Thank you to everyone for the lovely birthday wishes. Em had a wonderful day wth lots of nice gifts and yummy chocolate mud cake.

Unfortunately, we had mud cake because my effort at the Birthday cake stuck to the pan. I told you I can’t cook, LOL!
I finished the Dulaan hat in the hand dyed wool. I had just enough for a nice brim, and what you can’t see well in this picture is the funky spiral effect the colours made.

When I started it, I told myself to ignore the colours. It might matter to me if the colours pooled, but some kid in Mongolia might like it like that. Frankly I was amazed at the patterning. I’ll bet if I tried to dye it to work that way on purpose, it wouldn’t work!
And I started some socks for DH the other night. Satin is being neglected, because she’s boring. 🙂
I had a copy of InKnitters that had an interesting article on working socks two ways. You do a provisional cast on, then work down to the toe, then pick up the stitches around the ankle and work up the leg. Sounded interesting, and I had some Big Mexiko that the pattern used, so I decided to give it a go.
I did the provisional cast on.

Then I did the heel flap.

After the heel flap, you turn the heel, pick up the gusset stitches, then pick up more stitches along the provisional cast on for the instep.

Then I started working my way down the foot. Then I screwed up the gusset decreases somehow. Then I got the shits with the whole thing, frogged it, and started a cuff down sock instead 🙂
Lent is over! Over!!
That pop you heard a little while ago was my credit card imploding. Thank you Elann. And Wendy. I have sock yarn! (Like I needed any 😉

Happy 12th Birthday, Emily!
And this is how she looked after being home from camp for half an hour.

I finally finished Em’s pink beads socks!

I was halfway down the foot on the second sock, so I decided to just get it done – it’s been on the needles for ages. Nearing the end of the foot, I started to sweat. I shortened the foot by two rows. I thought I wouldn’t make it. But I did get it done, and here are the leftovers.

Not by much, but I made it!
So then I did some more of Satin, got bored with it, and decided to make another hat for the Dulaan project. However, I wasn’t sure that I had enough yarn. I’m using the yarn leftover from Clapotis. I also made Em a pair of Wendy’s fingerless mitts, and I’m just not sure how much yarn is left. I think theres enough, but I’d like to do a nice warm turn up cuff. So I decided to knit the hat from the top down. I’m making it up as I go along, and I’m sure it’s been done 10,000 times before, but I’m really flying by the seat of my pants here.

I’m just going to keep increasing evenly until I get to the right size, then knit until I run out of yarn. I hope it works the way I’ve planned 😉
P.S. Em gets home in 3 hours 🙂

Yesterday morning I battled this

To deliver my child, along with 179 others, to school to head off for their three day camp.

This is how she looked once we arrived. Totally distracted, couldn’t muster up a smile for the camera or a kiss for her poor mother. She had friends to find and buses to board. Sigh.
I had to pester her for a goodbye kiss. She’s been gone 26 hours, and I feel like a lost soul, LOL! I cleaned the house yesterday, and I knit a bit, and generally wandered around, waiting for DH to get home from work and keep me company. Even the bunny is feeling smothered. I’m so pathetic 🙂
She’ll be home tomorrow afternoon, so it’s not like she’ll be gone long.
So to kill time, I went Internet window shopping. It’s Easter Sunday this weekend, so that means Lent is over, and I can buy yarn!
Wendy’s gift certificate is still burning a hole in my pocket, and I have been resisting temptation since I got it. Although, every morning I check Elann just to make sure theres still some Sock It To Me Esprit left 😉
If it looked as if it were selling out, I would have grabbed it! So this weekend, I will buy some, and I’ve been checking out everything else, too. I think I might grab some Peruvian Collection Baby Cashmere to make myself some nice, soft, pretty lacy gloves now that winter is coming to the Southern Hemisphere.
So here is the question. Does anyone know of a pretty lacy glove pattern for fingering weight yarn? I don’t mind if it is a pattern in a book, as long as I can pick it up somewhere. Don’t tell me of a gorgeous pattern that is out of print, okay? 😉
I’m looking forward to ordering my yarn and getting a package again, I miss my parcels! I haven’t had one for ages, and I think the Post Office staff are getting lazy without my packages coming in. 😉

I have been knitting, here’s the proof 🙂

Jo Sharp “Satin”.
The first 70 rows were straight stocking stitch, and although I always think that stocking stitch should be quick because it’s so easy, it always takes me forever because it’s so boring. But I’m finally up to row 70 and can start doing a few different rows. Hopefully that will help it move along a little quicker.
I’m enjoying working with the Jo Sharp DK, and I’m actually getting gauge for the first time ever! I had to drop to a 3.5mm needle, but I’m getting both row gauge and stitch gauge. 🙂
3.5mm is not a standard needle size in Australia. Usually our needles go from a 3.25mm to a 3.75mm needle. I’m wondering if that hasn’e stuffed up my gauge in the past – perhaps I should always have been using a 3.5mm.
The colour in the first photo isn’t accurate, so heres a better one.

That’s till not accurate. It’s not really an apricot – it’s got more caramel in it than this pic.
We’re packing Em’s bag for camp today – this is the first time she’s been away from us for more than a day, and it’s a little bit scary. (More for me than her, I think!)
Twinkie wants everybody to frolic in the grass this weekend 🙂