... and then Trouble arrived!

I knew it, I knew it! I tempted the Knitting Goddess to wreak havoc, on Christmas Eve of all times, and she certainly delivered a blow to my knitting ego! I was motoring along on my mother-in-law's washcloth when around 10pm, I realised I wasn't coming back to twenty-one stitches at the end of each segment; I was coming back to seventeen. What had I done with the extra four stitches? Buggered if I know, even now - I chucked it all in my knitting bag and huffed off to bed. Haven't even looked at it since! Mostly, for this reason:

This is my Christmas present from Pete: A fair-dinkum, real, true Jordana Paige Knitter's Satchel! Featured here in the colour 'Cappucino', it is a gorgeous way to schlep my current projects around and the ill-fated washcloth just didn't make the Christmas morning cut. WHen I showed my mum, she remarked "Oh, it looks just like a normal handbag!" I replied "And thus the deception is complete". Pete bought it through the Aussie website YarnsOnline, and the lovely bags can also be seen in their natural habitat, at Jordana Paige.

Meanwhile, the Christmas treats continue. Pete took me to the movies today for a nice Wonderboy-free outing (we do so love the little bugger, but it is nice to go out and about, just the two of us every now and then. Can I hear it from the parents out there? Yeah. That's what I'm talking about) to the Greater Union 'GoldClass' cinemas to see 'The Golden Compass'.

First, the cinema - oh... my... goodness... What a way to relax and enjoy a movie! We were ushered into out own little area, like a V.I.P. spot, behind closed doors, where we reclined on sofas and ordered our lunch and drinks. Luvverly.

We were escorted to our pre-booked seats in the cinema, where we found they were plush armchairs with electric recliners and enjoyed the film. Occasionally, cinema staff would quietly let themselves in, creep over to your seat and deliver your ordered food and drink. Sure beats the hell out of cold popcorn!

A very civilised way to enjoy a film. You certainly pay for the privilege, but we figured that we don't go to see films anywhere near as much as we did before Wonderboy arrived, so it's nice to treat ourselves when we do.

Which lead me to wonder, as I watched the film; how many other knitters out there were watching and thinking about the fantastic knitted garments featured? I'd love to post some examples from the movie, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to, especially when everything is copyrighted so much. Grrr. I couldn't even get pictures from the official website.

But, for the curious, check out 'The Golden Compass' on IMDb, and Froggie Meanie added her own 'Lyra's Hat' patterns to her blog and on Ravelry. I can't wait to make a little wee one for my little wee Wonderboy!

We wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year

I would like to take a moment to wish everyone, a reader of this blog or not, a wonderful Christmas celebration in the love of family and friends.

All our prayers, thoughts and (most importantly) actions go towards making 2008 a better, happier and more peaceful year for us all, no matter who we are or where we come from. We're all in this together!

For those who may be wondering, this image is of New South Wales Christmas Bush, an Australian floral symbol of Christmas - it just felt more appropriate than snow and holly, which we don't experience here!

I got me all felted up

Just one Christmas gift left to knit - Just one! And do you think I'm actually knitting it? Hell, no... I'm sodding around on the Internet! Hey, Facebook doesn't update itself with all my social comings and goings! Hehe... yeah, right; I'm a real Paris Hilton...

As I type, I'm sitting next to my beloved, and Pete's there, too! My Beatles/Abbey Road knitting bag is looking at me grumpily, as there's two WIPs in there; one being as I mentioned, my mother-in-law's Christmas gift.



I'm really liking this pattern too, it's a round dishcloth (I call them and use them as face washers - I can't imagine using such lovely knitted things to scrub dirty pots and pans!) that I'm knitting with Peaches 'n' Creme Ombres in a colour called... um..."Raspberry Swirl". Here's a knit-in-progress shot; I think I should get it finished tomorrow without too much trouble (but, as we know, Trouble may yet find me!)

And now, without further ado - a drumroll, please!!

Here is... my very first... knitted socks! That's right, I got my First Sock Mojo* working!

I am so exceedingly proud of my work here. I have never undertaken the magical process that is turning a heel, but managed to figure it out (hey, it's really not so hard!) and sort-of figured out Kitchener Stitch... Well, I followed Knitty's step-by-step, very slowly, for both socks.

I couldn't believe how big they needed to be for felting! I tried them on several times while knitting, and again when they were done to demonstrate just how baggy these buggers are:




The only thing I was a bit concerned about by the time I had finished the second sock was these seemingly quite huge gaping holes along the sides of the heel flap where I had picked up the stitches for the heel. I think I'd forgotten to knit these through the back of the stitch (and even now, I can only vaguely remember that being the trick to closing those holes), and so when I chucked them into the washing machine to felt, I had all available appendages crossed that these holes would close in the felting process...

...Well, that and that the washing machine wouldn't clog like buggery. I kept pulling them out of the machine every five minutes or so (but I'm pretty sure it was actually every forty seconds or thereabouts), since I wanted to be sure that they were felting, but not 'too much'. Eventually (probably after six or seven checks - my attention span isn't fabulous), I came to the decision that the lingerie bag that I'd popped them into was slowing up the process (why? I dunno!) and emptied it of socks which, left to their own devices and not being stopped and checked every three minutes, promptly felted like the good socks they are!

I even got them shaped, dried and wrapped in time to give them to our dear, dear friend Sam who has cold, cold feet. She loves them and I hope they're doing a lovely job of warming her feet!

And it's back to the washcloth again!

*First Sock Mojo, a wonderful phrase trademarked to the Yarn Harlot. All rights reserved to her for her incomparable wit and wisdom, in all perpetuity. Amen.

Muggles are spreading the word!

Whilst catching up on some discussion threads I haven't seen in awhile on Ravelry this afternoon, I came across a fabulous article posted in the Australian Knitter's Group by ozknitter. It is curtesy of yesterday's Wall Street Journal, and it's about what sounds like it would have been a fun competition, called Sock Wars. I would have loved to have been a part of this, and I hope that if another is arranged, maybe I'll be proficient enough in sock knitting to be able to have a real crack at it!

Here's the page; The Wall Street Journal's article on Sock Wars

Ask, and ye shall receive

I did spin that night, and so have asked for trouble. Trouble hasn't yet arrived, but I think the flight will come in later this week - I'm due to pick trouble up from the airport. Have I used that analogy up yet? Yeah.

I have to say, time flies when I'm spinning. I hadn't got anywhere near the wheel since my last lesson (too much Christmas knitting!) and so I was worried when I didn't just pick it up again straight away. This was one of the first times I'd had to set everything up from the get-go, and figure out the tension myself. As a result, I feel that quite a lot of it is overspun, but I think I might be getting better at maintaining a reasonably consistent thickness (apart from joins - I still have to practice at this) as I spin. I might do a bit more spinning tonight...

In the spirit of really rolling out the red carpet for Trouble, today I took Wonderboy to our local indoor play centre (Mummy went to a Christmas party last night and needed some time to knit while Wonderboy could play in a padded, fenced off area). Instead of continuing with the first of a pair of 'Fuzzy Feet' (a fuzzy foot?), where I am decreasing for the toe - I have never done Kitchener Stitch and did not want to try it in a crowded children's play centre; I chose to keep working on a new washcloth I started (for myself!) last weekend. I have so many other UFOs to be getting on with, but goodness knows I don't have the attention span to keep on with the same one in any extended period of time!

And here it is: I have to say, I am IN LOVE with the pattern this cotton has formed as I knit. Every few rows, I would hold it up to show Pete, saying "Look, look! Can you believe the way this is turning out? Aren't you amazed?". He was less than totally blown away, but here it is for your consideration. What do you think?








And this is the final washcloth for the time being; this is the first one I completed through the "Monthly Dishcloths KAL" I joined on Ravelry awhile ago.

It's a bit hard to see the the squirrel here; you'll have to trust me that's it's there. My camera tends to smush all the detail together when I try to take close ups with the flash on.






Often the themes to washcloths (I find I can't call them dishcloths; I wouldn't be able to bring myself to use one to scrub out a filthy saucepan!!) are seasonal to the United States, and so I found myself knitting a washcloth with a squirrel on it! Hehehe... I still giggle when I use it in the shower, and Pete still thinks I'm a raving lunatic.

It's good to see that nothing changes around here.

On second thought

Maybe I should have a break and spin tonight?

Am I asking for trouble?

Hmmmm...

Seeing stars...

You would think, wouldn't you, that after having read nearly three years' worth of Yarn Harlot, including three Christmases worth of witnessing a star knitter succumb to the stress and pressure of "planning too many knitted gifts", that I might have learned a lesson and been able to avoid this particular knitting pitfall myself.

You would think that, wouldn't you?

I thought I had it nailed. I would knit three of the lace Christmas stars that I'd already tried first, as gifts for my coworkers: the one I had already tried had a little stuff up, agreed, but I was certain that I could work that out easily and then knock over one a night for three nights, no problem. I must have spent an entire evening just trying to figure out what I was doing wrong - and even when I had worked it out (adding a 'yarn over' at the end of the round), I couldn't for the life of me work out how the hell to do it. Ugh.

So I bailed on the lace Christmas stars and searched Ravelry for free snowflake or star ornament patterns, of which there are not many. I did eventually find this one, bought appropriate cotton, and started work on the first of three stars to be embellished with little gold beads...

<= Christmas in Australia - we love our mangoes!

I have to say, I'm pleased with the way they've turned out, but... oh - my - goodness, my hands are aching after a solid week and a half of 2mm needles! I have these strange indentations on my fourth fingers, just under the top joint, where these needles have been resting for the last ten days or so. The Preschool Christmas party is tomorrow night, so I have just enough time to starch and iron them before I sling 'em over some little piccolo bottles of sparkling wine, ready for gifting.





...And now, back to the 'fuzzy feet' (on 7mm dpns, thank goodness!) that need to be finished, felted, blocked and dry by next Saturday. The fun never stops around here!!!

Jennifer is... continually impressed by the Yarn Harlot

For those of us on Facebook, don't you just love (LOVE!) the status line? I can just glance down the list of my friends and see right away where things are different for people. Right now, my friend Richard is "... cranky with Dymocks". My gorgeous friend Alison is "... one day away from getting on a big big plane to take me back to sunshine", my sister is "... going to climb an active volcano", and my darling husband is "... going to join Team Awesome". One can only hope they will all be wearing their pants on their heads, too.

At this point in time, my status line reads: Jennifer is "...continually impressed by the Yarn Harlot". And I am. For the last couple of years, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee has got behind the organisation 'Medecins Sans Frontieres' (or Doctors Without Borders) by forming 'Tricoteuses Sans Frontieres' (or Knitters Without Borders), and with the help of the beautiful community of knitters out there, has managed to raise over $400,000 for this wonderful humanitarian organisation. (If you're reading the MSF and TSF sites and are inspired, do go ahead and donate. There's plenty of good karma to go around, especially at Christmas!)

I wrote and posted a cheque yesterday to Medecins Sans Frontieres Australia, and emailed Stephanie to let her know so it could be added to the total for
Tricoteuses Sans Frontieres. I have to say, it was a daunting task. How do you just casually email someone you admire so much and not say something ridiculously sycophantic, or creepy-stalky, or just plain weird? I felt so 'not worthy' to email the great Yarn Harlot at least until I was able to say that I had donated some money to MSF. This is what I eventually managed to type:

Dear Stephanie,


I have wanted to email, or write comments on your blog for such a long time, but haven't quite felt 'worthy' (imagine Wayne and Garth here). Having read your blog, and two of your books ("Knitting Rules", and "Yarn Harlot" - I haven't been able to get the others yet, I'm hoping for Christmas!), I have admired you for the way you write; I can just sense the joy you feel and express so beautifully and with so much humour about your life: your family, your dedication to making the world a better place for us all, and of course your absolute passion for fibre and knitting. To humbly quote your good self - I want be you when I grow up!


I have been a knitter since I was about eight; my mum and her mum showed me, but it never got much further than garter stitch blanket squares until my wonderful mother bought me a pattern for a cowl-neck jumper, a big bag of yarn and said to me, "There. Now go and knit something useful". From there, and from reading your blog, I have tried to learn a little something new in each project I've undertaken, be it a new way of making or decreasing stitches, a lace pattern, or a little intarsia - I can't wait till the next Knitting Olympics! And so now I find myself an obsessed knitter, with a knitting blog and a new fibre obsession to be getting on with - I bought my first spinning wheel on eBay earlier this year and have recently started lessons, and I love it!


My point (when I get to it, eventually) is that I wanted to thank you, Stephanie, for your inspiration and humour that uplift me and make me want to do my best as a knitter, as a teacher, as a wife and mother, and as a human being. And I wanted to leave emailing you or commenting until I was 'worthy' enough to do so. I wanted to let you know that I posted a cheque for $50AUS ($44.25CAN, roughly) to Medecins Sans Frontieres today as my family's Christmas gift to an organisation who could really use it. It's not much, but I know it can help.


With admiration and gratitude,


etc, etc.

That's not too weird, is it?

Crap. Now Jennifer "... is feeling nervous".

You spin me right round baby, right round...

I enjoyed my very very first second spinning lesson today, and I have to say - I love it! I am really quite proud of myself.

This is partially the reason for not very many... I mean no posts at all for the last week. I've been practicing for my lesson today. The other reason is that we've just finished our second last week of Term Four, and so are nearing Zero Hour, (or break out the booze - the school year's over!) at which time we need to have every child organised so they are taking home all (not most, parents please - ALL) of their paintings, craft, lost property (we can't stress that one enough) and rest time sheets.

This also means that I have to have completed for each child a Portfolio, which entails creating a documented 'story' of the child's year at Preschool - including photos, paintings, drawings, descriptive text for each story the photos were taken of (from big group things, like 'Easter' down to small-group things like 'These three children built a block house'), as well as really individualised photos for each child with descriptions added. Plus I have to make sure each child has a similar amount in their book and did I mention the excruciating, mind-numbingness of painstakingly gluing it all into an art book? For twenty-six children? Kill me, kill me now. And this is all undertaken at the same time as we are trying to get them all organised for their Christmas concert, held next week.

Oh yeah - and then we as teachers have to clean all the toys, furniture and sleep mats, and we have to go through every cupboard and the storeroom to clean it all out. Roll on next week!

And back to the more interesting topic of my spinning lessons - for the people who held on through that strange and scary rant...

My first lesson (waaay back two Thursdays ago) was a big success. The only experience I've had with spinning was really only involves treadling. Why? Dunno - it was most likely a Girl Guides thing. As a start, Corrie went over my wheel with me to help me get acquainted with all the parts and understand how they all work together. Thankfully, she was also able to identify some of the trickier parts unique to my wheel (I'm sure all wheels have this issue, too) such as the very loose maiden (hehe... what a crack up... a 'loose maiden'?!) that kept opening too wide (this isn't getting any less funny here!) and causing the bobbin to fall off the flyer. Corrie's amazing. I was quietly wringing my hands, thinking "Oh, my goodness, I've been ripped of here" and she says "Oh, this is fine - we'll just plug a bit of fleece around the base here and make it tighter"... And it works! No questions asked! I love the adaptability of it all.

I got to have my first go at treadling, which impressed Corrie ('cause I was able to treadle, for starters - yay me!), and after she helped me prepare some cross-breed fleece for spinning worsted, while teaching me about identifying different parts of the fleece, I was able to have a crack at spinning.

It took me some time to get any sort of drawing motions going properly, but for the time being, I was actually making a thread - something Corrie reckoned didn't happen very often on someone's first go. I left feeling pretty chuffed with myself, actually... but didn't get around to practicing much straight away. I sort of put the wheel back in the sunroom after a halfhearted practice and started something like three new knitting projects. I did, however, fetch the book on spinning I'd bought from Dymocks as soon as I'd bought the wheel ("The Whole Craft of Spinning" by Carol Kroll) and leave it on the shelf in the bathroom where the Empire magazines seem to congregate. As I read it more thoroughly, I realised there was something missing from my drawing and thought I should have another crack at it...
...and then I had my Eureka! moment. It felt right this time, and I even had a go at woollen spinning from Alpaca rolags I had prepared when I was too much of a wuss to try spinning on my own. When I showed Corrie, she was very impressed and happy for me. Me? I felt like taking out ad space in the Sydney Morning Herald to tell everyone about it - but settled for putting it in my Facebook status line. For my second lesson, Corrie started me on plying. Again, I need to practice finding that balance between overspin and underspin, but I think I did okay. I only had one break in the thread, which is good (I think!), and have prepared...





Dum-da-dum-duuumm! My First Skein.
















After it's washed (next lesson), I even have plans for this scary and irregular creation... It will be a wee vest for my other scary and irregular creation... Wonderboy! Pictured here with his wonderful father, modelling their 'Pants Hats'...



















...Any thoughts on what THIS might be???



(Goodness knows, it's not Christmas or New Baby knitting... or anything I'm 'supposed' to be getting on with!)

Hurray for stash! And other good news...

It's been an eventful week in our house. Firstly, I'm on the countdown to the End Of Term, and therefore (and most excitingly) the End Of The Year. I know I'm only working part time, but I have to say that now I've got access to the car, I'm just looking forward to hangin' out with Wonderboy. And here he is, in all his glory:


I took him to a local indoor play centre last week when it was too hot for the park, and he (pardon the pun) had a ball... it took him a little while to warm to the whole concept of the ball pit, but then he got stuck in.

And then yesterday, it all just got tremendously exciting. The yarn I'd ordered from Ozeyarn and the Wool Shack, two very wonderful Australian yarn shops all arrived in the afternoon, and apart from the fact that it reminds me just how much I've committed to knitting for gifts (Christmas and other) - making me wig out just a little bit - but more than anything else, it just makes me happy. I just like looking at it all. I haven't even put it in the stash cupboard. I have it artfully arranged on the dining table so I can look at it and just have a little smile whenever I go past.



There's Cascade 220 to knit a pair of 'Fuzzy Feet' from Knitty for a friend for Christmas, several balls of 'Peaches 'n' Creme' cotton for the Monthly Dishcloth KAL, two balls of Heirloom Jigsaw Sock Yarn (I'm determined to buy - or receive for Christmas - Cat Bordhi's "Socks Soar On Two Circular Needles"), and fourteen balls of a nice yellow Shepherd 8-ply to knit a lovely wee baby blanket. I'm not overstretching myself at all, am I?

My other good news is that I shall be having my very first spinning lesson tomorrow! I got in touch with the New South Wales Hand Spinners and Weaver's Guild, and they gave me several local and nearby numbers to try, and I was so happy to be able to organise my lessons so near to home. And excited? I am SO stoked!

Watch this space for spinning news!

From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

My itchy fingers have led to other projects being cast on (for novelty purposes, I stress - the lovely 12-ply 'Baby Surprise' has jumped up to the circular needles sleeves section and so each row is a lot longer, and progress... is... slooooww).

I'm giggling a little bit as I post this. I knit THIS last night, with THESE needles... my first attempt at knitting in the round on double pointed needles (of course, I could have chosen socks to start this on, but me? I like a challenge. I do lace) and so, yes I know I've buggered the pattern up there - I need to practice this one some more before I start gifting them on hapless friends and relatives this Christmas. I am pleased though, with the time taken to knit them up. Even for my first attempt, I managed to knit it up in one evening, and this boosts my confidence that I may even be able to give knitted love to several people this year for Christmas.









And then today, I cast on THIS swatch, with THESE needles... this is destined to become my mohair 'Gypsy' jumper that has been on my list to start all year. Christmas knitting? Knitting for babies who are due to arrive at fairly certain times (I know due dates aren't absolute, but hey, knitting for me has no time limit at all!!)? Naahh. I start a jumper for me. I love how when I pulled the bag of yarn out of my stash cupboard and looked carefully at it, I realised I've falled in love with this yarn, all over again! I love the colours and the way they just work, y'know? And, I realised as I was knitting my swatch and admiring the way the colours are striping so beautifully, because the jumper will be knit in one piece on the side, the stripes will be vertical - and I LOVE it! Never let it be said that knitting does not surprise on a regular basis.




And now, before we end this little tete-a-tete (I have an appointment with a Gypsy mohair jumper), here are pictures from my ramblings in my garden yesterday afternoon... It's so cool that this parrot decided to fly up and just sit on the branch, within arm's reach of me and my camera. It must have been pretty confident that its colours kept it pretty well camouflaged...



















... I'm going to make some muffins.

Somedays...

Somedays, the Knitting Goddess maketh her glorious countenance to shine down upon us all, and bestow upon us unworthy mortals... stash bargains! I wheeled Wonderboy into my local needlework shop today (looking for something nice for Mum's Christmas present) and got chatting with one of the staff there.

I wore my Rowan Linen print top to show her, as she was one of two staff who helped me with that purchase a couple of months ago, and she was very impressed (or she was trying to butter me up to buy yarn, the cynics might say. I think she was being genuine), which was very lovely of her, and then she mentioned that the yarns on sale when I was there last were still on sale (Patons, Cleckheaton and Rowan all 50% off).

I was looking at and tempted by some Rowan Biggy Print (I was thinking Winter hats) as she was talking, but then she really got my attention. She added,

"And all the stuff on these shelves here, I think we're having a bit of an extra sale on these - we need to get rid of them so we can bring new stock in"

I sidled over for a little look - quite a few acrylics, some blends; mostly Italian. She went on as I moved over to a couple of shelves stacked with fat balls of Adriafil Nuance:

"With these ones, I was thinking - what do you reckon to, say twenty balls for $25?" I checked the price. Each ball was tagged at $15.50. Whoa - I'd be stupid not to! She brought over a couple of shopping bags and we proceeded to count balls as they went in. When we got to twenty, we looked at the shelves. She glanced at me briefly, before saying,

"Hmm... what do you say we chuck the rest in there, and call it $30 for the lot?"

I counted them when I got home; in the end I got twenty-five balls of the stuff for $30. I proudly did the calculations so I could tell Pete - at the marked price, the total came to $387.50... Good stuff!

Here's the pinky-greeny-bluey stuff: I have the most balls of that, so I'm thinking an afghan of some description. I've been looking at stitch patterns and going through Ravelry for ideas this evening, so I'll update that when I've decided. In the meantime, I have swatched it. It makes a nice dusty 'lolly-stripe' of colours, so the afghan will be dubbed "The Lolly Blanket". It feels a lot softer while knitting and when knit up than when it's in the ball, and I think it will make a really nice, warm, squashy blanket...




















I also got three balls each (or so - I can't remember exactly!) of these two: greyish-green and grey-white that I think will go towards hats and scarves... In the meantime, I'm still garter-stiching away on the cream, 12-ply 'Baby Surprise', and I think I might cast on the Heirloom mohair for the 'Gypsy' jumper - I got the pattern in the Creative Knitting 2004 Annual, and it's also available through the Nundle Woollen Mill as a kit. Unfortunately, I didn't know that when I bought yarn separately, but oh well - if I like it, I'll knit it again and I can knit it in Nundle yarn! Can't have too much stash!



Oh, yeah - and I also got something nice for Mum, too... eventually...

Dishcloths, Stash and Buttons

My serious case of startitis is sadly, not improved... since last night. Never fear, I have taken steps to alleviate this awful, awful situation.

Firstly - I have joined a lovely KAL on Ravelry: the Monthly Dishcloths KnitAlong. I love the idea of collecting the lines of the pattern over a week, twice a month, to create something really quite simply. I've been looking for some inexpensive 'handbag knitting', and since I haven't yet leaned how to knit socks yet (something I am intending to remedy very soon!), this will be a cool little knitting 'side dish' of sorts.

Secondly - I have gone on a stash binge! With husband-ly permission, of course... the vast majority of it is for Christmas gifts: 100% Peruvian Highland wool for knitting and felting a pair of 'Fuzzy Feet'; a heap of 8-ply Shepherd 'Colour 4 Me' for a beautiful wee baby blanket called "Hearts and Stars" by Zoe Mellor; a couple of skeins of Heirloom sock yarn in self striping colours (told you I was going to learn!); and six balls of 'Peaches n' Creme' 12-ply cotton for my monthly dishcloths!

I've had to buy it all over the internet, from a fabulous place called The Wool Shack, over in Perth (I've shopped with them once before, and they are lovely to shop with!), and a place in New South Wales called Ozeyarn. haven't shopped there before, but I'm looking forward to recieving my goodies! I'll take photos of everything as it arrives. I does suck tremendously that I don't have a 'local' (all Aussies will understand that word) - a place I can rock up to several times a week and not look like I'm addicted to the merchandise, where I can chat with the owners, salespeople and customers alike, a place that might run a Stitch and Bitch regularly... But I do like the convenience of the Internet for shopping...

And before I sign off for tonight, a request for techno-help... I've been wanting to put button links on the blog here to sites I visit frequently, but I just can't figure out how to do it! I've looked on online tutorials, but I don't think I'm looking up the correct thing, or following instructions incorrectly... I just can't figure it out... Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Busted!

I've been working as an Early Childhood Teacher for around eight years, and in that time I've worked with babies right through to preschoolers.The common theme of 'rest time' runs pretty consistently right through all age ranges, and then starts to taper off as the preschoolers start to approach what they refer to as 'big school'.

One of the more pleasant tasks that befall people in my field of employ (I refuse to call us 'Child Care Workers'. I'm University-trained, damnit!) is that of sitting with children and stroking their foreheads or patting their backs to help them get to sleep, and the younger they are, the more likely it will be that they want and enjoy this experience. It's gorgeous. I've found that gently stroking your index finger down a wee baby's forehead and nose makes them relax almost instantly, and as this is continued, you can just watch their little eyes flutter closed; it's so beautiful watching a child fall asleep!

But I digress. Where I find myself working now, I am with an older age range of preschoolers who have mostly all decided that they 'don't need me' to pat them to sleep. I was feeling pretty rejected, (and let's face it, quite bored and sleepy during rest times with nothing to occupy me) until last week I jokingly said to my coworker (and director of the service), "Man, I should bring my knitting for rest time". She responded, in all seriousness, "Hey, that's a good idea!". I love that kind of talk, especially from a non-knitter.

So, this week, I have been bringing my latest project, knit in a cream 12-ply (the ultimate antidote to 4-ply baby yarn!) that I cast on last Sunday. The first instructions, after casting on sixty-two stitches, was 'knit straight for forty-eight centimetres from cast-on'. Hmm. Not terribly challenging, but something to 'get done', so I could keep on with the interesting parts of the project. Sorry I have to keep referring to it as 'the project' - it must remain a secret till this baby is born! Maybe I need to cast on something else to keep everyone here entertained. More on that to come...

And I set myself up in a good vantage point, unzipped my bag, and set off. Row after row of good, straight, sensible, plain garter stitch. How it made my heart glad to see the stitches fly and the length increase! 'Hooray - less to do later' I thought, as I ploughed on. And the children loved it too! Every time I cast my eye over the little 'uns, at least half of them were similarly transfixed my the movement and gentle sound of the needles doing their thing. Lovely stuff.

It wasn't till today that I found out I'd been BUSTED by the Powers That Be... I spoke to the principal of the school I work at this afternoon, who at the end of our 'work' conversation, said casually,

"I saw you knitting on Monday at Rest Time"

"Oh, really?" I said, trying not to sound too flustered. "Well, you know how it is when you get to the end of the year, the preschoolers don't want me patting them, and I thought I'd do something useful while supervising, and..." excuses came pouring out of my mouth, unchecked and unbidden (this happens a lot to me when I'm put on the spot by work, salespeople and telemarketers).

"Yes", she continued. "We were having a giggle, watching through the window, you sitting up there like a Nana, knitting while you were looking over the children"

And then I pull out a self-deprecating joke. Why? I dunno. It just happens. Maybe if they think I'm willing to take myself down then they don't have to do it for me?

"Oh", I said "Well, it's not like you want me to be, you know, actually connecting with the children, do you... heh heh heh...?" There was a slight pause, then the principal said,

"Nah, you can knit! It's good you're doing something useful while you've got to sit there, isn't it?"

SUCCESS!

It only took me a second to register that all was cool, and that no sarcasm resided in that sentence, when I came back with:

"Excellent! I'll bring in that afghan I've been working on next Monday!"

hehe... she nearly fell off her chair laughing.




And here's one I made earlier! THE baby hat that's been driving me nuts over the past couple of weeks... Being that I've been in such a rush to start my next project, this is a photo of the third one of these I've knit, because... I still haven't washed, blocked or sewn up the last one completed (!). Are you surprised? I had a serious case of startitis! Still do, actually...

Fibre Mentoring

I'm still reading through previous post archives on Yarn Harlot, and I love it. I love the way Stephanie writes, I can just sense the joy she feels and expresses so beautifully in her life: her family, her dedication to making the world a better place for us all, and of course her absolute passion for fibre and knitting. I want to grow up to be just like her in so many ways. Link, read... you will understand. In a post from July 2005, she talked about the idea of 'Fibre Mentoring' - I love this concept...

" Cassie wrote about the new spinners urge to save good stuff for later, when you are a better spinner, and how she didn't really get behind that theory a whole lot. I couldn't agree more.

While (clearly) I have no issues with hoarding lovely fibres (and clearly, neither does Cassie) until their day comes, I also think that there is a great deal to be said for learning to spin with the best materials you can afford.
Nobody needs to be hindered by things that are barely usable, and nobody needs to feel that they are a crappy spinner (or just more crappy than they actually are, since we all suck in the beginning and it is only the length of time that we are sucking for that is really variable among learners). Good fibre makes good yarn.

Good things inspire you. Good things get you to try harder. Good fibre actually helps you spin. Beautiful fibre gives you something to live up to.

Crap fibre depresses you, frustrates you and encourages you to give up and (in the less determined) could cause a fledgling spinner to wander off entirely, thinking that they obviously aren't meant for this...given that they keep turning out crap yarn. Even the best spinner is going to end up with crap yarn if you start with crap fibre, except at least they are going to know why they apparently suck so hard.

Luckily, there is a practice among spinners, an unspoken code of fibre giving. When a previously normal person gets sucked into the inevitable hole takes up spinning, it is common practice for every other spinner within earshot of the event to take a moment, scour the fibre stash and send a little bit of something wonderful off to inspire the intrepid newbie. Guilds do it, pressing delicious samples on the learner, clubs do it, and the internet does it with gusto, often inundating the newly pledged with bits and pieces of wonderful things, merino, silk, flax and cotton all show up on your doorstep, hand-dyed, plain, roving, sliver, bumps....it is all pressed into your grateful hands with only the lovely phrase "here, try this" to accompany it. The new spinner tries all these things, gets experience, and learns what they like and may invest in.

It's a wonderful expression of mentorship, and all that you are expected to do in return is to pass on something good..knowledge or fibre...when you have the chance. Brilliant.

Has anyone mentored you with a gift of fibre? "

I can't say that anyone ever has, although I don't actually know anyone else who spins. Actually, scratch that, my mother-in-law spins and she gave me her handspun for the green and cream blanket I knit. I'm sure she'd teach me to spin the way she does if I asked, but I think there's more I'd need to know. Things like spinning different fibres together, working on different weights, and learning how to ply in different ways (I'm fascinated by the idea of Navajo plying).

However, in other news, I got in touch with the Hand Weavers and Spinner's Guild of New South Wales this week, and they have forwarded the names and numbers of several spinners I could get in touch with near me for lessons. I'm moving slowly, but I'm moving. Progress!

It's a lovely grey drizzly day here today - I do hope it rains, we so desperately need it - and I thought I'd add some sunshine to this post, in the form of one of the cacti that co-inhabit my sunroom. This is Torston (I don't name all my plants, potted or otherwise; this one was named in honour of my best mate's twenty-first birthday... It's a long story!)

Complaints and Startitis

It's Thursday again, and that means that my work week is over. Bear in mind, when I say 'work week', I mean Paid Employment. Once I finish my three days of Paid Employment, I embark upon my four days of hangin' with WonderBoy and trying to catch up on housework.

I do enjoy my days at home with WonderBoy; we play all sorts of games, argue over how many packets of sultanas we're going to open (today the score is 0 in the supermarket itself - WonderBoy not impressed - 1 in the pushchair walking up the street to visit Auntie Lulu at work, and 1 at home when WonderBoy 'helped' me to unpack the shopping - he was helping just to find the sultanas), and just generally enjoy each other's company. And now the Complaints and Startitis. Don't say I didn't warn you all last night.

Complaints: I am sick of baby yarn! The wee bub's hat that I'm knitting ant the moment is a little rectangle really, so the pattern is so basic a monkey could knit it ("so what's your complaint?" I hear everyone ask. Very funny.) but the major problem here is that this is the fourth one I've knit, so when I pick it up, I feel like my brain is starting to trickle out my ears. It's disturbing me, cause I know I should not be feeling like I have to force myself to knit. It just doesn't feel natural, you know? I'll just pause here to allow a shudder down all our spines...

It's one of those knittery paradoxes, isn't it - when you've knit a large garment on 7 and 8mm needles, you feel itchy for something little and simple. In this case, little and simple is driving me nuts cause I know I've got something more interesting in the stash cupboard. Another baby gift, but knit up on lovely 100% 12-ply Cleckheaton wool. Can't say much about this project cause the pregnant recipient may find it!

Hence the startitis - apart from the 12-ply baby gift, there's a mohair blend jumper for me I want to get started, another big baby gift, a lace shawl, a toy cat, AND I want/need to learn how to knit socks by Christmas. Am I expecting too much of myself? Possibly. Expecting too much from my family to put up with all this? Never! Perhaps now wasn't the best time to join a Monthly Dishcloth KAL on Ravelry?

Ah, well. Here's some Spring Garden pictures to soothe the soul. I'll crank up my 'Get This' podcast and add some more rows to the baby hat...


Azaleas, and...














... Very lovely Lobelias. I wish I could find sock yarn exactly this colour.

Knitting Scouts - a quick post

Hey, I've earned myself some Knitting Scouts badges! (from Cast On dot com for other Knitting geeks):


* There's The “MacGyver” Badge (Level One) - The recipient must demonstrate clever use of a non-knitting tool in a knitting-related scenario. For instance, recipient has used paper clips as stitch markers, or successfully whittled and then utilized bamboo skewers as dpns.

* The “Knitting Whilst Under the Influence” Badge - This applies to both actual knitting under the influence, as well as achieving moments of stunning intellectual clarity about ones knitting under the influence. Presumes talking about knitting whilst under the influence a given.... didn't knit anything very stunning, however!

* The “Inordinately Fond of Novelty Yarn” Badge - In which the recipient professes an arguably unhealthy affinity for yarn with slubs, sparkles, spangles, fur, feathery bits, and an unconscionable proportion of man-made fibre. Recipient makes no apology for the preference (This was earned on WonderBoy's behalf, for his love of my very fuzzy novelty scarf that he likes to wear around the house like a feather boa, usually teamed with my shower cap);

* The “Proselytize Knitting” Badge - A requirement for all Knitting Scouts, the recipient must do his or her bit to present knitting in a positive light, whilst at the same time avoiding all references to “hipness”, grandmothers, and yoga.


* The “I’ve Knit Items With No Conceivable Practical Application” Badge - Recipients are those “special” campers who have knit items which somehow missed the mark of their intended application. There are probably more who are deserving of this badge than one would expect. My personal crime was two (yep, two!) right legs for baby leggings. I blame pregnancy for the lapse in any sort of clear thinking.

Tomorrow: I stop pinching wonderful ideas from other people's knitting podcasts (actually, I can't say I pinched. Here's the link to 'Cast On', a wonderful podcast that I spruik on a regular basis) and start ranting about my case of startitis and my boredom with endless rows of baby yarn...

In which Jenny girds up her loins...

... and stops being such a spinning wuss.

I must have been in a crappy mood last post (sorry for scaring away any potential regular readers of 'shoeboxes' - do I have *any* regular readers? Comment if you are - I'd love to know that me typing all this isn't just some ego thing), and so upon getting up today (to find Pete and Wonderboy engaged in a massive battle of wills over breakfast) I decided that today was the day to clean the house, properly. Bear in mind that my version of cleaning the house properly involves mopping as well as vacuuming, plus cleaning the whole bathroom (not just throwing some chemicals down the toilet and wiping the vanity mirror). Another thing to remember is that this process is undertaken at two times:

1. When the house becomes too disgusting for me to pretend to tolerate (this usually happens in two week to two month intervals. I know. It's gross.) There is some minor cleaning in between these times, usually a quick vacuum and a frenzy of wiping surfaces.

2. The other times are when we're expecting guests. I leave cleaning till the last minute, and then go totally off my chops at Pete for not guessing all that needed to be done and for 'daring' to ask me "Is there anything I can do to help?" when I'm headfirst down the toilet, scrubbing like my life depends on it, whilst muttering things like "Do y'think they'll notice if I don't wipe the inside of the bin flap down?"

What's really weird is that whenever we do a decent clean, I always feel compelled to call up friends and invite them round that evening for a meal. It's like I need to prove to everyone that I do manage to keep a clean house at least some of the time. I wonder sometimes about Wonderboy and hygiene, but then I remember that a child should consume something like a kilo of dirt before they turn five, or something to that effect... Nah, just jokes, I do make sure things are 'clean' where Wonderboy is concerned.

Wonderboy is very good about helping to tidy up (at the moment. This is scheduled to change at a time of Wonderboy's choosing. Thank you for your enquiry. Please call again.), to the point where he is loving the opportunity to help put things in the bin. He's taken to helping himself to onions from the drawer, to peel them then make multiple trips to the bin to pop the skin in. Bless his strange little mind.

Oh, yeah. Spinning... Don't mind me, I do this in real life, too.

ANYWAY, turns out I was so pleased with the amount of work we managed to get done (the amount of work Wonderboy allowed us to get done), plus I got some potting done in the garden, and feeling on a roll, I threw caution to the wind and decided to card some mohair to have a crack at spinning.

This is the sunroom that I recently claimed as my own for a "spinning room" (since I'm too scared to try going into the study, let alone spin in there).














Here's my first attempt at a rolag. Not quite, I think you'll agree. I watched some how-to videos on the Joy of Handspinning website. Very well done, easy to understand and clear. Love the videos.

I got a little better as I went along. I have more work to do, I understand...











And here's my wee little basket of rolags after half an hour of carding. Proud much?

Handspinning self esteem issues.

I have them.

Lately, I have found myself not content to wait for the Yarn Harlot's next exciting installment, so I have gone right back to the very beginning of her blog archives and decided to read them one at a time. All of them.

Anyone who knows me even just a little, knows of my reading 'thing'. My mother would say on a regular basis when I was a kid, "Oh, Jenny would read the back of a bus ticket if she couldn't find anything else". And it's true. When I go back to Mum and Dad's, the first thing I do is sift through the mass of magazines and pattern books that Mum collects and leaves on the coffee table. I'm useless if there's something even remotely interesting to read, and a damn near write-off as a human being if there's a Harry Potter within my reach.

And so, I am entertaining myself while Wonderboy is napping with 'Get This' podcasts, and catching up on all there is to know of the Harlot that I didn't already know. It's fascinating - I now know the origins of The Gansey that has plagued the Harlot's life for so very long. Very interesting.

Which leads me to spinning, and my lament that despite having spent money on Ebay for my lovely Ashford wheel, having collected big bags of fleece to spin on said wheel and having pinched my mother in law's handcarders to card said fleece, I don't think I'm ever going to learn to spin. That sounds a little fatalistic, I know. But hear me and my defeatism out. Here are my thoughts behind this decision:

1. I'm not even currently knitting right now. I should be knitting right now, but I'm not, I'm dicking about on the computer (although let's face it, the main reason for me to not be knitting is that as much as I love knitting baby clothes for my friends and their bubs, and I love how soft the yarn is, this is the fourth white stocking-stitch baby hat I've knit this year. I am sick to death of it, and I'm also sick of tiny, tiny needles. The only thing that keeps me at it is the glorious promise of The Next Project) and if I can't even get my arse in gear to continue my beloved knitting, what hope do I have of making time to learn spinning?!?

2. Even though we are ensconced in our lovely new house, which has considerably more room for us and our crap, I have very quickly found that as Wonderboy has become older and more mobile, any space 'for me' is quietly and quickly shrinking. Even my bedside table is no longer my own - I have to keep anything of mine up and out of the way of my little marauder. And so the lovely Ashford spinning wheel has been carefully placed in the room in our house affectionately known as 'the study'.

3. 'The study' is full of any crap we haven't put away yet after the move, plus two desks and Pete's computer, which just breeds crap. I stay away from this room for fear that one day I might go in and never come out again. It has become Pete's territory, and so my poor little wheel is buried right at the back. All the fleece I procured has been shoved under my bed (I was frightened it might get chucked out when I wasn't looking - it's in a kind of Alpaca fleece protection program for its own safety), and so I'm not sure I could get all the stuff I need out to spend any decent length of time spinning.

4. I am a total wussbag. I don't want to try till I've taken some lessons in spinning from someone who knows what they're doing. I bought some books, researched on the Internet (cause I like reading, remember?) but I just don't feel... confident. I know, this is spinning wool, not driving a road train, but... ugh. And do you think I can find any lessons anywhere near my local area?

*sob* I'm waiting for the violins to start playing... hehehe.

While I continue 'not knitting' and wait for the Pity Police to come and take me away, here are some photos of someone who's really doing it tough.

This is Wonderboy, who has of late taken a real shine to any and all new technology in the house. His favourites were phones (mobile and landline cordless, he's not picky), but the proviso was no imitations or substitutions. This kid ain't stupid. He knows that Pete's phone is the most up-to-date of any in the house and if he wants to 'talk' to Nana, he wants to be doing it on that phone. Lately, his techno-lust has extended to my camera, and the following four shots document one little boy's descent into rage as his awful, awful mother refuses to hand over her camera:




















1. Making pre-emptive cranky sounds




















2. Letting the local district know how unhappy he is (imagine birds flocking out of nearby trees)




















3. Hands clenched, shaking with rage




















4. That's it woman - you've had it!

Till next time... I'm going to start looking for a spinning guru to whom I can attach myself... cleave to, if you will.

... and then she wore it!

I did, I really did - I got my lovely Linen Print top all finished, blocked and stitched up in time for me to wear to my Year Twelve ten-year reunion. Okay, not to the proper reunion; I wore it to the gathering the night before, held at The Oaks in Neutral Bay. Here's a shot of the finished product:

The making up was a bit wonky, I'm still not quite as proficient as I could be at this part of the whole process. I don't have a great deal of confidence in my handsewing abilities and so I sew, and oversew, and then around the arm seams, I sew it over once more just for good measure. I don't want this bugger to fall apart, or even need repair. Ever. If it needs repair, this will suggest that I didn't sew it together well enough in the first place.

I blocked and pressed the pieces last Thursday night, and took it with me to Mum and Dad's place on Friday afternoon, and started piecing it together, with Mum keeping half an eye out on me so I didn't make any major cock-ups. By the time I'd left to go home (at about 10.30pm, mind you) I had sewed the top of one sleeve on. I stayed up till past midnight, getting the top of the second sleeve on. I had a really good reason for this, and I'm sure anyone reading this will find me certifiably mad for even planning this... I wanted to be able to keep sewing this together in the car, and I thought if I set it up so there are no detached pieces, this will make it easier.

I like to make life hard for myself, I really do.

And so, in the 33 degree heat that was last Saturday, in among packing and organising my family to go to Sydney for the weekend (which takes a lot. Don't let anyone tell you that packing for a small human must be, logically, easier and quicker than packing for a fully-grown human) I found myself stitching together the pieces of jumper that was to be my attire for that evening. I finished it within minutes of arriving at our hotel, and this was within minutes of needing to be dressed and hurrying down Military Road to the pub to meet up with my classmates. Ooh, I like to live on the edge, me.

The best part of the evening (apart from wowing people with my talent for making my own clothes - not. Strangely, I think people take a bit of a view of pity on those of us who enjoy knitting our own garments. Something along the lines of "That's so clever of you? Yeah - I buy my clothes!" he he. Nah, I know there wasn't any pity praise. It's just the way that non-knitters look at the whole labour of love). Where was I? The best part of the evening, apart from my putting away scary amounts of wine, which while fun at the time, bit me squarely in the arse the next morning. At 5.30am. When Wonderboy decided to get up.

Aack. Back to the point. The point! The best part of my evening was when I, nervous, dressed and ready to go, crouched down in front of Wonderboy to say goodbye. My beautiful, beautiful little 19-month-old boy reached up and held my ears and said "Pitty". I asked, "You think Mummy's pretty?" And my darling looked at my face, and said "Pitty Mummy. Ear!"

I have the most beautiful ears in the world. Wonderboy said so.