Random moments

This last week and weekend has been filled with all the normal family things as well as organising school stuff in the lead up until the end of the year.  Only 3 weeks left before they're home for the summer break and I find myself desperately looking forward to them being home and wondering how long I'll actually cope with them underfoot every day.  Sometimes it's such a fine line.

Until then, I'm busy concentrating on what's in front of me and not thinking too far ahead and I'm finding that I'm slowly getting through my 'to do' list.

There has been sewing in the household of late.  I have finished the teacher's gifts but won't show you until after they have been given as I'm not 100% sure if any of them check in on my blog from time to time.

I also made some little Ouchie (or Owie) packs for one of the kids former teachers.  They're mini wheat/rice packs which go in the freezer instead of warmed up in the microwave (although you could do this too).  

I always had a couple in the freezer when the kids were little for those moments when they would get a little bump and it would be such a big crying drama.  The ouchie packs aren't as cold as ice packs for a bump you really can't see and gives them just a little comfort.

I made some for one of the teachers when Master M was in grade 1 and the other day she asked me to make some more as she loves using them in the classroom for her little charges.

Afternoon play fun has also been had with cousin R.  These two are not only cousins but best mates and are trying to spend as much time together before the school holidays as we won't see R for the first half of them.

A small, basic set of mittens has been made for Master M's school friend.  His friend loves the ones I made for Master M years ago and wanted a pair for himself.  Despite the heat he apparently wore them ALL day at school when he got them.

I've started a crochet commission for a friend too and have decided that some of this project will be worked in the day time only as it's black.  I'm finding that my eyes these days need that little bit of extra daylight to see the black stitches but I'm fine working the other colours at night though, thank goodness.

My lovely Uncle took my sister and I out for lunch the other day.  The company and conversation was wonderful and the food at La Dolce Vita restaurant at Bulcock Beach in Caloundra was superb.  Watching the stormy skies and moody ocean was a bonus too.

The only down spot of our lunch was the fact that I closed my thumb in the car door as we arrived and I sat through most of the meal with my throbbing thumb stuck in a glass of cold water and ice!

A few days later and I now have the loveliest deep purple and black colours halfway up my thumb.  I'm hoping that I'll still keep the nail.

A note from Master M to hubby (and hubby's reply), left on the fridge.

The weekend has been a bit of a revolving door weekend.  That's what I call it when Master M and his mate N from across the road trade their time between the two houses.

Master M spent Friday night at Master N's place then they turned up at ours early Saturday morning and spent the day going between the two houses.  Master N then had a sleepover at our place on Saturday night so I made pies to keep the hordes happy. (I did cheat and used bought pastry)

X-box was played, the trampoline was jumped on, a ball was kicked and movies were watched.  (Miss R is hiding under her well used blanket on the floor)

Despite my sore thumb I have still been able to hold a hook so I've been able to work a little more on my commission project as well as my granny blanket using my stash.  I'm pleased to say that the stash is dwindling rather rapidly.  Yay!!

I hope you've all had a wonderful weekend and the weather is kind to you wherever you are in the world.

xx Susan

Summer breeze poncho

I wanted something to wear on a slightly cooler day in spring or on a summer evening.  Something that I could toss over a t-shirt (my standard uniform) if I'm heading out the door that would dress things up a bit but not overheat me too much.

I wanted some kind of wrap but really wanted my arms free so that I wasn't trying to fix it up all the time when it comes undone.

Light bulb moment was to make a poncho out of a wrap.  I had an idea of what I wanted but after trawling the net for patterns, I really couldn't find what I had pictured in my mind.

In the end I decided to make something up myself that makes it quite open and a bit of a lacy look to it.

I am so happy with the way it's turned out and have worn it a few times already, getting comments on it each time when I've been out and about.

I also love that if I change sides or the way it sits on my shoulder then I can change the neckline as well so it gives me a little variety.

I used 3 balls (100g each) of Caron Cotton Cakes in seaglass for this.  I chose it because I loved the colour and it was a cotton/acrylic mix so it would be perfect in our spring and on summer evenings.

It was nice to work with but the thing that got my goat was how many joins were in the balls.  I don't know if all of this brand is full of joins or I picked a bad bunch but out of the 7 balls I've used (4 for my Rainbow shawl), only one of them didn't have a join in it.  Two of them had 3 joins and the others had one or two in each of them.  The joins are just knots with the ends cut close so that you have big lumpy frayed bits sticking out of the yarn.

As I don't like big lumpy frayed bits in my work the easiest thing to do is cut the knot out of the yarn and continue on as if you were starting a brand new ball.  That meant I had many more joins and ends to tie in than I was happy with, especially when the last of the knots appeared when I was only about 10 centimetres from the end of the whole project.

That little bit of inconvenience aside, I love it.  I loved making it and I do really, really love the colours and the feel and the whole thing basically.  It's my new favourite!

xx Susan

A Coastal Walk - Bulcock Beach to Kings Beach

Recently I took you on a walk around Golden Beach in Caloundra.  Well today we're going a little further up the road, still in Caloundra though and I'll take you on a walk between Bulcock Beach and Kings Beach.

Out of the kilometres of coastal pathways around Caloundra, this section is the most popular as it's right in the heart of town.  Tourists and locals alike all flock to the area as there's plenty of restaurants, cafe's, fish and chip shops, parks and playgrounds, beaches, boardwalks, oh and quite a nice view too.

If you look back along the Bribie Passage from the first boardwalk, you can see the start of Golden Beach. (above photo)

Looking the other way (above photo), you can see the very northern tip of Bribie Island on the right, the mouth of the Bribie passage and the Pacific Ocean in the middle and the sand on the left is Bulcock Beach.

There are plenty of picnic tables and barbeques for people that are self catering or you can cross the road to the takeaways shops and buy something to eat al fresco with a view.

There's always some kind of boat coming or going and further out to sea you can often see a ship heading into the port of Brisbane.

On really windy days there are plenty of kite surfers zooming about showing off their amazing skills as they skid across the water and fly through the air.

I love that there's still some of the old beach houses left along the Esplanade which remind you of a bygone era, especially now that they're surrounded by towering unit and hotel blocks.

In truth though, nothing says sea side more to me than an old Holden Kingswood with surfboards sticking out the back.

I think it was my favourite moment on the whole walk, especially as it was outside one of the main café and restaurant precincts.

A little further along the path we come to Happy Valley which is a really popular park with families and is really busy any day of the week but especially on weekends.  

There's often groups meeting up here to celebrate birthdays and other special occasions by having barbeques and just enjoying some outdoor together time.

It's especially popular with families because there's a pretty fantastic playground there as well which we've been to MANY times over the years with the kids.

On this particular day another visitor wanted to join in the fun at Happy Valley.

I'm not quite sure what kind of shark it was but it was the most gorgeous blue colour.

Even though it was a baby, I can still imagine it has a good set of chompers on it so I wasn't getting as close to it as the man in the below photo.

One of the best parts of this path is the boardwalk joining Happy Valley to Kings Beach which is probably one of the most popular beaches in Caloundra.

It really only takes about 5 minutes to walk along it, or more depending on how many times you stop to admire the view as it clings to the headland and over the rocks.

I love not just the ocean view but looking back towards the hinterland and seeing the Glasshouse Mountains peeking up on the horizon.  That's the area where I live so it's always nice to know that I'm not far from home when I'm out and about.

Kings Beach is popular because of it's surf of course.  There's always someone out in the water whether it's in summer or winter.  I think they're a bit nuts in winter but there are some die hard swimmers out there who love their daily swim.

There's plenty of beachy resorts to chose from to stay if you ever want a holiday in this part of the world.

I do love the old Pavilion that's taken on a new role as a café these days.  It looks lovely now that they've done it up as it was starting to look a little tired and in need of some loving care.

As always there more playgrounds and parks which are perfect for a spot of cricket before lunch.

The salt water fountains are lots of fun for the littlies especially and a nice quick way to cool off on a hot day.

My favourite bit about Kings Beach is the salt water pool which they've fixed up in recent years.  It's perfect for people who love swimming in the salt water but aren't confident in the surf and we've been here a few times with the kids.

Late on a hot summer's day it's the perfect place to come for a quick swim to cool off and then we go off in search of ice cream or fish and chips for dinner, depending on how late it is and what we feel like doing.

I also love how they have a perch for the birds of prey to sit and survey the ocean and hopefully spy a spot of dinner for themselves.

I do hope you've enjoyed the stroll from beach to beach and I apologise for the amount of photos which has made the post very long.  I usually try to keep my posts much shorter but I did want to share this beautiful walk with you.

I hope you're all having a wonderful week where you are and a enjoy the weekend that's coming up.

xx Susan

Shoulder bag

I am seriously in LOVE with this bag.

I like to have a project to work on during the school holidays.  I'll trawl the net for inspiration and ideas and then make sure I have the supplies I need for when the holidays start.

This particular project became difficult to put off as from the moment I saw the photo of it on Ravelry, I knew I just had to make it.  I may make another one in different colours but I was drawn to the classic look of the silver and white in the photo so I decided to stick to those colours.

It's called the Malia Shoulder Bag and was designed by Rebecca Langford  at the Yarn + Chai blog so if you want to make one for yourself, head over there and find the details.  She also has some really good video tutorials to help when making this bag if you get stuck on anything.

I used the exact same yarn that she uses as well (Lionbrand 24/7 cotton in white and silver).  Since I loved the bag in her photo so much I wanted to make it as similar as possible and I have to say it was really great to work with. It's also a mercerised cotton so it's given the bag a lovely sheen.

You would have seen glimpses of me making this during our trip to Yamba.  Most of it was worked poolside while the kids were happily splashing and I was able to indulge in plenty of happy hooky time as well as a sip or two of a Margarita!  I don't think I missed any stitches :)

I love the texture of this bag and have already had quite a few very nice comments from people when I've used it.  Mainly when I go grocery shopping because that seems to be about the only place I go half the time .

It's big and roomy and fits plenty in it and it's even perfect for holding my latest portable project when I'm out and about.

I'm so glad that I decided to add the little decal piece as it really does finish the bag off.

I've also decided to add a lining to it as well which I think will finish it off even more.  When I'm carrying a few heavy items it does stretch a bit in the base so a lining will help fix that problem and prolong the life of the bag.

  I'm still working on sewing the Christmas presents for the kids school teachers so I'll make the lining for it while I'm working with all the fabric.

I hope you're all having a fantastic week.

xx Susan

(P.S. I just want to say that I'm not affiliated with Lionbrand yarns or the Yarn + Chai blog.  I like to know the details of projects when I see them online so I try and give that information out as well when I make something. Rebecca is also the designer of this bag so she deserves the credit for it.  Thanks!)

Spring...where did you go!

Spring seems to have left us in a bit of a hurry.  The pleasantly cooler days that we were enjoying have turned into hot, humid days and the air conditioners are in use to help make going about the day just that bit more comfortable.

Indoor pursuits were on the cards in the hottest part of the day over the weekend and I also grabbed the chance to head out and do a bit of shopping while hubby looked after the kids.

It's been ages since I've had a day like this and I have to say that I was reminded why I don't really like going to the shops very often.  The people and the noise and all the stimulation saying 'buy me, buy me!' was a bit intense and overwhelming I have to say.  I really don't know how people can go there all the time but that's just me, some people absolutely love it.

I was on a mission though, not just to have a 'me' day but to start on my Christmas shopping.

My first stop is always a coffee shop and this time I indulged in something a little sweet to eat as well.  It gives me time to go through my list and work out a bit of a plan of attack so to speak.  Once I've got things organised in my mind, I can cope with the day better and find that I can enjoy the Christmas displays, the crowds and just the busy-ness of the place for longer.

I did cross a few things off my list and have ideas for other things and am happy to say that I now have most of Christmas sorted, with the exception of a few bits and pieces.  The budget didn't stretch that far on the day so in a few more weeks I'll pop back into the shops for just a quick visit and get what I need.

A letter to Santa was posted over the weekend with great excitement.  It's not often my boy asks for things so I'm hoping Santa can deliver on this one.  Fingers and toes crossed and lots of google searching will be on the cards I think Santa.

Pocket money has also been earned when Master M helped hubby mow my Uncles lawn.  He loves using the ride-on mower when he's at my Uncles place and is working out how he can earn a few more dollars because he is saving up for something.  I have no idea what but I'm sure he'll tell me soon enough as he's hopeless at keeping a secret.

I somehow found myself in the kitchen for most of Sunday even though the temperature was in the mid 30's (celcius) and it's humid.  Thank goodness for the air conditioning to help keep me cool.

As tomatoes are pretty cheap and going a bit crazy in gardens at the moment, I decided to make a batch of my Sweet Tomato Relish.  As it says, it is sweet but it's a really, really beautiful relish that I found the recipe online for many years ago and have since tweaked it over time.

Some of it will be gifted at Christmas but most of it will be for our use as hubby and I both love it.  In fact hubby's not happy about having to wait a few weeks for the flavours to develop nicely before I'll let him have some.

I've also got a new project on the go.  I wasn't intending to start another blanket just yet but I had so much yarn leftover from Miss R's blanket that I decided to make one.  As it's the same colours in her blanket I wanted to make something that looked different and decided that a basic granny square blanket would be best. 

I can keep adding to it until I run out of yarn so I'm not sure how big this one will be.  I know I'll definitely have a good size throw for the lounge so I'll keep you posted on it's progress.  My stash is already dwindling and I'm LOVING it.

Our morning walks in the heat haven't been overly pleasant but Patch is finding some lovely spots to cool down and have a drink.

Sometimes when hubby's home Patch and I can go quite early in the morning before it really starts to heat up but when he's away we're limited to going after I drop the kids off at school.  The heat can be pretty relentless at that time over summer but we do love our walks, we just go for shorter ones that's easier for my boy to cope with on those days.

I hope you have all had a great weekend and were able to stay cool, warm or just comfortable wherever in our big wide world that you live in.

xx Susan