The comfort of knitting

Too often I take my knitting abilities for granted. Not too many knitters out there can walk and knit, or watch tv at the same time, or memorise graphs easily. To me this is all second nature, a natural part of my knitting.

Somewhere over the years I think I lost the calmness that can come with knitting. It may have been one too many projects knitted to an impossible deadline, or working in a knitting store, or just because of familarity. I never understood the "knitting is the new yoga" because I'd been at it for years. Oh, and I'm not very good at yoga.

This all changed last week. Dot was admitted to hospital last week with a staph infection and abcesses. Felix and I sat in the emergency waiting room, and I knitted. I concentrated as hard as I could on the fair isle pattern, because otherwise all I would do is worry. Then I put my knitting away and watched as they put a drip in her and enough sucrose to make her sleep for a while and we went up to the paediatric ward.

















The very wonderful doctors and nurses told me to wait while they drained things. I sat in a chair in the room they'd given us and I knitted. I finished the fair isle and reached into my bag for some more knitting. A garter stitch baby cardigan for my girl was worked on while I blocked out the noises she was making from another room. That helped a lot.

That night, while Dot slept, instead of sleeping myself I knitted. I knitted row after row and gave up thinking completely. I counted every stitch in the row, sounding off numbers in my head as I went, watching the rhythym my fingers take. It's been so long since I've actually watched myself knit, and I calmed me down enough to eventually sleep. By then it was about 6:00am, but sleep is sleep.

Dot left the hospital two days later, full of strong antibiotics and wrapped up nice and warm in a knitted hat, a picture of health once more. I'd spent her last few hours there giddily happy that she was fine and pronounced ready to return home. While she slept this time I was working on some mittens for Marcus instead, fair isle again. I didn't concentrate as much, nor watch my hands, but I knew they were working out fine, just like his sister.

I don't know if I'll ever focus on my knitting that much again, but I liked the connection I felt. Over the years other women, other knitters have sat and knitted while they worried. About husbands, lives, money, war and children - the children most especially I suspect. I'd like to think that their knitting helped them cope as much as it helped me.

Soooooo close...

Sunday night I worked on the left side of Marcus' V-neck vest for the ACS competition, and finished it off on Monday, around lunchtime. Since then, I've done what exactly?

Nothing. Zip. Nada. Zilch.

Granted, last night I had next to no sleep (thanks for that Dot! I'll get you back when you're a teenager), but I have to have this entry in by next Friday.

Time to buckle down...

Humiliations Galore

To my darling daughter,

One day you will have a 21st birthday party. There will be balloons, cake and all of your friends. There will also be a lot of posters of pictures like this one.

This may be avoided if you're a nice teenager...

(Modern Baby Bonnet from "Vintage Knits for Modern Babies", 4ply sock yarn doubled by Stranded in Oz)

Hard at work

I'm working my poor little fingers to the bone, trying to finish my jumper for the ACS competition.

The back was completed last night, right before we watched the last episode of "Game of Thrones", which put me in a pretty good frame of mind.

Staying awake from midnight to 3am took that away again. I wouldn't mind if my hands were free to knit, but Dot doesn't yet enjoy the Baby Bjorn. Soon though she'll be fine being carried around (who wouldn't be?) and my knitting output will pick up big time!

It never rains but it pours

• Yesterday the heater in our bedroom decided to stop working. By stop working, I actually mean blow up. The plug snapped off in the socket and it's black all round. Our bedroom has slat windows on two sides, and walking in there now is like stepping into a meat locker. The electrician will be here at 3:30 today, thank goodness.

• The piece I'm knitting for the Patons competition was far too small for Marcus, so I've had to start over again. This means I have to re-knit the back and about 18cm of the front. Which is Fair Isle. I can't re-use the wool because it'll be short as I now have more stitches.

• Dot decided that sleep is for the weak last night and howled from 11pm until 2:45am. The last 45 minutes was in the care of her father because her mother went semi-crazy.

• I appear to have pulled one of my stitches which makes walking near impossible. I can't do anything other than sit on the couch and knit. While this sounds ideal, try being completely dependent on someone else to get you a cup of tea sometime. If they're not around, you don't get one. I'm not a big fan of passivity.

• The car had an incident on Monday night (wasn't me) and now needs some repairs. These will not be possible until next week. Guess who won't be going to Bendigo for the Show this weekend? If you need me this Saturday, I'll be home. On the couch. Sulking.

Five steps to bed

Apparently it's considered the done thing to give your current children a present when you have a new one suddenly turn up. I've never been a fan of following convention, so no present had been purchased.

Then this pattern turned up on Ravelry and I knew it was kismet. Marcus watches Giggle and Hoot and the chance to make him his own Hoot was too great to resist. One trip to Spotlight later and I was all set to start.

Finishing was a bit harder. This picture was taken in my hospital room as I didn't have a chance between sewing on the beak as the last thing and going off to have Dot! Marcus loves and neglects it in turn, which I think is the sign of a great toy.

New projects

It's almost here! Yes, I'm entering the Australian Country Spinners competition yet again, with an eye on actually finishing in time. I'm the most overly competitive person I know, which Judith told me last year was the reason I needed to enter. I think she knows me too well.

Last year was my little chicken boy. This year, Marcus is a big boy (with a head of magnificent curls that no hat will cover) so he'll be getting a big boy Fair Isle vest of my own design. Hey, the rules said I could design my own or use one of their patterns, but the Fair Isle patterns I like are a little bit more complex than what they can offer, and I'll need something to keep me awake at night for the other new project in my life.

Dorothy Joanna, born June 28th at 3:11pm. She's named for a wonderful lady I knew as a child, and will be known by that lady's delightful moniker of Dot. I love the name - it makes me think of cute little ladybirds for some reason. She's slotted in our lives with ease, and adoration isn't a strong enough word for how we feel about her.

I really am disgracefully lucky.

Competitive? Moi?

Chantal and I decided that what we needed was a little friendly wager to get some motivation going in our knitting lives. Chantal has been knitting the Henry scarf for her brother for a while now, and I've been ignoring my Garden Shawl for a few weeks, so we decided to ramp it up and race against each other.

8:30pm Friday night we picked up the needles and started. Within five minutes I was tinking back two rows to add a yarnover that I'd missed. Felix listened nicely to my swearing and then asked how much knitting I actually had to do to finish.

Two sides and one corner, each side made up of 27 repeats of 14 rows, each corner made up of 3 repeats of 14 rows. Since Friday night I've knitted up about 12 repeats.

I think I'm going to get slaughtered.

Niblets on the 'net

A lovely weekend was had by all here at Chez Knitamer. My mum came over to mind Marcus on Saturday so Felix and I could finally go out for our fourth wedding anniversary (it's only been a month now). One "Thor" viewing and tapas later we were home - no rest for the wicked!

Yesterday was my sister's birthday party where she overcatered once again, and we had a fabulous time, even if I did agree to knit my niece a pair of stirrup legwarmers to wear to school, our logic being that I can knit them faster than she can. This from a teenager who can run up three scarves in a week, and plans to knit 100 scarves as a fundraiser for her running!

I've been browsing my way around Ravelry the last few days, just looking up all the things my friends have been noticing, and some of the baby outfits are unbelievable.
















The Small Things collection of a cardigan, bonnet and the world's cutest romper suit I have ever seen caught my eye, and now all I need to do is bribe Felix into letting me buy the ebook and ignore him while I knit for three days straight.











Jennifer Hoel's Garter Yoke Cardigan is absolutely perfect for this winter, but it's a 5-ply pattern (of which I own none!), so I thought maybe not. Having seen how many knitters have whipped up 4-ply versions all worries are dispelled! Helloooooo stashbusting!
















I have to make The Kumfy™ Schlüttli for both Podling and Marcus. It looks like such a fun knit, and will use up a bucket load of 8-ply I seem to be hoarding for some future occasion, such as a world wool shortage.















As for me, Felix promised me a new pattern and now all I need to do is pick my colours. I love the Union Flag (remember it's only called the Jack when it's on a boat - thanks Rose Tyler!) and the traditional colours are fabulous, but what if I used my favourite colour combination of chocolate brown, burnt orange and cream? It's so tempting and I just can't make up my mind!

PS: Happy Birthday Bronwyn!

Knitting,life and illness

I could have sworn my week was going well. Last Monday I finished my green swirl hat.
















See? Cute, adorable and neutral, and sitting perfectly on our Mini-Marcus doll. So I started a second hat.

















See? Cute, adorable and neutral, and sitting perfectly on our Mini-Marcus doll. Then I remembered that I'd sworn not to start another project until I'd finished something off from the WIP box in the bungalow. So I went out, reached in and pulled out a bag.













Can you believe it was the Baby Surprise Jacket I'd never sewn up in the same green? I was impressed by the Knitting Gods largesse, and promised to forthwith sacrifice many many more balls of yarn to their cause.

I must have been overly smug because on Tuesday night Marcus couldn't breathe properly and we spent three hours in the emergency rooms with a very sick little boy with - once again - croup.

The next few days were an unbridled nightmare. Marcus couldn't breathe through his nose, and he couldn't sleep properly and eventually Felix had to take a day off to help me because Sick Marcus = Feral Marcus.

To compensate I thought it might be an idea to once again throw myself upon the mercy of the Knitting Gods and pick up a WIP. This time in my foraging I pulled out the Garden Path Shawl. *whimper*

It's not hard anymore, I just have to knit the edging. My problem is that I have three repeats until I do the next corner, and then I have two more sides to do. It's going to take such a long time, and just to smack me around a bit the Knitting Gods thought I needed sinusitis to assist me in my endeavours. Then it turned into a full-blown head cold, verging on flu the symptoms were so bad.

You know you're not well when you end up strapped to a foetal monitor just in case the baby is overheating because you are. Last time this happened, I had Marcus, so yesterday wasn't all that much fun. Thankfully we still have 1.8 children and will until July, *phew*.

I've decided to stop tempting the Knitting Gods. I started a small cardigan for Marcus in bulky yarn instead.

Dream on (the "Glee" version with Neil Patrick Harris)

Like most knitters, I have dream projects. The ones that are going to take ages, be nice and complex and fulfill all of my knitting dreams.
















The Garden Path shawl is one of my dream projects: complex, huge and lace. I love lace, almost as much as fair isle, and my love for fair isle is eternal and sacred. I have two sides of the edging to go, and then I get the brilliant fun of wet blocking it. Well, fun for me.













I've got the perfect colours combination for the Renaissance cardigan: Jo Sharp DK Tweed in a dark forest green and a dull rosy pink. It's all packed away, waiting to become my big intarsia project. I'm a bit nervous that the pattern requires 10ply, but pfffft! Challenge!

I've spoken before about how I don't like deadlines, and I'm not about to start them again. Pressure over knitting is ridiculous, takes away all the fun and leads to excess caffeine consumption, which isn't an option while I'm this pregnant (10 weeks to go).













I want to make this for Marcus for Christmas. We've already got our eyes on his birthday present (too expensive but too cute, so we'll bribe the grandparents to come in with us), so I'll have many many months to work on this, and some of the animals are quite small and I already knitted up the cat in under two hours.

As you can tell I'm already making excuses, but when it comes down to a choice between this and a Fisher Price plastic farm set, the Steiner in me is screaming "Do it! Do it!".

Now all I need is to get started, and that will require a very nice/bribe-able husband to size up the graph for the playmat. Yes Felix, that was a very unsubtle hint.

It works!

I suspect Felix was getting a bit tired of all of the unfinished knitting projects I seem to accumulate in pairs, so I promised that each time I finished something I would pick up a U.F.O. and work until it was done.

Oddly enough, this idea seems to work. I finished Marcus' hat and mittens and picked up my retro crocheted rug that I started in January and sort of forgot about. Easy to do when you have that many U.F.O.'s...


















I used Zara in colours to match Marcus' room, and just changed colour each row. As I was running out of yellow I decided to finish up and edge the rug in red using the Granny Blanket edging pattern from Attic 24. The edging pattern is great to follow and the tutorial layout is brilliant - take a look at all of the crochet tutorials, they'll have you hooking up in no time.

The ends were sewn in while watching "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1", so it was a good thing I'd sewn most of them in while I went, because it was a really fun film. Can't wait for Part 2, although we'll probably have to wait until the dvd comes out because the film comes out early July, and so does baby #2!

Chicken? Who, me?

I am not scared of setting a zip into the Tomten jacket.

I am not scared of setting a zip into the Tomten jacket.

I am not scared of setting a zip into the Tomten jacket.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

I am not scared of setting a zip into the Tomten jacket.

Oh look! I can work on that crocheted rug instead! See, I'm not avoiding anything!

...Well, for now, maybe.

Remember slacking off on weekends?

I don't. I finished working at my local service station at the end of last month, and I've been ridiculously busy every Saturday and Sunday since. Next month is May, also known as the party time in our family. Every Sunday is taken up with a birthday or Mother's Day, or - in my case - an interstate visit.

This weekend was no different. Yesterday morning started off with a dangerous shopping expedition at a Hallmark sale, so if you need any Christmas cards feel free to ask. Back home for some adoring of my family before deserting them for an Ikea run with Chantal, which is always a very bad idea. Five hours later I leave with the important things: a small coffee table for Marcus to eat from, a little blue chair from his Auntie Tal and eight clear plastic boxes for yarn.

This morning Felix and I headed out back to organise the bungalow (yes, again. It got cluttered again, alright?) and my job was to sort out my stash.














The eight boxes are on the bottom with my yarn grouped in colours. I need at least another box, because currently the yellow, orange and pink are sharing a box, or they would be if I owned any yellow yarn that I'm not currently using.

The two boxes above that are slightly more complicated. The one on the left is UFO's that I've either forgotten about or are neglected. The box on the right is projects that I've set aside the patterns and yarns for, sealed up in ziplock bags, ready to go.

The shelf above has a large box of variegated yarns, which I honestly didn't know I had that much of. Above it is a small box with pompom makers, my de-piller, chunky stuff. The bag at the end has 20 balls of 12ply for a jumper for my da, but it won't fit in any of the boxes, so it gets its own bag. The fabric and shower curtain are for blocking, the basket was my Nana's knitting basket and is full to the brim with more knitting bags. I seem to own a lot.

The piggy bank? It reads "Yarn Money". You can't say I'm not prepared for anything.

Beanie weather

I don't know about the rest of Melbourne, but I am loving this weather! Cold crisp mornings, followed by rain and semi-sunny skies. It's bliss for me, it really is. The fact that I'm currently my own incubator system has absolutely nothing to do with it, either.

Autumn weather is beanie weather in that I need to start knitting them before they become essential wear which is usually around the beginning of June when our area gets really cold. You can tell when the mountain that looks over us suddenly disappears every day into cloud. That's a sign of beanie need.















The ever-lovely Chantal gave me the pattern for Jared Flood's Koolhaas and when I saw how it looked on her needles I cast on. Owning your own online yarn store is rather fun, especially when your friends can rummage through your new Malabrigo stock before it's posted up (that's right folks, Stitch Culture has Malabrigo Worsted! Email Chantal and beg for some!).

(Funny story - a customer at the service station I used to work at recognised the pattern as a Jared Flood. His wife had made one, you see, and he remembered the name of the designer. I suggest he may be the best trained partner of a knitter so far.)

I've never seen the attraction in the Malabrigo myself, I like my plied yarn for knitting. I must admit I was won over by the time I'd finished the ribbing - soft, smooth and yummy. Call me a convert. The only problem was the pilling, and if you own an automatic de-piller it really isn't a problem.

















Then we had a new problem. I made the beanie for Felix but my Da saw it and thinks he needs a new beanie. The last time I made Da a beanie was about 2004, so I might actually owe him a new one. Mind you, he did trash it somewhat and now the beautiful burgandy Jo Sharp Aran Tweed is covered in white paint flecks, so I'm wary of wasting Malabrigo on him. Not to mention I'd need a new skein, unless I can pinch some leftovers.

Hey Chantal! Swap you your leftover Malabrigo for some Koko Black?

You've been doing *what*?

Unsurprisingly, I have been a bit productive of late. The wonderful season of winter is soon to be upon us, the one time of the year we knitters are actually appreciated, so I need to start early.

A few weeks ago I started a Tomten jacket for Marcus, but I still need to finish knitting the hood lining, so no pictures have been taken so far. It's plain stocking stitch in three colour stripes and it's taking a lot longer than I expected. He'll be toasty warm, but he always is, except when he's playing about in puddles.

(Gratuitous Marcus shot for Sonia)

So I decided to start some smaller projects that would provide quick satisfaction and a feeling of accomplishment. Four days after starting, they were done.

Project one was the Inca Hat by Debbie Bliss. The pattern is knitted straight with a back seam, but I just assumed it was in the round and knitted it accordingly. The pattern matches a little zip up jacket Marcus wears, and I'm still hoping I might actually get it on his head. I'll either have to wait until he's asleep or superglue it onto his skull.

Project two was a set of matching mittens for teeny frozen fingers, to match the hat. A ridiculously easy pattern from "Vintage Knits for Modern Babies" by Hadley Fierlinger, and all I have to say about this book is run and buy it. The patterns are simple, elegant and adorable.

No problems getting Marcus to wear the mittens either. He loves the sound they make when he claps. Now to find the superglue...

The Finishing Touch

I've been a very busy little knitting person since I was last on here. My business is all registered, leaflets have been printed and the website is live.

I give you all The Finishing Touch.

To clarify, the idea behind the business was that I like finishing. I enjoy the challenge of setting in sleeves and having them look perfect. I like mattress stitch, and watching seams slowly join together. Shockingly, I even like sewing in ends so they don't show. Why do you think I do so much Fair Isle?

The plan is to pick up the knitting on a Monday and drop it off the next Monday (while picking up the next rounds). Yes, I can come and harass you at work. Nothing like being outed as a knitter to your co-workers, right? (Besides which, if you're not knitting during work hours you're not maximising your best knitting times!)

All of the work is done in my cozy little bungalow, far far away from a small sleeping child and a highly annoying kitteh. I've got the back room of my bungalow set up and ready to go and I'm now scarily excited.

When Mark at Geekzone set up the website, I was scared (and highly impressed. Thanks Mark, it looks amazing!). When I ordered the leaflets, I was scared. Now that I've announced it here, I'm terrified.

Posting it here makes it real, which means there's no turning back. Wish me luck.

Old school

A few days ago I came up with a brilliant idea. I realised that I needed to crochet hexagons to make a winter blanket for Marcus (Yes, I know it was 41 degrees today, I nearly keeled over a few times, but crochet was calling).

I tried to create a basic hexagon with the spare balls from Marcus Log Cabin rug, but I seemed to be terribly bad at it, so I headed over to Attic 24 for some expert help. A gorgeous hexagon blanket, but I still seemed bad at it.

Then I saw her link to her Granny Squares. Oooooo, shiny Cap'n! I've been crocheting granny squares for years, but the idea of changing colours each row was a new one for me.






















The colour scheme is a tad retro, but I like the combination of the four for a baby's nursery, and Marcus is still in his cot (for now!), so it'll keep him warm all winter long. Now to finish it!

---

I'll be away for a week working on my business launch, which is planned for Monday February 7th, so you have a week free from my knitting/crochet madness, and I'll see you all on the flipside!

It's knitting. I'm a knitter now. Knitters are cool.

I was reading the comments for my last post and called out to Felix. "Hey babe, Gidge suggested I knit a Dalek washcloth!" Big mistake. HUGE.

"Awesome! You should totally make that!"




















Morris and Sons Paddington 6-ply, which is 80% bamboo and 20% merino, of which I simply cannot speak highly enough of. It's an absolute dream to knit with - get all of your yarn stash monies and go and buy it.*

It took 2 hours to knit and Felix wants to take it in to work to hang up on his wall. Being a nice knitter, I shall let him, but only because I'm about to cast on my next project: a washcloth with the new Doctor Who logo.

---

*Disclaimer: The manager of Morris and Sons here in Melbourne is one of my best friends, witness at my wedding and is also godmother to my son. It's still really good yarn, though.

Indecision

Another sticky day here in Melbourne, forcing all thought of actual knitting out of my mind. Instead, I turned to the website I dubbed "crack for knitters" within a week of joining: Ravelry.

All of the current most popular patterns are for the northern hemisphere: cowls, cardigans, blankets, cowls, shawls, hats or cowls (Enough with cowls! They make everyone look like a no-neck rugby player - do not wear them!). I need something small and light and easy to knit in a Melbourne summer that isn't a lace shawl. I have a baby in the house and my ability to follow a lace pattern decreases the longer I'm awake.

(Yes, I know I'm knitting the Treads socks, but I'm past the heel and Felix has really long feet and that much stocking stitch more than an inch at a time will destroy me.)

Maybe I should knit something from my Rav queue? It's at 4 pages now, and that's a bit long for me (Chantal cut hers back to 9 pages, and I'm very proud of her), so I had a look. For someone who hates knitting socks, I have an awful lot of them in my queue. Ditto shawls. Baby stuff too. I really must start knitting stuff for me.

This doesn't really help me decide - what does one knit during a season where the humidity makes your pattern crinkle from the air? When the idea of wool makes you itch, then what?

Who turned the heater back up?

Just when I was happily regaling complete strangers with my joy at such bountiful knitting weather (wet and cold) summer appears. Tomorrow in Melbourne will be 32 degrees. Now, if it was 32 degrees Fahrenheit I would be somewhat surprised, yet still overjoyed. 32 degrees Celsius, however, fills me with dread.

You can't knit in such weather. Heck, I can barely stand up, and as for trying to amuse a 15 month old without allowing him outside - pfffffft. Good luck there, lady!
























So I'm doing the only thing I can stand under such challenges, and that's finishing up a garment. It's a cream cabled jumper that I knitted for Marcus that was the exact tension, exact size, perfectly matching the pattern for a 12 month old baby.

Then I put it in the water and it expanded expeditiously. Oh, knitting, thou art a heartless wench!

It's the little things that make me happy

Last Friday night, Felix and I were watching the end of the Giggle and Hoot Goodnight Hour with Marcus (as you do) and because it was the end of the week the ABC showed the credits for the week. I was knitting so I didn't notice but Felix did and started one of the best conversations.

"Hey babe, who did you think the closing song sounded like?"
"...wrap and turn. Huh? Oh, I said it sounded like Lior."
"Guess who wrote the song?"
"...areyoukiddingme?!?!!!"

About four months ago I first heard the song and mentioned then to Felix that it sounded like "This Old Love" because of the bridge. It turns out that either I have an amazing ear for music, or one of life's happy little moments happened. *

The Treads sock did this to me last Saturday at work. I finally decided to read the entire pattern, as I'd just started the short row heel and as the instructions were pretty much the same ("Repeat rows 3 and 4 until...)" I started to read ahead. Finish heel...yep, got that...nothing but stocking stitch until the toe...blurgh, boring...commence toe...yep, just the usual decreasing unt-

The toe is another short row heel. You put half the stitches aside, work another short row heel on the other half then kitchener stitch the two sets together.

Weird as this may sound, this was a happy little moment for me. My sock pattern threw up something new, and it was bloody fantastic! I was so excited that the next person to walk through the door at work was given the full happiness. Being a non-knitting P-plater bogan, he was somewhat unimpressed by my enthusiasm for my knitting discovery (another "My nana does that" garden variety pest, I'm afraid).

This is why I love knitting so much. I've been knitting for almost 32 years now and it's still giving me happy little moments. Best. Addiction. Ever.

---

* The complete opposite of this story happened one Saturday afternoon stuck at the Punt Road/Swan Street intersection. Felix and I were under the rail bridge in the shade, listening to his iPod in the car when I suddenly cried out "So that's why they're called The Cat Empire! His name is Felix!". The idea that someone hadn't connected the lead singer's first name to the band name made my husband laugh for the next twenty minutes and we both still bring it up, usually when either of us has an obvious epiphany.

Knitting in public

On weekends I work at the local service station, giving Felix and Marcus some father/son time together. I know this mostly involves Felix explaining the rules of gridiron to Marcus while they watch One HD, but quality time is quality time, no matter what.

Sundays tend to be a pretty slow day at work. The biggest thing I sell is the Sunday Herald-Sun (sadly), so the rest of the time is my own, once I've finished the dusting and cleaning.


















Unsurprisingly I use this time to knit. Unsurprisingly customers feel the need to comment.

"Wow. My nana does that."
Good for her. The inference that I'm an old crone is duly noted.

"It's a dying art."
Really? How much do you know about Melbourne's knitting scene? Nothing? Thought so.

"Oooo, are you knitting me a jumper?"
Why yes, complete stranger, I am. However did you guess?

"You're knitting socks? You can buy them nowadays, herherher..."
No, you're kidding! Where? And they look *exactly* like these, same colour, same pattern? No? Well then I'll just assume you were trying to be clever then, and I'll continue to knit these socks despite your biting and insightful comments.

"Oh, that's a really pretty colour!"
You're lovely and more than welcome to fondle my knitting. Go on, it's really squishy.

"You're so clever. I don't know how you do it."
Neither do I. I can't actually watch myself knit because I get all jumbled. I just knit.

"Oooo, are you knitting me a jumper?"
Oh, for feck's sake...

Tropicana

You can only turn the airconditioner up so high before you realise the humidity is just not going to go away.

If you think I can knit in this you have a higher opinion of me than I deserve. To quote Ann Miller: "It's too damn hot".

A stinking good time

On Sunday I decided to wag work and go for a lovely long drive with my two boys up to Lavandula, just past Hepburn Springs for their annual lavender festival. Seems like a nice time for knitting away while Felix drives, right?


















Nope. Felix woke up early to take care of Marcus so I let him sleep from Malmesbury to Daylesford, Marcus having passed out waaaaaaaaaayyy earlier (we were still on the Eastern Freeway when he zonked out!). After a brief stop to re-stock all the baby snacks I left at home, we got there nice and early, only two rows of parking already there.


















The smell. Oh my sainted aunt, you cannot believe the smell. I loathe lavender-scented anything, but the real stuff sends me off into paroxysm's of joy. My mum is the same, but we never grew any ourselves, mainly due to the fact that I'm deathly allergic to bees. Annoying, really.























Bees love lavender. They were far less impressed with my Treads sock, which I carried around with me and worked on, causing untold jealousy in non-knitters - especially when I was queuing up for cups of tea. No boredom while waiting!


















The lavender Devonshire tea was yummy, and disappeared swiftly, giving me more time to spend on the goodies - fresh lavender bundles cut in front of me, tied up and handed over for what I think was a pittance. My car was reeking of it all day and yesterday as well.























Marcus had a great time, with most of it spent flirting with total strangers and working on his tentative walking, but mainly the flirting.

Felix took over the driving to the Convent in Daylesford, but no knitting was afforded as it was his first time driving Sven the Saab and I had to make sure he got the indicator right (right twice, wrong hilariously once). Then after the taste testing of Herbal Lore liqueurs at the Convent I was forced to drive home (and I didn't get any taste testing, darnit!) and my two companions passed out yet again.


















How tuckered out are my boys?

Tread softly

I'm enjoying the Treads socks, far more than I thought I would. The cable pattern is a fifteen row repeat, but the cabling only takes up the first six rows and then it's a 2x2 rib, so by the second repeat I had it memorised.


I would have a nice photo of my sock here, but my camera hates me. A lot. My dad's hot pink camera is better than mine, which is rather galling.


I'm only a few inches in as I'm using 4mm needles and my second trimester nesting instinct is starting to kick in, so I spend Marcus' midday sleep rearranging cupboards instead of slacking off. My kitchen is now in a state of extreme tidyness, so I plan to slack off for a while and invest in indenting my lower body half print onto the couch as a permanent feature.


I've finished up my complete collection of "Jonathan Creek" so I now have to decide between "The Tudors", "7 Wonders of the Industrial World" or "John Adams" for my dvd/knitting arrangement. It's a really hard decision to make.

Life is far too short

My Christmas present from the lovely Felix was three sets of Knit Picks metal double points. I requested the metal after I sat (yet again) on a 2.5mm bamboo double point which broke up the set of five, as I had had to turf one of them earlier due to splintering, plus we all know that the Knit Picks are fabulous to knit with.

I asked for 2mm, 2.25mm and 2.5mm, as I knew of a few sock patterns I wanted to work on. Now, I hate knitting socks. I know it's weird, as I keep knitting them, but I really don't enjoy it. Too many teeny stitches for far too little effort. That and I get very tired of people saying "You do know you can buy socks, don't you?" (They generally don't like my open-mouthed shock of "No! Are you kidding me? I had no idea!"). I am a complete sucker for sock yarn though - I can't stop buying it!

Felix likes handknitted socks, quite a lot. I don't know if they're more comfortable or if it's the smug happiness that they were created solely for him, no idea. But love them he does, so when I opened my 2.25mm packet up on Boxing Day night I cast on a pair of socks he's wanted for a while, the "Look Sharp" entrelac socks from "Son of Stitch 'n Bitch".

The b-word was used quite a lot a few days later when I came to the heel. The pattern is completely out of wack, asking you to do something you can't possibly and then re-arranges the two colours in a way that makes no sense. I looked up on Ravelry, and there was no errata listed, unless you count a few comments asking how to fix the mistake in the heel pattern.

If you don't know me all that well I'll explain something: I'm actually quite clever, really I am. I'm also the person other people ask when they can't read a pattern because I can interpret them really easily. I've knitted entrelac socks before and that pattern was unbelievably perfect. This pattern, however, sucked.

I have other things I want to knit. I have projects to finish, new ideas to try and trying to fix someone else's mistakes takes up valuable time. So instead I cast on "Treads" from the same book with some yummy mottled green from The Sanguine Gryphon and settled down on New Year's night with Felix and my true love, Cary Grant, on tv.

Oh and I may have cast on the ribbing of the entrelac to tight anyway - Felix couldn't get it past halfway up his foot! Now that's a real sign that I should just give up on them.

Welcome to 2011

Ever since I was very little, my favourite number has been eleven, so I have a feeling this is going to be a pretty great year.

Normally, when I look back at each year of knitting I post a lovely long list of what I've finished. This time it'll be a bit different. You see, I've finished some projects that I never wrote about, so I have no links for those. I didn't have a fantastically long list of finished projects anyway, just bootees (for Marcus), skewed socks (for me), a hat (for Marcus), a fair isle jacket (for Marcus) and a jumper (for Marcus). I'm sensing a theme to my knitting for the year.

My biggest achievement in knitting was the Australian Country Spinners competition win, and I have to admit I still turn to Felix occasionally and ask if it really happened. Yep, it really did. If I collected a dollar from every person who asked (usually in shock at the news) "For knitting?!?" I think I'd have the prize money twice over. Fools! How can they not know the awesomeness of knitting?

I've been spending the last few weeks not knitting, mainly because I've been far too exhausted to even stay awake at night. I could blame the summer heat, but here in Melbourne we haven't had any (woohoo! Bring on winter!) and the scan of our next baby kind of gave it away instead. Keep an eye out for news around the beginning of July - my due date is the 6th. Mind you, the end of February is when I can find out what I'm having, so if I suddenly start knitting a LOT of pink, I think we'll all know. Not to mention Judith's screams of hysterical joy might give it away...

UFO's in the lounge room

I wish I could pretend that I only have a nice area for my knitting, small, tucked away, neat. No chance. I have projects scattered the length and width of my house and no idea which is next. I decided to do a room by room check, but it appears that most of the projects are either in my lounge or out in their rightful place, the bungalow of win.

Now the lounge room knitting can be divided up into sub categories:
1. Stuff in bags
2. Stuff shoved into the knitting bucket in the hope I won't notice it.
3. Stuff behind the couch (I wish it wasn't so, but still...).

Onwards!

1. Stuff in bags

First up is my Tea Party frock.

















This has been languishing for a very VERY long time. I haven't lost the pattern (it's on Knitty), it's not too hard (although increasing by 1 stitch every 3 in the opening rows almost killed me), I'm not knitting it because I have to, which leaves a deadline.

This jumper was my project for "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" for the "Knitting 19th-Century Novels" group on Ravelry. You have two months to read the novel and discuss it and your knitting project should reflect the novel, hence red and an Edwardian tea gown pattern. The deadline was April 30th. In 2008. I really missed the deadline on this one.

I do love this jumper. I love the colour, I love the pattern, it's all great. But... 22 inches?!? Follow the basic 4 row repeat for 22 inches?!?! Using the tension that's 148 rows and each row is kinda looooooooong. I might lose my mind with this.

Should it stay or should it go? As I tend to show a certain bias, I asked Felix. His logic is that unless I need the yarn for another project, do not frog. There's other projects more important, so put it aside for now. It a lightweight jumper, more spring or autumn than winter, so I'll try to finish it up for then.

Verdict: Hibernation - finish for autumn.


















Next on the program is a plastic bag with potential. Two balls of Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed in Fleece and a ball of Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette in Ecru. Two still have the ball band on. The project? A cabled tea cosy of my own design. I have about 20 tea cosy design in my head and drawn up but I've never converted them. It takes the luxury of spare time and I don't have all that much of it these days (blog every day? Pfffffffft!). Time to ask Felix again.

Felix reminded me that I had planned the tea cosy for the Royal Show but never really started properly (a swatch isn't really starting and all I learned was that my chosen pattern was terrible and I needed to re-jig everything) so I guess it's another missed deadline piece.

Waaaaaaaaaaaay back in February I declared that I was quitting deadlines and the pressure that comes with it, so I know I'm putting my tea cosy ideas on the backburner for now and if I feel like it I'll get around to them again.

Verdict: Hibernation - pick up when I feel like it again.

Oooo, I'm feeling a LOT better!

2. Stuff shoved into the knitting bucket in the hope I won't notice it.

















"Oh you mean this knitting bucket, officer? I'm just minding it for a friend..." Good thing there's no knitting police, isn't it?

Let's see...

Grey ball of wool with a swatch attached. It was the start of a jacket for Marcus who is now far too huge for the pattern.

Verdict: Frog!




















Felix's Skull socks, which I started in January. The patterned section is too tight for him to pull over his foot, so I'm going to pick up just below it and rip it out, then knit up in green. Apparently the second sock has to be the same "but the opposite colours". *sigh* How vile are these two colours together? Only for love...

Verdict: Repair and continue, knit at work.




















Three balls of Sublime in olive green that will become a jumper for Marcus next year. He doesn't need it just yet, so I'll put it aside until the end of summer and start knitting it up then.

Verdict: Hibernate until March.





















Various colours of 8 ply I'm planning to split in half and use to make "The Knitted Farmyard". The blue will be for the river, the multi for the hayfield, the gray for kittens and donkeys and the dirty brown for fields, knitted in ribbing. It is an amazing book and it's going to be a lot of fun. I must be mad, obviously, but lots of fun.

Verdict: Keep nearby and knit pieces at night.

















This is a completely knitted newborn baby bonnet that is just lacking the bows on the side. I made it for my second cousins little girl, but I haven't been down to see her yet. Anyone know of a little girl soon to arrive who wants one?

Verdict: Add ribbon and give away.

















The remaining yarn for Marcus' nursery blanket, number two (He'll get the Alphabet blanket one day, okay?). The blanket itself is the one item I have down the4 back of the couch and that's due to sheer laziness on my part. Couldn't be bothered to pick it up! I need to settle in to the couch for at least a fortnight and just work on this, but it's currently in no great hurry (winter is over) so I'll put it aside until after Christmas.

Verdict: Hibernate until New Years.




















Lastly we have some cream yarn. The tangled up piece was used for a small hat that was frogged to use in a very nice jumper (I'm sewing it up even now) and the other ball is an 8ply that I plan to splice for the farmyard animals.

Verdict: Use up in the next week.

---

So there it all is. A ragtag mess that is now somewhat more organised, if only mentally organised.

Next up I'll have to tackle the bungalow stash, and that one could be pretty nasty...

Spring Cleaning the Knitting

The insane season is now officially over. The Show has been and gone (to the helper who folded up my Alphabet Blanket, be aware that my mum hates you) with no fanfare or a win, but arriving nice and early for Marcus to visit the Animal Nursery before it all got too busy was pretty great. 

Less showbags, more animals and farming next year please RASV. Felix was happy that halfway through the day there was a bar in the middle of the food pavilion!

Our next problem was Marcus' 1st birthday party and my need to go over the top at the slightest provocation. I tried to reign myself in but I failed.

Marcus enjoyed all of his visitors...

...but mostly he enjoyed his smash cake.

A lot.

We've almost moved all of our stuff into the new/old house. Most of the books are still cluttering up my parents front room, but they'll get over it, right? I've moved all of the craft books into the bungalow, and now I need to sort out my yarn and projects  - you can tell when spring hits, can't you?

Looking around the blogosphere, I'm not the only knitter with starting fever. I have tonnes of unfinished projects lying around in bags, boxes, ziploc bags, heck everywhere! (I can see one sitting on top of the bookshelf in front of the tv even now!) It seems to come down to a few reasons:

1. I can't find where I put the pattern. This is less common than you'd think, but it really can hold up a project, sometimes for months.

2. I've come up to a hard part or I don't understand it and I'm wussing out. Hardly ever happens, but can block up the queue, definitely.

3. I'm making something because I feel I have to. Skull socks for Felix are in this category, and I feel terrible for not working on them more, but they're really boring socks!

4. I was working to a deadline and missed it. Once the deadline has passed there's no need to rush and so I just relax and start something new. Something small that I can whip up and give out. Christening shawl? What christening shawl? Nope, nooooo idea....

This is going to take at least a week of working out what to finish, what to frog, what to do, so feel free to join in each day. If Marcus keeps sleeping this much I'll be blogging more often!

'Tis the season

This is not a post about Christmas. I'm now doing adult Kris Kringles on two sides of the family, so I can relax about the season of fun/stress now. This is about the Show.

The Royal Melbourne Show is the event I spend all year planning for. Forget showbags, this is about showing off. I want my knitting to win the blue ribbons so I can call up my parents, grandmother and friends and squeal with joy a lot.

Last year I won the fair isle section, and Felix worried that I might go into labour two weeks early (no such luck!). This year I'm entering four categories, and I need to hand them all in this week.

My christening shawl needs an entire side of lace knitted on and then some blocking; my tea cosy hasn't even been designed, let alone started; Marcus' alphabet blanket might need to be reblocked; my hardanger embroidery piece needs to be framed.

I honestly cannot be bothered. We just moved house and Marcus' 1st birthday needs to be organised. My parents front room is filled with my boxes and they need to be here. We just had Father's Day and the season of small birthdays is now upon us (hi Mum's Group!). To top it all off, next month I plan to launch my new business (yes, it is knitting related - oooooo...).

I've been forced to prioritise my knitting before, but never to this extent. Sanity vs Show. It's hard to say who's going to win.

Shock

As previously mentioned, I spent a fortnight working on an entry for the Australian Country Spinners "Knit Your Way" competition. The opening line of "Do you know the cutest baby or child in Australia and New Zealand?" was a very attractive notion, but I knew that I wouldn't have enough time to enter. Dearest Divine J (aka Madam Tricot) convinced me that I could knit something up quickly and Felix promised he'd help do the housework (and he did too!).

The pattern chosen was a Bouton D'Or that I thought was adorable, but that I'd knit for Marcus when he was older. Time was of the essence (less than two weeks until the closing date) so it was off to Spotlight and many balls of Patons Jet were purchased.

I finished in time and dumped Marcus on a rug in the middle of an oval and snapped a few pics, ran to K-Mart and printed them up then ran back to my mum to get her help in deciding which one to send.





















This is Mum's chosen shot because it shows off the jumper so well, not to mention the rooster-y hat. I know she also loves the serious pouty look that Marcus gets, which is very very cute.

I pointed out to Mum that it was for the cutest baby, not the best knitting (but really a combination of both), so I vetoed her and picked my favourite shot.






















I seem to have picked the right one because I got the phone call this afternoon. I, Andrea, won the ACS's "Knit Your Way" competition. I won $15,000 through knitting.

I am in complete and utter shock and have been since half past two. I cannot express my thanks for Australian Country Spinners enough, and I need to call them back and apologise for crying throughout their phone call this afternoon.

Friday, we move into our house. Friday night, I'm opening a very nice bottle of Moet.

Best. Week. Ever.

So it begins again...

I'm well known for my inability to settle in one place. True, I lived in my amazing flat in St Kilda Road for four years straight, but I gave up it all up to run off to Scotland. I've now lived in 9 houses/flats/hovels since I first moved out of home at the age of 21, and we're about to move again.

The weird thing is that the number of addresses doesn't change. We're all moving back to a house I first rented in 2000, and it's available again, so I jumped straight in and grovelled until the real estate agent gave up and laughed. The house tour was great: "Oh the lounge is still blue! The kitchen's mint green! The bedroom is still purple!" "Oh, were they like that when you last lived here?" "Um... I painted them that way...".

Now the reason I'm blathering on about this on my blog rather than Facebook or general email is a simple one: to cause complete jealousy. You see, my new/old house has a two room bungalow in the back yard. It's pretty big. It's almost the size of the hobbit hole we're renting now. It has a kitchenette, bookcases and a LOT of room. It's all mine. Felix likes the idea of never having to move another knitting project off the couch, so the bungalow is all mine.

The front room (where the stove is) will be the knitting room, complete with cushy armchair and boxes of yarn (plus the bookcase full of patterns). The back room will be set up for my sewing machines, cutting table and knitting machine table. I'll be buying an overlocker once the tax money comes in. As soon as it's all set up I'll be posting many many pictures.

So...anyone jealous yet?

How many unfinished projects is too many? Or projects in potentia?

You see, I have a pair of socks for my sister's partner's mum (seriously), a cream cabled jumper for Marcus, a pair of skull socks for Felix and the ever-eternal christening shawl which needs to be finished to enter the Royal Melbourne Show. I suspect a repeat of last year's 2am blocking fiasco will occur.

Now, normally, this wouldn't phase me all that much. I just spent two weeks knitting up an entry for the Patons baby knitting competition (if I win I'll post about it. You'll be able to hear the screams of joy from where ever you are anyway) and now I need to get back on track, so I have to sort out my knitting priorities.

The bedsocks for Anna (or is it Ana?) are halfway done, and need to be finished asap, but I've only got the front of the cream cable jumper to go and then I can sew it up and Marcus has a finished cricket jersey with a shawl collar. Felix hasn't had a new pair of socks in over a year and I'm almost ready to shape the toe on his first sock.

I also frogged my old green jumper to make a cardigan for Marcus, but first I have to wash and weight the wool to get the kinks out. I think it might work, and it is a pretty good idea as the jumper was always too short and my mother's hints over the years about extending it were driving me a little batty.

Finally, I had to buy some yarn last Monday (yes, had. It was for the competition!) and when I walked into Spotlight they had yarn at half price. The Entwine bulky was $1 a ball! I have no willpower in the face of that and now own another 32 balls of yarn. Oh, stop judging me. I was planning to make Felix a jumper from it, but when I got home with the stash I remembered that I just bought 16 balls of grey Zara last month to knit him a jumper as well.

So my problem is that I have four main projects on the go, and five waiting to be started.

Oh, did I mention that my dad and my nan both need new bedsocks? Sigh...