And the Awards go to...

This has been a very difficult exercise for me. While I am thrilled to have received the Award from Deniasha, I've really struggled with 'passing it forward'. I've had a lengthy email discussion with another blogger and still I hesitate, I procrastinate, I vacillate, I prevaricate.

Now I take a deep breath and honour those who write blogs that I 'leave till last'. [As in, leave the best till last - you know, like eating the cake from the bottom so the icing is last!]

So to all my nominees - these are the rules. Do with them as you please. Just accept my humble thanks for putting your words out there for me to read and for taking the time to comment on my blog too.

1. Please put the award on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you
3. You must nominate at least 4 fellow bloggers for this award.
4. Add links to the recipients.
5. Leave a comment so the recipients know they have received an award.

Now, I'll share my list with you [in alphabetical order by blog name]

I've told Bells of Bellsknits privately by email how much I enjoy her blog and now I'm making the declaration public. Bells was also awarded by Deniasha and so may not put this award on her blog. Bells writes well and shares her personal life in such a way that I feel like I'm getting to know her not just her knitting. She never shares intimate details [why should she?] - just enough to let us know how she's feeling as she goes through the ups and downs of her life.

Kate, of Blue Mountains Knits, was the person who introduced me to both blogs and podcasts. She doesn't post as much as I would like but her blog is always interesting: she has a beautiful home and garden in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney and works as a technician in our world famous Opera House. Her blog is full of beautiful photos and sometimes her gorgeous knitting [of which we haven't seen much lately, Kate!]

Carol, of Pins and Needles, is a knitter, though I can't remember the last time she showed any knitting [hey, Carol, what's on the needles?]. But she also does the most beautiful digital scrapbooking pages - restrained and elegant without being formal. ['minimalist' perhaps?] She lets the photos tell the story and the journaling is personal. Carol's also been through some ups and downs these past twelve months and many times her journaling has brought me to tears. Between the layouts are stories from her regular life as a woman, wife, step-mother, daughter and friend. Thanks Carol for sharing yourself as well as your gorgeous pages.

I've been reading Sally's blog, PomPoms, since her first post. We come from entirely different perspectives and yet we seem to have many views in common. Sally is not afraid to express her opinions on a wide variety of subjects but she does it in a way that invites comment and doesn't provoke or antagonise those with differing viewpoints [or at least that's true for this reader!] She is both open-minded to other points of view and warm-hearted in her compassion for the under-privileged [or should that be non-privileged, Sally?].

Jodie, of Ric Rac, is one of the few entirely non-knitting blogs on my list. She sews and makes the most amazing creations; sometimes from things people would throw out. Like her amazing dress made entirely from selvages. Sometimes the toys she makes and sells in her Etsy shop take over her blog; and it was one such occasion that won me over!

There are 46 other blogs on my Bloglines - and I like them all; otherwise they wouldn't be on my list. So, to everyone whose blog I read [you know who you are because I comment once in a while!] - thank you for putting your words out there!

Are we tired of lace yet?

On Monday night I started, yet again, on the Myrtle Leaf Stole. I put a life-line in the last foundation row before pattern begins. I knitted Row One and Two and Three and Four and Five and Six with nary a dropped stitch! Aren't we all pleased?

Row Seven marks the half way point of the first pattern repeat [there are 40 repeats for the centre panel]. I inserted my lifeline as I knitted - still no dropped stitches but the yarn was snagging even more than usual. I tugged - too hard: the dental tape cut through my yarn! I frogged it all in disgust!

DD will wind the second skein [just as well I bought two] so I can start again.

Lace Hint #3: use dental floss not dental tape for lifelines - tape is too thick causing overly tight tension [gauge] and snagging with possible dire consequences.

And for the last time: Nundle!

I need to take my mind off lace for a while - have some lovely photos taken by DD in April instead!

Outside the back of the Mill



A small wool press



A larger wool press




Decorative metal flowers nearly as tall as the two storey mill



I don't think you'll get much wool off this sheep!

The lace saga continues

Thanks all for the lace hints. Myrtle Leaf is not a difficult pattern, it's easily memorised and I travel along quite well while everything is under control. It's not the knitting that's hard, it's not even hard to drop stitches! ;-) I seem to do that intermittently on SSP when I have to purl through the back of two stitches. It's the finding of those teeny-tiny little loops and putting it all back together that's difficult.

Thanks especially to Rose Red for the hint about the lifeline when using Knitpicks. Knitting the lifeline in was a lot easier than threading a tapestry needle though those itty-bitty stitches! I found a hint that dental floss made a good lifeline so that's what I used.

Another challenge has been the needles themselves - the work doesn't slide as I'm used to when using thicker yarn and metal needles. I'm using Harmony needles and the yarn is so fine it jams where the wood meets the metal, where the metal and cable end join [yes it's done up correctly] and where the cable meets the metal [especially on WS rows]!

"Ah the joy, ah the fun, now the wedding stole knitting has begun."
[paraphrased from Chad Morgan's "Bogga Wogga Wedding"]

Knitted Lace - too scary!

I've been knitting for forty years and nothing much fazes me but knitting lace is the one experience that has almost made me give up on a project!

Firstly, let's all understand my terms. Lace knitting and knitted lace are two different things. Lace knitting I've done many times, though never with lace-weight. 3 ply baby yarn was used for my last lace knitting project. So what is lace knitting? And how is it different from knitted lace?

Lace Knitting has a pattern on only one side of the fabric; the reverse side is either simple knit or purl rows. This means that the holes created by yarn overs have two thread between them because they are two rows apart.

Knitted lace, on the other hand, has a pattern on both sides; thus there is only one thread between adjacent holes.

So, if I have so much experience and a modicum of knowledge - what's the problem? The problem is a combination of my aging eyesight and P2 tog in fine yarn. Let me give you an example:

Yesterday I dropped a stitch. Now that in itself is not usually a problem, I just pick up the stitch and carry on. Even if it unravels down a few rows I can fix the problem. But... the stitch I dropped was K2 tog in the previous row, and P2 tog the row before that, and K2 tog the row before that [you get the idea]. I saved that dropped stitch two rows back [while it was only four stitches!!] and now all I had to do was tink back 172 stitches [86 per row], right? No way, Jose! P2 tog has proved to be notoriously difficult for me to tink because a) the stitches are twisted around each other and b) the yarn is so fine I can't see where to insert the needle to tink! [I had my eyes tested two weeks ago but I'm still waiting for my new glasses. The optometrist said the prescription wasn't that much different!] So by the time I had tinked back one row I had dropped stitches which had unravelled way back - some three or four rows. Every K2 tog or P2 tog [there are fifteen per row] unravelled one way or another. Let me repeat, I am an expert tinker but this had me stumped.

So, close to tears, I put my knitting down and made my way to the computer. "What's a lifeline?" I wanted to know. So now I do know and I will use one every six rows for the rest of this stole - I have to knit it, it's DD's wedding stole and she really wants this one! Besides, no knitting will ever be allowed to defeat me!!

But first I had to unravel the whole thing; that had taken several hours of knitting because I knit the first eight rows three times - yes, my friends, I've had me some stinking tinking experience!

And another issue is I don't know how much knitting and unravelling this yarn can take - it's starting to look a little fuzzy!

One hint for those of you about to start on your first knitted lace: knit up a swatch in a thicker yarn first so you can see how the pattern works then you'll be able to understand what all those /, \ and O's do. You'll be able read your knitting and see if you are on the right track! Believe me, your knitting won't look like the graph! How can it? The graph has no way to show the results of knitting two stitches together.

Wish me luck in getting this finished by the end of January!

I've been awarded!

Thanks to Deniasha I received this lovely surprise. It's my first blog award and I'm so thrilled. Thank you so much Deniasha.
Now I have the unenviable task of nominating four [or more] bloggers whose blogs I love. How can I do that and not insult the others that I read? *sigh*

I claim a few days to mull it over; in the meantime, thanks again Deniasha.

Lace weight erratumand a very sincere apology

I have a huge public apology to make to Sally. In my post of three days ago, I said that up until last weekend I had owned no lace weight. That was untrue but a genuine oversight.

I've been reading Sally's blog from her first post and earlier this year, I won one of two blogiversary prizes [the other went overseas] - part of which was a ball of lace weight silk. I didn't ever published the photo of my prize [very remiss of me] because at the time I won it we were having a lot of wet weather and I couldn’t get WM to take a photo. Then I got my own camera and took photos - but still didn't blog about it. Oh, Sally, I'm so very sorry.

So here, dear readers [I hope Sally's still one of them] is my fabulous prize from Sally. Firstly, the cute little case in which the goodies came [of which I'm sure I took a photo but can't seem to find one]. Inside, there was a lovely card with knitting and a cup of tea [my favourite beverage most of the time]. Then something that made me smile - a pompom maker; what else from someone who calls her blog 'PomPom'? There was a delicious Terry’s chocolate orange [not knitting but what every knitter needs - sweet treats] and finally, a ball of hand-dyed 2ply silk from Mollydale Knits [of Armidale NSW]. The smaller photo is a truer colour on my monitor.

So dear Sally, I'm really sorry - how could I have overlooked this largess. The bag really does sit on the right end of my desk [I'm left handed] - open so I can see the contents. Occasionally I even handle the yarn and think about what it might become. I did offer it to DD for her wedding stole but she wants something in ivory. A thousand apologies, my friend, please forgive my oversight.

It's a Long Lacy Summer this year

to the tune of "On the Road to Gundagai" [apologies to overseas readers]

There's a blog, a web-log and it's calling loud and clear
It's a Long Lacy Summer this year.
The lace-weight will be flowing
The needles will be going
With life-lines to save the tears.
And a blogger nicknamed Bells will be waiting to see
What fantastic productions there are going to be
So no sweaters will I make
Give thicker yarn a break
We'll have a Long Lacy Summer this year.

copyright 2008 Lynne @ Too Hot to Knit? Never!

BSJ approaches the finish line! and lace prepares for take off

The BSJ has been completely frogged and reknitted so that there are no more M1 holes - I quite like the pattern the 'knit into front and back of stitch' increases made. All that is needed now are seams and buttons! Mind you, the buttons will be on the wrong side - I miscalculated which side was which and I'm not going to frog again! Instead, I'm going to call it the Lefty Mama BSJ 'cos lefties [like me] will find it easier to do up!

It's time to cast on for the wedding stole - I have 14 weeks to turn hundreds of metres of lace-weight into lovely lace: DD has chosen "Myrtle Leaf Shawl" from Victorian Lace Today [p.140ff]

Lace weight yarn

A week ago I had none! Zip! Zilch! Nada! Still I joined A Long, Lacy
Summer. One can knit lace without knitting lace-weight, yes?

On Saturday DD and I went, as usual on the third Saturday of the month, to Knitters' Guild. This month should have been no different; no alarm bells were ringing. In fact, we were having no workshop, just spinning for anyone who wanted to try this mysterious form of fibre art! [Not me, baby, pedalling that thing causes pain in my knee. Besides, why go all the way to a Guild meeting when a spinning wheel lives in my house - albeit only for another fifteen weeks or so?]. What made this Saturday different was the retail member invited for the afternoon - Virgina Farm Woolworks. They sell fleece and spinning wheels [that's where DD got hers] and dyes and ... you get the idea! But this week, they had lace weight yarn - merino - in an off-white, ivory colour. Guess who has an ivory wedding dress? Guess who wants mum to knit a lace stole in fourteen weeks? So, yes, two skeins of Artisan lace weight merino in ivory came home with us.

On the Knit4Charities message board I read that Tapestry Craft was having a sale - a minimum of 30% off everything. The sale commenced on Saturday 18th October. Since we were already going into the city for "My Fair Lady" we stopped in for a visit - and I'm glad we did. I bought DD's Christmas present - it's what I had always intended to buy her, it was just a pity she was there with me! WM bought me a new wool winder - I don't know if it's a Christmas present so perhaps I shouldn't be saying anything. *sh*

Out of character, on a whim, I bought myself two skeins of Filatura di Crosa Centolavaggi lace weight merino. Those of you who've been reading my blog for a while would know that I generally knit for charity in inexpensive [some would say 'cheap'] yarns and rarely buy more expensive yarn - not for me or anyone else. But I fell in love with the colour and softness of the purple skein and bought the white one to dye a colour I'd like some time in the future [when I know what that colour will be]. In the meantime, I need to look through my lace books and see what the yarn wants to become!! *drool*

And, as if that wasn't enough, yesterday I got home from work to find a package addressed to me [packages don't often arrive here and rarely for me]. This was from Deb - I had won the prize in her Blogiversary draw. Guess what it is? Yeah, don't be smart - what colour? What brand?

I wasn't going to open the package, I was going to wait for DD to come home and share the joy and excitement but, heck no, she was out with her fiance and I was at home alone and feeling a bit down. I opened the package. I read the card. I put my hand into the post pack and felt what was in there - soft, smooshy, squishy, yummy! I pulled it out. A skein of Re Fa Baruffa - pure wool merino laceweight! Thanks, Deb, I love it!

From nix to five skeins in four days! I think this summer was meant to be for lace knitting - whee-hee!!

"My Fair Lady"a critique

On Sunday we went into the city to see My Fair Lady. Biggest mistake - driving to the city. We haven't done that for a long time - the traffic was horrendous and finding parking in all those one way streets was awful! Finally we found a place which charged a flat rate of $15 for the whole day; if it had been a weekday that would have been $52!! Think we'll stick to using the train from now on!

Anyway, My Fair Lady was wonderful, fantastic, stupendous! I'm so glad because the seats we had - Dress Circle Row B - were c.r.a.m.p.e.d. I sat with my knees jammed up against the seat in front of me for the entire 2 1/2 hours of the show. And I'm only of average height!

John Wood, of Blue Heelers and Gold Logie [2005] fame, played Alfred Doolittle - he was tremendous and can sing quite well [appropriately for the part] and dance a little. I was very impressed. This is the first time I have seen Mr Wood play anything other than the quintessential Aussie so I really enjoyed it!

Richard E. Grant was fabulous as Henry Higgins - not as pompous as Rex Harrison - he played it with a lighter, more mischievous, style. And flexible - you have to see him in action to believe what that long lean frame is capable of doing!

The part of Eliza Doolittle was played by Taryn Fiebig. This is the first time I've seen her - she played a different sort of Eliza to Audrey Hepburn - she was more feisty, altogether a better portrayal of the lower class flower girl. Ms Hepburn couldn't sing [the movie was dubbed by Marni Nixon] but Ms Fiebig has a beautiful clear voice. However, as often seems to be the case with classically trained singers, the singing of lighter music causes 'oversinging' - they just can't seem to relax into a more 'popular' style and let go of overly precise enunciation. That being said, it was a production by Opera Australia - so I shouldn't be surprised by operatic voices! The 'overkill' was true not only of Ms Fiebig's singing but also of her 'lady-like' speaking - exaggerated beyond the bounds of reality. Whereas Mrs Higgins sounded posh but natural, Ms Fiebig sounded posh and stilted. Still, perhaps it was the director's intention - changing from poor to aristocratic in six months would sound unnatural and stilted, I guess.

However, none of this was enough to mar a terrific performance. The costumes, the lighting, the sets, the music, the choreography - everything worked together to give a wonderful, harmonious, enjoyable experience and I'd certainly go again!

Blogger and Bloglines

Recently, Jocelyn wrote a post about the pleasure of having comments forwarded by email rather than "hitting refresh on blogger in the vain hope that someone has left me a comment".

Another great time saver in the blogging world has to be Bloglines: where you can have all your favourite webpages [not just blogs] listed for you each time something is added. For example, I have over 50 blogs on my Bloglines but today I only had to read 14 blogs as that was how many new posts there were. And Bloglines shows me which are the unread posts so if I have 200+ posts to read [as I did earlier this year when I fell way behind] I don't have to go back through the blog trying to remember what I had and hadn't read! I also got a nice shock today when I found that I have 20 subscribers - thank you all!!

Edited to add: And thank you to the two readers who are following my blog through this new tool of Blogger's - I haven't even looked at it yet but thank you to both of you for publicly stating your 'following'.

So three cheers for emailed comments and three more cheers for Bloglines. But when is Blogger going to ask [as Wordpress does] for email addresses so we can reply to the comments instead of seeing "noreply-comment@blogger.com"? Hmm?

BSJ was a real surprise!

For those of you who notice such things in the sidebar, my progress bar for BSJ went from 85% complete to 5%! I was at 95% when I decided to frog. *sigh* I knew there were issues while I was knitting but kept going - it's such a quick knit and I was very keen to see how it folds to make a jacket. Well, now I know and those holes from my increases were so darn obvious! *sigh again*

So, it was out with Vogue Knitting and Katharina Buss' Big Book of Knitting and yes, I was doing my increases correctly. I was using the M1 method of inserting my needle under the yarn between the two stitches from front to back and knitting through the back of the loop. Still I had several good sized holes - anyone would think I had used yarnovers! So I checked out my alternatives. I wanted something reasonably 'invisible' - the increases are part of the design but shouldn't be overly noticeable.

So I tried this method - M1 [version 2] from Vogue Knitting: insert needle under the yarn between the two stitches from back to front and knit through the front of the loop. This is much trickier than the other version, it's easy to pick up the next stitch when trying to knit through the front of the loop - no wonder this is not the method we teach for M1 ! It does indeed twist the loop but I can still see the little holes made by this method.

Because I'm knitting this for charity it's in acrylic so it won't block out. The problem is possibly 5ply yarn on 3.5mm needles coupled with my tension - the gauge is too loose! But it makes a lovely soft garment! The increases so far are in the sleeves to give fullness; I haven't yet begun the increases to shape the garment - I think I might use knit into front and back of stitch for those increases - sure that's not invisible but it doesn't leave holes either! Will keep you posted!!

Nundle again

Because I know you want more, here are some photos taken by DD on our trip to Nundle in April. [I can't believe I haven't posted these already - they were so good!]

Here's the spinning machine in action...




...and the carding machine - you can almost see it flying!



Here's the biggest ball winder I've ever seen!

A long, lacy summer - the Clayton's KAL

For those of you who don't know Claytons, Wikipedia describes it as

the brand name of a non-alcoholic, non-carbonated beverage coloured and packaged to resemble bottled whisky. It was the subject of a major marketing campaign in Australia and New Zealand in the 1970s and 1980s, promoting it as "the drink you have when you're not having a drink" at a time when alcohol was being targeted as a major factor in the road toll.

The word Claytons has passed into popular usage to mean "something essentially the same but going by a different name" - hence: the KAL you have when you're not having a KAL.

Lost? Bells has decided to have an informal KAL - no dedicated blogsite and no prizes - just a lazy lacy summer of knitting or crochet. Suits me fine: no pressure to produce and a chance to join with like-minded people to create beautiful objects of lace. Care to join us?

an unusual visitor

WM has a beautiful Japanese style garden in our sloping backyard, including a gentle stream and a fishpond.

Last week, we had an unusual visitor for a suburban garden. We suspect it's not his first visit because some of the goldfish are gone from the pond! We thought it was an egret but we couldn't find it in our "Book of Australian Birds". I emailed Birding Services Brisbane and got a fast reply from Roy - it's a "white-faced heron which is very common and widespread throughout Australia. They do love goldfish and it is quite remarkable how they manage to find ponds with them in". This is unfortunate because the fish eat the mosquito larvae population! Guess WM is going to have to put mesh over his pond!

BTW, if you want to see some more photos of Australian birds, pop over to Roy's website.

Roses!

On Saturday night, my former art teacher came for dinner. He had planned to bring wine but we don't drink, so he brought me these beautiful long stem roses. The colour is so wrong! They are deep red, almost black, but no matter what I do I can't get the colour of this photo right. Roses are such beautiful flowers so enjoy them anyway!

And yes, he has talked me into going back to art classes - looks like there'll be less time for yarny activities in my future!

Supersocke Cotton progress

I've stalled [again] on my Supersocke cotton socks. Please let me tell you the saga...

I cast on last year at the beginning of Southern Summer of Socks. They were my first toe up socks. I very quickly finished the first one and cast on for the second. But I had a niggling doubt about the finished sock so I took it to a Guild meeting to talk to The Guru. She said the sock was way too big for my foot and showed me by how much - at least six centimetres!! So I ripped out that first sock to the point indicated. I also had to rip back the second sock because I'd already passed that point!

A few days later I was told to stop knitting due to my frozen left shoulder so the socks waited patiently for me to recover. When I was allowed to knit again, I couldn't use small needles - it was just too painful. Then my right shoulder froze and it was back to 'no-knitting'! :-(

All year small needles have been a problem - it took me eight months to finish one baby cardigan! Eventually, I was able to use small needles for more than half an hour and I finished the Moda Vera Grey socks. I revisited the Supersockes, turned the heel and decided on a pattern for the legs. The first time I had knitted plain ol' stocking stitch but the pattern in this yarn is fairly subtle [though the colours are not] so I decided I wanted something a bit more decorative. Nothing too fancy - maybe just a small cable. I didn't want to use cable needles because the stitches are so small - if I drop one I can never pick it up without it unravelling to the round below [and sometimes further than that]. Overnight it came to me - a mock cable. I found this pattern - and on I went.

About half way up the leg I decided to try the sock on. The mock cable is a form of ribbing and the leg was looking pretty narrow so I was a bit concerned. I thought the idea of toe up socks was so you could try them on as you go but getting the sock on with those four dpns still attached was a bit tricky! Finally I pulled the sock over my heel and voila the leg stretched enough [maybe more than enough] to fit my calf. But...

The sock is a little too snug in the length of the foot and I'm not sure if they'll block to the correct size so I've stopped knitting to think about it!

That'll teach me to do a test swatch of the yarn before I start, won't it?

The Nundle Woollen Mill

You can read the history of the Mill here - it's not as old as people imagine though the mill equipment is quite old.

We arrived at the Woollen Mill just as the doors were opened [10am] and only one machine [the dyer] was running. Just as well I saw most of it in action in April. A lot of the products in the store seem to be imported though they do sell their own yarn too. It's quite expensive as yarns go, it would be cheaper to buy from Bendigo and you would have a greater choice of colours, yarn types and weights too. However, it's the only place I've seen that mills its own 20ply [very chunky]. To be fair, there was a favourable review of Nundle yarn in the current issue of Yarn magazine [Issue 11].

What I do like about Nundle is the mill is set up so you can see the machines in action; something you can't do in Wangaratta or Bendigo - both bigger operations of course. I guess because this is set up as a tourist attraction as well as a working mill.

So, you've had my opinion, here - for your viewing pleasure - some photos from the Mill. First: the dye pot! [Yes the yarn was being dyed that olive colour!]




The carding machine [not in action]



The spinning machine [also not in action]



The wool winding machines [you guessed - not in action]. Those two people on the far side in the red and aqua are DD and myself so that gives you some idea of the scale of the place and the machinery.

Baby blanket knitting finished

My next door neighbour, who doesn't even know I have a blog let alone read it, is expecting her first child in February. I bought 500g of Cleckheaton Fiddle De Dee cotton [white/blue/mint/lemon colourway] while I was in Wangaratta in July. A couple of years ago my parents gave me this book for Christmas. I found a pattern I thought would work with the yarn and modified it for my needs.

It was a beginners' lace pattern so it was monotonous and as the blanket got larger and heavier, the knitting became more unwieldy, even though I was using circular needles and all the weight was either in my lap or on the lounge [couch, sofa] beside me. The 6mm needles [US size 10] were hard to use for long periods too. However, it was a pretty fast knit - each 50g skein did about three pattern repeats [24 rows] and I used just under nine skeins for the knitting and a little more than one skein for the crocheted border.

The knitting of my version is finished. It doesn't look like the afghan in the book but that doesn't matter. It was never my intention to duplicate the picture in the book; that would be impossible: my yarn is variegated and thicker. I'm looking forward to seeing how the pattern comes out after blocking.

Photos of my version after the blocking and the ends have been sewn in!

Nundle

Although I've been home less than a week and being away seems a lifetime ago, you may recall, WM, DD and I took a trip to my parents' place via Nundle last week. Today's post is a little taster of the things that caught our attention; later there will be a post on the woollen mill.

Nundle is a pretty little village and we spent several hours last Wednesday exploring the places that were open but, if your planning a trip there, be warned. Hardly anything is open in Nundle on Monday and Tuesday and only about half the 'tourist spots' are open on Wednesday and Thursday. Everything is open Friday to Sunday.

There are not as many photos as I expected; I think WM was too busy looking to take a lot of photos [unusual for him]. So without any further ado - some of the sights of Nundle.

Firstly, we have the Exchange Store - an interesting looking building from outside and full of new old-fashioned home wares inside. They also sell a wide range of leaf teas [unfortunately, due to hay-fever, I couldn't smell a thing] and other gourmet goodies - jams, chutneys, honey, etc.



Then the eastern wall [behind the altar] of a gorgeous little weatherboard Anglican church. I just love these stained glass windows.



And, finally, two views from the lookout east of the town.




Nundle also has a lovely old country pub [The Peel Inn] but we didn't get photos.

postscript to "Topsy Turvy Socks" or sock bargains!

My first pair of socks from the Moda Vera grey colourway - the topsy turvy socks - weighed in at 60g. I still have several skeins of this yarn.

I picked up some of this yarn in a clearance sale for $2.99 per 100g skein. I still have 40g of the first skein left. That's ten pairs of socks from six skeins!! Or, given that I paid $4.99* for the first two skeins and $2.99 for four more [a total of just under $22], that's ten pairs of hand knitted, wool/nylon socks to warm the feet of those less fortunate for just $2.20 each! More feet kept warm is always a good thing! Just pray I don't get bored with knitting all that stocking stitch. [There'll be more complicated patterns in other yarns along the way to break up the monotony].

*Sock yarn generally sells for $12+ per 100g skein

Goal #1 reached! Topsy Turvy Socks

The second sock of the Moda Vera in the grey colourway is finished. They are fraternal [not identical] twins. I call them topsy-turvy socks. Why? The self-patterning of the yarn is upside down in the second sock.

You see, I made a simple error. The first sock was knitted cuff down. When I frogged it, I did so using my ball winder. Therefore the centre of the ball was the toe end. I cast on from the centre of the yarn cake [as one does] never giving a thought to the fact that I was now knitting with the pattern "upside down". When I cast on for the second sock, I began with the leftover yarn from the frogged first sock. When that ran out, I blithely carried on using the yarn as it pulled from the centre of the original skein. I was aware of what I was doing, but the socks were never going to be identical so I decided to keep going. Perhaps I've created the first ever pair of topsy-turvy socks! Unlikely I know, but it amuses me!

This sock took eight days to knit [not monogamously]. Given that I hurt my neck on Friday and didn't knit at all, it really took a week which is the length of time I thought a sock would take. I've achieved my first goal! That's 100% better than last summer's Southern Summer of Socks!

Sock continues...

Last night I decided to turn the heel on the second sock. I'm using a version of short row shaping and was almost back to my original number of stitches when I noticed a gaping hole. Well, maybe not gaping but a hole nonetheless - big enough for me to stick my pinky through; maybe even big enough to stick my index finger through.

So, what's a girl to do in this situation? My first thought was 'ignore it; darn it later'. No, I couldn't do that; I was brought up with the philosophy: "if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well". Just because something's going to charity doesn't mean it's okay for it to be second rate [hope you're reading this, Pam; I know you'd be pleased].

So, yes, I ripped it out, but short row shaping won't rip back to the middle point will it? No! It has to be ripped right back to the beginning!! Two hours of work in the frogpond. :-(

The heel's finished now and I've done ten rounds of the foot. Only another million rounds to go! Well, maybe 80 rows before the toe shaping! I'm gonna finish that sock asap - there are other more interesting patterns waiting in my queue! [see sidebar]

Jean Greenhowe's Knitted Animals

I haven't officially signed up for Blogtobefest having been away for the first five days but I thought I'd see how long I could post every day [at least while I'm not at work]!

In the last week before spring break began, I was looking through an op shop [thrift store] for acrylic yarn to complete the crocheted blanket. I didn't find any but I did find this - in as new condition - for 50c! A copy sold recently on Oztion [Australia's answer to Ebay] for $6.50 so I think I got a bargain.

You can see the rest of the patterns contained in the book here. I think it will keep DD and I busy for a while!

We're back! & there's been some progress

We're back from our trip to Bingara via Nundle. There's a separate [photo heavy] post [comong] about Nundle so I'll just tell you about Bingara and my knitting & crocheting progress.

It was very warm for this time of year [over 30*C/86*F]. The sun shone every day which I thought was wonderful. I spent my time knitting, crocheting, reading [Down Under by Bill Bryson] and, of course, talking to my parents. WM and DD worked around my parents house and yard. At the end of three days, a new fascia board had replaced the old one on the front of the garage, a small area had been levelled and paved and now houses pot plants, the evaporative air-conditioning unit had been cleaned, disinfected and turned on [I told you it was warm], rampant ivy and a rogue climbing rose had been ripped out, a quarter of an acre of grass had been mowed [they usually pay someone to do it but the guy's father was going into hospital in Newcastle - a few hundred kilometres away - so he wasn't going to be around for a couple of weeks] and garden beds had been weeded. Busy, weren't they? I helped with some of it but preferred to spend my time with my parents and my knitting! Having two frozen shoulders can be a good excuse!! LOL

So, what progress has been made? The second sock was started on 1st October [my first goal for Southern Summer of Socks] and is now down to the heel turning. The baby's blanket has gone from 30% knitted to 70% knitted. I had four crocheted squares when I left home, now I have ten - or about 30% of a blanket. No photos because, in themselves, there is really not much to see.

Friday was dad's 80th birthday and we took him to the local RSL club for dinner. The dining room isn't much to look at - just a few laminated tables and plastic chairs - but the size of the meals was enormous and the food was well cooked. The calamari we had for entree was the most tender I've ever had and the grilled barramundi I had for the main course was really nice too [not overcooked and dried out like some grilled fish can be]. I was pleasantly surprised because I didn't know what to expect and my parents hadn't eaten there in over ten years so they didn't know either! If you're ever in Bingara, I can highly recommend the food at the RSL - it's not flash, not nouveau cuisine, just simple, straight-forward, honest-to-goodness food with huge servings. It's not all seafood either; DD had Hawaiian chicken schnitzel which she said was very nice.