one or two
Okay this is the two boxes that the scarves/shawls usually overflow from, like I said OCD seems not to run in this family it gallops (to paraphrase Cary Grant in Arsenic and Old Lace)
top down
looking at the gathered box of rolled scarves, yes somehow I did two in the same colour
shawls
This is starting to look like scarf pron
rainbow hat
One view of the small hoard also showing the rainbow hat
Anyone else hate it when the offspring use up all the downloads and you are left with dial up????
Its SOOOOO SLOW!!!!!
So life goes on, even without *sigh* internet. Knitting happens (I will tempt fate and post pics here somewhere) and in Sydney at least, the Stitches and Craft Show happens, three days from the end of the fiscal fasting. So I officially called 29 June the end of the month and went shopping. More judiciously than in previous years, used
only cash (I'll say that again, only saved up cash - no credit, all you who know me well, be amazed) and so stayed within budged.
With the not spending in June I have learned something I used to know a long time ago, I spend too much in a casual manner. Not any more baby, I resolve to continue the very good habits fostered by the Not Shopping Sherpa, although I am not nearly as good as her at this game, and see just how much cash is available for my grand (dream) holiday in the Northern Hemisphere in three years time ....... mmmm real autumn, real snowy Christmas, real frozen northern spring.
What I have done this morning was find a scarf for my daughter, and in doing so was every so slightly appalled at the number of scarves/shawls I have accumulated over the last few years, so I took photos (isn't that everyone's first response to all that yarny goodness?). But that's only part of the story. In the second box is a whole layer of tartan scarves some even from the Hebrides. Last count, including hand painted (by my mum) and tartan is .... drum roll ..... 32 hand knitted scarves, 6 shawls and 1 almost ready to knit the edging, 19 bought tartan/silk etc. I think I should be working on giving more lovely things away.
Thing is its just not that cold in Sydney to need such warmth, at least not if you are in a house snug and warm at night, so I know a lovely Anglicare lady who will find good homes for some of the things I have accumulated (did someone say obsessive/compulsive disorder).
Now for the real challange to the internet first to post the text and then to try uploading photos ...
Labels: hand knitting, scarves
While we were waiting for the wool to microwave on this day, Sunday last week, and yes I know I am a very bad blogger, we (my sister - shoulder and chin in this photo) fed the magpie family, the rainbow lorikeet family and the flock of white cocky's that turn up at her place most days of the week.
Its always somewhat magical when wild critters arrive and interact, and the magpies knocking on the back door, or sitting on the window sill if they are ignored, is certainly entertaining.
They are not dependent on Cat for food, they all scrounge around the other yards and in the national park, just down the hill, but they come around on occasions to show off the latest baby, or for a little augmented mince (the local vet does a roaring trade in the things to feed wild birds).
These some dying experiments with a 60/40 wool/acrylic 5ply that mum was given, approximately 800gms. She wants to make a cardi. It was David Jones brand, and we all know just how long it is since DJ's sold wool, so its been sitting in someone's stash for a while.
The dark blue is a 100% wool. It sure takes the dye so much more nicely, but the blue/green is a little darker than in the photos, as usual, make an allowance for the flash.
Picture heavy post warning, (well after all it has been a while).
On Sunday I visited my sister, then we headed off to see the mother, and her twinny who was visiting from Ballina.
This photo shows where I get my own ash blonde locks from .....
Then there is Lauren, who at 12 is just short of needing a baby cup to drink from, and finds it hillarious to carry on whenever she has an audience. Good thing she really is funny!!
This is the tropical (?) wool I did for me, Loz got maroon/blue - school uniform colours, and Cat did green/blue/supposed to be purple, but more of a dark blue, all in 10ply
Bendio Aran.
So this has been the past two Sundays, full of family, some of who are too shy to post for pics, but at least one is an absolute camera hog (no names but it could be Loz), hope you enjoyed.
and to paraphrase a great blogger,
Whisper says mmmm .......
Labels: family, sunday
rainforest
part three, for reference of scale. Now to find a pattern I like to show off the soft forest tones of this lovely merino. BTW 18 wpi.
rainforest
part two, waiting to be washed to set the twist
rainforest
Part one, the hardware and some of the software - 225gms of rainforest floor from That Spinning Place
gold willie
Yet another Willie to the expanding collection, available for your viewing pleasure.
For knit in public day, I wore a purple (dark plum) coloured
hatHere's the link for the free pattern. I did not add the tassel, my kids would have killed me and hidden the body parts.
By the looks of the day, I think I should have worn it to work today too, rain is good (keep repeating that Gemma, and one day you will believe it!). Yay, today is POETS day (p*** off early, tomorrow's Saturday).
Cheers
Red cars go faster
This is the very favourite thing I saw on the weekend. A very hot, red covette, parked outside the nursing home part of the John Paul Village. Now I ask you, what kind of little old drives a car like this?? Who gives these seniors license to drive a hoon mobile?
Left overs
Wrist warmers (the first one anyway) out of the left over sock wool.
Hand Spun shawl
Found the equipment at home so here she is, about one metre wide and 60cms top to bottom.
Happy happy me, finally getting to blog. On someone's blog I saw the other day, a neckerchief, which was so lovely. It was a pattern from Yarn magazine, and made in a handspun, and as chance would have it, I had just completed the same pattern with the roving I received from Kat for mother's day. (Now if blogger co-operates a pic of the finished shawl/large trigangular scarf will appear here!)
Scuse me while I hide in shame, its not blogger's fault, I left the uploading camera thinggy somewhere(?) I hope in the bedroom at home (black hole of disappearing things). Also finished are the pair of socks in the Orchid colourway from The Knittery, and very nice striping they have too.
With the left overs (not much) I will make matching wristlets as seen on many blogs recently and wear them over a pair of black (boring) bought gloves, to accessorise and look really smart (just don't tell anyone that the four matching pairs of gloves and socks I have is just matching tubes of fabric over the store bought gloves (he he, I cheat when no one is looking).
Hopefully will post pics later.
On the fiscal fast, I can't believe how much money I must have spent previously on things I did not need, as there is a substantial surplus in my bank account (anything over about $100 as a surplus is substantial lately) so if I keep working through my stash, and save the left over money, Canada (hi Uncle Ed, want a house guest again???) will be a reality in 2 years, not 4 or 5. OMG how much do I spend on stuff I don't actually need?? This has been a very good exercise for me, thanks N.S.S. for the inspiration.
I have bought yarn, but (ah there's always a but :) ) I used a store gift card I was given for Christmas, and have $2.95 or something still left to spend on the card, so if its not real money, its not real spending right? Bought some vintage hues because it looks nice, and stole/borrowed the pattern book from Kat, have not decided which one to make, but will be making a cardigan, as I am sick of the old ones I keep wearing in basic black/navy. Need to liven up the wardrobe, and knitting keeps me out of mischief. Hey that's the theory anyhow.
Labels: fiscal fasting, stash
Welcome to Sunny Sydney! The above montage is from WWKIP day, held at the Opera Cafe, lower boardwalk, Sydney Opera House. Yes it rained just a little (ha!!!!)
Yes the "hairy" microphone belongs to
David who was recording his next
webcast for posterity at WWKIP.
The next photos are from the second event, held at the local watering hole.
In case you don't know, there is big Ben (the intense looking one), little Ben (the one humoring me by holding the knitting like it could bite him) and B. Ben and Grant, who are just getting into the whole knitting thing!
Add to that Catherine, Elizabeth and Davo and me and you have knit in public at The Handle Bar!
Wahoo, rock on.
Labels: WWKIP
Apart from the fact that blogger hates me, (because it eats my posts and says some wild and funky error number has happened), here are photos of my lovely gift from Karen my ISE4 partner.
First of all the post card showing her part of the world, mmmm sunny California,
and so many pressies. squee!
I felt all the presents, and opened the softest first. Karen you made me cry, its really soft, beautifully coloured, and perfectly knitted.
Then with my youngest documenting it all for posterity, here are the lovely bundle of goodies. (Even though we have never met Karen, you know me so well - not only a key ring, but a quirky one), a pouch so when I walk down the street knitting, the wool will only roll around in a small bag, so much better than a plastic baggy, a sheep tape measure - hide from kids, and most useful gift stitch markers. For some reason I don't have any and often use little loops of yarn. Karen thank you for the thoughtful, lovely presents, and the perfect scarf. With my white/grey hair its such a flattering colour, and tomorrow the temperature in sunny Sydney is going to be 9 degrees where I live in the west (maximum temp - somewhere around 40 or so F).
This really was a fun thing to do, and next time it comes around, I will sign up again. Hugs to all the hostesses, but most for the hostess with the mostest!
Labels: ISE4
My Scarf has arrive from America ....... wahoo! but I am not allowed to open it yet, bloody kids, they want me to open it in front of a camera so they can capture every moment for posterity.
Photo cuteness for today is curtesy of the bosses' dog who came to visit today.
I should photoshop the photo, but the evil green eyes look kinda "zombie".
Labels: dog photo, ISE4
This extremely lovely pic was taken from the
Blue Mountains Knits website, but originall from this
siteFollowing this there will be a local even, 6pm at the Dunc Grey Velladrome in the Handle Bar Tavern at Bass Hill.
Labels: WWKIP
Fiscal fasting.
Oops, have not been giving a run down of menus, although sounds like
The Not Shopping Sherpa has a far more exotic fridge than me ..... smoked salmon and blue cheese, just in the fridge. Would not last 10 minutes at my place. (note to self, get small bar fridge and power point to hide in built-in wardrobe to keep yummy stuff away from ravening hordes)
Please do not think I endorse the following products. Not an ad for N*metics. Just saw the catalogue and like the knitting goodness on the front cover. Being a good fiscal fast person, did not open the book, just passed it to the next secretary on the list.
Brekky is tea, white with no sugar thanks. Toast if I am particularly hungry. Except on Sundays, when it is what ever I think needs using up from the pantry/fridge. Sunday this week was butter, maple syrup (real stuff I brough home last Christmas), and bananas (well I don't want to throw them out do I?) in the non stick fry pan, high heat, and pour the resultant caramel over the last of the ice cream ...... ok I had been up spinning for a couple of hours at this stage, so it was much more like morning tea/early lunch! This is how I keep my luscious figure!
lunch (for the third day in a row) rice porridge - rice, leftover roast port, vege stock, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce. absolute comfort food! (good with a tbls sour cream, but alas no in fridge at the beginning of month, more notes, do extravagent shopping before declaring a non-shopping month - duh!) Dinner is usually veges, meat (although not for all and not always) and carbs. Not usually dessert, although there is always yogurt and fruit available, and bread and several spreads.
One of the things I've always done, when I am feeling tired or a little blah, is cook. I would have made a good "movie farm mum". You know always with a pot of something on the go, kids friends in and out of the kitchen, etc. Not baking mind, just pots of stuff.
Its one of the things I really missed when I went back to work full time. Average day, up at 6 (that's cool, cause I like mornings and its quiet) put wash on line, get kids up etc ...... you know the drill. Go to work. Get home 6.30pm. Cook? WTF???? Me???? I don't think so. Boil pasta and make cheese sauce (tomato etc. etc.)(whoops, one of the kids reminded me of the sausages, lots of sausages, visions of every flavour and type of sausage dancing around the kitchen waving at me). Skip forward 10 years (any yes the absent husband would say I am twice the woman I was then - and not always in the most flattering sense).
Least you think that's all we subsisted on, luckily for the family I don't always feel so uninspired, no one has starved in this house (yet, but if the boys don't clean their room, I may go back on strike and starve them into submission!!!)
Anyhoo, yesterday I had cravings, which is never a good sign, so instead of just veging when I got home from work, I cooked. (note to Not Shopping Sherpa, yes first I shopped, potatoes, leeks, onions, parsnips, sweedes - $15).
This morning I got to play with my favourite kitchen appliance, my stick blender, and the house is full of the smell of potato and leek soup, litres of the stuff, yummmm. I feel better, and none of us will mention that I was washing up at ummm 10.30 last night so there would not be mess in the morning. It was so worth it. Also in the oven, bbq ribs (sorry to the vegetarians out there) real ones not like the ones in the fast food ad doing the rounds at the moment. (I love that ad, the kids always ask "why don't those ribs look like yours? eeww I don't want those" See that's why we have offspring, so finally they can look at fast food and actually prefer your version.)
So no knitting at all last night or this morning, but much good feelings of another sort. I love feeling this useful!
Remember the Mother's day roving? Fruit punch colourway ..... orange and pink in various shade values of same. Sunday morning when the sparrows f*rting got me up (early) I took myself to the sewing/craft room and settled in to spin. From 156gms of roving, I spun three balls of approximately sports weight yarn, which is still nice and soft to knit, not overspun (remember I am just a beginner here :) ) and pretty even. So I decided to knit a small shawl/large kerchief I saw in this
Yarn magazine. I love this mag, and have just renewed my subscription.
Also a FO, the Sea Silk scarf. The zig zag of the colours shows up really well in this shot.
Now to block and wear. Wahoo!
Sunday was a lovely lazy day, first spinning, then off to mum's where we sat knitting. Finally before I headed home a stroll around the grounds and some photos of mum's absolute favourite flowers of all time, pansys.
The socks are a gift from my boss who could not find the yarn I asked for on her one day off in San Diego, but at least she knows I love funky socks.
This is the tropical (?) wool I did for me, Loz got maroon/blue - school uniform colours, and Cat did green/blue/supposed to be purple, but more of a dark blue, all in 10ply Bendio Aran.
Apart from the fact that blogger hates me, (because it eats my posts and says some wild and funky error number has happened), here are photos of my lovely gift from Karen my ISE4 partner.
This extremely lovely pic was taken from the Blue Mountains Knits website, but originall from this site
Sunday was a lovely lazy day, first spinning, then off to mum's where we sat knitting. Finally before I headed home a stroll around the grounds and some photos of mum's absolute favourite flowers of all time, pansys.
