Knitting Beautiful Butterflies

Were Moving

2009-02-13T18:50:00.001+08:00

Boy Ive been gone for a long time...

But never fear now that I have a laptop again (welcome back world) we have moved on over for a new stage in our lives...come find me at Knit My Way

Numbers

2008-12-04T12:14:00.003+08:00

8 days before the removalists take our possessions, and travel with them *safely* for 4000 km.

15 days until we fly home

16 days until the engagement party

17 days until my brothers birthday

21 days of peace before christmas

26 days left to dream of the beach

27 days until new years eve

....

9 days since I started reading the Twilight series

8 days since I finished Twilight

7 days since I finished New Moon

3 days since I finished Eclipse

1 day since I purchased Breaking Dawn

....

0 stitches knit since I last posted

Bummer

2008-11-24T09:18:00.002+08:00

Its been a tough week.

1. My laptop is on the fritz...sometimes it turns on, sometimes it doesn't and everytime it does Im so excited to have it I forget to back up. And then it wont turn on again.

2. My less than 2yo more than $600.00 washing machine blew up last night. Yes I havent done any laundry in three weeks, yes I was on my last pair of everything, yes it was 9.00pm on Sunday night.

-No I am not looking very presentable at work today.

3. Its going to take 14 working days and more than $2000.00 to move our stuff back across the country. At an already expensive time of year.

4. Ive gained 2lbs. (eating cupcakes, but Ive finally settled on a winner for the engagement party)

5. I have to pack up my yarn and needles, and maybe not see them again for months.

6. Baby Cables and Big Ones too...is BIG......I assumed, using the recommended yarn and needles would allow me to get away without swatching. You know what they say about making assumptions...something about making an ass of yourself, in an attempt to save half an hour Ive cost myself a month. Somehow I was only getting 17st per 4in istead of 22 - this explains ALOT!

I spent sunday night, ripping a 75% completed baby cables, when I decided I really did want a jumper that fits this time.

Oh My

2008-11-17T12:40:00.007+08:00

Not only havent I been blogging, Ive also hardly turned the laptop on the past few weeks, I havent signed into MSN, Ive barely touched ravelry and my google reader tells me I have over 50 posts to catch up on.

It was while catching up on these posts that I learned the new Twist Collective had been released and my...oh my...oh my some lovely items!!!

The first item to catch my eye was Vivian, and I was not surprised to see she was designed by Ysolda Teague.

I love everything green right now, maybe it was the green, maybe it was the photography, maybe it was the cables but this has gone straight to the queue. (And maybe the yarn as a christmas gift)

Then there was Sweet Pea, surprise surprise another designer I adore...Kate Gilbert

I have been wanting to make the drops cardigan for some time, but I like this one more! And its in purple the only other colour Ive been obsessing this year...maybe it was the purple, maybe it was the pretty neck scarf who knows...its on the list

and such a bulky knit I could have this finished for our winter!

There are many more I would wear...but maybe not knit and for know these two are my instant heart throbbing faves.

Now to finish Little Birds and Baby Cables before christmas...thats my one and only goal

Goodbye Sydney

2008-11-17T06:56:00.001+08:00

Wow, I really bombed on the Nanoblopomo challenge huh?

November has been a crazy month, and it was very overambitious to expect 30 posts, best intentions aside I even pre-wrote a half dozen but never less it was not to be.

ALOT has happened this month, the big one....the decision and work transfer for boy to move back home to Western Australia!!! 14 months after our move to the Eastern States Im packing everything back up again and moving the 4000 km back to the other side of the country.

There is so much to think about and organise both at work and at home, it just really is insane!

All that aside, I’ve finished the body for Baby Cables and might still make the November deadline...but I doubt it.

Cables

2008-11-06T07:07:00.002+08:00

The cable chart reads from bottom to top, right to left.

Just so you know...third times the charm!

Frogs and Horses

2008-11-04T10:55:00.004+08:00

I did go to school, I did learn to read, I did learn to check everything before forging ahead...it did not sink it.

The first 20 rows of my lovely baby cables sweater have been frogged during lunch today, its only 20 rows you say but this baby is a real pain to set up for, all the spacing and markers is a nightmare. I was knitting the cables upside down, to those casting on in the near future for this sweater the beginning of the cable is at the bottom of the chart

Its Melbourne Cup day, who is your money on?

I have Zipping and Mad Rush...fingers crossed...my little sister who is a stable hand with a very successful trainer assures me Damien Olivers ride looks good.

the wannabe over-acheiver

2008-11-03T05:47:00.007+08:00

I did something silly....I signed up for NaKniSweMo. only a few days late.

The requirement...to knit a sweater of at least 50,000 stitches during November.

I had already picked a pattern, and my yarn arrived this morning...but still a whole sweater in what is turning out to be the busiest month of my year?

...Maybe

Anywho the sweater...is Baby Cables and Big Ones too.

The Yarn...is Jaegar Extra Fine Merino in Flannel

This month is just so busy, we finished basketball undefeated

Thats us at the top...check out the difference in percentage, so we have at least one final, maybe two if we get through the semi's to come.

That means one night possibly two and a weekend of BIG celebrations.

I have more houseguests coming...

I have a glove design that I am busy perfecting, for a possible publication submission...

We are busy planning our three week holiday home, a beachside weekend away is a must, not to mention all the hoohah of the engagement party

Busy Busy Busy I guess I always wanted to be an overacheiver and this month is my chance

Its our party we can do what we want to!

2008-11-02T09:23:00.004+08:00

Im so excited for our christmas holidays this year.

We both have three weeks off, which will be spent lazing in the sun, enjoying bbq's, relaxing in the pool, celebrating our engagement (finally) and just generally having a good time with family and friends back home.

With time flying by this morning I set out to finally make a start on and finish our invitations.

Luckily its going to be a small party otherwise I would have been here all day! As it is, the 40 odd invitations took a good few hours.

And now back to the knitting, I was up all night with a pattern idea, I cant wait to get started on.

November 1

2008-11-01T15:50:00.003+08:00

Well its here the first of November, a month of daily blog posts (yelp)

So lets kick off with the latest project.

Having finished Jasmins lace ribbon last weekend I immediately cast on for my little birds cardigan. Its been a very hectic week in this neck of the woods with work functions and the final basketball game before our finals and we finished undefeated! So there isnt much more than ribbing to show you...

And the 1st of November has fallen on a Saturday here in Australia, with summer coming we enjoyed spending the day walking through Hyde Park enjoying the atmosphere of the food and wine fair, followed by a little shopping stocking up on necessities like short shorts and t-shirts.

Sprung with an FO

2008-10-29T08:35:00.006+08:00

Ok so while I wanted to wait until November 1, to kick of November with a bang. And while I wanted to wait until Jasmin had this little peice securely in her hands....but I am rather dim, posting a picture on my facebook forgetting that like many millions of people Jasmin has a facebook (duh)

So sorry about that Jas!! - But I needed a new profile pic and I loved this one :(

So here it is the finished Lace Ribbon, in all her glory.

This is a simple pattern of yarn overs and decreases that once worked, gives a lovely effect. I love this pattern, its simple, easily memorised, and with the Malabrigo Lace the end result is devine.

But there are quite a few mistakes, the simplicity of this pattern confused my poor little brain, and I am a terrible frogger...so you will notice in some parts that the pattern is not quite correct as I guessed and figured my way through the rows where I came up short.

The Malabrigo also tangles easily (or Im just not good at 2ply knitting) so I often had to break the yarn just to move forwards, and this one...well it took a loooong time to finish almost 2 months.

That being said this is an insanely popular pattern with over 2000 FO's on Ravelry and its been sitting in my queue since it was released all those months ago.

The Stats

Pattern: Lace Ribbon - Veronik Avery
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace in Emerald 1 Skein
Needles: 4.00mm
Time Taken: Just shy of 2 months
Mods: Worked three rows garter stitch at either end, larger needles
Love level - Off the Charts

I hope Jasmin loves it as much as I do...I simply must start working on mine again now...because I really want one

not title worthy...

2008-10-27T08:40:00.001+08:00

October was a quiet month, but a busy month...perhaps that is why October was so quiet?

I am in the enviable position (I even envy myself) of having quite a few post ideas in the back of my mind.

In short I feel the need over the next month (yes I’m saving all my content for November...how else will I get a post each day) to mention and remind myself now of a few things;

-socks or lack there of
-tools of the trade
-the wip pile
-the ever growing queue
-a few techniques Ive learned and mastered
-an FO
- some lovely blogs Ive been reading
-favourites
-university enrolments
-home sickness
-christmas and the engagement party
-cupcakes and the undoubted weight gain
-fable

The list of possible posts continues to grow at about the same pace as my queue lets see how many make it here *winks*

In the Post

2008-10-25T11:45:00.001+08:00

More details to come once I know this has reached its recipient.

For now heres a sneak peak!

30 for November

2008-10-21T07:29:00.000+08:00

Post Number 94 and an FO

2008-10-18T07:43:00.008+08:00

Eep I seem to have been sitting on 93 posts for some time, my blogging and knitting mojo having been swept to the side as my mind runs away with the excitement of our engagement party, booking our flights home for christmas, and general work and life craziness. But its ok because I bring you post 94 with the first FO for awhile and a promise that a certain someones lace ribbon scarf is being worked on religiously and growing each day.

So with that I bring you my version of Corona...

A quick and easy knit, actual knitting time was minimal and the endless stockingette was perfect for the foreign language films I have been devouring of late. Knit from the bottom up in worsted weight yarn, simple waist decreases and bust increases, the arms are knit seperately (duh) andjoined on your way up, with decreases to form the shaping, the underarm is then grafted as is the hood.

I swatched for this one, as I wanted to ensure I had a wearbale garment, that being said it is once again too big! But its my own fault for not trying it on more often I tend to knit blindly being too scared to find out whats going to happen until the end. In particular the arms and waist ribbing are the worse offenders.

The decreases are messy, I think this could be because for the most part you decrease each row, if I was to knit this again I would possibly try decreasing more stitches each row and knitting one or even two non decrease rows in between. You can see the messy decreases in this photo...

I would use a smaller needle size for the ribbing also, as it looks kind of floppy. And someone with my figure does not need extra bulk around the hips

I would also knit the hood a little deeper, once again my own fault somehow I ended up with ten too few stitches and I have a gigantic noggin anyhow.

So time for the stats:

Pattern: Corona
Size: 34
Yarn: Rowan Summer Tweed Aran 6 skeins colour lilac
Needles: Denise interchangables 4.5mm
Mods: None this time

Something else to mention, this jumper is like a pair of your fave jeans, fits just right in the morning and after an hour or so of wear it stretches like there is no tomorow.

This will be a great house jumper, the comfort item in the wardrobe, perfect for early morning breakfasts on the roof and naps in the spring sunshine

when everyone is gone...

2008-10-06T15:07:00.004+08:00

The houseguest is gone, and so too is H2B away on business all week *pouts* having left within a few hours of each other the day was mine, and making the most of it...

here is a sneak peak of my next project...

Im all swatched and ready, but first I want to finish a few things.

Procrastination...

2008-10-06T14:26:00.004+08:00

Im a procrastinator...a BIG one!!

So when Kae posted the link to an Australian online yarn store that I had not discovered I was very excited...what better to waste time while I am stuck at my desk than dreaming off all the projects I could knit.

I was very surprised to find my Thicket welcome parcel waiting for me on my desk the other day...pronto service!

and instantly I fell in love with the tweed, its Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed in colour potpurri *swoons* also pictured is the Soho Summer DK cotton and the Rare Comfort Kid Mohair.

But the tweed, oh the tweed...so many things I would love to knit with this yarn and in this particular colour; top of the list is a Morningside Neckwarmer and Drops 103-1

So off I go to dream some more, and finish off the remainder of my eggwhite, spinach and tomato omelette...I pick around the spinach - seems kind of pointless to even put it in there, but it makes me feel all rightious and it makes the omelette look more satisfying in any case.

Saturday is...

2008-10-04T13:46:00.002+08:00

...

Movies to knit to and finishing a trashy novel.

1. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (stockingette here I come)
2. Hey Hey Its Esther Blueberger (easy to concentrat on Lace Ribbon) and also v.funny
3. Definately Maybe (another no brainer!)

Loving & Learning

2008-10-02T07:52:00.005+08:00

Happy Thursday everyone!

I have learned a few things this week, just little things like;

-The answer to two trivia questions was not One Tree Hill as much as Id like them to be. (We still won the trivia quiz by the way...without my imput)

-I want to make my 'career' knitting, baking, general house wife (but have no idea how)

-I like to change my blog - and this means I lose all my previous comments (sorry!!)

-I feel I am one of the only people who enjoys working with Rowan Summer Tweed.

Lets elaborate on the last point, it all started some months ago when I purchased a garments worth of Rowan Summer Tweed on Ebay, with the intention of knitting either the Rosemary Swing Jacket or the Farrow Rib Jacket.

After winning the Ebay bid, I slipped over to Ravelry and conducted a little market research, it seems this yarn is not so popular with the Ravelry population (perhaps why it was so cheap on Ebay?)

The complaints varied, the yarn splits and breaks easily, the silk was rough on the hands, the finished texture was undesirable etc etc etc

So with much distress I opened my package to find a lovely shade of lilac and yes I could already sense that this would be torture for my hands, and I could see the pre-wound ball had lots of knots in it so clearly it did break easily (and the seller did not know of the Russian Join!)

But I loved it all the same *shrug*

After swatching for both and knitting a good 20% of Rosemary my worst fears were realised... I really didnt like the textured stitch pattern with the tweed. It looked kind of murkey and icky - alas there is no picture to show you because I was always waiting until the item looked better *bigger shrug*

But in simple stockingette, there is much love...much much much love.

The colour blooms, the texture is devine, the resulting fabric structured yet has lovely drape. I want more! Like a kid at the candy store, I want this yarn in every flavour.

Spring Cleaning

2008-09-28T19:15:00.004+08:00

Saturday morning was;

1. Cleaning out cupboards
2. Filing a years worth of paperwork
3. Finding, pulling out, sorting, photographing, raveling, destashing my stash
4. Re-packing and organising my stash (thats it in those boxes/grocery bags)
5. Finding a new home for my stash as previous hiding spot had been filled with the boxes of the years worth of paperwork.

Saturday afternoon was;

1. AFL grandfinal
2. Winning $90 on AFL grandfinal results (yay for gambling)
3. Sushi
4. 5 repeats on Emerald Ribbon

Sunday was;

1. Xbox and left over thai for breakfast
2. A sleeve on Carona
3. Adding to my stash through Ravelry and Ebay
4. Realising we wasted a 33 degree day indoors

on houseguests...

2008-09-26T12:28:00.004+08:00

As of monday I will once again have a houseguest.

Before Monday we have the AFL Grand Final, and a weekend forecast of 25C and Sun Sun Sun

Our friend and H2B's best man will be sleeping on our very comfy couch for an entire week. I love BM to death he is fantastic but I am selfishly concerned for what this will mean for my knitting time.

Normally is H2B has a friend staying with us I can escape to the bedroom and secretly catch up on my trashy tv while knitting uninterupted, while they amuse themselves doing geeky I mean blokey things like playstation, and xbox, and drinking, and eating!

But BM is different, there will be drinking, and eating, and sight seeing for all three of us. This blog has quickly slumped to a weekly edition, I fear it may sink as low as fortnightly, if I dont get my priorities in order.

That being said there has been knitting, just nothing to show.

Would you like to see more stockingette?

Would you like to see the same scarf repeat over and over?

...actually I love seeing stockingette and same repeats on other peoples blogs *giggle* I just cant be bothered posting it.

Spring into Saturday

2008-09-20T12:53:00.005+08:00

I must be nuts...knitting two of these at once!

This is the second Lace Ribbon scarf on my needles at the moment, this one is a gift so I wont be showing too many photos. Both scarves are being knit with Malabrigo Lace, gosh how I love this stuff!!!!

The colour in real life is slightly more green, but the sun came out to play today...whoo hoo 30 degrees and I nabbed myself a seat on the roof!

Having been swatching all week, and procrastinating on the correct size to knit, Ive finally cast on for my Corona sweater, the yarn is Rowan Summer Tweed colour Lilac, which I purchased from Ebay months ago for the Rosemary Cardi. Since frogging Rosemary it has languished in my stash cupboard waiting for the perfect project. Until today I did not fully appreciate this yarn. The tweediness is devine, and went somewhat unrecognised in the dim light of my apartment. But having seen it in all its sunfilled glory I think Im in love.

Not much to show really, just a whole heap of ribbing and stockingette

Swatching

2008-09-20T12:47:00.004+08:00

So...I finally learned the importance of swatching, and double checking your swatch.

This week I spent my lunch breaks swatching, for Corona and re-swatching for Cherry.

I am now confident both garments should fit!

no excuses

2008-09-18T14:20:00.001+08:00

you cant blog about knitting if there hasnt been any knitting...

see more puppies

Friday Thoughts

2008-09-12T08:12:00.004+08:00

The sun is shining the birds are twirping,and as mum tells me the ground is getting dustier and dustier (hello dry spell) my mind starts to panic a little. This morning I sit here and I look at my queue and my favourites list and Im not sure where to go from here.

It is spring, and summer will be here before we know it. If you have been following my queue you will be a little confused, one day I like lace projects the next I am hitting that little green button on an Aran Sweater...I just dont know what to do. I have yarn for many projects, fingering, 8ply, aran weight, I really want to start little birds, and another cherry cardigan, but I have to make a decision.

Do I knit through spring and summer, with warmer fabrics and as a result have items I can actually wear next winter. Or do I potter away on lace cardi's and scarves and wraps in preperation for summer, when I doubt Ill be wearing any of it anyhow.

And with the last Cherry disaster Im confused, what size do I knit! My bust is 34.5inch but my weist is 26.5 inch thats a big difference, and look how big cherry turned out!!! Obviously knitting a size 36" is silly and from now on I would only consider a 34" but should I be knitting smaller still???? All this talk of negative and positive ease...I understand it I really do but I cant seem to apply it correctly :(

I have two projects on the needles, my lace ribbon scarf in red and a second lace ribbon scarf in emerald. Both malabrigo lace weight both lovely but two at once that was a little ambitious. As one is a gift for Jasmin this receives top priority and is all I have been working on. Rather slowly though I'm sorry to admit.

I have two sweaters I am ready to swatch for and my queue grows each day.

Today is Friday, for that I am glad

Over to you Mum

2008-09-10T07:13:00.004+08:00

Pattern: Cherry
Size: 36 inch
Yarn: Jo Sharp DK Soho Cotton
Colour: Thyme
Needles: 3.25mm and 4.0mm
Time taken 18 days

So there were lots of things I was going to say about this piece when I was typing my imaginary blog post last night. The one thing that comes to mind is BIG!!!!! With a capital B.

I’m not sure what happened, I was getting gauge, I blocked to the specified size, I was really careful while seaming...but I suppose the 2kg I’ve lost since starting this, and the inch I’ve lost off both my bust and my waist played a big part in it being too big. When I measured back on the 18th August my bust was 35.5inches....to have a comfortable top I decided to go with the size 36 and have 1.5 inch of ease...I guess with the weight loss that 1.5 inches turned into 2.5 inches and with the heaviness of the cotton it just didn’t work.

My seaming isn’t perfect, but it was my first time seaming I chose the Mattress Stitch and it is easier than I thought. I also learned a new join, the Russian Join and will use this from now on. It is much more invisible and sturdier than my previous method which we shall not mention.

As Winnie said, this garment really knit itself. I had big troubles at the beginning and you can see they carried through. For the life of me I could not get the slipped stitches in the cable pattern to correspond with the cable row – I’m assuming that is what has caused the holes in the middle of the cable. – Did anyone else have holes? Any ideas how I can avoid them??????? And why on earth when I was following the pattern exactly could I not get them to line up

I ask because I am going to knit another, the boy loved the top, highlighting that it was a great pattern and really attractive – he then came up behind me and pulled in all the excess fabric, saying if it looked like this!

After berating me over my bowl of lentil and vegetable soup – might I say yum! Boy suggested sending the top to my mum. And he has a good point she will love that I knit this, she might not notice the mistakes and if she does she wont complain. It will sit nicely folded in her cupboard along with the wrap I made her for mothersday.

All in all I did enjoy knitting this. The euphoria as each individual piece was finished and I realised just how much I have learned this year. For example I actually fixed a dropped stitch without unravelling!!!! – That’s a biggy!!!

WIP Cherry

2008-09-07T08:54:00.000+08:00

One Step Closer...

and then we were 5 again

2008-09-05T08:43:00.003+08:00

While browsing the interwebs last night, and remembering our childhoods we came across these...

Part 1.

Part 2.

Go on...collapse in a giggling fit.

We sure did!

P.S. - There has been knitting happening! Im hoping to have the final peice of Cherry finished this weekend, so I can block and start seaming...fingers crossed we might actually have an FO to discuss some time next week. ~ shhhh lets not jinx it

Couch Dynamics

2008-09-03T08:07:00.003+08:00

This is my couch....

Well no actually this is a picture of my couch from the Ikea website, this is a wonderful couch, the bit between the chase and the arm on the other side folds out, so really it is just a big ginormous day bed that is really nice to stretch out on. It fits both the boy and I, I may be a tiny 5’4 but he is 6’2 and we can both stretch our legs out.

Anyway the point of this post is to discuss the couch dynamics and the loss of knitting productivity.

A few months ago, before we purchased this new lounge Daniel and I had separate lounges, there was not enough room on either lounge for us to sit comfortably together. As a result while watching tv I had loads of knitting time, he had loads of working/net surfing/xbox playing time.

But now that we share a couch, even though we have lots of room, we have started doing more together, and I don’t mean fun time kinky activities, I mean choosing a tv show we both like to watch, snuggling up to watch a movie under the blankets, playing board games...because yes you can fit a board game on the lounge even with our legs spread out!

I am less inclined to pick up my knitting and more inclined to snack on chocolate and get my daily snuggles.

Even if I do knit and he plays his game, last night for example, I only knit for a short time before the nook under his arm looks mighty inviting, and the game is switched off, the knitting stored and we are snuggling once more, this time to an SBS documentary on Cory Booker and Sharpe James battling for mayor in Newark New Jersey. Ive never heard of Newark, but those cuddles were nice and the documentary interesting.

What am I going to do...I might never have an FO to show again...

This is a weekend...

2008-09-01T06:47:00.002+08:00

1. VIP tickets to Cirque Du Soleil
2. Lots of tea and freshly baked biscuits
3. A completed back, left sleeve and half of the left front panel of cherry

How was your weekend?

Weekend WIPS

2008-08-25T08:38:00.006+08:00

As promised there was knitting this weekend. See that there that’s an actual WIP

Knitting and lots of Olympic games watching...to all hours of the morning. Yes I stayed up to watch the Opals vs. USA, only to be bitterly disappointed with the level of basketball played.

Seriously...you score 14 from 55 shots on goal in the one qtr during an Olympic Gold Medal match and you want more money from our government ???

Anyhow, all this late night knitting did little for progress on my Cherry cardigan I have included a little graph to show you just how successful the 6 hours Friday night, 6 hours Saturday night and then the 8 hours on Sunday really was!

I was having major problems in over thinking this pattern. Note to self...read the entire pattern before casting on, frogging, casting on, frogging, casting on, frogging, casting on, frogging and finally casting on with still some hesitation, and then ripping back 5 rows on Sunday morning after Saturday nights hissy fit.

But now that I have realised that this pattern is not knit all in one piece, and so the cables on the back will not be symmetrical on each side...because it is the back and not the back and both fronts...and I have stopped panicking about how small this cardigan is...hello it is just the back! I am much happier.

I must admit I do love the colour, thyme...I must have been channelling my Australian Olympic spirit when purchasing this yarn the other week.

And here is a glimpse of the slowly progressing lace ribbon scarf. I love knitting this scarf, and the malabrigo lace is devine!!! It is knitting up surprisingly quickly considering its lace weight yarn on 3.75mm needles...

There once was a pair of mittens

2008-08-21T13:02:00.006+08:00

Remember how I posted about the final pair of fetching mittens?

How I never wanted to knit even a single fetching mitten again?

Well...it seems one of my fetching got itself lost...somewhere in a pub I'd say because it was a boozy week - that week where no knitting was done. I left my mittens with my friend as I did not want to get grimey pokey machine germs on them...and we had a great night, the pokey machine and I...but alas my mitten must have been upset with the length of time and level of love I developed for this dirty grotty machine (that gave me $25.00) *insert cheeky grin*

The next morning I awoke to gather post boozy night breakfast ingrediants and my mitten was gone *insert crying emoticon* I searched all our pockets, all our purses, all our belongings...but the sad little mitten was not to be found.

So I have maybe just enough yarn to knit a friend for my one remaining mitten, but Fetching mittens were worn often and far, and I fear another mitten will be too shiny and new for her first abandoned mate...and the mittens will not live as a happy pair *shrugs*

So I shall just knit new mittens, and store the abandoned mitten away in the vacpack goodness that is my tossed clothing pile, and maybe she will find an odd sock to mingle with

Under Construction

2008-08-21T11:27:00.002+08:00

If your having troubles viewing my blog today, its because I am implementing some much delayed updates.

Keep an eye out for the new layout etc etc and a very much needed update to 'peeps'

This weekend will be...

2008-08-20T07:41:00.002+08:00

I have big plans for this weekend.

I am going to actually knit!!!

This week has been a flop, not managing anything more than going to work, the gym and collapsing at home in front of the Olympics.

But this weekend....this weekend I shall knit

I am going to the Sydney Stitches and Craft show, and participating in a socks on magic loop class *squeals* and then when I return I shall really start working on little birds and cherry. I shall cast on for both, I need cherry to give me confidence with little birds but who knows.

I shall just cast on and let the Olympics and the knitting and the tea...oh I must stop in at T2 in preparation for this weekend, carry me away to a place where I am not tired, where my muscles are not exhausted, where I actually have an ounce of motivation, and where those lovely choc chip walnut oat biscuits bake themselves.

Speaking of baking I was a phenomenal house wife last weekend baking two masterpieces that have been much loved in both Daniels and my own belly...Try these recipes for quick bakery goodness

Oatmeal Choc Chip and Pecan Cookies – I used walnuts!
Muesli Muffins – I used tropical muesli!

Sniffles and Stuff Like That

2008-08-17T17:31:00.005+08:00

My head is pounding, my throat is scatchy...I'm sick!

To make matters worse we lost our basketball semi final and I was poked in the eye four days later it still hurts, bruises are showing up everywhere from the rough and tumble game it was...I feel terrible and want to curl up and die.

Ok so Im being a little dramatic, but I do feel like death and there is very very little knitting going on here in Robyn's world!

Here is a sneak peak of my lace ribbon...two repeats in and Im so glad for having used life lines...I have a terrible memory of late and I continue to forget to yarn over...duh

ETA: Ive had to edit this four times for spelling...sorry if Ive missed any :)

Post Secret

2008-08-12T10:57:00.001+08:00

The best post secret ever

Knit for Life

2008-08-11T14:54:00.002+08:00

Ive just stumbled across this organisation and I want to know more.

Off I go...to google it

The dollar falls, as my stash grows

2008-08-11T13:17:00.004+08:00

My yarn arrived today for little birds. I decided on the same colours as in the original knitted item, but in different shades and intensities. The colours look great in real life, and Im quite excited to jump right in and start on her...

But...am I scared of colour work? am I scared of steeking?

Of course I am...terrifiend actually but still you dont learn if you dont jump in and hey...I had to learn eventually.

But my excitement over a parcel was quickly diminished by the realisation that the aussie dollar had dropped again down from around 97US cents to a measly 86US cents...while patterns are still very affordable...$7US because $8.09AU Im still a little bummed by our failing economy.

The adventures of Myrtle

2008-08-11T07:25:00.008+08:00

Kings Cross

Harry's Cafe - Woolloomooloo

Darlinghurst

Luna Park

Luna Park 2

The stats:
Pattern: Myrtle Hat - otherwise known as slouchy copy cat hat
Yarn:Malabrigo Paris Night less than 1 skein
Needles: 4mm and 5mm
Time Taken: One or Two nights knitting
Mods: Pom Pom addition

A really easy quick knit that is a great practical and warm FO. I love this little peice and have worn her all weekend!

WIP Wednesday

2008-08-06T05:52:00.005+08:00

My latest obsession seems to be hats!

This one is the slouchy copy cat hat remarkably similar to the one I had in my mind that I wanted to knit, so rather than fiddling about with my stitchionaries I knit this one instead. Its almost done only a few little things that need tidying up, and then I will try and have a good FO shoot to show her in full glory.

Rosemary is still sitting on my lounge room floor, today I will put her in the cupboard. While I am still working on her there are much more exciting projects swimming through my head, a pair of fingerless gloves of my own creation, more hats, red ribbon, little birds is still fluttering around up there.

Too many autumn patterns not enough time

Little Bird Love

2008-08-05T08:56:00.004+08:00

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Autumn? Has anyone else noticed the abundance of new wonderful must knit right now patterns? I think I have found the season who stole my knitting mojo. While my knitting is usually 70% successful and that is being generous, I love to spend my free time browsing lovely patterns and loving colours and feeling inspired, the more inspired I feel the more successful my knitting goes.

Then came the Northern Hemisphere Summer – patterns were in the most part blah (not to everyone just to me) I’m not a big fan of knitted tanks etc or even bright colours to be honest... when I think knitting I think thick yarn, warm and cuddly, jumpers, scarves, hats, gloves, socks, the warmer and softer the better.

Then came Autumn, and I feel inspired once more, Ive already shown you a snippet of Rowan and Phildar’s offerings this season, but I have found the new must knit this now pattern, before it gets too warm to play with wool. I introduce to you Little Birds by Ysolda Teague, for the most part I love Ysolda’s patterns but there is something about this one that has made me abandon all pretence of working and start searching Bendi for suitable colours, searching for comments and threads on ravelry and sitting longingly at my desk wishing for it to be Autumn here in Australia so I could properly wear this item.

But why panic, at the speed I knit and with my diminishing success rate, not to mention the construction on this one looks tricky, and it has colour work – shoot me now – it will probably be Autumn 2009 before I can even wear her.

Much Love for Little Birds!

Fo- Katoomba Knucks

2008-08-04T07:18:00.003+08:00

I worked frantically on these all week. And Im so glad I did with the warmest temperature being 7 degrees this weekend. Daniels hands were nice and toasty warm. These are much warmer than the fetching mittens I was wearing myself!

Details-
Pattern: Knucks - Rav Link Im being lazy!
Yarn : Filatura Di Crosa Zara in Charcoal
Needles: Knit Picks Harmony 3.5mm
Mods: Heaps of mods on these as I suspect I was having serious gauge issues! I shortened the pattern to one increase row one knit row eliminating the second knit row and repeated this for each gusset increase. I also k2tog and ssk on all three repeats after the thumb gussett before starting 10 rows of ribbing.

Im still not 100% happy with how these turned out, but they did the job for the weekend and I want to try a few other small mods when I knit my pair.

What a weekend looks like without knitting...

2008-08-04T07:10:00.007+08:00

Friday

2008-08-01T11:17:00.001+08:00

I have knitting to show you all, both and FO and a couple of WIP's but you shall have to wait until Monday because Im off to the mountains for the weekend.

Love Love and please cross your fingers for snow :)

WIP Wednesday

2008-07-30T07:32:00.011+08:00

I have WIP to show you on WIP Wednesday, but I haven’t taken a picture.

I started Daniels Knucks for the second time last night and with a few modifications they are passable, while still not 100% happy with them. I beleive I’m having gauge issues –eyeroll- but he likes them well enough, even if he is a little resentful after I had him try them on a gazillion times. So one mitten down and one to go before the weekend.

Rosemary has stalled, she hasnt even received a glance all week either, I may carry her with me this weekend and work on her while we are driving. Lucky us having rented a car and GPS will be heading off to the blue mountains for the weekend, I’m so excited and praying for snow ( only get 5 snow days a year) Snow hasn't been forecast but Im hopeful.

Before then I would love to work on the hat I have been pondering, and possibly knit a pair of knucks for myself, by golly they are expecting the warmest temperature to be 6 degrees Celsius, that would be the coldest I’ve ever experienced.

So I leave you this morning with some recent inspiration, we all have to work a little harder sometimes to get our mojo mojoing looking at pretty knitted things is the best way to inspire.

A mixture of Rowan and Phildar Autumn Love...ok so the first picture was for the pug :)

Nothing Knitting

2008-07-27T20:19:00.003+08:00

View from the Gap of Sydney

Hmpf

2008-07-27T19:50:00.003+08:00

Im in a big knitting slump...rosemary is talking forever and Im only a few repeat rows in, I started a pair of knucks today for Daniel and they were disastrous, I finished one only to realise it needed frogging, and cant even frog it properly. Its days like these I act like my shoe size and throw a tantrum...I dont even want to think about knitting let alone start knitting the slouch I have been designing. I'm scared to start incase I end up dissapointed again...I know just keep on going, I know I cant quit...and I dont want to - but Im just feeling a little deflated tonight and need to vent such frustrations.

you know your home alone when...

2008-07-19T22:05:00.003+08:00

...you fall asleep and wake a few minutes later to find your knitting in the bed next to you...

but now I cant go back to sleep

nighty night all...and sweet dreams

Scrumptious Saturdays

2008-07-19T19:27:00.004+08:00

Ive had a wonderful Saturday. I slept late, went lunching with a friend visiting from Perth to the most devine little cafe/bakery called Taste.

During the daylight hours it is a bakery and cafe with the best rye baguettes Ive ever tasted by nightfall it transforms into a thai resteraunt. I particularly love the back courtyard which is small and picturesque and completely blocked out from the world - well apart from the constant army and police helicopters that have been circling day and night thanks to WYD

After lunch we walked through Hyde Park to ogle the madness that is WYD where we departed as I headed for the station and she headed for the train. I didnt end up taking a train at the station as that lovely WYD had disrupted the line I wanted. Instead I browsed the shops before heading home.

Ive had a lovely dinner of mushroom and chicken risotto while casting on for the Rosemary Swing Jacket

I am using the yarn I purchased for the Farrow Rib Cardigan Rowan Summer Tweed in Lilac. The tweediness really did not work with the stitch pattern in the Farrow Rib so I frogged and moved on to Rosemary.

Taking a break from all that Moss Stitch I have completed three of the six tax returns I shall be doing this year, and have now settled into bed with my knitting, a cup of tea and the movie War and Peace

Tomorow shall be equally as wonderful, I plan on taking my knitting on an outing, Im considering the opera bar, the lowenbrau, or pancakes on the rocks you see Im home alone this weekend and as much as I love my apartment I grow very tired of being here alone, and find that I can go a hole day without saying a single word...as poor Morena discovered today as I absolutely talked her ear off :) sorry Mors.

All in all its been a wonderful Saturday and I am looking forward to waking early tomorow and enjoying this amazing winter weather.

My new love

2008-07-13T12:37:00.004+08:00

Front

Lining

Back, and yes those are pyjama pants...its still sunday...

I love this jacket, she cost me more than my first car but its worth it...every girl has to have one true designer peice in their wardrobe and this is mine, its from the Boss Orange Range.

Fo Final Fetching

2008-07-13T12:33:00.005+08:00

These are called Final Fetching for a reason.

I never want to knit these again, thats three pairs off the needles now but these are the best by far, no thumb holes, good tension, no twisted stitches, and I knew the pattern back to front so they knit up really quickly only 1.5 days of knitting.

Details:

Pattern: Fetching
Yarn: Sublime Aran purple
Time Taken: 1.5 days

FO Delores Park Cowl

2008-07-13T12:28:00.003+08:00

Another FO to show this weekend.

The love factor isnt so high for this one, but it lovely and warm and smushy...seriously if you havn't used Malabrigo yet...you simply must!

Yep still scraggy oily hair...but its still sunday :)

Pattern: Delores Park Cowl
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted Paris Night .75 skein
Time taken: A few days

FO Clapotis

2008-07-13T12:19:00.004+08:00

You know how much I love her so here are some photos...yes my hair is scraggy and oily and Im in my pajamas...so sue me its Sunday

Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted Velvet Grapes, 3.5 skiens
Pattern: Clapotis
Time Taken: A little over a month, because I ran out of yarn

Bonjour

2008-07-09T21:24:00.001+08:00

Salut! (hi)

Je m’appelle Robyn (my name is Robyn)

Ive decided to learn French, so have downloaded a number of beginner podcasts

Comment ca va? (How are you?)

Ca va (Im ok)

Il pleut (its raining) today, and I got really wet going to and from basketball…but luckily I had my pod casts to keep me occupied.

I am on the hunt for good French movies, with English subtitles that I can knit away to…and looking forward to some time with my knitting, there hasn’t been nearly enough lately.

Au Revoir

...preview

2008-07-07T17:51:00.009+08:00

Ahem...I blame the below shakey photos on pre caffein jitters..apologies :)

Ms Marigold...

First We have a flattering photo...this is Ms Marigold how I always envisioned her to look, sleek, slimming, a lovely shade of purple...of course that is always a flattering angle...down...mind the puffy face though, this was first thing in the morning, and my excitement of a dry garment was quickly dissapearing

And then we have this shot...unfortuantly this is how she really looks...BIG...I wanted her to stretch I really did, but I wanted her to stretch down not out...the bust is just mammoth and gaping, it frumps around my belly(or that could be the 3kg Ive gained this year)...and Im not sure how to fix her, I had gauge perfectly and she fit perfectly, if not a little short before the block. Im not confident in ripping out the neckline ribbing and reknitting, I almost want to take my sewing machine to her but Im not sure what would work.

That being said I do love the pattern, and this was my first sweater.

I will have a think about what to do, or if anyone has a suggestion let me know I would gladly love to hear it...I will take a proper photo and give proper pattern stats when I fix her...because I really want to wear her to work :(

Clapotis...

And then we have the wonderful clapotis...Ive worn this every day last week and love it to death, it i soft and smooshy and wonderful and I just love love love malabrigo. This colourway is Velvet Grapes and it is just so devine. Once again this is just a preview because I want a nice shot of her to properly show her beauty.

Im so glad I frogged and re started this one, the drape is amazing and I just cant stop gushing over it.

I also picked up my new coat today, its been on layby since my birthday, and it is my first designer item...a Hugo Boss trench coat with the most amazing pink lining...pictures to come :)

Knitting with Audrey

2008-07-03T07:46:00.005+08:00

ABC 2 are running the Audrey Hepburn season on Friday Nights, I have recently fallen in love with Breakfast at Tiffany's actually I have fallen in love with Tiffany's in general...and Audrey is wonderful too of course.

So I am very excited to annouce I shall be knitting a ranch house along with Miss Golightly every Friday night...not that she will be Miss Golighty every Friday but I am sure that this is a wonderful way to spend a Friday night, knitting, Audrey, sparkling and thai food yum yum

Flat as a tack

2008-07-02T17:10:00.003+08:00

Ms Marigold is blocking!

Im a bit dissapointed with how messy the picked up stitches are, but it was my first attempt...Im not sure what I did wrong but I kept getting little holes

A Malabrigo Love Affair

2008-07-02T17:01:00.002+08:00

Velvet Grapes

Paris Night

I cant help myself I keep buying more!

Building a House of Yarn

2008-07-02T15:03:00.003+08:00

Ive been building my stash lately and my cupboard full of shoe boxes is about ready to explode. Here are some recent acquisitions, Rowan Summer Tweed, courtesy of EBAY...
And some Rowan Cash Soft Aran thanks to the Destash page on Ravelry. I seem to be in a bit of a Rowan mood lately In other crappy news my work place was burgled last night, we had been at a work event from 4.30pm and returned to the office at around 7.22pm (I checked my phone for the police report) to find the doors open with the locks broken and offices ransacked. The draws were open, the papers rifled the laptop stolen. I am understandably exhausted as by the time the locksmith and police had finished it was 10pm.

Today has been insane with contacting insurance, having the police dust the office for fingerprints, having our broken doors properly fixed not just make shift like last night. I really want to go home and just knit but I feel way to tired and mentally drained and somewhat disturbed to even try. There is something very uncomfortable about knowing your desk has been raided and that everything had been touched and someone had been in your office like that.

I will though go home and finally block Ms Marigold. SO that I can bring you some FO’s this weekend once I get out in the sunshine!

Mosaic Monday

2008-06-30T14:55:00.003+08:00

1. Mulberry On Swan, 2. bouquets_photo_47, 3. jk184433-1, 4. untitled, 5. bridesmaids_luci, 6. Gemma Gown, 7. veil, 8. ring

Sorry for the non related knitting post, I have lots of knitting to show you just no pictures as yet!

This weekend not only did I finish my clapotis but I also finished Ms Marigold, she needs a good blocking though.

But anyway for mosaic monday I thought Id bring to you a mosaic of what is on my mind...our wedding! These are my thoughts so far

10 Inventions That Have Made Life Easier

2008-06-24T09:47:00.003+08:00

Ten On Tuesday
1. Coming from a home that has no internet, my number one has to be internet. When I travel back to my parents I spend the whole time lost, because I have grown accustomed to such luxuries as msn, blogging, ravelry etc etc and that leads into number 2...

2. Ravelry, until I stumbled across ravelry, I was yes addicted to knitting but spent 90% percent of the time confused, muddled, and impatient. NOW life is a breeze and even those moments when I’m too tired to knit, or procrastinating at work...I can relax my mind with knitting chitter and chatter.

3. Interchangeable Needles, how did I only just find out about these...need I say more gauge swatching has never been so easy!

4. SMS, I miss my brother and sister so much, and as mentioned they don’t have internet...I am just a few moments away from telling them a funny story no matter where we are or how far apart we are. This drives my mum bonkers because I know everything before we have our weekly phone call.

5. Universal Remotes, at one point in time we had 7 remote controls littering our lounge room floor. The new sound system solved that problem with its universal remote!

6. Ikea, for all of those who live in an apartment, who live in the city, who thrive on convenience...ya just gotta love Ikea

7. Box Sets, be it Scrubs, Gilmore Girls, Sex and The City, That Seventies Show, Frasier, Dexter nothing passes a sleepy weekend better than a box set and a knitting project.

8. Heaters, because every office seems to be freezing no matter what time of year and a heater is a god send.

9. GHD’s, nothing compares to you!

10. MYOB my job would be way to hard without this wonderful little program.

A Tutorial on Tuesday

2008-06-23T18:20:00.011+08:00

Kool Aid Dyeing!

Empty 1 kool aid packet per 25grm of yarn into a saucepan with enough hot water to cover yarn.

Pre soak yarn in warm water, then place soaked yarn in dye bath, stirring constantly.

Continue boiling until water turns clear and all dye has been absorbed by the yarn

Wash yarn clear and Hang to dry!

Monday Musings

2008-06-23T14:40:00.001+08:00

I’ve had a bit of a bad run lately...I’ve frogged three projects, including two pairs of mittens and my best friend cardi...who was I kidding really. The best friend cardi is knit in a super chunky gauge and is a very frumpy cardigan, that is of course unless you are the size of Sarah Jessica Parker in the SATC movie, then it would be super stylish and totally gorgeous.

I’ve tried my hand at dyeing twice now. And am thoroughly disheartened, while I love the colour of my second attempt see previous post, the yarn was extremely tangled, (it arrived that way from ebay supplier) and only got worse in the dyeing process...even though I tied the hank carefully. I left it to dry almost a week, waiting very patiently and sat down on Sunday morning to start winding my skein. Urgh...literally 12 hours later I gave up in disgust and tossed the whole lot across the room. The yarn was just way too tangled to deal with and 12 hours of tedious twisting and turning and swearing and huffing just didn’t make for a fun Sunday.

Thus lace ribbon shall have to wait another day.

Good yarn news, yarnandkisses got her latest delivery of Malabrigo, hopefully mine will arrive this week, I ordered two skeins of the Purple Grapes to finish my clapotis which has been languishing at 20% for what feels like forever. And one skein of Paris Night – I think a cowl is on the mix for this one.

In other news Ive realised all my photos are taken at the worst possible time...as soon as Ive finished my WIP so either after a marathon mid weekend knitting session or late night, when hair is daggy makeup non existant and light dismal. I shall make a better effort with my photos and try and hold off on my finished excitement long enough to get a decent snap...planning a trip to the Blue Mountains will allow me to comfortably wear most of my knitted items, so I may change my new photos.

Thats all for Monday...its been a hell of a day at work, EOY in accounts is rather cumbersome...

xoxo

Robyn

Thats more like it!

2008-06-19T21:24:00.004+08:00

Second attempt at dyeing.

Yarn purchased off ebay, its a blend of 50% merino and 50% silk in a fingering weight. The dye is Landscape Acid Dye colour mustard!!!! :)

I dont think its an even dye...but it will be ok for the lace ribbon pattern that has been sitting in my rav queue since the day it was released! I can see some discolouration where the hank was tied, but that is my fault for tying them to tight??

I dyed this up tonight and then worked on my button wonderful...what a productive thursday night!

Anyhow cant wait until it is dry so I can get started!

FO: Button Wonderful

2008-06-19T21:06:00.004+08:00

Another daggy photo and another FO...proper photos will come this weekend with my new vow to include sydney scenery in my photos so in future I can look back and remember the days of sydney life

Yep...its my button wonderful, that turned out wonderfully large and instead of looking like a beanie its more of a slouchy hat...

Not much to say about this one, it was a really quick night of knitting and was good fun. so on to the stats

The important bits...

Pattern: Republic Hat - Rav Link
Yarn: Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic 12 ply
Colour: Elm
Needles: 6mm denise circs and 4.5mm dpns for last decrease.

After 11pm

2008-06-17T08:35:00.002+08:00

1. Do not start baking a chocolate cake
2. Do not cast on for a new knitting project
3. Do not abandon that knitting project 5 rows in out of confusion
4. Do not then cast on for another knitting project
5. Do not work 2 inches and then realise your at a crucial point so keep on knitting

After 12.30am
1. Do not eat now cooked chocolate cake
2. Continue knitting
3. Browse ravelry and queue even more projects

....

Because you wont go to the gym in the morning...and now a wedding date is set gym time is crucial!!!

Back in Business

2008-06-16T09:36:00.008+08:00

I may have taken an extended leave of absence from here but knitting has been happening in almost every waking moment.

That is when I wasnt jet skiing with dolphins or picnicking or outside playing with the dogs and riding my sisters horse through the rain and rock climbing the side of North Dandalup Dam or sitting delayed in Perth airport...

Thats right Ive jet setted back into the big smoke from a few days at my parents house/farm in Western Australia...it was a sneaky secret visit, that was spent being hounded by relatives consisting of both sets of grandparents, and of course my immediate family. Wow how people want to eat you up once your engaged...and Daniel wasnt even on holiday with me. My brother was on annual leave, my sister took time off school and it was just so wonderful to spend time with them.

The only horrible thing was not being able to see ANY of our friends, including my oldest friend from high school and bridesmaid (who doesn't know she is a bridesmaid yet) so I hope she isnt reading this.

Time was just too short, I did get a trip to spotlight in after begging mum to drive me, and picked up some cleckheaton 5ply perfect for the Gathered Pull Over and a massive amount of white baby wool perfect for dyeing.

But the point of this is I have a few FO's to show...(apologies for crappy camera phone pics)

A Beanie for Daniel...modelled by my sister

Specs:

Pattern - Cashmere Ribbed Beanie
Yarn - Bendigo Woollen Mills 8ply, Graphite
Needles - 4.5mm circs and 4.5mm dpns
Time Taken - 2 or so days on and off
Fingerless Mittens for Daniel...

These were my own pattern and are knit in the lovely Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran in colour Opal.

Specs:

Pattern- My Own
Yarn - Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran, Opal
Needles - 4.5mm dpns
Time Taken - 2 days knitting

Also Miss Marigold is almost finished I just have to pick up those pesky stitches around the neckline and arm holes...this is proving difficult and I am procrastinating and placing her in hibernation. She fits perfectly but makes me look quite frumpy if I do say so myself. Maybe once she is blocked and finished she will look a little more flattering.

Happy Birthday to Me!!

2008-06-05T13:13:00.008+08:00

Thankyou Daniel I love you so!

I cant wait for my weeks holiday of knitting

A dash of Tumeric

2008-05-30T19:16:00.004+08:00

After a few too many glass of sparkles one night I found myself ranting on the what I deamed, serious lack of 'mustard' coloured yarn. Why oh Why couldnt I find mustard when all I wanted was a 4ply alpaca blend to knit myself a lace ribbon!

This has led to some ponderings and tonight, while wasting away my Friday night in daggy trackpants and a battered and worn high school jumper I wandered into the what a kool way to dye forum courtesy of Ravelry.

Moments later I was scrounging through my kitchen and came up with Tumeric, an old saucepan, a brand new nice and sparkly white strainer...but what to dye???

Bendy magnolia aran weight it was...

what a smelly process, and my hands are slightly stained, luckily I took my ring off!!!!

I didnt have any vinegar, so I dont think the colour will be 'set' I also didnt tie my skeins properly so the result is a tangled mess of rusty yarn...but it is one step closer to my dream of mustard.

And the finished product...just a few strands, like I said the rest is a tangled mess!

I am now sourcing a mill so I can purchase some nicer yarns to work with and dye...I dont have room in my flat for a spinning wheel so it will have to be spun at the mill, and to start with I dont want to buy bulk. I cant find a nice 4ply alpaca blend on any of the websites mentioned on Rav but I shall keep looking and expand my future empire!

Ive always felt a fraud with knitting, my skills arent even nearly advanced to even think about designing any knit wear, I use cheap commercial yarn and it feels as if all my projects have been knit literaly thousands of times before me because I am so new to the knitting world. Tonight I have felt creative and energised and so incredibly enthusiastic towards my knitting...while it isnt my yarn because I havnt spun it...it is MY colour, that wont be repeated even if I tried!

My hands need a good moisturising now though, I can almost feel them cracking!

Ouch

2008-05-27T12:07:00.001+08:00

DPN's are pointy...

Don't leave them on your lounge room floor all sticky uppy...dont run through lounge room with them on the floor all sticky uppy...dont end up with DPN sticking out of your FOOT especially in that bit right under your toes...because it equals one big OUCH!

Oh No I dropped a stitch or two or three....

2008-05-22T20:53:00.006+08:00

I love this yarn so much...progress has been slow because everytime I finish a row...I stop and gaze lovingly at the beautifulness of it...and I cant help but drop every stitch and then gaze lovingly some more.

This is a more accurate representation of the colour...there is so little sunlight here at the moment its impossible to get good pictures.

I need more yarn...another skien or two...Im only 4 repeats into the straight repeats and am already through two skeins...and only have one left - big miscalculation there oops

lurking in the blogosphere

2008-05-15T12:43:00.001+08:00

Another new must read blog tentenknits...

Lovely FO's

Humerous witty banter

and a mmmmalabrigo lover!

More to me than knitting!

2008-05-14T18:15:00.002+08:00

It might not seem like it, but there is more to me than knitting. Until I became obsessed with knitting I used to read and read and read...

I play sport *winks* basketball is my passion and I have been playing for almost as long as Ive had EC.

I feel amazing after hitting the gym, shopping, and eating chocolate

AND I love to cook...tonight after work I hit the gym and made these little beauties...the first batch was way to thin...the next batch I burned and the last two biscuits are perfect!

Catching Clap Fever

2008-05-14T17:48:00.009+08:00

It has taken less than a year of serious knitting before I caught the urge to start clapotis. Clapotis is almost as infectious as the real clap...with 5814 projects on ravelry.

Actually it has been less than three months since I started Inca and thus my knitting revival and I have learned so much during this time!

Ive have expanded my skills from the basic knit, purl and have mastered increases including m1 kbf pbf yo, decreases including k2tog ssk , slipped stitches, dpns, circular needles and am even working my first sweater with Ms Marigold.

More pictures of Clappy...

Check out the yarn, its the much lusted after Malabrigo Worsted in Velvet Grapes. Alot of knitters have raved about this yarn, I was always a little tentative because the colourway isnt exactly even. But Im a convert, hand winding 3 100grm hanks into centre pull balls wasn't the most fun but I secretly I enjoyed.

One last picture of the lovely mmmmmmalabrigo...

lust...........

14 years 11 months old & Ms Marigold

2008-05-13T19:55:00.006+08:00

My baby...Elizabeth Charles otherwise known as EC is almost 15 years old!

I still remember the morning of my 7th birthday and the pure elation to see EC in his little box. EC made his claim to fame in a popular australian childrens show Lift Off, and it was love at first sight...

EC has been with me a long time and joined me in my travels from my childhood home, to my first apartment, and has now travelled to Sydney...he has been to the Western most point of Australia and lost his tshirt there, and well now Im on the east coast and he still takes pride position on our bed...much to Daniels dismay.

He is looking a little worse for wear, a hole in his foot from when I was learning not to suck my fingers, a bang on his head...and a stain on his leg from an age old blood nose.

But what is EC wearing you ask?

Well that would be Ms Marigold! No problems so far, but I have yet to reach the difficult part of casting on mid pattern and joining to knit the body, what you can see here is the front sections of the v neck and the top part of the back.

Not meant to be

2008-05-12T07:38:00.002+08:00

I finished one of my magnolia mittens, and after some pondering I decided I really didnt like it...long story short my mitten looked some what like a penis...yes you read that correctly...a penis. And it wasnt just me who thought so...I didnt say anything but took the mitten through to Daniel who burst out laughing and said something along the line of your not wearing penis mittens!!

I took pictures but havent loaded them...but really you dont need to see my penis mittens

He took great delight in frogging my mitten laughing rather hysterically the whole time.

This was a post about mittens.....before they joined the frog pond

2008-05-04T20:51:00.006+08:00

A lovely weekend knitting, has seen the completion of Kasi's smurf bashers...and the beginning of another pair of mitens this time for me....the first pair I've knit for myself.

This time round, I am knitting Newfoundland Mittens, from here on in known as Magnolia Mittens, I am working with Bendigo Woollen Mills Aran weight in colour??? You guessed it Magnolia. Im not working two colours as shown in the pattern, but feel some love for these mittens so once I finish my clapotis with the lovely marlabrigo...I will use whats left over to knit a second pair.

The pattern is very easy and knits up really quickly, this pattern has forced me to deal with my hatred of purling...it takes so long and feels unnatural, and has given me hand cramp because they are a very tight knit....

edit...I have been sitting here fondly gazing at my mittens and discovered a huge mistake!!! I now need to chant it with me now.....riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip it riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip it riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip it.

And then there was one...

2008-05-01T16:18:00.004+08:00

Kasi's smurf bashers are on there way to being done.

I changed out the strawberry red for the never ending ball of Debbie Bliss cashmerino in plum.

A confession

2008-04-28T21:04:00.002+08:00

I have nothing on my needles...

I need to start Kasi's mittens, I want to start Miss Marigold, Ive got my eye on both a new scarf and hat pattern, I promised a friend a scarf, and another friend a beanie...

But I havn't cast on for any projects...this is the first time all year there is nothing being knit...

I need to get up early tomorow and start something me thinks...or this rut could get scary!

What else happened on the long weekend?

2008-04-28T20:55:00.002+08:00

After four lovely years Daniel and I are now engaged!

A Weekend of FO's - Mothersday Wrap

2008-04-26T12:03:00.006+08:00

Finally finished blocking, and about to be shipped off back west for Mothersday.

I really hope mum loves this as much as I do..I want to knit another one for myself.

There was lots of 'new knitting' in this little one, lace knitting including yarn overs, k2tog etc etc

Pattern: Stolen Moments Wrap
Yarn: Bendigo Woollen Mills 12 Ply Rustic Elm 1.25 balls
Needles: 10mm

A weekend of FO's -Bainbridge Scarf

2008-04-26T11:51:00.004+08:00

And here is the first FO of the weekend, my Bainbridge Scarf!

A really quick and easy knit that took only an evening and a lunchbreak of knitting!

Stats: Bainbridge Scarf

Yarn: Jo Sharp DK Silk road Tweed in Butternut

Needles: 3.75mm circs

Button: Scabbed from an old jumper!

I will knit this over and over again, Ive made a small mod by adding one tie and a button rather than two ties...I will make it with two ties in a nice reddy purple colour next time!

Blocking Part Two

2008-04-24T20:25:00.001+08:00

My mothers day wrap is almost done!

Bainbridge Blues

2008-04-22T12:46:00.002+08:00

I had progress...lots and lots of progress to update everyone on.

I even had pictures!

I even had a new Guess the WIP blog post planned, but alas I have now none of those and shall jump right into the sad tale of Bainbridge.

I have been working on the Bainbridge scarf during my lunchbreaks working diligently an hour a day all week long, ok so three hours and I was almost done...I’m going to guestemate at about 75% well that’s where I would have been if ten minutes ago I hadn’t...

........

...amazingly realised that I had stupidly twisted my knitting...and here was I all smug and happy thinking ‘lalalala knitting on circs is sooo easy, knitting in the round is soooo easy....I’m flying along I’m going to finish this week and have two FO’s by next week lalalalala’

But no....

I now have headache caused by my mini tanti and an unevenly wound skein of Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed in Butternut!

I have shed an imaginary tear and jumped onto Ravelry to figure out just how NOT to twist my circular knitting!

FO - Asherton Reversible Scarf

2008-04-15T07:04:00.003+08:00

Blocking was successful :o) He is still a little smelly but Im sure a few sprays of Daniels cologne will change that!

The first picture is probably the most accurate colourwise...I havnt figured out how to use Daniels new camera properly yet *shrug*

I absolutely love the stitch definition in this scarf, and I have learned alot from knitting this peice, about stitch construction and recognition of stitches.

The Stats-

Pattern- Asherton Reversible Scarf

Yarn - Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic in Graphite 8ply

Needles- Sullivans 4mm

This was such an easy pattern, highly reccomended for beginners as all you are doing is alternating knit and purl stitches...but it is still entertaining none the less.

And So I Hold My Breath....

2008-04-13T17:56:00.006+08:00

...11 pattern repeats later 492 rows, 19680 stitches

...because at 7.56pm EST on Sunday night Asherton is finally blocking...

...and blocking is smelly, and I have never blocked before and I am terrified I have broken the darling Asherton that I have put hours of work into!

It took alot of convincing but Daniel finally agreed it was long enough, well I had to hold it up against my Fremantle Scarf to show him just how long it was, but I have bound off and am now waiting rather impatiently for it to dry.

I really struggled getting it straight, so I will probably have to block again but for now it rests in peace!

It doesnt look like much above in that picture, poor lighting and a dark colour dont mix too well for stand out photography...I cant wait to take him up to the roof and get some proper finished photos.

FO- Kasi's Calorimetry

2008-04-12T15:19:00.007+08:00

And the answer to Guess The WIP- Calorimetry...the third FO for the year and one that finished up very quickly and was enjoyable to knit! I see a few more of these stash bashers coming off the needles in time to come!

I made a few mods to this wonderful 'little' FO...I only cast on 80 stitches...and as a result it was waaaay too tiny...so I knit a small tube like band, on my dpns, and attached it across the bottom instead of the buttons you were supposed to use, so it looks like a thick headband now. I still want to add two cute buttons to the band, sometime before I have to post them off but getting to the button shop is not an easy task. Sometimes I really wished I lived in Newtown.

The stats....

Pattern - Calorimetry Knitty Winter 06

Yarn - Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in Plum

Needles - 4.5mm

In other knitting news, Im still working on Asherton, hopefully I will get it finished tonight... Daniel got a PS3 today...so plenty of uninterupted knitting time! My new lunch time knitting is another pair of fetching, the weirdest colour scheme you will ever see aqua blue and strawberry red...but hey...what tickles your boat...these are being knit as a special request and we really shall see how quickly I can knit a pair when having only an hour at a time!

Grandma Knit A Lot

2008-04-09T07:12:00.001+08:00

There have been a number of occasions where I have been referred to as the ‘grandma’ in our circle of friends due to my knitting obsession. And in all honesty for those who aren’t in the know, I can understand how the image of knitting and the old ill-shaped jumper can lead to that referral.

That’s why I’m so glad to have stumbled up on this great little place Meta Post Modern Knitting, I found it through a fellow bloggers post but I cant remember whose...I’m so sorry. This looks like it will be a great online newsletter/resource once it fully gets up and running.

And to that matter, has anyone noticed how many knit ware items are in the shops of late? None of them (Well in the shops I can afford to shop in) are of very high quality but all lovely none the less...it just gives me even more inspiration to finish Daniels scarf and be able to start on something a little more substantial.

I have been knitting up a storm, but alas have no photos...but then honestly do you need to see another photo of the unfinished Asherton...it looks the same as before just plus 9 or 10 pattern repeats. The pattern repeats are long in this one, 44 rows, 40 stitches per row....and did I mention how slow I knit!

And with the closing of this post I bring you Katyaflutes my latest inspirational knitter/blogger. I love her dollarandahalf cardi and she has some other wonderful FO’s

I stumbled across

2008-04-04T06:33:00.001+08:00

Happy College Knitter

I love how her personality seeps through her posts, and she has some wonderful FO's

Thanks to you happy college knitter, for your uber inspiration

Knitting, Notebooks and Whining Boyfriends

2008-04-04T06:15:00.003+08:00

I’ve been busy this week, lots happening in the knitting side of life and the non knitting side, Daniel has his 22nd Birthday this weekend and I've been run off my feet trying to get his present organised, this is a hard time to be living on the other side of the country from your parents, the lonliness sets in so I'm trying to make it extra special!

I’ve been adding inches to Asherton, Daniel wants a LOOOOONG scarf, *delete expletive*

I’ve also taken a break from Asherton because it was making my brain tired, so I have been swatching for circular shrug and I purchased the Ms Marigold pattern.

In the picture above you can see my tiny little ‘only as big as it needs to be’ swatch for the circular shrug. You may notice it is the yarn I purchased for Catriona...but I have put her further back in the queue -

I fear the shrug pattern is oh so 2005 but it looks like a really nice knit that I can easily incorporate into my casual and work wardrobe (because my wardrobe is so 2005 but I like it that way)

Thats also my new knitting notebook, I had been scribbling all over my patterns and getting myself so confused, when you are working loads of pattern repeats stitch markers just aren’t enough! Notice the pretty glittery butterflies :o)

Last night while casting on for the mystery WIP, Daniel looked at me with these puppy dog eyes and asked
‘but what about my scarf?’
‘I need a break’ I replied
‘But you promised’ he whined

He looked so sad, he thought I wasn’t going to finish his scarf! I actually plan on having it finished and blocking by the end of this weekend. I just needed a quick project in between to keep the mojo mojoing!

Guess The WIP

2008-04-04T05:48:00.003+08:00

This project was published in knitty winter 2006

3924 Ravellers have finished this project

It is a really quick project, so quick that I almost finished it in two hours knitting last night!

... really crappy photo I know

Aside from that I am using my last skein of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran...golly I love this yarn. It is so incredibly lovely to work with and I really wish I could afford to use it for everything!

Twice A Week Blogger

2008-03-31T12:26:00.004+08:00

In an attempt to bring some order and content to my blog I have vowed to only blog twice a week.

Monday and Thursday!

I have been reading many many blogs over the past few months, there is something about reading a blog, the slight insight into someone the display of creativity and knowledge...what ever it is that draws me, my blog doesn’t have it! Be it a knitting blog, a cooking blog, a jewellery blog the care that each person takes to ensure their blog is enjoyable astounds me and I want my blog to have that!

So rather than post daily, ill formed, lifeless posts I shall make an effort to bring some creativity not only to this blog but to my apartment, my friends, my family and hopefully this creativity will spread.

Today’s inspiration A Friend to Knit With, her blog is full of creativity, recipes, knitting, sewing, and just general cheerfulness and kindness. This wonderful blogger has sparked my creativity, if I wasn’t at work Id be baking, knitting and pulling my hardly used sewing machine out right now.

Quidditch & Knitting

2008-03-29T14:28:00.003+08:00

While I've had time to work on Daniels scarf and make some clear progress, it seams the rest of the world had time to play quidditch, I am loving knitting this scarf!! The pattern changes with every line, but is amazingly simple.

I have had to frog it once, when I dropped a stitch and couldnt figure out where I was up to, but other than that it has been a pleasure to knit. The above photo doesnt show the colour too well...its a lovely deep charcoal and the Rustic is lovely to knit with.

This scarf will need blocking, and Im super excited my first blocking project

Knit 1

2008-03-28T08:53:00.002+08:00

I bought my first knitting magazine. This is the previous issue, with a new one coming out next month...oops should have waited but I LOVE the 80's tunic inside here and couldnt resist!

I’m well and truly addicted to knitting!!!

I just wish I had more time, I tend to love looking at the pretty knitted things, pick up my needles, drop a stitch make a boo boo and then get discouraged.

I cast on for Daniels scarf this week, and am making good progress. I should have some progress photos this weekend should the sun come out!

Oops I did it again...

2008-03-26T08:59:00.002+08:00

I have 1600grms of yarn on my lounge room floor.

It arrived yesterday from the wonderful Bendigo Woollen Mills.

I had to promise Daniel no more until I had actually knitted something...while I don’t like to stash, I buy for each project, I haven’t had any time to cast on anything. Stolen Moments Shawl is cast on but I haven’t gotten any further, and yesterdays arrival is for three projects I would like to hash out before now and June, Catriona, Dahlia and Daniels Asherton Scarf.

That is as good as any incentive to start knitting away...I am anticipating a nice cool weekend, Daniel will have a new computer game and I will have uninterrupted knitting time!!!

Knitting Butterflies

2008-03-17T05:57:00.007+08:00

My lovely stitch markers that Jasmin made for me. I love getting surprises in the post!

FO: Inca Scarf

2008-03-16T20:00:00.012+08:00

Well its done...finally *edited 29/03/08 with new pics*

Here is my inca scarf.

Pattern requirements that I hadn't done previously

Slip stitches
Working a Fringe

The slip stitches look great, and I like the edging they have given to the scarf...the fringe is much to be desired I really stuffed it up!

Pattern details

Pattern: Patons Inca Scarf
Yarn Used: 5 skeins Inca Grey Tone
Needles: 7mm straight needles

Wow what a difference sunlight, or natural light makes to the photos!!!...it is a really chunky thick ribbed stitch, soft and warm. I dont think Ill use inca again...if I make a chunky scarf again I might splurge for Debbie Bliss chunky or skrimp on Bendigo Woollen Mills 12ply rustic, which is still luxurious and soft!

Finally...

2008-03-14T14:31:00.006+08:00

Well it took a week but its finally here, two big 200grm balls of Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic in colour ELM.

Only a few days too late, mum arrives on the 19th it is now the 14th...5 days you say that is plenty...but not when you promised your boyfriend a whole weekend of uninterupted 'us' time on account of my mum and sister coming to stay with us for 6 days! And when Monday and Tuesday are sure to be flat out at work trying to get everything included payroll finalised before easter *sigh*

It seams the shawl is not to be...a birthday present that is...and will have to become a 'surprise' in the mail present!!!

Something just as wonderful came in the post for me today...my new stitch markers from Jasmin they have wonderful little butterflies on them to match the them...knitting butterflies - her photography is much better than mine so when she sends me pictures I shall post!

Still No Yarn

2008-03-13T13:04:00.002+08:00

...

:(

...

Where Oh Where...

2008-03-11T12:28:00.006+08:00

...is my yarn delivery???

Bendigo Woollen Mills is normally very prompt.

I have 7 days to knit mums shawl, before she arrives from Perth and no yarn to even start it!

I have been to the LYS and there is nothing suitable (Lincraft is really terrible) but did pick up a skein of Merino Crepe 8ply (Lincraft Brand) to swatch for Catriona the pattern uses Debbie Bliss Rialto, but I am trying to find a suitable cost effective replacement.

I am in love with Debbie Bliss yarns though, they are all so lovely and nice, I have only worked with Cashmerino Aran but the others tug at my purse strings every time I visit the store.