Month: June 2026

A Blissful Weekend Escape at Tarndie Farm

| Sonia Knits

We’ve just arrived home after a wonderful weekend at Tarndie (also known as Tarndwarncoort), a working Polwarth sheep farm that also offers cosy accommodation; and is home to lots and lots of sheep. At this time of year, it’s also full of adorable baby lambs. Squee!

If you remember Damian’s surprise birthday gift to me, it was a weekend away at Tarndie where I got to name a baby lamb. It was such a blissful escape. We woke each morning to the sound of baaing sheep, and from our bedroom window all we could see were sheep grazing across the paddocks. It was peaceful, relaxing, and exactly what we needed.

I’m holding ‘Evie’, when she grows up I’m going to spin her fleece. It turns out Damian really loves sheep too…

It’s just as well we were only staying for a couple of nights, any longer and he might have tried to adopt the whole flock!

Tom and Jason are exceptional hosts who make you feel right at home. If you’re looking for a peaceful country escape, I can’t recommend staying at Tarndie highly enough.

The farm made the perfect backdrop for photographing my finished Celeste Sweater. With the Bendigo Sheep & Wool Show now less than three weeks away, I can’t wait to spend another weekend surrounded by sheep, wool, and wonderful friends.

The Little Voice

| Sonia Knits

I have finished knitting my Celeste Sweater, hurrah! I’ll endeavour to have some photos taken for next time.

Since then, I’ve cast on for my next pair of secret gift socks. I decided to have another crack at knitting colourwork socks for this pair. I thought of the perfect pattern, for my Flamingo, tropical loving sister. By all accounts Charlotte Stone’s patterns seem to manage the float fit issues that other sock designers have not, so I used her pattern: Flamboyant Flamingos.

I began knitting these on Saturday… I knit all of Sunday… I knit on these at Knit Night on Monday night… then…

I woke up on Tuesday, and all of a sudden, a little voice that I hadn’t heard all weekend… said I have to start again, very, very loudly! But as one last check… I blocked half a sock, I’ve never done that before, smacks of desperation doesn’t it?

The wet blocking only improved my uneven colourwork slightly. The yarn for the background of the colourwork is Lang Yarns Jawoll superwash. It feels like a thinner yarn, and not super soft. I also think the colour contrast between the background and the flamingos was not enough. I love the varigation in the flamingos, so the background colour needed to go.

After much yarn stash pondering, I’ve cast on again. This time I’m going to use Patons Patonyle in white for the background, it blooms nicely when washed, and will be a good contrast with the flamingo colour. I’m also going to make a concerted effort at using 9 inch circulars for the colourwork section. I used magic loop the first time.

Colourwork socks are not going to beat me!