Yarnivorous

G'day all! I'm sitting here, feeling sore, editing pics when I start wondering if I am going to do something like faint. Not that I ever have (though once was close!). I was seeing black spots before my eyes. Nope, not fainting. There are black spots before my eyes. They are known as flies. There's a bunch of flies that hang around under the shade of the birch trees. Sometimes they move along and hang around under the ornamental pears. Sometimes they come inside here cos I leave the door open cos it gets warm inside. Our place is not a meat safe. It also does not have anything to attract flies apart from shade. I've been beavering away at the Neatby Faroese shawl for my LYS. My progress up to today has been steady. I've now completed 40% of it and it is too wide to be stretched out on the 1.2m long needles. My knitting progress today is slow. My progress on anything is very slow. I did something odd to my shoulder or ribs last night and boy am I still p...

G'day all! I think things are a bit more settled today. I hope they are. It is very difficult for DH cos he likes his job and he likes the work he does, when he is allowed to do that work.... Anyway, I thought I would share some projects I've been working on recently, though I'd best edit the pics first! Excuse me whilst I make sure I have things to share. OK. Here's the front and back of the current sample I am working on for my LYS. It is their own dyed cotton. Pretty cool, huh? But the thing I am really thrilled about is this pile of tshirts. They are all op shop finds and most of them cost 99 cents or less. Except for the ones that cost $2. Actually it is not the tshirts that are wonderful, per se, but y'see you can turn tshirts into yarn. Check out this Ravelry group for details. Once turned into yarn, one can use one's extended Tunisian crochet hook to make things out of the tshirt yarn. I used the Stitch Diva tutes (different links for each w...

G'day all! Last night near sunset I had a sudden madness - I must take pics of my WIPs! Only I forgot one. Anyway, here are some not so good (slightly blurry and wonky colour due to low light) pics of my current WIPs (except for one that fell down the side of the chair - out of sight, out of mind!). The second fingerless mitt almost looks like this first one now. I had forgotten how quick these are to knit up. I just need to do the thumb on the first one and weave in the ends and then do most of the second one. A quick block and then they go off to my sister. I used this cast on (fiddly at first but then QUICK!) and some recycled cashmere I plied up. The colour is a bit wonky even after playing with it. The pattern is one I made up after having made a few Dashings and mucked around with fingerless mitts. It even has a gusset! I had this vision of making a sock with a leaf pattern and a flower at the top. The leaf and flower are on the foot, then a leaf pattern will wrap ar...

G'day all! So here's me with my new handspun shawl on the needles (likely a shawlette cos I only have 400m) Isn't it purdy? It's Tactile's Dogwood in merino/bamboo. (PS remind me that I don't enjoy spinning stuff with tencel but with bamboo - lovely!) And the Eyesore sock progresseth - I only have another 2cm of pattern and then some ribbing before I can cast it off and start the next one. You can see the yellow flash that occurred with the gusset shaping. Look at the way the lifted increase created a pink bar on a lot of the gusset (am I the only person who types guesset a lot?) stitches on the riverbed architecture. Nifty eh? And there is much more nifty than that but I am going to see if I can video it just to show I am not playing tricks. And then there is the shop sample. It is in SWTC Terra, which I am rather enjoying knitting though it seems to be drying my fingies out. More than half of the 13" of stocking stitch is now conquered! Why? Cos I...

G'day all! I am suffering a case of insaknity. (colour accurate under CFLs) This weekend is the huge knitty fun fest of Stitches West. If last year is anything to go by, it will be an amazing retail fest. Anyway, I decided that I wanted a new top to wear to Stitches. And I decided it had to be made out of yarn already in my stash. This yarn, to be precise. Four ply or fingering weight. In this pattern (rav link). I call it the coconut ice hoodie. I started a week ago. Ahem. So far, in between sewing madly (I also have this idea that if I take some fold up baggies with me, I will be able to avoid last year's fun of having a half numb arm after lugging all my purchases around for most of the day), I have managed to finish the fronts and am on the home straight on the back. (colour accurate in daylight) That's yesterday's pic. Yes it is done in one piece to the armpits. My current plan is to block it and wear it as a vest. I will add the arms and hood later. I figur...

G'day all! Many, many moons ago, I used to hang out at the city branch of Marta's yarns (alas now gone, along with Marta herself). Marta dyed yarn. She loved colour. She made lots of beautiful yarn. I often wished I could do some sort of apprenticeship with Marta. Anyway, I would fondle yarn and daydream, and occasionally actually buy some. One of my favourites was the thick and thin spun hand-dyed yarn. The other week I was digging through my stash when I came across an old scribble lace project. It must be about three years old. It's made of Marta's yarns. Well I took it along to the craft faire to knit on - makes a nice difference to socks! The jump from 2.5mm needles and throwing the yarn to 15mm needles and continental was nice, if confusing, too. People exclaimed over it, one little girl was bold enough to ask how much it would be... Given that I spent at least $33 on the yarn, it was a bit out of her price range. It and the nuno-felted scarves were the...

G'day all! I didn't vote. Are you surprised? I will graciously accept this belated present from the American people (unlike the last "gift" which I threw back). I admit to some disappointment that it seems that the high speed rail bonds have failed and gay marriage will be overturned, but heck, I'm takin' what I'm gittin'. Thanks! In knitting news, this bizarre thing has to have two button loops and two buttons and then I can show you what it really is. It has a cute little cable: Here's my other bizarre project: It is on the backburner whilst I knit 20 items in a week for the craft faire (gads I hate the olde englishe stuff with the es tacked on everywhere...). Four little bags, two bowls (were meant to be bags, ahem!), two scarves, two hats, one cowl, 1.5 pairs of wristwarmers so far... plus two weird monsters. I have two scarves, 3.5 pairs of wristwarmers, a hat and mebbe some more monsters to go, plus four or so nuno-felted scarves. All ...