BrownPants

Guest appearance

2007-09-08T15:12:00.000+10:00

Sorry about the unexplained absence - it feel like i'm making guest appearances in huge parts of my life at the moment.

But i'm great! The new job is fantastic. It just takes up a huge chunk of my word quota for the day. By the time I've given another chunk to JD ('where's the beer?', 'thanks for cooking/vacuuming/washing the clothes...') there's not much left for this here blog...

But there has been craft - see:

Another one from Subversive Crossstitch

The knitting's been a bit patchy though - there's a shawl, some socks and some baby bits and pieces I finished quite a while ago now, but failed to photograph before they went to live at their new homes. After that there was nothing for a while: I was floating in the black whole of knitting nothingness.

And then the idea for perfect knitting escapism struck:

Return to what you know.

And get some Christmas knitting done at the same time.

Poor neglected blog.

2007-07-20T10:11:00.001+10:00

So this is a pretty neglected blog lately, sorry about that. Turns out being a lady of leisure for a week keeps you busier than I thought - there's all sorts of coffee dates, brunch dates, lunch dates and dinner dates to go to. Not to mention the hairdresser, who tried not to gag too obviously when she realised I hadn't been in for 11 months (she had a baby!)

All good things must come to an end though, work starts again bright and early tomorrow. My lady of leasure-ing has turned into domestic servant-ing to get all the clothes washed, ironed and packed (I'm away for my first three days - gotta love that deep end). And to prepare my new work bag (a present from old work - how lovely!):

Mmmmm....Leo Monk. Go take a look.

There has been some knitting action:

Of all the pairs of fetchings I've made (there are many unblogged) these are the first ones I've kept (Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, in 'eggplant' I believe). I love them! Although I ended up having to block them to stop the palm part from rolling in all the time. And after I wore them a bit I realised I really should take more care sewing in the ends. I'm so lazy.

There's been more knitting too, but that has to wait until next week, it's all baby surprise stuff. And socks. Boring socks. I'll show you when they're done, they won't sustain interest across two posts. SNORE.

Now in a shameless effort to distract you from the lack of interesting content in this post, let me prove, once and for all, that you can unwittingly spend $100 on buttons:

Tada!

Cinderella Beanie

2007-07-01T13:57:00.000+10:00

So I figured out what to do with that wonderful Mmmmmmmalabrigo from Leah:

A greenery hat.

Looks alright, hey? Pretty colour. Pretty cables.

Too bad it failed the fundamental beanie test.

It doesn't fit.

It's very sad.

I blocked the crap out of it but it's just not meant to be. Not for me anyway, I'm the ugly step-sister in this fairy tale. I have pledged to carry it with me where-ever I go until it meets its Cinderella. It's the least I can do for those lovely cables.

Pattern: Greenery Hat, from Lilith Parker's Lair of Lunacy

Yarn: Malabrigo, in Emerald Blue (137). About half a skein. Yes, I could make another. But I haven't finished grieving. And my fingers haven't recovered from those cables.

Needles: 4mm Addi Circulars in magic loop. I reckon if I did it in 4.5mm it would be snug. Alas, I didn't.

All has not been bad bad news and mourning attire around here though. In the last week, in order of excitement value, I have:

1. Gotten a new job. An excellent job.

2. Paid off my HECS debt (student loans). Funnily enough I got this piece of mail the day I was offered the job - what a fricken day!

3. Purchased a fabulous pair of slu*ty red shoes in celebration of points 1 & 2. What shoes would beat new job and less debt in excitement value you ask? Why, these ones:

I reckon that about makes up for the beanie.

2007-06-11T14:48:00.000+10:00

Righto then, that was a bit of an unplanned blog holiday.

There's a few FOs I've got lined up for a bit of show and tell, but before I get to any of that you've gotta check this out:

Goodies (Greaties?) from a swap with Leah. I love this bag. Seriously, how clever is she! I think this pattern involves some sort of rediculous number of purl together stitches that makes my fingers hurt just thinking about it.

There were heaps and heaps of goodies in the package too (too many to photograph). The tape measure will be particularly useful, I must have been abusive to tape measures in a former life because despite owning several of them I can never find one. So this is handy Leah, very handy. And the cards and badges are too cute! And funny, cause I DO knit socks. Hahahahaha. Ahem.

And check this out:

Mmmmmmmmalibrigo! This stuff really is gorgeous. I'm not sure this
photo does the colours justice but it's got beautiful depth. And so soft! It's like the fairy floss of yarn. I'm thinking it will become a beanie. When I find the right pattern (any suggestions?)

And this I love. A tape measure brooch - could there be anything more brilliant? I think this classifies as modern art. Some sort of statement about social obsessiveness with women's size and weight. OK so I may be overthinking that one. Brilliant though.

There were all sort of other goodies too, chocolate coffee beans (gone), a CD (now playing) and some very odd little things called Moon Pie (which are not meant to be microwaved JD.)

Righto, better leave it there, my bag and I are off to Monday afternoon cocktails (isn't everyone?) I'll have some FOs real soon :)

PS. One more thing, I celebrated knit in public day at a coffee shop with Nora, Jane and Sharon (who will all give you an account of our meeting on their blogs). It was lovely to meet you all. Except for you Shaz. Not that you're not great too, but I already knew you.

bitsy (where is my mind)

2007-05-24T21:30:00.000+10:00

Heya Peeps

So it's been a while! Sorry about that, life kind of got in the way.

I'm a bit exhausted and don't really know where to start. I spent last week in Vietnam and have been travelling for work pretty much since I landed. So please excuse me.

Just so you're not entirely bored, here's some stuff I prepared earlier:

Little zippered purses made from scraps for some swaps!

Fabric covered buttons converted in to hair accessories

And some gift tags/book marks (you pick!).

I have some FOs to share and a wonderful swap package from Leah to show you all, but I'll save that for next time :)

In the name of Glove.

2007-04-28T10:44:00.000+10:00

Glove is in the air.

Well at least it has been lately thanks to a couple of swaps.

This pair of fetchings went to the lovely applehead (in exchange for this wonderful package.)

In Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran #611. I love this colour.

Then All my Gloving, I did send to you.

Artyarns Supermerino #130 (less than 2 skeins)
in a combination of this and this pattern with some modifications.

And lastly a birthday present for a wonderful friend.

Noro Silk Garden 228 *I think* (less than 2 skeins)
magic looped on 3mm circulars in pretty much this pattern.

After all, All you need is Glove.

You have no idea how difficult it was to find appropriate links when you google these songs!

PS I'm out of swap buddies now so speak up if your interested :) I'm looking for any chance to use let me put my glove into you (ewww, I know! The real lyrics are actually worse: let me cut your cake with my knife!? Really people!)

It's time

2007-04-22T10:11:00.000+10:00

I was having a conversation with one of my non-crafty friends about six months ago and somehow the topic of quilting came up. She was telling me about her mum's quilting and asked if I was interested.

"Nah, not really" I said "It's kind of like porcelain figurines. I might 'get it' when i'm older."

I thought about it after she left. I admire quilters a lot. I think it's a wonderful skill, creative and useful. So why no interest in doing it? Perhaps it's my inability to sew in a straight line? Or cut out even two shapes that resemble each? Or maybe it just seems like a lot of work and i'm lazy.

Or maybe there just hasn't been the right reason? Lots of quilts seem to be made for a purpose. A wedding. A birth. Lace shawls seem to have become the default wedding gift, so I guess that leaves births. My good friends aren't having babies yet, so I'll deal with quilting when they do, I thought.

Seems the time has come. (This is just so exciting I still get a bit emotional when I think about it.)

So in a joint operation materials have been purchased (first photo is for the front, second is for the back).

Wish me luck peeps. This should be interesting.

And the blog love just keeps rolling in

2007-04-18T17:20:00.000+10:00

Craft bloggers are really looking out for me at the moment! If totally surprising yarn generosity wasn't enough, witness the glories that graced my mailbox today from the wonderful applehead:

Check it out dudes! What loot! The first time I saw marianne make one of these scarves I just adored it, and now I have my own! Huzzah! But her cleverness doesn't end anywhere near there, that music sheet is a hand-made notebook - very soon to become my 'knitting notes book' in an attempt to ameliorate my constant forgetfulness about where I was up to. There's also a wonderful postcard and magnet from marianne's 'small people' series. You should all go and check them out, they're so full of character, it's quite amazing. Some gorgeous gift tags round things out. Jealous very much?

I particularly love the colours of the scarf, chocolate browns and bright blues just work so wonderfully together, it's my second favourite colour combination (the first being blood red and lime green). I'm developing a bit of a button fetish at the moment and the one on this scarf is doing funny things to me. It's just gorgeous (don't trust the crappily lit photography). Awesome job Marianne! I love it all!

There's some knitting to report too. More specifically i'm back on the lace bandwagon. This is my first 'lace' lace and I must say I'm loving it. It's coming out pretty quickly and the yarn is D.I.V.I.N.E (seasilk).

Double points if you can guess the pattern.

Top Score if you can find the extra random stitch I picked up on the last row...

Oh no you did not

2007-04-17T18:57:00.000+10:00

Holy Crap Madge! I'm speechless.

Bits and pieces

2007-04-08T12:41:00.000+10:00

Wow people, thanks so much for all the pomatomus love! It was definitely worth it in the end.

I've felt like a bit of a break from knitting since I finished them so i've been doing some needlework. It's so fast and satisfying in comparason. JD kinda likes it too, we've been making up little crossstitch patterns based on movie lines and song lyrics. I'm going to make myself a 'where is my mind?' plaque to put up at work (the pixies have been touring). It seems appropriate at the moment.

The options are pretty endless though, I made this crossstitch for a wonderful friend for her birthday. She's a bit of a Grates fan.

On a side note, I don't believe you've met Zeus? Our third (and final) cat. She's opens doors and can almost turn a key. I kid you not.

Anyway, I was enjoying the cross stitch so much I decided to give embroidery a go (dum-da-dum-dum).

It's not going too badly. It looks a bit amateurish, but it's a first-born so hopefully you can excuse me. I splashed out on some $10 vests and the plan is to spiff them up a bit with some embroidery once my skills improve a bit. We'll see how that goes...

And because it seems that I am a masochist when it comes to knitting deadlines, I've been making a pair of gloves for a visiting friend

They're a belated birthday present so I said I'd have them done before she leaves. Which is tomorrow.

Looks like it's back to the knitting after all.

At last

2007-04-01T19:44:00.000+10:00

Well it's taken me a while (and three season of the west wing) but the poms are done. Ta da:

And I love them! They're like a big warm hug for your feet. And a well timed hug at that, it's just starting to cool down in this part of the world (which also means less natural light, so sorry if the photos are a bit crappy). The clap has made a couple of appearances lately too. God I love this thing. If you haven't made one, do it! Do it now! You won't regret it.

But I digress. Much as I love these socks finished they were a total pain in the patchanga to knit. The pattern was awesome, and the yarn (merino cashmere in forest moss) was lovely and soft (cashmere will do that), but, well, they were a process. The first pair I started I frogged because I just wasn't handling such teeny-tiny double points. These pair were made magic loop, two at once. I wasn't risking the dreaded second sock syndrome. Anyway, I think most of the problem was the needles, which were awful. Awful. They were bamboo circulars and the clasp was not smooth at all. Can someone please save my sanity and tell me where I can get 2.25mm and 2.75mm Addis or something similar? Is there some knittery secret I'm not in on? I've tried all of the usual aussie distributors and none of them seem to have these sizes. Someone please save me from the horror of crappy circular needles.

I shouldn't get too carried away though. In the end it was all worth it. What I really, really love about them is they make my new favourite shoes fit real good ($15, target, bargain.) And I don't know if you can see it in these photos, but they've knit up in a subtle light green/dark green diagonal stripe which I think is wicked.

Cool, no?

Loose ends

2007-03-25T13:42:00.000+10:00

I've been flap, flap, flapping around the house this week trying to tick things off the craft to do list. I knew things were a bit out of control when I was sitting at work being stressed about coming home :) But now:

Loose ends have been woven in:

Glue has been applied (with a paintbrush of course):

Things have been hung in their new homes (this is what you see when you walk in the front door. Well, this and cats.)

And the last of the birthday brooches have been made and sent!

The universe obviously felt I deserved congratulating for all that ticking off (we won't mention the poms) because I got a little surprise in the mail:

Yarn pirate. Oh how I have coveted thee. Well the lovely Melissa must be my fairy-yarn-mother (or something) cause we're having a little sock yarn swap and this is what she sent me. I often drool over the yummy yarn on US knitblogs (koigu, socks that rock, yarntini, sundara yarn and yarn pirate are all on the shortlist) so I'm super psyched to have some of my own. Thanks so much Melissa, excellent choice. And I must have been extra good, because look what else I got - gorgeous little hand made coasters.

Oh, and your parcel's in the mail Melissa.

Tick.

Ed: I know I said it in the last post, but the cross-stitch pattern is from Subversive cross stitch and there's instructions for the framed fabric at purl bee. Oh, and the brooch pattern is from mollychicken. Didn't want it looking like I was taking credit for other people's ideas!

Worms

2007-03-18T13:02:00.000+11:00

Worms. I have the craft equivalent of worms. I just can't sit still on anything.

It's not such a bad thing though I guess. It means I've been fiddling with a new craft: a bit of subversive cross stitch (an inspired birthday present from JD).

I'm enjoying this an unreasonable amount, it feels hilariously risque to be cross-stitching naughty words. Juvenile, but hilarious.

I've been sewing together strips of left over fabric to turn into little gifts for some swaps i'm doing at the moment. This is of course a distraction from what i'm actually supposed to be making. Procrastinating? Me?

I've been cleaning out my fabric box too. I'm a terrible hoarder when it comes to fabric. There's something about not being able to look at it in it's little folded piles that makes me reluctant to actually use it. Well, that and the fact that my sewing ability is actually so craptastic it seems like a waste. But there is a resolution to this little problem. One that involves no sewing. One that means I can still ogle the pretty fabric.

I'm well in to the foot on the pomatomus too, but I don't think you need another photo of that. Hopefully if everyone crosses their fingers I'll have them finished this week.

That is if I can sit still for long enough...

Badcaul socks

2007-03-13T20:23:00.000+11:00

I'm very jealous of people that seem to be able to match a sock yarn with it's perfect pattern.

Cases In Point.
And some more.

So when the badcaul socks started to look like this it was a bit, um. No. I don't think so...

The pretty little cables were obscured by the darkness (ha, that sounds quite profound doesn't it?). To be honest this yarn wasn't at all what I was expecting (colinette jitterbug in jewel). There's much more dark blue and maroon than I thought there would be. A bit too school uniform for my liking. I guess that's what happens when you buy yarn off the internet though.

Things were soon rectified, however.

Ahh...that's much better (do you see that? Toe up! Magic loop! Two at once!)

Speaking of yarn off the internet, I've been doing some serious salivating over this stuff.

Anyone got any recommendations for the rejected badcaul yarn? I'm up to the heel on the poms, so it looks like i'll need to cast on another pair of socks to maintain the trifecta.

ED: Holy Crap! Cookies shop's open! I adore these sock patterns. Huzzah! This makes me seriously happy. Is that sad?

You won!

2007-03-08T07:37:00.000+11:00

Thanks so much for all the birthday wishes ya'll, you know how to make a gal feel spesh!

If you wanted a brooch, you got it. Send me your address and it's on its way mybrownpants(at)gmail(dot)com.

Happy International Women's day too everyone. It's a good excuse to think about how much things have changed for some and how much is left to be done.

Link to card template - Thanks Applehead!

Birthday giveaway!

2007-03-05T12:17:00.000+11:00

So it's my birthday today (yay!)

Since I can't celebrate in real life with most of you, how about a blog giveaway?

The patterns for the brooches are from Mollychicken, tutorials here and here.

This is a special shout-out to any lurkers out there. I'd love to 'meet' you :)

1. Greens and reds

2. Or maybe Blue for you?

3. Pink and green

4. Pinks and brown

5. A bit of everything (I have two of these)

Please speak up if you want one of these, I'll post international no worries :) I'll be so embarrassed and depressed if no one wants a brooch, and we can't have that on my birthday!

I'm off to eat birthday dinner and open presents.

EDITED: Yay, all the brooches have been rehomed! Thanks so much for sharing the birthday love!
p.s. did I get spoilt!

Swimming in a sea of socks

2007-03-01T19:14:00.000+11:00

If socks were food I'd be eating pretty well at the moment.

For entree we'd have some freshly frogged pomatomus. Whilst one may prefer them in a more advanced phase, sometimes they are much sweeter after a trip to the frog pond*. There's always the chance that they'll spontaneously multiply, which is a real treat. The subtle tonal striping forms the signature mark of this dish.

For mains we'd have some charming Baudelaire. The sophisticated colour compliments the difficulty with which the dish is prepared. The standout feature the utilisation of the Turkish cast on, a brilliant device that isn't half as complicated as one may first think.

For desert one could not go past the jitterbug jewel, which has now become the embryonic stages of badcaul. Oh come on! All the cool kids are doing it.

I need some knitting viagra so I can actually finish the job on some of this stuff.

Me and my monkey

2007-02-20T19:52:00.000+11:00

I don't like mokeys. I had a nasty experience with a bunch of them in Thailand once and had no interest in a repeat performance. Really I'd rather stick a fork in my eye.

Turns out I'm surrounded by them at the moment though.

JD doesn't share my dislike of monkeys. He quite adores them. Particularly these Balinese ones. And especially when they take me by surprise, sabotaging my careful plans to not get within 2m of them, resulting in an involuntary scream of horror. I'm still trying to figure out how my holiday vision of dips in the pool, good books and the odd gin and tonic transgressed repeatedly into fork-in-the-eye monkey visits.

Um, dudes, check out those nipples! OUCH!

They're much nicer in photo form than real life. Unlike these monkeys:

I'll keep these ones in real life. On my feet. The yarn is colinette jitterbug in 'popsicle' (from here). It's pretty good: soft, great colours, good price. It's a bit short on yardage though, I'm glad I've got small feet or there could have been tears.

I don't mind the pooling either. Although I might buy some more and do a basic rib sock to see how it goes. And this is a fantastic pattern, highly recommend it. It's complex enough to keep you interested, but not so difficult you get distracted. It lends itself well to magic loop on (2.5mm) addi's (my first magic loop socks!). I could get used to doing socks on magic loop, it's so much easier than double points.

Maybe not all monkeys are so bad.

Something strange happened the other day

2007-02-08T14:17:00.000+11:00

Ugh! I've been tagged.

I put up a brave fight but in the end the numbers defeated me! Once and I could meander on my skippy way, twice and I was knocked to a crawl, thrice and I could fight as much as I do when offered a beer on a friday night.

Now i'm not so sure about this 'wierd thing' thing (I'm even more unsure about 'weird thing' things) wierdness being all about perception and all that. I don't find anything about myself inherently wierd, which means i'd have to pretend to be someone else perceiving me to try and figure out how I was wierd. And even then that would be an assumption (based on my perception of their perception of me, see).

Obligatory craft content. Crochet flower brooches made from leftovers.

The best I could come up with was that the day after I eat chewing gum my jaw hurts. Doesn't make for interesting reading really does it.

So instead I just asked other people what about me was wierd/quirky/unconventional (noting that unconventional is subject to the same conceptual flaws as 'wierd', but you knew that already didn't you).

And we have:

I can skull beer faster than MrBrownPants. Yep. I've bailed him out a couple of times too. His last birthday it hit midnight and his rugby mates were all singing 'happy birthday' (or at least I think that's what it was), someone brought over a beer, he looked at me and said 'If I have another beer I think I'll die'. What's a girl to do? There are serious changeroom reprisals if beer doesn't get skulled. It turned out to be a secret super power. Shhhh.

Someone once ate my goldfish. This was six years ago and I'm still furious about it. It genuinely upset me so much I was vegetarian for 5 years. (I eat fish now, but no other meat)

Progress shot. Is that a heel flap that needs knitting?

I say Methodology a lot. This scurrilous rumour has been around for a while. I don't care though, I think it's a good word. And more people should use it. And sticks and stones and all that...

I am not averse to a bit of dancing and singing in the office on a Friday afternoon. Apparently these are knows as my 'episodes'. I do have a Friday afternoon iTunes list, Franz Ferdinand's Take me out and all that. Highly recommend it as a workplace strategy. There's nothing you'll ever do in a meeting that will look embarrassing once people have seen you moonwalk. I'd avoid the Macarena though, they may not take you seriously after that.

My new favourite top. Just to distract you from all the text.

And just to prove that this is indeed an exercise in perception, I have some crazy ideas. "Like that everyone deserves a decent standard of living. And women should be treated equally and stuff." Hmmmmmmm.

I have a morning fart schedule.
Alarm. Snooze.
Alarm. Snooze. Fart.
Alarm. Swear about being late. Get up.
You wouldn't think i'd admit to this, but I know i'm not alone. I'm sure there's more of us. Out yourselves, O' farty ones! Together we can take over the world!

I'm breaking the rules and not tagging anyone. I'm a rebel like that.

One Less Project

2007-02-02T17:57:00.000+11:00

It's here:
And it's lovely. Unlike this:

The cape i've mentioned before, that one over there in the sidebar. We've been on non-speaking terms for a while. Ever since the increase sections started to look like this:

I've tried to ignore it (maybe i'm not reading the pattern* properly? Maybe it will look better if I block it? Maybe if I drop the stitches I can weave them back together in a cleaner way?) Nope. The increases are just messy. Too messy. Frog-it messy.

Anyone know what I can do with 9 balls of Jo Sharp Wool?

*The pattern's fluted ribs from Wrap Style

Distraction

2007-01-29T18:17:00.000+11:00

Monkey sock one is done

I really enjoyed making this, it's a fantastic pattern.

Although there have been some colour pooling issues (these are two sides of the same sock)

No second sock yet. I keep getting distracted.

It's calling me.

Can you hear it?

edited to add: Purlyarns now has seasilk in stock. This wouldn't necessarily be significant, but if you've ever tried to get this in Australia you'll understand (yes you could order it from the US but it's even difficult to find there. And postage costs a bomb. And it's nice to support local business). I'm not really into randomly plugging things, but I emailed Taryn months ago and she said she'd let me know. And she kept me updated. And I think that's fantastic customer service. So go check it out if you want to treat yourself :) Sqwee!

Robbed!

2007-01-18T22:45:00.001+11:00

Give it up people, I've lost my sock virginity.

Rather surprisingly, these babies have not convinced me of the virtue of sock knitting.

I butchered three pairs of needles to finish these. Three! I kept snapping them, splitting them, bending them. I guess it was my own fault for using wood double points that bare a remarkable similarity to toothpicks, but still, three!

I suffered a terrible case of second sock syndrome. It's a killer that, hey. I had to wear the one completed sock for a while to demonstrate to myself the stunted enjoyment one sock brings a two-footed person. Then I had to keep it on to serve as a stimulus for the need to remedy this unnatural one socked foot situation.

And now here they are. But not on my feet (the tanned, shaved legs thing isn't really my style). You see my mum was visiting over the weekend. And we have the same size feet. And you can see where this is going. The socks were stolen from my clutches about 3 second after natural sock order had been established. Look at them sunning themselves up there! Ungrateful hussies!

All is not lost though. Last week's sock porn is transforming itself into monkey quite quickly. By Magic Loop. I'm enjoying this pattern a lot, I think that the lace pattern really breaks the monotony I got a bit bored with in the Jaywalkers. Maybe there is sock hope for me yet.

Pattern: The omnipresent Jaywalker
Yarn: Lorna's Laces shepherd sock in Gold Hill
Needles: Too many. Most in 2.25mm double points although there was the occasional 2.5mm thrown in when stocks got low.

Now I swear this title was here before this happened, but turns out sock-robbing isn't the only thing on the cards at our place. Our car was broken into by a pretty considerate robber. Yes, that's right. No windows were broken. Nothing was taken. We think the car was locked once he/she/they were finished. Apparently our robber isn't a fan of Radiohead (I actually think OK Computer is a great album, but I digress). All in all, everything you'd look for in a car robber. ~~Thanks!~~

Clap for scarves

2007-01-18T17:37:00.000+11:00

Well it's taken a while but I finally finished the clapotis scarf.

This was the only piece of Christmas knitting I did, so it makes sense that it would take me until the middle of January to get it done.

I think I'm a bit over this pattern now (that almost seems like knitting blasphemy, ha!) It took me twice as long to knit this scarf version than it did the other two full versions. But I like it. I used the Lion & Lamb I had left over from this and I think the yarn is great with this pattern (funny that.)

It's a bit short, there'll be no wrapping it around your neck a couple of times, but it will flick over one shoulder nicely.

Gosh I'm so sorry, it's all a bit boring really!

To make up for it, how's this for yarn porn:

Colinette JutterBug sock yarn in 'popsicle'

Makes me all hot and steamy...

Oh the agony

2007-01-10T11:16:00.000+11:00

There's nothing much going on here. I had a bit of a knitting vision when I was looking through wrap style and decided I needed a cape. Every girl needs a cape. So I've been working on that using some yarn from my stash (I can't believe it either) but nothing really to share yet. I suspect it's going to take me a while. Damn cape better come with superpowers.

There's been some bits and pieces happening. I improvised these stitch markers a while ago to use in swaps and for Christmas presents. I didn't have any rings so I just wrapped the wire around some 10mm needles a few times and snipped off the ends. The smaller rings were done on 4mm needles but only once so they made circles. They seem to work OK, but I wouldn't want to use them with mohair or any very thin yarn.

These ones have been made by special request. I found the plastic rings somewhere and thought that would be easier that cutting my fingers with wire. They work pretty well, probably because they're plastic so they're light. Hope you like them Bee, can't wait to see what you need them for!

There has been much pain, frustration and anguish around here lately. It is, of course, time to vote in the Hottest 100. Do you democratic duty to music people, VOTE. For the record, my money's on Gnarls Barkley's Crazy for #1. But One Crowded Hour's a bit of a dark horse. If you're interested I ended up with:

Cat Power - The Greatest
Arctic Monkeys - When The Sun Goes Down
Pony Up! - The Truth About Cats & Dogs (Is That They Die)
Audreys - Oh Honey
Decemberists - O Valencia!
Grates - Inside Outside
Howling Bells - Low Happening
Regina Spektor - Samson
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Honey Bear
Belle & Sebastian - The Blues Are Still Blue

There's some Aussies in there (links to myspace: Howling Bells, Audreys, Grates) check 'em out if you haven't heard of them!

Winter warmth from across the seas

2007-01-08T18:45:00.000+11:00

In my pre-blogging-lurking stage I used to think it rocked that relative strangers would exchange home-crafted goodies, especially when it was across generations, countries or languages. Perhaps i'm horribly judgemental, but I find the list of words ending the sentence 'I have little time for someone that's .....' is not as short as I would like. I realise that no one characteristic can or should define your interaction with a person, but I have very chippy shoulders. This is why the idea that you could invest so much care, attention, time, money and creativity into something for someone that you don't know seemed so remarkable to me. It really emphasises the lovely, generous, friendly nature of crafters and a solidarity that too often gets lost in (the endless list of) social, cultural, economic, generational and national divisions. It's a focus on what we have in common over the things that divide.

The whole swap thing is new to me (Bells was my first never-sighted swapee), but I had a fantastic time doing a scarf swap with Melissa. I'd been looking for an excuse to make the mistake rib scarf in last minute knitted gifts. I thought one ball of Noro was impressive, but two is even better (or three, this is kureyon colours #88, #128 and two of #147).

This pattern is easy, quick and brings out the colours in kureyon brilliantly. But most importantly, Melissa liked it and (I think) it looks fantastic on her! Swap success, no?

But I was only half way there. When I got back from Christmas holidays I had such a wonderful package waiting for me. I don't know how she knows (some sort of sophisticated cookie-stalking when I browse online yarn stores perhaps?) but she somehow managed to pick not only a yarn I was bitching that we couldn't get here, but the exact colourway I would have picked. She also included some soap...we ran out the day we left for holidays and the shops were closed when we got back. Freaky hey.

There were lots of other goodies in the package, knitpicks yarn (we can't get this either), chocolate (nasty woman), and a very hilarious 1964 edition of Needle and Yarn (which I will share later). But she also included some of her wonderful home-made gocco cards. I saw these on her blog and thought they were brilliant. I like them so much I don't want to use them. Ever. Get away from them!

Thank you so much Melissa. I'm glad we lost our (International) swap virginity together :).

Edited to add: the yarn is Manos del Uruguay, (of course!)

The year of the paintbrush

2007-01-05T15:18:00.000+11:00

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you're all well and had a great festive season. I spent the last week on a beech in Queensland bribing people to fetch me a Pimms. Lovely.

I don't know whether it was the start of a new year or maybe just the reflection that comes when you step out of your life for a little while, but it was really...(I think) refreshing (is the word)...to re-evaluate the little things and remember that there's a big picture.

And oh my there's nothing quite like bobbing up and down in the ocean. I always forget just how alive and fresh it makes me feel. I must remember to swim in the ocean more.

I must also remember not to be so lazy. Witness these:

Inspired by the fabulousness of these (but without reading the tutorial I just found when I went to get the link - Arhhhhhh!) I decided to make some hard-cover needle cases. I like the roll ones, but they're kind of flaccid. No matter where or how I put the flaps the contents always falls out all over the place. Always. These ones look solid, sturdy, practical. Things looks stable.

So I thought about how to put them together all was going well, the cutting, sewing, ironing, etc. until I had to glue the front. I sat in the backyard, squirted on the glue and tried to use the nosel to spread the glue out. This failed. So I grabbed a piece of cardboard and tried to use that to flatten it out. This failed. What I really needed was a paint brush. But did I go and get one? No. That would mean I had to stand up. Yes, that really was my excuse. I am an idiot. Unspuprisingly the glue was a failure, and now the cases have big splodge marks where the glue was. It's not pretty. You can kind of see them in this one:

But you live, you learn.
Hurrah for 2007! The year of the paintbrush.

Christmas Star Decorations!

2006-12-22T09:18:00.000+11:00

Happy Festive Season everyone!

I made these little stars for the christmas decoration swap I was telling you about. They're really easy, even for those of us who are sewing-in-a-straight-line challenged. I posted the pattern up over in the side bar. If you want to print it out at the correct size for some reason you'll need to download it to your desktop and then print, rather than print from the link. My process went something like this:

1. Cut out shape (yes, I know, der.)
2. Pin shape to two pieces of fabric, with their right-sides facing (each other).
3. Cut fabric around edges of shape. You should now have two fabric stars. Keep their right sides facing.
4. Take a piece of ribbon (about 18cm) fold it in half and place it between the two pieces of fabric of the top point of the star. (like the cheese in a sandwich, unless you're vegan and then it can be lettuce). The two ends of the ribbon should be poking out between the fabric at the top of the point. Pin it.
5. Pin the fabric together to secure it
6. Sew closely around the edges of the star, leaving a gap on the 'inner leg' of one of the bottom points. This needs to be big enough to turn the fabric right side out through. Make sure you catch the end of your ribbon at the top point and not in the edges (the cheese will try and escape, lettuce not so much).
7. Snip about five little cuts into each of the corners of the star (not the points, the inside V bits). This helps stop puckering when you turn it.
8. Turn the star right side out through the unsewn part of the seam. It may help to pull gently on the ribbon to bring the top point through. I poke the rest of the points with a pencil to get them in to shape (it's a very serious business this).
9. When you're happy with the shape, iron it. Don't skip this part or your mum will pull faces and say things like 'I don't know what I did wrong that you missed the ironing gene.' (When the correct answer is: 'Oh my, what a splendidly clever daughter you are'.)
10. Stuff it. Stuff it good. Pillow or toy stuffing are best, although feel free to experiment!
11. Sew closed the open seam. I'm lazy and use the machine, but can see the sense in hand-sewing.
12. Hang it where you will get appropriate amounts of acclaim :)

I'm off on a little blogging break over Christmas and New Year, but I'll *see* you all again in early January. Have a fabulous Christmas and New Year. Hopefully the end of 2007 sill see the world a more peaceful and humane place than the end of 2006.

xxx

2006-12-19T07:32:00.000+11:00

Please excuse me while I fiddle with the layout. It appears I can take things apart but am not so good at putting them back together.

OK. I think I have that sorted now. Let me know if you're having any problems and comments are welcome :)

Bells' hand towel

2006-12-16T16:46:00.000+11:00

Now that she's received it safe and sound, I can share the hand towel I made for Bells.

It's based on this pattern, but I made a few alterations to both simplify it and to suit the yarn I was using.

If you're interested in making it, the pattern goes something like this:

Using 8ply cotton on 4mm needles Cast on 64 stitches using colour 1.

Knit 3 Rows

Using colour 2
K7 *P2,K4* repeat to last 3 stitches, K3.
K3, P4 *K2, P4* to last 3 stitches, K3.
Repeat these two rows 3 more times. This should give you 8 rows total in colour 2.

Change to colour 1, repeat above 8 rows.

Change to colour 2, repeat above 8 rows.

Continue in this fashion until you have 8 stripes (excluding the knit stripe along the bottom in Colour 1)

Change to colour 2.
1: K2Tog across the row (32 sts)
2: K across row
3: K2Tog across the row (16 sts)
4: K across row
5: K2Tog, k across row to last 2 sts, K2Tog (14 sts)
6 - 24: Knit across row (so knit 19 rows)
25: K2Tog, k across row to last 2 sts, K2Tog (12 sts)
26: K6, yo (for buttonhole), K6 (13 sts)
27: K across row
28-30: K2Tog, k across row to last 2 sts, K2Tog (7 sts)
Bind off.

Place and sew button in appropriate place.

If you like you can give it a light steam block. You also don't need to cut the cotton at the end of each section, you can carry or twist it up the side. It may mean that there's a litle but of alternate cotton running up one side, but I don't think this looks too messy. And it's easier than sewing in ends!

This comes out as a bit of a loose weave, depending on your tension, so you could knit two strands together if you want to make it a dense fabric.

This one was made using 8ply Heirloom cotton in purple (675) and lime green (678), purchased from here for the aussies.

Enjoy :)

Waiting by the mail box

2006-12-14T18:42:00.000+11:00

There's been lots of swap business happening lately and I've had a great time putting together parcels for some new blog-friends. I've also given strict instructions that if a Parcel arrives at home I am to be called at work and informed. Interestingly enough I have been having 'early' days when there's a package waiting at home :). I got this in the mail from Bells today:

Aren't the colours fabulous! We had a little dishcloth swap, but this is too good for my dishes, so it's now my new favourite facewasher. I broke the rules a little for my parcel to her, but I'll have to wait until she receives it to explain. Thanks Bells, you're a great swap buddy.

I've also been doing a little Christmas Decoration Swap with some SnB mates. This is great fun, but unfortunately I was organising it so it was kind of left to the last minute (no surprises there.) We ended up having a little secret santa decoration swap and I scored big time! Check these out:

Pretty, aren't they! I got a whole bunch of them. My Christmas tree is in the front room though and I like them so much I wanted to look at them all the time. I ended up stringing them up and putting them in the lounge room.

I can't share any secret santa Christmas Decoration Swap info yet either. Soon though!

On a completely different note, I *accidentally* purchased Regina Spektor's new album the other day and I'm loving it. It made me think about what kind of music other people craft to. Sadienadlance and I do some 'mixed tape' swaps every so often (and pursuant to me investigating copyright infringement) I'd be keen to do a craft music swap if anyone is interested. I should possibly check out the copyright situation before suggesting a swap, but if you're interested, or if you can inform me of said copyright scenario, let me know :).

Who needs hallmark

2006-12-10T19:20:00.000+11:00

There's been some serious craft ADD going on around here lately. The back step has been set up for knitting: morning coffee, most meals, phone calls and any trip between the front of the house and the back of the house taken via the 'scenic route' leads to a couple of rows on whatever knitting project's closest. The couch has been overtaken by crochet: a good song, the news and conversations with Mr BP have all lead to a bit of SC, HDC, DC and the odd TC. Mind the scissors. The dining room is the sewing room: time on the computer, retrieving a book or pattern, reading* or movement from the knitting to crochet zone has lead to a brief interlude with the sewing machine (I reckon sewing is definitely the messiest craft, the room looks like a quilt exploded.)

No pictures yet though, everything's top secret Christmas or Swap projects. But I can show you these:

I get cranky and the price of cards so I never buy them unless they're unusual or funny (like the ones with the pictures from old knitting patterns on them and a sarcastic statement inside. But they're the exception). These make a good use of old scraps of fabric.

I just sew a whole bunch of scraps together, iron it, pin it to a piece of cardboard I want to cover, sew it around the edge of the cardboard and then cut off the excess fabric. Voila! I reckon it makes a pretty cute bookmark too :)

*This is excellent. If you've read The Secret River I would recommend this. I was a little skeptical of the concept, but I really enjoyed it.

And finally: pictures

2006-12-02T19:02:00.000+11:00

Ahhhhhhh. Take a deep breath. Feel the relief.

Shall No. 2

Now I believe I left you about to begin the drive to the wedding with quite a bit of one shawl left to knit and block? (That's not really a question, I know that's where it was up to, more for dramatic effect I guess...did it work?) Well the car knitting didn't go so well. I got about two repeats done in a six hour drive and by the time we got there I was seriously starting to doubt that my glorious plans would be achieved. But I persevered. I knitted while MrBP got a hair cut. I knitted while I was having a beer with mum and dad. I knitted while talking to my sister about her latest boy drama (The knitting really helped here. Although at some stage I was concentrating on the knitting too much and just started to say everything that was in my head, including 'Christ girl, how many boyfriends do you need? I can't keep up with them. I'm calling them all Colin from now on.' Luckily she thought it was amusing rather than insulting). I knitted on the drive to the restaurant and the way home.

Shall No. 2

And, finally, I cast off while my dress was being hemmed. I blocked it that night, put a little fan on it for a while, and prepared to leave it there for someone else to collect and bring to the wedding. But something unexpectedly good happened (hallelujah!) It was so hot overnight that it actually dried. I was shocked! The others had taken two days to dry. Finally something was going right! The curse was lifting!

Shall No. 1

We drove to the wedding venue, set of shawls complete. I finally started to think about a wedding speech. But I couldn't settle down, it was too hot to write.

Shall No. 1

Then I clicked...it's hot. Way too hot for shawls. I'd made a flippant comment to MrBP that wouldn't it be funny if it was too hot for shawls? Hardy-hardy-har!
Not.

Shall No. 3

But, like everything on the day, the whether was perfect. It was overcast but warm, and it cleared for the ceremony itself, but not enough to be uncomfortably hot. Then as the sun started to go down it started to get a bit chilly. Shawls were fetched, complementing the dresses better than I could have predicted. It was really lovely.

Shall No. 3

I fell like i'm a bit lost knitting wise now though. I've usually got project after project lined up but I've been so focused on these shawls that I just haven't thought about it. I have a couple of swaps i'm working on which i'm enjoying, but nothing other than that. Anyone got any suggestions? I don't mind a bit of a challenge now and then ;)

Shall No. 1, on holidays.

Thanks so much to all of you wonderful bloggers that sent me good vibes. You rock! It constantly amazes me that people I don't know would be so generous and supportive. I'm trying to think of ways that I can say thankyou, but for now just know that i'm truly grateful. Go shout yourself a beer from me :)

Pattern: All are Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl, by Susan Pierce Lawrence. If you're looking for a beginner lace project I would definitely recommend this one, and have before! It's a really beautiful pattern that's easy to memorise.

Yarn: Shawl No. 1 is Colinette Tao in Madras. I had 3 skeins and had about half a skein left. This stuff is expensive, but it's 100% silk, variegated, and worth it :)

Shawl No. 2 is Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb in Lakeview. I used about a skein and a half.

Shawl No.3 is Heirloom Cashmino, 7 skeins. I ran out of yarn casting this off! Arhhhhhhhh!

Needles: Shawl No 1 5mm Addis.

Shawls No 2 & 3 6mm bamboo circular

Modifications: Nope, the instructions are excellent and clear. The only thing I did was make them a little bigger. Shawl number 1 was 12 repeats. Shawl number 2 was 13 repeats. Shawl number 3 was 15 or 16. It's a great size. Big without being huge.

I couldn't blog about shawl no. 3 because I was being a bit naughty and didn't tell the bride about it (and made her possibly feel a little left out...I just wanted it to be a nice surprise!) I managed to be (slightly) organised and made this a month or so ago. Not everything's last minute!

Done

2006-11-25T16:08:00.000+11:00

Hang on a minute! That's three boxes. I thought there were only two shawls?

Everything was finished (it's amazing where you can find knitting time when you really need it!) and the wedding was gorgeous.

I'll have photos as soon as I get back from holidays.

Thanks for all the blog-love people, every time I needed a bit of moral support I would just read the comments!

Knitting on the road

2006-11-22T08:02:00.000+11:00

Shawl number one's getting there. Ten repeats are done. It all comes down to how much knitting I can get done in the car. Oh, and silk dries really quickly doesn't it?

Cursed

2006-11-19T22:37:00.000+11:00

The Good.

Shawl number 2 is off the needles and blocking.

The Fetchings are off the needles, ends sewn in, wrapped and ready to be gifted (Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran #611. I ran out of yarn with one thumb left to do, but I had an extra).

And eight repeats are done on shawl number 1.

Must be beer o'clock.

The Bad.

Most of this was done in the Emergency department of the hospital. My mum hasn't been well and she crashed pretty badly on Saturday morning. They admitted her and kept her over night and she's much better now (and at home). Given that Dad and MrBP are very squeamish around blood and needles I sent them home and stayed with her. There's not much to do in hospitals if you're not working or sick, so while she slept I knit. We nearly ended up back there on Sunday when I took a stack trying to photograph the shawl for this blog! You can laugh, it's hilarious really.

I have decided these shawls are cursed.

Bugger.

2006-11-17T18:24:00.000+11:00

Everything seems to be going along OK now, but things did not start so well. It would take too long to explain in full-detail, and I don't think you'd believe me anyway, but by way of a brief summary: it took forever for the yarn to arrive. When the yarn arrived the pattern went missing. When the pattern went missing I couldn't download another copy as my access had timed out. When I eventually got a copy of the pattern (thanks so much for that Susan) the printer died while I was running out the door late for a plane. When I got to the airport, having satisfied myself that since the one page that had printed was the graph pattern I would just teach myself how to read that, I wasn't allowed to take my knitting on the plane. I tried to explain that knitters were philosophically opposed to terrorism, but I still had to check it.

(Shawl 2: 6 repeats done)

By this stage I was totally expecting the bag to be lost in transit somewhere. My boss thought this was all very amusing ("This would only happen to you" isn't a statement that helps in such times of crisis). However, having been on the receiving end of some knitted gifts, she was very sympathetic. She called the office and had them fax the pattern to us and then let me slip out of the last (very boring) session to knit. Take note knitters, get your boss on side!

(Shawl 1: 6 repeats done)

I thought I would start with my shawl, because I'd already cast that on with half a skein I had left from another project. But it just didn't look right. Check it out:

They're almost completely different! Who would have thought dye lot would make that much difference. What's Gold/Purple/Green on one is Yellow/Brown/Blue on the other. The second one looks like a totally washed-out version of the first. I was really unhappy about this to start with, but as I knitted up the new yarn I realised that I still liked it, it was only really a problem when I compared it to the other. I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to do with the little bit of the darker colour I have, I suspect i'm going to need it to finish off the project. Does anyone have any advice for how I can work it in, other than alternating between the balls towards the end?

I've got the weekend set aside for knitting, so hopefully will have some progress by Monday. I think it was the good vibes ya'll sent that battled off the forces of evil so keep'em coming!

Oh, and I just remembered I have a pair of fetchings to knit by Monday for a work mate that's moving back to Italy. I'm shaking my head at me too.

Oh dear.

2006-11-14T10:43:00.000+11:00

A friend of mine is getting married towards the end of the month. No, not a friend. A person I have shared a significant part of my life with. The type of friend that over a lifetime you can usually count on one hand and that you are thankful for every day. The type of friend you would do anything for, even if there was only a slim chance you'd pull it off. Especially if you're the designated assistant for her wedding and head of the A-List (otherwise known as a bridesmaid) and the said task involved knitting.

My challenge is this: There are now 11 days (including what is left of today) until the wedding (is that a gasp I hear, V?) In the next 11 days I need to knit and block two lace shawls. Yes, two. One for me and one for the extremely talented (and now bald) friend who is making our dresses.

Now we could get in to an endless quagmire of discussion about why exactly I have 11 days to make 2 shawls (left it to the last minute), there may even be a sob story in there (yarn took twice as long to arrive as it should have) but I suspect it was self-sabotage. Thing is I like a bit of deadline pressure. I realise that this is possibly slightly masochistic in this instance, but i'm secretly a little excited by the challenge.

But i'm also realistic. Being ridiculously stubborn may not be enough in this case. So please, if you have any to spare, send your good knitting vibes my way. I suspect i'm going to need them.

Working Out

2006-11-06T11:34:00.000+11:00

So my knitting projects don't always work out. Some become unfinished objects, some fail spectacularly, and some, like this cardigan, just never really get there.

It's not that I dislike it. It's too inoffensive to dislike. It's just, well, intangibly unconvincing. I think it's mainly that the edge is a different yarn (wool) to the main part (cotton with a little wool). It just looks wrong. The lovely smooth stitch definition of the cotton fights with the fluffy, almost felted looking edge. Does that sound too pedantic? Am I being obsessive about it?

Thing is I need big (time-consuming, expensive, and/or complex) projects to convince me. I need to believe in the finished product, in this case I need to believe that I would wear this cardigan. But I wouldn't. I know I wouldn't, everytime I look at it I feel a bit of a cringe. So the answer should be self-evident: frog it. But this seems so drastic. Look at how much I've done . And it seems so silly. And I feel guilty.

But this is knitting! It's meant to be fricking relaxing and enjoyable! I shouldn't feel guilty! I should feel calm and creative, dammit! If I'm not going to wear it why should I make it.

So it will be frogged. And I feel like an idiot that there was even a blog post in that little debate. But sometimes things fail. And that's OK. Right?

Fetching Albert

2006-11-01T16:00:00.000+11:00

I was trying to take a picture of the gloves but my fetching photo shoot was gatecrashed! This is Albert (AKA Alby or Boo.) I've mostly avoided 'real life' stuff in this blog , but I thought I might share a bit about Alby. (I apologise to those people not keen on cats. You can feel free to tune out now or skip to the end! I understand.)

For a year or so Mr BP and I took in homeless kittens and willingly let them destroy our house and all of my stockings (seriously, you may be small and they may be large, but my legs are not trees, kittens! We don't climb legs!) We would basically have them anywhere from the time they were born (in the case of Buzz, she was a hairly slug with an umbilical cord when we got her) to a couple of weeks old, until they weighed 1kg. Then we would return them, they would be desexed, and (i like to think) go to loving families and cared for them as much as we did. This process generally worked well. Until it came to Albert.

We already had two cats (OK, so maybe the giving back part didn't happen so easily all the time) when we got Alby and his two brothers. They had been dumped in a sack at the door of the shelter, caked in a healthy layer of brown sludge. We had them for 3 months and they were hilarious! The middle brother loved cornflakes. When MrBP would have his cornflakes in the morning we would have to lock him in another room. One time he managed to get though the door and came tearing straight into the dining room, took a leap onto the table and then leapt smack-bang into the bowl of cornflakes. It still makes me laugh thinking about it! Alby was sick as a kitten, so we spent lots of time with the Vet and doing different things for him. Having no mother around he thought MrBP was his mum and would follow him all over the place (kittens don't understand 'bathroom time'. Or any other adult time for that matter). There wasn't a lap (kneecap rather) he didn't occupy within 3 second of it becoming available. He was, and is, the most ridiculously affectionate being I know.

Needless to say when it came time to return him I was devastated. A wreck. Couldn't work. Wouldn't eat. Didn't sleep. I was ridiculously and illogically upset. I kept calling the shelter to see if he was OK. Eventually they told me to just come and get him. I suspect they gave him to me because it was cheaper than taking out a restraining order.

He's been my ("our", sorry Mr BP) boy ever since.

Gosh, sorry for all the soppy stories! It musy be happy-ending week or something! I'll try and stick to craft now people.

Pattern: Fetching by Cheryl Niamath from Knitty.

Yarn: This was a destasher! Less than 1 ball of Filatura di Crosa Zara in a #1666 Fuchsia (the colour of the devil? Ha!) I got this on sale at the Woolshack a while ago.

Needles: 3.75mm bamboo DPNs. I didn't have 4mm. Oooooh, breakin' the rules!

This is significant because: I know fetchings are all over blogland (i'm a bit behind the times...) but this is my first, yes, FIRST, project on double points. I was a double point virgin. They scared the bejeezes out of me. It wasn't so bad though. I only poked myself in the face once. No permanent damage. Pretty good really.

I've been supervising a student on placement at work and these are being gifted to her. She's on her way to Europe for (our) Summer holidays, so i'm hoping they'll be handy! Ha! Get it! Handy...

*sigh*

Um, and thanks everyone that left a comment about Clap v2.o. I was shocked, SHOCKED, at the response. You made me feel all warm and fuzzy :)

Clap v2.0

2006-10-28T12:22:00.000+10:00

I've had to bond with Clap v2.0. I finished this a couple of weeks ago but...well...didn't really like it. I felt a bit guilty about not liking it, so we decied to spend some time together bonding. We went to SnB together, we went to work together, we sat on the couch and worked on other knitting projects together. We even went to the Christening together.

The trouble all started with blocking. I am still confused about whether or not to block a clap (i'd really like to know what other people think). I didn't block the first one, and I love its curly-goodness. But the curling means it can really only be worn as a 'scarf' and without blocking it isn't long enough to sit comfortably like a wrap. But it has such lovely ridges and bumps, which is a (perhaps the) beautiful feature of the pattern. So when this clap curled even more fiercely I considered the block. Then, with the reckless abandon a few beers inspires, one night I just blocked it.

Then I regretted it. Blocking it changed those lovely little ridges to flat stripes. I suspect I blocked it a bit too heavily (I didn't think there was such a thing as a 'moderate' or 'light' blocking.) It's merino, so it stretched like the clappers (seems 'clappers' can run and stretch).

But I was rewarded by perseverence. The more I wore it, the more the little ridges came back and it reclaimed its curling shape. But it's a gentle curl now, more like a wave than a Shirley Temple ringlet. And the blocking gives it a really nice size. I can wear it as a wrap, with one end over a shoulder and the other pinned on the opposite shoulder. I can pin the edges at the front and wear it as a 'top'. It can be a scarf, or a stole. Lovely.

We have now made our peace and happily accept each others' company. Don't you just love happy endings :).

Pattern: Clapotis by Kate Gilbert from Knitty.
Yarn: Artyarns Supermerino Colourway #111. This is gorgeous yarn, the colours are just beautiful. It's pretty reasonably priced for hand-painted too. This lot came from Yarnbow. It was 6 skeins if I remember correctly.
Needles: 5mm Addi Circulars.
Modifications: Given I ran out of yarn towards the end last time I did one less set of increase rows. This didn't really affect the size once it was blocked though. It's actually bigger in dimensions now than the pattern version.

Gertrude

2006-10-25T00:01:00.000+10:00

Meet Gertrude.

She likes sitting quietly and reading craft books. She doesn't mind the odd Pina Colada, but don't get her started on walks in the rain. She's had issues with that ever since her silly boyfriend wouldn't pay the $4 for parking when they went to see a Gomez concert and she had to walk 20 minutes in a flash-flood inducing downpour to get back to the car. And the gig was a bit suckful.

Ahem...

She came via special request from SadieandLance, who's caught a bit of soft-toy mania I hear. I love her, 'ET arms' and all. Thanks Bee, you're 'Grate' (for all you sub-editors out there that was intentional! Go to the site and have a listen.) The pattern is here.

Turns out Gertrude's a bit of a knitting mentor. She's got me using the porcupines.

This isn't anything yet, just my training wheels :)

First-best sewing friend

2006-10-23T08:58:00.000+10:00

Babies. They're coming at me from everywhere at the moment (not my own, of course). This usually isn't a problem, I went through a baby-knits frenzy about 6 months ago and i've still got a stash of hand-knits with no home, but it's getting hot here. Too hot for baby cardigans.

How thoughtful of Martha Stewart to solve this conundrum for me.

This is a great pattern. Although it took me about an hour to figure out how to read it the first time I made it. Is it just me and my lack of sewing ability or is this a confusing pattern? Only thing I do differently is sew the inside ties in the seams. Anything to avoid hand-sewing. Which leads me to this:

My binding foot is my first-best sewing friend (it and my quick unpick ;). Notice the bias-binding around the neck? Well stifle that groan and buy one of these. Binding and material go in the front, perfectly sewn bias binding comes out the back. No hand-sewing required. However I should clarify that the bias-binding isn't always perfect...occasionally for some inexplicable reason (like your needle sitting in the wrong place) it will not catch both sides. When this happens you can swear and throw the tape measure across the room. That is a perfectly reasonble, mature, adult response.

This little top went to one of my all time favourite babies, Frances (seen here in part of my great baby cardigan explosion.) She was christened yesterday and took it all with dignity and grace. That is she didn't scream her lungs out like I would have. Not a peep.

Crochet Me.

2006-10-17T22:54:00.000+10:00

I've never really been sure about Crochet jewelry. You can do come cool stuff with wire, but yarn? It always seemed a little odd. Like knitted dog coats*. Interesting, possibly functional, but a tad conceptually challenging. Of course this means I want to make both!

Pattern: Wisteria from Arboretum by Colinette.

Yarn: Colinette Tao in 'Madras' from here (for the Aussies). 100% Silk. Hand-dyed. Yum.

Hook: 3mm hook from KMart. Ridiculous. The hook, not KMart.

Measurements: I wasn't sure about the size of the neckband or the length. But both are good. The bottom flower sits just above my boobs. Cool! I didn't think you would appreciate a shot of that, so here's a not quite finished (shorter) version.

Modifications: I couldn't quite put mine together like the picture. I somehow ended up with two of the littlest circles left over. Oh well.

Comments: What's up with British Vs American crochet? You'd think they would at least use different terms. I was going along quite happily until I realised I was Crocheting 'American' on a 'British' pattern. Silly me. This yarns is so soft and lovely though. Very light too. I have about a half skein left so let me know if it takes your fancy and you want one! I would definitely recommend this as a beginner-type project. If I can do it anyone can!

This is probably my first crochet FO other than the odd bookmark. If anyone has any crochet advice for me I'd love to hear it, seriously.

Yes...I think I can handle this crochet jewelry thing. Dog coats here I come!

I managed to put a finished object thingo on the sidebar too (woohoo!) Check it out if you're interested, there's a couple of baby things there I haven't blogged about here.

*I don't dislike dog coats. My family dogs always wore them in winter. I just think they're...well...odd? Possibly related to the fact that a 'stalker' sent me a dog-coat pattern book once. It was quite the mystery.

Can you guess?

2006-10-15T11:53:00.000+10:00

I've been on a Finished Object high since the shawl. Nothing done yet, but I've got lots on the go. Wanna sneak peak?

There's been some sewing:

Some knitting (ok so this one may be a bit obvious ;):

And some crochet. Some very beginner crochet:

Thanks so much to everyone that left a comment on the shawl. Double digit comments, I'm feelin' the blogger love! I'm especially chuffed cause I like to read all your blogs!

Forest Canopy Shawl

2006-10-10T18:43:00.000+10:00

May I present my first lace knitting project, the Forest Canopy Shawl. Thanks you to Buzz for the excellent modelling job (she thinks she's a celebrity and tries to get in all the photos)

A big shout-out to SadieandLance, Stephanie, Brenda and Meg (how cool is that calculator!) this first-born shawl is dedicated to you. I was trying to come up with an appropriate amalgamation of your names to call the shawl but couldn't make it work (BrestMes? No, I don't think so.)

Pattern: Forest Canopy Shawl from I'm knitting as fast as I can.

Yarn: 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Yarn in Bittersweet from here. I hope I haven't broken some lace knitters code by using sock yarn...it's so soft and lovely.

Needles: Addi circulars 80cm 4.5mm. I found these mostly fine with this pattern, a couple of times I could have used something sharper, but that was generally on rows that I had attempted to unknit. And it's best to avoid sharp object when I unknit.

Final Measurements: 66 inch wingspan, 28 inch length (the finished dimensions on the pattern were 52 x 23, so I could possibly have blocked it a little longer...)

Modifications: I wasn't game enough to deviate from the pattern! The only thing I did was slip the first stitch of each row because otherwise my edges get a bit sloppy. I also did an extra 4 repeats on top of the number in the pattern because I still had more yarn and I wanted it to be a little bigger. But the pattern said it was OK to do this so I don't count that as breaking the rules!

Blocking: I did it! My first blocking experience, yay for me! I tried to follow these instructions, which are pretty clear, but I still managed to get confused. I did the string thing along the top but when I pinned it all out it just wasn't sitting flat and stretched along the string. It wasn't 'grabbing' it properly or something? So I just put a few pins along the string to get it to sit and tried to do it so I didn't get a scollopy top edge.

I wish: I hadn't had to unknit and/or rip about half of the thing by the time I finished it. I suspect being able to use stitch markers would have helped me out here, but there wasn't anything about them in the pattern and I couldn't figure out how to work them in. Oh well.

Overall: Two thumbs up. I enjoyed knitting this. It took me about 2 weeks or so, which isn't too bad (I think).

Lifelines

2006-10-06T18:38:00.000+10:00

To whoever thought of lifelines in knitting - Thank You. You have saved the small piece that's left of my lace-knitting sanity. Without too much exaggeration I think the amount of this shawl that I have unknit would roughly compare to the amount that I have knit. But I love it.

I need some advice though. The pattern is for a 'shoulder shawl', but I've decided that often these shawls are made for 'narrow' people. I like to be able to wrap up a bit more in a shawl (therefore everyone must prefer that, right?) So I've decided that since I had to start a second skein anyway, I'm just going to keep going...(and here's where you come in)...But when will it end? Sweet Lord when will the lace-pain end! How will I know? Should I just keep going until I'm going to run out? The rows are getting soooooooo loooooooooong now, what will they be like after a couple more repeats? How will I account for blocking growth? Arrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Please advise.

I don't have much to offer, but I'll dedicate this first-born lace shawl to you. And you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you have rescued me from the clutches of a potential existential crisis...

2006-10-03T20:41:00.000+10:00

Um, so I haven't posted in a while. I did suspect I would have commitment issues. I like to read blogs more that I like to write my own, I think. I don't think I'm really a 'work in progress' blogger, either. I can't think of enough to say about things to sustain multiple posts on them, so this may be more of an infrequent finished object type blog. Yes, that makes me feel better.

Having said all that, here's a WIP (oh dear). I've been looking at some of the lovely lace shawl patterns that seem to float around in blogland and have wanted to have a crack at them. Then I saw that a very clever blogger had designed one just for me! Ok, maybe not me specifically, but for wannabe beginner lace knitters like me. Check it out:

Wanna close up?

It looks much better when you pull it out a bit and all the stitches open up. This one will have
to be blocked, methinks. It's been knitting up pretty quickly, actually. Except for the un-knitting. Oh my, the rows, and rows, and rows of unknitting. One little missed YO and back we go. Take a note people, Drink. Knit. Bloody Idiot.

Crochet hook case

2006-09-20T18:31:00.000+10:00

I covet one of these! Aren't they beautiful? There really are some very clever people out there in crafty blogland. It's good inspiration, I've been thinking for a while that I need to make myself a crochet hook roll. I particularly like how these ones fold in. I've made a couple of needle rolls that, well, 'roll', and I find them a bit awkward. This is possibly my own fault though as most of my knitting needles are big sizes, so it makes the rolls pretty chunky.

This was my first-born. In the tradition of giving first-borns to special people, this went to MrBrownPants' mum (I always wondered if that tradition was just because good friends won't tell you your first-born is crappy?) Outside: Inside: This one was a prototype. I wanted somewhere to put needle gauges, stitch counters etc. as well as my shorter needles. It's made with cheap IKEA fabric (so it wouldn't matter that I crapped it up!) but I never got around to making a 'proper' one. Inside (inside inside inside inside) Outside (that one's for The Grates fans. I'm thinking of you) I have a very very small amount of florence broadhurst fabric. I'm thinking it may be time to use it...

**NB: I've fixed the link now. It wasn't meant to go to Knit Purl...anlthough there's some cool stuff there too!

Ahoy!

2006-09-19T06:38:00.000+10:00

Ho ho, it's International Talk Like a Pirate Day, me hearties!

My pirate name is:

Captain Grace Flint

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Hehehe, I don't know how true this is but it made me giggle :) It seems even as a pirate i'm bossy and temperamental!

Scarves in time for summer?

2006-09-17T22:32:00.000+10:00

I'm feeling like a bit of an idiot knitting scarves when it's just hit Spring here, but I got my hands on a copy of one skein and just couldn't resist the cable/rib scarf. This was my first go at cables. I don't think I stuffed it up. It was a lot more straightforward than I thought. The only reason I really wanted to try cables was because i'm addicted to knitting accessories (I don't think I'm alone here!) and I wanted to get some cute cable needles...Any excuse really. The thing I really like about this scarf, and one skein generally, is it's a total stash-buster! I have no idea what yarn this is, I always manage to loose the covers, it's a talent, really. I suspect it's wool. It's very soft, and quite thick. Anyway, it had been floating around in the abyss that is my yarn stash for a while. I had to adjust the pattern a bit, even with two balls I didn't have enough yardage, so I just knitted to first ball and then replicated the second in the same length I had done in the pattern with the first ball.
On a completely different note, I was talking to my dad and then my sister tonight, and we were all in the process of cooking tuna bake for dinner! Isn't that weird? It was nice to know that although we're so far apart there's some things that still bind us together.

Note to self

2006-09-16T12:39:00.000+10:00

Trust the little voice in your head that tells you not to wind your skein after Friday night drinks.

Clapotis Completo

2006-09-14T14:28:00.000+10:00

So i'm a bit nervous, this being my first craft post on my own blog and all. So here's something I prepared earlier:

I was a bit late to this bandwagon. I used to look at the pattern and put it in the 'hardcore knitter' pile. One day it just clicked, though. Now I won't take it off.

To avoid being repetitive, there's more info here.

Hi there

2006-09-13T18:52:00.000+10:00

And welcome to a new craft blog. I knit a bit, crochet a little, and attempt to sew. But I'll try just about anything. Pleased to meet you.