Monday, September 26, 2005

Pink Socks Done

Yay for productivity! Got to say I love a FO. Especially one that has been sitting there staring at me begging me to complete it for weeks. The one that when I actually worked on it got done pretty quick. A rainy day where I didn't do anything much but knit and watch Mr and Mrs Smith didn't hurt with the progress either.

I even frogged most of the retro ribby sock so I should be back to where I was before I somehow stuffed it all up. This is not a sock I want to frog again as picking up those itty bitty stitches is almost impossible. I know I have picked most of them up the wrong way and will have to fix them as I knit. But it was the only way. Otherwise those lil things would have just gone and run all the way down and I'd have nothing to pick up and work with.

Iv'e been peeking over at Black Olive's and damn does her stash look heavenly. I probably have nearly that amount of yarn but the majority of it is scraps and odd balls. Yarn that would be perfect for one of these.
I'm not sure I will actually ever make that but I like the idea of it. It looks so snuggly and cosy.

Friday, September 23, 2005

Teaching Knitting?

I found an add in the local paper. A woman wants to learn to knit and crochet. My first reaction was to call her and offer to teach her to knit. But then I got scared. What if I can't teach her? What if I suddenly stuff up everything I try and knit? If I did try and teach her where would I do it? I don't want a complete stranger coming to my home. What if she has already found someone to teach her?

Part of me would love to do this as I'd love to find more people to knit with and I enjoy watching people as they suddenly grasp how it all works.

Crap. I've just jumped in and sent a text to this lady with my number and saying I can teach her to knit. Well I guess now it's up to her to get back to me and discuss what she wants to know and arrange a time to get together. A text probably isn't the best way to go but I don't see that I should pay the cost of calling her mobile when it's me that would be helping her out. I hate calling peoples mobiles and tend to only do so in an emergency.

And in knitting news I am knitting C's brown beanie. Damn is this one slow going, 128 sts on 3mm needles. I must be insane as its killing my fingers........ I hope he doesn't want it in a hurry as it is quite likely to get put down and then pushed aside and hidden while I work on other projects. Really I should be working on other projects........ some things have been waiting way too long and others wouldn't take much to actually finish. And others....... well maybe I'll frog them..... its a really quick way of finishing . Just not very satisfactory as there is no finished object at the end.

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Scarves hmmmmmmm

Ok. I finished the Debbie Bliss Lace Scarf.
Just have to sew in some ends and block it.
But I love it.
So then I decided to work on Branching Out.
Here comes the hmmmmm bit. For some reason I stuffed it up and ended up with extra stitches and just decided that undoing it all was easier than trying to tink back each sticth to figure out where I had actually made the mistake.
So at this point the needles are back in the box and the yarn is wound up and I am not even sure if I will make Branching Out with this particular yarn afterall as it seems to catch so very easily. Well that's one way to clear off two projects in one day, finish one and frog the other.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Scarf knitting

The Debbie Bliss Lace Scarf is moving along nicely. Will probably only need one more ball of yarn to finish. Whoot a project thats for me. So nice.
Then I still have my huge list of UFO's to work on. And the list of things I want to make that are still all in my head. Blah. I have to say I am loving having everything added to the side bar even if I do keep remembering something else to add after I publish the blog. It makes it easy to see what I am doing and choose what to work on.
I also don't feel so bad about the UFO"s since I can also see the FO's. All those FO's have been started and completed this year in between starting other things, studying, working and raising Miss B. Ok a lot of those projects are small like socks, but since I started studying I don't get much knitting time anymore so I am quite proud of what I have finished. Especially as I know just how easily distracted I can be by yarn shopping and blog reading, both of which take away precious knitting time.

Apparantly the waiting list just got longer as two of my sisters visited on the weekend and both mentioned that handknitted socks would be nice for Christmas Hint Hint.
Well I made them both measure their feet and said no promises about Christmas or any other particular time but at least this way if I happen to feel like making more socks I have their measurements. Hmmmmmmm I wonder they would be happy if I gave them each a sock pattern, some sock yarn and some dpn's for Christmas.........lazy lazy knitter aren't I?
Nooooooooooooooo don't answer that.

Sunday, September 18, 2005

What colour?

Your Blog Should Be Purple
You're an expressive, offbeat blogger who tends to write about anything and everything.
You tend to set blogging trends, and you're the most likely to write your own meme or survey.
You are a bit distant though. Your blog is all about you - not what anyone else has to say.
What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?


Actually I quite like my pink and anyone else is more than welcome to leave comments and say whatever they want :)

Messing about with the sidebar

Yep the sidebar had indeed been messed about with. I actually figured out how to add the percentage bars and the list of projects I am currently working on. Ok So i'm not working on all of them right now............ some of them have been sitting in a corner all on their own for quite some time. And I have possibly forgotten a few. And I haven't added everything to the on the waiting list section.... just because I'd never be able to add absolutely everything.This list is constantly changing anyway depending on what I see in magazines, what I see out there in blogland and what yarn I happen to get my little mitts on.

The sockpal2za socks were sent off on Friday along with another package which is going to a friend in London. Now I just have to wait for everyone to get their packages. Oh yeah..... and I have to wait to get mine.
Isn't it funny... the whole time while making the socks for someone else you are so distracted by making them that you pretty much forget you are going to get some socks yourself. This is the time you start wondering about who your sock pal is and what socks you will recieve. Will they be the colours you like? will they fit? Basically all the questions you wondered about the socks you were sending but now in reverse.

As for the second package I know it will be liked as it isn't for anything in particular, just a surprise. Just a lil thinking of you package.

Saturday, September 17, 2005

A Button


Image hosted by Photobucket.com



Whoot I made a button............



Now I just gotto figure out how to put it where I actually want it

Photobucket

This is a test post from Photobucket.com

Knitting

This is a snippet of an e mail I sent to someone explaining my feelings on knitting.

I love starting something, seeing the texture and colour, watching the pattern emerge and how the yarn knits up and watching it grow. Because at the begining of a project it all seems to grow really quickly.

But then you get to The Middle. By this point I am curious about other patterns/yarn , am sick of the sight of the colour of the yarn I am using. The growing of my knitting seems to be non existant no matter how much i knit.

This is the point I usually start something else aswell as mentally start/imagine many projects. Enough said argh.

But then If I can get past that....... Usually it involves a sock or beanie distraction before I can look at first project again, makes it almost seem like a new project again. ( blah even a sock can call for a sock distraction, the heel =middle LOL )

Then I get to The End.............. and I LOVE the end, that last third or quarter of a project where you can totally see how it is all going together. The part where you know you should have enough yarn left but still always wonder with every project. The part where for some strange reason the knitting is growing again and the closer you get to The End the faster it grows. Just when you were enjoying knitting it again, it wants to finish on you.

And then it's done. And I just sit and stare. And am always amazed. Amazed at what I have managed to create with just needles and yarn, some patience and time.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Sockpaltwoza socks are done

They are finally done!!! Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Socks are finished. Finished. Finished.
I finished them last night and now I just have to post them. Hope my sockpal likes them. Guess I can't do much about it now.
Oh well, at least now I can look at other projects. Just got to decide what I should be finishing next........ probably more socks.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Progress, what progress??

Well unfortunately very little knitting progress.............. one toe almost done but the other not even touched. And instead of completeing database stuff I spent 3 or 4 hours stuffing around on my powerpoint presentation. Everytime I looked at it I found something else I could change. But its almost to a point i'm happy with which means I should be able to spend some of this weeks powerpoint class time doing the database stuff instead. Hopefully I'll sneak in some knitting on toes time in today because I really Really want to move on and work on something else. Am thinking of checking out a yarn shop today for inspiration.

Monday, September 12, 2005

Monday Morning

Yep. It's Monday morning again. I can almost breathe, I slept a little and I even managed to make my hands co - operate with my brain......... I managed to knit on the socks.... they are up to the toes, so hopefully, hopefully will be done sometime today. I would garantee they will be done except fot the fact I have to go to Tafe today and the fact that I still feel ok for a while and then totally unexpectedly need to lay down . Which of course means nothing may end up being done on these socks afterall. But having said that the fact that there are only the toes to go should be some sort of incentive. Especially as if they are finished I can actually do some guilt free knitting and knit something else. Who knows I may even get motivated to try and finish something else. Or maybe I'll just cast on for something else with the needles that would be freed up if these socks were done. Either way it would be some very welcome variety.

Friday, September 09, 2005

Crap

Can't sleep, can't breathe, can't knit.
Blah. Miss B seems to have been rather generous and shared/given me her cold. She could have kept it. Really. I wouldn't have minded.
I have been awake since 4am this morning blowing my nose and trying not to rub my incredibly itchy eyes. It is taking incredible effort to even lift my head away from the pillow as it feels so damn heavy. Have taken panadol and codral and drank too many cups of tea.
Have aslo picked up a sock several times , looked at it and then put it down again. For some reason knit 13 sts, knit 2 tog, knit 1, turn is something my brain doesn't seem to comprehend right now. Well actuall it does, its just my brain can't seem to get the message to my hands, they are just holding the needles and going..... Yeah... and?? Don't think we are actually going to move do you?
The only residents in this house enjoying this are the cats as they are getting lots of company.
Why is it that I have two days off work/ study that I could actually do things in and I feel too crappy to actually make any practical use of this time?

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh Funny Funny People

He he..... Thats for the funny people that found my blog by searching for ohhhhhhhhh.

Knitting stuff........ Well I have one sock done........ but with one of those stupid holes in the side of the heel you get when you pick up the stitches wrong grrrrrrrrr, and two socks that are ready to have the heels done. Yes I know that is three socks.......
I figured I will be undoing the completed one and to make sure I actually get two socks the same it might help to knit them at the same time so I can still remember what I did at each point. This has meant do ribbing on one, then ribbing on sock two, knit twenty or so rows on sock one, then knit twenty or so rows on sock two. It all seems to take so much longer this way, but I think it will work out better in that after having finished one then two is so close to being done that I will finish it. Especially as the dreaded deadline is rapidly creeping up on me........Sep 15 Argh

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Much better

I hurt my back earlier in the week but it is definately improving..... I can actually sit for a while now. Unfortunately still hurts to knit for very long. So sockpaltwoza socks are progressing very very slowly.

But apart from that yesterday was a gorgeous day........ Miss B and I spent the afternoon celebrating a friends birthday. It was gloriously sunny and the food was wonderful as was the company. Several of the women from Tafe were there including one of the lecturers. Was a fantasic day of chatting and catching up.

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Yeah

Not really sure what I want to say yet. Knitting isn't progressing far. Would probably get further if I actually picked it up instead of just looking at it and wondering why I am not finishing anything. I am worried about several friends for different reasons....... one has a family member who has cancer, one has recently left her husband and is struggling to get settled financially and rent a place, and one is struggling with the disappointment of IVF being unsuccessful. No wonder I am feeling a bit blah.
Perhaps it's time for some yarn shopping..... Or maybe some chocolate........

Monday, August 22, 2005

Playing around with blogger

Sorry for any disruption..... Just playing around with some of the add ons ect.
Got to say I like this lil guy.

Well Well Well

Well... It would seem a lot of us out there in blogland have had comments from Juicy Fruiter. Seems Juicy hit the next blog button and left the same comment for everyone. Have to admire the tactic as they sure have a lot of traffic flowing through their site even if it is a lil cheeky.

Butttttttt having just said that Juicy is the first to ever comment here so feel I should be sending some sort of prize........ somehow I don't think Juicyhttp://juicyfruiter.blogspot.com/ is into yarn.

Anyway....... Juicy also gave me a much needed kick up the bum and reminded me that I have been slack and haven't been posting much so ....

On the knitting front I have been working on the sockpaltwoza socks........... they are not going well....
Have developed ladders in the sides of the foot..... I have no idea how to avoid or fix this problem....
If anyone knows........ please share....

Monday, July 25, 2005

What I've been up to

Well finishing assignments and then having holidays. Also some knitting of course.
Ive made some purple zhivago socks for a friend, some baby socks for another friend who became a grandmother, a beanie for a friend in melbourne.
I've started and the stoped a scarf for me and started and had better finish some socks for the sockpal2za. Have just got past the heel on the first sock. I'm doing the retro ribby socks in cashmarino baby..... they are turning out gorgeously so far....... I almost don't want to send them off.

Saturday, June 04, 2005

Black is so hard to knit with at night

Yep , that's why the black beanie is taking me so damn long. Especially as it is 8 ply which means more stitches than the previous 12 ply I was using for the other beanie. 12 ply just knits up so much quicker you can't help but keep going and then ta da! it's finished. But I am up to the decreases which once started should go pretty quick so hopefully will be finished soon.

You are Mohair
You are Mohair.You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with
others, doing your share without being too
weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely
refuse to change your position once it is set,
but that's okay since you are good at covering
up your mistakes.

What kind of yarn are you?
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