what to do with birthday money??

A little online shopping of course!!
And here is what she bought.
* 4 pieces of homspun fabric
* 3 thread
* 4 balls of yarn

And "Mum, look a free magazine"

She is one happy girl.

Homeschooling snapshot!

I thought I would share a couple of places we have been loving with our homeschooling friends of late.

Today we went to a place could Goomboora Park, which has a beautiful fresh water creek running through it. In the first photo, there is a rope swing (can't really see it) that the kids get heaps of use of.

and further down the creek here they are building mud shops on the shore. The children love this park and in the wet season, have a ball on their body boards racing with the current!

Last week, we went to a place called Stony Creek. As you can see from the photo below, there is lots of climbing rocks, swimming holes, and waterfalls to discover.

Here is Lucas venturing in!

And both the children swimming!

We spent about 3 hours here and I think the kids stopped for about 10 minutes for something to eat. There are so many natural waterways, beautiful parks etc up here in the Tropics...the kids really do live in their swimmers!

Hand dyed yarn by Mollie

Yes all Mollie and I do is craft ALL Day!! :)

It certainly looks like it doesn't it. We do have a Dad and son who lives here too. I will have to show you what they have been up to as well.

For now, here is Mollies first hand dyed yarn.

Step 1 wind the yarn onto the niddy noddy to make a skein

Step 2 Squirt all your favourite colours onto the wool and set aside to activate.

Step 3 Wash out and leave in sun to dry


Step 4 Wind it on the ball winder

All finished!

She has plans to knit a dishcloth with it, just like Mummys! She is ONE CRAFTY GIRL!

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And a quick photo of my new cotton yarn.

The kids have named it 'nature' as it has green for grass, yellow for the sun and blue for the sky.

I am really happy with the colours..lovely and fresh for a dishcloth.

More knitted dishcloths..using my OWN hand dyed cotton!

Months ago I bought 2 large balls (200gms) of 8 ply white cotton yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills.
And last week I decided to hand dye them.

After a spin on the wool winder, here are my two colourways - sunshine and ocean.



And using my ALL TIME FAV dishcloth pattern, knitted up these two dishcloths.
These and the two others I have knitted since then, are in the Christmas present pile, ready to be paired with my handmade soap for a friends christmas present.

I have never been so organised!!

I have more hand dyed yarn drying at the moment along with some wool yarn Mollie dyed. Photos tomorrow!

LENYA for Mollie

For such a simple dress...it was a journey!!


Made using a German boutique pattern that the photo tutorial and translation has since disapeared off the internet... so a challenge it was.

After some translation help from Sara, I set to work to make it for Mollies birthday.
* The skirt..easy
* Straps.. easy
* bodice pieces.. easy
* strip through the middle..NO IDEA! and still don't lol.

With many pinning, basting, stitching, unpicking and stitching again..I finally got it together. I am sure there is a very straightforward way of doing it, I just haven't worked it out yet!!

The end result is a very pretty dress that I know will get heaps of wear!

And lastly, a twirl shot!

Knitted by Nana!

How special is this dress knitted by Nana!
When Mum was visiting, I recieved this book in a parcel from Lincraft.

While flicking through, we spotted this dress pattern. It was just so 'Mollie' that Mum offered to knit it for her 7th birthday!
It is knitted using bamboozle yarn which is a blend of 30% cotton 70% bamboo. Perfect for a tropical dress!
As soon as she opened it on the morning of her birthday, it became her 'birthday dress'. She has recieved so many lovely comments about it.
It fits her perfectly..and the colour is delightful.




And how cute is the matching bag!

Thanks Nana!!

Blogtoberfest 2010

I have joined!!
This is the first time I have ever joined 'something blog' and I thought this was a good way to start.
What it is, is a committment to blog daily for the month of October. A good way to jumpstart your blog I reckon.

So a big thankyou to tinniegirl and curlypops for organising the month of Blogtoberfest 2010