Friday, May 30, 2008

It never rains..... it pours.....

That saying pretty much describes this week for us! We haven't had anything on for weeks & weeks so of course this past week has just been crazy.

Tuesday I went to my first stitch & bitch which was fantastic! Met some lovely ladies & saw some very impressive projects! Definitely will be going back.... and back... and back. The looks from other people in the club were quite amusing too - Looking through the windows at around a dozen ladies all sitting and knitting! The ladies were a wealth of information and I was gob-smacked when one was able to pick the yarn I was using jut by looking at it!!! from a distance!!! I cast on for my Boogie vest and although I initially had reservations about the colour of the yarn I'm now really happy with it. Have finished the back over the week and will be casting on for the front later today or tonight...



Wednesday I took the kids to the theatre to see the Possum Magic musical - just magic! They both thoroughly enjoyed themselves - Charlotte even got up out of her seat at one point to dance to the music. It was a really nice evening out - quick (started at 6:30 and finished at 7:30) but enjoyable and I was really surprised at how well Izaak coped with the large amount of people there were and being children it was quite busy with everyone walking, running and jumping around just before the show started. I got a few brochures on other things happening at the theatre so it might be a regular thing??...


Thursday we headed up to Sydney for Charlotte's sleep study. All I can say out of the trip is that she is just such a little trooper! Didn't complain at all and was polite and chatty to everyone despite having electrodes pulled on and off her tummy/face/head. She didn't sleep as deeply (and therefore didn't snore as much as usual) as she does at home but I'm hoping that they at least got some idea of what's going on with her. So we are now off to the paed in 2 weeks to get the results. Dr Teng (paed sleep specialist) did comment on how abnormally large her tonsils are so I think they will start with taking those out. Izaak stayed with mum & dad overnight which was a drama as well because it was the day that they were moving house! and the night that was back-to-school night and Izaak had to take his grandparents back to school for an expo and to show them what he has been learning at school.

Friday we drove back from Sydney and I missed one turn near the airport! Rather than u-bolting it and trying to get back to where I needed to be we decided that we'd take the scenic route! Quite soon after making this decision though I realised it was athletics carnival day at school and I was trying to get back in time for Izaaks race. We left Sydney at 6:30am and got home at 10:30am, missed the race by about 10 mins. Bad mummy award for me!

On the knitting front I have been quite productive. I've cast on the Boogie vest, frogged both the toddler vest & cable bag that were on my WIP list finished my Lopi. I have felted it but can't say that I'm overly happy with the result... The handle doesn't stand up like I would have liked it to so this one might be getting gifted. So between finishing my clappy and frogging the other 2 projects the WIP list now stands at - Work vest, Knitting Needle Bag, Buttony Cardi & Boogie Vest. So... this is the Lopi....

Friday, May 23, 2008

A round of applause for....

CLAPOTIS
I have met the deadline and my lovely is about to have a bath to make her lush and lovely for tomorrows outing. I finished this afternoon and I have to say that apart from the 2 mistakes I made I'm really happy with my knitting in this! The colours have come out beautifully and the size is just right. I did contemplate doing a few more repeats to make it a bit longer but to be honest I got to the point where I just wanted it done and off the WIP list!


She feels so soft and squishy that any reservations I had about doing this in mohair and having it close to me (my neck!) have been quashed. She's soooo warm that I can see me wearing her alot as the crappy Canberra winters starts getting colder and colder!

The other two little lovelies in the house were more than willing to be models for a change so I thought I'd make the most of it! So..... drum roll please.... here she is.....




Monday, May 19, 2008

Nothing exciting...




Just wanted to share a few pics of the kidlets from tonight - they are both really tired so it will be dinner, bath & bed here. Izaak had a session with the occupational therapist today which went really well but she certainly got to see him at his worst! Hopefully Penny (the OT) will have some ideas/suggestions for home & school to help calm him down and get some more work done. According to Izaak he had a good afternoon at school too so lots of positives from today!



Clapotis is just past it's 9th repeat - only 3 to go! It seems to be flying along at pace now that I'm making a concentrated effort to get it finished. I went for a quick trip to spotlight today for needles in a size I didn't have and just HAD to buy some 8ply in 2 shades of blue for these... http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring06/PATTpedicuresocks.html which I really like but am resisting casting them on until the WIPs are more in control. Also got some new fabric for some cushion covers - I'm over the bright spots and want something to tone in with our chocolate coloured lounges so I found a print on the $2 throw-out table that wasn't too bad and 2 solids to match. These are the fabrics photographed on the lounge and I'm happy with how they tone in...

Sunday, May 18, 2008

UFOs....

I am sick of looking at the basket of half finished projects around here so I am motivated to get some of this stuff finished and have decided that I AM NOT casting on anything new before I get some things finished.


So.... at the moment there is.....



1 - Clapotis

2 - Knitting Needle Bag

3 - Buttony Jumper

4 - Cable Bag

5 - Toddler Vest &

6 - Work vest for me

I am determined to finish my clapotis first and then to decide what's happening with the others. I'm relatively sure I'm going to frog the toddler vest - Charlotte really doesn't need it so I think I'll frog it, re-wind and re-knit it into something else.


In terms of my clapotis I'm loving the yarn, loving the colours and the striping, just need more time & motivation to get through it. As of yesterday I had done the set up, increase and one repeat of the straight sections and to this particular minute I'm now up to 5 and a bit repeats (6 to go! and then the decreases), I'd love to get this finished for a tupperware party next weekend so my goal is to finish the 6th tonight and then do 2 repeats each night which leaves Thursday and Friday to do the decreases and finishing, I'll be pushing it but there are a few things that I want to cast on (see the new stash below! & the swap on Ravelry is starting!) so that should be motivation enough!


So.... this is my clapotis so far....

Bus Depot Markets - Yarn Day

What a day!

I headed into the markets today with my mum and even though we arrived early-ish (10am) there were plenty of peope already there! Parking wasn't too bad but it certainly wasn't plesant trying to negotiate some of the stalls with a pram. In the end my pashmina became a sling and she was carried around.

There were plenty of delicious yarns today & a few really lovely garments but they were soooo expensive! I did splurge on a few bits & pieces...


Top yarn - 8ply beautiful shades of blues, greens and purples - beanies for mum & I
Left - 12ply slightly slubby browns, greens, blues & purples - scarf for me
Next - Happy spider 4ply sock yarn - socks (well that's the plan anyway!)
Next - 8ply yarn - 'blueberry ridge' - beanie for mum for work
Next - 8ply yarn - purples, greens & pinks - beanie for Charlie

Lots of similar colourways but they are just all beautiful! Now I'll spend the night browsing Ravelry looking for the perfect patterns! The 12 ply did come with a pattern, just a garter stitch scarf so not sure if I'll go with that (would show off the yarn beautifully) or try and find something else & I've got a pattern I want to try with the Blueberry Ridge. Also got some info from stitch & bitch so I'm hoping that I will be able to make it to one of their meetings soon!