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!!!