too long, you may recall I went there once before when the weather was the complete opposite.

Needless to say, the sun was blistering hot, my companions (of the smaller variety) complained endlessly. And I mean ENDLESSLY - to the point where I was either going to cry or run off screaming - I believe I may have shouted once and turned a few heads (oops, mega embarrassment).

The intolerable heat only worsened the situation.

I therefore took no photos.

Not a single solitary one.

I did however manage, whilst bribing complaining child with $$, to pick up a little basket weaving kit. Despite my better judgement and the difficulty I had experienced before as apparently I'd lost all sense of good judgement and was hoping for a curing spot of retail therapy.

As it turns out, basket weaving is still not my forte. Unless you'd like a lopsided likely to fall over wobbly basket.

And as it turns out, my lovely friend across the pond knew that my little basket needed all the help it could get and sent me the most delightful crochet flower along with the wonderful yarn she sent me.

Although of course she had no clue I was buggering up the basket weaving process again and a sweet flower would be just the ticket. At least now I have a matching pair of wobbly handmade by me baskets.

Happy Sunday!

I hope your Sunday finds you in a lovely cool place.

Toodles.... L x ♥.

Lucky Me :: Lovely Yarn

2011-07-28T18:51:00.001-04:00

Someone very lovely from across the pond has been ever so kind and sent me the loveliest yarn of all for our little yarn swap.

I have to say this is the nicest yarn I have ever used. It's ever so soft and so easy on the hands - if you know what I mean? It's not the sort of yarn that can make your hand a little tired as you hook along with it.

Since the lovely Louise sent it to me I've discovered (much to the horror of the Mr.) that I can buy this yarn for absolute bargain here. Free shipping too!

Yippee!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Louise, I think I'm in yarn ♥ love.

Must be off to hook - yes, a project already in the works for this loveliness.

Toodles... L x ♥

Total Cr@p

2011-07-26T18:16:00.002-04:00

I am total and utter cr@p at finding stuff on Ravelry and then remembering to put it in my queue. Inevitably I print the pattern in a frenzy of excitement over finding the perfect pattern and then skip off to somewhere else on Ravelry totally forget where I found the pattern to begin with. Or in this case, I copied parts of the pattern excluding the pattern title to a word doc, printed them out and toddled off to start my project.

So if by chance you know where I found this pattern, please please let me know. I'm enjoying the process of adding my 'projects' to Ravelry. If I could only enjoy the process of creating a queue. I think the word 'queue' just stresses me out and makes me impatient!

One thing I did remember to add to my queue was a pattern for another lovely cardigan! I love the overall design, however my plans call for making it much longer. My waist has been long lost to laziness and no-one needs to see where it's supposed to be! ☺ Anyway, it's a lovely pattern don't you think?

After all your encouraging comments on my first attempt, I'm really excited to get started!

Before I rush off to burn the dinner, thank you to the lovely Marinke for giving me the Liebster Blog Award . I'm always nervous to pass this award on to others as I know some are not fond of them plus there are so many lovely blogs out there I wouldn't know where to start. But thank you very much for your kindness!

Toodles... L x ♥

The New Doormat

2011-07-18T18:25:00.000-04:00

If you can believe it and promise not to tell anyone, Big J helped me with this rather fun crochet project.

He seemed to enjoy cutting long continuous strips of Little J's old T-shirts that were too worn/stained to go to the charity shop.

And when he saw the size of the hook I used (it was a biggie, almost too big for my little hand to hold) he even asked to have a little try at crochet! I reminded him that he could crochet quite well when he was 6 and after 13 years he picked it back up quite quickly.

Definitely a fun project and a good way to recycle old T-Shirts.

I believe this one may end up at the back door for the hounds to wipe their feet on.

Toodles..... L x ♥

My First.....

2011-07-14T20:38:00.000-04:00

.....crocheted cardigan!!!!

Well to be technically correct, it's not my first attempt to crochet a cardigan.

Oh no, no, no.

It's actually the fifth, but the other four never made it to the sleeves they went so horribly wrong!!! I even tried knitting a cardigan, but I suck at knitting, so my knitting project was axed quite quickly - simple as that.

Finally, I found this pattern on ravelry (don't you just L♥VE that site???), used completed the wrong yarn (but I do love this yarn), but on attempt number 2, I realized it would only work with some minor 'make it up as you go along' bits. It was super duper easy to modify as you go. That's what I like about crochet as opposed to knitting. You can always rip back a few rows without too much major fuss.

As you can see, I decided to only do the pattern around the yoke of the cardigan. I thought it might get a little 'busy' if I did the entire thing.

Oh and at this point have decided against sleeves. Not because I don't think they'll be super easy, but just because I can't be arsed :-) But that might change and I still have three balls of wool left - it took about 5 balls total.

Now, if you contemplating a crocheting a little bit of woolly goodness to wear, I highly recommend this pattern. It's mega easy. In fact, I feel fairly confident it could be modified to to be just a plain cardigan if you wanted something simple as it's worked from the top down. I simply kept trying it on as I went along and followed the easy peasy instructions for making the armholes once I was comfortable that it was fitting across my shoulders nicely.

Please let me know what you honestly think. The boys agree that it looks very nice on, but Big J thinks the buttons are a bit much. I might have to agree with him.

Now all I need is some cool weather so I can wear it and if I don't fall out of love with in the meantime, then I will definitely make another.

Must be off!

Toodles L x ♥

Featherweight

2011-07-07T20:34:00.001-04:00

So umm what the heck has happened to blogger?

Am I the only one who had a completely new view when logging in?

Not sure what to think right now, but this new view looks promising.

Firstly, thank you for your kind words of cheer from yesterday's post. I'd like to tell you that I'm feeling much better, however I received some news from Down Under this morning that although not unexpected, was a wee bit upsetting. Anyway, I plowed into work today, try to keep my thoughts clear and rushed home to admire this little beauty.

Isn't this the cutest switch ever?

I mean aside from the grime.

Although, you might be a bit grimy if you been hidden in a box for 40 years.

And these little details, seriously cute eh?

Old School details is what I call them.

They don't make stuff like this anymore.

(Do you see the little switch again, still cute ☺ )

And she folds up and packs neatly away into a sweet little box.

Which, with my gold fish brain I forgot to photograph.

And she has all her original 'bits & bobs'. Original manual, all her feet are intact, sweet little light still works (thanks to that cute little switch) and she has her original machine oil and needles.

It was ♥ love ♥ at first site.

She sews like a dream.

I'd like to thank EBay for gently prompting Mr. VW every time he logged in by showing him my recent searches - he knew I'd been admiring these for some time.

And thankful I was blessed with effective haggling skills and a hopeless shop owner who had no clue what she had!

So I got her for a steal

And of course mega big hugs and kisses to the Mister for indulging me when we stumbled across this little beauty over the long weekend lying on the floor of a very clutter thrift/junk/antique shop by the river.

I simply couldn't leave her behind.

Well I must rush off, it's hot and everyone is cranky and I'm in desperate need of a few minutes of hooky goodness before I nod off this evening.

Toodles....L x ♥

P.S. She's a Singer Featherweight 221-1 from 1936 ☺

All Will Be Revealed . . . . . . . . . . .Tomorrow!

2011-07-06T20:17:00.001-04:00

I've been dreaming about this post for days.

However I'm feeling quite low, a little down in the dumps.
I can't for the life of me get the camera to cooperate beyond these two photos.

Soooooo.......to avoid any further misery, all will have to be revealed tomorrow!

Toodles Lx.

Unless of course you figure it out before then.

Which I'm sure you will.

Stealing from the Kids....

2011-06-27T18:47:00.001-04:00

Seriously, there was no way I could let this poor teeny tiny lady end up lost at the bottom of the Lego bucket! Or even worse, sucked up the tube of my vacuum... :-S

Toodles... L x ♥

P.S. Please excuse my dust.

My First Hexagons

2011-06-22T17:59:00.001-04:00

I used to be strongly opposed to hand sewing, but I sure am l♥ving the process of sewing these little beauties together when I get the odd/rare quiet moment.

Happy Wednesday!

Toodles.... L x ♥

Class of 2011

2011-06-21T20:04:00.001-04:00

Middle J did us proud last Thursday graduating with Highest Honors!

It was even more of a surprise than it was with Big J last year to find Middle J's name in the Highest Honors section as he's caused us a tiny bit of grief this last year.

Although he's on the straight and narrow now.

There's my boy (second from the left) slipping us a tiny wave before the ceremony commenced.

We were so close to him in the enormous stadium that I could see the expression on his face.

He was nervous, being one of the first few to walk across the stage.

I was nervous for him.

I looked down at him and it was like time had stood still and I could see his sweet four year old face.

Tissues were needed at this point.....

Of course we swept the instructed "polite applause" aside when they called his name and screamed, whistled and hollered like mad people.

I loved the way he grinned from ear to ear to see me acting like a complete loony in the arena stands.

It was utter bedlam after the ceremony.

There seemed like there was at least 10,000 people milling around all looking for their graduates.

Photos were rushed and as a result I had no time to compose myself.

Let it be noted that I was duly mortified to see how the camera could not have possibly made me look any fatter, my face any shinier or my hair any more disheveled.

I was also slightly disappointed I had entrusted this years graduation photography assignment to Mr. VW. He apparently needs a little brush up on his photography skills. These were the best of the worst photos.

However, I'll forgive him and put it down to his excitement of being caught in the moment watching this amazing young man complete a major milestone in his life.

Love you Middle J - You've done us proud!

Leftovers

2011-06-13T17:55:00.000-04:00

Happy Monday/New Week lovely people!

I'm loving this week for two reasons.

1. I finished my granny left over cushion in record time - less than one week. Used nothing but stash scraps.

Teeny Weeny balls of woolie goodness that you just can't bare to throw away.

2. Day one of my two day work week is over! And you know what that means? I've only got one work day left - which means tomorrow is my normal workday Friday!!!!

YIIIPPPPPEEEEEEE!!!!!

Paid Time Off is the best invention EVER!

Hope your week is going to be as good as mine....

Toodles... L x ♥

Rainy Sunday Sewing

2011-06-12T15:55:00.000-04:00

We've had that crazy rain today. You know the kind that falls by the bucket load with big plip plop plops one minute and stops the next? Sort of a thunderstorm with lightning and thunder, but its' over almost as quick as it begins.

Although the rain put a slight damper on our plans, at least it's cooler, even when the sun comes out.

For that I am very thankful, the humidity has been barely tolerable these last few days.

So I've spent a lovely day rescuing the fabric I destroyed last Sunday in a pathetic attempt to make a blouse for myself.

A seamstress is just another item I'll add to the list of things I CAN'T do. It's right below knitting, but my knitting woes are a story for another day.

So I resurrected my blouse and made myself a pinny!

Or apron as I believe most folks call them.

I even made a rather feeble attempt to embroider a little hen on the front to cheer myself up a little when I wear it. Hopefully push away the frustration I experienced with my blouse sewing disaster.

At least I was able to save this lovely piece of fabric I picked up a few weeks back for next to nothing.

Well I must be off. I've recently secured a lovely new tin of Lyle's Golden Syrup (rare as hens teeth on this side of the pond - mail order only you know) and I'm off to don my pinny and whip up some yummy Anzac Biscuits for our afternoon tea.

Toodles......Lx ♥

Little Brown Cat

2011-06-08T18:57:00.001-04:00

I've been having a little fun with my crochet lately.

This was one of the sweetest and most fun projects I've made in a long time.

It can be found on ravelry here.

I even managed to keep track of my stitches, which in the past has eluded me during my attempts to crochet in the round.

And I even stole some little pellets from Little J's BB Gun to put weights in the feet, hands and bum!

I only wished I had made her nose pink instead of brown.

Big J has requested a Amigurumi in the form of a Virginia Tech Hokie. Only trouble is there doesn't seem to be much calling for a Amigurumi Turkey with big muscles like the Hokie!

So I'm off to hunt the Internet for the elusive Hokie Amigurumi.

Toodles... L x

P.S. Hope the weather is cool where you are. By the time I arrived home this evening the weather man informed me it felt like 100°F outside! Luckily none of the J's had melted after a day at home in the heat.

Swedish Horsey & Ric Rac

2011-06-07T18:03:00.001-04:00

For the record, I L♥VE those little Swedish Dala horses.

I don't own any real ones unfortunately, but I'm saving my pennies.....and thinking wistfully.

In reality, I love anything horsey.

Back in the day, a very long time ago, when I still lived in the land Down Under, when my clothes size was still in the single digits, I owned my very own real live horse.

Her name was Jedda and I loved her dearly for many many years.

But that was a long time ago and now I live on a steep hill with a tiny garden and can only dream of the sweet horse of my youth and the hope that one day I'll be back perusing single digits on the clothing racks.

Anyway, enough of my reminiscing dribble.

Let's take a look at my current sewing/crochet madness shall we?

But you must please excuse crappity crap crap photos.

Our stairwell is barren of much light, especially when it requires keeping the curtain closed for photographic purposes.

So one day while wistfully dreaming of dala horses, I decided to girlie up my stairwell window with these sweet ponies.

And I appliqued some felt horses on to a plain piece of cream fabric.

Do you see my little handmade crochet ricrac?

Pattern courtesy of the lovely Foxes Lane.

And then girlie up the top with a lovely little ruffle and some more ricrac.

Mr. VW, bless him, has declared the hallway a lost cause for all men folk after I demanded he paint it pink a few weeks back.

Being surrounded by so many men folk, I decided at the very least the stairwell could be dedicated to some girlieness.

It's not like anyone hangs out in the stairwell, except maybe the cat.

Righto, better be off to feed my men folk, before they start a protest.

Toodles...Lx

P.S. To be honest, I'm on the fence about this curtain. It's quite silly really, considering their are no small girls in our house. For now it will stay, but I fear by years end (or sooner) it will end up in the back of the cupboard keeping the rest of my 'opps' projects company.

Ughhh......

2011-06-06T20:41:00.001-04:00

Blinking blogger is STILL having problems and won't let me load any photos.

Not even one.... >○○<
I was SO excited to show you what I did with that ric rac I made way back in March!

But blogger has decided otherwise.

My apologies to Big J and Little J for pleading with them to get off XBox Live to I could blog - apparently they weren't the cause of my Internet/blogging woes.

So I'm off to work on my WIP's, but never fear.....

I'll be back!!!!

Good Golly ........

2011-06-03T21:25:00.001-04:00

....blogger has been quite naughty lately hasn't it? I was starting to worry I'd never be able to post a comment on some of the lovely posts I've been reading.

I'd even done some research on moving over to Typepad!

I was starting to feel very despondent about the whole matter.

:: Naughty blogger, you really must behave ::

So to all those lovely blogs that I normally pop by, please forgive me for my absence, I have been reading your wonderful posts and trying like mad to leave comments.

You know I couldn't even stay signed into blogger?

Please tell me I wasn't alone.

It was about driving me crazy.

My fingers are crossed it is fixed now.

And I'll be back shortly to share the ever growing pile of WIP's that I have created in the last few weeks - I've had a terrible attack of startitis

Don't laugh or be shocked, you all know how I am and I know I'm not ALONE!

Happy weekend lovely readers!

Toodles L ♥

P.S. I've just come back from a short pootle around blogville to discover that I spoke to soon....blogger is still being very very naughty!

Into the Woods...

2011-05-24T19:23:00.001-04:00

I spent a glorious day yesterday with the youngest J on an educational AND interesting field trip with the rest of the 3rd Grade.

We ventured out to Rocky Gap State Park which is just a hop skip and jump from home.

While the children study the life of a sweet, but very muddy stream....

I enjoyed the amazing green canopy......

...with a watchful eye for Little J to ensure he didn't end up in the drink.

We enjoyed stream play, hiking and meeting the resident rescue owls. (The best bit ever, but no photos as the amphitheatre was quite dark and camera flashes were a big no no).

This is Little J's fifth field trip since starting elementary school and I'll mark this one down as the best so far.

Sorry to rush off. I re-enacted the great Humpty Dumpty fall down our back garden steps on Sunday and my ankle is still swollen to the size of a melon. Not painful mind you, but rather large so I have a meeting with an ice pack. It actually makes me realize that my ankles, when not swollen and blue, aren't as fat as I thought they were. ☺

Toodles, Lx ♥

Alice's Tea Pot

2011-05-21T20:02:00.001-04:00

Hello!

I'm back.....

Sorry, I've had a busy couple of weeks. It's amazing how much time is consumed reinstalled a college student back in the home. Who knew how much 'stuff' a 19 year old boy can accumulate in his dorm room? Big J has more devices to clean his floor than I do.

Oh well.

I'm thrilled to have him home for the summer.

As things have returned to normal over last couple of days I've been busy knitting.

Well actually, not that busy. I managed to whip this beauty up in just three days! Well evenings actually, 'cos there's been no knitting in the lunch room at work lately.

Just work work work.....

Anyhoo, I l♥ve her!

She's a beauty.

Thank you Alice!

Your pattern is super duper easy to follow

and comes together so nicely.

Now, I must purchase more tea pots as an excuse to make more!

So with a hop skip jump I'm off to eBay to browse their tea pot selection.

'Cos tea pots are as rare has hens teeth in this little town.

Toodles....L

Happy Mothers Day

2011-05-08T18:52:00.002-04:00

Just poppping by to wish all the lovely Mum's the most wonderful day ever!

And Now for the Ta-Dah

2011-05-05T20:14:00.000-04:00

I stole a photograph (or four) during a quick break in the showers last evening.

This blanket may have double crocheted me to death.

The colours may have been dubious, but it's hugmongus and

P.S. Please excuse the little white Linus hairs. A certain Boy and his Dog demanded to sleep with it last night.

I ♥ IT!

The Rain and other things.....A Chook

2011-05-04T18:40:00.000-04:00

Firstly, before I get onto the rain and other things, why do you think someone stops following your blog? I mean, obviously the long gaps between posts and my endless dribble are cause enough, but I do worry I've offended someone. 50 to 51....Ho hum....51 one where did you go?

Now on to the rain. Just briefly. I'd like to say, "Thank you sir, we've had enough." That's all I have to say about the rain.

The other things. Well the 'other things' were going to be the ta-dah moment of the biggest crochet blanket ever! Well it's not really the biggest in the whole world, just the biggest ever at 836. Thanks to that Royal To-Do and a lovely day at home a few days back, the blanket of dubious colours which I briefly mentioned back here is finished. However, the rain which began in big drips the minute I hung it on the line to photograph and, oh the dead camera batteries nixed that ta-dah idea.

OK OK before I dropped down to 49 I'd better post a photo.
Or four.

And of something mildly interesting.

Do you remember this lass?

She winged her way across the pond.

But I ♥ her so much, I had to post photos of her.

I'm thinking she needs a sister. ☺

One to stay on this side of the pond.

Just briefly....if that is even possible for me.

She started with Mandala Pattern.

Which I basically stopped the increases when I felt the base was big enough.

Decreased ever slightly in the as the 'bowl' shape came together - I think i just skipped the chains between each granny - if that makes sense, which it probably doesn't.

Then I focused on making the head shape.

Which is basically some double (US) granny clusters that I reduced at each end.

I then went around the edge with single crochet, to firm it up a bit - am I making ANY sense?

Then I just created some scallops for her tail.

Singled crocheted the handle.

Crocheted in the round for her comb and beak.

In a nutshell - I WINGED it!

Now that was probably the worst description/how-to you've ever read!

Gosh I hope your still with me.

But I think it just goes to show, you can create just about anything with crochet, if you put your mind to it!

Oh and she's lined, with some scrummy polka dot fabric!

And she now lives in Yorkshire.

Where I believe she part took in some Easter festivities....

Toodles Lx

You guessed it, homework calling.

Tonight we have spelling words, a book report and a science project!

Hurry up school holidays!!!!!!

P.S. To be honest, I'm not really concerned how many followers I have - all though I am pleased that someone likes my blog enough to follow it. I just hope I haven't p*ssed anyone off ☺

♥ Live & The Replay ♥

2011-04-30T17:22:00.000-04:00

Yes, much to the amusement of my co-workers, I took the day off work yesterday, rose before the crack of dawn and thoroughly enjoyed the Royal Wedding (live & the reply - thank you BBC America).

Nothing beats the regalia of a royal ceremony combined with some blissful hooking.

What a simply delightful day I had!

P.S. Mr. VW was even kind enough to allow me to display his precious flag - much to the amusement of my neighbors!

Weekending

2011-04-20T16:21:00.001-04:00

We're starting our weekend early and are off for a little jaunt.

See you on the other side of Easter!

Hope you have a good one!

Toodles Lx

P.S. Doesn't this bunny look evil? No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get her to smile.

Clotilde

2011-04-19T18:16:00.001-04:00

A very lovely little package was waiting for me when I came home.

A little box that had winged it's way across the pond from a rather lovely lassie in Yorkshire.

Yes my same name bloggy sister and I have been continuing our little swap madness.

This swap had me saying OMG a zillion times as I unpacked the little box.

Here is Clotilde (excuse my french, 'cos I got no clue how to pronounce that one)

I'm informed shes a french hen egg cosy, a distant relative of the one I created, but related by pattern only!

'Cos she's got her bits and bobs in order!

Quite a fancy lady she is!

Isn't she AMAZING?

She has a beautiful lining and the crochet flowers are perfect.

She was not alone on her journey across the pond.

Her travelling companion was the sweetest tea cosy ever, a.k.a. Chicken Betty.

Ms. Betty has her roots in a very famous granny mandala of N.Z. origin. Alice, did you know your mandala pattern is so versatile?

And will you look at these litle sweeties who popped in the box for the journey too?

Miss Mouse

Little Rabbit

And this tiny little chick, which I saved from Little J.

Dear Ms. LallyLouLou thank you, thank you, thank you for your generosity and enjoying this swap madness with me.

I L♥VE your little creations so much!

They will have center place this Easter Sunday!

P.S. Most of the yummies included have been devoured already - so much for waiting till Easter, we're shockers for self control in this household when it comes to chocolate, especially the English variety!

The Moon

2011-04-14T19:57:00.000-04:00

Yes, I know not the worlds greatest photo of the moon.

Trust me, it does look quite fabulous in real life and quite frankly it's the best snap I've ever been able to take of it.

It is however, far better than the 'moon' that a certain J wanted me to snap with a silly little 9 year old giggle after he climbed out of the bath! :-)

Cheeky b*gger...

Literally!

Happy Thursday folks

.....aaaahhhhh...

just one day till the weekend ♥

Chooks

2011-04-13T19:54:00.000-04:00

Please forgive me for my absence, but the hard drive of the lovely new computer we bought just last month unexpectedly popped it's clogs. Not that you would ever expect a brand new shiny hard drive to just give up the ghost, but it did.

Thank goodness for warranties.

So I'm just bobbing by quickly on this Wednesday evening to say .....

"Isn't this the SWEETEST fabric you have ever seen?????"

Well the photo is crap, but it's dark and I simply couldn't wait for the sun to shine before I could share it.

OK must be off.

Homework is done, but there is still a bath to be had.

And of course, it's Wednesday, so that means GhostHunters!

Toodles....Lx

Busting at the Seams....

2011-04-06T19:38:00.001-04:00

I'm busting at the seams with excitment.

On account of this leg, which some of you may remember.

Which just happens to be friends with this head.

Joined of course by a body, which belongs to this guy.

Who was destined to go across the pond to my lovely same name friend. But I fear he will not pass border 'quality control' as I failed miserably with the pattern and if you look up his bum you can see all his bits and bobs. And you see his 'whatsits' are supposed to be covered by a super duper special lining. Which no matter how hard I tried I could not get to fit.

HOWEVER, there is a wonderful upside to this story my dear Louise.

For following this terrible failure, I was struck by the most amazing creative thought courtesy of that now very famous granny mandala over at Alice's place.

Which I'm afraid I can only give you a sneaky peaky of, because I do not wish to ruin the surprise.

But if I don't give you a sneak at all, I fear I may bust at the seams with excitment.

So here is your sneak.

Which I might add received a positive comment well beyond his customary grunts from Mr. VW.

Comments to the effect of

"Wow, you mean, you're shipping her away?"

Fear not my lovely readers, for all will be revealed shortly. As soon as this feathered crocheted friend of my has winged it's way across the pond to old Blighty.

Toodles.... L x

I hear book reports and spelling words calling my name....

The Rear View

2011-04-03T19:40:00.003-04:00

I pulled in to work on Friday and realized I had probably the best view in the world right there in my rear view mirror......

Nothing like the sweet view of some crochet goodness before heading into work for the day.

Please tell me I'm not alone in this madness and someone else has at least one crochet item in their car???

This Week.....

2011-03-28T19:47:00.002-04:00

Happy Monday!

After a busy weekend, doing alot, but nothing exciting, I'm looking forward to a quiet week with things I love.

This week....

♥ Big J turned 19! Yesterday actually and I was very sad that I didn't get to see him on his big day:-(

Missed him more than ever yesterday.
But I was relieved to hear it was business as usual for him.

Spoke to him a little after 12 noon (after leaving three voicemails and sending two text msgs)and he was just getting out of bed (normal) and was off to the dining hall for food (normal, he is always on his way there when I call) and he planned a day of homework and XBox (normal)

♥ I planned to incresase the size of this granny pile this week and ship them off to here on Friday. I have enjoyed every second of hooking these lovelies for such a wonderful cause.

♥ Oh and these lovelies make my heart beat faster.

I stop and 'chat' with them in the garden on my in and out of the house on my way to and from work. I just had to bring a couple inside to enjoy during my hooking time after my evening chores are complete.

♥ This evening I've enjoyed sitting my sunny bay window before the tea is made (Mr. VW volunteered his pizza ordering services) to hook a few lines of a new project.

A project specially requested by Little J.

What Mummy can say no to a little request for ANOTHER hooky blanket, even if the colours are slightly dubious????

♥ In addition to my lovely yellow daffs I was fortunate to find this sweet smelling beauty at the supermarket the other day.

A VERY rare find in these parts.

Sweetest smell EVER.

After a long day at work its just the loveliest thing to smell when you first walk in the door.

Well I must love you and leave you.

Unfortunately my evening may have gotten of to a sweet slow start, but I hear homework calling (ugh) and there is a poor 9 year old boy, who is covered head to toe in poison ivy and in need of a warm bath and a good dose of calamine lotion.

Wishing you all a lovely week!

Toodles ..... Lx

Cotton for Crochet

2011-03-20T17:49:00.001-04:00

My first crochet doily. I found the pattern on Ravelry, ~~but now I can't seem to find it~~ Thank you Pearly Queen for locating the pattern on Ravelry for me.

I L♥VE how it turned out.

Crochet ric rac destined for my bedroom curtains. Pattern courtesy of Foxes Lane. Super duper easy pattern and so much fun!

Gotta run.... Toodles Lx

Sunday Sparkly Surprise

2011-03-13T18:16:00.000-04:00

The other day, whilst rummaging around in an area of his parents basement that no one has been in since 1973 (don't ask), he found this.....

It belonged to his paternal grandmother, who was born in the early 1890's.

Isn't it just amazingly beautiful?

I can't stop looking at it.

The other side is just as beautiful.

I don't have any clue how old it might be. The sparkly bits are really bright after I gave it a little cleaning.

I love it and the fact that it belonged to Mr.VW's grandmother, makes it more beautiful.

Mr.VW dragged out a few more treasures that belonged to his paternal and maternal grandmothers and surprisingly his parents seemed happy to part with. (They generally don't like to part with their stuff, even the forgotten from the 70's stuff, but on this day, they were in a parting mood).

Perhaps I'll share those another day....

Sunny Saturday Reveal

2011-03-12T14:49:00.003-05:00

It's an absolutely fabulous spring day here today, although technically it's not spring just yet. The sun is shining and it's a wonderfully warm fresh day outside.

Here is the view from our front verandah - blue sky with just the tiniest sweetest white cloud in the sky - just the one white cloud.

(I think perhaps its there to show you just how blue the sky is.)

A perfect day to reveal my latest completed blanket. This blanket saw various forms (here, here and starting out here), before I finally decided that the granny is always best.

Honestly, granny's are my fa♥orite all time crochet style.

You just can't beat them.

Simple and fast, just my style. Although, for some reason, this blanket has taken me an age to complete!

I did a little Picot Edge, which Little J declared are actually crocheted shark teeth - who knew?

Each side being a different colour as I was 'low' on this particular yarn.

It's a wee bit smaller than I had hope, but it's ever ever ever SO cuddly soft thanks to the yarn. For all it's acrylicness, it's lovely and squishy soft.
So soft in fact I demanded that Mr. VW touch and stroke it when I laid it out on the bed to admire it's finishedness.

Yes, I'm a tiny bit bossy ☺

Well I'm off to enjoy the sunshine. Mr.VW is painting the stairwell and I must go check on his progress.

Hope the sun is shining with you!

Toodles Lx

Playing Around

2011-03-06T18:50:00.000-05:00

Nothing much to report today. Just playing around with our fancy new computer!!!!!

Well not fancy really......

Just new ☺

And speedy fast

So I won't have to wait an hour to upload photos to blogger

Which may mean I'll stop by here more often!!!

Yippee!!!

Oh, do you like the this little teal leg??? Ms. Louise and I are up to our swappy fun again!!!☺

We're having a little play with some patterns on ravelry....

Must be off, new computer to play with!

Hope you all have a wonderful week ♥

Toodles...L

What's In the Bag Wednesday?

2011-03-02T19:29:00.001-05:00

Hello!

Happy Wednesday and welcome to March!

(I'm only one day late on welcoming this new month)

Thank you my lovely readers for your well wishes after my recent downfall with the flu. Very much appreciated. I'm feeling on top of the weather today!

Thank you for stopping by for a little visit again today. If it's your first time here, thank you for stopping by and welcome welcome welcome...if you've been here before, thank you for coming back to read my endless dribble and look at my dodgy photos!

I hope today finds you all well. I'm feeling quite chipper this March Day. I feel spring in the air and my daffodils are so close to blooming I could squeal with delight! I very much love my daffodils, but I'll spare you the photos this year.

On to more interesting things....

Do you like my Patons Bag? I picked this up a few months ago, it was one of those "Buy a bunch of yarn you don't need and we'll give you a free bag deal". So I could hardly pass it up. It's humongous! Mr.VW seriously needs to increase my yarn allowance so I can purchase enough to fill it.

Shall we take a peek inside???

As you can see, it's not nearly full enough. It definitely needs more yarn! I am however, on a yarn diet. I've been busted, my secret stash discovered and told in no uncertain terms that I must finish at least one project before I start another.

Well, that was after my little trip to the yarn store last Sunday for a few balls of "cheer me up yarn". I was still feeling a bit blue and under the weather from my bout with the flu. A yarn purchase was in order to lift my spirits.

I've not bought this yarn before, but it was on sale (only $2.50 a ball) and it's super squishy soft. In fact, for mostly acrylic yarn (only 20% wool), it's the softest yarn ever!

I love it!

However, as Mr. VW was over seeing this purchase, I was limited to just five measly balls....and I was pushing my luck with that.

Anywho, before I lose you with this dribble, let's get on and see what I've been making with it.

Yes, I've shamelessly joined the band of people making crochet flower shawls inspired by the lovely Ms.Lucy. I won't hide the fact that generally speaking I love most of what she creates. She does have a wonderful style and such an eye for colour - but most of you know that already.

Anyhow, as there was no convincing Mr. VW that I absolutely had to purchase the lovely Japanese book that contains the pattern, I had to make one up myself.

Now normally, I REALLY struggle when it comes to either reading patterns or making them up, but surprisingly I figured this one out on my first attempt!

Bit of a shock it was that I got it so fast.

And unfortunately, now I'm hooked on making these flowers.

Not sure what I'll do with them, I don't have much of this yarn. But they sure are pretty to just admire and stroke the soft yarn.

Of course, now all my other projects have been laid to the side AGAIN ☺

OK well I must run.

Another exciting Wednesday night at the Gephart.

You know what that means right?

Yes, the dirty dishes are calling me....

Toodles... Lx

Eat :: Sleep :: Crochet

2011-02-26T17:43:00.000-05:00

.....and cough, then cough some more and then cough a whole bunch more. Yes, that's what I've been doing for the last week and a half. In between coughing, eating, sleeping and more coughing I've been crocheting this colourful little rainbow.

It's quite possibly the worlds widest scarf, but I'm absolutely smitten with it and it's rainbow of colours - all courtesy of the left over yarn basket.

Apparently I do my best colour selections when I can't think straight for coughing....not that I would ever wish to be this sick again just in order to get good colour combinations!

Oh and granny zig zags are seriously addictive.

Must run, my house is seriously disgusting after my week on the sofa and I must go shoo the dust bunnies away.

Toodles...Lx

How Did She Know???

2011-02-15T21:44:00.001-05:00

This evening, after a very long crap day at work, that was over at the office, but not over - ughhh - I was toddling up the stairs to my house contemplating making a new key fob for my keys. To be honest, I was sure I could muster the energy to even craft, but I sure did want a new key fob.

So what a wonderful surprise to see a sweet little package had winged it's way across the pond from my lovely blogging friend.

Of course, like a good little blogger, I resisted the urge to rip open the package and grabbed the camera to capture the event. (Now please excuse crap photos, no light, so very bad images).

One Lovely Key Fob

One Lovely Tube of Yummy English Chocolate

One Lovely Lavender Heart

I've been carrying this little lavender heart around all evening. It's now been carefully placed on the nightstand next to my bed 'cause it smells delicious! Even Little J commented on how lovely it smells (after he jammed it into his nose and I quickly snatched it away). Then he, much like me marveled at the tiny little roses and pondered "just how are those little roses made"???

The photos really don't do these wonderful gifts justice and they certainly don't portray just how thrilled I was to receive such wonderful gifts.

Thank you Louise, you truly are amazing and a wonderfully generous friend.

Now I'm wondering how far my little package has made it across the pond tto Louise? Of course, my mind wandered on our little valentine swap and lost focus on the 'theme' - thank you gold fish brain of mine - but I'm hoping Louise will love her little package as much as I have loved mine.

Toodles...L x

Hearts

2011-02-13T17:59:00.000-05:00

I found these wonderful hearts over on Elizabeth Cat's colourful blog after many failed attempts to make something valentine-y for my home. Struggling to embrace just plain pink or red or white hearts, I thought these would be perfect and something I could leave up all year!
So I've spent the afternoon creating my own little mess of a pattern as I haven't learnt out to read crochet patterns which use the symbols yet, so I couldn't figure out the one Elizabeth had posted. They're a wee bit wonky, but I'm happy with how they've turned out.

Wishing you all a Happy Valentines Day filled with love and happiness.....

Toodles...L x

Parcels for Across the Pond

2011-02-10T19:59:00.000-05:00

Hello lovely readers.

I hope this Thursday or Friday, depending on which end of the world you are reading from, is treating you well. I must say, I've had one heck of week! Work wise that is. All is quiet on the home front, but this week I've barely been home to enjoy the quiet. All sorts of insanity going on at work, but I won't bore you with the details.

Anyhoo, tomorrow when I have to toddle off the Post Office for work related matters to post some nonsense package to deepest darkest Central America, well actually just Honduras, I'll also be popping some lovely pink parcels in the post to wing their way across the pond.

You see, my rather lovely bloggy friend and I are enjoying little gift giving/exchange of sweet creations from our stash. After this event and then this event, we both decided it was this most fun EVER and decided it couldn't end there!

I'm very excited to pop these in the post. With no like minded crafty/crochet/knitty people in my 'real world' circle, its just the best thing ever (sorry words fail me here, but I know you know what I mean) to have met and made such wonderful friends in the bloggersphere and to be able to share my crafts with them! Honestly, it really is, because they get it! They get the excitement and the thrill of creating something wonderful.

I love my little blog, but best of all I love the little friends I have made from around the globe.

***sigh****

Ok enough of my ramblings...I must be off to practice spelling words. Little J's spelling words that is, not mine :-)

Toodles and thank you for stopping by.....

♥ Happy Friday ♥

♥ Teapot Love ♥

2011-02-06T11:22:00.002-05:00

Pictures, no words.

Pattern courtesy of the amazing Alice.

I'm in love.....

Thank you Alice!

This is definitely my favorite crochet project of all time.

If you haven't made one already, what are you waiting for?

Granny Goodness + A Cup of Tea = Perfection!

Toodles....L x

Green Granny Shawl

2011-01-30T17:31:00.000-05:00

Just popping by quickly while a have a few minutes. I've just finished ~~shearing~~ cutting Little J's hair and I do believe it's now safe to say he will no longer be mistaken for a girl! Yes, his hair was quite long and on more than one occasion recently has been referred to as "she". Anyway, he's pleased with it (I hope) and is now engaged in some very loud bang bang game on the XBox with Mr. VW. I have a love hate relationship with that box - love the fact that will engage my men folk for hours, hate the fact that I cease to exist with the thing is on. Oh well.

So, it's been a snowy week this week and we're in for more in the next few days. I quite love the snow, but the cold really gets to me. These frigid temperatures have made it absolutely necessary - yes absolutely - for me to start on a new project, one of the practical sense. A lovely green granny shawl, pattern courtesy Ms. Lallyloulou. I LOVE this pattern, it came together so fast and took just one ball of Caron Simply Soft yarn. It's deliciously warm and EVER so soft. Now Caron Simply Soft may be of the acrylic nature, but it is the softest yarn ever and I LOVE it.

Sorry the photos are crap, more grey weather this weekend and it's hard to capture the exact colour of this shawl. Green is not normally a colour I wear, but I really like this deep green, especially up against my red curtains! I'm really looking forward to wrapping this around my neck before I toddle off into the cold tomorrow for work and keeping it on while I tip tap away on my laptop in my cubicle which could double as a fridge during the winter months!

Well I must be off, time to ~~burn~~ make dinner and extract my men folk from the blessed XBox so they can eat. If I start asking them now, they'll actually stop once dinner is ready in, oh say, about an hour!

Toddles...L

Inside Out & A Spoon

2011-01-26T19:14:00.002-05:00

To my fellow Australians, I wish you a very Happy Australia Day!!!

Oh how I wish I had been able to bask in the sunshine and partake in the celebrations.

Instead, last night I went to bed with my jammies on inside out with a spoon under my pillow. Which resulted in this site this morning:

And the 'wildsnowman' aka 'little j' got his wish of a snow day.

Now I'm off to crawl under the beds in search of missing spoons.

Toodles L x

Hooked

2011-01-20T19:05:00.000-05:00

The dust bunnies are rejoicing, the dirty washing has officially been named Mt. Filth and the family is crying with hunger pains. I think I might be addicted to these things....

Heaven help my poor family, but I honestly just can't stop!

YoYo

2011-01-17T13:13:00.001-05:00

The lovely Louise sent me a link to this pattern on ravelry and this is one addictive pattern! The yoyos are quick and easy and the joining method goes very fast and is super rewarding. Very important for my minuscule concentration span.

If you have scraps, give it a go. It really does take the tiniest amount of yarn to make one yo-yo and the pattern for joining is very easy to follow. Now I can finally justify saving all those tiny bits of wool!!!
OK must be off.
Louise has posted a fab tutorial for crochet daffodils and as I have zero yellow yarn in my stash and the pattern is calling me very LOUD, I must nip down to LYS for some yellow.

Toodles! L

Sad & Chicken Ethel

2011-01-14T21:49:00.000-05:00

Big J leaves for college tomorrow.

For some reason, this time more than ever, I have the mega case of the big time sads.

However, I'm holding it together.....just.

Stocking up his dormroom with yummy things to eat and the things that only a Mum would think of.

Oh and hooking Ethel.

Cute isn't she?

Sort of my own, make it up as you go creation.

In case you didn't know....

I ♥ Chickens.

She serves no purpose, perhaps she could keep an egg warm?

However, should I decide to add to my flock, then I believe I might add a little zip, some lovely lining fabric and use my little hen to store my little coins!

Mr. VW assures me if I do that, I've most definitely lost the plot.....

Looking Up

2011-01-09T20:27:00.000-05:00

Things are starting to look up around here.

Thank you for all your support on my last post, your words of encouragement really helped me move beyond the fact that teenage boys will be boys and crap cars will always be crap. Regardless of the challenges they present, in general they are wonderful boys and I wouldn't change them one bit. And car dealerships will actually give you a trade in a car that doesn't run!

So, a lovely new car has been purchased and a wonderful deal was made. My first new car EVER!! Which well isn't particularly exciting considering I've been driving for less than two years. :-)

More good news, Mr. VW received a little promotion at work. Big J got his first semester grades and did quite well. My boss will be out of town three days this week and told me to go home 2 hour early each day! My boss rocks! With the new car purchase last week she let me leave early three days to take care of car purchasing paperwork (well one day was to run down to her house so she could see said new car!)

So a smile is on my face now and the bumps of the new year have been smoothed out. A little crochet bunting has also helped me get over the bumps. I can now add new car dealership to the places I've crochet. Now that brought me a few strange looks!

p.s. thank you Alice for another fabby tutorial

Turning Around 2011

2011-01-04T21:21:00.002-05:00

I am desperate to keep this post as positive as possible, however things have gone slightly *ss up thus far in 2011 here at the Gephart. I won't go into details, but one of the J's (an older model) has had a teenage lapse of judgement that caused some disappointed. Teenagers will be teenagers and I fully realized now that kids are way more challenging when they reach the double digits! Heaven help my sanity!!!!

On a slightly easier note to deal with mentally, but not financially the old faithful blue car has finally given up the ghost. I must reside myself to the fact that I can't justify pumping another dollar in repairs into the old clunker.

So I've spent the last two evenings haggling for a new car. It appears to have worked well thus far, nothing like a sad story and foreign accent to win the hearts of our small town dealer and get trade in $$ for my car that no longer runs!!!! Hopefully tomorrow will be my last day of bumming rides to work!

Our last trip in the old blue bucket was a chilly, but fun day at

the park for some sledding! Well the three J's slid the slops and threw snowballs, while I hooked in the car. Redesigning, for the third time, Little J's blanket. I'm having a hard time settling on a style, but I decided it was better to start over than complete a project I didn't really like. You may remember the blanket from here and here. Those two designs just didn't seem to be working, so there has been some serious frogging.

And now I think I'm happy with it. Thank goodness for Grannies!!!!

Ok that's my Tuesday whine, tomorrow, I should have a smile again. Of course the Gephart National Debt will have increased significantly and will have a serious frown (fingers crossed tightly for new car), but at least I'll have some wheels again!

I'm off to work on turning this year around!

Toodles..... L

Felting - A Success????

2010-12-31T09:39:00.002-05:00

I bit the bullet, made my little coin purse and gave my best attempt at felting. As I have a front loading washing machine, I thought I give the 'boiling' method a go. However, after about 30 minutes in the pot, all I managed to create was some delicious electric purple water!! It really was the most brilliant shade of purple I've ever seen. The purse didn't shrink one tiny bit. I double checked the yarn I used and confirmed it was actually wool!!!

(before)

So, Middle J offered up some white socks, which upon inspection of the boiled water he thought might look nice purple and we decided to bung the purse and socks in the washing machine, cross our fingers and hope for the best!

One hot wash cycle later, this is what emerged.

(after)

It's ever so slightly smaller. It maybe shrank 10%? But its ever so soft and the wool is definitely thicker and less shiny, although the photos don't show that very well. I must say, I am pleased with the results and may try this again. It's probably a good thing it didn't shrink any smaller, or as Jane commented, it might have ended up a 'coin' purse, holding just the one coin!

Thank you all for stopping by and visiting. I appreciate all of you and the wonderful advice and support I've received through your comments and emails. I've thoroughly enjoyed my blog this year and am so thankful for the friendships I've made through it.

Happy New Year!

♥ All the best to all of you in 2011 ♥

Toodles...L x

Felting Phobia

2010-12-30T11:44:00.002-05:00

Hello! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We most certainly did at the Gephart, although it was relatively quiet, with zero relatives in the area it's just Mr. VW, the Boys and me. I've been enjoying a few blissfully quiet work free days - those work free days are the best you know! So rather than continuing progress on the various woolly projects I have on the go right now, I decided on a whim to start something new!

Based on Lucy's bag pattern, I whipped up this little bag with some woolly wool given to me by my MIL and some left over bits of Icelandic wool from this hat. It literally took me two evenings in front of the telly to hook this up.

Of course, we all know the last thing I need is another bag! Even I am starting to think I have some weird sort of bag addiction.

Anyhow, the last few days I've been picking up this sweet little bag, admiring it (I do quite love it), researching the Internet on felting and contemplating bunging the thing in the washing machine and crossing my fingers. Even though it took just one ball of yarn, which was gifted so there will be no great loss if it gets screwed up, I just can't bring myself to do it!

Hopeless, I know.

Perhaps I should start with something smaller?

Right, I'm off to make a matching coin purse which I'm determined will be my first felting project!!!!!

Wish me luck........

Toodles Lx.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T15:02:00.002-05:00

Wishing you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas! May your day be full of joy, wonder and love.

Take care,

Louise x

Gephart836

Bloomin' Great

And then there were.....

What Comes Next?

Home Again :: Home Again

Eeekkkk!

Saroyan Snow

Getting Things Done

:: Happy New Year ::

How I Spent Christmas....

♥ Merry Christmas ♥

Sweet Stitching

**44**

From No. 23

Camera in a Coma

Lantern Embroidery

All Set

Almost Done!

Life

That's That Then

Catching Up....

One of Those Days.......

Peas, Carrots & Pegs

Sampler Blanket

Meant to Be

A Quilt for Jasper

I am not Alone

Knitting - What Do I Do Wrong?

A Guest For Dinner

Gift Yarn - The Project Reveal

A Short Woolie Tale

Sunny Sunday

What A Week

I Made This!

Wednesday

Basket Case

Lucky Me :: Lovely Yarn

Total Cr@p

The *New* Doormat

My First.....

Featherweight

All Will Be Revealed . . . . . . . . . . .Tomorrow!

Stealing from the Kids....

My First Hexagons

Class of 2011

Leftovers

Rainy Sunday Sewing

Little Brown Cat

Swedish Horsey & Ric Rac

Ughhh......

Good Golly ........

Into the Woods...

Alice's Tea Pot

Happy Mothers Day

And Now for the Ta-Dah

The Rain and other things.....A Chook

♥ Live & The Replay ♥

Weekending

Clotilde

The Moon

Chooks

Busting at the Seams....

The Rear View

This Week.....

Cotton for Crochet

Sunday Sparkly Surprise

Sunny Saturday Reveal

Playing Around

What's In the Bag Wednesday?

Eat :: Sleep :: Crochet

How Did She Know???

Hearts

Parcels for Across the Pond

♥ Teapot Love ♥

Green Granny Shawl

Inside Out & A Spoon

Hooked

YoYo

Sad & Chicken Ethel

Looking Up

44

The New Doormat