19 years... really?

How did that happen..? Why does that suddenly seem like such a surreal 
amount of time? So, yes, 19 years ago the Mr and I married in New Farm 
Park at the rose garden. 
Friends brought along a mini keyboard and sang "There's Power in the 
Union" and we had some wedding photos taken in the then-industrial area 
of Teneriffe where all the empty Wool Store Warehouses stood like abandoned 
skeletons amongst fields of debris and pampas grass! OMG, how 90s is this? :)






It's all a chi-chi riverside development now... actually, I went running along the 
river walk there with my daughter this morning... Funny how life can turn full 
circles sometimes :) 
Okay, I'm rambling. I'll stop now. 
Happy Labor Day!!!

Everything in 3s GIVEAWAY

Have I told you about our new friend? He just arrived one day and has stayed.
Funnily enough, this happens a bit here... cats just adopt us, don't know why ;)
Anyway, it's been three months since this gorgeous boy arrived and we're very 
fond of him :)





He's also adopted one of my cushions (don't worry I've pulled it from the shop!) 
I'd kind of already decided I was going to keep this one for myself as it was the
first one I made and special to me for that...





Anyway.... I also seem to be making a habit of missing anniversaries... 
April 10th marked my third year of blogging and of 3 Sheets. 
So, better late than never I'm going to have a giveaway. 


These two matching crochet triangle cushions will be the prize. It's open to both 
local and international peeps, but I would like you to be either a follower of the 
3 Sheets blog or the 3 Sheets facebook page.





What do you think? Would you like these cushions? Tell your friends!
Winner randomly selected on Sunday 6th May :)

Easter break

We've been on the road... away on a fabulous Easter break with some friends. 





Have you been to or heard of Girraween National Park? What an amazing place. 
It's a bit more than 3 hours drive from Brisbane, travelling south-west to Warwick 
and then South to the border of Queensland and New South Wales...

We had a ball, beginning with walks around Girraween National Park itself and
it's incredible landscape of bush and granite boulders...







I am usually such a city person... this is just to prove I was actually there ;)



We went on drives around the area to other walks, including Bald Rock
National Park in New South Wales.







The climb almost killed me but once at the top it was magnificent :)
This is at the top of the rock. It drops off at a (just) walkable slope, but from the
right angle it looks like a sheer drop.





The kids pretended to be falling off the 'edge'.







Fabulous friends made it even more of a fantastic time.





It was so clear and sunny all weekend and I took every opportunity to crochet
whenever we weren't exploring the environment.

What did you get up to? Hope you had a great Easter break too :)

Identity

My big girl came home with her year 10 English assignment the other day... 
she has to write a personal reflection on what it is to be Australian and do a 
presentation. It was a difficult concept for her because she said she doesn't 
feel Australian; she doesn't identify with any of the generalisations with 
which we are constantly bombarded. 


I couldn't think of a thing to say... I don't feel Australian either. We talked 
about the nature of identity and how it can be formed in many different ways. 
I made a flippant comment: The only time I feel Australian is when I'm overseas!


And then I came across this image....

My Home is the Sea by Matt Wisniewski

It vividly reminded me of when we used to live in London and how I longed 
to see the sea. The Mr and I would hire a car and drive to Brighton or 
Ilfracombe in North Devon and just gaze at it for ages, taking in our fill. This, 
then, reminded me of how I also used to long to smell freshly cut grass... 
weird I know ;)


Anyway, in the way of meandering thought processes.... it all made me realise 
that I am very Australian, inside me, at some integral spot... I really need vast 
spaces every so often to feel at ease, and for me that is symbolised by the sea. 
I'm guessing because I spent so much of my childhood at the beach. Also, the 
smell of freshly cut grass is symbolic of our outdoors way of living here. Again 
from childhood, it's warm summer days spent playing outside.


Of course, my big girl can't use my reflections but I'm hoping this will help her 
come up with something meaningful for herself.


How about you? Do you feel Australian, or wherever you're from? Do you feel 
connected to where you were born or can you only see these connections when 
you're far away from there? I'd love to hear what you think :)

Been busy + getting distracted...

I've been a bad blogger lately, but I have been busy. 
There's been a lot of crocheting going on hereabouts... I'm currently working on 
the 11th out of the 20 cushions ordered. I still have a baby blanket to do as well, 
so not quite halfway yet. 


It's been quite a lesson in staying focussed for someone like me who seems to flit 
around from one idea to the next ;)

















I haven't quite managed to stay focussed though... I've been crocheting some 
more covert bunting... My cousin had a baby girl the other day, so I dropped 
everything to get together a little something for her. (Thank goodness I have 
so many triangles I've already crocheted in my stash).


I tried something slightly different from last time. What do you think of the white 
border?... or does it look better plain?





As per usual, though, when I must be doing something all I can think about is 
something else ;) I've been dreaming about getting back to printing some fabric.
Hope you've been doing fun things?

Mountain holiday

We're back from a dreamy week away. It's always so restful...



So many amazing sunsets this time...

(This is really what it looked like! I haven't altered the photo at all.)


Chess, Scrabble, jigsaws (and lots of crocheting for me)....





Goanna encounters...



Looking up at incredible canopies...





And walks every day...



I guess that's the end of the holidays. We have to start getting ready for the 
new school year now. We have a week to cover school books and buy new 
school shoes etc... oh joy ;) 
Holidays always go so quickly, don't they? Hope yours are going well :)

Holiday share

Hello again... Hope you've had fabulous celebrations? Did you have fun with 
your families?





It's the first year in many moons that I haven't had to host either family at ours. 
My lovely sister hosted for my side of the families and we had a fine ol' time, 
particularly when a packet of moustaches was brought out :)






My little one made fruit mince pies and they were amazing! If you'd like to try 
the recipe I've clipped it below... It's from this book.









The little one has since fractured her arm whilst rollerblading... our first visit to 
emergency at the hospital. She, of course, is rather proudly sporting her cast now.





Hope you've had a fun-filled time too... without any fractures, of course :)

Cloud watching

I'm back from the mountains. It was deliciously cool – a haven from the 
descending summer heat of the city. 





I must have had half a brain when packing... I forgot to take the right sized 
crochet hook and other bits and pieces that should have kept me busy. 





Instead, I just cloud watched :) 





Hope you've had a relaxing week too.

Making Hey

This weekend just past was also the weekend of Make Hey! Pip's new wonderful book. 
I've only been able to catch a quick look so far as my big girl has been delving into it 
almost constantly.





Not that I'm complaining - it meant we had dinner made for us last night :)
She made Michelle's Couscous Salad from the recipe cards...





... and has been sourcing all the things she'll need to make Ginger Beer.
She's also started crocheting hearts for the I Heart You necklace...





Like all of Pip's books, it's so well written with fabulous things to make. 
Big thanks from us Pip! :)