Merkin & Aglets

Pirate Pants

2012-01-01T13:24:00.000+11:00

... are what all the cool ladies are wearing to bed this summer.

Pirate Pants 1 and Pirate Pants 2

Some while ago I made my other half two pairs of woven cotton sleep shorts. A slightly shorter while ago, the pair made out of very light cotton decided to rip, leaving only one pair of sleep s.horts, which puts a bit of urgency on the washing/drying cycle. So I bought some random cotton jersey with a skull-and-crossbones motif on the grounds that jersey would be easier to run up a pair of sleep shorts in (I'm fussy about woven sleep shorts: they have to have french seams, since the main purpose of sleep shorts is comfort. Jersey ones have an overlocked seam right side out). I quickly put them together and handed them over, and sighed a sigh of relief... only to discover that they were so comfortable that my other half now refused to wear the surviving woven cotton pair.

So over the break I put together a plain red pair with pirate patches from the leftover fabric of pirate pants no. 1, and we now have two pairs of sleep shorts in circulation again. Yay! The patches on the centre back seam are to ensure that they go on the right way around. Sometimes when you're sleepy it can be difficult to figure out which way is the right way...

I don't know the pattern: my mother in law makes beautiful sleep pants for all her children, born and acquired, and I copied our size onto cardboard one day so that I could have a template. I'm guessing something like Simplicity 4889.

I made myself a very sedate long grey pair to replace a pair of elderly flannel ones which now have rips on the back thighs from seam to seam and are somewhat less comfortable and more drafty than they used to be.

Christmas Cherry Cake

2011-12-24T14:35:00.001+11:00

This is traditionally made at Christmas in my family - because we live in the southern hemisphere and Christmas is in mid-summer. Nothern hemisphere residents might find this a little difficult, or at the least very expensive to make at Christmas. I believe the recipe might be a clafouti, but whatever it is, it's delicious.

Pastry
2 cups plain flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp baking power
pinch salt
4oz butter

Filling
1.5 lb cherries
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 egg yolks
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 400 F / 200 C.

Pastry
Sift flour, sugar, baking power and salt togther into a bowl. Cut in butter and rub in (or use a food processor). This will not make a dough, but a sandy, crumbly mixture. Press into an 8" square or 25cm diameter baking tin. No, it will not fall apart. Promise.

Filling
Stem and pit the cherries (I recommend the Cherry Chomper by Talisman Designs. It looks like a toy, works like a dream and is so much easier on the hands than the pincer-style ones)
Place fruit on uncooked base. Mix together cinnamon and sugar, sprinkle over cherries.
Bake in a hot oven (400 F, 200 C) for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix together the egg yolks and sour cream. Pour over the cherries after they have cooked for 15 minutes, then cook for a further 30 minutes.

Serve cold. Guard jealously.

I can't eat wheat, so I'm trying this with Rowie's sweet shortcrust pastry mix as a base.

Thai Red Curry Kedgeree

2011-12-24T14:15:00.000+11:00

Watching Jamie's Christmas, I was inspired to make a kedgeree with what I had in the cupboard, which turned out to be:

Olive oil
1 large brown onion
1 clove garlic
1.5ish heaped teaspoons of thai red curry paste
2 - 3 cups cooked rice
1 bunch coriander
2 eggs
100g smoked trout

Chop onion roughly, cook over medium heat in olive oil until translucent. Chop garlic finely or put through garlic crusher, add and cook for a minute. Add thai red curry paste, and mix together, cooking for a few minutes. Add more olive oil if the curry paste is too dry.
Add rice, adding some water if the rice has dried out a bit (I was using leftover takeaway rice), and stir until rice is nicely curried.
Reserving a few leaves for garnish, chop corainder roughly, getting finer when the stalk gets bigger. Stir into rice. Turn heat down to medium low and let cook for 10 - 15 minutes. Try to not to stir too much if you like crispy bits.
While the rice mixture is cooking, hard-boil two eggs. Peel, chop in quarters and add to rice mixture.
Chop or flake smoked fish roughly, add to rice at the very end and stir through until warmed.

Eat while watching more cooking shows for inspiration.

Flourless Chocolate Biscotti

2011-10-21T15:34:00.001+11:00

I finally managed to make a reciped I've been wanting to try for some time, and it is delicious. The horrible oven in our mountain abode nearly destroyed the result, but they were saved... and they are lovely. These are courtesy of the Food Network Canada and can be found here. In case they decide to remove the page, I am copying the recipe here... with added notes.

Ingredients

3 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups brown rice flour
1 cup regular cocoa powder, packed
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup shelled pistachios
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
With electric beaters or a standing mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whip eggs, sugars and vegetable oil until frothy and pale, about 4 minutes. Sift rice flour, cocoa powder, salt, pepper and cloves and stir into egg mixture by hand. Fold in pistachios and chocolate chips or chunks.
On a work surface dusted with rice flour, turn out dough and shape into 2 logs, each about 12 inches long. Place onto prepared baking tray and press flat, so each log is about 2 1/2 inches wide. Bake for 30 minutes, until surface of biscotti logs crack a bit. Let cool for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 F.
Remove biscotti logs from tray and slice on an angle into 3/4 inch biscotti. Return to baking tray and bake for 12 minutes. Remove pan, flip biscotti over and bake another 12 minutes. Let cool completely before packing in an airtight container.

I used 1 cup of slivered almonds and no chocolate chips or chunks due to a mild pantry failure. For similar reasons, I used 1 tsp cinammon and 2 tsp ground ginger. Yes, we do have pepper, but the pepper grinder resulted in such large chunks I didn't fancy it. Note to self, get mortar and pestle for mountain house.

These are quite tart and cocoa-ey, but I adore them. Thank you Anna Olson (whoever you are).

Gravlax Summer Pasta

2011-09-20T19:25:00.005+10:00

25g gravlax or smoked fish

1 punnet of cherry tomatoes

approx 1 small handful thai or opal basil

1 - 2 cloves of garlic

olive oil

2 large spoonfuls of low fat yoghurt

juice of 1/2 lemon

salt and pepper to season

2 servings of pasta (e.g. spaghetti)

Slice the fish into small strips (approx 1 cm * 3cm)
Quarter the cherry tomatoes
Finely chop the basil
Cook the spaghetti, drain and leave in the colander over a small quantity of the cooking water.
Pour a splash of olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan and put the garlic through a garlic press into the oil. Start with the oil cold so that the garlic does not burn.
Bring to mid-heat and cook until garlic is no longer raw.
Add tomatoes and stir for a minute or so until tomatoes are hot. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add fish and basil to the pan and stir until warm.
Pour in some lemon juice, stir, pour in yoghurt and stir until all is amalgamated.

Add pasta to pan and stir until coated.
Serve.

The Pink and The Green

2011-08-08T01:03:00.010+10:00

A few months ago I went to the Old Bus Depot Markets in Canberra (apparently there had been a sheep and wool show the previous week... my timing sucks). I found a stall which had skeins of yarn which each consisted of 3 mini-skeins. My four-year-old companion glommed onto a vivid pink and blue skein, and I chose a green and sparkly skein for her six-year-old sister. Unbelievably, I have actually finished the scarves (loop scarves, to help prevent untimely loss) while there is still cold weather ahead! I handed them over this weekend.

The colour sequence was determined by relative length of each yarn in the skein. The green scarf is knitted straight, the pink and blue scarf is a feather-and-fan variation which uses kfb rather than yo.

Staggering along

2009-12-29T23:49:00.002+11:00

Well, it's been a shit of a year, which is partly why I haven't posted for well over a year. I started getting painful hands and feet in November 2008, and by early 2009 I had trouble walking, couldn't open a new milk bottle or water bottle and couldn't chop up vegetables. Eventually I was diagnosed with severe rheumatoid arthritis. I'm currently trying to get a combination of drugs to work, and it's not brilliant... but I can walk, open milk bottles and chop up vegetables without too much pain (these are my benchmarks), so it could be much, much worse. And I keep on reminding myself that of all the auto-immune diseases I could have developed, it's probably the least scary.

Work is also crap and not giving me much time for myself.

During this period I haven't been completely non-creative, although it's been close. I sent off my contribution to The Milkweed Project, pictures to follow when I get them off my other half's camera. The link is here, although my last name is misspellt.

I've made a pair of trousers for work which aren't a complete disaster, but the linen is a bit scratchy, which I'm not a fan of. I have enough fabric for another pair, but I'm not sure I want to use it.

I also dyed some yarn with my mother-in-law: we were given a large stash of yarn when a friend's grandmother died, most of it truly awful colours from the 80s. I invested in some Landscape dyes and spent some time transforming the yarn into more agreeable colours. My father-in-law, who is a man of useful hands, made me a lovely skein winder out of some scrap after I openly coveted the one he made my mother-in-law. I'm very lucky in my in-laws.

And finally, I've made myself a scarf. I've got several in the pipeline to knit, but because I never really need them, I never actually get around to finishing them (I only need scarves for the 1 or 2 weeks of winter I spend in Ballarat with my parents). The idea was that I would wear it in New York when I went for 4 days in November, but it was too warm most of the time. I did get to visit Habu, though. It took me a while to find it, and I think my colleague was a little nervous by the time we did so as it's a little off the beaten track. Never mind, it was worth it.
So, recipe for said scarf:

Buy a 2.5 m x 1.16 m length of greyish silk twill from ebay
Cut a sample off it to play with.
Hem the remaining fabric with silk thread leaving you with rectangle of 1.1 m x 2.18 m which weighs about 160 g.
Machine-embroider your tag on it.
Wash it, because the iron insisted on leaving residue on the silk at random intervals (I either need to clean my iron in some drastic way or buy a new one)
Fold it in half, matching the two short sides.
Accordion-pleat across the scarf as detailed in this tutorial on t-shirt dyeing, using a pleat width of 10 cm.
Roll up into a ball and secure with the rubber band you found after much running around the house with a perplexed look on your face.
Fill a vessel with 4 cm of water and add 4 g black dye.
Put the rolled-up silk into the dye, one spiral-side down. Microwave until done.
Repeat with Bloodwood dye on the other side of the spiral.
Take off the rubber band and unfurl.
Fill vessel with water and 16 g of Salmon Gum dye. Add silk, microwave until done, stirring frequently.
Wash, hang up to dry and wait nervously to see the real colours.

1.5 years to FO Clapotis

2008-06-23T19:37:00.007+10:00

In January 2007 I started knitting Clapotis, and in June 2007 I finished her... now I have actually blocked her.

I laced pieces of string through her sides, laid her on an inflatable mattress and laced her up the back. It didn't work too badly, although I should have laced a little more frequently: she's a little scallopy. As a first attempt at blocking anything it went pretty well, I don't think my mother will mind a few scallops, and it drapes beautifully.

I've been more than usually ditzy this weekend, so trying to get the inflatable mattress and the string to do what I wanted was extremely challenging. Especially as I chose to wrestle with it in my oversized pyjamas, and at one crucial point I was trying to manouver the damn thing while my pyjama bottoms were falling off and tangling my feet. I carefully put the whole thing down, got out of the pyjamas and continued. I have no idea what in independent observer would have thought.

One of the advantages of blocking on a plastic surface and being able to put the entire thing out on the balcony in the Australian sun: it was bone dry within an hour. I did have a lovely day for it, and although we're technically in winter, the word has little meaning here.

Photos will be added later: maybe a lot later if I don't get around to taking any before it is wrapped in tissue paper, stuffed in a satchel and sent nearly 1000 km to Ballarat (still a lot closer than the 17,000 km it would have had to go if I'd finished it last year).

A little here, a little there

2008-05-25T11:45:00.005+10:00

The scaly iPod case is my current commuting knitting and I'm about half-way through it. I really only get about 1/4 hour of knitting a week now, as the train part of my commute is only about 15 minutes and I rarely get to sit down. I get most of my knitting done standing on the station waiting for the train. I'm not complaining about the shorter commute, though. Not at all.

Scaly and protective of iPods

The case is turning out pretty well and I'm pleased. I'm toying with the idea of textured i-cord for the cord, but I suspect by the time I finish knitting the main body I will desperately want to finish it off with a twisted cord. Maybe in black for contrast. The main colour is darker red than the photo would indicate.

I played with much of the fabric I washed and dried a few weeks ago. I drafted the pattern of a shoulder bag I want to make and cut out some if it, but the plain blue cotton I bought was such terrible quality that I need to buy something to replace it. It doesn't make sense to put a lot of work into something and use materials which will give me no pleasure at all.

The hemp tea towels are cut and the edge seams ironed, I just need to sew them. The hemp-cotton pillowcases have been cut to size, but I need to edge and embellish them before taking an existing pillowcase and figuring out how to fold the fabric in order to sew it up. I have plans of using black linen thread for both the tea towel edges and the pillowcase embellishment. We will see.

I've been reading lots of blogs where people spin, so I bought a spindle (from

Caroline) which came with some corriedale and made my first handspun. It's pretty bad - I think the singles are overspun and I under-plied, but I look forward to doing better. I understand why people like spinning wheels, but I can't justify it right now. Maybe some year in the future...

Over-spun and under-plied.

Today I am unpacking some of the boxes of things from Britain which have been sitting unpacked in our living room since they arrived, since we have nowhere to put the contents. I get to unpack all my indian fabric! I haven't seen any of it since before Christmas, so I am planning to take my time enjoying it. That's why I have these things.

Why is it May so soon?

2008-05-06T07:42:00.001+10:00

This year is going far too fast.

It's whistling by and I seem to be running to catch up on all fronts. So far I have managed precisely one creative thing: in January I knitted and fulled an i-Pod case for one of my partner's friends. I finally got around to sewing it up on the Easter weekend. This weekend I took a photo of it and hopefully I can send it winging on its way to Britain. If we get our collective act together and write its accompanying letter.

Next weekend I have a 'me' weekend booked, so this weekend was spent doing some prep: washing and drying fabric for a couple of sewing projects, and getting some knitting projects set up.

Firstly, I fulled a sample of Karaoke (two-row stripes in Copper and Intensity) in order to calculate the specifications for a replacement PSP case (the hastily-put-together polar fleece one is getting rather ratty).

Secondly, I knitted a swatch of 'tiny scales' from the Vogue Knitting Stitchionary volume one in Jo Sharp Classic DK, Scarlet. This will become an i-Pod cover for my other half, who chose the stitch pattern herself and requested it, so I need to measure it up and cast on.

Karaoke swatch specifications:

Stitch: Stocking

Needles: 4.5 mm addi turbo

Pre-fulling: 10 stitches: 5.5 cm, 10 rows: 3.8 cm

Post-fulling: 10 stitches: 5 cm , 10 rows: 3 cm

PSP in hard case is 24 cm in circumference widthways and 42cm in circumference lengthways. Finished fulled fabric should be 27 - 30 cm x 42 cm. I'm thinking vertical stripes could be the way to go, with maybe a two-color twisted cord.

JS Classic DK specifications

Stitch: tiny scales

Needles: 3.5 mm unbranded bamboo

10 stitches: 4 cm

10 rows: 3.2 cm

i-Pod is 16 cm in circumference widthways and 24 cm in circumference lengthways. I need a piece of fabric 18 - 20 cm x 24 cm, and then a twisted cord. I may do this like a simple toe-up sock: no finishing to speak of, then. Casting on 40 stitches sounds about right if knitting in the round.

And thirdly, I washed and dried (but did not necessarily get around to measuring).

Hemp Gallery Mid weight canvas - 705

Pre-washing: 0.96 x 1.01 m

Post-washing:

Hemp Gallery Hemp / organic cotton sheeting - 02

Pre-washing: 2.87 x 1.05 m
Post-washing:

White Muslin

Pre-washing: 1.51 x 2.74

Post-washing:

Cotton wadding:

Pre-washing: 1.54 x 1.33 m

Post-washing:

Plain blue cotton:

Pre-washing: 1.10 x 2.20 m
Post-washing:

Blue and white printed cotton:
Pre-washing: 1.13 x 1.08 m

Post-washing:

Orange indian cotton:

Pre-washing: 1.17 x 1.54 m

Post-washing:

Blue striped indian cotton:

Pre-washing: 1.24 x 2.70 m

Post-washing:

Mottled grey flannel:

Pre-washing: 1.20 x 3.46 m
Post-washing:

In household news, my partner and I have decided to commit to staying in the current abode and buying my parents out. We discovered that the only place we could afford a house was the Blue Mountains, and while we both love the idea, the practicalities of commuting to North Ryde and Redfern would mean that we would never see the house in question in daylight, except on the weekends, when we would spend most of our time sleeping, anyway. There would be severe and prolonged grumpiness, which is not exactly the idea.

And then I stand on the front balcony on a day like this Sunday and think we've got it pretty good:

We have both taken deep breaths and given each other major concessions: I have decided that the living room can become her gaming space and can be decorated with small comic-book-character figurines, dragons etc. She likes to game socially, so it make sense. She has conceded that the double bed can be stored in the garage and the small bedroom can become my workroom plus clothes storage (both of us would prefer less furniture in the main bedroom). It will take a while (over a year, I imagine), but I should eventually have a dedicated room for textile activities! I already have my eye on an expensive (but obtainable) sit-stand table which should help my back and make it possible to carry out a number of different activities in comfort.

Meanwhile, I need to go and see a solicitor to figure out how to get us both owning this property outright.

All quiet on the creative front

2008-03-24T11:23:00.000+11:00

I've been doing very little knitting or crocheting, or indeed anything creative. Sometimes I nearly miss having a long commute... but not really.

I did crochet a face washer out of organic cotton, and I like it, although I crocheted on the bias and it is definitely diamond-shaped, not square. Never mind. It still washes a face perfectly well.

I'm still crocheting a bag in cheap squeaky acrylic, just to prove that I can. Hopefully I will eventually finish, but it is easy to get distracted.

Speaking of distractions, I did succumb and buy the Vogue Knitting Stitchionary vol 1, which I have wanted for a very long time. As a result, I've been knitting a face washer in linen stitch. While the stitch is a pain to do since you both slip and knit every stitch, the results are lovely. I really like this stitch. I think the resulting face washer will be pleasantly smooth on one side and nicely nubbly on the other.

Cooking has been fairly standard, except for this weekend. I made two flourless chocolate cakes (from Delicious: Wicked), soaked them in run and sandwiched them together with whipped cream. I had a slice for breakfast this morning. I only do this about once a year, but there's something about starting the day off with dessert which ticks the little box labeled 'total decadence' for me. I remember the last time vividly: it was champagne trifle made on chocolate cake when I could still eat wheat without getting a migraine. Actually that makes it about 3 years ago. Clearly I don't indulge in total decadence nearly often enough.

Peering out of the burrow

2008-02-22T10:56:00.000+11:00

It's a bit startling to realise how long it has been since I posted. I've been running around like some kind of nervous rodent trying to resume our life here. Being back in Australia is odd, working for the same company but in an office 1/10 the size of the previous one is odd, being back in our flat is odd, the way the city has changed but not really changed is odd. It's all a bit odd.

So to complement the oddness I decided to learn to crochet, firmly believing that one should never avoid taking up more crafts* because knitting, sewing, weaving, dyeing, tatting, macrame and needlepoint just aren't enough. I'm working on a small shoulder bag in a some rather squeaky acrylic and buying organic cotton for my next project.

I'm also in the middle of making a couple of iPod covers for my other half and one of her friends. Unfortunately work and dealing with the general oddness of life means the first one has been sitting on the bookshelf, felted and waiting for me to sew it up for several weeks. It's Kureyon, a yarn I've been thinking about for a while but never used. It does felt beautifully, but I'm not sure I like it all that much. The colour ways annoy me a bit, too. They all seem to be slightly off.

While some of the yarns I have grown to love aren't readily available here, there are other attractions, including a growing number of online sellers stocking organic yarns. I'm looking forward to working with organic cotton, hemp and nettle. I feel like making containers.

*Except possibly the kind of craft which involves a glue gun and diamontes.

Finis

2007-12-31T12:38:00.000+11:00

No, I'm afraid there are no FOs in this post.

This is my last post for 2007, and probably my last post from the UK. I'm flying home to Australia in 4 days (and due to the flight length and vagaries of timezones, will arrive in 6). My partner and I have spent the last week trying to clean out the house and get rid of various goods in a responsible manner.

I'm not quite sure why, but there seems to be far more a culture of the new in the UK than I'm used to in Australia. Maybe it's just the area we live in over here. It's quite difficult to get rid of second-hand but perfectly reasonable goods. We had to throw out more than we were comfortable with, but what can you do? We did manage to sell or give away most of our larger encumbrances and found a recycling centre for much of the rest.

Most of the stash left in boxes to sail the high seas just before Christmas. I had to inventory it and price it for insurance. Given how much I've spent on it, I'd damn well better start doing useful things with it. Hopefully I will see it again some time in March. Two pieces of knitting remain with me: the one row scarf I have been trying to knit for some time now, and a baby jacket for a friend whose baby is due any day now. (I am realistic: the jacket is sized for a 6-month-old.)

Unfortunately my hands and shoulders have been getting a cleaning workout, and knitting is not really on the agenda right now. I have an intermittently pinched nerve in my neck which started bothering me very badly a couple of months ago when I a) slipped on a nameless slippery substance on the footpath and jarred my arm and b) fell up the stairs at a client (I had only had 7 hours sleep in the previous 3 nights) a few weeks later. At the moment the last 3 fingers of right hand ache which isn't too bad: at worst I get numbness, pins and needles, my elbow aches and my shoulder aches. It gets worse when I get cold, so I'm trying to apply heat packs to it on a regular basis.

One more night in this house, and everything has to be out including us. We are staying the next two nights with some friends who put us up for the first month we were over here. The last night we are staying at the airport Hilton: I've spent so many nights in hotels of the Hilton family due to work that I've earned a couple of free nights.

I am still very ambivalent about moving back to Sydney. I've spent 2 and a half years living in London. I can't say it's where I'd choose to stay forever: between the insanely busy lifestyle and my allergy to London air it hasn't been the best time. I've learnt a lot over here, and done things I never would have thought myself capable of. I've overcome my fear of flying and can stand up in front of a client for 5 days on end either training or facilitating and enjoy it. I didn't get to explore London the way I wanted to: too much travel has meant that if I'm actually home on a weekend, that's where I want to stay.

I'll miss the cooler weather terribly. So far the weather forecast for the next week in Sydney isn't awful from my point of view, but it isn't great, either. I'm not sure what possessed us to return at this time of year.

Trying to pack up and go home has been a real pain in the arse, but one of the advantages of this is that it makes me view the long flight home and the fact of being home with more pleasure: we're so tired of packing and cleaning and making decisions that we just want it to be over.

Ravelry

2007-12-15T09:51:00.000+11:00

I love Ravelry. I love it for lots of reasons.
1. I can look at how a pattern has turned out for different knitters in different yarns.
2. While it doesn't replace reading blogs, it allows knitting porn viewing in bulk.
3. I find people I would normally never stumble across in my usual web-crawling.
4. I find patterns I would normally never stumble across in my usual web-crawling.
5. People are actually looking at what I'm doing.

I don't know why I find that last point so exciting, but I do. I don't know many other people who knit, and it's nice to have people randomly decide that what I'm doing is interesting enough to look at.

We're busy packing the house up to move. Lots of things are in boxes to be shipped, other things are in piles to be sold or given away. I've signed a contract with my current company's Australian office, and it's all becoming real now. I'm sad about leaving, but I'm also looking forward to lots of things: Christmas, New Year, not working for a month, living in our Sydney flat again, catching up with family and friends.

Mostly I'm just desperate to stop moving at such a frantic pace. I could do with a bit of peaceful slowness.

FO: Baby Kimono

2007-11-26T08:52:00.000+11:00

I have finally finished the baby kimono: i-cord ties attached, garment machine washed and dried to prove indestructability.
Mason-Dixon baby kimono in Patons 100% Cotton DK in kiwi and orachard. 4 mm circular needle for garment, 2.5 mm dpns for i-cord. Now let's hope it still fits the poor child for whom it is intended!

In the meantime

2007-11-13T08:00:00.000+11:00

Before I went to India in September, I bought some yarn to make some of the new and immanent babies in my life things to wear. I swatched on planes and trains and in airports, and I knitted in Norway and after Norway.
The sum total of my efforts is a few swatches and most of a Baby Kimono from the Patons from Mason-Dixon knitting: I just have to make i-cord ties now.

Knitting this was an interesting experience, and is a milestone for me: the first thing I have ever knitted with seams, or which is, in fact, a garment (I don't think hats count). I don't think I like seaming much, and I may have figured out a way to knit this pattern without seams. I'll see if I want to give it a try, but I'm not entranced by the way the neck turned out. If it fits the recipient and the recipient likes wearing it, I'll give it another go.

The recipient is my very first "other" family niece: the mothers are two of my friends, the biological father is another friend's brother. The poor little girl has more aunts than she's going to know what to do with.

Randomly, I have aquired some very sweet buttons and beads: the ceramic beads on the left were bought from Perlehuset in Bergen, and the wooden buttons on the right were bought from the shop of the Textile and Costume Museum in Barcelona (unfortunately I didn't get to visit the museum itself). No, I don't know why I have this sudden affinity with owls.

Last weekend I had a friend staying, this week I am in Amsterdam for business. We're flying directly home to Australia, having abandoned plans to go through Canada as too expensive, and we're likely to be too exhausted to enjoy it. We're flying home on 3rd January, which is much too close. I have very mixed emotions about going home. I do want to see my family, I will enjoy living in our flat, and there are things about living in Australia that I miss. I was going to list all the things that bother me about moving back, but I thought for two seconds and realised that compared to most of the rest of the world, I live in luxury and have extraordinary choices and freedoms. I think the only thing I can legitimately complain about is that my partner and I can't get married there.

Twisted Threads

2007-11-11T21:10:00.000+11:00

This post has also been written for a while, but was postponed for the same reason as the previous one.

I actually got to go to a fibre show!

Unfortunately I felt like shit, having come down with something deeply phlegmy which has made me lose my voice. I was determined to go, since I'd booked myself a day of annual leave, so I dragged myself out of the house and down to Ealing Common to sit on the Picadilly line for 45 minutes. When I reached Wood Green, there were friendly people in fluorescent green vests showing us where to catch either the W3 or the free shuttle bus. Now, there were enormous queues of elderly ladies at both bus stops, and I couldn't see myself determinedly taking my seat on a bus and preventing one of them from sitting down. I walked, which would have been fine if the phlegm hadn't been in residence. Fortunately the walk up the hill is rewarded by a view of London (hard to get. London is amazingly flat) and only one shuttle-bus passed me, so it was almost certainly quicker than waiting.

The show itself was mad and lovely and crawling with every type of fibre fanatic you can imagine. I bought some small leaflets and a little kit from some braiding people. I stared longingly at batik and shibori. I resisted Shilasdair yarn in both organic cotton and silk, and then went back and resisted them again at the end of the day when I still had money left. I did buy some insane knitted silk fabric (in the gum) from Texere, and I intend to play with it and dye it because I have Kool Aid and I can.

I also bought some yarn from Habu. I first heard of Habu in the context of stainless steel yarn, but I have never made it to New York. They have serious, proper, mad yarn and I love them. I bought some silk out of which to make a bag, I think, and a sample bag to play with. I love that they had sample bags, and I can imagine that I'm going to be sending them an envelope at some point with a letter which says: what is this? and can I please have some more? Although using their website I have figured out three of my 4 mystery yarns:

Clockwise from top left:
A-130 alpaca knitted yarn in 04 - Charcoal
A-110 tsumugi silk combination in 19 - pink/yellow/black
Unknown laceweight, smells as if it has wool in it
A-22 Silk Gima in 03 - Charcoal

The 4 balls of silk are
A-111 tsumigi silk combination in 7 - Navy, 10 - Camel

I was very systematic, and I'm pretty sure I went to each stall at least once. There were so many ideas, so many beatiful things to look at and so many lovely textures to touch. It's probably a good thing that I don't get to go to many of these, as I think the number of WIPs might grow exponentially if they were available more often.

Norwegian Fibre Adventures

2007-11-10T11:26:00.000+11:00

I wrote this post a while ago, but I hadn't taken any relvant pictures, and work has been more than usually ridiculous. 60 hour weeks. That sort of thing.

So, fibre adventures in Norway.
I didn't get to do as much as I would have liked, but I did get to do more than I'd planned, so I can't complain.

The first fibre related thing I did was to buy some gloves. We took the ferry over from Tørvikbygd to Jondal in order to go and visit the glacier. Just outside the ferry car park there was a little charity shop (I think) full of hand-knitted and crocheted things. My hands were cold, and the fingerless gloves fit my silly little hands. Plus, they're sort of sweet, and like absolutely nothing I would ever knit.

Exhibit A

At the nearest town of reasonable size (Norheimsund) there was a lovely yarn shop which I spent some time in. I eventually bought this Ego Tweed yarn because it was just so lovely. I have no idea what to do with it, but that's what stash is for, isn't it? They had lots of other lovely yarns, but I have come to the realisation that moving back to Australia really means that I should be looking for cotton and silk yarns, or thinking about making bags. For all practical purposes, the number of scarves I need in Australia is zero. (Well, maybe one if I plan on taking a winter holiday in New Zealand.)

I did visit a couple of yarn shops in Bergen, but although they did have lovely yarn, there wasn't anything I needed. Plus, since we spent rather longer than intended at the place of interest mentioned below, we were rather strapped for time.

My partner pointed out to me that there was a advert for the Norwegian Knitting Industry Museum on our tourist map, and that it was just north of Bergen. I have no idea what possessed her to mention this, but I'm grateful that she did. We went there. They seemed rather surprised to see us, but gave us a tour anyway (I suspect they mainly cater to school groups). The flat knitting machines were cool. The circular knitting machines were cool. The drum carders were not only cool, but seriously pretty. The spinning, winding and plying machines also had a certain cool quality. There was a film about the factory's history, which indicated that they mainly manufactured men's underwear from a cotton/wool mix until they started being unable to compete with the Asia. They were saved briefly in the 70s by a fashion obsession with 'icelandic' sweaters, which they were able to make easily and fairly cheaply, but eventually had to close down. There was fine-gague knitting goodness and a lot of 19th century machinery. What more could a girl want? This girl, anyway.

33

2007-10-16T20:53:00.000+10:00

It's my birthday today. I've got laryngitis (proper coughing-until-you-vomit laryngitis, too), I feel like shit and I think I should probably postpone it. But hey, I'm 33 and that is a pretty number. I've always been a bit ambivalent about my birthday, although not because of getting older: so far life has only improved as it's gone on and I wouldn't go back to my twenties or (shudder) my teens if you paid me an inordinate amount of money.
Birthdays are just odd to me. My family have always been a little strange about cultural festivals: we don't celebrate mother's day or father's day, and we never really celebrated Easter (long story). From when I was quite young we decided that presents should be something you really, really want, which, given our generally expensive tastes, meant that we tended to get birthday-christmas-birthday presents. On one memorable occasion when I was still living at home, everyone I knew, including my parents, forgot my birthday. It pissed me off a bit, but at the same time made perfect sense. If I didn't invest much meaning in the day, why should anyone else?
On the other hand, my partner understands the need for rituals. She got up early and made me breakfast. She wrapped my present with the biggest, pinkest bow she could find because she knew I was feeling unwell and a bit sad.
Although I explained that what I really want this year is a contribution to my sewing machine fund, she bought me Beautiful Thing, which is a DVD I've wanted for years, and which has just been re-released. So I get to stay at home on a rainy day watching a romantic tale about teenage boys from a housing estate (I'm secretly soppy and like to watch romances).
She really is the perfect antidote to my rational, serious tendencies. I don't really know why this gem of a woman puts up with my joy-killing rationalism, but I'm doing my best to put it aside every now and then.
Yes, I am starting a sewing machine fund. We're going back to Australia in January, and I will need a sewing machine. I grew up sewing on a 1960s Singer, and then on a late-80s/early-90s Singer when the earlier one died. Although the later Singer was a bit persnickety, it would sew nearly anything, including 14 oz denim. It's still in perfect working order, but it belongs to my mother, who, as of today, is moving to another state. 14 hours drive is a little far to go to borrow the machine.
I do have a sewing-machine over here, but I'm not taking it home. It's a solid and fairly grunty little thing, but I'd like something with a little more finesse, so I'll be selling it, probably in November.

I'm using a couple of days' enforced rest to catch up on reading blog entries. There were over 200, but I'm whittling them down.

Norway

2007-10-08T06:23:00.000+10:00

I love Norway. I don't know what it is about Scandinavia, but I love it and would dearly like to live here. I'm sure there are things which would annoy me if I did live here, but this is my fantasy, so I can ignore them.

Getting here was pretty awful. When I got home from India I felt like hell. The M4 eastbound was closed, so it took me over an hour from the airport to home, and I then had to sprint off to the doctor. I rang them when the plane landed, explaining that I was landing from India and had to fly to Norway early the next morning, and needed an urgent appointment. The triage nurse rang me back and agreed that having a sinus infection would make being an air hostess miserable. I had a good laugh at that: clearly the only occupation the doctors' staff could think of when faced with my itinerary was cabin crew. I put on washing, took it to the laundromat for drying and dragged myself up our stairs to pack my bag. I felt ghastly at this point, and everything was taking me at least 3 times as long as it should have.

Somewhere around this time I realised that I had no idea where the information for our accommodation was, and it had only been sent to me in paper format. I found the telephone number of the agency, but the first website I went to gave their hours as 09:00 - 20:00 Monday to Friday. No use at 22:00 in London on a Friday night. I looked up the owner in the Norwegian phone book online, but they weren't listed. At this point I had a small meltdown. Thankfully my partner wasn't home to see me wandering around crying and being loopy. Eventually I got over this, and made a plan. I still had the address of the owner, who I knew didn't live far from the house, and there was a hotel nearby where someone might know who they were. I found another website, which gave the agency's hours as 09:00 - 20:00, 7 days a week. I rang the agency number, but the answering machine was in Norwegian or Danish, and I didn't understand. Plan A was to email the agency and then ring them from the airport to get the details. If that failed, then plan B was to drive to Strandebarm and try to find the owner. Plan C was to sleep in the local hotel overnight and try again in the morning.

Having worked out that, I collapsed on the couch for an hour and took antibiotics and Neurofen Plus. Things started to look a little better.

The taxi was booked for 5:45, which meant getting up at 4:45. I got to sleep some time after 4, after I had packed everything (including copious amounts of knitting) and printed out information for our stay. The prospect of being cut off from the internet for a week makes me a little frantic, as I usually just keep everthing online and don't worry. I actually got asked for my ticket in Hyderabad airport, and I didn't have a printout or know my flight number. Too much flying means that the desk is lucky if I turn up with my passport and know what city I'm flying to. Occasionally I get the wrong country on the first try.

The taxi arrived on time and then drove like a demon. We shut our eyes and tried not to think about it. Stanstead was surprisingly OK as we weren't in the first rush around 7, so there were no queues. The agency answered the phone and my email, and I bought some wireless time to download the details of our accommodation. Our plane wasn't at all full. Once on it, I slid into a dead sleep until we started descent into Bergen.

Once we got our car we had the challenge of driving into Bergen to find the tourist information office. We couldn't get a map of southern Norway at the airport, and Hertz gave us a spectacularly useless one. Now remember that I had had 40 mins sleep the night before and just over an hour on the plane, was suffering from a sinus infection, and was navigating from a tourist map. My partner had had two hours' sleep and was driving a manual car on the right side of the road for the first time. We got very, very stressed in Bergen. There were emergency vehicles at some point. We finally managed to park somewhere after much swearing and explosiveness. We found the tourist info. We found a place that sold very expensive knives (the other half wanted to get a Norwegian knife for her father). We found a supermarket, we found a public toilet. We tottered back to the car and tried to get out of Bergen. It wasn't easy. We went the wrong way a couple of times. Part of this was due to the fact that the detailed map of the city didn't have North pointing to the top of the page, whereas the map of the surroundings did. We then went exactly the opposite way to the direction in which I had been trying to go, and I realised that this would actually work. Two-and-a-half hours later we arrived at the house we had rented.

The house was superb. There was a combustion stove with firewood in the cellar. We drove around and looked at fjords and mirror lakes and windy roads and apple orchards. We drove up to a glacier and watched people ski down it. We fruitlessly tried to get tourist information (we were here after that magic date, 1st October, when tourist activities cease to exist). We drove into Bergen and out again without too much swearing. There was knitting (but not enough), relaxing (definitely not enough) and cooking (probably too much). We bought apples and pears from the roadside, so there was apple crumble and pear crumble. There were roasted vegetables, egg and lemon soup, sausage jumbalaya, more roasted vegetables and hot chocolate. There was a rotisserie chicken which had been soaken in brine, I think, and was the most delicious chicken I have eaten in Europe. One of my partner's colleagues heard that I was having trouble finding tapioca flour and got some for us, which was very sweet of her. I brought it on holiday and made these little cheesy buns. I made them with Jarlsberg, and as long as you knead them until the motor on the little hand-held mixer tries to give up, they are lovely and not too slimy at all. The house had a dishwasher. Lots of cooking did not require lots of arduous washing up. I think a dishwasher may be our first investment once we return to Australia. Life was good.

We sat on the verandah and looked at the fjord. We watched Battlestar Galactica on the laptop of an evening. We had some long overdue deep and meaningful conversations. Can I have a month here? Please?

View from the verandah... more Norway photos here

In the next exciting installment I will detail the fibre and craft activities we partook of in Norway. There were two yarn shops, a bead shop and a knitting industry museum. My partner willingly watched a 20 minute video on the history of a knitting factory which primarily made underwear. Admittedly she was coming down with the flu, but it's still a noteworthy event.

India

2007-10-07T10:24:00.000+10:00

India was exhausting. I had firmly decided to just go with the flow, but nothing particularly disturbing happened. Things just took a long time. One morning it took 1 and 1/4 hours to drive to work because the traffic was so awful: the same journey took 20 minutes the previous day. I had to leave work at 13:00 one day because 30,000 people were coming to the lake next to my hotel to throw statues in it that evening, and I would have had trouble getting to the hotel at the normal time.

The hotel was beautiful: five star Marriott with several restaurants, a pool I didn't get around to swimming in and a beautiful garden.

I found the line of people saying 'Good morning madam' and 'Good evening madam' out the front a little daunting, and the fact that they checked every car that came in the gates for bombs was a little disturbing. I don't cope well with servility - it doesn't sit well with my world view. The food was lovely, and I have picked up a new habit: hot chocolate with hot milk in a jug, demerara sugar and chopped dark chocolate. Put your chocolate in your tea-cup, add a little sugar, pour hot milk over it, wait a little and stir... My excuse is that the room was airconditioned to 20 degrees as a fixed temperature, which when you are not very well can seem rather cold. In general, the food was very good, and I got to eat dishes I miss, like Malai Kofta and Paneer, and discovered Dosa, which will probably be my undoing. I have to learn how to make them. Have to.

I may be the only western person from my company to go to India and, instead of getting an upset stomach, come down with a cold and a sinus infection. I felt pretty awful most evenings. Work was OK: the class were very polite and hard-working, so I was pretty happy with that, and Sudafed Max (bless the British for still stocking pseudoephedrine in pharmacies) got me through most days.

I did have some trouble sleeping, and the last day was bad. I woke up at 04:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. I then worked a little, went to the office for a full day, came back to the hotel to finish packing and have a client teleconference, then slept from around 22:00 to 00:30. Got up, went to the airport, slept around 1 hour on the plane to Dubai and then 3 or 4 hours on the plane to London. I then had to go to a doctor, pick up some antibiotics, and pack my bags for Norway... after which I got about 40 minutes sleep before the taxi to the airport arrived...

Emirates was lovely, and on the Dubai - London leg I got a new plane with almost-flatbed seats. I asked them not to disturb me and slept like the dead for a few hours, after which I picked up a swatch I started about 5 times before getting it right. All I was trying to do was get the correct number of stitches in the correct configuration to have a pretty edge on seed stitch on both edges. The end result is below, but too little sleep made this difficult for me to figure out, clearly. Two of the crew came to talk to me about the knitting and told me how clever I was. Given my inability to achieve a pretty basic task, I felt like a fraudulent 5-year-old.

To have a nice bobbly edge on seed stitch:
Cast on an odd (divisible by 2 +1) number of stitches:
R1 *K P* ...K
R2 Sl P *K P* ...K
Repeat Row 2

One of my colleagues who has been seconded over to the company in which I was training has all her family in Hyderabad, which was why she took the opportunity when it came up. She took me fabric shopping with her mother and mother-in-law. Her mother-in-law was from a weaving family, and was able to tell me not to buy a couple of fabrics because of flaws. There were so many beautiful silks and cottons. I wish I had more time and more energy, but I got a good haul, much of which will be for presents in the future, some of which will be for me and for me alone...

India is so brightly coloured, and a large proportion of the colour comes from its women. The saris and salwar kameez come in colours I'd never consider wearing, but which look so normal in India. The way women ride side-saddle on the back of motorcyles, holding onto the shoulder of the driver, saris floating in the breeze: this still amazes me.

The tiny little yellow taxis and flatbed trucks amused me. I'm not sure what the taxis are, but the trucks seem to be Piaggio Ape. They are crammed with people and goods, and do seem like strange little bees, buzzing around a slightly altered universe.

India was hot, dusty, noisy, humid, tasty and very polite.

I got a very little bit of knitting done: two swatches, one in RYC Cotton Jeans for a Baby Yoda and another in Jaeger Aqua, for either another Baby Yoda or a Baby Kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting. Babies are afoot.

In transit

2007-09-23T02:12:00.000+10:00

As I suspected, life has been a little insane in the last couple of weeks. I've had an average of about 5 hours' sleep a night and I'm desperate for a holiday. One more week, and I'm going to Norway to sit on the edge of a fjord (actually, I suspect I'll spend the first 3 days sleeping, waking up occasionally to murmur 'mmmm, pretty' before dropping off again).

I had a particularly stressful client engagement in Brussels, which involved 6 hours' sleep in 48 hours and falling up a set of stairs, then went to Barcelona for 5 days, three of them work. Unfortunately I caught a bad cold in Brussels, so even though I saw quite a lot of Barcelona (my poor partner joined me for the weekend and had the joy of dragging me around) all I wanted to do was sleep. However, the food was divine and... the Catalans understand coffee. Real short blacks with not a trace of bitterness and jugs of hot milk. Wheeee!

I spent the last week preparing for this week's trip to Hyderabad, India, again for work, which included getting various vaccinations, a last-minute visa application for which I hand-delivered the documents and organising some groceries for a colleage who has been seconded to the Indian office. His children miss weetabix minis and pasta, apparently.

I'm writing this from Dubai airport's Business lounge, as BA WTP cost more than Emirates Business class and Emirates doesn't involve any internal flights in India. My plane is running an hour late, but I can live with that, it just means I'll get to Hyderabad at 4 am instead of 3 am.
So far, the Emirates flight was well worth losing out on the BA miles. Seats aren't flatbeds, but you can stretch out and my gluten-free mean consisted of actual food. One of the male crew took one look at my very short bleached hair, said "Hello, friend" and flirted with me gently the entire flight (much to the confusion of the poor man next to me). I do love gay men.

Emirates Business Lounge Dubai at 11pm

Unfortunately I spoiled all this by getting a migraine a couple of hours into the flight, which I could really do without. I still feel shaky and the pain is dulled but still very present.

I am determined to do some baby knitting during our week in Norway, so, in a rather scattered way I ordered some yarns: Patons 100% cotton DK in Kiwi and Orchard, RYC Cotton Jeans in Hessian and Blue Jeans and Jaeger Aqua in Indigo, all from MCA Direct. I knitted a swatch of the Patons to play around with the pattern, ripped it out because it proved that I really can't do intarsia and knit plain one to get gauge. I then washed it and put it through the dryer: it has to survive this, as I don't believe in making mothers of small children hand wash or line dry their clothes.

I got gauge for Cristina Shiffman's baby kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting perfectly before I subjected it to the dryer, but I'll have to adjust the pattern to cope with the inevitable shrinkage. I have the yarn, the needles, the swatch and the pattern with me, but between the migraine and getting 7 hours sleep in the last 48 hours, I think casting on might be beyond me right now. Pity.

Good intentions

I did manage to find a perfume I sort of like in duty free (Azzaro Visit), but I'll be coming back through here at the end of the week, so I'll see how I feel about wearing it for a few hours before buying it. The perfume I really liked has been discontinued (Body Shop Beleaf) and I'm looking for a replacement. Visit seems to be developing a sweeter scent with wear that isn't what I'm looking for.

Erratic Blogging Expected

2007-09-06T08:59:00.000+10:00

I'm not home very much until mid-October, so I don't expect I'll get to blog much, nor to do much knitting or sewing. Next week I go to Switzerland on Sunday and Barcelona on Tuesday, returning late Sunday night. Then 5 days in the office and off to India on Saturday. Return on Friday evening, then off to Norway on Saturday, returning on Saturday night. I think Sunday 7^th is the first day I get at home. Madness. At least the weekend in Barcelona and the week in Norway are for pleasure, not work.

A sunset from our Scottish holiday. Photos are in the travel collection on Flickr.

Sunny Scotland

2007-08-26T12:43:00.000+10:00

The week before last was insane: return from Tokyo on Saturday afternoon, spend Sunday washing clothes and dazedly trying to adjust to UK time, Monday off-site at a client, Tuesday and Wednesday desperately trying to recover from being out of office for a week and prepare for being out of office for another week, Thursday leave the house at 4:30 am to fly to Belguim for another off-site client visit, Friday leave the house at 4:30 am to go to Scotland.

Scotland was lovely. It rained for one day of the seven we were there, just enough to make us feel that we really were in Scotland, but not enough to inconvenience us. We flew into Edinburgh and lined up to pick up the car we had hired. We asked for a Ford Mondeo, and got a diesel VW Passat. No complaints there. We could quite happily own one of these cars. We called ours Viktor. It seemed solid, competent and slightly smug. It also purred.

We drove to Oban the first day, seeing a Hairy Coo on the way and managed to arrive at the Falls of Lora at exactly the right time to see the tide going out, purely by accident. Oban is a very busy little fishing village with a distillery and a 19th century folly commissioned by a philanthropist banker to keep local stonemasons in work over winter. It is also the jumping-off-point for the western islands, but we decided to drive up to Kyle of Localsh the next day instead. On the way we stopped off at the Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary to amuse ourselves with seals: they have a couple of permanent residents who cannot be released back into the wild, and a couple of baby orphans which they are rearing to be released.

The drive to Kyle of Localsh is lovely: lochs and mountains abound. We were staying in a little hotel just north of Kyle of Localsh which had a pretty setting and was very comfortable, but the food didn't live up to the standard it was aiming for. What's the point of having venison if you cook it until it's fibrous? The duck came off slightly better, but only because there was plenty of fat in it.

We were going to go to Loch Ness the next day and then drive back to Skye, but on realising that the weather was sunny we went to Skye immediately on the grounds that it is often overcast and we should go while the going was good. Skye is wonderful. I could live on Skye quite happily. It has craggy mountains, it has waterfalls, it has majestic headlands, it has lochs, it has sweeping vistas and it has many, many sheep. Disconcerting sheep which wander all over the road and amble off slowly if you approach them in a car, but which run like hell if you point a camera at them.

We stayed in a self-catering caravan on the edge of a loch. We spent our evenings eating dinner and drinking wine and/or whisky while watching sunset over the loch. Even the midges were controllable. And when we scrambled down to the edge of the loch, falling over on slippery seaweed a couple of times, we found an abundance of mussels. I found them too gritty, but my other half feasted on them with great pleasure.

After a couple of days on Skye and a brief visit to Talisker we drove off to Loch Ness and Inverness via Eilean Donan. I have to say I prefer the west coast: the scenery is more spectacular and because it is more spartan, you can actually see it. The country around Loch Ness is far more lush, which means that you get glimpses rather than vistas. We then drove down to Blair Altholl where we visited Edradour distillery and stayed in a lovely B&B which had a decent mattress. This was a great thing, believe me. Good mattresses are rare.

We wandered into the town of Blair Atholl to get some dinner and some milk. On the way we saw some incredibly sweet ducklings: six of them, all skittering around after insects. I never realised how fast they can move on land when they're small. There were also six adolescent ducks which seemed to be quite suicidally stupid and insisted on sitting in the middle of the road. Presumably it was warm. Cars didn't bother them, nor did horns. People had to get out of their cars and shoo them off the road, whereupon they waddled off, grudgingly.

The next day we had a look at Pitlochry, which was far too touristy for its own good, and stopped in at Blair Athol (yes, the town has two 'l's and the distillery has one) and Aberfeldy distilleries before driving down to Edinburgh. It's a very pretty city, but in August it is also a very busy city. We did wander around the town for a while, but we decided to leave the castle as it was a) crawling with people and b) had the enormous and ugly Edinburgh tattoo scaffolding up.

Our plane home was badly delayed, and I was extremely grateful for my frequent flyer privileges with BA, which meant we could use the lounge. Lounges aren't particularly exciting except when you put them in the context of an overcrowded airport (five planes were delayed). The seats are comfortable, there's wine to drink and you can read your book in peace (Bill Bryson's The Life and Times of the Thunderbold Kid, a pleasantly mindless account of growing up in Des Moines in the 1950s).

We were fairly restrained with purchases on this holiday due to luggage restrictions - only one full bottle of whisky! - but I did find some yarn.

The first is two 98g skeins of purple and one 48g skein of green-blue cashmere dyed with natural dyes from Shilasdair. Do not fail to visit if you happen to find yourself on Skye. The yarn is superb (including baby camel!), they will show you their dye-pots and the setting itself is worth the trip.

We also dropped in at The Handspinner Having Fun in Broadford. While they did have some beatiful yarns and I coveted their handdyed mulberry silk, I ended up buying a 100g ball of a brown mystery yarn from the bargain bin. I think it's probably synthetic (it doesn't feel or smell like wool) but it feels pleasant and one of the strands is shiny so I think it will knit up well. Into what, I don't know, but I have a hankering for seed stitch.

I have to do a great deal of washing this weekend, but this is offset by the pleasant task of reading a week's worth of knitting blog entries and catching up on what everyone else has been up to!

I've got my tickets

2007-08-26T08:07:00.000+10:00

and I've booked my leave. I'm finally going to the Knitting and Stitching Show which I've been trying to go to for three years. The first year we were too poor and I was too disorganised, the second year we were out of the country. Hopefully I will actually get to go this time. Fibre event! Yay!

Tokyo

2007-08-12T04:54:00.000+10:00

Tokyo was interesting. Very hot and humid, I wish I had been sent there in any other season than summer. Winter would have been lovely. Minimum temp was around 27 degrees, max up to 37.

The group I went to teach were lovely, and I got to spend some time with some Australian colleagues, one of whom I've known for years. There were issues: when do I ever get to do something that goes smoothly? but they weren't insumountable. The Japanese had trouble installing their server in the first place. While they did manage to install by the time I arrived, by the second day the performance issues were so bad that I ended up distributing a VMware image to everyone. I had been prepared for some issues, but nothing as bad as we actually saw: the specs of this server were infinitely better than the one on which I trained a similar number of people in June. We had performance issues then, but nothing like we saw this week. I wish we'd had time to reinstall: maybe it was something to do with the changes they had to make after the initial install.

The Japanese in the group managed to overcome their cultural tendency not to ask questions pretty well (the Australians had no reservations to lose). I was worried that they wouldn't ask anything, but I spent a 2-hour session with them on Wednesday evening. I always feel terrible that I don't speak any Japanese: I know how hard it must be to overcome one's fear of asking questions in a language you don't speak very well. They generally get their point across, though.

Between the server issues, prep for the course and the timezone change I didn't get much sleep. I usually adjust within about a week, but my body steadfastly refused to believe that it was in Tokyo, and I woke up at 3:30 most mornings and couldn't get back to sleep. Why it thought it was on the west coast of the USA, I'm not quite sure, since I never went to bed before 10 pm. I also woke up with a migraine on Tuesday morning: thankfully I did wake up at 3:30 and the drugs took effect by the time I left for work.

I did manage to do a tiny bit of shopping... On Wednesday evening the three Aussies and I went into Shinjuku and had a look around. We found a 100 Yen store: the equivalent of a dollar shop or a pound shop, so I bought some random things including some sweet little buttons.

Must knit baby clothes...

I went back in on Friday evening because I wanted to explore a shop which sold kimono fabric. I decided that most of that was too expensive, although I think the price might have included making up into a kimono: I couldn't really tell.

I then ventured out of the station and found a little fabric shop. I aquired some quilted fabric and some embroidery templates, all packaged in this lovely if slightly inexplicable bag:

How could anyone resist taste of best selection especially for you? I couldn't. I'm not sure what I'll do with them just yet...

The only yarn they had was a terrifyingly lurid range of acrylic: clearly not a knitting shop...

I then ventured somewhat further, and found a bead shop. It occured to me when I got back to the hotel and read the writing on the bag they gave me that if I had used the lift, I might have found more fabric and yarn, but I don't really mind. I got quite a decent haul anyway including a present for my MIL, who beads.

My most exciting purchase was this:

it can be used to sew beads to fabric, so I will have to have a try. The instructions are in Japanese and pictures. Thankfully I understand the latter.

I even have some beads to try with...

The city was humming: a bit too much for me in the heat. It was still 31 degrees at 8pm.

I went for a walk at 4:45 this morning: still opressively hot, but I wanted to see a shrine one of my colleagues had described, and said it had been open when she had turned up one morninig at 5am. Unfortunately it obviously didn't open early on Saturday, so I could only walk around the outside. My camera chose to run out of battery at this point, so I didn't get many photographs, and I should have remembered that just because my eyes adjusted to the light-levels, it didn't mean that the camera could. Humans are more adaptable than I give them credit for.

I then packed and got ready, leaving at 7:30. I'm not quite sure why, but I thought that there were 4.5 hours between 7:30 and 11:00, not 3.5. By the time the taxi arrived at the TCAT to catch the bus it was already 8:00 and I should have been at the airport... There was an accident on the motorway, so I didn't get to the check-in line until 9:30... a little nerve-wracking. I am getting better these days: I've finally convinced myself that worrying and getting agitated doesn't get me anywhere any quicker, so after the initial shock of realisation I was OK and slept most of the bus trip. The worst thing that happens is that the company has to buy me another airline ticket, which they wouldn't have to do if they were less cheap and bought me fully flexible return ticket in the first place.

I'm writing this on the plane, and I've got about 5 hours of a 12-hour flight to go. I got some more sleep at about the right time UK-wise, so I'll see how this timezone change goes. Hopefully better than the last.

The main issue with Tokyo was trying not to offend people. The culture is different enough that this was a constant worry to me. I blew my nose in the classroom, and realised my mistake as soon as I heard giggling. Thankfully my respiratory allergies were absolutely fine and I didn't need to blow my nose after the first day: proving to me again that living in London is not good for me.

My skin allergies went slightly beserk, but I think this is a combination of the heat and humidity, and whatever the hotel washed the sheets with.

This time next week I will be on holiday in Scotland! Yay! Unfortunately I have to do a day trip to Brussels the day before I go on holiday - work rang me up and insisted that I do it, even though I don't know enough about what they want me to talk about. The joys...

Ravelry

2007-08-08T05:59:00.000+10:00

I am on Ravelry as fluffygeek. Of course I get my invite the week I am in Tokyo for training and everything goes wrong. As if I needed more distractions! Still, it gives me something to keep me awake while I'm waiting for 16 GB files to copy...

protecting the toys

2007-07-28T11:00:00.000+10:00

As partners of those who buy portable electronic gadgets must know, it is important to protect the toys. They're sensitive to dust and knocks and scratches and a whole host of other ills. And they're damned expensive.

Earlier this year I ran up the following bag for a PSP. Said PSP already lives in a hard case, but the case has open sections which, I have been informed, let grit in. This cannot be. Enter a garish bag constructed out of sample squares of fleece and a ribbon left over from a Georg Jensen present. The materials used can be explained by the fact that I ran it up in a hurry the night before I left for a two week business trip.

The household then acquired a DS Lite. It acquired a hard case, with similar open sections. It's taken me a couple of months but...

	Knitpicks Memories in Redwood knitted on the Bond (previously shown on 19 05 2007)
	felted
	folded
	given a cord
	sewn up the base and sides
	and put to use
	can you tell the light was fading? Detail by lamplight.

The twisted cord was made using a couple of metres of yarn, a doorknob, a ball-wider with the cone removed and the brief participation of my patient partner:

double the yarn
hook the middle around a doorknob so that you have two ends each of doubled yarn
start twisting manually
realise it's going to take several millenia
investigate the ball-winder, remove its cone, stick the yarn ends through the convenient slits in the bit that goes around, tie ends under base
turn the wrong way for a while, swear and turn the other way
at the point at which the cord doubles up on itself twistily if you walk toward the doorknob, yell for your partner
ask her to unhook the yarn from the doorknob
grab the yarn at its approximimate midpoint and then hand the free end to your partner to hold with the other end
massage the yarn by smoothing it from the free ends your partner is holding towards the folded end you have until all the little twisty bits give up and you have a nice flat cord
tie an overhand knot in the free ends and snip the ends to even them up

Gosh. It's an FO.

Evil blogger is messing with my HTML

2007-07-26T10:19:00.000+10:00

Blogger is evil. It keeps on messing with my html and screwing up my spacing. It took me something like 7 tries to get my last post to look almost viewable.
In an html editor, line endings have no meaning. Blogger must learn this.

(Is is just me, or am I beginning to sound like a dalek?)

must...make use of...sun

2007-07-26T07:08:00.000+10:00

I was at home and awake when we got our late afternoon sliver of sun, and did my best to make use of it.Clapotis is unblocked and the ends haven't been woven in, but the knitting is done:

It's not my favourite clapotis, but it's my first decent-sized piece of knitting, so I'm pleased.

The one row scarf grows every now and then

We have achieved proto-socks:

Did I say the Addi's were nice? The Addi's are really, really nice.

World's slowest knitter struggles with multi-sock method

2007-07-24T06:44:00.000+10:00

I haven't been particularly well, which may explain why I'm struggling with the multi-sock method of knitting. Either that, or I have bitten off more than I can reasonable chew. Nothing new there, admittedly. I cast on, I got through the toe-increase rows. Hopefully I will soon have the energy to pick the pathetic little scraps of knitting up again.

I worked until stupid o'clock this morning on some test data, went into work fully intending to stay until 14:00, then rush home and take my remaining telconferences from bed. I left work at 18:30. And the software for which my test plan and data were supposed to be so desperately required... will not be ready for testing until Friday, if then.

As to the unwellness, I suspect bronchitis. I haven't had it for about 15 years, but the gentle squeaking in my chest and the feeling of breathing through soap bubbles seems vaguely familiar. My immune system is crap. I can't decide if it needs gentle nurturing or a kick up the arse.

In the interests of the former, I have been cooking a little: I actually got some time to cook this weekend as feeling like shit meant I didn't go anywhere and I was avoiding test data production and CV writing on Sunday afternoon.

My beloved other half bought me three gluten-free cookbooks a couple of months ago: I have wheat, corn and soy sensitivities, so gluten-free is a good place to start, but takes further ingenuity to make it work. I highly recommend Bette Hanagan's Easy Gluten Free Cooking (ISBN 978-1-84454-369-4), if only for her flour mixes and her explanation of what can be substituted for what.

I miss quiche. This isn't too bad a substitute.

sweet potato quiche 'pastry' plus ham and onion quiche filling

'pastry'
500g sweet potato (kumera)
1 tbsp olive oil
100g grated cheese (half parmesan, half cheddar works ok)
50g rice flour

filling
two small or one large sweet red onion, diced
150g good quality ham, diced
3/4 cup of light crème fraîche (or milk, or yoghurt or cream...)
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and chop sweet potato into similar-sized pieces (2 - 3 cm) and boil until squishable.
Drain and mash. Add olive oil, half the cheese and rice flour.
Mix together until they form a wet dough-like substance.
Press into a 20cm springform pan, ensuring that the base is completely coated and sides are at least partly covered.
Bake blind for 10 mins at 180°C (moderate oven).

Saute onion over medium heat until translucent and cool.
Add rest of grated cheese, ham, crème fraîche and eggs. Beat together, season to taste.
Pour onto blind baked base.
Cook at 180°C (moderate oven) for 30 mins or until set and lightly browned.

Best served cold, tends to fall apart when hot.

I also made the Apricot bread from Bette Hagman's book with rice flour only. Not bad, but rather bitter: I think I put in too much orange peel. I'd like to substitute apple for the apricot next time to see how that would work. I miss apple bread.

Non-basil pestos are great, especially if you get a rainy summer and the basil goes black. This week the supermarket had the most amazing bunches of extremely healthy common mint, and I found some decent coriander hiding in an unopened crate. Mmmmm. Spicy.

fluffy geek's perverted pesto

Two handsful of mint leaves - either the big strong common mint, or vietnamese mint if you can get it.
Four handsful of coriander leaves (I cut off the really chunky bits of the stalks but leave the rest in)
Two handsful of pine nuts (100g). Cashew nuts are also good.
A chunk of parmesan about 1" x 1" x 2"
1 good sized garlic clove
a hefty pinch of salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Throw into a food processor bigger than mine (I did mine in two batches and the mint nearly defeated it even then...) I roughly grate the parmesan in using the grater disc, then add garlic, pulse, nuts, pulse and then leaves and a drizzle of olive oil. Then add olive oil and blitz until you get your desired texture. Some people like it more soupy than others.

P.S. Oh, but I do like the Addi's I bought for the sock project. I have a suspicion they might quietly breed in my knitting tool drawer while I'm earning British pounds and the price doesn't seem so scary.

wrong, but oddly compelling

2007-07-21T00:12:00.001+10:00

Your Score: Ceiling Cat

48% Affectionate, 39% Excitable, 48% Hungry

You are a master of stealth. They never see you coming. But you always see them coming. HEY-O!

To see all possible results, checka dis.

Link: The Which Lolcat Are You? Test written by GumOtaku on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

The fact that I didn't actually understand many of the questions or their answers could be influencing this... Lack of exposure to popular culture bites again.

succumbing to socks

2007-07-20T18:36:00.000+10:00

I have finally decided that it might be time for me to dip my toe into the murky waters of sock-knitting. My reasons are as follows:

I have thick, sturdy legs, puffy ankles and wide, paddle-like feet. Finding comfortable socks is not an easy task
I get blisters easily, and am irritated by toe seams
I can't stand the leg constriction caused by socks being made for people with less tree-like calves
Custom-made socks are clearly the answer
I need to replace the walking-boot socks I bought in Germany when I was ten because a) I can only find one of them and b) they are very slightly too small as my feet have grown a tiny bit since I bought them (though not much. I stopped growing altogether at 11).

Requirements

Toe-up

I really, really need to try on as I go

Not a short-row heel

They don't seem to be kind to large ankles

Both socks at the same time

My gague is inconsistent and I am terrified that it will change, thus giving me two socks of different sizes
I am very likely to finish the first sock and stop. What could be worse than having just one comfortable sock?

DK-weight yarn

I'm not a quick knitter and this will hopefully make it a relatively short first-sock-knitting-experience

Specifications

Toe-up pattern from Savannahchick utilising
- Judy's Magic Cast-On
- The heel from Amy's socks
Twilley's Freedom Spirit in 514 - Nature
Both socks will be knit concurrently on two circulars on

1 pr Clover Bamboo 3.5 mm (owned)
1 pr Addi Turbo 3.5 mm (ordered)

That's the plan, anyway.

2007-06-30T05:02:00.000+10:00

29%

And I finished knitting Clapotis. The two may be related, it's hard to tell.

It took me nearly 6 months, but I'm done. Now I just have to wait for a hot day when my partner is working or we're both out in the afternoon and I can block it on the loungeroom floor without fear of serious pin-in-foot incidents. Pictures will follow.

The last couple of weeks haven't been good. Work has been slightly more fucked than usual, and some of my favourite people have resigned and left. I am becoming less and less enthusiastic about the prospect of transferring to the Australian office when we go home in February. Maybe it's time to move on.

That moment

2007-06-20T07:01:00.000+10:00

I've been knitting Clapotis for nearly 6 months now, and I seem to have been on the decreasing rows for a while because I haven't done much knitting recently. Today on the train home, I had that moment of realisation: I knitted twice as many rows on that journey as I have on any previous journey. I still knit at the pace of an arthritic snail, but all that decreasing, one stitch per row, has finally resulted in significantly fewer stitches. I knew it had to happen one day... (actually, to be honest, I just hoped it would happen one day).

Mmmmmm... Cherries

2007-06-11T06:57:00.000+10:00

I've been in Boston for another week and a half, and I've got most of another week to go. I'm homesick and miss my partner. Too many weeks in this hotel in the past year, too many weeks not at home.
It's been a difficult couple of weeks, working too much overtime and worrying about things. I'm working today, on a Sunday, and went into the office only to find that my access card doesn't work on the weekend. So I'm trying to work from the hotel, where the connection is slower and the VPN keeps on dropping out.
I did get out of the hotel yesterday and went to Cambridge - I found out that there is a bus which goes directly from downtown Waltham to Cabridge and runs 3 or 4 times an hour. If only I'd known that a year ago. Not that I mind the commuter train, but services aren't exactly frequent.
I went to Urban Outfitters, which I love but can never buy anything I want to because I can't justify taking cushions and homewares home, and went to Woolcott and Company, which I am very fond of, but I didn't find anything I wanted. Well, I did, but again nothing I could actually justify buying.
I love Malabrigo, I really do, but I don't like most of the colours that seem to be available in stores at the moment. They had a sample of the chunky version in the most beautiful green... but of course they didn't have any left!
I did manage to find the most beautiful cherries in Whole Foods. Cherries are my favourite food, surpassing even chocolate. So I bought lots of them. Maybe they will make me feel better.
I haven't managed to get any knitting done at all since last weekend... maybe I can get Clapotis onto the plane home and knit if I can't sleep.

Wilting in the heat

2007-06-03T23:10:00.000+10:00

I'm back in Boston for 15 days, hopefully the last time I'll need to do this for a while. Not that I dislike Boston, but I'd really like to spend some time and home with my other half.
Yesterday was muggy and revolting: I don't like heat and I don't like humidity. Anyone with any sense would have stayed inside in the airconditioning. Not me, no, I had to go on a yarn shop hunt.
I've been wanting to visit Circles for some time, but have never made it out there. A commuter train and a T ride and there I was. Stunning collection of yarn and patterns, extremely friendly staff and a place to knit. I knitted and talked to the staff member on duty for over an hour - so nice to be able to take refuge from the heat in such serene surroundings.
I bought Elsebeth Lavold's The Embraceable You Collection here. Now that is a lovely, lovely book. I may never knit anything from it directly, but it's certainly given me some ideas. Mmmmm. Welting...
A colleague and good fried of mine is here with me until Tuesday, so I met up with her for dinner at Prezza. We'd been there once before and were craving the flourless chocolate cake. I also had the tomato, mozarella and basil plate, plus the figs in proscuitto. Superb...
Clapotis decreases slowly.

Swatching and luscious walnuts

2007-05-20T09:29:00.001+10:00

I have been reading a lot about Claudia's Handpainted sock yarn, and finally gave in. The Woolly Workshop very kindly (and swiftly: fantastic service) sent me this:

2 Skeins of Black Walnut. Luscious. I am hoping there's enough to make a very stylish and manly scarf. Interestingly, there's not nearly as much pink in the yarn as any image on the internet indicated, but it's very lovely and I don't mind at all.

I've been doing a little random swatching: seed stitch and eastern crossed stocking stitch in Regia Crazy Color:

Plain knitting on the knitting machine in Knitpick's Memories in Redwood Forest:

I redid the bee stripe swatch and am much happier with this edge:

One of the problems with our London flat is the lack of sunlight. We inhabit a north-facing flat which gets a 20 cm wide strip of sunlight for approximately 20 minutes in the early evening for a couple of weeks in spring. I am attempting to make the most of it by photographing anything even vaguely knitting-related.

This is some Paris from Texere which I have plans for... must implement severe stash reduction before heading to Australia... so difficult.

One positive thing about returning to Australia is that I am unlikely to have too much trouble finding light to photograph by. Over there we also inhabit a north-facing flat, which, being in the other hemisphere, gets enough sunlight to bleach the spines of all our books, CDs and DVDs, despite the fact that we keep the blinds half-closed most of the time. Unfortunately I don't like the heat, but we may solve this by installing air-conditioning.

Knitting activities

2007-05-20T08:36:00.000+10:00

I'm not sure where this originated, but the idea is that bold indicates you've done it, italics indicates you would like to do it, and normal means you haven't and have no intention of doing it.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with bananafiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with Bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/Doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffitti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental Knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Buttonholes
Knitting with Alpaca
Fair Isle Knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies...)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items)on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else's handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured Knitting
Kitchener Bind Off
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and Purling Backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn
Stuffed Toys
Baby items
Knitting with Cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with Linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/Bolero/Poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Treasury covetousness

2007-05-10T04:08:00.000+10:00

I've been following the Walker Treasury Project, and each new addition makes me more and more covetous. I did look at buying them last time I was in the US, but... I really can't justify it.
I've been knitting a Clapotis and plain stocking stitch scarf since January. I already have Mary Thomas's books and quite a few others, plus unlimited access to the internet. What need do I really have for a stitch library?
Normally this wouldn't be an issue. I have an enormous number of books, and I buy them purely because I like to have them and they give me joy. But my partner and I have been toying with the idea of moving back to Australia, and have finally decided on a date - early January 2008. Given that I'm involved in a monster project at work which will be eating my sanity points right up until the end of the year, I'm not realistically going to use them before we move back home. Pretty much anything I buy now which will come home with us must have the shipping cost back to Australia factored in.

Maybe... I could order them to be sent to Australia as my first present to myself when we move home...

Six weeks of nothing

2007-05-08T05:46:00.000+10:00

I spent 3 of the last 6 weeks on the road, one week in Wales for holiday, then two weeks in Boston for work again. None of these weeks really gave me a lot of knitting time.
I did manage to go whale watching with the New England Aquarium and see lots of whales on the weekend in Boston (Minke, Fin-backed, Humpback and Northern Right (wow)), so that was a good non-knitting weekend. For once I decided not to spend a day staring at the walls of my hotel room and managed to get into Boston via hotel shuttle, commuter train and subway both weekend days. It's not easy to get anywhere from Waltham if you don't have a car...
I did manage to scuttle into Windsor Button at some point intent on buying a 3.5 mm Clover bamboo circular (which I did) and I also picked up some Lion Brand Micro Spun in Ebony and Mango. I've been looking for something to knit EZ's garter surprise baby jacket with, and this seems like a pretty good choice: soft and machine washable and dryable. The pattern originator might shudder, but I'm not sure about the combination of wool and babies, and machine washable at least is a must.

I'm not happy about the edges, particularly the side I'm changing the yarn on. I think I'll be ripping back this swatch and trying the method recommended on Nona Knits:
"On every row, knit into the back of the first stitch and then slip the last stitch purlwise with yarn in front. Tersely for your enjoyment. First stitch -> ktbl. Last stitch -> sl wyif."
Hopefully I can find some way to anchor the yarn I'm carrying as well. I hate messy edges.
While in the US I ordered a couple of books from Amazon: Fiona Cooper's Rotary Spokes, a novel I read years ago and have always wanted a copy of, and Debbie New's Unexpected Knitting, which I've had my eye on for some time, and would cost me approximately double the price to buy in Britain.
Unexpected Knitting, not surprisingly, contains a lot of unexpected knitting. It is also unexpectedly practical in tone, and also unexpectedly large: we're talking a quarto hardback (in public-librarian terms). I do want to knit EZ's baby surprise jacket, but now I also want to knit the baby tam jacket. Stocking stitch in the round! In a cardigan! With no steeks! The coolness is deep, yes?*

Meanwhile, I have continued to struggle along with Clapotis. I am now up to 15 repeats. Yes, I know you're only supposed to do 13, but I'm knitting on 4 mm needles, not 5 mm, and with a yarn which is, on average, finer than suggested. I may be able to block the hell out of it, but I don't want to be too vicious, as parts of this thick-and-thin yarn are (I think) laceweight cotton. At 15 repeats it is only just over 5 feet long, and I like my scarves/wraps at least 6 feet.
The first ball did the increase rows plus 5 repeats, so I think I will try for 4 repeats and the decrease rows on the last ball (so I don't get my knickers in a knot about running out of yarn - can't stand anxious knitting). I'm nearly finished the second ball now.

* If you are familiar with the game I-Ninja, this should be said in the same tone as "The blade is cold, yes?"

Tonsils and garter

2007-03-21T02:26:00.000+11:00

I have tonsilitis. Again. Early last year I got it once, went back to work too soon and got it again. So this year I am determined to be sensible and stay home until I am well.
This bout is particularly unfair because I took Friday off as annual leave so that I would have 3 days off in a row, only to wake up feeling awful on Friday and have one of my worst nights on Friday night: a shivering, feverish, lungs hurting, can't sleep kind of night. Around 5 am I did think dying might be preferable, but I got over that eventually.

On Sunday I picked up knitting needles and made a swatch:
a) I have never knitted in cotton, and wanted to give it a go
b) I wanted to swatch to see if this yarn and needle combination would work for EZ's baby surprise jacket
c) I have always had what amounts to a phobia of picking up stitches, but if I want to make this jacket there is no escaping it
d) it seemed like a good idea to finally learn that long-tail cast-on that everyone else uses.

Yarn: Texere Yarn's Kilsney soft cotton in Leaf and Bottle
Needles: Susanne's ebony 4.5 mm
Result:
This cotton needs metal needles, the wooden ones don't feel safe.
I like the long-tail cast-on, but I need to work out how much of a tail to leave before I will feel happy using it on somethinig real.
I'm still wary of picking up stitches, but I don't feel the need to actually run screaming at the thought any more. I'm not 100% happy with the results I got, but they will do.
Can anyone tell me which is the 'right' side of a long-tail cast-on? The one that looks as if you don't have a cast on at all, or the one with the pretty diagonal stitches?
I learned that you have to be careful when changing colours in garter stitch (which I already knew, but had illustrated to me very clearly).
I now feel a little more confident about the anatomy of garter stitch.
Gauge ended up at approx 4 stitches per inch. I am going to need smaller needles and finer yarn if I want to knit the baby surprise jacket: it's supposed to be 6 stitches per inch, and knitting this any tighter, while giving me a great fabric for oven gloves, would not not be suitable for baby wear.

Instead, I moved on to 4 ply merino, little needles and some pattern variation to make a tiny version of Tychus from Knitty. How tiny? Small enough to fit a small child? A baby? A doll? No. An egg.
A couple of years ago, issue 14 of the Australian magazine Donna Hay featured little egg-cosies on the cover. I wasn't actually in a knitting phase at the time, but I looked at them a bit and realised how easy they would be to knit. If you don't mind the 'wrestling with a hedgehog' feeling of knitting objects of small diameter on dpns, they really are quick and easy.

Admittedly the egg cosies I knit actually spend most of their lives acting as hats or horn-covers for the resident population of dragons (function depends on dragon size), but they do occasionally fulfill their original function.

I liked the look of the pattern and thought it might also be a way to try grafting in garter stitch. Because I am a masochist with sore tonsils. That's why.

I did a test run from the base up (bad idea: conical objects get narrower at the top) in sewing thread with the provisional cast-on still attached and a thread running through the live stitches. I had started at the second row of the pattern in my burgundy yarn, with a very long tail at the top of the hat. I then used this to graft: the grafted row is both the first row (after cast-on) of the original patt and the last row.

I'm not sure that I'd really want to make this pattern full size. Maybe it was the yarn and scale I was using, but the turning without wrapping did seem to leave some sizeable holes.

There's not really one thing that is wrong with this grafting. Not one. But it annoys me immensely. It is so much neater than my actual knitting.

Alone in a hotel room with a plastic fork...

2007-03-08T10:04:00.000+11:00

Last weekend, I was stranded in a hotel room with

a knitting machine
a skein of KnitPicks Memories yarn in the Redwood Forest colourway
a set of plastic containers with lids
some hand soap
a source of hot and cold water
a plastic fork

I did what any sensible fluffy geek would do in these circumstances: tried out the knitting machine by knitting a swatch and felting it. With a plastic fork. I'd like to point out that it's a very sturdy plastic camping fork with many excellent qualities. I had washed it thoroughly after using it to eat my dinner. The yarn felts beautifully. I just wish I could be more enthused about the colour range.

A fortnight in Boston

2007-03-05T05:50:00.000+11:00

Well, I didn't get two rows of the SSSS done. It's sitting forlornly in my suitcase as I write, halfway through one of those unspeakably long rows. Never mind. Hopefully by next winter... because we're rapidly getting to the stage where scarves are irrelevant. (Although it looks like Tuesday and Wendesday here will be quite cold enough, I'm not even going to pretend to myself that I have any chance of fininshing it before then.)
This is how the striping is working out. A little more subtle than I'd hoped, but I don't mind it all all.

(Photo taken in hotel bathroom: nowhere else is light enough.)
Clapotis, too, has been neglected. I just pulled her out this morning to manage a couple of rows.
So what have I been doing? I was home in London for two weeks between arriving from Denmark and leaving for the US (Boston). I am allergic to London. I have long suspected this, but it seems that if I leave for more than two weeks I get ill when I return. Sinus infections and/or migraines. The joy. So I didn't get a lot of knitting done. And work was busy, so I was tired.
I've been in Boston a week: my partner came along with me and left on Wednesday, so not much knitting was done, but we had a car, shopped for most of our summer wardrobe in Lane Bryant, explored Cambridge (which I approve of heartily) and generally enjoyed the snow and ice. (That is not sarcasm. We really, really like the cold.) I did fall over on the ice, which terrified my partner, produced small bruise about the size of a thumbprint, and probably contributed to my back giving me hell on Thursday and Friday. I spent most of Thursday kneeling backwards on an office chair, leaning over the back to get to my keyboard. It was the only position I could stay in for any length of time.
I managed to get to Cambridge again this weekend, and dropped into Woolcott & Co. which I had seen the previous week, but didn't really want to drag my other half into for an extended period of time. We have Malabrigo: two skeins of a lovely dark purple, and another skein of bluish green. Plans may be afoot. I also have a skein of Cascade 220 in a beautiful emerald green. I am contemplating making a Elizabeth Zimmerman's baby surprise jacket out of it, as I think I have enough wool. If not, I'm sure it will find another home.
Yes, I also succumbed to a book: EZ's Knitting Workshop. Woolcott and Co. didn't have the individual pattern left... and I have long heard about EZ but done nothing about her. They had a completed baby surprise jacket on the table... how could I resist?
I then walked to the Wholefoods on River Street, bought a whole lot of food (I have a food sensitivity to wheat, corn and soy: living on hotel food in the USA for two weeks is not an option I can face with equanamity) and, after a mix-up with the taxi, got home at nine. And watched two hours of Law and Order: SVU. I very rarely see this show, but it seems to satisfy my need to watch something mindless every now and then. Most comedy makes me cringe, and I've read murder mystery books as a method of relaxing since I was ten, so I suppose it makes sense.
While I was here, I have been receiving packages, one of which was an ultimate sweater machine. Due to BA's skimpy luggage allowances, I may have an interesting time getting it home, but I will see what I can do. At least for the US I'm allowed two checked in bags and two carry-on pieces of luggage.
Which brings me to a small but important rant. I'm a stately girl. Stately in the way that Queen Victoria was: what I lack in height I make up for in width. If you divided women over a US size 14 into three groups of Queens, Empresses and Goddesses, I'd probably be an Empress. Lane Bryant has clothing that's too large for me, but not much. Every now and then people have a go about fat people in my hearing and sometimes to my face. They're not talking about me, they honestly seem oblivious to the fact that I'm one of the people they're talking about. I find this strange and wrong.
Anyway, one of the common areas of complaint is that they (non-fat people) should receive an enhanced luggage allowance because of the extra weight a fat person carries on board a plane. Surely they should be able to make up this difference in body weight with luggage? This is wrong in so many ways that it makes me want to scream.
The main reason, though, is simple arithmetic. If I take the same number and type of pieces of clothing as you do... my suitcase is going to be heavier. My clothing consumes more cloth. It's really quite simple. The same would be true if I were tall... but being tall is obviously involuntary and is socially acceptable.
Let's not even go into the whole debate over whether being overweight is voluntary or not.
Enough ranting. I need to do some work. It's mostly quite interesting work... but it's work. On a weekend.

2 rows a day

2007-02-15T02:46:00.000+11:00

SSSS (Sari Silk Sideways Scarf) is slowly growing. I've set myself a goal of two rows a day, which doesn't seem very much, but I'm a slow knitter, I don't have huge swathes of time in which to knit, and they're very long rows. Over 6 feet long, in fact.

I bought 2 skeins each of Sari Silk Solid colours in Spice, Russet and Deep Red. The deep red was so lovely that I bought 6 more skeins and squirrelled all of it away. Spice and Russet together, while pretty, lacked something. So I dyed one skein of the Spice with Grape Kool Aid (plus a little Tropical Punch) and one skein of the Russet with Tropical Punch Kool Aid (Plus a little Grape). The result it better: although the Russet and dyed Russet are very close in colour, I think it's still OK. The Spice dyed well and I'm happy with both colours.

I'm hoping to get it finished in time for my next trip: Boston, leaving Friday 23rd in the evening. And since I'm staying there two weeks I've been working out what to order from Knitpicks. I may not get another opportunity for a while...

Creeping Clapotis

2007-02-11T00:58:00.000+11:00

Clapotis creeps on. I've now got 5 dropped columns and moved her off steel and onto rosewood. I won't post a photo, because there are only so many pictures of a clapotis that one blog can take but... it's very satisfying to knit.There are a couple of things I'd like to note, though.
Firstly, it has taught me to purl continentally in a way that doesn't torment my hands. Purl and I now have a tentative friendship, and plain purl rows are relaxing. This is an achievement.
I have fragile hands, and I depend on them for a living (computing) and for my sanity (cooking and sewing and knitting and weaving). Not tormenting my hands is something I worry about. My father has weak wrists and suffers a little from RSI (or whatever it's called these days) and my mother and grandmother both developed arthritis of the thumb very early in their lives. My mother seems to be managing it quite well, but it crippled my grandmother, and for a while there it was causing my mother a lot of pain. Pouring from teapots was difficult, opening jars impossible. That kind of thing.
Secondly, I was initially worried about the way this yarn was knitting up. The combination of colour (lighter and more pink that the photos show) and the texture were making it look... obscenely biological. Nothing like knitting something that makes you think of diseased human tissue, is there? Thankfully, when the columns are dropped all this seems to go away. Clapotis, she good. I like her long time.
I know everyone else knitter her ages ago, the proof is here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/50123132@N00/pool/ but this bothers me not at all.
She's going to have to be put aside for a while, though, because what I really need is my SSSS. Now I have a needle which I think will work for Russian joins in this yarn, there is no excuse...

Shopping madly in Copenhagen

2007-02-04T22:58:00.001+11:00

Saturday was exhausting. First, I got up at 6:30 because I needed to tidy up the apartment, do a bit of cleaining and pack before 9:00. My suitcase was already over the limit on the way over, so it's not light. I packed it and packed all my food etc in plastic bags. Dragged the suitcase over cobbles to the new place, dragged it up 3 flights of stairs. Emptied it, catching my finger between the suitcase and the bed as I did so. Took emptied suitcase back to old apartment, filled it with plastic bags full of stuff, repeated exercise, this time swearing about the olive oil and bottle of red wine.
Put fridge stuff in fridge, ran out of the apartment because I had shopping to do and most of the little shops only open from 10:00 or 11:00 to 14:00.
On Friday night I had managed to get to Sommerfuglen before it shut at 18:00: a shop selling knitting, embroidery and patchwork supplies. I ended up buying a few balls of wool for the idea that's been wandering around in my head, and some needles. I've been knitting Clapotis on what I thought were 4.5mm steel needles. I bought some Suzanna rosewood to replace them and a pair of ebony for my new project. On getting them home I realised that I was actually knitting Clapotis on 4mm, so back I had to go to exchange on Saturday. It's going to take me a while to get used to the rosewood as they're more grabby than I expected, but they'll wear with use anyway.
I went to Ulstedet again and seriously contemplated some 4-ply cotton in purple and in a yellow/brown marble (Cotton Baby from Gepard), but really couldn't think of anything I would do with it and actually wear. Then I went to Strikkeboden, fully intending to look at their home-brand alpaca in different colours again to see what I could make of it. What I got instead was six 100g skeins of black dk-weight alpaca, an unplied single (I think). I'm having thoughts of a jumper, possibly a shapely tank or tee with the neck and sleeves then finished off in a different colour (I'm thinking bright green, for some reason) for a long-sleeved garment: a bit like wearing a long-sleeved top underneath a t-shirt.
And then I went back and bought two more skeins, one in a brown, the other in a grey-brown because they remind me of a jumper my father used to wear, and he might get a scarf knit for him. I'm worried that I might need more skeins of the black... maybe I'll have to go back there. There weren't many left, though, so I may just have to improvise when the time comes.
So since I'd done my indulgent shopping, I then went looking for presents for people. Brother and sister-in-law's birthday were solved at Illums Bolighus, and extraordinary shop with an enormous collection of designer crockery, cutlery, cooking implements and homewares.
The first thing I gravitated towards was Piet Hein's Great Bear Candelabra. Then I looked at the price and ran away. I did end up buying this for them instead. Nice.
And then there were toys and children's clothes. Denmark must be a lovely place to be a child. danefae makes me laugh.
I came home and had an afternoon nap. Dragging that suitcase around broke me.
Now I have to work for the rest of the day. Grumble.

Denmark is still pretty...

2007-02-02T06:28:00.000+11:00

but not as pretty as last Saturday: no snow. The other half got all excited about the snow and went and frolicked in it at 1 am because it was falling (we're both Australian, all right? We don't get to see much snow), and then when she came in she was so excited that I put on my boots and my coat and went and frolicked with her. There was snow. There was a frozen lake. There were disgruntled ducks and swans. What more could one want? Our (British) guest very sensibly went to bed.
It has turned out that I need to stay here another week now, work got stuffed up a bit. I was originally going to go home Friday and return on Tuesday... but the thought of losing either a full work day (it takes 6 hours door-to-door each way) or 10 - 12 hours of my weekend filled me with dread.
Stupid company reduced its QA resource on a particular product to 1 person, put out a new patch and a) didn't test some fairly basic things and b) accepted the existence of a bug which they should not have released it with. So I'm wandering through the validation scripts for a company, should have been a straightforward exercise and... I'm stuck in Copenhagen for another week. And I feel bad for the client, for whom it should have been a straightforward, no-angst exercise.
Never mind. I have to move apartments on Saturday morning, but the company I'm renting from have very kindly allowed me to move in a 9am instead of 3pm - so that I can do some shopping!
Yes, there may be yarn-related purchases, and if there aren't there will be other purchases.
I am under strict instructions from the other half to do some present shopping for family/friends based on what we saw last weekend... Such lovely things. Not cheap, but lovely. And I've got my eye on a couple of things for presents too. We need to buy things early, it takes so long to send things to Aus. Hey, the way I'm going at the moment I think I could send some of them sea-mail, which isn't a bad idea considering the cost of postage! I'm being unusually organised for me - in the last year or so I've been sending things on people's birthdays (or, memorably, actually after Christmas day) and apologising. I'm trying to do better this year.
I have made a little progress on the SSSS, just 4 rows but I think it will look lovely. I just need to remember to buy a needle with an appropriately large eye this weekend for russian joining: the yarn has quite a few breaks, and I can't stand weaving in ends. Russian joins seem so much tidier and more sensible.
I have an idea in the back of my brain which needs a few different colours of yarn, some circulars and some double-points. These supplies are one of my goals this weekend. Work can pay the baggage fine if it's overweight, damn them.

Denmark is pretty

2007-01-29T07:58:00.000+11:00

So. I've spent the last week in Copenhagen, Denmark for work. I'm staying in a rather astonishing place: I decided that since I would be here for nearly two weeks, I would try to find a self-catering apartment rather than a hotel. I wanted to be able to do my own laundry and cooking.
What I did find in the same price-range as the hotel the client would have put me up in was a corporate let. Well. It has two bedrooms, a dining room and a lounge room, all white and light a spacious. It's slightly larger than my flat in Sydney... and I've been enjoying it very much. Not that I've actually spent all that many hours here not working, but it's still nice not to have to live in one room mostly occupied by a bed for two weeks.
My partner came over for a few days and a friend came over for the weekend. All very satisfactory and Copenhagen is a lovely city. I would love to live here. It snowed. Pictures will follow. We are happy little Australians and we frolicked.
Did I do anything textile related? Well, Clapotis comes along slowly but steadily.

I've just cast on for my Sari Silk Sideways Scarf, and I did find a couple of yarn shops:

Uldstedet - Very nice basement shop. Lots of yarn for fair-isle, some very nice felt slippers and buttons. A good range of the usual suspects like Debbie Bliss and Rowan as well.
Strikkeboden - Lovely little shop, has a good general range as well as Noro and its own brand of 100% alpaca. Lovely. I nearly broke and bought some, even though I can't wear it. Maybe someone I know can...

I also came across a couple of unexpected fabric shops, and bought a length of fabric which was probably the most expensive thing in the shop: a wool felt, almost thrummed. Picture to follow, it went home with my other half due to my already too-heavy suitcase. In another shop, which was full of the most beautiful silks, I found some viscose jersey remnants, some in purple, some in black, which I hope to run up into a shirt of some sort. The silk. Mmmmm. The range of wool fabric here is also superb.
In non-textile related news, we went to Georg Jensen. When I was a little girl in Sydney, if we went into town with my mother, one of my treats would be to visit the Georg Jensen shop. We never bought anything, just wandered around and drooled. This time bought ourselves a tree-topper from their christmas range: essentially just a star on a spring, but exactly what I've been looking for and it will add that extra niceness to every Christmas.
Due to the present-like nature of the other things I bought they shall not feature here.
Shopping is not cheap here, but due to the fact that we're earning pounds, it's not horrifyingly expensive, either. Not the way it would be if we were earning Australian dollars...

Weaving

2007-01-18T13:39:00.000+11:00

I'm travelling this week and also seem to have a permanent headache. Clapotis is coming on steadily, just a few rows shy of the point at which I get drop my first stitch. The colour of the yarn is lighter when knitted up than I expected, so I'm not sure it's something I would wear, but I can probably find someone who would.
I bought an Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom 6 months ago, and I've been doing a little weaving every now and then. I like weaving: it eats yarn and I feel that less of it is Voodoo (you know, you're following a knitting pattern, it says 'put pointy stick through the loop in this way, do something complicated with the working yarn, say an incantation. Do this umpteen times and voilà! suddenly you have a garment).
My main issue is warping. I warp on the loom, and it's not really that difficult, but it is backbreaking and requires a lot of thought. Plus, in this flat I don't have a weaving post... I have a cabiner attached to a door handle with some string. Not ideal.
I did manage two cushion covers both in Paris yarn from Texere. Unfortunately I don't like the feel very much, but they were interesting experiments. Dicontinuous weft, while slow, does produce interesting results.

I am in the middle of a bag made out of Paton's Symphony yarn. I love the way this stuff works in weaving. It seemed the perfect yarn out of which to make a shoulder bag: comfortable, washable and casual.

I've done the bag body, now I just have to warp the loom for the strap. I've needed to do that for the last 4 months.

One Row Scarf

2007-01-16T19:20:00.000+11:00

I'd been looking for a scarf pattern for a while, and stumbled across the Yarnharlot's One Row Handspun Scarf. It looked like fun, and I thought I might want to use it for a silk scarf I had planned (plans have since changed). So I grabbed some yarn I had lying around, cast on and started a swatch.

Things may have got out of hand. I now need to order two more balls of Patons Symphony yarn so that I can have a scarf.
It's not handspun. It's not even a natural fibre. But I like it.

bowl finally felted

2007-01-15T13:21:00.000+11:00

I have finally felted my other knitted bowl. I'm quite happy with the way it turned out, maybe a little wobbly but not too bad, and not too many holes, either.

Now I want to try a one in cream and beige... I've been having a neutral homewares phase recently, which is odd for someone who spends most of her life dressed in various shades of dark red and black.

Your Ideal Pet is a Cat

You're both aloof, introverted, and moody.
And your friends secretly wish that you were declawed!

What's Your Ideal Pet?

A number of my friends say there's something feline about me... and now I know what they mean. Sniffle.

Clapotis Continues

2007-01-14T13:18:00.000+11:00

I have been slowly knitting up Clapotis, only two more increase sections to go before I can start dropping stitches... My hands are complaining a little, but I'll see how that goes.

You are The Wheel of Fortune

Good fortune and happiness but sometimes a species of
intoxication with success

The Wheel of Fortune is all about big things, luck, change, fortune. Almost always good fortune. You are lucky in all things that you do and happy with the things that come to you. Be careful that success does not go to your head however. Sometimes luck can change.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

I don't usually pay much attention to tarot and I certainly don't pay much attention to random web quizzes, however the questions in the quiz above unexpectedly helped me solidify something I'd been thinking about for a while: what I wanted to aim for. I'd considered the word 'serenity', but it sounded too close to being dead, or a nun. 'Balance' is the word this silly quiz helped me with. I'd like my life to be more balanced. (As for being a wheel... I may be rather round, but that's going a little far.)

Clapotis (contemplated for over a year)

2007-01-10T22:09:00.000+11:00

I've had this lovely thick and thin merino/lambswool yarn bought off ebay (from The Knittery, who now have a lovely online store) ageing in my stash over 3 years and two countries. I've got around 750 metres of it (calculated by putting the skeins on a swift, measuring the circumference of the skein and then counting the number of strands. Very high-tech). The idea that it might have a Clapotis in it has been hovering around the edges of my brain for over a year, but I wasn't sure that a thick and thin Clapotis should be done. I finally got my act together, looked on the net, where there was proof that think and thin Clapotis have been knitted and, in an unusual fit of practicality, even made a swatch.

The yarn is now wound into 3 balls (actually 4: I caught some of yarn around the winder axle and by the time I noticed it was so badly mangled that I had to cut it. However, this just means that ball 1 is in two parts: an important distinction for ensuring that I don't run out of yarn). I am going to use the technique given here of knitting the first ball, working out how many repeats I've done, knitting the second ball and then joining the third ball and doing the same number of repeats as I got out of ball one before starting the decreases.
I cast on and finished my first increase row before getting off the train this morning.

You like yarnporn, lady? For you, five dollah...

2007-01-05T09:35:00.000+11:00

To view, maybe. A little more than that to buy.

I have a mild sensitivity to wool. My skin can cope with wool everywhere but my neck and chest: v-neck jumpers not a problem, trousers not a problem. Woollen coat facings against my chest? Nasty redness and itchiness. Woolen scarf around my neck? Ditto. Woolen hat against my forehead, ditto, although I'm not really a hat wearer, so this bothers me less.
All I have to do it hold a ball of yarn up against my neck and I can tell. Superfine merino doesn't work, alpaca doesn't work. Intense moisturisation of my neck and chest doesn't work either.

I really want to knit a scarf. Yes, I could knit one out of polyamide, but the only non-pastel colour I've been able to find is black; I could make one out of fleece, and indeed I already have one. But... I could also knit one out of silk. It has superb insualting properties and isn't made out of plastic. Plus it's luxurious, and isn't that the point of this hand-knitting thing?

I looked at available pure silk. I wanted at least dk weight, because I'm a slow knitter, so my choice was pretty limited. Debbie Bliss Pure Silk? Feels lovely, but the only colour I like is black. I like my colours on the darker side. And it's expensive to buy and subject to my rudimentary dyeing skills, given that I am limited to Kool Aid due to living in a flat with no outdoor area or laundry (the mad british don't seem to understand laundries), so it's the kitchen or nothing.

I thought well, I could buy cheaper white silk and dye my own with Kool Aid. I decided on black cherry and grape, because I'd used them before, and I thought I'd try Texere's wild silk number 8. It's not very expensive.

Double disaster:

finding black cherry and grape in sufficient quantities (1 sachet per 25g yarn = 4 sachets per 100g = 16 sachets per 400g) in this country is not easy. After poring over knitty's colour examples, I decided grape and tropical punch might do and ordered some, along with some orange (that's another story). When it arrived... due to stock levels I got 6 tropical punch, 12 grape and oodles of orange. Plus extra orange because they were sorry that they didn't have the ~~colours~~ flavours I wanted.
yarn arrived. It looks and feels like string. I knit with it a bit. It still looks and feels like string. I returned the remaining 3 cones.

I had been eyeing off the Woolpeddler's recycled silk for some time. I met some recycled silk in the form of scarves at Camden market, and I've been attracted to it ever since but didn't really want to buy it by mailorder because of the colour variations. I may have a mild control issue with colour. Stephanie and her Silk Solids range solved that problem. I've been mooning over it ever since, and after the disaster with the texere silk, decided to order. My sister-in-law gave me a strangely suitable amount of money for my birthday and I hadn't spent it so...

I love the dark red. It's... dark and silky. What did I expect? I don't know, but nothing this divine. I feel perfectly safe putting this on the blog even thought there's a limited supply because a) no-one reads it anyway and b) I went and ordered 6 more skeins of the red alone. I couldn't help it.

Now, what to do with it all? I'm thinking sideways because I like lenthways stripes and I'm way too lazy to do it by intarsia. Knitpicks' Moguls scarf looks like it could work, too, although I do have three colours and the original is knitted in a different yarn weight... My other thought is sideways stocking stitch, changing yarn every row, fringing the end. I am attracted to this due to pure laziness: if I start each row from the same end I can get stocking stitch with nary a purl row. I am not a virtuous knitter.

So, I appear to have started a blog

2007-01-02T02:20:00.000+11:00

I read quite a few blogs, mostly knitting blogs which give me great pleasure. I have no idea if anyone will read this one, but I am blogging partly to amuse myself, anyway.

Because I travel a lot, it often feels to me that I don't get much done in the textile related realm. I'm hoping that having a blog will

encourage me to finish things so that I can post something other than '[project x] still gathering dust' or 'completely failed to start [project y] due to [business, inertia, unexpected travel, illness]'; and
give me the ability to look at what I've done over time and not feel so bad about my lack of productivity.

Typically, somehow, my first post is only partly textile related. My lovely darling of a partner gave me an enormous set of pixelblocks for Christmas. They're so cool. I had a little difficulty photographing them due to issues with the light at this latitude at this time of year, but I'm trying.

There are a couple of other things I did actually manage managed to get done in 2006 and earlier:

Some time in 2005 (I think I finished it for Christmas) I knitted my other half a scarf. It was sideways knitted garter stitch on 4mm needles in Rozetti Panda (which I have never since found on the net or in a shop and which knits up into a cozy fleece-like fabric) and some other (gedifra?) fancy yarn which has both loops and fluffy bits. It took me something like 3 months of daily train journeys to knit, thus proving that I am not and probably never will be a fast knitter, is about 300 cm long and 15 cm wide. I may have overestimated the number of stitches to cast on and I cast off much more loosely than I cast on (I'd read rather more about knitting by then) and it displays some interesting curvature as a result, but the recipient likes it and it allowed me to convert to continental knitting, which I find easier on my hands.

I knitted two bowls and have felted one. We keep keys, coins and random pocket-dross in there.
Both bowls are knitted in Twilley's Freedom Wool, bought while on holiday in Ireland. They were possibly knitted with on 5mm needles. The creature is from Barbara Walker's Mosaic Knitting.

I also started some experimental knitting based on hyperbolic surfaces due to reading this article and this article on crocheting hyperbolic surfaces, and this pattern. I frogged my first attempt, not really frilly enough (although it frilled up a little when I took it off the needles) and I'd prefer to try it in the round anyway. Laugh if you wish. I am at home with my inner Aspergers child.