The Heartbreak of a Hole

Remember my brown nemesis? That bane of my life? It has returned to me for surgery. I have had it for some time now - since May in fact. I have trawled moth hole repair sites, studied and thought.

My brother was very upset when it happened - it's his favourite jumper and he wears it so often that my sister-in-law has to prise it off his body for occasional washing. He has no idea how it even happened, other than it was probably a mouse when they were staying at a friend's farm overnight. He wore it in the evening, took it off to go to bed and when he put it on in the morning, it looked like this.



I am thinking I will stabilise the stitches by sewing around the hole with contrasting embroidery thread and tying the top and bottom stitches together, then try and reknit the missing stitches using a crochet hook and then graft together at the top. It is the sides that worry me - all I can think of doing is weaving in the ends, which won't look that great. Incidentally, "tying" is one of those words that looks incorrect no matter how you spell it! Like "manoeuvre".

It is something that will require some peace and quiet, which is something we haven't had much of, with all our visitors. It also requires daylight - Glynn is an environmental globe fiend, which means there's not much strong light in here at night. I am determined to somehow fix it so it's at least wearable, even if it becomes more of a home jumper. Why couldn't that mouse have nibbled at the armhole or something? It would have to be right over the sternum - couldn't get a more obvious place!

Hopefully one of my posts in the near future will have a photo of the repaired brown nemesis. My brother is coming down in August and I'd like to have it finished for him then, so he at least gets to wear it again this winter. Tell you what, he had better get me a cracking good bottle of red for this!

Back to Spring Forward No 2 and a quiet night in front of the telly for a change. Our remote is broken and we can't change the TV channel. Never heard of the dials on one of those old wooden cabinet TVs breaking. Lucky it's stuck on ABC so I don't miss Trial & Retribution.

Almost a year to the day ...

since I updated my blog. How hopeless am I? Maybe busy is a better word. On top of juggling our respective jobs with looking after our little girl, Glynn and I have decided that 2009 is the "Year of the Houseguest". Since about October last year, we've had something like 6 weeks on our own. It seems like we've barely spent 5 minutes together. And the washing!! Sometimes we had people arriving and departing on the same day with about a 30 minute gap, barely enough to change the bedding and air out our guest room. Fortunately, we have a couple of weeks until the next onslaught, which will last until the end of September. Unsurprisingly, we've decided to have Christmas alone. In an isolated place. An undisclosed place. Where we can just "be".

I do trawl other people's blogs to drool over their creations, but am always too embarrassed to comment because my blog is so hopelessly out of date lol!!

But, in amongst all this upheaval, there has been knitting. Without it, I am sure I would have gone insane. There is something about curling up on the couch and drifting off into a world of yarny loveliness. Serenity, whilst chaos is all around.

This year, our baby has grown into the most beautiful little girl imaginable. Every day is an absolute joy and watching over her as she learns new things is an absolute privilege and a blessing. Just look at this lovely little face.



Now, enough gushing and on to the important stuff!! This post would go forever if I posted all the things I've made, so I've just chosen a few of my favourites!

A good friend is turning 50 this year, so I embarked on my first Forest Canopy Shawl. Loved it! Except when I had an "arrogant" moment and decided I didn't need lifelines. I just can't chat and knit. An omitted YO meant undoing about 800 stitches. One at a time. I couldn't look at it for a little while, but it's all ready for delivery next week!





Yarn: Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette in Pebble (3 balls)
Sticks KnitPicks Options 5mm
Pattern changes I did 4 extra repeats - thought it was a little small

These are my first Spring Forward socks. Such a great pattern - I did this in just 3 evenings! So a big thanks to Carol for her recommendation. During one of those aimless "hand dyed sock yarn" googling sessions that one engages in from time to time, I discovered Moseley Park. You can't imagine how chuffed I was to discover a hand dyed sock yarn producer that Bells had never heard of. This is the bamboo/merino blend in "Plum Tart". I thought it was somewhat optimistically named, given that it is in shades of rose, smoky lilac and palest apricot! Perhaps there was a lot of cream in this particular tart. Gorgeous stuff nonetheless and I'll definitely be treating myself to more!





Here are my delicious new Hederas in Colinette Jitterbug Velvet Bilberry. I discovered them on RoseRed's blog and loved them. I took note of the different YO size between P and K stitches and so I did the suggested method of picking up on the following row instead. Worked pretty well I think. I also used 2.75s to accommodate my tree trunks.



Monkeys in Wendy Happy Bamboo. These are Glynn's - he saw some other monkeys I'd made and decided the pattern was not feminine but "interesting and intricate". Lucky they're blue, is all I can say!!



A little cardigan for Samara in Zara dark wine. This was a Sirdar DK pattern I dug up from somewhere. It was supposed to be for a friend's little girl, until I noticed the very obvious mistake on the left front! So Samara got lucky and Gracie got a perfect one. The making up on hers is much better too - I hate making up with a vengeance. I wish there was a Mattress Stitch Fairy.



I can't take credit for this one - it was made by my Auntie Joy, but it's so exquisite that I had to put it in.



And, of course, new acquisitions! Have been buying up big in the sales. All in the name of beating the Global Financial Crisis, of course. My motives are entirely benevolent. Here are a few favourites.

Lovely, lovely Knit Picks Options! What a beautifully presented set this is - it looks like it should be opened to reveal some deliciously thick and creamy vellum, to be used at an antique ladies' desk, at a window overlooking a rose garden.



More Moseley Park, this time in "Aubergine".



Scrumptious Noro Silk Garden Sock. I have been stalking Ravelry looking for something to inspire me, but nothing strikes as yet. I aimlessly started knitting a sock just to see what it looked like. Under the lamp, it was like knitting spun peacock feathers. But the 60 stitches on 2.5s would fit an elephant! So my "just because" sock will have to go.



Araucania Ranco. It's been silent so far on what it wants to become but I take it out every now and again, just to fondle. It reminds me of a jar of boiled sweets!



Well, if nothing else, at least I've recorded a few things for posterity! I won't tempt fate by promising to be good by updating my blog more regularly. That would surely result in me being very BAD!!

Voila!

Here 'tis! It's not this badly blocked really - I just flopped it out on the floor and couldn't be bothered straightening it!



And a close-up that gives a good idea of the yarn variegation. I love this chocolate colourway - it truly is delicious enough to eat!



Tomorrow I am tripping off to work in brown tweedy trousers, a black v-neck knit and my clap - can't wait!

Mes clapotis est finis!!

Yes! I am a proven knitting sprinter! My new Addi turbos were my best friends, slipping each stitch so beautifully smoothly and easily. Without them, I'd still be clicking away no doubt.

I happily finished off the last rows while watching episodes of "The Brief" on DVD. Maybe it's an occupational hazard, but I adore Henry Farmer! Of course, I sit there muttering "that would NEVER happen; as if you'd EVER ask that question!; object, object!; that's not admissible!" but that's all part of the fun, isn't it? My version of yelling armchair advice to referees.

My clappy was blocked this morning and is now lying saucily spreadeagled on towels on the dining room floor, beckoning me to wear her soon. I had an outdoor brunch to go to today and it would have been perfect!

Photos to come, been somewhat busy with work, baby and, of course, knitting. Will someone come and do my housework so I can knit socks?

My ankles aren't THAT fat!

I have thick ankles. They are the bane of my life. Frivolous little shoes make them look like they belong to a rugby player in drag. They are the one reason I envy my mother-in-law. She has natty ankles. And so does my husband, who doesn't need them or care about them. Sometimes, life is very unfair, isn't it?

In my stash was some gorgeous burgundy Regia Silk, which I thought would make a splendid pair of diamond rib socks for .. moi! (that's about the full extent of my French). So I read all the instructions in my Sensational Knitted Socks book about unfortunate souls with fat ankles, I swatched, I washed and I measured. Bah! My sock is enormous. I got through enough to stick it up over my foot and, well, it's okay, but very loose. I think it would slip down as I walked around.

The only woman I know with thicker ankles than me is my mother. So I thought I'd be generous and finish off the socks as they were and give them to her. She lives in Central Queensland and they have very cold winters, so I'm sure she'll enjoy them.

I do like the diamond rib pattern though. Terrible photo - still working out our new camera, but you get the picture (yes that awful pun was intended).



Oh, and here are my dad's socks-in-progress. I love this yarn. It's very dad-like, isn't it?



I was worried they would be a bit boring, but I think they're quite elegant really. Simplicity is a wonderful thing.

And a pic of my baby girl, just because she looks so wonderfully earnest! Obviously having some kind of serious political debate with her dad.



I'm cruising along with my chocolate clapotis for the Tour de France KAL. I've decided to do 17 straight row repeats, rather than the pattern's 13, just so I can wrap it right around myself and be deliciously warm and cosy. I've got a few more straight repeats to do, then the decreases and I'm done! No lagging behind the peleton for this Liquigas girl.

Oh and I've even managed to get some work done. Sleep? What's that?

I'm Baa-aaack

Yes, I am still alive. And still knitting :) After a long absence from the blogosphere, I've returned. Of course, it is very likely that no-one will notice!

I also had a long absence from knitting. Just before my last post I discovered that we had a little one on the way. Unfortunately that little one decided to make it impossible to knit! Motion sickness or something - it was dreadful! If only I was at the stage of not having to look at my needles I might have managed lol.

She arrived safe and sound at the end of April and has been frequently dressed in handknits that I managed to make near the end of my pregnancy and soon afterwards.

So, a bit of show & tell!

Our little girl. Clearly I will never be a hairdresser!


Love this jacket! It was made from red merino bambino and some cream 4 ply I had in my very meagre stash.


She wears this a lot - it's nice and soft. I used Cocoon for this.


And matching hat


Something pretty




Have joined the ranks of the Tour de France knit along too - cycling on TV has never been so much fun! Go Cadel go!! Since I'm probably the only knitter in the world without a clapotis, I decided, with the help of the lovely Bells, that it was a good project that I'd be able to get through in between working and mothering.

Am using merino chubby sock yarn from the Knittery in the chocolate colourway. Just gorgeous. And thanks to Daphne for the special dye job! The yarn has a lovely sheen to it and will be light enough to wear in Brisbane, as I'm doing it on a 4mm Addi Turbo so it's nice and open. But undoing the ladders - ugh!

Am halfway through now, so I'm confident I will get it done before the deadline. I quite like the pressure lol! Plus the added pressure of having only just enough yarn - eeep!! My daughter has her last feed at 10pm, just when the telecast starts and I have recently perfected the art of knitting whilst breastfeeding. Handy.



Also on the needles are a pair of garter rib socks for my dad in Regia. Good TV knitting and a bit of a break from the clap. Nice subtle browns and creams with a bit of blue-grey for pizzazz. Very dad-like. Especially for an oh-so-conservative one!

Plus a pair of socks as in passionfruit cashmerino, also from the Knittery. I had the most wonderful friend as my doula for the birth and I thought "what's more perfect to say thanks than a pair of handknitted socks?" She's been coveting my passionfruit lacy mock cables for some time. I couldn't face yet another pair of lacy mock cables, having made two, so chose the oblique openwork pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks. Very easy - just a 6 row repeat.

So that's me!! I look forward to catching up with old and new blogs in between everything else I'm doing! Why, oh why, are there only 24 hours in a day?

Lots of Odd Socks!

I sometimes wonder how many lonely handknitted socks there are in the universe. Do knitters, filled with a burst of enthusiasm for new yarn and a new pattern, madly knit up sock number 1 and then sock 2 becomes a nemesis?

Spring rains have thankfully brought some gentle relief to our drought-stricken city. It rained for a week before we went away, then was lovely and sunny apparently, so the garden has burst forth with breathtaking new growth, the roses and vegetables in particular. And now it's raining again - our garden won't know what's hit it! I think our level 6 water restrictions are now delayed a month.

Well, life is back to some sort of normality after my trip out to central Queensland to celebrate my youngest brother's 30th birthday. Unfortunately, he dislocated his ankle and broke both bones in his lower leg a couple of weeks ago and only got out of hospital after surgery a couple of days before his party. So he didn't have quite the big night that he was planning - more an evening of holding court in a comfortable chair while friends fetched his dinner and drinks. Actually that sounds pretty good!!

I saw my other brother, David, on Sunday night and presented him with the Brown Nemesis! It immediately went over his head and was pronounced to be "awesome" and a "perfect fit". Oh, so satisfying to see one's creation being truly appreciated! I forgot to take a photo so my sister-in-law is taking one for me and will email it. I'm sure my brother won't mind modelling on my blog :)

Unfortunately, my father has decided he'd like one too, with the "Flying A" emblem of his 1949 Austin A90 Atlantic convertible on the front of the shoulder. Hmmmm. He will have to wait a while for that one. There will be no man's jumpers on this knitter's pointy sticks for a while, I think!

My opal lacy mock cable sock is now finished and I'm really rapt with it! It's too small for me, which is perfect, because my sister-in-law (for whom it is intended) is a couple of sizes smaller in her shoes. She has lovely, dainty little feet!





And last night I finished the first passionfruit lacy mock cable. It is divinely soft and really feels like I'm wearing a warm cloud on my foot! I had to adjust the pattern a little because I have big ankles and very high insteps, but it worked out very well indeed.

Although I was cursing a blue streak when my yarn broke halfway through grafting the toe, leaving a 3cm tail which looked innocently up at me. But I knew it was secretly full of malice. A weak felted join ensued, followed by me very gingerly finishing the toe and then weaving the strong yarn through the stitches from the inside. Hopefully my toes won't poke through.





Also on the needles is a fun, merino bambino jumper for an old friend who's having a bubba next year. He or she will be born in March, so I'm making one for a 6 month old. She lives in Queensland, but out west, so they have very cold nights in winter. I love these bright colours! Not sure why, but I have a faint aversion to the insipid colours babies are so often dressed in. To me, they scream, "I am vulnerable and helpless" rather than "I am a cool little person with my own personality."





She won't lose her little baby in THIS jumper - that's for sure!!

My habit is to save the best until last, whether it be food or otherwise. I got back to chambers on Wednesday after my trip away to find a curious little parcel on my desk! I didn't know the address and, after scrutinising the signature, took a stab in the dark and Bells confirmed my suspicions! A lovely little red box was inside, in which were nestled five gorgeous stitch markers from our very own Georgie!





They were a present for finishing the brown nemesis! And, to make my gift even more special, George informed me later that she had in fact made them herself. Funnily, I'd been hunting around for some lovely stitch markers that weren't ridiculously overpriced.

So thank you George - I love them!!