Lilian's Tree

These ladies are knitting socks, for our troops, in during World War II. My mum told a story about herself. She was sitting in the Public Gallery of Parliament House, (what we now call Old Parliament House), during the parliament session. She was using tortoiseshell needles, knitting socks and was asked to either stop or leave as she was 'making to much noise!' Those who have used tortoiseshell needles know that they don't make any noise, unlike today's modern needles. Newcastle Sun (NSW 1918-1954), Tuesday 3 October 1939, p8. I love knitting socks. This is a pair I've knitted. Bye for now, Lilian.

Knitting is one of my hobbies. It is something my mother taught me, as a child but not something I enjoyed until I started work. What better way to fill in your train travel time, than to knit or read. Reading was my summer choice, knitting my winter one. I've knitted for my nieces and nephews, my own children and now my grandchildren. I've also developed a love of knitting socks. The are fun, funky and very easy to knit. In the last few years I've also knitted tea cosies and scarfs. Here is a selection of what I've knitted. Do you knit? Who taught you? What do you enjoy knitting? Jumper for James. Baby jacket. Socks, for me. Mittens for a granddaughter. This is some of what I've been knitting. The blanket is nearly finished, just the sides to sew on. Bye for now, Lilian.

I love to knit, I usually have two or three different things on the go, socks, jumper and a larger item, so I have a variety. As I was knitting this morning, I thought about my mum and how she taught both my sister and I to knit. My sister took to it, as a child and knits beautifully, she even won awards. Me, well I took a bit longer to really get into it. I've got a cardigan and socks for me, on the go and a blanket as well. Then I thought, who taught my mum and her six sisters to knit? Their Mum, an Aunt? I don't know. I do know that if wasn't the paternal grandmother, so I have ruled her out. I have three remaining aunts, so I am going to write to them and ask if they remember who taught them. I am also curious as to how my grandparents addressed each other. Was if Mother and Father, as some families did? Was is Evelyn and Arthur, their given names? Was it something different? I'll ask my aunts that as well. So do you knit and who taught you? Who taught them? W...

A long weekend. What are your plans? I'm going to do some family research, some knitting and some reading, just what a long weekend should be about. I heard that Ancestry has free English records, this weekend, they might be worth a look. Darn, there is a pile of ironing, noooooooo!  Have a great weekend, Lilian

                                                           Friday, I can see the  weekend!  Tomorrow is Valentines Day BUT it is also Library Lovers Day. With libraries suffering cutbacks,    why not visit your local library and see what is on offer. Apart from books, magazines and CD's my local library offers computer classes, free use of computers, story time for all ages and craft groups. Go on, visit, you will be surprised. Yesterday my Writing Group, through SAG, started back. We had been set a task of writing a very short piece on any of the 15 topics listed. It had to be about someone on our family tree. I didn't take part as I couldn't fit any of mine int...

Monday of a long weekend, at least for some of us!  My 'to do' list is getting shorter, with some things like reading and knitting on going. I started the list very early on Saturday morning as I wasn't well, long weekend and I took ill, not happy :( .  I picked things that didn't require much effort on my part. I did put a large collection of old photos into a scrapbook album and my printer takes 30cm x 30cm paper, so I did the labels at the same time. Trying to finish printing and the doing an album of our Singapore photos, from last year. Can't rush these things. I have done some family research but not much. I'm using up a subscription to  RootsIreland.org  I didn't find much regarding my Abberton side, will now try the Magill side. The Bankstown Family History Group as it's meeting on Tuesday 7th so I organised things for that as well. I've started an new subject in my studies, today, Irish: Land Administration Records, it should be inte...

I realised that it has been awhile since I blogged. I've been studying, knitting, reading, taking photos and being Grandma. These two books are really good reads. Nora always writes a great story. This one is about Faberge eggs and is really good. I don't want to give to much away but it starts with a girl seeing a murder, along the line of the movie "Rear Window" and then moves along from that. The Tea Chest is a good chick lit book. Strong female leads and a quirky story line.  Think about different teas and tea shops. This is for James and was fun to knit. I like the fact that it has a shoulder opening, making it that much easier to get on and off. I'm growing Basil and couldn't resist trying to capture a close up of the bees that were having fun in it. They ignored me and using my zoom I was able to get these shots. I love Autumn with it wonderful colours. This tree has given me so many different moods that I can't resist p...