Indulging my Inner Knitter

Work has become very busy the past few weeks. I’ve also had a few issues with my health (certainly not life threatening at all, but enough to wreak a small amount of havoc on my body). Social stuff including birthdays, anniversaries, Mothers Day, combined with 2 children playing soccer, 1 daughter doing Reading Recovery 3 times a week, and Steve being away for a couple of days, PLUS extra shifts at work…..gaaaaahhhh.

It all adds up to a very busy me. Haven’t had a lot of time or inclination to blog. Probably for the first time since I started 625 posts ago (Good lawdy - that’s a lot of me me me). I have still been catching up on blogs, and the time sucker we know as Ravelry. I have still been knitting though.

Kyoto (rav link) is very far along. Fronts and backs joined….only waiting for sleeves and collar thingey.

Francie (rav link)  is coming along too. Boy. I am LOVING this sock.

Interesting construction but not enough to make me go crazy. Great clear instructions with a really unusual result. Am almost done with the first sock and ready to cast on straight away for the second. In fact I thought that I would have finished it by now.

Till inspiration struck. Last night I started on my own version of the Kusha Kusha Scarf…..although really, the only resemblance is the materials used. Kushy (rav link)

I am using a lovely combination of my three favourite colours (teal, chartreuse, red) in the Habu Cashmere from my stash, and my black stainless steel silk. I am planing on mixing the colours up and throwing some white stainless steel silk in there too. Not sure if I will felt it at the end - not for fear of the end result, just not sure at the moment.

I have to admit that part of the reason I started it was I realised that everything I am working on actively at the moment it BLUE. I felt like changing that up a little.

I could worry about all these projects on the hop. But I’m not going to.

Because this afternoon I received a surprise present from that Mad Housewife, whom had rocked up to the Yarn Harlot, purchased her recent book and got her to sign it. And sent it. To me. How COOOOOOOL. Many many fanks Mad Mad.

I have spent good knitting time reading through it and nodding my head sagely wondering how she got inside my head. Especially when she says (and I quote)

Some of us (even though there are no knitting police and we could start twenty thousand projects a day if we wanted to) try do “do better” or work on being a monogamous “one project at a time” knitter…..

It aint’ gonna happen to me in a hurry. And that’s just the way I like it.

On Friday night he and I went out for our 11 year anniversary. It was a quick cheap Vietnamese meal cause I was all lurgyfied with Snot, but never-the-less we went out and, as we usually do when we get some time with each other sans kiddies, we talked and talked and talked. I love the fact that 11 years on we can still talk and talk and talk to each other. We still day-dream about where we want to travel to what we want to do.

We also talked about Time Off from Kids.

**

We talked about his Golf Guilt  Steve playing Golf every Saturday from about 12.30pm till about 6.30pm. (Yep - LONG GAME OF GOLF HUH?). It’s his favourite past-time and he just loves going, and we talked about how lucky he is to have that time to himself. It started a whole conversation about me having 2 DAYS OFF A WEEK AND HOW LUCKY I WAS.

When I explained to Steve that I DON’T have 2 DAYS OFF, I clean the house, do the laundry, do the groceries, pay bills, take up hems, de-clutter Kaela’s room AGAIN and AGAIN, etc etc etc, and that I didn’t really feel like it was quality time like his Golf, he explained that he really felt that I should take one of those days for me to do whatever I wanted to do. Like him. And Golf.

So.

Yesterday, Monday, I decided it was Knitting Day. I spent the WHOLE day wrestling with MOTHER GUILT, about not cleaning the floors, only doing a few loads of washing and NO ironing, constantly wittering to myself…

I’ll just knit for another half an hour, no - I can knit longer, it’s MY DAY OFF

And even though I spent most of the time on the couch doing just that, knitting my Francie, it was a constant tussle. I was meant to go to Spinners and Weavers, I was meant do to the laundry, and the groceries, and get my licence renewed (AND AND AND) but I just sat and knitted. ALL DAY. Don’t when I have ever done that. I wore my new slippies.

(A pressie from the Kids for Mothers Day)

I used my Bookseat to hold my pattern

(A pressie from my Sister for my Birthday)

I flipped through Love in a Lunch box

** (A pressie from my Girlfriend for my Birthday - with above excerpt)

I played with Gail’s scarf and came up with a lovely way for her to wear it.

I also opened parcel from a Ravelry destash…Have you Any Wool from Knitmommy’s Etsy shop. SO nice. Thanks to Knitting School Dropout.

So - on the whole it was a great day. Although I had to work today, and therefore didn’t keep my other part of the bargain, heh heh, so crafty, I really want to try and do it again. Maybe next Monday. And the Monday after. And the Monday after that……

Look at moiye Koi peoples!

After I finished Rouge I decided to cast on for the Koi hat with some Noro Silk Garden that I thought would fit the bill.

I should add that this was at 11.30pm. Went to bed at 2.00pm. Sheesh. Crazy possessed Knitting Lady.

I made a few errors and did my own decrease but all in all it turned out well. I don’t love it though as I’m not convinced that I don’t look like I have a tea cosy on my head. Mind you when I utter this to Stevie he said that he thought it didn’t look too bad.  It’s still going to take a jump to wear it out of the house where people can snigger behind their hands or laugh out-right.

On a different note - I love the way presents turn up when you least expect them, just in time to give you a boost.  I arrived home on Friday all full of snot and head cold lurgy to find a lovely box of goodies from Shelley.  She had a contest on her blog and boy was I the lucky winner.

Lovely stuff including Chocolates, Tea, YARN (more Hacho - love that stuff) and and,  look, a gorgeous neckwarmer with lovely button.

It’s SO soft and I can’t explain the warm fuzzies I got when I realized she had knit it for ME. Such a nice feeling.

In that order. I present Rouge

I’m going to a great friend’s 40th birthday. She loves my hand-crafted stuff in and the past has ordered bags from me for Christmas presents for her staff. She doesn’t like stuff tight around her neck so a close fitting scarf (if you know what I mean) is out of the question.

I finally selected some Rowan Big Wool, some of my hand-dyed 4 ply, a lovely fine black thread, and a shiny cotton thread.

I had great pleasure in creating something for her today on my Ashford Knitters Loom. What I love the most is the “what if I didn’t keep the edges nice and orderly?” thought that went through my head as I wove. The loops are the feature of the scarf/wrap. I hope she likes it.

A few things to note - other weaving peoples - see the nifty way I tied the warp? I saw that in a recent Ashford Knitters Magazine and it works a treat. No more jiggling tension. The photo in the middle on the right shows another tip - instead of using a stip of paper to start weaving, it’s easier to use some waste yarn doubled over….when you are finished you just pull it out on one side and tie the ends off.

Other point - for Australian Residents only - should you be interested in purchasing a Knitters Loom have a look at the prices on offer at Moggy and Me.

I’m on a roll.  Hats hats everywhere. Well not really. But I am prone to exaggeration at the best of times.

I finished 2 adorable hats last week for my lovely friends that have the 2 lovely twins.  I based them on Jussi’s lovely pattern but changed the tops to have two different i-cords….they reminded me of Snuggle Pot and Cuddle Pie.

I used the lovely Cleckheaton Bamboo, held double, and they came out so smooth and soft.

I have been working on a hat for me for the last few days in, ahem, Patons Smoothie DK. It’s 100% Acrylic. And. It’s lovely.  The Colour and the Sheen caught my eye straight away.

I’ll admit. I never thought that I would knit in 100% Acrylic. I don’t mean this in a snobby way.  Usually the Acrylic is scratchy and yuck, and I figure with so many other options and time spent on projects I would rather spend a little more money and get some lovely yarn.  But I’ve gotta say, I’d happily go back and use this again.  I am making my Lina a little longer in the brim so I can turn it up if I want to.  Usually me and hats don’t mix but this is such a nice one.  I’m prepared to be laughed at in public.

And so.  Time for a photo of Hamish ‘cutting’ his toenails.

With his teeth.

Man. If I attempted something like that the kids would have to call the ambulance.

He was giving me a cuddle the other day, and suddenly he sat up and looked at me with wonderment in his eyes.

Mum! I can hear your LINGS!

(This photo with full baby teeth on show makes me realize he may look like he’s 7 but he’s not even 6 yet)(Love it).