Not So Secret Pal 9

Last Sunday afternoon I had a very pleasant visit from my "not so secret SP9 Pal" Sue. Remember, last month I sprang her whilst she was delivering my parcel.

This month I was at a neighbour's home when Sue arrived unexpectedly. Ern had to ring my neighbour and say that there was someone to see me .......

Sue's lovely gift was a beautifully knitted
Elann Inca shawl and matching cloche ....... she is so clever with her knitting needles. The shawl and cloche will certainly be warming during the winter months

....... and tucked inside the shawl was a yummy packet of Black Forest Fantasy Tim Tams (a limited edition ...... indeed limited ..... they won't last long in this house!!!!!).

Thankyou Sue for being such a lovely SP9 Pal ...... not everyone can say that their SP's personally deliver their gifts.

The Postie has been busy

The postie sure has been busy delivering parcels from overseas.

Nastasha from Connecticut sent me this lovely thankyou gift. I was her SP9 "angel", something that I really enjoyed doing. In her parcel were some American "thingies", a lovely red elephant tape measure and a various array of skeins that she had beautifully spun.

Thankyou Nastasha.



These two beautiful baby alpaca and merino skeins were received from Kerry, my SP9 hostess. They were a prize for a competition she held during the SP9 swap for the most beanies knitted for charity.

It was lovely to win this competition, especially as I enjoy knitting for those less fortunate than myself.




Julie, my OSSPE friend from Colorado, surprised me by sending this parcel. The photos in the Colorado calender are absolutely beautiful.

Julie drumcarded hand dyed lincoln .... now I have to decide how to spin it to its best advantage.

Thankyou Julie for your thoughtfulness.

Aussie Knitters Dishcloth Swap

The Aussie Knitters Yahoo Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aussie_knitters/) recently held a Secret Dishcloth Swap. Today the postie delivered a parcel from Antoinette who lives in Canberra (www.need2knit.blogspot.com).

Inside the parcel were three lovely dishcloths (beautifully knitted) and a bar of olive oil soap. Antoinette had written in a lovely sheepy card. I guess that she has read my blog and knows that I am a spinner and that I like to collect sheepy things. The grey, blue and lavender dishclothes are just too nice to be used as dishclothes and in future will be used as facewashers.

Thankyou Antoinette for your generosity.

Spin to Knit January Parcel

I recently received a very exciting parcel (treasure chest) from Barbe St John, my Spin to Knit Pal. Barbe is a mixed media artist and a very clever person to say the least.

Hidden beneath the pink tissue paper was a treasure trove!! So what was in the treaure chest you are asking?

There was a fantastic coiled skein made of Falklands wool with coccoons of dyed Targhee. It had been plied with a glow in the dark thread and the coccoons were plyed into coils.

At the beginning of the swap, Barbe asked me if I wanted a CRAZY yarn or something a bit more tamer. Naturally I said CRAZY PLEASE .... and I certainly have not been disappointed. I really am so excited about getting a skein of coiled yarn, especially one that has been spun so expertly. Anyone can spin a tamer yarn, but a coiled yarn ..... this is special ....

Please have a look at Barbe's web site: www.barbesaintjohn.com - you won't be disappointed.

Also in my treasure chest were bags of dyed romney staples, "PollyPay" and a beautiful watermelon coloured batt of wool & mohair (I think). There was a small skein of black sparkley yarn and a little bag of purple stuff (in Australia we call it glitz).

And the last thing in my treasure chest was a lovely orange and yellow braclet made from orange and yellow felted balls.

All I can say is thankyou Barbe and WOW !!!!!

RANDOM FACTS!
A friend snail mailed these “useful random facts” and I thought that everyone who reads my blog really should know !!!!

In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have "the rule of thumb"
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Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden"...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.
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The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
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Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S.Treasury.
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Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.
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Coca-Cola was originally green.
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It is impossible to lick your elbow.
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Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
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The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.
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Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades - King David
Hearts- Charlemagne
Clubs - Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar
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111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
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If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
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Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?
A. Obsession
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Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?A. One thousand
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Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?
A. All were invented by women.
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Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey
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In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase........ "goodnight, sleep tight."
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It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.
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In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down." It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's"
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Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.
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~~~~~~~~~~~ AND FINALLY ~~~~~~~~~~~~
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At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow~ yes I am one of those 75%, what if you were that one person that could!

A Heatwave Saturday Sky

Such a beautiful mid-day sky. The temperature at the moment is already 33C heading towards 38C ... and its going to be the same tomorrow.

This photo was taken outside our house .... leafy suburbia!!! We are fortunate to live on a corner block and from the front of our house we only see trees. Even though we are having such a severe drought (even in Melbourne) the trees outside our home are so lovely and green. Of course the grasss is brown .... more like a dust bowl!!

Happy Birthday Ern

Ern's birthday today .... and no guessing as to how old he is !!!

He certainly doesn't look it .... does he??

Ern is (and always has been) very young thinking and keeps active. Two years ago he had 2 stents inserted and a few months later was diagnosed with Alzheimers. He immediately gave up driving his car and has walked every day .... and will take the dog for a walk every day .... or should I say Chloe takes him for a walk !!!

We had a lovely day today and look forward to his 83rd birthday ....

Rain Rain Beautiful Rain

After weeks of no rain, we had a deluge late this afternoon. It was wonderful ..... In the pouring rain and thunder, Chloe and I played frisbie on the front lawn (lawn?? it is really now a dust lawn!!). Chloe didn't even realise that it was raining ..... remember .... she is a dog!

Project Spectrum Saturday Sky

In keeping with Project Spectrum's colours for February (blue, white and grey) here is a photo of today's sky. We are in desperate need of rain and although there was some blue sky there were a lot of grey and white clouds. It tried so hard to rain .... but to no avail.

FAVOURITE COLOUR SWAP QUESTIONNAIRE

1. What are your top three favourite colors?
- blue, turquoise, purple

2. What crafts do you really enjoy?
- spinning, dyeing, knitting

3. What products do you really covet?
- my spinning wheels and fibre stash

4. What other activities do you enjoy besides your favourite crafty things?
* I enjoy spending time with my husband and family
* I enjoy my best girlfriend’s friendship
* photography (although I am not good at it)
and sitting on the front porch watching the world go by

5. Is there anything you collect?
- anything with sheep (not the real ones – although I do like a lamb roast!!)
- fibre
- yarn

6. What is your zodiac sign and/or Chinese zodiac symbol?
Zodiac sign -Virgo : Chinese zodiac symbol - Rabbit .... that's right a bunny!!

7.What are your favourite
…scents/smells? - roses (and fresh air!!!!!!!)
…types of music and/or bands? - pre-80’s music
…authors? - none
…animals? - tigers especially
…places to shop? - anywhere you can get a bargin!
…season? Autumn is beautiful and spring is lovely after the cold winter months
…yarn/fabric/paper/other craft supplies? - I love any unusual fibre to spin and any yarn that is soft and unusual.
…candies or goodies? - I have a sweet tooth, that’s why I am not a thin person!!!

8. Do you have any wish lists? - no - I am not a person who asks for anything - I am always thankful for what I receive.

9. Are you allergic to anything? - no nothing

10. Do you have any pets? What are they?
I have a very active 18 month old Border Collie/Kelpie cross dog called Chloe.

11. Please include anything else you would like your secret pal to know about you- I just love pleasant surprises …………..

Dolls for African Aids Orphans

Apart from the jumpers for the African Aids' orphans these little dolls are being accepted as well.

I knitted these dolls with my own handspun wool.

Cute .... aren't they???

Project Spectrum

I am participating in Project Spectrum. Each two months (beginning February) there are 3 chosen colours to stimulate our creativity. We can use these colours in whatever manner we like, eg, spin, weave, knit, crochet, weave, paint, construct, scrapbook, sew, traditional/non traditional crafts, cook, grow, collage, photograph or bake.

I plan on using these 3 colours with my spinning and dyeing. Like my "Fibre Sandwich", I want to think outside the circle, and be more creative. I also want to use these colours in my photography (which I know isn't great!). Perhaps I can learn to conquor Photoshop ....!!!

The colours are:
February/March Blue White Grey
April/May Green Yellow Pink
June/July Red Black Metallics
August/September Brown Orange Purple

Now I have officially started ..... I am using 2 of Feb/March colours - blue and grey.

Saturday Sky Dusk

This photo (taken 8.30pm) shows the last of the sun's rays shining on the trees opposite our house. Tomorrow is going to be so hot - hotter than today.

I took Chloe to dog obedience this afternoon - Chloe did fine ....... I failed though!! Ohhh how can you growl at your dog when she looks up at you with those mournful eyes ...... and at 1-2pm it was just sooooo hot.

The First Dyeing Day for the Year

A pinch and a punch for the first day of the month .....

.... and what a great way to start February than to do some dyeing. Landscape dyes were painted on some Corriedale tops. After they were wrapped in clingfilm, they were placed in plastic bags and steamed for about 30 minutes. Oh by the way, nothing was weighed or timed exactly.

And the results ..... well here they are.....

Aren't they just so colourful ????