It’s all about me and the make-up guy.
As you might’ve seen in the comments of the previous post, the “pub knitting” filming I went to last month has finally been televised. I’m not in it very much, but there’s a nice shot of me helping the make-up guy fix his fake-knitting and you can definitely see the “I Heart Knitting” shirt. Click on the screenshot to watch the whole thing. (File is 5MB.) But yeah, whatever. It’s pretty lame. I can’t believe they used the “First Rule of Knit Club” joke for the commercial bumper. We also filmed a LOT more than they ended up using (which is weird considering they clearly use at least one shot twice). They don’t mention any details about the knitting group and never even name the pub. It was a meaningless bit of filler to promote some stupid novelty blanket pattern in their latest issue. Bah, humbug.

Note: Please let me know if you have any problems with the video. It lags and stutters on my Mac but the Snook swears up and down it runs perfectly on his Linux desktop, therefore mine must be the problem. Just so you know.

Works in Progress

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As you can see, I’ve currently got three projects on the needles. The first is a sample pair of socks for the shop using some new self-patterning wool we got. The second is the Cheesylove sweater from Knitty that I started almost exactly a year ago. (I recently frogged it back and started over.) And the third is a cabled throw of my own invention. Read on for details.Okay, so the new sock wool is called “Jigsaw” and it’s from Heirloom (though it’s not made in Bendigo; it’s an Italian import). We’ve got eight colors and this is the one that caught my attention first. I’m following the supplied pattern and I’m really happy with how it’s turning out. There’s no way that calf would fit on my chubby leg, but it still looks cool, right? I’m using 2.25mm double-pointed needles. Normally I’d do them on two circulars but Albert wanted me to try out the new rosewood DPNs. I’m ambivalent about them so far. I’ve already snapped one and I think they might be too fragile (at least in the very small diameters) for my admittedly tight tension. The “detail” picture is of the turned heel. I didn’t plan at all for the blue section to wrap around so nicely like that; it was just luck! Now I have to make sure I start the other sock at the exact same point so they match.

As for Cheesylove, I was really unhappy with the pattern (which is why I put it aside in the first place). The big problem was the decreases and increases along the side seams. The pattern just says to do them on either side of the marker, which seriously messes up the nice K2P1 ribbing. So I frogged the whole damn thing back and started from scratch. I even did the ruffle all in one go this time, which meant I had to cast on 1,008 stitches. Yes, FOUR DIGITS WORTH. It was insane. Then the Snook had a brainstorming session with me to work out the best way to do the shaping. I decided instead of a single marker on each side, I’d mark the actual rib that was the side seam. Then I’d mirror my increases/decreases in the ribs on either side so they’d grow or diminish organically. I know, I know; nobody will ever notice (especially since it’s in black 8-ply, and under my arm to boot), but dammit, I will know! So I’m doing it right. I’m actually through with the shaping now and I’m up to the actual fairisle hearts design around the chest. The body of the sweater is done in Heirloom EasyCare 8-ply, while the hearts are worked in Heirloom Aristocrat 12-ply mohair. (The mohair’s a little thicker, but I kinda like the effect. Makes it stand out more.) I haven’t decided yet what to do about the sleeves. I’d almost like to make it short-sleeved but that isn’t one of the pattern options. I’d have to wing it myself. The “detail” shot is my attempt to show you the “organic” increasing and decreasing along the sides. Feel free to mock me and my preciousness.

And lastly, the cabled throw. I lifted the cables themselves from a sweater pattern and laid them out in a new arrangement for this blanket. I’m knitting it out of some lovely (discontinued) Cleckheaton Alpaca/Wool 50/50 blend 8-ply. It’s going to look terrific on the back of our shagadelic brown couch, don’t you think? The “detail” is a close-up of the cable patterns.

Pornographic Latch Hook Kits. Definitely not safe for browsing at work! I love it when people take traditional craft and do non-traditional things with it though. The Snook’s grandma has offered to make us a tapestry as a wedding gift, so we’re looking for something as cheesy as possible. And since “Dogs Playing Poker” is seemingly unavailable, a nice 70’s soft-focus nude might just do the trick. (Link courtesy of Awful Cufflinks.)

Freedom Poncho Über Alles!
Man, Martha’s poncho is everywhere! Thank God she’s not popular in Australia, though. I have enough poncho requests as it is. (Links courtesy of Manda.)

Another good BBC story: “Female chromosome has X-factor.” It’s about the X chromosome and how new research has shown that females are much more genetically diverse than males. Pretty fascinating stuff. Oh, and there’s a picture of a lovely tortoiseshell cat!

Bill Bryson is still talking about how much he loves Australia. Seriously, if you haven’t read his Down Under, you really should. It’s not only hilarious; it also explains why most people who visit this country never want to leave.

To parrot a rather grotesque Australian phrase, I’m full as a tick. The Snook took me out for my birthday dinner to Buon Ricordo, perennially recognized as Sydney’s best Italian restaurant. It did not disappoint. For the first course I had the signature dish: Fettucine al tartufovo. Basically, it was served as a plate of fettucine with cream sauce, with a lightly fried egg on top. The secret, the waiter told me, was that the egg (in the shell) had been sitting next to truffles for a while so it sucks up the flavor. Then they grate lots of parmesan on top and toss the whole thing right in front of you, so the egg and cream and cheese get all mixed up and melty together. I’d never had truffle before so I didn’t know what to expect. To be honest, if I didn’t know it was in there I probably wouldn’t have guessed. It was just a very, very subtle garlicky, earthy, musty sort of flavor. Very yummy. It was basically the fanciest mac-and-cheese I’ve ever eaten in my life. The Snook had some sort of seafood thing – calamari and mussels – that he enjoyed a lot. For the mains, I had the roast duck. Again, it was a first for me, and it was so good. Crispy with just the right amount of delicious fat on top, with broccoli and ginger and chili around it. Snookums had the Tournedos alla Rossini, which was a big fillet of beef wrapped in pancetta with a total Iron-Chef-style slab of foie gras on top. (Sakai-san would’ve been so proud.) We washed down our excellent dinners with a bottle of pinot – thankfully Sideways wasn’t nearly so popular here so you don’t feel like a git for ordering it – and even managed to cram in some dessert. All in all, a very satisfying evening. I’d probably rank it as tied for second with Bennelong in my Sydney dining list (Rockpool remains #1). The food was better than Bennelong, but nothing can compete with the harbour view. The service was really fantastic. I remarked at one point to the Snook: “You hear about ‘professional’ waiters, but it isn’t til you come to a place like this that actually see them.” They were attentive without being annoying and seemed genuinely eager to give us a great night out. I feel like it would be a great out-of-the-way place to take visitors…

Happy birthday to me…
Well, it’s not exactly cake, but toasted homemade bread with Nutella and a tealight on top (served in bed) are close enough!

Oh, good grief. Knit Martha’s poncho. I am disgusted to admit we’re planning a poncho window display for the shop. (Link courtesy of Amy.)

Hoey alerted me that there’s going to be a Sydney MetaFilter Meetup on April 1st, if anybody’s interested. Unfortunately that’s our five year anniversary so I’ll have to miss this one…