October through to December three whole months this could be a long post or maybe it will be a scattering of whats been going on. Nope change of mind a post for each month??
October usually celebrating Octoberfest good old German Food and Beer, as we don't drink other than Ginger Beer it was just food. Sauerkraut and meat balls, Sauerkruat and Kranksy, Scrambled Eggs and Schpek.
A few home made loaves and a few other tasty treats made by Sue. Roasted Pumpkin to go in Pumpkin Bread, Strudel and cookies.
Sue was given a bag of Alpaca by Svetlana Ward, Malcolm Ward's wife of
Boutique Timbers fame. Over a number of months she processed the majority
of it into two lots dying it different colours. As a gesture of thanks
Sue offered Lana to make her a shawl, but also made a second out of the
other dye lot. That one Lana has given to Greg Wards wife Lynn.
Dyeing the Blue
Dyeing the Red, Yellow blend.
Below left drying the fibre, centre sorting, right the sorted lot.
Left carding, right the Rolags when carded for the Blue.Below carding the multi colour
The main one shown here is the Blue the one for Lana which was hand spun Alpaca on a Tahkli spindle for part of it, then the remainder hand spun on a Wee Peggy spinning wheel. It has some 1000 beads knitted into it. The second one had no beads.
The colour change in the photos is daily light situations. Click on images to enlarge.
Both ladies have them just prior Christmas I will try post a photo of the proud owners wearing them when they send us one.
Of course this is not all Sue did she was busy with a lot of charity knitting as well as gardening when she was able. Completing the double weave blankets by fixing minor problems, making these two beautiful cushions from the last throws of the shuttle to finish off the warp from the blankets. Along with making me some 30 or 40 pen sleeves for the pens I make.
Ipswich was not the only place to suffer drought but it came and devastated many a garden and lawn which looked like crispy thin shoelace fries but smaller it crackled when you walked on it. The vegie patch as much as Sue tried to maintain it even watering just wouldn't help.This was taken in May green and lush, with in two months it was a dust bowl 25C throughout winter and no rain. 30C in October was just to hot.
We had Corey our lawn maintenance man dig over all garden beds, refresh with manure and Tea Tree Mulch. Just in time for a down pour of 25mm of rain first in 5 months.
The gardens bloomed but not for long a choice by Sue to remove the vegie patch completely was made. She had struggled long enough to keep it going and over the next 6 months would not be able to put the effort in until a full recovery after surgery due in December.
I had been doing lost of small projects to tidy up and clear the decks nothing major. I did score some very nice old Volumes of books though.
The two volume sets I am very pleased with as they are in exceptional condition, after a minor clean up, leather bound and with complete sets of fold out Data Sheets.
The two Metal Lathe ones will add to a growing collection of this series. The Metal casting is something I am very keen to do, but truth is unless it is done somewhere other than home, with assistance and/or mechanised means I will not be handling hot metals. However that doesn't mean I won't design or can't prepare moulds or patterns or the sand etc. Not to mention the clean up once cooled down.
The two volumes sets are full of some very interesting English motor vehicles servicing and repairs as well as photos etc.
The Bedford Vam manual has special meaning having built bus bodies on these Bus Chassis when working at Custom Coaches during my time as an apprentice.
The Gregory's directory what a find, it is so old many suburbs of Western Sydney prior the 60's let alone today are still just farm land. The coach drivers doing commentary back then wouldn't have had much to talk about ha ha ha.
It is about toward the end of October the bush fires started their rage in Queensland and New South Wales.
Scored a back swing for Sue it needed a repaint and good clean. Stripped it completely and painted it.
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