Tuesday 31 July 2007

Back to the knitting


Finally got through the final pages of Harry Potter on Sunday, so the knitting has started again in earnest!

Nearly done with Mum’s silk garden scarf, I’ve been working on it at lunchtime and all the girls at work think it’s just gorgeous, so BIG YAY!!! My version in the Aurora has come to a grinding halt, it’s such yucky yarn to knit with I’m kind of avoiding picking it up again.

The lil hoody is finished, sort of almost, just got some seaming to finish, but I’m using crap light as an excuse again and I’m only working on it on weekends, when I can sit on the balcony with all the lovely natural light making my job much easier.

I’m onto something else already of course, a scarf in Filatura di Crosa’s Zara (see the pic for the pattern I’m using, from the first Vogue Stitchionary – I am hoping to get the WHOLE book for my birthday, fingers crossed). This yarn is so stunningly easy to knit with, it’s light and lofty and a complete and utter dream. The scarf is already about 2 balls long and in a lovely pale bluey mauve colour (think it's called periwinkle)….YUM YUM YUM, love it to bits.
Almost forgot! I really liked the final Harry, some of the loses were heartbreaking when they happened but it was such a great end to a much loved adventure, wrapped up in a way that seemed just right. I’m thinking sometime in the not too distant future I’ll be starting the whole thing again, when Harry was still living under the stairs in Privet Drive.

Tuesday 24 July 2007

Strange things are afoot!

It belongs to my new toy (see below)....I just don't know what it actually does yet!!

It's the new arrival....



An early birthday present (seeing as I had to go and pick it up myself, thanks hubby o' mine!)

Haven't dared switched the thing on yet, the "before you start" part of the manual is as thick as a kid eating perkins paste and I have to save my reading eyes for Harry and Harry alone!!

Spoke to Sis the Youngest today and she's already finished and so desperately wanted to discuss all things Harry (as we always do after each volume) but couldn't in case she revealed something she shouldn't! I'm on Chapter 22, I'm getting there....I swear I am!!!

Oh and if you're really that interested in the new sewing machine it's a Brother NX-400.

Plush-o-Rama arrived today too (woo for Amazon, how i adore thee and the AU dollar is a bit spiffy at the moment to boot!) so I think the first thing I'll make is something plushy-toy like!

Saturday 21 July 2007

And the knitting stops

Just while I read Harry Potter of course....

Chapter 9 and I'm already emotionally exhausted....I'll be a wreck before I get half way!!

Saturday 14 July 2007

Owww, my bleeding fingers.


Ok, I’ll come right out and say it, there’s nothing all that nice about knitting with Noro Silk Garden or Aurora. Some relief came when I transferred from bamboo to metal needles, but it’s scratchy and crunchy and dream crushing.

Oh Noro, you enticed me into purchasing you with your luxury yarn price tag, like some holy grail of knitting-ness!!

Everyone bangs on about “woo Noro this” and “even bigger woo Noro that” but really, for me all it has going for it are the amazing colour combinations. Honestly in future I’ll be spending the money on some squishy soft alpaca or cashmere blend. Something when I’m knitting it feels like I have an itty bitty kitty in my lap, purring away as it grows.

The fabric itself once knitted isn’t as icky as the knitting, it’s not baby-bum soft, but nor will it take away sheets of skin in some exfoliating frenzy either. And those colour changes….STUNNING!

I’m knitting the Orca Tail Scarf in Silk Garden for mum and in Aurora for me. I will admit to loving the way they are knitting up though, the way each repeat seems to be flowing underneath the next, they’ll be a perfect splash of scarfy colour if the weather ever decides to warm up.

They’ll certainly be a labour or love, seeing as I have a few balls of Filatura de Crosa’s Zara staring at me. And those massive, space consuming balls of wool from Bendigo whispering “knit me, knit me” those bastards just KNOW they’ve swatched perfectly for the countless potential projects.

Got my Ravelry invitation last week too, so I need to embark on a photographing orgy so I can document the stash and all the UFOs/ WIPs. She who dies with the most yarn wins!

Then again, it’s a nice bright sunny day, perfect for dealing with dark yarn and there’s a little navy striped hoody that needs some attention.

Saturday 7 July 2007

A boy and his almost hoody




The yarn didn’t arrive until Thursday so only 1 sleeve got finished before Saturday.

Good thing that I hadn’t finished the jumper though….because it’s TOO SHORT! Yep, so now I have to un-cast on the bottom and add another stripe or two.

Twas a lovely 1st Birthday party though, kids running about in manic fashion, scoffing lots of party food, grown ups running about in not so manic fashion, scoffing lots of party food. I can’t get over how much my little nephew changes every time I see him, such a manly man is he! He'd just woken up when he tried on his hoody though, so he wasn't overly enthused.

Monday 2 July 2007

The night Panda became a Jedi



hehe....Panda's just modelling the seamed hood and shoulders of the lil striped hoody! I think he looks a bit cute.



But man, this is going to be one thick arse jumper, the cold weather had better keep up or Lil Sir Niblet is going to have to pack up his toys and move to a colder clime, somewhere like the Arctic maybe?

Oh and Panda has been with me since I was born, so he's a very old and very loved noseless Panda.

Oh noes, I runned out!!

Yep, there’s no navy wool left! The cupboard is bare. The well is dry. And there’s a lil jumper with a back, a front and NO SLEEVES!!

Luckily I foresaw this catastrophe and ordered another ball on Friday, unfortunately it means a mad knitting rush late this week. I have a lil bit left that I’ll use to start seaming with tonight, tried to do it last night, but oh my lordy the weaving in of the ends started to drive me to distraction. Dark navy yarn is rubbish to weave in at night, you can’t see a damned thing.

The new members of the stash were calling out from their bags yesterday, I fondled a little and even cast on a few stitches in the Noro Aurora (ack, that yarn is going to make my fingers cranky) but I was good and picked up a couple of half finished scarves and worked on those a bit more.