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Tag: knitting

  • Checking In

    I’m still here. It’s been a weird week. The first week of the Snook’s trip was difficult, then I hit my stride in the second. Then this week is back to being difficult. I’m having some terrible insomnia, and I’m really looking forward to him getting home on Sunday.

    Last weekend was full of social engagements. Friday night I went to my first Sydney Kings game at the Entertainment Centre. You know what? It was awesome! Everybody likes to crap on the NBL for being junior league compared to the NBA, but I still thought it was great. My boss scored us fantastic seats in a courtside corporate box, which just happened to be right next to the one Lara Bingle was in. Celeb spotting! We were also right behind Timomatic. My colleague Tim goes to a lot of the games so was able to fill me in some of the subtle differences between the NBA. (I had not realised, for instance, that in Australian basketball the key is SQUARE rather than rectangular!) Sydney ended up winning in a nailbiter, and I cheered myself hoarse. I definitely think I’ll go back to another game sometime.

    Saturday was a Knitters Guild meeting, and then lunch with some of my friends. Kylie came over to spend the night again, and we went out to dinner that night at Hart’s Yard. ZOMG, HIPSTER GLUTTON PARADISE. We had duck rillettes, poutine, fried chicken with biscuits and gravy, and the peanut butter banana split for dessert. I also had the Hart’s Yard Manhattan as an aperitif: bacon-infused Jack Daniel’s, sweet vermouth, bitters, and maple syrup. It also had a candied piece of bacon as a garnish. (Hey, when in Rome, drink like the hipsters do. Or something.) It was surprisingly good! But yeah, we stuffed ourselves. Such a great feast.

    Sunday I woke up and listened to the second half of the Notre Dame game. Talk about THRILLING. I had to call my Dad three times during that overtime! I was dancing a jig in the living room. GO IRISH! A few hours later, I had several girls over for a sewing party. The whole house was taken over and we made a great big mess and ate treats and drank box wine and it was a lot of fun. And I made myself another new dress! (I’ll show it off as soon as I can figure out what bra is suitable to wear with it…)

    Monday I actually had as a “day off in lieu”, and all I wanted to do was sit quietly and relax. I got a massage, I cleaned the kitchen, I worked on my knitting. It was nice to be alone after 48 hours of constant socialising.

    And now, here I am, drinking wine in the hopes it’ll help me sleep. Trying not to think about all the stuff I need to get done at work tomorrow. Looking forward to a visit from Eileen on Friday. And of course, counting the minutes til my Snookums gets home…

  • My Knitted Boyfriend

    My Knitted Boyfriend – This is both creepy and awesome. I should knit one for the Easter Show. I can just see it in the toy cabinet now, splayed out like a full-size corpse next to all those inane Greenhowe clowns.

  • Epic Knitted Illustrations

    Epic Knitted Illustrations – Rockin’.

  • Paper Dolls

    Paper DollsI should properly document this one, huh? The pattern is Kate Davies’s Paper Dolls, which is a short-sleeved pullover with a fairisle yoke. Since I can’t do anything simply, I decided to convert it to a cardigan. I bought the main wool (green Rowan Felted Tweed) nearly three years ago at the Wool Inn in Penrith. The brown and cream contrast colours are Grignasco Tango from Fiona. I went up a size or two to get some ease through the body. I still knitted it in the round, adding a 6-stitch steek up the middle (and making that the start of all rounds). For the sleeves, I simply made up the increases making sure I finished on the right number of stitches for the yoke pattern repeat. When it was done, I did a crochet steek with hand-stitching for extra reinforcement. Then I cut it open. I had originally intended to put a button band on it, but once I tried it on I realised it wanted to be a jacket with a zip. So that’s what I did! I did an i-cord edging along the fronts and then hand-sewed in a zipper. I love it! (More photos over on Ravelry.)

  • Photo post

    Got my hair done and made it to Guild! They gave me a sash for my 2nd place socks. :)

    Got my hair done and made it to Guild! They gave me a sash for my 2nd place socks. 🙂

  • Photo post

    Me and my second place socks today!

    Me and my second place socks today!

  • Photo post

    Me and @Yarna_ , workin' the Guild stand at the Show!

    Me and @Yarna_ , workin’ the Guild stand at the Show!

  • 2nd place!

    It’s official, folks. Yours truly has finally broken out of the “Highly Commended” ghetto with a SECOND PLACE ribbon at the Easter Show for my Rhiannon socks! It feels… anticlimactic. And what’s up with that display? I blocked those socks to perfection, and there they stand (!) all lumpy and wrinkled and weird-looking. I guess maybe they were trying to show off the front cable? I’m told that overall the displays are a much higher quality this year, but that my socks were one of the few sour notes. Sadly, Bokaclava and Sam Sawnoff didn’t win any prizes, but I didn’t really expect them to. (I had hoped that Bokaclava would be displayed on a dummy head! Alas, not.)

    I’m working the Knitters Guild stall at the show this Saturday afternoon, so feel free to pop in and say hello!

  • You Can’t Handle The Hottest Doctor Who Fashions of 1984

    You Can’t Handle The Hottest Doctor Who Fashions of 1984 – I feel like I might actually have this book somewhere. I hope so. It looks awesome.

  • Easter Show Knitting

    This year I set a record in finishing THREE projects for the Easter Show knitting competitions. I probably shouldn’t blog about them yet – because, you know, SPIES and whatnot – but I can’t be bothered. I never win anyway, so there’s no point in being coy. As you will see, I stuck to my customary themes of “Giant Cabled Thing,” “Non-Traditional Colours,” and “Toys Based on Australian Children’s Literature.” Oh, and this year I added a new one: “Disturbing Accessories.” I even freaked myself out.

    Rhiannon SocksFirst, the Giant Cabled Thing in Non-Traditional Colours. It’s Cookie A’s Rhiannon Socks knitted in hot pink Wollmeise. Yes, really. Longtime readers will remember that I actually tried to knit these socks four years ago and failed miserably. There are some truly diabolical cable stitches in there (increasing four stitches while cabling at the same time, for example), but this time I cracked it. I knitted them both at the same time on my usual 2.75mm circs. This photo, of course, is from before they were finished. They were blocking for the past few days so I didn’t even have time to get a proper finished photo! Hopefully the Easter Show display monkeys don’t, like, cut holes in them when they display them. (If you want more details, check out the Ravelry page.)

    Sam SawnoffNext is my toy entry. Two years ago I knitted Albert from The Magic Pudding, and this year I decided to knit Sam Sawnoff. Sam, of course, is a penguin and a loyal member of the Noble Society of Pudding Owners. I used the Norman Lindsay watercolour as my model, basing the body off the “Fairy Penguin” pattern in the “Cleckheaton Wildlife in 8ply” book. I actually used two strands of 8ply wool throughout to make him bigger, and I improvised the feet and wings a bit (since the pattern instructions were incomprehensible). His eyes are felt, and his trousers are calico. They turned out a bit more nappy-like than I wanted, but I don’t think it can be helped given the realities of penguin anatomy. Incidentally, I’m pretty sure Norman Lindsay never even saw a real penguin. Sam is WACK. (More details on Ravelry here.)

    BokaclavaAnd now we come to DISTURBING: the Bokaclava. I’m not sure how I came across this free pattern, but somehow a few years ago I agreed to knit one for my colleague Sean. It sat hibernating for a long time til I was inspired to finish it. My goal, of course, was to completely freak out the Show judges. And given how much it freaked ME out every time I tried it on, I think I will succeed. I knitted it out of some random Aran wool that I was gifted, and the thing looks more like something you’d buy in a Newtown fetish shop than something entered in a country show. And really, that’s pretty much what I was going for! BOOYAH. (And the Rav page is here.)

    And now to wait and see the results of the judging. Any bets?