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Weekend news
SCARF EXCHANGE UPDATEI thought I'd give you the links to the participants again, so that you can go look for updates if you want to. Knit Only groupAmanda, Siouxsie, Kae, Michelle, Amy, Krystofer, Kristen, Jennifer, Sally, Rebecca, Gracie, Jo Matthews (no blog), Dana (no blog), Margaret (no blog), and Julie (no blog) Surprise groupColette, Beverly, Lee, Judy, Rox, Jennifer, Cynthia, Julie, Becky, Mona, Tam, Alicia, Cecile, Jena, Fiona, Ina, Debi (no blog), and Christina (no blog). Alicia has made some progress on her scarf. Go take a look. The colours are really pretty. NEW PROJECTIt's the Veste Everest from the Fall IK. I am substituting the recommended yarn with some organic pure merino yarnwhich Maisie sent me from Canberra last year. Yes, it has taken me over a year to get around to using it. I remember her buying it for me because at the time she was pregnant with young Aidan (who is a big baby now) and the smell of wool was giving her morning sickness. It's coming along really nicely. It's a nice soft merino in a natural grey/brown colour. I have completed about 2 and a bit repeats of the cable pattern. It's lovely. The stitch definition is beautiful. I am concerned that the vest will not be long enough with the recommended 5 repeats. I may have to knit 6 repeats or 5 1/2. Are you knitting this vest too? I'd love to see how other Veste Everests look. I also realised I don't have a US4 or 3.5mm circular needle for the ribbig around the neck/armholes. Either I go out and buy one (though this may be a problem, since 3.5mm is not a common size in Australia) or I make do with a 3.75mm needle. I think I shall settle on the later. KNITTING GET-TOGETHERWe had our first ever knitting get-together at Sally's house yesterday. There were only three of us - Sally, Pamela and myself. It was great fun - lots of show and tell. Pamela brought the stuff she bought in Melbourne. Oh so beautiful! I am tempted to go visit Martha's Yarns now! I hope that more people will show up in a fortnight's time whe we meet at Rubi and Lana's. It's so much fun to be able to kit together. We got so carried away that we didn't realise that it was way past five by the time we were ready to leave. STOMACH BUGI don't know where we caught it but it looks like both Chris and I are down with a stomach bug of some sort. Poor Chris has been thowing up all day, and I have been feeling like I need to throw up all evening. I hope it is one of those 24 hour bugs, but Chris' sister think there is a viral infection going aound that masquerades as a stomach bug. That doesn't sound pretty at all! It does sound like what Chris may have though, as he has also had a headache all day, and he had to go to work too! STUFF FOR SALEI placed mre stuff on Etsy for sale. I decided to sell all those scarves I knitted that I have never worn. I have also put some yarn up for sale. Go take a look. No charge for window shopping ;) I HATE HOUSEWORK, IT IS EVILWhy did it take me so long to work that out, you ask? Well, I didn't. I was merely re-itterating the fact that housework is evil. I did some sweeping, some baking, lots of ironing and some tidying up today while Chris was at work. My flat is still far from sparkling clean, but it is looking better. I had planned to, but did not get the chance to sort out my yarn closet. I really need to. I will be putting up the stuff I no longer want on Ebay. Maybe next weekend. Classes start this week so I doubt I will have time to do it during the week.
A snag and some spinning
Cotton Lace TeeJen, help! I have hit a snag with the instructions on this project and Jen's on holiday. I shall wait (rather impatiently) but I shall wait for Jen to return. Meanwhile, I'll be working on other projects. Silky luxuryI have been spinning more of that merino silk blend that I spun on the spundle last night. It is pure luxury. It's soft, it's smooth, it's pretty, what more could I want?  I wish I could get a more accurate picture of the colour. It is looking washed out in the picture, but really, it's a gorgeous blue. It's bright but not hideously so, and the sheen on it.. my, it has a sheen! Scarf Exchange progressBecky has finished her scarf! Wow! Go read all about it on her blog, and look at the pretty picture. Alicia has started her scarf. It's ok to tell us about it, Alicia. The recipient doesn't know you're her secret scarf pal, so she won't know your scarf is for her. Jena and Sally have bought their yarn but not started their scarves. Jennifer has a picture of her scarf on her blog. I wonder who her pal is... Kiri Shawl progressJust as soon a I finish typing out this post, I'll start working on it.
With a spindle
A NEW EXPERIENCEIt's all Emilyn's fault! I had sworn off spindles after watching Sue drop hers repeatedly at class one night. It all looked to difficult, and you know what? My wheel is so much more efficient. And then I spoke to Emilyn, and she wanted to learn to spin, and we decided to have a little fibre exchange, and now let's just say the rest is history. I went for my regular spinning class tonight, with the intention of buying stuff FOR Emilyn. And then I thought it may be nice to try out a spindle. Hey, why not, right? Hmm, Jenny had three for me to choose from. Well she had 4, but she could not find the fourth. So I thought I'd try them all out and see which I prefered. There was one that looked like an Ashford one, but it wasn't. It was heavy and didn't spin well, at least not for me. Despite all my urging it would spin a little and then stop. I gave up. I also tried a Turkish spindle. It spun quite well, and it was pretty but I did not like how the cross kept coming undone. I ended up settling on the first spindle I tried. It was light, spun well, and just kept going and going and going and.. yeah, you get the idea. I spun all night but have very little to show for it. I tried some brown sliver, some white sliver, and when I came home, I tried spinning some blue/purple merino/silk blend top. Here are the results:  And now a close up:  Pretty, isn't it? It has lovely sheen, I think. Emilyn, you are getting some of this, so you can stop drooling now. It's coming your way as soon as I get it all bagged and labeled. I am not going to tell you what else you are getting so you get a nice surprise. What I did like about this spindle was what Jenny calls the 'cheat bar'. See the little metal nail on the top of the spindle? Instead of a notch, you use that to hold the yarn when you spin. It gives it a little extra 'push', I think, and helps stop the yarn unravelling when you spin the spindle. I also like that the spindle comes with three stick things (you know what I mean, that shaft thing, whatever it is called). This means you can spin on two and ply on the third. In case you didn't know, I have 6 bobbins. I love having more tan the minimum number of bobbins because it means I can indulge the side of me that just can't do just one thing. I get to spin a few things at a time without having to stop and wind off or ply. I am now thinking that maybe I should get a spindle. It's portable right? It's easy to use (at least this one is) and hmm... SUE'S KINDNESS
Sue from my spinning class reads my blog. Hi, Sue! Anyway, lovely lady that she is, she read about my bag of things for Brenda/Westmead Hospital, and she gave me a whole lot of handknitted hats and booties for premie babies. Wow! I don't know how long she took to knit them up, but it would have taken me a while to knit that many for Brenda. Thank you, Sue! BUSY WEEKEND AHEADIt's our first knitting get together this week. We'll be meeting at Sally's house. I am so excited! I can't wait. I have no idea who is showing up, but I hoope we have a small group of at least more than just the two of us!
Thank you Cynthia!
THANKS!I received my swap package from Cynthia today. Wow!  I received - 3 balls of Brown Seep Nature SPun in gorgeous blue-y colours
- 3.4 oz of jet black alpaca feece
- Lots of yummies
I am really pleased! I can't wait to spin up some of the alpaca, but I know myself too well. i knwo I will end up saving it because it is so soft and lovely and I won't want to 'waste' it and I'll end up wanting to keep it till my spinning skills are better. Crazy, huh? But that's me, and that's how my stash got to its current size. I just hoard all the yummy stuff because I don't want to 'waste' it. Cotton Lace Tee4 more rows of the body before I bind it off and start on the sleeves. I can't wait! I am so tired of rows that take 15 minutes to complete (yes, I timed it). There are moments when I regret making this longer than the pattern said. What was I thinking?! I know I will probably be glad I did it when I finally get to wear it. I have a long body and most tops look short on me, so it is always wise to make my jumpers slightly longer. They key word, though, is 'slightly'. I cast on an extra 50%. Yup, that's right. I was meant to cast on just over 60 stitches (I don't remember how many) and I actually cast on just over 90 stitches! Knitting Get TogetherI never make it to SSK because it seems to take such a lot of effort to go in to Newtown, and parking is always shocking there. Anyway, a group of knitters living near me decided that maybe we should start a separate knitting get-together on alternate Saturdays here (here, as in around the area, not here as in my house!). This week, we will be meeting at Sally's. In a fortnight (and every fortnight after that, if it works out) we will be meeting at Rubi and Lana's, which is a new yarn store over at Gordon. Apparently they have a large table and cafes nearby. They also stock yummy yarn and Addis. Mmm, what could be better? Scarf ExchangeNo progress on my part. I need to finish knitting the Cotton Lace Tee first. Anyone else made any progress? Email me if you want a mention here. I will take time to go through all the blogs on the weekend. Meanwhile, I'll mention your blog if you email me and let me know you have some scarf exchange progress reported on it.
Laptop fixed
Healthy ComputerThanks to Greg at work, my laptop is now fixed. Yay! It was terrible today trying to work on a temporary laptop. It's probably the most unproductive day I have had in a while. Spinning: Alpaca and wool The skein on top is the fawn alpaca and the one below is spun from some brown sliver that I bought ages ago. I love both skeins.. and I don't know what to do with them. Chris felt them against his cheek on the weekend and he thinks that the fawn alpaca is softer than thealpaca hat I had spun previously - SUCCESS! New EBay AuctionsThe colour is not accurate but close enough  It has shades of lavender and baby blue, not that you can tell from this picture. It's a 3-ply weight yarn spun at a local-ish mill specialising in Corriedale fleece and yarn. This skein on the right is the same yarn in a different dye:  The skein on the left is actually some 5ply that I dyed together with it (and it is not for sale). Can you believe that the two are from the same dye lot? Here is another comparison. Once again, the two skeins are from the same dyelot.  What a big difference, huh? Anyway, my ebay auctions can be viewed here. Lace Cotton TeeOk, I thought I'd complete it before I showe dyou a picture, but I couldn't wait, so here it is:  It's getting there.. slowly and steadily, but surely!
Quick Update
Scarf ExchangeI know some of you have posted in your blogs about the scarf exchange. I have not had time to go thorugh all the blogs, but if you want me to post here about your blog and your update about the scarf you are knitting, email me! (Use the link at the top of my blog) Tonight, I have two updates to show you - not my scarf, but that of Colette and Ina. Cotton Lace TeeGetting there.. I have about another 2 inches of the shoulder to do and then it's just the sleeve and the crochet edging, and then I get to wear it. It's a fab pattern. It's easy, and it's pretty, and there is enough lace in it for it to be interesting (heck, who am I kidding? It's lace all over!) and simple enough to not be a mental strain. I am really excited as I am nearing the end. I get to wear it soon. What's the bet I have it done by next weekend? Dead PooterIn case you are wondering, my computer is still not fixed. tomorrow, I hope...
Dead Pooter
DEAD DEAD DEADMy computer keeled over tonight. Chris has revived it (sort of), and I haven't lost any data - Thank God! However, it's like a machine on life support. On Monday, this baby is going straight in to see the tech support guys at work. I hope there's no major surgery needed as it would be terrible if I had to work on a temporary machine. That would just suck big time! Thank you Chris. LACE COTTON TEEI have completed a little over an inch of the shoulder. A few more inches and then it's just the sleeve left. I got all excited, and 'cheated'. I seamed the sides and did the single crochet detail on the neckline - so I could try it on. It's coming along well. I hope it will be wide enough. I think it will, fingers crossed. I don't like it when my tops are too wide, so I went off and measured some of my favourite tops and realised that 1. I like them long-ish 2. I like it when they have 0 or negative ease. The largest top I have(apart from the super baggy cabled sweater) has abut 1 inch of ease. OTHER KNITTINGNone, that's right, haven't done any. I have just beenworking on the cotton tee and some spinning. SPINNINGThe fawn alpaca is all spun now. It was almost balanced - just about a quarter twist on it. I gave it a nice long bath and then hung it out to dry. My, was it dirty, or was it dirty. I had to rinse it a few times before the water ran clear (well, almost clear. I gave up). It's hanging out to dry now. I also washed about 200g of cream alpaca fleece from an animal name Chantilly, which is now drying in front of the tv. Why there? Because my flat is so small, there is nowhere else it can sit and dry. I was careful not to agitate it too much and I kept the water temperature constant. This time it did not get felted at all. It's fluffing up nicely as it dries. I may not card this before spinning. We'll see. There is a fair bit of dirt on it, but it may just look extra dirty because it's such a light colour and any dirt is immediately noticeable.
One sick chick
I caught a cold, what should I do with it?I've spent half of today in bed with hardly any food. I couldn't remember the old wives' tale that says you should starve a fever(or cold) and feed a cold(or fever). I couldn't work out which it was, but I wasn't hungry so all I had was some canned chicken soup and a bowl of lemon jelly. The Chris came over after work, and guess what, I became hungry! We went out to the shops and bought some noodles from the Vietnamese shop, some chicken from the Colonel (Sanders, who else?) and ingredients for a trifle. The trifle wasn't so great - I did use enough alcohol. Trifle Recipe1 sponge jam roll As much alcohol as you like (the more the better I think) Vanilla flavoured custard A punnet of fresh strawberries (or any other berries) Some frozen berries Some chopped up dried fruit Any flavoured jelly (made up and set before assembling the trifle) Crushed nuts or toasted almond slivers Whipped cream Slice the sponge roll and drizzle alcohol over it. I used some muscat but you can use any other alcohol - Frangelico, Rum, Kahlua, Cointreau, etc). Line the bowl with one layer of sponge roll. Scatter fruits over it, scoop some jelly over that and pour some custard over that. Repeat layering till all the ingredients are used up. Spread whipped cream over that and sprinkle with crushed nuts. For extra flavour, you can also mix the whipped cream with some of the alcohol before spreading on the trifle. Lace Cotton Tee - marching towards the endWe are cooking with gas! I'm up to the bit where the back and front are joined. Yay! If I persevere, maybe I can wear it on the weekend (yeah right, and pigs will grow wings). One can still hope, though. I am still considering doing the crochet edging in a different colour. I'll have to look around my cotton stash to see what I have that will complement the pink/purple. Kiri shawl - a startI was tired of looking at the lace cotton tee and decided to start the Kiri shawl since it looks easy - a mindless project I thought. It's not exactly mindless, but it's not difficult either. It's very similar to the lace cotton tee - the lace pattern, I mean. I am using the skein of KnitPicks Shimmer I received from Jen some time ago. I could not find a pattern that looked good knitted with this yarn. I finally gave up. I decided that with the Kiri shawl pattern, if it ends up beig too small, that''s ok, I will just use it as a neck scarf. If the colour pools strangely, it's also ok, since as a neck scarf it will be mostly bunched up around my neck and only the ends will be visible. I have completed Chart 1 and am onto chart2. This is going slowly, though it is an easy project as I am trying to complete the lace cotton tee first. And some spinning..One and a half bobbin full of fawn coloured alpaca and a little more to go before I can ply it. I am trying hard not to overspin it. However I won't know till I ply it. I knew alpaca was dirty, but I didn't know how dirty till I looked at my fingers today:  I even washed and carded this lot of alpaca before spinning!
Trivia Fun
I am trying out something new tonight. I am separating my post into sections in an attempt to make this easier to read, and if you are not interested in a particular section, you can just skip it. I'd love to know if this works. Leave me some comments, please. TRIVIA FUNBefore tonight, the last time I participated in a trivia night was, oh, about 10 years ago? Maybe a little less, but not by much. The social club at work organised a Trivia night. It was lots of fun, but it did say a few things about me 1. I don't watch enough teevee 2. I don't follow sports 3. I am not much good at the music questions either 4. I have no idea what movies Robert Redford starred in (apart from Indecent Proposal, and even that, I wasn't sure) Hmm, at this point, one must stop and wonder - so what AM I good at? Uh, if it's worth anything, I knew the answers to the few SCIENCE questions that were asked. Oh dear... I think that speaks volumes about my geekiness. Let's just leave that there... AKSPOn a brighter note, I received my first AKSP package today. I feel so spoilt! I received (all individually wrapped too!) 2 skeins of "Knitpicks Shimmer in 'stained glass', a knitting journal (how did you know I wanted one?), some "handknit by Celia Ng" labels (YAY!), some stitchmarkers and (best of all!) a booklet of post-it notes that was like a hardcover booklet with apen attached. It is fantastic - great for uni! Thank you, AKSP! I am so pleased! UNI RESULTSUni results came out today, and I forgot to check - till just now. I passed. No, wait better than that, I got a distinction! (Yay! Yay! Yay!) Wait a moment while I celebrate... Ok, I am back. It's very exciting fo me as I was never much of a student in my undergrad days. My friends will tell you that. I'd scrape through by the skin of my teeth. I used to sleep in class. I probably still would, if I could, but being in a class of 20 or so students makes that kinda hard to do without the lecturer noticing. I did knit through one of my subjects last year. I haven't repeated that, though. I doubt any of my other lecturers would be quite so tolerant. It also helped that I found Accounting easy and didn't really need to listen. I'm not likely to have another subject like that any time soon. I am enrolled in two subjects next term - 'International Marketing Management' and 'Advertising and Promotions Overseas'. I am really looking forward it. Another step closer to getting that piece of paper that says I suffered through a second degree. (Also hints at my insanity, I think) SCARF EXCHANGEEveryone who is on the Scarf Exchange, please let us know if you have not received your scarf recipients. You can email us at se-admin AT hotmail DOT com. Cynthia is helping me sort this out. Please, please, please, label your emails with "Knit only" or "Surprise" so that Cynthia and I know which emails we should be reading. Siouxsie, please check your email. Gracie, I am SO So sorry that I stuffed up and placed you in the wrong group, and thank you for being so gracious about it. These are the groups Knit Only groupAmandaSiouxsieKaeMichelleAmyKrystoferKristenJenniferSallyRebeccaJo Matthews (no blog) Dana (no blog) Margaret (no blog) Julie (no blog) Surprise groupColetteBeverlyLeeJudyRoxJenniferCynthiaJulieBeckyMonaTamAliciaCecileGracieJenaFionaInaDebi (no blog) Christina (no blog) I know some people are blogging about the progress they are making so go visit some of these blogs if you are interested in what others are making. I am making a scarf with some handspun handdyed Optim that was plied with silk. Right now I am using the pattern for "my so-called scarf" but I am not so sure it is working out. I don't know whether this yarn is the right one for it, or should I say that I don't know whether this pattern is right for the yarn. I am fairly determined to use the yarn as I think the recipient will like it. LACE COTTON TEEProgress! I am up to the neck shaping on the right side. I will be done soon! Really! Once I am done, I'll take pictures of it. Right now the stitches are all bunched up and it doesn't look like much. CHARITY KNITTINGI have worked out with Brenda that she can make use of most things that I'd make for her, so I am now making pre-mie/baby hats, cardigans, socks, booties, mittens, toys, etc. I have a plastic hat that i hang on my living room door. When it gets full, I take it to church for Brenda to pick up. pretty good system, for me anyway, as it gives me satisfaction to see the bag fill up. Right now it has 2 baby hats, 3 pre-mie hats, a pair of baby socks, a baby cardigan and a toy cat. We're getting there.. slowly. NEW PROJECTSI am wanting to knit the Vest Everest from the latest IK. Anyone interested in knitting it together with me? The plan is to start it in August. I plan on using some of the organic wool that Maisie sent me last year. I haven't knitted any of it and do't know whether it is soft but it doesn't matter as it's a vest and will be worn over a shirt.
Monkeys party hard
It was Chris' brother's birthday today and we celebrated it with the usual Hernandez flair. Joel's wife, Yenni dreamt up the theme and created and bought all the party decorations which we put up in the dining area. The theme was:  There were monkeys everywhere. This was one of my contributions to the "art work":  Yes, that was the ceiling you were looking at. The picture was not upside down. We hung up balloons above the chairs, stuck bananas to the wall and monkeys everywhere.  On the birthday boy's chair, his wife placed a piece of fake poo - monkey poo, I presume.  After it was found, this is what became of it:  The long pieces that look like fake poo is actually dried tamarind. We thought it was rather convincing as fake poo and scattered it around the room and hung it on balloons and on the wall. Apparently monkeys like to throw faeces around. Uhm, I am not sure I believe that but that didn't stop me sticking the tamarind to the balloons above the birthday boy and his wife's chairs.   Rather convincing, don't you think? Chris brought a nice bottle of wine. Even I had a few sips, and it smelt and tasted heavenly. Mmm, it was yummy!  Oh, and this is what the large cat Chris was sewing looked like. This is when it was disassembled. See how the body looks like it could belong to a cow?  This is the finished cat, with a regular sized cat beside it to show how large it was.   It even had a collar, and in case you could not read what it said, here's a close-up:  I thought it was brilliant. Perfect choice, Chris! I am still amazed that Chris did almost all the sewing himself. I did very little of the work. Pretty amazing, huh? Incredible what he can do when he decides to do it! I managed to complete two baby hats (newborn size) for Brenda today. I am onto the third. I guess now that I am home I should put it aside and start on my cotton tee again. I am past the midway point - WOOHOO! It feels like it is getting quicker. Yay! I am really keen to wear it soon. I was so excited, I sewed up the sleeve seam yesterday so that I can try it on. So far so good. I am contemplating the Essential Indulgence from the fall IK in some pure alpaca yarn I have. I will have to swatch it when I get time. Since the seams are on the outside, i want to make it a feature by sewing the seams in a different colour. Has anyone else done that? Pictures please? Will it be attractive?
Balanced again!
I spun and plied about 100 metres of yarn tonight. I used some old sliver that I have had since I first bought the wheel. It was natural brown sheepy goodness (and by that, I do mean that it smells sheepy!) and wasn't too scratchy. I'll have to find out from Jenny what sort of sheep this came from. It's quite pleasant to spin as it still had a fair amount of lanolin on it (I think). That's probably what makes it smell sheepy. I am in two minds about washing it. I am thinking that maybe I should wash it and soak it in some conditioner to make it softer before knitting it. I was just going to knit it on large needles using a basic lace pattern. That would make a quick and simple scarf I think. Oh, and did I mention that this yarn is PERFECTLY balanced? that's right, not even a hint of a twist on the hank when I hung it. Yay! I have sent out the scarf exchange emails tonight for the Surprise group. Please let me know if you have not received your email. Cynthia is helping me by allocating partners for the Knit only group. She will send out those emails. This means that I can play too! Thank you Cynthia, you're gem. Thanks for offering, Amy, but with your baby arriving soon and all, I didn't want to trouble you. I hpe you all enjoy making your scarves, and more than that, I hope all of you enjoy wearing the scarves you receive! Chris has decided to sew his brother's cat instead of knitting it. (How did I guess that would happen?) He's sitting beside me as I type, sewing up the body of the cat. He's decided that the body of the cat will have patches. So now we have a body that could belong to either a cat or a cow! Photos tomorrow, when it's done. It's Joel's birthday on Sunday, the same day as my father's. We'll be spending the day at Chris' parents, after church in the morning. We went to collect the cake tonight. It's a banana caramel cake, but it looks like a banana toffee (banoffee)pie to me. I hope it's nice. It came from a cake shop (which is more ike a factory!) near my office. We've bought cakes from there before, for office birthdays, but we have never tried the banana caramel cake. I will also be making potato bake on Sunday (mental note to self - buy more potatoes!) Chris is now stuffing the cat's body. It's coming out quite nicely. I think the cow patches are cute! I should stop blogging and go help him. It looks like he will be done soon.
All spun out
I don't know whether I mentioned it before, but I dyed up some Optim last week but didn't get round to spinning it. I finally did, and here's the results.  I kinda like the picture with a black background, so I thought I'd share that too:  It's not perfectly balanced but it's close enuogh. The skein had a half turn when it is hung - well, at least it wasn't a whole turn like it often is. I also painted some plain white merino in pastels. This is what it looks like uspun:  This is what it looks like spun and plied:  And here it is again in a close up shot:  Can you tell I am very proud of my recent spinning attempts? This skein is so close to being balanced I am almost tempted to say that it is. There is less than a quarter turn on it when I hang it. The yarn is beautifully soft and I don't know what to make with it. A scarf perhaps? I have about 75 m spun. I have enough handpainted top to spin up another 75m or so. That will make a good sized scarf won't it? Oh, and it's about worsted weight (110ply or so, to all you Aussie readers). While I had the dyes out, I also painted some Corriedale 5ply yarn. It feels like a thin 5ply - so mabe it is closer to 4ply. I think it will make great socks. I painted a 100g skein of Corriedale together with about 50g of some other 5ply I had lying around. I plan to use the 50g to design a pair of socks. If I have enough, I will use it for the "mum and bub' socks I have been planning. I always have leftover yarn from makng socks. That got me thinking - what should I do with the leftovers? I actually think that there's enough in 100g to make a pair of socks for me plus a pair of baby socks, not that I have a baby, nor am I planning to have one in the near future - so quit looking at me strangely! It was just a thought. Anyway, I digress. Here's a piccie of the hand painted Corriedale.  I have been plugging away at the cotton lace tee. It's not that it's difficult, or not fun. It's just that it is slow because I have nearly 300 stitches on the needles and each row takes a while. I am approaching the mid-point. From there onwards, I will be closer to completing than I am to the beginning. Things are looking up! I am really looking forward to the next issue of Souther Cross Knitting. I have submitted 3 designs. I can't wait to see what else is in this issue. There is so little in the way of local knitting material that I feel giddily excited about Southern Cross Knitting, the only Aussie knitting e-zine that I know of. I find Creative Knitting to be so hopelessly dull that it will take a lot of persuasion (or even more desperation!) to convince me to support it. However, I think Southern Cross Knitting has potential. Keep an eye out for it!
Quick Update 12 July 2005
I just wanted to say that pictures from the Canberra trip can be found here. Sophie and Anne are B1 and B2's relatives in Canberra, with whom they stayed last weekend. Have a look at the other pictures. I managed to complete a baby sock while playing games. The red hat was also a hit - people wanted to know what the 'nipple' was for. Inverting it (to hide it) created more laughter. I have learnt. Never put a 'nipple' on a hat. Especially not when it is red! We mucked around with play dough and created some creatures. Well, the others did, I knitted. Take a peek at the picture of the creatures. Most of them, I think were Adelina's. Aren't they fantastic! Cynthia, your package will go out tomorrow. I am still gathering stuff for you. I will be sending out the package for my AKSP tomorrow as well. I figured that there's no point in going to the post office twice. All you scarf exchange knitters, please let me know NEXT WEEK, if you have not received details fo yoru scarf recipient. Now, if your name was not listed in the list below, it means I have not received your email. Please contact me by tomorrow (12th July in US/UK, 13th July in AU/Asia). Thanks.
Back from Canberra, scarf exchange closed
First up, some spinning pictures. Here's a skein that I spun from Optim that I handpainted myself using food colouring. I plied it with a fine thin thread of silk spun from silk caps.  I spun two separate skeins, one with darker colours than the other. The one above is the lighter coloured one. I started knitting up the darker one, and made some baby things. I made a pair of baby mittens, which has been given away. The picture below is of the matching hat that I knitted up. As you can see, the colours are a lot darker than the otehr skein. The yarn also self-stripes (well, kind of..) and I think it's fantastic! It's so soft, I can't wait to spin up more. i don't think I have felt anything quite so luxuriously soft.  I had some white merino top which I used to practice spining and plying. I tried to spin it thicker than I normally spin so that I can see which bits are over/under-spun/plied. It came out ok. It was reasonably consistent but a little overspun. We're having a handpainting class in a few weeks at spinning class. I'll bring this along to hand-paint. I'll take another picture of it when it's been all painted.  The scarf exchange is now closed. These are the participants. Knit Only groupAmandaSiouxsieKaeMichelleAmyKrystoferKristenJenniferSallyRebeccaJo Matthews (no blog) Dana (no blog) Margaret (no blog) Surprise groupColetteBeverlyLeeJudyRoxJenniferCynthiaJulieBeckyMonaTamAliciaCecileGracieJenaFionaInaDebi (no blog) Christina (no blog) Please let me know if I have placed you in the wrong group. You will get the name of the person for whom you have to knit a scarf b the end of this week. Scarves are to be sent out in the last two weeks of September. That way everyone should receive their scarves at around the same time. Chris and spent the weekend at Canberra. We were there with some friends to visit Adelina, whom we (Chris and I) have not seen since the Bs' wedding last September. It's been nearly a year - WOW! We had a great time. We gathered at Adelina living room and played board games (loudly) well into the night. Lots of fun and laughter was had by all. When we checked out of the hotel this morning, we heard from the receptionist that someone was clobbered to death across the road from the hotel last night. We had apparently missed all the commotion because we were home late. I think that's the last time I am staying there. I am sure it's not a regular occurence, but sheltered old me certainly no longer feels safe there! This is where we went today.  It's like a ritual. Every time Chris and I visit Canberra, we visit the markets. This time, I was good. All I bought was 100g of dark brown alpaca fleece. On the way back, the sky turned a gorgeous colour. I'd love to dye a skein of yarn these colours. It really was quite pretty. The photo does not show it at its best. 
Scarf Exchange - Quick recap
The questions are: Name Email Address Postal Address Blog URL (if you have one) Colour preferences Yarn preferences (type of fibre, summer/winter weight, etc) Fibre allergies Colours you will definitely not wear Yarns you will definitely not wear(mohair, eyelash, acrylic, angora, etc) Scarf length preference (let's be reasonable here, no Dr Who scarf requests, ok?) Other things your pal should know about you Surprise or Knit Only group You can send this info by email to me If you try to sign up by emailing me at any other email address you may know that I have or at Knitter's Review, you may get missed as I don't check those as often. Please sign up by emailing me using the email address here. Thanks!
Destashing @ blogspot
I decided that I couldn't be bothered relisting the yarn that didn't sell on Ebay again. the assoiated costs measn that it really isn't worth my while to list again, so I thought I'd just start another blog and put all the yarn I want to sell on it. Anyone who wants to buy my yarn can email me. That blog is here. There's some lovely yarn there and I will be adding to it from time to time, when the inspiration to dye hits me. Once I figure out how to spin perfectly balanced yarn I will also be adding that to the blog. I am too embarassed right now to sell the results of my spinning attempts. However, I really am producing yarn at a much faster rate than I can knit it. My yarn closet is so full that I doubt I can fit another skein in without something falling on me!
Scarf Exchange Update 3
This is the latest update. Knit Only groupAmandaSiouxsieKaeMichelleAmyKrystoferKristenJo Matthews (no blog) Dana (no blog) Nargaret (is that right?? or is it Margaret?) (no blog) Surprise groupColetteBeverlyLeeJudyRoxJenniferCynthiaJulieBeckyDebi (no blog) The group is growing, as you can see. Come and sign up. The more, the merrier! Also, if anyone is interested in designing a button, that would be great! I have been working on the Cotton Lace T. Still not done with the left shoulder yet. I'll get there. I have not worked on anything else. Chris and I went to watch Batman Begins at the cinema today. It was great. Probably not for kids as it can be a it scary - it's quite dark. I really enjoyed it, more than I thought I would. I spun a little today. Remember the silk caps I mentioned before? I got to work on them today and spun a really fine thread which I intend to use to ply with Optim that I dyed yesterday. the Optim's really weird as it does nto seem to like dye as much as normal merino tops do. It took a few rounds in the microwave before the dye was all soaked up. Ever since Jenny taught me about balanced yarns I am been obsessed about getting my yarns balanced. The latest in my attempts was about 200 odd grammes of white merino top and it was almost balanced. So close, and yet not quite.
Scarf Exchange Update 2
This is the current list. Knit Only group AmandaSiouxsieKaeMichelleAmyKrystoferJo Matthews (no blog) Dana (no blog) Surprise group ColetteBeverlyLeeJudyRoxJenniferCynthiaJulieBeckyDebi (no blog) One more week to sign up and the registration closes and I'll start assigning pals. The Ebay auctions end tomorrow, in about 13 hours. I had so much fun dyeing the yarn, I do hope it all sells so I can dye some more. Tell me what colours you would like and I'll dye it up! When we went over to chris' parents today, we brought some samples to show them, and got lots of oohs and aahs. I must say I do like the colours myself. I am itching to dye some more! I have done 4 and a bit inches of the shoulder of the fern leaf lace sweater (or Cotton lace T as Jenn calls it). Ok, it's not quite the 6 inches I had hoped to complete, but I must say that it was quite ambitious of me to have wanted to have completed all 6 inches by tonight. right, back to knitting it and maybe I will have the shoulder done by tomorrow. Here's hoping.
Scarf Exchange Update 1
We are cooking with gas, people! Here's a list of the people who have signed up so far. Please send me your singing up email again if you are not on this list. If your name is not here, it means that I have not received your email. Also, if I have placed you in the wrong group, please email me and let me know, and I will change that. Knit Only group - all scarves must be hand-knitted AmandaSiouxsieKaeMichelleAmyJulieCynthiaKrystoferJo Matthews (no blog) Surprise group - all scarves must me hand-knitted, hand-crocheted or hand-woven ColetteBeverlyLeeJudyRoxJenniferDebi (no blog) The Fernlace swetaer is coming along slowly. I am going to try to finish at least up to the neckline shaping by the end of tomorrow night. I need to knit 6 inches on the shoulder. I have done 2 inches. yeah, as you can see, it's slow-going... No pictures yet, maybe tomorrow night when I have completed all 6 inches, ok?
Spinning Silk
Why is it I can never walk out of spinning class without buying anything? Is it just a bad habit? Tonight I walked out with some silk caps. I plan on spinning it really finely (not that I can really spin it any other way) and ply it with some merino. I think it will be lovely. So far we have about half a dozen people in each group of the scarf exchange. Keep those emails coming in, ok? The more the merrier! The fern lace sweater I am testknitting for Figheadh is coming along slooooooowly. I now have the stitches for both the front and back on the needles and that's nearly 300 stitches. Each row is taking forever to knit. I'll get there, Jen, promise..
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