Freezy frosty houses

Mornings have been freezy frosty chilly, especially today, but the houses are almost tropical.

I really like the swirly print.  The plan is to use each black and white fabric once, then double up on any that I want to use again.  There are goodness knows how many fabrics in the black and white stash; they have not been counted, but there are quite a few.....it's a wonderful neutral, don't you think?  

While on our trip Down South in April I did manage to visit a few quilt shops and replenish the stash of white and black fabrics; no doubt these new additions will find their way into the house quilt.

Thank goodness for the fire, we say!  It has kept us warm on these chilly mornings and cool days, with more cold to come.  Next week's forecast is for very much colder cold than we have already had, rain, possible sleet, snow not far away......the works.  Good weather to stay in and sew, or read, or knit - and still preferable to the heat of summer.

The scarf which is on the needles (needle, actually; just one circular) is coming along nicely so it's time to turn one's mind to thinking of another knitting project.  A couple of years ago I bought some yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills in a colour called 'Mustard'.  It will be cast on soon for - probably - a jumper, or - perhaps - a cardigan.  No matter which is made the back and sleeves are the same, so they can be made first then a Big Decision made as to the final style.  My favourite book of basic designs was a casualty of the October flood in 2017 but I managed to find a replacement online.

Making a whole garment, whether jumper or cardy, in one piece from the neck down has become quite popular because it means no sewing of seams.  When one is less than sylph-like, however, it is preferable to make separate pieces then sew them together, otherwise one row can take a very very long time.  "I won't be long, dear, I'll just finish this row......"......three hours later "all right, it's done now!"  When I became interesting in knitting garments in the early 1970s (my heavens, was it really 50 years ago?  am I that old?) making separate pieces then seaming together was how everything was made, unless perhaps you were making a garment for a very small baby.  Having just moved to the Big Smoke at the time and knowing almost no one while being married to a bloke who was on shifts meant plenty of time to spare, so off I went to the nearest 'wool shop' (as they were called then), bought a pattern and some woollen yarn, dark green of course, and made a cardigan.  It had cables - first time I had done cables - and went together very easily, so I was on my way.  That cardy was a staple of my wardrobe for more years than I can remember and those cables were the first of many, becoming more and more complicated over subsequent garments.

"Always make use of the butter-knife, sugar-spoon and salt-spoon, instead of using your knife, spoon or fingers."

When we visited my posh Melbourne grandparents salt was served in a 'cellar', a tiny glass bowl, with its own even tinier spoon.  Salt was placed on one's plate and food dipped in, a custom from before the days of salt shakers - quite an eye-opener to three kids from the Small Smoke living in a distinctly non-posh household.  With the eagle eye of our grandparents upon us, we would not ever have dreamed of using our fingers.

Enjoy your days!