On my coffee table

My cofee table is a mess!

Trying to find the remote under all the yarn and half done projects is a challenge.

First up is Tubey , so far I have done the back and most of one sleeve. It's actually a lot more green than blue.





Then there's a sock with the heel flap knitted. Behind it is a closer interpretation of Tubey's real colour.

This tangled mess is the tea pot mat. 1/3 of a row and a cast off to go. Blah procrastination.

The start of Shedir. Blue Rowan Calmer, so so soft. I may find this a little hard to part with.

And Sizzle which for some unknown reason is looking increadibly grey on my computer. It's actually a dark charcoal, not quite black.

Funny, everything is blues, greens and blacks at the moment. Where did all the pinks and purples go???

What is on your coffee table???

On Knitting

I've been feeling better and so of course knitting has been happening. Not much but definately more than none. It feels good to be actually knitting again instead of just staring at balls of yarn and wishing it to grow.

I have finished the back of sizzle and keep swapping between projects as I can't seem to settle on just one thing right now.

Mary....... the Central Park Hoodie is a cardie. I love it and have been wearing it a lot.
The only problem I have with it is that Miss B wants to run off with it.

Perception.

I seem to have an unrealistic perception of time. More to the point I seem to always think I will get more knitting done in a certain amount of time than what I ever actually get done.

I thought that during these last couple of days at home I would get a lot knitted, perhaps even something else finished. It seemed realistic. I am at home and not at tafe or work this week. ( convieniently forget about all the work I have to catch up on next week)

What actually happens is that I get tired and fall asleep, probably exactly what I should be doing but it doesn't get any knitting done. Or I find I am too sore and uncomfortable to sit still for very long so not much knitting gets done then either.

So instead of these hours and hours of knitting I imagined, it is the first hour and a bit where painkillers work really, really well and then I sleep.

Having faced that I am not going to get anywhere near as much knitted as I hoped, what do I do???

I start two more projects.

Sizzle, just because I love it.

Shedir for the lovely lady who shared a room in hospital with me. She has bowel cancer and is going for her second lot of chemo in a week or so.

Home again.

Not that many of you knew I wasn't at home hidden under balls and balls of yarn quietly knitting away, but I wasn't and now I am home again.

I had some keyhole surgery done last week and it seems the doctors had lots of fun rearranging my insides. More rearranging than they had originally planned on which meant more time spent in hospital than planned on too.

It is just so nice to be home, sit in my own chairs and drink tea from my own cups.

Now I just have to rest and heal and of course knit.

Central Park Hoodie

Halfway there

After a ridiculous amount of time spent procrastinating, I managed to actually pick up the pieces of central park hoodie. With books in front of me that really didn't explain how to attach the sleeve to the body I fudged about and came up with something I am reasonably happy with.

Once I got past the curved part and on to the straight parts all the bits I had been reading about seaming suddenly made some sort of sense. I now have one sleeve attatched and seamed and one side seam done.

The seam went a bit wonky when I got to the ribbing so I think I am doing something wrong there. I am going to un pick that part and try again.

And wow, seaming takes soooooooooo long. Who would have thouht???

It's time

Oh and look blogger is playing nice today.

The finished opal striped socks. I love how these turned out.

The fourth pair of Fetchings



Time I stopped being scared and at least had a go at seaming up the central park hoodie. All the pieces are just sitting there tormenting me .

Every time I pick up something else to knit I stuff it up and end up frogging. It seems I am not going to make any knitting progress til I do this.

Wish me luck!!!

Eeek!

Blogger has eaten my pictures. Mean Mean Mean!!!.

Anyway I have finished the zhivago fetchings, the purple fluffy sock has grown a bit, the lotus blossom has grown by all of two rows and the central park hoodie is still in pieces.

I have way too many projects going and I don't seem to focus on any of them. Shhhhh about the teapot mat I started from the Jo Sharp book Knit Issue 2.

Time to check out the bendigo shade card and work out some yarn substitutions.

Holidays are for.......

Fixing a few things on the computer. Putting the camera software back on for starters and actually posting a knitting pic!!!

Holidays are also for totally giving up on whatever it was you spent the last term intending to knit in the holidays and just knitting whatever you feel like knitting.

The start of Lotus Blossum Tank.

Yarn: Jo Sharp soho summer dk cotton in Orchid.

The Distraction Socks

Yarn : Heirloom Heatherwood Shade 581

The start of more socks

Yarn : Hotsocks from Lincraft

And of course

Central Park Hoodie awaiting my mum to come over and teach me how to sew pieces together.

Yarn: Bendigo 12 ply Rustic in Bluestone

I'm also enjoying my re-aquaintance with pots of earl grey tea.

A long weekend

Knitting at the library on Sunday was great, Maybe a little too great....... I knit a tad too far on fetching and have to rip back a few rows. Either that or grow really long hands.
I got to see the burgundy harmony Em was using for her Sizzle. I love the coulour and I love the pattern. I could see this in a block too. Not so sure about the actual knitting of the black. Oh well I can think about it. It's not like I don't have anything to knit.

I also got to spend some time with Tigers and her fantastic stash. So much sock yarn. Such friendly cats. Even the one who got stuck on the other side of the fence forgave me for laughing at it and came over for a cuddle.

I spent Sunday night and all of Monday at C's. It was nice just spending time together without Miss B or any pressure from dealines and just be.
Miss B ended up staying out with her Nana longer than planned and a new project mysteriously started.

Giggling and stuff

Ooops still giggling. It's all Tigers fault with her quiz results and the antics of her cat. I can't help it if I find the idea of her running around her backyard in jammies at 7 am in the morning trying to help her cat get back over the fence really, really funny. Now I know it probably wasn't funny and I wouldn't be thinking it was funny at all if it was my cat. But really, the way she described it you can't help but start giggling just a bit. Go on, read it and tell me you didn't giggle or at least smile. See ..... you can't.

As far as results go well I think mine had something to do with sending the aliens back to eat the fat little 5 year olds he he he


And knitting....... Central park hoodie is all knitted. I just have to wait till I see my mum in the holidays, she has promised to teach me how to sew all the peices together.

Confession time. ......... As much as I love knitting I have never bothered to learn to sew things together. Tubey = no sewing. Socks = no sewing. Shedir = no sewing. I have read books and I have tried to figure it out ( C's Mittens ARGH!!!) but somehow mine looks nothing like what it is supposed to. Lumpy and bumpy and not at all even. I don't think it will ever fall apart but the seam sure looks like crap. Obviously it is something I need to see done in person and am not able to get from a book alone.

Funny, I can graft fine, but sewing............. I think it has more to do with I am not sure where I am meant to be threading my needle through. With grafting the stitch is on the needle still so it's totally obvious what is next.

Mum got giggling too once she realised that as much as my knitting has been improving, I have no idea how to put all the bits together. I think she liked that there is something she can teach me.

Eeeek!!!

Eeeek!!! I misread the hood decrease instructions so I now have a very pointy hood. OOOOPs. All that nice grafting has to be frogged and about ten rows need to be ripped back and redone. Hopefully I'll get to it tonight.

Essay was at 1004 words yesterday morning and by 9:30 last night was all done 1957 + referencing bringing it up to the 2000 words needed. Got to love referencing when the brain simply refuses to come up with any more words. Well no , the brain thought of lots of words, just none that were polite or even remotely related to the essay topic. Blah it's not actually that many words......... it's putting them in some kind of order that makes coherent sense that is the problem. And never being happy with what I have written and re written and blah. But for now it is as done as it is ever going to be and that will have to do.

Hoods and things

I nearly didn't make the Central Park Hoodie because when I first saw it I didn't like the seam running down the centre of the hood.

Introduce the magic of grafting and there is no seam.

YAY!!!

Just got to pick up way to many stitches for the band eeeeeeeeeeeek!

Distraction socks are all done........... pity the essay they were distracting me from isn't.

Focus on books....... hide yarn............. eat chocolate.

Ohhhhhhhhh Looky

After reading instead of studying as usual I read Angela's blog and wow, she has some socks. Nothing like seeing a pile of someone elses knitted socks to make you want to start another pair.

I sat and watched some CSI last night and now have the hood started on the Cenral Park Hoodie. I am loving how this is all coming together. I just want to spend all day on it........

The weather has been crappy as I thought, but my mindset on it has changed. I decided to to not worry about blocking and trying to get things dry and have instead been enjoying listening to the rain hitting the roof most of last night and this morning. Doesn't make for good sleep but is a great sound to knit to.

Sleeves all done!!

I have no idea why but that second sleeve seemed quicker than the first one?? Anyway now I have to put it down so I can actually do some work and try and get an essay written.

Of course all I want to do is put all these peices together and knit the hood and finish.

The weather is all crappy and probably going to be wet all weekend so blocking the peices is going to be fun....

Ok OK back to the pile of books and papers.

One sleeve, two sleeve

Well not quite, one is done and the other is started so at least the first one finally ended.

Miss B was in a performance at the Festival Theatre on Monday night. Part of the "Festival of Music" which is held each year and consisted of students from 13 different schools all singing together. Each school practices alone all year and then all get together for only two rehersals together before the final performance.
I have to say I was impressed with the performances the children gave and the way it all came together.
On the night I also bumped into my neice , Miss J, who was also singing. Neither Miss B nor Miss J had realised the other was involved. I'm glad I did manage to bump into her as her mum hadn't been able to come and watch her. At least she knew someone was there in the audience watching. Funny how things turn out.

I really should go and attack this other sleeve, but I'm tired. Maybe I'll just go and hunt down some chocolate instead.

Never ending sleeve

I always think sleeves are smaller than they actually are, so when I actually knit them I can never figure out why they take so long. Maybe it's just because they get bigger and bigger and I prefer to knit things that get smaller like socks and beanies.
I am still stuck on the first sleeve.

I have to admit I might have got past the first sleeve if I didn't decide I feel odd with no socks on the needles and start a pair. I am calling them Distraction socks, they are in Heirloom Heatherwood shade 581. A bluey torquisey colour.

The presentation is done. I'm not sure how as it was only the day before it was due that I only had one page of scribble. On the actual day I had pages and pages of typed notes, handouts for the class, synopsis for the teacher and managed to keep it together and not run away.

Now I just have to get it together and put together a sensible sounding essay. Nah. Lets just forget all about it till next week when it's actually due. No idea why but this seems to be how I work best.
I'm not going to argue with it, especially if it means I get to knit for another day or two.

Speaking of knitting, how much do you love it when a friend says "Lets go to the yarn shop."
How much more do you love it when this friend is a non knitter????(Yes I am trying to convert her. Give me time.)
That's what happened on Friday and of course some yarn came home with me. The Heirloom Heatherwood and some Merino and Fur. 30% Possum Fur 70% Merino.

Love and hate

Loving:
Central Park Hoodie now has a back and two fronts. Still need some sleeves but I am loving how it is knitting up. I am having to force myself to put it down and actually do some work.

Hating:
My assignment is just hanging about and not moving very fast. Some how it just doesn't seem to be coming together this time. A week ago I thought I pretty much had it all together and just had to type it up. Now as I go to type it I keep finding myself taking more and more parts out and it hasn't left me with much to work with.
Just to top it off I am feeling all crappy like I'm coming down with a cold and my brain isn't making any sense of what I am reading.

Deadline is looming so I am thinking at least half of what I took out is going to have to get thrown back in, re worded, juggled, shaken about, stirred anda crazy miracle has to occur for it to actually work out.

30 minute presentation ......... 30 minutes of standing in front of people having them all look at you crazily while you stand there and pretend you know what you are on about.


Anyone want to swap places???

Offer only open to people who spend their days knitting and drinking cups of tea :)

When yarn is nice

I am loving the Bendigo yarn. I loved how I got most of the back of the central park hoodie out of one ball of yarn. Great big ball of yarn that seemed to just go on and on and on. I was begining to think it wouldn't ever run out at one point.

Just as well I love the yarn so much as more arrived today. Another ball of the blue rustic just in case and 6 balls of classic aran magnolia for my Mum.

The central park hoodie is so much fun to knit I am having to hide it from myself to get any homework done. I have another presentation due this week and of course all I want to do is knit. Then again when don't I??? I always want to do something else, rather than what I am meant to be doing.

So the back is done and most of the left front. I have to frog about ten rows because I was having too much fun and just kept going. Suddenly it seemed a bit long and I checked the pattern. and then measured. Oooops. Oh well at least it's only a little bit. Perhaps I am unintentionally dragging the knitting out just to avoid the sewing up part.

Spam that isn't spam

Oooops..... I nearly ignored a readers e mail thinking it was spam.......... then me being me just had to open it even if it did contain yet another virus.

C has got my computer going enough that I can get on line but will be reformatting it later. Hence why I still have no nero installed and no camera software and lots of other little things I would normally have on my computer but haven't bothered because he is only going to take them all off again and then re install them and blah. All too hard.

Anyway the e mail didn't have a virus......... yay!!!

It did have a request ....... one of which I am not totally sure of the answer.

Is there any store in Australia that sells tortoiseshell needles?

Are they even manufactured anymore?

And am I right in thinking we really only get them in secondhand stores? ( thats the only place I have seen them, well the only place that will let me buy them, everyone else wants to keep theirs :) )

Let me know as I may have responded with incorrect answers totally due to ignorance.


Anyways I am feeling way behind and kind of lost without being able to post pictures.

All this talk about tortoiseshell needles reminds me of the stitch markers Sharon sent me as a thankyou for the needles I sent her. The markers are made by Sharon and are beautiful. See I need my camera software. Perhaps this post can be my reminder of all the things I need pics of.

I need a pic of the craft room for Kimberly......... I'm not sure about the whole room but maybe the yarn corner :)

I need a pic of the Central Park Hoodie. Knitted in Bendigo rustic, Bluestone. ( scroll down through the posts and there is a pic of the colour somewhere)


It's up to the armholes on the back piece, ready to start decreasing, but some things you just got to leave alone when you have people talking to you and making sure you will loose count. Especially when said people start counting 2, 5, 8,15, 66 have you lost count yet???
I know, I only had a few stitches to decrease and probably could have done it but I figured I would enjoy it more if I left it till today.

What else... oh yeah I forgot to tell you about the spinning wheel that jumped out at me and insisted I take it home.

Yeah, a spinning wheel that I have absolutely no idea how to use, what the bits are called or if it even works properly. Total crazyness. What can I say? It was cheap :)

Luckily Tigers can come over and take a peek and then tell me exactly how crazy I am.

What the???

After being all impatient and skitting about all over the place this week I finally get to Friday 1st September where I can cast on for the Central Park Hoodie. The knit that I have been trying so hard to not cast on for...... and what do I do? I spend the day rearranging furniture and don't knit a stitch. Not even the cast on row.

At least now my craft room actually looks like a room and I have room on the desk to actually write on paper and do some homework. Damn maybe that wasn't such a good move.

Why is it that to move furniture about you have to move 3 other pieces of furniture to get one thing where you want it???

Oh and you have to empty everything first so it's not so heavy. I don't mind that bit too much, it's having to put it all back......it never seems to go back how it was.

Time for a cup of tea and some casting on....

Impatience

I am fidgeting about flitting all over the place. I really, really, really want to start the Central Park Hoodie.

Instead I have finished the Blue Opal socks, cast on and undone the purple mittens....... wrong size needles. Cast on yet another pair of fetching, this time in a pale blue Zhivago.

I probably should work on the purple jumper but all I seem to be doing is playing with yarn and mentally rearanging the craft room.
Nothing fits as it is and of course however I move it , it isn't all going to fit.

The problem is that the whole house is like this, so there isn't anywhere else to move things to in any other room.

I think it's time for a clean out. Blah. Why do I always want to do these things in the middle of term when the holidays would be a much better time for it.

Anything to avoid assignments I guess.

On changing my mind

I started knitting the purple handspun, I had knit most of the ribbing.
Then I decided it looked way too pretty to go on my foot. So I think it will become a pair of mittens instead.

I am still sneaking in rows of my sock when I can and I really need to learn how to knit and read at the same time.

Does anyone know how to type and knit at the same time????

Drowning in books

Surrounded by papers and books and of course not the books I would like to be reading. Books I have to read to write another essay. Sitting in amongst all the books is my blue opal sock and I keep sneaking in a row whenever no one is looking.

I have given in and started a pair of socks from the handspun yarn I bought at Mt Pleasannt. I couldn't wait anymore. Besides, it's better to start a sock than start the Central Park Hoodie. Only a few more days till the KAL starts.

Computer is still down

But I am still here and sneaking in a read of your blogs when I get a chance.

My Blue opal socks are growing, the purple jumper is growing very slowly and my assignment is glaring at me. Why is is knitting research is fun but any other research just isn't???

I am still restraining myself from starting any new projects like the hoodie top and I really want a pair of socks from the handspun yarn I bought at the Mt Pleasant Fibre festival.
I spent too much!!! I bought fibre and a drop spindle....... even more stuff to distract me from homework.

And the computer sleeps

My computer seems to be permanantly sleeping at the moment. A nasty virus has snuck in and stopped my computer from working. Hopefully I can fix it but at the moment I have no idea how. Throwing the computer out the window is sounding pretty good about now.

Sunday was knitting day

Miss B and I caught up with Tigers and Miss A who also gave Miss B a knitting book for her birthday. No picture of that yet. Why is it I always forget I haven't taken pictures until I am sitting here blogging?

I think I knit all of 3 cm of ribbing on Sunday and it ended up having to be frogged. I miscounted the cast on row. I really shouldn't try to talk and count at the same time.

Knitting this week seems to be slow as all I have managed to achieve is fixing up what I did on Sunday.

I got mail yesterday. My tin needle protector arrived!!!!
Nat has been hunting these down and solving all the niggly shipping issues and being a fantastic enabler. Thankyou also goes to Donna for thinking of me when the idea of getting these needle protectors first came about.
So of course I had to start something on dpn's just to try it out.

My first toe up attempt. I really don't know if these will grow into socks or not, but it was good to try out a new method.
And of course in the needle protector.

I love this, no more lost needles in the bottom of my bag.

No more stabbing myself when the needles poke out through my bag.

Today...... So far I managed to wash my hair with conditioner again.......The bottle is nearly empty and I suddenly can't read the label anymore. I have no idea what that is about.

Miss B is home from school..... She had a headache and a sore throat yesterday but said it was ok. I was thinking I would just keep her home today and hope she can fight it off with some rest.

Well she woke up today and has a cough too. So the keeping her home I had been thinking about became a definate, possitive, has to happen.

All I can hope is that she doesn't decide to share.

Now to see if I can get my knitting to behave.....................

And my brain is where???

I seem to be having one of those days where my brain just refuses to function. After forgetting to boil the kettle for my cup of tea this morning I thought I would go and have a shower while blogger decided if it would load pictures today or not.

I then tried to wash my hair with conditioner instead of shampoo....... was wondering why there were no bubbles.

I am almost to scared to pick up any knitting today in case I mix that up too.

Anyway here are the pictures blogger was holding out on.
Is there some kind of bribe /sacrifice /offering thing with blogger I don't know about cause it sure seems to like keeping my pictures for itself.

The Shawl that finally ended.

And the sock that got forgotten.


Ok not forgotten but I just couldn't seem to get around to that heel for months.

Now do I try and make my brain function and knit or just go back to bed???

And it's done!!!

Thanks to Tigers who suggested I work on it for just a little bit each time I knit before I pick up what I actually felt like knitting, the never ending shawl actually ended.
Well it's cast off and now I have to wash it and figure out how to pin it out. I haven't done this before so me and pins, um yeah.

I have joined the Central Park Hoodie KAL and of course I want to start right now. It doesn't start till September.
Do you think they would mind if I started early? You know, just swatched..... and kept knitting?
I would still finish late as assignments and things will get in the way later.

Oh Ok I'll wait.

And make a cup of tea and read blogs. It would help if I had actually boiled the kettle first. That mouthful of lukewarm tea when you are expecting nice hot tea is just gross.

And just cause it has been looking incredibly lonely and unloved I picked up the blue opal sock. It now has a heel. Lets see how long it takes to actually get a foot.

Never ending shawl

still hasn't ended. It is growing though. Just very slowly.
Nearly there..................

Blah

Why is it I am now halfway through this jumper and suddenly I am really not liking it much at all???



Probably because I know I have Bendigo yarn to play with.

Stash enhancement

Courtesy of Bendigo Wollen mills




I now have 5 balls of Rustic in Pink Opal




and another 5 in Bluestone.




I couldn't make up my mind so I ordered both.

The pink is to make an adaptation of the ballerina wrap I saw over at Cindy's and the blue is for the Central Park Hoodie that Tigers and I have been drooling over.

I did end up shuffling bookshelves around and now I have to keep shuffling to make everything fit. Funny how stuff never goes back how you thought it would.

On living with a teenager

BLAH!!!

Miss B was officially 13 yesterday and is now of course totally full of herself. She has also warned me that she fully intends being even more obnoxious, irritating and disrespectful than usual, as that is a teenagers job.
My reply was that I wouldn't bother putting much effort into that job as it doesn't pay well.
She kind of huffed and walked off LOL.

Realistically apart from being totally buzzed up on chocolate, chips, lollies and pavlova she has been fine.

We spent the afternoon with friends and family. Miss B and Granny tickling each other and dragging/sliding each other around all over the wooden floor in the lounge. I knew there was a reason I didn't bother mopping the floors.
My mum is totally nuts, but then so is Miss B so they get along fine. I just stand there shaking my head at the pair of them and leave them to it.

So amongst all the chip, lolly , pavlova and roast dinner eating there was no knitting done.
I thought I would make up for it today instead and take the abandoned sock to tafe with me. OOOps , I took the pattern but left the sock at home.

Maybe some will get done tonight, or maybe some bookshelves will get shuffled about, or maybe I'll just go to sleep.

So today is the last day of my holidays before re submerging myself into endless study and not much knitting.

I had hoped to finish a few more things before Tafe started up again, but then of course I got distracted and started some new things too.
There had been so many things I wanted to do this holidays that I didn't get quite as much knitting time as I had imagined. Then again I think I always imagine I can knit more in a certain amount of time than what I actually can.

This blob represents the never ending shawl I really, really want finished so I can focus on the DSF.







And after starting again this is the Sirdar Eternity swatch that grew bigger than a swatch.

Saved

Saved by a $2 purchace made in April.

Yep the 6mm circular I bought at a thrift store in Bundaburg earlier in the year is the one that seems to be fixing the guage issues......... for now anyway.

And here I was thinking I didn't own a 6mm circular and would have to go and buy one. Hmmmm maybe there is method to actually listing what needles I have.

mystery guage???

Instead of working on anything I have going like the shawl I really should finish or fixing the mixed up row on the DFS I swatched for yet another project.

Swatch using Sirdar Eternity met the required specifics of 17 sts and 24 rows to 10cm.

Start knitting get past the ribbing........... progress to the stocking stitch.
Think it is all looking a bit small.
Measure guage and go blah.
Somehow it changed and I am now getting 23 stitches for 10 cm. No wonder it's looking small.How does this happen??? That's an extra six stitches. Blah.

Looks like time for a needle change.

Somehow I am guessing I will be needing one of the sizes I don't have in a circular.

Back to the projects I DO have the right size needles for.

Finally a picture

Blogger has been consistantly painful with it's persistance in eating my pictures. But finally here is the minute amount of progress on the diamond fantasy shawl.



I need to recount the stitches on the current row ( again and again, if I count it enough times I will eventually come up with the number I am supposed to have........ right??) and then I will hopefully be able to move on to the next chart sometime today. Sooo pretty, so much concentration.

Beginnings and endings

I spent a fantastic day shopping at the LYS with Tigers yesterday. We spent the day shopping and talking yarn as you do. The discussion got around to our current projects and why we can't wait to finish some things and others are left sitting there untouched for unspeakable amounts of time.

One of my untouched projects has been Rogue.
I love it and I want it finnished so I can wear it.
But I am hating the striping I am getting from trying to blend the two dyelots.
For a while I was trying to talk myself into believing it would all be ok when it's finished. But I am not even working on it let alone finishing it.
So to the frogpond it is going. The yarn will be seperated into the different dyelots and then can be reassigned a few smaller projects.

Of course as soon as there is a place cleared in the que something else needs to be started. Diamond Fantasy Shawl has been started.
With lots of frogging I am almost done with chart A.

Lace totally befuddles me and I seem to loose yarn overs consistantly.
I spend more time counting my stitches than doing any actual knitting.
But it's soooooooo pretty. I will just have to keep practicing.

Fetching 3

All finished!!! Miss B's blue fetchings are done!!

So of course I am itching to start on something new ( Like the Diamond Fantasy Shawl) but have been trying to work on some of the stuff sitting on the list. I spent a couple of hours last night working on the shawl I currently have going. The rows are really long now and take forever. It seems I am not getting very far and will more than likely cast on very soon.

Why is it that at the start of a project you can see a lot of progress and yet once you get just over halfway done it doesn't seem to matter how much you knit it doesn't grow??

Totally awed....

I will never cease to be in total awe of knitterly peoples generousity. They share their time and their knowledge, they let us learn in our own way and they listen.

It seems knitters are amongst the people who believe in sending surprise packages just because.

Donna
was the source of some amazing surprise kindness and Kit just had to check it out.

Sorry about the bright flash/colour distortion but I had to take it before Kit ran away.... she is really camera shy.

In there is some Zarina and fluffy stuff to make Miss B a pair of socks. That's if I don't run off with the purple yarn myself he he.

The pattern for the Diamond Fantasy Shawl I have been drooling over at Cara's. And to leave me totally speachless Donna also sent some Twinkletoes yarn so I could start right away. How is that for enabling???

I do have one problem...... I can't see through the happy tears to cast on.

Oh and the chocolate......... it was yummy :)

Thankyou so much Donna.

Fetching 2

Fetching 2 off my hands for 2 seconds so I could quickly take a pic.
The colours appear a bit more muted in person but I love them. I can see myself making more of these later as I am going to want some for when these are in the wash. They may need constant washing as the cats have already tried to spill a cup of tea all over them this morning.



Off to start Miss B's pair and try and sqeeze in an appointment at the Dr's.
Miss B has an ingrown toenail..... surgery was recommended.
Now that the surgery date is near it seems to be pretty much healed of it's own accord. Typical. The infection has gone but it's still a bit lumpy. So I want to see if it will be ok on it's own now or if she still needs the surgery. I am hoping the former for her sake as well as mine. I really don't think I can sit in the room with her and watch them cut her toe up. I know she will want me in the room with her, but I just want to be far away so I don't have to watch.

I can happily watch Doctors give me needles and things but not on my little girl.

A little housekeeping....

Finally. My progress bars are fixed and I have added some more to the list of things I want to make. The list is of course longer but these are the things I really really want to make.

What I really need to do is some housekeeping in the house instead of just on the computer. But of course knitting is more fun, so I have the second pair of fetching finished. I put them on to see how they fit and haven't taken them off since.

Now that I have made something for myself of course Miss B has put an order in. I kind of feel like making something different now but I guess I better make her a pair or she will just steal mine. Maybe if I just start hers, she won't notice when I put it down to work on something else.

What I want to start is a scarf. I have one that I made a while ago but it is very drapey and squishes down and doesn't keep my neck warm so it doesn't get a lot of wear.




So I am thinking of frogging it and coming up with something a bit chunkier and warmer. Maybe an Irish hiking scarf to keep with the cable theme of the fetchings but I haven't decided yet. Suggestions are welcome.

And ooooops, I think I just mentally added to the "I want one list"
Over on 2paws blog is her finished Bolshoi and it's making me want to rush out and buy yarn and start one right now.

Quick before blgger is nasty again

Here are the first finished Fetching mitts.

Using 1 ball of Debbie Bliss Aran Cashmerino

And started is the second pair using Jet.

The cables dissappear in the mix of colours and you end up with a slightly longer mitt using this yarn.

fetching........

Would be really pretty if I could actually show you. Blooger as I am calling it today just isn't playing nicely.

Fetching is finished ( appart from a few ends that need to be sewn in shhhh) and I liked them so much I have started another pair in Patons Jet Col 6 which isn't really a colour. It is an incredible mix of colours that is knitting with a rustic look to it.

It's not as impressive as the single colour in the Debbie Bliss yarn, the cables are a bit hidden, but it's still a lot of fun.

Argh!

Pictures would be a good thing, yet it seems blogger thinks you all need to use your imaginations a little.

Holidays have started and appart from having Miss B home and in my face 24 hours a day it's been ok. Knitting has been happening.
Waffle socks are done.
Shawl has grown oh about 3 rows .

It's not my fault......... the new knitty is up.
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/PATTfetching.html


Serendipity has hit.
I have the yarn, I have the right size needles and I have cold hands.

And it's over for another term.....

I spent a lot of time not knitting this week as I had to turn this

into typed notes that actually made some kind of sense.

Then I spent a horribly terrifying 20 minutes in front of the class doing what was hopefully an understandable presentation.

I don't remember much I just felt sick. I still feel sick even thinking about it.

But I did get this at the end of it:

That little PA in the corner is a pass achieved.

Seems like a bit of a let down considering how much effort and stress were involved.

A yarn purchase is definately in order.

Just so you know

In responce to Donna's comment and her spotlight staff's ignorance.

Cleckheaton country does NOT felt.

I have tried it and all it does is get bigger and bigger and produce more and more fluffballs. Actually by the end of it I am surprised there was any yarn left as I had removed so much fluff from the washing machine and dryer.
Yep I tried everything I could think of to make it felt and it just wouldn't.

3 times through the whole wash cycle in hot water. With cold rinse.
Extremes in temperature alone should have done something if it was gonna felt.
Water straight from the kettle added to make the water hotter.
Whole thing thrown in the dryer and left on the hot dry cycle.
Nope not one bit of felting happened.

I just ended up with a huge yarny thing which I ended up undoing....... yes I was able to unravel this yarn no problem, just fluffy bits coming off all over the place as I unwound it.

So nope it doesn't felt................ but panda woolbale does as does lincraft's cozy wool.

Spotlight Knitting Party

I went to the Port Adelaide store and there were people turning up all day.

They had put aside 4 tables that normally have their sewing machine displays on them and yes the yarn was acrylic and the needles were the cheap bamboo ones and most were knitting squares for charity.
But others had brought in their own projects and were more than happy to share patterns and teach new methods.

The staff happily photocopied for us and provided continuous tea, coffee and hot chocolate (which Miss B loved).
They also gave demonstrations on invisible cast ons and how to change colours in your work. As well as a raffle where you had to guess the meterage of an unseen 10 balls of yarn.

Appart from having to finalise it with management they are also looking at having a knitting group of their own on the first saturday of the month.

People were constantly coming in as others left so there was a continual state of the tables being occupied and I did manage to interest one lady into some felting and others want sock yarn so not everyone wanted acrylic.

One of their staff members said she wants to come to our group on Sunday so I hope she does. She is one of the ones who also wants to knit with nicer yarns and will be trying to get some sock yarn into the stores .

Others were giving demonstrations of crotchet and explaining hwo they make particular blankets.. sounds like a lot of work to me and another lady was teaching tricot, no idea how you spell that but anyway this used a needle that looks like a big knitting needle with a crotchet hook on the end. Looked like it could be fun.

So considering what I thought it may turn out to be I had a great time and learnt lots and Miss B has turned into a hot chocolate.

They say nothing

Not much happening with Mr Pervert man, he seems to be hiding for now. The school sent home a pathetic letter about not using certain gates but not saying why at all. I spent thurday and friday afternoons talking to other parents letting them know what is going on and walking the looooooooong way around to avoid the gates we are no longer allowed to use. I'm sorry but not using gates doesn't remove Mr Pervert. Perhaps a petition of some sort will???
How would I go about wording that??
Suggestions please.


And knitting........ one waffle sock done and one black beanie done.

And school... one presentation still floating about in my head and nothing much of it done. 5% perhaps eeekk!!!

Pervert man update

Unfortunately no one had a camera of anysort on them except pervert man.

The mas was arrested................ and is now out on bail. BLAH

The man lives almost right next to the school so the protection order stating he must not enter the school or approach any students seems totally irrelevant........ toilet paper has more value.

The school have disscussed the issue with all students in all classes but weren't too keen on letting parents have much information.

I pointed out all the parents that now work or study ( thanks John Howard) that are now unable to walk their kids to school and won't know what has happend as kids don't always come home and tell their parents these things, they forget or they don't always understand the importance or they just want to go and play.

So I finally got them to say they will send out a basic letter but it may not state all the information due to legalities.

Huh??? Who cares about legalities? He is the one doing something wrong.

But anyways that's all good for now but if I am not happy with whatever letter makes it home or no letter makes it home, I will be making sure parents get told what really happened and that this man lives right there and wont be going away. That this is an ongoing danger for their kids........... the school wasn't too happy with that but agreed that I can do that as I am not tied up in their legality crap.

I was there, I saw him, I saw what he did and I have the right to tell whoever I want. To be honest it's not even a right, it's a duty to protect the kids and parents can't protect their kids if they don't know what is going on.

I'm sure every other parent at that school would rather know about it than have something happen later and find out the school knew about this guy but didn't warn them.

Blah, now to go and walk past where this guy lives ( no I don't know specific house number but I know within which block) hope he is outside so I can slap him ( ok maybe not, I don't actually want to touch him) and go and pick up Miss B from school.

I WILL be taking my camera!!!!!

And my mobile.

Scarey Times

After obsessing and being told I am being overprotective by certain people I had almost decided that at nearly 13 Miss B could possibly be let walk to and from school on her own.

Realistically Miss B is responsible enough to do this although I do have concerns about one of the busy roads between our house and the school.
This was all settling in my brain as being something I have to let her do in order to let her grow up and become independant.

That was until I picked her up from school today.

There was a man standing by the school fence as I walked through the gate. As I met up with Miss B,
I was also approached by two teachers who had come out to make sure the kids left ok as this man had been taking pictures of the kids and making inappropriate suggestions to them.
The police were called but meanwhile the man was still standing there and had decided to put his hand down his pants and have a play right there in front of us. He had no problem that we knew what he was doing and seemed in no rush to leave. He had this big smile on his face. Ewwwwwwwwww.


I left with Miss B and somehow the walking home from school on her own doesn't look like it will be happening anytime soon.

Miss B suddenly seems more than happy to have an overprotective mother who picks her up and embarrasses her in front of her friends as she is totally aware of what sorts of things this man may have decided to do if there were no other adults around. He really scared her.

I will also be making a request to the school that teachers watch this exit point to the school as it is often left unsupervised as fewer children seem to use it................ all the more reason to watch it.

Ok Knitting.......... um a little more of the beanie got done..... I normally would have finished it but a book distrated me........ funny about that.

Sneaky knitterly things

Knitting seems to be incredibly sneaky at the moment. Seemingly all on it's own a beanie has been started, nothing to do with the fact that I have a couple of busses to catch later and want something I don't need to concentrate on........

And resurfacing from wherever it was hiding is the blue opal sock.

I'm still not sure that I totally love this but I am liking how it looked knitted in rib a lot more than I liked it plain.


Even more sneaky was the book that followed me home on Sunday and insisted I start reading it straight away.

I am loving this book, I love how it is all what I would say about knitting, but said so much better than I could ever say it.

Go and say hi to Helen and Denise, they are new to blogland and I am hoping they are going to teach their cat to knit. ( Just so then it can teach my cats to knit and they can then do all the boring bits like cast on and sew up)

Studying = Startitis???

Studying sure seems to equal not much knitting and even less blogging. One essay is done, one presentation still needs to be done and a few other smaller pieces are still floating about. Hurry up holidays.

I also have a really strong desire to catch a million buses and go drool over some really nice yarn. I have more than enough yarn here and not enough time to knit it all, and yet this really wants to take priority over any study regardless of impending deadlines. EEEK!

Stolen from the fisherperson and ends sewn in we have finished mittens




And started instead of studying are the waffle socks




Another thing that seems to happen when I am studying is that I loose things and leave things behind in strange places.
So far this week I have lost my 4.5 mm dpn's, my blue opal socks and I have left my new magnetic board at the counter when I bought a hotdog.

Funny how I only seem to be loosing knitterly related things.............

Knitting in Public

I spent Sunday afternoon upstairs in the state library knitting for wwkipday. Lots of knitting got done and the shawl has grown.
I was inspired by other knitters and have a few more items in my possible to do list. Em was making some really cozy looking slippers and I want some.Tigers was making a scarf in some really scrummy looking yarn, the sort you just want to run off with and cuddle up to. Others were using colours I wouldn't normally choose myself, but I liked how they looked knitted up. All in all definately a day to consider new projects and I came home and reassessed the stash. Some yarn I wasn't so keen on may be resurected yet.

Mittens are done!

No I didn't run out of yarn, but I did stay up late to get them done so C could wear them fishing.
The seaming was horrid, one day I will learn how, till then I think I will stick with making things in the round.
Having said that, C loved them so much I didn't get a pic before he ran off with them, a couple of metres of yarn still attached and not one end sewn in. He just shoved any excess bits into the mitten and off he went.
I guess fish don't need impressing.