My Husband Doesn't Understand Me

My husband doesn’t understand me. It sounds like a cliché, but it’s true.

He does not understand my obsession with knitting – and the yarn, stash and patterns which go with it. He really cannot understand the whole blogging thing – he thinks it’s sad and tragic. This is a man who has no hobbies and thinks perhaps he ought to have one/some. (This is also a man who can’t understand why women need lots of clothes and more than 3 pairs of shoes – and perfume!)

So, today. Today, a parcel arrived for me (immediate excitement – in fact at first I thought it might be my tea cosy from the Ravelry Tea Cosy Swap). One of the great things about living in the country and buying things by mail order and over the internet is getting parcels.

Then I realised the parcel came from the lovely Donyale. – Could it possibly be the Harmonies? No – it was smooshy and soft. It was a gorgeous jumper worth of Cleckheaton Tencel Wool. A whole jumper’s worth!!!! 12 Balls!!!! In a soft washed-denim bluey grey – absolutely wonderful! The little note with it said she was de-stashing, and thought this would make a great Montparnasse! It surely will, Donyale! – and I’m working very hard not to cast it on THIS MINUTE!!

This yarn is luscious – I’m usually an all natural fibre sort of girl, but this is lovely – shimmery and soft and drapey and silky. MMMMMM!

My husband may not understand me – but my blogpals certainly do!

I thought I should also do my Ins and Outs (as I don’t think I have done them for a couple of weeks). I might also point out that a certain amount of yarn and yarn related paraphernalia has sort of stuck to me this week.

IN

The aforementioned 12 balls of Patons wool tencel – mmmm!
5 skeins of Aracunia Ranco – 3 multi and 2 solid colours (one spring green and one cherry red) because Tapestry Craft were having a sale and sale yarn doesn't count and sock yarn doesn't count either and this would actually take me into negative stash territory!
My first Bendigo order arrived (yes, there is another one – what are you implying?) This consisted of Mystique in Seaspray, 3 lots of Neon – 5 balls berry and 5 of pink for a pinwheel jacket for the Princess, and 12 balls of Lagoon for me. And 4 balls of Rustic in Damson, just because.
1 ball Fleece Artist Somoko in Pinata
1 ball Hand Maiden Casbah in Rainforest, both courtesy of Master Enabler (it’s a rank, now – I just decided) Irene at the Jolly Jumbuck
1 beautiful Norah Gaughn asymmetrical Cardi in alpaca!! (Mine – yum)
2 tops for me – local Opshop,
3 pairs ¾ pants – Target sale
2 pairs shoes – (see previous post) off layby
6 balls discontinued Patonyle and 4 balls discontinued Heirloom sock yarn whose name momentarily escapes me
1 box of Top Kids magazines and children’s sewing patterns – from Taph
Various assorted clothes, toys and other Christmas stuff for children
2 pairs pretend reindeer antlers, wrapping paper and stocking stuffers from local cheap crap shop.
A lovely poem from Amy – look at the comments from my last post.

Gosh, that looks like rather a lot, doesn’t it?

OUT
Several parcel containing yarn, bits and pieces and some other things which went out for Christmas presents and some people with NO SELF CONTROL AT ALL have opened already! (But they did arrive at exactly the right time to assuage awful days, raise the dead, celebrate birthdays and generally make people feel good, so that’s OK)
2 bags of clothes and baby stuff – Lifeline
1 large pile of B grade children’s assorted artwork – either binned or re-cycled (the A grade is either on the fridge or in scrapbooks
Several bottles of wine (drunk and gone – does this count, because if it does I’ll put it in every week to make myself feel better, especially about the drinking!)

See? The In side of the ledger is ready to topple over and the Out side is getting leaner.

My New Year’s resolution is going to have to be:

I resolve I will not buy more yarn until I have made 5 pairs of socks and 10 jumpers – no more than 4 of which may be children’s jumpers. This does not apply to Sock club kits, massive specials on sock yarn, gifts of yarn and yarn bought for the production of gifts, providing said yarn is cast on for the project within one month of purchase.

Despite the No Guilt Stash Manifesto to which I subscribe, I must say the amount of yarn is rather overwhelming. Rather a lot of credit cardness has helped this along, so pulling back may be a good idea.

Zephyrama, the High Priestess of Stash, suggests that sock yarn doesn’t count as stash, sale yarn doesn’t count as stash, overseas yarn doesn’t count as stash, gift yarn doesn’t count as stash and single skeins don’t count either. This reduces my stash to a couple of kilos of Bendi and 12 large balls of gorgeous Jade bulky from TasKnits.

While the rules of stash may suggest I have very little stash – I still need somewhere to store the yarn which is not stash. I suggested the Accountant could move his suits out of the spare room wardrobe and he told me to get knotted.

My husband doesn’t understand me.

In Sickness, and More Sickness

We’re back to needing wine again, folks! I had to collect Princess from school at lunchtime as she faded again. She’s been knocked around by some bug – fever, tiredness and sometimes a headache – but went to school today because I figure that if you’re well enough to fight with your brother and yell at your mother, then you’re well enough for school!

My mistake – she lasted the morning then went downhill. She and the aforesaid brother are watching ‘Peter Pan’ and squabbling quietly while I write this post!

Sorry – just got noisy and required intervention!

OK – the De-cluttering Stakes (As of today!):

IN

Red Bird Sock kit for September (I haven’t knitted any yet!) a mosaic sock using Jo Sharp Silkroad

2 balls gorgeous sock yarn from Donyale
4 balls of Blue Schepeswol from Good Yarn Karma

400 grms Touch DK wool

100 gr Touch boucle mohair in copper, browns etc

100 gr Touch brushed mohair

The red shoes
3 bras
1 wrap cardi from Op-shop
Some kids stuff from Op shop
6 gorgeous large crystal beads – op-shop

OUT

6 Bags kids clothes sold on ebay
1 crappy video – (rubbish)
2 balls sock yarn – ebay
1 large bag stuff to Lifeline
1 Nightie –gift
Bottles and jars – recycled through local veggie shop
1 bag kids shoes –gift
Book – Gift
4-5 pattern books for Taph! (posting today!)

I’m going to say that I’m slightly in front again this week, but I’ve been a bit of a yarn pig! The next few weeks are likely to be better – the School Fete is in 6 weeks and I intend to donate LOTS to the white elephant and book stalls!

In other news, I won a voucher to the lovely Donni’s Knitpicks store, which I think I will use to expand my Options kit! Lucky me and even luckier Georgie – winning an Options kit – She’s over the moon!!

I would love to spend more time on Ravelry – at present I upload the odd (some VERY odd) photo to Flick’r and try to list that on Ravelry, but that’s about it – I do drop by to collect messages though!

The Accountant has weakened and given my (over)use of the Web has upgraded me to a 12 gig plan (hurrah). This is basically unlimited but slows after the first 12 gig every month – I can live with that!

Glorious spring day – spent some of my limited morning off in finally finishing the Squatty Sidekick (by sewing on a button) and I did some time in the ‘Green Gym’ raking up grass!

Back to the slaughterhouse – I will make pizza tonight which allows for cold pizza lunches for the next day or so – and cool the fevered brow of my first born. I will also wait for the Accountant to get home so I can pour my first glass of the good stuff. Cheers!

The Handicap Stakes

I’m glad we’ve got that whole handicapping thing out of the way. Most of you seemed to think that holding off and giving the SSS a days head start was a reasonable handicap – so we’ll stick to that. I do enough frogging because I’ve completely stuffed up – it sort of seemed to be mocking the knitting Goddess to frog when you haven’t made a mistake!

It’s been a particularly tumultuous day here in Tassie – in 24 hours we’ve had torrential rain, sunshine, blustery winds, hail, more sunshine, more rain, more wind and generally more of everything – we’ve probably had snow up in the mountains.

My mother used to use an old saying about March in the Northern Hemisphere coming ‘In like a lion and out like a lamb’. That probably accurately describes September in Tasmania. Some days let you know that summer isn’t far off, and other wild blustery days point out that it’s not that long since winter finished. As September finishes in 2 days, I hope the weather gets its act together and goes out like a lamb (mmm….. lambswool).

A friend of mine’s mother has just returned from a holiday in New Zealand and purchased for me some glorious Touch wool (in turquoises and greens) some Touch brushed mohair (in green, turquoise and purple) and a boucle mohair mix in reds and browns – she also snagged a tiny sheep and 2 gorgeous sheep buttons and the lovely bag it all came in. I owe her some money but she’s got great taste!!

I think I mentioned in a previous post the prospect of incoming books. I decided to blow this months allowance on Amazon.com and purchased some knitting books which are either ludicrously expensive or completely unobtainable in Australia. I am awaiting their arrival and will dutifully add them to my ‘IN’ list when I have them in my hot little hands. They don’t count as ‘In’ till they’re here (just as they don’t count as ‘Out’ till they leave the premises!).

The Accountant returns in a very short time – we are looking forward to his return – especially the children and especially the Princess (did I hear any murmurs of ‘Daddy’s little girl’? – too right she is!).

I’ll pop this up and try to get photos of the new wool soon. In addition, I’d like to point out that Donni’s yarn is tooo gorgeous – but will not be cast on until after the official SSS start date. (I won’t be caught again!) But certainly (as per some backroom discussions) the thought of the Rosered yarn in a lacey pattern with a yet to be determined black cuff and even possibly beads (which I have never knitted with) is rather fetching. All ideas and pattern pointers gratefully accepted!