Finished Objects - #9

A lovely quick knit finished for a request for my mum, the Rosy Cosy.














This was a pretty quick easy knit, a basic rib piece, with an amazing pattern from The Cabled Guy. The specs were "a little tea cosy for a one-cup teapot, and Auntie Wendy's kitchen is pink and grey". Luckily one of my balls of Sean Sheep Armytage fitted the specs (ball No.7, to be exact) and I had some leftover Zara in pink for the rose on top.













The rose was hard. Really hard. It was worth it, because even my mum thought it was great.
















No idea if Auntie Wendy liked it. I'll find out later. But at least I'm happy :)

(A massive thank you to my sister Bronwyn for taking the pics for me - you rock!)

Stupidmutantknuckles...*sulks*

My right hand has frozen up again. This requires three days with no knitting, and knitting every second day for a week after that.

I have my mum's birthday socks to make by May 2nd, a baby blanket by the 12th (due around then), a baby rabbit twice for more newborns...

This is so unfair.

Let me introduce Felix...

Gentle readers, this is Felix (and a vile hussy named Lily).

















For those who have never met him he's about 6'1", strawberry blonde hair (now a lot shorter) with a Celtic red goatee/moustache combination, very green eyes with an eyebrow piercing to draw the eye, lanky body and a set of black Cons with green and orange laces. He's also been my husband now for one year and one day.

Why Felix? Let's see...

1. He doesn't mind that I've been knitting him his fourth pair of socks since last September, and haven't touched them since.

2. He doesn't think I have enough yarn.

3. He once handed over his credit card to me knowing there was a bin of $1 wool in front of me.

4. He'll sit there, like this,














for an episode of "Family Guy" and one of "American Dad" because he knows how much I wanted to wind off the skein of lace-weight.

5. He doesn't mind me knitting during movies, either at home or out in public. Actually, he encourages it - I suspect he wants all the popcorn to himself.

6. He married me one month after I shaved my hair for charity, and didn't tell me that the only reason my veil stayed on was due to my crew cut sticking up through the holes in the tulle for a whole three weeks.

Then he casually dropped it into conversation while we were surrounded by other people as a protection unit. Clever...

Love you, babe. *mwah*

It just struck me as funny, is all...

Here's my Prime Minister with the newly appointed Govenor-General, Quentin Bryce.















Here's Tintin, intrepid reporter and an awesome read.



















I love ya, K-Rudd, but dude...it's the hair.

Finished Objects - #8

Sometimes I take my knitting for granted, because I've been knitting for a fairly long time (this March saw in my 29th year as a knitter). I assume that everyone knows how easy it can be, how fun, that anyone complaining about "difficult" or "challenging" just wasn't trying hard enough.

Then I made the Kitri Socks.



















They were "challenging". They opened my eyes to new possibilities in knitting and I love them for it. I'd never turned a entirely short-row heel until I made the Kitri Socks. I'd never added on lace sideways until I made the Kitri Socks.

















I love how they opened my eyes to the challenge that knitting can be. They're beautiful, difficult and I have come this close to framing them.















Chantal demanded to see them yesterday and when she was holding them she turned to Felix and asked "How can you not bow down and worship her when she does something like this?!" and the reply was perfect: "Because I know what she went through making them."

Thanks babe.

---

You can make these socks. They are a challenge that you will want to accept, and Lisa Grossman's instructions are brilliant - concise, witty, simplified (for the simple in all of us) and above all clear.






















Thanks for a great pattern Lisa - you rock. Now for the shawl! Oh, you vile temptress!

Little box of happiness

I lost my Amazon virginity today. I placed my order on March 30th and my order arrived today, a good three weeks earlier than they estimated.

I was hysterically giggling with joy and I grabbed the box and headed off to work for an afternoon of drooling.

So....what'd I buy?















"Hand Knit Holidays". It costs $58.95 in Borders and I've wanted it for a very long time.















The impetus for the intial order. US$5.50 - or AUS$48.95 at Dymocks. Hrm, let me think about it...
















Can't find it anywhere (except for Judith's house) so I bought it.

All up? US$52.32. In Oz money it came to $56.88 (at payment time).

So I saved about $90.

*runs away, clutching her new books ands giggling hysterically*

Finished Objects - #7

I love Victoriana. Gimme a great corset, a Psyche knot and ether for childbirth and I'd be set. In keeping with these ideas, I present my stockings.




















They're just lovely (please note an extreme bias here). Being modeled by Martine, my latest acquisition, they really do look great.




















The eyelet effect up the back of the calf is an effective feature, and as it's a four row pattern repeat, very easy to create.














I changed the heel from a flap to short row shaping, as I'd been working one on the Kitri socks and found it soooooo much neater. Recently, I've discovered I'm not as bad at heel flaps as I thought, so there may be more of them in the future.











The lace pattern at the top wasn't my style so I used a different one. I like it better.

The best part? They stay up all on their own. Although, maybe I could weave some velvet ribbon through the eyelets? Hrm....

Back with another one of those sock-blockin' beats!

So this is what I get up to when I knit.














I knit and knit and knit and knit and knit and then ignore it all until I have to block it. It's a disease of sorts.

So here's the end result.


















My Nana's (belated) 90th birthday socks.













My Jo Sharp knee high stockings.









The ever elusive Kitri socks - the missing sock may have been sat on and then missed. It may or it may not. We prefer to not comment in this house.

Give them a day to dry and then they can be posted as finished...finally.

NB: (Best blog title ever)

Crisis!

Okay everyone, brace yourselves. I have some horrendous news...

I've lost a sock.

...

Why is there not widespread panicking going on? Ah, I see. I didn't clarify my statement.

I've lost a Kitri sock. A fully completed Kitri sock.

...

Still nothing.

You do realise that if I can't find it, I can't block it, take photos of it and therefore allow you to feel the love as I do, right?

...

Fine. If you need me, I'll be looking.

But when I find it, it's all mine now.