And now, back to our scheduled programming....

I apologise for the break in transmission. Life has been topsy-turvey and I am trying to be super organised. I have always admired those women who had children, held down jobs, blogged and crafted (you know who you are), but now my admiration knows no bounds!

I would also like to point out that I work only 2 days per week in the actual office (which requires clothes which do not shriek ‘Mum at home with kids!’; and make up to hide time’s worst ravages, and because I really like lipstick!), and one day equivalent from home. This requires me to make 4 lunches and get three other people organised and dressed and out the door and dropped off at school and childcare and read to and kissed and goodbyed and ensuring I actually have the stuff I need and stories and notebooks and so on – is it any wonder I didn’t make it to the gym on Friday and Monday?

And that is just for TWO days a week. Imagine doing it five days a week? As I said, my admiration knows no bounds. I also said ‘women’ because, although I know some men do this – or share perfectly equally in this morning madness, the burden seems to fall much more on women.

In addition, there have been circus rehearsals (for the big show on the 5, 6 and 7 September), birthdays and various others bits and pieces to keep me occupied.

There has been knitting.

I finished a cowl and Le Slouch beret from the American Beauty Malabrigo I received in a de-stash.

The Gorgeous Francis is finished – in Crystal Palace Crème (a lovely wool silk blend).

I have increased my sock stash (because I have SOOOOOO much time on my hands – LOL!

I have worked. I love the work so far. I love planning stories and organising to interview people and then thinking about the best questions to ask them and sniffing around for things which might be interesting and trying to come up with more ideas to start the whole process again.

My boss is great – and also a knitter!

In addition to the madness that life has become (and which will soon, I am sure, fall into a routine), I spend most of any time at home fighting with Destructoboy over the computer. We gave him some really good educational games for his birthday, and he adores the Noggin site, and I can hardly get at the keyboard.

I also rather rashly, and in a spirit of optimism but expectation of disappointment, threw my hat into the ring of insanity which was the Wollmeise Sock Club lottery. And I got in!!!!

This means that unannounced parcels of Wollmeise will appear for me at regularish intervals. It also means that my credit card went into cardiac arrest - but hey!, that's how it is sometimes!

This is not stash because:

1. Wollmeise is too beautiful to be stash;
2. Sock yarn does not count as stash;
3. International yarn never counts as stash;
4. By the time the second one arrives, you've forgotten how much it cost, so it transmutes into a gift - and gifts are never stash

Have I forgotten any rationalisations, Zeph?

So hopefully, normal transmission will resume as soon as possible. Until then, blogging may be a once a week activity!

The Exciting News

Hurrah for knitters and crocheters (although the Political party is called Fibertarians and headed by Dolores the Sheep, I believe!)!

And a special thank you to Alwen - who remembered that it was Riga in Latvia (not Iceland) who did the mitten thing - and I should have known that, having read Folk Mittens!

Just a short post today (I know - and it's been such a long time since I did any photos - but I've been really slack about taking pictures of new stash - whoops - and FOs - of which I have a few - forgive me and I will rectify this soon). There has been a little accumulation of stash, from a number of enablers, and some books and some clothes - I've been too ashamed to blog it all, especially when Taph is doing such a great job with her de-cluttering. I'm also about to deal the the second birthday in just over 2 weeks! Aaargh!

So, just to let you in on the news......



I'm about to go back to work - a little earlier than I had planned, but when a fabulous opportunity opens up, it seems rather churlish to ask it to come back in 12 months. I'm a going to be (drum roll, please Maestro) a journalist!!

In training at first, of course, because I have lots to learn. I will be working for our local weekly paper and occasionally for the local daily and I am beside myself with excitement - and also as happy as a clam! Being paid to write and talk to people and think of ideas! How wonderful!

And strangely (or possibly not so strangely), this blog has played its part. The people who matter (PWM) read the blog and liked its style.

So next Friday I scurry out the door with a packed lunch and tidy clothes for my first day at work. I will update you with the trials of Tinkingbell the cub reporter (in general terms only, of course), but first I need to deal with Destructoboy's fourth birthday.

See you in a bit!

If we ran the world......

If knitters ran the world it would be an entirely different place.

I’ve been thinking about this recently. As I am a current affairs junkie, I seem to be up to pussy’s bow with doom and destruction. Bombings, stampedes, dictatorships, the four horsemen of the apocalypse – it’s all go here on Planet Earth.

And then I thought, ‘What if knitters (and crocheters) ran the world? What would it be like?’

Well, let’s see. No-one would be cold. That’s a given. Children, babies and adults – warm and woolly. Have you seen the amount of knitted articles given to charities? – hats for the homeless, for prem babies, jumpers for Mongolia, for Afghanistan, for everywhere you can think of. Multiply this into a national goal and put some funding behind it!

Children would learn to knit in school. This happens in Steiner schools, so why not every other school. It is considered to develop manual dexterity, creativity, colour sense, mathematical skills and it makes a nice line in potholders for Mothers’ Day.

The national sheep flock would not be dwindling – and there would never have been a wool stockpile.

We would have wonderful foreign relations with fibre producing countries. Mongolia (cashmere), Alaska and Canada (quiviut – arctic musk ox fibre), Tibet (pashmina – but only sustainably), Egypt and the Middle East (camel), the continental USA (buffalo – and let’s face it, the whole of North America has fabulous spinners and dyers), India and Nepal (silk), Thailand (banana fibre), New Zealand (possum), the United Kingdom (rare sheep breeds), Germany (Wollmeise), Russia and the states of the former Soviet Union (Orenburg lace), Scandinavia (colourwork) and so on.

The meetings of ASEAN and the G8 would look a lot less silly if world leaders were clad in knitting and crocheting – in fact, do you remember the major conference in which every leader received a traditional pair of mittens (I’m thinking Reykjavik – but am more than willing to be corrected). What a fabulous gesture that was.

As well, a side effect would be a lifting of both the profile of, and respect for, ‘womanly’ arts. Instead of being categorised as ‘weird hobby’, the skills and challenges may be more widely appreciated!

On the domestic trench war – sorry – home news front, Saturday was the Princess’s sixth birthday. 20 children were here, luckily the weather was good and I, very sensibly, hired a magician who also did balloon sculptures. He kept the kids (and some parents) brilliantly entertained until food time, and then it was home time. The Princess was beside herself with excitement, amplified when her Aunt (my SIL) and partner appeared – a lovely surprise, flown in from the National Capital. I didn’t drink nearly as much wine as such an occasion normally warrants, so it was considered a success all round!

My circumstances may also be changing soon, in a very exciting way – watch this space! Off to do domestic things – like check when the P & F meeting is and try to remember to order more gas! Ciao!