I finished the Zigzag socks!

Sorry for the crappy pictures. David has found a box, and we’re going to build a lightbox ala Ailsa.
The yarn is Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in “Somerset” and was a lovely gift from Lindy.
As soon as I get a decent picture, I’ll fix up the pdf and upload the pattern.
A little more work has been done on the Lace Panel Sweater, too.

True to form, I’m not even halfway through this sweater, and I’ve found a new obsession.

It’s the Krista Tee from White Lies Designs.
Isn’t it gorgeous? I have resisted ordering it so far, though.
I’m trying to be strong. In order not to just add willy nilly to the stash, I’m going to sit and think on this top for awhile. I love it, really. But I’m going to work on the lace panel sweater, and when I’m nearly done with it, then I’ll order the Krista kit.
Who thinks I won’t last? (I’m raising my own hand here! 😉
However, look what I did buy!

I’m sorry he’s sideways! I can’t work out how to turn it right side up.
He’s a 3 feet tall singing and dancing polar bear, and I love him! I’ve been eyeing him off for a few weeks, and when we were at the store on the weekend, there was only one left. Really, I’m surprised held out that long. He has four different songs, and David claims he’s sick of them all already.
I’m not! He’s the closest thing I’ll ever get to a real polar bear.
Twinkie hasn’t really been intoduced to him yet, but if he loses a toe, she’s in big trouble.
And in the most recent news, my mum fell over down the street yesterday. She’s grazed her face and shoulder, given herself a black eye, cracked two bones in her hand, and cut open a finger. She’s in a half cast right now, so this morning I went up to do her dishes ad hang her washing, but she claims she can manage just fine. I did do few little jobs for her, though.
You think she’d be taking full advantage of the situation and putting us kids to work – payback for all those years she had to do it for us!
As you can see from this picture, it’s not exactly a hardship going up to help out mum.

The red circle is my house, and the blue one is mum’s. It’s maybe 250 metres away!

Saturday!

Boring, blue. But mighty nice!
Here’s one I prepared earlier.

Thursday sky, much prettier.
The socks, they are not done. All that remains is to graft the toe of sock number 2, but I’m lazy, what can I say? Kitchener has always been my least favourite part of sock knitting!
So, Saturday. I’ve been knitting.

4.5sts an inch seems to go so much quicker than lace or sock weight, doesn’t it? My row gauge is off (Alert the media!), so I find myself tugging at my knitting, trying to stretch it into submission. Not quite sure if it’s working yet, I’ll keep you updated.
This is the first time I’ve knit with All Seasons Cotton. It’s okay, I guess. It’s not grabbing me a whole lot. I’m not a fan of cotton, and it’s definitely an improvement on cotton.
Can I be sacreligious and say that it really seems much of a muchness as Lion Brand Cotton Ease? I used cotton Ease earlier this year to make a zip jacket (still zipless!!). The compostion is similar, the weight is similar. Similar is a pretty good word, I’d say.
The Rowan does have a nice velvety-ness that the Lion Brand lacked.
I like it, don’t get me wrong. It hasn’t grabbed me the way the Kid Classic I used did, that’s all.
Being a Saturday, and the right time of year, Em danced at a fete today.



No, that’s not her hair. I’m a cheat, and use a hairpiece.
When I downloaded the pictures off the camera tonight, I discovered she’d been taking self portraits after she got home. She probably didn’t intend it for the blog, but it was just too tempting.

Some day some lucky boy is going to have that coming at him.
God help us all!

I’m a slack blogger, aren’t I?
I was feeling better, then I felt like crap again. Australia’s weather has gone insane, and no-one knows wtf is going on. It’s mid-November. That means we’re heading into Summer. We should be having weather in the mid 20’s, nice and sunny.
It’s snowing in the mountains! It’s cold. Well, it was this morning. Then it got warm this afternoon. Now it’s cold again. I’m in my winter pj’s, with woolen socks and my frickin’ dressing gown on. No wonder we’ve all been sick.
Snow. In Australia, in November.
But I’m really overdue for knitting updates, aren’t I? Not that there’s been a lot of knitting going on, but I’ll update all the same.
Spring Blossoms. The purple blob.

It’s still a purple blob, but it’s a bigger blob. Nearly finished the seventh repeat. Each row is currently taking 45 minutes or so.
My art director was on hand to help out with the pictures today.

So I asked her to help with the ZigZag socks.

Nearly done! Here’s a better view of socks number 2.

Only the toe to go! The pattern seems to be correct, so I’ll put it up when I’m done.
And that’s as much knitting as I’ve managed.
Yarn buying? Yes, I’ve managed some of that!

Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed in “Fleece”. Bought from eBay at a bargain price to make this.

What’s one more project in the stash anyway? The cardi is from the new Jo Sharp “Knit” magazine. Speasking of which, remember the Rowan All Seasons Cotton I bought recently to make the lace paneled sweater from the same magazine?
I bought a bag of the yarn from eBay, 10 balls. The yardage was just a tad short though. So, to be on the safe side, I ordered two single balls from English Yarns. I figured that I could alternate those balls with the balls I ordered from eBay on the back of the sweater, and it would be fine.
Luck was on my side.
The yarn from eBay.

Sorry for the crappy lack of focus.
The yarn from English Yarns.

I hadn’t even dared to hope.

What a week!
If I owe you an email, I apologise sincerely. Last weekend, Em had the sniffles. By Wednesday night, both David and I had colds. (And Wednesday was David’s birthday!) By Thursday night, my face hurt.
Early hours of Friday morning, I was in the painful throes of a full on sinus attack, and was ready to start driving anywhere to find a 24 hour chemist. At least three different people took the time to tell me how terrible looked on Friday.
So most of Friday and yesterday were spent in bed, suffering.
But I’m feeling much better today!
Pascale has been pointed in the direction of all your lovely comments, thank you very much!!
Costumes? Dress Rehearsal is over, and it was far less painful than I was expecting. I got around a dozen costumes back for alteration, and there was nothing major. I still have 5 left to fix, but hopefully I’ll be done by the middle of this week.
David very thoughtfully took a Saturday Sky picture for me while I slept yesterday.

Didn’t I miss a great day?
Knitting? Not much. But I have had a sneaky project going for the past week or so.

Birthday socks! He really did deserve another pair.
The yarn is a DK weight pure wool, purchased from an Australian ebay seller, Highland Cottage Crafts.
A nice quick knit, and I’m told the socks are the most comfortable yet.
The zigzag socks are heading down the foot on the second sock, and the purple blob is still a purple blob, lbiet a little bigger than the last time I showed it!

35 costumes went through dress rehearsal last night, and 8 came back for alterations. Nothing major, at least!
Another 20 go through tonight, and the rest over the course of the week. I did get a phone call just a little while ago saying that I need to make 6 headbands. Wake me when it’s over.
Seeing as I have no knitting to blog about, I’m going to blog about someone else’s!
Last year, I knitted the very cute little STYK cardi for a gorgeous little girl in our extended family. Earlier this year, Little Miss Cute gained a baby brother, Ellis. For him, I sent the baby shawl I designed and knit, and a cute little hat.
All these lovely knitted goodies inspired the kidlets’ mother, Pascale, to take up the needles herself. Isn’t that what all us knitters like to hear?!?
Pascale emailed me to tell me that she’d taken up knitting and was enjoying it and had even signed up for a class to learn some finishing techniques.
She’s on fire! She’s already designing little purses to hold Annabel’s toys, and is thinking of doll blankets with sheep on them, and all sorts of wonderful things.
But she has sent me a picture of her first finished project, a jacket for Ellis.

That’s her first project! Hasn’t she done an excellent job? BTW, I’m talking about the knitting, although he’s a mighty cute baby 🙂
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