I know I am slack but this is ridiculous...

Okay I have been neglectful... over 2 months.... but I have been doing things and making things...

Let's see what I have made.. some more of the Never ending Blanket Squares.I really enjoy making these. They are great stash busters..

A few of these crocheted beanies. A couple of these have already found new homes, the rest are waiting patiently to find new homes.

I have also finished off some knitted items. A beret and 2 beanies and a little phone pouch. Nearly all of these have found new homes, I only have the phone pouch left to go..

If you want to see what else I have been up to check out my other blog

http://juwlesembroidery.blogspot.com/

Till next time take care and I hope it won't be as long next time..

Some photos of finished items at long last..

I have been having a bit of fun playing around with these squares... I usually do the normal granny squares when I am crocheting up my scraps of wool and the blankets are then donated to the homeless. But this is based on the 'Never Ending Blanket' square which is less 'holey' and I have so far made up 7 of these squares for charity. They crochet up very quickly and I am really enjoying making them. These squares will be going to Knit4Charity yahoo group to be made into blankets and donated to a hospice. Think I may have to make up some more of these little beauties..

Well at long last I am getting myself a bit more organised and have taken some photos of some of the finished items I have waiting to go on a journey to help out those in need.

This hat and scarf along with a couple of balls of wool are on their way to the bushfire survivors.. imagine loosing all your stashes both yarn and fabric and not having anything to play with............

These are 2 pair of mittens that will be heading on their way to help out a couple of newborns..... just need to replace the ribbons in these with some crocheted chains first though..

This is my little 'case' in which I keep all my finished items until they venture off to their new homes. I just love anything to do with tea or coffee.. I put little soap bars of lavender in with the items to help protect them and make them smell fresh for their new recipients also..

See pic below of it when it is open... you can see the items sitting in there waiting patiently..

Also below are a couple more little premmie hats just waiting for some more mates to be finished to join them then they will also be flying their way to their new homes.......

This is a collection of some of the finished items I have in my case.. a couple of premmie hats, mittens, 3 pairs of bootees, a little premmie dress and a baby hat, also not in the photo are a couple of FQs and some more beanies and some little teddy scarves that just need their tassles done. I do have a number of items just requiring sewing up and then these will be added to my case as well...

Well till next time.. Keep smiling and helping those in need..

well where is time going...

I can't believe it is already April, the year is just flying past at an unbelievable pace....

I am not sure where to start here....... the year started off similar to many before it with the usual frantic summer holidays we have become accustomed to in this household......

February hit us all in Victoria with memories that will never be forgotten....... the images on tv and on the internet have been ingrained in everyone's mind I am certain. It is hard to believe that it is almost 2 months since those horrendous fires...... but still so much devastation exists... and so much more work is still to be done...

where we live we consider ourselves very lucky.. we are in the South west of the state and although we had our own fires and tragedies to deal with they diminish in comparison to those in the north west of the state. I have not blogged about this or much else for that matter as I really was unsure on what to say and how to say it. The shock and total disbelief of what was happening in our state was just too great to comprehend. We have lived through many wildfires before but these were the exception.. the country was a tinderbox, just waiting... and in parts of the state it still is.... the saddest and most unbelievable part of all this is that some of these fires were deliberately lit..........and in our area are still being deliberately lit....... as we drive around our little part of the world you can see the scars everywhere, the blackened earth and charred remains of trees and fences..... luckily our local firies were very active and attacked every fire with a vengence and quickly controlled most fires much to their credit...... we have just had a large fire in our area brought under control today that has been burning for a number of days....believed to be deliberately lit..... and still we get no rain............. I cannot recall it ever being so dry before in April around here. I can recall having hot days in April but they were always followed by rain.... our last lot of 'real rain' here was 3 weeks ago and prior to that was early December...... and this all follows on from the drought that has been experienced over the last 10 years..... the ground is so dry it will take a really good wet season to repair it all.

So what have I been doing all this time..........

Knitting, sewing, donating...... doing whatever I could to help out where I could......

I have knitted and sent off numerous beanies to those affected by the fires, it gets really cold in the mountains even in summer.....so knitted beanies were sent off to a quilter I know who passed them on to those who needed them..... sorry no pics, I forgot to take photos of them.

I already had 3 tote bags made up that I had listed for sale so I sent these off for those who had lost everything. Pic above is one of 2 similar ones I sent off. Hopefully they have come in handy for the survivors. I have just finished a scarf and only need to sew up a beanie and then they will be on their way with a couple of other beanies and some balls of wool for the knitters in the areas...

Not sure whether it was the timing or what but I had just joined an online knitting group the week leading up to these fires and it is amazing the outpouring of help that I have seen happening in this and other online groups I am involved in. This knitting group knits and crochets items of need for needy charities and groups. They have been involved in making beanies, scarves, jumpers, blankets, possum pouches and other items for wildlife. Another online group I am in has been making quilts for all those affected by the fires and hope to make 7500 quilts. I feel privileged to have been able to help and continue to help out thru these groups and others.

This photos shows some of the items I was working on prior to the fires, excuse the mess, this is my ongoing projects bag... I am glad to say they have all been sewn up and are patiently waiting in my little storage container awaiting new homes... There is a little dress and 4 pairs of bootees here....... I will have to get a photo of my little storage case.. I think it is quite cute... I add some lavender to help keep them smelling fresh and protected also..I also have some little teddy scarves in the container awaiting some fringing and now that the footy season has begun again I must get and finish some more of these and get them sent off...

Thought I would show you a photo of my blankets in progress... This bucket sits next to my chair in my sewing room and is full of crocheted squares I make from all the scraps I have left over from projects, also some balls I unwound from a UFO jumper I found which I was making for one of my sons when he was about 4 I am guessing by the size... my sons' are now 18 and 16..lol

I guess it got forgotten over the years but is being put to good use now... I either crochet these squares together when I get enough into a blanket or sometimes I keep on crocheting the same square until it is big enough to make a decent size blanket then they are donated to the homeless. I have lately also been busily playing around with different squares after being sent a link to the 'Never ending blanket' pattern.... I have had fun making different versions of this pattern and so far have 5 different squares of varying sizes... I will work out how to put them together later on to make a nice size blanket also for the homeless...

I haven't updated the tallies yet but I have added some new links for sites of interest... the Oz Comfort Quilt blog which is for the Victorian Bushfire Quilts and also Knit 4 charities website which is the new group I joined earlier in the year and who do an amazing job in helping out those in need across Australia.. go check them out...

some pictures of what I am working on

Okay have finally got around to taking some pictures and uploading them to my laptop...

Here is a sample of the hats I have been making to send off to

Sew Many Quilts for the East Timorese kids...

Also one in progress, this one will be a baby hat for those in East Timor as well..

Also here is what I take with me every time I walk out the door to go watch the kids playing their different sports... I find I get a lot done this way, always having something on hand to do.

Happy New Year!!

Well another year has ended and I can't believe how fast time is going lately..
Hope everyone had a lovely christmas and celebrated the New Year in style... I stayed at home and relaxed with some knitting...lol
I have been in slow mode since christmas and relaxing with the kids on holidays.. I have been doing some knitting and some crocheting... I have completed 2 beanies for the orphans in East Timor and have another one on the needles and I have also finished a crocheted blanket and have 3 more blankets on the go. These will go to the homeless locally.. I make the blankets from all the scraps left over from my knitting projects so no waste of wool and also it enables someone else to benefit from the wool that is not enough to get anything else out of..

I also placed 4 presents under the wishing christmas trees for the needy just prior to christmas and couldn't help but notice the larger than normal amount of needy on the trees this year. As I quickly skimmed over the ages and sexes of those in need one thing stuck out in my mind..... there are a lot of elderly people in need at christmas time... and as the young are the more popular for gift giving when it comes to the trees they tend to miss out..... this stuck in my mind over christmas and I kept thinking of these people..... there was an 87 year old female, a 54 year old male and also a 25 year female that caught my attention the most..... why I am not sure but I kept thinking what has happened to the families of these people? why are they so alone and in need especially at christmas time...... I felt sad for these and other people in similar circumstances.
I completely understand some may have had fallings out with their families or other circumstances beyond their control may have contributed to them being alone but I still felt bad for these people.
I have made a note in my journals that this year I am going to make some pressies for these and other people like them for next christmas....... the only problem I am having is coming up with ideas for older males whom I do not know. what do I make for them or what can I give to them to make their christmas special next year..... any ideas??? females are pretty easy to make things for........ lots of ideas around for the older female and also some great ideas for the young female adults but when it comes to the males I am at a loss... lol no wonder I have trouble finding things for my own males in my family...

In our local newspaper just prior to christmas also was a piece about a lady who was hosting a special christmas BBQ tea for those who were lonely or in need on Christmas night. what a wonderful thing for her to do.. She had contacted some of the local businesses and asked for donations towards meat etc. and had a handful of helpers to assist her. They did a followup story on Boxing day and were pleased to report that about 20 lonely and needy people had attended the BBQ and had the best christmas they had ever had.. along with the helpers they all enjoyed their special time...... and they are now going to make it an annual event. well done to this lady for her compassion and thought for those in need.. she didn't have to do it but wanted to so as to help those less fortunate out.... what a wonderful thing to do.....
I wish there were more people like her around to help make this a better world for everyone involved but it just goes to show that the smallest of things can make a huge difference in someone's life....

Do something kind tomorrow for someone who is a complete stranger and you will feel so much better for doing it..........
hugs to all