Procrastinating Knitting

I should be packing.
I should be cleaning.
I should be doing any of the million and one things that need to be done before I leave the state for warmer weather.
But here I am blogging. Why? because there are more knitting yummies today!

My 9 yr old nephew wants to learn to knit, so I'm going up north prepared. And with extra sticks and yarn in tow in case his 6 yr old brother is also interested.

And here is my latest lacy face-washer started last night and finished on the train this morning.


And again without the flash - the cotton really picks up the light!

Oscar's famous

My grumpy Oscar has his photo here: .
Of course, he doesn't look like this now - too cold for that kind of hair-cut. But he'll have his annual spa-day in late November again this year. Then not talk to me for a few days and then decide he loves it - excepting of course all the laughter from the neighbours.
Currently he is snuggled under the fold-over bit of the quilt on the couch. He's made his own little cave.

Knitting yummies

I shouldn't have mentioned the sun yesterday... I don't think it snuck through the clouds at all yesterday. But today I caught it and have caught up on my photos.

First off, the sari-silk I bought myself as a consolation present when I couldn't find the new edition of Yarn magazine: I have 300gms, and I'm not sure whether it will become a scarf or a bag - I'm leaning towards a bag at the moment - possibly something along the lines of Knitty's Unbiased. And yes, this classifies as a small project, so it bumps the larger knitting projects that I'm just not finding lap time for at the moment...

And then onto my newest Finished Object. A lacy cotton face-cloth. This is a trial run of prospective knitting when I am up in FNQ.
Many false starts on this one, and discovered after my 3rd repeat that I'd done a purl row instead of a knit row, but then I decided I liked the way it looked, so kept the "error". I've already started the next face-cloth - different lacy pattern. If this one looks good it will get added to my Mum's birthday present (which was last Monday, but she'll be receiving next Saturday when we arrive on her doorstep in Brisbane).

And then onto my extra special Yummy yarn related purchase. In the last couple of months I have received not one, but two recognition awards at work, and the prizes have been vouchers of various denominations to Dymocks. (How special am I? *s*) Although it is nice to get my hard slog at work recognised and rewarded!
So anyway, I finally dropped into Dymocks in the city (where I get a 10% courtesy of RRR. I had a short 30 minutes to dash to the knitting section and flip through the books. I finally selected two, and still have more money to spend.
And better yet, there was a 20% off sale, so even better value!

Woo hoo, many happy pattern designing days ahead :)

The geek in me..

Laughs at this: Nerdy t-shirt: "broken image"

Did this test: and got a measley 27%

And when I google myself - I'm the second entry, and a geek one at that!

I'm not really a geek.... I'd much rather be knitting!

The Weirdest Dream

Just woke up from the weirdest dream.

I was a CSI dude and we found all these mummified bodies that appeared to be still moving. Zombie alert! We finally traced it all back to an x-box type game that became total immersion for the players so that they played through death and just kept playing. The really scary part came when I discovered I'd been playing the game myself and had started losing track of time. There were cool plot twists where-in we found moth-ball size/shape/colour balls that became soporific when you held them so that you started to forget about what you'd found out, and there were yummy men trying to save me, who also needed saving.

I suspect I've been playing too much x-box... (and reading too many romantic novels *s*)

Oh - and it was the original CSI crew - not the poor excuses of the spin-offs.

So many photos to take today - just waiting for the sun to finally come out.

And no Rob, there is no spreadsheet!!!! Blame the new job - it's taken all my anal-ness and leaving me part-way to being a slob at home. I haven't even project planned our holiday which starts in only 6 more sleeps (but there is a basic spreadsheet there already). I have seen some "yarn in / yarn out" additions to blogs which I am considering. It's just that my total volume / weight / length is really not that impressive by their standards.

Stash Enhancement

I have started using the words "stash enhancement" in my everyday vocabulary.
Some have said to me that it is a sad thing to have a stash, as they feel the stress from all the things to be knitted. I feel it is a wondrous thing I do for myself. It's like buying chocolates to make yourself feel good - but without the added calories.

I did have one, very large tub that fit all my yarn. Now it doesn't close and I have bags of bulk yarn strewn around the craft room. So many projects, so little time. Not that I'll stop buying though - it may be an addiction, but it *is* healthier than chocolate. I could always recoup my investment via ebay if I wanted to too.

Photos of stash coming soon....

Only a decade out....

You Are 26 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

You Are Midnight

You are more than a little eccentric, and you're apt to keep very unusual habits. Whether you're a nightowl, living in a commune, or taking a vow of silence - you like to experiment with your lifestyle. Expressing your individuality is important to you, and you often lie awake in bed thinking about the world and your place in it. You enjoy staying home, but that doesn't mean you're a hermit. You also appreciate quality time with family and close friends.

What Time Of Day Are You?

You Are Marge Simpson

You're a devoted family member who loves unconditionally. Sometimes, though, you dream about living a wild secret life! You will be remembered for: your good cooking and evading the police Your life philosophy: "You should listen to your heart, and not the voices in your head."

The Simpsons Personality Test

OK, I'll stop now....

E.R.M.....

Ever have one of those days? You leave your knitting at home because there's only a few rows to go and then you get to the train and discover that you've forgotten to bring anything to read - even my back copies of "The Big Issue" only last me half-way into the train ride. When this happens I dash into the closest place I can find that sells E.R.M. (Emergency Reading Matter) and pick up something. These are usually remainders (that's book trade lingo for "didn't sell well", or just plain "printed too many"). One can't hope for much with E.R.M., and it does require you to choose carefully. I had an E.R.M. situation this week. I survived the trip into work, but on the way home, stopped at the little newsagent inside Flagstaff to grab something from their bargain range. I really didn't hope for much and there wasn't much of a selection, but it was an emergency (I'd sooner give up chocolate than reading!). I didn't hold out much hope for the book I chose, especially with phrases like "intensive hours of whining" and "Big Kahuna" on the first page. And it was a moderately futuristic story about robots gone wild in a futuristic themepark - a'la Westworld. But I was hooked before I even got on the train. And just because you'll ask - the book is Utopia.

In other, knitting, news - The not-so-secret present (a) - Father's Day scarf is finished and ends darned in.
All rolled up:

And a close-up of the ribbing, and stretched ribbing.

Like fingers of gold....

If you live just about anywhere in Australia, you'll understand my dilemma. I love bananas. I don't really have a fondness for much in the way of fruit, but I just love bananas. If I buy bananas now it is seriously chipping into my yarn budget... Since the cyclones up north I haven't bought any, but last week I decided it might just be a good thing to start eating fruit again (I've had an horrendous diet since the kidney stones), and so kicked it all off by buying some smallish bananas at the Vic Markets last weekend. Thought I'd better take a photo before they all disappeared. This bunch (of 7 originally) cost me around $6.
But today, as I ate the last one, I thought, yes, I'm liking this, I'll go buy myself some more, so off I trotted to the local (where they were *much* more expensive than at the markets and came home with this many for a smidgen under $20 - I think I'm insane!

While wandering the net just now I found that bananas are the new "hot theft" item at present! No-one's touching my bananas!

Talking of fingers, I stumbled onto a 15% off sale at Kland this week (ie B had given me the heads up), and after I'd looked at camping gear for our trip away I wandered into the cosmetic section to have a look at the nail polish.
Bought myself a couple more bottles and am quite pleased with the shade of one. From my initial brand tests I can recommend Maybelline Forever Strong, followed by the new one - a Revlon. The Max Factor I also picked up in the land of K I am not impressed with - seems very thin, but I do need to give it another test run. My hands don't seem to photograph well, but here's a shot...


And finally some knitting news... present (a) is a smidgen and a half from being finished. Here's a photo - see all that's left to knit on the left there?

It's a 2x2 ribbed scarf (30 stitches wide - about 10cm wide and 6' long) in cleckheaton country silk - brown - that'd be colour 6. For my wonderful Father on Father's Day. As I'll be seeing him in July (and not September) I thought I'd save myself some postage, and get to see the look on his face, when he gets something knitted from me. I think he'll like it. He liked what Mum got for Mother's Day: The lime one is knitted on fishing line and has a nice bounce to it, the lavender one is on silver wire.

That's all for now.
Will post photos of the finished scarf soon.

Smart Cat

I'm a recent convert to "6 Feet Under". After hearing B wax lyrical about it year after year, I watched an episode - albeit in season 5, and agreed that there was something watchable about the show. Wanting to do things properly, I thought it best to start at the beginning and so found Seasons 1&2 on special at the local. But I've made a bargain with myself. Buying DVD's is not something I normally do, so if I want to watch it I have to be on the treadmill. Here's the set-up I have:

It's worked so far, and I'm trying for at least 3-4 episodes a week, more if I am on-call and not able to be enticed out the door. Haven't noticed any great results yet, except for the feeling of virtue :)

The other night after finishing on the treadmill and checking blogs I was heading off to bed and went to say g'night to the cat... couldn't find the cat... not on the human blanket (cat blankets aren't attractive), not on the back of the recliner, not in the box, nowhere to be found. So I gave up and went to the bedroom, and lo and behold there's the cat: the heater had only just gone on a few minutes before (timer action), but he'd already snuggled up.

Still knitting present (a), almost finished, another few rows and then cast-off, a few photos and wrapping for the trip away soon.
And then to decide what next to start! Sections of present (b) can be done, but I really want to work out what I'll be doing while I'm away. I rather think it is time to knuckle down to some facewashers, good cotton knitting weather in FNQ!

Sometimes life gets in the way....

I suppose I should explain the long delay between postings (almost a year!).

The knitting continued, and cooking continued, but there wasn't much time for other stuff. July and August each year is devoted to MIFF Wherein I try to see as close to 101 films in 2.5 weeks as I can. I managed around 75 in 2005 (down from 86 in 2004). B saw well over 90. As you can imagine, there really isn't a lot of time left for anything else - and this number can only be achieved by taking holidays from work - which alas, I cannot do this year. But during MIFF 05 I did finish this.
which I designed to match the cabled scarf I made earlier in June.

In September 2005 I started a new job - woo hoo! Finally some decent money and a challenging job, with good potential for future career potential. But.... the hours are longer and the work is harder, so less knitting time all around - I do have the funds now though to increase the stash! DANGER, Will Robinson, DANGER.

October brought my birthday and some birthday cash :) which I used to buy many, many balls of cotton and started on a red top. That is boring, boring garter stitch knitting and I just can't seem to find the enthusiasm for it, but it does progress slowly and is particularly good for Summer knitting... but alas it is now Winter again.....

In November-Jan I battled a shoulder and wrist misfunction (opposite sides), so all knitting related activity was prohibited :( (Although I did manage to slip in some beaded work....)



Just as I was finally getting better from that I slipped in the rain and threw my back out - which was another month of being delicate. :(

March and April were great.


May brought a bout of Kidney Stones:
Somehow they missed that way big stone the first time they x-rayed me! And yes, this is the first x-ray. The second x-ray shows a smaller stone still in my left kidney (the x-ray flips you), just waiting to grow big and mean and cause me more pain. Oh joy....

And that brings us back to June - when I sat down and realised that I wanted to blog, and so I'm determined to find time to fit it in....

The wonders of Nail Polish

This may be something which all you feminine-type women out there already know, but I've only just come to the realisation - nail polish makes you look elegant!

You can even be stuffing your face and as long as you have long, painted nails, it somehow manages to look dainty and elegant. I'm in awe! And am now planning to have permanently painted nails :)
I've never been one to wear nail polish, but I played dress-up for my partner's sister's 21st and thought I'd go the polish. That's 2 weeks ago now and I've changed colour once to see if it was just the scarlet woman look, but no, a dusky pink works as well! I'm hooked!

On the knitting front, I'm knitting furiously present (a). Which will be delivered in a few weeks. And I also need to finish off the beyond blue hat- just some sparkly beads to lighten it up, and also finish off all the rolled-brim hats I made as other presents. So much to do, so little knitting time.... Just as well I'm on-call for a couple of weekends, will have to buckle down and do the finishing bits!

On the reading front, just finished the third in the Hyperion saga - Endymion. Much more readable than the 2nd - which was a real struggle. Thankfully it was a breeze to read, because I'd left it very late in the library hire and found I only had 6 days to read a 450 page book - I actually found myself a few days ago working out how many pages I had to read each day on the train in order to get it finished on time. Succeeded last night and back to the library this morning. Woo.
No more books on the horizon. :( All time devoted to knitting before we leave for Brisbane in a few weeks.... At least that's the plan, but I know I'll succumb - I'll have to read something! Although I do have 2 knitting books loaned to me by the wonderful Liz, and they also have a time frame for return on them... If only I didn't have to work!

Just returned tonight from my partner's nephew's 3rd birthday. So wonderful to be greeted at the door with a massive hug from a little boy who really doesn't know you that well, but is all smiles to see you. We increased the child's stock of Thomas train track, and B and I spent a happy half hour using every piece of track available to make a massive layout over the loungeroom floor. We couldn't build fast enough for the kids, with the trains waiting, not quite patiently, for each new piece of track to go down.