posted by Lily on chatter, chickens, crochet

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Today was simply too gloriously summery to stay inside and sew.  That’s one lovely thing I’m adapting to as I become more and more of a Melbourne girl – relishing the summer and wanting to be outside as much as possible.  In Brisbane, you’d just melt if you sat outside towards the end of January.  Here, we are so mindful that before we know it, the leaves will change and vanish, the days will shorten, the skies will be grey and dreary and we shall be cold.  Until October at the least.   Goodness – here in Melbourne, that could all happen tomorrow!  So outside it is.

And I couldn’t get into my sewing shed – it has become so atrociously untidy and cluttered – I don’t know where all the stuff came from!  Right in the doorway was this basket filled with the crocheted granny rug that I started FOUR years ago.  And some other bits and bobs too.  Unfinished scarves, an unfinished penny rug (SIX years old, that one). Ridiculous!

Now, I had been thinking about the granny rug over Christmas – not at all happy with it.  The squares had become too big and had lost all their sweet appeal.  So I decided to unravel half of the rows and use that wool to crochet up smaller squares and instead of having 36 giant squares, have 144 smaller squares and a couple of coloured borders.  And the colours had gone a bit wacky – stopped looking warm and rich. Hmmm …

I told myself, that tackling this rug would almost be tantamount to tidying the sewing shed.  And I could do it outside.

:: hard rubbish chair, rather rickety, softened with quilt and pillow ::

:: offending basket at my feet ::

:: dorky rug ready for ripping ::

:: greedy guineas behind, chattering away as they devour my weekly veggie shoppings – how many times have I gone to prepare dinner only to find that THEY have been dining on it instead ::

:: Sweetpea (actually, we call her Fu – it’s a long story) stretched out in front -
she prefers the sun and is always so thrilled when we choose outside over inside ::

:: Benny in her nest, laying her THIRD egg.  She likes to let us know when she’s at it ::

:: ahhhh! liking it more already! but hook too big -
must go back inside and find smaller one ::

:: lunch with hugh – he’s my ideal man – oh be still my racing heart! and a fresh tomato, zingy feta and drippy, sweet peach.  Perfect summer fare ::

:: making a bit of a mess with the ripped out wool – shall have to get Abby onto this with the wool winder ::

:: a popcorn break for the girls (the two legged variety who are INSIDE watching Princess Bride – how could they!) – and look at that, the feathered girls like it too ::

:: crocheting them together as I go::

:: that late afternoon western sun a bit hot now – and it’s time to cook dinner.
Don’t seem to have achieved that much, but certainly have just enjoyed
the perfect summer’s day ::

The chair may be thrifted and rickety, the garden not ours (we rent – will hopefully have our own little place one day – with a fireplace) and the thought of all those back to school and university bills are nagging at me morning, noon and night, but sitting here today with my crochet, I felt so very privileged and perfectly happy.  I couldn’t have wanted any more.

Well, maybe a bigger sewing shed.  And tidy.