Shoesies and glovesies*

Another productive few days here in Dundee. The sudden cold snap (yesterday was 5 degrees, today is 6, overnight 0) has necessitated gloves for Felix. Luckily, I brought the pair I needed to finish overseas with me, and so they were finished last night.



















As usual, Felix couldn't have a serious picture taken with his knitting.





























*sigh* Wouldn't have it any other way.

My own knitting has been productive, too. I've nearly finished one of the entrlac socks, most likely by the end of this evening. Depends if I can pull my gaze away from "Silent Witness" or not.



























Today's knitting has been in the warmth of the Reading Room - now with chairs and a huge floor lamp - while watching the latest two episodes of "Spooks" that I downloaded from the BBC. Their download system is just perfect for a knitter with a huge laptop (Felix's today) and the need to vege out. The download speed would make all other Australians cry, so I shan't tell.

I've planned my next project, but I need to wait until Saturday to announce it. That's when the Knitting 19th Century Novels group start their next book... "Dracula". Now see if you can guess what I plan to knit.

*If you got that reference, you are either the biggest nerd alive, or Felix.

Things that make knitting easier

I have my own blocking room. It's called the "Resource Room", but there's nothing in it, it's a nice size and has two very toasty radiators. I hereby claim it in the name of my knitting!


















Here's my Snowdrop Shawl blocking quite happily in my new room - I'll be taking some very nice pictures when it's done.

But with what? Why with my nice new Samsung L200 my lovely Felix bought me at Heathrow Airport.



















Felix knew how much I hated my clunky old camera (a loaner from an ex that I never returned, just because I kept forgetting to) so he bought me a new one. Isn't he sweet?

Well...kind of. When I was blogging or on Ravelry I needed his laptop because we only brought one
with us to Scotland. Felix had to sit around playing on his DS (which he loves) or just waiting for me to finish, causing me to feel guilty and him to feel bad.

Behold. My new baby.



















An Acer Aspire One. The shiny pure pearl one. My birthday/Christmas present. Best part? Linux OS.

Never doubt my love for my husband - he knows me. He loves my knitting.

Oh @#$%*!!!!!

Having finished my Snowdrop shawl, I launched straight into my next project - Entrelac Socks (yes, I had already done the tension swatch). I only brought two projects with me, and I thought it'd be smart to bring some nice long difficult ones. Truth be told, they're not after all. The Snowdrop Shawl took a month, but one week of that was tinking 24 rows to fix a mistake, so it went pretty fast. As for the socks, I got up to the heel in a day.

Then I noticed the problem. The heel had somehow located itself onto the side of the foot.







@#$%*!!!!!

The next day, I ripped back and relocated it. I'm now halfway through the calf.

If it wasn't for Christmas rearing it's ugly ravenous head, I'd be worried about the speed in which I'm working.

Frustration

I've been working on a shawl for my "Knitting 19th-Century Novels" group on Ravelry, the Swallowtail Shawl. I'm in the midst of the edging and I keep stuffing it up. I started tinking back to where I went wrong and now I'm dropping stitches in a lace border.

If this goes on I will either scream or use some scissors, I swear it...

Maybe knitters should sue?

I've been on a walking tour of Dundee - well, a knitter's walking tour. I had a look at the "Local Yarn Store" listing at Ravelry, and went out to the three listed for Dundee.

1. Woolcraft, The Forum Centre

My first wool store in Scotland! Only one problem - there were only four balls of wool there. No, they weren't out of stock, it was all petrol-based. All of it. Four balls of wool total. I ran away very quickly.

2. The Wool Shop, Broughty Ferry

I sat on a bus for this trip. It was raining, miserable, Felix was off at a Magic pre-release (again) and I was off to check out another shop. I stepped in and instantly realised the problem. If the store was set on fire, over 80% of its stock would melt, rather than smoulder. Why on earth is somewhere called The Wool Shop if it has sweet Fanny Adams of stock that has ANY wool in it?!? After being patronised by the owner, I left in a hurry. Yes, people under the age of 60 can knit.

3. Knitting Pin, Dundee

This shop is at the top of a killer hill. KILLER. I took Felix with me, as it was my first day outside after a small cold turned into a mutant virus and wiped me out for five days. On the map it looked flat, and I'm sticking to that argument, alright? Anyway, we finally made it up the hill - gasping due to our complete lack of fitness - and headed in. Knitting Pin is really quite teeny sized, but with a redeeming feature: wool. Actual wool. Carded, processed, spun, dyed and wound into balls. I could have fallen onto the owner's shoulder and wept, but she's teeny-sized too, and I don't like talking to people at the moment, due to some dental accidents (try saying "Leith Path" with no front tooth sometime. Felix laughs everytime.) and my "odd" accent.

The best part? Jamieson & Smith cobweb yarn. I got to touch it. I may even bribe Felix into buying it for me (he still owes me for the airport stuff up on the way to Port Macquarie last month).

The winner? Knitting Pin - the name is accurate, at the very least, and the store has a wider stock range than the other two, carrying, Sirdar, Wendy, Rowan, Patons and - *shiver* - Jamieson & Smith.

Still miss Jo Sharp though, and now the Serenity is coming in new colours for summer...

Finished Objects 2008 - #21 - #28

Yep. 8 finished projects. See this smile? It's smug satisfaction, that's what it is. Tis almost a smirk...

To be fair, most of these have been done for a while, I just hadn't listed them here. Now I'm in Dundee with a LOT of time on my hands (except for Friday nights - Emmerdale, Coronations Street Part 1, Eastenders, Coronation Street Part 2, but no Hollyoaks. Thou shalt not watch Hollyoaks.) I can relax a little and blog to my heart's content.
First off, we have a set of Saartje's Bootees, also known as the most popular free baby pattern on the interwebs.














I thought I'd use up some leftovers from my Nana's Rainy Day Socks, and these are really really quick to knit. Scary levels of quick. An hour to knit a pair. I like these bootees.

Next up, we have Felix's "Surprise!" Beanie, so called because I was bored, hated what I was knitting and whipped this up in three days, all in secret.














See why it took three days? Fair isle heaven! The green is far more flourescent than the picture allows. The pattern is called "Syncopated Caps" and the design is by Kate Gilbert, who also designed my Passepartout Beret. I love her work.
















It seems to bring out the worst in him, unfortunately, but it was well worth the effort for the look of joy on his face. Green and orange are his happy colours (no, not even a little bit Irish, actually).

I joined the ranks of the converts to Elizabeth Zimmerman and made a Baby Surprise Jacket. The surprise? It's amazing!














I love the ease of knitting just garter stitch, and the decreasing/increasing is just genius. I amazed my mum with the pattern and even my sisters were impressed with the origami-like nature of it all.

The Surprise element is that the jacket is knitted entirely in one piece. One. You have two small seams to sew up at the end. I see another 20 of these being made - so easy! No wonder the creator is referred to as Saint Elizabeth...

Next, we have a basic baby hat, using the ak traditions pattern.













Pretty easy pattern - short row shaping, all garter stitch. I used a ball of Patons "Gypsy" that I bought about 8 years ago for a friend having a baby. It's acrylic - which I loath - but it is pretty fuzzy and cute.


Some really easy baby bootees - really easy. I just wanted something to use up some 8ply, and this is pretty fantastic for that!














There's another 4 sets waiting to be sewn up, but I ran out of time before we left Australia.

My Ice Queen - a work of true beauty. Chantal and I were working on this at the same time, to the point where we were sitting in Koko Black doing the cast on! It's an amazing piece of knitting, and I adored it.











Shame my old camera sucks so much.

I can't take any pics with my new camera because Ice Queen is in Australia with everything else. *sigh*

My Trinity Stitch beret has been pretty popular on Ravelry - 90 projects. I just wanted to use up a ball of Arymtage fluffyness, and another beanie won't hurt, right?























It didn't turn out quite as I expected. Too tight, hardly any slouchyness. I added the button after I ripped out 16 rows that made it go all pointy instead of slouchy. I still like it.






















Nice colours for me, I guess.

Lastly, we have my cat toys. Or, we would if I had the photos. No idea where they are. Stupid moving countries.... *grumble, grumble*

Next up, an assessment of the knitting stores in Dundee area. I may need to shop even...

Culled!

My overseas knitting list:

1. All of my double points.
2. The pattern for the Entrelac Socks and enough ak traditions 4-ply to make them.
3. A ball of Tofutsies to make my mum some socks.
4. The Swallowtail Shawl that makes up my "Vanity Fair" project for Knitting 19th Century novels.

See? Even I can be calm.

We need to be at the airport in just over 12 hours.

...

I might just go away and vomit now.

Leave a message after the tone...

*beep*

That's right - I'm out of the world of knitting at the moment. My life is currently taken up with unaccompanied baggage allowances, ancestry visas, rabies shots for kitties and my poor long suffering mother helping Felix and I to pack up a flat I've lived on for four years.

Current transmission will resume in a week, but only if internet access is available...

Cats again?!

Keep them away from your jumpers...


















Trust me on this one.

Moving + cats = disaster

We're trying to pack up everything we own, and the casualties are piling up.

Kunzi decided that the kitty litter tray was just too far away...












What's in the bag? 6 skeins of handspun I purchased from the Handspinners and Weavers Guild during my CIA knitting.

I could weep if it wasn't my own fault. I was planning to put everything over there in a plastic box to be sorted out later, but knowing my luck Kunz would have nested in there instead...

They are awfully cute, though.

Finished Objects 2008 - #20, and the Ravelympics!

I finally finished another pair of socks for Felix a while ago, and then promptly forgot of their existence, proving my excellent wifely credentials.



















These are plain toe-up socks, in Patonyle (self patterning), yarn held double. The heel is an afterthought heel on 2/3 of the stitches, as dictated by the true goddess, EZ.



















Felix loves them - no real surprises there.

In Ravelry news, I joined up the "Ravelympics". Knitting started at the beginning of the Opening ceremony (10pm our time) and finishes at the very end (haven't checked, too scared to!).

Being the massive over-achiever over-attempter that I am, I've signed on to Team Oz (go us!) and I'm using this time to finish up a lot of projects by making them all "WIP Wrestling" projects. Famous last words.

They include:

• Felix's Gloves
• Belle Epoque
• Felix's Birthday present
• Ruby Red Cover
• Fair Isle Vest
• Cabled Shrug

Now, I have 12 days top finish all of this, and pack up my life to move to Scotland (we need to be out of the flat by the 30th).

I have only one thing to say:

Bring on the caffeine!

Things you can do when you can't knit

1. Internet - browse knitting websites, knitting blogs, Twist Collective, Ravelry. Too much sulking because I couldn't knit. Fail.
2. Housework - ....... Fail.
3. Reading - all of my books have been packed up for Scotland, along with my knitting magazines. Fail.
4. DS - steal Felix's DS and spend my time conquering Jewel Masters - Cradle of Rome. Win.
   

Unfair!

As you should know by know by now, I work at a cattery. It's a great job - my boss really is awesome, the work is minimal (leaving plenty of knitting time) and I have some lovely cats to play with.

Then Friday happened.

Every night, the cats are put back in their cages (huge 2m areas, double storied) and given their wet food, then I go home. One cat, Cookie, didn't want to come back in from the garden and completely lost it. She attacked me, ripping into my right index finger pretty badly. I grabbed hold of her and bolted inside with her to open her cage. That's when it happened.

Cookie bit me. To the bone.

I dropped her and started screaming, which meant that after I cleaned up my hands (the right index finger was dripping blood by now) I had to come back and calm all the cats down, the poor things. I spent the rest of the evening sooking until Felix arrived and we headed out for the evening. Came home, took an antibiotic, went to bed.

I spent yesterday at a secret knitter's gathering as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, which I am sworn to secrecy about - if asked I can only state that I am knitting a project for the CIA. I had a great time, hanging out, laughing, maybe some yarn shopping browsing and knitting, even though my fingers were all bandaged up.

My bitten left index finger kept throbbing though, and looked very red, swollen and the bite spot was a hard white spot, so I bribed Felix and headed for my nearest doctor open on a Saturday - the Alfred Hospital. After a really long wait I was examined and told that, yes my finger is infected, yes antibiotics should sort it out, and..... no, I can't keep knitting.

No knitting for at least five days, and I need to sit quietly with my left hand elevated for the rest of today at least. If not, the infection could spread to either my tendons or maybe even my bones (but that option is far less likely). If that happens I'm looking at surgery, and that means no knitting until after we leave.

So I'll be spending today on the couch, trying to stay calm and not cry (it actually burns, darn it!) and praying I can still take part in the Ravelympics this Friday.

Stupid cat...

Interview with a Belorussian Drug Dealer*

Thank Karen for today's posting. I saw her interview and instantly decided to torture Felix.

Here goes..

Me: What is your favorite thing about my knitting?
Felix: You enjoy it so much.

Me: What is your least favorite thing about my knitting?
Felix: The fact that you're incredibly obsessed with it sometimes.

Me: What is something I have knitted, that you recall as good?
Felix: My socksies.

Me: Do you think knitters have an expensive hobby?
Felix: Yes. Good wool costs a lot.

Me: How much is all your DS/Wii equipment?
Felix: Overall, they're somewhat expensive.

Me: Do you have a stash?
Felix: Yes.
Me: What is it?
Felix: Comic books.

Me: Have I ever embarrassed you, knitting in public?
Felix: No.

Me: Do you know my favorite kind of yarn?
Felix: Trick question, don't have a favourite kind. (Grandiously) You love all equally.

Me: Can you name another blog?
Felix: Two Swallows. Knitty doesn't count? Knitty's a magazine, not a blog, really.

Me: Now, do you mind my wanting to stop at knit shops where ever we go?
Felix: (Hesitation) No. I don't mind if it's one or two, but if you want to stop at all of them by the end of the day it gets a bit tiring.

Me: Do you understand the importance of a swatch?
Felix: Yes. It allows you to gauge whether you're getting the tensioning right.
Me: (Hysterical laughter) You've just guessed, haven't you? The words "tension swatch" and "gauge swatch" are what you've heard me mention, and you're just making stuff up now!
Felix: (shrugs and grins)

Me: Do you read Let Me Knit?
Felix: Yes. Normally when you tell me there's something new on there.
Me: So not often then?
Felix: I guess.

Me: Have you ever left a comment?
Felix: No. Because I figured I could just say "That's awesome"...

Me: Do you the house would be cleaner if I didn't knit?
Felix: No, because I'm an incurable slob, so it wouldn't matter if you didn't knit or not.
Me: True dat.

Me: Anything to add for my long suffering readers?
Felix: I love my wife very much.

---

* Felix's passport photos make him look like a Belorussian drug dealer. Not that we'd know.

Please explain. Pretty please?

I've been packing up my yarn into zip lock bags, along with pattern print outs and photocopies, then putting them into one of my bags in preparation for our move*.

In doing this I have had to delve into the realm of my knitting basket by the lounge window. At the bottom was a bag of Jo Sharp Aran Tweed to make the Renaissance cardigan, along with the first ten rows of the body. I rummaged about a bit because I was sure I had started knitting a sleeve. When a sleeve looks like this:





















you do tend to remember it.

I eventually decided I was losing my mind until I saw the page with the left sleeve pattern. The first twenty rows had been crossed out.

I knew I'd started the stupid thing! Now I just need to find it, and I thought I'd sorted out all of my knitting in March. Seems I was waaaayyyyyy off.

* Yes, we're moving. September 16th. To Edinburgh. No, we weren't joking. Yes, we really mean it. No, really truly we do. Sorry if you thought we were joking. Yes, you will still get Christmas presents.

Oh...um...hi...

Oh, is this your jumper shelf? Really? I'll just get off all of your lovely hand knits then...




















Meet Lolli. Two weeks in, we wouldn't give her up for the world.

Finished Objects 2008 - #19

Can you believe that despite ranting (and understanding), I didn't manage to get a picture of my Mum's birthday socks? Well she dropped by work yesterday with Da and my nieces Ashlee and Kirsten to say hello and to say a big thanks for the pot holders (Da complained that his hands were too warm with his sleep gloves on - sook!)




















Luckily for me, Mum wears her birthday socks almost constantly so I had an opportunity to take a picture (my camera is with me at work, because kitty photos are great). Shame they look so bright, but I didn't use a flash - it was just a really bright day.



















I really do love these socks, but not as much as Mum does - look at the wear on the toes!

Finished Objects 2008 - #18

My first attempt at a baby jumper.














I spent my first few years in a colour combination of orange, cream and brown due to my flaming orange hair (and it was the 70's). Considering my original hair colour and Felix's as well - equally orange - we'll probably be raising an army of blood nuts, and this colour is reasonably neutral for a boy or girl.
























The colour is more accurate in the first picture.

NB for my relatives: no I'm not pregnant, did you honestly think I'd tell you via my blog?!?

Finished Objects 2008 - #16 & #17

Being the perfect daughter that I am (pausing for my sisters to scoff) I agreed to make my da a set of fingerless gloves.



















These are a bit different to what you might expect from fingerless gloves. They cover the fingers all the way to the nails, because my da has very awful arthritis, so these will keep both sets of knuckles warm.




















Can you believe he wants them to sleep in? Strange but true...

I also made another set of pot holders for my mum, partly because she wants them but partly to use up my 8ply cotton.



















I was infirmed how wonderful they were, and the need to make some for my sister Leah. I do so love it when I'm told to make something else...

WWKIP Day rundown

I headed off to work on Saturday due to a lack of fill in casuals (hope you feel better soon Joex! Please!), thereby missing the first hour of Judith's WWKIP session at The Observatory Cafe at the Botanical Gardens. Nice, calm, relaxed. I like that after cats. It helps with the afternoon shift...























Here I am, helping the other Andrea learn to knit. Note the liquid assistance in front of me.
























This is my hands in action on my Ice Queen, now completed and blocking.

I had to run away early to get back to the kitties, but at least I got to see Judith (goddess that she is!)

Now... for yet another week of finished objects! I am feeling highly prolific this week, so keep an eye out.

Finished Objects 2008 - #15

Okay, okay, I know I said I had enough finished objects to fit a week, but I didn't mean a whole week, just a working week. Actually, I do have enough for a whole week, but I need pictures for one and can't be bothered sewing up the second (two whole seams on a baby jumper? Too much time!).

Friday was a fun night at my sister's 40th 34th birthday where Felix and I stayed well past our bedtime - mine chatting and his spent playing Mario Kart Wii with the kids. Yesterday was a total washout - it finally ended with me falling asleep at 5pm and waking up today at 9am. That's 16 hours. Two normal nights worth of sleep. What a waste of knitting time!

Today's object d'finished? My nana's 90th birthday socks. Yes, I did finish them ages ago, no I've never listed them.

















"Rainy Day Socks" pattern, Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette. Perfect for my third pair of this pattern. Love, love, LOVE it!



















Now to actually hand them over... Petrol is so expensive and Nana lives in Mirboo North. May take some saving up (Yarragon being a stop-off shopping point).

Finished Objects 2008 - #14

The ever easy to make 5 hour baby cardigan (I'm not an American, it's not a sweater, not matter what you might insist).














I made the "boy" version and so far I've crocheted down one side only because the other side looked fine. No biggie. There's no buttons, no buttonholes, and no clue if I want any. Don't care!

I made it, it works and I'm happy.

(I am fully aware that it's a bad picture. Give me a better camera, get a better picture. That's a no brainer.)

Finished Objects 2008 - #13

Technically, I finished this one a while ago.















The chunky red shawl. It started off as planned huge throw, but I ran out of wool.

Then it sat in my "to be eventually finished one day, maybe, no really" storage basket until I could maybe, no really, remember which yarn it was. That's right, I couldn't remember.















Never mind forgetting the dye lot number - I forgot the brand. Sometimes I really worry about my brain...

Luckily, one day I pulled it out while Chantal was here and she asked "Oh, is that a shawl?". Cue cogs turning loudly and I replied "It is now!". I love that girl...















Bonus points to a husband who agrees to model a shawl for you - thanks babe! Please note the amazing quilt behind him that was made by Sue, my favourite mother-in-law.

Finished Objects 2008 - #12

I am a genius. Anyone who thinks differently, see below:


















"Bubbles", from my mum's old Patons book.















A basic Pi shawl, with a feather and fan border, edging picked up and knitted along.















Knitted in Wendy Dennis 4ply Polworth, to celebrate a new baby.















Matisse Reine - isn't that just a beautiful name?











So if you need me, I'll just be over here, basking in my lacy glory...

Finished Objects 2008 - #11

I've been slaving away at my knitting and all I have to show for it is a week of Finished Objects. Excuse me while I beam smugly... *beam*

The first up is the uber-evil Drunken Dad vest.
















As you can see, it's a tad skinnier, and missing a lot of details from the sides. That would be because I cut some off. And by "I cut some off" I mean "Judith ran it through her overlocker while I looked away sobbing".















I added the rib in the round (again, Judith started the neckline and armhole for me) and passed it on to my da, who wanted to know if the knitter was drunk when she was knitting it...

Damn straight, Da, damn straight.

Finished Objects - #10

Eh, voile! Mon béret de Passepartout - N'est-il pas parfait ?


















My beret is beautiful. I feel semi-French and ever so snazzy in it (If I ever say snazzy again - kill me).



















I love the colours, I love the pattern, I love that I finished it in a week (which included running out of wool and shopping for more).
















Oh yeah - this is so getting warn to death!

Awoooooga! Awooooga!

Purple alert! Purple alert! Wendy Dennis has run out of 4ply in white! Disaster!

Carly's little wee Podling is due any second, and I'm cutting it very very close, having only started the edging lace. Then I started running low. Now I'm down to 10g of yarn and all of the edging to go. This is very very bad.

So I called Wendy Dennis and she's out of my yarn for the moment, probably in a few more days it'll be available.

In the meantime, I'm blocking my Passepartout Beret.













Look at the shiny shinyness! That's what happens when you use a circle cut from a silver cake board underneath.

Not likely!

So I had a cunning plan. I would set up a side chart similar to my Work in Progress chart, only this one would show my yarn and how I was using it all up before the big move (September 16th, for anyone interested). I went to Ravelry and downloaded my stash results onto Excel.

I have 155 balls of wool. 155. I don't think my blog has enough room for such a chart.

Much ado about nothing (as expected)

Could I be a bigger drama queen? After a weekend of sooking and refusing to knit anything because "what's the point? No one will like it anyway" and other rants, I decided to call my mum about the socks.

Of course she loves them. She wore them all day yesterday and plans to keep them for good, only to be worn with her brown boots for "going out". "They're green!" she said, with undisguised love in her voice. "They're just lovely and they fit perfectly."

I did ask why there wasn't a great reaction on Friday, and it was pretty much what I thought - a migraine. Her head was killing her and she feels terrible that I was so upset. She also needs a new pair of bedsocks...

I'm feeling better, in measurements of HUGE. I'm now back on track and knitting far too much stuff. Behold the WIP list, and a pic of my latest start-up.















It's the Speckled Beret by Kate Gilbert. I'm knitting it for my May/June project for the "Knitting 19th Century Novels" group on Ravelry. We're reading "Around the World in 80 Days" and I've named this project "Passepartout's Beret".

I might even get this project finished before June...

Why bother, really?

I made my mum a pair of socks for her birthday, which is today. I handed them over. She looked as though she had received a cadaver. Let's explore my knitterly feelings, shall we?









Here we have a run down of my present - I forgot to take pics yet again. Bite me.

We have beautiful yarn from Dyelicious ("Orchid" - just look at those colours!) and a fabulous pattern from Interweave Knits that I had decided on 5 months ago. I ordered the yarn in especially for this present. I even sneakily asked my mum for her opinion on this yarn, and she said how beautiful it was.


I knitted up the socks during work hours (my job has some recompense for the scratches). Let's see how many stitches per sock, shall we...

12, 114.

12, 114. That's 24, 228 for the two.

Is it me? Surely that's an achievement? On 2.5mm needles, no less.

I gave her the sock in a lovely bag, and she pulled them out and just looked at them. I told her the name of the socks and she said "Oh, thank you" in that horrible dull flat voice you use when you hate something. I had the Interweave Knits that the pattern was in (I'm knitting a lovely beret from it) so I opened it to the page (apologies to my sister Fiona who was riffling through it at the time) and said "See? Here's where I got the pattern from." Fiona commented on how different mine were from the picture (I think she was referring to the colourway). Mum looked over her shoulder from where she was putting them away and simply said "I wouldn't have been able to tell."

That's when my brain went "snap" and my heart went "crack". This is the woman who taught me to knit, who never hesitates to ask me to knit something for her friends, who was wearing a feather and fan scarf I had knitted her just today. The socks were perfect, they were hard and beautiful, and soooooo soft and she was so dismissive of them.

If I keep feeling this hurt, I don't think anyone in my family will ever receive anything knitted ever again.

Sorry guys.