Arrrgh!

Kitties ate my life!!!!!

(This blog will return again next year. When there's less than 100 cats to take care of...)

Look! Presents!

If you're reading this in the hope of seeing my birthday presents - tough. This is a knitting blog. Deal with it.

On Ravelry I signed up for a tea-cosy swap, where I make a parcel up and send it off to someone and another person sends gooduies to me. Here's what I received from the wonderful Palopinto:














- busy bee tea cosy
- a beautiful scarf stick
- 2 mugs
- chocolate desserty nibbles
- a block of Eden chocolates
- 4 teapot charms
- a pack of gourmet honey
- a book of recipes for me to make and...
- black and white rice krispie treats (none of which remain).














The cosy is beautiful - felted cream knitting, hand embroidered, and look! The mugs match the embroidery!














The chocolate has all disappeared along with the desserts and rice krispies. I still have the honey...












... at least until my da comes round and steals it!

I love Ravelry!

Very slow and somewhat steady

Despite what my dad thinks I haven't been neglecting his Drunken Argyle for other knitting projects.

He's tetchy because I take other knitting projects with me when I go to work. I have a fair amount of spare time (about four hours) where I can block out the meowing and drink coffee and knit, and my Da thinks I should be knitting his jumper. I spend the time between my shifts (three hours) working on it at home, but only after I get changed.

Everything in my life is covered in cat hair. Not just a leetle cat hair, but huge masses of snowy/tabby/Abyssinian drifts like clouds. I reek of cat when I finish work, my car is full of their scent. It's just awful. Do you really think I want a piece of knitting as important as this one covered in cat hair and smelling of the heady mix of disinfectant and ammonia?








It's coming along slowly - one row of intarsia takes about 8 minutes.

Just be patient Da!

Who's birthday? *RUN'S* birthday!

Look at my card - how much am I loved?

Stupid mortality...

Well, tomorrow I get older. Well, a day older than today, anyway. No biggie.











The better news is that I've finished another pair of Rainy Day socks, this pair for my darling Nan. I can safely show this present on the blog, as Nan is 91 and isn't too au fait with ye olde worlde of the interweb. I chose "Pond" as the colourway (Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette yet again) to match a very pretty top she wears.

My Nan is beyond wonderful sometimes. I picked her up on Saturday to come along to my family birthday party and she handed me a card with $50 in it. These wondrous gains have already been spent on yarn - take a look at this! The "Moss" is all mine for my own Juno Regina! Thanks Nan!

The Taylors (my older sister Fiona's family) generously donated another $30 to the "Andrea needs more yarn fund", but I think I'll put it towards a knitting book. Haven't decided between a Rowan mag or Elizabeth Zimmerman. Hard choice... My sister Bronwyn and her mob gave me a "Midsomer Murders" I hadn't seen (wonders will never cease to amaze) - a making of documentary. Poor Felix has realised that he's lost me to the tv yet again...











Mind you, the ABC has finally relented and decided to show "Jane Eyre". About time! I've been waiting since January to watch this! As JE is my favourite book, I was apprehensive, but my fears were groundless. It is a beautiful production, and I was so happy with it. Felix was just surprised that he enjoyed watching it!

No, really, I am

After a lovely day spent cuddling Alisha, chatting with Michelle and Carly and even (!) putting my hand on Carly's belly to explain to the impending baby who I am and how drunk I'll get them when they're older, I have decided to put knitting aside for a bit today and concentrate on wrapping presents.

Here's hoping...

Hah, bumbug

It's beginning to look a bit like Christmas - I know this, because my mother mentions it in every second sentence. I've never had a liking for the holiday much. It seems to detract people's attention away from my birthday, a far more auspicious day of birth that anything to do with religion,*












The presents are coming along nicely. I've spent the last weekend knitting up the first in a pair of Rainy Day socks in Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette. Are they for me? No. A friend of mine? No. A relative? No.

My mum dragooned me into knitting her best friend a pair of socks for Christmas. If I don't win best ever daughter status from this, I never will.

I spent Sunday afternoon with Chantal and Lettisia at Chantal's house, drinking bubbly, watching Ladyhawke and knitting away ferociously. It was a wonderful afternoon (Chantal is the überhost) and I finished off sock one and the picot edge on sock two, which I have learned is a lot of fun to do. Beware family: many picot edged socks are in your future.

The best part? Chantal turned her first heel. I feel so proud.

*Don't stone me! I'm kidding!

Zooming!

Thanks to my lovely sister Bronwyn (never ever call her Bronny) I spent yesterday on the couch watching part of season 5 of "Midsomer Murders" and knitting ferociously. It seems to work really well, because I finished off two presents to be all wrappeded up, and started a new one.

See my new totals? I rock! Thank you Bergerac!

Presents to make: 38
Presents to buy: 14
Presents ready to be wrapped: 11

Public Holiday? Tell the cats that!

Yesterday was exhausting. Melbourne Cup Day is always a good excuse to drink champagne and waste money betting on horses that never win (Rogan Josh was a rarity - and so was the money), but my day off wasn't.

I got up and headed off to the cattery by 8am, spent the morning cleaning up after 49 of them, and then watched two of my favourites leave (ahhhh, Nuggie!). Felix came and met me at work (hastily getting changed from cat infested clothes on my part) and then we were off to my niece Ashleigh's 13th birthday party. Imagine my internal laughter when I realised she was wearing pretty much the same clothes I was at my 13th - but waaaayyyyyy more black, bless her. It's so scary when they're almost a grown-up, and it was pretty obvious yesterday. Loved the silver eyeliner, though.

I got to hang out with everyone until 2pm, then I had to head back to work for the 3pm opening. I wish I'd stayed at the party: 18 cats out the door in three hours. 18!!! For the uninitiated, that means getting them out of their cages, putting them in the box, taking them out the front, charging their owners credit card, fixing up the card, putting that away, emptying the cage of litter tray, water and food bowls, taking any bedding out to be washed and then disinfecting the cage.

When there are 5 groups of people waiting to pick up their cat after the first one, it's really not that easy. Also, I have a very bad bruise on my left shoulder and my skull where an evil Abyssinian pushed a cat traveling box (half metal) on to me from the top of the cage.

Stop laughing, it bloody hurt.

---

Knitting wise, life is great! I've been working on two very similar presents, and I'll have them both finished tonight - yay for me! Then for the next project which is for my brother-in-law Jase (hey Jase!), which will earn me the title of "favourite sister-in-law called Andrea", I swear it! (That's quite serious; he has two.)

Anyway, this is how Christmas looks:

Total number of presents: 64
Presents to make: 45
Presents to buy: 19
Presents to wrap: 64
Presents all done: 0

It's a tad scary, yes? So here's a slightly better breakdown:

Presents to make: 40
Presents to buy: 14
Presents ready to be wrapped: 9

See, better already!

Detox, schmetox

Felix and I - after much reflection and too much junk food on the drive home from Port Macquarie - decided to spend last weekend detoxing.











We had it planned: fruit juices, healthy salads, lots of lying around feeling wonderful and healthy, smug and clear.

By the time we arrived home from seeing "Daywatch" at the cinema (no popcorn or choc top (!), just fresh watermelon juice and a mixed salad with toasted pecans and orange segments), we were freakin' exhausted. I still needed to make all organic vegetable stock to have with and we gave in.






Delivery Deal #4 rocks. Especially if you scoff 15 mini Daim bars before it arrives.

The woes of secrecy

I have a plan. It's a biiiiiiiiig plan. It's called "Andrea's Christmas Plan", and the very mention of it makes me shiver with dread. It's a plan to make gifts, cook various things and survive til New Years Eve without spending the three days after Christmas Day finishing off my presents. Considering this time includes my birthday, I'm usually pretty worn out.

The plan is good. It's doable. I'm not making anything too extreme. Really. I've got lots of small knitting/sewing projects that will cover the whole family, which is a very big family. I have our immediate families (30 people) all covered, and my smugness knows no bounds. By covered, I mean I know what I'm going to make, at least.

The problem is, I can't tell you. My sisters and my in laws (hey Jase!) all read my blog, not to mention my close friends who are also on my list. So, anything I make I can't show you. My knitting chats will slow to a halt, with no pictures. I'm a bit depressed about this. For anyone on Ravelry, I can cheat! So, if you are hooked up there, check out this and this!













However, one knitting project will be posted over the next two months: Da's Drunken Argyle! I've finished the back now, and I'm 4 rows into the ribbing for the front.












On the allowable Christmas present front, I hope you like these. I've made Seatbelt Snuggles
in team colours for my uncles - Collingwood for Uncle Glenn, Richmond for Uncle Pat, Essendon for Greg (too cool to be called uncle) and Geelong for the highly smug Uncle Rob. That's one section of the family done completely! *radiates smugness*













Another thing I've made of late is a water bottle holder. I needed something to hold both my gym pass while toddling off to yoga, as well as be a water bottle carrier. I used the pattern from Interweave Knits (Summer 2007) and added a moss stitch pocket for my card. I love it, and most of the staff have requested one. We'll see....

Things a long journey has taught me

1. Life is only truly bearable when you're singing along to a Hottest 100 cd.

2. Mankind's greatest achievement is air-conditioning in cars.

3. DO NOT sleep in the boot of your station wagon. I don't care if you save money, it's not worth it. Even with a blow up mattress.

4. Teaching a learner driver is harder than I thought.

5. 2, 718kms in five days is only worth it if the person in the passenger seat is too.

Knitting while driving

Anyone who knows me well (fellow knitters especially) will know about my driving and knitting problem.

I wish that it was restricted to red lights only, but I have found that gridlocks and highways are very conducive to excellent knitting. I've discovered the secret time when I can get more knitting done - while behind the wheel.

Now, while this is considered highly dangerous, and I most assuredly do not recommend driving and knitting at the same time, it works for me. I've had two car accidents in my driving life and neither involved my knitting. I didn't even have knitting in the car. (There was a 4-shaft table loom in the back seat during the first accident, but I obviously wasn't weaving at the time. A herringbone in three colours? Too complicated for driving.)









Today I leave the cattery at 6:00pm to drive to Port Macquarie for Felix's 10 year school reunion. It's a 1250km, 14 hour drive and I'm actually looking forward to the drive. Because I can legally knit. Felix went and got his learner's permit especially for this drive, so I won't have to drive the whole trip by myself (isn't he lovely?). I will have driving duties tonight, because the Hume Highway at night is neither a good place or time to learn.

So, what to knit? Start something new? Maybe the blue slouchy cardigan from Cafe Knits? Or the skull cuffs for the birthday in November? Or how about some more stuff for Alisha?













Nope - 45cm of plain red ribbing. *sigh* At least I'll get the vest finished sooner rather than later...

Knitting, cats and pom-poms

My Drunken Da continues onwards. I was highly impressed by ability to work it all out and knit it. I've measured the back against the future owner, and apart from ripping out an inch, we're all pretty happy.












In the midst of flu fever I decided that I really needed a pair of fingerless gloves. My fourth pair, to be exact. I sat up, cast on Nearly Gloves, and they literally flew off the needles, and were finished in one day.













Main problem is that I don't like 'em. Anyone want them? If not, the Salvos will be the new proud owners...

My main focus at the moment is my new job (hurrah!). It's a two-day a week, split shifts job, but - here's the kicker - it's at a cattery. I get to play with cats all day. I also have to clean up after them (no biggie) and feed them, but everything is worth it when you're hugging a British Blue kitten that loves you a lot.

The bright side is that I'm currently getting rid of a heap of old stash to make pom-poms for the cats to play with. A LOT of old stash. Feel free to send any yarn you don't want to me - there's accommodation for 340 cats at the cattery, and I plan to have a pom-pom in each room for them to play with.

Oh, man.... kitties!

Ack, thhhhhbt

Dear God,

Whyfore hast thou struck me down with the flu? I've been sick one way or another since June and to be honest, I'm pretty f'ing sick of it. I have not the energy to even knit, and I know that means you're cursing me for something.

It's the t-shirt, isn't it? I promise I'll stop wearing it to church. Honest.

Andrea xxoo

Too much stress

Here's what I currently have on my needles:

1. Da's Drunken Argyle
2. My second grey knee-high sock
3. My Kitri socks - knitting lace cuffs
4. A second half of a cushion for my mum
5. A pair of socks for Felix

All of these need to be finished soon for various reasons.

Here's what I want to start right now:

1. Cherie Amour from the current Knitty
2. Short row shaped hat by Veronik Avery
3. Stocking Slippers
4. Sidewinder socks
5. Dark Mark Illusion scarf

I barely stopped myself from buying 5 skeins of hand dyed bulky to make the Cherie Amour. I bought 8 balls of Studio Mohair for $2.50 a ball last Thursday morning. My mum thinks Felix should take over my pay packet.

Is there a therapy group for junkies in the matter of knitting, I wonder?

B*ggermeration

I'm exhausted. Work isn't that tiring - unless you count the untold stress of just sitting, waiting for a call. It's quite nerve wracking at times. Next week will be pretty horrible due to 4pm-12pm shifts which put me all out of whack, and make me somewhat crazy(er).

No, no, no. The reason I'm exhausted is because Felix still has his cold. It's driving him crazy, poor thing, and I feel terrible about yelling at him for it, but I do. I have to. He's snoring. On his side. I'm averaging about 2 hours uninterrupted sleep a night. I look bloody awful - puffy, blue circled eyes - and I feel dreadful - my bones ache from lack of sleep.

Luckily, I have distractions when I can't sleep. It's called "knitting". How did any of us survive without it, I ask you?










Work continues on the Drunken Argyle. It's long, slow and really little needles. The Divine J would no doubt say I need the discipline (she said that about knitting a F&F scarf in 4ply on 3.75mm needles), and she's probably right.











However, my Kitri lace cuffs on 2.75mm needles say I'm plenty disciplined. It takes about half an hour to follow one repeat and it's very fiddly. As in really fiddly. I love it, but performing a cast off around three beads is very hard! I'm planning to take it to work with me tonight to finish one sock off entirely. That way I don't feel so unmotivated. (Sorry about the pic - that's the camera strap hanging down!)









Behold - my Red Riding Hood. I love it, but I still haven't worn it. I crocheted the edges as the slip 1 on the purl rows looked mutant and I think it looks a whole lot better now. Might wear it to work tonight.









I found a fantastic hot water bottle cover pattern. It was pointed out to me by a previous co-worker, Lisa, that my not having a hand knitted cover was just "odd". This week, I decided she was right. But no fair isles or elaborate patterns for moi. Just plain, simple, easy.

Famous last words. It helps when measuring your gauge swatch to measure the swatch properly. For example: if you measure and count 9 stitches to the 10cm, make sure you have counted over 10cm, not 5cm.

I'll be re-starting this at a later date.










I'm struggling on with more socks for Felix. These are my usual toe-ups but with two strands of Patonyle as I thought it would knit up faster. No. No it doesn't. Nuff said.










This? This is nothing. It's not a new project with yarn that was on sale for $2.50 a ball. Really.

Nothing to see here.

*cough* *splutter* *wheeze*

That's right all - I'm sick. Again. Not to put too fine a point on it, it's entirely Felix's fault. Really. He's trying to kill me. (Oh yeah? Prove me wrong...)









Unsurprisingly, I can still knit while unwell. I'm now past the evil dreaded 2.5mm ribbing in the Drunken Da Argyle. I keep complaining about how much I loathe this project, but I then remember how happy my da will be with it, and I stop grumbling.












This? This will become the Caliorikerchief headscarf, once I finish the edging.

Lastly, my birthday slowly approaches, so I went out on a limb and bought some very lovely Live 2 Knit sock yarn in "Wine" to make myself the "Queen of Cups" socks. I thought it an appropriate choice.

Oh, and fear not my sisters - there will be a birthday list for you to pick and choose from closer to my actual birthday.

Knitting news - various

My grey sock is finished - one down, one to go.

I've nearly knitted my requisite 2.25 inches of rib for the Drunken Argyle.

I stared knitting the Beaudelaire socks last night at work (4pm - 12am plays merry heck with my sleep patterns), but I don;t like it. Not even a little. I think I'll have to try something else instead. Maybe the Queen of Cups socks?

Well, I'm off to start threading my Kitri sock cuffs with beads so I can knit them whilst watching "The Forsythe Saga". Looks like a lovely day.

Warning - stash envy may follow...

I love my new Bad Hair Hider. It's a bit too big, but it covers up my ears and hides my lack of hair. So I love it.









I used this to knit it - "Sean Sheep - Armytage", a brand created solely for Big W. And I ran out. I had four rows and cast off and I ran out (and it turned out too big. I know, I know.)

The 100% pure wool was on sale for $2. $2! I knew it wouldn't be a big problem getting more, except that this was the only ball of this colour at my local Big W. So Felix and I jumped in the car and drove to a Big W store (not telling you which one. You'll see why...).

It was off the shelves and in a biiiiiiig crate on the middle of the aisle with the sign "$1.00" above it. I started whimpering. The knitting gods loved me again.












This is the culmination of a lot of begging. I had $4 on me, and I didn't have any more money because I'd bought my car two days earlier (yay!). Felix told me I could have 15 balls, and when I had ten in my basket and another 14 on the table I turned to him and said that I couldn't decide anymore. I'd already thrown back 8 balls that I really didn't need (did I just say that?), and to chose between the blue/green and the white/grey was just too hard.

He let me buy 24 balls. I love him.











So here's what they're all for:

1. Thrummed mittens for Felix for the move to Canada.
2. Thrummed mittens for me for the move to Canada.
3. The remainder of the ball from my Caliometry - might make a smaller one.
4. No idea, but I have 5 in the same dyelot. Something for Felix for Canada, maybe.
5. The cabled gloves from the 25th Anniversary Vogue Knitting and maybe a beanie for me. (This row of yarns are actually all the same colouring - white to grey. Some are just wound inside out)
6. The headscarf from "Holiday Knits" (once someone buys it for me).
7. It's pretty. Nuff said.
8. See above. And it was the last ball.
9. No idea - probably fingerless gloves of some kind.

Felix rocks and I can collapse happy now.

*What* a week!

At last I can reveal myself to the Jedi my secret project.

This is "Amanda's Shawl" by Beth Cohen, from Yarn Magazine (Issue #5). I started it two days after my friend Michelle told me she was having a baby. I ran out of the über-exquisite Wendy Dennis yarn three-quarter's of the way through the edging, so I put it off for ages, but it's all done and handed over now to much appreciation (don't you just love it when the person who receives the gift knows just how much work you've put into it? Michelle's great like that).












I had no idea that the pinning out bit would be so cool. It went from that...












...to this. Then it dried, Felix and I had an unpinning race, and when I finally saw it I cried from sheer joy.

I think I have to finish my Mystery Stole just for the pinning out fun.

In the meantime, thanks to the slackest job in history (a call centre with no calls) the knitting continues.










I have finished one grey sock, minus the lace trim. I've had to re-write the pattern to suit me a bit better.











I have finished my bad hair hider aka Caliometry (thanks to Big W for the amazing wool - $2 a ball?!?!?!).

I've started making a heap of Catnip Mice to flog at St Andrew's Market in a few weeks. My workmates (aka fellow slackers) think I should make up some more Mittens to sell.













And behold! Two Kitri socks awaiting cuffs! Now if only I wasn't such a wuss I'd be finished them already, but I'm scared of stuffing up the beading. I'm hopeless, I know.

Oh, and I cast on the Drunken Argyle. Let us never speak of it again.

Eeeeeexcellent

One bolero, finished. Feel the smugness from here.










($3 a ball, Jo Sharp Silkroad Ultra - bargain!)













One heel turned with short row shaping on my grey stocking.












Three rounds done on my Kitri sock yesterday while working at my new job.













"My cat's name is Mittens."

"My cat's breath smells like cat food." Feel the love.

The restoration of normality

To me, normality is a state of stress. I never really relax, I always have "just one more" thing to do, cook, sew and especially knit.

I've finished the Horcrux socks in only two days. Time to kick back? Oh, no.

I have a party to attend this Saturday night. Can't wait. I have a great summery dress to wear but it'll be cold. Plan? Knit a Cloud Bolero by Saturday night (ignore the sample pic; mine will be prettier, I promise).

Not a problem. Oh, and now I have a new job I can knit during my lunch break. Better cast on the Jo Sharp Stockings from Knit issue 3.

Felix really needs some new socks. Better make some more.

Oh no! I almost forgot my Kitri socks! Better keep going on them too.

Know this: if I ever stop knitting in my life, check for a pulse.

Um...hi....

It may appear that I've deserted my blog due to my new found addiction to Ravelry. Not so! It was a combination of events:

1. I signed up to Ravelry - under the username "Andrea".
2. I went out to a drunken orgy dinner on Friday.
3. I borrowed a huge stash of dvd's on Saturday.

Ravelry is addictive. I now know I need a better digital camera. But here's what I've managed in the last few days (as viewed through the old digital camera).













It's finished. Da's hot water bottle cover (pattern - Jaeger JB22) is all done and ready to hand over on Father's Day. He will love it or I shall lose my temper rather badly.













This pic is because I know what knitters are like. Behold! The inside of my Fair Isle!









On Saturday afternoon I finished the first of my Kitri socks - well, the sock part at least. I plan to make both of the socks in full before I add the lace cuffs. I fear that if I do otherwise, they'll never be finished. Framed, yes. Finished, no.

The sock fits like a dream. My foot is 9.5" in circumference at the ball of my foot - ergo WIDE LOAD - yet the sock fits perfectly. The part that surprised me the most was that even though I take a size 9.5 I only needed to knit 6 repeats on the foot, not 7.











On Thursday night I managed to burn myself in the oven shelf twice, so I slammed dinner down, wandered to the interweb and printed off this pattern for an oven mitt.













It used up a lot of Jo Sharp DK cotton, but it only took an hour to knit up each one and I adore them. No more burn marks!

(NB: Whenever I burn myself I get a burn mark that heals withing three days. Felix claims I have mutant healing powers. Probably why he likes me... *looks up at Felix's Ultimate X-Men collection*)











My Ravelry addiction did give me some help, however. I planned to make my Horcrux Socks from my all natural alpaca, but it turns out I only have 220 yards, and the pattern requires 250. So I started them on Saturday night while watching all of series 1 "Spaced" on the couch using my Jo Sharp Silkroad DK in "Cocoa", leftover from my brown jumper. They are a really fast knit (sock one finished already) and just a great pattern. I highly recommend this one.

Today's plan is to finish my Horcux Socks so I can start wandering around the house in them (maybe cast on a second pair because I have enough wool), wash all of the handknit socks lying around (too many) and tidy like crazy. You want to know why? I'm employed again! Training starts tomorrow, so my knitting time will be severely cut into (bright side is Felix has to wash the dishes now). Hopefully, I'll end up on nightshift and be able to knit all day. If not, I'll still knit, darnit!

Oh...my...WOW!!!!!!!

I received my Ravelry invite this morning. I instantly screamed and grabbed the phone to tell Felix. His mobile was playing up and because our last conversation was about my epilepsy, he thought I'd had a seizure and came racing home to check on me. Isn't he sweet? (NB: I haven't had a seizure in over a decade, but he's still sweet)

In the meantime, before I head off to photograph EVERY ball of wool I own, I would like to present to you: Ashlee's cushion.










She has stated her love for it and that's all that matters. Really. I did most of the knitting on a Sunday night during "Midsomer Murders" so it wasn't too painful...

Love you too, Ashlee.

Anniversary Overdose

Today is the one year anniversary of my first post, hence cake. (I love cake, but only sometimes. Depends on my mood.) My life has gone through some major changes in the year, but I am happy to notice that no matter what I kept knitting. I've made 32 items since I started - more than one a fortnight. I'm actually quite surprised!

Does it make up for my current mental fogginess? Nope. Just look at these pearls of stupidity:













My attempt at a Fair Isle Christmas Ball. It needs to be wrapped around a polystyrene ball. I bought the size my knitting should fit. Does that look right to anyone? Even were I to stretch it, I'll still be out by an inch.












Plan is to make the deer pattern piece at 77 stitches instead of this pattern's 66 stitches. That'll fit this ball, and I'll buy another ball, but smaller (waste not, want not). I started this ball on Sunday and finished it last night, due to a yarn scramble: "I must have some more somewhere!". In actual fact, the knitting took about three hours. A fast cheap Christmas present. I like starting early.










Then there were the socks. I use the Interweave toe up pattern, and usually, they work. I add an afterthought heel, Felix wears them. All is well. They're huge. I need to knit it at the 5 stitch to the inch tension, not the 6. On the other hand, knitting with two balls of self striping Patonyle at once is really fun.

I'm finishing my surprise project today, because it needs severe blocking, and as I've never done that before, I may be some time...