Tagged by Michelle!
What is your all time favourite yarn to knit with?
The Alpaca Cloud for the Feather and Fan was mighty nice. The Kid Seta that I have here, but haven’t actaully knit with yet feels heavenly too. And I love sock yarn of any type. Ooh, ooh, Mountain Colors Bearfoot. I think. I’m obviously fickle about yarn.
Your favourite needles?
I love, love, love my Addi Turbos. And I’m mighty fond of my Addi Bamboo. I guess it depends on the project, because I love those Rosewood DPNS. But if I were stranded on an island, I would take my Addi’s.
The worse thing you’ve ever knit?
What, just one? In the 80’s, I knit some pretty hideous things that just never sat right. In fact, there are not many garments I’ve knit for myself that I’ve been 100% happy with.
Your most favourite knit pattern? (maybe you don’t like wearing it but it was the most fun to knit)
Right now, I’d say the Feather and Fan shawl from A Gathering of Lace.
Most valuable knitting technique?
Kitchener, and I wish I could master it. I still need to get out the book or mini movie and do it along with the directions. I just can’t get the hang of it for some reason.
Best knitting book or magazine?
Any magazine apart from the Australian Creative Knitting. Maybe not entirely fair, but the magazine drives me insane. The magazine that has the most things I’d wear is Family Circle Easy Knits. Interweave has the things I like, but probably would never wear.
Books. I have a few 😉
I love A Gathering of Lace. I like The Knitters Book of Finishing Techniques. And Ann Budd’s books.
Your favourite knit-along?
I tend to be a bit of a silent partner in Knitalongs. I’ve enjoyed the Mystery Shawls. It’s fun watching what unfolds.
Favourite knitblogs?
I have 183 in my bloglines. Many, many knitblogs, and I like them all, or I would unsubscribe 🙂
Favourite knitwear designer?
Hmm, I haven’t knit a Kim Hargreaves yet, but I love the stuff on her site. I haven’t knit the Sivia Harding patterns I just got either, but they’re so pretty!
The knit item that you wear the most. (how ’bout a picture of it?)
Socks. Lots of socks. I’m just not ecstatic about the way my other knit items for myself have turned out.

Pink Beads socks from the sixsiox knitalong, and my very first socks, in Opal.

My Bearfoot socks, which have been worn to death, and some Regia socks.

My Dublin Bay socks and my Fluted bannisters from the sixsox knitalong.
I have others, but these were on top in my drawer, and I think it’s most of my favourites.
Tagging?
Let’s ask the Stitch n Bitch girls. Jussi, Annie, Stripey, Ailsa and Donni.
We were out and about today, and on our way home, we saw these galahs on the side of the road.

Aren’t they cute?
Knitting is happening, but it’s still the Mystery Shawl edging, which seems to have no end. Pics tomorrow.

After having no mail for a little while, (I’m sure the post office ladies thought I’d moved), I’ve had yummy little bits this week.
I ordered some stuff from Sivia Harding, and it came yesterday. Quick mail! I ordered on October 27 (last Thursday) and it was here yesterday (Nov 2).

This is “Mary Ann’s Cashmere and Pearls Lace Scarf”. DH had a meeting in the city yesterday, and being the wonderful man that he is, he went to Tapestry Craft for me, then rang me on his mobile so that I could direct him to the Madil Kid Seta, then he told me all the colours they had, so I could check the colours online, and he bought it for me. He’s a keeper 🙂
Mind you, I have more than enough to keep me busy for a while, but I wanted to get the Kid Seta while Tapestry Craft still had their sale on. The colour is 467.
Then I went out today, and our local Spotlight (Craft store), has had an big improvement on their bead section. Mind you, anything would have been a big improvement. But they now have the 6/0 seed beads that I needed for the scarf. I picked the colour without the yarn, but I think it’ll do. I’ll think about it for a while, I may go back and get the clear beads instead. These might be just a little too green.

Then I got this lovely little card in the mail today from Shannon.

Thank you, Shannon! I love little things like this, they never fail to put a smile on my face. 🙂

Aargh!
I took some knitting pics at 9am this morning. It’s now 11pm, and I’m only just getting around to blogging. That’s what life seems to be like lately. I used to blog every day, lately I don’t get the time to blog, and I don’t seem to get time to do anything worth blogging about anyway!
But now to catch up.
Stitch ‘n Bitch was on Saturday, but I didn’t get to go. Once again, Em had me tied up at a dance comp on the wrong side of Sydney. So, once again I took along the FCEK cardi. I need nice easy knitting that can be put down and picked up without any trouble. I was very glad I took the knitting along, as by the end of the day, the comp was running two hours late. We were back there again on Sunday.
Em did well again, and I finished the first cardi front.

My first pocket! It’s a really nice easy knit, but I’m a little concerned about the yardage. The pattern calls for 9 balls of Cotton-Ease. I thought that sounded like a lot, but I had 4 balls from Lynette, so I tracked down 5 more balls. They’re a different dyelot, but I’ve just been alternating balls, and it seems fine.
After knitting the back and one front, I have only used 2 balls. Somehow I don’t think I’ll need 7 more balls for another front, two sleeves and a collar! I have no idea how they came up with these yardage requirements.
I have also been working on the Mystery Shawl 2 final clue. It’s a knitted on edging, and it’s wide. As Ailsa noted in the comments, this is not going to be a quick clue. I’ve been working on it whenever I get a chance, and this is as far as I’ve gotten. Mind you, I haven’t had many chances to work on it!

I like the edging a lot, but it takes forever. It will make the shawl much wider, and I was beginning to wonder about the yardage for this project, too. Originally we were told we’d need around 1200 yards, but I haven’t finished the first 440 yard skein yet. I doubt I’ll use 1200 yards, but this edging seems to be using qute a bit of yarn.
I love Daylight Savings. Absolutely love it. But it knocks me flat for at least 2 weeks. And it takes me forever to get the hang of what time it is elsewhere in the world, and I still get confused with earlier/later, clocks forward or back, and gaining an hour or losing an hour. But I love that extra hour of daylight.
Hopefull ythings will slow down a little now, and I’ll have time to knit and stuff and have things to blog about.
And time to blog!

So I finally finished all the sewing I needed to do, and with a week and a half to spare! Rehearsal is yet to come, no doubt I will get some back for adjustments, but what a relief it is to have it all done.
The knitting has suffered a little as a result, unfortunately. But I did manage to finish clue 4 of the Mystery Shawl 2 today.

My mum popped in today when I was working on it, and was very admiring of it, so I think it will end up under the Christmas Tree with her name on it. I’m glad I got clue 4 done, seeing as the next clue will be along any minute.
Am I the only person who is not happy to see Christmas paraphernalia all over the shops already? Our supermarket has had a bunch of stuff out for quite some time, but every week there is more and more.
I must admit though, that I have already purchased an ornament.

Em pointed him out to me, and I couldn’t leave a polar bear on the shelf, could I? I wish I could have manage a totally Polar Bear Christmas!
And who needs a man with a rose between his teeth, when you can have a bunny with a dandelion?

Happy Weekend!

Another Australian Knitblogger friend asked me to flash my needle stash. It was harder and more time consuming than I thought. I never had any idea that I have so many needles!!
Lets start at the beginning.

My straights. These very rarely see the light of day. I had a big clean out of them a while back, but I kept some. My Grandma taught me how knit when I was around 5 or so. I vaguely remember my mother teaching me to cast on and off, that was probably around the same time. (She died when I was 8). My sister taught me to purl, although she swears now that she doesn’t even know how. I remember taking some knitting to my Grandma when I was quite young, upset that I couldn’t work out rib. I was teaching myself, but I was taking the yarn over the needle instead of under it as I went from knit to purl.
Anyway, my point is that most of these were my Grandmothers or my Nanas. The tortoise shell and the anodised ones are years old. So I keep these for sentimental value.

My wooden straights. I don’t use these often either, but more often than the other straights. For some reason I like to knit baby clothes on bamboo straights. All my scarves are worked on wooden straights, usually my Lisa G needles.

Aren’t they pretty? I have another pair, currently holding my poor Branching Out scarf which is desperately seeking my attention.

Oh, and Em’s needles. The vast majority of these were mine.

That’s an Imogen doll from AK Traditions in the background. She came with a kit to knit her a wardrobe. Last Christmas. Well, at least it’s summer again and she isn’t getting cold 😉
Em has more of my needles, but they’re under the bed.(Insert ominous music). They’ll never see the light of day again 😉
Em doesn’t like circs!
Moving on.

Sock needles! 2mm Crystal Palace bamboo (minus 1), Clover bamboo 2.25mm, Tulip bamboo 2.25mm and Pony Pearls 2mm – 3mm visible here. I also have

2mm Rosewood DPNS holding Lorna’s sock number 2. And

2mm Crystal Palace (full set) and 2mm Brittany Birch (minus 1) holding the Vanalinn glove. I like the Brittany Birch, but I break them. My favourite sock needles are currntly the Rosewoods, but I like the Crystal Palace too.

All my other DPNS. I have every size DPNS from 2mm – 8mm. Some have never been used, but I picked up a big bundle of the plastic ones as a pack on eBay.

Circs! Every size from 2mm – 12mm, except 2.25mm and 8mm. The Addi bamboo is the current favourite. Favourites are generally the Addi’s, but I do like bamboo needles. Oh, and there is another one on the Mystery Shawl 2.

I think that’s it! I love needles, can you tell? I’m going to teach myself 2 socks on 2 circs sometime soon, so I’ll probably buy more then 😉
Despite the number of needles I have, I still find there are ones I don’t have, as evidenced by the Feather and Fan shawl. But yeah, I have a few.
So – share your needle stash!! Leave your links in the comments 🙂