Needeep- Needeep

I've recently commented on one or two blogs about my dislike of frogging.

Being a perfectionist, I simply can't abide the thought of acknowledging that something has gone wrong; that it isn't going to work; that it needs to be undone and redone differently. Replaced. Fixed. Corrected.


This is why, when I realised as I reclined on the couch, watching the tennis and admiring my sock, that there was indeed a broken cable in the broken cable rib sock, I kept on knitting.

See it here?


I kept on knitting and I'm ready (as I watch the tail end of Breakfast at Tiffanys) to do the toe now.


If anyone notices, and dains to comment on the broken cable, I shall simply respond with the assertion that it is a reflection of the realities of life: imperfection is natural and I chose not to swim in the frong pond.

more tidbits

Lazy delights continue with incoming mail from Carly, my backtack buddy, who sent me one of her cute little sleepy kitties.

I'm generally not a pink girl, but the colours in this vibrant retro print brought back instant childhood memories- my brother and I used to have matching outfits that mum knitted- striped jumpers and dungarees in the same violet purple and hot pink (for me) and purple and bright green (for my brother). How did you know Carly?! Thankyou!

Afternoon tea was delivered from Sarah earlier in the week. I only have the packaging left... it was sooooo yummy- perfectly light and delicious chocolate cookies with some very fine green tea.


In other browsing highlights, Julia's been felting hats with much success... I'm entertaining fantasies of finding some spare time to try this out myself; and I'm entertaining fantasies of decorating cup-cakes after reading Carolyn's post at Show and Tell.

And now that we have airconditioning in the study/guest room/computer room/junk store/craft room, not only to I have more likelihood to get some crafting done through the rest of summer, but the temperature has dropped 10 degrees and it's bucketing rain. Ahhh Murphy, you've done it again!

just browsing

Public holiday here today. It's Australia Day- a day of rest to commemorate the creation of a nation. It's set to be another scorcher, so I'm taking it easy. I've some stitching planned for later in the day, and have spent a bit of time this morning catching up on some blog reading and net surfing.

With my new work regime I don't have time in the morning to catch up with bloglines, so I'm getting further and further behind, and still discovering more and more that I'd like to read. I know need to prune my reading and be more selective, but it's so hard! And sometimes you need to be reading at just the right moment- Like the short window to sign up for Sockapaloooza, which I (thankfully) spotted late on Tuesday night (whilst multi-tasking and watching tennis action in the Australian Open).

In other browsing and assorted couch-based action:

Alison knitted a boot, a la Knitty Gritty and there are few others knitting along with her.

I'm enjoying life with wildlife vicariously through Suse's blog. (Wow! frogs, and an echidna!!)

I've joined Cookie Cutters- Ms Nutty Nicole "Martha" Craftapalooza has been showing off her stash and started a flickr group. I guess this means I'll need to purchase some cookie cutters... which will also mean I'll need to do some baking...

I considered joining the Knitting Olympics... or maybe a more local option- Knitting Commonwealth Games? But I prefer to spectate rather than compete in sporting events, as a rule.

There are some fine blogs up for contention in the Bloggies, including Looby Lou and Angry Chicken, and many others that I haven't read before.

And our airconditioning is currently being installed (I'm totally amazed and exceedinly pleased that we managed to get tradesmen to work on a public holiday, although I the sceptic in me wonders if Murphy's Law will prevail and this will be the end of the stinking hot weather? one can hope...)

I'm training

I started my new job this week. Wow. How can something be so scary and exciting and liberating and intimidating all at once? I'm just getting into the groove of it- being in the city and catching the train to work (and every now and then a taxi and plane), and working with a bunch of inspired and creative architects.

...and I also cast on for something new- Broken Cable Rib socks from Interweave Knits a little while back.

Just something small that I can knit on a crowded train without moving my elbows much, to distract me from stressing about work or getting annoyed by the innane conversations the person behind me is having on their mobile.

The socks are fun so far- nine rounds of simple rib with a tricky little cable round to look forward to for a spot of interest. I'm doing the cables without a cable needle thanks to this handy little tutorial from Grumperina (although I wouldn't want to be cableing without a cable needle if I was a tight knitter). The deep olive Kroy (a gift from Siri) is a little bit splitty but it knits up as a lovely texture- perfect for the rustic, textural pattern.

I don’t have a stitch on!

No, it’s not that I’m wearing the Emperor’s new clothes- just that I don’t have a single stitch on a single knitting needle.
Can you knitting freaks believe it?
No?
Well, I must confess, I’m a wee bit amazed that I’m stitchless myself (I can’t remember when I was last stitchless), and I’ve tried to figure out how I wound up in this state...

Exhbit A:

I got sidetracked by the fun of machine knitting. It's kind of distracted me from casting on a new handknit project - I've been cranking out pelts of stocking stitch ready for felting. I realised it’s much faster with a happy yarn bitch to feed out the yarn for you, but sadly Scott didn’t see the fun in it. In any case, a felting and toy making expose will appear here some time soon.

Exhibit B:

In the excitement of receiving so much yarn recently, I got distracted by the joy of fondling my little stash. It used to fit in one basket, but it’s been overflowing for at least 6 months, and I’d kind of lost track of the projects I’d earmarked everything for. It was great fun, rummaging through, reorganising my favorite colours in a more attractive way, and rescheming what to knit and which I most wanted to knit first. Yes, great fun, but impossible to decide (really, I find fondling and gazing at lovely yarn quite confusing...). Maybe I’ll just have to work my way through Misocrafty’s knit list (such a good idea! and such a great selection).

Exhibit C:

Having finished Scott's jumper a while back, I'd like to start another jumper (sweater for you North Americans) so I’ve whipped up a few swatches in my mossy green Jo Sharp Slikroad Aran Tweed. I think I’m going to cast on an Hourglass next, but it's a tough decision. There are so many patterns in contention I can't decide. I’ll let you know after some more contemplation.

Exhibit D:

In the course of stash organising, I uncovered an old UFO. How depressing when you're thinking of creating something fabulous and new. I stopped knitting it because it wasn’t going to fit me. It still won’t fit me. And I discovered a few mistakes too. So I ripped out the sleeve that I’d started, and maybe I’ll turn the front and back into a vest and pass it on to someone smaller than me.

Exhibit E:


I finished knitting Elfine’s socks.

Vital Statistics:
Pattern: Elfine’s socks by Anna Bell
Yarn: Regia Silk sock yarn (two 50g balls), plus matching Schoeller reinforcing yarn (a gift from my wonderful BP Shobhana)
Needles: two 2mm addi circulars (60cm long)

Pattern modifications:
For the toe I did a Turkish Cast-on (brilliant tutorial here) of 16 stitches and did M1 one stitch in from each end of both needles on alternate rows, which created a rather pointy toe- I don’t know why I did this- next time I’ll make them wider.

Other comments:
I love them and I really enjoyed knitting them. Anna writes a great pattern, and after a repeat or two I “got” the lace and it was easy to knit on whilst watching TV without fear of totally screwing the pattern up. Just my kind of project really!
They’re quite a firm fit- not much give- which I think is a combo of the lace pattern and the yarn.

I'd planned on doing a tutorial on short row heels- But after taking a heap of photos and inspecting them closer I realised I wasn't wraping those pesky little wraps same way all the time. Really not the makings of a good photo-tutorial, all that inconsistency. The main thing you need to know is that the wraps should end up on the back side of the knitting. If you pick them up so that they end up there, you should end up with neat, hole-free short rows! (this probably isn't news to most of you- but I figure if I write this down I'll be able to remember later)

I'd also planned on making them into kneehighs, by adding in extra stitches on the sides, but given they didn’t have much stretch I wasn’t sure that it was going to work. Also I just liked the length from the one ball. I’ve got one ball of yarn left which I may make into some Interweave footlets (that is, if I pull through this moment of stitchlessness and manage to cast on again...)

My incredible expanding waistline

afternoon tea 1
Originally uploaded by Clementine's Shoes.

Ok so Chirstmas may be over, but the goodies keep on rolling in.
I hadn't happened across any Christmas cake yet this year, but Nichola, baker extrordinaire sent this through for afternoon tea- Rich fruitcake with marzipan and royal icing, and the most gorgeous ribbon decoration.
Luckily for me I have it all to myself (which is more than I can say for the Lemon butter and shortbreads that Alison sent)- Scott doesn't like fruitcake!

taking a second to think about it

A new year has started (I hope you tooted your horn for an extra second too). I finished off 2005 with close friends, learning to play Mahjong as the fireworks sparkled on TV (I just had to squeeze in one last new thing before the end of the year!!).

I usually allow myself some headspace at this end of the year for reflecting, contemplating and planning. Something that ties in with Lisa's question: Why do we blog?

2005 was an exciting and rewarding year for me and my blog. I started reading blogs for inspiration and ideas; to learn from others. I started blogging because I wanted to share what I was learning, and hopefully to offer inspiration and ideas to others in return. In this regard I've been excited and encouraged by the comments and feedback I've recieved this year. Thankyou to all who have contributed in this regard- I do try to reply to all my comments (although I know I'm not always 100% successful... which, I try to remind myslef, is totally human and realistic) so I hope you already know your input is truly appreciated.

Extending from this, I've also realised that blogging, whilst dragging me away from some crafting time (taking photos, and editing words and images do seem to take me alot of time, something I'd like to improve upon in the coming year) has led to me be more focused and conscious and driven in my crafting. Never before had I knitted more than one project at a time. Never had I experimented so much. Never before had I consiously made note of the process so that I could explain it to someone else. Never had I stashed more than 10m of fabric. Never before had I stashed yarn. (OK, so I had developed a nice little stash of sewing patterns and magazines, but that was it I swear!) Never before had I surfed the net with purpose and intent, for hours on end.

I have no firm plans for the year ahead, other than to continue from the progress of this year: to create things that I love, to continue to learn, to continue to share, and to treat others with respect.

Thankyou for reading. May the new year bring you all that you dream of and more than you're hoping for. You can read more about why some other crafty people blog here.