meal planning monday.

i have super big plans for this week ahead, and it doesn't include any of the stuff pictured below...



this here is a meat-free meal plan!
strange huh? i've realised that the main focus of most of my meal plans is meat, meat, MEAT.
it's really not a particularly sustainable way to be...
we'll see how it goes this week, and over the coming weeks won't we?

tonight, i'll whip up a lentil curry. hopefully it'll be delicious!

tomorrow night, creamy garlic pasta with roasted tomatoes. should be super quick and simple for after work.

wednesday is ncb night! i'll grab something while i'm out crafting with my pals.

thursday night, i think these pies will be awesome!

friday, bb and i will be home together, so i think some vegie burgers will be on the cards. bb has been talking through some ideas for these and they're already sounding delicious!

saturday, i'll be working, so a quick and easy dinner will be just the trick. sugar snap pea and carrot soba noodles should be perfect!

and sunday? well i think sunday will need another curry. this slow cooker chickpea and potato curry will be ace!

what are you eating this week? are you a big meat eater?

my week.

this week saw me heading back to work full time after quite a few weeks off. i still managed to squeeze in heaps of fun bits though... it would also explain why i'm so absolutely pooped right now ha ha!

last weekend, i picked up a little bit of yarn in the sale we were having at work... and promptly cast on this beauty.
after knitting some slooooooow sleeves for bb's grown-up-sized jumper, this knit up very quickly! or it was knitting up quickly, until i put it aside to continue on with bb's sleeves. hopefully both will be done in no time!

i met this little green fellow in the florist near work. he was hiding in the back, but struck a pose as soon as i pulled my phone out. handsome devil.

a wee tipple this afternoon, to celebrate a beautiful lady's birthday. missing her greatly, as i'm sure many of her friends and family are.

lots of good excuses to go out for good food this week, first up, to celebrate a good mate from work moving on to bigger and brighter things. cocktails and tapas followed by decadent dessert never goes astray.
and secondly, to thank another lovely friend, for helping to design my wedding stationary. pizza and beer all round!

a whirlwind roadtrip to help bb with some work stuff on thursday, saw me with a little bit of time to soak up some sunshine beach-side while enjoying a flask of tea and some knitting. no complaints from me!

what has your week looked like? seen any frogs lately?

show and tell.

the finished piece i'm sharing today was a quick knit. and i mean super quick. an hour or so tops!
AND knitted between serving customers at work to boot!



a flouncy scarf to highlight a yarn we have on sale in sunspun at the moment.
knit on a 5mm needle and using just one edge of the net style yarn, the scarf grew before my eyes.



anyone who has knitted with rowan kidsilk haze, would understand just how soft and ethereal this version would be.
it almost feels like a cloud! and the hazy mohair finish, traps a nice bit of warmth too.



with the yarn on sale for only $8.55 a hank, it would make the perfect start to the gift stash for the holiday season, don't you think?
i would imagine the scarf would come together even quicker if it was crocheted too!

what are you making at the moment? have you ever knitted or crocheted with a net yarn before?

ps. shoot the store an email, if you'd like to get your hands on some of this yarn before the sale ends on saturday!

meal planning monday.

my goodness, it has been a few weeks between meal plans huh?
i think i've just about got my head back in the game now though, we'll see shall we?



tonight, i'll grab some steaks from the butcher's near work on my lunch break and throw together a big ol' salad to serve with it.
if the weather wasn't about to turn to crap, i'd consider firing up the bbq for the first time this spring... but they'll cook up just fine on the griddle pan inside i guess.

tomorrow night is bb's birthday. we'll celebrate with delicious indian food at our local. it should be ace!

wednesday, i think i'll put some beef ribs in the slow cooker to braise. i have the day off, but it means i can garden and knit instead of mucking around in the kitchen. most excellent.

thursday, i'm working late. i'll pop some satay chicken in the slow cooker. super easy and delicious and the perfect thing to come home from work to.

friday night, i'm hoping to catch up with some friends for dinner. maybe homemade pizzas and football? could be just the ticket.

saturday, i'll be working during the day, so i'll leave bb in charge of cooking dinner. we'll see how that goes ha ha.

sunday night, roast night. there's a chook in the freezer that will fit the bill beautifully.

what are you eating this week? do you use a slow cooker too?

my week.

last weekend, i was at the craft sessions, so didn't quite get around to a 'my week' post. i thought i'd get a chance to put together a craft sessions round up during the week, but it just didn't happen. another big week in these here parts.

i spent quite a bit of time, focused time, finishing up my socks. i was desperate to get them finished and on the blog on thursday.
this photo was taken in the gaming room at a country pub. how much does the carpet rival the upholstery on public transport ha ha?
also, i am clearly NOT a gambler. i like to test my luck with my knitting instead.

freesia season is hands-down, my favourite time of the year. i love spring SO much.
this bunch was picked from my little brother's front yard. he had no idea they were growing there so i was more than happy to take them off his hands!

time spent at mum and dad's, will always involve sitting outside with a cup of tea. bonus points for sunshine and a view off the side of the deck looking over the property. oh and while still in my pyjamas. bliss!

monday of this week was a tough one. funerals are hard, but i was very thankful for the blue skies that abounded.
it was a beautiful service though, for a truly amazing lady who will be missed terribly.

and speaking of being missed, sampson tried to make sure i wasn't going to go anywhere by camping out in my suitcase. poor thing has been very lonely, as for the first fortnight in september, i only spent a grand total of 5 nights at home!
i'm a little pooped, but have been super happy to spend a few nights at home this week.

what has your week been like? do you like freesias?

show and tell.

as predicted last week, the socks i've been working on ARE done this week. just.
i may have cast them off last night. quite late. oops!

in any case, they're done and dusted!



these socks, used yarn and a pattern from the inaugural yarnhaus "box of sox" and since i signed up for a 6 month subscription, there'll be a lot more socks in my future!

the first installment, came with the pattern 'tip top toe socks' with the option to knit the socks, toe-up, or top-down.
i opted for the toe-up option, with my last two pairs of top down socks not fitting so well (one because i ran out of yarn mid-way through the foot, the other because i didn't anticipate the amount of stretch in the rib).
i also converted the pattern to knit two-at-a-time to avoid the whole potential second sock-itis issue. it also definitely made it easier to ensure both socks were the same size too!



the socks overall have quite a firm fit... though in these photos, they haven't been blocked. i'm anticipating a little bit of stretch with wear, which seems to be what happens with most of my hand-knitted socks.
i was very naughty and didn't swatch for these, which would explain why i have quite a bit of yarn left, despite knitting them a little longer than i was first expecting to.

my reason for not swatching, had nothing to do with yarn quantity though, and everything to do with just wanting to get them on my needles!
in fact, i was so keen, i decided not to wait the two days until i was back at work and had easy access to a swift and yarn winder, but wind the skein by hand. WHAT A NIGHTMARE! the skein got SO tangled, it took me FOUR days to untangle. seriously!
such a fool i am!



anywho, i'm super excited to welcome this pair into my stable of hand-knitted socks.

are you a sock knitter? do you wear hand-knitted socks? what have you been making this week?

show and tell.

oops! this week, i don't have anything finished to share!
i meant to get this pair of socks done...



it just didn't happen with what has been going on here this week... it's been a pretty hard one with a close family friend losing her battle with cancer. it was quick and sudden, but so ridiculously tough.
i've made ok headway in spite of everything though, the second heel is almost doneskies, and i'm hoping the leg with the small amount of pattern in it, will knit up pretty quickly.
maybe there'll be a whole lot more info on them this time next week!

i guess i'll share a little about what else will be on my needles soon too.



i'm super close to casting on the sleeves for bb's jumper. any second now...

and maybe in the mean time...



i'll add some more squares to this beauty. i've been carrying around a few odd 8ply balls to add to it, so maybe over the weekend, it will actually happen!

what are you working on at the moment?

my week.

this post could very easily be re-named 'hanging in the barossa' as that's what i spent the first half of my week doing while bb was busy working.

SO many grape vines. not really surprising considering where i was... but it was cool to see so many. i loved picking out the SUPER old gnarly vines, from the skinny newer ones. and i really loved the vineyards that were growing vines ON their fences. why waste space with separate fences? super efficient ha ha!

we had a super fancy dinner one night when bb was feeling up to it. goodness me, it was delicious. even the bread we had to start was amazing. my new life goal is to bake bread that tasty!

the hotel where we stayed was really ace AND has plans to set up a kitchen garden for the on-site restaurant using baths they ripped out of their recently renovated rooms. oh, and they had fruit trees growing in all of the gardens, instead of just decorative plants. love me a permaculture minded hotel!

on my first day in the barossa, the first thing on my list was to head to the maggie beer farm. i spent quite a bit of time there, walking around, browsing in the shop, talking to the birds AND hanging out with the TURTLES!
the central dam on the property, which the cafe looks over seemed to be full of curious little turtles.
i have a feeling they know exactly when the cafe opens, and the potential for food dropped over the edge of the deck is at it's highest...
the water of the dam was a really interesting colour, quite a vibrant blue! i thought it must have had something added to it, but according to one of the cafe staff, is due to the soil under the water. so strange!

what better way to start the day than with a buffet breakfast? it really reminded me that breakfast is such an important meal, as it had me fuelled up for my days of exploring, that most days, i didn't feel the need to have lunch!

i was a little sad to come home to be honest, but it was nice to come home to kitty hugs and a little more slow, recovery time at home with bb.

what have you been up to this week? have you ever been to the barossa?

show and tell

another week, another beanie...
and this one i'm being super selfish with, it's all mine!

i've known that i wanted to turn the skeins that were dyed up using natural dyes at the 2013 craft sessions into something for a little while... hopefully to wear to this year's event!



the skeins above, from memory, are dyed with soursob, eucalyptus and madder. i believe the skeins were treated with different mordants to get different colours results, and maybe treated with acids/alkalis to achieve different results (no idea why i didn't write these things down!)

my first thought as to what to knit up with these beauties was a hat. and despite the number of hats i have knitted in my life, i don't actually OWN one. seriously.

with only little skeins of each colour, i knew what that would mean... colourwork knitting. a very scary and daunting prospect as i'd never played around too much with it.
oh and i'd need to choose a yarn for the body of the hat...



that was probably the easiest decision to make! shilasdair luxury 4ply in 'fleece cloud' was the perfect accompaniment. the texture and colour were just the best match with the teeny sample skeins i was working with.

i quickly knit up the ribbing of the hat, and then sat with the idea of colourworking for a day or so. is this skill too hard? should i do some research first? should i sketch out exactly what i wanted to knit?
well the answer was a resounding NO! i, as per usual, just jumped in! feet first! and i didn't stop until my colourworking was done!
marathon knitting anyone?



i'm still not 100% sure i love the crown shaping i knitted... it's quite square. but i think i've nailed the crown depth for my teeny head.

what do you think? what have you been making recently? are you heading to the craft sessions this year?

september.

wow! what an end to the month!
a quickly organised, last-minute trip to the barossa with bb for his work saw me spending yesterday relaxing and slowing down. as well as seeing some of the sights that the valley has to offer of course!
it's been lovely!



recapping august for a hot second, i think i had a fair crack at my goals. i finished up this hat, as well as my prototype (which still needs so much work it won't be seeing the light of day for another few months at least!), while bb's jumper project well and truly languished...
and the mending? well i introduced you to the garments, and i got them all repaired that same day! amazing what you can achieve when you stop procrastinating huh?
i'm loving having the two casual dresses back into rotation in my wardrobe.

the month started off strong with eating healthy, and not buying and eating random crap, but completely fell apart in the last week there...
it was much the same with the walking thing too, though on a week to week basis. i'd start the week off strong, getting in my 10k steps for the first two or three days, and then, by the end of the week my motivation would be completely gone!

and now for the month ahead... well i do actually have it together to start bb's jumper now. including ordering more yarn to be able to complete it! it's about 28074310 dye lots different though (not surprising since i bought the yarn so long ago!) so i'll be swapping between balls for pretty much the entire project. could get tedious...
there's also a pair of socks i'd like to finish up (there's still a looooong way to go on them) and i'd really love to get a few more squares onto the mitred square blanket i started last year. it's been very slow growing!

i've been easing myself back into gardening to start getting both the back and front yards ship-shape for the upcoming nuptials. spending just 5 minutes a day, a few times a week, is really making a whole lot of difference.
hopefully i can keep it up and everything will be looking smashing come december, without any big fits of panicked gardening needed. fingers crossed!

what does the month ahead look like for you? any big plans?