Birth is a lengthy, difficult process

My poor, poor yarn monster. There is a body - I should say she has a body, ready to go, arms and legs are knit and awaiting stuffing. I know it sounds indelicate, but it is quite necessary for a well-rounded and functional Yarn Monster appendage. All these essential parts are ready to go, and yet, she is still sitting in the bottom of the paper bag from whence her yarn came.

I'm a bad mother, aren't I?

I decided she will be a she. I'm aiming for her to be a potential Antipodean internet-yarn-monster-love-interest for a young, dashing Yarn monster known as Henry Watts, Esq. Pressure much? You may read of Henry's exploits here, at A Little Bit Of Happy. I'm nervous for her, though. What if he never realises she even exists*? Her little woolen heart might break.

Ah, but what to name the wee lass? I'm getting the feeling with the flashy, 'come hither' stripes that this Yarn Monster girlie will be a bit of a hussy, so I've decided to figure out a way to knit her some big, lolly-pink lips. These two planned characteristics have had me thinking of potential names. Ruby is the standout for me at the moment, but I wonder if there will be something more suitable? When she is complete, I may post a list of suggestions and let it come down to an online vote.

And along the somewhat dubious segue that is the topic of 'birth', now would be a good time to say Happy New Year! (see where I went there? Birth of the new year? 2008? Good, you're on the same page. This is encouraging.) I hope everyone has enjoyed the celebrations - I know I did; we took Wonderboy down the coast to Austinmer today for a swim. Conditions were too rough to go in properly, but the weather was lovely and he enjoyed digging in the sand and paddling in the "Big Bath" as he described it, until the poor little bloke was knocked base over apex when a larger wave whooshed up the sand. I hauled him out, spluttering and yelling, but when he calmed a bit, he asked to be put down in the water again. Back on the horse that threw him. Here he is, expressing the patented Wonderboy 'sheer joy of existence' that he does so well:

And, before I leave you all; here is the reason for the birth of the young Yarn Monster being put on hiatus - Secret Baby Project. I'll just show some nondescript shots here, so as not to give the game away... I'm motoring along with it - literally; it's car knitting (read: plain boring garter stitch knitting) at the moment so I can GET IT DONE!!!



*I do see the irony in me being upset that Henry Watts, Esq may never know she exists, since right now, she as an entire 'Yarn Being' literally doesn't exist.

... 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...