One or two skeins or sock yarn.....

Ahem.

In the interests of nearly full disclosure here is……

Most of my downstairs sock yarn.

I say most, because it doesn’t include the 30ish packs I’ve made up, of paired pattern and yarn to make my very own sock club (sort of).

It doesn’t include downstairs WIPs, or some of the sock yarn which has been whisked away to become something other than socks (there’s a couple of scarves, a shawls and so on in this category).

It certainly doesn’t include the UPSTAIRS sock yarn, which is predominantly ‘commercial’ – that is – Patonyle, Miami, Regia, Arwetta, etc etc etc. There is some hand dyed/hand painted up there, but after collecting the downstairs stash together, I had to put my head between my knees and breathe deeply for a while.

So there it is.

Yet another guilty secret exposed.

More random stuff:

I should have mentioned that an Australian size 14 is around an American 10-12. Just in case our trans-Pacific friends didn’t appreciate the magnitude of my feat! (LOL)

Georgie’s system is still working – it’s just a pity I didn’t get organised this week to use it properly!

I went to the Princess’s last swimming lesson through the school today and was mightily impressed by all of them actually swimming the full length of the 17ish metre pool – 3 times!

I have finally (around 6 years after the rest of the world) finished watching the first series of 24. In case you’re wondering – it was great! I must try to catch the second series sometime before another 6 years goes past. Next on the list? The Sopranoes, Desparate Housewives, Dexter, and Lost. No, I haven’t seen any of those. I only saw my first episode ever of House about 2 weeks ago. I have missed all these because I loathe commercial television. I wish SBS still had the 5 minutes of commercials at the end of their programs. It was a decent length of time to make a cuppa, go to the loo or feed the cat.

I am itching to knit socks again. I have been stealth knitting on the Serendipity socks – the first kit from the Blue Moon Rockin’ Sock Club this year. I am nearly at the heel of the second sock. I think I may have enough sock yarn, just for a while.

Thanks you all for asking and for your good thoughts. The Accountant started treatment this week. He’s tired, but seems fine. He’s rather put out that he’s not allowed to lose any weight. I think he was rather hopeful of dropping a few kilos of cuddliness, but the dietitian has told him that’s a big nono!

I’ve been an insomniac for 37 years. I think it’s starting to catch up with me. Maybe I need more coffee.

That’s it for the moment – I hope to bring you some knitting next post.

Ciao!

Happy, Happy, Happy!!

Well, it’s certainly obvious by now that Christmas will arrive before my 100th post. But will the New Year?

This week has incorporated all the usual week before Christmas madness – is it possible for a week to be possessed by the devil? At times it has certainly seemed that way.

I have been frazzled, bruised and the victim of seriously feral children (my own, unfortunately, so I can neither blame somebody else, nor give them back). I have been reduced to tears by bouts of screaming tantrums (not mine – the tantrums anyway) and have had to put it down to overtiredness and excitement (both theirs and mine). On the other hand, they have also managed to be absolute and total angels on at least 6 occasions each, so the karma probably balances out.

I had a particularly rough day yesterday, when out of the blue this arrived:

This is a parcel from Happy Spider and Taph, and even if it was meant to be a Christmas present I opened it (all knitters have no self control – that’s why we have stash – and more than one item on our needles! – and a Ravelry queue longer than our arms – my excuse for the Ravelry queue? My printer is out of ink until at least tomorrow, so rather than trying to remember all the patterns I want to download, I just whack them on the queue! Simple!)

What was in it? Joy was in that parcel. Pure, simple joy! It had the world's first skeins of Happy Spider’s new colourway, Gothic Princess

(Zephyrama – look away now – it’s mine!! Mwaahhh!)

It had a skein of Swoon in the Purple Haze colourway (I am the first person to have these in the world – I am so overwhelmed by this!). Swoon is a merino angora blend and Spidey’s cloud in heaven will feel like this yarn!

It had a skein of Magma sock yarn

And a skein of Spidey’s hand spun yarn in Peacock.

It had tea and an infuser. It even had a card with a shoe on it! And there seems to be a little sheep sheltering in there!


It was a parcel full of joy! I cannot thank the two of you enough for making a rotten day magnificent!

I also received my parcel from Irene at the Jolly Jumbuck – with 2 balls of Tofutsies, and a ball of Fleece Artist Seawool – and a pair of Addi dpn’s in 2.25mm. And a little bit of Pear Tree merino – just a metre or so, for fondling purposes. Happy! Happy! Happy! (Picture me doing the happy dance!)

This joy set me thinking about happiness.

Happiness is a wonderful thing – although you need some pepper in your life – some trials and unhappiness to measure your happiness against. Constant happiness would be a bit like eating nothing but fairy floss – cloying and bad for the teeth.

I am a happy person (mainly). I see the glass as half full, doors opening when other doors shut, the silver lining and the lemonade. Not always, but mostly. I enjoy life and my family, friends, blogging, knitting, house and surrounds. I am never bored (who can be bored with children, knitting, blogs, patterns, Ravelry, reading, music and the odd good film. And, when all else fails, there’s always the housework or garden to do.

I understand depression, because I have been there, too. But for the last couple of decades, depression as a state of mind has not featured on my mental landscape. I have had short bouts of deep depression, caused by miscarriage and other physical problems in that time, but they have been grieved over and wept away.

So, in this Christmas season, I’m going to count blessings.

I have 2 occasionally wonderful children, and an Accountant I love very much. I live in a lovely house in a wonderful place and have a great stash! I am in the position of being able to contribute to charity in cash or kind (although I could and should do much more), I have new skills to learn about my chosen obsession (knitting) and not nearly enough time to do it in. I love cooking and food and enjoy this. I love reading and blogging and have discovered a whole blogworld full of new friends and enablers. And co-dependents.

So this year, my chosen blessing is you! Charge your glasses, ladies and occasional gentlemen. Here’s to you! Thank you for filling my life with the conversation of adults when I need to talk to people taller than a 5 year old. For your support and affirmations. Most of all, here’s a toast to friendship!

May your Christmas and new year be safe, loving and happy – and your stash grow ever more SABLE! To you!!

And the Answer Is........

Well, in answer to the question posed in a recent blog, most of you seemed to think there was rather a dead heat between knitting and sex, but that knitting while talking about knitting (and eating Kate’s orange and dried cherry brownies) was pretty darn good (notice how I get my ‘G’ rating). There was some thought that knitting during sex was probably NOT a great idea, but that crying out ‘Yarn over, mohair oh mohair!’ during the throes of passion may also cause a little trouble in the marital bed!

On the plus side, life has remained fairly good, as although the Accountant is away on business, my wonderful and entirely un-evil stepmother is staying which means I have an adult to talk to during the day and, as she knits, I have an adult knitter who loves my children to talk to during the day – a wonderful state of affairs.

The Princess finally went to her first class at Circus School and thinks it is wonderful. She’s the littlest one in the class, but was trying to hula hoop while spinning herself (don’t bother trying it – it really doesn’t work!), doing forward rolls, balancing on a board on a cylinder and suspending herself upside down from the uneven bars – heaven in fact!

Destructoboy has used his powers moderately wisely in recent times – not destroying too much, but is enjoying Grandma’s visit.

I have knitted on my Clapotis, popped some pictures up on Ravelry – made a mistake about when SSS was starting and fallen off the wagon in both the yarn and shoe departments. Oh, and the book department, too – just in case I forget later.

I have ordered some Neon from Bendigo, received some glorious sock yarn from Donyale (Rosered and Burnt Butter – too, too gorgeous – I had to snap them up, and now I feel like a yarn pig but they’re mine, mine I tell you hahahahahahahaaa… Sorry – just lapsed there for a moment).

The mistake was casting on a sock for a party, and then knitting a bit while chatting to the Knitting Knight. What? Of course you take a sock when you go to a party. This meant I jumped the SSS gun, so, while I did consider frogging and starting over, I have decided I would offer a compromise. As I have spent around 2.5 hours knitting this sock, I offer the option of taking a handicap. I suggest that I don’t start the SSS KAL until the 2nd of October, which would make me about even with the 2.5 hours of knitting I’ve done and therefore, fit into the spirit of the KAL and salve my conscience.

What do you think? Would honour be satisfied with this solution?

In the throwing myself wholeheartedly off the wagon department, while roaming childlessly through our local CBD, I saw, fell in love with and bought these:

These are very high and very narrow red polka dot wedges which I couldn’t resist. I also bought 3 bras on sale, so my ‘IN’ count in the de-cluttering report will be rather higher than I was thinking. (And my ‘OUT’ count not as high as I was hoping).

Visit SSS and sign up – even if you think you might only knit one pair – it’ll be fun and I am looking forward to it. For those of you who think I’ve rather stuck my neck out on the personal challenge front, consider that one pair of socks could satisfy nearly all my challenges – if I, for instance, were to knit a toe-up pair of fairisle cotton socks with a cable! (I’m not really planning to but…)

I also think that Donni’s Rosered yarn demands something very lacy and sexy (perhaps that I cold wear with high polka dot shoes?). I’ll get back to you on that one.

Shoes, glorious shoes, red, orange and flatties!

Shoes. What can I say about shoes that hasn’t already been said, and often better? And usually by Rosered. I love shoes. While I was a poverty stricken university student, I was known to spend my rent on shoes, and then grovel to the landlord, or landlady for extra time to pay.

Back then, I was on first name terms with the owner of the most expensive shoes store in this state’s capital city. He would see me, across the street (the busiest street in the CBD) and call my name to tell me he had a new shipment of Italian or Spanish shoes in. That’s how much time, and money, I spent in his shop, at a time when I had no money (but lots of time)!

I still have some of the shoes I bought then – 25 years ago – as testament to their quality and beauty – and to the fact that I don’t wear heels much anymore. And to the fact that over the years I was willing to spend money to maintain, and re-sole and re-heel them. Some of the shoes I passed on to my step-mother – who still wears them.

I have a weakness for shoes. In the past month I have bought 5 pairs of shoes – you saw photos of 3 pairs on my great day, but yesterday, 2 pairs of Birkis arrived from Germany. They are fun, whimsical and fit perfectly. They are flat. I generally wear flats or very low heels these days. Partly because I live in the country (heels are no good on mud, gravel and puddles). Partly because I am a stay at home mother (heels are no good for picking your way between Lego pieces, dress-up clothes and while emptying potties and wiping up sick, or for pushing strollers). Partly because I have no life, and so, unlike Sarah Jessica Parker, I go nowhere and wear no designer clothes. And partly because I generally wear jeans and jumpers; or capris and t-shirts (depending on the season).

I did weaken 2 years ago and buy these gorgeous bronze bits of nothingness – nothing, that is, except straps and heels. I bought them for a wedding – I’ve worn them twice – but I love them anyway. I made holes in the lawn. It was fun.

I love Rosered’s shoes. Just beautiful, and back when I worked in an office (in the dawn of pre-history) I wore shoes like that.

When we lived in Hong Kong, I used to visit shoe street (between Causeway Bay and Happy Valley racecourse) and there was a stretch of ultra expensive Italian shoe stores, and then a stretch of knock-off stores. You’d grab the owner of your selected knock off store and tow him past the windows of the Italian ones going “I want THAT colour, with THOSE heels, and THAT toe”, and he would have them made for you by next Wednesday. And they would be beautiful and not expensive. I still have the most glorious pair of green snakeskin courts from him. But I never found the perfect pair of orange shoes.

I adore orange shoes and red shoes. I had the most wonderful pair of low Italian orange wedges that I wore and wore until they literally fell to pieces one wet day in Hong Kong. I couldn’t ever get a pair as good, and they were past even using as a pattern. I live in hope of one day finding another pair.

At one stage I had 4 pairs of red shoes. One pair of Italian red leather courts, lined in cream glove leather with high heels (still have them), one pair of leather flats, a bit like highland dancing shoes (fell to bits), one pair of satin ballet type shoes with long laces up the leg and one pair of red boots. These days I have fewer – but can almost always be seduced by gorgeous shoes in lovely colours (I have no discipline).

Despite never wearing pink, I even had a pair of flat pink t bars which I adored and wore to death.

When it comes to shoes, or sock yarn I have the self discipline of a drunken sailor. Speaking of sock yarn, this Marion’s sock yarn I bought on ebay arrived to day – Yum!


I also took the 2 boxes of toys, the ride-on, and a bag of books to the child care centre and sold the combustion stove, its hot water tank and all flue pieces and it’s gone, gone, gone. (Given its size and weight, that has to be worth around 25 normal things) Its removal also means that we regain the use of the back room it was sitting in.

The de-cluttering continues – just call me Imelda.

Good Days and Great Days

You know it’s a GOOD day when:

You wake up and the sun is shining and it’s warm and NOT FROSTY and the sky is blue and it feels like spring and the first bluebell is out and the garden is full of spring flowers that have required absolutely no effort from you!;

It’s your morning off and motherhood stops at just after 9am and doesn’t resume until 12.30;

You get the mail and there’s Pansy dyed sock yarn from Spidey, 3 kilos of coffee and 1 kilo of chocolate you ordered on the internet from Coffee Hit, and the new issue of Delicious;

You know it’s a GREAT day when:

The Accountant tells you that you can keep the Medicare money because it’s 50 bucks and it’s lots more than that and you pop some money into your credit card instead of out of it;

You pop into Rivers on the off chance and there are 2 pairs of perfect shoes (one black Mary Janes, one red leather and they are 29 dollars and you have the money!;

You pass the Red Cross op shop and there is a pair of sky high orange rope soled wedge espadrilles and they are your size and brand new with the price tag on and they are 4 dollars!;

You go to your LYS to buy some DPNs and they have new yarn to show you and it is called Sublime by Sirdar and it is so gorgeous you absolutely must have some (baby cashmere – merino silk and cashmere, and kid mohair – too too nice) so you lay-by some (supposedly for Christmas presents – well maybe!);

You get home with time to spare to read blogs (even though you’re over your broadband allowance (too bad)) and people have said lovely things about your last post.

How great is today? Really, really great!

Georgie, you asked about the cast-ons – and I bet you know them too!!

Knit-cast on (knit into each stitch
Cable cast on (knit between each stitch – firmer edge)
Crocheted provisional cast on
Knitted waste yarn provisional cast on
Long tail cast on
Figure eight cast on
Thumb cast on
Twisted German cast on (related to long tail but gives more stretch for sock tops or beanies)
And my favourite weirdie:
It’s a traditional Guernsey cast on for making traditional Guernseys – it involves cutting off around 8 metres of yarn, doubling it, wrapping it several times around your thumb and making stitches through the doubled over loops. I’ve no idea what it is called, but you get a sort of mock-picot look, with a knot every fourth stitch. Only ever seen it in that pattern and in one book about traditional English knitting as peculiar to the Channel Isles

So that’s 9 – but I’m sure there are more and that someone will tell me what they are (or if the Accountant buys me the Vogue Ultimate Knitting book for Christmas – as requested – I’ll learn some more.)

Gotta go – off to resume motherhood and enjoy this Great Day!