Bendigo Sheep & Wool Show

We missed the Sheep & Wool Show last year, so for this year I marked the dates on the calendar so that not to miss it again this year. Unfortunately we could only make it on the last day which was last Sunday, the day started off sunny when my younger son played his usual Sunday football match, but by the time we arrived in Bendigo it turned overcast, but there was so much going on we hardly took any notice of the weather.

My little boy had a lovely time in the little patting zoo with baby lamb, alpacas, chickens, ducks, turkeys and a calf. He loved feeding the animals, one of the alpacas even had it's nose in the feed bag he was holding; but he didn't like being trod on by the little (but certainly not light) calf.

<- one of the three alpaca in the patting zoo, isn't she beautiful! 

I, on the other hand, wanted to see alpacas. I've often admired how lofty the alpaca wool felt, and I have heard how they were such gentle animals; but I have never seen one up close. There were three alpacas in the patting zoo and they were very patient with all the children fussing about them. As soon as I put my hand in their fleece I was in love, their fleece was sooo soft and fuzzy and warm, I wanted to caress them all day!



And we found a lot more alpacas in several other tents.

Suri alpacas (they have long hair) ->

<- The colour of this baby reminded me of rich dark chocolate.

The colour of this one is actually of golden honey, but I couldn't get it to show on camera.  ->

Ok, I was bit over-enthusiastic about alpacas, but they are just too cute! We got to chat with one of the breeders and he told us that alpacas are hardy animals and are very easy to look after. They like being in a herd and they seldom get diseases. Oh, and they are head-shy, which means if you want to pat them you shouldn't raise your hand in front of their eyes or you will startle them.

I wondered if I could keep a pair of alpacas for pets ... 

Of course, no self respecting knitter would ever go to a wool show without acquiring some new stash, it would have been a waste of opportunities! But there were so much to choose from, I wondered from booth to booth, sinking my hands in wonderful skeins of silk and wool and taking mental notes of all the possibilities, but temptations were everywhere and I couldn't make up my mind. Then one particular booth caught my breath and stopped me in my breath, bundles of hand dyed skeins piled on the tables, each of unique colours, I picked up a skein to savour it's delicious colours, only to be drawn to another, and another... I battled with myself, we were suppose to be saving money right now because we were going on holiday in September, but I couldn't move! 

After much deliberation I decided to be good and not to go too mad, and settled on these ...  they are hand dyed 4ply from Waratah Fibres, I was lucky that there were 2 skeins of the same lot, and the lady even gave me a free scarf/shawl pattern :)

Before we left, we visited the Kids Korner and my son saw a lady and had his personalised spider made for him. While waiting I was drawn to a booth by Try Dyeing - I've always wanted to try dyeing my own wool and this booth had read my mind! I bought a skein of 50% silk/50% wool fingering yarn and a two colour kit complete with spoon and gloves, and of course instructions on how to proceed. But I was also pleased to find that they had blocking wires for sale and at only $20/set. So I had to have them and a little tub of blocking T-pins.

It was a exhausting day but I was happy as Punch!!

Knitting for England

World Cup 2010 starts today, woohoo!! I've always watched World Cup games, well, whenever I could. I'm not football mad as my husband is but I'm not a football widow either. But knitting and watching football at the same time? well, I haven't try that before but I'm going to start now, all thanks to the World Cup 2010 group on Ravelry. The idea is to support your favourite team and knitting to earn points, 2 points for each projects started and 3 points for each projects finished.

I have four pages of To-Dos in my queue on Ravelry and at least one is earmarked for the World Cup. I don't know if I'll get to start all these projects as I already have a sizeable WIPs, but I can always be tempted especially it's for a good cause - well, sort of.

England has been frustrating to watch in the last, well, several decades really, don't suppose much will change this time around. However, one must have faith, especially when one has knitting for support. Unfortunate for us this time though, we are in the wrong time zone again. All the games will be played during the wee hours, and they have all been dually marked in the diary; exactly how many game we will actually watch it's anyone's guess. But I shall certainly be watching their first game against USA, it could be a make or break game. So GO ENGLAND!!!

Oh yes, I am supporting the Socceroos too... until they meet England that is :)

Good job you're not a surgeon!

I am making the Multnomah shawl for my husband's aunt as a Christmas present. I really like this pattern, easy and clear instructions (especially now I have got the "(yo, k1) 6 times" part straightened out) and very effective; and I like the fabric taking shape on my needles. So here I am sitting in bed happily clacking away, then, there's one stitch short, how come?! I counted back along the pattern, ah! found that I did one extra k2tog. So I unpicked the stitches to the culprit and started again... then, there's one stitch out, how come?!! I counted back along the pattern, ah! found that I did one less yo. So I unpicked the stitches to the culprit and started again, this time counting each stitch as I went... then, there's one stitch out, what the *$%#! "Agh...!!!" I shouted. My elder son came running in "What's the matter? What's the matter?" "Oh nothing," hubby said reassuringly "it's just your mum getting her stitches twisted again." (see, I do have understanding husband!) Anyway, I retraced the stitches one by one and found the REAL CULPRIT - I'd inadvertently dropped a yo on the returning row. So I unpicked the stitches once more and remedied the situation with my faithful crochet hook, "There! All done!" I said in triumph and happily resumed my clacking. "Good job you're not a surgeon!" chirped hubby cheerfully, "imagine telling your patient you'd messed up with the stitches and having to redo them, three times in a row!"

He does always know how to comfort me.

Short break to Otways

Three days' break is really short and we are back already! Fauna Australia turned out to be a real gem, we saw lots of small animals, fed pademelons, hairy nosed wombats and koalas. The pademelons were running wild in the ground and they were very friendly, especially when you have food in your hands! We saw two mummy koalas with their babies in their pouches, they were very silky to stroke and simply beautiful.

We did the Otway Fly Treetop Walk and it was amazing, metal pathways were hung 25 meters above ground, although they were quite sturdy but you could see through the grits under your feet to the ground down below and that was a bit unnerving. The viewing platform was 45 meters high and once you got up there it swayed a little from side to side in the wind, the trees nearby were also swaying from side to side but not in sync with the platform! Although the swaying was almost undetectable on its own but teamed with the swaying trees it can make you feel dizzy! The boys were quite bravado about it at the beginning but quickly changed their mind once on top of the platform. But we enjoyed it over all, well worth the effort.

Other hightlights include seeing the glowworms at night in the Melba Gully and a wild baby possum in the woods. The glowworms were truly amazing, they were like stars in the night sky and they may even formed constilations! And we've all fallen in love with the little wild possum in the woods, we were walking towards the Triplett Falls and saw some people bending over something on the ground, and when we got closer we realised that it was a baby possum burrowing in the foliage, totally unperturbed by humans.

We drove back today along the Great Ocean Road, the scenary was spectacular and we decided that one day we are going to go back and stay a few nights at Anglesea or Lorne to explore the area better. We really enjoyed this short break and once again this country has amazed us with its beauty and diverse environments, there are so many places to see and things to do and we barely scratched the surface - more adventures awaits!

Birthday getaway

It's my birthday tomorrow and instead of having a 'do' we are going away for a few day, we are staying at a place called Fauna Australia Wildlife Retreat. It's a private wildlife preservation centre near Cape Otway and we're hoping to have some close encounters with cute small wild animals on the reserve. We are also eager to check out the Otway Fly Treetop Walk and the glowworms at Melba Gully.

Unfortunately the forecast is not that brilliant for the next few days, and it's been really windy the last couple of days. Fingers crossed the wind will subside otherwise we may not be able to do the treetop walk. The boys are really excited and so am I, but we're not packed yet! Also I don't think there is internet connection at the accommodation so it'll be quite strange not going online... how did we manage before? Well, I'd better get off now to pack!!