Knit 1, Sip 1

Blah, Blah, Blah...

2008-02-15T18:12:00.012+11:00

So regular blogging isn't my strong point. In typical fashion I'm just dropping in for a monthly update.

Actually January went well and I cleared the deck of UFOs and a couple of projects I just knew I wasn't going to finish, were frogged. My Wicked, which was never ever allowed to have seen the light of day (and which I stupidly wove in the ends of) was the first victim. Comprising 14 balls of Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran in Hemlock it was too luxurious a yarn to leave knitted into a big green sack.

Besides I have also begun a change in my life that will hopefully have the wonderful effect of being able to knit a pullover using half as much yarn! I have already lost well over 5 kilograms and have quite a year ahead of me to lose the remainder. The change is all good, things are on the up, I have more energy and feel more positive. Heck someone even told me yesterday they could see from behind I'd lost weight - bring it on!

I've made a few stash acquisitions, mainly sock yarn and I've had the sewing machine out. So here's a summary in pictures.

The Knittery Merino Cashmere Sock in Warm Pinks with $5 from the sale donated to Breast cancer organisations

Jolly Jumbuck "Splish Splash" Hercules sock yarn

Hand Maiden Casbah sock yarn in Sangria bought from here

This is the Needle Roll I made to to store my DPNs in, and some purple Cherry Tree Hill Sock Yarn from here

Cascade 128 for a felting project and stunning fabric from Purl's Palace in Daylesford

Three down, 15 days to go

2008-01-16T19:05:00.000+11:00

These have just taken me so long to finish. I knit the first sock in January 2007 and the second in January 2008!

Both socks are done and I have the zigzag rib vest to finish and two weeks left of my January FO month.

I'm so tired at the moment and fueled up on caffeine, I am incapable of blogging more than three sentences.

Two down, 20 days to go...

2008-01-11T15:34:00.001+11:00

Socks1.jpg, originally uploaded by tawha.

I cast these on several months ago, finished the first, and then swap and gift knitting toward the end of the year and over Christmas seemed to get in the way. Once I finally got the second sock cast on, I finished them off very quickly.

Good thing really the rate at which my daughter and her feet seem to be growing I hope they still fit her for winter.

The 50 grams of yarn was dyed by knitter friend and as the socks came to life they really kept reminding me of Australia Day, because of the greens and golds. There was also really vivid red and pink tones, and it reminded me of the sunset. So I have dubbed these simply Sunset on Australia Day Socks. It's nearly Australia Day, January 26, and that also happens to be my daughters third birthday.

I have three wips remaining to try to finish by the end of January.

Oh and check the amount of yarn I had left over at the end of these socks. It was a pretty hairy ride towards the end considering they were top-down!

One down ... 27 days to go

2008-01-04T18:06:00.000+11:00

I have dedicated January to Finishing Month.

I am aiming to clear my UFOs, before I cast on anything new. With the invention of Ravelry, I can no longer stuff my UFOs to the back of a dusty shelf somewhere and pretend for all intents and purposes that the stalled ones, the disappointing ones, the boring ones, the lost all enthusiasm for them ones no longer exist.

They are now there, documented, on show for all Ravellers to see. Everytime I log in to my profile and look at my projects page I am reminded of those I have started on, stumbled and fell.

Some I started over 12 months ago. So far, Day 4 of January, strike one off the list.

Clapotis is finished!

Not sure of the dimensions, as I used a sub-yarn, Louisa Harding Grace (50/50 wool, silk) in a DK weight. It is lovely and soft and has a gorgeous drape, just need to get through this Australian summer heatwave to wear it.

More Christmas Cheer and a Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T15:36:00.000+11:00

I received a wonderful knitting present from the very talented Jacki just before Christmas.

It's a very handy, and fashionable, project pouch. The DPNs are not part of the present, I just happened to be using bamboo DPNs for my last project. I finished a pair of Thuja for a Christmas gift just two days before December 25.

The project pouch is a fantastic construction and has all the features I would want in a small bag to carry around my current wip. It has snap closure and also a drawstring and is the perfect size for a pair of socks. Thanks Jacki!

Other Christmas related knitting included these mini-stockings and mittens I knit as part of an ornament swap. Eight stockings and eight pairs of mittens in all.

The Thuja socks were for my Dad, hence I have had family visiting, and have been busy occupying them and no time to blog. So all of a sudden I find myself in a New Year.

It has been very hot these last few days so I haven't been knitting much. I have however decided to dedicate January to clearing the wip pile.

It's not too out of control, I have Clapotis to finish, one Jaywalker, the Zig Zag rib vest, a second childs sock for my daughter and a wrap. I am going to try to clear the deck through January and hope to have some FOs to blog about very soon.

Allons-y!

Lucky, lucky me!

2007-12-20T13:39:00.000+11:00

I received the most wonderful Christmas gift yesterday from my dear friend Sam.

Allow me a moment to indulge a little and thank my friend Sam. Really I'm not too sure if I'd stay sane and get through a week without such a great knitting buddy. Who else would understand when I call up say I'm bored and then they'd suggest how about a trip to the LYS ... I thought you'd NEVER ask.

Or just be there for a coffee and gossip, and wow the amount of coffee we have consumed together most definitely amounts to several litres.

I just love this blanket out of the squishiest softest Jo Sharp Ultra in the most gorgeous colour. It really is special - lucky, lucky me!

One last picture...

2007-12-16T14:18:00.000+11:00

Before they go in the post.

Baby knits

2007-12-15T18:25:00.000+11:00

Because this blog exists purely to document my own knitting follies, and isn't linked to a web store or doesn't produce an income, it suffers from a lack of attention and it would be quite appropriate to label me a sporadic blogger. Really sporadic.

I have however just completed an object that deserves a pausing to post before putting it in the post.

I am so pleased at how the February Baby Sweater and the Booties turned out. They do match, just the photo of the booties has been taken in poor light.

Both pieces are knit from Bendigo Woollen Mills Harmony yarn, a wool/cotton/lycra blend in Carnation colourway. The only mods on the February Baby Sweater are to adapt it from virtually seamless to completely seamless by knitting the sleeves in the round instead of flat.

Before I pack them up I should try and take a photo of them altogether.

Back in a few weeks time!

Miss Personality

2007-10-14T09:42:00.000+10:00

So I have been stewing over this thing about my personality for the past 72 hours. The current Mr W gave me this personality test to do, it was one of the exercises he did as part of his university course.

The thing is I was a little reluctant to accept the results. Well maybe not just a little reluctant, maybe it was more an overwhelming rejection of the outcome and refusal to accept the conclusion.

I ranted a little and have been somewhat huffy about it since.

Apparently a score greater than 30 wasn't good and revealed I was 'set in my ways'. I prefer to think of myself as strongly opinionated. When asked to rank my A and B answers from 0 to 5 (to a score that would equate to 5), there was none of that wishy washy sitting on the fence 2s and 3s for me. I'm afraid there's not very much greyscale from where I sit.

What's more I was told I would eventually succeed in the end through my logical and methodical approach. I won't go on and on about this, but it leaves little in the way of creativity, innovation and flexibility.

Anyway not to let my obvious penchant for the analytical and serious approach go completely to waste, I decided today to graph my knitting and stash adventures to date.

So my knitting self has steadily increased, from picking up sticks and re-teaching myself to knit, after a more than 20-year hiatus. My mother originally taught me to knit when I was a 12-year-old. I suffered a slight downturn during my winter garment phase, after a disappointing experience knitting an oversize sweater. It was only a slight glitch though, and I seem to be back on track, discovering socks, coupled with a self-imposed ban on knitting anything for myself.

As far as stash building goes, well what can I say, it's been on an upward spiral for longer than I care to admit. I did spend four miserable months just recently in denial, convincing myself that the stash was complete. But really there are nooks and crannies in my house that I have yet to convert into stash housing, so I reckon I'm safe for a bit longer.

As for the whole personality thing, well being a mother is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. The knitting, well the knitting really came about because I was inspired by a wonderful friend. I really can't imagine life without knitting these days, I can't think what I did with my spare time before I became a parent, and well all of it is part of my personality and it's all pretty extraordinary.

Short but sweet!

2007-09-24T13:20:00.000+10:00

I finished the mini-Juliet inspired top. Juliet is originally an adult sized garment from Zephyr Style. It only took about 2 nights to do this child-size version.

It needs blocking and buttons sewn on. It's made from one skein of Cascade Sierra in Glacier Blue leftover from a previous project.

Wake Me Up

2007-09-16T17:37:00.000+10:00

Jitterbug
Jitterbug
Jitterbug
Jitterbug
You put the boom boom into my heart
You send my soul sky high when your loving starts
Jitterbug into my brain
Goes a bang bang bang till my feet do the same...

Sorry about the 80s flashback, I couldn't help myself!

These are my new On Your Toes socks cast on at the start of my August holiday and cast off last night.

The crew-length pattern is a toe up sock and it's a simple 2 x 2 rib pattern. The pattern, by Anne Budd, was easy to follow, quick to knit, and they fit nicely. The yarn is Colinette Jitterbug in the Florentina Colourway. I love, love, love the Colinette sock yarn. Not sure if I would ever choose this colourway again though. The term clown barf does spring to mind a little! I used 2.25mm DPNs for the foot and changed to 2.5mm for the leg section.

At last a finished object, it's been awhile.

Life is what happens to you while your busy making other (knitting) plans...

2007-09-04T08:57:00.000+10:00

I didn't mean to leave it quite so long before updating my blog, life just got in the way!

Did you ever collect anything as a child? I kind of jumped from one thing to another, never content with just one item. It starts with things that are easy to get hold off, like leaves or shells off the beach, then quickly progresses to stickers, erasers, postcards, and smurfs.

The collecting would become quite obsessive, you know when you'd beg for dad to go fill up at the BP so you could add to your smurf collection!

It should come as no surprise then that I find myself to this day drowning in yarn, patterns, books, needles, gadgets, ufos that need frogging, fos, and wips! Good thing my Ravelry invite turned up a couple of weeks back. So I've spent quite a bit of time hanging out there. In my unprecedented efforts to continue with unimaginative handles in online communities, Tania, is my username!

It is interesting to reflect back on my yarn hoarding, it started kind of cheap and cheerful and easy to get hold of and has gotten more expensive and harder to acquire over time.

Suffering some post-wicked knitting angst a fun trip in July over to the annual Sheep and Wool show in Bendigo was sure to provide inspiration.

Miss M met some friends.

I met up with a few knitting buddies from surrounding areas and I even allowed a brief suspension of the stash diet, just for the duration of the show mind you, and came home with some outrageously colourful Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn.

The highlight of August was a family holiday to New Zealand. We drove a motorhome around the North Island for 2 and a half weeks.

Miss M and another cute lambie picture.

I took the Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn, Interweave Knits Summer 2007, and my new Knitpicks DPNs (stored in an incredibly expensive $1.00 toothbrush holder).

These are "On Your Toes" by Ann Budd, a simple 2 x 2 rib pattern for a sock knit from the toe up.

I have only finished one sock, will cast on for the second sock this week.

I've moved house quite a few times in the past 17 years and packed and unpacked countless boxes. The last move was into our home we bought in December 2005. My parents decided this was a great opportunity to clear out their shed of "all my junk" they had been storing for some 30-odd years.

So on their last visit they arrived with quite a few boxes for me to unpack and an old spinning wheel I have had for about 17 years. I am not sure if the wheel is salvageable, dusted and cleaned up it might make a nice piece of furniture, but it is terribly warped.

Also in the bottom of one of those boxes lurked a dodgy scrapbooked sticker collection and badges pinned and sewn to an old musty grey blanket, but no sign of the smurfs!

The wicked knitting fairytale with an unhappy ending

2007-06-30T19:21:00.000+10:00

Not sure what's up but I have lost my knitting Mojo.

I am sitting here in Wicked or the "big green sack" as I have affectionately dubbed it and feeling underwhelming disappointed in the garment as a whole. Although I think it's more to do with the fact I am about 3 dress sizes bigger than I'd like to be, than the actual pattern and yarn not being great.

I obviously have that ill-fated curse of disproportionately viewing my body size as well, because I seem to have knit the damn thing 2 sizes bigger than it needed to be as well.

Needless to say I haven't bothered to take a photo of the finished object and there is no way I'm even taking one with it on. It's definitely on the loser pile and this is probably the last you will ever hear of it.

Grumble ... grumble ... grumble ...

My disquiet with the whole project has really blown the wind out of my knitting sails. I haven't picked up a project for at least three nights.

I did finish the Princess Bolero for Miss M last week and it turned out very pretty.

It was a quick easy pattern, the only thing I really learned is that the reputation that precedes the yarn I used was spot on. Whatever you do, you don't frog mohair. Bow down to the mohair knitting gods and repeat after me ... forgive me for outlaying the more than $12 for a 25gram ball of yarn ... forgive me for reading the pattern wrong and casting on too few stitches ... forgive me for attempting to frog when the impossibility of the task has been widely commented on ... here goes...

f#*#$@g mohair knots of *sneeze* ... *sneeze* ... f*%$#@(* knot ... where's the bloody scissors...

The finished product does look cute on, fits beautifully, and is so very soft.

I've knitted socks!

2007-06-27T22:13:00.000+10:00

You can find everything on Wiki: Sock

I've finished the Rainy Day socks in some 100 Pure Wool (Rosa and Verdi) that I had in my stash.

Excuse the photography, the lighting in the kitchen is poor. They haven't been blocked either, I'm sure they'll look much better on a pair of feet.

They'll be in the post tomorrow.

Breakneck blogging...

2007-06-23T10:38:00.002+10:00

This is an experiment ...you'd have to be in my socks to understand!

I just put my morning coffee on and I want to see if it's possible to blog, add the pictures and publish the post as I take my first sip of coffee. It's an espresso machine, I have roughly a minute.

The bottle of wine is quite irrelevant to this post, but it was bought on a weekend trip to the Grampians. It's a Rose from The Gap vineyard. If you ever get to visit the Grampians there is just the best place to have dinner right at the foot of the Grampians, Halls Gap Hotel. It's nothing fancy but is perfect if you are traveling with children. Room rates anywhere in the Grampians during winter are fabulously off-season cheap and we had a wood fire roaring away in our family size cabin.

Really I just want to show off my Rainy Day sock and the wine bottle made for a suitable shape to do so.

These socks are for a dear person who needs a smile - I hope they will help a little. They are knit in 100 Pure Wool (Rosa and Verde) and the first one is lovely and squishy and soft and snuggly, will cast one for sock two tonight. It took me less than 4 days to knit the first sock. It's a very easy pattern to commit to memory and the DK weight knits up super-quick.

Oh here's my coffee now....

The wine bottle seems to be defying gravity in the second photo - oh well - I nearly got there and I am too lazy now to try fix it.

On finding your knitting groove....

2007-06-11T15:03:00.000+10:00

I haven't been knitting all that long, just over twelve months and I am mostly self taught. I knitted a garter stitch scarf many many years ago, but never progressed beyond that until this past year, to a point where I have now tried a sweater for me, and a coat, dress, hooded pullover (top-down raglan method), soakers and longies all for my daughter, and more recently socks for me (cuff down and using DPNs).

I certainly haven't tried or mastered all knitting techniques and the endless stitch patterns that exist. There still seems so much to learn, however I find myself yearning to find my groove.

I've trawled through a lot of knitting blogs in the past twelve months and I notice some people knit nothing but socks, some only sweaters, some are cable devotees, some knit only scarves, some toys and baby clothes, some only for themselves and some only for charity. Some are clever enough to design their own patterns. In fact about the only thing a lot of us have in common is we buy enormous amount of yarn.

I don't think there's a list of instructions to find your groove, I suspect the method is more a process of elimination as you try different patterns or learn new techniques and your confidence grows.

I seem to have become quite bored by the whole process of knitting mile upon mile of stockinette stitch. It doesn't exactly help either when you need to make the sizes near the top end of the scales. I used to think big wads of stockinette were nice easy projects to be picked up and put down at a moments notice (like when the two-year-old is trying another death-defying stunt involving a high ledge and solid concrete below). I also used to like nothing more than zoning out while catching a bit of mindless television. Five balls of yarn later and a biiiiiig stretch of stockinette stitch and I'd well caught up on Jack Bauer's latest death defying stunts (which might I add, don't even come close to the two-year-olds).

So I am thinking my groove doesn't involve a lot of stockinette stitch.

I really didn't ever think of myself as a lace or cables type and I am still yet to try anything other than simple cables. However with two lace projects on the go, I am finding myself quite enamored by the results. Sure a lace pattern takes a lot more concentration and I really can't watch too much television at the same time. But I'm excited by the results.

I started this Branching Out scarf last night with some Lana Gatto Super Soft I had in my stash. As I am on a stash diet, I am trying to use up some of Mount Everest.

I'm also excited by the socks and have my second sock (to complete a pair) on the needles at the moment.

I'm not sure if I've found what my groove is, but I am certainly finding out what it isn't.

World wide knit in public day....

2007-06-09T21:48:00.000+10:00

Was marked in Ballarat, Victoria at a very public (and very rambunctious) children's indoor playcentre.

In attendance five knitters, and I believe the child headcount upon arrival numbered six and I believe all left with limbs intact.

It was pretty hard to hear the clickety-click of any sticks, and I am in awe how Jacki's mum, Betty, could concentrate on the fairisle cardi she was working on.

Nevertheless, we came and we knit and it was knitting in public. Our projects varied from a little boy's vest, socks for a man, a woman's fairisle cardi, a mohair cardi for a little girl and a man's garter-stitch scarf.

Scarf by Jacki - hmmm you hid the stitch marker Jacki - why?

Sam is a machine on those DPNS!

Sam - socks finished - who's the lucky recipient then ay? ;)

Sock adrenalin

2007-06-08T13:56:00.000+10:00

I think once you become obsessed by knitting your sympathetic nervous system grows another branch, so that in times of stress, your response becomes fight-or-flight-or-knit.

I've had a stressful couple of days, and all I overwhelmingly wanted to do at the end of it all was knit. I even managed to finish my first ever sock.

I stayed up late last night because I was so close to finishing, I just wanted to get that seam kitchener stitched, and then I could relax. It seems though I was on a bit of a sock rush, and in the hysteria of finishing my first ever foot garment, I couldn't get to sleep till well past 2am. That's a bit odd really isn't it? Is that a bit odd, I'm really worried now that I might be odd!

The head-cold, sinus, stuffy nose thing hasn't helped.

So here is the single lonely Jaywalker.

I've started my second sock and as far as a first ever attempt at socks I'm quite pleased with the result to boot!

So with some sock love in the air, these goodies turned up in the post today, what timing.(Disclaimer: Yarn was on order before Stash Diet commenced)

This is some sock yarn from katie at live2knit in the Damask (top) and Spring (bottom) colourways.

Odd, I can start to feel another sock rush coming on....

Oh no not a stash diet...

2007-05-31T22:41:00.000+10:00

Hello my name is Tania and I am a woolaholic.

I've been rather loose with the wool money and pretty swift to crank out the credit card of late. The problem seems to have manifest itself to such an extent that the last time my parcel man came to my door, he made not one, but two trips to the white van, and in the process of ascending my front porch I think he ruptured or herniated something under the weight of the delivery.

I really have issues when it comes to yarn, I just seem to lose all self-control and rational thought. I get over-excited, like my two-year-old when she spots a slippery dip in a park. I mean really you'd think the two-year-old just spotted a skein of the most exquisite, luxurious and rare yarn known on the planet and has the chance to put it in her shopping cart and buy it - I mean honestly the way she carries on!

Maybe it's the late nights, I really shouldn't trawl Ebay or online yarn shops post 8pm, that seems to be when trouble strikes and my alter-ego rares her ugly head and starts filling the shopping cart with all manner of expensive yarn that really has no useful purpose. I just simply MUST have it. It's not just a few skeins or the odd ball either - remember the parcel man's spot of misfortune on my front porch.

So after a lot of consideration, and a lot of observing the stash from every direction, in the hope it really was an optical illusion that there was THAT much, I have decided that as from tomorrow Friday June 1, I will start stash-dieting.

I'm going to make the rules clear and simple, there will be no exceptions, I am a all or nothing kind of gal. So for the next six months I will knit exclusively from my own stash. Oh I can swap some of my stash if I want, but that's not increasing the overall bulk of one's yarn collection. I will, however, not purchase any more yarn. I must knit with what I have.

I have placed two orders in the last few days, but as they are pre-June 1st that's allowed. Just so that if you see some sock yarn turn up on the blog in a few weeks, well that's on order. In the meantime, it's now 11.20pm EST, I better run there's only 40 minutes of yarn shopping before my diet starts....

So much to do ... so little time

2007-05-29T20:21:00.000+10:00

I pinched this from Bec's blog.

Bold - knitted at least once (or doing so right now)
Italics - plan to do soon-ish

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino Knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted Stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Grafitti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dyeing with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with DPNs
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living??
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting mag
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

When all else fails ... do some baking!

2007-05-27T13:56:00.001+10:00

It's even far more rewarding when it actually resembles the picture in the book, and your two-and-a-half year old asks for more.

Banana bread and butter pudding. It must be the change in the weather, but a bit of stodge makes everything better.

There's a jumper, vest, shawl, cardigan and socks in there somewhere

2007-05-25T13:50:00.000+10:00

I've been feeling a bit of a fraud. I'm not such a great blogger and I have to admit since my last entry I have had a little nagging thought for several weeks "Oh I must update my blog, Oh I really must update my blog!" Finally though it occurred to me, I'd really rather be knitting than blogging. Anyway I've downed tools and just to prove I'm no knitting blog charlatan, and that lots of knitting has in fact been happening, I've taken some photos.

I haven't updated for awhile because as you can see my WIP pile is just that ... five piles of yarn and some knitting needles.

Jaywalker

Muse

Princess Cardigan

Wicked

Jo Sharp Zig Zag Vest

Now back to the knitting.

Fridays are for finishing...

2007-04-27T13:25:00.000+10:00

So here's one I made earlier...

It's for Miss M and I have made it in the 36 month size as she's in between sizes and I think it will fit for next winter too.

Technical specs as follows:

Pattern: Frilled Edge Crossover Coat from Debbie Bliss Baby Style
Yarn: Substitute yarn, Utiki Possum Merino DK (8-ply) Amethyst
Started: Long enough ago that I am pleased to finally have it off the WIP list.
Things I learnt along the way: How to pick up stitches correctly for the ribbed frilled edge, mattress stitch and neat back stitch for seaming.

It's an incredibly warm coat and the knitting is very closed, it will really suit the winter weather here in Western Victoria. Just finished in time as the chilly weather seems to have sprung upon us these last few days.

And here's another FO.

A throw that my Mum made for Miss M over the past 12 months. It's all crochet from Bendigo Woolen Mill Classic 8-ply. It's lovely and warm and as you can see everyone gets a turn !

What's next?

2007-04-23T13:33:00.000+10:00

Last night I finished the Crossover Coat.

Of course at the moment it's seven individual pieces and I have the frilly edge to add and then seaming it up.

So with just wicked (and stalled jaywalkers) on the needles it's time to look around for what's next, right?

A few people at Woolaholics are doing the Central Park Hoodie from Knitscene Fall 2006. After a Wicked I'm just not in the mood for another full-size garment to fit over my voluptuous curves ;)

After a trip last week to my LYS I thought I might try a shawl. I've never worn one before. It was a bit of a surprise trip really, because it's taken a few visits to really warm to the owner. A bit frosty in her reception at first, I must admit I was a bit scared to go back again. I'm glad I did though, she has a lot of new stock in. Including the new Sublime yarn from Sirdar and some of it is just delicious.

The yarn is Sublime Kid Mohair in pistachio and it's pictured on the front of the pattern book. Obviously to make a bit more use out of the book I bought enough in fig and contrasting colour of kisses to make a Princess for Miss M.

So I think the lady at my LYS has warmed to me now, well my credit card at least! I do hope it turns out I am a shawl person.

Would you like a cup of tea dear?

2007-04-21T20:46:00.000+10:00

You'd be forgiven for thinking I became entangled in my own knitting bag and stabbed myself in the eye with a darning needle and had my hands tightly bound with a 100 cm circular, thus preventing an update!

I am here and I am knitting, just ploughing along on two larger projects so progress photos seem pointless. I have also had family visiting for the past three weeks.

The family have now gone and I am still working on Wicked, and I am so very close to finishing Miss M's Crossover Coat.

However I decided last week that working on two biggish projects was getting quite dull and blogging about WIPs would be too.

So in a bit of instant knitting gratification I whipped up a Pithy Hat in the two skeins of 'Joy' I had in my stash.

That was followed by a Calorimetry in Filatura Di Crosa 127 Print shade #19.

I possibly don't have enough hair for either yet, but it's also not really cold enough to be wearing one of these out and about.

This is technically non-knitting related, but I also wanted to share my great delight finding something special at the supermarket today.

If you have ever moved country (which I've done 4 times), apart from the obvious logistics of the exercise, there's the little inconsequential things you don't even think to consider.

Overwhelmed by the whole moving process, not being able to buy your regular washing powder or favourite teabags can really upset a girl.

It's nearly three years since I left England, but when I found these in the aisle at my local Coles I wasted no time in getting home and getting the kettle on!

Knitting booty

2007-03-03T19:29:00.001+11:00

I got a bonus trip to an LYS today.

Geographically it's not my LYS, but it is only a drive of an hour and a half, and we had a few other errands in the city.

I should really be doing a couple of other things at the moment, an overdue tax return leaps immediately to mind! I have something else to write as well, which isn't exactly inspiring me at the moment. Usually a looming deadline is enough to spring me into action, but I'm running a bit of a blank on this one.

Anyway in the absence of inspiration, I'll tell you about the knitting booty I scored today. Two sets of bamboo dpns - one for finishing my jaywalker socks and one set for the sleeves on wicked.

If you've read my blog you'll know I recently began my love affair with dpns, and truth be known I secretly think that knitting with dpns is the mark of a versatile knitter. I know I won't win friends and influence people with that comment, and there's lots of them, lots of people who use the two-circular method for knitting socks or very small items of apparel. I'm afraid though, I'm not going to apologize for my knitting snobbery tonight. After all I'm on my second glass of vin rouge and I feel like having some attitude. Or else I'm possibly trying to ark myself up to go away and write the other thing.

The key here is versatility. Learning to knit with dpns is one of those things I think you should at least try. You've pushed the boundaries and acquired a new skill. Even if you have a go, then use circulars because that suits you better, that's fine. At least you've given it a shot. My knitting journey has been and will always continue to be a learning experience. I will probably never say I am an experienced knitter or a serious knitter, I think my goal is to be a versatile knitter.

The yarn just took my fancy, simple as that. It's two 50 gram balls of hand painted 100% merino.

After the failed attempt at an LBH, I am still trying to find something I want to knit up for winter. I lived through seven very long winters in the Northern Hemisphere and accessorizing with a hat in the cooler weather is simply a must. I'll keep you posted where this wool takes me.

Knitting gluttony...

2007-02-27T23:32:00.000+11:00

Tonight I had it all - it was pure gluttony - out to a quiet local bar cafe, with some mood lighting creating a bit of ambience, as the sun set across the drought-stricken lake (oh well you can't have everything), a glass of cabernet merlot, a bit of knitting, a sip of coffee, some more knitting, and then cake, all in the company of two friends, one new, and knitter friend just down the road.

So not a lot of knitting has been going on round here. I have cast on for wicked in Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran. It came to a standstill on the weekend when I became sidetracked knitting up a funky little black hat. I had a ball of delicious Filatura Di Crosa Zara and a cloche was exactly the LBH I was looking for. Or so I thought!

Finished said cloche tonight, tried it on, and it was frogged not soon after. It does really need to be a size up I think. However I am thinking of investing in some more of this yarn and maybe doing this.

Hmmm and while I'm at it, in other dissapointments of today - avocados - where do you get a decent avocado these days? I bought 3 on Sunday morning and a quick squeeze yesterday and they were still not ripe. Today, not a day later, and they're past eating.

I would show you a photo of the offending squashy brown avocado, but I'd rather leave you with this image - the cake was a yummy piece of sticky date pudding, dripping with a warm , sweet butterscotch sauce, topped with a scoop of wicked cold vanilla ice-cream with a plump, ripe, red strawberry on top ...and a latte on the side.

Hoodie is complete

2007-02-13T14:20:00.000+11:00

The children's tunic is done, it is a very simple hoodie pattern, which if you can do increases, decreases, knit and purl, you can easily make this.
I encountered just the one trap for young players (like myself). When joining in the round, remember to make sure you have the garter stitch panel with the buttonhole to the front.
So I converted my back-to-front button hole to a loop around a wooden button.
It was a really quick knit and finished in around two weeks - bring on winter!

So I am back on the jaywalker socks again, just about reached the heel flap on the first sock and I am waiting on needles for wicked.
Also in light of recent purchases I have decided to knit the current Mr W, a Binary.

M.F.E.O

2007-02-09T12:59:00.000+11:00

So yesterday I got wooly mail ... again ... the third parcel of wooly mail in six days. Do you see a pattern developing?

Anyway it sat unopened for quite awhile, a few hours in fact. What's up with that? Usually I don't even get inside the front door before I've half opened any parcels. This one was really exciting too - 20 balls - 1 kilogram of yarn. Still though I felt completely underwhelmed, the fantastic parcel of lovely soft plump balls of Jo Sharp Silkroad sat very unloved on the kitchen table.

Not that I didn't want the yarn, don't get me wrong. On any other day I'd be very very happy to receive 1 kilogram of yarn in the post. However today I was awaiting a delivery that would beat yarn hands down anyday.

And finally it's here.

Me and my Macbook - made for each other.

So now I can resume normal programming and back to the yarn.

Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran ... an en-guaging yarn indeed!

2007-02-05T15:49:00.000+11:00

Some do, some don't ... swatch that is! Apparently I fall into the 'do' category - oh yes! In fact the over-zealous 'do' category is where I'm at, after knitting the 'world's most excessive swatch' last night. Truth is the Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran is such a joy to knit with, it does glide through your hands, and I was, well, just enjoying the process.

So here is the offending swatch, which I have now frogged, because it used half a ball and I am off guage anyway. Will try again tonight with the next size up needles. I will also try to remember it is just a swatch it does not need to be knit excessively large.

Also here's how my the child's tunic is progressing. I'm undecided if I like the colour pooling and the busy-ness of the variegated yarn in the body.

Hmmm turtles ... knitting ... you're thinking turtlekneck right?

2007-02-02T12:57:00.000+11:00

This little fella arrived here last week!

Sheldon was a birthday present for Miss M from knitter friend (and family) just down the road. Isn't he just the cutest knitted turtle you ever did see? He is very loved and is fitting in well with all the other animals and teddies around him.

I also received in the post today, not one, but two parcels of yarn. Wooly happiness! I received two lots of Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran.

The Hemlock (111) is for wicked, and I can't wait to start. The Quartz (103), was to be something for my daughter, until I realised it is very close in colour to the yarn I am using for the crossover jacket, that is more than half finished. Well I do have eight balls - perhaps something else will inspire me - it's a lovely colour.

FOs and UFOs

2007-01-23T00:04:00.000+11:00

In the past week, as well as celebrating our daughter's second birthday, I've managed to fit some knitting in amongst cake baking, trifle making, barbeque organising and a bit of inner house restructuring (housework).

I finished the shorties for Miss M out of the Four Bags full hand-dyed merino I received as a gift. The colours really suit Miss M and they are getting plenty of wear. I used the curly purly waistband and adapted the Perfection pants pattern so they were a bit wider in the legs, just by adding some increases around the hips.

I also finished off a swap gift for a friend on the other side of Australia. It was a swap to coincide with Child Labour Day on January 31st, and the aim was to send something that did not use exploitative child labour at any point in the manufacturing process.

I hand knitted a beautiful meadow green crumpets dress in Cascade Sierra 80 cotton/20 merino for her 14-month-old daughter. I am sure she will be well pleased when it arrives and it will look adorable on her little poppet.

The jaywalker socks for the January Woolcaholics KAL are underway.

I cannot believe I have avoided double pointed needles for so long, Shock! They are awesome to knit with. I only cast on a couple of nights ago and I am loving them ... it's fascinating, it's exciting, it's captivating.

Is it a combination of knitting with a 4-ply sock wool, which is a new experience, coupled with the dpns? Maybe, but I wish I hadn't been so scared of dpns for so long, and so worried I couldn't possibly use them.

I can't wait to pick them up and keep going. I do look a bit odd knitting with them - kind of all arms, wool and needles at the moment, but I feel all will improve. Feeling pretty happy with myself to be picking up a new knitting skill.

I also started the February KAL last night. OK so I'm a few days early, but I had my yarn - a yummy Blue-Merino in a worsted weight, hand-dyed in a Patchouli colourway by Zen String. It's a Blue-Faced Leicester spun with merino - it is the scrummiest yarn I have ever knit with.

Sock it to me...

2007-01-16T23:50:00.000+11:00

I am hoping this and this:

... will somehow end up resembling this.

It's the January Woolaholics KAL and I am hoping to learn a few new skills. I have been wanting to attempt knitting a pair of socks for ages. Hand-knitted socks would have to be the ultimate luxury.

Meanwhile, there is lots of behind-the-scenes knitting going on. One item is for a gift, and I have also started knitting up the FBF Merino. I have taken a couple of different patterns and tried to mash them into one. Not sure how successful an attempt it will be, at the moment it deserves a good frogging. I will persist though a little longer and update with a progress pic if I am happy with how it's shaping up.

Goodies and knitting buddies

2007-01-10T14:01:00.000+11:00

Have been meaning to add pics here of some goodies I was gifted, by knitter friend just down the road, for Christmas. Everyone should have one of these - not just the ingenious knitting tools - but a knitter friend just down the road.

It's great to be able to connect with people from anywhere via the internet, it's wonderful to talk non-stop about knitting on forums, because apparently my husbands ears fell off at some point during the past 12 months of my knitting preoccupation. However there is nothing quite like having a friend who you can sit and knit with. A friend who doesn't find what you're doing is rude, amusing, annoying or a bit eccentric. A friend who intuitively knows not to interrupt when you're silently counting stitches or rows. A friend who is an accomplished knitter and can teach you new, groovy techniques and inspire you to try patterns you'd never dream of trying without help.

Just someone who understands how it is you can sit there night after night for hours on end filling your shopping cart with yummy looking yarn, only to empty it again, because you don't need to start another project, then sneak back the next night and buy it.

Anyway to the goodies, the yarn is a lovely soft Four Bags Full merino, hand dyed by knitter friend just down the road. Now, what to knit?

The clever little tools are a row counter, a mini-abacus, to count rows. This base-ten system sure beats my mental arithmetic and bits of scrap paper. The other stitch marker counts repeats as you move along the chain. Ingenious!

You drive me wavy

2007-01-02T23:43:00.000+11:00

I have finished Wavy, survived christmas and New Year, and three plane trips with a 2-year-old. I'm not sure which is the finer achievement.

Here is the scarf being modelled by a cushion.

Work for idle hands...

2006-12-18T19:53:00.000+11:00

Was feeling a little tense this morning, besides no coffee in the house, I was lost for a current knitting project to work on.

I have a WIP, a wrap cardigan for Miss M, only I underestimated the amount of yarn I'd need. Or rather I knowingly threw caution to the wind and just started knitting with a ball of possum/merino I had in my stash. I adore the colour, amethyst, and the way it knits up. The pattern is a Debbie Bliss, so this is a substitute yarn, and I thought I might just get away with having the 200 grams the pattern called for.

It's been on the needles for a few months and is really for next winter so there is no urgency. However after finishing two and a half pieces, and still having two sleeves, a waist-tie and a ruffle to go, it has become glaringly obvious I won't make it.

Amount of yarn does not equal requirements for project. Order needs placing!

So starting to get a bit fidgety from caffeine withdrawals and nothing to knit, I inadvertantly joined the Wavy KAL at Woolaholics. How can you inadvertantly join a KAL you may think? Well I hadn't made a conscious decision to do it, but found myself rifling furiously through my stash for anything that might suit the pattern and before you know it...

Ta da ... Done!

2006-12-16T21:31:00.000+11:00

At last it is done! And Miss M is asleep. Oh well, we will just have to wait till the morning to try it on. Quite ecstatic to have finished. Off to hang it somewhere central so I can admire it from wherever I am in the house.

Playing in her new dress!

Crumpets is just about...

2006-12-16T13:17:00.000+11:00

I seem to be beginning at the end! I completed this dress for Miss M about a month ago. It's called crumpets.

It has taken me until today to block it and I am yet to sew an organza ribbon for the finishing touch. I really should just do it! Not sure why it's been sitting for so long with so little needing to complete it.

I think it's the whole finishing thing - you've spent the past days/weeks in a knitting frenzy...

... and then ...

...there's the finishing.

Whether it's blocking, seaming, weaving in ends, sewing an organza ribbon-tie, whatever it is, it's not half as exhilirating as the knitting experience. It's just those annoying little things that need to be done. So for the past month it has sat on top of my knitting bag, waiting to be blocked.

Knitting the bodice was a lot of fun and thanks to knitter friend just down the road I learnt how to do simple cables and incorporate beads.

This is what the stitch detail looks like.

All too-quickly though I reached the thousand-miles of stockinette for the skirt. There was something slightly rythmical and calming about hours on end of the same motion. I have just done the calculation - there is over 700 metres of yarn in this garment and really I think 600 of it was eaten up by the stockinette monster that is the skirt section. Really by the end of the skirt I was OVER it and couldn't cast off fast enough.

It's such a sweet little dress and I hope to have the ribbon sewn and the dress in action for Christmas Day.

I ended up being a bit off-guage and this is the size for a 1-year old, however it fits my 2-year-old perfectly. I used a yarn substitution and I'm not sure if that was the reason.

Must sew ribbon tonight and stop putting it off.