The Knitting Muso

My triumphant return to blogging!

2009-11-06T20:09:00.003+11:00

Hi guys!

You'll no doubt to shocked to discover that I've returned to blogging! Yes, I have! (Don't get too comfortable- I'm pretty sure it's one of the signs of the apocalypse).

Sadly for this blog, however, I won't be continuing here (for the time being). For the next 12 months at least, I'll be blogging at 30 Things Before 30.

Sadly, the blog will not contain much knitting content- but rest assured, I'm still knitting! Please catch up with me on Ravelry for my knitting and Ravelry-group-stalking adventures!

I hope to see you over at 30 Things Before 30!

Michelle

WWKIP Day, 2008

2008-06-17T07:26:00.006+10:30

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

2008-06-12T21:11:00.006+10:30

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

2008-05-07T07:28:00.003+10:30

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

2008-04-13T22:04:00.002+10:30

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

2008-04-03T14:48:00.002+11:00

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

2008-03-29T16:13:00.003+11:00

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!

2008-03-21T12:05:00.003+11:00

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.

The Skull Dance

2008-02-24T15:51:00.003+11:00

I have been knitting, on and off, over the last couple of weeks: very plain, simple things that contrast with the complexity/utter chaos that is my life right now. (I'm spending the entire day today tidying up my house, hoping that this will help resolve the rest of my life into some semblance of order. I'm not counting on it, though). I'll have pictures when the projects have progressed past the point of looking like nondescript woolly blobs, but it might take a while.
In the meantime, I've won a prize in a competition! Last weekend I dug out my camera and produced this entry into the Skull-A-Day Dance Contest.

If you have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, read this. It should explain why I'm prancing about like a lunatic, but not why I chose my absolute worst-fitting jeans in which to showcase my lower body.

Riches

2008-02-14T21:14:00.005+11:00

In a lot of ways, I am an extremely wealthy woman. Despite my self-employment and occasionally unreliable income, I still make enough to live comfortably, eat well, take holidays- and, of course, recklessly purchase knitting books.

I felt almost compelled to purchase the Cat Bordhi book after being given a set of stitch markers specifically tailored to the patterns in this book- and dudes, this is one mind-blowing knitting experience. These are socks made in a manner I've never seen before. While reading it, I kept saying 'Woah!' and 'You've got to be kidding!' and generally shaking my head in admiration at the amazing place that is Cat Bordhi's brain. I'm looking forward to working from this book.
The other book, Knitting Nature, is one I succumbed to simply because it was pretty and somewhat unconventional. I really like some of the patterns, but there are others that are decidedly not to my taste. Her discussions about nature, science and math in relation to knitting are extremely interesting, though.

I am also wealthy in that I adore my job, and would probably do it for free if I had to- to this day, I keep waiting for people to realise how much fun I'm having and stop paying me. Recently, Mary asked me to record an Australian song for her Brownie troop to use in an International Day celebration (before you ask, yes, I recorded Waltzing Matilda), and offered to pay me in yarn. I happily selected a skein from those she was offering, and thought no more about it.

Now, Mary was my Secret Pal once. She spent three months spoiling me to a degree that is almost unheard of in the history of online swaps. So really, I should have seen this coming.
When the package arrived yesterday, it not only contained the yarn I'd chosen:

Scout's Swag sock yarn in 'Glampyre'

...it also contained three skeins Knitpicks sock yarn:

'Memories' in 'Spring Prarie' and 'Sock Garden' in Zinnia

...and a set of dpn protectors, which were immediately given the task of protecting my sock in progress.

Thank you so very, very much, Mary. It's days like this that I realise that the real riches in my life aren't measured in dollars, lifestyle or stash size, but by the people I know.

I utilised that burst of happy energy to finish up the last project for entry in the local Show.

This is the 'Evolving Punk' pattern from Mochimochiland, and it was a great knit. I left him unfelted, worked the spikes in the round, and embroidered closed eyes (simply because I am completely unable to embroider a simple little freakin' circle to represent an open eye. We shall not discuss how many times I tried) and added a mouth.

Now all I've got to do is pin entry cards to all my projects (three pairs of socks, a jumper, a pincushion and a toy) and hand them in!

A Day at the Opera

2008-02-05T15:07:00.000+11:00

As promised in the last entry, both knitting and wine were abundant at last weekend's Opera in the Domain. (If you want to hear what it was like, check out the latest episode of Sticks & String). I could rabbit on about how great it all was, or I could present the day in pictures. Since I am lazy, I choose the latter.Knitting and spinning near the audio tent.

Bex makes a sock...

...and so does Zeeblebee.

Kris and Reecie take a break from knitting.

Winter and her fabulous Clapotis.

The woman in the pink top was selling raffle tickets. Those bloody raffle ticket sellers simply would. Not. Leave. Us. Alone, even after we'd said 'No, thank you' for the fortieth time.

David packs up the audio tent in an unfortunately suggestive manner. (Family podcast, my arse. I won't even begin to comment on the immature sniggering that came from this man's mouth when Mimi sang about wanting 'A little muff to warm my hands').

By evening, it was getting pretty crowded.

All up, it was a great day. Thanks to all the Sydneysiders who make this small-town hick feel welcome.

A quick note

2008-02-01T20:38:00.000+11:00

... to let you all know that I'll be spending tomorrow hanging out with the cream of Sydney's knitbloggers and podcasters at Opera in the Domain. While there's a bit of concern about the weather (apparently there's a 50% chance of rain) I'm sure that one way or another, there will be knitting.

Oh yes. There will be knitting.

And wine.

Like a robot dolphin through a flaming hoop, so are the Days of Our Lives

2008-01-26T10:40:00.000+11:00

(A quick note up front- the title of this entry has nothing to do with what is to follow. I have used it because a) I read it here and could not stop laughing for ten minutes, and b) I want to screw around with the 'recent blog posts' function in Ravelry. If anyone has been tempted over by it- hi!)

A couple of days ago, I decided to knit a hat.

I'd had yarn put aside for Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Unoriginal Hat for a little while, so I dug it out, riffled through my bag of Knitpicks dpns for the appropriate needles, and cast on. It was great. The yarn was wonderful, the pattern simple yet intriguing... but it seemed to be a just a tad small. I was a little worried, but decided it was just an illusion, that the design was very stretchy, and everything would turn out fine in the end.

Yeah. Right.
What I ended up with was a teeny-tiny hat that would only fit a small child. I despaired. How could this have happened? I used appropriate yarn. I was diligent with the pattern. Okay, I'm a bit of a tight knitter, but this was ridiculous.
I decided to give it up as a bad job, and tuck the hat away for gift giving purposes later. It was only when I was stowing my dpns away that I came to the horrible, horrible realisation:

I had not been knitting on 7mm dpns.

I had, in fact, been knitting on 5mm dpns, a fact which I spectacularly failed to notice despite the really, really big difference between the two sizes. (When you've spent a lot of time knitting on 2.5mm sock needles, everything else seems huge).

The next day, I tried again with the proper needles.

Much, much better.

I'd like to take this opportunity to point out how freakin' hard it is to take a picture of your own head that doesn't make you look lopsided...

...or completely deranged.

Here are the two hats side by side. Look closely, people. This is what gauge can do to you, should you ~~be a complete and utter dumbass like me~~ make the same mistake I did. Carelessness in knitting may not cost lives, but it can make for some highly amusing screw-ups.

Me? Competitive? Nah!

2008-01-23T19:37:00.000+11:00

This week, I've been thoroughly enjoying my last week of holidays (this involves sleep-ins, long gym workouts, lunches with friends, and knitting like a fiend) and attempting to organise my teaching timetable (this involves phoning many, many people in an attempt to create something workable, only to discover that every single person wants their lesson in the exact same time slot. Argh).
Since last we spoke, I have finished the Boatneck Bluebell jumper.

Photograph taken by my mother, in her beautiful garden. My backyard won't even grow weeds.

It came out a little bigger than I'd hoped, but I'm otherwise very happy with it. (By the way, that thing poking though the jumper at stomach level is the edge of my belt buckle, and not the mother of all 'outie' belly buttons).
Shortly after finishing this, one of my knitting group compadres tipped me off that entries to the local show were due in the next few weeks. I had idly thought about entering, but decided that it wasn't really worth my time. Now, with a finished jumper fresh off the needles, who could stop me?
I already have things made for the 'adult knitted jumper' (see above) and ' pair of men's or women's socks'. The only other thing I wanted to make was a knitted toy (for which I have picked a pattern, and will start knitting soon)- that was, until I saw the section 'Sewing aid, eg. pincushion'.
I just couldn't resist.

I'm hoping that the judges will appreciate the irony.

A good day.

2008-01-14T17:01:00.000+11:00

Today was a good day. Wanna know why?

For the first reason, you'll need some backstory. Just after Christmas, someone got hold of my credit card details and went on a little shopping spree at my expense. (Actually, it was quite a big shopping spree, but we won't go into that). I've spent the last two weeks talking back and forth with my Credit Union, trying to get the money refunded. This problem was compounded by the fact that I spent last week in Newcastle, seeing my friend and uni flatmate Jess get married-

Isn't she gorgeous? Sorry guys, but she's off the market now.

-and attempting to have a bit of a holiday (though it's quite difficult to do so when a) you have no money, and b) you spend half the trip phoning Credit Unions/Dispute Services/the Department of Fair Trading).

Anyway, today I marched myself down to the Credit Union offices. Turns out, they'd made a mistake in the handling of my case, and the money was refunded within hours. Phew!

Second good thing: I finished some socks.

Good ol' Monkey socks, in STR 'Space Dust'. (I know there's only one in the picture, but I have finished the pair, I promise. Would I lie?) They're a tiny bit big on me, but I don't mind that so much.

Third good thing: My package from Spiraling arrived, and inside was the yarn I ordered.

Noro sock yarn. That's right, people: Noro sock yarn. I spent much of the afternoon with it perched on my lap, patting it like a little fiber pet. I can't wait to see how it knits up.

There was also this badge...

...which I adore. Thanks, Spiraling!

Fourth good thing: I finally got a chance to photograph the finished body of my Boatneck Bluebell jumper.

It's fitting well, though the hip shaping laid out in the pattern has resulted in quite a large amount of flare at the back.

I mean, look at it. It looks like a duck's tail back there. I'm really, really hoping it will block out.

Fifth good thing: I'm in a magazine.
A couple of months ago, my knitting group buddy Vi sent my email address to the editor of a local women's magazine. The editor wrote to me, asking if I'd like to answer a few questions about my knitting for the magazine. I did, and now it's been published (complete with pictures of my Bellatrix socks, Cupcake tea cozy and Mohawk Hat. That's not me in the photo to the right of the column, by the way).

It's as close to fame as I'll ever get, I suspect.

Finally, hello to Becca and Mel, who I met at Tapestry Craft on Friday (I dropped in there on my way home from Newcastle to stock up on Knitpicks needles). They both read my blog, apparently (people read this thing! I was astounded) but I don't blame them for not recognizing me- the sweat stained, travel weary me in the shop that day bore little to no resemblance to the photo of me at the top of the page.

Holiday update

2008-01-04T19:31:00.000+11:00

Happy New Year, everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Mine was great- a nice, mellow day spent with my parents and my sister, all of whom were suitably impressed by my knitted gifts (though my sister laughed at the colour scheme of dad's wine cozy, asking me why on earth it was rainbow striped. When I explained that the other colour option available was bright pink, she agreed that my choice was a completely sensible one). My parents gifted me with a whole heap of fabulous Bendy yarn-

...some of which is already in the process of becoming a jumper. (I'm actually a lot further on than this picture shows. The jumper is knit in the round from the top down, and I've almost reached the bottom of the body.)

I finished my Ranco socks on Christmas Day (it was like an extra Christmas present that I gave to myself! Oh, and my feet aren't really this big, it's just the camera angle).

On Boxing Day, we went to visit my relatives on my dad's side. (My aunt is an knitter and my cousin is an avid crocheter, so while I was there I clued them both in to the existence of Ravelry.) On the way to and from their place, I started work on a new sock.

The ever-popular Monkey socks, in STR 'Space Dust'.

A couple of days later, I received my tea cozy swap package from the wonderful gusseting!

A rockin' tea cozy (which really does keep the tea very cozy indeed), a card, some tea, some hand-dyed patonyle, and a giant (giant!) container full of shortbread, some of which I just ate. (I've frozen a lot of it for later consumption. Yes, it is that good.)

I've spent the best part of the New Year doing a huge amount of nothing (well, a fair bit of knitting on my new jumper, but that's about it). Tomorrow, I'm heading off for a week or so of sleeping on friends' lounges, going to the beach, and seeing an old friend of mine get married. I can't wait.

Christmas blogging on the run

2007-12-24T18:55:00.001+11:00

Despite leaving everything until the last minute yet again (I may have finished the Christmas knitting ahead of time, but everything else has been carefully avoided until the very last possible moment), I simply couldn't leave this blog without an update before Christmas. So....

Since I last blogged, I have:

Finished the Bellatrix socks.

Almost finished a plain pair of socks (Araucania 'Ranco', colourway 'Stained Glass'. Gorgeous yarn).

Visited my grandmother and other relatives on my mother's side (a visit which was very enjoyable, with very few people asking if I was 'still doing that music thing' or inquiring as to why I don't have a 'feller' yet).

Been featured (very briefly) in the latest episode of the Insubordiknit podcast. I recorded the clip during the Great Dishcloth Frenzy of '07. Check it out.

I spent this morning baking (and baking and baking).

This is but a sampling of the baked goods I whipped up. The majority will be going to my parents' house tomorrow for Christmas day. (Sorry about the picture quality, but I don't have time to take a better one).

Finally, I shall leave you with this picture, and no explanation. It was taken at a Christmas cabaret I performed in some weeks ago. What am I doing? Perhaps it's best that you never, never know.
Merry Christmas, everyone!

Hit Parade

2007-12-08T17:49:00.000+11:00

I have a bold statement to make. It is a statement that may turn some of my brethren and sistren in wool against me, and yet the statement must be made. It is as follows-

I have finished the Christmas Knitting.

Okay, okay, that's not entirely true. I have a couple of small projects to make that may or may not get finished- and if they don't get finished, then that's okay. All the important, cornerstone-of-the-gift-giving-process stuff is done. Concluded. Finito.

Firstly, we have a cavalcade of dishcloths.

I made the 'log cabin' style one to use up all the oddballs of cotton that were left at the end of the dishcloth spree, and now I'm liking it so much that I may actually keep it.

Next, my dad's felted wine bag.

The Kureyon goodness insulates the bottle, keeping the wine chilled for longer. (I may have conducted a hands-on experiment. You know, just to make sure it worked).

Mum's Saturday Market Bag-

-was a quick and easy knit, and can expand to hold a remarkable amount of stuff.

Finally, my sister's Percy bag-

-was a project that dragged on and on for months (because I'd get heartily sick of seed stitch, put the project down, and come back to it three weeks later), and the splitty yarn nearly drove me nuts. I'm happy with how it turned out, though. (And yes, that is my foot in the above photo).

My favourite part?

The lining. So cute!

Finally, in the 'not actually a Christmas present' category, we have the tea cozy I made for the Australian Knitters Tea Cozy Swap.

It was recently received by kgirlknits -go to her blog and check out how well the tea cozy matches her awesome tablecloth. I hope she will enjoy many a piping hot cup of tea from her cozily-wrapped teapot.

So... how's your Christmas knitting going?

Not dead

2007-11-29T06:37:00.000+11:00

...just really, really busy.

It's the last week of term for some of the schools I teach at, and I've been racing around ~~fulfilling my function as a walking jukebox~~ accompanying rehearsals for carol services, speech days,cabarets, exams... you name it, really. This is left me with precious little time for knitting (though I have managed to get a few things done, mainly of the 'washcloth' variety).

Normal service will resume once I've gotten my act together. Thanks for your patience.

Miscellany

2007-11-17T09:31:00.001+11:00

Warning: this post will be insanely image-heavy. My apologies to anyone on dial-up.

Well! I've had one heck of a busy week, full of things to see and do and take part in. (It's also been a week that's seen me screaming around like a madwoman, trying to accomplish eight different things at once, but you can't have everything). To keep things interesting for everyone, I'm going to alternate between non-knitterly and knitterly things. If you're only here for the (fairly sporadic) knitting content, just keep scrolling till you see some yarn, okay?

Last weekend, I went out to the River Dreaming festival. This was a festival to celebrate Aboriginal culture (specifically that of the Wiradjuri people, whose land we are on), promote reconciliation, and bring the community together for a big celebration.

There were Didgeridoos- And market stalls-
And music. Lots and lots of music. This is my friend Sarina singing with her band...
...and a didgeridoo player.
When nighttime came, there was a massive performance featuring original live music (I was in the band for that), giant lanterns-

Sorry about the picture quality. It's very hard to photograph a giant luminous duck and an equally giant and luminous platypus while playing the keyboard.

-and traditional dancing and stories. It was a great day.

I finished the first Bellatrix sock-
I love it.

I escorted the kid's choir I conduct up to the Blue Mountains for a combined performance of Rutter's 'Mass of the Children'-

Only some of those kids are from the choir I conduct. As much as I love kids, I'd hate to deal with that many kids, all at once, on a weekly basis.

On the way there and back, I taught one of my students to knit.
She picked it up remarkably quickly, though I was occasionally called on to fix mistakes here and there. By the end of the car trip, she had this-

She's a pro.

There were a couple of other concerts this week (that I spectacularly failed to get photos of): school concerts (where they put the choirs on last and forced me to sit through an hour of recorder groups and (those words that strike terror into the hearts of all who hear them) 'beginner' string groups), and a fund raiser for the breast cancer society. Tonight, I'm playing the continuo part (read: keyboard with the harpsichord sound turned on) in Handel's Messiah. It's a glorious piece of music, but a bit of a marathon for both singers and orchestra.

Finally (and perhaps, most excitingly) my birthday yarn arrived.

Socks that Rock Mediumweight in:

24 Karat
Space Dust
And (my favourite) Fire on the Mountain.
Despite not signing up for the Southern Summer of Socks, it looks like I may well be having one.

Where did Spring go?

2007-11-08T14:44:00.000+11:00

It has become unseasonably chilly here of late- that annoying, can't-make-up-its-mind chilliness that's not cold enough for a jumper, but enough to penetrate through long sleeved shirts and light jackets. It feels more like late winter than late spring. What gives, nature? I should be sauntering around in shorts and singlet tops, and applying layer upon layer of sunscreen so that my pasty white flesh doesn't burn like a pot roast. Instead, I'm hunting desperately through the wardrobe for something to wear (I got rid of a lot of winter clothes during my giant spring clean a month or so back) and pulling the woolen socks out of retirement.
Speaking of woolen socks, I'm really, really enjoying my latest sock project.

The pattern is 'Bellatrix' from the Socktopia website, and yarn is Yarn Pirate in the 'Rebel' colourway (pattern and yarn were Halloween gifts from Redford Phyl). The yarn is awesome, but it's the pattern that's really floating my boat. I think it's the illicit thrill of gleefully dropping yarn-overs left, right and center that's gotten me hooked. Besides, it knits up fast (I'm up to the heel turn, despite having had very little time to knit of late) and the dropped stitches (combined with the black, purple and grey of the yarn) make my little wannabe goth* heart go pitty-pat.

In other news, I have four concerts in the next four days. All of them involve different repertoire. At least it's ~~never boring~~ ~~rarely boring~~ giving me lots of time to knit while waiting to perform.

*I experimented with goth fashions during a very brief period in the late nineties. It wasn't pretty.

Birthday redux

2007-11-03T18:54:00.000+11:00

It was my birthday last Thursday. Thanks to everyone who remembered- those emails and Ravelry messages had me bouncing up and down in my chair and squeeing like a five-year-old.

It was a very good day, that began like this:

Yes, that is chocolate cheesecake. Yes, I ate it for breakfast. What? There's fruit in there, isn't there?

It also involved a large-ish shopping spree on a certain well-known yarn company's website, a chorus of 'Happy Birthday' sung to me by the children's choir I conduct, a knitting magazine gifted to me by one of my students, dinner with my family at a Lebanese restaurant that makes the best hummus in known creation (and a garlic paste so potent that it allows you to see through time), and drinks with friends. Dark, ominous drinks in giant novelty glasses that kept appearing in front of me of their own volition.

Yesterday's awakening was painful, to say the least.

I spent today traveling with the children's choir to a rehearsal on the Blue Mountains. All that travel time (one of the parents was kind enough to give me a lift in her car) gave me time to finally finish off those damn 9 to 5 socks.

I've had one hell of a love/hate relationship with this project. On one hand, they dragged on forever, used so much yarn I was forced to buy more (and it was only through sheer luck that I was even able to get more) and occasionally pushed me knitting sanity to the very brink. On the other hand, the pattern was simple and clever, the yarn was beautiful to work with, and the little details, such as the twisted ribs framing the heel flap...
... made this project totally worth it.

As I was finishing these in the back of the car, I was being watched avidly by two young girls from the choir (one of them was the one who gave me the knitting magazine for my birthday). They seemed somewhat disappointed when I finished the second sock, so I fished out some more yarn from my bag (of course I was carrying more yarn. This knitter comes prepared) and cast on a new sock.
I showed them how I cast on, joined in a round, and began knitting. As I knitted merrily away, one of the girls piped up about how she wished the car trip could go on for a few hours more, so she could keep watching me knit.

I've promised to teach them both during rehearsal break tomorrow.

Finally, I need to post a picture of my teapot for the Australian Knitters tea cozy swap (tea cozy swap partner, are you out there? I haven't heard from you. Leave me an anonymous comment, or something).

Here it is (precarious tower of animals and bemused moose included for scale)-

It's a standard four-cup pot- I'm pretty sure I posted the dimensions on Ravelry. My apologies for the blurry photo, but the light here is fading, and that carefully stacked tower of animals didn't want to stay vertical for long.

Stuff that is not related to knitting in any way

2007-10-28T11:04:00.001+11:00

There has been basically zero knitting going on around here at the moment (my arm and shoulder are feeling a bit tired, so I figure a couple of days rest is in order). Instead, I decided to channel my creativity into other pursuits.

That's why, for the first time ever, I carved a halloween pumpkin.

I didn't do a particularly good job, but he is kinda cute, isn't he? Especially when wearing a fetching hat.
He doesn't look nearly as good when the lights go out, though.

This is because the flesh of the pumpkin was so damn thick that I was only able to cut the nose and parts of the mouth through to the middle. Also, I was working with fairly primitive tools- my ancient paring knife and a dpn I sacrificed to use for the fiddly bits.

Mourn not for this dpn. It was a crap dpn anyway, and I've been using it as a cake tester for the past 3 months.

My only quandary is what to name him. Got a suggestion? Let me know in the comments.

The other thing that has kept me sane during this period of knitting non-activity has been the discovery of this guy. Now, I know nothing- nothing- about gaming (the most I do is to play a quick game of chuzzle while waiting for something to load), yet I am completely unable to stop watching his game reviews. (He's also an Australian, for that touch of hometown pride).

This is the video that got me hooked (warning: some swearing)-

And this is the one that had me weeping tears of laughter by the end-

The socks are saved!

2007-10-25T14:42:00.000+10:30

Daphne from The Knittery is a Goddess, walking the earth in the guise of a purveyor of fine yarns.

You may recall that I emailed her after discovering my sock-related plight. She promptly emailed me back, saying that my particular blend of wool/cashmere sock had been discontinued(!), but that she'd managed to find a partial skein left over in the colourway I needed (which she then sold to me at a vastly discounted price). I am very, very grateful.

Hallelujah!

In the meantime, I've been channeling my knitting mojo into Christmas dishcloths.

I am now well and truly sick of this pattern, as simple and effective as it is. (Kgirl asked if I do anything to make the edges of the dishcloths look nicer, to which I must answer: no. I'm not that much of a perfectionist, and come on! They're dishcloths!) I'm thinking it's time for some miters. Thick, chunky, garter stitch miters.

I have four more Christmas dishcloths to make, and then I won't be knitting another dishcloth for a long, long time.

La la la la I can't hear you la la la...

2007-10-21T11:34:00.000+10:30

When I started my second Nine-to-Five sock, I had some concerns about my yarn supply. The first sock seemed to have depleted the yarn ball a little more than it should have, but I was fairly confident that I'd make it. After all, I've never run out of yarn during a sock project before. Despite my big honkin' feet, I always- always- have yarn left over at the end, and I have a bag full of sock yarn scraps to prove it.

As I carried on down the leg, my concerns grew. This pattern was eating up the yarn pretty quickly. Nevertheless, I soldiered on. It was at the point of the heel turn that I actually began to think 'Uh-oh. I might not make it'. At that point, I did what any of you would have done in my place: I shoved the yarn ball to the bottom of my project bag (so I couldn't see it anymore) and continued knitting. It was the knitting equivalent of shoving my fingers in my ears and going "La la la I can't hear you la la la.."

Today, as I was working on the foot of the sock, I was finally forced to stop and acknowledge my yarn supply. The yarn had tangled into a knot of epic proportions, and I had to stop knitting and rewind the ball. When I was done, I was left with this:

Disaster. There is no way I'll get half a foot and a toe out of this teensy ball. Here's the second sock laid out on top of the first sock, so you can see what I'm up against.

Normally, when faced with this kind of knitting disaster, I fold faster than Superman on laundry day and shove the project beneath the couch cushions, never to be seen again. But I can't do that with these socks. These are the Tori socks! They must be completed! Besides, they fit perfectly, the pattern is intriguing, the yarn is beautiful and the knitted fabric is soft and warm...

I went to The Knittery site and noticed that there wasn't any merino cashmere sock in the colourway I needed, so I fired off an email asking if I could get a skein custom dyed. (I may have used the word 'begging'. Twice.) Now, I'll just have to wait and see.

Faced with such a crippling knitting blow, what does one do? Why, she casts on a silly hat, of course.
I hadn't forgotten my 'October is for silly hats' vow, and this is the third in the series (well, fourth if you consider my mystery tea cozy. After all, a tea cozy is simply a hat for a teapot). This is going to be the most intricate of the silly hats, and will also look quite normal until the final moments of finishing. It's silliness hiding beneath a guise of respectability. I like that.

Another day...

2007-10-15T13:30:00.000+10:30

...another dishcloth.
I'm aiming to make about ten of these for Christmas gift-giving purposes. That number should be enough for friends/distant family/emergency presents, and I can simply keep any that are left over at the end of the festive season. Score!

I've been doing a lot of knitting over the weekend, but sadly, I can't show you any of it. I recently signed up for a tea cozy swap run by the 'Australian Knitters' group on Ravelry. I was assigned my swap partner on Saturday morning, and subsequently spent the entirety of Saturday cranking out an extremely kitschy tea cozy. I'm rather proud of it, and a bit bummed that I can't show you (just in case my swap partner reads this blog).

Speaking of Ravelry, did you know that I wrote a pattern that's listed on there? Because I didn't. Not until a few days ago, anyway.

A couple of years ago, I wrote a pattern for a Trogdor stuffed toy (if you have no idea what Trogdor is, this informative cartoon should clear things up) and posted it on Craftster.

I never really thought that people would actually make them, let alone having the pattern listed on Ravelry. But so far, there are two Trogdors besides my own, and the pattern has been queued twenty-two times. Twenty-two times. My mind is thoroughly boggled.

Should you feel the burning urge for some burnination, the pattern is available here.

The Sticks and String episode with my interview is now available for download. I was relieved to hear that I don't sound like a total moron, and I only did the 'stupid laugh' a couple of times. (I'm still ticked off with myself for forgetting about the silly hats- but then, there hasn't been a lot of silly hat action around here in the past week).

Finally, I got an amazing, amazing package from Redford Phyl, my partner in Lime and Violet's Halloween Sock Kit Swap! (Halloween isn't a big holiday here in Australia, but I've always had a soft spot for it because it falls on the day before my birthday. Also, costumes! Lollies! Chocolate! Scaring people for no apparent reason! What's not to like?)

Just look at all this stuff! A great card, two Harry Potter themed sock patterns, some Halloween-y pencils and erasers, Halloween stitch markers, stitch markers to use with 'New Pathways for Sock Knitters' (I must get that book!), a couple of little games, a tiny wooden crochet hook, Hershey chocolate, a candy skeleton, a brilliant skull project bag, the soundtrack to 'Stubbs the Zombie', and a skein of Yarn Pirate in the 'Rebel' colourway. Thank you so much, Phyl!

The process

2007-10-11T15:27:00.000+10:30

So, some of you may have heard the latest episode of Sticks and String, where David mentioned that he would be interviewing me for the next episode. I've known about this for a while, but it still came as a bit of a shock- mostly, because there was no way I could back out of it now.

I know others of you have had the honour of being interviewed by David (Kris and Mary-Helen, I'm looking at you). I don't know what the experience was like for you guys, but here's a little glimpse at the process from my perspective.

1) Hear David announce in his most recent show that I will be the interviewee for the final show of the series. Panic. (Also, feel a little disappointed that he didn't mention earlier that he was saving the... lets say, 'unique' version of 'Sheep May Safely Graze' for the final episode. I would have recorded him another piano version, had I known.)

2) Browse the Sticks and String board on Ravelry, and find a post from a user saying how much she was looking forward to the interview with the 'lovely piano player'. Panic.

3) Begin email exchange with David that culminates in a phone call, arranging a time and place to record. The time? Thursday. The place? My house. Thank David profusely, hang up. Panic.

4) Quickly realize that my house is a disgusting sty-hole. Begin a 24 hour cleaning frenzy. While cleaning, listen to every episode of Sticks and String from this series. Listen to interviews with knitting luminaries such as Scout, Sarah Bradbury and Margaret Stove. Panic.

5) Stop cleaning only long enough to go see Slava and Leonard Gregorian in concert. Spend part of the concert wondering if I'll have to incorporate this into the interview somehow, and the rest of the time in slack-jawed admiration.

6) Thursday: wake up. Panic. Resume cleaning frenzy. Distract self by practicing Beethoven for a while.

7) David arrives at my door. We chat. We eat biscuits. David gets out the fluffy microphone of doom.

8) We record things. Exactly what, I can't recall. I know we discussed the weather, my recorder playing ability, and his progress on the Henry VIII jumper, but the rest is a blur. (I remember that I forgot to mention the silly hats. Damn!)

9) After the recording we go out for lunch, where both of us consume roughly our own body weight in potatoes. In the course of the conversation, I discover that David has done pretty much everything. We also discuss opera, cats, Americanization, and how much one might be willing to pay for a really, really good knitting book (which, incidentally, he's reviewing in the next show).

10) After a quick drive around town, taking in the sights (it didn't take long) we say our farewells and David heads off. As he drives away, I realise that I have completely failed to take any photos. Bad blogger!

So, the interview will be up late Sunday sometime. I really, really hope I don't sound like a complete idiot. Only time will tell.

So it begins

2007-10-08T15:55:00.000+10:30

In years gone by, I have made a point of not knitting presents for Christmas. 'My family just don't appreciate the knitting thing', I reasoned. 'I refuse to drive myself nuts by setting unrealistic deadlines' I decided. 'Knitting Christmas presents will ruin my enjoyment of the season' I thought.
Then Christmas arrived, and my family were actually disappointed by the lack of knitted presents. I felt a bit bad.
This year, I've been listening to a lot of podcasts (which is a very good thing) and thinking a lot (which is sometimes a good thing, but also leads to thoughts like 'silly hats in October? Sure!') about consumerism, and capitalism, and where my money goes at the end of the day. This year, I decided, things would be different.

This year, I am only giving handmade gifts, be they made either by myself or someone else.

That means two things: 1) Etsy is going to be decidedly handy this year, and 2) I better get a move-on.
A good ol' Mason-Dixon dishcloth. I plan to make a big stack of these as gifts for friends, cousins, aunts and uncles, teachers, workmates... you name it. (It's a good thing I own so much dishcloth cotton).
My sister's present. I have completely ignored gauge, and I'm pretty sure that decision will come back to bite me soundly on the ass as the project progresses.

How about you guys? Doing any Christmas knitting?

Oh, and the silly hats will be back eventually, don't you worry. I'm just doing a bit of Christmas knitting now to take the edge off.

Jughead

2007-10-04T19:06:00.001+10:30

The second hat in the series is finished. It's somewhat less silly than it's predecessor, but silly nonetheless.

Behold- Jughead.

It's the first hat I've ever knit side to side, and it was remarkably easy once I'd gotten the hang of the pattern. The yarn was a Secret Pal gift from Mary (thanks, Mary!) It was great to work with, and gave me even more of a yearning for Knitpicks to get their act together and start shipping to Australia.

Points down:
Points up!

I celebrated the completion of the hat with baked goods.
Apricot, sultana and cinnamon muffins (recipe made up as I went along. They were pretty good). Does anyone have a good recipe for banana muffins, incidentally? I want try making them next.

I've decided to do a bit of work on my much-neglected 9 to 5 socks before returning to the world of silly hats. Rest assured, the next one will be extra silly to compensate.

Oh, and KGirl? Thanks for the suggestion, but I will not be knitting the Ponyboy hat. No. Just... no. I'm not into that kind of thing. (Although I do own a red, diamante studded riding crop. The story of how I ended up with it is actually remarkably boring. Really).

In praise of silly hats

2007-10-02T09:05:00.001+10:30

Whenever I finish a project, it is customary for me to go immediately to the stash and find something else to cast on. Nature abhors a vacuum, after all.
There I was, riffling through my stash boxes, and contemplating what to cast on. I'd just finished a tiny, delicate cardigan for a tiny, delicate new human being. What could possibly replace that?
My eyes fell upon this book, just as my hands came upon some chunky black yarn.
48 hours later, I had this:

The 'Mohawk Hat' from Domiknitrix. It took longer to add the damn Mohawk than it did to knit the actual hat.

Front view:
Side view:
It looks a bit like a Mohawk and a bit like a woolly Roman Centurion's helmet, in my opinion.

So impressed am I with how this turned out that I hereby dub October 'Silly Hat Month'. I hereby intend to spend October making the most ridiculous head-wear possible. (I may occasionally work on other, more sensible projects, but my heart will always be with the silly hats).
So, help me out: know a good silly hat pattern? I know about this and this and this and this and this. This book contains a couple of beauties, as does this. Know any others? Obviously, I'm not going to get through them all in a month, but it's nice to have a good selection to choose from.

I've already begun Silly Hat number two.
Right now it looks neither very silly, nor very hat-like.

The 'cute' factor

2007-09-29T19:23:00.000+10:30

A couple of hours after yesterday's post, I got a message saying that my friend had had her baby on Thursday night. This proves that a) babies do not always wait for their knitting to be completed before arriving (I think the poor thing had waited as long as she possibly could for me to get my act together), and b) insane deadlines really light a fire under my knitting.

I finished the knitting that night.

I spent this morning sewing seams, weaving in ends and choosing buttons.
Done. I really, really liked this pattern, despite its occasional lack of clarity (Elizabeth Zimmerman likes to give knitters the chance to figure things out for themselves). A cute, clever and appealing pattern that I'll probably make again.

I wrapped it up carefully, and went to meet the recipient.

World, meet Anna Charlotte.
Anna Charlotte, this is the world. I know it looks kinda big and imposing at the moment, and right now you're grappling with concepts like 'What are these strange arm things attached to my body?' and 'How do I poop?', but you'll get the hang of it eventually. In the meantime, have a nice soft jumper to grow into (it's a bit big at the moment).

A few minutes later, another friend came visiting with her own young daughter, and the cute factor went through the roof.

Jemima meets Anna. Cuteness ensues.

When I got home, I recorded a couple more version of 'Sheep May Safely Graze' for the Sticks and String podcast. I'm sure I'm giving David Reidy more than his share of worries by staying just barely a week in advance (I try to make sure he has at least two sound files to choose from in any given week, but it's a close call sometimes). One of the themes I recorded today, well... I'm pretty sure it's the absolute stupidest version of 'Sheep May Safely Graze' ever commited to audio. Let's just say there was a kazoo involved. And a duck call.

I'm interested to see if he'll actually play it.

All quiet on the knitting front

2007-09-28T14:37:00.001+10:30

There hasn't been a lot of knitting going on around here recently, for two reasons:

1) Term is almost over (and will be over in three hours and 53 minutes, but who's counting?) and I've spent the last week catching up all the work I should have done during the previous ten weeks.

2) I've been getting a few aches and pains in my back and shoulder blades. This has improved a lot lately, after having a couple of Alexander Technique lessons (I've been moving my body incorrectly my whole life, it seems. Who knew?)

I've made a little bit of progress on the Elizabeth Zimmerman baby sweater (the pattern comes from here).
Fortunately for me (but unfortunately for my poor, massively pregnant friend) the baby for whom this is being made hasn't arrived yet. She was due to make an appearance last Saturday, and is being decidedly tardy to the party. Could this be my fault? The Yarn Harlot has pointed out many times that babies don't arrive until their knitting is completed.

Excuse me, but I'd better go and work on this thing before my poor friend explodes.

My rabid fangirl moment

2007-09-21T14:48:00.000+10:30

I'd been working really, really hard last week. With things like eisteddfods and HSC exams (big important exams during the final year of high school, for anyone unfamiliar with the term. I had my first practical music student perform. I think I was more nervous than he was) eating up my time and stressing me out, I was extremely glad to bid my town farewell for a few days and head up to Newcastle, the city I lived in during my university days.

I caught up with friends (some of whom I hadn't seen since university. I was happy to discover that my friends haven't changed a bit over the past four years), did some shopping (more on that in a sec) and... oh yeah.. met TORI-FREAKIN'-AMOS!

I may have stuttered and mumbled and been extremely starstruck (plus, my camera batteries decided to stop working just as I was having the photo taken) but, dude! I met Tori-freakin'- Amos! (Note that I am wearing my Montego Bay scarf, which shall henceforth be known as 'The-Scarf-I-Was-Wearing-When-I-Met-Tori-freakin'-Amos!') Can I just say how very weird it is to meet someone you've been a huge (huge!) fan of since you were fifteen? Very, very weird.

The concert kicked ass, too.
I was working on my sock as I was waiting for her to arrive at the Civic Theatre (along with a few other hardcore fans). Every now and then I'd look up from my work to discover someone staring avidly at my hands, entranced. It was quite amusing.

I finished the sock in the train on the way home.
The pattern is Nine-to-Five by Nicole Hindes, but shall forever be known to me as 'The-Sock-I-Was-Working-On-While-Waiting-In-Line-To-Meet-Tori-Freakin'-Amos!'.

I also did a bit of yarn shopping in Newcastle. The haul looks like this:

3 balls of Heirloom 8ply cotton in pale purple:
This is for a baby jumper for my friend's as yet unborn daughter. Did I mention that said daughter is due to be born tomorrow? D'you think I'll make it in time?

Me neither.

Six balls of Jo Sharp DK cotton in dark brown:
This will eventually be my sister's Christmas present. I have a little bit longer to get that one done.

And finally, three balls of my favourite dishcloth cotton:
It was also nice to come home and find this waiting for me:
Lisa Souza Sock! yarn in Wild Things, Earth Birth and Pacific. Oh, the pretty. It made me a little weak at the knees when I opened the box.

Thankfully, school holidays start in a little over a week, which will give me extra time to actually knit some of this up!

Montego Bay Scarf

2007-09-14T08:40:00.000+10:30

Ain't it pretty?
The pattern was simple, yet effective. (We shall ignore my spectacular stuff-ups in my first attempt at this project. Decrease, then yarn-over, dumbass).

The yarn was Handmaiden Sea Silk in Amethyst, and damn, is it ever gorgeous. Soft, shiny, beautiful handpainted colours... my heart broke with every stitch.

The pattern suggests making the scarf long enough to wrap around your neck several times, but I made mine a bit shorter. (Super-long scarves in warm weather feel weird to me).

I've made a start on a pair of socks (in The Knittery's merino cashmere- wow, is that stuff ever soft!) but as I'm sure you've all seen an inch and a half of ribbing before, I shall spare you a photo.

Oh, and speaking of yarn... you know that yarn diet I was kinda sorta on? Well, I'm off the wagon. Big time. (The new Knitty may have had something to do with it).

I suck.

2007-09-10T21:55:00.000+10:30

I suck at this whole 'blogging' thing. Clearly, I lack tenacity and stick-to-it-iveness. And time. And, lately, energy.
I just finished a couple of insanely busy weeks working at the local eisteddfod (just a hint: never, ever count the number of pieces you have to play over the course of the eisteddfod at the beginning of the competition, as the answer will crush your will to live). My time was spent either manically rushing from venue to venue (I can now perform a flat-out sprint in high heels) or sitting around for ages and ages while waiting for sections to start.

At least all that sitting around time yielded some knitterly results:

Finished Jaywalkers. With stripes that (more or less) match. How do I love thee, Yarntini? Let me count the ways.

Things that are making me happy right now

2007-08-26T09:44:00.001+10:30

1. The weather has taken a decided turn for the sunnier. I've been walking around in light cardigans and, occasionally, short sleeved shirts for the past few days. I know this means that the summer ahead is going to be brutal, and I know that there'll be one last, icy blast of meteorological vengeance before spring sets in for good, but right now, I don't care.

2. Berries are in season. I loves me some blueberries on my morning porridge, and these ones are big, and juicy, and (relatively) cheap. Yum.

3. So far, the stripes on my second Jaywalker match the stripes on the first one.
I'm about to head into the heel turn, which is where things have a distinct possibility of going pear-shaped, colour wise. I live in hope.

4. Ravelry. This is the biggest time-suck I've ever encountered. I spend ages just browsing yarn, patterns, other people's projects... not to mention the time I spend uploading my own (there aren't that many there now, but hopefully that will change).

5. People have been coming up to me all week at the eisteddfod and saying 'Wow! You've lost weight!' (I always like to hear these sorts of things, as they make the time spent jogging and resisting chocolate* totally worth it). They will inevitably follow this up with 'How did you do it? What's your secret?'
They're always oddly disappointed when they find out the answer is 'eating well' and 'exercising'. I think they were looking for some wonderful crash diet where you don't have to think or expend much effort. Sorry, folks.

6. I have been keeping my year 12 graduation dress in my wardrobe for the past nine years. It's purely a sentimental thing, as I knew deep down that I would never, ever fit into it again. Occasionally, I would lend it to a (smaller) friend if they had a party or ball to go to.
This morning, I was drying my hair in the mirror, and suddenly thought- "I wonder..."

Five minutes later, and bugger me if the damn thing doesn't fit me again.
Please excuse the blank look on my face. I was waiting for the flash, and it wasn't until the picture had taken that I remembered that I'd turned the flash off. I'm happy about fitting into the dress- really, I am- despite appearances to the contrary.

7. Only three more days left of the eisteddfod. Hurrah! My students have all been doing themselves (and me!) proud. I have an especially soft spot for the children's choir I conduct, who finished second in the open choir section. (One of the songs had choreography. There were jazz hands. It was great).

8. I wound the Sea Silk for the Montego Bay Scarf into a (pretty, pretty) ball.
I can't wait to work with it.

Now, as the universe seeks balance, I am off to hang laundry/ clean the bathroom/ wash-up/ do all the odd jobs that have piled up over the past few days.

*We shall simply ignore the entire block of chocolate I scoffed last night, won't we?

A surprising conundrum

2007-08-23T21:11:00.001+10:30

Once again, I have dropped off the face of the blogosphere for a while. (We can blame the local eisteddfod for that. When I'm not rehearsing or performing, I'm rehearsing for the rehearsing and performing. It's a circle with no beginning, and an end which is at least five days away. Argh).

In the moments when I was not rehearsing or performing, I managed to finish the Gryffindor socks...
...which, as you'll recall, were supposed to be a present for my sister, but are now mine mine mine!

I've also completed one Jaywalker sock, and started in on the second. The yarn is Yarntini, and it's a joy to work with. It also gave me absolutely perfect stripes at that awkward spot just after the heel turn. This thrills me more than I can say. It's also going to drive me stark staring bonkers when I try to replicate the effect on the second sock.

I also managed to clean out the stash (goodbye, acrylic! Goodbye, ill-advised internet purchases!) and discovered that it now fits back into the stash boxes. This was my goal when I started the '20 balls' yarn diet, and I felt that I'd gone far enough. (You'll notice that I've removed the 'yarn diet' ticker from the sidebar). I was free to buy yarn again.

Then, I discovered something startling. I could buy yarn... but I didn't want to.

You see, I'd made plans. Plans for the yarn I already had. There's a skein of Sea Silk that's crying out to be a Montego Bay scarf. Some burnt orange yarn from The Knittery that's going to make some nice 9 to 5 socks. Some leftover Montain Colors Bearfoot for Rib and Cable socks. I have plans. Knitty plans. And those plans would be totally and utterly thwarted by new yarn. Therefore, the new yarn can wait. Or, at least, wait until I end up buying yarn while pissed at 3am. That's always a possibility.

In other news, I finally got my Ravelry invite (woo and yay!) My username there is TheKnittingMuso. I haven't had much of a chance to look at it yet, so I'm off to play with it now. Hooray for internet-based fibery fun!

Playing catch-up

2007-08-11T14:41:00.001+10:30

You know, if I blogged more often, I wouldn't have to do this every damn time.

Things I have worked on this week

I completed another Lizard Ridge square (six down, eighteen to go).

I've turned the heel on the second Gryffindor sock.
As you might recall, these were supposed to be a birthday present for my sister. Her birthday was actually last wednesday (she apparently spent most of the day with a killer hangover- atta girl!) so I bought her a present and sent it up (and she was very, very pleased with it, I might add). You know what this means, don't you? The Gryffindor socks can now be mine! Mine, I say!
It's just as well, too. Several pairs of my hand knit socks have developed giant honkin' holes around the heel. Yes, I know I should be handwashing them. I know I could darn the holes. But frankly, I'm just too damn lazy. As Stephanie Pearl-McPhee puts it- 'I'm a knitter, not a sock repair person'.

After a particularly chilly and misty morning last week, I discovered that my red garter stitch hat wasn't covering my ears properly (how I've managed to overlook this problem for two months of winter, I'm not completely sure). Half a ball of yarn and an hour later, the hat had a nice 2x2 rib edge that solved the problem nicely.
Of course, as soon as I'd done that, the weather became unseasonably warm. Go figure.

Cool things I found this week

Chorewars- a 'Dungeons and Dragons' style game where people gain experience points from doing household chores- vacuuming, mopping, etc. However, Lime and Violet have modified the game to be played using knitting tasks- you get points for time spent working, points for finishing objects, points for casting on new projects- you get the idea. At the moment, I'm a mere Level 3 Shaman. You can join here, should you so desire.

Teacozies with Irony (link courtesy of Bex)- a very cute online cartoon featuring some funny (and painfully accurate) observations about crafters. Like this, for example. Or this.

The new Anticraft is up. Nuff' said.

Podcasty goodness

Okay, some of you have probably heard the latest Sticks and String episode, and thus know a bit about my ~~stupid~~ daring plan to come up with different them music for all ten episodes in this series. Because, y'know, my life clearly isn't busy enough.

I've already recorded and sent five different versions to David (you can hear one of them on the latest podcast). I've recorded a sixth one that needs a bit of ~~obsessive compulsive~~ fixing, and I have ideas for two more. That leaves me with two pieces of theme music, and absolutely no ideas. So, let me ask you- if you were to adapt 'Sheep May Safely Graze' for a podcasting audience, in what style would you perform it?

When the going gets tough, the tough... bail out and cast on something else.

2007-08-05T17:52:00.000+10:30

This is what my sister's Gryffindor socks looked like at about 5pm last night.
First sock: done. Second sock: not even done with the cuff. Considering that these needed to be finished, blocked and mailed on Monday in order to reach her by her birthday, I was facing something of a situation.

Fortunately, my sister doesn't know I'm knitting these for her, and isn't a big fan of my knitting anyway, to be honest. I mentioned that I might be considering making her something for her birthday, and she said 'Oh. It's not another scarf, is it? If it is, don't bother. I have enough scarves'.

Ah, Muggles. They know nothing of our ways.

Therefore, I refused to bust my hump frantically knitting a pair of socks that wouldn't be finished in time, anyway. I also had a rare evening to myself, and decided it was time to indulge in a bit of fibery luxury.

I dug a couple of balls of Noro Kureyon out of the stash-
-poured myself some wine, and put on Kenneth Branaugh's 'Much Ado About Nothing' (an excellent film which is sadly ruined by Keanu Reeves' complete inability to act).

By the end of the night, I'd finished not only an entire bottle of wine, but another Lizard Ridge square.
This brings me to a grand total of five squares out of twenty-four. At this rate, I'll be able to snuggle under this afghan on my fortieth birthday. But isn't it pretty? And the yarn knits up fast, thus bringing me closer and closer to the time when I can ~~completely lose control and bury the living room in new yarn~~ buy a select few skeins of carefully chosen yarn.

We had our second knitting group meet up today. Sadly, I was only able to stick around for half an hour before heading off to perform at a concert. (In case you were wondering, a twentysomething woman in performance clothes and heels, sitting at a table with ladies who are in some cases more than twice her age, and avidly discussing Celtic Knot cables gets a lot of odd looks. Ask me how I know).

Argh.

2007-08-01T07:23:00.000+10:30

Once again, my posting has ground to a halt. Sorry about that.

Since you've all stared at my profanity for quite long enough, I thought I'd give you a quick update (minus pictures, unfortunately- it's rather early in the morning and any photo I took would look terrible. Pictures soon, I swear).

My piano students all did fine (several of them did exceptionally well) and their examiner was very lovely and encouraging. My own exam (the singing one) went very well, too- I got an A+. Eventually, my head will deflate enough so that I can walk comfortably through doors, but not just yet.

On the knitting front, I'm racing to finish my sister's Gryffindor socks for her birthday next week. This is due to the fact that I became deeply unsatisfied with the first sock's stripe pattern, yanked the entire sock unceremoniously off the needles, and started again. Now, as I knit my little fingers to the bone for a deadline I probably won't meet, I wish I wasn't such a perfectionist.

I also finished the wavy scarf- the weather lately has dictated that I really, really needed it- and have received several compliments on it. (My mother asked me why I was knitting a caterpillar, but I choose to take the high road and ignore her).

Meanwhile, I've only got eight balls of yarn to go before I can buy some new yarn. I've already started stalking fiber vendors. Anyone got a favourite they'd care to recommend?

Clarifying

2007-07-19T10:05:00.000+10:30

It seems that my 'finding housebricks in my pants' comment has led to some confusion.

You see, I was trying to be refined. I was trying to keep it clean. Well, with less than two hours to go before my own very, very scary voice exam (I'm only singing one song in english- the rest are in Italian or German. Have I mentioned that I speak neither Italian or German?) I feel that this is a good time to clarify things.

I am so terrified, that I am shitting bricks, people. Shitting bricks.

Clear?

We shall return to your (ir)regularly scheduled, less sweary knitting content shortly.

I knit alone no more!

2007-07-18T08:03:00.000+10:30

Well, I didn't end up knitting alone on Sunday (hooray!). The turnout was small, but the company was excellent, and there was much knitting and talking of the ways of yarn.

Helen and Gwen, knitting toys and children's clothes, respectively.

Wendy and Viane. Wendy was making a child's singlet top, and Viane (who organised the group with me) is knitting a Mason Dixon dishcloth, and looking just as relieved as I was that this whole harebrained scheme seemed to be working.

My Gryffindor sock- well, it will eventually be my sister's Gryffindor sock. And before you ask, yes, that is my wine glass on the table there.

We've decided to meet on every first and third Sunday of each month (unfortunately, it looks like I have a concert on the afternoon of the next one. Damn), and everyone was very glad something like this was getting underway. Woo and yay!

Apart from Sunday, I've been doing very little knitting (although the Gryffindor sock seen above now has a heel). This is due to two major factors- 1) The final Harry Potter book comes out on Saturday (Saturday!) and I've been dutifully re-reading the previous six books, so that I'm all caught up, and 2) Today, my students have their practical piano exams. The music examinations board managed to schedule this so that I had to teach my way through my entire so-called 'holiday'. Even so, there are a couple of students I haven't seen for weeks (either due to geography or human error (mine)) who are going in for exams today.

Is it any wonder I keep finding house bricks in my pants?

Just a quick note...

2007-07-15T09:54:00.000+10:30

...before I head off to watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (which I've heard is really good). From there, I'll be heading off to my first ever knitting meetup. I'm so excited!

I'm hoping there'll be more people than just Vianne and myself there (I've had a few expressions of interest, so hopefully we'll have at least one other person), but even if it's just us, I have a good couple of hours of knitting and good conversation ahead of me. I'll let you know how it goes!

What I've been up to

2007-07-12T18:03:00.001+10:30

Well. It would appear that when I'm on holidays, and therefore have more time to blog, I completely lose interest in blogging. Sorry about that.

Knitting activity has been a bit on and off around here, anyway. Remember that show I knitted the Shoalwater Shawl for? Well, in the grand tradition of... well, me-

-I was called in at the last minute to operate the digital sampler. This was my view from backstage. The knitting next to the sampler pedals is a gauge swatch for a mystery project that'll hopefully get underway soon-ish.

I did end up wearing the shawl, anyway, and got a number of very nice compliments. It made those endless, endless rows all worthwhile.

I finished the River Rapids socks-
-which are due to be handed to their intended recipient, uh, tonight. In less than an hour, actually. They're unblocked, but I doubt my friend (not a knitter herself) will notice.

Finishing the socks also means that I'm halfway through my yarn diet! Hooray!

I've also started this scarf-

-which is both simple and quirky, and uses thick yarn. As we know, thick yarn=knits up fast.

The second half of my Amazon order arrived yesterday (two packages ship from Amazon one day apart. They arrive here more than two weeks apart. How much more disillusioned about the postal service do you become?)

I got Elizabeth Zimmerman's 'Knitter's Almanac' which I've only flipped through so far, and 'Fitted Knits' which is just so beautiful I can barely stand it. I've already started swatching for one of the projects.

I also got two CDs- Gabriela Montero's 'Bach and Beyond' (wonderful improvisations on Bach melodies) and The Who's 'Tommy', which I adore. It's proved a useful tool in getting me to work out- I stayed on the rowing machine this afternoon for an extra five minutes so I could hear to the end of 'We're not gonna take it'.

Meanwhile, I've been haunting my inbox, waiting for my Ravelry invite. Where's my invite, Ravelry?

Shoalwater Shawl

2007-07-03T14:41:00.000+10:30

Remember the soul-crushing picot bind-off and never ending i-cord edging? Turns out, they weren't so bad.
Thank you, Knitting Fates, for your kindness. In order for the universe to have balance, I know this means that my next project will be as fun and painless as licking steel wool. Right now, I don't care.

Blocking shawls. Will it ever get old? I hope not.

And, finally...

...the Shoalwater Shawl is done.

There are several things in this photo worth noting. The first is the expression on my face, which says 'I have wings, and am not sure if I like it or not'. The second is the way my exceptionally daggy clothing really complements the delicate lace of the shawl. The third is that I really need to organise my bookshelf.
I cropped my face out of this one, for the benefit of all concerned. The expression on my face and the way I was looking out of frame made it look like I was really, really annoyed with the wall clock.

In an effort to placate the Knitting Fates, I'm knitting things for other people for a while.

This sock is the first in a pair for a friend of mine who's moving out of town soon to further her studies. The yarn is Koigu (Pretty! Bouncy! Squishy!) and I'm enjoying it immensely. Right now, any project that doesn't wind up with eight billionty stitches on the needles is a-ok with me.

Thank you all for your encouraging and helpful comments on starting a knitting group! I've taken them all on board, though I probably won't set up a website for a little while yet. However, the publicity posters are done, and being printed up today. Hooray!

Wheels in motion

2007-07-01T13:14:00.000+10:30

Yesterday, I had a terrific lunch with Viane. Viane, you may remember, was the woman who found my blog and phoned me with an interest in starting a knitting group. Yesterday, we set the wheels in motion.

Well, first we chatted about knitting in general for a while (she's a huge, huge fan of Debbie Bliss yarn and patterns) and did a book swap. I loaned her the first Yarn Harlot book, 'Knitting on the Road' by Nancy Bush, and 'Mason-Dixon Knitting' (she went into raptures when I produced that one. Turns out she's been stalking it online for a while now). She loaned me 'Home- 27 knitted designs for living' by (of course) Debbie Bliss. I'm very taken with the first pattern in the book, which is an oddly simple triangular pillow.

It wasn't long, though, before we were whipping out notebooks and pens and making knitting group plans. We decided on a date and time for the first gathering (July 15th, in case you were wondering) and worked out a whole series of possible venues and promotional possibilities. After lunch, we actually went to one of the potential venues to scope it out, and they said they were happy for us to be there. Score!

I spent a bit of this morning making up some posters and flyers to be placed in craft-centric locations around town. There are still a few details to be ironed out, but I'm hoping we can have the posters done and ready to be posted by mid-week. I'm excited! Squee!

You guys got any tips for the successful promotion and running of a knitting group?

As for that shawl that was kicking my butt? I've finished knitting the last pattern repeat.

Now all the remains is the ~~soul crushing~~ picot bind-off and the ~~unending~~ i-cord edging. May the knitting fates smile upon me.

An open letter to a project in progress

2007-06-27T21:18:00.000+10:30

Dear Shawl,

Please understand: I like you. I like you a lot. I like your gorgeous hand painted yarn. I like your easily memorized lace pattern. I like your charmingly curved garter ridges, your cozy warmth on my lap, and the way I can watch TV and work on you at the same time. As a project, you have a whole lot going for you.

That's why I'm particularly sad to discover that you are, in fact, crushing my will to live. Or at least my will to knit.

The problem is a simple one: right now, you have about eight billionty freakin' stitches on the needles. It takes me twenty-five minutes to knit a single row. To add insult to injury, you get four stitches bigger every two rows, and I still have plenty of rows to go before I can cast you off. Speaking of which, the thought of your beautiful but fiddly picot cast-off is already giving me the heebie jeebies, not to mention your i-cord edging.

Look, I know none of this is your fault, really. I'm the one who took on what I knew to be a large project, I'm the one who set myself stupid, unrealistic deadlines (I want you finished by next Saturday, so I can wear you to the closing night of my friend's multimedia concert. Come on, the title of the show contains the word 'lace'- I simply couldn't hold my knitterly head high if I had nothing lacy to wear, could I?), and I'm the one who chose a shawl that would get bigger and bigger as it went on. I know all this.

And yet, I can't help but feel that you're somehow responsible.
In closing, I'd like to humbly request that you get a freakin' move on, already. At this rate, I'll be lucky to finish you by the end of winter.

Your devoted knitter (who is rapidly running out of patience),

Michelle

I need a new digital camera.

2007-06-22T09:39:00.000+10:30

My digital camera is against me, and I have proof. Every time I go to update this blog, I take four or five pictures of the same thing (with different camera settings) just so I can be sure that I will have at least one picture in proper focus.

Not any more.

This was the absolute best photo I could get of the Shoalwater Shawl in progress.
I'm just shy of two full chart repeats. The pattern suggests I should knit four and a half chart repeats, but I suspect that may come out a little too big. I want something large and snuggly, but I don't want a tank cozy. I'll knit three and a half repeats, and see how I feel about it then. As much as I am loving this project right now, it has stalled over the last couple of days due to my left shoulder throwing a hissy fit. (It does this occasionally, just to keep me on my toes).

The camera had better luck getting a photo of the stitch pattern...
...but absolutely no luck with my new sock in progress.
This is the River Rapids sock pattern in Koigu yarn sent to me by Krista. Great yarn, great pattern, not sure how well they're working together. Thoughts?

Yesterday also saw the arrival of the two knitting books I've coveted most lately.

I've already finished 'Stephanie Pearl-Mcphee Casts Off' (can you tell I love the Yarn Harlot? Well, I do) and had a flip through the Barbara Walker. Wow, is that book 'kid in a candy store' stuff. I want to knit each and every stitch pattern, and I want to knit them all now. Well, perhaps when my shoulder has stopped being a total jerk.

Hey, I just noticed that the camera had no problems whatsoever in photographing the books. Perhaps it's just sick and tired of taking pictures of knitting.

Hunted down like a blog

2007-06-14T22:22:00.000+10:30

It was nearly 7pm when I dragged myself home after a long, exhausting day. I'd just started chopping veggies for a much longed-for dinner, when the phone rang.
I grumpily dragged myself over to the phone, muttering things like 'if that's another telemarketer...' and 'tear them a new orifice...' Thankfully it wasn't a telemarketer, but a lovely woman telling me her name was Viane (a name I would embarassingly mispronounce later in the phone call), and that she was a friend of my parents. In fact, she'd babysat for me when I was a child. Did I remember her, by any chance? I had to confess that no, I did not.

Now usually, when friends of my parents call, they're after piano or singing lessons for their children (and occasionally, for themselves). I was already preparing my usual spiel and figuring out what lesson times I had free when Viane said-

"Um... I found your blog".

Instantly, my brain went into a tailspin. I've kept a number of blogs over the years, and some have been more, shall we say... colourful than others. Which blog? What had she read? I didn't for a moment think it could be this one. People don't just find the knitting blogs of their friends' children, do they?

Then, she said "Actually, I'm quite the knitter myself" and my fears were alleviated.

Turns out, she'd found her way here after hearing on some blog or other (which one, Viane?) about a Michelle from her town who'd attended the Sydney WWKIP day. She'd found a link and followed it to this blog.

We had a great conversation, during which she said some lovely but completely undeserved things about me and my knitting, and mentioned she wanted to try socks (at this point, I went into quiet raptures and said 'Ah, socks...' She laughed). We also decided that the time has come to form a local knitting group. Surely, we can't be the only fiber-obsessed people in this town.

Viane, thanks for absolutely making my day. I'll be in contact in the next week or so about doing a book exchange... and working out those all-important knitting group details!

Speaking of socks, I've finally finished the pair for my father's birthday...

...just under a week late. Well, by the time I've given them to him, it'll be just over a week late, but a pair of hand-knit socks is a pair of hand-knit socks*.

Mary asked in the comments if I planned to take part in Mystery Stole 3. I really like the concept- a stole pattern given to you in little bits, week by week- but figure that the dead of winter is possibly not the best time to be knitting a gossamer lace stole (this assessment was solidified this morning, when I was walking to work and became lightly covered in falling snowflakes. I was dressed in many, many layers of woolly goodness, so it didn't bother me too much).

Besides, I've just cast on a new shawl.

Sorry about the flash photos.

This is no lightweight gossamer confection. This is the Shoalwater Shawl from Fibertrends in a heavy sock yarn (Mountain Colors 'Bearfoot') in the singularly appropriate colourway, 'Crazy Woman'. This will be a warm, cozy shawl to wrap around my shoulders at those cold winter concerts, or to snuggle under on a chilly evening. So far, I'm enjoying it immensely, but I think I'll be less enraptured once it has eight billionty stitches on the needles. This thing is going to be big.

*Viane, since you know my father personally, could you refrain from mentioning the socks to him until monday? Ta.

Knitting in Public Day

2007-06-11T10:34:00.000+10:30

After a particularly turbulent flight on a very small plane (imagine being packed into a tin can and shaken severely for 30 minutes) I arrived in a very rainy and wind-blown Sydney. I had a nice leisurely breakfast, then wandered up to visit Tapestry Craft before my sister came to meet me (she's a non-knitter, and less than tolerant of the ways of yarn).

It's at this point that I feel I must make a confession. Hello, my name is Michelle, and I bought some yarn.
I justify my purchase on the following grounds:

1) This is yarn for a 'project in progress' (the Lizard Ridge Blanket) and therefore exploits a loophole in my yarn diet. (We'll ignore the fact that this project will be 'in progress' for about the next two years).

2)The yarn was on sale, at 20% off. If I held off on buying it until after my yarn diet was over, I'd be losing money in the long run. (Work with me here).

3)The yarn is insanely beautiful. How could I not buy it?

After that little transgression, I met up with my sister and we did some serious shopping. I bought some shoes, some sheet music, large quanitites of american confectionery (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are the best thing ever. How did I not know about these before?) and a $30 formal dress for a performance in a couple of weeks. At 2 o'clock we checked into our hotel, where I left my sister* and headed on down to the Opera House.

Despite the horrible weather, a decent group of Knitters (note the capital 'K') had gathered.

Upon my arrival, I was immediately recognised by Kate who- get this- recognised me by my Central Park Hoodie. It was both very cool and a little disconcerting.

I was also immediately introduced to David Reidy. JenWren got a photo of the momentous occasion. (If you follow the link, you'll notice that my hair is plastered down to my head. That's because I'd just walked through a freakin' squall to get there, and hadn't even had a chance to sit down yet.)
Knitters, knitters everywhere. Can I just say how incredible it was to talk with these people about Blue Moon, Ravelry and Barbara Walker, and having them know- and care- what I was on about? It was very normalising and liberating.

I met lots of terrific people, including Mary-Helen, the Godmother of Sydney knitting (I was repeatedly told that Godmother was not meant in the 'Fairy Godmother' way, but rather the 'You cross me, and you sleeps with the fishes' Godmother way. I dropped a stitch in front of her. My knitting career is over), Charisse (who was knitting with some fabulous Blue Moon Socks that Rock), Madoka (whose crocheted Amigurumi toys were so cute they gave me a little cramp), Andrew, Gemma, Lara (the Disco Knitter), the sadly blogless Erin (who was knitting with a gorgeous wool/silk blend), Kris (the event organiser and ~~crack dealer~~ proprietor of Tapestry Craft), and and many others. If you were there and I've missed you, my apologies! Let me know in the comments.

I may have had one or two beers.

Here, David records the essay for this week's episode of Sticks and String. If you listen closely, I can be heard talking in the background- but so can everyone else who was there, so it won't help you identify me much. (At the start of the essay, I can be clearly heard in the background saying 'I know'. I don't know what I was saying it about, though). Thanks also to David for his lovely comments about me on the show. I'm blushing.

Eventually the weather turned even colder, so we packed up and said our goodbyes. I rejoined my sister at the hotel, and we ventured out to the Lowenbrau for several steins of frosty goodness (there are no pictures. This is a very, very good thing). Let's just say that Sunday morning's awakening was... difficult, to say the least.

Sunday was spent avoiding bright lights, shopping at markets, and watching Shrek the Third (good movie, if occasionally a bit hokey. See it if you haven't already), and travelling back home with heavier bags- and lots of good memories**.

*I left her with copious amounts of chocolate and access to a luxurious bath and movies on demand. She was perfectly happy to stay.

** Well, except for Saturday night, where my memory gets a little blurry.

Worst. Blogger. Ever.

2007-06-08T08:30:00.000+10:30

Sorry, guys. Not only do I cop out on you for nearly two weeks, but I go away for the weekend... and spectacularly fail to take a single photo. (Trust me- if you've ever seen the inside of a concert hall and the inside of a pub, then you've pretty much seen what I got up to last weekend*). I am the worst. Blogger. Ever.

In penance, I present to you a shiny FO-
The Central Park Hoodie, in all its greenish glory. I've been wearing this for the past few days and man, is it ever warm ('warm' has been a pretty key factor in choosing my outfits lately). I love it.

Dad's socks currently look like this-
Did I mention that his birthday is, uh, today? Poor dad. He'll be getting a heartfelt card and an IOU at his birthday dinner tonight.

You may notice that I've frogged the toe on the first sock. You see, I came up with a brilliant plan for making the toe more rounded and 'manly' (my brilliant plans should automatically come with a warning). I worked it out, executed it flawlessly and accurately... and ended up with a toe that was even more pointy than it would have been. Next time, I'll simply lengthen the foot and add less plain rounds between decreases. You know, what any normal, sensible knitter would have decided to do in the first place.

Dad's socks will be following me to KIP day tomorrow...
...where I plan to knit, eat, drink, and be merry. If you're planning on going, I'll be the one who may or may not be wearing a green Central Park Hoodie (depending on the weather) and a vaguely amusing whale T-shirt, while knitting frantically on a pair of ever-so-manly striped socks. Hope to see you there!

*I actually went to hear a friend perform the 'Totentanz' concerto at my old alma mater. He hasn't seen me for months, and did a complete double take when he first clapped eyes on me. It made all those hours on the treadmill completely worth it.

A day to myself

2007-05-26T19:58:00.000+10:30

Today was a good day. A day with no commitments, a day where I didn't have to do anything for anyone else (okay, that's a lie. I did teach one kid this morning, but he's such a nice kid that it hardly counts), a day to relax, unwind, and have a bit of time to myself. Bliss.

In the morning, I went to the farmer's market, and bought lots of delicious goodies.
Please ignore the piece of Danish cheesecake in that photo. It looked so delicious (and it was) that I couldn't resist. The tea I bought (in the paper bag at the back) was crap, though- drinking it actually made me nauseous and gave me a headache. Ah, well- you win some, you lose some.

In the afternoon, I blocked the body pieces of the Central Park Hoodie.
They are shown here blocking on my impromptu blocking board- a cheap camping mat I picked up at Big W. It works rather well for blocking, but I don't know if I'd ever want to sleep on it.

I atoned for the Danish cheesecake in the evening, when I tried out an exercise video I bought yesterday.
I was worried that I'd do this video once, learn all the moves, and have it rendered essentially useless within an hour. No chance. Turns out I'm so uncoordinated, it's going to take a few watches to get a handle on the choreography. Especially the latin dance section- I have absolutely no idea what direction my hips are supposed to go. Wow, am I glad I closed all the blinds so no-one could see my random, flailing gyrations.

I went to the video store and picked up a couple of movies, and was walking home just as the sun was beginning to set. I was thinking about how nice a day this had been; how I'd go home and cook up those field mushrooms (which were also delicious, incidentally), sit myself down with my knitting and a DVD, and just unwind. I was thinking about how lucky I was to see this sunset, and be in the free country, and live my life in the way I want to live it (which, when you think about it, is an unbelievable luxury), when a man passing me in the opposite direction smiled at me and said "Cheer up, luv. It probably won't happen".

I was stunned. Turns out, my 'grateful contemplation' face is the same as my 'worried' face. Who knew?

Talking to myself

2007-05-23T19:25:00.001+10:30

At the beginning of the year, my body and I sat down and had a serious talk.

"I'm not very happy with you, Body" I said. "You don't make me feel healthy. You don't make me feel strong. Quite frankly, Body, there is simply too much of you. When I was a size 12 (back in my late teens, I grant you) I never used to feel this way. Be a size 12 again".

My body replied- "No".

So I cleaned out the fridge and stocked it with lots of fresh, healthy produce. I started reading the nutritional information on the foods I bought. I stopped snacking on junk food. I did more walking, and took up tap dancing again.

"Be a size 12" I said to my body.

My body replied- "No."

So I joined the gym. I started doing yoga and spent a lot of time on the cardio machines. I began swimming once a week. At home, I learned to embrace the humble salad, and switched (and this was a blow to me, my love of dairy being what it is) to low fat milk. Before I knew it, I'd dropped a dress size.

"Be a size 12" I said to my body.

My body replied- "No."

In desperation, I succumbed to the two things I swore I would never do- aerobics, and (shudder) jogging- and discovered, to my very great surprise, that I enjoyed both. Time passed.

"Be a size 12" I said to my body.

My body replied-

Please ignore the fact that these jeans were made in China.

-"okay".

(By the way, a size 12 AU is about the same as a US size 8, or a UK size 10).

To give you a knitting-related pictorial example (and knitting is why you guys are here, right?) here's a picture of me in a top I knitted last year.

Me in the same top, today.

I know cotton stretches, but this is ridiculous.

Hey! Remember last time I lost a dress size, I bought myself a knitterly treat? Well, this time is no exception!

What wonders lurk in that nondescript little black case? Could it be...
...a complete set of Knitpicks Options needles?

Why, yes. Yes, it could.

I haven't even had a chance to work with them yet (though I have spent a bit of time screwing the needles onto the different cables, then cackling with glee). The only project I could conceivably use them for is the central park hoodie, of which I have completed the back-
-and both fronts-
-and I'm not willing to risk a 'gauge incident' this late in the game by switching to different needles, no matter how shiny and alluring they are.

I made a start on the second 'Unrequited Glove' (name courtesy of Trudi)-
-but, sadly, the first glove will be unrequited for a little while yet. I suddenly realised it was my dad's birthday in a couple of weeks, and I'd resolved to knit him some socks this year.

Plain socks in suitably manly colours. This is actually one of the 'forward planning socks' I planted at one of the schools I work at. Clearly, all my students are too reliable, because I didn't get very far with them there. They've begun travelling with me wherever I go.

The observant among you will also have noticed that my yarn diet sidebar tracker has moved. Two yarn balls down (and eighteen to go)! And these weren't your normal 5og balls, either- these were the big, honkin' Bendigo Mills 200g balls. I am proud.

(Is it wrong that I feel dirty about typing 'balls' so many times in that last paragraph?)

Too busy to blog- again

2007-05-22T07:13:00.000+10:30

Yes, I'm still here. I'm just very, very busy.

There's been lots of stuff, both knitting and non-knitting, going on around here. I'll try to blog tomorrow. There may even be blurry pictures.

Hooray.

New books, new techniques

2007-05-13T17:11:00.000+10:30

'Rent' is finally finished. We had our closing night last night, and everyone agreed it was an artistic (if not financial) success. I enjoyed the production very much, but I'll be glad to have some time to myself in the evenings again. (I'm unduly excited about the prospect of being able to watch 'Mythbusters'. Is that bad?)

A couple of new things entered my knitting library this week.

Firstly, the new Interweave landed in my mailbox on Wednesday. It has a few patterns which I really like (the Notre Dame De Grace pullover, the Montego Bay scarf and the Syncopated Caps are my favourites) as well as a good tutorial on toe-up socks.

That very same day, I wandered into my local bookstore for a quick browse, and discovered one copy of 'Domiknitrix' (which I didn't even think was available in Australia- I'd planned to buy it from Amazon) which I snapped up with unflattering speed.

This is a great book- hell, any book with an opening chapter entitled 'Badass Knitting for Badass Knitters' is bound to be pretty special. There's a lot of information on design, yarn selection, fitting a garment properly, and the merits of being unafraid to rip if the project just isn't working. There's also a great section on technique (though she focuses fairly heavily on Continental style knitting. Since I knit English style, it takes me a little bit longer to make sense of the diagrams), including a fantastic section on grafting ribbing- a technique I've never been able to find much information on before.

Speaking of learning new techniques, the Central Park Hoodie is up to the armhole decreases-

-and I did it all without the aid of a cable needle. I'd been meaning to add this technique to my repertoire for some time, but the final push came when my cable needle cunningly concealed itself somewhere within the house and refused to be found, despite an exhaustive search. I used Grumperina's excellent tutorial, found here.

The other good news is...

The first ball of yarn is almost gone.

Expect to see movement on the sidebar ticker in the next couple of days.

Can't a person walk down the street without being offered a job?

2007-05-08T08:13:00.000+10:30

I was walking down the street on Saturday when I ran into a musical acquaintance of mine (in a region this centralised, all the musicians tend to know each other). He asked how my show was going (more on that in a sec), and I asked about the production of Jekyll and Hyde he was conducting in the next town. He mentioned it was going well, then stopped and gave me a very appraising look. After a pause, he said "Want a gig?"

Turns out that the second keyboard player was unable to do the two Saturday shows due to other commitments, and he was in need of another keyboard player. So it was that most of Saturday was spent sight reading my way through two live performances of Jekyll and Hyde. (I didn't do too badly, though there was one occasion during the matinee when I started playing and no-one else did. Whoops).

Long story short, I've earned a little bit of unexpected income. Normally, unexpected income would automatically become yarn- of course, my ~~own stubborn stupidity~~ yarn diet means that it can't. Instead, it will become the large pile of knitting books I've been hankering after for months. (As soon as I get paid for the gig, that is).

After the outcry of 'finish the damn glove!' in the comments, I went ahead and finished it.

Are you happy now? Are you all happy?

Then I... ahem... cast on the Central Park Hoodie.

Judge not my knitting weakness, lest yours be judged.

I'm really in need of something a bit simple and mindless at the moment, as this week is being completely taken over by rehearsals and performances of the musical Rent. (Did I mention I've been rehearsing this show for the past four months? Did I mention I was the 'Associate Musical Director' (which is a title the Director and Musical Director gave me so I'd shut up and play the piano, but I appreciate it nonetheless)? Did I mention that it's consuming pretty much every waking moment (and that the 'sleeping moments' are getting fewer and fewer)? I didn't? Whoops). A little bit of 2x2 rib is just what I need to soothe my jangled nerves (and it's a bit easier on the hands, too- the piano part in the song 'La Vie Boheme' is a bit taxing on the tendons after the 30th time).

Bex mentioned in the comments that World Wide Knit In Public Day is on June the 9th, and asked if I intended to head to Sydney to take part. I had a think about it, and you know what? I'm going to go. I could use a weekend away (thanks to Rent, I haven't had one for months) and a weekend surrounded by knitters sounds like the ultimate getaway. Yo! Sydney Knitbloggers! You going?

The Bendy has landed

2007-05-04T08:31:00.000+10:30

The yarn diet has begun.

This is what I call... well, I think the technical term is 'an absolute shitload' of yarn. What you see here is-

6 Balls of Rustic 12ply in 'Elm' (for the Central Park Hoodie)
4 Balls of Classic 8ply in 'Chilli' (for a cabled pullover. The colour isn't exactly what I thought it would be- it's somewhere between orange and brown- but I like it a little more each time I look at it)
1 ball each of Classic 8ply in 'Venetian' and 'Seaquest' (for Fair-Isle hats. And possibly mittens).

Just to show you how freakin' huge these yarn balls are, I have prepared this visual aid:

On the left: Bendigo yarn ball. On the right: Standard 50 gram yarn ball. Hoo boy. This '20 ball challenge' is going to be harder than I thought.

On the (rather blurry) glove front:
Three fingers down, two to go. Is it wrong that the gloves (which were giving me so much pleasure as recently as yesterday) have now become a massive pain in my arse? I want to start knitting with the Bendy wool now!

I am so very, very fickle.

Magic Yarn

2007-05-02T16:37:00.000+10:30

The Bendigo wool still hasn't arrived yet. However, my credit card statement shows a debit from Bendigo, so my order has obviously been received. I am assuming that the slow delivery time comes courtesty of Australia Post.

Yesterday, I received some yarn of a different sort. Magic yarn. A whole ball of it!

I took part in the Lime n' Violet Magic Yarn Ball Swap, and this is what my swap partner Beth sent! (A Magic Yarn Ball, incidentally, is a ball of yarn which is hand-wound with various gifts and treats concealed inside). After much unwinding, I discovered-

-lots and lots of goodies! There was a little pouch containing eight hand-made stitch markers, two tiny highlighters, a 'throw your own ticker-tape parade' (I love this. I'm saving it for a particularly bad day, and then I'm going cheer myself up by parading about the living room and throwing confetti), a beautiful metal bookmark, an adorable sheep shaped soap, some Kookaburra Wool Wash (I'm a bit amused that something so Aussie sounding is actually produced in America) and a selection of 'Burt's Bees' products: Lemon butter cuticle cream, hand salve, and beeswax lip balm (all of which contain 100% natural ingredients, and feel fabulous on the skin).

The yarn was dyed by Beth herself, in the colourway 'Midnight Garden' (I've noticed she has a skein of this for sale at her Etsy Store, along with lots of other yarn, rovings and stitch markers. Check it out). Thank you, Beth. I love it all!

In project progress news, here's where the first Queen of Diamonds glove is up to.

I'm finding them endlessly entertaining. There are so many different components to a glove that it's impossible to get bored, and they're small, so I'm not knitting away on one thing for too long. I'm also altering the pattern like crazy, so I'm forced to keep my wits about me.

We'll see if I find them just as entertaining when faced with the second glove.

Phew.

2007-04-28T15:43:00.000+10:30

What a week. Monday through Thursday saw me working from 8am until 9.30 or 10pm. On Friday, I worked a paltry six hours (what a slacker, huh?) and I spent a delightful evening off, drinking beer, reading magazines, and collapsing into bed at about 10pm. Ooh, yeah. I'm a wild one.

I haven't had much time for knitting, and the knitting time that I have had has been hampered by my left shoulder turning into a mass of knots again (I had a massage today, which has helped a bit). Despite these setbacks, there has been a little bit of progress (little being the operative word).

I finished the garter stitch hat-

-which fits me fine, despite my fears to the contrary. (I swatched for this one. The mojo was on my side). I'm also getting a kick out of the fact that it's completely reversible (I only realised this as I was weaving in the ends. I'm a bit... you know... slow).

The mornings have been getting chilly of late, so I've started a pair of gloves.

The pattern is the Queen of Diamonds gloves, and so far they're working up very nicely in the Knitpicks Gloss that Mary sent me. The pattern is for fingerless gloves, but I'm going to make the fingers full-length. Fingerless gloves are all very well, but it's quite difficult to play the piano when you're unable to feel your fingertips.

I also started a scribble scarf with the linen and cashmere yarns from Krista-

These yarns are very, very nice to work with. Especially the cashmere. It's like knitting with very fine wisps of cloud. You will also note that these are very small balls of yarn, and are therefore something of a 'get out of jail free, or at least relatively cheaply' card on my 20 ball yarn purge.

Speaking of the yarn purge, the Bendy yarns haven't shown up, so I took one last opportunity to stock up.
This are also 'get out of jail free' type yarn. The yarn is bulky and the yardage is short, so I can probably knit it up in a couple of days if I'm getting desperate.

After some consideration, I've added a few more rules to this little yarn purge. They are:

-Half-balls count. If I use one and a half balls of yarn to complete a project, one and a half balls will go towards my total. If I use half a ball each of two different yarns, that's one ball. You get the idea.

-I am free to purchase knitting paraphernalia, such as needles, notions, and books (and a good thing, too. I plan to go on one hell of a book-buying spree in the near future).

-I can buy more yarn if I need it to finish an existing project.

Any more rules you think need inclusion? Let me know.

In other, non-knitting related news, I fitted into- and purchased- my first size 12 top today. We shall ignore the fact that it was a very large and stretchy size 12, and that I am in reality a size 12 the way a bread stick is an avocado, but that's not the point. I own a piece of size 12 clothing! Go me!

Also, I have discovered the secret to enjoying chocolate whilst on a ~~diet~~ healthy eating regimen: buy the really good, really expensive stuff. If you can place a dollar value on each bite, there's no way you're shoving the entire block into your mouth at one sitting. If you buy dark chocolate, you can feel smug knowing you're getting some much needed antioxidants, too!

I'm off to prepare for a concert tonight, in which one of my choral compositions will be premiered. I wrote it over three years ago, but no other choir would agree to sing it.

I wonder why?

Ouch.

2007-04-27T20:04:00.000+10:30

Long week. Incapable of coherent thought. Witty banter tomorrow, with pictures. Promise.

Diet

2007-04-23T17:50:00.000+10:30

I blame you guys, you know. That's right, you enablers. Every single one of you who said 'buy! buy! buy!' when I posted my 10% off Bendigo Yarns quandary is completely responsible for what is to follow.

To cut a long story short: I ordered yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills. Not just a little bit either. A lot.

Not only did I order yarn for the Central Park Hoodie, but enough yarn for a whole other sweater, too. Plus, a couple of single balls in colours I simply couldn't resist.

It's official. My name is Michelle, and I have too much yarn.

It is with that said that I hereby enter into a yarn diet. The diet begins the day that the Bendigo yarn lands on my doorstep, and ends when I have used up at least twenty balls of yarn from my stash (and yes, I'm counting those big 200 gram Bendigo yarn balls as 'one' ball. That oughta teach me a lesson). During this time, I will buy no new yarn, with the following two exceptions:

1) Yarn with which to make presents for others
2) Yarn which will be gifted to others

I've added a ticker to the sidebar on the right. It will count down the yarn balls as I use them (yes, I know it says 'debt reduction ticker', but it was the closest thing I could get). You'll note I've chosen a snail as the marker. I think this is going to take quite a while- although this blog should start to get more and more interesting as I slowly go batshit insane.

In other news... remember those mystery swatches?

One led to the creation of a fair-isle hat-

I combined the Sean Sheep yarn with some leftover grey alpaca from Eris (I have tons of this yarn left. Tons). The pattern is the 'Fana Cap' from 'Hats On' by Charlene Schurch, and boy, is it warm. This thing would stand me in good stead in a blizzard.

The red yarn is in the process of becoming a garter stitch hat-

-which I suspect is coming out too big, but it's too early to tell for sure. Because I'm working in the round, I have to purl every second row to get the garter stitch effect. It's making me slightly bitter- having to work so hard for garter stitch!

St-eek!

2007-04-19T20:38:00.000+10:30

This morning, I finished the Eris cardigan I'd been knitting since June (June!) of last year.

I put it on and discovered...

...it was too big. (I knew it was going to be, but if you look closely, you can see my mouth has that 'Oh, crap' quirk to it). There was only one thing to do.

I borrowed my mother's sewing machine (actually, I borrowed my parents' entire house as a venue for this. It's much easier to carry a cardigan (albeit a large one) to my parents' house than to drag a sewing machine back to my place) and ran three rows of stitching along the sides.

Overkill, you say? I think not. I've been working on this thing since June (June!) of last year (on and off- well, mostly off), and I was not going to let the fruits of my labors unravel into steel grey alpaca spaghetti.

I picked up a pair of sharp scissors, and, well...

It was just as traumatic as the video suggests. (As a side note, you can tell I'm at my parents' house, because the place is clean and tastefully decorated).

When I was done, I was left with a few scraps-

Cardigan Carnage!

-and a cardigan that actually fit me.

Here it is, undergoing a much-needed blocking. I was terrified that the sides were going to unravel as soon as they hit water, but so far the seams are holding up well. Once it's dry (which could take a while: this thing soaks up water like a sponge) I'll don it, take a couple of photos, and perform a triumphant victory dance (note: there will be no video of the triumphant victory dance).

Finally, I need to say a big 'Thank You!' to Lime and Violet, who played another of my silly sound clips on their podcast this week, and gave this blog a terrific plug into the bargain. Thank you so much, ladies. If you've discovered this blog via the podcast: Hi!

Cue the 'wokka-chikka' music

2007-04-17T17:39:00.000+10:30

Yup, there's so much yarn porn today that it needs its own bad seventies guitar soundtrack. Really.

To start with, a package arrived yesterday from my Lime and Violet Pron Exchange Pal, Krista.

Firstly, there was yarn from Yarntini-

The colourway is called 'Home', but it makes me think of children's birthday cake. If it wasn't such a difficult yarn to get hold of, I'd eat it.

There was Koigu KPPPM-
-in colour P214. The photo doesn't show the colours very well: it's in shades of pink, purple and brown. Gorgeous!

There were yarns from Habu Textiles-
These yarns are the reason I love taking part in exchanges. Neither of them are yarns I would have bought for myself, given the chance. Having them in my home, however, has given the yarns a chance to win me over with their considerable charms. I love them. They fill me with a spectacular and singular joy.

The one on the left is 100% cashmere, and the one on the right is a mixture of linen and cotton. I'm considering combining the two, and making a 'scribble lace' style scarf.

She also sent me a beautiful handmade card, and a very funky badge.

Krista, I love it all. Thank you so, so much.

I also received some yarn I'd ordered from The Knittery-

Merino Cashmere Sock in Burnt Orange. I love The Knittery's yarns.

I also received the copy of Knitscene I'd ordered.

I bought this specifically for the 'Central Park Hoodie' pattern. There are a couple of other patterns (including the one on the cover) that I may knit some day, too.

In a blaze of good (if extremely tempting) timing, today I received some sample cards from Bendigo Woolen Mills.

I've heard great things about Bendigo yarns, and they've sweetened the deal by giving me 10% off my first order. Here's the catch: I'd said I wasn't going to knit any large garments until my body and I had finished duking it out about what size I should be. Now, I have an excellent hoodie pattern and a chance to get discounted yarn for it, but I have to place an order by the 26th to get the discount. What to do, what to do?

I will never complain about buttonholes again...

2007-04-15T16:27:00.000+10:30

...because today, I sewed in a zipper.

It really wasn't that bad, to be fair. I had a lot of help from this tutorial, and the whole process was (in theory) quite straightforward. It was just very, very fiddly. Lining up the zips, checking that the front wasn't puckering when the zip was done up, basting the zip in, sewing the zip in (by hand, mind you- I don't have a sewing machine, but may need to borrow one soon. I have a crazy, harebrained scheme. More on that in a moment), and taking out the basting stitches. It's lucky I had lots of episodes of Decoder Ring Theatre to listen to, or I would have keeled over from boredom.

I tried to take a picture of the cardigan with the zip sewn in, but all the shots came out blurry. So I opted to go with the most artsy (read: worst) shot.

I am really, really liking this cardigan, but for one thing: it's simply too big at the sides (it still fits me around the shoulders). Once I've finished knitting the final sleeve, I'm contemplating a sew-and-cut job on the sides. Has anyone done anything like this before? The yarn is a good, sticky one (a wool/alpaca blend) that felts easily, so I figure the whole thing should hold together well enough if I run a few rows of machine stitching down the sides before (gulp) cutting. Advice? Tips? Am I making a giant mistake here? Please, let me know in the comments.

Meanwhile, I've been swatching.

On the left- the Shaun Sheep yarn I mentioned the other day. On the right- the yarn I used for my stress-relief garter stitch scarf a few weeks ago. What will they become? Tune in next time for another exciting installment of...

Man. I've definitely been listening to too much Decoder Ring Theatre.

Oh, and for those of you who asked- I now have some lovely antibiotics to fight the UberSinusInfection, and they seem to be winning. Hooray!

Mama's got a brand new bag

2007-04-12T20:48:00.001+10:30

Think about how much you would be willing to pay for a knitting bag.

Not just any old knitting bag, mind you. A really, really good one. With lots of pockets for notions, specially designed needle holders, a waterproof lining... you get the idea.

Figured out how much money you'd be willing to pay? Great. Now double that number. Hell, you could probably even triple it.

That's how much I paid for this:

That's right. I have in my possession the Holy Grail of knitting bags- the Lexie Barnes Lady B. I regret nothing.

This was a 'congratulations on dropping a dress size' present to myself, and I think I may have spoiled myself just a little. This is one amazing bag. It's completely waterproof (I discovered this in a most unfortunate fashion the first day I got it, when my water bottle exploded and turned the bag into a portable pond. Not a drop of water leaked out. Fortunately, I didn't have any knitting in it at the time), has many, many pockets for notions, needles and knitting journals, and can fit insane amounts of stuff inside. Really, it's the Tardis of knitting bags. I managed to get my cardigan-in-progress, two extra balls of yarn, needles, notions, three music books, a magazine, my pattern, a lunch box full of food, and a water bottle (with the lid securely screwed on) inside, and there was still room for more. Also, extensive Google searches have led me to believe that this was the last Lady B bag in the world available in this fabric (if you happen to find another one, please, don't tell me!)

Speaking of cardigans-in-progress and dropping dress sizes, here's the finished body of the Eris cardigan, which I started in June (June!) of last year.

This photograph brought to you by the Photographic Institute of 'Michelle can't hold a camera straight'.

Yup, it's too big- though, to be fair to the swatching process, it would have fit the 'me' who cast it on in June (June!) last year. It's not ridiculously oversized, though, so I'll wear it over lots of layers when the weather gets cold, or as an 'around the house' type cardie.

This whole ongoing weight loss thing means that I'm putting any sweater projects on the back-burner for a while, until my body and I come to an agreement about what size I should be (I'm tentatively suggesting that perhaps it might want to consider being a size 12. My body is negotiating strenuously).

On an unrelated note: have you noticed that the Sean Sheep yarn company (that's the one put out by Big W in Australia and Wal-Mart in Canada) has lifted their game a bit recently? They used to only carry one line of 100% wool yarn, and it was pretty crap, to tell the truth. Today I found myself in the knitting aisle at Big W (I was buying knitting notions to go in the Knitting Bag of Joy and Wonder) and discovered this:

100% wool, beautiful colours, and only $3.95 a ball. I was impressed.

Finally, the Ubercold has turned itself in the UberSinusInfection, which means dragging my butt to the doctor tomorrow to beg for antibiotics. I have to be able to sing operatically in just over a week. (It's not looking good).

A Handmade Easter, Part III- baked goods and barbeque

2007-04-09T22:14:00.000+10:30

When last we met our protagonist (ie, me) I had just finished moulding chocolate eggs/turning my kitchen into a brown-smeared, sticky pigsty. The final phase of the 'Handmade Easter' plan kicked in on Easter Sunday, when I rose early and baked:

Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes. They were delicious, even though they disintegrated the moment they were removed from the muffin pan.

The family were all very impressed with their eggs and dishcloths. My father even went so far as to put his on display when the guests arrived for an afternoon barbeque.

Here, the family dog is shown just prior to consuming her body weight in sausages, then being noisily sick.

There was beer, and chocolate...

...and borderline child abuse. (Rest assured, there is a perfectly rational explanation for what was going on in this photo. I just have no idea what it is).

Today, I woke up with The UberCold (The UberCold shows up every. Freaking. Time I have a holiday break. It lies dormant within my body until I'm free to enjoy myself, then goes 'YeeHaw! Come on, boys! Time to make some mucus!). I've passed the time by listening to podcasts, coughing, surfing YouTube, blowing my nose, and knitting on the interminable border of the Eris cardigan (no photos. I've been sucked into the black hole of knitting, and am feeling a bit bitter about it. Photos would only serve as a reminder of my pain).

During my aimless websurfings, I ran across this.

I laughed and laughed (until I was forced to stop by a fit of coughing). Enjoy.

A Handmade Easter, Part II- in which I play with chocolate

2007-04-06T18:57:00.000+10:30

On Thursday morning, I put the second part of my Handmade Easter plan into action (the first part, in case you were wondering, were the dishcloths).

I assembled my supplies and equipment-

-then set to work.

First, I mixed up some white chocolate and food colouring-

-and painted it delicately into the moulds.

There are no words for how artistic I felt as I did this.

After I'd finished painting the moulds with coloured white chocolate, I filled the chocolate moulds and egg moulds with milk chocolate.

The eggs needed a second layer of chocolate to make them thick enough.

While the eggs were setting in the fridge, I removed the chocolates from their mould. Disaster!

Chicken Leprosy!

It would appear that the water in the food colouring corrupted the chocolate! D'oh!

I refilled the chocolate moulds with plain chocolate. (There are no pictures of those, as they are boring).

Once I had recovered from (and eaten) my mistakes, I got the easter eggs out, and stuck the halves together.

A few arty moments with a (clean) paintbrush and white chocolate, and...

...ta da! Finished, homemade easter eggs (and boring, not-artistic-at-all chocolates).

Things I learned from this whole experience:

-Food colouring is not to be trusted.
-If you have finished one batch of chocolate and are left holding a chocolate covered spoon, it is physically impossible not to shove it in your mouth.
-Eventually, the smell of melted chocolate becomes nauseating.
-This will not stop you from eating the chocolate.
-By the end of the process, you will be experiencing a sugar rush so profound you will begin to hear colours.
-A trip to the gym will help to alleviate any chocolate-related guilt.

I also managed to finish-

-my fourth Lizard Ridge Blanket square. Only twenty to go! (This is definitely one of those long-long-long-long term projects).

One down...

2007-04-04T22:34:00.000+10:30

The tap anklets are done.

They are shown here blocking on my awesome sock blockers, which came courtesy of Mary (Thanks, Mary!). I managed to finish them today by getting caught in traffic (which is an almost unheard of occurrence in my little town. Turns out, the council thought it would be a great idea to patch up a major road during peak hour, two days before Easter. Smart) for 45 minutes, having students fail to show up (never underestimate the lure of an Easter Hat Parade) and having an hour or so spare in the afternoon. I love them, but I'm glad to have them done. The endless, relentless stockinette was beginning to get to me.

Today marks the last day of working at schools for a little over two weeks (I have a bit of afternoon teaching for the next three days, but nowhere near the amount of work I've had lately), and my days stretch unfettered before me. Tomorrow, I don't have to be anywhere or do anything until 3.30pm. How will I possibly fill all that free time?

Any guesses?

Finishing

2007-04-02T16:00:00.000+10:30

I have made a resolution not to cast on any new projects until I've finished all my WIPs. I suspect this resolution will last, oh, two or three days. Tops.

Before I can cast on anything new, I need to finish-

'Monkey' socks
'Lizard Ridge' Blanket square
Tap anklets

Tap anklet II shown here with the Knit 1 magazine I (stupidly) bought today. All of the patterns are hideous- not just ugly, but hideous- except two. Of those two, one of them has no directions for my size, and also involves my moral enemy, crochet.

Eris cardigan. This is the one that will no doubt test my stamina the most. I've done most of the body, but the cabled hem is going to take forever.

I finished the last Easter dishcloth.

Apologies for the blurry photo. This one took a bit more fussing than the other two, as it's for my dad. My dad is not a 'pink' sort of person, and every ball of cotton I had was full of pink colour runs. As the amount of unwoven ends shows, I was forced to cut the pink sections out. (A tiny bit snuck in at the very end... can you spot it?)

The cotton I used for all three dishcloths is Anchor Magicline. It cost me a dollar a ball at Spotlight, and makes great dishcloths. My own dishcloths made from this yarn are holding up brilliantly against months of burnt cooking, spills, and being carelessly left in a sodden heap on the side of the sink.

I was listening to the Moonlight Stitches podcast today, and discovered the music of Wren Ross for the first time (how have I possibly missed this until now?). She's terrific. Not only does she sing wittily about all things knitting and fiber, but the standard of musicality is so high. Check it out.

And sometimes, I knit things

2007-03-30T20:54:00.000+10:30

Nothing says 'work is totally kicking my butt' like a giant honkin' garter stitch scarf.

Garter stitch was about all my mind could handle last week. It also suited the yarn I chose rather well, thankfully. It's difficult to see in this photo, but the scarf darkens and lightens slowly through various shades of red. It's really rather nice.

It's also the first project I've willingly added fringe to in a very, very long time. (Normally, fringe and I are not the best of buddies. This scarf felt like it needed something to jazz it up, and there was no way I was succumbing to pompoms).

I've also made... actually, before I show you, I should warn any and all immediate family members away from this blog. I'm pretty sure my parents don't read this, but my sister might. Sis, if you're reading this, could you go away and not come back until, say, Easter Monday? Thanks.

I made-

Easter dishcloths! These are for my mother and sister as part of their easter presents (dishcloths? Easter? Well, why not?). The cotton I used is self-striping, so it looks like I did a lot more work than I actually did. Booyah.

I am, in fact, planning entirely handmade easter gifts for my parents and sister (yet another idea I clearly haven't fully thought through). It will involve creativity, cellophane, meticulous planning, careful thought, a lot of grocery shopping, and a muffin tray.

Oh, and chocolate.

Lots and lots of chocolate.

All work and no play makes Michelle a dull girl

2007-03-29T21:04:00.000+10:30

Or at least, a very neglectful blogger.

This is the second-last week of term before the Easter Holidays begin, and my workload has become fairly ridiculous. (Today, I worked ten and a half hours. Yesterday, it was fourteen. For someone who makes her own working hours, I seem to be making an awful lot of them).

As a result, I have had a) no energy left with which to blog, and b) very little knitting progress to show you. I have made a few simple things, which I'll show you tomorrow when I can summon up the energy to locate the camera.

For now, I'm off to enjoy a couple of hours of blessedly free time in the company of wine, podcasts, and garter stitch. (Ir)regular service will resume tomorrow.

Signs of progress

2007-03-20T18:09:00.000+11:00

I have a confession to make.

My name is Michelle, and I order things from the internet. While drunk.

In the past, this has resulted in a fairly strange mix of items arriving at my front door. When it came to books and CDs, some of them were good drunken choices, and some were not-so-good drunken choices. When it comes to yarn, however, my choices are always so unspeakably bad that I am forced to shove the offending yarn to the bottom of my stash, then studiously ignore its existence forever.

I forget easily, it seems. At the end of last week, I'd had a drink or ~~five~~ two, and found myself surfing the internet, credit card in hand. It was clear that I'd learned nothing from the proverb- "Those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them".

Stupid proverbs. What do they know? Killjoys, the lot of them. Besides, look what arrived at my house today!

A beautiful skein of the almost mythical Sea Silk, in Amethyst. It's so gorgeous I can hardly bear to touch it. What should I make with this 400 yards of joy and wonder?

I also bought:
Peace Fleece needles. These needles are milled in the US, then sent to Russia where they are assembled and hand-painted. Wanna see?

So very, very pretty. I only wish there were some way to combine my gorgeous Sea Silk with my beautiful hand-painted needles. Anyone have any ideas?

Take that, know-it-all proverbs! It would appear that my (drunken) taste is making good progress.

Yesterday, I made these blanket squares-

-which will be going into a progression blanket for a cancer victim in the US. I really must make more of these. They're quick, easy, stash-busting and karma balancing. Who could ask for more?

I'm off to weave the ends in now, so I can post them off tomorrow.

Fame Whore

2007-03-19T06:40:00.000+11:00

Everyone head over to Sticks & String, and listen to David Reidy's latest podcast. Go on, do it now. I'll wait.

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Did you hear that? Did you hear David saying nice things about me? Did you hear that my playing is now the new theme (well, the old theme, but played on piano this time) of Sticks and String?

Squeee!

Who'd have known that a violent allergic reaction would get me featured on two knitting podcasts in a week?

It would appear that this dazzling success has gone straight to my head. I can tell, because I've started forming a crazy scheme (never a good sign). The scheme goes a little something like this:

"I will get myself featured on as many knitting podcasts as possible by the end of the year".

Are you a knitting podcaster? Do you know one? In that case, take a good look at what I have to offer:

Good piano, mediocre singing, crap clarinet
A wide variety of wacky sound effect instruments, including (but not limited to): slide whistle, duck call, bongo drum, kazoo, train whistle, harmonica, ocarina, bad tap dancing.
The ability to multi-track. This means I can record four, five, or six part harmonies, should you so desire. Sadly, all the voices will still be mine. You can't have everything.
Do you want me to tell a story? Read a poem? Describe, in detail, any of my embarrassing medical problems? Sure thing!

Methinks I will be recording an awful lot of strange things in the coming months. Eh, what the hell. My neighbors already think I'm nuts.

On the knitting front, I finished the first of my tap dance anklets, shown here with my tap shoe.

Sorry about the blurry photo. It is remarkably difficult to get a side-on photo of one's own foot.

I've also hit the halfway point on the body of the 'Print 'O The Wave' stole.

The pattern would have you put the live stitches on a holder at this point, knit another, identical half, then graft the two together. This is to get rid of the 'this side up' quality of the lace, and is a Shetland tradition. I am not a traditionalist, however, and feel like the graft in the center interrupts the pattern. Instead, I'm just gonna keep on knitting this piece, until it's the right length. Hooray for upside down lace!

I like cheese!

2007-03-14T19:38:00.000+11:00

Yesterday morning- shortly after arriving at work- I went to the bathroom, took a look in the mirror, and discovered I'd developed a bright red rash all over my face.

At first I entertained theories of chicken pox, until the other teachers said it looked like some sort of allergy. One of them went into such vivid and disturbing detail about her allergy to mangoes that I was starting to get a bit worried, especially as the rash got itchier as the day went on.

Shortly after lunch, I decided to leave work early. I went home, and canceled my afternoon students, just to be on the safe side. This was the first afternoon of teaching I'd missed in... I can't remember the last afternoon I missed, to be honest. A very, very long time, anyway.

I sat around the house with my red and itchy face, feeling irritated but otherwise fine- and a little bit bored. I knit for a bit, I read for a bit, I dusted for a bit (in case it was the dust causing the allergies- conveniently ignoring that if it was a dust allergy, it would have kicked in way before this). Finally, my gaze fell on my new tech toy... have you seen my new tech toy yet? No? Then let me introduce you.

Ah, the Rode Microphone- a vision of USB compatible, 18-Bit, high sound quality glory. I'd recorded a few things earlier as test runs, but decided to record and publish a few short clips for some of my favourite podcasters. I played around in Audacity, recorded several things, published them, and sent them to their intended recipients.

Meanwhile, the red rash on my face had faded a bit, but my eyes had begun to swell up. Great. Just terrific.

Despite the eye swelling, I started a new pair of socks. I was hoping the brightly coloured yarn (Soxie, colour: Hawaiian Punch) would cheer me up.

(These ankle socks are for me to wear with my tap shoes once the weather gets colder. Yes, I learn tap dancing. Yes, I suck at it. Shut up).

I went to bed early, and woke up this morning with some pretty impressive swelling around my eyes. It was... well, I have a pretty good idea of how my eyes will look when I turn eighty, that's all I'm saying.

I was loath to frighten small children with my grotesque appearance, and took the day off. To keep me amused, I downloaded the new Lime and Violet Podcast, and sat listening while I slowly and squintily worked on my ankle sock. Much to my surprise, what did I hear at the end of it?

My goddamn 'I Like Cheese!' song!

It took less than twelve hours between recording and broadcast to over four thousand (eep!) people.

To be frank, I blame the choice of subject matter on my allergy-induced state (and Miss Violet's Sideshow Husband- listen to the show if you don't know what I'm talking about- who went around singing 'I Like Cheeese!' to ukulele accompaniment). Anyway, if you'd like to hear me singing rapturously about cheese, go listen to the latest show.

Argh! Just now- as in just now, as I've been typing- I got an email from David Reidy, of Sticks & String fame. He's going to be using the sound clip I sent him in his next show!

As Lime and Violet would put it- Squeeeeeeee!

An unexpected blog post

2007-03-08T07:42:00.000+11:00

I'm blogging at 7.45am. Does this seem weird to anyone but me?

Up until this point, blogging was strictly an afternoon/evening event for me. It would have remained so, but I just got a call from the school where I work today, informing me that they don't need me to come in until an hour later than usual. This unexpected free time is giving me the opportunity to a) surf YouTube with wild abandon, and b) show you all my progress on the Print 'O The Wave Stole.

I'm ten pattern repeats in, and it's finally starting to feel like I'm making some progress. (Right now I'm trying to ignore the fact that ten pattern repeats isn't even a third of the way though, and that's not even counting the edging. I refuse to even think about the edging).

The yarn is so fine (I did some research, and it's actually considered 'cobweb' weight) and the needles are so tiny that my eyes get squinty and sore if I work on this for too long, but I don't care. This is, by far, the most delicate thing I have ever knit.

I'm making a Shetland stole with cobweb wool on 2mm needles. Do I get my official 'Knitter with a capital K' badge now?

Everything is cuter in a cowboy hat

2007-03-04T16:58:00.000+11:00

I know I said I'd update my knitting progress yesterday. I lied. Sorry.

I ended up at the local show (a place frustrating in its abundance of wool yet absolute and utter lack of knittable yarn), playing for a children's choir at the show's opening ceremonies. (They officially 'open' the show on Saturday at 5pm, when the show actually started at 9am on Friday. In fact, the show was more than halfway over when they 'opened' it. Go figure). I, of course, forgot my camera, so feel free to picture for yourselves the following things:

Duck racing, with real, live ducks. Each duck was wearing a tiny, duck-sized cowboy hat.
Me eating a giant bucket of chips and immediately getting a giant stomachache.
Me again, knitting my sock in the grandstand while waiting for said stomachache to go away. I got a few odd looks, considering I was working on wool sock in 32 degree Celsius weather.
Tiny, adorable baby animals at the animal nursery. The only way they could have been any cuter was if they were wearing tiny cowboy hats. (I did feel sorry for one rabbit, who was alone in its pen and quite obviously terrified by so many people).
The local youth circus troupe, who were amazing. There was one boy for whom it is only a matter of time before Cirque De Soleil hires him.
Some pretty decent fireworks.

In knitting news, I finished the first Monkey sock.

It's made from the Knitpicks Memories that Mary gave me. Great yarn, great pattern. The sock itself is a little bit tight, but I'm ~~delusional~~ sure that blocking (on my new sock blockers!) will help with that.

Lime and Violet PrOn Exchange!

2007-03-02T20:06:00.000+11:00

I must apologise for my infrequent blog posts of late. I've been so busy my days are starting to blur into one another. (A friend of mine asked me how 'the performance on Thursday went' and it took me about twenty minutes to remember where I was on Thursday). There has been very little time to knit, let alone blog.

However, I've just joined the Lime and Violet PrOn exchange (yes, another Secret Pal style swap. I am unable to stop). Of course, yet another swap means yet another survey, and here it is.

1. What kind of fibers do you prefer? I really don't mind. I'm a big fan of wool, but I don't let that limit me. If I haven't knit with it yet, I'll probably want to try it.

2. What kind of weight do you prefer (sock, worsted, bulky)? I loves me some sock yarn. Show me the sock yarn!

3. Do you spin? No.

4. Do you crochet? Very, very badly. I mainly use my crochet hooks for picking up dropped stitches.

5. Are there any books, patterns, magazines would you like to own that you don't? I must admit a fondness for the Reversible Lace Cables Scarf from Heartstring FiberArts. (I got a skein of cashmere recently that I think would suit the pattern well).

6. Are you participating in any themed a-longs like the Project Spectrum? Nope.

7. Do you have a wishlist on Amazon.com or Half.com? Here 'tis!

8. Any Etsy stores that you would love to get something from? There are many, many brilliant spinners, dyers and artisans on Etsy. Who am I to choose between them?

9. What other crafty things are you involved in (quilting, drawing, painting)? Right now, not much.

10. What is your favorite sort of scent? Nothing overpoweringly sweet. I've long been intrigued by (but never tried) the perfumes put out by the Demeter company, though. (How does one bottle a thunderstorm?)

11. Do you have a sweet tooth and what kind of sweets do you like best? I have a very sweet tooth, and will consume just about any kind of sugary goodness.

12. What kind of music do you like? Pretty much everything.

13. What do you like to knit? And for whom? I almost always have a pair of socks on the go. Apart from that, my projects are dictated by my mood and/or the weather. Hats, scarves, sweaters, lace, cables- I enjoy them all. I mostly knit for myself, but occasionally make things for friends/relations/miscellaneous hangers-on.

14. What sort of things do you like to collect? Apart from yarn and knitting notions? Nothing, really. I have a giant collection of sheet music, but that's more of an occupational hazard than a hobby.

15. Do you want needles? And what kind do you prefer? If you want to send me needles, feel free! I tend to use metal needles (I think the slipperiness makes me a faster knitter), but have several wooden pairs that I love.

Tomorrow, a knitting update (such as it is).

One Hundred and One

2007-02-24T16:55:00.000+11:00

When I logged in just then, I realised that my last post was, in fact, my hundredth entry. Who'd-a thunk it?

Speaking of my last entry, remember when I mentioned tranquil garden knitting accompanied by music? Well, guess what happened:
Yup. More forbidding grey skies, heavy with the promise of rain.

The concert did go ahead, but I ended up going home straight after I'd performed in order to knit with a roof over my head.

Speaking of knitting, I finished the Mega Boot Stretch Softcolor socks today.

Note: the brown flecks you can see on the carpet are not crazy amounts of lint, but part of the carpet itself. I'm not that much of a slob.

I'm really happy with the way they turned out. I feel like such an artsy, creative, free spirited type when I purposefully make socks that don't match. (We'll ignore the fact that the yarn did all the work, and I am far too lazy to work out the math required in order to make the socks match, anyhow).

I've already wound the yarn for my next project.

It's the Knitpicks Memories yarn that Mary sent me, and I'm going to make Monkey Socks with it. I love that pattern. In fact, I love every pattern Cookie has ever written. (Have you been to her blog lately? The sock patterns she's completed recently are mind-blowing. I am not worthy).

Speaking of patterns, the latest Interweave Knits landed in my mailbox yesterday (again, courtesy of Mary. Thank you so much!) I know everyone has been up in arms lately about the whole 'new layout' thing (the pictures of projects are now located at the front of the magazine, and the patterns are at the back), but I can't say it bothered me very much. There are some brilliant patterns in this issue- Eunny Jang's entrelac socks have my covet bone aching overtime, but every time I read her (clear, well written) instructions for knitting entrelac, my brain sort of goes sideways. I'll have to sit down with needles and yarn one day and work it all out, but today is not that day.

I also love the Green Tea Raglan and the Bonsai Tunic, although I suspect the latter would make me look like the back of a (delicate, lacy) barn.

Shun the non-believer

2007-02-18T13:37:00.000+11:00

Okay, so maybe I was a little down on Valentine's Day. As a happy and fulfilled Single Person™, I find that the lovey-dovey, hearts-and-flowers nature of Valentines Day annoys me just a little bit. Not a great deal, but just enough for me to start making sarcastic virtual candy hearts.

Then I read what Stephanie (aka the Yarn Harlot) and Rachael (of Yarn-A-Go-Go) had to say about Valentine's Day, and felt much more at peace with the world. (Well, a little bit covetous of their writing talent, but mostly at peace with the world). Thanks, ladies.

Before I get off the subject of sarcastic candy hearts, I should point out that they almost got me mentioned on the latest Lime and Violet podcast. Early on in the show, you'll hear them talking about 'someone from the message boards' posting a link to the hearts site. Yeah, it was me. It's not like a pulled a baby from a burning bus or anything, but it would have been nice to be famous in the fiber arts community for about three seconds. Sigh.

Speaking of fiber arts (it's about time, isn't it?) I started the Knitpicks Candle Flame Shawl in some lace weight from Yarnahoy. (In creating that link, I just noticed she has a new batch of yarns up in her shop. Must. Resist. Temptation!)

It wasn't long before I realised I didn't like how it was turning out. At all. It seemed too narrow for a wrap and too wide for a scarf, and I was unimpressed by the way the candle flame motif was turning out. So, I frogged it. The yarn is beautiful, and I really want to find a pattern 'worthy' of it. (I have about 700 yards of lace weight. Ideas, anyone?)

So, I dug out a different lace weight (ie, the only other lace weight I have) and started Eunny Jang's Print O' the Wave Stole.

I'm really, really liking this project. Well, I'm liking it now. I've done four pattern repeats and the pattern calls for, um, thirty four repeats. Then comes the edging, which I've heard takes just as long to knit up. Yup, I'm going to be working on this for a while. (By the way, the colour is much more of a scarlet red, and much less pink, than this photo suggests).

The second Lana Grossa sock is just past the heel turn.

Tonight is attempt number two at the outdoor concert that was supposed to be held last Sunday. Rain looks highly unlikely, so I anticipate spending this evening knitting away on the sock while enjoying a picnic and a concert. Sounds like a nice way to end the week, doesn't it?

2007-02-14T16:12:00.000+11:00

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody.

I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!

2007-02-12T14:47:00.000+11:00

Today, I received my final package from my Secret Pal.

After much undignified ripping, I discovered lots of pretty pink parcels-

-and a card, featuring an adorable knitting sheep.

After some more undignified ripping, I found...

Knitpicks 'Essential Tweed' in Plum-

Knitpicks 'Memories' in Rocky Mountain Dusk

Regia 'Bamboo Color' (freakin' bamboo, people)

But wait! There's more!

A sheepy stamp-

In fact, the same sheepy stamp used to make my card. I can make my own sheepy stationary now! Hooray!

Continuing the sheep theme, we have these stitch markers-

A set of sock blockers (sock blockers, people! OMGWTFBBQ!!!)

And, finally, a beautiful beaded ring.

Secret Pal- or can I call you Mary?- Thank you, thank you, thank you for being such a fantastic Secret Pal. As those modern day folk-heroes, Wayne and Garth, put it- I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!

Dayum. I have a lot of socks to knit now.

In far less exciting news, my Schaefer Anne scarf is done.

It's only a short scarf, and it's very light and drape-y. I'm looking forward to wearing it as the weather cools down. I have a ton of yarn left over, though- a good two-thirds of the ball. Any suggestions for what I might do with it?

The best laid plans

2007-02-11T16:19:00.000+11:00

Today, I was supposed to be performing at an evening concert in the gardens of a local historic cottage. There were several groups performing, and my group was on first, so I planned to bring a delicious picnic dinner, sit under a nice tall tree, and knit my second Mega Boot Stretch sock while listening to beautiful music.

Then, this happened.

Although this kind of rain is terrific for local farmers and reservoirs, it leaves me without a lot of blog fodder. So today, instead of lovely pictures of twilight knitting in a beautiful garden, you get to see exactly what's in my 'Forward Planning Socks' kits. (Sorry).

This one will head out to the school known as 'Bagpipe Central' tomorrow. Each kit features:

1 (one) ziplock bag (to hold everything)
1 (one) ball of Regia Strato Color sock yarn
5 (five) dpns. (I know some of them are longer than others, but they are all 2.75mm, and that's what counts).
1 (one) crochet hook
1 (one) crewel needle
1 (one) tape measure
1 (one) cedar ball (to deter that scourge of unattended knitwear- moths).

You will note, however, that there are no scissors. Why would I take scissors? I'll be making these at a school! Schools are replete with scissors! However, they are sadly lacking in crewel needles and crochet hooks- and don't get me started on the dpn shortage.

In other news, I have finished my Schaefer 'Anne' scarf. It's blocking on my bed. Pictures tomorrow.

Still here

2007-02-09T19:49:00.000+11:00

Yes, I know. I've been a bad, lazy, neglectful blogger lately. In my defense, I've just started my full-time teaching load (that's six days a week, with a couple of days that start at 8am and finish at 9.30pm). Besides, with the combination of stress, lack of sleep, hot weather, and general grumpiness that have been the hallmarks of this week, you wouldn't have enjoyed anything I'd written anyway.

Knitting, I hear you ask? Well, I've done a little bit.

My Schaefer Anne scarf has grown a bit. It's probably half the length I'm aiming for at this point. (Sorry about the camera flash, but it's getting dark here).

I also made this hat-
-which is for a little Mongolian girl I sponsor through World Vision. I received a message from them, informing me that her birthday is coming up soon, and I thought I should send her something special. I even taught myself to carry a colour in each hand in order to knit the fair-isle band.

By the way, all those people who claim knitting continental style is faster? Liars, all. There was much cursing and swearing as I tried to make my useless lump of a left hand co-operate. I got the hang of it in the end, and I'm feeling the definite call of colourwork. I'm pretty sure there are fair-isle socks in my future.

Speaking of socks, I'm trialling a type of project I'm calling 'Forward Planning Socks'. At the two main schools I work for, I have brought needles, yarn and notions enough to work a pair of socks, and I work on them whenever a student is late. At the end of the day, I leave them behind at the school (locked safely away in the office, of course). Eventually, over the course of several months (depending on how reliable my students are) I will have a pair of socks.

I'm hoping this will eliminate the mad screaming rush that inevitably happens every time I have to knit a birthday gift. I'm not counting on it, though.

Third time's the charm

2007-01-31T17:09:00.000+11:00

This morning, I woke up at the crack 'o dawn (well, 5.55am) so I could take part in this. (In case you haven't run across Perplex City before, it's an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) where players solve puzzles, follow the storyline on the main site, and attempt to track down 'The Cube' (an object buried somewhere on earth) in order to win $200,000 US). I was feeling very grumbly and put-upon as I sat down at the computer at 6am, thinking- 'this better be worth it'. Much to my surprise, it was a whole lotta fun, even if I was only able to successfully solve two out of the nine or ten puzzles I was presented with. (Somehow, I don't think the $200,000 will be mine any time soon).

I figured, since I'd gotten up far, far earlier than I normally do and only gotten about five-and-a-half hours sleep, that I'd be stumbling through today in a coma. Of course, my body just likes to keep me confused about what the hell it wants, and therefore...

...I feel great. Really great. I'm yawning less than on days when I get my full eight hours sleep. In fact, I don't think I've yawned once today. What the heck is up with that?

I'm going to try getting up at the same time tomorrow, and seeing what happens. Knowing my luck, I'll fall asleep right in the middle of a meeting. And start to snore. Loudly.

_______________________

Over the last couple of days, I have been driven nuts by a skein of Schaefer Anne.

Originally, I was going to make Knitty's 'Monkey' socks with it. But as I began to knit, I realised that the yarn was a bit too thin for the pattern. (I could have driven myself bonkers working out the math to convert the pattern, but considering my success with logic-based puzzles this morning, it's probably a good idea I didn't try).

Instead, I decided to make a lacy scarf. I looked at dozens of online patterns, and eventually chose the Traveling Vines Scarf. After I had done a couple of pattern repeats, however, I had to admit- it looked like crap. (This is not the designers fault. It's a perfectly good pattern. It was a case of the wrong yarn and wrong gauge and the wrong day and the wrong knitter, not a bad design). Once again, I frogged while contemplating simply burying the skein beneath the clothesline and getting on with my life.

Finally, I found a simple lace pattern.

Do we likes it? I likes it.

I've also finished one of the Mega Boot Stretch socks.

It looks ridiculously long and skinny, but that's because the ribbing is so stretchy. I kinda wish I'd started the black portion of the toe a little earlier, but all up I'm pretty happy with it.

How great is it...

2007-01-29T16:48:00.000+11:00

... when friends give you yarn for no reason at all?

I went to the christening of a friend's baby (the one for whom I made this before she was born. It fit her for about two days, then she outgrew it. One of the christening gifts I gave was the promise of a baby sweater that will actually fit. I'll make it when the weather gets a bit cooler) and after the service, she gave me this-

Jigsaw sock yarn, of the kind that knits up into fancy fair-isle patterns. My friend (and her mother, whose idea it was to give me the yarn) rocks.

Yesterday, I mentioned that Caroline had tagged me for a meme, and here it is:

THE RULES: Each player of this game starts with the 6 weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says you are tagged in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

1. I am completely unable to brush my teeth while standing still at the sink. Instead, I wander around the house brushing my teeth and doing other things. It is not unusual for me to attempt to get dressed with a toothbrush sticking out the side of my mouth.

2. During my time at a traditional, conservative, classical music focused Conservatorium, I had bright purple hair and a tongue ring. (Were it not for a) the fact that I live in a small town, b) the fact I teach at a lot of private schools, and c) the amount of singing I do these days, I would probably still have bright purple hair and a tongue ring).

3. Some people have rubber duckies in the bathroom. I have a rubber chicken.

His name is Stretch, and he has appeared in two classical music concerts and one theatrical production. (He's very talented).

4. I attended the graduation ceremony and accepted the diploma for my Honours degree with a kazoo in my pocket.

5. I only learned how to click the fingers of my right hand when I was fifteen. I still can't click the fingers on my left hand.

6. When I was young, I had a deathly fear of robots. This fear was made worse by my well-meaning but misguided father, who used to pretend to be a robot and chase me round the house. When I was old enough to explain that this scared the living snot out of me, Dad said he thought I had only been 'playing'. Surely my screams of hysterical terror as I hid beneath the lounge would have been a clue that something was amiss.

I tag: My Secret Pal (I won't get to see the answers until after you reveal your secret identity, but that's okay), Trudi, Nancy, Michelle, fitknit, and Michael. Go on. Out-weird me. You know you want to.

Australia Day

2007-01-28T12:10:00.000+11:00

Australia Day (that's January 26th, for those unfamiliar with it) began quite early- or perhaps late- for me. It was about 12.30am on Australia Day morning when I discovered that my old friend, Sally the Spider, had taken up residence in my bedroom.

Picture me, if you will, attempting to catch a rather large huntsman spider under a plastic tupperware container while clad only in pyjamas. There was also a lot of swearing. (You have not known fear until you have watched a huntsman spider leap at you from six feet up your bedroom wall). I eventually managed to get Sally into the container and deposit him/her out on the front lawn. All in all, it was a very Australian start to Australia Day. The only way it could have been any more authentic was if I'd squashed Sally with a thong (the footwear, not the underwear) while downing a stubby of beer and eating a Vegemite sandwich.

Emma asked in yesterday's comments what sort of things Australians do to celebrate Australia Day. I can't speak for the rest of Australia, but my family and I felt that our experience was very patriotic.

We went on a pub crawl.

Just to make it interesting, we went on a pub crawl through a series of rural and outback pubs. (This meant a lot of driving around. Luckily, dad volunteered to be designated driver. Such a thoughtful man). I didn't get photos of all of the pubs, but I did take this one at the second pub we went to:
From left to right- Sis, Dad, Mum. Oh, and see those two empty glasses closest to the camera? Mine, all mine.

We had a picnic lunch at a well-known swimming hole (but stupidly forgot to bring swimmers).

We ate ANZAC biscuits, one of the traditional foodstuffs of Australia day.

I took this photo at the third pub. Nothing says 'Australia' quite like a Hills Hoist clothesline in front of a dozen drying beermats.

We finished the day off with the traditional Aussie BBQ in the backyard (chops, sausages and salad). All in all, a very ~~drunken~~ good day, and a vast improvement on last year's Australia Day celebrations, when our picnic got rained out and we had to eat dinner in the car.

Over the past few days, I had a little accident with the Noro Kureyon I bought in Sydney.

Somehow, it became three Lizard Ridge blanket squares in three days. I'd even started on a fourth square, made with the leftovers from the first three, when I was mercifully distracted (put down the Noro, step away from the Noro).

Meilenweit Mega Boots Stretch Softcolor, basic sock pattern, but with a k3, p1 rib. I didn't want to break up the colour run when I reached the heel, so I'm making contrasting heels and toes. For such a simple sock, I'm finding it endlessly entertaining.

I notice that Caroline has tagged me for a meme, but I think I'll post that tomorrow. (I can only list six weird things? I gotta think about this one).

Dang.

2007-01-27T09:32:00.000+11:00

It would appear that, once again, I have used up my internet bandwidth for the month (blame the holidays and my addiction to podcasts). As a result, my connection is running very, very slowly.

Uploading a blog entry with pictures would take longer than I really want to think about, so you'll all have to wait until tomorrow (when I get my high speed back! Whee!) to hear about Australia Day, a family pub crawl, the return of Sally the Spider, an overdose of Noro, and yet another sock. Stay tuned.

I'm back!

2007-01-21T18:06:00.000+11:00

And I've been busy.

First, I went up to Newcastle for my friend's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding, during which I felt a bit like dead weight as the only musician present who didn't perform at the service. (The bride had chosen Handel's 'Water Music'. No part for a pianist). To make up for it, I belted out the hymns at the top of my voice.

The reception was held on the beach. As you can see, it was a windy sort of day.

Me with the bride and groom. (The observant among you might notice which scarf I am wearing).

This kid collected every balloon at the reception, with the hopes of floating up into the sky. He was very disappointed when it didn't work.

The next day, I went on to Sydney, where I:

Attended a conference
(No, it's not a castle, it's the Sydney Conservatorium of Music).

Saw the sights

Caught up with old friends

Saw a show(If you ever get the chance to see the 'Lost and Found Orchestra', go see them. They completely changed the way I think about percussion music and instruments).

Went to a museum, at which I saw not only Fatso, the Fat-Arsed Wombat (also known as 'The Battler's Prince')...

...but was also able to locate two different displays containing hand-knit socks.

(The gauge on both the leftmost pair in the top picture and the socks in the bottom picture is unbelievably fine. My hands cramped up just looking at them).

The other exhibit I wish I had taken a picture of was Isaac, the break-dancing robot. (He performed 'You've Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party' while head-banging with the top part of a mop).

Other things I did, but forgot to take pictures of-

Attended a Stitch-and-Bitch

Caught up with two previous teachers from high school and university, respectively

Ate the three things they must surely serve in heaven: Starbucks coffee, Baskin-Robbins icecream (the one with the peanut butter- man, that stuff is artery-clogging deliciousness) and Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

Played the most frustrating game in the world

Met a man who identified as both a man and a woman simultaneously (it's complicated)

Drank an awful lot of beer/red wine/gin and tonics

Shopped until I quite literally dropped, and as a consequence:

Bought a hell of a lot of stuff, including music scores-

Shoes-

And, of course, yarn.Lana Gatto 'Super Soft', Centolavaggi laceweight, Patonyle, and three balls of Noro Kureyon for the Lizard Ridge blanket. Considering the blanket takes about 21 balls of Noro and I have, um, three, this is a project that could take a while to complete. (If anyone spots dirt cheap Noro somewhere on the internet, I'd appreciate it if you tipped me off).

I am now completely broke. As a result, I must stay within the house, knitting and playing the piano and not spending any more money until the school term begins again.

During my busy holiday schedule, I also found the time to complete these-

I was determined to finish these before I got home, and I did. It was a close call though- I was weaving in the ends on the bus ten minutes before it dropped me home. Great yarn, by the way. Thank you, Secret Pal!

So... how was your week?