Saturday sky.

Just another gorgeous day in paradise! It wasn’t as cloudy as it looks, I was just trying to get something other than perfect blue.
So, the stashbusting project I started.

I decided to make a felted bag from the leftovers from my Nundle sweater. There’s a fair bit leftover, but not really enough for any other project, so I thought a felted bag would be ideal.
The picture you see above was the first incarnation. After I took the picture, I thought the bag looked a little small, so I frogged it yesterday afternoon, and last night I re-cast on, making it bigger. I don’t have a pattern, I’m just making it up as I go along.
So, after I knit all the blue, I weighed all the yarn I had, and realised that It would be a very shallow bag after it was felted.
So I ripped it out, and have started it again.
Third times the charm, I hope.
Toi combat the frustration, I decided that the next project would be the Fern Garden Stole.

It’s not much of a start yet, but it’ll get there. Eventually.
In between all of this, I’ve been working on another new costume for Em. Last night, I had it spread out over the coffee table to glue diamontes on the skirt.
Twinkie thought that it was a great game.


Maybe she wants something pretty.

The Jo Sharp cardi is finito!
Well, the knitting is. I have yet to block or seam it.
Last night, I was picking up the stitches for the front band, and it occurred to me that some people may be having the same difficulty I used to have with the line “Pick up x number of stitches evenly around the neckline”
It used to drive me batty. It would say to pick up 50 stitches evenly, and I’d pick up 30 really close together and 20 spaced much further apart, and I’d have to rip it out and start over. Again and again.
Then a really simple idea hit me, and it’s been much simpler ever since.

Pins. Duh.
Maybe I’m just a dope who did everything the hard way, and every one else has already thought of this.
The Jo Sharp cardi required that I pick up 46 stitches along the V-neck sharping. I measured the part where I had to pick up the stitches, then I marked it in 4 even spaces. Then I picked up 11 between the first two pins, 12 between the next two, 11 in the third section and 12 at the end.
Personally, I find this much easier than trying to work out how to pick up 46 evenly.
What’s next? Hmmm… here is a list of the things I really want to knit as soon as I can.
My Kitri sock kit.
The Fern Garden Stole.
The Hanging Garden Stole.
Heere be Dragone Shawl.
My Sea Silk.
Finish the new socks I was designing.
A V neck raglan sweater in Cleckheaton Country Silk.
That’s it. Well, that’s what I would cast on this very minute if I had 500 hours in a day.
For now, I’ve started a stashbusting project. More info next time!
Twinkie is in disgrace. Remember the new couch we got back in May?

While you can’t see the actual damage very well, the wooden frame is visible on the corner. I almost considered rabbit pie for dinner.
Almost.

It’s my 600th post! Is that like an anniversary? Should I buy myself a gift? What’s the traditional gift for the 600th post?
Seasilk perhaps?

Maybe I should have more 600th post anniversaries!
Seasilk, in Ocean. Divine!
Today was the first day back at school after the summer holidays. My baby is in Year Nine!
And she missed the bus.
Day one, and she missed the bus.
Lets hope that this doesn’t set the tone for the rest of the year. But hey, her hair was straightened and looked pretty, and that’s what matters, isn’t it?!?
Pardon my frustration.
In other news, the Jo Sharp Cardi is coming along very nicely, thankyouverymuch.

Yes, that’s a pair of sleeves you can see. This all went by very quickly, didn’t it?
And the Bloomin’ Feet socks are also behaving nicely.

I think Twink got a bit scared when Em missed the bus.

She went into hiding.

Monday morning, Saturday sky.

I call this photo “Oh shit, I nearly forgot the Saturday sky, and now it’s almost dark”
It was cloudy and gloomy all afternoon, though.
We spent the afternoon as Stitch n Bitch, and despite the fact that I actually remembered to take the camera, I forgot to take it out and use it.
Knitting has been happening!
The Bloomin’ Feet sock.
I cast on with the Touch Yarns, but I felt it was too fine for socks. It’s labelled as a 4ply, (Aussie equivalent to fingering weight), but it doesn’t feel like it to me. I debated just casting on more stitches, but I didn’t want the socks to be too thin, and have them wear out quickly. So it was back to the stash to find another alternative.
See, it’s good to have a disgracefully large sock yarn stash!
I’ve decided on Lorna’s Laces in “Old Rose”, but I stuck with the Sockbug pattern, “Sheri’s Lace”

I’m pretty happy with it so far, and I’m enjoying the pattern, it makes the knitting go so much more quickly.
I’ve also been working on the Jo Sharp cardi.

It’s coming along nicely, but the stocking stitch is driving me mad.
I took the sleeves along to Stitch n Bitch on Saturday, and I managed to stuff them up entirely. I did far too many increases, and I ripped the whole lot out on Saturday night when I sat down to look at what I’d done.
I thnk I’d better stick to really plain knitting when I go to SnB. It seems that every time I go, I stuff up whatever I’m working on.
I promised a Twinkie photo, so here you go. She’s been a big baby the past couple of days and wants me to pay constant attention to her.
I was cutting out a new costume for Em the other night, and Twink was most put out that I wasn’t paying enough attention to her.

So she took matters into her own paws, and made sure I knew she was feeling needy.

Happy Australia Day!
A day where all across the country we celebrate being Australian by having the day off and doing next to nothing. What’s not to like?
We’ve done very little all day, and will top off the day by going out to watch the local council’s fireworks display.
I thought I’d toss out a few facts about Australia that many of you may not know or realise.
A lot of people look at a map of Australia, and think we live on a little island. Let me assure you, it’s not small. The total area is 7,741,220 km