Monday, July 23, 2007

Who loves ya baby?

I just love me a baby knit. Love, love, love it. Quick and satisfying, and the recipient will never turn it's nose up at it (love that 'I'm too young to have head control down pat yet' thing.)



This was super cute and lots of fun. Usually I'm not one for the 'it's a girl, give it pink!' way of thinking, but this yarn was calling out to me very loudly (as you can see, it's kinda loud like that) and I love using this yarn for baby knits (lemmetellyou anything you can chuck in the wash and not think about is the best thing ever for a baby).



And those buttons are rockin' my button world.

Pattern is Pea Pod from IK (um, a little while back. I think it was a subscriber web thingo) and yarn is Katia Diana. That little bit of angora in the yarn makes it super snuggly.

You might be seeing a whole lot of baby knit love on this here site within the next coupla months, tis the season to be breedin. (and no, not me before you ask).

Monday, July 09, 2007

4 days and 2000k's

We don’t do things in halves around this place. Got 4 days? Lets go to Brisvegas! We didn’t just get up and decide to go, we did have a reason (MIL’s 60th) but we thought we might drive it being that it was going to cost us $700 to fly - which is slightly ludicrous in this day and age of super cheap fares.
So I am now officially beat - it doesn’t help to start the trip with only 4 hours sleep, and that 4 hours wasn’t even restful as I lay in bed worrying that I hadn’t finished all my work. One day I will go on a holiday where I won’t come back as exhausted as I was when I left. 

Luckily, I love to drive. Love love love it. Would love it even more if I didn’t have to play dodge the caravan all the way (why do you always catch up to them just as the overtaking lane is ending? WHY?). The most unpleasant part was between Tweed Heads and Brunswick Heads where the new freeway is almost finished. We hit the traffic at the place where it joins the Tweed section as we were going south. Wondering what was holding us up as we sat in bumper to bumper, we finally found out when we reached the spot where it starts at Brunswick Heads over an hour later (a trip which usually takes about 15 - 20 mins). Yes folks, someone in their infinite wisdom decided today would be a fantastic day to open the new section. But not to cars mind you, well that wouldn’t be any fun would it? Lets open it up to pedestrian traffic! Lets have jumping castles on it, stilt walkers and even protesters. But how will we get everyone onto it? Well, what we might do is get a couple of dudes holding stop signs and stop the traffic intermittently to let people cross the Pacific Highway. That would be the main road south. I think they bought the Nimbin council in on this bright spark of an idea. The poor lollipop men were getting an earful from every passing driver (I think they must have been from Nimbin too, they seemed pretty relaxed about the whole ideal. A little TOO relaxed, if you know what I mean.)

On the way back we stopped overnight in Coffs, because if you have ever travelled long distance in a car with young kids you will know how stopping every now and then is the only path to sanity. We went for a wander down to the beach (where there seemed to be a huge amount of stones, I thought I was in the UK again) and thought this would be a nice place to show off the clap.



The stats are 1 and 1/2 balls of 2ply Ruby and Lana 100% wool on 2.5mm. It's looking almost orange in this pic - the colour is closer to the top one.



As always, Clap’s are pretty cruisy as knitting goes. Once you get into the flow they are perfect for TV and even Stitch n Bitch knitting. Speaking of SnB I managed to get along to Ruby & Lana’s last weekend which was a rarity for me (well, these days anyway). Lots of new faces, in fact it has gotten so big that after the store closes we head to the nearby cafe for lunch (which, by the way, was pretty darn good). Lots of laughs, lots of gossip, it felt good to be amongst other knitters again!

And I am currently on a roll, I have done 4 of 17 repeats using Crack to make Wisp - so far it’s pretty pain free. Famous last words...

Oh and one last thing, thanks to everyone for their lovely comments in the my last post - good to know I'm not forgotten!

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Monday, July 02, 2007

Password? What's my password?

This is serious. You know that it has been a long time between posts when you can't even remember your own damn password to log in to type a post.
SERIOUS.
Obviously, I remembered cause here I am, but I can't believe I temporarily forgot it.

So hi! I hope there are still some readers out there; I know it has been forever. I can't even reward the faithfuls with some pics cause it's dark out, but I promise there will be something special up here within the next week. Or maybe two. No! I will not leave it so long between posts again. Somebody poke me to remind me if it isn't here by the weekend.

I have been getting along with a couple of things - firstly a gorgeously cute thing for my besties new baby (who I haven't seen yet because I am a very bad bestie) (but I will see soon, promise!). When said gorgeously cute thing has been delivered I will deliver pics here for you all to enjoy, it is worth the wait SO GORGEOUSLY CUTE.

Second on the needles, I was inspired by Meg's super cool fine yarn Clap-scarf, so I up and made one for myself. In super bright red (cause I can't get enough red in my life LOVE IT). I will do a super fantastic post for that one.

Also something in the side room being ignored, uh I mean lovingly tended to (SNORT, NOT) is the Shawl-that-is-a-scarf Print o the Wave. It, like Butter&*($^-fly, I fear will not see the light of day. I cannot get past the 20 trillion stitches I need to pick up around the edges in order to complete it (you notice how the number of stitches I have to pick up grows each time I speak of it? It is like the plague, just keeps spreading).

While on the subject of Butter&($#)&-fly and the heathen lovely yarn it is knitted in (that would be Crack for the uninitiated), has anyone seen this delight in the latest Knitty? Oh my.
I will not mention that this will be my 5th attempt at finding the correct pattern for this evil ever so co-operative yarn. I will also not mention that there is currently something already on the needles. And before that something else.

I think I might go and (rip back the others) cast on for it now, because I am a sucker for punishment ever so patient knitter.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Faster than a moving toddler

Sheesh, where has this last month gone? One second I'm up to my eyeballs in sport and the next... well I'm still up to my eyeballs in sport. But I'm still here, hanging on by my nails to this year that is rapidly disappearing before me. Why is it as you get older time goes quicker? Like when you leave school, time does the old hippity hop and next thing you're celebrating your 21st. And don't get me started on when kiddlets arrive, suddenly you're travelling at warp 9 (cause y'know, we can't go to warp 10 yet, I mean really, you all should be up on the latest Star Trek trivia) (SHUDDUP I know I am a nerd) and wondering when your son started replying 'of course I can!' when you as him to do things. Not that I am complaining, because really his manners are impecable, but didn't he only start walking no long ago? Oi, I can't keep up.

So I won't bore you with the worky details of why I've been absent, lets just say that my 2.5 day a week job is kinda a lot more than that. More like 5 days. 5 VERY LONG days. But as much as it has been frantic, it has renewed my interest in what I do, which was sorely needed after 10 years of editing. The tough part is finding the work/home balance, doubly more difficult when you do most of your work at home so you never really leave the office.

I have found very little time to knit, as most of my non-work time is in front of the TV (cause you know I just can't get enough, you'd think I'd be over the idiot box after having to watch it all day as part of my job...) and usually TV time is knitting time. Recently however, TV time has been brain dead time, thus the lack of knitting progress. The baby knit for my friend is on the home strecth, so hopefully I will have some pics very soon. The Print 0' the Wave Stole that is a Scarf is... hiding in the other room. The prospect of picking up 20 billion sts (ok, a small exagguration, but it sure feels like that much) is just too much information for my space poor grey cells right now so it will languish a while longer.

The one project I can show you is Little Man's latest pair of bed socks. I have knitted Little Man bed socks every year for the past 3 years, check out the size of those monster feet now.








And here they are rapidly retreating over the couch.




Sunday, March 18, 2007

Branches with Flair

I haven't fallen in the stash and can't get out. It's been quite a couple of months; unfortunately nothing exciting to tell, just working and working and sometimes knitting.

Here is a pic of the sometimes knitting, it's the lovely sock yarn that I got from DH at Xmas.... made into Branching Out (doesn't everyone make scraves from their sock yarn??)



I did start swatching it for a sock, but I didn't like the way the colours were graduating. Plus to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of knitted socks (I'll go duck for cover now). I dunno, I just don't like how they feel on me feet.

Next on the hit list (don't everyone fall over from shock, I actually have something in the wings to nit next!) (although my lengthy absence has given me time to ponder...) is the fab Flair from Wendy. I love that is is right on fashion for this winter (I'm seeing little swing jackets everywhere in the shops) so now have to think about yarn and colours. Maybe grey? Maybe red? Hmmm....

But wait there's more! I also have to get started on a cutie baby knit for my friends upcoming bub. It's all hush hush though, she may be lurking out there...

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Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Huh...

I will be back soon with more to say I promise, but I just had to share this little tit-bit with you.

I am done on the length of the Print O' the Wave stole that is not a stole but a scarf.
Clearly I did not think this 'change a stole to a scarf' plan through, because in order to get it to scarf length I had to do 40 repeats instead of the recommended 14... (you lace knitters will know where I am going with this).
Next step in the pattern is to pick up sts around the edge to do the edging.

By my calculations, I only have to pick up a mere 1226 sts...

...no that is not a typo.

Butterfly is looking mighty tempting right about now.

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Long overdue

Let me tell something to you… (thanks to Robin Williams for that corker of a line from Happy Feet, Little Man likes to quote it to me daily) (and also, hi! I’m home!)
…. this blog moving business is a long old process. So long that I have given up waiting for the email and am writing this in word.

Oh hey, here I am!

So knitting! Yep, sometimes knitting gets done on this here blog, in between the procrastination and famous people gossip.
Look! Proof!



Close friends of ours are about to have their first baby. Like a red rag to a bull, telliing a knitter that a baby is coming...



This is from Baby Cashmerino 2 by Debbie Bliss, knitted in Zara (cause I love me some Zara for kids clothes).

I just had to do the little bunny, it was THE CUTEST.



And I love this button.



I mentioned a couple of posts ago that yarn was on the menu at christmas last year (along with a fabulous pavlova if I do say so myself). Here's the treats...




A sexy blend of silk/wool from Mystical Creation Yarns. Not as super soft as I would like (but you know my thoughts on what some people think is soft compared to what I think is soft.) But those colours! Divine.




These on the other hand, super soft. (from Ruby Sapphire yarns.



That's sportweight (or 8ply in terms that make sense)



and the sockweight

Tasty indeed. My husband knows the way to a knitters heart.

And here is some progress on my Print o' the Wave. Lace is a total and utter nightmare to take a picture of, so here check out this lump.



And I still think it's scratchy. If only I could have used my brain and used some of this from the stash shop, I reckon I would be onto a winner. That is, if it wasn't flying out of the store like it had grown wings.

So the tennis is over for another year. I am still getting over it, my sleeping patterms are still all over the shop and I am having trouble falling asleep before 3am. Obviously I am having Quizmania withdrawls (oh GOD I really hope not. Because that would be more tragic than watching Melrose Place). It was long and tiring, but different for me this year having more responsibilty and, being in the office, more social. It was weird to not work every second I'm at work like I usually do when editing (which I did at night, but the editing night shift at the tennis is a bit more relaxed). On to the next sport - AFL and V8's. And of course the horses (which are already being discussed). I laugh with a friend from work about the endless cycle we lead of tennis, horses and olympics every other year. We arrive at an event and say 'weren't we here only yesterday?'.