Granny progress

Spring has officially begun? Well it seems winter has been extended here in Tassie - there was more snow on the mountain and surrounding hills this morning than I've seen for a while. Snow on Mt Wellington is a regular thing, but snow on the grassy, tree-lined hills towards Huonville means it's very cold!

And so working on my first crochet blanket has been no big ask. It's big enough to keep me nice and cosy while I'm making it even bigger. Today it covered the twins and I for story time which was part of the plan. I think up to another 10 rounds and I'll be happy. This view of the blanket gently draped over the bed, however, is misleading.

Now to be very honest with you. Let me show you what happens when I lay it out flat. Do you like the slightly fluted edge of the last few rounds? Well, people, I don't think a press is going to make it sit flat. 

I'm guessing that it's caused by a variation in my tension. It seems that so often when there's a problem on my sewing machine Mum and Dad say it's the tension that's causing the problem. Why is it always the tension?????

So I have two questions for those of you who can crochet with your eyes shut. Firstly, is this a common problem when doing a giant granny square? And is that the benefit of sewing little granny squares into a blanket to avoid a wonky, wobbly shape? My other question may not be so easy. How on earth do I keep the tension consistent and end up with a smooth, flat blanket?????? I hold the wool the same way all the time and try very hard to hook with the same tension on the wool.

Having said all that, I doubt I will often have my blanket laid out flat for all to see! Once it's folded on the end of a bed, or snuggled with on the sofa, the wavy edges won't really be noticed now, will they?

Oh, and please don't judge me on my wavy, fluted edges!

Here's hoping you're finding time to work on a project or two as well.

A taste of Freycinet

School holidays this week saw us head to Coles Bay on the East Coast of Tassie. We had the generous offer of staying in a house whose owners were away. Their daughter and her family are good friends of ours so we decided to go at the same time. With 9 children between us, the kids had a ball! The property has a house and cabins so there was plenty of room. Pity we couldn't all have stayed for longer. This is the view of the Hazards in the Freycinet National Park from our cottage.

Then there was lots of this: (ignore the shadow!)

And plenty of this:

The girls were even brave enough to get wet twice on Tuesday, at two different beaches. The morning saw nine children wading and paddling through the water without their trousers. Needless to day, despite our suggestions to stay in the shallow water, they ended up with a few pairs of wet panties! Things were a bit more civilised, but still a bit cold, in the afternoon.

The rest of us were happy to watch -

The next day was all about sight seeing and walking some of the great tracks through the national park.

Sleepy Bay was just gorgeous - calm and sheltered. We could have spent ages there.

And then the walk to the well known Wineglass Bay - that is, the Wineglass Bay lookout. With lots of walking in the morning, and then setting out at 2.40 in strong winds, making it to the beach was expecting too much of little legs. This was taken after an hour or so of climbing a great track, but with many steps -

The last time we did this walk was on our honeymoon, and we made it to the beach that day. Wow, life has been busy with these gorgeous girls since then. Taking in views of a coastline like this made our little trip very worthwhile.

And yes, at night there was plenty of card games, reading and crochet happening. It's keeping me warm as I hook now!

Hope you can enjoy a little getaway like this one day soon.

x

My Tintookie treasure

Here's another show and tell as part of Clare's Tuesday Treasures. This week I'm sharing my 1983 vintage Brownie uniform, complete with all it's badges earned over many years of Guiding. All were sewn on by hand by my mum. It's travelled with me from house to house, and I can't imagine parting with it anytime soon.

I can remember the doll's clothes I knitted with blue wool for the Knitting badge, the hosting of an afternoon tea for the Hostess badge and the gardening I did to earn the Gardening badge. The little bee below the pocket was the Thrift badge. To earn this badge I visited an elderly lady in our town with one of my Guide leaders. She showed me how to re-use freezer bags, use stale bread as the casing for little egg pies (which I often make for my girls!!) and knit with strips of bread bags (which I don't do!)

The little pink character on the right was the symbol for my group, the Tintookies. The double gold lines under him meant I was a sixer (senior member) of that group. Each week the pockets had to contain the following: paper, pencil, hanky, band aid, piece of string (?!?!?!?) and 40c (20c for subs and 20c for an emergency phone call)!

Tuesday nights at the hall on the edge of the Westbury sports oval were great. And now, two nights a week, I take my older girls to guides here in our town. It's a bit different to when I went, with no little brown pinnies, but the basic ideals and principles are the same - as is the level of fun, friendship and learning. They absolutely love it - it's worth every cent and effort getting them to and from.

Be sure to visit Clare and see the other treasures that are special to us. We all have them, don't we?