jenwren's blog

The first week of school has been hideously hot.  I've moved to a different classroom this year, and apart from having lots of cleaning up, plants to sort out (the room has too many, honestly), posters to put up and things to move around, it has hovered around 29 degrees C in the room for most of the week, peaking at 32 degrees C by the end of Friday.  The students have been just as tired as I have been.  It has been unseasonally hot for Armidale, and Thursday was the hottest day (35.2 deg C) since the day I moved here three years ago.  At home, I had planted paper daisy seed last week but half the seedlings died on Thursday, and my lavender is looking very ill.  Thankfully, today seems a bit cooler, and I feel a bit more human.

Yesterday I went to Uralla (for the geographically challenged, it's 25 km South of Armidale) to visit Peter and his Mum, Joan.  I finally got to see their house and  garden, both of which need work (including some bamboo removal - Peter already has experience of that), helped connect up and tune the TV and VCR and Peter and I went to the Uralla Show.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take the camera with me.  I think the main attraction was the horse events.  It was a much smaller show than Armidale's, which is next month.

I still haven't really started another knitting project.  I'm making some baby socks out of scrap self-patterning yarn, and swatching the brown 3 ply from Rubi + Lana for a lacy cardigan.  I did cast on the Kiri Shawl with the blue 2 ply, but wasn't convinced it was quite right, and have ripped it.  I need to swatch that yarn to work out what it is going to do when blocked.  I have a similar problem with the brown 3 ply.  I tried a swatch in one lace pattern on needles that were clearly too big.  The second swatch I have nearly finished in a different pattern is on needles that are too small.  I'll go for a needle size in between, and Peter made the observation that the yarn was probably better suited to stocking stitch anyhow.  It's quite tightly spun and firm.  So the third swatch will probably be stocking stitch, and maybe it won't be a lacy cardigan at all.

I'd also like to spin the silk-merino blend I bought last July, but I've done no spinning in ages - I have the attention span of a gnat in hot weather.  If it cools down I can get through my school work faster and be left with some time for other things...

Not a lot of progress is being made on the knitting front.  My output of late is three baby socks and four swatches.  Four?  Yes, well it has taken that many to get the right needles and stitch pattern.  You can't have too many swatches!  It's the brown 3 ply from Rubi + Lana for the lacy cardigan.  From the top down the swatches are: strawberry bobble (SB) lace on 3.5 mm needles, tulip lace on 2.5 mm needles, stocking stitch on 3.0 mm needles, and lastly, SB on 3.0 mm needles.  I'm happy with 3.0 mm needles, and SB now, but have to decide if the SB is a border or all over design.  I've yet to measure it, but I think my tension was different between stocking stitch and the SB, so it might look odd as a border.  So there's still a bit of planning to do before I launch in and start knitting.

Here's two of the baby socks in scrap Opal sock yarn.  Cute, and easy to knit.  They're for Charlotte, but as yet I have no idea if they'll fit.  I've started another pair in the variegated yarn I dyed for the never-going-to-work sideways socks.

My mail was full of goodies today - more Addi Turbos from STYK in 3.0 mm for the lacy cardigan (I only have a pair of pins in 3.0 mm, so this was very necessary), and 4.5 mm (because I use that size a lot).  And as a treat to myself, some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Safari from Purl Yarns.    This is destined to become a pair of Rib and Cable Socks from Interweave Knits Fall 2005 issue.  And I'm really keen to cast on.