Spotted yesterday on the secretary from one of the other rooms on my floor, red suede shoes. Yum, and with heels too! Its easy to see we work inside, sitting down most of the day.
And while on the subject of yummy things, my Sleeping Dragon yarn arrived today, and is pictured here with my sleeping dragon, gifted by my clever son(see post below) just because he saw her and knew how much I love dragons. What a good boy.
Then there's the shot of Dragon the mighty, who when you say "sit" heads over to the chair and sits like a gentledog, what a show off.
Finally, reflected in the lens of the AH's camera is the moon, very early on during the eclipse. That was some show, and just for once, the weather co-operated perfectly. Many photos were taken during the course of the evening, and some were even worth posting
here. Photos by Sailor Coruscant, Astrophysisist.
Labels: dragon, eclipse
hoon mobile
This is my (single, good looking, sport playing, brown hair, brown eyed) son's new hoon mobile. But really its very well looked after, and he is 24, so past the hoon stage. Now its all about keeping it under the speed limit and not attracting the attention of the boys and girls in blue. Yes he's a "P" plater, he never bothered to get his license until he had a car, so he waited for a while, much like his mum so many years ago. Did I mention he's single? He has a good job, and starts at 4am so he's free most nights, except when he's playing indoor cricket or indoor softball, or coaching the under 11's cricket.
Mmmm Tofutsies. When at the Quilt Show (a little while ago) at Darling Harbour, I bought some Tofutsies, because I could and had read so much about it here and there. Well I am in luvvvv with this yarn. I cast on the Jaywalker sock at a Trivia night, mostly to show off to the people whose table we were put on (would you believe the Principal and teachers from the school doing the fund raising - I ask you who did we upset to get these seats??) and it was a big success. Both my sisters and I were wearing hand knits, and knitting as well, so I passed the sock round the table while explaining the yarn contents (crab shell???????). The muggles were suitably impressed, and we won't tell them that after the first couple of socks it really is so much easier than it looks!
The
Spun Stitches KAL shawl is going good too. All you have to do to join is spin your own fibre and knit a shawl, posting pics and details as you go along. This is spun up from a fibre sample of cashmere/finn/merino, and its approximately laceweight. The pattern is the Bird's nest shawl, knitted appropriately smaller (132 sts) as a baby shawl/Christening shawl. Approximately half finished, and spread out (technical term here) to show off the detail, which is three pattern repeats with stocking stitch between repeat two and three.
I am about to be in trouble because I am almost finished the car scarf (the easy to pick up and knit on the go project), will have to nut out something else to do at traffic lights.
Living in a family is always more interesting than any soap on TV. At any given time there is laughter/fights, love won and lost, and all kinds of trauma in between. This week has been more of the same, but nothing to worry about, just for a change. Now if it stays dry for about 4 hours Saturday morning for watching kids finals for sport, I will be happy.
(I'm sure I should not tell you this, but I am happily singing along to Slim Dusty as I word process the letters)
Here's the Whisper - queen of all she surveys!
Enjoy the weekend all,
cheers
Labels: tofutsies, yarn porn
Hello Interweb,
Its just me Gemma, back at the right computer, and so much faster.
Eventually I went back to sleep on Saturday night/Sunday morning, and woke refreshed and ready to tackle the world and its it mystery .....
I even finished my monkey socks and am wearing them to work today. I have no idea if I told but I work in psychiatry, so the mad monkey socks of not quite the same colourway are perfect, they spin the patients out, and I have had quite a few giggle at my feet today, which is always preferable to depressed patients. If I can lighten their day for a little while, my job is done ....
what do you think, matching, not identical, hand painted yarn, not so different in the ball as in the socks, but whatever, I've always been known as "quirky Gemma"
Please excuse and ignore the white legs, like all good girls, no more sun tanning for me, its sunscreen and long pants/sleeves whenever possible, and now the legacy of a misspent you is coming back to bit me with a couple of BCC's on my face which require treatment. Ah the joys of life in the sun, still I would not have changed a thing.
Labels: monkey socks
Hello Interweb
It's early Sunday morning, and I am using an unfamiliar keyboard, and it's slow going, as the keys are too close together and the function keys don't do the same stuff as I have set up at work, gripe, growl etc.....
The boys in my family played their winter cricket grand final today, and sadly they lost.
the other team were better on the day, but some of the other team had a very unhealthy occupation with "making babies" (or so their language would suggest), there was no respect for the ladies in the crowd, either their own wives, or the wives/mothers of our team. This put a bit of a dampner on the mood of all the girls, as their other halves were embarrassed and we were just insulted.
Here is a photo of the sky, which does not really do the light show justice ... there was much more grey/blue in the top clouds, and not long after this shot the heavens opened for a few minutes, just enough to have me head back to the group for shelter,
Its a hard thing losing after a long season, but the good news is summer cricket starts in a couple of weeks, so the whole thing begins all over again.
But cricket, summer and winter is often an excuse with me to get knitting or *c* done, with the reasoning being I hate to sit still and do nothing, so today I was knitting mitred squares and making a four square without sewing. Thoroughly impressed with the Mason-Dixon method as shown on their blog recently, and a keeper I think, as blankets are something I pick up and work through regularly (although for some strange reason not in the past 2 years - its been all garments). I have 1/12 of a new blanket coompleted, and will post pictures when I take one (bad blogger, to not have a picture ready).
I've decided to write (yes in longhand) in my journal tonight, because my mind is still a bit stirred up from today, and the interweb feels private, but we all know better, and really sometimes its just a little embarrassing when you read over some of the rants we do, so goodnight to all. (Oh and yes it is the mostly absent husband in the photo, fancy him getting caught in a pic!)(and yes we all had a good day, which always makes the empty night a bit hard, but hey there is internet and knitting, what more could a reasonable girl ask for?)
Labels: cricket, knitting
pink gold
look down further, not just pretty coloured string, but a slightly bright scarf, perfect for the MIL, whose sight is a bit dodgy at present, what with the cataract operation that went askew, and just generally getting a little older ..... Roll on Christmas, one scarf almost done, only ......(don't even want to think about that one!) to go.
sunrise scarf
See previous picture, yes I really do knit some of the visually stunning (hey that's my description and I stand by it - its not really a technicolour yarn), hand dyed yarn myself, not just give it away balled or skeinned (is there such a word??)
I can't believe how fast August is flying. There are grand finals in several versions of the cricket my sons play (indoor and winter), so there goes chunks of weekends, house renovations (more time), work of course, but that has been pretty good lately, and then there is fun and games.
There has been knitting (while visiting MIL in hospital, while waiting around in doctors rooms, while picking kids up at train stations), honestly, how do people cope with waiting who don't have knitting, or something similarly portable to keep themselves amused?
Thankfully, all the bratty offspring are in good form, so no worries on the home front, and when there is no news, at least there is also no bad news, something to be thankful for.
There are finished objects, and while it was not finished in this photo taken Monday, it is today, and just in time as the winter weather returns to Sydney. Everyone is amazed when I say, yes it is hand spun ..... yes the colours are pretty..... muggles are funny when you tell them you can craft, they get all amazed even with stocking stitch!! The roving was from That Spinning place of course, Rainforest floor - spun to a worsted weight.
Labels: finished object, hand spun
rainbow scarf
Thanks to Happy Spider I am able to present detail of the lovely clapotis scarf, made in colourway "over the rainbow" which co-incidentially matches a pair of mitts and socks made earlier. She does the best dye work, and with just enough left over for a hat (?) or a scarf for a second person, who to choose?????
Don't tell anyone, but it was me. I burnt the bloody toast, set off the fire alarm and had the whole building (6 floors worth of people) standing around in the forecourt. Sh*t sh*t sh*t!! Can I go home now please???
Happy horse's birthday to all the little ponies.
The Shopping Sherpa asked for an update on the whole fiscal fasting, and I am the first to admit it was a brilliant idea. Money saved during June was spent on my holiday in July (the first time in living memory the holiday was paid for entirely out of savings not credit, so no nasty surprises when I got the monthly statement), and it also meant that a good habit was begun.
For July I allowed two meals out/or take home from local Chinese place, and not much else in the way of thoughtless spending, and already the credit card bill looks healthier than it has in approximately 8 years. Don't faint AB, the balance is now consistently under a couple of hundred dollars. By the end of August ........... it should read nil. I have to say that again, NIL!!!!! In 33 years while I have been working it has never been this number, and absolutely its only due to the example and encouragement of fellow bloggers, I love you guys.
Projecting into the future I see the overseas trip being entirely affordable (with continued fiscal restraint - an I really did not miss out on anything during the past two months) within the foreseeable future. YAY!
Life continues as always, but with some excitement. New roof, hooray no more buckets in the dining room, and because we always wanted to spruce up the back yard, stensiled concrete. Now to paint the walls, mow the lawn ..... all the usual stuff. what's that sock, you miss me, coming ......
WIP update, hand spun cardi, back is now completed and first sleeve on the needles, going good, pics at 11.
