One's trash, another's stash...

I was most excited to have the opportunity to increase the ol' stash last week, when my mum dropped by with a couple of bulging shopping bags...

Mum volunteers at a local charity op-shop that happens to be situated next door to a yarn shop, and on the day in question (your Honour!), a lady had gone next door with these bags of leftover yarns - although I'm not entirely certain what she thought the yarn shop were going to do with them - and finding them shut, went to the op-shop and left the bags with mum...

And here are the contents!It's not fabulously clean and not much of it is in complete skeins, but a lot of the colours are quite complementary, and because there's a lot of fancy and interestingly textured yarn I'm seeing the potential for a couple of scarves knit with several yarns at the same time... Should be fun experimenting, at least!I'm not even sure what the smeg it is, or even if it IS able to be spun, but I'm sure I'll have fun trying to find out...

And another op-shop find by my talented mum:
I don't know if this Cleckheaton Panama yarn is even made and sold anymore, these look like pretty well-travelled balls... but it is 100% cotton, and I reckon that once unwound and washed, I could dye them some nice kiddie colours and knit up some comfy cotton tops, especially for Little One (who, for those wondering, is showing NO signs of heading south!) later on this year.

I'm getting a lot of fulfillment from knitting children's things right now, there's such a sense of achievement when several projects come off the needles in the space of one month! Although, that being said, I really must pull the drape cardigan out and have a proper crack at it - maybe a new year and a fresh eye on the pattern will help me figure out what I thought is a hideous mathematical error in the increases on the front of this cardie, but as there's no errata listed for this magazine (Simply Knitting?), I have to come to the conclusion that I mustn't be reading this correctly...

I digress. Finished projects?

Here's the finished and blocked Baby Wrap Top, by Erika Knight;... and the next two squares knit for January, ready for the 2009 'Year in a Blanket' KAL. The intarsia on the giraffe isn't completely setting me on fire, but I'm coping (hehe), and the mitred square is a little smaller than I'd intended, but that can be remedied with a crochet border.

Last bit of knitting news (hopefully the last before I have a baby to announce!) is that the Clapotis is underway, and looking loverly so far. With the colour being such gorgeous deep reds, I feel like titling it the 'Raspberry Clapotis'... all ready for hospital knitting!

Block Party

Finally. The reason why I have had so few posts to feature finished objects lately?

I've been too damn busy/lazy to block the little buggers, and I think it all just looks so much nicer to post once blocked. Call me a perfectionist, but there you go!

First up, there's the Fern Lace Scarf. I've enjoyed knitting this one, don't get me wrong; it's just that I had to put it down so I could jump into the 'Baby Mine' cardigan as soon as the yarn and pattern arrived from Blue Moon. It feels like an age since I completed that one, too! This has been knit with Noro Kureyon, sock-weight that I bought on an anniversary weekend away with Pete in Sydney. Nothing says 'I love you' like a trip through Morris and Sons, looking for a 'souvenir yarn' while Pete sits patiently in the husband chair!A word on my stashing: when we go places, particularly if it's a special occasion or a place I've not been before, I love to go to a local yarn shop and just pick up one skein of this or that, as a bit of a souvenir. It might be enough for a pair of socks, a hat or a scarf, and the finished item always reminds me of that trip. It's also great because I can get away with buying one skein, rather than breaking the bank on a jumpers' worth of yarn, particularly if I have no idea of the pattern, yardage, etc. With the bigger projects, I'm a planner - I need to know exactly what I'm doing with the yarn!

Next up, the very first square in my "Year in a Blanket". I joined this Ravelry group in December last year, loving the idea of commemorating Little One's first year as a blanket made up of all different patterned and pictured squares. Since my squares are smaller than the average, I'm aiming to get at least three done each month. Debbie Abrahams' books on knitting squares for blankets and afghans are a real inspiration - I picked up 'Blankets and Throws to Knit' from our local Angus and Robertson, and it has lots of good ideas for squares with lots of detail and textures (lots of beading and sequins, too - but I can't really put them on a baby blanket), as well as funky stripes combinations to set the detailed squares off beautifully.Here's some blocking. A whole lotta blocking goin' on. Most of these items though, were fished out of boxes from storage after WonderBoy had outgrown them. The little blue jumper with the sailboat (my first attempt at intarsia) was never even worn, as I couldn't finish it in time and he'd outgrown it!Two newer items though are a little crossover jumper I've knit with more of the Blue Moon 'Socks that Rock' mediumweight I used for 'Baby Mine' - It's an Erika Knight pattern, from her book 'Simple Knits for Cherished Babies' and knit up quite quickly. I've still got more of this yarn left, hopefully enough for a little pair of socks - we'll have to see. To its left is the second blanket square, a wee blue-and-purple giraffe. Better shots of that once it's dry, I think.
And the reason I'm still blogging from my lounge here at home? Little One shows no inclination whatsoever to make any movements south, so to speak. I was due last Tuesday and am still hoping against hope that something will happen soon, without too much intervention...

Nearly there!

Okay, I have been knitting (and completing!) objects with almost alarming speed this week. Being told to rest helps a lot, since I rest by knitting!

Only problem? I haven't blocked anything. Not a single item. And I'd rather have all the items in question beautifully finished and blocked before presenting proud photos... hopefully I'll get it done in the next 48 hours. Fingers crossed!

A selfish knitter.

Is exactly how I describe myself! It doesn't sound good at all, does it?

I was chatting with some very good friends of ours on the weekend about starting small businesses, particularly online businesses. I have harboured a long-term goal for myself that eventually I would be well-practiced enough to be able to spin and dye yarns that are appropriate to be sold. The fact that I have one small child and one on the way hasn't interrupted this idea too much, it's mostly a thought that I will spend the best part of the next five to ten years building my skills and buying better equipment so that I will be able to devote enough time to this harebrained scheme and have it pay off as a legitimate career venture.

I've always felt very strongly that if you do something that you love as a career, you will never view it as 'work', or as something that you 'have to do'. However, this idea had a bit of a shake up on the weekend when Pete suggested that I could knit and sell the knitted items, particularly babies and children's clothes.

I thought about that and found that I just had to respond, saying "No, I don't think I could at this stage". I don't knit super-fast right now, and don't have huge, huge tracts of knit-time and so as I said to Pete, "When would I knit for me?" ('me' meaning me, my family and close friends - I'm not that selfish!).

And so, as much as I'm really looking forward to unleashing my peculiar talents on the world (and expecting them to pay, of course!)... for now, I'm incredibly grateful for any time I get to craft for me and my loved ones. Every stitch is an effort, a step towards a completed project (whether a jumper or a washcloth) that says "I made this for you".

Even if that 'you' is really 'me'.

Happy New Year

I had intended on just one more December post before this, but with Christmas being such a busy time... I don't know how Stephanie Pearl-McPhee does it! She manages to add photos and text to her blog, regardless of how long her Christmas knitting list is getting, no matter what family crisis may be occurring (the most recent is the sad demise and removal of the Honourable Sir Washie on New Years' Day). My hat goes off to her, as always.

We're on the countdown now. According to my dates, there are merely ten days between me and the birth of our second child, but as always with babies, Little One could join us any day in the next three weeks. I'm terribly excited, and can't wait to meet our new arrival...

... and have been knitting my way over Christmas and New Year's, preparing another two little jackets.

This is the Debbie Bliss Duffel Coat, from her book 'Essential Baby'. One of the most economical garments I've knit, the yarn is Cleckheaton Country 8 ply Heathers that I liberated from my Mum's stash and the pattern book was borrowed from Mum, as well. It's a lovely little coat that knit up quite quickly, and I hope that Little One gets lots of wear out of it this year.

This work in progress is a little Garter Stitch Wrap Top by Erika Knight, from her book 'Simple Knits For Cherished Babies'. I had been searching for a baby knit to use up the rest of the delicious mediumweight sock yarn from Blue Moon Fibre Arts that I used for 'Baby Mine', and on Christmas Day at Mum and Dad's, I cast on, hoping I had enough yarn left. These photos were taken as I was praying I had enough yarn to complete the jacket, which is why I haven't added it to my projects list in Ravelry yet - I'm only a few rows off finished and now I'm wishing for there to be enough yarn!

Next up? My hospital knitting project/s... the first square of my Oddball Sampler Afghan (I received several balls of WOOLganic Organic Merino 8 ply for Christmas), and a Clapotis for me. In the distance is a new jumper for WonderBoy. New Year's Knitting Resolutions? Probably... watch this space for news of Little One's arrival...