toddler bonnets and mending

 the little hats are coming along nicely. The pink and white stripe has been in use already but still needs i-cord ties. I wasn't sure if the wool would be too scratchy or if it would even fit anyone- I improvised the pattern based the vague memory of on a newborn bonnet I knit. All the little girls tried it on and one claimed it as her own. Its a little small so without the ties it falls off. Each time she puts it back on with all her might, upside down, inside out or back to front, she doesn't mind. She sees me knitting the second one and exclaims 'hat, hat HAT!!"

 My favourite socks are being loved to death on these cold days. They dont look so lovely as the freshly knit pictures:)

 They were in need of some tlc so I learnt to darn

Ahh.... that's better!
Except after weaving from the inside I wasn't sure how the outside exposed stitches wouldn't unravel so I weaved another layer on the outside. It's not very comfortable so I will need to do some more research and perhaps try again. If anyone knows of a good tutorial I could follow I would appreciate the help

 We got two more trusty egg layers.
Our last two got into the habit of eating their own eggs so they went away to become Sunday roasts. Yes seriously! Let that be a warning to the new girls:)

I've been doing lots of sewing of the practical kind. Taking in jeans , fixing clothes and sewing bibs.
I cut up an old flannel cot sheet and over locked the edges to become face and hand cloths for day care. Ive made these a few times now.
I started off using regular face washes but even though I rinsed them after use, hang them over the side of the laundry tub (rather then let them sit scrunched up wet) wash and line dry them, they always ended up with little black dots, presumably mould.
I now use these flanel cloths instead and don't have so much problems, probably because their quicker drying. They are so easy too, I hang them in piles of three or so and they dry so quickly.
I do the same for nappy wipes too, except in a different print/colour so I can easily tell between the two.

around apple blossom day care lately

We've been...

 watering our snail and watching its seeds sprout and grow

 learning skills in practical everyday ways. Were making a pea 'cottage'. I put in stakes and angus was keen to help me thread the string that the peas will eventually grow up.

 He concentrated so hard and did a great job getting the string through the little star dropper holes. Who needs threading toys anyway?! 

Most of the peas have sprouted so soon I will post a photo. When the sprouts are big enough to see in a little photo!

Meanwhile Mitch was having the greatest time stomping and playing on a mound of dirt. "How cute" I thought. It was actually a mound of potatoes begining to grow. Oops!

 For the second time I knitted my hat. Here it is 3/4 way finished but I actually got half way through the decreases before deciding to start it over AGAIN!

 I decided to change the pattern and third time was the charm, now I like it. Thankfully because I wouldn't want to knit it a fourth time!
The pink project is a little pink stripe hat i'm working on. I supply hats for the day care children so that its one less thing for me to worry about sending home at the end of the day or loosing. I always find nice hats at the opp shops for 50 cents or so but I've decided to use up some of my half used balls of wool to knit hats for them to wear here this winter. I'd been feeling a bit bored at times with work recently. It occurred to me that what was missing was missing was my little on the go project for when everyone was busy

 So today while they were busy I ignored the overflowing basket of wet washing (the dark mountain by the table) and knit.

With a cup of tea. Bliss:)

 Eventually all the washing did get hung

 And the little girls 'washing' (otherwise known as their spare clothes dumped out from their bag) got hung and 'ironed' too

That poor plant maddalyn is picking from. A flower barely has time to bloom before being picked by the little girls. They love them, carry them around and some take them to bed and then home:)

Notice the bucket on Mitches head? At nap time he layed down and an absolute mountain of sand fell out of his pockets. It made me laugh so! My broom gets a good work out with these little sand pit lovers about

Ps, ive started a facebook page for my little Apple Blossom Day Care and would be so grateful if you would come 'like' us:)

an awesome day with my bestie sister!

I love these photos from catching up with AJ recently. At the botanical gardens where Autumn is at its best!

yep were two of a kind, as dorky as each other:)

knitting and planting (and twirling and tea partying)

M- Karen I need to do some knitting too
Me- Ok shall I start it for you?
M- No thanks, I know how

 M-See, heres my knitting! (so proud of herself :)

Twirling (them)
Knitting (me

 Here's some of the fairy costumes we got on Wednesday. They are loved! Now we need to make some wings

  and the snail pot too

 The girls absolutely love planting seeds. Georgia is about 18 months and in general is such an easy going baby but she is also the youngest of five in her family and is completely determined that she will do what the older kids get to do. Usually I would plant tiny seeds with the older kids and give the little ones a spade or  the marker pop sticks to play with and they are happy with that for a bit or toddle off and find their own fun but for Georgia that just wont do! So she is my little garden helper, she plants seeds, dropping most of them while she is focused on the one she is putting in the hole and waters them while stepping on the others that have already sprouted. She tries so hard and is so determined and focused. I just adore her helping even if it a bit of a case of one step forward two steps back sometimes. Planting in a pot with her was a good idea and she was so excited to be able to sprinkle all the seeds at once rather than one or two per hole.

mmm, pepermint tea and muffins! (can you tell what we had for snack that day?)

the cool days begin

 When we left for our holiday it still felt like late summer but a week later when we returned there was a brand new crispness to the air. It rained a lot while we were away so we got back to green grass, new weeds, ample nettles for some nettle soup and..... peas!
Most years I check the pea plants daily and watch the tiny peas appear and slowly grow but this year I was startled to leave small plants with a few flowers begining to bloom and then come back to so much growth and about 10 fully grown peas, just a week later. Maybe its always this fast but it seems to take longer when I'm checking on them so often. The day care children are keen to be the first to see and gobble up the peas which camouflage amongst the leaves. I wish i'd planted many more like last year. Ill plant a few big rows in the coming days and hopefully it wont be long before theirs plenty to go around

 I found this lovely pot at a garage sale recently. It says 'onions' on the metal plaque but that didn't stop me planting it with spinach and alyssums

Today was a great day. I went to Kadina with the little girls and we had a great time with my mum.
 We did lots of walking, went to the community veggie garden and visited some opp shops.

The community garden is great and because its still new every time I go there's something new. Today they were working on a wood fire pizza oven that has slowly been growing from visit to visit. Its looking very nearly done. They have all the winter veg planted and there is a hop scotch, all sorts of kid friendly things to look at, ponds in the process of being built and there were people working to clear a spot for a chicken coop. We also were invited into the church hall which is sort of an opp shop. They actually have it full of donated items for a monthly garage sale but you can go in between times and buy things if its open. I got an adorable snail shaped plant pot which i'm sure ill include a photo of when its got a plant in it.

I love taking the girls opp shopping and they love it just as much. Its fun for them because unlike regular shops the opp shop lady's are always happy for them to touch and play with the toys while their waiting so they have a ball playing with different things. Today there was a little girl that they played with in about three different opp shops, she must like opp shopping as much as we do! Between borrowing from the toy library and taking them to opp shops i'm relaxing on the 'natural toys only' side of things quite a lot. Half the fun is they get to choose a few toys to bring to my house (I wont overwhelm their poor mother with a house full of toys:) so the opp shop is like a toy library for us too. They choose a few toys, play with them for a bit and than said toys dissapear again back to the opp shop. I'm sure eventually they will re-buy a toy they already had! today we came out with fairy costumes. They are quite probably 100% polyester but oh they are sweet! There are four of them ready for the four little girls tomorrow

With the cold weather comes the need to sit cozy under a quilt with a warm cup of tea (chai is my go to at the moment) and knit. Finality i've been motivated to get back to my flora hat after the earlier mishap and the un-pulling it required. I don't want to speak too soon but i'm thinking this time it looks a little more like leaves then army print. Or maybe i'm just hoping. Oh weal, even if it doesn't turn out well I will know for sure and otherwise have the wool for something else

Always on my mind is the next project. At the moment i'm dreaming of thick cable socks knit with chunky wool, perhaps light grey to be cozy over leggings. You know, for when im sitting under a cozy quilt, drinking chai tea and knitting the project after that. Knittings quite the vicious cycle!

 I got seedling last time I went to Kadina with the little girls and they look sweet potted up. The children love these little flowery pots, so much so that I have re-planted a few plants that have been plucked straight out of their dirt when a stubborn flower didn't want to come free:)
We are beginning to get right into our wedding planning with it being only 5 and a bit months away. I had an idea when I was potting these that it would be nice to paint some terracotta pots pearly white and fill them tight with white and purple flower seedlings white and purple is our colour theme) as part of the guest tables centerpieces. As much as I love cut flowers I love that these would last longer, we could enjoy them in our garden and give some away too for others to enjoy

 our cake topper arrived in the mail while we were away. I wasn't sure if I wanted a cake topper but when I saw this one I all of a sudden did. I love it and look forward to keeping it forever as a reminder of our special day. Well I hope it lasts forever, i'm not always good with breakables but anyway. Now im thinking maybe I should have left it in bubble wrap a little longer but I realy couldn't resist having it out to look at

This is the cake design we are having minus the pink flowers. I wanted something a bit vintage and classic and I think this will be just right

The fertility specialist has me on clomid for the next 5 months (or hopefully less if it works) 6 days until I can start testing to see if the first round was successful. Not that i'm counting or anything:) If it happened to work we would have a little 'made in Queensland' baby. I've used it before my surgery with no luck so i'm not holding my breath but our fingers are crossed all the same