I think I’m overdue for a knitting project round up, aren’t I?
First off, the purple blob, aka Spring Blossoms.

It’s coming along. I’m trying to do at least 2 rounds a day, but I’ve been failing miserably. Each round is taking an hour, and I just seem to run out of time.
I’ve got 2 rounds to go on repeat 9, then I’ll do at least 1 more repeat. I still have 35g of yarn, so I might manage 2 more repeats. It does look awfully small, and I’m using finer yarn and needles than recommended. The original pattern had 8 repeats. I don’t know if I could bear 2 more full repeats. We’ll see.
P-p-p-p-p-p socks.

I’m over them. This is the second sock, I have just 4 more rows until I turn the heel, but I am totally, completely, utterly Over it. I’ll finish them, but I have no idea when. Probably when Em’s nagging drives me to it.
New socks.

I spent Boxing Day playing with patterns and numbers until I came up with something I liked. I just wanted to use my new needles!
The yarn is The Knittery‘s Merino Cashmere sock yarn in “Water Lilies”. I’m writing the pattern down as we go. The cables seem to slow down the production a little. I worked on these while we were away, and while I wasn’t working on this.

The Jo Sharp “Tweed Cardigan” from Knit 2. I’m using the recommended yarn, Silkroad DK Tweed in “Fleece”. I got the yarn from an eBay seller a while back, but I noticed today that she’s listed a bunch more here.
Nearly finished the back. I’m going to short row the shoulders and do a three needle bind off, rather than the traditional shoulder shaping used in the pattern. I think I’ll also make the sleeves a little wider.
Twinkie came home from the boarding facility yesterday, and she’s unhappy. She’s in her usual favourite spots, but she’s avoiding David and I like the plague. She still loves Em though!

We’re bribing her woth food, and it seems to be working.
I forgot all about Saturday sky yesterday, my body is still in holiday mode, so here’s a Sunday sky.

It was blue and clear yesterday!

We’re back!
We had a great time, and I think this will be one big blog post. I was going to post last night, but it took me all night just to go through all the pictures. There is a little stash enhancement involved, but it’s mostly beaches and touristy type stuff, despite the fact that we were visiting David’s hometown. (It’s still touristy for Em and I!)
Day 1. Did you all know that they do a 4.30 in the morning now?!? It was a rude awakening, let me tell you, and not a good start for the trip, considering that I am not at my best on a normal morning, let alone at hours I’ve only seen from the other side.
All packed and ready to go we got to Sydney airport.

That’s a pic for the Lost fans. Although that’s the domestic terminal, not the International one.
We flew Jetstar, and it’s definitely a budget option. You have to walk out on the tarmac to board the plane.

And they’re not big on leg room.

I’ve eaten sardines that weren’t packed in as tightly.
I didn’t take a Saturday sky pic this time around, so here’s a Friday sky.

We got to Hervey Bay, and I wanted to make sure that we did the important things first, so we headed to Wagtail Yarns immediately.
We were greeted by the stars of the show.

Got mohair?

300 mohair goats in this field. The baby goats are pastured near the house.

Emily made new friends. They were very friendly little things, but then again, they thought we had food.

They had very cute little tails to go with their gorgeous curls, but this picture doesn’t show the wagging that was going on.

They were dyeing in the huge outdoor vat, but I have no idea what colour.

But there was blue yarn drying on the line.

Their yarn is gorgeous. There is a choice of 100% mohair, 80% mohair/20% merino and 60% mohair/40% merino, in a variety of weights. Despite planning ahead to go there, I still had no idea what to buy once I was gazing at and stroking all that gorgeous yarn.
But I managed.

The dark purple is sportweight (5ply) 80% mohir/20% merino, everything else is fingering (4ply) pure mohair. She had a tiny hank of pink laceweight pure mohair, but I resisted that, becuase it wasn’t really enough to do anything with. She mentioned that she’d had 6 cones of laceweight, but they’d been sold. Lucky, or I may have had to grab them all.
There was a farewell commitee at the gate.

That was the first morning of the trip. Nice way to start, huh?
We then headed into Bundaberg. We saw some sugar cane.

Em, as usual, jumped into the pool as soon as she could. The family dog helped.

We did some sightseeing. There was baby sugar cane.

We went to the Bundaberg Rum Distillery, where the sugar cane byproducts are processed into Rum.

I had plans to kidnap the Bundy Rum Bear, but they were thwarted by a locked cabinet.

Someone must’ve warned them I was coming.
Right next door is the Sugar Processing plant. Are you getting the picture yet that Bundaberg is a sugar town?

On New Year’s Eve, we headed to Mon Repos beach.

We’d hoped to book in for the turtle watching, but more on that later.
New Years Day was spent here.

Not a bad start to the year. Although, as a result of all this beachgoing, there has been sunburn.

Unfortunately, it got worse. By Tuesday evening, I was glowing.
Tuesday we went to another beach.


Em learned to boogie board.

I love that pic!
Tuesday night was the highlight of the trip. We headed back to Mon Repos for turtle watching.
Every year, marine turtles return to Mon Repos to lay their eggs. It’s primarily Loggerhead turtles. The Queensland Government has turned it in a conservation park, and you can only get to the beach at night by booking in and going out with a tour guide.
The turtles come ashore at night, dig a hole and lay their eggs, then depart, never to lay eyes on their babies.
We were lucky, we only had a short wait before we were taken down to the beach to see it all happen.



The turtle we saw was a first time mother. It was just amazing to watch her dig a hole, lay her eggs, cover the hole, and then head back out to sea, all by instinct.
The tour guides are very protective of the turtles, and you are very restricted in when you may take pictures and where you may go on the beach. I loved every minute of it, exept for the rude people who refused to listen to the tour guides, and pushed in front of everyone and tried to hog thewhole thing for themselves, but there’s always some of those about.
Absolutely the highlight of the trip, closely followed by Wagtail yarns.
There was a little knitting done.
I started the plain cardigan from Jo Sharp Knit 2 the night before we left, and worked on it in bits and pieces. Here’s a picture I took while waiting for the turtles.

I had also taken along a lace scarf kit, sent to me by Tammy with all good intentions, but lace knitting and holidays don’t really work together, I discovered. I just didn’t get time to sit down and read the chart – easy knitting is much more convenient for holidays.
I have started a sock on my gorgeous new needles and got a little bit done on that, but failed miserably to take a picture. At least I’ll have blog fodder for next time!

So, the Lace Panel Sweater is finished.

Laid out flat like this, I love it. I’m pleased with the way it looks. The sleeve fit into the armscye was a little tight, as Nat predicted, but it wasn’t too bad. A little bit of extra ease wouldn’t have been a bad thing, though.
But actually wearing it? I don’t love it so much.

I like it better in this picture than I do in person, though!
It makes me look bulky, but David and Em tell me I’m imagining that. The sleeves are too tight, and a bit too long. I’d have liked the body to bit a bit longer. I’d say it’s too small, but it’s not really, theres a little bit of ease in the body, but it feels too small. That may just be the sleeves.
Will I wear it? Maybe, it’s growing on me. Maybe I need to do some upper arm working out!
Specs:
Pattern: Lace Panel Sweater, from Jo Sharp Knit 2
Yarn: Recommended yarn was Jo Sharp Desert Garden Aran Cotton, but I subbed Rowan All Seasons Cotton in Purr. I used just under 10 balls for the second size.
A success or a dud? I’m still undecided.
And something to prove that knitting and crochet isn’t just for grannies anymore, it’ll also help you visualise your geometry problems.. If someone asks what you’re knitting, tell them it’s Lorenz manifold.
We’re off early in the morning, and will be back next Wednesday. Internet access will be limited, so I’d like to wish everybody a happy and safe New Year!
See you in 2007.

Phew! That’s over with again. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy Christmas, but it wears me out for a week afterwards!
It was a great day, with some awesome gifts.

Barbara Walker treasuries 3 & 4, which completes my set and Sterling Silversock needles from Celtic Swan forge. And a cute little guy waiting for me.

Amongst other things!
Emily did very well for herself as usual, and had a great day with the extended family.



Twinkie got a box. Trust me, she was overjoyed

We spent Boxing Day recovering, and somehow I managed to volunteer to babysit all of my nieces today, as both of my sisters had to work. There are 3 of them, so with Emily, I had a 10 year old, an 11 year old and two 13 year olds.
But it wasn’t too bad. We went to Spotlight, because they had a 20% off sale, and I managed to snag 12 balls of Cleckheaton Country Silk for a plain V neck jumper.


Then we came home, where I plied them with food, a DVD and a board game, and they proceeded to amuse themselves for hours, only requiring me to supply additional food at convenient intervals.
I used this time to seam the Lace Panel Sweater. Nearly there, only one side seam to go.
We’re off to visit family for a few days in Bundaberg in Friday, so I’m trying to have it done by then, although I doubt I’ll need it up there. It’s going to be a flying visit, flying up on Friday, and we’ll be back next Wednesday.
We took Twinkie to the boarding place this evening.
She’s not happy with us, and she made me feel bad. Yes, I’m pathetic. It’s only a few days, but I miss her already.
At least I had something to cheer myself up. I ordered a Christmas present for myself back in october, and it arrived today.


A Kitri sock kit, complete with prestrung beads for the lace beaded cuff.
I hope it fits my fat ankles!

Both Annie and Debbie have tagged me for the “Six weird things about you” meme that’s floating about. I’m not usually a huge fan of the meme, but i’ve already done a version of this one, way back in July 2005 when it was about 5 personal idiosyncrasies.
So all I have to do is reprint it, and add one.
1. I have to have the blankets straight at night.
Yes, while I’m in the bed. I can’t stand crumpled blankets. I smooth the quilt out when I get into bed. And it has to cover the whole bed, neatly. Lately, we’ve had an extra blanket thrown over the bed, and that has to lay neatly and straight too. DH takes great pleasure in folding a corner back or uncovering part of the bed to drive me insane.
2. I sew barefoot.
I can’t operate the sewing machine with shoes on. I can’t stand not being able to feel the pedal. So at most, I wear a pair of socks.
3. I hang the washing out with matching pegs.
If I’m hanging out a shirt or something that needs two pegs, they have to match. eg. they have to be 2 red ones, or 2 blue ones. I can’t have a blue peg and a red peg together. This happens to the point where I’ll rearrange pegs if there are no matching ones left.
4. I hate waiting.
More so than is normal. I hate queues. I hate traffic. I hate red lights. To the point that I say I have a Red Light Elf, who goes ahead of me in traffic, sending lights red, just to aggravate me. I hate sitting at school waiting for Em in the afternoon. I hate waiting for Em to get ready in the morning. I hate to be late. I hate waiting for something I’ve ordered to arrive. Waiting and time wasting infuriates me. Seriously. And Em is a slow, laid back person. no wonder we fight 😉
5. I cannot sit still and do nothing.
Can’t just watch TV, Have to be knitting or sewing, or blogging or surfing. I can’t lay in the bath for hours. This is probably connected to the time wasting above. I seriously never have enough hours in a day. I can’t even just talk on the telephone. If I’m on the phone, I’m doodling, or folding washing or playing solitaire. My mother says I need to learn to relax.
Pfft. Who has the time??
6. I got bored ridiculously easily
I get severe Shiny, shiny-itis. I see something, I become obsessed with it. Totally obsessed. It consumes my life, then suddenly I’m over it and I move on. It could be anything. My stash is a perfect example. I se a pattern, I must knit it, I hunt down the yarn, the pattern, whatever, and I’m over it long before I cast on. I have a house full of craft supplies that I absolutely had to have, and never used. teddy bear making supplies, doll making supplies, embroidery, sewing. And it’s not limited to craft, either.
So that’s it. There are weirder things that none of you need to know about.
Saturday sky.

It’s looking like we’ll have a wet, wet christmas. Today has dawned exactly the same way. I don’t mind, really. Maybe the farmers and the firefighters are getting the christmas gift they want, but then again, it’s probably not falling where it needs to be.
David cooked barbeque last night.

I’ve been working on the P-p-p-p socks, and I’m pissed.
This is the one thing I hate about variegated yarns.

Same pattern, same needles, same dyelot. Knitting up completely differently. My tension must be different this time, no idea why, but I much prefer sock number one. Emily doesn’t care, luckily for her, becasue i’m not ripping it out. The boredom I mentioned before is setting in, and I can’t be bothered starting over, I just want them done now.
And have you been checking Google? Two years agao, it was Polar Bears for christmas.
This year?
Knitting kangaroos!
Merry Christmas and Happy holidays to you all!