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.