I like reading and writing these things; this is one that's been floating around Facebook for the last couple of months... Not that it's likely to be of interest to other random people, but you never know!
1. I think brown M&M's somehow taste better than the other colours.
2. Coriander makes me want to hurl. Just the smell of the stuff is enough - it's just... euughh *shudder*
3. I enjoy resting and relaxing, I like having had a good sleep, but do not like setting aside extra time in order to sleep. There are other things I want to do instead.
4. I desperately want to live overseas with my family, in the next ten years, but the very thought of organising this and going through with it terrifies me.
5. My mum always reckoned that I enjoy reading so much, I'd read a bus ticket if there was no other printed word available. She's probably right.
6. Since having children of my own, there have been significantly more instances where I've found myself realising that Mum was indeed right.
7. Another goal of mine is to learn to spin and dye yarn well enough to make a living from this.
8. I strongly believe that if you do something you love to earn money, you don't have a 'job' to do, per se.
9. I try hard not to complain, especially about things you cannot change. I hate it when people complain about the weather, particularly.
10. Pete is the most optimistic person I know.
11. I do the best I can in everything, for my family. They are who I want to be impressed by anything I've done.
12. I still find it really hard to wrap my head around the fact that I grew two fully functioning people, their bodies and their personalities, inside my body. It truly amazes me when I look at my children and how quickly they change, learn and grow.
13. I love the fact that I'm wearing socks that I knit myself. I also love the reactions I get from people when they find out that I've actually put the work into knitting said socks, instead of wearing something bought for a couple of dollars at Big W. I'm wearing something unique - a work of art.
14. Infomercials played in the early hours of the morning are a crack-up, but very dangerous. I find myself thinking in weaker moments, "Yeah, we should totally get an AeroGarden!" (I actually do think that now). The other product I've warmed to is the Magic Bullet...
15. I'm nowhere near fashionable, and have always been quite odd-looking, in terms of clothes. I sometimes wish I knew better how to put an outfit together.
16. I'm pretty sure I'll end up looking like an aging hippy/crazy cat lady as I get older. I'm certain I'll never be one of the 'cool' mums.
17. I'm quite pleased with my streak of grey hair, and hope it will grow into quite a decent skunk-stripe.
18. If I wasn't a teacher, I'd seriously consider dying my hair in any number of loud colours.
19. The need for cars annoys me. I wish someone would invent teleporters.
20. I would love to have a scooter to drive around locally.
21. I talk back to the television on a regular basis. I have been known to shout, at times.
22. It depresses me when my garden gets overgrown. Our front yard looks like all it's missing is a lounge on the front porch-y bit, and a shitbox car up on blocks.
23. I like to do a weird little dance to the instrumental parts of James Brown's "I Feel Good". It's not attractive.
24. I always, always cry at the end of 'Forrest Gump' and 'The Beatles Anthology'.
25. I wish I had the skills to build/fix things around the house.
So there you go. If you've made it this far, you'll find that you've wasted several minutes of your life. You might want to copy, paste and rewrite with your own answers on your blog, or on your Facebook profile. Good for you. I don't mind where ya go, but ya can't stay here.
Or you can, but there's not much going on at all!
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Dyeing for a change
A few weeks ago, I posted about an acquired stash of six 50 gram balls of cotton that Mum had sourced for me from the op shop she volunteers at. It's called 'Panama' by Cleckheaton (something I've never seen or heard of, before or since!) and is the most basic, icy-white colour.
I've decided white is boring. It all needs a good wash anyway, so I've unwound it all and prepared it to be skeined (hurrah for my 'All-Powerful' swift!), washed and then dyed. I want to try handpainting this cotton, to try to get repeating stripes, so I can knit it into a couple of little pinafore-type dresses for Little One. I just hope I can figure out how to do it properly and right the first time - I don't have any extra to fall back on!
I'm going to use Dylon cold water dye, which I have used to dye cotton before (tie dye, but successful dyeing nonetheless), so I know it works - one remaining question is: Dylon cold water dyes are usually used by submersing the item to be dyed in a pot of the colour, rather than painting it on sections and wrapping in plastic, which is how you see most handpainted yarns done (they are then heated up, either in a microwave or steamed in hot water)... can I do this with my cold water dye??
Maybe to play it safe, I could arrange the yarn to 'flow' into and out of several containers, each with a measure of dye... nicolana111 (on Ravelry) has pictures of something similar that she did to make her own self-striping sock yarn (project name is 'Hand Dyed Self Striping').
In the meantime, I have this entry in my list of things to get done this week:
"Knit on the Clapotis without planning new projects"
Here is the Clapotis as it stand right now;
(don't you just love my DIY stitch markers there?)
... and here is the yarn I bought on Monday (Cleckheaton Country Prints 8 ply) to start a Baby Surprise Jacket for Little One.
That's a big FAIL there for me!
I've decided white is boring. It all needs a good wash anyway, so I've unwound it all and prepared it to be skeined (hurrah for my 'All-Powerful' swift!), washed and then dyed. I want to try handpainting this cotton, to try to get repeating stripes, so I can knit it into a couple of little pinafore-type dresses for Little One. I just hope I can figure out how to do it properly and right the first time - I don't have any extra to fall back on!
I'm going to use Dylon cold water dye, which I have used to dye cotton before (tie dye, but successful dyeing nonetheless), so I know it works - one remaining question is: Dylon cold water dyes are usually used by submersing the item to be dyed in a pot of the colour, rather than painting it on sections and wrapping in plastic, which is how you see most handpainted yarns done (they are then heated up, either in a microwave or steamed in hot water)... can I do this with my cold water dye??Maybe to play it safe, I could arrange the yarn to 'flow' into and out of several containers, each with a measure of dye... nicolana111 (on Ravelry) has pictures of something similar that she did to make her own self-striping sock yarn (project name is 'Hand Dyed Self Striping').
In the meantime, I have this entry in my list of things to get done this week:
"Knit on the Clapotis without planning new projects"
Here is the Clapotis as it stand right now;
(don't you just love my DIY stitch markers there?)... and here is the yarn I bought on Monday (Cleckheaton Country Prints 8 ply) to start a Baby Surprise Jacket for Little One.
That's a big FAIL there for me!Saturday, 21 February 2009
Speaking Engrish
Okay, I just got photos of my ball winder and swift,
(purchased in my last shopping binge from the excellent people at The Wool Shack in Perth, along with all the Noro and WOOLganics yarn - I forgot to mention it in the last post!) ready to post here on the blog, and I'm still giggling after having a closer look at the instructions...
Ye, gods - not only is it ALMIGHTY, it's exceptionally HANDY!
No, wait - it's ALL POWERFUL! I think it might also make your whites their whitest and your colours their brightest...
There is a very funny website, called Engrish.com that features "...the humorous English mistakes that appear in Japanese advertising and product design." I reckon the instructions for my swift fall well in that category:
My favourites?
"Push the red button and adjust the size of machine-reel. Please."
Thankyou. I do believe I shall.
"When you open and shut it, please give a slight swing. Just as you do with your umbrella or parasol."
I do love the helpful examples given, to make sure we're all on the same page.
Do go and check out Engrish.com. You laugh long time. Please.
(purchased in my last shopping binge from the excellent people at The Wool Shack in Perth, along with all the Noro and WOOLganics yarn - I forgot to mention it in the last post!) ready to post here on the blog, and I'm still giggling after having a closer look at the instructions...
Ye, gods - not only is it ALMIGHTY, it's exceptionally HANDY!
No, wait - it's ALL POWERFUL! I think it might also make your whites their whitest and your colours their brightest...
There is a very funny website, called Engrish.com that features "...the humorous English mistakes that appear in Japanese advertising and product design." I reckon the instructions for my swift fall well in that category:My favourites?
"Push the red button and adjust the size of machine-reel. Please."
Thankyou. I do believe I shall.
"When you open and shut it, please give a slight swing. Just as you do with your umbrella or parasol."
I do love the helpful examples given, to make sure we're all on the same page.
Do go and check out Engrish.com. You laugh long time. Please.
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Thoughts on Stash
"A stash that grows out of control can have the opposite effect, eventually burdening the knitter with the weight of unrealised hopes and dreams. A stash full of opportunity and hope is one thing, it's another when a collection is so large that the beautiful things you once had fond hopes for are now hopelessly buried"
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
(Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting)
(Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting)
I was listening to my audiobook copy of the above knitting tome on Wednesday this week, as I was doing the ironing (some things just wait around for you, even though you've only recently evacuated a small human being from your body); and I found myself dwelling on these words. A phone call to my sister had me talking about it to her, even though she's not (and, dare I say it, has little to no intention of ever being) a knitter.
I told her about how I had last week, in a fit of post-natal-baby-blues, I had blown all my Christmas money on yarn and knitting accoutrement. I told her about all the lovely little baby things I had queued up on Ravelry. In my mind, I could already see Little One (and WonderBoy, incidentally... Oh, and me too) all dressed up in various beautifully knitted garments and accessories.
And then, I realised and told my sister: "Actually, you've really gotta be careful - It's so easy to see, plan for and buy the yarn and patterns for all these projects that you can already see in your mind's eye... but then you realise that you've actually got to knit all these things - before your children grow out of them!"
Following is a pictorial account of the most recent stash acquisition. Looking at it all now, makes me feel only slightly nauseous (but more excited than nauseous, truth be told) when I think of how much I need to get done before I'll 'need' to buy more yarn. And that's a bit sad, to think that I won't be able to do any serious shopping till I get a reasonable amount of work done on these projects.
Here's six hundred grams of Bendigo Woollen Mills "Rustic" 12ply (colourway 'Delta') that I have earmarked for a 'Weasley Sweater' for WonderBoy;
...Six hundred grams of Bendigo Woollen Mills "Aran", colourway 'Dusty Blue', ready to be knit into brooklyntweed's "Hemlock Ring Blanket". By the way, I LOVE two hundred gram balls of beautiful soft Australian wool - Bendigo Woollen Mills are such good value!
Noro Silk Garden, all ready to knit my own "Noro Striped Scarf", another brooklyntweed pattern;
More Silk Garden (!), and I thought I'd knit up a striped hat to complement the Noro Striped Scarf. The pattern is 'Vortex', by Lee Meredith and is featured in Winter 2009 Knitty...
... and more WOOLganics 8ply Organic Merino, to continue with blanket squares for my 2009 in a Blanket KAL (I'm loving it, by the way!).
Boo. No more shopping for awhile. Can you hear my darling husband cheering?
I've taken to storing stash creatively around the house, but not so intrusively that it bothers others. Some is stashed stealthily, in the guise of "interesting calico bags hug on doorknobs for the sake of aesthetics" (although I'm not entirely sure I'm fooling anyone here)...
... and other yarn is stashed in baskets, for the "Fibre as Creative and Unique Decoration" angle. I'm sure Better Homes and Gardens will be getting in touch any day now.
Note the big bag of Merino Cross I still haven't got through and my poor old spinning wheel hasn't seen the light of day in some time. *sigh* I need to have the wheel looked at and reconditioned, buy more bobbins, and find somewhere to have the fleece cleaned and prepared for me - I just don't have time to do the whole lot from go to whoa. But that's another story, and shall be told another time...
... right now, I need to pull my Clapotis out and keep moving along!
I told her about how I had last week, in a fit of post-natal-baby-blues, I had blown all my Christmas money on yarn and knitting accoutrement. I told her about all the lovely little baby things I had queued up on Ravelry. In my mind, I could already see Little One (and WonderBoy, incidentally... Oh, and me too) all dressed up in various beautifully knitted garments and accessories.
And then, I realised and told my sister: "Actually, you've really gotta be careful - It's so easy to see, plan for and buy the yarn and patterns for all these projects that you can already see in your mind's eye... but then you realise that you've actually got to knit all these things - before your children grow out of them!"
Following is a pictorial account of the most recent stash acquisition. Looking at it all now, makes me feel only slightly nauseous (but more excited than nauseous, truth be told) when I think of how much I need to get done before I'll 'need' to buy more yarn. And that's a bit sad, to think that I won't be able to do any serious shopping till I get a reasonable amount of work done on these projects.
Here's six hundred grams of Bendigo Woollen Mills "Rustic" 12ply (colourway 'Delta') that I have earmarked for a 'Weasley Sweater' for WonderBoy;
...Six hundred grams of Bendigo Woollen Mills "Aran", colourway 'Dusty Blue', ready to be knit into brooklyntweed's "Hemlock Ring Blanket". By the way, I LOVE two hundred gram balls of beautiful soft Australian wool - Bendigo Woollen Mills are such good value!
Noro Silk Garden, all ready to knit my own "Noro Striped Scarf", another brooklyntweed pattern;
More Silk Garden (!), and I thought I'd knit up a striped hat to complement the Noro Striped Scarf. The pattern is 'Vortex', by Lee Meredith and is featured in Winter 2009 Knitty...
... and more WOOLganics 8ply Organic Merino, to continue with blanket squares for my 2009 in a Blanket KAL (I'm loving it, by the way!).
Boo. No more shopping for awhile. Can you hear my darling husband cheering?I've taken to storing stash creatively around the house, but not so intrusively that it bothers others. Some is stashed stealthily, in the guise of "interesting calico bags hug on doorknobs for the sake of aesthetics" (although I'm not entirely sure I'm fooling anyone here)...
... and other yarn is stashed in baskets, for the "Fibre as Creative and Unique Decoration" angle. I'm sure Better Homes and Gardens will be getting in touch any day now.
Note the big bag of Merino Cross I still haven't got through and my poor old spinning wheel hasn't seen the light of day in some time. *sigh* I need to have the wheel looked at and reconditioned, buy more bobbins, and find somewhere to have the fleece cleaned and prepared for me - I just don't have time to do the whole lot from go to whoa. But that's another story, and shall be told another time...... right now, I need to pull my Clapotis out and keep moving along!
Saturday, 14 February 2009
Blanket squares and breastfeeding lamentation
The February squares for the 2009 Blanket KAL are completed and blocked - this is turning out to be a fantastic project for me having just come home from hospital with Little One. The squares are small enough to be completed quickly and can all be varied so as to maintain my interest, and I'm able to put them down and pick them up easily and without losing my place. All in all, good 'instant gratification' for the first couple of weeks in the month, leaving the last two months open for me to keep going with bigger projects - at this moment, it's the Raspberry Clapotis... Here are February's squares:
The first is also my first crack at Fair Isle, which was challenging but fun!
The second; done simply in textured stripes so I could complete it quickly and not have my sleep-deprived brain trickle out my ears when trying anything more complex...
The third is my very first try at knitting cables, which I loved! I couldn't believe how much easier it was to knit than I thought it was going to be... and now I'm really excited, because feeling success on this square has opened me up to SO many more projects that I would have been too much of a wussbag to even try...
And now, family picture time! Don't think I was going to let anyone off that easily! Here's me with my beautiful babies...
... And WonderBoy, gently giving Little One her diddy back after she spat it out. My sense of maternal accomplishment swells with pride looking at this picture - with the tears and tantrums that have inevitably come with our second arrival, it makes me feel like I've done at least a couple of things right when I see this brotherly behaviour...
And, a photo that makes me feel accomplished as both a mother and a knitter: here's my very own Baby Mine, dressed in her own "Baby Mine". I just can't quite believe that I've dressed her in something I knit in a 'six months' size... at the ripe old age of two-and-a-half weeks old!!! We breed 'em big here...
I do find myself thinking about knitting A LOT lately, usually at 4.30am as I'm sitting up in the family room, breastfeeding my little girl. Often my knitting bag or the current project itself is sitting in view of the lounge, and I either find myself considering further stash and project directions, or repeating my melancholy mantra over and over,
"How much more knitting could I be getting done if I could knit while breastfeeding?"
*sigh*
The first is also my first crack at Fair Isle, which was challenging but fun!
The second; done simply in textured stripes so I could complete it quickly and not have my sleep-deprived brain trickle out my ears when trying anything more complex...
The third is my very first try at knitting cables, which I loved! I couldn't believe how much easier it was to knit than I thought it was going to be... and now I'm really excited, because feeling success on this square has opened me up to SO many more projects that I would have been too much of a wussbag to even try...
And now, family picture time! Don't think I was going to let anyone off that easily! Here's me with my beautiful babies...
... And WonderBoy, gently giving Little One her diddy back after she spat it out. My sense of maternal accomplishment swells with pride looking at this picture - with the tears and tantrums that have inevitably come with our second arrival, it makes me feel like I've done at least a couple of things right when I see this brotherly behaviour...
And, a photo that makes me feel accomplished as both a mother and a knitter: here's my very own Baby Mine, dressed in her own "Baby Mine". I just can't quite believe that I've dressed her in something I knit in a 'six months' size... at the ripe old age of two-and-a-half weeks old!!! We breed 'em big here...
I do find myself thinking about knitting A LOT lately, usually at 4.30am as I'm sitting up in the family room, breastfeeding my little girl. Often my knitting bag or the current project itself is sitting in view of the lounge, and I either find myself considering further stash and project directions, or repeating my melancholy mantra over and over,
"How much more knitting could I be getting done if I could knit while breastfeeding?"
*sigh*
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
It just about breaks my heart...
Our hearts go out to the poor bastards who have lost homes, family, friends and whole communities in the horrific Victorian firestorms. This is the worst natural disaster Australians have ever seen. Whole townships have been wiped out - there was just no time to get out.
The Australian Red Cross and the Salvation Army are two of the main charities to be heading up relief efforts, and every little bit can help.
The victims are in our thoughts and prayers.
The Australian Red Cross and the Salvation Army are two of the main charities to be heading up relief efforts, and every little bit can help.
The victims are in our thoughts and prayers.
Friday, 6 February 2009
KnitArt
A little knitterly humour-slash-art for you today.
I'm a fan of another Blogger site entitled 'Bent Objects', where Terry Border creates little sculptures from all sorts of random objects that could be found around the house, usually with wire, making three-dimensional scenes with fantastic humour.
This is the most recent posting, from last Tuesday, with a knitted bent to it - I love it, and hope he creates more like it!
I'm a fan of another Blogger site entitled 'Bent Objects', where Terry Border creates little sculptures from all sorts of random objects that could be found around the house, usually with wire, making three-dimensional scenes with fantastic humour.
This is the most recent posting, from last Tuesday, with a knitted bent to it - I love it, and hope he creates more like it!
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Welcome
A quick post today, especially to welcome the newest addition to our family:
Lorelei Margaret Sofia, born 5.19pm on January 26, 2009.
Our little Australia Day girl!
We're all still settling in, especially WonderBoy - he loves his new little sister to bits, but just can't help pushing things a bit with Mummy and Daddy. But we'll get there!
There isn't a huge amount of knitting going on right now, truth be told - but I am slowly continuing work on my Raspberry Clapotis, and I must knock off a couple of squares for the 'February' part of the 2009 in a blanket KAL...
Lorelei Margaret Sofia, born 5.19pm on January 26, 2009.Our little Australia Day girl!
We're all still settling in, especially WonderBoy - he loves his new little sister to bits, but just can't help pushing things a bit with Mummy and Daddy. But we'll get there!
There isn't a huge amount of knitting going on right now, truth be told - but I am slowly continuing work on my Raspberry Clapotis, and I must knock off a couple of squares for the 'February' part of the 2009 in a blanket KAL...
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