Something for the weekend

OK, OK, OK

2008-08-21T17:04:00.002+08:00

I'm so sorry poor blog. I have been ignoring you for so long I'm surprised you are still here. Life has been rather busy these past few months and blogging time has been non-existent. Heck, any form of personal time has pretty much gone.

Well we have actually had the baby so I didn't go to 4 months overdue :-) I was 40+15 which was hard enough. Our little girl Nadia was born on May 1st at 11.47am weighing 9lb10. It was a fairly straightforward homebirth lasting about 4 hours or so. Couldn't say that it was better than my hospital birth. Guess there were pros and cons for each. Anyway here are some pics:

Both kids in the first few days

Having a play

Our little girl

Have been doing a little bit of knitting but will update next time. Don't have any batteries in the camera. Sorry

Waiting....

2008-04-13T16:01:00.002+08:00

Nothing happening on the baby front so we are all just waiting. Some days patiently, other days not so :-) So to kill the time I've started something new. I'm bored of baby stuff, Euan's jumper is driving me crazy and so is Dan's, so I thought I'd make something for me. Chunky sweaters seem to be all the rage so I've been through the stash and through Ravelry and found a pattern that I can start with. It's called the Shalom cardi. I'm planning on making a heap of changes but it's a good starting point. You can find the pattern here and this is my progress shot:

Doesn't look like much but it's fast knitting (double worsted yarn on 6.5mm needles) so hopefully I can show you something that looks like a cardigan soon.

Now just a matter of who finishes first, me or the baby!

OMG I am so slack!

2008-04-10T08:41:00.004+08:00

I can't believe it has been well over a month since I last posted. I'm so sorry about that. I guess all the late pregnancy stuff just got too much for me and I haven't really had the energy to do much. Things got really hectic around here when our little girl turned breech which meant I couldn't birth on the government funded homebirth program. It turned out to be a bit of a blessing though, as I really didn't like my midwife and I am so much happier with the lovely independent midwife that I have chosen instead. Of course as soon as I found a midwife I was happy with our little one went head down so there are no issues with that any more. Cheeky little thing!

We've also gone through the wringer a bit with the house. We gave up on the first builders as they were twats but luckily found someone else who could do what we wanted for a much more reasonable price. We spent a while tweaking that plan and discussing various bits and bobs and finally signed up with them a few weeks ago (at Easter in fact). So they are now working on our plans and we should have something happening fairly soon. Luckily we won't have to move until after the baby arrives.

On the knitting front I have been fairly unproductive. I just can't seem to find the time or energy to knit. I have a heap of projects on the go or in my ravelry queue but I can't see when they'll ever get done. I would love to finish Dan and Euan's jumpers before winter so I'd better pull my finger out on those. Luckily I have at least one knitting project to show you. It's a little set that I made for the bub. I don't really know what the yarn is. Some Spotlight rubbish that I picked up ages ago because it was worsted weight and that stuff is like hen's teeth in Oz.

The top is a free Debbie Bliss pattern and the pants are just my usual made up pattern. I think I put a few extra short rows in the back for the bulky newborn nappies. They're not 100% wool so I'm not sure how they'll go as a cover but I think they'll be ok. I think the top will look cuter on than flat. It's hard to make that ribbing sit well.

In the last week I've found my sewing machine and had a burst of energy. This was mainly spurred on by the fact that I didn't have any newborn nappies and lots of fabric lying around. So using Shar's Newborn fitted pattern I made up a bunch. Aren't they the cutest.

It's been years since I made nappies and I actually found these quick, easy and enjoyable to make. My wonderful friend Pip has also lent me some little nappies so now we have a decent stash for when this one finally arrives.

While I had the machine out I made up a few things for me for the days and weeks after the birth. I know these aren't everyone's cup of tea but they are so comfortable and I'll be doing loads of nappy washing so they aren't any more work.

I've been meaning to make these for years, and once again they were so quick and easy to make. I'm thrilled with how these have turned out. They look just like ones I've bought in the past. I feel so clever :-)

So here's a nice little picture of all the baby things I have made so far.

Not a huge collection but I'm happy with it. I just can't wait to have some pictures with a baby in the clothes. 39 weeks now so it won't be long but it will always be longer than I want!

BSJ Modifications

2008-02-25T21:56:00.003+09:00

I've had a few people ask about my modifications to resize the Baby Surprise Jacket so I thought I'd post them here. Sorry it took so long. I really need to update you all on the last few weeks but I'll save that for another day.

For these mods to be of any use you'll need the original BSJ pattern. I don't want to breech anyone's copywrite by posting the pattern, but hopefully these instructions will make some sense. If not, let me know please.

To make a newborn size BSJ using 100g (or a bit less than 230m or 250y) worsted weight wool and size 4.5mm needles (I haven't actually worked out my gauge but I'll have a look later)

Cast On 128 stitches

Mark stitches 29 and 100

After 8 rows (4 ridges) increase 7 across each end

At 70st work 3 even

At 86st work 8 evenly across middle

At 114st shape neck by bind off 4 at each end

At 118st work on centre 66 for 16 rows (8 ridges)

Mark stitches 34 and 100

4 rows then make buttonholes then 4 more rows

Then you should end up with something cute like this:

The big one!

2008-02-05T22:36:00.001+09:00

This is the FO I've been wanting to show you for ages. It has only been finished a few days but it has been a lot of work and I'm really proud of it. This little labour of love is a present for my Nan's 90th birthday, which isn't until March but I didn't want to rush it. It took me a month to complete which is slightly quicker than I expected although I wanted to have time to resize it if need be.

Anyway, without further a do, may I present my Swallowtail shawl:

Isn't she pretty? Not a huge shawl but a good size for a little grandmother.

Here's the blocking shot:

This made me realise that I really need blocking wires so I'm saving up for a splurge at The Knittery asap, especially as I already have more lace on my needles.

Not sure what to say about the swallowtail. It is a fairly simple pattern to follow if you don't have a 2yo helping out. I used Knittery 2ply merino on 3.25mm addi lace needles.

Oh, and it has really whetted my appetite for lace. So I joined a Secret Stole thingy (for all my free time!). They send me a clue every week for 9 weeks and I knit them up and see what happens. Unfortunately I needed my only lace needles so I had to wait until the Swallowtail was finished, which meant I was 3 clues behind. Luckily it is fairly easy knitting so I got the first clue done in 2 days and have made good progress on clue 2. I'm really hoping to be up to date by the time clue 3 comes out on Friday night.

Here is a little progress shot of the stole:

Terrible pictures, but it looks pretty good in real life. I've done a fair bit more since this picture but I'm only going to take pictures at the end on each clue.

Unfortunately due to the lace bug that I've caught everything else has gone on the back burner. I hope I can get a few more things finished off in the coming weeks as I hate having lots of WIPs bugging me.

House report: who knows and not worth talking about. Hopefully we should start knowing a little more by next week but until then we're trying not to think about it.

Another FO

2008-02-02T22:36:00.000+09:00

OMG has it really been that long since I last posted? How terribly slack of me. Sorry about that. Things have been on the busy side here and I have actually been getting quite a bit of knitting done. I started and finished another project in the last 2 weeks, actually it was in the last week! I while back I made this gorgeous little jacket for a friends baby and last week I decided to make one for my own impending bub. I thought it best to do a little bit of stash busting but only had worsted weight yarn that I wanted to use so I had to change all the calculations. Basically I took 10% off everything-ish and it worked out really well. I can't really post my number because that would give the pattern away but if anyone really wants to know I'm happy to give them a hand.

Anyway, not real point with the progress shots so here is the finished item:

It took 2 balls of Noro Silk Garden on 4mm needles. Sorry I don't post all the details on my blog. I put them all in Ravelry now and can't be bothered cross posting. Lazy aren't I :-)

I made a terrible cock up on the sleeves. You are supposed to increase a certain number of stitches across a section and when I wrote out my notes I forgot to mention this and just increased the stitches at either end. This meant my sleeves looked like this:

So I had to undo my cast on and frog down from the top. This was a PITA as the decrease stitched would not just pull out so I had to pull the yarn through everyone. It took bloody ages! But it was worth it in the end and I am really happy with it. It should be a perfect size for her first winter.

Stay tuned because I have an even more exciting FO for tomorrow!!!

Knitted baby FO

2008-01-19T10:13:00.000+09:00

Here it is, my first knitted item for our little girl. It has been a nice knit and the yarn is just so scrummy. I just love it! Dan has reminded me, however, that it will probably fit her around her first birthday and not as a newborn, but who cares really. Knowing my luck and poor judgement it'll probably fit her around 9 months which will be the middle of summer, so not great sweater weather. Ah, who cares. Here it is:

Knitted in Knittery merino/cashmere sock yarn on 3.75mm needles. It's the February Sweater Pattern from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac. Sorry, I'm sure I should add more details but my brain isn't working and I need to head out. If I can think of anything important I'll write it up later.

I managed to save my lace but haven't had the courage to do any more on it. Hopefully I'll get some child free time this weekend and I can get a few more repeats done. This one cannot be late!

DO NOT KNIT LACE WHEN TIRED

2008-01-17T08:55:00.000+09:00

Long day + very tired + late at night + fine lace = disaster.

What else do I need to say except that I am very glad that I am a lifeline maniac. Sigh

A good day!

2008-01-16T19:30:00.000+09:00

Things have been going a little better lately and not before time. I seem to have stopped feeling ill (touch wood) and have now made it to the 3rd trimester. Only 10-16 weeks to go and I sincerely hope it's closer to the 10. I'm so bored of being pregnant but at least I haven't got any of the major ills that I had last time. I won't list them, it's not pleasant reading. Suffice to say that everything is working fine thank you and I have normal sized feet. I'm sure the 39 degrees tomorrow will challenge my feet but that is why we have air con. The bub has been spending most of her time head down so at least she knows which way is out. This does mean that I constantly have a sore pelvis but it's better than a breach birth.

Even though I keep saying I won't start new projects until others are finished I guess I don't really mean it. The Swallowtail is coming along slowly as I can only work on it when Euan is asleep, which doesn't seem to be too often these days. The Cobblestone is easy and brainless but far too big to carry around all the time. So you see I just had to start something new. Something portable and requiring little though. I though this was just perfect. A little baby sweater. Straight out of my new Elizabeth Zimmerman book (actually I bought 2 books but they are knitting essentials...honest!). I have seen some gorgeous examples before and new I had to knit it. Anyhoo, here's a progress shot after about 4 days of on off knitting:

Sorry it's blurry. It was getting dark outside and I just couldn't get it right with the flash. But you get the idea.

It's a nice knit with a really simple lace pattern. Easy to memorise so I don't have to carry the pattern around. The sleeves will be a quick knit so it should be done before the weekend. I might even have enough yarn left over to make something equally useless for little babies like a beanie or booties :-)

Another positive this week is that our house plans are coming along nicely. We got the second version and they are much closer to what we wanted. We are still tweaking a couple of things but we are almost ready to go onto the next stage. Unfortunately the next stage is when they cost it all up and we faint at the price. We know what we can borrow and we know what we can afford and they are not quite the same thing. But it is a lovely house and we really need a new one. Maybe we should start seriously looking at the lottery!

Anyway, things are going well at the moment. Doesn't it make a nice change :-)

Wonderful knitting

2008-01-11T08:48:00.000+09:00

Well I have to say that the year has started really well knitting wise. I have a couple of FOs already and a few lovely new WIP on the needles. Knitting Daily is proclaiming this the year of fearless knitting and that has made me think about what things I have always wanted to knit. once I'd got the hang of the basics these are the things that I always wanted to try:

Cables
Lace
Socks
Adult clothing
Entrelac

So far I have done all except entrelac, but only at a very basic level. So my first projects for the new year are:

Lace

This is the Swallowtail Shawl from Interweave Knits.

As soon as I saw it I decided that it would make the perfect present for my Nan who is turning 90 in March, but I have been too terrified to start it. I have had the yarn and needles sitting here for months but kept putting it off. However, after the success of my Branching Out I felt brave enough to start. The yarn is 2ply merino from The Knittery and is like knitting with sewing thread. It is so thin that it makes me feel all thumbs. I hope it gets easier! This is a progress shot so far. not much done but it's only a day's worth of knitting with no mistakes so far.

Real Adult Clothing

The second project on my needles is the Cobblestone Sweater, also from Interweave Knits (the impossible to get Fall 2007 edition - yay for subscriptions!)

I've been wanting to make Dan something for ages and I thought this would look great on him. I decided to have a bit of a splurge and bought some really speccy organic wool from Beaverslide. I had a really hard time choosing a colour as Dan always wears blue and I didn't want him to have another blue jumper. I'm not 100% sure that I chose the right colour but I'm just going to knit it up and see how we go. The yarn has the strangest feel to it. It doesn't even feel like real wool. But I diligently knitted up a swatch (yes, that's right folks 2 swatches in as many weeks!!) and washed it and it feels just gorgeous. That was enough to convince Dan that it will be a comfortable jumper so here's the start:

And now for the things that I have finished. I've already shown you some pictures of the Branching Out but I think this one is slightly better, well at least the colour is slightly better.

It was sent off last week so I'm hoping it has arrived in France by now. Will let you know when I hear.

The other FO is the maternity shrug. The bamboo yarn was a little slippery but looked great knitted up and has made a fabulous top. I haven't actually got a photo of me wearing it. I tried in the mirror but it was so dirty that I looked like a smudge. I know I could clean the mirror but that could take weeks. But here is a pic of the finished item:

This is preblocking so there are a few ends hanging out, but post blocking it really does look great. I'll see if I can get Dan to take a decent picture of me in it, which could be rather hard considering the ginormous state of my tummy!

Wow, I can't believe I found time to write all of that! Off to watch Play School now. Bye!

First FO for 2008

2008-01-02T19:39:00.000+09:00

Well I said I was going to try and make some headway on my Branching Out and yesterday was the day. While the boys were out playing I got 7 repeats done and then a few more in the afternoon. After 32 repeats Dan and I decided that it looked about right so I got it all ready to block overnight (it was going to be a minimum of 20 last night so I knew it would dry pretty quickly). It was all done this morning and I have to say that I'm pretty pleased with it. Here are some photos, though I warn you that I have trouble taking good pictures of scarves.

The whole thing blocking:

A close up of the repeats (the colour really isn't good in this one)

And Koshka doing a bit of modelling for me (this is probably the truest colour)

So now we just need to get it in the mail and on its way to France.

On a sad note I have decided to frog my Something Red. It just wasn't working out between us. The pattern is fine and easy to follow but I think my choce of yarn was a disaster. It was the most horrible to stuff to knit. It was Mission Falls 1824 Cotton and I really think my biggest problem with it was needle size, but I just don't feel like changing the pattern to suit a bigger gauge so it's gone. So sad.

But to fill the hole it left I have started another project. I know I said I wouldn't until my WIPs were finished but this replaces Something Red so I don't think it counts. All I really wanted was something I could wear while I was pregnant that would be wearable later. Oh, and something that may be useful during summer, which cancels out most knits. So I'm knitting a shrug. It is loosely based on the Shrug This from One Skein Wonders but I'm changing a few things around. I'm stash busting some Sidar Just Bamboo that I had laying around which should be perfect. I was a little worried about how it would drape (it's a bamboo tape and looks pretty heavy) so I actually decided to swatch, which is very unlike me. I'm so glad I did because it looks much better when it's washed and actually loses some of it's openness.

Before:

After:

I'm hoping this will be a quick project as it's on 6mm needles and just a top down raglan. Progress so far:

Another hot day here today and it'll be worse tomorrow so Euan and I will probably curl up in front of the cricket with the air con going and I can get some more knitting done.

Oh, and we have some plans from the builders. They were all wrong so I have redrawn them, given them a list of amendments and sent them back. Hopefully they hurry up and get it right so we can get it off to the council. I just hope to find out where we might be living when this little one arrives.

UFO Malaise

2008-01-01T10:17:00.000+09:00

Well Happy New Year everyone! Dan and managed to see 2008 in (just) with a bottle of bubbles. We regretted it when Euan woke up really early in the morning though! So I have sent the boys off to the playground so I can straighten my head out. And it wasn't the champers. I had half a glass for the whole night although even that was enough to make me feel wobbly. Bed early again tonight methinks as tomorrow will be 39 or 40 degrees and that'll kill me on no sleep.

Anyway, I have woken up this morning just itching to start something new knitting wise. I'm sure this wasn't helped by reorganising my Ravelry project queue last night. It reminded me of all the wonderful projects that I want to start, most of which I even have yarn for. But I am trying to be good and finish a good chunk of my UFOs before casting on something new. I know my WIP list doesn't look like much but that's mainly because I haven't loaded them all onto Ravelry yet. I figure if I can finish the ones listed then I can start something new. So while the boys are out I'm going to get cracking (although I've already wasted half a hour having a shower and typing this).

Euan's ABC jumper is coming along well. I finished knitting the body yesterday and then had to deal with this:

Oh how I wish I'd learnt how to weave in the ends as I was knitting. Must head back to TechKnitter and read her instructions. So I spent all of yesterday weaving bloody ends in! Still, it looks much better after that hard work and I have finally started adding some letters:

I really should've blocked it before starting the duplicate stitch but I have to remind myself that this is a jumper for a 2.5yo and he will probably kill it or only wear it once, so close enough is good enough. I still have the second sleeve to knit but I want to finish the body so I can feel like it's almost done.

Now I'm going to make some more headway on the Branching Out scarf. It was supposed to be a Christmas present but obviously it wasn't done. I've done about 22 repeats and I'd like to make it to 30 today so I only have about another 10 to do. I really want to get it to France while it's still Winter! Wish me luck!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2007-12-31T13:19:00.000+09:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a great 2007. 2008 is going to be a huge year for us and I think we are a little nervous. Our little girl is due in April but just to make things more interesting we have decided to knock down our house and rebuild. We really need the extra space and thought that it would be easier to do it while we only have a toddler and a newborn instead of 2 toddlers. This may not be a wise decision but we'll have to find out the hard way.

Anyway, I have some knitting shots but I haven't uploaded them yet so that can come later. I really just wanted to include this little message from Euan that he made for my Dad who is spending the festive season in Canada.

Happy New Year All!

3 days 'til Christmas

2007-12-22T12:30:00.000+09:00

Well it's nearly the big day and I think I'm less organised than I was 2 weeks ago! The little Christmas knitting I had going all had to stop because low and behold, I got sick again. I went from gastro to a nasty cold and then back to gastro. After spending too many hours in emergency I decided that the knitting had to go and I just had to get some energy back. I don't want to be sick on Christmas Day. So I haven't got anything else exciting to show you for either my Branching Out or Flirty Skirty. They have both come a bit further than my last pics but nothing too exciting.

When I got a bit of energy back I took myself off to the local library (which I have never joined) to look through their collection of knitting books. I was shocked to discover that they have a fabulous collection of books (it is a very small and slightly crappy library) but I limited myself to 4. 3 kids books and Knitting Nature. I thought I could start something for a little baby girl as baby clothes are so quick and easy to knit but Euan got to the books before me. We flicked through the books together and he instantly fell in love with one of the patterns. He stopped and looked at the page and proclaimed "I'll have one of those when I'm older", which is his way of saying I love it (he knows that there are some exciting things you have to wait for). So I asked him if he wanted me to knit it and his eyes lit up. We then headed straight for the car and drove to our brand spanking new Spotlight (which has the worst yarn section ever - I think I will write and complain). Euan chose his colours and we headed home so I could start.

Now I would like to say that he has chosen something quick or simple or even elegant. But the reality is that he has chosen this:

But he chose it all by himself so how can I resist!

The scary thing is that the pattern isn't even on Ravelry (well it is now) so I can't look at other example. Even a google search brought up almost nothing. The one thing I did quickly realise is that I am not knitting the whole thing as intarsia. It's hard enough for me to do the squares let alone the letters, so they will go on in duplicate stitch later. This way I can make sure I have the entire alphabet (which tha pattern doesn't) as I know Euan will check thoroughly!

This is my progress so far:

Dan's first suggestion was that I could knit all the little squares and then sew them all together. After the disparaging look I gave him he soon realised that, although I appreciated him taking an interest, he was better off leaving the knitting to a knitter.

Right, back to the sofa. I'm feeling tired again.

Just a few WIPs

2007-12-10T20:00:00.000+09:00

Just a quick post while the boys are out playing to show you my currents WIPs. It is so nice to have refound my knitting mojo, now I just need to stay about past 8.30pm and I'll be unstoppable!

Last post I mentioned that a soaker skirt thingy, better known as a Flirty Skirty. I've made ok progress on it so here are a few shots.

This is the finished, though unblocked, skirt.

And this is the rather small progress made on the soaker. This bit is quick to knit though and can be done with Euan's help so I should be finished tomorrow.

Sorry, I'm just starting to play with Flickr a bit more so the pictures may not do exactly what I want.

I've also been spending far too much time on Ravelry and came across this beautiful scarf that Bec is knitting for her mum (sorry, it's a Ravelry link). I realised that this would be the perfect Christmas present for Dan's step mum so I've pulled out some yarn and am giving it a shot. The only problem is that it's not very Euan friendly, being lace, and it's got to get to France before Christmas. Anyhoo, it's great fun to knit and is looking great so far.

Only 6 repeats out of 30 odd so I've got a little way to go. Hopefully Euan has some nice long day sleeps this week so I can get a load more done.

Nothing much on the baby front. Still gestating happily and ignoring those people who are worth my effort :-)

3 weeks 'til Christmas!

2007-12-04T14:34:00.000+09:00

Arghhhhhhhhhhhh!

Ok, I feel a little better now. I always hit this time of year expecting to be organised and every year I'm shocked to find out that I've done as little as the year before. At least this year I managed to drag the boys out on Dec 1st and do most of the overseas shopping. In fact we had a very productive day. Then of course we all got gastro! I'll spare you the details but it was absolutely horrid. I couldn't even keep water down. After throwing up for a good 7 or 8 hours I eventually made it to the Dr who gave me a shot and sent me home. After a little while I could start drinking a little and steadily improved from there. Euan had a small bout of throwing up and Dan has woken up today with a dodgy tummy. Everyone I know is or has been sick over the last few days so I guess it's just a nasty virus doing the rounds. Still, I really felt like I was going to die for a while there. Luckily Dad was brilliant and helped look after Euan while Dan looked after me. Thank goodness for being near family!

Of course this means that I have only just finished the purple thingy that I showed you last time. I'm just getting ready to block it now so you'll have to wait a while for photos. I have to deliver it first so it could be another week or so (I'm staying quarantined. I don't need to get sick again!). I have just started on a skirt and soaker combo which should be pretty cute. I'll wait until I actually have some progress before taking some pics. It's only about 4 rows so far.

The pregnancy is going along very smoothly now. I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my last pregnancy and how things have differed. Last time was really hard on me physically as I was in the lab full time and had no chance to rest, eat or drink during the day. I know that's why I ended up with pretty impressive oedema and a severe kidney infection. This time I get lots of relaxing when Euan has a nap and he is pretty happy for me to lie down during the day. I am also going to the osteopath regularly and watching what I eat, so my body is much happier. Mentally, however, it is a completely different story. Last time I didn't know anyone with kids, had no pregnant friends but really felt like my friends cared and were interested in what was going on. I felt like I had support and it was really great. This time I have all the friends with the kids, the experience, but I have never felt more alone. It is really bizarre as I had expected the opposite. Sometimes I think I could post on JB that I was going to kill myself and my family and get no response. I really thought I had friends out there but maybe I really don't fit in. I don't know.

Anyway, the important bit. Here are some pics of our little bub. They aren't the best as the scan wasn't great quality but they are beautiful all the same.

There's a cute little foot.

And a slightly hard to make out face.

Isn't she beautiful! Unfortunately most of my friends (acquaintances?) have jumped on the "scans are evil" bandwagon so I can't even share my joy with them, so I'll just tell cyberspace who I know doesn't care so I don't have any expectations.

Oh, and if anyone feels the need to leave a nasty comment, don't bother it's very tedious and a waste of my time. If you don't like me don't read my blog.

Going off to knit now. Bye!

Big huge thank you

2007-11-29T15:06:00.001+09:00

Firstly I'd like to say a big, huge THANK YOU to my lovely Secret Swap Pal, Denise. She has been so wonderful at keeping in touch and sending little cards and presents over the last three months. It was especially great when I was pretty crook and felt very sorry for myself. She has fabulous taste in all things so make sure you pop over and check out her blog. She has really great taste in knits and seems to get so much done. I'm hanging out for my kids to be teenagers just so I can get some solid knitting time (I will pretend that all the difficult stuff won't happen and that the teenage years will be a breeze!). Her are all the pictures from her wonderful parcel that arrived this week:

Let's start with the yarn and knitting stuff. Some gorgeous Lantern Moon dpn in that always hard to get in Oz size US2, or 2.25mm. Perfect for almost every sock pattern ever written! Some gorgeous lace weight merino that I have no idea what to do with yet. I really want to knit lace but I am so scared of it. A great hand massager that is sorely needed (excuse the pun!). I tend to knit until my hands ache so this will be a great relief. And lastly so beautiful merino yarn that perfectly matches the silk yarn that arrived a few weeks ago.

See!
Just the perfect colours for me so I might have to hunt through Ravelry and find the perfect project.

Some yummy cookbooks that should encourage me (or Dan) to face up to the kicthen. It has been getting ignored lately so this might perk it up :-) Some great books on Canberra too. That would be Australia's capital city for anyone that doesn't know (no, it's not Sydney).

Some more lollies for me. This time I have been good and haven't eaten them all yet although if Euan is still asleep by the time I've posted this then that might change.

Now, look closely at these. They are the most amazing cards that you will ever see for a knitter. They are fabulous watercolour painting of knitting scenes, all done by Denise herself! See, I told you she was talented. She was even featured in the latest copy of Yarn magazine. If you have some knitting friends that just have to be spoilt with these you can buy them here. I think I'll have to keep mine. I might even frame them up for my craft room (when it is finally built).

And last but not least, she is so clever that she included a present for Euan. This is him doing his totally overexcited face, it isn't actually a grimace. He was so excited to get his own present that he has been showing everyone. He even has some cars etc that these fit into so he even more thrilled.

Once again, a really big thank you to Denise for all her kindness. It has been really appreciated over the other side of the continent.

And now for something completely different...

After my last post I decided to pick up my Something Red again. I gave it a few more hours but, to be honest, something is just not working for me. I think it's the yarn. It is very knobbly cotton and it is horrible to purl. It doesn't pull tight enough without a heap of effort so my ribbing looks holey and crap. Anyway here's a progress shot:

Not sure what to do. I might try and do a bit more and see if the ribbing works out. I don't want to frog it but it is creeping towards the pond.

Here is a project that is working out:

I just can't tell you what it is :-) It is supposed to be finished by this afternoon but it'll be touch and go. I guess If I hadn't spent the past 1.5 hours stuffing around on Blogger, Flickr and Ravelry I would've finished. If anyone can tell me how to get Flickr photos on here I'd really appreciate it. The help is crap on both sites and it's bugging me!

Oh, and we had our scan last Monday. The baby is all healthy and gorgeous. We found out what we are having and have told a few people but not sure if we're going to make it public knowledge. I'll sort out some pictures for my next post. This is long enough already!

Stash busting

2007-11-21T15:49:00.000+09:00

At the end of my last post I promised I would let you know about those last few pictures. Well it has taken me a few days (funny that) but I have finally found 5 secs to hop on here and let you know what I'm on about. I know a lot of people have been stash busting this year. I kept seeing little icons on blogs talking about busting (although many have since disappeared..I wonder why?) but never one to jump on band wagons I have waited until the dying weeks of the year to think about a little busting myself. After finally sorting through all my yarn a few weeks ago I realised I had more than I would ever use, in fact I had more than I wanted, so it was time to get rid of some. Luckily this coincided with my morning sickness disappearing so I can knit without vomiting, oh and I'm always broke in the run up to Christmas so I thought I could make a bob or two. So I have resorted back to the quickest, simplest thing to knit - soakers. Everyone I know has or is having babies and we all use cloth nappies so obviously they all need new soakers. And I'm not being stingy here, I do knit them as presents too but I always forget to take pictures so they never end up on my blog. I started the busting process by knitting one for a friend's son's 1st birthday (but didn't take a pic), then made one for Euan as he needs a few more for night times (that's the brown one in my last post), and now I'm on to serious busting.

These are the soakers that I've knitted since last Friday (so 5.5 days)

I think that's a pretty good effort considering my lousy output for this year. I have another ball all wound and ready to go, and I also have a present I need to knit up. Part of me wants to get back to my Something Red too as it is sitting there looking very sad at me. I think I will have a little knitting break and then work out what to do next.

Anyway, I hope I can whip up a heap more of these and then find someone who might actually want them, otherwise they'll join the finished-but-what-to-do-with-it pile.

Oh, and this hasn't made even the smallest dent in my stash. I think I'll have to do some more dying and get rid of a load of white and cream yarn. Maybe one day I'll even start the sweater that I promised to do for Dan and the heap of tops I want to make for myself. That might help :-)

I'm such a lucky girl!

2007-11-16T15:31:00.000+09:00

Well, woman really, but there is something about getting presents that makes you feel like a kid. Firstly huge apologies to my Secret Pal again. I have been trying to blog about your wonderful parcel all week but every time I get near the pc something happens (as I write this I hear Euan waking up so there another delay). Ok, I'm back an hour later :-) Anyway, I wanted to say a huge big thank you for my fantastic gifts. Here a terrible pic, I'll take some better ones when I'm not so rushed.

The skein is the most amazing hand spun silk in my favourite colours. I'm not sure exactly what I'll make but I think it'll be perfect for some lace work. The stitch marker are gorgeous and badly needed (I keep losing mine) and I'll pretend that is a full packet of Mentos. There is no way anyone could demolish the whole packet the second it came out of the parcel wrapping, no even a pregnant woman!

Thank you so so so much Secret Pal. This was such an exciting parcel and everything was just perfect. I will try and find or make up a garment worthy of the beautiful yarn.

As it's now really late (I told you I keep getting delayed. It's about 6 hours after I started) I'll just give you a few shots of my latest projects. I add more tomorrow.

At least knitting doesn't make me vomit any more :-)

Back again!

2007-11-03T20:43:00.000+09:00

Peace! Dan is out for the evening, Euan has gone to bed early and without a fight, so I am writing a quick update while running the bath. I really need a nice relaxing time so I'm going to enjoy myself!

Last weekend we went to Sydney as Dan has never been further east than Kalgoorlie (which is only 600kms east of Perth) and I thought it was about time that he saw the nations commercial capital (our political capital will have to wait). Oh, and it was also our 5th wedding anniversary so that was a bonus excuse. We headed off on Thursday afternoon, running very late for our flight but making it with minutes to spare, and arrived late Thursday night. The flight was fine. We flew Qantas on my frequent flyer points and it was just ok. The staff, food, entertainment etc was rubbish compared to our Emirates flights to Europe. The staff were not very helpful and not that good with kids. Luckily Euan adores flying and just likes playing with the headphones, eating the alleged food and looking out the window. Sydney airport was hell! I have never seen a queue so long to get a taxi. There were literally hundred of people waiting and almost no cabs coming or going. Everyone was saying that it was extraordinary. Luckily another family with a kids told us that if we asked for a child seat they would sort it out quickly and it worked wonders. They could see Euan was really tired so they got us a cab straight away. Dan was amazed. He is always impressed by the level of customer service in Oz, especially after living in the UK where they take equality very seriously, so if you have a baby you wait like everyone else.

Our apartment was in Darling Harbour, which is pretty central Sydney, and we could walk to most places. We spent one day at the aquarium which was absolutely fantastic. Much better than the one in Perth and the one in London. Euan just love all the fish and especially the crocodile.

We then spent a day at the zoo. It was transport heaven day for Euan. We started on the monorail, then took the ferry to the zoo, a bus from the ferry to the main gate, then ended the day taking the cable car back down to the ferry for the trip home. Taronga is a fabulous zoo and one of the best in the world. Every time I've been I've been amazed by it. Both the boys had a great time and we saw as much as we could with a toddler.

We spent the next day visiting friends down the coast a bit and that was great. The last day we had to check out by 10 ish and tried to spend the day around Darling Harbour before heading to the airport. Unfortunately it was a 34 degree day and just too hot to be out and about. Euan was really tired so we found a quiet cafe with sofas, bought a cold drink and he passed out on my lap. When he woke up we headed to the aiport for some airconditioned plane spotting. The flight home was fine again, but not great. We were delayed taking off and delayed getting to our gate in Perth so it was tiresome. It was also well passed midnight when we arrived home so everyone was tired and a little crabby. Still I'm glad we went.

The silly thing was that I completely forgot to visit Australia's biggest yarn store when I was in Sydney. Tapestry Craft was just down the road from where we were staying. I had fully intended to go but ran out of time (and money) and actually forgot about it until I got home. Damn! I was hoping just to play with some beautiful yarn. I'm a bit of a lousy knitter aren't I?

Anyway, I didn't get a single stitch done the whole time we were away and haven't managed anything since I got back. I've been extremely tired, actually fatigued, and just don't have the energy to do anything. I'm off to a naturopath nest week to see if she can help because I think this is more extreme than normal pregnancy tiredness. I want to be able to stay away past 9pm so I can see my husband and get some knitting done.

On a positive note I finally got my acceptance letter from the Community Midwifery Programme which means I can have my government funded homebirth. I am now just waiting to hear from my midwife, who sounds like she is pretty good from all reports. Of course I have no idea where this birth will occur because we are hoping to do something drastic with this place so we may be in a rental property. Luckily I really don't care where I give birth as long as it is peaceful and private.

Ok, bath is all ready now. I will try and get some knitting type stuff done really soon so you don't all get bored!

Tidying up

2007-10-19T18:09:00.000+08:00

I decided that since I was having so much trouble coming up with project ideas, or had ideas that weren't that sensible considering my current state, I should sort out my stash. I did have everything in boxes (sort of) but there was no order and every time I looked in a box I would go "wow, I'd forgotten I had that yarn" or "you're kidding, that's actually worsted?". So I sent Dan down to Bunnings (the Aussie equivalent of Home Depot) for more boxes and got sorting. I had one great afternoon of organising and then of course I got distracted and lost interest. But here is a progress shot.

I wonder if I should add this to my side bar? Nah, it'll never get finished.

The boxes with labels are the wool and the ones on the floor are too. The other boxes are fabric. I think I have about 5 other fabric boxes in storage somewhere. I really must get back to sewing. I'm trying to convince myself that I will make nappies etc for this bub but I can't see how it'll happen. Anyway, look I'm trying :-)

Knitting wise, I have made fairly slow progress on my Something Red. I've been so tired lately that I've been going to sleep with Euan every night and so I have lost my normal knitting time. Today I picked up the needles again because I decided that I would really like to take this to Sydney with me. We go on Thursday so it's a bit of a pipe dream but at least it spurs me on. I've just taken the sleeves off the needles and I'm onto the body. See...

It would be going a little quicker if I wasn't purling like someone who had lost all their fingers in a terrible knitting accident. That's why I love circular knitting, no purling. My technique is terrible but at least the stitches look fairly even. It should go a little quicker now that I'm onto the body. I might even stay up tonight and work on it.

Morning sickness is still hanging around and it's been a pretty crap week. Still haven't heard anything from a midwife yet and would really like to. It would be nice to know who my care provider is likely to be. Another thing making life a little difficult is that we have decided to renovate our house. We had originally hoped to have it all finished by the time bub was due so I could birth in our own home, but we doubt that'll be done. I guess we'll have to start looking for a rental somewhere for a few months and bubs'll be born wherever I happen to be living. No point stressing about it. Having a bigger house is more important than where I give birth.

Here they are!

2007-10-10T14:28:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was the big scan day. Dan and I had been really stressed leading up to the scan for various reasons; some sensible and understandable, while others were not. I can't begin to explain our huge relief to look at a screen and see our little bub, with all their bits, moving around, waving, kicking etc. I just felt relieved, Dan shed a tear and Euan couldn't quite work out what all the fuss was about. It's such an abstract concept to a 2yo. We talk about it a lot but I can't expect him to go "yeah mum, makes perfect sense". But he's happy with the baby in the tummy thing so we'll leave it at that until we get closer to the birth and then we'll start talking about that.

So here is our new little one:

Aren't they cute :-)

Funny thing is, since the scan I have been feeling a bit better. I haven't thrown up today which is exciting and I'm not feeling nauseas. I even been able to drink some water again. I'm not going to get my hopes up though, as morning sickness is very mean and likes to give you a few days off before flattening you again.

And because I'm feeling a little better I've actually started some knitting again! I know, what a shock. Talking about knitting on a knitting blog, it's just not the done thing any more. After the list of possible projects I wrote about a few days ago it was very easy for me to pick something. Of course what I picked was not on that list. I decided to knit this. And wouldn't you know it but I have the perfect yarn for it flying its merry way across the globe to me and it arrived yesterday. How's that for coincidence? I'm trying some Missions Falls 1824 cotton which seems a bit rough but as I've never knit with cotton before I have no idea what to expect. I think it'll wash and wear pretty well though (I guess I could've tested a swatch but, honestly, who does that?). I'll get a little more done and put up some pics.

Back to work while the boy sleeps.

Ooooh. Two posts on consecutive days!

2007-10-04T15:27:00.000+08:00

Lets see who can pick the afternoons where Euan is having a long sleep? It's great because, not only is the house quiet, but I can waste time doing things like taking photos of wool and blogging. Aren't you all so lucky :-)

Anyhoo, here are some pics of my recent sock yarn purchases. I actually have most of them lined up for projects and I'm just waiting for my stomach to settle down so I can get started.

These two skeins I got from Knitterly Things, which stocks the most gorgeous hand dyed sock yarns.

This one I'm planning to use for a pair of Jaywalkers (and here for all the other relevant stuff). I must be the only person on the planet not to have knitted these but I was waiting for the right yarn to come along. I saw them knitted in this exact yarn and they looked so great that I have to stalk the site until they released some more.

I haven't completely decided on a pattern for these but I'm thinking Monkeys. This site has oodles of Monkeys, in fact I think she is Monkey Mad. But they are great looking socks.

The other two skeins I got from Ecoyarns, which is an Aussie site that does...um...eco yarns :-) They have really nice organic cottons, wools etc.. and I gave in and joined their sock club. It's my first club and I was nervous that I wouldn't like it or it would be to expensive, but so far so good.

This is my special sock club yarn. It came with a pretty funky pattern so I might give that a whirl.

This is some other yarn I bought because I love purple. I was thinking of trying these socks as they look like great summer socks and it would be a novelty to not sub yarn for once.

Part of me is thinking I should make one pair of socks for my Secret Pal as I haven't got my shit together and sent her anything yet. I have lots of ideas but am struggling to sort stuff out. Luckily I have a bit of time but I did want to send her a few different parcels. Hmm..I guess I'd actually have to knit something first though, which may be the sticking point.

There you go. Another update. Aren't you lucky! I feel sick now so I'm going to lie down. Bye.

I'm so so so sorry!

2007-10-03T14:28:00.000+08:00

I feel like the world's worst blogger right now. It's been almost a month since my last post and that must be horrible boring for all of you. Unfortunately my morning sickness still hasn't abated and I find spending time on this thing a bit nauseating. Couple with that my camera was playing up so I couldn't take any pictures. Oh, and I still haven't actually knitted anything due to aforementioned sickness and lack of inspiration.

But the most important thing I have to do first is send a huge, big, virtual thank you to my Secret Pal. She sent me the most lovely parcel which I received 2 weeks ago and I feel so terrible for not coming on here and thanking her. As my punishment I wasn't allowed to eat the lollies that she sent until I'd blogged about it (well ok, maybe one or two). So here's the terrible photo. I didn't notice the smudgy 2yo fingerprints on the lens until well after I took this so apologies for that.

Since taking that I have polished off the entire packet on Sunbursts and feel great (I hope it lasts). The wool is just gorgeous and I'm thinking it will make a great felted bag either for me or for a Christmas pressie. There was also some gorgeous handmade soap and some lavender scented powder, which smells just divine.

I do feel a little bit sorry for my Secret Pal though. Here was me thinking I'd get someone from overseas so I'm asking for all these things that I can't get here in Oz. The poor woman is probably reading my list and nodding, as she also lives in Oz! So Sunflower, ignore most of what I asked for. The stuff is so hard to get here that I don't want to worry you. I'll just keep hoping that designers will start writing patterns for DK wool or that we will suddenly get great, affordable worsted wool in Oz.

Another big thank you goes out to all the people who emailed and chatted to me about my last post. I know it was a pathetic case of self pity but it was very real at the time. I know I have a great bunch of supportive friends out there, I guess it is just hard to ask for help. I think now that I have got into the swing of my daily puking I'm feeling a lot less stressed (does that sound weird). The big thing for me is the scan next week. I've had too many friends lose babies recently so I'm feeling a bit apprehensive about it all. I can't wait to see this little one and make sure everything is ok.

And to help me with my knitting block I finally got my Ravelry invite (I really wished I joined when I first heard about it!). I'm OzSusie for anyone else who's on there. I'm trying to look for patterns but my pc nausea makes it a slow process.

I will try and take pics of my new yarn to show off and get this blog back to interesting status.

Big hugs to everyone!

Wallowing

2007-09-07T15:00:00.001+08:00

I'm so sorry that I have been ignoring you. It's not actually ignoring but a severe lack of time and information. The morning sickness has really taken hold and I just can't spend that long on the pc without feeling crap. Adding to that Euan has become extra clingy so bedtime is a real hassle and most nights I go to bed with him rather than take an hour or more to settle him only to get up, brush my teeth and go back to bed. I know it is temporary but it is very draining.

None of this has helped my craft inspiration. I still can't seem to knit anything. I have started a couple of little, insignificant projects that I would normally finish in a day or two but they are still sitting around after about 2 weeks. I may have to photograph them just so there is something to look at. Thanks for the book and pattern suggestions. There is some really nice stuff there and I think I will grab some soonish, though I will wait until I'm feeling less sick as right now I'm not going to attempt something big like a top for me. I felt a bit better after reading this post. This woman is a craft queen and even she is struggling with first trimester knitter's block so it doesn't make me feel so useless.

The biggest problem I seem to have right now is that I'm really depressed. I didn't have this last time but it seems to be an issue this time. I feel really unsupported and really lonely. On paper I should have lots of support but it just doesn't feel like it's there. There are other people around me who need the support more than me so I have to take a back seat. This makes me really sad. I had hoped that this time 'round I would feel part of a group and would have great women helping me out and stuff, but I guess I'll just do it on my own again. Luckily Dan is wonderful and Euan is doing his best to deal with a sick Mummy. He is so loving that it makes me want to cry!

I have some great pictures of last weekend, which was Fathers' Day here, on my phone so I'll upload them asap. It was such a fun and hot day that they are worth sharing.

Going slowly

2007-08-19T10:55:00.000+08:00

Sorry for the lack of activity over the last week or two. I still have a fairly bad case of knitters block. I keep myself awake at night trying to decide what to start next and how to do something without buying more yarn. I have a big enough stash right now to complete all my summer knitting if only I could decide on a pattern or two. Thanks for the suggestions last time. They are the sorts of things I'm looking for but each time I decide to knit one I get confused by which yarn to use and it all goes wrong. TBH, what I really, really, really want to knit is this:

But when I factor in the ridiculous postage costs and the horrible exchange rate it ends up being at least $100 which is a bit much really. But it is exactly what I want. ~sigh~

So to kill time while I think about what to knit for me I have start another top for Euan. A cardigan this time using the leftovers from his last jumper. I am using this as an excuse to try steeking. Something that seems like the most sensible yet terrifying technique, especially as I love knitting in the round and hate seaming. I thought it would make more sense to start with a child's jumper instead of a full adult one as if I totally screw it up then I haven't lost much. This is progress so far.

The funny ridge down the middle is where I'm going to cut it. As it's only Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece and therefore mainly cotton, it's not ideal for steeking but I'm hoping with a lot of sewing-type reinforcement that it should be ok. I'm going to put a zip in which should also help keep it together. Now if only I'd knitted it on 4mm instead of 3.5mm I'd be finished by now.

On a positive note my friend Laura recently got back from South Africa and, although she would never knit to save her life, she brought me back some gorgeous hand spun wool. Ahhhh what I great friend! She couldn't remember what type of sheep it was from but it was something African. It has such a gorgeous shine to it and the colours are just perfect for me. I really don't know what to knit with it, but I've calculated it's at least 130m so I could get something fairly decent.

Isn't it just beautiful!

Now a little family aside. I haven't put any pics of my boys up lately so here are a few of them. They both love cooking so last weekend they got together and made a great chocolate cake. Euan is so good in the kitchen now. Not only does he keep all the ingredients in the mixing bowl (better than his mum) but he also lets me lick the bowl! What a boy!

Some very serious stirring going on there.

And this is the finished creation:

It was as yummy as it looks.

Did you notice???

2007-08-10T17:45:00.000+08:00

I know, I'm so sad, but so excited at the same time. Yes my good news was that I'm pregnant. Finally, after many, many months of trying. I know it's early days but it's such a relief for Dan and I. Just hoping the next few weeks fly past without incident and then I can relax a little. The first few weeks are always a little nerve wracking.

So my great dilemma now is what do I knit? I had all these patterns lined up but most of them are fairly fitted and not much use for a large bump. So do I stop knitting for me? Do I knit comfy cardis? (yuck!) Or do I find something that may be suitable during and after pregnancy? I think the latter makes the most sense, so now I'm on the lookout for some good patterns. I have a few ideas so I'll get back to you asap.

Yay! Happy dance!!

I jumped on the bandwagon...

2007-08-08T14:43:00.001+08:00

and made the gorgeous little jacket that everyone in knitting land seems to be making. As women around me seem to be having babies left right and centre it seemed appropriate to give it a go. What is she talking about you all ask. Here it is:

To me this looks like a giant piece of brightly colour pasta (farfalle perhaps?) but with a simple fold and 2 seams you magically end up with:

Another Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket. Here are the details:

Pattern: Umm..what I just said.

Needles: Addis 3.5mm 60cm circs. Smaller than recommended as I was making it for a very small bub.

Yarn: Lovely 100% Aussie merino hand dyed by moi.

Duration: About 5 days.

Comments: Great pattern, easy to follow and loads of fun. My only issue was with the stitch marking. I didn't have any good markers to hook onto the stitches and safety pins were just too slow to undo and redo every row. I really need to find something more appropriate. That was what slowed the whole process, otherwise this could've been finished in about 2 days. Oh, and somehow I was 10 stitched short at the end. My counting went haywire and I have no idea where those stitches went but I don't think it looks that different.

Hopefully I can get some pictures on the recipient when she wakes up! I have also used this yarn to make soakers and longies for some babies so I will try and get some pictures of those too as they look so so so cute! I think I need to make a few more of these jackets as they are a great stash buster and so lovely. Best of all it's all garter stitch so I don't have to purl!

Not sure what to start next. I think the Tree Jacket is going to be shelved until next winter as I just don't like the wool I have used. I think it is time to start some summer knitting as Winter is coming to an end. Or I could make a few more pairs of longies as I know a few babies that might want them. What to do, what to do?

Good news week

2007-08-07T21:57:00.001+08:00

There is so much happening this week and most of it is great, if not fabulous. The only problem is that I can't really tell you about it yet. Sorry. I just wanted the world to know that life is wonderful at chez moi!!!

I have another FO and an almost finished FO so I'll sort those out tomorrow for you. And I have to post my SP11 questionnaire so I'd better sort that out and make it interesting. I don't want my Secret Pal to think that I'm really boring.

Off to have an early night so I can catch up on a bit of sleep and have enough energy to enjoy my week.

Hope everyone else is having a great one too!

Oh my god!! I'm in stash heaven

2007-08-03T16:40:00.000+08:00

After feeling a little down this week due to family illness and other more personal issues, that needn't fill the pages of a knitting blog, I decided that have a little retail therapy. There is a beautiful "yarn shop" (I'll explain the "" in a sec) near me whose website makes very pleasant reading. They are one of the few places here that stock the proper yarns like Rowan, Debbie Bliss, Artyarns etc the only problem being that their prices are usually a fair bit higher than other places online. Now, if I could actually walk in, handle the yarn, get advice from the staff etc I wouldn't mind paying a little premium, but no. They operate not far from me but they won't even let you go and pick up your order. It's online only, which I find very disappointing. So I generally boycott them. (On a side note, there is one other shop that sells really nice yarn, but who is going to pay $20USD for a single ball of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino?? Honestly). Somehow, on Wednesday, I was wandering around the web and I happened to drop into this website and had a browse through their Sale section. $350 later I came out with some lovely, lovely, did I say lovely, yarn. The therapy worked for me!

Would you like a peek? I thought so.

Here is Euan showing just how big the bag was that it all came in. He's a pretty tall 2yo, btw.

And here is Koshka, just dying to climb in a sleep on all that lovely yarn. If you've never seen a Maine Coon then you may not appreciate how big the stash is. She's a bloody big cat!

And here is the all important close up:

Now how do I justify the expense (oh, the green stuff was from a different store, but happened to arrive at the same time. I won't add it's cost into the total for now. I think Dan would cry). The Cashmerino I had to have because I am in love with it. I have 15 balls in a deep burgundy that I bought in the UK but I have been too scared to use it in case I make the wrong thing out of it and waster the yarn. I thought it I had 30 balls of Cashmerino then I wouldn't feel so afraid and could use it for multiple projects, so I bought 15 balls of blue (no idea what the name is).

The Blue Sky Organic Cotton was going to be used for the Ribs and Lace Tank from Interweave Knits Spring 07, but I'm a bit concerned that the top looks a little like a bulls eye and I'm not sure I want that effect. Either way, I will knit something similar-ish to this for summer. The yarn is so incredibly soft I can't wait to wear it.

The Rowan Cashsoft is for Dan. I've been wanting to make him something for ages and he finally decided that he liked the look of this, but as I refuse to knit him anything that big in a silk blend we had to look for other wool. It couldn't be itchy, it had to be fairly hard wearing and it had to be good quailty so we went with Rowan. Luckily this was on sale too at Angel Yarns, who are great and buy heaps from them. Though don't order if you're in a rush. I think this took about 6-8 weeks to be posted as they had run out of stock. They aren't very good at keeping you up to date but luckily I didn't care. I'm just hoping that the Boyfriend Sweater Curse doesn't apply to husbands too!

And last but definitely not least the silk. Debbie Bliss 100% Pure Silk. I have no idea what I'll use it for but it was so so so cheap and I've always wanted to try silk so I bought heaps of it. 15 skeins to be precise (or 750g). It is D-lux stuff and will take dye beautifully so I have a few projects in mind but will take my time with this one. God knows what a mum with a toddler does with silk yarn. I wonder if it gets badly stained by vegemite?

Oh, I am actually working on something right now. After putting the Tree Jacket on the backburner I started the little surprise and have got this far:

I'm sure loads of you (you know, all my readers Hahahaha!!) will know what this is as it is so popular right now, but I'm not going to tell the rest of you until it's done. The colour pooling is a bit annoying but I can't wait to see the finished item. Still don't know who it's for either. Any suggestions?

And one last look at the silk. Couldn't you just swim in it!

I really had nothing to say until...

2007-08-02T08:22:00.000+08:00

I finally discovered what all this Secret Pal business was (should've googled it a few months ago, lazy me) and got myself signed up for SP11. Yay!! It'll be so much fun. I just hope my obvious lack of talent isn't too disappointing for my swapee. Can't wait to start planning.

Apart from that it has been a lousy knitting week. The Tree Jacket is just lagging. You'd think that straight garter stitch sleeves would be a breeze but I'm just finding them so boring that I'm avoiding it. In fact I've only done about 6 inches on one sleeve since my last post. I'm thinking of putting it aside this week and making a little surprise. For those who know knitting it's a little Elizabeth Zimmerman surprise, and for those who don't knit, you just have to wait and see. I have the perfect yarn and oodles of recipients so I think I'll use it for a distraction this week. My only issue is that I don't understand the stitch marker placements but I think I can wing it.

I think the other thing contributing to the knitting lull is the fact that Dan has been sick and off work all week. We have such a small cottage of a house that it's been like having two toddlers under my feet all week, and one of them complains an awful lot! He finally seems on the mend today so hopefully he'll be less whingey and he can help out with Euan a little bit. It's not fair that he eats into my knitting time (joke!!). To ease my pain I did a "little" bit of yarn shopping but it is all so lovely that'll you have to wait until it arrives for further details.

Well we finally have a sunny day after weeks of rain so I'm off to do loads of washing and then start my next little project. Hopefully I'll have some progress for you soon.

As there are no pictures here's a little yarn p0rn for you:

Old stuff of mine, but ever so pretty.

One down, one to go

2007-07-29T14:46:00.000+08:00

Well it would be nice if it was only one more WIP to go but, like most knitters and general craftsters, it is impossible to have nothing on the go. If I'm not knitting I'm planning a new knit, or sewing, or cooking or something. But I have at least knocked another project on the head and given myself a bit more time for the next one.

May I present the first sweater/jumper that I have knitted for Euan:

Pattern: My own. I just made it up as I went along. That did mean that I finished the body (knitted in the round then split) grafted the shoulders and realised that it was too short for Euan. So it got ripped out and redone.

Needles: Addi 4mm 40cm circs (do I own any other needles?)

Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Kelp Green with Olive green stripe.

Duration: about 5 days due to the ripping and the babysitting

Comments: I just loved working with this yarn. It is so soft and looks great knitted up. I bought a heap of it from The Sheep Studio who are really, really cheap and really, really lovely. I've got a few balls to make Green Gable and possible Rusted Root. I think I could probably squeeze another jumper or cardigan out for Euan too.

Here's the boy showing his pleasure:

As soon as the end were woven in and it was laid out to block I started my next project. I was trying to decide between the Ribby Cardi or Rogue until I saw this. Those nasty Zephyr girls have done it again and I happened to have the perfect wool lying around that I was trying to turn into a Central Park Hoodie with minimal success. I used the bits of CPH that I had already knitted as a swatch and got going immediately. After 2 days I had:

The colour isn't perfect but it's a quick knit and will be really wearable. I've almost finished the body now so hopefully I can get the sleeves wrapped up quickly and get it blocking tomorrow. Yay!

Little progress

2007-07-26T09:30:00.000+08:00

I'm sorry to say that things have been moving rather slowly this week. One of my close friends was in the final stages of pregnancy and needed help with her kids and so I discovered that looking after 3 kids (ages 2, 3 and 4) is not that conducive to productive knitting. The baby arrived at 11.59pm Sunday and after a few days of readjusting their lives have settled back to normal (well, as normal as it can be with a newborn) so I've taken the opportunity to get a few projects finished....almost finished.

Ok, one project. And here is Euan modelling the little bit that I have managed to get done on his jumper/sweater thing.

It's all made up as I go along but it seems to be fitting ok so far. I made the body far too short on the first go so it all had to be ripped and started again. In all honesty I wish I'd still made it a bit longer but I'm not adjusting it again. Hoping to finish it today as we have a rare patch of sunshine and I want to block it before I start the next exciting step (that's a secret).

I decided that I needed a bit of a treat and finally gave in and bought 2 things that I have wanted for a long, long time.

The book is Barbara Walker's First Treasury of Knitting Patterns which is the most fabulous book for all sorts of stitch patterns; laces, cables et al. It's one of those basic books that everyone should have in their collection. It arrived from the US yesterday and I've flicked through it about 3 times already and picked out a load of patterns that I want to incorporate into garments. If only I could design! I bought it from Schoolhouse Press (the publishers) as they have recently reprinted it. I'm sure most people in the US have it in their local library but my local libraries are severely lacking in knitting books and, anyway, I didn't want to have to give it back!

The second thing is the Elizabeth Zimmerman Surprise Baby Sweater Pattern. This is the most fabulous little garment and with all the new babies arriving this week (there have been 3!!!) I thought it was a good time to try this. Yarn Harlot has a great description of this jacket. This came from Schoolhouse Press too. Can't wait to make a start on it.

I promise I will get some better photos of my argosy really soon. I think it would look better modelled than lying flat but I'm in no shape to have photos taken this week. Blergh!

Adventures in Blocking

2007-07-21T12:16:00.000+08:00

Like a lot of novice knitters (and probably experienced knitters) I have always had a fear of blocking. I know it's important and I know it makes things fit better but I've never really know how to do it so I tend to knit everything in the round, give it a wash and hope for the best. As I've mainly knitted baby clothes so far this approach has got me by. But now I am trying to make a few more things for myself I realised that I just have to bite the bullet and try blocking.

After reading the endless info about blocking on Interweave's Knitting Daily newsletter I thought I should really make a start. Luckily I had just finished my Argosy scarf so I chucked it in a bucket of warm water and set about finding somewhere to block. That's when I realised that I live in a 2 bedroom cottage with a 2 year old and a large cat and absolutely no where big enough and off the floor that I can lay a wet scarf and a heap of pins. So it sat in the bucket for 3 days (I guess it was thoroughly wet after that) until this morning when Euan went out with his grandfather and I got some free time to lay a scarf on the floor.

So here it is in all it's blocking glory. I think the picture is a bit average but will take a better one when I can wear it.

Pattern: Argosy scarf from Knitty

Needles: Addi 4mm 40cm

Yarn: Noro Silk Garden (colour 244 I think) 2 skeins

Duration: I think it was about 4 days. It's a really quick knit and an very easy pattern to memorise.

Comments: I think my gauge must've been really out as although I was using the same yarn and needles called for in the pattern I only got 21 pattern repeats instead of 27. It's still a pretty big scarf so I'm not worried.

I guess now that I have crossed the blocking frontier I might need to have a think about gauge swatches. They seem like such a waste of time as I always want to get started straight away and I haven't had a giant failure just yet. Hmm...off to find some good links.

Frogging Life

2007-07-17T09:37:00.000+08:00

Do you ever wish you could rip back a few weeks, months or years and make a few minor adjustments to improve the current WIP (or life as some people call it)? I sometimes look at my son and think "if only I had added this bit or not done this, then things might be a bit easier". I wish I'd inserted a lifeline to I could rip back with impunity. That's not to say he isn't a great kid but he has a few habits that I'd love to change but they seem a little embedded now even though he's only 2. Anyway, just the rambling thoughts of someone without much sleep.

Finally finished the Surprise Socks, which were actually my Dad's birthday present. I started them a few weeks ago and raced through the first sock only to run out of yarn 2 inches before the end of the second. As it was hand dyed yarn I couldn't just order more so I was lazy and ripped back to the start of the gusset and took a few stitches out (my Dad has narrow feet) but that made the yarn pool horribly so I had to face the music and rip back a few inches before the heel flap. I was so upset as I found the heel a pain (these are only my second socks) but I actually found a good mini-tute to pick up the stitches on my heel flap and so they came out better the second time around. Anyway here's one of them with my Dad modelling:

Pattern: Gentleman's Plain Winter Socks from Knitting Vintage Sock by Nancy Bush. My only mod was making them a bit shorter. Used the same amount of rib but less stockingette. I liked the longer look but just didn't have enough yarn.

Needles: Addi 2.5mm 40cm (started on dpns but just couldn't get my fingers around them and found 2 circs much easier and quicker)

Yarn: Hand dyed 100% merino fingering weight. Used the full 100g.

Duration: About 2.5 weeks due the all the problems. I didn't really read the pattern properly. It's written for men's size 8-9 but my Dad has size 12 feet so I needed a lot of extra yarn.

And just for posterity here's a picture of Dad and Euan:

Euan is wearing my first ever FO which was a beanie I made for my Dad's 40th birthday when I was 9. It was an acrylic, garter stitch monstrosity which he still treasures. I hope he likes the socks as much. He seemed a little under whelmed by them but I'm not sure he realised that I'd made them. He did ask if they were machine knitted which I am trying to take as a compliment. I guess someone in the family will let me know what he thinks of them (he's not that good at expressing himself).

And here's a little WIP. It's the argosy scarf from Knitty in Noro Silk Garden. This is after a day and a bit, so I'm hoping to finish it today.

FO - Candy Socks

2007-07-09T18:57:00.000+08:00

I know I have a heap of other FOs to post about but they are old and these are new, so these can go first. These are the 3rd pair of socks that I have started but the first that I have actually finished. That may be because they are in DK yarn instead of sock yarn, but they are socks none the less. I did these after a bit of inspiration from this Craftster thread and also because it's the middle of winter here and it's nice to have something a little colourful in all the gloom.

Pattern: just a basic toe up sock using this great cast on tute, which I found on Grumperina's blog. Also a little help from Knitty and a reminder about short row heels.

Needles: Addi 3.5mm 60cm. My first go a the magic loop and I thought it was great although I wish I'd had 80cm needles.

Yarn: My own hand dyed 100% merino. It's superwash, takes dye beautifully and hardly pills at all. It was a large batch that I did for a few other things (see previous post) but had enough left over to make these. It only took about 60g for the pair.

Duration: A weekend. Basically one sock Saturday and one sock Sunday. I was pretty happy with that!

As you can see my short row heel needs work. I think I was just being too loose with my stitches so I will have to try a bit harder. I'm a bit disappointed actually but as I have firmly caught the sock knitting bug I will get a lot more chance to perfect this.

I'm really happy with the way this yarn turned out that I'm thinking I should get back to dyeing. I'm even thinking about opening my little shop back up. I've found a great source for merino and merino/cashmere yarn and I think it would look great in funk bold colours. What do you all think??

Some little surpises

2007-07-06T20:48:00.000+08:00

I have been working on a few things this week which will be surprises but I just want to give you a little taste. I don't think many of my friends know about my blog but just in case I won't show too much. Sufice to say that I have heaps of friends having babies soon so I have to have a few things ready for them. Here is a taster of what I've been working on.

All hand dyed (by me) Australian merino. It's the most gorgeous wool to dye and knit with. I really want to make something for me out of it. In fact I have a bit left over so I'm thinking of some socks. What do you think?

Missing in Action

2007-07-06T11:00:00.000+08:00

I am so so sorry that I have been ignoring my blog. Life has been so hectic over the last 6 months that I haven't found any time to keep this up to date. Of course the longer you leave it the harder it is to get back to. But I love reading other blogs so much that I just can't leave mine out in the cold any longer. I promise I will be a more dedicated blogger from now on.

Anyway, a quick summary of the last 6 months:

Angel Blossom went to hell and Bec pulled out. Not sure what will happen to it now. I am really enjoying the break and the mental space to do creative things for myself but I miss the thrill of selling stuff. Watch this space...
Had a lovely 6 week long holiday with my boy in UK and France. Euan finally got to meet the other side of his family (well except his useless grandfather) and we all had a ball. Didn't go to as many yarn shops as I would've liked but did see a lot of playgrounds. Quite different travelling with a 2 year old than as a couple.
Euan turned 2 which was very exciting. He has a huge vocabulary now and can even count to ten in french!
Dan has got a new job starting at the end of this month which gives him more autonomy and more money. We're so excited, especially as his current boss in a twonk.
Still no baby no.2 happening yet. Still trying. Watch this space...

And here are a few relevant photos:

Father and son on there first flight together

The carousel in the Tuileries, Paris

A playground in Saumur, Loire Valley, France

Euan and me enjoying a lunch break at Galleries Lafayette in Paris. They have a lousy wool section. I was so disappointed. Bute they have the most wonderful toy department so that made up for it.

And the lovely, lovely wool shop that I found in Bristol, Get Knitted. They have a great selection and I treated myself to a heap of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino that I have been lusting after for ages. Hopefully I will get around to making Rouge with it one day. I have to say that I was a little disappointed with their customer service, but you get used to that in the UK.

OMG Finished!!!

2007-01-19T23:13:00.000+09:00

I can't believe it. For the first time in my life I had wanted to knit something for myself and actually carried the thought through to reality and then completion! Not only that, but it fits which is a bonus.

So presenting to one and all....my Sahara

Please excuse the lack of blocking, the inappropriate undergarments and the flab. These pics made me realise that I must lose some weight. I can't go to Europe looking like this!

I made a few changes, but nothing too exciting. Instead of the Tilly Thomas I used SWTC Oasis (100% SoySilk). I think the colour was Canyon but I can't remember the number. Went up to a 4.5mm for the body and 4mm for the lace, but probably could've gone to a 3.75mm if I had any. I didn't want short sleeves and didn't have enough for long sleeves so I thought I do a good mid-season 3/4 sleeve. The best bit is that it only took 2 weeks, which is lightning fast for me.

I'm really happy with the way it's turned out although the minimal seaming is terrible as I have no idea what I'm doing, and the lace is a bit bunchy. I'm hoping blocking will sort that out. I just have to learn how to block :)

Oh, and this is a small, which is right for my 34" bust and will look better when I have smaller hips and waist :)

In progress

2007-01-19T19:22:00.000+09:00

Well I've been really slack lately and just haven't found the time to update this. I've had a bunch of things on the go or getting ready to start and have even taken photos, but nothing has made in onto my blog. So here is a little bit of what I've been doing for the past 3 weeks or so (and don't get excited, it's not much).

Here are some bits that, when assembled, will make the cutest little toy. Unfortunately I need my 4.5mm needles for something else so this had to wait.

These are some progress shots of my Sahara. I start this on the 4th of Jan and am really excited as it's the first top I've ever made for myself. I'm just hoping that it works out. The pattern calls for 100% silk but I think that's pretty impractical with a 19 month old so I'm making it out of some SWTC SoySilk that I had lying around. I'm not sure how long the sleeves will end up because it depends on how much yarn I have left.

This is 2 days work (I'm not actually that slow, I just don't get much knitting time)

This is 4 days later. The best thing is, as it's knitted top down, you can try it on as you go, and it fits like a glove. Sorry no pics of that as without the collar all you can see is boob :)

Also thought I'd add: we had a great time over the holiday period. Euan just loved having Dan at home and Dan loved being here. We didn't do anything too exciting but it was just great family time. I even managed to leave the house without taking my knitting which the boys seemed to appreciate. It's been a bit blergh having Dan go back to work, but it means I can get back to doing Angel Blossom stuff and Euan can get back to seeing his friends, so it's not all bad.

Holiday snaps

2006-12-31T10:50:00.000+09:00

Just a few pictures of Euan over the festive season. He had such a great time on Christmas Day and got more presents than we could ever have imagined. Anyway, I think he's cute so I like everyone to see what he looks like :)

Christmas breakfast with Nona

Boxing day in front of the cricket

Enjoying having Dad home for the holidays

Finally some pictures

2006-12-31T09:13:00.000+09:00

OK, so I promised some pictures and then didn't deliver. You'll get used to that. Here are the pictures of the finally finished Wavy. I only did 8 of the 10 repeats because I don't really like long scarves and I had gotten bored of knitting it. I desperately needed the needles for something else so it seemed like a great time to finish knitting.

What do you think? I know it looks a bit plain but it'll be a great, practical scarf if the weather ever gets cold enough or we head back overseas. The wool is a Cascade Heather so it's quite flecky, not as plain as it looks. I've got to work out how to block it now. I'm scared of knilling the wavy look. Wish me luck!

And here's my one finished Twinkletoe. These will be great little slippers when I get the gauge right and make it fit my foot. Not sure what to do with these (if I ever finished the second one). They might go to my brother's girlfriend who has pretty small feet and loves green.

Sorry, crap pic again. I really shouldn't take them at night as my camera is rubbish and just can't handle the low light.

Post xmas malaise

2006-12-27T23:01:00.000+09:00

Well I haven't achieved much over the last few days. I was doing really well with my twinkletoes and finished the first one really quickly. Unfortunately, even though I had used the exact yarn and right needles I ended up with a really weird gauge. Instead of 22/26 (or something like that) I got 26/38 so my first slipper is very, very small. I'm so upset that I have put them on hold until I get the motivation back. Serves me right for not doing a gauge swatch. I know it's fine for scarves, but not so good for slippers or socks, or clothes for that matter. I guess I'll just have to become a "proper" knitter one day and try them! I'll get some picture up shortly so you can at least see how the first slipper turned out.

My wavy scarf is rattling along now that I have given up on the twinkletoes. I'm onto the 6th repeat fter doing 2.5 today. I have to ball up the next skein so I can finish the second half of the scarf. Should be done soon though. Hopefully it'll still be a little cool when we go to the UK so I can wear it. Will get some pictures of that soon too.

On a non-knitting note. We have finally decided to head to the UK about Easter time for 4-5 weeks as Euan is yet to meet any of his family and Dan and I haven't been for almost 2 years. I get such itchy feet after a year without travel. Luckily Dad has agreed to give us a few extra frequent flyer points so we shouldn't have to pay for the flights, otherwise we just couldn't afford it. Yay, I'm so excited!! Just trying to work out what nappies to take now.

Christmas was really nice. Euan was spoilt rotten by the family which thrilled us. They'd been pretty nonplussed about his birthday and first Christmas so we weren't holding out breath but it was a wonderful day. He is so tuckered out after all the parties and eating.

I promise I'll have a whole lot of pictures for next time. Hopefully I'll get them up before we reach 2007!

Present for me

2006-12-22T13:06:00.000+09:00

Although I've been slack getting other peoples presents, I've managed to get a couple of little things for myself. I was starting to worry that this parecl would never arrive, but on the last postal day before Christmas my parcel man (well not my normal one, I think he's left as I haven't seen him for ages. He was so nice too) arrived with this little beauty:

Sorry, I'm having major problems with my camera. Everything looks crap :(

But anyway... I got four balls of Rowan Calmer. I refused to pay the prices asked in Oz so I bought direct from the UK and it was so much cheaper. It is just beautiful yarn. I plan to make a few pairs of knitty's finest. Hopefully some will be done in time for Christmas as I wanted them as presents. Fingers crossed.

While I was at it I thought I'd chuck in a ball of 100% alpaca sock yarn for myself. I want to have the finest dressed feet around. Artesano Alpaca is fair trade wool from Bolivia and OMG I have never felt anything so soft. I can't wait to start knitting with it, though I might try some cheaper stuff for my first pair of socks. Watch this space...

Christmas is coming

2006-12-22T12:57:00.000+09:00

OMG! It's Christmas in 3 days and I'm so unprepared. I have just put together my first presents as I have a lunch with some long term friends today and every year I forget to get them presents so this time I thought I'd make an effort. Luckily they don't know I have a blog so they won't read this :) Here are some samples of the little gift boxes I made up for them.

The blue things are luxury White Christmas, with pistachios, craisins and white chocolate. The pink ones are a really rich chocolate fudge. The little things in silver foil are mini choc-coated christmas puddings. And the biscuits and almond shortbread. All made with my not-so-talented hands.

The final presentation:

Making waves

2006-12-18T08:37:00.000+09:00

This is the first repeat in my Wavy scarf. Using Cascade 220 in Aster Heather. It's knitting up really nicely although I'm a little slow at flat knitting. Sorry about the quality of the pic, it's a rush job :) I'm really hoping that I can finish this before Christmas.

On the needles

2006-12-16T12:43:00.000+09:00

I only have 2 things on the go right now. I won't say too much about them, but here's a taste.

Something great for girls. Brilliant for the little ones or over a day nappy for bigger kids.

This would be great for boys or girls. One of our specialities.

If Euan sleeps well this weekend, they'll be up on Monday.

Just dyeing to show you...

2006-12-16T12:14:00.000+09:00

I haven't had much time to knit or dye lately as Euan has been overly helpful, but Jeremy (my brother) came over the other day and helped out while I dyed up a storm. Here are a few samples. These should be up in the shop soon (fingers crossed).

These will end up being Spare Ribs

And these will be shorties, capris or longies. Haven't decided yet.

Welcome to me!

2006-12-16T10:23:00.000+09:00

Well I thought it was about time to join the late 20th century and get myself a blog. I have so many things on the go at once that I thought this would be a good way to keep track and maybe a few people will pop past a see what I'm up to. This is just a quickie and I'll put a whole lot of pictures up later today.

Secret Pal 11 Questionnaire

2006-08-08T18:29:00.000+08:00

Sorry to put this in a weird spot. I just didn't think everyone would want to read it. I hope it's helpful!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I really like the more sustainable fibers like bamboo, soy, hemp, sea silk and organic anything. I especially love anything worsted or aran weight as they are so hard to find here. Also like good felting yarns as I can’t find good ones.

I hate novelty fibers and really chunky yarns.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I have just got a KnitPicks sets so I’m hoping that folder will work. I only use circulars so I’ve never bothered with a needles roll, though I have been eyeing off the Offhand Design Circular Clutch.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I’ve been knitting for about 2 years now although I did learn when I was a little girl. I would say I’m intermediate. I can do anything except really complex lace but I’m hoping to start that soon.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Nope, sorry. I keep it all in my head.

5. What's your favorite scent?

Lavender, bergamot, citruses - I really like natural oils.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Love sweets but not a huge fan of chocolate. Don’t really have a favourite but love chewy things.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I don’t spin yet but I’m hoping to learn one day. I sew and used to do cross stitch, although that’s on hold while my son is young. I’ve also started trying a bit of felting. Oh, and I love to dye wool and silk.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I love rock music, especially classic rock (eg. The Doors, Led Zeppelin and other 60's, 70's stuff). For the more modern stuff I really like the Scissor Sisters. Hate RnB!

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

Love purples, blues, reds – deep not pastels. Don’t really like orange, mustards.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

Have a 2yo son and a very old husband J Also have a big fluffy Maine Coon cat called Koshka.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Not really. Doesn’t get cold enough.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Clothes for anyone. I make a lot of baby stuff but really want to make more things for myself. I mainly makes tops and sweaters but I’m hoping to make some skirts for summer. I also like making bags and doing a bit of felting.

13. What are you knitting right now?

A sweater for me, some pants for a friend’s baby, a baby sweater, some socks.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Yep

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Circular and aluminum, although I don't mind bamboo.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yep, both.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

It was about 5 months old but I’ve just frogged it and started something new.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

Going to France. We have just got back from Europe and France, especially Paris, is my favourite place in the whole world!

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Apart from yarn? No.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I have just gotten a subscription to Interweave Knits and bought a stack of back issues. I really want a copy of Fitted Knits and the No Sheep one that I can’t remember the name of.

I would really like the EZ Pi Shawl pattern as I want to understand how to knit flat circles.

I’m dying to try some Handmaiden Sea Silk and Classic Elite Bamboo.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

I want to learn to knit lace and I’d like to work on my cables. I think I can do everything else, it just needs more practice.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Yep. Size 8.5 feet so length 9.5” and circ 8”

23. When is your birthday?

16^th March

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?

No, I’m still waiting patiently. I heard about it when it first started and thought to myself “it’ll only be a month or two before it goes fully live so why bother signing up”. Silly me.