It’s going to be that sort of day…
This morning on the bus I was stuck between a woman wearing a Feathers scarf and a woman who was CLIPPING HER FINGERNAILS. (And we’re not talking just giving a quick trim to a snagged nail; she was doing a full-on manicure and – as far as I could tell – dumping the clippings on the windowsill.) The sad thing is, I really couldn’t decide which was more offensive.

Well, that was quick. Rogue’s done!

Except for the zipper. She’s so nice and warm! The 4-stitch I-cord edging down the front was harder to start than I expected. My first attempt turned out way too tight and curly. It took me a while to realize that my beautiful chain selvedge had one stitch for every two rows; therefore I needed to do alternate plain rows of I-cord between the rows where I joined it to the picked up body stitches. Then I noticed that my instructions had me knitting the last stitch and body stitch together through the back of the loop, which looked crappy when I then knitted the resulting stitch through the front of the loop on the subsequent plain row. (Trust me; it makes perfect sense when you’re doing it.) So I pulled it apart and decided to always knit that last stitch through the back. Then there was the grafting… and while mine isn’t seamless, it’s good enough. (Personally, I don’t think it’s possible to seamlessly graft a four-stitch three-dimensional tube onto a four-stitch curled stockinette edging. But whatever.) There’s some noticeable bulk there, but I figure that my zipper should end right about there anyway and that might disguise it. Once I find my zip, I think she needs one more good blocking. The sleeves could probably use another inch or two, and I still think that folded hem could lay flatter. But she’s finished!

Bring on the Arockalypse!
Many, many thanks to Jussi for the surprise package of Eurovision winner Lordi’s entire back catalog! I can’t wait for my next run so I can rock out to such classics as “Hard Rock Hallelujah,” “Bringing the Balls Back to Rock,” “Would You Love a Monsterman?” and “The Deadite Girls Gone Wild.”

Blocking‘s one of those things you don’t really get when you start out knitting. I’d read references to it in patterns and books, but it always seemed like a weird idea to iron my knitting. I just knew it was something you were supposed to do. I tried it on my first Gryffindor scarf, mostly because I’d seamed the thing and I wanted it to lie flat without twisting. Of course, I’d also knitted it out of crappy acrylic yarn and I didn’t realize that applying heat would be a bad idea. I didn’t melt it, but I definitely took a lot of the body out of the yarn. It went really drapey and limp. (My sister liked it though, so no harm done.) Eventually I learned that only animal fibres should be heat-blocked, and that for the fake stuff you have to just wet it and let it dry. So from then on, I blocked sporadically when it seemed like the pieces needed it. Blocking is also great for straightening up pieces before sewing them together, but since I knit most of my garments in the round, I haven’t had this problem.

But now there’s Rogue… and she’s been sitting in a bag for nearly a month while I got up the courage to seam. So tonight, I blocked. What a difference a steam makes! Look at these two sleeves. One flat and smooth and beautiful; one lumpy and curled and homely. (I have to just say, I am completely in love with the Naturally Harmony. This is the nicest wool I’ve ever knit with, and blocking just makes it even softer and nicer. I must knit more with it.) For the curious, I pinned out each sleeve in turn on my ironing board and then overlaid it with a damp tea towel. Then I used my iron to press down and steam the piece before letting it sit to dry. (I really am going to have to have the Snook help me make a blocking board soon.) And then I was so entranced by the lovely flat pieces that I just sat right down and started seaming! The Snook and I watched Laputa: Castle in the Sky while I patiently seamed the arms. I usually hate doing this; my seams always end up too rigid and bulky. But because I’d had the forethought to do a chain selvedge, it was easy as pie. Now all I have to do is set them in! Maybe I’ll get to wear this beauty before winter’s over…

Stupid Customer of the Day: So this Canadian lady was here on holiday and bought a $280 tapestry kit imported from England. When she got home to Canada, she discovered her local store was selling it for $80 cheaper. That’s such a “huge discrepancy;” did we make a mistake? *blink blink* Okay, who doesn’t know that it’s more expensive to buy just about anything in Australia than it is North America? DURRRR. Example: The low-end MacBook costs USD $1099, which should equate to AUD $1461. Yet the price the Australian Apple store charges is AUD $1749, nearly $300 more! I found a six pack of Heineken selling for USD $7.49, which equates to AUD $9.95. Yet Coles are selling the same product here for AUD $15.99! This is the reality Australians live with everyday. We’re bloody far from everywhere else, so that means a lot of stuff ends up costing more. And if you’re some idiot from overseas who doesn’t get the concept, that’s not my fault.

The Snook would like it to be known that the emphatic answer to the question “What’s your favorite beer?” should always be: “My beer!” Yeah, it’s winter and he’s in brewing mode again.

My pottery class was very zen and relaxing tonight, mostly because I went very slowly and didn’t screw anything up. I started by turning my kinda crappy straight-sided pot from the first week, which had finally dried to the “leather hard” stage. Peter showed us how to put a “foot” on the base. It turns out I rock at turning! My foot looked, like, professional. I’m not kidding. The girl at the wheel next to mine wouldn’t shut up about it. (My inner Hermione was, pathetically, in ecstasy.) Then I cleared that away and got ready to throw another pot. As I’m a big nerd, I read through all thirty pages of notes Peter gave us last week so I felt pretty confident about the specifics of the technique. I centered it really quickly and pulled up the sides into my thinnest, straightest column yet. Then I decided to try “collaring” it, where you squeeze in with your hands to make it curve in. It worked! I then pulled up the top a little more and ended up with a lovely fluted vase. I can’t wait to glaze it…

I’d totally buy shoes that talk to my iPod! And I’m not a sheep either, for I have waxed rhapsodic over interactive shoes before…

We all got Bravo Stars tonight just for turning up. That’s how nasty, cold, and wet it was outside. (Note to self: I know your Crocs are your lightest footwear, but next time rethink the decision to go out in a gale wearing shoes with holes in them.) It was nevertheless a good meeting for me though. I got to reconnect with Kathryn and – yay! – register another loss. Remember how I excited I was to see a seven? Well tonight I saw two of ’em! That’s right baby, 77.6kg! (I’m less than half a pound from fifty pounds’ loss total.) I honestly didn’t know what to expect on the scales. Last week I was just in this stress and weather-induced CARB FRENZY and I seriously binged every single night. I didn’t feel like I was putting on weight though; I felt more like my body was telling me that it wanted the extra energy. Then I had a blowout on Friday night – lots of red wine, tapas, and peri-peri fries. Saturday and Sunday were good recovery days though, and I’ve done a ton of walking and exercise. So I guess it all works out! This is just a crazy time for my metabolism and I probably shouldn’t try to fight it.

Ooh, Mary-Helen just alerted me to the fact that World Wide Knit in Public day is coming up soon! Any of you Sydney knitters interested in joining me? I’m trying to think where the best place might be. We’ve done the park before… How about Darling Harbour or the Opera House? I love the shirts but I don’t know if we could get them in time…