June 2009 Archives

The 'mystery project' was finally gifted today. It was a baby blanket I made for a work colleague who goes on maternity leave next week to have her second baby. I began this project before she knew if she was having a boy or girl (it's a boy), so I decided to go with colours not typical for babies. The blanket was supposed to end up 80-90cm wide and 120cm long, but ended up narrower (70cm). I added an icord edging, mainly to hide all the ends that needed weaving in! If I was doing another, I'd skip the garter edge and just do the icord. But I don't think I'll make any more baby blankets for a long while - I was quite over this one before it was half done. It took about 15 weeks all up.





I presently have three active projects on the needles. I can't be bothered with the River Rapids Socks right now, so they're excluded. The "Not Calvert" cardigan is going nowhere fast at the moment because the rows are too long and boring. The Revontuli shawl looked like cat vomit. Yes, lace does typically look like cat vomit before blocking, but I had a feeling that this one was going to stay looking like cat vomit. The yarn is just not right for the pattern. I took a long look at it and decided to stop. I cast on the same yarn as a Swallowtail Shawl, and before I had knit very much, it was obvious it was good (two work colleagues admired it immediately, no one admired the cat vomit Revontuli). The Revontuli is not yet frogged as I will have to do so very carefully. I had problems when I started the pattern and already know my handspun yarn does not appreciate being frogged. I worry about the Swallowtail - there may be a yardage problem. We will see.

The third project is the Noro socks. I know I said it before, but I hate the colour. I hate the yarn too. It is too rough (I know it will soften with washing, but I have to knit with the stuff first), uneven, and just downright horrible. And the grey part of the colour repeat met in the middle of the sock. I could have changed the start of the heel and shifted some of the grey, but there is green on both sides of the grey, so they would have met instead. I decided to 'go with the Noro'. I am surprised that they actually look nice when I put them on.



I am on the cuff of the first sock and will start the second immediately. I must do so, or I will be distracted by the pretty sock yarn that landed in my post office box over the last two days.



From left to right: Regia Kaffe Fassett Design Line in Landscape Canyon from Morris and Sons (I couldn't make it to the sale so I ordered the yarn and some more needles online); Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Duchess; Dream in Color (DIC) Smooshy in Cloud Jungle and Cocoa Kiss and DIC Starry in Black Pearl all from Eat.Sleep.Knit. (And they included a little badge. Nice.) The mainly muted palette of most of these yarns is because I have lots of bright coloured socks already, but mainly only wear them with jeans - so not to work. These colours work better with my work attire. Some of my handknit socks are wearing out - the oldest (6 years old) and those made in Patonlyle, which is too soft and too prone to felting, in particular. So I felt very justified to buy some new sock yarn.

The Regia will become Jaywalkers and the DIC Smooshy Cloud Jungle are likely to become Leyburn Socks. I haven't decided about the others yet. I have to finish with the Noro first.

Here's a first. I've been tagged. Thanks Issy!

What is your current obsession?
Considering the number of little post-it note tags I put in the "Crafty Girls' Road Trip" book last night, it would have to be planning my trip to New Zealand for the end of the year.

What are you wearing today?
It's a very monochrome day. Black pants, black top, black Beaded Rib socks, Tangled Yoke Jumper (dark grey), Flower Basket Shawl (light grey) and my black coat. Earlier today it was a black and purple swimming costume, purple swimming cap and purple goggles. And goose bumps.

What's for dinner?
Hmmm... Well I have a late finish at work today, so I will probably pick up some takeaway on the way home. Hopefully the Fig Lamb or the Mango Chicken from my favourite Thai place. (edit: the Thai takeaway wouldn't answer the phone. Hrumpffff.)

What did you eat for your last meal?
I'm writing this at work although I can't post it until I get home, so that would be breakfast. My breakfast is always Sustain cereal with milk and a glass of orange juice.

What's the last thing you bought?
I'll have to admit it was an almond Portuguese tart from the French bakery near work when I collected my mail from the post office box yesterday. Yummy!

What are you listening to right now?
My work colleagues working at their desks; several birds outside; the distant hum of lessons in nearby classrooms.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
To the top of a mountain. Any mountain. Preferably with good scenery and clear weather. I'd just like to sit there and watch the world go by below me.

What are you going to do after this?
Mark prac books. Yes, I am procrastinating. Surprising? No.

What do you love most about where you currently live?
Not terribly much since I've been looking to move house off-and-on for almost a year now. It is close to a good indoor heated pool for Winter swimming (since I'm too far from work to always use the one there).

What is your favourite colour?
Purple. Specifically, cool purples. I'll settle for blue sometimes.

What is your favourite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?
Probably the brown wool-denim pants I wore yesterday. They are nice and warm for this time of year.

What were you doing ten years ago?
I had just been awarded my PhD and was working as a Post Doctoral Fellow at Sydney Uni. I had just picked up knitting again.

Describe your personal style.
Comfortable. Practical.

If you had $300 now, what would you spend it on?
Assuming it was money purely for spoiling myself, then probably some BFL sock yarn; more books; can you buy more hours in the day?

What was your favourite TV show or book as a child?
Gee, I don't remember. There are no stand outs.

What are your favourite films?
Dead Poets Society, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Amelie.

What inspires you?
Plant or flower architecture (yes, there is such a thing and I can lose hours looking at one of the books I have on the subject), mathematical or geometrical patterns and building architecture.

Who's work/designs are you inspired by?
All the work I see by those around me.

Your favourite books?
The Harry Potter books; John Marsden's "Tomorrow" series and Ellie Chronicles; Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything".

Do you collect anything?
Books, DVDs, fibre, yarn, dust (I'm not good at housekeeping!).

What makes you follow a blog?
I either know the person personally and want to know what they're doing or, if I don't know them, then I am interested in the techniques that person uses in their work.

What was the most enjoyable thing you did today?
I swam 500m at the pool at work. It was a nice way to start the day.

What's one thing you dream of doing?
Having more time to enjoy life rather than be in a constant state of busy-busy: school busy-busy in term time and catching my breath and doing everything I put aside to do in school holidays busy-busy.

What's your favourite music of the moment?
I haven't been listening to much other than the radio in the car so I can't name anything!

The rules:1. Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your invention, add one more question of your own. 2. Tag eight other people.

Gee. Are there eight bloggers I know who haven't been tagged already? Tag yourselves.

Yesterday was World Wide Knit in Public Day. It was also the day I rostered myself on the Guild stand at the Craft and Quilt Fair. Both were at Darling Harbour, so I spent the whole day there, immersed in crafty goodness.

The morning passed in a flash. I sat and spun at the Guild stand for more than four hours with few breaks as I hardly noticed the time. I spent about half that time spinning singles of the English Leicester/Kid Mohair/Bamboo roving and about half plying a full bobbin of two ply. Most of the usual interest and questions from people who came by. A number of Ravelers happened to come by and I got to put some names to faces. As I wanted to finish plying the full bobbin and not stop part way, it was after 1.30pm before I packed up my spinning wheel. I did a quick whip around a few stalls I wanted to visit, and bought some Habu silk wrapped stainless steel. I can't wait to knit that in front of some muggles!


It was hard work getting out of the Craft Fair and over to WWKIP day at the Bayside Lounge carrying a backpack, bag and my spinning wheel. I was late to the Bayside Lounge, arriving at something like 2.15pm - long after the problem of 50+ knitters and only 25 chairs had been sorted (they were told to expect 75 people - clearly knitting skeptics...). I was shocked that I was 71st to arrive! The total tally was 80 knitters. There were knitters inside:



And knitters outside:


I wound the yarn off the bobbin onto my niddy noddy, counted it for length then put it away. My fingertips were cold and numb from plying for so long in a cold down draft from the ventilation system in the exhibition hall, so I didn't want to do any more spinning. I wanted to knit but I was so tired and spent so much time talking (Yeah, surprising. Not.) that I barely knit a thing: maybe three rounds on my sock? Shortly after the prizes were drawn, I packed up and made my way home, completely exhausted.

This morning I have had out my sewing machine. I turned one of the two WWKIP day bags I bought into a drawstring project bag big enough for a large project. I've been using other bags borrowed from other purposes, and I much prefer a drawstring bag to keep everything for a project together. While I had the machine out, I made a second bag from the last of the Knitting Chickens fabric I bought a couple years back (I wish now that I'd got some of the accompanying fabric with the actual Knitting Chickens on it). So all my WIPs now have their own drawstring bag and some other bags have gone back to their original purpose.



While the camera was out, I photographed all the WIPs. There are Noro socks I shouldn't be knitting since the River Rapid sock still remains without a partner. I hate the colour and the yarn, but it is doing the Noro thing I so like with the stripes. I'm mid-turning-the-heel already.



A Revontuli shawl in the alpaca/merino handspun:



And the much neglected cardigan, even though I'd love to be wearing it right now:



And the English Leicester/Kid Mohair/Bamboo yarn is drying after setting the ply.


There's still more singles on the bobbins ready to ply, and a quarter of the rovings yet to be spun, so this skein is only about a quarter of the resulting yarn. The intention is that it will become an Ishbel, even though that pattern has gone viral. It's damn pretty.

My sister and her family came over for afternoon tea and helped eat the fruit cake. While they were here I got out a jumper I knit 9 or 10 years ago, soon after I took knitting up again. It was my first attempt at cables, and back then I knitted my purls twisted, so the stocking stitch created has a particular texture (I stopped purling that way in 2003 so that I could knit lace). The jumper was originally intended for my nephew Harrison. But by the time I finished it and vest in the same, non-machine washable yarn, it had become apparent that anything non-machine washable wasn't going to, umm, last.

I hadn't thought this jumper would fit Ben as he's a big boy (two weeks from his first birthday). But I had the jumper out last month when I visited Year 1 at school to demonstrate spinning, weaving and knitting. (I think I forgot to blog about that. It was fun.) It was bigger than I remembered, so I thought it was worth a try. I have three nieces between Harrison and Ben, so the little jumper and vest have had to wait some time!


I couldn't have done better if I'd measured him up and made it specifically for him in the first place! The pattern is from a Patons baby book. The yarn is Jo Sharp Classic DK in shade 903 'silk' (back from when the yarn was made in New Zealand and could be bought from the haberdashery section of Grace Bros - my sister struggled to remember Grace Bros having a habby section!). I still have a ball and a bit left in the stash. The vest is in a burgundy shade (307?). Ben looks lovely in the jumper and I may have to make the same again in a larger size for him for next Winter.

The blog upgrade I started *gulp* 4 months ago is finally finished. I did mean to finish it over Easter, but illness intervened. As well as reinstating the blog banner, I've removed the dead links to the photoalbums that are no more, and fixed the internal page links (the file naming system changed twice? in the blogware upgrade, screwing everything). A little bug still remains, but until I find the culprit script, I can't fix it.

The 'mystery project' was finished last week - a few weeks ahead of its scheduled gifting, so no photos yet. This finally allowed me to cast on some lace in the alpaca/merino blend. I changed my mind several times about which pattern to use, but in the end 'Revontuli' won (English translation here). It doesn't look like much yet, so I haven't photographed it. The 'not Calvert' cardigan is nearly down to the armholes, with very long knit rows that only just work on an 80cm circular. When I split the arms from the body, I'll photograph it.

Spinning the English Leicester/Kid Mohair/Bamboo is progressing nicely. I'm off to spin some more of it and eat some fruit cake, fresh from the oven. Nom nom.