No apologies

Started my Clapotis on the weekend and it's knitting up a treat, I've always been a lil bit scared to start because it looks a bit complicated and beyond me....but pfft to that....it's easy peasy pants!! There's nothing scary about it at all, just a weeny bit of concentration needed....so I banish my husband from the room while I knit. I love knitting it so much it'll be finished within the next week or so, no doubt!! I'm doing it in the Handmaiden Seasilk and the drape and feel of the fabric that's being created is stunning!

Got me thinking though, about a knitting class I used to go to and how it used to be such a great social outlet for me, but ended up with me being embarrassed to take anything too interesting to class.

I've been able to knit for years, mum taught me when I was younger....but I didn't pick up the pointy sticks again in earnest till about 2004. I was a dab hand at knitting garter stitch scarves, but not much else, so I decided to do a knitting class through a local evening college. It was great, I learnt how to knit rib (I didn't actually know about yarn forward thing) and read a pattern, the girls in the class were a lot of fun, some returning term after term just for the social aspect. So I decided to join them and kept enrolling. Anything more advanced in terms of technique I taught myself or shuffled of to “shock horror” a class at Tapestry Craft, the evening college teacher had an open dislike of lace knitting or anything that involved more complex than moss stitch and often made comments about me knitted complicated things to show the others up.

Ok, I know most of the people in the class were beginners and that the perfect place for them was spotlight or big w, because of their cheap and cheerful yarn range, and when you have NO idea what you're doing, a $2 ball of acrylic is a great place to start, but as my confidence in my ability grew the more I began to appreciate better quality yarns and the results I’d get from them.

The first special project I knit myself was a feather and fan scarf in the softest cream baby alpaca....I was pretty chuffed with the result (even though there was a mistake or two), but when I took it to class to show them, it was all about how much the yarn cost...."you paid $11 a ball and it took 5 balls???????"....um, yeah, 5 balls, but it's really beautiful and soft and it was less than $60 and you couldn't buy the same thing for that and besides, I love wearing it....but some people couldn't get past the cost.

Then I had the audacity to turn up with a couple of balls of Noro Silk Garden, the uproar that caused because I'd spent $17 a ball!! After that I was labeled the DINK (double income no kids) and I never went back.

Anyway, I don't like that I was made to feel bad about having a bit of spare cash....hey, I work hard, so does hubby....we can spend what we like on whatever we like....and I chose to buy beautiful yarn that I can fall in love with before it even hits the needles and shoes....he buys rare whiskeys and things for his computers....we're grown ups, we're allowed!!

And speaking of beautiful yarn....I discovered The Knittery.

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.

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.

Stash enhancement

Spent a few hours today wandering around the Craft Fair, it was mostly a nightmare of scrapbooking paraphernalia and several other naff crafts that seem to attract the 65+ crowd, but there were also some opportunities to add to the stash!

A couple of my favourite suppliers were there, Bendigo Woollen Mills where I picked up 2 colours of gorgeous fluffy mohair for $3 a ball and some divine 8ply in a cobalt blue and violet twist (all enough to furnish the wardrobe with some spanky new cardis!). Kaalund were also there, I’ve bought 2ply lace yarn from them before and their colour combinations are like walking into a gelato shop in spring.

Got me lil mitts on some Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn (for scarves, not socks) and some Noro Aurora, which I’ve not seen before. New Zealand were represented by a company called Touch Yarns and I’m now the proud owner of some 2ply Mohair/Merino mix, feels so nice, I want to curl up and sleep in it!

So, I’ve now got even more to keep me busy! Because I didn’t have enough yarn to do that already, did I??

Not a lot more to report on the lil stripey jumper, I’m about half way up the hood. Just couldn’t knit last night, my bodgey wrist was giving me grief and I can’t keep knocking back the pain killers to get me through. I’ll hopefully have that finished over the weekend, so I can start playing with my new yarny friends.

Oh yeah….colour knitting class tomorrow at Tapestry Craft too….WOOOO!!!

(Sorry about the rubbish pic of my purchases, the light was terrible)

Show us your back, love

Ok….and I’ll show you most of the front as well!!

So, I’m a little behind where I wanted to be by this stage, I was hoping to have had the front finished and be starting the sleeves tonight. Didn’t knit a stitch on Monday night, bad me and I wasn't happy the few rows of the neck/hood shaping I did last night , so I’ve just finished un-knitting them.

I’m dreading weaving in all those ends, which I’m thinking will have to be done before I start the seaming. Note to self: next time with stripes, do the maths before you start and just carry the damn yarn up the side!! Oh well, live and learn, etc….

Loving the yarn I’m knitting with though, it’s from Bendigo Woolen Mill, a lovely 12ply machine washable 100% wool. It’s twisted, not crepey like some machine washables can be. As much as I would have loved an excuse to go out and buy the pale blue cashmere blend that the pattern called for, there’s no way I could be that mean to my sister! Hey sis, here’s that jumper I told you I was knitting for Lil Sir Niblet for his big first birthday, it’s hand wash only and cost a bomb, so make sure he doesn’t get it dirty, you know by doing little boy things in it and all.

I must admit though, it’s been tough being a one project girl since the weekend, there are a couple of unfinished scarves on the coffee table begging me to pick them up and knit a few rows, but I’ve been strong.

Although, I really want to drag out the balls of deep mauve Cleckheaton Studio Mohair I have in the stash once I’ve finished this. One of the girl’s in the office had the most divine cardi on today, fitted, round neck, 1x1 ribbing around the waist for shape, but then it was decorated with rays of graduating sequins (I think) coming from the neck, I know, makes NO sense, sounds naff, but it looked great and I want to knit then bead something similar.

Actually, I bid on 10 balls of the same yarn in a gorgeous delicate mint colour on Ebay today….was thinking same sort of cardi with the same beading, maybe self coloured, maybe in a lovely contrasting lilac. All lovely and soft and pretty….very unlike me!

I have promised Mum a scarf before I do anything else, got a couple of balls of Noro Silk Garden for her for Mother’s Day back in May, she’s approved the colour but I haven’t settled on a pattern to do it justice yet.

Curse my stash and it’s seductive ways.

Fearing the jumper....

Ok, I posted on Tuesday about how I was SUPPOSED to start knitting my nephew a jumper….well, I did start….but it’s only about 7cm of starting.

The stripes are kind if bugging me, it’s a hoody, so I’m thinking the stripe thing just isn’t going to keep traveling up as well as I envisaged . Might just go stripes to the shoulder seams and have a solid navy hood, I don’t know, it’s thrown me into a tizz. So much so, I’ve been picking up every WIP and UFO in the place and working on them rather than this one, itty bitty jumper.

I FEAR THE JUMPER!!!

It’s 12ply yarn knitted on 5mm needles, for a whole 30cm, so it’ll knit up in no time for poo sake….so why can’t I just settle in for the night, in front of some crap TV, glass of wine at the ready and KNIT??

The scariest part now is that I have less than 2 weeks to complete it, his party is on the
7th July, I’m going to have to really pull fingy on this on L

To make things worse, there’s a Craft Fair thing on next weekend, where I’m going to go on a yarn bender AND I’m doing a colour knitting class at Tapestry Craft. The temptation to start phaffing around with things that I’ve either learnt or purchased will be completely overwhelming, I might have to locked in a room with only the wool for the damn jumper and my 5mm bamboos….oh and that glass of wine.

Brrrr.....

It’s cold and it’s wet and the rain won’t stop.

AND we’re supposed to be getting a BIG storm tonight sometime too. I’m longing for just a few hours of sun and something resembling warmth!

Luckily the yarn I ordered to knit my nephew’s birthday jumper arrived in the mail today, so that will keep me busy and glued to the lounge. It’s a cute little hoodie from a Debbie Bliss book, except I’m doing it in navy, cream and maroon stripes. It might even be my first finished knitted garment!! I’m a wiz at knocking out the scarves, however I have bags full of half knitted jumpers and cardis! Bad me!!

Well fingers crossed, I have a July 6th deadline to meet….ARGH!!!