In and Out and In-Between

Well, the de-cluttering fairy has certainly been giving MY place a miss this week!



IN
(Just been to the op-shop)

Lovely lined straw tote with bamboo handles
Stone coloured linen skirt
Overnight bag for Princess
Gorgeous fine wool purple Country Road jumper (going straight out again – gift for stepmother)
2 balls of gorgeous sock yarn – not from op – shop – from ebay
Turkish drop spindle
Addi turbo needle
6 bamboo buttons for Juno



OUT


2 balls sock yarn – sold on ebay
10 items children’s clothing - sold on eBay
The appalling cone winder of doom – sold on ebay
1 box assorted stuff – school fete white elephant stall
1 bag clothes etc – Lifeline (I buy so much from them, it’s only fair I replace it sometimes!)
Gorgeous purple jumper see above (gift)


In – 9 items (counting buttons as 1)
Out -16 items
Just made the 7 things this week – will have to do better for next week!

Now, speaking of obsession – I forgot to mention some incredibly telling signs of obsessions (yes, yes, they do all apply to me, and, I’m extremely glad to say, to most of you too. In fact, it’s very telling that most of you didn’t turn a hair when reading the list, which only goes to show that we may have a teeny, weeny problem here, Houston).

You may have an obsession if:

- you visit the Jansz winery, which specialises in champagne style saparkling wines (take THAT, appellation controllee). You try the yummy wines. You buy some yummy wines. You buy a bottle of the expensive vintage sparkling champagne-y wine (hah!! Appellation Controlleee). Your very first thought is’ Look at the great packaging for that bottle – my knitting needles will fit in that lidded tube beautifully!’


- you are still trying to work out a method of knitting while asleep


- you are evangelical in your pursuit of non-knitters


- many of your non-knitting friends have begun to get a glazed, yet hunted, look in their eyes when you speak to them of knitting. Nevertheless, you are sure that if you could only explain the excitement to them properly they would take up your standing offer of lessons and learn to knit.


- you drink the vintage champagne-y sparkling wine and, guess what – the needles fit in the tube brilliantly.

One of our Canadian friends didn’t understand the Catweazle reference in my post from a few days ago. Catweazle (for the un-initiated, and those below a certain age (pah)), was a BBC children’s series from the 1970s, starring Geoffrey Bayldon, about an inept Medieval magician and alchemist who is transported to the 20th century, and his adventures in the 1970s. He tended to fizz and pop when confronted with modern technology, become addicted to bananas and adored ‘Electrickery!’ People of a certain age (yes, yes, alright, ME!) still giggle and use that term.

Mind you, I STILL think faxes are magic – you put a drawing in one end, and out it comes in Hong Kong or Murmansk (or both if you have my fax!). Remarkable invention, and much spiffier than teletypes.

Technology and I are old foes despite my nerd rating– my computer keyboard, for example, has swapped the AT and the “. I have to think every time I type in my email address and go for the quotation mark key, and not the ‘at’ key. In time, this will become habitual, and whenever I use a properly working keyboard, I will get them mixed up and have problems with everyone’s email address.

On a more selfish note, ignore everything Donyale said about sales at a certain yarn shop. I’m sure they’re not really having one. Stay away. You won’t like the yarn. Truly. Bound to be awful. Itchy. Splitty. Really. Please don’t buy all the things I want before I can get there!

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!

Ohoh! One of those Days

It’s been one of those days. Started about 3am with waking up and not going back to sleep – seems to happen to me around the full moon – my insomnia peaks then. Usually I would get up and have a solitary bath in the still watches of the night, relax amongst bubbles and read a book, and then saunter back to bed and sleep, but I was too tired to get up!

The children were no better once we’d all got up for breakfast – I had a raging headache, they were slow and needed heavy duty chivvying to get dressed and eat breakfast – getting them out the door was like herding cats.

Now, usually I love Tuesday morning - get rid of the kids – sorry, take the children to kindergarten and child care, Tuesday morning from 9ish till 12.30 is my only child free time, and today all I did was run errands and birthday party shop.

The Princess turns 5 on Thursday and the Party is on Saturday. Thursday is one of her 2 days per week at kindy, so that requires a cake to share at school – also presents at breakfast (which means getting up earlier than usual, because everything will take longer) and big presents which she might otherwise have wanted to take to school at dinner time.

Tomorrow is playgroup day, so when I return from playgroup I’ll be cleaning and cooking. Today is the day I drop 2 children off in the morning, return at lunchtime to collect Dectructoboy, and again 2 hours later to collect Princess. It’s worth it just to have the time to myself!

To add insult to injury, I forgot to tape Knitty Gritty on Saturday, so I didn’t even get to sit quietly and watch it with no interruptions (a Tuesday treat).

At least last night I finished the Swing Jumper, including gentle steam blocking – so tomorrow I can wear it to Playgroup – the social highlight of my week! I did manage to sneak into the local Op Shop and find a Country Road angora jumper (in my size!) and 1.5 balls of a rather nice variegated mohair.

I also managed to read the Mad Housewife’s post on the importance of children’s craft to a mother’s well being – which made me laugh hysterically and maniacally while cackling madly. So the day was not a complete write-off.

So today I herded cats, ran and ran, carried stuff, ran some more – ran late and looked longingly at my knitting.