MONDAY'S COLLAGE

These skeins were all made from the same fibre source - a mini-fibre-sandwich!!! I spun three bobbins and then plyed each with a different coloured commercial plying thread. I used black, pink and blue. I seem to use black alot when plying.

Pink isn't really my favourite colour to spin, however, as I continually tell others .... "spin outside your comfort zone (OCZ)". When I spin pink, I always think of Joan D from the Guild - a lovely lady who doesn't like spinning pink.

A couple of years ago, I gave a workshop on colour blending at the Guild. In the morning session I asked each participant which was their favourite and least favourite colours. These were then written on a white board ...... BUT that wasn't the last of it !! Oh no ....... just before the lunch break I handed each participant a length of roving in their least favourite colour and told them that after lunch they had to spin it !!! hehehehe

So then, after lunch just as they were about to spin their piece of roving, I told them I had changed my mind and that they weren't required to spin it at all ..... they could keep it and use it anyway. (what a mean thing to do to your students!!!!)

My exercise was to get the participants to "think outside their comfort zone" .... and for them to think how they could spin something they didn't like. hehehehehehe

To conclude ..... they all used their "hateful" roving during the afternoon's session and created some lovely skeins. (BTW: Joan D was a participant and I had anticipated her "pink"answer)

Monday's Collage

Although it is now winter, the autumn leaves are still looking beautiful in our garden.

AM I COMING OR GOING ????????

My head's in a turmoil ..... am I coming or going ??? I sit in front of the my computer screen thinking of what am I going to write on my blog .... there are so many things that I could be writing about ..... what am I currently spinning, dyeing or knitting. So what do I write about ? NOTHING ....... I leave my blog with an empty screen.

A CLAYTON'S HARRIETVILLE .....
Yes that was my Harrietville for this year. My dear friend Ellen arranged with Ern's daughter to stay in the house with Ern, whilst I went to Harrietville for a couple of days. This was unbeknown to me. Was I surprised when I found out ..... I cried and cried ...... BUT .... when
Ern found out there was no way Kate was going to "babysit" him !!!! Ern said that I was to go to Harrietville and that he could look after himself. Words were firmly spoken but to no avail .....

Friends and neighbours had mixed thoughts ..... some thought he was being selfish and that I was being tooooooo soft with him. Alzheimers is a frustrating disease because although they may have a short memory loss, sufferers are still able to function as normal. It's the Carers who suffer the most. I must admit that since Harrietville I have not been as forgiving as I have been in the past. Then I feel guilty ..... no Counsellors for me ...... says me !!!!!

A couple of weeks after Harrietville, Ern had a nasty fall whilst putting the wheelie bin out. No broken bones thankgoodness BUT ultra sound results not good. Completely torn all ligaments in the shoulder and upper arm ...... the doctor and physiotherapist said that they were the worst ultra sound results that they had seen. Some of the damage was caused by the fall but most of the damage he has had for years. Ern being Ern ... STUBBORN ..... shouldn't be able to move his arm ...... but he can and he does !!! The Physio said that the neck muscles were compensating for the lack of arm muscles.

OK, so now that Ern is 85 years old, how many more years ??? ..... gotta make the most of life .......

SATURDAY SKY 27 Feb 2010

These photos were taken within 30 minutes whilst Ern and I were on a walk near home.

After it being so dry, rain had been predicted ..... and did we get any ??? NO NO NO NO It did rain in some suburbs ....... and we are still waiting for the rain !!!

HAPPY 85th BIRTHDAY ... ERN

I still say that my darling hubby doesn't look 85 !!!!!!! .... or maybe I am looking much older ....... ummmmm

For those who read my blog, Ern is keeping well despite the hot weather. He walks to the shops, usually with the dog, twice a day - 10am and 2pm regardless of the weather !!!!! (although the dog, Chloe, is not tooooo keen on the hot weather)

Ern's Alzheimers is progressing slowly (thankfully). However, it has come to the stage where I cannot leave him on his own. RESPITE is a 4 letter word ....... (OK 7 letters)

My dear friend, Ellen, organized with Kate (his daughter) to look after him, here in our home whilst I go to Harrietville. This was done unbeknown to me ...... I just cried when I found out. I am now counting the "sleeps" until Harrietville.

HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR

Did I make any new year resolutions? ..... of course not !!! .... I only break them.

Did I loose weight last year? .... of course not !!!

Did I keep up with blogging? .... of course not !!!

Did I do much spinning? ...... YES OF COURSE !!!

Did I take many photo? ..... YES OF COURSE !!!!

REFLECTIONS

Reflection of the Croydon Library ..... the lake was next to where the Remembrance Day Service was held .... where war veterans, family and civilians reflected on past wars and how fortunate they are living in a wonderful free country - AUSTRALIA ..... !!!!!

THE 11th OF THE 11th OF THE 11th

Today is Remembrance Day.

At 11 am on 11 November 1918, after more than four years of continuous fighting in Belgium and northern France, firing ceased along the Western Front.

So at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month we remember those who died or who had suffered during wars. After the end of the Second World War, the name ‘Armistice Day’ was changed to Remembrance Day so that day would commemorate all war dead.

As a mark of respect to those who have suffered and died, people in Australia are encouraged to stop what they are doing at 11 am to observe one minute’s silence and reflect on the loss and suffering caused by war.

Ern and I went to our local service - IT WAS SUCH A HOT DAY - I felt sooooo sorry for those veterans wearing suits and ties (Ern was one of them .....) ..... but noooooo way would they not dress up for the occasion regardless of the weather.

The Melbourne Shrine of Rememberance is 75 years old today.

The red poppies which bloomed on the battlefields at Ypres in 1915 inspired Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae to write the poem, In Flanders Fields. He was a Canadian surgeon attached to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade during the battle of Ypres.

2 NEW DRUMCARDERS

I bought a Louet Junior Drumcarder ..... it is a lovely machine and with fine teeth. This one will be used ONLY for my REALLY GOOD fibre.

I also bought the fantastic WILDCARDER from Ashford. This will be great for my art/novelty yarns.

SPINNING IN PUBLIC DAY

Today is Spin In Public Day (SIP) ..... so here I am spinning on our nature stip outside my home. Admittedly I wasn't spinning there very long, but at least I participated !!!!!

Before I went onto the nature strip, I had been spinning on the front lawn where passers-by always wave and say hello. They must be used to seeing strange things at our house - eg, strange fleeces drying on the front lawn, dyed skeins waving in the breeze from the front porch and dyed fleeces and rovings swinging from the clothes line !

Tuesday Card Day

When I can, I like to go to Ferngully Stamps for a card making class on Tuesday mornings. I went this week where we made 3 cards using the roller stamps ... my first attempt. Our tutor, Marlene is so patient with us .... is it because we talk so much?
For the top right card, we used black mulberry paper. To fray the edges, drag a wet cotton bud along the sides of a ruler and then tear apart. It's such a lovely textured paper to work with.

I'M HERE ..... AGAIN .....

Motivation and commitment are especially needed for keeping a blog up-to-date .... and these I have not managed to have over the last few months.

Stress eating has me stacking on the weight since I last wrote. Of course, when you feel FAT you loose self esteem, confidence and certainly motivation.

A week ago, I had a dear friend measure me .... cause I wanted to loose some of the blubber! Again, lacking motivation I thought "well this is going to be hard" ..... until Ellen measured my hips ..... OMG the tape measure didn't meet !!! Hells' bells !!!!! about three inches ...... and that was the clincher !! One week later the tape measure nearly meets .... yaaahhhhh (mind you I didn't loose much anywhere else)

Now I have joined Curves gym AGAIN, signed in yesterday and went for my first session this morning. Ern met me and we went to Allan's Bakery. I even took Chloe to doggie school but will be changing class to time to 9am next week.

My mum rang to ask how to post a picture to a blog. Whilst helping her, I decided to write something in my own blog ...... so here I am once again !!

WHERE HAVE I BEEN ??

2008 was a non-year .... and here we are in March 2009 and what have I been doing with my life??

Last April my husband, Ern (who has alzheimers) went missing for a couple of days just before ANZAC day. I had been taken to hospital with a possible heart complaint and Ern came with me in the ambulance. When we were told that I had to wait 12 hours for another blood test Ern went home. He was to book a taxi at the hospital reception desk, however, surveillance camera shows him leaving through the front door to ........... ??

26 hours later he was found 22kms from the hospital and no where near home. Apparently he walked all the way. It was a frantic 26 hours - I discharged myself from hospital - there was TV and radio coverage, helicopter surveillance and family, friends and neighbours looking for him.

He spent a week in hospital (badly cut from blackberry bushes, dehydration and kidney probs). His memory has deteriorated and I feel that I can't leave him for long periods of time. Yes I could get respite, but I just don't want to yet.

I have had to change my lifestyle greatly. I no longer go into my favourite place, The Handweavers and Spinners Guild of Vic. I miss my voluntry work there and especially my friends/members. I haven't done very much spinning either ..... until this year. I have knitted umpteen beanies for the Guild's charity "St Mary's House of Welcome" for the homless. So I still feel useful.

Early February 2009 Victoria experienced their worst bushfires in history. Over 200 people perished, whole towns burnt down and 2,000 homes destroyed which left thousands homeless. These fires changed many peoples' lives.

I personally didn't know anyone who perished. However, I look at things differently now. Amongst other things, just how much wool and fibre do I REALLY need?

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

I thought of the usual New Year's Resolutions, like losing weight ....... being a good girl ...... don't buy wool, spinning fibres etc etc etc ......

So what did I decide on ...... ???????

Firstly, that I am going to be more committed to my blog ...... someone recently asked me if I had fallen off the planet ..... perhaps for a while .....

Secondly, that I will knit and forward one item each month to one nominated charity for my yahoo group - Knit4Charity. Of course I will still keep on knitting my beanies and scarves for St Mary's House of Welcome here in Melbourne.

The photo shows Chloe lying on a cat blanket ..... saying, "why can't it be mine ??????????

A Doggie School Saturday Sky

Today was doggie school. My mum who is visiting for a few days came and watched. She said Chloe was a very good student. (I was really hoping Chloe would be on her best behaviour with mum watching !!

The photo shows from left to right: Terry with Sooty, Yvonne and Scout, Michael and Boof, Cheryl and Sweep (Sweep and Sooty are related), myself with Chloe and Lyn with Benson.

We had rain this afternoon - beautiful beautiful rain - it was lovely to hear it on the roof ! We need so much more ......

Monday's Jewellery Day

I made this lovely two strand necklace and matching earrings at Sonja's jewellery class today. Black, white and clear beads with silver spacers in between were threaded onto silver tigertail with a large pewter flower in the middle.

It would look stunning on a "little black number" ...... something that I don't have in my wardrobe any more !

I'VE JOINED RAVELRY !

After months of waiting, I have finally been invited to join Ravelry - http://www.ravelry.com/

This is an awesome site and I suggest anyone interested in spinning, knitting and crocheting to join. Now I definitely have to post knitting/spinning photos to my blog.

This photo shows 6 skeins I contributed to the Handweavers and Spinners Guild Experimental Group entry for the 2007 Bendigo Wool and Sheep Show. The blue and green skeins represented the sea and the orange skein the Australian outback.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM

Happy Birthday to the best Mum in the world .........
Lots of love from Viv, Ern and of course Chloe
kiss, kiss, hug, hug, woof, woof

CAN ANYONE RELATE TO THIS?

This is funny and totally explains why spinners are such unique people! A recent study indicated, that raw fibres gives off certain Pheromones that actually hypnotize women and cause them to purchase unreasonable amounts.

When stored in large quantities, the Pheromones (in the fibre) cause memory loss and induce the nesting syndrome, (similar to the one squirrels have, before the onset of winter, i.e. the storing of food,) therefore, perpetuating their species and not having a population loss due to their kind being cut into pieces and mixed with others.

Sound tests have also revealed, that these fibres, emit a very high-pitched sound, heard only by a select few, a breed of women known as "spinners." When played backwards on an LP, the sounds are heard as chants, “buy me, dye me, spin me".

In order to overcome the so called "feeding frenzy effect," that these fibres cause, one must wear a face mask when entering a storage facility and use ear plugs, to avoid being pulled into their grip.

Studies have also indicated, that aliens have inhabited the earth, helping to spread the effects that these fibres have on the human population. They are called "FIBRE STORE ASSISTANTS".

It's also been experienced, that these same Pheromones, cause a pathological need, to hide these fleece purchases, when taken home (or at least blend them into the existing stash.) When asked by a Significant Other if the fibre is new, the reply is, "I've had it for a while!"
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Dolly has a sister

My Uthando dolly now has a sister and a baby! My three dolls will be sent off tomorrow to the Uthando Project Co-ordinator.

I have already started knitting another l-o-n-g scarf for the homeless. I am using acrylic yarn, 14 stitches and 10mm needles. This is one way of using your stash and helping those less fortunate than ourselves.