Here Be Knitting

The Ramblings. Down and Even Further Down....

I haven't posted to The Blog like I promised.  I have been feeling really low.  It doesn't happen to me very often, I am essentially "The glass is half full" sort of girl, but this week and last I have been dragging my heels and not wanting to do anything.  I have emails from friends (sorry Shelagh and Lynne) that I need to respond to, comments from readers of The Blog that I haven't answered (very rude of me) and I have essentially just come home and flopped in front of whatever was on the tele.  Don't know why, it is just how it is for now.  I know it will pass (it always does) but, just right now, I have managed to fall into the pothole and I'm just struggling a little to get myself out.

Knitting of course has been affected.  Here is the evidence of a pretty meagre haul:

I have completed the third repeat of The Hanami.  I still love this pattern and the alpaca yarn is so, so soft.  I'm not good at memorising pattern repeats, so have to keep on concentrating on the pattern, but otherwise it is a straightforward, enjoyable knit.

I have finished the second Feather and Fan sock.  They look absolutely fantastic, the STR yarn is great in this pattern and they are an easy knit for good results.  But, they don't fit me or The Girl so it made them harder to complete.  Mmmmmm I wonder if this is when the current low mood began to appear......

A second Ovation Scarf with beads - this one for me.  A good quick knit that is very feminine and pretty.  As you can see, it has been a while since the poor spinning wheel has enjoyed some use.

And now for Something Completely Different...

A few weekends ago, we ventured into Victoria, passing through the small town of Holbrook in NSW to get there and back.  Nothing very interesting in that.  But, they continue the famous Australian theme of large tourist attractions.  I am thinking here of Australia's Big Things (keep your mind out of the gutter, at least for now...). Holbrook's is slightly different because it is real.  Behold, The Submarine:

We thought this was lovely (but strange) for a few reasons.  Primarily, I suppose, is that Holbrook is about 250 kms from the ocean.  We didn't check for any very large dams nearby :) 

The other slightly odd thing was they seemed to us to have a fixation with things below the waist.  Behold:

And:

And:

Just sayin.

The Girl had another good tournament last weekend.  She began 46 of 56 competitors in a strong field and finished equal 14th.  She won her rating division and collected some $$.  She was happy.  We have lots and lots of photos from our trip to beautiful Sydney which I will put up soon.  For now, a taste of what is to come:

Enough for Now...

The Knitting. Pay it Forward

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.  I have been travelling, mostly for work, and haven't had the time or the head space to post.  I also haven't had much time for knitting.  I have completed only a little more on the Hanami, I've not really touched any of the socks, have begun and finished another scarf in Ovation (just like The Girls) for me and have begun two simple (one knitted on the diagonal and the other feather and fan) scarves to take with me for knitting in the car.  All very boring.... and, at the moment, no photos because I have no energy to go and get the camera and hussle the projects into some sort of photogenic order.

Tomorrow we are off to Sydney as The Girl has another chess tournament.  She did well in her last one.  She came into the tournament 64 of 64 participants and finished equal 27!  She was very pleased with herself and it has reinvigorated her interest in chess.  Chess is such a confidence game; you really need to believe that you can beat the person across the Board.  In terms of psychology, it ranks with boxing(I'm not sure I would call boxing a "sport" as I can't support that level of brutality as anything other than gross, but I digress....) as being one of the hardest sports so it can be tough on the ego, although at least it is gentler on the face :)  As the forever suffering parents, we get to sit around in chess venues and wait for her to finish.  This has its upsides - generally lots of quiet and plenty (plenty, plenty....) of time for knitting, reading, podcasts etc etc.  So the next two days should be great - The Hanami here I come!

I have joined the Pay it Forward knitting project with Lynne.  I know, I know (and as usual) I am getting to this late as most of blogland has already signed up.  But.... if you would like to play and haven't yet acted, the first three commenters to this post will receive a knitted gift from me sometime in 2008.  I'm not promising what it will be or when you will get it, but you will get one.  You just need to promise to do the same on your blog.  I hope this makes sense (its late and I'm tired).  I don't mind sending to anywhere in the world, so if you would like something from an average Aussie Knitter please don't hesitate to leave a Comment.

We have a public holiday here on Monday and other than some cleaning of this pigsty we loosely call home; I have a relatively free day - Yah!!  I promise to post photos of our recent travels and my projects then. 

Oh... and I need some cheering up, so please don't just lurk, leave me a comment and make me smile!

Enough for now.....

The Knitting. The Things I have Learnt....

1  I should complete "serious" lace knitting on straight rather than circular needles:

Here is The Hanami Take Two Day Three.  I have completed one pattern repeat of the basket weave.  And a close up:

I am happy now with how it is knitting up.  I have gone down .5 mm to 3mm needles but the real difference is in the straight needles.  They provide rigidity to my knitting which is desperately needed.  When I knit lace I knit pretending to not be a mollyduker - ie as a right hander (the pattern row anyway, on the "return" row, I just turn around and knit left-handed - I'm such a cheat).  This right handed knitting means that I throw, drop and grab needles and yarn in a very ungainly, painfully slow way.  It also means that I can't keep even tension on circular needles.  Change needles and problem fixed - yah!!

2  Lace isn't always stretchy.

These Feather and Fan socks don't fit me or The Girl :(  The pattern is very unstretchy and this surprised me.  I am hoping they will block a little wider and I will then send to my MIL whose feet are narrower than mine or The Girl's - here's hoping.

3  I don't like the Dutch heel.  Although it is a pretty to look at heel, it is very narrow - see 2 above.  I won't be using it again and will substitute my normal short row heel I think.

4  STR yarn is truly beautiful.

This is STR's Bella Coola and the pattern is Embossed Leaves from Interweave's Favorite Socks.  The pattern is lovely as well and the leaves are actually on show much more than this photo would have you believe.

5  Sometimes I don't know my own stash.

I have been happily quoting this yarn as coming from Sundara and being her Lenten Rose Colourway.  Actually, this is STR Monsoon colourway.  I realised this last week when I thought I had lost my Monsoon yarn and couldn't identify the other sock yarn I had in my "soon to be used stash" - duh!!!  The unidentified and unused sock yarn was, of course, Lenten Rose.  These socks also reinforce Number 4 above as do the Feather and Fans.

6  Sometimes knitting can be painful.

All my sock knitting, especially the lace, has literally cracked the back of my finger in three places.  Do you know how painful revisiting this injury with knitting needles can be....!!!

7  Photographing fingers while holding the camera is hard.

Enough for now....

The Knitting. Now You See It, Now You Don't...

The Hanami at the end of Day Two:

The Hanami at the End of Day Three:

I was growing very uneasy about how large my yarn overs were.  I wanted to commit to ripping it out and beginning again with a size smaller needle, but couldn't bring myself to do it.  And... then I stuffed the pattern on row 17 and it seemed the decision was made for me!  I might begin again tonight or leave until tomorrow, I'll see how I'm travelling.

In better news, the Feather and Fans are almost at the toes.  Photo is at the end of last night:

I should have a photo of a finished sock tomorrow - oh... and a finished sock of course :)

Enough for now....

The Knitting. The Hanami Begins

I have loved The Hanami for many months.  Shelagh sent me the Knit Picks yarn used in the pattern; I purchased an Addi Lace Turbo especially for the job. Shelagh and I are completing this as our own little KAL. And last night, I began.  I don't have a crochet hook that small, so I threaded the beads and created the cast on row slightly differently.  My love for The Hanami only grows:

The Knitpicks yarn - Alpaca Cloud - is gloriously soft and the colour so delicate.  I like how the beads have worked.  I'm only 4 rows through the first pattern repeat, so there isn't really much to see, but it is such a lovely thing I just had to show it off :)

The Girl and Her Dad are away this week at a chess tournament.  I get to accompany The Girl next week.  But this week, this week... I'm home alone - yah!!  I've done a little spring cleaning, a little cooking and washing. But for most of the time I've watched the cricket and the tennis and knitted.  I'm also a terrible night owl, so last night I watched the extended version of Part 3 of the Lord of the Rings and continued my knitting.  Bliss.

Achievements:

Earl Grey Socks finished.  You can't really see the patterning, but Her Dad's feet are in Sydney so we'll just have to make do.  These are knitted as specified in The Yarn Harlot's pattern.  The yarn (I think) was Brown's Wildfoote.  The pattern is well written and straightforward.  I would knit it again, although knitting socks for size 12 feet feels a little like knitting two long sleeves - they go on forever......

Almost down to the heel on the second Lenahlia socks.

I've also begun the Feather and Fan socks from the Socks, Socks, Socks book in STR lightweight Firebird.  I'm really enjoying these socks.  I think the colourway works well with the pattern and I'm a huge fan of feather and fan - such a pretty effect for so little lace work :)  I'm actually down to the heel and will turn and begin the foot today (yah for no family here...)

This STR colourway is one of the exclusive yarns I received from the sock club this year.  It is one of the primary reasons I didn't rejoin the club.  Don't get me wrong - I love the yarns, I usually like the patterns, I love the getting a surprise parcel, but, in the end I often don't use the yarn intended to knit the pattern sent.  I sometimes don't even use the patterns.  It seems a waste of money somehow.... So this year I'm not going to pay the premium to be in The Club and just order yarns as I want (or to stash of course) and see if I miss the surprise.  Good plan?  I hope so, it's too late to change now.

Enough for now....