Dr Bones knits

Penultimate Day

2011-12-30T08:58:00.000+11:00

So it's the second last (penultimate) day of 2011. Seems like there's still a fair whack of clearing the decks to go LOL!

I've copied the list to here and have made notes to inspire me to get myself moving today and tomorrow!

So this year's House Clear the Decks is as follows:
Kitchen windowsill Still dusty/leafy.
Kitchen bench (where all the papers from kinder/school land) Still a pile a foot deep.
Hand washing (mostly hand knits) Round one done, up to round two.
Under the bed (mine-where the yarn hides out) Had the yarn out, does that count?
Clothes washing away every day (slim chance but hey lets add it anyway!) There's only yesterday's load out at the moment, lets not talk about last week, slips syly away.
File the filing (currently in a box or two or three in the corner of my bedroom) Still there
Bed side table (including: read the books and return them to their owners) Still there

The Crafting Clear the Decks list is:
Scarf for Teacher #1 Done and delivered
Scarf for Teacher #2 Done and delivered
Cowl In Progress - was at 5 repeats on 8/12 is now at 11 repeats complete out of 18, nice progress there.
Shawl for me Done - just needs blocking - a job for today
Binding onto quilt for Libby's baby Done and delivered

Results:
The Crafting list got a lot of attention this month, perhaps that's why the House list suffered :-)
Today:
Looks like the kitchen is getting a once over, my shawl is getting blocked and the hand washing is getting done, perhaps I might make it back to under the bed and give it a vacuum or a sweep as well (or maybe the child who loves using the vacuum can have a go!). Will also work some more on the cowl while supervising/watching the boys play.
Ongoing
The filing and bedside table look like they make the long term list!

Summary

A pretty successful Clearing the Decks, especially if I manage the kitchen, blocking and washing today. I'll pop back in later for an update.

So how did your Clearing the Decks go this December?

We've had a wonderful Christmas, very low key, no events at our house, we've seen both sides of the family and even extended cousins but no major stresses and the usual Christmas baggage just didn't appear so it's been a nice change. The kids received a few well chosen gifts and have spent the last few days working out how games are played (lots of board/people based games), where to put the pieces in the 200 piece puzzle of Where's Wally?, how the popcorn maker works and today will be how the Animal Kingdom Mini Cake maker works.

Best Wishes to you all for a Happy and Healthy 2012.

Slowing down

2011-12-25T22:12:00.000+11:00

It seems funny to be two days before Christmas and writing about slowing down but, yes, we are, and I am, slowing down. Yesterday the two big boys finished at school and on Tuesda the littlest one finished up. So as of this morning, we are slowing down. All of the child related Christmas events have ended: Kinder break up for the child's group and for the whole Kinder, Childcare break up, Class Christmas parties, School Carols and Sports night, Orientations for next year, tennis and swimming lessons are done for the year as well. My Committee related events have finished up: AGM, Handover, End of Year Christmas Party, tieing (why is that not a real word? To tie doesn't have a "y" why would tieing be spelt tying?) up loose ends on the positions I've held this year. Now I just have to put things into the right piles and pass them onto the next people holding the positions. Everything is starting to slow down. We've had Christmas with my family earlier in the month and we are doing Christmas lunch with Jules' family and then lunch with his cousins on Boxing Day and that's it. Nothing here, just us and possibly my sister and BIL and niece at some point, all nice and easy. Ahhhhhhhh. Nice!

The clearing the decks has been happening in fits and starts, it's amazing how much less time I've had this month compared to last month. Here I was thinking I'd have time to clean and in the end everything is in pretty much the same state as at the beginning of the month. Oh except we've been out to various functions and knitting has been happening for gifts so other stuff has been happening, just not clearing! But between Christmas and New Years we have no plans so that's when it will be happening, I hope!

Onto the knitting.

I'm working on a cowl in Black Wollmeise for a friend. It's coming along nicely, almost halfway there. I was knitting on it yesterday at a friend's house while watching the boys play in the pool and it's such a simple pattern it just keeps going around and around, relaxing really.

I've made two scarves for the Teachers of the big boys. I dove into the stash and came up with two skeins of Debbie Bliss Pure silk, one in a beautiful off white and the other a pink I'm having trouble describing, so you'll just have to look at the pictures. I think it has been described as Strawberry, but there's less red than I'd expect for Strawberry. I winged the pattern, wanted something patterny on the ends and plain through the middle, so played until something looked good :-)

Have cast on for a pair of socks, the yarn was at the ready, the pattern is Cookie A's Sake which is very pretty, have worked out whether I need to make adjustments because the pattern is only for one size. Once I've done that I'll be casting on :-)

Clear the Decks

2011-12-02T13:28:00.001+11:00

Must be December, oh yes, we're on to day 2 already! Definitely time for another round of Clearing the Decks in December. I like the feel of facing a new year with a clean house. It makes a big difference to my attitude to the year. I certainly wasn't in the mood to do it last year, the end of which was completely stressful. But this year I'm all good for Christmas (haven't bought the pressies yet, but I'm ok with that), and I'm looking forward to the festive celebrations followed by our annual trek to the beach in January for a round of camping with the kids.

So this year's House Clear the Decks is as follows:
Kitchen windowsill
Kitchen bench (where all the papers from kinder/school land)
Hand washing (mostly hand knits)
Under the bed (mine-where the yarn hides out)
Clothes washing away every day (slim chance but hey lets add it anyway!)
File the filing (currently in a box or two or three in the corner of my bedroom)
Bed side table (including: read the books and return them to their owners)

The Crafting Clear the Decks list is:
Scarf for Teacher #1
Scarf for Teacher #2
Cowl
Shawl for me
Binding onto quilt for Libby's baby

I think that's enough for now.

So what will you be clearing up this December???

To market, to market

2011-11-16T23:16:00.001+11:00

I'm off to the Ivanhoe Maker's Market this weekend. Saturday that is. The market recently relocated to the Livingstone Community Centre in Ivanhoe and it's a wonderful new location. There are lots of lovely stall holders with food, flowers, jewellery, bags, knitted goods, paper products and more. Come for a visit, have a mosey around and remember Christmas is just around the corner and you may just find that unique gift you need to make it extra special this year!

On a finishing run

2011-11-13T22:01:00.001+11:00

It's been a busy weekend over here.
Two knitted projects got all finished up - one a long term, large project which I will be sending off to it's new home on Monday.

And the other a short term small project, a pair of socks for my Father-in-Law.

One quilt was sewn together apart from the binding. A trip to Sp*tlight or my favourite, GJ's, is required to find something appropriate, probably a navy or a forest green. That is a job for Monday as well.

And four Quilt-as-you-go blocks were made and all packaged up to be sent out tomorrow to Jan Mac who makes them into quilts and donates them to various charities. This has been on my list of things to do since January so it's nice to cross that one off.

Now it's time to pack up all the boxes and crates and hide away all my fabric again.

All in all a great weekend!

It's his Birthday

2011-10-23T23:04:00.000+11:00

So he got to sleep in. Got juice and toast in bed after opening his presents. Got to have a mostly lazy day including arvo tea at his Mum and Dads. It's not everyday your hubby turns 40! Happy Birthday Babe. His party is next weekend and he's really looking forward to it which is great. I got him a voucher from Red Balloon to go for a drive in a Lamborghini, many thanks to D who helped keep that one hush hush by doing the purchasing for me.

I have been knitting stuff for me, having a stall at a local market, doing work for Kinder including interviewing prospective teachers for next year, knitting a commission which should be finished in the next 24-48 hours, cleaning odd bits of the house, starting eleventy billion knitting projects, recovering from 4 Boot Camp classes :-)

So, Boot Camp. It's great, it works you hard, I've been feeling it as a general used all over tiredness and stiffness for the day of and 2 days after. Nothing odd, just what I'd expect. The less floppy flab is definitely a bonus 2 weeks in. I do have to admit to internally groaning on Wednesday morning at the thought of Boot Camp on Thursday but I've paid for the term so I'm not wasting money by not going. Tomorrow will be class #5. So far none of the classes have been similar let alone the same so there is no boredom. The fact that the instructor can't count and says we'll just do this 2-3 times if we have time and then we work hard and then she sneaks a 4th round in just means she's doing her job and we are suckers for believing her in the face of multiple events of miscounting :-)

So the knitting is continuing, the Kinder year is coming to an end as will my term as Treasurer (trying not to do this again next year), Jules has turned 40 and tomorrow I submit myself to the self imposed torture that is boot Camp yet again. All is good!

Today I...

2011-10-10T18:43:00.000+11:00

Well this morning I caved and got into my "exercise gear" and headed off to school. That might sound a bit odd but for the last two terms on Monday and Thursday mornings a personal trainer has been hosting Boot Camp classes in the covered space where Assembly is held at school. A couple of my friends have been doing it and it has made a big difference for them. You are already at school for drop off, the Playgroup gear is there ready for use if needed and the little kids are familiar with the space and generally keep themselves well occupied while the Mums exercise. The instructor is also a Mum from outside school and has no issues with you taking a break to sort out kids as well, so very Mum friendly. I have been hesitating because those are the two days I swim and I wasn't sure how I'd go with Boot Camp and swimming in one day. At the same time I have felt the need to add something to my regular routine that worked different parts of my body. I'm not a runner and cycling has been a challenge to fit in with a 4 year old in the house (that and a complete lack of motivation) and both of these seem too similar to the workout I get from swimming anyway. So this morning I joined the other Mums and we did a Fitness test. The usual stuff, how many squats/sit ups/push ups/tricep dips can you do in one minute and then the Beep test as well. I managed better than I thought I would, obviously the swimming has helped with some of it! As the day gets longer and my muscles slowly seize up I wonder how I'm going to swim tonight: Probably slowly. But also how I might be with walking tomorrow...

Today

2011-09-30T19:14:00.000+10:00

Today is my baby's Birthday. He turns 4 and I'm having a bit of a spin out over here. He spent the day at the Royal Melbourne Show having a ball with his brothers and Dad.

I spent the day cleaning out the study, it needed it desperately and I have the added motivation of my sister coming to stay with her crew on Sunday night so I needed to find the bed so she'd have a place to sleep!Half a large recycling bin full, a garbage bin full and a much neater room is the result :-)

His request for Birthday cake was a Star, so while they were out I baked.

On Sunday we are having his party and he has told me firmly he wants a BIG star not a little one. Your wish is my command baby, stay tuned for his Party cake.

It's been a while

2011-09-11T16:38:00.002+10:00

I had realised earlier in the year that I was blogging less frequently. I was still reading other people's blogs on a daily basis, but finding the time and brain space to compose a post here was a struggle. Rather than push myself I decided to just go with it. It will probably continue in the same fashion for the next few months, mainly because the commitments I took on at the beginning of the year will continue on until at least November. I do have stages of feeling bad about not posting but trying to make myself stick to a schedule sounds a bit too much like pushing too hard at the moment. So I will not be participating in Blogtoberfest this year as a blogger but I will probably zoom around and read posts from other participants and see if anything catches my eye. I am still around and will continue to drop in with the odd Finished Object post and then nothing for a while just like the past couple of months :-)

In the meantime how about an update?

In Life
Zac turned 6,

Hunter turned 8

and Tyler is due to turn 4 at the end of this month. We've had parties with cake twice and I'm starting to plan the next one. After that Jules turns the big 4-0 and we are sorting out what he wants to do to celebrate. I've worked out the main part of what I'm giving him and have enlisted help to ensure it happens without the secret being given away. The big boys have been part of their school's first whole school production with the performances being this past Wednesday and Thursday. All of the teachers and kids did an awesome job and it was a great performance with an important message about being environmentally conscious in all aspects of our lives. Tyler has had a cough for the past week that has progressed to borderline ear infection this weekend which we are monitoring and since he kindly shared his cold with me I'm sitting in my room all toasty warm writing this while Jules amuses him and his brothers.

In knitting

I have been working on a jacket for a friend and it is nearing completion, it has half a sleeve and half of a knitted on i-cord edging left to go and I am champing at the bit to get it done but am being held up by running out of yarn and waiting for another skein to turn up.

In the meantime I have finished up a pair of socks for Jules

knitted most of a blanket for my brother's impending arrival (due November)

knitted a square for the Knitted Periodic Table (Iron-Fe)

and knitted the top section of a top down cardigan in 8ply bamboo for an 18mth size child.

Plans
Now that I'm at the plain body section of the little cardigan I'm tempted to put it aside and cast on a new scarf or shawl for me, except I'm not sure which one. I have a couple of batches of gorgeous black alpaca laceweight and some silvery grey wool/silk blend to play with. So if you've got ideas for me they'd be most welcome. I'm also planning on doing some dyeing to get a blue based red and a dark grey for a cardy for me but haven't worked out how to do it yet. Oh and I've started a gauge swatch for the Leaving cardigan, except that was about a month ago and I may have forgotten the needle sizes I've used so far (No laughing Jen). I know I'm up to trying my 4mm needles, but will have to have a look at the needles I've left with the project to work out the ones used thus far. So it appears I'm in a bit of a cast on mode at the moment with two big projects almost off the needles I'm looking for three projects: something simple and portable (bamboo cardigan) something intermediate (Leaving cardigan) and something complicated (shawl). Of course I'll probably also cast on a pair of socks and maybe something else as well :-)

Update complete! Hope all is well with you and yours. Catch you next time!

In case you haven't seen it...

2011-09-08T10:59:00.000+10:00

There isn't much time left to reach the goal of $33,000, support our local yarn/fibre culture if you can :-)

Inspiration

2011-08-06T18:13:00.000+10:00

The new Twist Collective is out and as is now usual there are a number of items which inspire me. Some of them I *want* to make, others just appeal for some reason even though there is no chance I will knit them :-)

Here we go.....

I find Charnwood by Fiona Ellis interesting but am unlikely to knit it.

Eadon by Susanna IC is gorgeous and simple and so appealing it's in my queue.

Nymphaeum by Kerry Milani is stunning, so light and delicate. I love the colour and I might almost have something that will work in the stash already :-)

Twinings by Amy Herzog is such a simple jumper with that little tweak of interest to catch the eye. Another added to the queue.

There were lots of other nice things in there and the articles are always interesting as well even if they are aimed at an American audience. With a queue like mine it will be a while before I get to these but hey that's not a problem :-)

A good day

2011-07-30T12:25:00.000+10:00

Jules has taken the boys out for a few hours for lunch and playing at his Mum's.

I've got the sewing machine out and have put together the top of the quilt I'm making (bottom right on couch). The ironing board is out and handy and I have just finished ironing the strips I have sewn together for the back. The kettle is boiling, the chocolate is to hand and the CD's are playing at my preferred volume in the stereo. Perfect for instant gratification sewing!

Ups and Downs

2011-07-28T15:13:00.000+10:00

The last couple of weeks have been hard in a lot of ways and fabulous in others.

School holidays were hard.

Bendigo was fabulous.

Coming home from Bendigo was hard, I think mostly due to dodgy hormones.

Celebrating Zac's 6th Birthday was fabulous.

Finding out the Kinder assistant who was amazing for both Hunter and Zac and who left our kinder at the end of last year had died suddenly of an aneurysm was hard.

Putting together Zac's cake (he chose the easiest one so far) and having people over for Zac's Party was fabulous.

Going to the funeral of a wonderful lady gone too soon was hard.

Waking up to beautiful sun shiny skies and light winds this morning was fabulous.

Time for this roller coaster to end. I'd like a bit of the middle road now, just saying.

So I've been cutting up some fabric this morning to make a simple quilt for a brand new baby sister of one of Tyler's little friends (left of picture is cotton for front, right side of picture is flannel for back).

I bought the fabric a week ago after being tipped off by Lynne, I'm keeping it simple, simple is good right now.

I've almost finished my current pair of socks, I'm playing around with the yarn so it isn't quite brainless knitting which is a shame but the other project I'm working on is a mohair bouclé which requires visual concentration due to the loops but no mental hard work as it is garter stitch, so I'm getting in some relaxing knitting time there.

Broke the kitchen scales

2011-07-20T12:31:00.002+10:00

Now I'm going to have to use the yarn scales for the cooking!

And back again

2011-07-17T19:05:00.000+10:00

3 days in Bendigo.

A lovely time. Lots of chatting, lots of laughs, lots of rainbows.

Drinking tea in the afternoon sun whilst eating warmed brownies laced with Cointreau and knitting on a nice easy project. Perfect.

New yarn in need of instant use. The two Kate's couldn't wait!

Rediscovering my kryptonite...alpaca :-)

Anticipating dyeing this up for a project for me in one of these: Carmine, Sangria or Maroon with a darker shade of one of these: Charcoal, Slate grey.

Temptation to start this instantly.

A touch of luxury from SeeAPenny (rav link)

Inspired.

Finishing up with a lovely breakfast

With an interestingly located caravan at T'Hooft inside which the coffee and other beverages are brewed.

Excellent weekend. Tired. But definitely happy :-)

I'm off!

2011-07-14T17:25:00.002+10:00

I have successfully completed the majority of items on my list from earlier in the week and it is now time to pack :-)

Have a great weekend, I definitely am!

This week

2011-07-10T17:09:00.000+10:00

*I will be washing many loads of washing in an effort to catch up from being away with the kids for 4 days
*I will be Folding and Putting away the same number of loads of washing
*I will be finishing up my Lorelei, all that remains is two buttonbands and the buttons. I've already sewn in all the ends
*I will be working out which knitting project/s to take with me for my weekend away.
*I will be packing for my weekend away and making difficult decisions like which nice warm handknit to take with me

*I will be doing all sorts of paperwork for Kinder so I can forget about it while away for the weekend

*I will be finding out what's up with the Power bill, a charge for "Change of Occupant" what the? We've been here for 8 years now people...

*I will be filling out loan paperwork and getting it to the mortgage advisor asap

*I will be hoping no one comes down with any illnesses because I am going away for the weekend....alone!
*I will be getting the radio in the car fixed so that I can play CD's and know what time it is while driving myself and my friend Kate to Bendigo
*I will be attending the Australian Sheep and Wool show, affectionately known as "Bendigo" for the third year in a row and will be sharing accommodation with a group of seriously fun knitters for three days and two nights as we knit, inhale yarn fumes, buy yarn, knitting tools and accessories and pretend none of us have kids or husbands at home wondering just how much of a dent the credit card will have in it at the end.

Have a great week, I know I'm going to!

New Socks

2011-07-01T23:41:00.000+10:00

J6RWTUEBPCYU

I'm working on a new pair of socks for me. I'm using yarn that Jules bought me for Christmas: Noro Solk Garden Sock. Nice yarn. Had to restart because I had cast on my usual 64 sts on 2.25mm needles, I had to go down to 56 sts. The Noro is thicker than the usual fingering weight. I'm hoping that because there are less stitches, the yarn will go further!
Can't get a decent photo of the colours tonight though, will have to try again tomorrow.

School Holidays

2011-07-01T09:34:00.000+10:00

The boys finished up at school yesterday and they don't go back for two weeks.

I am looking forward to:
Not having to get up and get three children moving in the morning to a deadline.
Getting the odd sleep in, this morning the request for breakfast came at 8:30am, they'd been up for a while and playing happily.
Getting knitting time in.
Maybe getting some sewing time in as well.
Seeing my Sister, her husband and her 4 kids for a few days as we have a 3 day sleepover planned.
Seeing my Brother in law, his wife and 2 kids tomorrow down at the beach.
Having the children play happily with each other with a minimum of arguments.
Just not having to be anywhere particular by a certain time....bliss!

So if you have the school holidays right now, Good Luck! Have a great time. In my case the School holidays ends with The Australian Sheep and Wool Show at Bendigo. That will be my beacon and guiding light if it gets troubling, 3 days of knitting, yarn, good friends and 2 nights sleeping away from home with no invading children during the night!

As an aside: Weirdly, a sure fire way of having the children play nicely together is to have a period of "No Screen Time". Today is the last day of a week of No Screen Time that came about because the boys could not do what they were asked last Friday, it was a simple clean up request but they ignored me and the request flat out 3 times and then with the added incentive of "You are going to have a week of No Screen Time if it's not done in 4 minutes", they proceeded to argue over how to clean up rather than actually clean up. I figure if they can't "listen and do" they need a break from the brainless mode that is Screen Time. Suffice to say we have had a much more relaxing week. We've even managed to get to school in the mornings with minimal yelling, which has been lovely.

Sock Surgery Complete!

2011-06-26T22:38:00.002+10:00

I was knitting a pair of socks for my Sister for her Birthday. I finished the first one and for some reason I decided to weigh the finished sock and the remainder of the ball: 56g, 52g.

Crap! So I worked out approximately how many rows were in the sock and then how many rows shorter I needed to make the second sock. For safety's sake I added a couple more rows and decided to make the second sock 12 rows shorter. So I completed the second sock and if it were anyone but me, the one sock being about 2 cm longer than the other in the leg probably wouldn't have been a problem. But it is me and the socks were for a present, so something had to be done. There were two options at this stage: Frog the first sock back to the leg and remove 12 rows and reknit the heel/gusset/foot/toe, definitely a day or so's work and her Birthday was still 3 days away so definitely possible OR commit sock surgery, remove the offending rows and fix it all back together. Fast forward a couple of hours and my sister calls and asks if we can come to dinner that night. It was 2pm, dinner was set for 6.30pm. Not enough time for a frog and reknit. So sock surgery was required.

Take a deep breath, here we go!

I threaded my knitting needle through on the row I wanted to save and made sure I knew which way the yarn was running and CAREFULLY cut through a single strand half a round before the stitches I wanted to knit on from because I wanted enough yarn to be able to sew ends in, etc.

I carefully unthreaded the line of stitches.

Until the two pieces were separate. Big sigh of relief at this stage: no disasters, yet.

I unravelled the extra piece of sock back to the cuff and then had to make a decision. Do I reknit the cuff, it's 20 rows of 1x1 rib or do I graft the two pieces together. In the end I decided to graft, figuring that if it failed I could always yank out the graft and knit the cuff if I have to.

I placed the cuff inside the leg of the sock, holding the two sets of stitches parallel. I used the knitted Kitchener method to graft the two pieces together. I was lucky to have the 1x1 rib as the cuff, it didn't matter which way out to have the cuff. If the cuff was different on the inside and the outside, care would need to be taken to ensure it ended facing out the right way when the two pieces were joined. The round I joined was a knitting only row, so no tricky bits to get around.

Ta Da! Sock Surgery complete! I gave it to Jules to see if he could see where I had done it and he couldn't tell. I could, but I know what I'm looking for.

Here they are ready to go with a few little magnets I picked up at the Ivanhoe Makers Market last weekend.

They were gifted and tried on and fit in the foot nicely. They were a little loose around the ankle which was a surprise and if it becomes a problem I will endeavour to improve matters in that regard, somehow!

So successful sock surgery can now be added to the knitting bag of tricks :-)

Of course I am hoping I never have to do it again though!

Oh and just in case you wondering: the one on the top left is the leftovers from knitting the second sock. The one on the bottom right is the yarn removed from the longer sock. I am very carefully NOT going to measure them against each other :-)

Edited to fix the bad maths at the beginning: 32+36= 68g. It was a "100g" ball, so it had to have been 52 and 56g. Sorry cutting my knitting must have messed with my head!

I'm about to commit sock surgery....

2011-06-25T15:26:00.003+10:00

I will take pictures, I'm hoping it will work or I'm going to have a big disaster on my hands!

I'm not that bad......yet!

2011-06-23T15:07:00.001+10:00

So, I just heard this

via the Knit Wits Podcast (hilarious and silly podcast by the way). It's the theme song from another Podcast called Never Not Knitting (haven't listened to this one yet). I found the Knit Wits via the Knitmore Girls Podcast which is also wonderful but I'm up to date with them so now I'm expanding to other podcasts :-)

I'd just like to say, despite being a knitter, as much as I can, as often as I can, I am definitely not as bad as in this song :-)

Yet.

A quick update

2011-06-20T16:42:00.000+10:00

Just to let you know, Jo's baby arrived safely on Friday at 35.5 weeks cooked and both Mum and Bub are doing well. Mum will be out of hospital in a few days and bub will follow hopefully less than a week later.

With the weather we've been having, those hats are going to get a work out!

2011 FO #17 - Jo's baby hat #3

2011-06-18T21:22:00.000+10:00

This is the third of the three hats for Jo's impending arrival. This is the one we want the baby to fit. It's a nice stretchy newborn size. This time Patonyle which is lovely and soft knit up on 4 mm needles.

And the trio just prior to being delivered to the expectant Mama.

We don't know the sex of the impending arrival so I think these colours are neutral enough to cover either option.

Vital Statistics
Pattern: My Basic top-down hat: 56 sts.
Yarn: Patons Patonyle 4 ply in dark red.
Needles: 4 mm Knit Pro interchangeables with Nickel tips.
Started: June 5, 2011
Finished: June 5, 2011
Mods: Used the lifted leg increase described in the Brainless sock pattern to do the increases, really like this increase as it leaves no gap.
Comments: This has ended up being a gorgeous little hat, modelled again on a small orange.
Ravelled here.

2011 FO #16 - Kerry's Fa Fa Fa socks

2011-06-18T10:49:00.000+10:00

Another swap, knitting and payment yarn was Wollmeise again...can we see a pattern here?
These socks were knit for an elderly friend of Kerry who has been feeling the Canberra cold. While the pattern was written top down, the job request asked to use up as much of the yarn as possible so I changed the pattern to toe-up and split the skein by winding it into a ball and then winding it again with the outside and inside ends held together so a double strand was wound. This double stranded ball was then wound into two separate balls. I know of someone who knits two at a time this way, but I'm not a two at a time kind of girl so I split it into two balls and cut the yarn. In the end there was about 8 metres difference between the two balls, so not bad really.

The socks have a lovely easy cable pattern and ended up being close to knee high when they were done, the cable giving some negative ease so hopefully they will stay up nicely and keep cold footsies warm.

Vital Statistics
Pattern: Fa Fa Fa Socks by Lois Leong and Wendy D. Johnson's Fingering Weight Toe-Up Socks with Gusset and Slip-Stitch Heel
Yarn: Wollmeise Sockenwolle 80/20 Twin in the Pesto colourway.
Needles: 2.5 mm Knit Pro circulars with Nickel tips, Aero 2.75 and 3.0 mm circular needles.
Started: May 12, 2011
Finished: June 5, 2011
Mods: Instead of top down, I knit these toe-up with Judy's Magic cast on, and the instructions from Wendy D. Johnson's Fingering Weight Toe-Up Socks were used as a guideline for when and where to shape. Did all of the foot then 5 repeats of the pattern on 2.5 mm needles on 64 sts , then did 2 repeats on 2.75mm and then 4 repeats on 3.0mm then 10 rows of cuff.
Comments: Really pleased with how these turned out :-)
Ravelled here.

2011 FO #15 - Jo's baby hat #2

2011-06-17T22:40:00.000+10:00

The second of three hats knit for an almost here baby, this one used the leftovers from my Travelling Woman shawl. It's a beautifully soft baby alpaca, perfect for a newborn.

Vital Statistics
Pattern: My basic top down hat: 48 sts in total.
Yarn: Moggy and Me Baby Alpaca 4 ply in the Sir Walter colour way.
Needles: 4 mm Knit Pro interchangeables with Nickel tips.
Started: May 31, 2011
Finished: May 31, 2011
Mods: None.
Comments: This is so soft it feels like a cloud. I'm hoping it is too small for the baby, there's a very small orange under that hat in the photo.
Ravelled here.

2011 FO #14 - Jenny's smoking hot cowl

2011-06-17T10:03:00.000+10:00

Having only made one cowl before, I was very tempted by this offer in the Australia Will Work for Yarn Swap group on Ravelry. It was a chance to work in gorgeous yarn: Wollmeise. To make a pretty cowl: Silk Smoke ring. And to get paid in pretty yarn: more Wollmeise. The pattern is deceptively simple, just don't drop a k2togtbl, they unravel like nobody's business in this very smooth yarn. A life line* on the 12th row: a simple k1tbl, p1 row, is essential for sleep deprived Mum's. I only dropped a stitch once, but 7 rows of 180 stitches tinked (undone 1 stitch at a time) was enough to convince me life lines are a must. And how do you block a cowl you might ask? Well I got out one of the rolled up foam camping/yoga mats, tied it up at the right circumference and put the cowl over it then lay it down braced on my bed on one side and the window sill on the other 2 feet above a heating vent. Perfect. Jenny was very pleased with the results and her daughter may have placed an order for one for herself!

Vital Statistics
Pattern: Silk Smoke Ring by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer.
Yarn: Wollmeise 100% Merino Superwash in the colour way Rittersporn (a beautiful blue/purple/black tonal mix, the name translates to Delphinium)
Needles: 3.5 mm, 80 cm Bamboo tipped circular. ( I have lost the packet, can't remember the brand)
Started: April 19, 2011
Finished: May 26, 2011
Mods: Worked until cowl reached 25 inches, longer than the original pattern, definitely works. Changed the cast off as the one suggested felt too tight on the edge. Used Jeni's surprisingly stretchy bind off instead.
Comments: This knit up so beautifully and the pattern instructions were put down after 1.5 repeats, and only referred to again at the cast off stage.
Ravelled here.

* A life line is a piece of thread or smooth yarn or in my case dental floss, which is threaded using a needle through the stitches of your row. The idea being that if you manage to drop a stitch and can't recover it, it can't go past this point and there is a complete row/round you can go back to and pick up all of your stitches without having to worry about lost ones. It does help if the life line goes through stitches which are all "normal" ie no yarn overs. In the pattern described above there is one such row every twelve rows. In "lace knitting" the return row is plain and can be "saved". In true "knitted lace" there is no plain row and putting in a life line can be more challenging but often more necessary!

2011 FO #13 - Jo's baby hat #1

2011-06-16T09:46:00.001+10:00

A friend at school has a medical issue which means that her babies all arrive early, so far she has delivered three healthy kids between 29 and 35 weeks of gestation. She is currently pregnant with her 4th and after a two week stay in hospital between 31 and 33 weeks has reached 34.5 weeks and we are all crossing our fingers she can make it even further. The organisation involved in keeping track of 2 school age kids, one 2 year old and a prem baby is better put off for as long as possible! So, knowing that the baby, when it arrives, is likely to be on the small side I decided to knit it some hats. This is the first of 3 hats, knit with yarn leftover after making a pair of socks. This hat is what I'd call 3 month old size. It will take a while, but baby is sure to grow into it!

Vital Statistics
Pattern: My basic top down hat: 64 sts in total.
Yarn: Blue Moon Fibre Arts Sock That Rock Mediumweight in the colour way Pride.
Needles: 4 mm Knit Pro interchangeables with Nickel tips.
Started: May 21, 2011
Finished: May 21, 2011
Mods: None.
Comments: Starting at the top and working my way down means I can keep knitting until I run out of yarn, perfect for using up all those sock scraps!
Ravelled here.

2011 FO #12 - Olivia's Hip in Hempathy

2011-06-15T21:33:00.001+10:00

A beautiful skirt for a little girl. Made from Hemp yarn, it should be a nice skirt to wear through Spring and Summer. This one took a while to knit but turned out very nicely. The yarn was quite firm, both as yarn and as fabric, but it softened nicely once washed.

Vital Statistics
Pattern: Hip in Hemp by Gudrun Johnston
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy
Needles: 3.0 mm and 3.25 mm Knit Pro
Started: March 22, 2011
Finished: April 18, 2011
Mods: Worked this skirt with 8 rows of the brown yarn and 4 rows of purple and 4 rows of yellow-green. Made it so that the waist band joined together at the front leaving a gap on the outside for a tie be put through.
Comments: This was a real change of pace, 4 ply on 3.25 mm needles is pretty usual here, but not for the amount of yarn in this project! Don't think I'll be making another skirt in such a small ply yarn again. Nothing wrong with knitted skirts, just will use fatter yarn next time!
Ravelled here.

2011 FO #11 - Zac's rainbow socks #2

2011-06-14T21:08:00.002+10:00

Zac came to me and said he needed a new pair of socks. Not just any socks mind you, no, he had a specific request in mind, "Can I have rainbow socks please Mum?" The answer was "yes" and I decided to try toe up socks so I could make them as long as we wanted. Little did I know what the next request would be..."Mum, I want them to come up to my knees." Thank goodness he's only 5 :-) This pair is his second pair of rainbow socks, he lost one of the first pair one day at his Grandmother's house, never to be found again. It better not happen with these ones or he'll be making the third pair!

Vital Statistics
Pattern: Universal toe-up sock formula by Amy Swenson published in Knitty.
Yarn: Cleckheaton Cocoon hand dyed by Lynne.
Needles: 2.5 mm Knit Pro circular with Nickel tips.
Started: January 1, 2011
Finished: March 31, 2011
Mods: No mods as such, just calculations so that they fit him properly!
Comments: He loves them. The day after I finished them he wore them to school and had to show his teacher. He was so proud and they are regularly on his feet :-)
Ravelled here.

2011 FO #10 - Mel's Peaks Island Hood

2011-06-13T21:46:00.002+10:00

This project was one that I completed as part of a swap. Mel had some lovely dark brown hand spun which she wanted knit up into a scarf with a hood in the middle. It turned out really nicely :-)

Vital Statistics
Pattern: Peaks Island Hood by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Mel's hand spun in a chocolate brown colour way.
Needles: 6 mm Knit Pro interchangeables with Nickel tips.
Started: February 12, 2011
Finished: March 22, 2011
Mods: None.
Comments: It was a bit challenging when I started knitting it because there was a bit of lanolin on the wool still, but every time I knit it my hands got lovely and soft :-)
Ravelled here.

2011 FO #9 - Kate's Hat

2011-06-13T09:18:00.002+10:00

Earlier this year, a dear friend signed up for World's Greatest Shave, the Fundraiser for the Leukaemia Foundation. And then the weather went downhill. We've been having discussions here about it and the verdict is that we had 8 months of Spring, 2 weeks of Autumn and then Winter started almost a month early. So I had a look through my stash and found a ball of yarn that I had recently acquired, one that although the colour is gorgeous, I couldn't see myself wearing any time soon. It is gorgeous yarn and has become a gorgeous garment for a gorgeous woman.

Vital Statistics
Pattern: One from my head, top down, starting with 8 sts and increasing every other row. Nice simple stocking stitch.
Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn, Silky Merino
Needles: 6mm Knit Pro interchangeables with Nickel tips (I think, also possibly the 5's or the 5.5mm's).
Started: February 26, 2011
Finished: March 13, 2011
Mods: None, bit hard to Modify something that just came out of your head!
Comments: Love this hat, it's gorgeous and smooshy and perfect :-)
Ravelled here.

2011 FO #8 - Willow's hat

2011-06-12T21:14:00.001+10:00

Baby Willow arrived in early March and needed a hat to keep her little head warm in this odd Melbourne weather. With the leftovers from my pair of Monkey socks I cooked up a hat that was well received and often used. What more can you ask for?

Vital Statistics
Pattern: One from my head, top down, starting with 8 sts and increasing every other row. 2x2 rib pattern.
Yarn: Wollmeise Sockenwolle 80/20 Twin in the Gazpacho colourway.
Needles: 3.25mm Knit Pro interchangeables with Nickel tips.
Started: March 2, 2011
Finished: March 10, 2011
Mods: None, bit hard to Modify something that just came out of your head!
Comments: Love this hat, the way that the colours showed up in the crown and then how they changed through the body of the hat. It looks beautiful on Willow :-)
Ravelled here.

Hmmmmmm

2011-06-12T20:49:00.000+10:00

I've just been looking over the blog and especially the Finished Object section and have realised that yet again there is a back log of projects that have been finished but not blogged, so it looks like there will be a rash of Finished Object posts coming your way!

We've been out and about today at the park with the kids, I sat and watched and participated with the pushing of the swing for ages, we have a swing addict in our house. Tyler has always been the kid that you can't get off the swing. I don't see it changing any time soon :-) When I wasn't pushing the swing or providing drinks or snacks I was knitting. This weekend to next is recognised as World Wide Knit in Public Day/Week so I figured sitting in the park with tons of kids running around and their parental supervisors watching on was a pretty public space! I'm hoping to get the Botanical Gardens next weekend for another dose of Knitting In Public as well as our usual Tuesday morning group in the local Cafe. So quite a good celebration of knitting really :-)

Hope the Long Weekend is treating you well and that you get some down time and some knitting time (or other crafting time) I know I'm fitting some in !

My Brother is Awesome :-)

2011-06-09T13:03:00.000+10:00

So I got a call last weekend and it was my brother who lives up in Brisbane. He wanted to know whether 300grams of handspun would be a useful amount of yarn. The answer was a resounding "Yes" and today I have just had a package come to my door and inside it was this:

Gorgeous coloured Merino handspun that is so beautifully soft to the touch and a soft brown colour. It looks to ba about an 8ply. I already have a vague idea of what I want to do with it. The challenge will be to find a pattern or to make one up!

Thanks heaps little brother :-)

Life

2011-06-05T20:39:00.000+10:00

In the past 6 weeks:

Zac broke his right humerus at the elbow, it has since healed and the plaster has been off for a week now and the arm is slowly straightening. Oh and yes this is second broken elbow the other one was about 15 months ago on the other arm. He was very frustrated by the pain the first week, broke the "back slab" cast twice in the second week and ended up in a full underarm to knuckle length plaster third time round which he pretty much shredded the hand section of in the 2 weeks it was on. He was lucky it didn't interfere with his school work, he's a lefty, but he was seriously frustrated by the restriction of movement by the last week of his incarceration. Now he's just frustrated by the whole "no monkey bars for another 3 weeks" statement from the doctor.

Hunter brought home a viral cold from school, fever for a few days followed by a head cold, which he very generously shared with me and now with Tyler who has ended up at the doctors this morning getting medications. So far neither Zac nor Jules have scored that one and I'm hoping that is how it will stay.

I have bought a new clothes horse/airer and was shocked at how ridiculously expensive they are. The theory being that one load of washing spread over three heater vents of the ducted heating would dry quicker than on the two we currently have. We don't own a clothes dryer and I don't want to spend
Winter looking at clothes drying in my lounge room constantly so utilising the vents in the three bedrooms sounds like an awesome idea!

I have been amazed at the ingenuity of the cat who has convinced the three year old to feed it on demand. Not only that but the determination of the three year old to get the fridge open and the cat food out so the cat can be fed! Tyler gets a clean spoon out, feeds the cat and then puts the spoon in the sink when he's done. The cat has him well trained. As far as Jules and I are concerned this is ok, because it's one less time we have to feed the cat who likes to be fed 2 or three times a day and no she is not fat, just old and cold probably!

The knitting has continued apace, it's either that or go mental really. I had about 12 hours at the hospital and another 5 or so at the Fracture clinic waiting for x-rays and assessments with Zac and now a week of feeling crappy with a cold, half of it spent with a cranky 3 year old in the same state sitting on my knee.

So over the past 6 weeks I have:
- completed the cowl, it ended up being a gorgeously long 18 repeats of pattern in an awesome colourway and I will blog it sometime soon.
- I also started and finished two small hats (one in the photo above) for a friend who is 33 weeks pregnant and is likely to have babe in arms within the next week or so. A third is on the needles as we speak, the other two have been washed and are drying over an air vent right now.
- I finished a pair of knee high socks for a friend. The pattern asked for top down but I flipped them to toe up and used up a complete skein of Wollmeise in the Pesto colourway for them.
- My Lorelei has also seen some exposure, the back is complete as is the left front and the right front is half way done. This one is coming right to the front of the pile though as Bendigo is only 6 weeks away people and it needs to be done by then!

What with crappy throttling of internet speed and the usual everyday clothes washing, drying, folding and putting away, trips to and from school and kinder and doctors and hospitals, it's been a busy time. I'm hoping it will slow down for a week or so so I can catch my breath, kick this cold and do some serious time on Lorelei!

Hope you guys have had a fruitful few weeks while I've been absent :-)

Throttled

2011-05-18T22:01:00.000+10:00

Ah the information age.

You find a show you really enjoy.

You download some episodes to watch.

You blow through your data limit for the month in the space of 3 days.

Oops.

I'm hoping this post will upload....

P.S. Warehouse 13, sci-fi type series, Ace!

Found: 2 lost Birth Certificates

2011-04-30T19:04:00.000+10:00

Yippee!
Hooray!
Yahoo!

Celebrations abound. I may even make myself a drink. The search is over.

Today as part of the reorganisation of our bedroom I moved the filing cabinet that has been inaccessible for the past two years back to it's original position in our room. The joy of drawers that open all the way cannot be underestimated. I opened the bottom drawer to put the files back in and a flash of white caught my eye. I realised that underneath the bottom drawer was some paper, a small pile of paper and a plastic pocket. 5 minutes later and I had persuaded the bottom drawer to come off it's rail so I could access behind it. Apart from some receipts from a couple of years ago there were the two long lost Birth Certificates carefully enclosed in a plastic pocket. So at some point they were filed in the cabinet, they must have just slipped between two files and made their way to the bottom of the cabinet. The search is over and apart from the relief of having found them is the relief of knowing that the next part of sorting out our room was to go through the very full filing cabinet item by item looking for these missing papers again and now there is no need :-)

Hope you have had a great Saturday, I certainly have. Who can fault a lovely warm day and the solving of a mystery?

Purples for Kates

2011-04-30T10:04:00.000+10:00

Something lovely and pretty for the end of a gorgeous, Autumn week. I don't know what these flowers are but they lasted about a month!

In knitting news:
-The cowl is 8.5 repeats in with a 15 repeat finish point, it's lovely knitting, very easy to read the knitting and no need for the written pattern after about row 3. Life lines are a must, there's a k1p1 row every 12 rows so my life line is going through that line. I had a dropped stitch which led to a 7 row tinking* episode over 180 stitches, now I can just rip back to a life line, so much easier on the brain :-) Of course now that I'm using a life line I haven't had an unfixable dropped stitch!
-My Lorelei is now 2.5 repeats into the lace patten with probably half a repeat to go until the plain section starts. I'm finding the lace very easy, the return row is a mix of knits and purls but I can generally read the knitting to work out where they need to be so don't have to refer to the chart as much.
-Looking for a truly mindless pattern to knit next. Something with no lace (Lorelei) and no twisted stitches (cowl). We have a new tv series we have been watching (Warehouse 13) which Jules has been downloading and I'd like to be able to absorb a bit more of it rather than having half an eye or half a brain on my knitting.

Today is all about the weather. It's the last day in a week long run of 20-22 degC. Tomorrow it starts cooling and raining again for the next week. So there's lawn mowing and leaf mulching and weeding and fertilising in the garden to do and bedroom rearranging and clothing upsizing to do inside the house.
Have a great weekend!

*tinking: the reverse of knitting, i.e. undoing each stitch one at a time (knit=tink).

The skirt is done :-)

2011-04-21T09:13:00.000+10:00

The skirt was finished up on Monday evening at the Richmond knitting group. I don't normally go to that knitting group as it's one of my swim evenings but this week was an exception because a lovely blogging pal is in town from Seattle and was going to be there. She had come to the Botanical gardens for a quick knit on Sunday but she was going to be able to stay a lot longer on Monday night. So I took the skirt, finished up the cast off (500 odd stitches, it worked on the fourth try!) and sewed in the ends. The sewing in of ends took a while as I was being careful to weave them in in the same style as the Russian join I had used to join each new ball in. The yarn is a mix of cotton, hemp and rayon so won't felt to stay in place, so extra care must be taken to secure ends so they won't undo. I'm very happy with the results and you will get to see them in the forthcoming finished object post :-)

Tuesday I worked on my Lorelei and it now has the beginning bit and one complete repeat of the motif in place. It's a lovely yarn, so soft and squishy.

This is the reverse side

I actually took the reverse side photo first and didn't realise until I inserted it here that I'd photographed the wrong side!

I also cast on for a gorgeous cowl for a friend in Wollmeise. The pattern looks complicated but it is so easy, it's a dream :-) There is one row I need to concentrate on and then the remaining 11 just follow on from there, it's wonderful. (It's upside down in this photo)

So I will be alternating these two projects depending on my mood for the next few weeks.

All is good in this knitters world :-)

Todays almost finished object

2011-04-18T08:46:00.000+10:00

Yesterday the debate was about which project to work on at the Botanical Gardens.

Thank you all for your comments, in the end the skirt won out on two fronts.
*The first being a simple feather and fan motif with 3 rows of plain knit in between the one patterned row vs lace patterning on every other row with the return row being a mix of both knits and purls meaning each row needs to be watched.
*The second being the thought of having a finished project in the offing, such a powerful thing :-)

In the end I put 13 rows on the skirt, a reasonable amount considering the length of each row. After returning home I managed another 4 rows and this morning I have gotten up knowing that today, with only 7 rows remaining, 6 of which are straight knit rows, there's a fair chance I'll have it done.

The weather is going to be nice, the kids are on holidays and the holiday rule is "If it's not raining you are outside" so I'll either be outside with them enjoying some sun or inside listening to a podcast while they practice playing nicely together with me keeping an eye on them through the window. Oh and at some point I'll probably get some cleaning done as well (yuck, so not a fan of cleaning, I do it but it is definitely under duress).

The knowledge that my cardy is sitting ready and waiting in the wings is a powerful incentive for finishing :-)

Ah the dilemmas

2011-04-17T09:08:00.000+10:00

Today's dilemma is:

Work on the 4ply skirt which has 22 rows to go or thereabouts and then the cast off, the catch being each row is close to 400 stitches and takes foreeeeeeeeeever OR work on the cardigan for me in 8 ply on 121 stitches.

I know which one I will "see" more progress on, 8 ply is lovely like that, but the skirt is so close to being done and then I can send it off to it's owner and I won't have it hanging around.

There are deadlines on both pieces, the end of the month for the skirt and the middle of July for the cardy. Both will be finished in time, the question is potentially finish off one garment today or put some length on something for me.

The dilemma has arisen because today is Knitting in the Botanical Gardens. Traditionally a knit for me only event, although occasionally I will work on something for one of the kids or for Jules. Do I break my self imposed rule and just get something done, or stick to it and know I have to come back to the skirt again sometime later this week.....

I know, it's a hard life, the dilemma of which project to work on. Other people have real dilemmas and occasionally I am in that position as well. Today, happily, I am not. I am pretty much recovered from the infection in my ear canal, it's my official one day a month of doing something for me, the weather is going to be beautiful and I am going to enjoy it while Jules has the boys for the whole day. Dinner is in the freezer so I don't even have to think about that either. Ah the blessed relief from responsibility.

So knit the skirt or the cardy, that is the question.

Thank goodness

2011-04-12T22:43:00.000+10:00

For husbands who get it enough not to ask "why?" but go out of their way to get to the store and pick up a replacement set of tips for your inter-changeables so you can keep working on that knitting.

Love you Jules

When knitting needles attack

2011-04-11T20:16:00.000+10:00

I have a problem.

I've been knitting a skirt for a little girl using my Knit Pro interchangeables with 3.25 mm harmony tips. The knitting has been going along wonderfully and it has kept me company all through this challenging weekend. I've been going great guns and have added several inches. Earlier today I had it outside with me while the boys were playing and I was sitting in the sun. We've since come inside, made scones, made dinner sorted the boys and put them all to bed.

At some point between knitting at 3pm and just now when I picked it up again, my needle has broken, snapped clean through. I initially thought the tip had come unscrewed, 8 stitches were hanging loose. But when I looked at the end of the piece still in the knitting I realised I could see wood, not screw thread. Crap. Crap. Crap. I've broken the needle.

Looks like I'm going shopping tomorrow with three boys in tow, either that or Jules has a job in his lunch break tomorrow because I don't have a spare tip and cannot continue with this skirt without the harmony tip as I get different tension on the nickel tips.

Looks like I'm knitting on something else for the next 24 hours....

Burning the candle at both ends

2011-04-10T18:23:00.000+10:00

Apparently I have been doing too much, or not enough depending upon how you look at it. I have been getting to bed really late. Lots of stuff to do, Kinder stuff, knitting stuff and sewing stuff as well as the usual house stuff and kid stuff as well. This has been going on for a couple of weeks now, the burning the candle at both ends and this week it has had unfortunate results.
After last weekend where I had two nights without children invading my bed, I have had one, if not two, invading my bed every night this week at least once if not two or three times. That would be the kick back I get for having some time to myself apparently. This has meant that good old sleep deprivation has kicked right back in. Combine that with two and a half days of terrible side effects from dumb natural hormones and my body gave out. I gave in and went to the doctors this morning and paid the big bucks to see someone since I can't lay on one side for the pain in my ear. I don't have a middle ear infection, I appear to have an infection along one side of the ear canal, an abscess if you will. It hurts. Nope that's not right, it aches almost constantly but if you touch it that's a whole different story, it is a direct line to instant, breathtaking, excruciating pain. I now have antibiotics of the "Very strong" type, they are horse pills. They'd better work because keeping children from hugging you is nearly impossible and I don't seriously expect them to remember that Mummy has a sore ear or to understand just what sore means in this case. Jules has been home the last two days because it's the weekend and that has meant I have been able to just sit and knit and listen to podcasts and pretend I'm like anyone else who has a sick day, i.e. stop. Tomorrow he is back at work and I go back to the nurse to get some blood tests done just to check everything is ok and there's not something else causing issues.
I don't often get sick but when I do it's usually a doozy and it's no different this time.

The good news for the week is that the front fence has now been repaired and is as good as new. Zac has survived his first term at school and has made some amazing progress with both reading and writing. He is exhausted and keeps having little melt downs but will be fine after a few days of rest and lots of food and cuddles. Hunter has received an award for greatly improved concentration on his work which is truly awesome. And Tyler is growing up on a daily basis and demonstrating his strength of character to his brothers, much to their chagrin!

Bring on the holidays, we all need a rest and we all deserve it.

The weekend that was away

2011-04-06T12:55:00.000+10:00

This past weekend I went away to the middle of Gippsland to a small and comfortable resort at Rawson for a UFO Quilting weekend with my Mum and a long time family friend. There were 90 women in attendance all working on a project of some sort of their own and during the course of the weekend we all completed one quilt square using provided materials and pattern called a "Friendship square" which were sewn together into 3 completed quilt tops to be finished off by one of the quilting groups and donated to charity. I had a lovely time and am waiting for Mum to let me know when next years UFO weekend is on so I can put in the diary.

Apart from the square which we all did, I completed the whole of the top of a quilt for me including layering the backing fabric with the wadding and the top and pinning it all together ready for quilting. The pattern which I used was from the Down Under Quilts annual for 2006 which was Issue #98 and is called Bamboo Screen by Petal Davies. The quilt in the magazine uses two black and white fabrics and a contrasting orange for the centres of the tilted squares, I wanted something a little different and also wanted to emphasize the "panel" effect by highlighting the individual panels.

So here is how it went
I started with these strips that I cut out during the week, the green underneath is the backing fabric.

They were sewn together into strips of three with the patterned piece in the middle

They were then cut into tilted squares using the template provided in the pattern

Then the squares were laid out to check colour arrangement options

Once the order of colours was settled upon, the sections were sewn together

And then the borders were added to complete the quilt top.

It isn't a big quilt, it measures at 123 x 127 cm (48.5 x 50 inches) but it will be plenty big enough to keep me warm on the couch on cool evenings. Mum mentioned that she thought the quilt would have been bigger and we suspect that by making the strips wider and longer it would be quite easy to upsize this quilt and keep it looking good.

I also put together a two layer quilt using a piece of polar fleece and a piece of cotton for my cousin who has just given birth to twins. I'll post those photos in a different post.

So a very successful weekend. Lots of lovely food and company and a respite from the day to day at home. Time well spent :-)

I'm going away :-)

2011-03-30T21:31:00.000+11:00

I'm spending the weekend with my Mum at a quilting weekend away.

I should be packing, there's lots to take and I'm leaving mid afternoon on Friday.

I'm hoping to bring back a mostly if not fully complete quilt.

But I've been to the dentist today for a minor filling and since it was in the very back tooth my jaw is now quite stiff and sore so I'm really not in the mood to pack.

Maybe after a cup of tea :-)

2011 FO #7 - Lanesplitter Skirt

2011-03-27T11:01:00.000+11:00

I was given 4 balls of Noro colour 205 (pinks and purples) as payment for knitting my brother a Jayne's hat a couple of years ago. This yarn sat in the stash for quite a while until I saw this skirt pattern. The pattern recommended about 9 balls for the size I needed so I searched through Rav and found another ball in the same dyelot from Teri and then another 4 balls in a different dyelot from a lady in America. I used one dyelot as "foreground" colour and the other as "background" colour. I only used 6 balls in the end, so have 3 more floating around. This is a lovely simple knit and I'm tempted to make another one in the greens/blues colourway I have in stash, except I'll need to find 2 more balls...

Picture credit goes to Teresa who kindly took this shot in our Tuesday SnB location at Bien Food, a little fresh fruit and veg market and deli mixed with a coffee shop. Helen and Gina let us take over a fair amount of their cafe section for our Tuesday morning get togethers and are both very lovely about it and the mess the kids sometimes make.

Vital statistics
Pattern: Lanesplitter by Tina Whitmore
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden, colourway #205, dyelots A and D
Needles: 6mm Knit Pro interchangeables with Nickel tips.
Started: 13 November, 2010
Finished: 21 February, 2011
Modifications: Instead of the waistband as directed in the pattern, I have bought a half slip from Kmart and oversewn it to the skirt evenly spaced. This works ok but I will be going back and doing the waistband as described in the pattern as I think it will create a more stable (non-rolling) waist line.
Verdict: Love it! Have worn it a few times now, it's comfortable, doesn't look like it's dropping or getting a terrible "seat". It's currently in the hand wash pile. The boys find it fascinating and I am regularly unhooking their fingers from the purl ridges on the surface :-)

Find it on Ravelry here.

2011 FO #6 - Miss M's cardy

2011-03-27T10:22:00.003+11:00

I'm very pleased with this project. I took a multi piece (back, 2 fronts, 2 sleeves, button bands) bottom up pattern, turned it upside down and made it into a top down body with button bands knit at the same time, with the sleeves knit down in the round from live stitches held until the body was done. No seams, not even at the underarms (I picked up stitches over the cast off stitches at the underarm) just 6 ends to be sewn in once the knitting was done and buttons to be found. The body (both fronts and back) were knit from one skein with a whole 5 cm of yarn to spare for sewing in the end. The second skein was wound into a ball to complete the sleeves. Buttons were a bit of a challenge, green,and yellow ones were "lost", navy and purple ones weren't bad, orange ones weren't quite right, but the brick red I found were perfect. It has been a hit in terms of size and has been worn regularly from the day it was delivered. Can't ask for more than that!

Vital statistics
Pattern: 14. Raglan Cardigan from Patons Australia Classic Baby Knits #54.
Yarn: Ixchel 4ply spun Blue Faced Leicester/Angora, hand dyed to our request. Thanks to Charly for a lovely colourway.
Needles: 2.75mm bamboo straights (neckband), 2.75mm Aero circular needle (sleeve cuffs), 3.25mm KnitPro interchangeables with Harmony tips (body and sleeves).
Started: October 29, 2010
Finished: February 12, 2011
Modifications: Lots and lots, almost a new pattern really except I used the stitch numbers and measurements as a basis. Stitch counts from the size 2 used. Started with the neckband, added extra stitches for the button bands as well and knit the button band in garter stitch which is more dense than stocking stitch so could be knit on the same size needles. Did the raglan increases as the reverse of the outlined decreases in the pattern (going top down). Cast off the stitches for the underarm and held the sleeve stitches on a spare needle cord while the body was completed. Knit the sleeves in the round with decreases down towards the cuff in the reverse of that outlined in the pattern. Measured against Miss M and pulled out the cuff added another inch and then redid cuff. Need to actually measure the lengths of sleeve and body for future reference.
Verdict: Love how this ended up. Will probably do it again sometime.

ETA: Find it on Ravelry here.

More coming soon!

2011-03-27T09:35:00.001+11:00

I appear to be "stashing" finished objects. That is I have a pile of finished objects again that I have not written up and posted.

Anyone interested in the actual state of play on the finished objects, there's a list at the top right of the blog there, just click on Finished Objects for 2011 and it gives you the complete list. As soon as they are done projects are listed there with the Rav link and then once I post it a blog link is added.

Also I've added a KnitMeter widget thingy to the sidebar which will keep track of how much yarn I have knit for the year. I only add the yarn for a project once the project is finished because that's when I can weigh it and calculate the total. Which means it goes up by jumps, but it's a pretty good as a guide really.

So look out for more Finished Object posts as I get myself sorted out :-)

Eventful weekend

2011-03-20T22:20:00.000+11:00

This weekend has been a busy one in some ways but also slow in others. My parents came and stayed the night last night to babysit while we ducked off to a friends 40th. This is the first of at least four 40th's for the year including one for Jules in October. It was a great night and the Birthday boy was surprised that it was something for him which is great because he's normally got his eye out or nose in on everything going down. His wife and oldest daughter (6) have done an amazing job at keeping the secret with only a few near reveals that were quickly covered up and he was none the wiser.

Today I took my parents out to the Eltham Craft and Produce Market and they enjoyed a wander, bought a CD, a plant and some fig and fennel bread (Matisse Bread). Then we left Jules and the boys to supervise my Dad while Mum and I went across to the Botanic Gardens and sat with the girls and did some knitting :-) It was great to catch up with the girls. Mum sewed on some buttons to a little cardy to finish it off and spent some time on a cowl as well. I worked on a pair of socks for Zac.

Over the weekend, Dad mowed the lawns and converted two Magnolia trees that died in the hot Summer 3 years ago to this:

The trees now look like this:

and this:

These pictures can't tell the full story. My Father is notorious with both his pruning and his poor judgement. The chopping down was sanctioned, the cutting of the cord of the circular saw with said saw and the blowing of the house fuse, not so much. The repair of the cord and subsequent use - definitely NOT allowed. He was lucky, holding the handle and no metal parts meant he wasn't electrocuted. Was he warned to watch the cord? Absolutely. Are we surprised? Not one bit. I'd like to say he'll know better next time, but that is highly unlikely.

It was great to have Mum and Dad to babysit and help out. Next time Dad won't be allowed near the Power tools!

It was lovely

2011-03-20T21:48:00.000+11:00

Our holiday was lovely last weekend. The weather co-operated with a total of 6 trips to the beach out of 7 possible trips, only one was missed due to it raining. We saw dolphins a couple of times and other native fauna as well.

The kids were happy and we were happy, it was nice to be out of the city for a few days and not have the responsibilities of home.

I took some knitting and had some time here and there to work on it. Should have taken it to the beach on the last day as the boys were all happily puddling around making sandcastles and didn't need constant supervision so I just lay around on the beach watching them.

I think we have reached the beginning of that golden time when they are old enough that you can be out and about with minimal supervision and before they hit the teenage years of "Do I have to go?" or wanting to meet up with friends also on holidays, that sort of thing. Either way I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts and I see many more beach wanderings and knitting time in my future.

I love the colours at the beach.

I didn't get a chance to cut out my quilt fabric because after I worked out how much of each piece I needed to cut and had it all set out and ready to go I realised the blade on my rotary cutter was too blunt and I didn't want to ruin the fabric so I packed it all up and did some knitting instead. I have since come home and bought a new blade and cut out most of the fabric for the quilt. I also realised that not only did I have all of the fabric ready to go for the quilt top, I also have the batting and the fabric for the backing as well. So happy. So I'm all set and it isn't going to cost me anything in supplies to have a whole new quilt because the money has already been spent.

We came home late Monday evening to this:

Considering it was decreed by Jules to be harder to lift than our car, we're guessing someone hit it with a car. The bit that's down is accompanied by another section about 2 metres long that is rocking on it's foundation. The insurers have been rung, goodness knows how long it will take to get it fixed. In the meantime I hope we don't have too much rain because the postie is still putting letters in the letterbox despite it's current mangled status and location.

Heading off

2011-03-11T13:43:00.000+11:00

We are heading off for the weekend to the beach.

I am taking knitting and some fabric to chop up for a quilt. I'm going on a quilting weekend with my Mum in April and I'm supposed to bring a UFO (un finished object) or two to work on but don't have any quilts on the go so I need to start one!

It's the long weekend for us so we'll have three whole days at the beach and it's going to be nice to stop and recharge :-)

Hope you all have a good one too.

high speed thoughts

2011-02-26T11:16:00.001+11:00

Note: Read this at super high speed because that's how my brain is going LOL!

I feel the urge to cast something on.

Ssshh I know there are 8 WIP's and another project about to start in a week or two.

It doesn't matter.

The sun is shining, I've been swimming and apparently I am still riding that early morning exercise high 3 hours later.

Good thing I don't exercise in the early morning more. I think it might send my family insane.

The boys are outside playing in the freshly mown (Wednesday) backyard, they are happy and we have a little friend being dropped off soon and then afternoon tea with his parents when they come to pick him up later.

Maybe I should set up a knitting station outside under the tree.

I should knit on a WIP.

But I'm not going to.

Time for a shower and then a stash dive.

Maybe I should look for fabric to make the bag for the kinder kid first.

Nah, new knitting project then bag.

Have a great day!

ETA a title!

2011 FO#5 - Kerry's Dragon socks

2011-02-21T18:53:00.000+11:00

Made as part of a swap, these were knit from the top down and striped beautifully. They are nice and stretchy as well due to the nylon content.

Details
Pattern: Simplex (Rav link) by Regina Satta
Yarn: Drachenwolle Sockenwolle Handgefärbt (Rav link)
Needles: 2.5mm KnitPro 80cm circular needles with nickel tips.
Started: January 22, 2011
Finished: February 2, 2011
Modifications: None
Verdict: The pattern is designed for people with low arches and these socks look like they fit the bill. I wouldn't knit this pattern again for me as I have high arches and the fabric stretches quite tautly over the top of my foot. They were intended for someone else and they do indeed have low arches. The yarn knits up very nicely and the fabric has a stretch to it that I haven't seen previously, I have a skein of this yarn in a rainbow colourway which I will make into a plain pair of socks sometime soon :-)

2011 FO# 4- Soup Monkey socks

2011-02-21T18:35:00.001+11:00

There has been a lot of chatter amongst friends about the lovely Wollmeise yarn and how challenging it can be to purchase due to it's popularity, so when I saw this gorgeous yarn on a destash on Ravelry I decided to treat myself and dive right in :-)

Having also knit the Monkey pattern by Cookie A twice now for other people it was high time I had a pair. The Monkey pattern is quite simple to follow, and now that I've made it three times, it seems to be ingrained into my brain so leaving my pattern behind was never a problem.

Details:
Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A (A free pattern available from Knitty)
Yarn: Wollmeise Twin in the colourway Gazpacho (Twin is 80% Wool/20% Nylon)
Needles: 2.25mm KnitPro circular needle with Nickel Tips.
Started: November 19, 2010.
Finished: January 29, 2010.
Modifications: None
Verdict: I'm stepping out of my comfort zone a little with this colour scheme, but oh what a way to go! Love them :-)

You can find the project page on Ravelry here.

2011 FO#3 - Arden fingerless gloves

2011-02-06T23:25:00.000+11:00

This is the matching fingerless gloves made as part of a set for a friend to go with the hat I finished up at the beginning of the year. They worked really well, only had to pull one of them back to the thumb once because somehow I ended up with one extra row in there somewhere which showed up at the top of the central large cable. Had to be done :-)

Shown here with one facing down and one facing up. The recipient is happy with them as well which is fantastic!

Pattern: Arden fingerless gloves by Mikka Tokuda-Hall.
Yarn: Manos Del Uruguay, Wool Classica
Needles: 5.0mm Knit Pro interchangeables with Nickel tips.
Started: 16 January, 2011
Finished: 22 January, 2011
Mods: Lots! These were made for a petite friend so in the end used the pattern as a base and her supplied measurements as a guide. Complete list of mods on the Ravelry project page.
Comments: These are lovely and warm. The Manos is a really strong single ply yarn which I was pleased to knit with as it didn't feel like it was stretching during the cables at all. Almost tempted to make a pair for myself. The pattern itself was very easy to follow and easy to remember as well which is always a bonus :-)

Here and there.

2011-02-05T22:50:00.000+11:00

It's funny, well more odd really, I'm finding I'd prefer to knit than blog at the moment so you keep getting finished object posts but no progress reports or shots or anything. Sorry about that. Feels a bit disjointed really. I actually have three more finished projects just waiting to be written up, one was only finished this morning but the others have been done for almost a week and two weeks respectively. I'll do them next shall I?

So what have I actually been working on recently?

Well I finished my Monkey socks (Rav link) (see above-the week old FO!) in The Wollmeise. They're lovely and warm and comfy :-)

I'm back to working on the cardy (Rav link) for my niece Miss M who is not so little any more, she turned 1 year old a week ago. My how time flies! Have finished all of the body with 2 inches of yarn to spare on ball #1 and I have just balled up the second skein so I can do the arms and then all it will need is buttons. The plan for this garment is to be able to extend the body and arm length as she grows so it lasts a little longer. We'll see how that goes, she'll probably just end up with another new cardy instead :-)
Oh and it's greener then it looks here, will get better pics once it's done.

Finished a pair of socks (Rav link) this morning for a very busy friend. The yarn is lovely and the pattern has resulted in a stretchy leg that holds itself up so I'm quite happy with the results. The pattern doesn't work so well for my high arches but it should be perfect for the intended recipient.

Have had a play with the crochet flowers blanket (Rav link). The granny squares info gave me an idea of how to join the flowers together so I did a pile of that a week or so ago. I think after doing that I have realised just how much longer it will take to make a blanket of any real size and may just make it big enough to be used for dolls and pass it on to Miss M for her next Birthday or possibly Christmas. Very happy with how they are joined, just using slip stitches while doing the last round. It has meant pulling out the last round on a few flowers to be able to join them together but it's a small price to pay to not have to pull out the needle and thread it up. Oh except sewing in the ends...they are numerous! I had big plans for this project, but they have been modified significantly and you know what, I'm happy with how it's turning out :-)

Oh and Zac occasionally reminds me that I have a pair of replacement rainbow socks on the needles for him and shouldn't I be working on them?

I have a couple of thank you's from last year, one from Blogtoberfest time when I was fortunate to win a prize from Megan at Momiji to Mitsukoshi.

I was also lucky enough to win a prize at Christmas time when I won a Mixtape Magazine from Liz at Find, Make, Do. They were both wonderful prizes from interesting bloggers and I have been very remiss in not mentioning them earlier.

We've been lucky with the rain, it has been quite consistent and constant, nothing too troubling for us, oh except for Hunter who unfortunately left his car window open yesterday and had to dry out his foot well and the seat back in his "seat" in the car this morning...3 soaking wet towels later. He might listen next time I ask him to shut his window as he gets out of the car, maybe :-)

Have been doing a bit of crochet.

2011-01-29T23:23:00.000+11:00

As a result of the extensive floods in Australia all sorts of craft initiatives have sprouted to provide both funds and goods for those in need.

Various people around and about have provided all sorts of links for ways to help out.

Handmade Helps Out has been reactivated with a pile of crafty helping links.
Soft toys are being gathered for Hope Softies.
Auctions and sales have been organised.
If you are a quilter there are a couple of options here and here.

While I am planning on making some quilt squares, they will be a slightly more long term project.

In the meantime I pulled out a crochet hook and some lovely bright wool and made some granny squares to be sent off to Sarah London for the Crochet a Rainbow initiative.

By all means pick up a hook and some wool or some fabric and a needle and help out if you can :-)I have also added the Crochet a Rainbow link to the sidebar.

Good Timing...

2011-01-22T20:42:00.000+11:00

At the beginning of the year there are a set of jobs that I feel need doing.
Making some resolutions/intents to keep me striving and looking forwards.
Assessing the past year and reminding myself of the successes.
Changing the calendars and very importantly, transferring all of the Birthdays to remember on to the brand new calendar.

Today I got out the calendar to do the Birthdays.

Happy Blogiversary to me :-)

It's been 3 years, 416 posts and a whole lot of fun and memories. Thanks for being part of the past 3 years and here's to even more fun and interesting knitting in the next 3.

Instant gratification

2011-01-22T11:57:00.000+11:00

Or maybe reward for your endeavour, not sure which is more appropriate really.

I could say we came home from holidays and needed to do some work in the garden but the reality is that we didn't make use of the vege patch this past spring, the weather and my lack of interest were the main factors, so it was left to get overgrown and out of hand. Just like the rest of the backyard!

At one point we had poppies, they were self sown and left to their own devices.

They were gorgeous

and a lovely play space for the kids

But when taking this photo yesterday

I realised I had an immediately rewarding job just staring me in the face. It may not be clear to you but I know Tyler is standing in the middle of the Vege patch!

So this morning after swimming and coming home to fresh pancakes with maple syrup and a touch of butter for breakfast, I decided to ride that energy high and do some weeding.

Instant gratification :-)

Don't know when I'll get to planting anything but at least I know I can! I'll probably follow Kate's plan and put in things I know the kids will eat: lettuce, carrots, beans and maybe snow peas.

2011 FO#2 - Travelling Sir Walter

2011-01-21T15:47:00.000+11:00

One of my plans for myself for this year was to make myself a shawl from the yarn I received as part of a Christmas gift. Having never made a shawl before I decided trying out a small one on some lovely baby alpaca I had in the stash would be a good start. I had been looking at patterns for the finer yarn and came across the Travelling Woman shawl by Liz Abinante which turned out to be a perfect pattern for my lovely green. She still needs a block but so far I am very pleased with the results. Will provide pre and post blocking measurements on my Rav page, but at a guess the wingspan is close to 165cm since I can hold each end in the ends of my fingertips...just! Will see what it's like after blocking. Would prefer more depth rather than wingspan so will block accordingly. Here she is shortly after completion adjacent to my cooking space at our camping spot last week.

Details, details...

Pattern: Travelling Woman Shawl by Liz Abinante
Yarn: Moggy and Me Baby Alpaca, in Sir Walter colourway.
Needles: 4mm KnitPro interchangeables with Nickel tips
Started: January 1st, 2011
Finished: January 12th, 2011
Mods: Did the stocking stitch section as per pattern and then did some calculations to check how many repeats of Section A and B lace I could do. Ended up with 4 repeats of Section A lace and then 1 of Section B. Have used 92 grams out of the 100grams. Very Happy.
Comments: Despite mucking up the last few stitches of the lace pattern a couple of times and having to rip it back a couple of rows about 3 times, I love the yarn and love the pattern (errors in knitting were mine, not the pattern). I was especially happy when reading the pattern to see it was inspired by one of my favourite characters (Angela) in one of my favourite shows (Bones). Maybe
I'll have to look at the other two shawls inspired by the characters in the show...

2011 FO#1 - Arden hat for Mel

2011-01-21T14:56:00.000+11:00

My first FO for the year was a crossover project really. I began it on December 29, 2010 and finished it on January 1, 2011. This hat was completed for a friend and I am very happy with how it has turned out. It has two types of cables, both of which I did without a cable needle including a 5 stitch crossover with very thick yarn (12-14ply) on 5mm needles. First time doing cables without a cable needle and found it oh so much quicker! Loved the yarn, really strong for a single, didn't feel like it was going to come apart at any point.

Details, details....

Pattern: Arden hat by Mikka Tokuda-Hall (Rav link)
Yarn: Manos Del Uruguay, Wool Classica.
Needles: 5mm Knit Pro interchangeables with Nickel tips
Started: December 29th, 2010
Finished: January 1st, 2011
Mods: This is a thicker yarn than the pattern calls for so I used thicker needles. Apart from that it's all to the pattern which was simple and easy to follow.
Comments: Made for Mel as part of a swap on Rav.

We're back

2011-01-18T09:33:00.002+11:00

It was wet but warm, no flooding just rain. Finished a shawl and the last Harry Potter book.
Will be back with some details and pictures when I've found the house LOL!!

Off to the beach

2011-01-07T10:10:00.002+11:00

We are heading off to the beach this evening for our annual camping trip. Jules and I with the three kids in our 4 room tent (Taj Mahal) and my sister and her husband with their 4 kids and their camping trailer for a week at the beach.
I am packing knitting and reading.
I am packing half the house LOL!!!
We'll be back in a week, have a great one I'm sure I will :-)

Crazy Maths

2011-01-05T21:53:00.000+11:00

No one would be surprised that I can't leave something to chance if it was even vaguely possible to calculate it would they?

I've been working on my Travelling Woman shawl and have done all of the stocking stitch section and I'm onto the seventh row of the third repeat of the Chart A lace section. I am nearing the end of the first of two balls of my yarn and I am trying to use as much of the yarn as possible without wastage and without running short. So I opened an Excel spreadsheet and started inputting stitch counts per row and tallying up the number of stitches worked so far to work out whether I can do one more repeat and then the 19 row Chart B or whether I wouldn't make it.
It looks like I can do it , hopefully by about 2 rows worth of yarn, LOL. Cross your fingers for me!
As long as the second ball is not shorter than the first.......

Happy New Year

2011-01-02T18:41:00.000+11:00

Here we are in 2011 with yet another year behind us. Thank you to everyone who has participated in this blog over the past year, your comments and suggestions are always cheerfully anticipated and received.

Last year was definitely a big year for me, not just with the knitting but with the kids, trying out markets, helping out on the Kinder Committee and trying to maintain a remotely clean house. I honestly don't know how full time working Mum's do it, this year has made me realise that I wouldn't be able to.

My big resolution for last year was to drink more water. It didn't take me long to realise that not only do I normally not drink enough water, I actually struggle to drink 1.5 litres of plain water in a day. On days when I do manage it I feel like I'm going to float away. So an improvement on other years, but there is certainly room for more improvement!

I'm heading into 2011 not with Resolutions really but with "intents".
*Take a step back and gain some perspective. This is going to be a big challenge for me.
*Be greener: we have solar panels up for power and I'm hoping to get a water tank in some time this year as well.
*Use things up: soaps, body lotions, scrubs and other bathroom items that have been gifted to us over the past few years, there's no point keeping them for "special" they'll never get used, so lets just be special all the time!
*Sew more.
*Declutter the house: We have toys the kids have outgrown, paperwork that's been hanging around for years, all sorts of things that are just taking up space that don't need to be.
*Sort myself out: I'll be seeking help to prevent a recurrence of the dark cloud I've been under for the last 3 months
*Knit bigger items: my goals this year are to make myself at least two cardigans, one small and one large shawl and of course some socks. I also want to make the hooded cardigans I have the yarn for for my boys and a replacement pair of socks for Zac for the rainbow ones that mysteriously had one disappear at my Mother in laws house one night last year.

And who can start the year without casting on something new? Not me :-) I have cast on for a small shawl using my Moggy and Me - Sir Walter 100% Baby Alpaca. Gorgeous yarn. Using the Travelling Woman shawl pattern by Liz Abinante. I am still searching for the right pattern to use for the Christmas Lace yarn, I figure I should get some practice in first!

2010 - A year in review

2010-12-31T08:41:00.002+11:00

Clicking on the pictures will take you to the relevant project page on Ravelry :-)

All up there were 8 pairs of adult socks, 8 pairs of children's socks, 20 children's hats, 2 adults hats, 2 scarves, a cardigan for me, 3 children's cardigans, a baby's singlet, a face washer, a ball, a pinafore, a shawl and a cowl. I think next year I might cut back on the kids hats LOL!!! I'm really proud of all of these projects, just looking at them all in one place makes me smile.

My declared intention for the year was to complete all of the 10 WIP's left over from previous years. I finished or frogged 8 and am still undecided as to what to do with the crocheted flowers, whether to keep making more until there's enough for a blanket or to make the ones I have already completed into a scarf. Didn't actually pull out the red cardy at all this year, better luck next year!
Of course I'm not ending the year with no WIP's, I do actually have 8 other projects apart from the two left over from last year. These 8 have an excellent chance of being completed though :-)

I'll be back next year with the plan for 2011. Trying to keep it simple, we'll see how we go.

2010 FO# 50 - Kerry's Brainless socks

2010-12-30T20:38:00.000+11:00

These socks were a swap as part of the Australia -Will work for yarn group on Ravelry.
They have the honour of bringing my total Finished Objects or completed knitting projects for the year up to 50!

Picture is of the first completed sock, when Kerry receives her socks I will update this post with a picture of the pair.

Yarn: Wollmeise Twin (80%wool, 20% nylon), Indisch Rot Spiralen
Needles: 2.5mm nickel tipped 80cm Knit Pro fixed circulars
Start date: November 25th, 2010
Finish date: December 30th, 2010
Ravelled: here
Mods: None
Comments: Made the smallest size on the pattern after initially starting on the middle sized pair which were too big. They were an interesting knit. A couple of firsts. First time knitting toe up socks (something I will be doing every time I knit for Jules from now on) and first time kitting cables without a cable needle (surprisingly easy once you get the hang of it). They required a very long leg (28cm from floor) and the yarn was definitely up to it with some to spare! Would I make them again? Maybe with a normal 2x1 rib rather than the k2tbl, p1 rib that it was. There wasn't really a portion where I could coast along, had to keep an eye on the knitting into the back loops as the yarn is a touch splitty. Nice socks though :-)

Searching

2010-12-27T21:36:00.000+11:00

I've been gifted with 2x800m of charcoal coloured 2 ply/laceweight alpaca.

I have recently identified a need in my life for a shawl.

I'm searching Ravelry right now.....any suggestions????

I'm here!

2010-12-23T10:02:00.000+11:00

Just a quick one to wish everyone a Happy and Safe Christmas holiday season. Here's hoping that all your wishes for the coming year are fulfilled and that some lovely surprises come your way as well!

We've been really busy over here.
Lots of School stuff: reports, school sports, multicultural banquet, organising treats for classmates.
Lots of Kinder stuff: Christmas break up, interviewing for a new assistant for next year, getting all the information sorted for the new role I'm taking on next year in the Committee, organising treats for classmates.
Lots of childcare stuff: making treats for the carers, Christmas Party, arrangements for next year.
Lots of home stuff: Putting up the tree, doing the Advent calendars (well trying to remember to!), keeping up with the washing and the influx of work from school and kinder and then having all the kids home together again which is always a bundle of fun for the first week as they get used to each other and what is and isn't allowed again.

Knitting has been happening even if it's not at my usual pace! Have finished a sock for Kerry and have also finished one of my Monkey socks as well. Worked on my skirt some, it's now more than halfway there.

Will be back after Christmas hopefully with a little brain space and a little more time :-)

2010 FO# 49 - Annie's purple lime cowl

2010-12-09T16:30:00.000+11:00

There's a tale attached to this item and it starts with the announcement by the Assistant in Zac's kinder group that she is moving to another job for next year. Annie is brilliant with the kids, gorgeous personality, friendly, so interested in them and their needs, just wonderful. We are all sad that Annie is leaving our kinder, especially as, in our case, Tyler will miss out on her presence when he does 4 year old kinder in two years time. As a thank you for her amazing efforts with my kids I decided to make her a gift. I employed Zac to discover her favourite colour which is purple and after assessing the time left before the end of term and the other events we needed to participate in I decided a scarf would be lovely. She spends a lot of time outside even in Winter because the kids need to go out and they need supervision. I went stash diving and came up with some Pear Tree yarn in the most gorgeous purple in a 4ply/fingering weight. I scoured Rav for something that would suit my criteria: 4 ply, a bit of lace, larger needles so it would knit up faster. I found this beautiful scarf and printed out the pattern only to discover that the pattern went across the scarf not down the length. I much preferred the lengthwise orientation so converted the pattern. Recalculated the stitches required, cast on, ripped out, cast on less stitches and then was happy with the width and off I went. Despite knitting it on 4mm needles it was taking forever and ever mindful of the time I floated the idea of sewing the ends together to make a cowl at SnB on Tuesday morning. The consensus (after modelling in front of the mirror) was that a cowl would indeed work and in fact would be quite pretty. Also as it turns out it would be more functional for someone dealing with small children everyday, no dangling ends to droop in the sandpit or playdough! So I have employed a three needle bind off to join the live stitches to the cast on end and now it is all done with a week to spare :-)

Closer up!

Modelled: Photo credit for this shot goes to Master Hunter, great work buddy! Lets just say photos taken by me in front of the mirror were less than adequate.

Vital statistics

Yarn: Pear Tree 4 ply Merino, in Jacarandah (purple)

Needles: 4mm, 60cm Knit Pro interchangeables

Pattern: Lime Scarf by Susan Pandorf

Start date: November 26th, 2010

End date: December 7th, 2010

Mods: Rotated the pattern to travel down the length of the scarf instead of across. 40 st cast on. *4st plain, 8st pattern* thrice then 4st plain. Worked for 56cm then three needle bind off to join the ends together to make a cowl. Used a whole 32g of yarn!

To market, to market

2010-12-01T22:16:00.000+11:00

Yes I'm off to a market this weekend.

Come find me and my knitting on the Northside Collective table at the Gallery Market, Northcote Town Hall, 189 High St, Northcote. Sunday December 5th, 10am to 6pm.

So I'm packing stuff up, making lists, gathering bits and pieces :-)

See you there!

Crazy

2010-11-27T15:00:00.000+11:00

I've decided I was crazy trying to limit myself to only 5 projects going at once. I know I've said that having more than ten sends me into a tailspin, but recently with all the goings on, it has become apparent that 5 just isn't enough. It would probably help if I wasn't ignoring three of them and one is only worked on when the 7 year old does his reader. Oh and one just has the wrong vibe at the moment but will probably come out of the bad vibe corner in another week or two. So if you take out the 4 I'm not interested in and the one that is time limited, that leaves 0. Hmmmm maybe the count should be 5 that I am interested in.....but maybe that leads down a very long and tempting path.

Suffice to say. A rash of casting on has been happening.

I'd think I wanted something plain to knit and let the yarn do all the work

but it was too plain.

I'd think I wanted something big to knit (size wise and needle size as well)

but it's annoying to knit when the kids are around because they keep leaning on it which makes it quite difficult to manoeuvre.

I felt the need to treat myself so splurged on some of this in a destash, it was cheaper than usual since the knitter had already split it into two balls. So I started making these.

I know the pattern off by heart now so it's a nice one to carry around and it feels so lovely, almost like cotton which is weird for a wool/nylon blend but oh so luxurious :-)

Sometimes I'm feeling the need for complete brain immersion though and none of those projects will suffice....

So I cast on this. I had already swatched. The first 4 rows are done and now I'm up to the charts but need to fish out my stitch markers first.

Oh and I was waiting on the postie to bring me a couple of skeins. One is going to be turned into these for K.
The yarn turned up and after a false start (size too big) they are now going along swimmingly.

And then the 4 year old assistant who has been brilliant with our two big boys announced on Wednesday that she has been poached and is leaving at the end of the year. Her favourite colour is purple.

So if we ignore the 5 projects that have no mojo or have time allocations for, we are left with the six I have just cast on. That makes 6 active projects. A total of 11 projects. Hmm, seems we are back to where we were in August! To put it into perspective though, there are three pairs of socks and they'll only take a couple of weeks each and then they'll be off the list again. The skirt is on big needles with big yarn and is quite comforting to knit on in the evenings as it is very much like a blanket at this stage. It is also 1/4 done already. So four projects are going to be reasonably quick. Also only have until the 16th of December to finish the scarf for the Kinder assistant so it will be prioritised up.

Sounds like an awful lot of justification for casting on :-) Maybe it's more a realisation that I really am happy when I have lots of choices because then there's definitely something to suit whatever mood I happen to be in!
Either way there's lots of knitting going on. And not so much housework........

A health update

2010-11-23T14:57:00.000+11:00

After being completely paranoid Sunday evening and all day yesterday it appears as though Tyler's "preventer" is indeed working and is keeping the asthma at bay. It's been a rough few weeks for him and us and his brothers so we are trying to get everything back to normal and relax a little while also staying alert. He lost heaps of weight and tires easier than usual but has started eating more again so we are anticipating a speedy recovery on that front. As the Mama of three young boys all of whom have been diagnosed within the last 12 months with virus induced asthma and all of whom are now on "preventers" I am constantly listening to coughs and assessing their potential cause and carry around ventolin in my handbag for just-in-case. We've been lucky up until now, no food allergies, no major childhood accidents/illnesses (apart from chicken pox for the older two, and a broken elbow for Zac) and we are still lucky in a lot of ways. Our boys are happy and generally healthy and they don't get asthma from exercise or from exposure to specific foods or dust mites or any of the other "normal" triggers that would probably stay with them for life. But over the last few weeks I have not felt lucky. I have railed against the impact that this has on my children's lives. I have grieved for their recent struggles and for those that are potentially on the horizon. I have been heartbroken for them. My head can now cope with what has occurred and how it will impact on their lives but my heart still grieves for all of them. We live in hope that they will outgrow this illness. Until then I will live on edge.

The new Twist Collective is out!

2010-11-20T10:02:00.000+11:00

The new Twist Collective is out, there are a couple of things that are very pretty and totally tempting!
A cute cardy: Parcel

a pair of socks: Sin Miedo

some gorgeous dolls: Leif and Astrid

I like the idea of Wingspan

the interesting detail of Roheline

the simplicity of Blair

the options available for Leaving

the reversability of Mata Hari, but I'm not sure of the sleeve length

All photos courtesy of Twist Collective.

As for the rest of the goings on in our lives over the last three weeks, there has been a serious dose of startitis. There has been some planning for some sewing. There has been orientation into Prep for Zac for next year. I've won stuff. I've scored stuff from other people de-stashing. We are weaning Tyler off one lot of meds (prednisolone) and waiting for the next set of meds (Flixotide) to kick in. It's a fine balance and so far we have had 3 major asthma attacks in less than 3 weeks and if the new meds don't work we'll have another one either Sunday night or Monday. Today is a good day because I know the old meds are still working. Tomorrow we shall see.
Hopefully I will have enough non-stressed brain space to start getting back into posting here again. It might be mostly pictures for a bit, depending on where I'm at. December is looking mighty busy already so we'll see how we go :-)

Still AWOL

2010-11-09T11:20:00.000+11:00

Tyler is gradually improving. In the end we had a doctors trip on Saturday to get a diagnosis and some meds, a 6.5 hour day trip to the children's emergency on Sunday followed by a night at home and then a return to children's emergency on Monday and admission to the Paeds ward for three days and two nights. Eventually after 5 doses or prednisolone he was allowed home and we arrived home Wednesday evening at 6pm. We woke the next day to him with gastro (thanks to the hospital staff who did not tell us the pred is an immune suppressant, thanks very much) and after 24 hours of not being able to keep anything down we moved on to needing to keep the loo clear for the next 3 days. His asthma symptoms backed off while his tummy was out of sorts but were still being treated with Ventolin when required. Yesterday (day 10) with the end of the gastro his asthma kicked right back in at full throttle and he was almost hospitalized again. We were back at the doctors and we have started the prednisolone again and also now have a prescription for Amoxycillin to treat the double ear infection. He seems to be on the improve whether due to the antibiotics or the Dimetapp or the return of the pred I don't know but we'll take it. We are still monitoring hourly for the return of wheezes and administering Ventolin when required.

Just to add the next level of fun, Zac woke this morning (day 11) with a stomach upset, but now that he's empty he seems to be picking up. We can only hope :-)

To say that it has been a hard week is an understatement. Watching your 3 year old struggle for breath for days on end with no real signs of improvement is horrible, terrifying and heart breaking. Knowing you can't do anything else but hold him when he needs you and try to get him to sleep when he's bouncing off the walls all amped up on Ventolin makes for a very long 10 days. This was his first attack and like his brothers it appears to have been set off by a virus that set up home in his chest. We will have to keep a close eye on him as the next cold may have the same outcome. If he repeats the asthma attack at a later date he may then be put on preventers but at this stage it is being treated as a one off and we'll just see how we go. Of course he still has to get over this attack properly before we start looking for the next one.

I'm looking for a new knitting project now. Everything I have going is not calling to me or currently has very bad vibes associated with it and I need to change my brain space before I spiral any lower.

Option number 1 is the Lorelei cardigan that I have the pattern and a lovely pale green wool/cotton blend yarn for. I knit up a gauge swatch last night when I stole out of the house with yarn, needles and an outdoor chair and sat in the fading sun outside by myself for the first time in what felt like days. I haven't washed it but it is spot on for gauge the way it is right now.

Option 2 is the Lanesplitter skirt which I also have the pattern and yarn for and is nice and colourful and might cheer me up a little.

Option 3 is casting on a pair of socks. I have 4 in my Rav queue/favourites that I'm looking at but I'm also contemplating just a plain pair in a patterned sock yarn, something I don't have to think about at all.

All of this knitting debate is helping to give my brain some space from the events of the past 10 days. Something I'm in desperate need of.

In the meantime I have a three year old who still needs constant monitoring and treatment for the wheezing and a five year old who despite an awful start to the day seems to be feeling a whole pile better so I'll be off for now, find some knitting and sit in the backyard with them and pretend we are at our usual Tuesday morning knitting group, just at home.

Hope all is well with you all. I'll be back, hopefully in a more settled state of mind, when everything is a bit more in control over here.

AWOL

2010-11-04T10:31:00.000+11:00

Will be away from the blog a little longer. Have just spent the better part of 4 days and 2 nights at the hospital with Tyler who had a nasty asthma attack. Needing to keep a close eye on him still. Will be back when all is settled down again. Knitting is definitely happening...there's not much else to do when you are at hospital for days at a time.

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 31st - Prize Draw

2010-10-31T09:23:00.001+11:00

Welcome to the Giveaway draw!

I have separated people into
1/ Nutrimetics (7)
2/ Mary Kay (9)
3/ Yarn (18)
Anyone who put their hand up for all three was put into every draw :-)

First up the Nutrimetics:

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:6Powered by RANDOM.ORG

And the winner is: Liesl from Hoppo Bumpo

Next up the Mary Kay hand products

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:8Powered by RANDOM.ORG

And the winner is: Nicole of Dabbling all Day

Lastly the very popular Pear Tree yarn

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:4Powered by RANDOM.ORG

And the winner is: Elflyn of Rosehips and Spiderwebs who chose the green yarn.

Congratulations to all of the winners! I'll be contacting you all today to get your snail mail address so I can send out your prizes.

Thank you to everyone who dropped by during Blogtoberfest and also to everyone who entered the prize draws. I hope you've enjoyed meeting up with some new bloggers around the blocks, I know I have.

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 30th

2010-10-30T18:48:00.000+11:00

I have a wonderful friend. We have known each other for almost 18 years (cripes!). We've housed her washing machine. We've shared holidays both with our families and by ourselves. We swim together every Saturday morning at the crack of dawn, ie 7am (during Winter it actually is the crack of dawn) in the local outdoor heated pool. This morning after our swim she handed me a present. We don't normally do presents for each other, my birthday was almost 4 weeks ago, hers is next week. But she decided that this year since I'd had a pretty crappy school holidays and Birthday, that this year I needed a present. So she made me one.

It makes me smile. It is perfect. Thank you C, now I'll always have a cup of tea and a cupcake :-)

Quick reminder that you have until midnight tonight to enter my Giveaway.

2010 FO# 47 - TTL Mystery socks 2010

2010-10-29T21:03:00.000+11:00

And they are done!

The last clue was released just after 3pm this arvo. In my sleep deprived state I completely forgot to check for it until after school pick up when I sat down with a cup of tea and a chocolate muffin.

In light of my fear of running out of yarn I ended up working on both of the toes alternating until they were both done. In the end I finished the socks as per pattern with a whole 2.8m of yarn left. They are probably a tad shorter in the foot than I'd normally make them but they are still comfy :-)

Vital Statistics
Pattern: Through the Loops Mystery Socks 2010 by Kirsten Kapur
Yarn: Ms Gusset sock yarn
Needles: 2.5 mm Knit Pro nickel tipped circulars
Started: October 1, 2010
Finished: October 29, 2010
Mods: None
Comments: Ended up with a slightly shorter foot than usual but otherwise they are lovely!

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 29th

2010-10-29T16:19:00.000+11:00

The final clue for my Mystery sock is now up (blog link). This clue is in fact the recipe for the whole sock so if you like the look just go through the link and download the pdf.

I'm off to knit so this is all you get for today LOL!

Nah, I'll be back later with at least one finished sock if not two :-)

1 day left on the Giveaway, good luck!

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 28th

2010-10-28T22:20:00.000+11:00

Today I have:
Got the kids off to Childcare and school
Spent an hour at school doing reading in Hunter's class
Spent 2 hours at Jules' parents weeding before they return from their 5 week overseas holiday to a jungle!
Spent 2 hours converting a multi piece cardigan pattern to a top down all in one cardy for the ever growing niece in the hope that is she just gets taller I can just undo the cast off and add more length.
Picked up the kids, fed them chicken and chips for dinner
Been for a short swim
Grabbed some groceries on the way home.
Now I'm chatting with some lovely ladies and hoping that there are no visiting children in my room tonight!
Cup of tea and chocolate muffin have just been delivered.

Just the usual really!

There are two days left until my Giveaway finishes up.

Here's one of my fave photos of my middle kid, he's gorgeous, of course I'm biased :-)
Next year he starts school, next week is his first orientation, he's growing up so quickly.

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 27th

2010-10-27T17:05:00.001+11:00

Knitter's dilemma today.

Will I have enough yarn to finish my Mystery socks or will I be short. Oh well, I'll wait until I get the toe clue and then I'll see I suppose. Then I'll be a frogging again if I need the extra yarn. Of course it would have been good to check the yardage at the beginning.......

Yes I went through the same thing with Jules' socks in the same yarn but he has long feet so I wasn't surprised.

Mental note: Ms Gusset yarn is gorgeous and smooshy and lovely to knit but I need to have a shorter leg section than I've made this time or I'm gonna run out of yarn. Either that or knit toe up so it doesn't matter. Better still check the yardage requirements BEFORE starting knitting!!!

I may be getting ahead of myself. I may get there with the yarn left but it's going to be close.

Ah the joys of being a knitter...the suspense of it all :-)

PS Don't forget the lovely yarn/hand care kit/face care kit available in my Giveaway. You have 3 days left to enter!

Ack!

2010-10-26T09:22:00.003+11:00

Have somehow just changed a setting and now my posts are showing only as shortened versions.

Will get it back to how I want it...somehow.

Any ideas? I'm using Blogger

ETA And now it's fixed itself. Hooray, but how???

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 26th - Parenting tip #2

2010-10-26T09:15:00.001+11:00

Effective parenting tool #2 - Too loud

When a child is yelling or crying so loud you can't understand what they are saying, or you just think they are too loud.

Quietly and calmly say "I can't hear you, you're too loud".

They look at you as if you are completely crackers but will more often than not actually quieten down. You might have to repeat it a couple of times but they get there.

It's good to get this one in before they turn two so they get used to it as a method before they are old enough to try and think it through.

I have used it to good effect on a screaming 8 year old who was so shocked that I'd said it that they did in fact stop screaming to tell me "That's just silly", but hey they stopped didn't they!

Giveaway is drawn on the 30th, so you've got 4 more days to enter :-)

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 25th

2010-10-25T22:40:00.003+11:00

It's been a gorgeous day today. I have been working on my Mystery socks again. I have finished up to the toe on one sock and have just completed the gusset on the other. The last (or toe) clue is released at 3pm our time on Friday so I have until then to get the rest of the foot done. I always find the foot faster than the leg because half of the stitches are often stocking stitch so it shouldn't take too long. Worked on the gusset on the second sock today keeping the two smaller children company while they had a picnic lunch in the front yard. We don't have a gate out the front so they can only be out there if they are supervised. It was a very calm and peaceful interlude, and productive to boot :-)

Cast on for something new the other day. A cardigan for my little niece. It's just going to be a plain cardigan because I have some of Charly's hand dyed BFL/angora for it and don't want to lose the colours. Will take a photo of the yarn at some stage.

I figured the Mystery socks will be done by the end of the week so why not get thinking about what's next :-)

Tired now, have walked to and from kinder for pick up and to and from school for pick up and have been swimming as well. That's enough exercise for one day, time for sleep!

PS Don't forget my giveaway!

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 24th

2010-10-24T17:29:00.003+11:00

It seems to be quilt season in the blog world today.

Lynne has been sewing together her very bright and colourful quilt top.

Vic used the power of bloggers/blogging to complete her quilt too.

I finished up the little quilt I have been working on for a friend's fourth son!

The first side shown here is quilters flannel

a close up of the fabrics used for you.

The other side is normal quilting cotton, with Michael Miller's Bot Camp fabric, some toning spots and various homespuns from the stash.

A close up for this one as well

I ended up filling it with batting and binding it with navy. Simply "quilted" by machine on the diagonals and by hand around the central 3x3 square.

Very happy with how it has turned out. It's heading into the laundry for a wash and then once it's dry it will be delivered to it's new owner :-)

PS Don't forget about my giveaway!

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 23rd Notes to my children #3

2010-10-23T10:28:00.000+11:00

Notes to my children #3 - Safety

Your safety is my utmost priority.

I will never knowingly compromise on your safety.

You do not have the knowledge to keep yourself safe, it is my job as your parent to teach you and to do it for you when you can't.

For cars:

You will be in the correct child restraint in our car for your height, weight and age until you are able to sit safely in a "normal" seating position in the car.

Even when all of your friends are in the "normal" belts in their car you will be in a child restraint in ours and if it is at all possible in theirs too.

Yes you can blame me for being an overprotective parent when it comes to belts in cars. I'll take it.

Yes I did get the odd look from other parents who think I'm a little insane for having my almost 7 year old in a five point harness fitted in a booster seat. Now I just get that look because when you turned 7 and weighed 26kg, I took away the booster seat and relented a little and you will now be in a "H"- harness until you turn 10 or weigh 32 kgs, whatever comes first. Sure this is only a 4-point harness, but normal cars aren't fitted with "anti-submarining" devices so it's the best I can do.

For other stuff:

I know I let you climb trees at roof level, hang from climbing frames upside down, and walk in front of swings and these are risky things, but I know you need a level of risk in your lives to feel like you are succeeding. None of these things rely on other people around you obeying the rules. They just rely on you. And while I will let you stretch your wings and it may seem like I am not paying attention at all. I am watching and assessing and I will be there in an instant when you crash to the ground.

Like when the branch you were standing on and bouncing on broke because the tree was dead and you had been warned not to walk out past a certain point on the branch. I assessed in an instant where your brothers were and whether I'd need to call the ambulance or whether the car was a reasonable option with the emergency room 5 minutes away. When you screamed as you hit the ground I breathed a sigh of relief because it was fairly clear you hadn't done anything too dramatic or there would have been a big gap before the scream as you inhaled or caught your breath because of the pain. I didn't approach you as I carefully watched you push the branch (that you had been holding before it broke) off of your body using both your hands equally. I didn't approach as you rolled over and climbed to your feet again using both limbs evenly and came screaming towards me for comfort. I was completely surprised when you were asked "What hurts?" as I gathered you into my arms and the answer was "My tongue". You had caught your tongue in 4 places but not badly enough to have gone all the way through. This was not the end of it either. I watched for the next 24 hours for signs of internal problems, tummy aches, problems in the toilet, various aches and pains. Nothing eventuated and I was very, very happy for that.

I can't save you from yourselves but I can at least reduce your risk from other people's mistakes.

So, while you are in my care you will indeed be wearing your child restraints until the very last possible moment. It's the least I can do for you.

Love Mum.

PS #1: For those that have come this far don't forget my Giveaway!

PS#2: Happy Birthday Jules. Hope you have an awesome day :-)

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 22th - Give away!

2010-10-22T11:58:00.005+11:00

As promised I am having a give away. Christmas is coming so here's a chance to cross an item or two off your shopping list!

First up is a Nutrimetics Micro-Dermabrasion Kit. Kit includes 1 x 60 ml Resurfacer and 1 x 40 ml SPF 25 Rehydrator. If you've ever wanted to try this out and didn't want to pay the price, now's your chance to get your hands on it.

Second we have a hand care kit from Mary Kay. Kit includes 1 x 220 g Satin Hands Satin Smoothie Hand Scrub, 1 x 85 g Satin Hands Hand Cream and 1 x 60 g Extra Emollient Night Cream. We all need to look after our hands and as knitters nice smooth hands are a bonus.

Third is a choice between two skeins of Pear Tree 4 ply merino. You get to choose whether you would prefer the Galah (pink)

or the pale limey green.

To enter just leave a comment indicating which prize you would like to win.

1=Nutrimetics

2=Mary Kay

3=Pear Tree yarn, remember to pick a colour!

You can of course choose all three :-)

Entries close October 30th at midnight Melbourne time and a winner will be drawn and announced on October 31st.

Good Luck!

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 21st

2010-10-21T22:15:00.002+11:00

Today was a gorgeous day.

I had some news late last night that quite literally sent me into a happy dance and solves one of the dilemmas I have been wrestling with recently. So nice to have that issue out of my brain space :-) Certainly made for a brilliant start to the day.

Despite one of the boys having a major melt down over the breakfast cereal choice this morning, everyone got their butts into gear and we were beautifully on time for childcare drop off and school drop off. An hour spent in the classroom doing reading and then the rest of the day was mine.

No appointments, no jobs needing doing apart from hanging out the washing and giving Di's socks a bath and a dry.

So I fished out one of those long term WIP's, you know the ones I was trying to finish before the end of the year. It was the crocheted flower blanket. Sorted out where I was up to and where I wanted to go next and promptly made the first flower on a 6mm hook instead of a 5mm one! Oops. Pulled it out and finished it and another three flowers. Still have no idea just how many I will stop at. I want to get an even number of flowers of all the colours and see how big that looks and then work from there.

Also pulled out and worked on the little quilt from last week. Decided to put some batting inside and a binding around the edge. Did all the pinning and sewed the binding on then realised I hadn't got the corners quite right. Crap. Have worked out a fudge though. The front will look perfectly fine, it's just the back of the corners may end up a little lumpy, I'll have to see. Worst comes to worst I pull the binding off and do it again.

So a productive day, a quiet day and a mostly peaceful day. Just lovely :-)

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 20th - FO # 46 Di's Monkeys

2010-10-20T11:19:00.003+11:00

Today I finished up my second pair of socks for the month. Di's Monkeys.

Yarn: Kauni 8/2 Effektgarn in colourway EM (or reds)

Needles: Knit pro 2.5mm nickel tipped fixed circulars.

Pattern: Cookie A's Monkey socks (Knitty link, Ravelry link)

Started: October 1st, 2010

Finished: October 20th, 2010 (I get a kick out of it being 20-10-2010 today!)

Mods: one extra stitch picked up along gusset edging, otherwise as per pattern, details on it's project page on Ravelry.

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 19th

2010-10-19T22:42:00.003+11:00

Today is Tuesday. On Tuesday it is always Vegetarian on the menu as we usually have dinner with my little sister and her partner who are Vego's. One week at their house, the next at ours. Tonight it was our turn and as I had just picked up a new Indian recipe book (The Food of India - a journey for food lovers) for $10 when I was grocery shopping last night at C*les I was keen to try my hand at a few new dishes.

On the menu tonight was (clockwise from top left): Parippu (Dal), Cauliflower with Mustard, our bowls, Basmati rice (absorption method) and a Carrot salad.

I've never made Dal before so that was interesting and I really liked both the Carrot salad and the Cauliflower with Mustard which was very mustardy but in a good way.

There were other recipes I wanted to try but they needed Tamarind puree and while I had all of the other spice ingredients that was one I did not have. Looks like it goes on the shopping list and we'll be having Indian again soon :-)

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 18th - Parenting tip #1

2010-10-18T22:25:00.002+11:00

Effective parenting tool #1 - 3 steps

When trying to get small people to do something in our house a three stage process is followed.

#1 Ask - Politely

#2 Tell - Firmly

#3 Count - Downwards so they can tell when the end is coming.

It's amazing how much less shouting and general angst has happened in our house since that process was introduced. Also we don't often get to 1, but if we do the negative result is generally something simple like one less song at bedtime for that child, or when I'm particularly cranky, no kids tv in the afternoon. We don't have to bring out the big guns.....yet!

Of course there are times when I forget the process and go straight from Ask to Yell, but it happens way less often than it used to.

NB. This also doubles as a teaching exercise: the 3 year old can count down from 10 to 1.

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 17th

2010-10-17T18:17:00.003+11:00

Today was a pretty awesome day.

The boys had their swimming lesson this morning and then I headed off to knitting in the Botanical Gardens while Jules took the boys home for the rest of the day :-)

I sat, knit, drank tea, chatted and generally had a great time while churning through the remainder of the second clue on my second Mystery sock (Ravelry link has photo of where I am up to) and then did the third clue (or heel) on both.

At one point there were 12 of us sitting knitting and chatting.

After that I finished the leg portion on the second of Di's Monkeys and am now up to the heel. The colour graduation is similar to the first sock but not quite the same. Slightly darker at the top of the second one. will be interesting to see how the heel goes.

So I now have the rest of this week to work on Di's socks before my next clue is released on Friday, good news for Di!

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 16th Notes to my children #2

2010-10-16T19:05:00.001+11:00

Notes to my children #2 - Human

I am only human.

If I have been woken or been kept awake between midnight and 3 am* by:

- children climbing in and out of my bed

- cold feet on my warm legs

- whisperings in my ear for hours at a time

- being pushed and shoved out of the way in my own bed

- singing in the middle of the night

- having to climb out of bed to put invading children back into their own beds

I am not going to be my usual chipper self in the morning.

If you do not do what you are asked to do on those mornings, I am in all likelihood going to yell at you.

Sleep deprivation is a tool of torture.

I am only human.

Love Mum.

*Apparently sleeping midnight to 3 am is essential for my continued coping with the world. 3.01 am and I'm all yours! In comparison Jules needs 3 am till 6 am. We worked this out when I was still breastfeeding Tyler. It has been a wonderful piece of knowledge for us to use in maintaining our sanity (mostly) in the past 3 years, we only regret we didn't work it out sooner.

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 15th

2010-10-15T21:04:00.003+11:00

The arty bug has hit in our house.

We have a self portrait in acrylics on a canvas for the eldest:

and a return of poster paint to the house has resulted in the youngest having a ball

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 14th

2010-10-14T13:45:00.002+11:00

Last night I made myself a nest.

I curled up on my bed with a pile of pillows behind me to keep me upright.

I had "my" songs playing on my iPod shuffle.

I had my earphones IN.

I had a hot cup of tea.

I had Lindt chocolate squares.

I had my Mystery sock knitting and I finished the leg on the first one and have transferred the other cuff onto the circular needle ready for knitting on today and tonight.

I did a few rounds on Di's Monkeys.

I had a wonderful relaxing evening, just what the Dr (yes me!) ordered :-)

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 13th

2010-10-13T16:45:00.003+11:00

Well today I had some brain function so I grafted the toe on Di's sock and cast on for the second one. I've completed the cuff and will get onto some of the leg a little later.

After a couple of failed attempts at knitting my Mystery Sock yesterday I have given it a break and will pull it out of hiding this evening once the kids have gone to bed.

I thought I was going out tonight, had forgotten to check the calendar for when my meeting was scheduled but as it turns out it's next week so I've gained a night of time that I didn't expect to have. Poor Jules though has arranged to be home so the house will be invaded by a group of game playing adult men from about 7pm, I think I might hide out in the study or our room ;-)

Today it has been raining. The boys got out one of Tyler's Birthday presents and had some fun :-)

Blogtoberfest 2010 - 12th

2010-10-12T23:17:00.004+11:00

I've really got to get onto this earlier in the day :-)

Today I've been fairly busy as it is Tuesday. Knitting in the morning and we welcomed back two regulars who have been absent for a while. It was lovely to catch up with them again and finally deliver a birth present.

Baby D is now 4 months and 2 days old and is a great big boy. The hat looked lovely on him (not that he'll need to wear it much for the rest of this year) and should last him until he's at least 3.

Home for lunch then off to kinder for Zac. Tyler kept me awake this arvo by playing "hide the coin" a lovely game where he "hides" gold treasure coins (fake plastic ones) and I get to find them. As a 3 year old his idea of hiding is quite often of the "plain sight" version. You know the sort - oh there's a truck and it has a gold coin on it's roof, oh and another in the scoop, oh and another underneath it. We started with 10 and have 8 remaining after several rounds of the game. Not quite sure what happened to the other 2, they may turn up or they may not. One of his "hiding places" was on top of the lid of the swing top rubbish bin! I got to do some knitting on my Mystery Sock while he was doing his hiding, it kept me awake as well. I had to do some frogging as I dropped one stitch down 5 rows and neither the light or the combination of yarn overs and ssk's were forgiving at all. Maybe if I wasn't so exhausted I could have managed but today it was just easier to pull back the rows and reknit them.

School pick up and kinder pick up was followed by a tennis lesson for Hunter and then a trip across town to my sister's place in Brunswick. The boys got to play with their little cousin who was displaying some of her new found skill of crawling. Childproofing is starting to happen :-)

Dinner and an episode of White Collar and then we're home again.

Heading off to bed now with the vain hope that I will not have any invasions. Today was a challenging day for staying awake and I would like to get a few things done tomorrow.