bamboo lovin'

last year, when i went on a roadtrip to bendigo, i picked up a whole heap of beautiful bamboo yarn, that went on to become this blankie, and this blankie!
with a request to knit up another baby blankie, there was only one thing i wanted to knit it with...



i was a little down, as the colour selection was definitely a little less vibrant this time around, and i played around with swatching, trying to find a fit with the colours, that would work, but also look fairly gender neutral. everything was just kind of looking flat though...

after a little bit of googling, i found a yarn that i though looked pretty similar... and knowing that bendigo woollen mills are a supplier of heirloom, i thought i'd take a bit of a gamble...



and it turned out perfectly!
i've got all of the colours i used for the two previous blankie again!

i've got the blankie on the needles already, but i haven't got much done yet. i'm hoping to get quite a bit done while i'm at mum and dad's over the weekend!

and as for the other balls of bamboo? well they're destined to be knit up as single colour baby blankies, to go into my wee shop. one day!

have you ever knit a baby blankie? what is your favourite yarn to use?

green love.

after getting some chores done on sunday, i treated myself with a little potter around the garden.
a little bit of weed pulling, some watering, re-mulching and pruning.



i pruned back my roses for the winter (which probably should've been done a good month ago...) and rather than just throwing out the trimmings, i cut some of them up to try my hand at propagating!

and while i was getting some dirt in some pots to organise the cuttings....



i thought i'd fill up any other vessel i had too...

i pulled out my seed box and planted in all of the old flower seeds i had in the box. if any of them sprout, i think it'll be a miracle as some of the packets were suuuuuuuper old!

while i had my seed box out, i also popped some rocket and spinach seeds in my big planter box... over where the onions are planted. except that there are no onions growing there anymore... damn!!!
i'm hoping to get some onions planted in the chookyard at mum and dad's this weekend. fingers crossed for that!

what's growing at your place at the moment? do you have onions in the ground?

going backwards.

after finishing bb's jumper, i was super happy to have it done...
but then the more i looked at it on him, then more i realised that it wasn't the greatest fit.



particularly once it had been washed a couple of times, it was WAY too big!
i started to express my unhappiness about the way it was looking and fitting, and FINALLY bb has agreed to let me have another crack!



a morning of UN-sewing the pieces...
and then another morning of frogging...



and i've got a whole bag of balls of wool again.
i think it will be a little while before i get around to casting another jumper on for him, but when i do, there'll be MUCH swatching (and then washing of said swatches) as well as copious amounts of measuring!
this next version will hopefully be made to last!

i pulled out another project too...



i realised after re-reading the pattern, and actually measuring my foot that the size i was knitting was NEVER going to fit me! and as much as i enjoy knitting for other people, these beauties are destined to be mine! all mine ha ha!

even though i was almost done with the first sock, i figured it was better to start again, so i ripped it all out, and started it again almost straight away!

do you ever pull out your knitting? do you find you have to go backwards to be happy?

meal planning monday.

oops, another week since a blog post... but after almost clearing my to-do list yesterday, i'm feeling super ready to take on the week ahead! maybe i'll even get some other posts written up and posted too!



tonight, i'm cooking this recipe. i've said i was going to cook this one a few times in the past, but it's actually happening tonight! the mince is already out of the freezer and everything. it's happening!

tomorrow night, i'm off to ballet, and bb is cooking up some lamb chops. hopefully with a whole heap of vegies too.

wednesday night, i'll be working late changing over merchandising. there's some pork steaks in the fridge we picked up over the weekend. i think i'll throw together a marinade in the morning before i leave, and let them get nice and tender during the day, then serve them up with some salad when i get home. or bb can. or i may just grab something on the way home ha ha! we'll see!

thursday night, i'm working late. i'll grab some bolognaise out of the freezer, and cook up some pasta. easy.

friday, i'm off to visit the parentals! i haven't been down to the farm since i was there farm sitting (well over a month now!) so i'm looking forward to getting my hands dirty and spending some time with my mum!

saturday night, mum and i will be home on our lonesomes as dad will be in town (figures ha ha!), i'm sure we'll find something delicious to eat!

sunday night, i'll be back home to reality. and potentially a sunday roast. fingers crossed huh?

what are you eating this week? do you have any recipes you keep meaning to try, but you never get around to them?

meal planning monday.

after going quite well with the meal plan last week, everything kinda fell apart at the weekend. bb and i had an extremely lazy day yesterday, both of us feeling a little under the weather.
although i feel that we definitely needed a lazy day, i'm also now feeling that there's heaps to be done, so i think it's best to come out swinging with a new meal plan for the week!



tonight, i'll pop the chicken in the oven that i'd intended to cook last night. i'll put it in the moment i get home from work which will hopefully mean that we eat at a decent hour. fingers crossed!

tomorrow night, i've got ballet, so i'm hoping bb will be able to pull a risotto together. i'm intending to throw the chicken carcass and some vegies in the slow cooker tonight after dinner, to wake up to a delicious stock for the risotto tomorrow. fingers crossed for that one too!

wednesday, i'm off to ncb. bb can fend for himself, and i'll grab something while i'm there.

thursday night, i'm working late. i'll grab some sausages out of the freezer, and give bb some instructions on how to cook meatballs. they're super easy so hopefully he does ok!

friday night, i'm off to finders keepers after work! catching up with lots of lovely crafty business peeps AND maybe grabbing something delicious for dinner on the way home. sounds amazing!

saturday night, i'll leave bb in charge of choosing what to have for dinner as i'm working. he'll be cooking a lot this week huh?

and sunday, i'm hoping to have a not-so-lazy day. hopefully get some cooking done to prepare for the week ahead... though looking at the week i've got planned, it might need another lazy sunday ha ha!

do you ever have lazy days? what are you eating this week?

meal planning monday.

phew! i've just finished up a full on weekend at work but thankfully bb has kept the home fires burning and organised lunches for us for this week, as well as helping me to put together our meal plan for dinners too! legend!



tonight, i've grabbed some chicken breast out of the freezer, and i'm going to whip up some teriyaki chicken. it's one of my favourite go to recipes AND i haven't made it in ages!

tomorrow night, i'm off to ballet. while i'm out, bb will cook up some sausages and vegies. nothing fancy, but it should still be delicious.

wednesday, i'll find some beef mince in the freezer and throw together a cheat's lasagne. i call it a cheat's lasagne because you don't make a white sauce, or even a proper bolognaise really. super yummy still!

thursday night, i think i'll crumb some fish, and put together a salad. simples.

friday night, slow cooker osso bucco will be on the menu. if i remember to a) get the meat out of the freezer and b) put it in the slow cooker. sometimes i get distracted on my mornings off from work.

saturday night, bb and i are off to celebrate one of my friend's birthdays! heading off to a fancy place in the city i believe, can't wait!

and sunday, bb has been saying he wants to cook up some chilli for a couple of weeks now, i think sunday will be the day!
the leftovers should go nicely in some wraps for lunches for the rest of the week too! fingers crossed!

what are you eating this week? have you cooked pip's teriyaki chicken before? do you cheat when you're cooking lasagne too?

my creative space.

as per usual, i've been doing lots of knitting in my space this week.

i finished off the ribby red socks for my cousin...



i love how they've finished up AND i'm happy to say, they fit as well!
maybe this swatching thing IS a good idea ha ha!

i'm hoping i'll get to hand deliver them on my day off next week.

i've also been working on putting the finishing touches on my cape. grafting the last few stitches, sewing in ends, contemplating blocking and buttons. all of the fun stuff.

and in the leftover times, i've been knitting back and forth baby blankie rows in a sweet little chevron pattern.



i love the way this is coming together, and especially the non-traditional baby colour. i do like non-traditional baby colours ha ha!

what are you creating this week? what are your favourite colours to knit baby things in?

green love.

yesterday, was such a beautifully sunny winter's day in melbourne. i had a little bit of free time up my sleeve so i got to go out and play in my backyard for a bit.

it put such a smile on my face to feel the sun on my skin AND see some little flowers showing their faces.



a single one on my broad beans, and lots of buds soon to bloom (hopefully).

and some other buds soon to bloom too...



jasmine! one of my absolute faves!
i will be waiting with baited breath for these little beauties to plump up and spring open, releasing their intoxicating scent.

the other thing i noticed while i was out and about were the number of weeds that have popped their cheeky little heads up!



these were soon all pulled out, as well as the little bits and pieces that were springing up in all of my pots.

i was hoping to get out and give the lawns a trim this morning, but the weather is looking super peaky and grey out there so i think i'll spend my morning tidying and knitting and drinking tea instead. it sounds like a pretty good compromise to me ha ha!

what's growing in your patch today? any flowers showing their faces?

the haul.

a few weeks ago now, i hopped into my car and went on a wee little road trip up to bendigo...

i wasn't visiting anyone, i had no where to be, i just had a little itch to visit the magical back room of the bendigo woollen mills.
i did go there with a specific purpose in mind, some yarn i had to grab some more of for a special purpose (which i'll share in the next few days...), but i also picked up some BARGAINS!
ie. wool i didn't really need per se... but was too good of a price to go past!

first up, some remnants...



which should be perfect for adding to my mitred square blankie...

and some scraps...



which i did buy a bag of last time, and i haven't really touched... but one day i'll get around to it, and look, now i have more when i do!
these little bags of remnants and scraps were only $1 a piece so i definitely felt i could justify them.

this lovely denim coloured 8ply, with the tweedy fleck just JUMPED into my basket. it was way too lovely to leave behind!



the 7 wee balls that i came away with come to 240g, so i should be able to whip up something nice with it! some little baby clothes easily!

colonial is bendigo woollen mills newest yarn, and i was so surprised that they already had some remnants of it that i had to pick some up!



214g of mocha

aaaaaaaand...



220g of a nice grey.

the texture is similar to that of their classic yarn, so it definitely won't go astray.
i've already got a few ideas percolating... anyone got any spare time they can lend me?

a couple of the ladies i head to craft group with on every other wednesday have been waxing lyrically about this yarn...



"stellar" so i was pretty happy when i found a little bit hanging out in the back room. 198g to be exact. should be able to squeeze out a little project from that.

i found another nice grey to play with too. luckily as one of the ideas i've got floating around in my brain (leftovers from this scarf, i think) requires a fair bit of grey.



i picked up 3 undersized balls of this stuff, totalling to 412g. definitely enough to get done what's going round and round in my brain.
it'll just be interesting to see how it knits up, i've never used this yarn before!

and finally, one little ball of luxury.



they are normally 200g a pop, so at 110g, this is pretty tiny!
i'm thinking it will be perfect to whip myself up a nice beanie though.
i am in LOVE with this colour too! it was one of the colours i used in my granny stripe!

so i picked up all of these little bundles of wool, at a fraction of the sticker price of the full balls. such bargains!

are you a bargain yarn shopper? where are you favourite places to buy yarn?

meal planning monday

another monday, another meal plan.
bb and i have been trying really hard to stick with our meal plans, or at least eat food from home the last couple of weeks to save as many $$$ as we can. that house fund is growing and growing!



tonight, bb has whipped up some home made pizzas from our little stash of dough in the freezer. they're cooking away in the oven now and making my belly rumble! can't wait!

tomorrow night, i'm off to ballet again! last week was super fun, and i did surprisingly ok considering i'm nursing some painful ribs at the moment... anywho, bb is in charge of getting dinner organised again! he did a fab job last week, whipping up the soup in the picture above! this week i'll let him off the hook a bit and grab some bolognaise out of the freezer. he'll just need to boil up some pasta. easy.

wednesday is ncb night! i missed out last fortnight because i was being a country mouse, so i'm very much looking forward to catching up with everyone! i'll grab dinner while i'm there, and bb can fend for himself.

thursday night i think i might bake some salmon in the oven. perhaps using this recipe...

friday night, i'm working late, so i think i'll throw something into the slow cooker. maybe satay chicken. yup, sounds good!

it's my weekend to work this weekend coming, so i'll leave bb in charge of alllllll of the cooking. he's been on a roll recently so hopefully he'll cook up some delicious meals for the two of us!
i'm keeping my fingers crossed i might be able to tempt him into whip this salad up. it looks super fresh and delicious!

what are you eating this week?

green love.

i actually meant to get this post written and posted LAST week but the lack of reliable internet on the farm messed that plan right up!
luckily, the story wasn't going anywhere ha ha!

one of the things i really wanted to get done while i was on the farm, was to release my poor little cherry tree from it's pot, and let it spread it's roots deep and far!



after a really good water, i dug a MASSIVE hole!
most of the holes i dig for any size plant, are normally far too shallow. with this one i definitely overcompensated...



i was quite happy with my timing on planting this guy. being almost the shortest day of the year, i was able to pick a great spot that would get lots of sun year round!



because my silly hole was so deep, the poor little tree looks utterly ridiculous in the ground. super low to the ground and very stumpy looking!
i'm hoping that being so close to the ground will protect it from the crazy winds that frequently grace the farm though. fingers crossed!

do you grow fruit trees? in pots or in the ground?

july.

surely june was the quickest month ever? surely?!?!

in the past month, winter has most DEFINITELY raised her frosty head. smack bang in the middle of my time in the country in fact. the first half of my stay was spent splitting my time between outside and inside, and the second half... well there was lots of knitting done by the fire!
i had a fairly massive to-do list of things i wanted to get done while i was down on the farm, and i am trying not to let the fact i barely scratched the surface get me down too much... unrealistic expectations of myself are silly!

anywho, i AM pleased with what i DID get completed... the majority of the knitting on my cape (just the hood to go now!), the end of the first of the red socks, as well as the start of the second, aaaaaaand....



a few swatches for a baby blankie commission.

and this month?
well i would LOVE to finish the wee red socks for my cousin, and hopefully the rest of my cape!
i'd also like to finish up the two above swatched blankies... one is for the commission piece, but one is destined for my very empty shop. stay tuned on that one ha ha!

i'm also hoping to take my lunch to work EVERY day. and whack some spinach seeds in the ground over where my onions are growing.

what are your plans for the month ahead? what are you knitting at the moment? what's your favourite thing to eat for lunch?