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Tag: knitting

  • Adventures in Dyeing

    After I got home from cheese-making, it was time for more fun with giant pots. It was finally time to dye my February Lady Sweater. I always meant to dye it, but I was just too lazy. The cream did nothing for me though, and I never wore it. So I picked up some Jacquard Acid Dye in Burnt Orange and got to work (with some much-needed email guidance from knitabulous). The cardigan – which had been previously washed and soaked overnight – went into the pot along with some citric acid, dye, and lots of water. It was very vivid and murky. I kept it on a gentle simmer for about 40 minutes, checking on it often. I was pleased to see the water clearing just like Ailsa said it would! I turned off the heat and left it overnight. In the morning I dumped out the water and gave the cardigan a rinse and another soak (with hair conditioner). That night I finally squeezed out the water and had a look at the final product. To be honest, I was a little surprised at how blotchy it was. The dye didn’t take up evenly, and the effect is almost like tye-dye. (I’ve since read on Twitter that this is a common problem, and that dying whole garments rarely works perfectly.) Anyway, I let it dry thinking I’d make a final assessment later. Today, I actually wore it to work. And you know what? I think I like it!

    Dyed cardy

    I’ve had some compliments on it at work, and everybody seems to think the dye effect is intentional. It’s definitely more wearable than the cream version was! I may still have a go at touching it up; I’ve got more dye that I can “paint on” the lighter areas. But for now, I’m pretty happy with my first go at dyeing. Thanks to Ailsa and everybody who gave advice on Twitter!

  • Snook’s Hipster Cardy

    Snook's Hipster CardyAs my knitting buddies know, this has actually been finished for more than a month but I’ve only just now gotten around to documenting it. This was my entry to the 2011 Sydney Royal Easter Show, where it didn’t win anything. The pattern is “#17 Man’s Cable Cardigan” by Josh Bennett for the Winter 2009/2010 issue of Vogue Knitting. (Many thanks to Reecie for lending me the pattern.)

    The Snook was not initially receptive to the idea of a cardigan, because they seemed either a) too daggy and “grandpa” or b) too hip and trendy. That’s when I started calling it the Hipster Cardy. I told him that as a bicycle-riding, bearded I.T. nerd from the Inner West it was his sacred destiny to wear an ironic grandpa cardigan. So I knitted it anyway, knowing he’d like it once he had it on. He’s worn it several times now. We’ve had some fun staging photos where I tell him to “Look supercilious! Like you think my favourite band is crap!” and stuff. “More condescending! Sneer at my carbon footprint!”

    Snook's Hipster Cardy Snook's Hipster Cardy Snook's Hipster Cardy

    It’s actually a very nice cardy and he does sincerely like it. I was worried about the ribbing along the buttons, because I had seen others that came out very wavy and ripply. The instructions say to cast off as loosely as possible, which seems INSANE. That would just make it more ripply! I did a sewn cast-off, and I’m mostly happy with it. He tends to only do up a couple buttons anyway, which means you can’t really tell.

    The wool is Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in “Pumpernickel” (a nice dark flecky brown). I actually knitted on the recommended needles (4mm and 4.5mm). The buttons are vintage men’s buttons I got at All Buttons Great and Small. (Ravelry details)

    And as always, the Easter Show judges can suck it. 🙂

  • Eyelet Yoke Cardigan

    Eyelet Yoke CardiganOne of my co-workers just had his first baby – a little girl – so I decided to knit something for him. I had some Morris Empire 4ply in #436 Bloom that I thought would be perfect. I went to Ravelry to look for suitable baby cardigans with patterns that wouldn’t compete too much with the variegated wool. (And no Baby Surprise! I am going to come out of the closet and admit that I think they’re pretty ugly. I’m going to stop torturing myself by knitting them.) Anyway, I found this Eyelet Yoke Cardigan that seemed like it would work. It was really quick to knit up, and I used less than 2 balls of the Empire (on 3.5mm needles). The eyelet details on the yoke (pic), sleeves, and waist kept it fun and interesting. For the buttons, I was pleased to find 5 similar-ish buttons (pic) in my stash all in colours that matched the wool. Hooray for mismatched buttons! (More details on Ravelry here.)

    I gave the cardy to Fei this morning and he was thrilled! I can’t wait to see pics of it on his little girl.

  • Easter Show Rejection – AGAIN!

    So the Easter Show is upon us once more, which means it’s the time of year when Kris busts her ass to finish some gargantuan knitting project only to have it unceremoniously dumped in the corner of the display with no pretty award ribbons attached. I hate to sound bitter, but it’s really getting annoying to see the same (ugly) styles winning certain categories every year. I gave up on Arans after I realised that “cream” and “bobbles” were necessary ingredients. This year I thought I was playing it safe with the Snook’s Hipster Cardigan. Well, not only did I not get a ribbon, but they didn’t even award a first place in my class! (In previous years when that occurred, the judges explained it was because no entry was up to the “blue ribbon standard.”) It’s perplexing. And it’s not just sour grapes; other deserving entries also lost out to inexplicably awful designs. (There were some worthy winners of course, especially those from my friends like Fiona!) I guess I’ll just wait to see if they give me any actual judging feedback. (I’m guessing not.) Oh well, at least the Snook will have a warm jumper to wear this winter!

    Hipster Cardy at the Show

    Photo courtesy of Jody, since I couldn’t be arsed going out to the Arts Preview this year…

  • Momentous Weekend

    Man, does April Fools’ Day suck or what? It used to be amusing, but now it’s just 85 of my Facebook friends all linking to the same Google prank. It was funnier when you actually had to work to figure out which news stories were true and which were fake.

    But of course, Friday had another significance in our house. On that day, eleven years ago, the Snook and I first kissed in London. We’ve been practically (and literally) married ever since. (Him: “I don’t think other people celebrate Hook-up Anniversaries.” Me: “SHUSH. We do.”) In honour of the day, we went out for dinner at Porteño in Surry Hills. I’ve wanted to go there ever since the official SMH review called the lamb “f–king amazing.” It did not disappoint. We had the lamb, the blood sausage, and the brussels sprouts. SO GOOD. The place also has a serious retro vibe going on, so it was fortunate that I got frocked up for the occasion. (The hostess actually asked me if it was a Yoshi Jones dress. I told her it was from Heartbreaker.) The only downside to the meal is that we were both totally suffering from over-indulgence all day Saturday. I was in a lamb fat coma for like 24 hours straight…

    The second momentous occurrence from the weekend was that I finally finished my entry for the Easter Show knitting competition. I made a Hipster Cardigan for the Snook. I don’t have any photos of the completed garment yet though. The shoulders came out weirdly pointy from my blocking, and it looked kind of odd when he modelled it. (I think it’ll be fine for the show since they’ll just hang it on fishing line anyway.) But I think I’ll need to give it a proper wash once it’s home before we do a photo shoot. I was also meant to have a toy and some mittens to go with it… but yeah, that didn’t happen. Totally overambitious this year. Note to self: You can’t train for a marathon AND knit three Show entries.

    Marathon training provided the third momentous achievement of the weekend: I ran TWENTY MILES today! That’s 32K. (Well, actually I did 33K.) It took me nearly five hours, but I did it. The amazing thing is that I felt totally great the whole run and actually enjoyed myself! I think I’ve finally hit the magic combination of run/walk intervals (1:1), nutrition (Hammer Gels in apple/cinnamon are SO GOOD), and hydration (Hammer Endurolytes meant no cramps at all!). I wrote a long run report over at dailymile that I’ll reproduce here below. Like I said, MOMENTOUS WEEKEND!

    Run Report:

    I am just in awe of how great this run went. I had been apprehensive beforehand, since my stomach had been bothering me all Saturday. I was well-prepared though. I was trying out the Endurolytes that Eoin O. recommended, so I took two of them before the run. I had a mix of Endura and Hammer gels. I had my water belt filled and ready to go. I taped my right foot and ran on my orthotics in my new Mizunos. I had my new Mophie Juice Pack to double my iPhone battery life. And once I got out there, it just all came together perfectly!

    It was sunny today, but I was out there early enough (6:30am) that it didn’t get too hot. I did 1:1 run/walk the whole way. First I did the 5K from Chippo to the start of the Bay Run. Nice and easy. My right hip/hamstring started to make itself known, but I’d slathered it with Voltaren so I knew it wouldn’t get too bad. I addressed it with my mind: “Hamstring! I acknowledge you. I know you’re not happy. But if we get through this together, you’ll have another three weeks to rest up.” It seemed to help.

    I had my first new Hammer “apple cinnamon” gel at the 45 minute mark. YUM! Ohmygosh, these taste just like the inside of a McDonald’s apple pie! Best gel ever. There were a lot of people out doing the Bay Run today. Lovely breeze over the water too. I was feeling good. I refilled my bottles and headed back towards the city over ANZAC Bridge.

    I was having a gel every 45 minutes, and 2 Endurolyte capsules every hour. That seemed to be a perfect ratio. My stomach felt absolutely fine. On my last run I was mixing gels, gummy bears, and sports drink, and it was just TOO MUCH. With just the gels, I was able to manage exactly how much sugar was going into my stomach.

    I reached the halfway point back at the house, feeling great with a big smile on my face. I changed my shirt, used the toilet, and slathered some more Voltaren on my hip. The Snook refilled all my water and food supplies. Then I was off again towards Centennial Park.

    I had planned to meet up with my friend Kristin at the start of the park loop, but I didn’t spot her. I stopped for 5 minutes to send her an SMS and refill my water, but she wasn’t there. So I headed off on my own. I was 3/4 of the way around the big 5K loop when she rang me. She’d been within 100m of me the whole time, but somehow didn’t get my SMS! I caught up to her and we did the second small loop together. Running with a friend is the BEST part of these long runs. I just don’t feel tired or sore at all when I’m running/chatting with another person.

    By that point, I was well and truly beyond my previous barrier of 27km. And I felt GREAT. I just couldn’t believe it. Yeah, my hamstring was sore, and my feet were pretty tired. But I had zero cramping, my back was fine, and my stomach felt good. I said goodbye to Kristin and headed back up Cleveland Street for home.

    I soon met the Snook, who gave me a massive double-high-five when he reached me. We ran the last 3K home together. It was so great. I was smiling and feeling good. I feel like I could’ve done another 10K to finish out the marathon! Isn’t there supposed to be a wall somewhere? I didn’t feel any walls! This just felt too easy. The Snook was like, “Are you sure you didn’t miss a bit???” That’s what it was like. I felt like I’d done 10K, not 32K.

    So hooray! Another milestone reached and another goal exceeded. Super huge thanks to Eoin for his advice on the Endurolytes. I think those were a massive help to me today. And of course thanks to Kristin and to the Snook for running a bit with me. Three weeks to rest up before the next long one!

  • Photo Post

    Hipster Cardigan, 95% finished. That collar nearly killed me.

    Hipster Cardigan, 95% finished. That collar nearly killed me.

  • Knitted Royal Wedding

    I am going to go on the record as LOVING the knitted royal wedding. I think it’s adorable, and billion times more clever than Jean Greenhowe clowns. Of course, I am the type of person that makes crazy ballerina sock monkeys for fun.

  • Shared today on Google Reader

  • Opera in the Domain 2011

    Opera in the Domain 2011This was the fifth year in a row for our unofficial knitting meetup at Sydney’s Opera in the Domain. We had about twenty people in our group in the end, all gathered together under the stars listening to Bizet’s Carmen. I’d never seen that opera before, but the music was instantly familiar from hundreds of movies and commercials. I thought Carmen and Escamillo were great, but I just couldn’t buy Don Jose as a romantic lead. (I whispered to Rodd that the actor reminded me of this.) There were sound problems throughout the night, especially with Don Jose’s microphone. I have no idea how the people at the back of the Domain were able to hear anything! But the dancing was great, and I was bopping along in my seat to a lot of music. Too bad the story has such unlikeable characters!

    Anyway, the day actually started long before that. I was the first one from the group to get to the Domain at about 12:40pm, and I could see that the field was going to fill up faster than usual. Reecie arrived not long after and we quickly set to work defining our area with blankets and shade tents. Within half an hour we were already having to defend our spot from invaders! Luckily reinforcements arrived soon and we mostly managed to fight off encroachers. (The nerve of some people! Turning up right before the show and thinking they could plop down right in front of us.) We picnicked and drank wine and knitted and got interviewed by some local news cameramen. It was a lot of fun!

    Reecie had an extremely cool little pop-up sun tent. She also specially ordered an inflatable pink flamingo for our camp. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?

    Reecie and her tent - Opera in the Domain 2011

    Me and Reecie, trying to stay in the shade as much as we could. We faithfully reapplied sunscreen every two hours.

    Me and Reecie - Opera in the Domain 2011

    The cavalry have arrived! There’s Sally huddled under a tent, while Issy and Derek guard the eastern frontier.

    Sally, Issy, and Derek - Opera in the Domain 2011

    Tia was the mum of the group for the day, making sure we didn’t get sunburnt and handing round all the yummy food she’d made.

    Tia - Opera in the Domain 2011

    These cameramen came around from Channel 7 news. They interviewed Sally first, then did a shot of several of us toasting the camera. Then they went back to interview Issy and Derek.

    Interview - Opera in the Domain 2011

    None of our interviews actually made it onto the news footage, but they did show us all saying “Cheers!” (Thanks to Daniel for the photo.)

    Cheers! - Opera in the Domain 2011

    Self-portrait looking towards the opera stage.

    Me - Opera in the Domain 2011

    It’s the Bazinga Twins! Me and Issy wore the same shirt (on purpose).

    Bazinga - Opera in the Domain 2011

    Here’s me and a new friend – Amanda (aka Ptinutz on Ravelry). She came in the afternoon and her boyfriend came later. It was great to meet her!

    Me and Amanda - Opera in the Domain 2011

    By 6pm it was really starting to fill up and they asked us all to take down our sun shades. Here’s a shot of the crowd. It was really getting difficult to keep people from shoving into our area!

    The crowd - Opera in the Domain 2011

    As usual, Mazda was going nuts with the corporate branding. They handed out fortune cookies that contained lousy ads instead of real fortunes!

    Fake fortune - Opera in the Domain 2011

    Just before the opera started, here’s Reecie and Lucas having a little rest.

    Reecie and Lucas - Opera in the Domain 2011

    And that’s it for the photos! Snookums turned up just before the show with my dinner (Oporto and beer – he is awesome). When the show finished, we packed quickly and joined the crowds streaming to the city. Luckily it didn’t take us too long to catch a bus home.

    Thanks to everyone who came along!

  • Shur’tugal Socks

    Shur'tugal SocksThis was the first pattern scheduled for the “Super Special Six Pattern Sock Club” I’m participating in. The idea is that the group (which is now up to 200 members!) chose six sock patterns via a vote and throughout the year we’ll be knitting them with wool from our stashes. (You can read more here, here, and here.) I have plenty of sock wool in my stash, so in December I tucked away six special skeins for this series. On New Year’s Eve, I pulled one out at random: the Shibui Sock in “Pagoda” (a beautiful burnt orange) that I bought at my Mom’s LYS in Goshen. I wound the two skeins together into a center-pull ball and then I was off!

    The problem is that I hated this pattern. Oh, don’t get me wrong, it’s really well-written. I’ve just found historically that I get really, really bored with tiny allover repeating patterns, especially those involving two-stitch cables. (Remember Conwy?) Plus I just could NOT memorise the pattern. Twice I picked it up at the wrong spot and had to frog back. I knitted both socks at the same time on 2.75mm circulars, and I did the larger size. It just seemed to take FOREVER. I was so thrilled to finally cast them off today and be done with it! They are pretty though. More details are over on Ravelry.

    I will also admit to some irrational irritation with the pattern just because of the name. Apparently it has something to do with “dragon riders” and it’s from that book I hated.