Friday, June 27, 2008



Things I have learned this week.

1. If you have to pull a file apart, a chuppa chup is an excellent tool for holding the pages together.



2. Spinning outside my comfort zone is a good thing. Shiney, coloured fluff makes great yarn!



I am undecided whether to ply this to itself, or add a neutral thread to stabilise the twist. But I love having choices ..... yay and thanks again Kathleen. It's really pretty.



3. Entralac is not as hard as it looks, just time consuming and slightly tedious. But add in Noro sock yarn and you get art. (why yes I may have dropped a stitch, that just makes me human).

Monday will see me drive out of Sydney for five days of R & R, staying at the Thistle Hill Winery at Mudgee! A house almost all to myself, only one of the offspring were able to take advantage of the offer to go away this time round. (Will have to see who's free at Christmas when I have a place at Kiama for a week, right on the beach.)

Will let you all in on a secret, I will be spinning, knitting, reading, wine tasting (the vineyard where we are staying is a certified organic vineyard and produces verrrrrry acceptable wine, know this from past visits, but this is the first time I am staying.) Its a new moon next week, so the night sky, far from city lights should be spectacular, and we are thinking of kidnapping one of the 10inch telescopes from uni, but if not that then Cath's little telescope will be coming along as we are both hardy souls, with much wooly goodness to smother ourselves in, so there will also be observing. Bliss!!!

Have a good week all, and be kind to one another.

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Monday, June 23, 2008

so here's a little of the fun I was having over the weekend.

ok since blogger does not want to load photos (35 minutes of just not doing anything) I spun up the multi coloured, shiny batt from my ISE6 pal. Photos will follow when I bludgeon blogger into submission. watch this space.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Originally seen on Penny Arcade, and though it a myth, but nope, really not. Worst idea ever. Don't these people know people who have kids, or do market research with parents, typically the target of such marketing crap?

Sunday, June 15, 2008




So Saturday was World Wide Knit in Public day, celebrated by the Ells.... Clan at Miranda Shopping Centre. There were the four of us, and in a stroke of amazment we discovered there is a S'n'B group that meets regularly at Miranda every Saturday. They had seen the notice of a KIP at Miranda and graciously joined us. It was immediately apparent that someone who does not know the shopping centre layout had organised where we were meeting, and after about 30 seconds discussion, we decided to adjourn to where the s'n'b regularly meet, the chocolate cafe. (Heaps better ladies, thank you for that suggestion, more space, admittedly less exposure but much nicer coffee and Aztec style chocolate ..... Best news of all is that they meet every week (mostly) and asked if any of us would like to come along, just to turn up. Ah knitters, is there anyone nicer?

In the photos there is Sim, Lorna, Kat, Catherine and Mum (Eisie), we're all knitting and of course wearing hand knits. Shelly is not in the picture, as in a twist of fate two of her school friends (and one of them brought her baby) arrived. Of course, Shelly had to jump over to their table and visit. Knitters are the friendliest people. Thanks Sutherland S'n'B for being so gracious and letting us join with you for a hugely successful KIP day.





When 2 rolled around we decamped, heading off to Lincraft and then for food. When mum and Catherine had to do supermarket shopping on the way home, I sat and minded the bags, (and we all know it was just another opportunity to knit in public, only this time I did spinning with the drop spindle). Lots of people stopped to watch (and I did not drop it once yay), so more handing out of lists of web sites, and general talking about knitting.

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Sunday, June 08, 2008

Hi all

This is a much better day. I have had a good week at work with a gift from a sales rep,



and generally nothing hugely bad happening to any of the patients (always a good week). My dopey brother rang me and told me "a thousand apologies, a thousand apologies, a thousand apologies.... hey Gem that's three thousand apologies, is that enough?" He's a serious dag. Any hoo I told him one was plenty, and I had had a great day hanging out with my third child, having gone for a drive to the NanTien Temple at Wollongong. Life gets too busy sometimes, and between a fretting child and going back to work after his holiday, he thought his wife had called me, and she thought he had and welll you know .....

So I have joined the Tour de France knit along. I am in a polka dot jersey (because on the craft front I have a totally challenging project (Ravelry link) which I want encouragement with).



It will be knitted in Wollmeise lace weight, colour Dornroschen (sleeping beauty), which is as you can see, many shades of pink/purple/orangey-red. I have a 300gm skein, with approx 1600mts. More than enough so on with the challenge.



" Polka Dot Jersey – also known as King of the Mountains. You are choosing a project that is a challenge for you. You do not have to finish it before the end of the Tour. This category is all about learning something new, perhaps a new technique like entrelac or lace knitting, or maybe you’ve got a UFO that’s been hiding under the bed for way too long and you need a challenge to finish it! "



There are stitches in there I have never heard of ... horizontal stitch, and a very large number of double twists, right and left. We'll see ....

and Finally, because I am such a slow blogger these days a series of lovely gifts received from ISE 6 pal, Kathleen. She went to a huge amount of effort, even to attending one of the Harlot's book signings and getting me a personally autographed book! It was so much more than I had hoped for. The scarf is soft, blue/green in a lovely fisherman's (?) type of rib, made of a Debbie Bliss cashmere/silk. Oh the luxury of it. Sydney has been pretty cold a few days this week, and it has been worn to work, sad, but if I wait till weekends to wear it, no one will get to see it, and wearing it work, at least 10 new people see it a day, and of course I tell them all my friend made it for me. Kathleen, its lovely, so so many thanks.


To top off her parcel of gifts, Kathleen included a hand written letter. There is something so special in receiving a letter, a real letter, not a bill or some junk advertising. I think it was (after the scarf, the book, the soap and the photo of you and Steph) one of my favourite things. Hugs chick.

Love many, trust few, always paddle your own canoe! (nana E)

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Sunday, June 01, 2008

So what did you do on your Saturday???

I went to Star City (yuckkky casino) to the Lyric Theatre and saw the Phantom of the Opera!!!
I was so good, of course I cried, (silly question). We were sitting in Row A, which is the third row from the front, and in seats 32, 33, 34 and 35, which is right under the chandelier. Yep when that sucker falls, it falls down first then across on to the stage. None of the people I was with even watched the stage at that point, we laid back in out seats to watch the huge mass of the chandelier dropping on to our heads. very impressive.

We got the understudies for the roles since we were at the matinee, and while I would rather have had Anthony Warlow as my phantom, the Christine we had was apparently better than the main Christine (one daughter had seen the show during the week with her girl friends and got the full cast). So win some, lose some. Of course that close to the front we got the best views of the costumes, which were gobsmaking!!! I want Christine's dress from the Don Juan number, silver, cream, white, beads, bustles, decolletage, full belled sleeves. Yum!! It was a great show!

Who do I have to knock off to get funds to go again?

PS, its my little brother's new baby's Baptism today, and know how I found out? One of the sisters I was with yesterday said "see you tomorrow and I'll bring the DVD then." "Tomorrow??? Im going to the back to back challenge at Kurrajong with one of my daughters, you're going too??" "Um, so you're not going to Steve's for Mark's Baptism?"

It was strangely gratifying to see the look on mum and my sister's faces when they realised I genuinely did not know anything about the affair being held today. But at the same time I kept thinking it must be a mistake. It made me sad, since I always got on okay with all my family, even the daggy one (I thought), but maybe not.

Anyway everyone knows a promise made to offspring over rules anything else, so in a little while, after I put out the washing and do the washing up from yesterday (when I was not even home - don't go there) Liz and I are heading off up the Blue Mountains for some fun.

In the words of a favourite spider "peace out" people.