Noosaville Holiday Wrap-Up

My three weeks’ holiday at Noosaville has now come to an end 😦 It’s been an amazing time and I have loved every minute of it! This is truly one of the most beautiful places in the world and I am so lucky to live so near to it.

I’ve had spectacular weather and was privileged to walk along the Noosa River and look at this every day.

I love these majestic pelicans that make the Noosa River their home.

This particular part of the walk along the riverfront is quite magical.

So many people have stopped and chatted to me as I sat at my usual spot near T-Boat Hire knitting to my heart’s content. Most of these people have been Victorians, Tasmanians and New Zealanders escaping their bitterly cold winters to spend 4-8 weeks in our gorgeous winter sun. The kids were all back at school so it really is the best time to visit the Sunshine Coast. One couple who stopped and chatted to me remembered me sitting in the same spot last year!

I have experienced some gorgeous afternoons as the sun set.

And of course, I’ve had loads of fun at Sheep Thrills meeting so many lovely knitters and crocheters. I even met a spinner originally from Brisbane (now living in Tewantin) who knows someone in my spinning group!

Bonnie (the owner) gave me a big hug this afternoon as I left for the last time. I was quite sad as I really love this little shop and the eclectic mix of women who visit for a knit, crochet or simply to purchase yarn. Today it was very busy with 21 noisy crafters at work.

And I’ve gazed at so much luscious yarn. And of course, I have bought a lot of that luscious yarn 🙂

I even managed to buy this very cute little sheep at the local newsagent of all places! She’ll fit right into my bedroom with its orange accent colour 🙂 I bet you wished you had her Bonnie 🙂

During the last three weeks, I have crocheted a C2C afghan, knitted three Croc-a-tail scarves, a My Friend Nancy scarf, a Chunky Misti Hand Paint Alpaca scarf, a Lophelia cowl, a Cria Concentrate scarf and a Margarita hat. You’ll get to see all these projects once I’ve blocked some of them and settled back in at home.

Many thanks to my friends whom I met with during the last three weeks. I’m going to miss you all but the good news is, I’ve already booked my three weeks for next year so I have something to look forward to!!! 🙂 🙂

To finish off, here’s a collage of all the selfies I took nearly every day and posted on my FB page, no doubt, driving my friends mad in the process 🙂

So until next time…

Melanie

C2C Afghan

I’m not a great crocheter as I prefer knitting and can read a knitting pattern a lot easier than I can a crochet pattern. However, when I was recently at Sheep Thrills I noticed a lovely crocheted afghan casually thrown over the back of a chair. Upon asking, I was told this was a C2C (corner to corner) afghan. Quite a few of the ladies in the QldBaysideYarnClub of which I am a member are addicted to crocheting C2C throws so I thought I’d investigate further.

Leah from Sheep Thrills suggested I look at The Crochet Crowd video tutorial which explains how these afghans are made, which I did. It didn’t take long to get the gist of how they’re created and I was on my way.

The yarn I used was Lotus Yarns Winter Sun Aran in the colours chocolate brown and apricot. The yarn was on sale at Sheep Thrills for $4 a ball.

In total I used 13 balls of each colour (yes, I had to buy more than the 10 balls of each colour that I had).

From this small start in a corner…

to this slightly larger afghan…

The finished size is approximately 4 foot (1.2 metres) square.

I must admit on the cooler days here at Noosaville it was great to be working on this project as it kept me warm at the same time!

When I finished the afghan, I added a chocolate brown border of three trebles, two chain in each three-treble space followed by the final border in apricot of seven double trebles in one two-chain space, a treble in the next two-chain space and so on. I had to do a bit of cheating to make sure the seven trebles always occurred at a corner.

I am very happy with my first C2C afghan. In fact, when I get home I’m going to make one using different coloured 4ply baby yarn. It shouldn’t take too long as it won’t be as large as this one.

Have I tempted you to maybe start a C2C afghan?

Until next time…

Melanie

Beaded Wavy Leaves and Butterflies Shawl

My friend Gillian made this gorgeous Wavy Leaves and Butterflies Shawl (minus the butterflies) and I was quite captivated by it so I set myself a challenge to make one myself. This was my first attempt at real lace knitting and using beads too!

My first mission was to find the correct yarn. Gillian had used a cashmere/silk blend as it draped beautifully so I hopped onto Ebay and searched through one of my favourite Ebay yarn seller’s stores (A Chronic Yarnoholic) and found two skeins of Posh Yarn’s Audrey Lace in the colourway Turn Your Face Up to the Sun. It’s a 60% silk / 40% cashmere blend in beautiful golden shades. The cost was quite extravagant at $48 a skein but I wanted a quality yarn if I was going to put in all the work of knitting a lace shawl with beads.

In total I probably used 180-185g of the 200g I had. I really wanted to make sure I had enough to make a nice large shawl. Now, you’re probably going to think I’m mad but I do hate knitting from charts (and there are others like me to!!) so I sat down and wrote out all the instructions and typed them up before I started knitting. Yes, it took a while but it made it so much easier for me.

I had to contact the pattern writer to clarify the chart instructions. Once she explained it to me I felt like a bit of a dork. It goes to show that every day can be a huge learning curve. Thank you to Athanasia Andritsou for kindly helping me out. I wrote some notes on my Ravelry page about this shawl if you’re thinking about knitting it.

This was also my first attempt at nupps and I used the crochet hook method using this video tutorial.

But rather than do too many nupps I used lots of beads – 736 in total! The beads I used were from Over the Rainbow:

5 x 06-MIX06 6/0 Miyuki Seed Bead Mix – Golden Grains – 12.5g each
1 x SB6-556 6/0 Dark Topaz AB Seed Beads – 12.5g (plus a few more from another tube)
1 x SB6-10 Beads – 25g
I just added the beads randomly and was quite ecstatic with the end result

I started the shawl on 26 January 2015 and finished it on 22 March 2015 but it sat languishing until I got around to blocking it on 1 July 2015 (I hate blocking!!).

It was a mammoth effort as the shawl is rather large to say the least!

I am quite proud of myself for persevering with this project. Here is the completed shawl.

It was a bit difficult to get far enough away so I could get the whole shawl in the photo.

This is what I call a ‘scrumptious’ shawl as it wraps around so easily and the beads provide a sense of weighted security.

I can’t believe I painstakingly added 736 beads with a crochet hook!Here’s a picture of the border with the ‘butterflies’ above it.

I haven’t actually measured my shawl but suffice it to say it is large!

Maybe my next lace/beaded shawl will be a tad smaller. I might add that the whole shawl was made while I was laying in bed and watching TV which made is so much easier as the weight of the shawl rested on me rather than hanging off the needles. I do most of my knitting at night in bed watching TV. Where’s your favourite place to knit?

I hope I have inspired you to try a lace/beaded shawl. And don’t be afraid to contact the pattern writer if you get stuck. I would highly recommend this pattern as Athanasia responded to my question in an extremely timely manner.

Happy knitting! I’m off to Sheep Thrills for social knitting and then to meet a couple of friends for lunch in Noosaville. I am loving my holiday!

Until next time…

Melanie

 

Holiday Happenings

The last few days have simply flown by; I hope the next two weeks slow down a bit. I’ve met with wonderful friends, done lots of knitting, walked a lot, bought lots of wool and met some fantastic women at social knitting.

The weather has been perfect! Blue skies, lots of sun and very cold at times so needless to say I’ve been trying out all my scarves and socks. This morning was absolutely stunning as I walked to Sheep Thrills to partake in social knitting (the third time this week!!)

The Noosa River looked absolutely gorgeous. It was a crisp and vigorous half an hour walk for me. That’s one way to warm up.

This is where I normally sit and knit on the riverfront.

Today I met a whole new group of women at Sheep Thrills. I love this little shop. It has such an inviting atmosphere and you’re instantly made to feel at home. You could say it’s now my ‘home away from home’.

Two women reconnecting with their craft so their table was relatively quiet as they concentrated on how to knit and crochet.

The glorious selection of yarns is to die for!!

As you know I love a yarn bargain so I just had to indulge in these yarns which were on sale for only $4 a ball!! These are Lotus Yarns Winter Sun Aran which is a 100% extrafine merino.

I am going to use these balls to make a couple of In Threes baby cardigans.

These three balls of Lotus Yarns Miya will be used to knit a gorgeous lacy shawl or two with beads. This is a 2 ply / lace yarn and is made from 70% mink, 20% merino and 10% silk. It is wonderfully soft.

At Sheep Thrills there are gorgeous handmade throws and garments all around the rooms that are on display and for sale.

One the throws I saw was a C2C crocheted rug. Now I’ve heard a lot about C2C from the women of the QldBaysideYarnClub so I was intrigued. Leah told me about The Crochet Crowd tutorial video which I viewed and now I am really quite interested so I have earmarked the 20 balls of apricot and brown Lotus Yarns Winter Sun Aran yarn for this project. I am going to be busy!!

Until next time…

Melanie

 

A Star is Born!

Well, maybe not quite a star but I am pleased to say that an article appeared in today’s Wynnum Herald which was sourced a few weeks ago by a local journalist. Now this is not a great copy as I’ve downloaded it from a photo taken by a friend of mine. As I’m at Noosaville I can’t actually get to an original copy until I get home.

Unfortunately, they spelt my surname incorrectly and there’s a couple of other minor errors but as the interview was done over the phone, I’m at least pleased they got the gist of the story correct. The journalist found me through this blog which is good to know.

I visited Sheep Thrills this morning for a short session of social knitting (I’ll return tomorrow). Nothing nicer than looking at something like this while you’re knitting and chatting..

All that lovely yarn! If you’re a fan of Ella Rae Lace Merino, you’ll know that here in Australia it retails for around $30 a skein. At Sheep Thrills it’s only $20 and they have a fantastic range of colours too.

I bought a skein in a colour I don’t usually buy as it is quite eye catching.

I’ve also started knitting another scarf using some lovely yarn from The Fibre Company called Road to China (which is a 65% Baby Alpaca, 15% Silk, 10% Camel, 10% Cashmere blend) and I think I’m going to be short a ball so I found this Eki Riva Sport which is a 100% baby alpaca yarn today and bought a couple of balls. I think it will be a nice contrast. It’s a little thicker but I’m hoping it won’t detract from the scarf as it will only be the top edge of the scarf where I’ll use the substitute yarn. Time will tell!!

Here it is against the Fiber Company Road to China yarn.

However it turns out this scarf is going to be soooo soft!

That’s my news for today.

Until next time…

Melanie

Let the holidays begin!

Just a quick post to let you know I arrived in Noosaville yesterday for three weeks of relaxation, knitting, re-connecting with friends and just doing my own thing.

It’s always a big day packing the car and then the two hour drive interspersed with a coffee stop along the way.

Unpacked the car and then took off to do some grocery shopping, picked up a local paper and then back home for a late lunch of sourdough bread with olives, some dip and a glass of red wine. Delish!

While reading the local paper I came across this little notice.

Needless to say I’ll be joining the ladies for social knitting this Thursday! Can’t wait.

When setting up my laptop I realised I’d left my wireless mouse at home. Grrr! I don’t like using the finger pad as it just seems to take me longer to do anything (hence the length of this post). I’ll have to pick up a cheap wireless mouse next time I’m near a computer store.

I’m meeting one of my friends this morning for a walk along the river front and then off for a well deserved coffee.

Until next time…

Melanie

Open Day Goodies!

Okay, so Open Day is over but now is the time to show you what I came home with!! Needless to say I went a little crazy and bought a bit but I also managed to find some bargains. What do you think of this gorgeous basket which I can use to take to spinning with all my bits and pieces in it?

It was on the Southside Spinners table and I immediately picked it up. At $14 it was a bargain plus these two balls of 2ply yarn for a combined total of $3.20.

From Desley’s table I picked up these four cups and saucers with little sheep motifs on them. $12 for the lot!

Aren’t they so cute?

Plus this 1,000 piece sheep puzzle for $20.

Desley makes these beautiful sewn mug bags. At $6.50 they’re ideal as a gift for someone who goes to spinning. We all take our own mugs.

I picked up these books from the Gold Coast Spinners table. Around $20 for all of them.

Plus this fibre.

This is carded alpaca…all ready to spin!

This gorgeous merino from our members’ table.

Plus this lovely little scarf.

These gorgeous soaps, lotion bar, lip balms and a ‘spinning wheel’ pendant from VivianneK Handmade Soaps.

Vivianne also very kindly gave me this beautiful wooden box with my name engraved on it. It is simply stunning and I am using it to store my ‘sheepy’ jewellery.

And of course there are my three cute little sheep mugs from Earth & Stone Creations.

They are now proudly sitting on a shelf with my sheep cups and saucers. This rather handy notions case from Chantelle’s Fiberific table.

This Natural Plant Dyes book written by Vivianne’s mother (who also had a small table). She kindly autographed it for me.

These two shawl pins from Shorn Fibers.

Some soaps from one of our members’ tables.

Plus these old copies of Spin-Off magazine from our second hand baa-gains table. All for the grand price of 20c each!

I think I managed to pick up quite a few lovely goodies.

I am now in the process of sorting out some projects to take on holidays with me. Yes, my Noosaville trip has snuck up on me quite quickly. I’ve been winding wool and sorting patterns as I’ll be away for three weeks so I’ll need plenty to keep me busy. Can’t wait to drop into social knitting at Sheep Thrills in Noosaville. I discovered this little yarn shop in July last year and I can’t wait to get back there!

To finish off I’m going to show you more of these little sheep mugs that I am totally besotted with 🙂

Until next time…

Melanie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home Sweet Home!

Going away on holidays is lots of fun but coming home is always a treat too. There’s nothing like sleeping in your own bed, with your own pillow and having everything on hand rather than rummaging through bags and suitcases looking for something you forgot to pack!

I arrived home on Saturday but made sure I had another visit to Sheep Thrills at Noosaville on the Friday morning for some social knitting and yes you guessed it….I had to buy some more yarn!!!! Well it is going to be about a year before I get back there. Picked up another Ella Rae Merino Lace in these lovely earthy colours…

Plus this stunning Marigold Silk

Isn’t this one an eye opener?

All three together make rather a statement don’t they?

I might add that all of the above four yarns only cost me $20 each. Yes, the yarn at Sheep Thrills is very reasonably priced.

When I got home I had a couple of parcels waiting for me. Yes….I love a surprise! The first parcel held two skeins of the tenth offering in the Zen Yarn Garden ART WALK Series that features a painting by Andy Warhol entitled “Ice Cream Dessert“. From one medium to the next, artists express their use of colour. Inspired by Picasso, Zen Yarn Garden’s dyer has successfully captured the vividness and subtlety of the colours of the painting.

Andy Warhol’s pioneering Pop Art defined a decade and a culture, distinguishing him as one of the most influential, creative and prolific artists of the 20th century. Originally the most sought-after commercial artist in New York, Warhol (1923 – 1987) is most known for his multiple images of Campbell’s Soup cans, Coke bottles, dollar bills and celebrities, which exalted the beauty within ordinary objects and familiar images. Working out of a studio called The Factory, he invented the silkscreening process which enabled him to mass produce a single image in his signature style. Warhol was also a talented filmmaker, music producer, commercial illustrator, author and magazine publisher. [quoted from Art.com]

The yarn is Serenity Silk Single which is a 75% superwash merino / 15% cashmere / 10% silk and contains 430 yards / 100g (fingering single ply). Here’s a picture from Zen Yarn Garden’s website…

The second parcel contained two skeins of beautifully dyed pure silk laceweight from Ms Gussett…

It is simply divine…

And then this morning there was ANOTHER parcel delivery! I forgot that while I was at Noosaville, Angela from Shorn Fibers released an Etsy update and posted it on her Facebook page. I, of course, had to have a look. Oh my goodness, these yarns are to die for!!!

Two skeins of Shorn Fibers Merino Superwash DK (115g per skein!). This colourway is Anaitis…

One skein of Shorn Fibers MCN 435 Sock which is an 80% superwash merino / 10% cashmere / 10% nylon yarn. This colourway is Wood Elf…

One skein of Shorn Fibers Merino Superwash DK (115g per skein!). This colourway is Woodland Pixie…

Two skeins of Shorn Fibers Premium Sock which is a 75% superwash merino / 25% nylon yarn. This colourway is Agamede…

And lastly, two skeins of Shorn Fibers Silky Fingering which is a 50% superwash merino / 50% silk yarn and it is so beautifully soft and silky. This colourway is Woodland Pixie…

I have no idea yet what I will knit with these yarns but just could not resist their beautiful colours. The right pattern will come along I know.

While I was at Eumundi Markets last Wednesday, I also picked up these two gloriously soft alpaca teddy bears…

 

And these three lightweight scarves…

And to close off…this morning I ducked into a newly opened cheap shop in my area and found these three sheep. I’m assuming they’re sheep although they do have rather ‘googly’ eyes don’t they?

Plus these two boxes of tissues. They’re not the softest tissues so I only use them when I’m oiling my spinning wheels to catch the drips. And can you guess why I buy these particular boxes?

Yes, I know…I’m a bit unusual aren’t I? I mean, I’m living in a home that is being overrun by spinning wheels, yarn and stuffed sheep!!!!!!!!!!!

Until next time…

Melanie

BTW, On the right hand side of the home page of my blog there are lots of interesting links. I’m not sure when you receive my weekly posts whether you see these links. If not, what you can do is click on the Home button which is at the top left hand side of the page. This will take you to the home page where you can view all the links plus the most recent post. One link also takes you directly to my Ravelry home page.

 

“Sheep Thrills” at Noosaville (the best little yarn shop!)

Utopia….heavenly…bliss….magical….those words sum up the hours between 9.30am and 1pm today! I discovered Noosaville’s best retreat ever…..Sheep Thrills Knitting and Crochet Club / Yarn Shop.

And how did I find this shop? Well I saw an advertisement in the local paper so I sent an email to find out whether you could attend just to sit and do some social knitting. On Tuesday this week, I was doing my normal riverfront knitting when a woman who was walking her dog, approached me. To cut a long story short, she is the owner of Sheep Thrills and we had a good old yarn! It was just meant to be!

Who’d have thought this older style home would house such a wonderful Aladdin’s cave of yarnie goodness!

The entry stopped me in its tracks as I tried to take in all the crocheted and colourful garments…

Now this is my kind of sign!

A group of four of us settled into some social knitting as well as Leah (a very talented crocheter) and Bonnie (the very welcoming owner of the establishment).

It always amazes me how a bunch of women who don’t know each other can sit down and just start connecting and swapping stories. We had so much fun knitting and yarning to each other. Sheep Thrills has such a welcoming vibe to it and the decor is so homey and relaxing. You can just be yourself and absorb all the creativity in the comfortable surroundings.

The house/shop is a riot of colourful yarns available for sale (yeeesssss!!!)

Don’t you love that wood stove…

Leah assisting Margaret with her knitting. Bonnie in the background.

Beautiful silks…

Lots of little sheep can be found sitting on the yarn shelves…

I bought this stunning Colinette Yarns Perugino Throw Kit in the colourway ‘Ginger Nut’. Thanks Bonnie for pointing out this very last kit to me as I would not have even thought of purchasing it without realising what it contained.

Bonnie even provides ‘free of charge’ the circular needles required for this project. That’s what I call looking after your customers!

These are some of the yarns I bought as well (you didn’t think I would only buy one thing did you???).

Ella Rae Lace Merino, a 4ply / fingering 100% merino yarn. I love this luscious orange colour.

Lana Gatto Super Soft, a 10ply / worsted 100% merino yarn. An end of dye lot sale at only AU$6.50 per ball. I already have some of this yarn at home but I just love its softness. It’s a delight to use.

Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller Washable Ewe, an aran / worsted 100% superwash wool. Only AU$4 for each 100g ball. What a bargain! And it’s green so I had to have it 🙂

Patons Regal 4ply Cotton, a 4ply 100% cotton. Fell in love with the colours. I’m thinking a nice lightweight summery scarf.

To think I have to go back home on Saturday after finding this welcoming little yarn shop. I could weep!!! That means I will have to come back to Noosaville next year just to visit Sheep Thrills again.

If you live at the Sunshine Coast or you’re travelling through make sure you drop into Sheep Thrills at 61 Hilton Terrace, Noosaville. Sheep Thrills is open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, from 9.30am to 1pm Saturday from 9.30am to 11.30am. Classes are held every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, from 9.30am to 11.30am. Everything is supplied including a basic pattern, instruction notes and two hours’ instruction.

You will be made very welcome!

Thank you Bonnie, Leah and the lovely ladies I met today for making my day so special. I’ll be back tomorrow before I leave on Saturday.

Until next time…

Melanie