New ways with denim....You know you want them!

On the week end something exciting happened to me. No, Keanu Reeves didn't come over for a cup of tea (that's next week), but I was the lucky recipient of the New Idea Denim Book. My stepmother, Robyn, delivered a huge box of goodies to me....knitting patterns, crochet patterns, crafty stuff and more going back to the early 1960's including the gem above. The collector of all these items was Robyn's friend Jan's late mother, and Jan thought that by sending them to me they would be fully appreciated. Boy, was she on the right track! It's a goldmine!

As you may know, I am particularly partial to men in knitwear. Who wouldn't be when confronted with this chappy? The amazing thing is that these glasses are currently selling for big bucks down at OPSM.....all the young groovers are sporting this look in 2010 as well.

tuniGood taste never goes out of style, and if I could crochet i would be all over this pattern. Instead I will have to take my new treasures to craft group and see if some of the clever sheilas down there want to whip up a crochet tunic for Spring!

These two ladies above are my favourite so far. The colours, the hairstyles, the belt buckles, the cravat and the strategically placed hand on the chin. These tick all the boxes...... The best thing about inheriting all these things is that it reminds me there is always someone who will appreciate things the same way you do. Hopefully one day when I have gone to the great craft studio in the sky, someone will appreciate all my crap too and get excited about it the way I do.

So crafters...let's get Crafty!!!! I will have many more goodies to share with you on future trips down memory lane, especially as all I have to show at the moment are 3 not quite finished knitting projects. I feel a menswear special in the pipeline so stay tuned.........

Meet Rusty

Is this a cute pup, or what?

Rusty is the newest member of our family, and has a bit of an identity crisis. He is part fox terrier, part jack russell, part pomeranian, and part chiuaua so we are expecting multiple personalities. A bit like the United States of Tara but with less swearing. We think he is pretty cute and we have had him for nearly a week, which we are celebrating tomorrow with a visit to the vet and a big, fat needle. I haven't told him yet.

Matilda and I are teaching Rusty to knit and so far it is going pretty well! He likes yellow and is working on a free form type of garment at the moment. We have wanted a dog for so long, but for many years we lived a nomadic Army life and it didn't seem fair to have dog. Also we knew some doggy families living in Army houses who had to pay for new turf or new carpet before moving onWe looked around at dog pounds for a while as well, but in the end some friends of ours found out their dog was up the duff, and the rest is history!
Thought I had better throw a bit of craft in, since this is not a doggy blog(gy). This bag is from a book called Bags That Rock by a girl called Kelley who is the lead singer of a band called The Breeders. If you didn't know that Knitting and Felting were the grooviest, most rocken activities on the planet, well you do now! Also they go perfectly with private suburban loungeroom dancing......you can bust out the latest moves and then knit in between songs. See, I think of everything. Happy making and grooving!

Can you see the whale???

I swear, there is a whale in this photo. No, really...you just have to zoom in to a white splashy area in the middle somewhere. Despite all the amazing whale sightings we had over the holidays, this is pathetically the best photo I managed to come up with. We saw a whole session of breaching and tail whacking less than 1 km from the beach, but by the time I ran (frightening to behold) back to get the camera it was all more or less over. We did see whales every day, though, despite the lack of evidence.

Then there was the sandboarding action...

The sunsets.....

And the walks along the beach with the family and our Brisbane buddies....

But now it is all just a distant memory and it is back to Winter in Daylesford. At least I have my knitting to keep me warm (this new project is a blankie....more nanna knitting). I always feel slightly depressed after a holiday, for obvious reasons, and the only thing that takes away the gloom is to a) plan the next holiday, and b) plan my retirement years. Yes, I do find the second activity uplifting!! Imagine having all that time, no kids sponging off you, no job to turn up to, no expectation to wear anything other than comfy tracksuit pants, very little hair to bother with, and still functioning hips. Can't wait! So many places to go and so many 5pm RSL Club meals to eat. Have you planned your retirement yet?