Wednesday, October 5, 2011

stuff I've finished in the month (MONTH!) since my last FO post

so it's been a bit of a busy time around these here parts, visits from out of towners, sickness, planning for my upcoming trip home/to Thailand, 1st birthday's and other things!

My favourite thing that I have finished in the last month or so (apart from individual hexipuffs of joy!) has to be the Orchids and Fairy Lights hat by Tiny Owl Knits (also the designer of the beekeepers quilt, coiincidence? I think not!)
how adorable is this hat?
I made mine non-slouch so removed one complete repeat of pattern
yarn: Cascade 220 in mustard
flat out awesome
it turns out that I LOVE NUPPS, especially in chunky monkey yarns!

 annnnddddd the long awaited END OF THE CLAPOTIS!!! CELEBRATION! 
there was much confetti throwing (imagined) cheering (real) and high fiving of self (sadly, also real) when this one came off the needles at Jules' house last week at our end of Kitman KAL dinner, and then Jane helped me dropped down the last million stitches and it was finished finished!! So thanks ladies :D

if I look pretty pleased with myself in this photo, it's because I AM!
also, rock on Harry Potter tshirt!
I had decided to finish this one off early (instead of 4 skeins of the Yummy I only ended up using about 2.2 skeins) because 
a) I was bored of knitting the stupid thing
b) It was NEVER GOING TO BE FINISHED anyway
c) I'd decided I now hated the colourway and would just give it away so it didn't have to be made to my ridiculous version of 'perfect length'
d) it was time to get a wriggle on to other projects

blocking Clapotis
it goes up and over and down to the floor again around my double bed 'blocking' mattress
but as it turns out, I know nothing about myself or knitting. It blocked out to be the perfect length (super long), it turned out to be wide enough to work as a wrap yet light enough to be the perfect scarf, and the colourway and pooling, I LOVE THEM. So, I'm sorry intended recipient, but I'm knitting you something else that is WAY less labour intensive and probably a bit more your style. (see also; Katie is LAZY)

and last but not least, knitting stuff for people who aren't even born yet! But, since I know their parents I am totally sure they are knit-worthy and guaranteed to be super cute with tiny feets and squishy bellies for tickling!
Saartje's for the Rush'n (A + L's bubby)
the child of a tiny girl and giant basketball player
i made these bigger than normal because, well, bubs might be huge
Sorry Aimes!
terrible photo of Lovebug boot for Fruiby (E + S's bubby)
I swear there are two, I just am terrible at photographing them together
also the stripes are blue and green but YOU CANT TELL
I should not be allowed to use cameras
 so that's it!

The Beekeepers Quilt update

a quick update on my growing quilt...

a sea of puffs!
First of all, people are so darn generous! Every person that I know who has done or is doing some kind of sock yarn blanket has experienced it and now I have the priviledge of experiencing it too, you lovely knitters are handing me your yarn leftovers without asking for anything in return and it is AMAZING!!

My quilt is going to be so full of love, and friendship and little hexagons of wonderful people, I CANNOT WAIT to snuggle under it and feel all cozy and wrapped up in all that loveliness!

At last count I had 59 puffs, there's a bit less than that in this photo, but you get the general idea

puffy goodness! 
I think, if I remember correctly, that I will need either 860 or 998 to make a quilt that covers the top of my bed (with no drop on any side) the 860 is if I don't have it cover the pillows at the head. This means I'm officially AT LEAST 5% complete (what a milestone moving the ticker on Ravelry was!) and at this rate I might have it ready for winter 2013. Not overly ambitious, but not slacking either!

Tell me, are any of you going the puff gang? I've enjoyed sending off the adorable mini-skeins for puffing to some gals and guys in the US and China and even here in Oz, so if you are puffing, let me know and maybe we can swap some minis? I am keeping to a certain palette so I'm looking to destash my non-matching yarns :D

Happy Puffing!!


Monday, September 5, 2011

Damn Enablers!

... so I spindle now
is that even the right term?

from rolags to spuer twisted yarn
isn't it pretty? DAMN YOU MELANIE AND SHARON!

it's like real yarn
MAGIC
thus proving, once again, that under peer pressure, I have no will of my own.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

look out 2011, I'm coming for you

This year I had some big plans, some have come through, some have fallen a bit by the wayside and some I don't even remember thinking about until I find a reference to them and sit and think back HARD about it. Mostly I'm talking about knitting goals here, 2011 is the year that shit got real in terms of knitting for me, speed picked up, confidence picked up and then skills picked up from a combination of the first two!

What I planned - 11 hats in 2011. I've done 8 so far

What I planned - 11 sweaters/cardigans/pullovers in 2011. So far I've knit ONE. Just one. and it's August, AND we're heading into summer. I don't even care. I WILL DO THIS. Let's ignore the Giftmas knitting I have to do, the baby knitting, and the 3 week holiday in the land of too hot to knit.

What I planned - 11 shawls in 2011. I DID 12!! exceeding expectations woooo!

to get started on the rest....

I cast on the Rosamund's Cardigan and I LOVE IT, it had a bit of a false start, the Rowan Cocoon (12ply/bulky) that I purchased specifically for it was a big giant fail for the pattern, I could not get a gauge even close to what the pattern wanted without making a completely icky dense fabric, no thank you!

I think the Cocoon will now live life as either Owls or Stockport. But I'll decide when it's time.

The other cardigans I plan to knit this year are Bianca's Jacket, Featherweight, some kind of wide striped open cardy with some coral and grey Amy Butler for Rowan yarn (I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS STUFF) and something with a hood, and then about eleventy billion baby jumpers/tops/vests.
I think it's doable, IT IS I TELL YOU!

Cobble Complete!

I'm really sad this project is finished for a few reasons

- it's got to be my last TRIANGULAR shawl for 2011 (I've knit 12 shawls in 2011, of which EIGHT are triangular and an additional one is close enough to triangular and the other three are semi circle or rounded)
- the yarn was SO delicious to knit with I was actually upset on the last 20 or so rows that it was all ending too soon
- it means I'm officially out of the super fun Kitman KAL that some lovely Melbourne ladies organised, it was great having our small group get togethers - and I'm out before I could host :( I was planning to make a slow cooked roast and veggies and a surprise somethig special for our veggie friend, but oh well, next time!

never mind though, it's still always lovely to have a new FO and this is no exception

from this unblocked oddly shaped creation...
 
blocking, made it all triangular, SKILLS!
and a little closeup on the cable action

however on the happier side of things, now that I have reached a this crazy number of shawls completed this year I can happily move back to more of the other goals I had in mind for 2011, but more on that in the next post.

Monday, August 15, 2011

nearly there...

my second shawl in the Kitman KAL is coming to an end, rows are super speedy now, about 8 - 12 mins each (the cable rows are the 12 mins, the 8 min rows are the purely k/p rows)

sure, turn yourself around and be all stupid photo, that's totally fine
WIP, almost there! midnight last night


I love the way the colours are coming together, to join the second ball (which started out at the same dark place the first started at way back on the cast on edge (and then was never seen again in the skein) I did 2 x 2 row stripes for about 16 rows, I can't tell (except in one patch) where that is, so I'm calling it a successful blending!

a couple of closeups so far 

I don't really know what's going on and why it looks so green?
but you can see the cabley bits

I really love the centre spine, I think she incorporated the pattern decreases really well with this one


I sort of don't want to block this one, it's SO DAMN SQUISHY right now and I know I'll lose a fair bit of that in the blocking, but it needs the blocking to make the cables pop, grrr I want everything to be my way!

anyway, as soon as this is off the needles it's time for the Beekeeper to begin!!
Thank you all SO MUCH for the offers of 4 ply/sock yarn/fingering weight bits and pieces, you're all so generous I can barely believe it! THANK YOU! xo

Monday, August 8, 2011

the starting point of an epic project...


so last week I decided that what I really needed in my life was a super fiddly, multi-part year long project....
*cue tumbleweeds*

no, i didn't!

what I did do is see The Beekeepers Quilt pattern on Rav (by Tiny Owl Knits, I dare you to check her page and NOT queue at least one thing) and fall instantly, and madly in love

it's puffy, it's got no seaming, it's hexapuffs! It's going to be amazing.

It's knit out of a bajillion puffy (stuffed) hexagons in 4ply.

so dear readers, here's the part where I get on my knees and beg. I need small amounts of sock yarn, I'm looking to do mine is soft colours (so no brights, neons, primary colours) and am willing to trade you baked goods, money or services!

I think I'm going to get a few colours of full skeins to 'anchor' the blanket and then intersperse those with pops of other colours (plus that way I figure the puffy quilt of win will always match my decor) and hope it all melds together.

so if you (or anyone you know) has a pile of unwanted sock yarn bits and pieces, help! I'll give them a good home and you'll have a spot under the quilt any time you want!

thank you xox

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Frangipani

another blog post, another shawl
addiction is just a word for something you do all the time and love right? right?

This one is another by the awesome Kitman, Frangipani over on Rav and I really think hers might be my favourite shawl patterns (and surprise, I already have another on the needles)

blocking, very unhappy with the super tight cast on

so floaty! all finished (hi stove!)

I had some difficulty with this one, the edge is meant to be a big lovely scallop-ish edge, but despite casting on with 5.5mm needles, the Kidsilk Haze + pattern combo has given me a WAY too tight cast on edge that wouldn't block out as required. This project was always sort of a fight of yarn vs needles vs pattern so I guess I should be happy that this is the only fallout! I also should note I did the medium but stopped at the small size lace ending position, this let me end at a full pattern repeat and it makes me happy.

I do like it as is, but I'm sad that it's not perfect. Does anyone know if I could cut off the cast on edge and then do a sewn cast off from the live stiches? Would that work?

Anyhow, it's done! And I've cast on Cobble and am up to row 4. I'm using Skeins Top Drawer Sock and LOVING it with the pattern, so hey, win some, lose some, I still get a shawl either way!

happy knitting x

Monday, August 1, 2011

it's a sickness...

can someone please remind that I don't personally need to knit all the shawls ever?
I seem to have forgotten this.

that's all.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

someone needs to remind me to blog.

so despite earlier claims here that i would knit myself a Noro Stripey Scarf next year, I broke (again) the golden rule of no doubling up on patterns and knit one for myself. I blame the Gaptastic Cowl, it just wasn't right for the Noro Kureyon and so in the middle of a performance by the incomparable Ali McGregor at the Recital Centre, I cracked the shits and frogged the cowl and began the striping. Immediately the yarn was like OH THANK YOU! so I guess that's a sign.

It is so smooshy and yummy and warm (and sheddy, but we don't talk about that) and delicious that I can't believe I was going to wait a year to make one. I haven't washed/blocked it yet because a) it doesn't really seem to need it and b) i have the lazy, and it's too cold to easily dry something that fat and squishy.

so here it is, from this disaster:
moss stitch, not always a good decision
very, very sad and ugly project

grew up to become this! delicious (if slightly washed out photo would do it justice)
other than this scarf I've been working on that super secret project *waves at recipient* but that's nearly finished so i've also got a couple of other things on the go (what happened to me being a monogamous knitter?)

and also, another scarf is on the go, FINALLY knitting myself a Clapotis. but um, that's going to be a LOOOOOONNNGGGG term project as am using 400gms of Fibra Natura Yummy in Grilled Chillies

probably a good time to mention that I'm pretty much in love with the Instagram iPhone app and most of my WIP photos from here on out will be on that. Because, fun! Filters! 
This is from last night at knitnight, after getting home I kept knitting until I could drop a stitch THAT IS FUN, I might like this project a bit more now, it was getting a little bit boring for a bit there.

so if the Clapotis is my easy peasy on the train/bus/walking/talking knitting, then the Kitman KAL shawl I picked out, Frangipani (KAL is on the SnB Melbourne forum) is my DO NOT TALK TO ME WHILE I AM DOING THIS CRAZINESS IN KIDSILK HAZE. But my gosh it is so pretty and light and halo-ed and delicious. It looked like this (about 4 days ago)

I've done an additional 11 rows since this photo.
when you do it in the right yarn and correct gauge it looks more like this
but i thought this time I might try again with lace knitting that is actually lacy.

I also just had my Skein skeins arrive in the mail yesterday (HOOORAYYYY!) and they are so pretty and lovely, destined to be another Kitman shawl, the Cobble.

so that's it for me right now. Happy knitting xo

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

my last post was only 16 days ago...

... and since then I've knit or finished knitting three hats and one shawl, and have designed (kinda), knit and dyed another shawl. I think I suddenly know why my back/shoulders/wrists/fingers have been aching!

 and  so, without further ado:
from this icky brown
to this deep teal (if not quite perfectly dyed, it's still better! IMHO)
Official Kittyville Hat, in two colours of Panda Woolbale 8ply
as requested, a kitty hat, for a delightful friend in the US of A
I believe these are her alma mata's team colours

Autumn in Garrison, knit for Elise (in random acrylic, IT NEVER ENDS)
(this is by the girl who designed my much loved Springtime Bandit)

Pleasance, the latest pattern from Victorian Writers Club
In Serenity Lace (Merino, Cashmere, Silk)


Star Crossed Slouchy Beret in Rowan Cocoon...
hi, i'm Katie, I love knitted hats and taking photos of myself
with no makeup on while in my pajamas in my poorly lit bathroom.

I expect there to be a massive dropoff in FOs as for one thing, I'm going to be knitting on a secret project for a few weeks and also I've just GOT ME AN IPHONE! so you know, I'll be obsessed with that for at least a few weeks, i mean hello, RAVELY WHILE I WALK AROUND? that is so awesome, why actually knit when you can look at other people's projects instead? LOVE.

Lately I've really been missing my Richmond SnB girls a lot and so I've really been trying to make an effort to get over to Kojo's fo r SnB and it's so lovely. I just love them to bits and the laughs and eats and company are just too good. love them! Plus, need to get in as much Nicola time as I can before she toddles back to England!

So happy knitting all xo

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Scott's Stripey Scarf

based loosely on the ever popular Noro Striped Scarf (rav'd by Jared Flood)

Scott picked the colours, he even paid for the Noro (and bought me some 'thanks for knitting for me', Silkroad Tweed - my fave!) and I covered the Araucania because i wanted to stripe with a solid (which turned out to be WAY semi-solid).

this scarf is 48 stitches wide, it's a 2x2 rib because well, it's sock yarn and it didn't need to be 1x1 to lie flat.
when i blocked, post luke warm bath in frizz free conditioned (heheh), i pulled it out slightly to give it a bit of extra width and relax the very squishy rib a bit.
blocking, in 4 parts
post blocking it has relaxed back into a fairly uniform fabric and looks nicer than it did pre-blocking.
I really like how this turned out, and after 2011 when I'm allowed to repeat patterns I'll knit up a stripey noro scarf for me!

for whatever reason this photo refuses to turn. Blogger,  i hate you

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Creamy Baby Blanket

When I first moved to Melbourne way (ha!) back in 2008, I picked up knitting again. I hadn't done much other than the occasional baby blanket or garter stitch square blankets for charity and so increasing and decreasing were a bit scary looking and what the heck did yo and psso mean? But I thought, hey, new city, bloody freezing cold hands and feet and a bit of time up my sleeve, I should pick it up again! Needless to say I've come a bit of a distance since then (although I've still got miles to go! there's so much to learn!) and am loving knitting garments and more complicated stitch patterns and what have you. 

But, as a bit of a leftover from that period I have been storing a bag of various sized knitted white and cream squares. They have mocked me with their unfinishedness. This past weekend they came together, they are the beginnings of a baby blanket for the not-yet-born younger sibling of my darling goddaughter. This second baby is a much wished for and somewhat delayed baby, a few things have happened along the way to get to this full term pregnancy and so I wanted to make something a bit more substantial and put all my hopes into piecing this together.

this is what it looks like right now
blanket for baby Hyland
by the end of next week I would like it to have been quilted into it's finished form, I'll be shopping for some cream woodland animal themed flannelette for the back and some appropriately matchymatchy ribbon binding for the edge. This blanket will be big enough to be a playmat, and small enough to be tucked into a full sized cot as a quilt. I already have the wadding for the middle section and I'm hoping it'll all work out. 

How much do I wish my sewing machine was in Melbourne and not Perth, because hoooboy that is a lot of handsewing coming my way. Wish me luck!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Knit Camp 2011

so it's taken me a little while to get on to writing about camp, mainly because i've been tired post-camp and also because i've been busy. not busy knitting really, just busy in general.
it actually feels a bit like i haven't been knitting at all as i'm going to have nothing to show for it as my current WIP is being given away, a well earned trade but still given away.

Knit Camp was the love child of quite a few people, mainly strong armed into existence by the lovely Jules and Amy, they got together a team of us, myself, Nandi, Kylie, and Jackie to work on putting this shindig together.

The Organisers!
L-R: Me, Jackie, Jules, Amy, Chelsea, Nandi (and Kylie is invisible!)
photo by Jules (well her camera!)
 
i was lucky enough to have a boss with a soft spot for knitters who was willing to donate/sponsor a few things, Kylie had the yarny-ins with the wonderful Ixchel and Skein, Jules and Amy organising machines and have years of experience with yarn in and around the industry as does Jackie who designed our amazing Knit Camp KAL pattern and Nandi was the keeper of the cash and general owner of much knowledge about things! That's boiling things down to the least effective description but hey, this is my blog, and i think we've covered before that i am lazy! so basically we all brought our special skills to the table and helped to bring the camp to life.

Heatpack Cover - made from Jackie's Knit Camp Armwarmers KAL chart
 Amy's sister Chelsea, or as i now think of her 'she with the magic food making skills' was responsible for all the catering, and my god, she and her company did such a wonderful job for us. between the organised catering and the various bits and pieces all of us and the attendees came with, we had more than enough food to keep us full to the brim and overflowing with energy for all the knitting, chatting, shopping, walking, talking, learning, teaching and shivering that we did over the 3 days. Sadly (or happily) I was always too busy shovelling it into my face to remember to get photos of it at all, but trust me, it was all delicious.

Sue's amazing colourwork examples
Photo by Jules
We were lucky enough to have some wonderful attendees volunteer/offer/encouraged to give classes/tutorials on their special skill or area of expertise. This for me was definitely something that lifted knit camp to another level, it really was such a good way to see the amazing talent we have here in Australia, in our own little SnBs and hidden in people we knit with all the time. Sue's colourwork class (and the notes, oh the notes!) are something I'll keep forever. She answered so many of the little silly questions that i've always thought weren't worth asking and muddled through on my own, now i have such a handy reference to look at any time i feel a bit unsure about how to carry yarn for colourwork or where to put that slipped stitch to stop a colour jog etc. On the last afternoon Sue also gave a bit of a tutorial/talk on what to expect or prepare for when starting to write and publish patterns, so many great things to think about! Audrey also graced us with a lace class, including a lace cowl knit-a-long that seemed to be going great guns at camp and quite a few FO have popped up on Rav so it must have been a hit. We also had some great demonstrations and classes from our organisers and i did a bit of a show and tell class with shawls, so many wonderful shawls i'd never seen came out and people had such great questions, it was fun to be there and feel so many people sharing the love of shawls, my current obsession! i did a knitting trivia thing on the Saturday night but i don't know if that was such a success, but c'est la vie, just means i don't have to do it again next time!

just a few patterns for the shawl discussion, and a very small pile of shawls
i was nervous for a bit when i couldn't find them all, but there was a bit of dressing up happening!

duck pod, mum, dad and not-so-baby ducklings
when we first visited the venue they were brand new fluff balls so was great to see them all grown up
Our venue was the gorgeous, kitschy and amazing Tasma House in Daylesford. Complete with duck pond, tree covered archways, sweet little cabins and two kitchens, with a gorgeous meadow out the back, a barn with pot belly stove, multiple loungerooms and room to sleep approx 20 it was basically perfect. Our other venue was Halina House, offsite accomodation for our extra special campers, i didn't visit but i hear it was just as nice. the main house was also just a short walk from town, and the Mill Markets (junk, collectables, antiques, retro bits and pieces, books, second hand clothes, basically you name, it's there!), I wish i had visited the mill markets earlier in the weekend because by the time i got there i had well and truly overspent my 'buying useless stuff on holiday' budget!

home sweet home
the cabins at Tasma House
We were lucky enough to coincidentally schedule knit camp on the same weekend as the Daylesford Craft Weekend, total bonus! This sadly meant that i felt i had to spend some money in town, a real drag that was. Not. I got my grubby hands on some hand made bracelets, soap, hair clips, a project bag, YARN, a vintage looking 3 tier cake tin, and a bunch of other things that I love! The Makers Market was the standout for me, but i had a lot of fun with Kate waling around and checking out stores in town.

just a small sample of the skeins i made knittable at camp!
I spent a lot of time caking my skeins up, Kris ever so kindly let me use (and be completely uncoordinated with!) her swift and ball winder and i went to town with it! such fun! i really do need to get those two items, specially since i hand wind the most ridiculous looking balls of yarn. I had a bit of a knitting fail at camp, GAUGE LIES! started knitting a beautiful slouchy hat pattern in the recommended yarn weight, on the smaller of the recommended needles, got gauge, kept going, suddenly had the body of a not-so-small child's jumper! i could fint my entire head in it at the halfway point! it became a bit of a running joke that i was STILL not up to the decreases and it was HUGE. needless to say it is not a hat for me, but is now a super cute project bag, i've woven some ribbon through the increases where the ribbing meets the body and it's become useful. so i probably shouldn't call i a fail so much as an unexpected outcome!

The Skeleton Key Slouchie Tam/Bag
for size reference, that is 4/5ths of a skein of 100gm worsted weight yarn
Overall i have to say, i'd just have to say i had the best time, i met some people i'd only ever heard about or even only ever seen post on Ravelry and learnt a few things, ate till i couldn't eat no more, shopped and knitted my heart out. I loved it. Bring on Knit Camp 2012! thank you to everyone involved for making it a weekend i'll never forget.
the whole crew, such a wonderful bunch!
Photo by Jules

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Block Party

over the last weekend, i was struck with a sudden and strong case of finishitis, I pulled out a bunch of never quite finished projects and finished them off.
mainly this came down to a bit of weaving in of ends (a bit, um over 100 strands sigh), some button sewing on and lots and lots and lots of blocking! yay for blocking!

first up was the eyelet cowl
a thing that I have not exactly been in love with, knit from Noro silk garden chunky
uh, it turns out i just needed to block the darn thing! now it's drapey and open and it doesn't crush my wind pipe when I double wrap it. SUCCESS!

hanging out in the lemon tree
next up is the Peacock Waltz, gigantamo shawl I've been wearing this one since i finished part 1 of the finishing (attaching the lace) but hadn't actually sewn in over half the ends or blocked out the lace edging. it was definitely time.
before blocking out the edging
during blocking, ignore the terrible pinning at the top, that bit wasn't wet so it didn't matter!


also, the Summer Flies shawl had a reblock as I might have spilt tomato sauce and pie all down it while watching footy and it needed a bit wash. that would only happen BECAUSE i was wearing a white ruffled shawl *sigh*
blocking, can you see the butterflies?
all done!


and lasty with the older projects, the Baktus i did in silk garden lite (in November!) finally had a block, it did not straighten out the edges as I had hoped, but it did seriously increase the length!

 
does anyone know what the red berries/fruit are?

I also finished and blocked my first Ishbel shawl, and made a hat and am almost finished another hat. but that's for another post.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

gifted

so I made what was requested, I knit with horrible yarn (and some quite nice yarn), I striped, I snipped, I cabled and this is what I got

Bastardised Bella's Scarf
I wove in eleventy million ends (I carried nothing! FOOL!) and I washed, blocked (actually a lot straighter than the photo would have you believe), trimmed ends and folded this up for gifting.
What did I get? "Thanks, that should probably match my hat I have at home" *tries quickly on around neck and then shoves scarf in bag*
I just about died. I know it's not about that, I know I hated both this yarn and the project, but THAT IS NOT THE POINT! I just felt a bit like, if you didn't care about getting it, why have you bugged me for over a year to knit you the damn thing? At least pretend to greatful, gush about my neat stitches for longer than 2.5 seconds. I need the praise dammit! I am a needy knitter.

Meanwhile I knitted up this gorgeous hat in Jo Sharp SilkRoad DK, and Essie loved it so I sent it straight to her, it washed the bad gifting away and was lovely! People like her can have whatever they want!
Grace Lace Beret
and I have knitted it again, for me! That's how nice a pattern it was!

I think maybe that's the trick, I have no problem giving knitted things away, it seems I really only get my knickers in a twist when it's been requested and then not appreciated. So yeh, steal from me, just don't ask for it? Totally sensible.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

2011 is the year of the stripe

...or so it would seem by viewing my Rav notebook
so may stripey things have appeared without me even noticing, maybe it's got something to do with the 11 part of 2011 looking like stripes already? no? hmmmm

planning for Knit Camp 2011 is rolling along, it's all VERY exciting now with less than a month to go! Schedules are being decided and timing worked out, transport coordinated and food confirmed, I missed the last meeting but with so many great minds at work I hardly think i was missed :D i can't wait for some of the classes and the visits we'll be doing. knitting for 3 days straight in a beautiful house with lovely people sounds like the best way to shake off the mid year blues to me!

the scarf that will not end is growing, slooowwwwwly, I had hopes that it would be done tonight so I could gift it tomorrow on Nic's actual birthday but she will have to wait until Monday, somehow i think the Chandon and cute little compact mirror with vintage baby animals on it will tide her over until then

my plan is start and finish two more shawls before Knit Camp, i've bumped Narnia and Citron to the top of the list and can't wait to get started. i think Citron might be perfect for train knitting too, so bonus! wish me luck!

hope you're all enjoying this AMAZING cold weather we're having, snuggly into your handknits and enjoy the smells of woodsmoke and coffee floating on the freezing wind. I LOVE WINTER (and all of you)

Monday, May 2, 2011

kicked to the curb!

so last night i well and truly cracked the shits with [parts of] my stash

i have been so good of late, trading a lovely project with an acrylic project, forcing myself to knit through the trash in my stash from back in my "but i thought only Spotlight and Lincraft sell wool" phase at the start of my knitting life reboot, and it's been a bit depressing. so last night after staring down the barrel of at least 4 more weeks knitting a blanket from Magnum 8ply acrylic in a particularly insipid purple colour, i cracked.

i pulled out all the yarn bins and systematically went through and ditched every bit of yarn that is either horridious (thank you Wild Child for reminding me I love that made up word) or 100% acrylic or just fugly.
i then unravelled the 1/4 knitted blanket and balled that "yarn" back up and added it to the pile. there might have been a tiny bit of triumphant yelling as the yarns were chucked into bags.

so now those two garbage bags are off to the co-op bins down the road and i feel SO MUCH BETTER!

now I only have yarn that i at least LIKE enough to want to knit, and that i think is fair. also, makes it much easier to 'shop the stash' when it's not filled with trashy crappy much hated yarn.

so maybe it's not the most frugal decision, but so what, i don't need to be sensible all the time right? right! and i really can't be arsed selling it all on ebay so it's done. it also inspired a mad clearout of other things that aren't useful, like books i won't read and pantry stuff that's out of date. my house is now only full of useful things!

now on my needles is my official last project knitted from 100% acrylic yarn, and it's because the recipient picked the yarn, so it can't be helped. i think wanting it off my needles will help with a speedy knit!

Friday, April 29, 2011

special delivery...

...the next installment of Woolgirl's Victorian Writers Yarn Club has arrived! and I am IN LOVE
you just don't know how crappy a day has been until a box of yarn appears on your doorstep and makes everything eleventy billion times better. Plus, there was cake in there!

This month was Little Women and mainly Jo themed (the pattern and the yarn colour) but oh my, it's precious!
all the goodies

the yarn! oh such a PRETTY deep deep tealy turquoise

um I meant to take a photo before I ate it but something happened
it was DELISH - cake, marzipan, something else sweet and delicious and CHOCOLATE

stitchy marker

the pretty pretty drawstring notions pouch

yarn with beads! this is a terrible likeness for the yarn but pretty close for the beads
This club was the best decision I made this year. It's the nicest little surprise in the mail every two months, LOVE LOVE LOVE it!