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 🙂

This morning, I met up with Donni and Jussi, and we went to Tapestry Craft’s big sale. 25% off all yarn and needles!
Last time I was in, I was really coverting the Madil Kid Seta, but it was around $AU25 a ball, so I resisted. Not this time!

I was pretty restrained 😉
100g (1400m) of Filatura Di Crosa Centolavaggi, a gorgeous pure wool laceweight. Not sure what this will become yet. And my Madil Kid Seta, which is intended for the Fiber Trends Cocoon Lace Scarf.
And another needle! A lovely lady named Carol asked me earlier in the week if I would Flash my Needle Stash. (She thinks she’s the only one with a needle problem 😉 So I shall flash it, later in the week. When I have time to track them all down! I may also Flash my Knitting book stash at a later date.
Anyway, back on track.
We got the poor shop assistant at Tapestry Craft to take our picture.

Good Lord, I have poor posture! From left to right, Donni, Jussi and I.
We headed on down to the Queen Victoria Building, where Jussi bought us morning tea. As we were eating, a lady walked past. Jussi says “One skein wonder!” Lo and behold, it was Lisa G. So she joined us for morning tea, then we all headed down to Kinokuniya. It’s a huge bookshop, full of gorgeous books and trinkets and all sorts of lovely stuff. I hadn’t been there before, but I can guarantee that I will be back!!
I picked up two Japanese craft books. Yes, all the text is in japanese, but the diagrams are pretty comprehensive!

The one on the left has a variety of cute little things in there.


Those are from the book on the left. It’s full of similar little things.
This is what convinced me to buy the one on the right.

Rock star kitty cat! I love it 🙂

Some more of the cute things 🙂
There were so many of these adorable craft books. I had my eye on one with beaded rings and things that Em would have loved, but it looked a little complicated. Of course, now I wished I had grabbed it. I think we’ll go back there in the school holidays.
I had to leave the girls then so I could come home and chauffer Em around, but thanks girls, I had a great day!

Still on a lace high! 🙂
Today I took a day off from the costume sewing, and I haven’t even taken the opportunity to knit even a stitch. I do have an update on another work-in-progress.

Mystery Shawl 2. I’ve finished Clue 3. The designer told us we would need around 1200 yards of yarn. After clue 3, I’ve only used about half a skein of Shimmer. (around 220 yards). The last 2 clues must be huge!
Clue 4 comes out late tonight local time.
Janette asked what was next, and I’ve spent some time today contemplating exactly that.
What should my next big project be? I still have Em’s Lorna’s socks on the go, and the Mystery Shawl 2. Vanalinn gloves are waiting, and my FCEK cardi hasn’t been touched since the last update.
And Em wants me to start her School Spirit sweater.
But I received a parcel from the Shetland Wool Brokers. Six balls of Cobweb weight wool. It was ordered with the intention of knitting this.

It’s the Shetland Lace Shawl from “A Gathering of Lace”. Obviously I’m not over this shawl kick yet!
The cobweb weight is almost scary.

The top yarn is Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock. The second one is Alpaca Cloud. The last is the Cobweb. I’ve met thicker dental floss!
I don’t think I’ll start this straight away though. I think I’ll get some of the UFO’s out of the way first.
Oh, and Tapestry Craft are having a huge sale, starting tomorrow morning. So I’m off there with Donni and Jussi, so I have no idea what projects I’ll be coming home with 😉
If anyone is planning to attend, let me know!

It’s blocked, it’s blocked!!
Yesterday dawned bright and sunny, so first thing, I dumped the shawl into some warm water. Half an hour or so later, I scooped it out and began to pin it. A quarter of the way around, I realised I was running out of pins, and had to run down to the supermarket.
(The first two pics are clickable.)

I am so pleased with it 🙂
I danced about the house for a bit, then the clouds came over and I started to worry that it wouldn’t dry, and that we’d be sleeping on the floor. We live in a tiny little house, and every time I walked past the bedroom, I had this huge urge to pull out all the pins, just to try it on 😉
Here’s the centre bit.

And here are the edges.

I am inordinately proud of myself 🙂
It did dry in time for bed, then I pranced about the house with it for a while. No pics, because by then I was in my comfy, but very daggy pj’s. The weather is crappy again today, but hopefully on the weekend, the weather will be nice and David will be home to take a picture or three 🙂