Gorgeous Taiyo yarn knitted into a Quant

Noro's Taiyo yarn is a rainbow in a ball of yarn as you can see here. I found a pattern for a basketweave quant, loved it so much I knitted two for friends. They make a nice alternative to a beanie.

Blu and White china ATC swap

The theme for this swap was 'composed completely from a magazine using cut outs. It was an excuse to buy some gorgeous lifestyle magazines and dream for a while! I have collected blue and white delft since I was a young girl. Like all my fine bone china and other trinkets, they are all packed away now. I wonder if I will ever put them all out on display again?

Some of my recent swaps with Flickr ATC friends in USA, Denmark, Holland, UK, Australia - kind and talented friends across the globe.

I started making Christmas cards last night. Couldn't resist another cup of green tea in our new Moroccan tea glasses this morning as I contemplated my creativity thus far.

I got a bit carried away at the end of last year when a local scrap book store was selling off her stock and also bought up big at a craft fair with their tempting sales. I justified my purchases by saying they would do me for the whole year!

I am not sure if I was kidding myself or was just carried away in the moment (probably both!), but I have been slowly working my way through the 'stash', not as quickly as I would have thought. We shall see how many cards I get made now that I have started the project! I made a lot of cards when I had my enforced post-op recouperation time earlier this year and had a lot of fun making cards for all occasions. It has been so nice to have a handmade card for every occasion during the year from my 'stash'.

After steady rain this Spring, we are officially out of a 9 year drought in all areas of New South Wales. The grounds of Stud farm, Upper Hunter Valley, my workplace, is looking particularly attractive as I look out my office window. The rains have spoiled the proliferation of climbing roses, but their delicate apricot hue still reminds me of their beauty.

From the Common room area where we sit to eat our catered lunch each day, I am drawn to the magnificent escarpment into the distance. It feels so ancient and I never tire of this scenery.

A day in my pantry

I have been wanting to clean out my pantry for 12 months now. I used to do these Spring cleaning jobs with monotonous regularity earlier in my married life but in recent times I have way too many interests, commitments and obligations, so my Spring cleaning suffers. Life gets too busy... Oddly enough, I miss those Spring cleaning Saturdays!

Yesterday was a bright and clear sunny day and I spent a happy time cleaning out my pantry, listening to tunes through the iPod dock. To the songs of Eva Cassidy and Peggy Lee I sang my heart out, rehearsing for the next concert at the Sydney Opera House whilst I sorted and cleaned, and scrubbed and sorted some more.

I don't sort my spices into alphabetical order anymore or line the knives and forks up like soldiers in the cutlery drawer, but I do still like everything to be in neat Tupperware stacks! Phew! I hear you say? I have a life! But there is nothing more pleasurable than opening your cupboards to find them clean and orderly.... life gets in the way... as I, like so many others, try to cram so much into my day with working full time, hobbies, study, interests, committees, community activities.

This is my dilemma... being 'houseproud' as my Nan and mother would approvingly comment on someone they met probably in the 1950's, having everything in order, or jettisoned into living a very full life and squeezing as much in as you can to your day.