Tuxedo booties

I saw a pattern for this online at Ravelry and knew I just had to make them.  Not for anyone in particular, just for fun.  They were quite easy, the pattern was easy to follow, and they knitted up really well. 
The beads are knitted in, and could probably, as was pointed out to me by a well meaning friend, be pulled off by an older baby but these are not sized for older babies so I think they are pretty safe. 

In other news, my DH has been growing some sunflowers from seeds.  We were about to put them in the garden when i had a thought; rabbits have eaten more than one plant over the years we have been here. So I get online, to discover that rabbits dont just like sunflowers, they LOVE them!  So most of them got planted behind the side gate, in the hopes that our dog will keep them safe.  We planted three just outside the gate, which have, sadly, been used as rabbit food :(  Most of the ones in the back are growing but we have lost some of those as well.  Darn rabbits!  It is a shame as i had visions of nice tall sunflowers growing in our front yard. Oh well, we will have to think of a plan B.
With the frost, drought, rabbits, I am not sure how we get anything to grow!!  We do have a nice garden, but it is all due to DH's efforts, gardening is not my 'thing', but I dont mind the occasional weeding, if I am in the mood.  Hey, I will clean silverware when in the mood; I just love seeing the difference with just a little bit of polishing.
If we actually manage to get some sunflowers to grow to maturity, I promise to post photos (do not hold your breath!)

Show results

I realise that no-one is waiting with baited breath, but I will tell you all anyway...
The local show went very well. And yes i did get the Needlework aggregate again this year (eight years running!!). I have my eye on the knitting aggregate next year but that may be difficult; there are a couple of ladies who put in so many beautiful knitted things, I doubt I could compete with that.

So, these are the cards and ribbons:

You know, really, it is just a bit of fun, and a chance to show the world what we are capable of as we sit at home on our own and craft. And it is great to see what other people are doing. The hall always looks so nice when everything is set out after judging.
My two boys were stewards again this year.  They both worked very hard and did a marvellous job.  Sadly my youngest then spent the next 24 hours with shocking gastro, where he couldn't even keep water down, the poor little kid.  (okay he is 14 but he is still little, and will always be little to me).  He seems to be almost fully recovered now but it was an awful two days. I am assuming (with absolutely no proof I admit) that it is the lunch we had on the Show day. He had fish, the rest of us had chicken.  And while i love living where I do, having the nearest hospital an hour away is not an ideal situation.  I was about to take him in to the Children's when hubby suggested Nurse-on-call who were great and gave us suggestions about his management, all of which seemed to work. Thank goodness for this valuable service.
All's well that ends well.

Speaking of all being well, my eldest had a great two days away lasy week doing driver ed.  And has spent the rest of the week pointing out when I don't indicate for long enough, or hold the steering wheel correctly. Sigh, it is going to be a long two years!!  At least once he actually gets his L plates, I will be able to pay him back (insert evil laugh!!)

a little bit of smocking

Oh how I miss sitting and smocking. I have been doing so much knitting, and loving that, and have so many more projects I want to do but I so miss just sitting and smocking something.  So this is the latest effort, which is for the local show this weekend, then hopefully next week I can sell it at an art exhibition I was aasked to contribute some smocking to.

 
It has turned out very nicely, and is in such a lovely floral fabric.  A friend said yesterday she can always pick my smocking; I often pick simple fabrics with not too much of a print and I usually do the smocking tone-on-tone. I did get half way through this one though and think maybe i should have done it in cream, maybe with a row or two of the deep red I used in the flowers. Oh well, next time maybe!  i need to take a lead from my friend and do some things that are more colourful; although that is a bit of the motivation behind the last dress; with the colourful smocking around the waist.
Anyway, the smocking looks like this:

And the back looks like this (because every "swishy" dress needs a lovely bow on the back I think...)

And yes, there is a petticoat underneath this; which will NOT be for sale; I do not really enjoy the tedium of making petticoats. 

As for any other news, my eldest is away with school for two days on a learner driver course. What a great idea and should be done by all schools.  Hopefully he will come home fully capable of changing gears in my manual car; it was the thing I really did not want to have to teach him.  He wont be driving out on the roads for a while yet though, he doesn't turn 16 until December, so it will be two months of playing in the driveway I think.  I am not sure what I think of him getting his learner's permit; hopefully it will for the most part go well, with few arguments!  Time will tell. We have already made a pact where he will do what he is told without the eternal questioning and arguing back and i will try to be a bit more patient. If we can both stick to that, we should be okay!!