I'm on...

I while ago Saphire Kittum did me the signal honour of making some stitch markers for me. Due to virtually no computer time at my disposal I haven't been able to show anyone except the WWS'n'B what little beauties they are; they're heart-shaped for friendship.

They've been getting a big work out on my latest project, Spring Garden Tee , executed for Matilda. I haven't knit anything for her since she was 1!!! Not a good record, mum. So, Spring Garden and then a Milo for next autumn; it'll be nice to be beforehand for a change.

For what is a reasonably simple knit, Spring Garden is turning out to be torturous. I've frogged it 3 times so far simply because I've been knitting when I've been tired and not paying enough attention to what was happening. What I wouldn't give for a graph, though. It's a little startling to discover I'm more of a graph pattern person than a written-out-pattern person. Perhaps it depends on the pattern. I'm knitting it from SWTC Bamboo. Everyone else has knit it in either cotton or wool so it'll be interesting to see how this goes. Hopefully I won't lose gauge half way through!

Things are busy. Playgroup is drawing to an end for the year, social functions leaking out our ears, trying to buy the clan their pressies and wanting to do more crafty things than I have energy or opportunity for. Bugger.

It's been a great year for the playgroup and I'm rather proud of it. I'll look forward to it starting again next year but at the moment I'm happy to know that there's just a few more weeks of organising and running it. Then we'll be into the Christmas packing before we head south of the border for Christmas. While I'm in Melbourne I'll be nutting out my requirements for mys sister's 50th birthday shawl. If 2009 is any indicator I'd better caste on as soon as I get the yarn - May ain't that long away for a shawl!

Some Stuff...

Mild progress while I was away. The lemming has lept and arrived safely in the form of this clapotis for a good friend. Admittedly, it's about 5 months too late for a cold Canberra winter but it's arrived in the nick of time for a chilly New York November. My friend is spending a whole month in Manhattan. I'm greener than grass!

Pattern: Clapotis
Yarn: Filatura di Crosa, College, shade 24 - about 1.5 balls
Needles: 5mm
Length: about 2m

I've also knitted pair of booties for the upcoming baby crop (same 'recipe' as last post). I met Bells in at Tilley's Devine Cafe and caught up with her and the other fine gals. One knitter, whose name I didn't catch, came to the rescue when I started to try to knit i-cord but found myself without dpns. With hook in hand she hooked up yarn to create 2 nice little tie offs for the booties. Thanks! It was great to catch up with Bells, so sorry about the Beloved's laceration! Maybe next month we'll last a little longer.

I've some knitting intentions for the Tilster and I'll post about that another time. I'm still short on for sleep so I'll finish here. I'm hopeful that I'll get back to blogging and reading blogs again some day - possibly when Til goes to school?

Baby Bug Set

Some may have noticed that I'm rarely on the blog anymore. This is a reflection on the healthy mental and physical growth of the Tilster and personal need for sleep rather than lack of inclination or defaulting to Rav. Computer time just ain't wot it used to be.

This doesn't mean that there hasn't been knitting! As per previous post, some work on outstanding projects has been achieved and I began new projects for a few friends' newborn kiddies. While I stupidly forgot to photograph the lovely little Topaz dress I knit for a friend's daughter, I did remember to photo other stuff. All patterns from panda yarns, "Adorable Baby Knits"

Baby Bug Singlet

Yarn: Zarina Print #5081 on

Needles: 3.5mm and 3.75mm

Baby Bug Booties

Yarn: Zarina Print #5078

Needles: 3.75mm

Notions:80cmx2mm electric blue ribbon

Baby Bug Beanie

Yarn: Zarina Print #5078 and 5081

Needles: 3.75mm dpns

10 mins to bed time

That would be my bedtime! The Tilster's specialising in 6.30 wake ups at the moment, which are better than the 1-3am hissy fits, so I'm not complaining. But I do have to get to bed on time.

My last posts' conundrums were solved thus:

Blankie - dragged out project; discovered that the needles were filched for another project and I haven't written any details out in my journal - 'e' or otherwise. Le sigh. Have finished stupid swatching to re-discover needle size and will proceed with triangles.

Lace scarf - did a couple of repeats of the set up and it soon became apparent that this was totally within my grasp (hey, cool!) but hopeless for the scope of the project. The yarn was too big to adapt the stole pattern into a scarf and it's characteristics meant that the lace was totally going to get lost. It were froggeded.

After consultation with the recipient, I've decided on the same yarn but have suckered myself into the Clapotis. I hate joining bandwagons so I've avoided this pattern forever. But I was wearing my ISE6 scarf and my friend loved the pattern, which is essentially a mitred piece in the same manner as a Clapotis. And wadda ya know? I'm knitting the bandwagon piece. Which just goes to show; join the lemmings before they/it's passé.

Look out cliff, here I come...

Promises, Promises

In a fit of hopeless ambition, at the beginning of the year I resolved to knit as many gifts as possible, thus hopefully saving some $$ and expanding my knitting skills. I seem to have avoided doing any work on two of the gifts and time is a ticking. I also seem to have delusions of grandeur as one project requires oodles of time and much stamina and the other picks on my fledgling lace skills and requires me to figure out how to modify the pattern! Oh, dear.

Firstly, the Fey One's blankie. She's about to graduate to a big girl's bed, owing to a little brother or sister coming along. The blankie was supposed to be for her cot. What to do? Keep knitting it for a single bed afghan or frog and fess to the mother? Perhaps a bait and switch: "Look, here's a cot blankie and now it's a jumper"?

The second project is a lace scarf. As mentioned, my lace skills are not brilliantly developed. I'm no Saphire Kittum and churning out shawls like a knitting fury, I've only had modest little y.o.'s in my life to date. But my friend really liked what I had to offer on my knitting bookshelf and so I said I'd give it a burl, feeling fairly confident in my nascent lace abilities. How the mighty have fallen. I've looked at the pattern several times to sit down and work it out and now I'm just avoiding it. I know that my friend would be very forgiving if I had to admit defeat but I feel a little daft admitting defeat without actually having done anything toward a beginning.

Enough angst, I'll think about them later tonight. In the meantime, some knitting has been accomplished.

socks are done (thanks to Ali graciously kitchenering the last 8 stitches for me. She thought 8 stitches was a doddle. Whatever has she been kitchenering?!?):

A pretty little Topaz is on it's way to Adelaide for a friend's newborn (I forgot to photograph it!!!). I made it from Naturally Sensations yarn , a 70% merino and 30% angora mix. Hopefully the mum will send a digi photo of the munchkin wearing it.

And I'm trying out the same simple little dress construction with some waste yarn to see what I come up with. I'm using out-of-production Katia and ditto green Patons Bluebell:

Last weekend we had a lovely visit from the recipient of the Rigby Stripes jumper. Here's Rigby wearing his clobber:

And you last saw these pants and hat modelled by Til. It's now modeled on Rigby's little brother, Argent. (The green jumper isn't my make). Argent is huge for his age - I doubt he'll be wearing the little hat for any longer than it takes for his mum to find him a bigger one!

I love seeing the next generation modelling the last one's knits : )

Winner

Through the magic of random number generation, Tasha has won a little bundle of treasures. These will be arriving via snail mail this week; once there I'll show what was up for grabs : )

K&K is in the winter session, now, and we're spending the first Thursday of the month at the Pavillion, as usual, and touring the rest of Wagga for the third Thursday of the month. We'll decide on the venue at the Pavillion.

FYI, for folks that have been coming to this website for updates on the Wagga Wagga Stitch'n'Bitch Knitting and Knotting, Kylie's created a new website for International Knit In Public Day and we're using it to keep everyone updated on where we're going for knit nights. The blog is: http://www.kandksands.blogspot.com/ This make much more sense as I'm not so great about keeping up with the blog nowadays.

Also, for those who remember her fondly, the queen of the stitch marker, Jackie, is visiting Wagga from 22nd to 26th July. We're likely to meet up for a s'n'b; please post a comment if you want to catch up with her and I'll keep you in the loop about date, time and venue.

Must fly - sorry for such an administrative post!

200th post

I have several hobbies (addictions) of which knitting is one. Another is the English girls' boarding school stories of the inter-war years. Authors such as Elsie J. Oxenham, Elinor Brent Dyer and Dorita Fairlie Bruce produced long, endearing and enduring series with tantalising references to, amongst other things, knitting (there are obligatory chapters centered on hockey or tennis matches). For example, this excerpt on the power of knitting and colour to transform a dour neighborhood and create a sense of common purpose:

"Jen ... realised that her vivid jumpers and jerseys must indeed be unusual spots of colour in that gray neighbourhood... "Even the 'Tin Town' girls don't rise to jumpers like mine... I believe they'd like to wear them if they had them"... and at her next class she proposed to the girls that they should knit their own jumpers, in the prettiest colours they could find. The village girls had been apathetic about knitting but they had, indeed, been eyeing Jen's greens and blues and pinks and yellows with longing eyes...

Her suggestion was adopted with enthusiasm, and her help demanded on every side... in the intervals of dances, Jen was surrounded by an eager crowd, intent on stitches, borders and intakes; and she looked forward laughingly but eagerly to the summer, when the lanes would be full of girls in every colour of the rainbow." The Abbey Girls Go Back To School", EJO.

How's that for a S'n'B: folk dancing and knitting!

I would like to celebrate my 200th post by asking for people to cite a knitting reference in one of their favourite books. People can just leave the book, author and chapter or leave a link to a post on their own blog or, if short, leave the whole quote in a comment. I'll then randomly choose someone from the comments and they'll receive a mystery yarn prize from my ridiculously expanding stash!