WWKIP Day, 2008

Well! I promised you knitting in the last post, and knitting you shall have!

I spent this weekend in Sydney, visiting my sister, eating more junk food than is either healthy or reasonable, and getting in touch with my crafty side. The day began with a trip to Darling Harbour (okay, the day began with a shopping spree at Allans Music, but that's a lot less interesting to blog about) and a visit to the Sydney Quilt and Craft Show.

There are no pictures of the Sydney Quilt and Craft show, simply because there wasn't space enough to lift one's arms in order to take a photo. The place was packed with crafters of all ages and walks of life. It was awesome.
There wasn't a great deal of yarn, unfortunately. There were heaps of quilting supplies, beads, scrapbooking and paper tole, but knitting was sadly underrepresented. What yarn there was, for the most part, was of a very high quality, and very, very tempting.
I started off by buying a little Colinette Jitterbug- you know, just to take the edge off.

The colourway is 'Jewels' and it's far richer and bluer than the picture shows. I hadn't planned to buy any sock yarn- the enormous pile of sock yarn in my stash is crying out for some attention- but I simply couldn't resist.

The only other yarn I was looking for was for the February Lady Sweater- that cardigan that has exploded all over Ravelry in the last couple of weeks. I found some gorgeous yarn in an 8ply/worsted weight, and got all excited. Sadly, the pattern calls for a 10-12ply weight. My dream was shattered.
Then, I ran into Kris, who was working the February Lady Sweater in a worsted weight.
This was all her fault:

Four 200gram skeins of Touch Yarn in semisolid pink. (I regret nothing. Since getting home, I've started swatching with the stuff, and it is like buttah. I also appear to be getting gauge. It was meant to be).
After the craft show (the latter part of which I spent wandering around with Reecie and being a spectacular enabler) we went round the corner to the Bayside Lounge for Sydney's World Wide Knit In Public Day celebrations.

There were knitters-

Lots of knitters.

In fact, there were over fifty knitters in attendance, as well as one charming wee non-knitter.

There was also beer, and yarn related hi-jinks.

Thank you all for a wonderful afternoon, guys (and I know you're reading, because people spent the whole day coming up to me and going 'Those photos from Prague were beautiful!' I had no idea anyone was actually reading this thing. I vow to update more often in future). You made this small town blow-in feel very welcome.

Further photos of the event can be found on the Australian Knitters Board on Ravelry, if you'd like to see far, far better pictures than mine.

Speaking of pictures, here are a few more from my trip (seeing as you all seem to like them!).

Church of St James, Prague

Krumlov Castle by night

Hangin' with Liszt, Budapest

Holiday Snaps

Yes, yes, I know. I suck at this whole 'blogging' thing. It's not that I haven't wanted to blog in the last, oh, month and a half. Really, I have. But then I get distracted by my students or a concert or knitting or, hey, is that a shiny object?
You get the idea.
As an act of contrition, I offer you these long, long overdue pictures of my Czech-Hungarian holiday. Enjoy!

The Astronomical Clock in Prague's main square. Not only can it tell you what the time is (in both 12 and 24 hr time), but also the movements of the planets, the signs of the zodiac, the progress of the seasons, and when your own particular 'name day' is.

The church of St James (foreground) and the Castle (background) in Prague.

I stumbled on this fountain completely by accident. I was hopelessly lost (this happens with amazing frequency in Prague) and discovered this sculptural tribute to the musicians of the Czech Republic.

This particular fountain is aptly called 'Piss', and you can find it outside the Kafka museum. The two men are... ahem.. 'writing' famous literary quotations in the puddle (which is shaped like the Czech Republic). If you like, you can send the man on the right a text message, and he'll spell out your personal message instead!

This is Prague's patron saint, St Nepomuk, who was martyred by being thrown off the Charles Bridge, from the very point at which this statue stands. There's a brass engraving just beneath the statue that you can touch for luck- though being flung off a bridge doesn't exactly make him the luckiest guy.

There was also plenty of music to be found in Prague. I hung out at Mozart's house...

...and visited Dvorak and Smetana- well, what was left of them.
After six days in Prague, I went to the southern Czech town of Cesky Krumlov.
It was one of the prettiest places I've ever been. It was far quieter than Prague, so I spent much of my time relaxing, hiking, eating and...
...drinking the finest locally-brewed pilsner beer it has been my privilege to sample. (Note: this is a standard serving size for beer in Eastern Europe).

After Cesky Krumlov, I caught the train to Budapest.

Budapest as seen from the roof of St Stephen's Basilica. The hills you can see beyond the river are the 'Buda' side of the city, and the flat terrain on this side of the river is the 'Pest' side.

The angel Gabriel at Heroes' Square.

St Stephen. All Hungary's early kings (of whom Stephen was the first) automatically became Saints. I think they've beefed up the requirements on Sainthood since then.

This weeping willow sculpture stands in the grounds of the Budapest Synagogue, and is a tribute to Hungarian Jews who died during the Holocaust. Each leaf on the tree represents a person who lost their life.

There was plenty of music in Budapest, too. Here, I show revered composer and cleric Franz Liszt all the dignity and respect he deserves.

Here, I am very, very pleased to be at the Liszt Academy of music. (This photo was mostly taken to incite envy in my friend Jordan, who is a Liszt fan of the highest order). I managed to see a couple of wonderful concerts at the Academy, too.
My favourite Hungarian composer, Bela Bartok, had no academy- but I did find a street named after him.
You guys are probably all photoed out by now-I know I am, and I went on the damn trip- but if you'd ever like to see more, I have about 350 more for you peruse. And that's just the good ones.

Next time: knitting!

Back

I'm back from gallivanting around Eastern Europe! Actually, I got back last week, but tons of work to catch up on + jet lag = not a lot of inclination to blog. Sorry!
I've got over 350 photos to sort through (if it moved, I took a picture of it. Sometimes, I took two), and once that's done, I'll give you the highlights package. It might have to wait until the weekend, though- work has crashed down on me like a ton of bricks. That, and I have my mother's scarf and hat to finish (or in the case of the hat, start) before Mother's Day.
Anyone else knitting for their mother? Come on, help me feel better about my crazy, crazy deadline.

Prague

Holy crap, you guys. Prague is beautiful. It's the closest thing I've ever seen to the kingdom of Far Far Away, complete with an enormous castle on the hill and (unfortunately) a Starbucks on every corner. The centre of town can be very touristy, but I've discovered that the best antidote is to take a sharp turn down a side-street and wander along the nearly deserted alleyways, gazing at baroque architecture and admiring the cobbled streets (at least, until days and days of walking on said cobblestones leave you with extremely sore feet).
I'd love to show you pictures (and believe me, I've taken plenty) but my hostel doesn't have any upload facilities, so it'll have to wait until I reach my next destination. However I can tell you that the beer is cheap and delicious, the weather is beautiful, and I've met many wonderful people and had a whole heap of fun. Life is good.

How are you guys?

Packing

My life at the present time consists of frantically shoving items into a suitcase, worrying obsessively about forgetting my airline ticket or my underpants, and attempting to wrangle my life into some semblance of order before I jet off on holiday (needless to say, it's not working very well). This might be the last chance I get to blog in a while (not a big change from the norm, really) as I'm not sure if/when I'll find a chance to get online. If internet access presents itself, I'll be sure to post an update.

Have a great April, everybody!

(And yes, I've already tracked down yarn shops in all the places I'm going to. Thank you, KnitMap!)

Destination Revealed

Nobody quite managed to guess my holiday destination. Nea and Nancy were the closest, by suggesting I'm going somewhere in Europe. Partial credit goes to RoseRed and Mary-Helen- I've been to both London and Japan in the past, and adored both. Nope, I'm actually going to the Czech Republic and Hungary. (The response to this statement is usually a 'Huh. Um, why?' to which I generally respond with things like this, this and this). The region is absolutely beautiful, and also a good place to chase some of my favourite composers around for a while.
Even though it's spring in Eastern Europe, it's still going to be pretty cold, so I've been preparing by cranking out practical knitwear. Firstly, a Koolhaas hat-

This is both warm and (I think) pretty stylin'. I know black isn't the best colour to show off the cables, but I'm trying to keep all my accessories (scarf, hat, gloves and the like) at least vaguely matching.

I also finished my long-neglected Rib and Cable Socks this morning-

These fit my feet very nicely indeed, and I know from previous exposure to this yarn that it is both very warm and very hard wearing- I think it's the mohair content.

I also forced politely asked my sister to take a photo of me in the 'Triumph of Practicality' jumper, which she graciously did.

I love the way it fits, but am not sure why the camera has created that weird 'strobing' effect across the chest. Sure, my boobs occasionally have their own gravitational pull, but this effect on electronics is a whole new development.

Whoops!

I kinda fell out of the blogosphere for a while there, didn't I? Sorry about that. Given that today's a public holiday (and I am full of the 'traditional hot cross buns/obscene amounts of chocolate' combo) I figured this was a good time to bring the blog up to date.
Firstly, the knitting news! You may recall that I was entering a few knitted items in my local show. Well, guess what? I got first and second in the 'knitted socks' category-

(Note: This is less of an achievement than it seems, as I was one of only two people to actually enter that section).

I also got second place in the 'Adults Knitted Jumper or Cardigan' category- an award I really don't think I deserved, as my jumper had a much lower 'degree of difficulty' than some of the others I saw displayed.

However, my 'ironic pincushion' was unplaced (the winners were both very 'traditional'- pink, lacy pincushion confections).


My 'Primordial Punk' didn't get a place, either- but I expected that. Both prizes there went to good ol' Jean Greenhowe dolls (Ravelry link). I'm not sure why they chose to cover the toys with plastic sheeting, but I suspect the involvement of a small child and some sort of sticky beverage.


Unfortunately, my small successes in this year's show have simply served to kick my competitive streak into overdrive. Next year, that 'Most Successful Exhibitor' ribbon is mine.

Since the show, my attentions have been almost completely focussed on one particular project (which is a rarity for me, so I embraced project monogamy while it lasted). Fresh off the needles, may I present the 'Triumph of Practicality' jumper.


The pattern is Elizabeth Zimmerman's 'Saddle-Shouldered Pullover' from Knitting Without Tears, and I will definitely be using this method of garment construction again. I love that you can try it on as you go, I love the complete lack of seaming, I love the fabric, and I love the saddle shoulders. I added short-rows at the bust and made the shoulders a little wider than suggested in the pattern, and whaddaya know, the whole damn thing fits. Perfectly.

I've dubbed it the 'Triumph of Practicality' jumper because it's just that- practical. It's seamless, it's machine washable, it's comfortable, the colour is such that it will hide things like crumbs, sweat stains, and the general dirt one accumulates on long haul flights and while hauling a heavy backpack through the streets of... wait, I haven't told you I'm going on holiday, have I? In just over two weeks? Well, I am.

I could simply tell you where I'm going, but there's no fun in that. So... given what you know about me, and with the whole world to choose from, where do you think I'd decide to go on my first overseas holiday in seven years? (Those of you I may have mentioned my destination to- sssshhh!) Leave your guess in the comments*.

*Of course, this whole 'guess in the comments' ruse is also my way of finding out if I have any readers left after abandoning you all so callously for so long. Sorry about that.