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.