It's raining, it's pouring... (and 2011 FO#17)

For the past two days it has rained and rained and rained.  This has a direct impact on my life in two ways. Firstly, my lovely Lucy, who in every other circumstance doesn't even notice when she's being sprayed with water (rendering the spray bottle I bought to discipline her when she was a kitten completely useless and leading to the undisciplined boss-of-the-house cat we have now), hates being rained on with a passion.  This means that she runs outside, gets rained on, runs back inside and then wetly sits on me.  Once she is dry, back outside, only to be rained on, come back inside and sit on me some more.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  Awesome.

Secondly, given my recent experiences with walking through puddles of water, it takes a massive effort of will for me to go outside. I know I'm being silly and I know that I have walked in the rain for my whole entire life without any damage beyond ugly frizzy hair (I live in Melbourne, for god's sake!), but without a compelling reason (such as running out of wine), it's still easier for me to stay indoors than go outside.  I am becoming more neurotic the older I get - it's cute and quirky, right? Right?!?

So, to lift the wintry gloom found in Melbourne on this summer's day, here's a few photos I took last week.

I'm part of a group on Ravelry called Will Work For Yarn. Basically, a request is placed for a particular item to be knitted or crocheted.  The proposer supplies the yarn and the pattern, and in return 'pays' the knitter/crocheter with an equivalent amount of the same type of yarn or negotiated equivalent. I've never been involved in the process because I'm such a slow knitter that it's never been worth my while, but a few weeks ago a project was offered that involved a shawl that I wanted to knit but not keep in a yarn that I covet and want more off with a very generous timeframe for completion - I was in! The yarn arrived last week (the green is mine, the purple is the yarn for the shawl to be knit) and I'm really looking forward to getting started on this project.

While I was taking photos of my pretty new yarn, I thought it would be a good idea to finally photograph one of the projects I completed as part of my Christmas present-athon. For the record, it was completed before Christmas, but one of my sisters was away for Christmas so we had our family do a week early, which meant it wasn't gifted.  Oh well.

It's a Herbivore made in Patonyle (grey and black).  I love this pattern! Plus it is an example of how buying more yarn (the black) means you can finally use up yarn that's been in the stash for years (the grey yarn).  This project was a massive win.

What about me? Why do you take photos of wool and scarves when you could be taking photos of me?  Stupid human.

Sorry Lucy. I'll do better  next time :)

I'm ba-aa-aack!

I started January with the best of intentions. I wanted to catch up with all the knitting, blogging and photographing I didn't get done last year.  Little did I know I would spend at least half of the month without a computer on which to do any of the blogging, photographing or categorising I wanted to do.

I'm finally back on line and here's a potted summary of what I've been working on:

A baby blanket:

And a Peppermint Lounge Hat for be, because even though it's the middle of summer it's the middle of summer in Melbourne, which means I alternate days of wearing almost nothing at all with days of wearing hats, scarves and woollen socks.  Oh, for the want of a temperate climate a number of hats were born.

Oh, and by the way?

Lucy's not particularly happy about me disturbing her nap.  It's a hard life, being a cat.  It requires a lot of sleeping all of the time.

Sleepy time and 2010 FO#16: Baby Surprise Jacket in Green

I work from home, so I have a lot of flexibility in how I structure my day.  I'll admit that some days that means I work in my pyjamas until half an hour before Sam is due to get home and I don't apologise for it!  But my day does usually involve getting up, doing stuff on a computer for six to seven hours and then cooking dinner.

However, today I woke up and I just wasn't feeling it.  I was sleepy, cranky, cold and a bit petulant. I may have stamped my foot when I couldn't get two bits of bread to separate so I could toast them.  So when Lucy jumped onto the bed for her morning nap, I popped right on the bed beside her her and slept my morning away.  I'm not a big napper because a) I can't get to sleep at night a lot of the time, let alone during the day and b) I always feel like time napping is wasted time, even if all I would done in that time is watch The Real Housewives and played on Ravelry.  After today's lovely warm cuddly morning, I'm reviewing my napping policy.  I think I could really get used to sleeping in the day, plus who says no to extra pussycat huggles?  Certainly not me!

You know who else naps a lot? Babies do.  So, let me show you a baby jacket I finished in December for a new baby, also called Lucy (was she named after my cat? I think so, although the mother denies it.)

How good was my segue? I'm improving.  Soon I'll be making dad jokes and bad alliterating puns on the Internet - it's only a matter of time...

This is Elizabeth Zimmermann's very famous Baby Surprise Jacket, knitted in Knit One Crochet Too Ty-Dy Socks in green.  The pattern deserves its reputation as a much-lauded must-knit - it's all tricky short rows and nifty geometry held together by the knit stitch.  It didn't take much actual knitting time to finish the jacket but it is a very small jacket - suitable only for teeny tiny newborns.  I used 3mm needles, but I'd go 3.25mm or 3.55mm if I was to knit it again in 4ply. I hope the mum likes it and it keeps the baby warm, because even though it's summer in Melbourne it snowed yesterday! Oh Melbourne, your weather is so bloody annoying charmingly unpredictable.

I'm slowly catching up with my blogging. A few more posts to go...

A Day in the Country: A Trip to Bendigo

I had the pleasure of having my lovely boyfriend at home on holiday for two whole weeks over Christmas.  I wanted to take advantage of this as much as possible, so last Wednesday we packed up the car, locked the cat inside with much water, food and air conditioning, and drove to the country.

The first stop was the Beechworth Bakery which, funnily enough, is not actually in Beechworth, rather in Bendigo (There is a bakery in Beechworth, but we went to the satellite location.)

A visit to the lovely city of Bendigo is not complete without a visit to the Bendigo Woollen Mills. Bearing in mind my new year's resolutions I didn't buy a single thing, but even being close to the wool gave me a happy.

Next was a visit to the Bendigo Art Gallery to see their photograph exhibition of famous stars from the 20s to 40s.  I enjoyed it because I watch a lot of old movies, but I think Sam was like 'Orson who?'. The exhibit didn't seem so much curated as hung on the wall, but the gallery is gorgeous and the day was so delightful that I think I could have been shown a room full of blank walls and still had a good time.

Next was the obligatory visits to local vineyards to taste the best that Victorian grapes can offer. First was Balgownie Estate, which was a gorgeous winery with nice wine, yummy food and a relaxed afternoon vibe.

Next was Sandhurst Ridge Winery. They had delicious red wines and the winemaker himself took us through the tasting.  By this stage I was slightly toasted and enjoyed everything that everyone said! I was full of love for everything and everyone. It was like getting away from Melbourne and the stresses of everyday life resulted in an unbelievable surge of happiness and relaxation.  I *have* to get away more often.

We were greeted by a poor deflated hot kitty when we got home.  She's such a sook - the house was a chilly 21 degrees, she had treats all over the house and there were at least six toys in various nooks and crannies, proving that she had been having at least a little bit of fun while we were gone.  Little brat!

January Resolutions


As part of my WIP-down resolution, I took a long hard look at the projects that have been hanging around just a little bit too long.  I love the way my Frankensocks look from the cuff down, but I do hate the way those cuffs looked.  So, this...

..became this!

I have a plan for this itty bitty balls. Watch this space...

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

It's that time of year again - time too look back on what has been and happened over the last year and plan and dream for the next 12 months.  In 2011 I spent two months in hospital and the two months after that totally whacked out on painkillers, so if I can remain fully conscious and coherent for nine of the next twelve months, I'm already doing better!

My goals for last year were pretty simple.

In 2011, I will:
1. Finish at least 20 knitted objects, and blog about every single one.
2. Decrease stash from 62 (eek!) to 40, by either using the yarn or destashing it.
3. Finish at least two of my blankets on the go.
4. Finish at least one of my jumpers on the go.
5. Knit at least four things for me and only me.
6. Lose 7kg.
7. Decrease total WIPs to no more than five in total.


This is going to be a terrible summary paragraph - I'm so far behind photographing and blogging that I don't even know what I have done and what I haven't done! Item 1 is done (I promise...more photos and recaps to come!).  Until I update my Ravelry stash I don't know if I met item 2, but I have a suspicion that I might not have...maybe I went down to 50 (I hope. I really tried.).  I didn't finish either of my blankets or either of my jumpers (fail).  I did knit at least four things for me (win). I don't have bathroom scales any more but I reckon I am definitely down at least 5kg from last year which, even though it isn't quite 7kg it is close enough that I feel pretty darn good about it. WIPs will have to wait until I update Ravelry, but I'm definitely over five.  Last year I was at 11 WIPs at this time, so I hope it's fewer than that.

In 2012, I will:
1. Decrease stash from [whatever it is] to [a number that is 15 units less than that] by either using the yarn or destashing it.
2. Finish two of my blankets on the go.
3. Finish at least one of my jumpers on the go.
4. Lose another 7kg.
5. Decrease total WIPs to no more than five in total.

There are a couple of mini goals I want to get out of the way in January.  I want to finish photographing and blogging everything I finished in 2011. I want to update my Ravelry stash and project details.  I want to update the blog so the sidebars are correct and up to date and I want to find out how well I did goal-wise!

Best wishes to everyone for the year ahead :)

Happy New Year! And 2010 FO# 15

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I can't believe that the next year is actually over.  Between starting a new business and spending much to much time at various medical establishments, the last twelve months have been challenging (to say the least!). Here's hoping 2012 is blissfully uneventful, quiet, and involves lots and lots of knitting.

A full update on the Christmas knitting will be following shortly.  Below is the first completed gifted present - Ben's Birthday socks knitted in Opal Prisma.  The recipient seems to like them!

WIP Wednesday 7/8...ish

Just a short post, because I am busy knitting!  Only one week to go, and still much to do! (Yes, there are lots of exclamation points floating around in my brain right now! And I imagine will be until Christmas has passed.  So many things to cook! Presents to wrap! Drinks to drink!

Without further ado, I present to you 2011's 15 finished object which is also a completed Christmas present (yay!).

These are simple socks - standard 64-stitch top-down heel-flap-and-gusset.  The yarn is Cascade Heritage Paints, which is lovely and soft and gorgeous to knit with.

The recipient of this gift always seems very happy whenever I give her handknitted presents, but I never see her wear them, so these socks are a test to see whether or not I should continue to knit her gifts.  Seriously, though, who wouldn't  love these socks? They're gorgeous, even if I do say so myself.

The spreadsheet says I am 77% [62%] through my Christmas knitting. It looks like I'm not going to make it this year. At least the journey has been fun so far :)