STITCH MARKERS

I have been making stitch markers for quite some time but it is only recently that I have listed some in my Etsy shop. The ones I use are made with some odd beads I had, but the ones I make now for my shop are so much prettier. I have also made them for presents for my knitting and crochet friends.

I have recently made these 2 sets and they are now for sale in my Etsy shop. All sets come in an organza bag for safe keeping.

NEW ITEMS

These are the latest 2 phone cozies I have added to my shop. I got the new buttons I had ordered and I have put one on the brown cozy. I think it makes it look really good. I haven't sold any in my shop yet, I seem to be having more luck selling off Etsy at the moment.

Speaking of which, my daughter came round this weekend and she bought one of my hats. I wanted to let her have it a bit cheaper but she insisted on paying the full amount. So now she has ordered one for her daughter, Chloe who is 8. I have never made beanie hats for young ones so I am trying to adapt my pattern to a smaller head. This has given me the idea of maybe making more of the children sizes for my Etsy shop.

I am hopefully going to a wool shop this week and I am going to look at yarns that will be suitable for summer and winter wear. We don't have a good wool shop near us, well what we consider near us in the UK. I usually rely on the internet for most of my yarn, but nothing beats going to a lovely wool shop where they stock a beautiful selection of yarns and being able to feel them.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

December was a good month, sales wise, on Etsy so I have spent most of January re-stocking my shop and thinking of new ideas. I have added coffee cuffs and phone cases/cozies to my shop.

I love these coffee cuffs. I have knitted them in a stitch which gives them a padded feel. They are so much better than the paper ones and they are eco-friendly as they can be used over and over. I am a coffee addict so I keep one in my pocket. I am always getting asked where I got it from, I have sold quite alot of these by keeping some with me when I am out!


I have made phone cozies before, but this time I have changed the design. I have knit these in a basketweave pattern and finished them off with a button. I have ordered some new buttons and I am hoping they are going to come today. They are big and bright and I think they will look great on my phone cozies. I had an enquiry about this one. I was asked if I made these cozies for Iphones. Unfortunately I don't own an Iphone so I asked my daughter if she knew anyone who did. Luckily she did and she took it to Uni with her yesterday so that she could try it on one. Anyway this one fits Iphones and my daughter's friend loved it that much she placed an order for one, the same colour as this but with a yellow button.

DECEMBER ALREADY

Watching surfers on a beach near Newcastle, NSW

Where has this year gone? I can't believe we are getting close to the end of 2009. We had hoped to be living in Australia by now, but we haven't been able to sell our house. It has been on the market since February this year, unfortunately we have picked the worse time of all to sell due to the credit crunch. And to make matters worse the value of the pound has dropped dramatically against the Australian dollar which of course reduces greatly the amount of money we would have once we get there. It just seems that at the moment nothing is going our way and it is very disappointing. We are keeping our fingers crossed that things start to pick up next year and we can start our new life in Oz.

FREE SHIPPING

I hope those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving have had a wonderful time with your families and friends. Tomorrow is Black Friday so from then until Cyber Monday any item purchased in my Etsy store will be shipped to you FREE OF CHARGE. I have some lovely knitted and crocheted items that you would make fantastic Christmas presents - prices start from $9.00.

SYDNEY

Of course we couldn't visit Australia without spending some time in Sydney, my favourite city. This time we went on the train, it was safer. Only kidding, we went on the train because we all enjoy the journey. There is some lovely scenery between Wyong, where my aunt and uncle live, and Sydney. Also it gives my DH time to sit back and enjoy the scenery too. The train was very busy but we manged to find seats. I love the Australian trains, they are on 3 levels, although if you are looking for seats it can be a bit awkward on a moving train having to go up and down stairs.

Anyway we arrived in Sydney and it was a beautiful day, blue sky and the sun was shining. We didn't have any plans as to what we were going to do, just have a wander around. Amy wanted to go to the Opera House, it is her favourite place, probably because they always show it on TV. So we decided to walk through the city and make our way there.



We got to Darling Harbour and had a look round there. The Australian National Maritime Museum is situated here. There is a submarine to look around and a large ship, a destroyer. It all looked very interesting and certainly somewhere we would visit on another occasion.



We crossed over a bridge, I think it is called the Pyrmont Bridge, and carried on through the city to the Opera House.

We had a walk around the outside of the Opera House and stood and looked at the views over the harbour, the bridge and to where we had been at Taronga Zoo a couple of days earlier. It is a beautiful spot to just stand and take in the amazing scenes. I love it!


We got one of the ferries back to Darling Harbour, Amy spotted somewhere else for us to visit, I told her we would put it on our list for next time. We got on the tram from Darling Harbour to take us back to the station. We had had another amazing day but I was glad to get back on the train and sit down.

I took this photo as we went over the Hawkesbury River, I was amazed I caught the sunset through the bridge supports.

When we were getting closer to Wyong I phoned my aunt and told her we were nearly there. She said my uncle would meet us at the station, thank goodness, I don't think my feet would have made it back to their house.

TARONGA ZOO

We did find Taronga Zoo and enjoyed a fantastic day there. I can definitely recommend it and it is a place we will certainly go back to. As well as all the amazing animals you get to see close up there are several shows you can go and watch. We just caught the end of the elephant show, but we watched the sealions and a fantastic bird show, where birds swoop around the crowd. The setting for the bird show was fantastic too, overlooking Sydney Harbour. We also saw the red panda, I had never heard of this animal before. Whilst we were there it was on the news that the red panda had given birth at Taronga Zoo. We didn't get to see the baby, but mum was gorgeous.

Taronga Zoo is well worth a visit not only to see the residents, but also to get the most amazing views of my favourite city, Sydney!