{ Bloganista Sister #2 }

I thought it about time I get into participating in one of my favourite flickr groups again - Bloganistas. Viv over at ish and chi has some great Fashion Friday's and I have wanted to bring more to my blog lately other than kids homewares, minky blankets and my random musings.

Today is bull sale day. Monty's parents run a Charolais and Red Angus stud, and our embryo transfer (and natural) calves born here at Ythanbrae are bought back by them. (It's a bit of a complex idea to get your head around, my mum and sister's struggle). So I'm off to the auction in about....twenty ten minutes....I'm late! Last year I was 'booking the sale' in my day job with Elders, this year I am avid spectator/child wrangler whilst Mr M is working behind the scenes to make sure those big cheeky bulls behave!

Top: black singlet from Target

Cardigan: cream knitted from el cheapo shop at Westfield Plenty Valley.

Jeans: Sportsgirl

Boots: Payless Shoes (I thought they would last two seconds until flooded with water, this is their third winter and have been best $60 ever spent!)

Belt: Supre

Pendant Watch: gift from Matt's friends for my 21st birthday 

{ Image by Little Miss Emma }

{ Crochet Granny Rug Love }

Perhaps I am tempting fate by setting another new years resolution...but I love a good crafty challenge! I would love to learn how to crochet this year, and if I'm successful at learning the skill perhaps complete a super cute granny rug...let's not get too ahead of ourselves though. 

Standing in my way: my left handed un-coordination with fiddly crafts. My poor mother tried in vain to teach me to knit when I was about 12 - but I am all thumbs with the needles. And impatient. My grandmother was a knitting freak - she wouldn't bat an eyelid at whipping us kids up a knitted jumper in a jiffy for winter. We would go around to her house, stuff ourselves with tick-tock biscuits and sit at her feet while she was knitting in her rocker. We would trawl through what seemed like hundreds of patterns for kids jumpers - I settled on a three little pigs one, or rather I think my mum did because I clearly remember really wanting the Cinderella one...

Anyway, I really wish I still had that jumper. I think it was passed on to a younger cousin {my mum is one of 11 children - I have a lot of first cousins }.

My lovely friend Michelle, who I used to live with in Melbourne, gave me the Meet Me At Mike's crafty project book for Christmas. I love it - the projects are different and interesting, and the instructions have heaps of photos, diagrams and are easy to follow. Lucky for me there is a little tutorial on how to crochet and make the squares required for my ultimate goal of the granny rug!

Those diagrams of stitches are not daunting me at all...ahem...no, not at all. I am determined! Next time I'm near a Spotlight or craft store I might just have to stock up on crochet gear...baby steps.

In my crochet obsessed flickr viewing - I found the delightful images of Femkes photostream. Check out all of the cool stuff she makes! Her granny rug has got me very jealous. Plus her beautiful golden Cocker Spaniel 'Pluk' reminds me so much of our family dog Penny who sadly passed away a few years ago. I miss her so much, every time I pull up at my mum's I expect her to bound over to the car, it's still strange that she's gone. One day I want to have a big, lumbering, floppy, dopey Cocker Spaniel as a family pet again.

{ Top image: found here, 2nd and 3rd images: Little Miss Emma, bottom image: found here }