Bally Brilliant

Bally Sandals

1pm, Front Porch, Pearce

RM Williams Boots

1pm, Front Porch, Pearce

I paid the ransom on these shoes at my local Salvos this morning. Today was meant to be deposit only day but at a whopping $2 a pair I had to make a withdrawal as well.

The Bally sandals are ideal in every way. I have a great deal of difficulty getting summer shoes to fit my broad feet. These fit and are lovely. They only allow the smallest glimpse of toe and they are perfectly flat. They have also recently had new heels. No further expenditure required apart from a bit of polish.

The RM Williams boots also fit absolutely perfectly and have been worn in very well. The elastic is still firm (what I need to support that ankle which never fully recovered from the break 2 years ago). They do require new heels and a very good polish, but as a pair of black RM Williams boots was on my list of things I would like to buy this year if I've been very good and if I managed to save up some "silly money ", I could hardly leave them behind.

PS. edited 7.30 pm to say that I had to pop out to visit a friend late this arvo and dropped off two pairs of shoes to another op-shop. Two pairs in, two pairs out. Excellent net result.

Project Spectrum 2.0

Just signed up for Project Spectrum 2.0 over at Lolly Knitting Around. I figure it will be good for that whole developing my sense of colour and detail thing.



February / March Blue, White, Gray
April / May Green, Yellow, Pink
June / July Red, Black, Metallics
August / September Brown, Orange, Purple

Beyond signing up I have set no rules for myself. I will not necessarily only knit in the colours prescribed for the month. It's about increasing awareness, not setting myself up to fail.

Flick o' the wrist

7am, Messy Room, Pearce

Pattern: Earthy Computer Mouse Pad Wrist Pillow by Jennifer Tallapaneni of Pie Knits

Materials: So proud that this is completely UWYH.

• Small amount of 8ply cotton left over from the Christmas wash cloth extravaganza
• Cardboard reinforcement for the bottom is from a block of Lindt 85%
• Stuffing - two stockings irretrievably laddered and waiting patiently in the busy box. I use old stockings, knee hi-s etc for tying up new plants and other garden and household uses. Actually, the uses for stockings and pantyhose that can no longer be worn are plentiful and will be the subject for another day.

Too much data entry at work on a poorly designed database meant I was a bit sore in the arms last night. NOT a good thing for a knitter. I was too sore to pick up my current project and using the mouse at home was hurting, too. What I really need is a wrist rest. Almost as quickly as I thought - "Hey, wonder how I could knit one of those?", I found a pattern on Pie Knits' site.

This knits up in an hour. You can't get more instant knitting gratification than that.

When I knit this again, I will use 3.5mm needles rather than 3.7mm and I think I'll use a combination of wheat or rice and lavender for the filling so it smells nice and supports my wrist better. I'll probably have to sew a lining though.

Strange Fruit

8pm, Lemon Tree, Pearce

Twins are twice the love and twice the knitting deadlines for garments that have to be the same but different. These shawls are 12th birthday presents for the lights of my life, my nieces.

They need blocking but there are 7 weeks until the birthday so I'm further ahead than usual.

Yarn: 2 x 100g skeins of hand-dyed boucle mohair from Australian independent producer Colored Jules (one skein per shawl)

Pattern: Simple garter stitch triangular shawl pattern printed on the back of the card which came with the wool.

Needles: How cross-making. I had to buy 15mm needles to make these shawls. El cheapo Pony needles from Big W, but in a very nice symmetery I bought them on the last day of 2006 with the remaining 2005 Christmas gift voucher from the twins' parents .

Lessons learned:

• Knitting with large needles is awful.
• Garter stitch can be meditative. It can also be dull.
• Knitting the same but different is still the same when you aren't having fun.
• Non-knitters think you're really clever knitting "lace" in striking yarn.
• Mothers never forget and knitting mothers are not as easily fooled as muggles. Mum reminded me that at age 10 or 11, a very simple triangular shawl knitted on "rocket" needles from cream loopy mohair (so 1976) was the very first project I ever completed. She began this reminder with the comment "Are you learning to knit again?"
• With a bit of luck, this will be the last Barbie Spew^TM colourway the girls will want now they are almost teenagers.
  

Tips from the Vault: Angora Jumpers

CLEANING

LAUNDRY, IRONING, GENERAL CLEANING

Angora Jumpers: To wash Angora jumpers, etc., squeeze till clean in lukewarm water and soap-flakes and rinse by squeezing in fresh lukewarm water. Fold carefully, pass through a wringer till no more water can be extracted, then shake and spread out on a flat, warm place to dry. When dry brush up the fluffy surface with a very soft brush.

Dad uncovered this wee book at home. I've, erm, "borrowed" it. Published by EW Cole of the much loved Cole's Funny Picture Books, it's great fun.

Like all handy household hint books, there are some absolute gems among the dross. Over the next little while, I'll share with you some of Mary Mansfield Cook's pearls of wisdom for knitters and sewers. Might just sneak some of the others in as well. Not all of the tips will be practical, but they should be entertaining.

Taph the Stash Slayer

8am, ACT Heritage Library, Canberra

Got some seriously odd looks walking to work this morning. What is so strange about a woman walking and knitting a beanie? Nothing. Then I caught my reflection in a window. The 15mm needles sticking out the top of my backpack would look pretty strange, if not downright menacing, to the Buffy generation.

Time Thief Watch Cap 2007.02

7am, Herb Garden, Pearce

All out of the usual 12ply, so I've started on the 8ply stash. Slower to knit and I've had to rejig the pattern, but it still serves the purpose. Not so sure about the decreases in this version - will have to play with the pattern some more.

Plum Loco

Plums

10.15am, CIT Farmers' Market, Phillip.

I'm trying to develop a better eye for colour and for detail. So if I see something that appeals it will be photographed or recorded it in some way.

Wouldn't this make a fantastic yarn colourway?

Light as a Feathers

10.35am, Salvos Store, Phillip.

An interesting use for the execrable Feathers yarn. I reckon the lamp shade is trying to crawl into that waste paper basket it's sitting on.

Please note the sign behind the lamp shade. It warns customers against touching items on this particular table. AS IF!

Still Life

"Coffee Beanie"

11.50 am, Qantas Arrivals Lounge, Canberra International Airport

The flight I was meeting was 50 minutes late, I was bored, it was funny at the time.

Have you any dirty washing, mother dear?

The fact that I had to go back to World War II for a popular song reference to washing (laundry for my North American friends) means there's a real gap in the market for domestic pop tunes, I reckon.


Here's what's on my line at the moment.


Hand dyed 2ply baby wool. The Happy Spider dyed it for me - she's very talented, you should buy her stuff when she lists it on e-Bay (none there now, but it's only a matter of time) .

This is meant to be for baby stash items. Would the babies really appreciate it? Would they know the difference between vintage Shepherd 2ply wool and Bendy baby nylon? That I'm coming up with names like Tequila Sunrise and Lime Spider probably tells you which way I'm leaning right now.

FO: Puppy Paw Scarf

Pattern: Kid Merino Cat’s Puppy Paw Lace Scarf

Yarn: 25g (half a ball) of Anny Blatt Fine Kid (51% wool, 49% Kid Mohair) in Colour 84100 Orange, a birthday gift.

Needles: A 6.5mm bamboo circular needle. The stitches fitted just beautifully along the shaft of the needle.

I love this yarn. It unravelled pretty well for mohair (a good thing for this particular knitter) and stood up to several unravellings in the first few pattern repeats. The colours are gorgeous and well chosen. Mum reckons they match my hazel eyes. Also, Peggy has discovered it. She evinces little interest in knitting most of the time except to resent it or play put-the-paw-on-the-ball-of-yarn-so-Mum-has-to-pay-attention-to-me but with this, everytime it's out she nuzzles it and then rests her cheek on it. I may have to buy her a ball of her own.

Obviously the scarf isn't blocked yet, but it will have to wait until the weekend and I had to show you now.

Lessons learned:

• Bamboo needles and kid mohair are a match made in knitvarna^TM.
• Lace needs really pointy sticks – the vintage plastic needles I started this on, gorgeous stubby needles just crying out for scarf knitting that they are, were blunt as buggery and made this project a nightmare until I worked out pointy is best.
• I have the attention span of an ADHD moth. I’ve multi-tasked knitting with everything else in my life for so long that concentrating on even basic lace was a challenge. This had to be knitted at home with only mindless tv and Peggy for company.
• Apart from very pointy needles, a row counter is my best friend and should be used consistently and well.

Gifts from generous spirits

I'm in a bit of a bind. I want to gloat over show you and acknowledge these thoughtful and beautiful gifts I received for my birthday and Christmas but I feel that gift giving is very personal and I don't want to embarrass anyone.

I will settle for showing you some of them. Everyone concerned has been thanked, and I do so again.
Stitchmarkers

A knitting puppy card, framed

Wine especially designed for knitters

Handyed laceweight, sock wool and cashmere

Anny Blatt kid mohair (some of which is already knitted)

Clupea

Yarn: 100g of 14 ply (chunky, bulky, )

Needles: 6.5mm needles (Imperial 3, US 10.5)

Notions: darning needle for the endy bits, button (optional)

Tension: 14st to 10cm (4") over pattern

Finished Dimensions: 87 cm x 13cm (34" x 5")

Abbreviations:
k = knit
p = purl
sl = slip stitch with yarn in front of needle
yfrn = yarn forward round the needle

Pattern (Herringbone Lace Rib):
Cast on 22 stitches
Row 1 (right side): sl1, *p1, k1, yfrn, p2tog, k1, p1, k1; rep from * to end.
Row 2: sl1, *k2, yfrn, p2tog, k2, p1; rep from * to end.

Repeat these two rows until you're almost out of yarn, cast off.
Darn in ends.

Because this is a very short scarf, more of a necklet really, I sewed a button as a closure. The lacy pattern provides a button hole. It does up on my breast bone and the top of the scarf rolls a little to form a small shawl collar. I also chose to show off the reverse side of the pattern becuse you get to see the beautiful colours of the yarn better.


Right side of the pattern in a plain yarn.


Reverse side of the pattern in a plain yarn.


I bought this wool at the Wool Room Country Store in Young. It is 109g hand dyed and spun Corriedale.

After the endless black cotton of the Mary Ann wrap (nore on this at a later date), which followed the endless white cotton of the 39 wash cloths (almost half of which were in basic white), I was absolutely desperate for colour and woolly colour at that. This is gorgeous and springy and not blocked because I want that dense springiness to remain.

Many false starts and rechecking of the stitch dictionaries occurred and the first metre or so of the yarn was starting to show definite signs of fatigue before I settled on the Herringbone Lace Rib. I was really looking for a double sided pattern, but after the first few repeats of this pattern I fell in love. The back and front of this pattern are different, but they are equally lovely.

Thunder in my heart

The forecast rain for NY Eve turned out to be a storm of reasonable proportions: hail, rain (there is a tide mark on my back door 3" up), high winds.

We'd just sat down to dinner with the in-laws (sigh) when it hit. My brother went out to check the block of flats he caretakes and came home past my place. The lovely gum tree in my front yard had divested itself of two branches, the biggest of which is 6m long, over the road. He dragged it back onto my place.

I wonder if the relevant authorities will deem it time to trim this tree. It's twice the height of my house and has horizontal branches (the ones that drop) and dead ones, too. We asked them to come 12 months ago - about the time a man two suburbs away was killed by a branch that fell from a tree just like mine. These trees are not known as widow-makers for nothing. Yes, the front yard is still in the nursery stage is progressing but slowly due to the drought.

In knitting news, I finished the teal and cream beanie with the in-laws last night and knitted through midnight on the red and green one. It's the basic Time Thief Watch Cap pattern. Instead of plain stripes, I played with random slip stitches - so much fun.

Come in, come out of the rain

And that should be the last Simple Minds reference for a while but I couldn't resist with lovely wet stuff falling from the sky here in drought-ridden Canberra and more is forecast.

Little Waves Wash Cloth
Yarn: 1 x 50g ball 8ply cotton (dk, light worsted, ) This pattern is a heavy feeder, you will need the whole ball.

Needles: 1 pr 3.75mm (Imperial 9, US 5)

Notions: 1 darning needle for the endy bits.

Tension: Tension is not that important.

Time Investment: About 3 hours.

Finished size: About 20cm x 20cm (8" x 8")

Instructions:
Cast on 53 Stitches

Knit 6 rows

Begin Lacy Waves pattern:
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: k3, p to last to last 3 stitches, k3
Row 3: k3, *yrn, p1, p3tog, p1, yon, k2; rep from * to last stitch, k1
Row 4: k3, p to last to last 3 stitches, k3

Work rows 1-4, 13 more times (14 pattern repeats)

Knit 6 rows.

Cast off.

Darn in ends and give it a bit of a tug to square it up.

Things you might like to know about how I knit this pattern:

• I use a cable cast on, you can use whatever method you prefer.
• I slip the first stitch of each row knit-wise because I like the little bump on the edge. If you like a smooth, chain edge, slip the first stitch of each row purl-wise.
• To avoid the little loop that sometimes forms on the last stitch of the cast off, knit into the stitch below and voila!, no loop.

Time Thief Watch Cap

Yarn: 12 ply yarn (worsted, 10-12 wpi, ) . You'll need between 80 and 90g for this hat. Best be safe and have two full 50g balls or equivalent.

Needles: 1 x 60cm (23") 4.5mm circular needle (US & Imperial size 7); 1 set 4.5mm dpns. The whole hat can be knitted on dpns if you prefer.

Notions: 1 darning needle for the endy bits, 1 stitch marker of choice.

Tension: 19sts to 10cm (4") not absolutely crucial but should be within a stitch either way

Time investment: About 3 hours.

Big Brain Box Size (23-24" head)
Cast on 88 stitches, place marker and join in the round. Remember to slip marker from left to right hand needle at the end of each round.

Band
Round 1: *K2, p2 , repeat from *
Rounds 2-12: as for round 1
Round 13: Knit this creates a turning ridge for the brim
Round 14-16: as for round 1

Body
Round 17+: Commence stocking stitch (just knit and knit and knit). When whole work measures 20cm (8"), begin decreases.

Decreases:
Round1: *K6, K2tog, repeat from *
Round2 (and all even rounds): knit
Round3: *K5, K2tog, repeat from *
Round5: *K4, K2tog, repeat from *
you'll need to change to dpns about here
Round7: *K3, K2tog, repeat from *
Round9: *K2, K2tog, repeat from *
Round11: *K1, K2tog, repeat from *
Round13: *K2tog, repeat from *

Finishing:
Cut wool leaving a tail of about 10cm (4"). Thread tail onto darning needle and run through all remaining stitches. Remove dpns and draw tail tightly. Pass the threaded needle through the cat's bum at the top and weave in. Weave in the cast on tail. Turn up the brim at the turning ridge and c'est finis.


I'm a Lady Size (21-22" head)

Cast on 80 stitches, place marker and join in the round. Remember to slip marker from left to right hand needle at the end of each round.

Band
Round 1: *K2, p2 , repeat from *
Rounds 2-10: as for round 1
Round 11: Knit this creates a turning ridge for the brim
Round 12-14: as for round 1

Body
Round 15+: Commence stocking stitch (just knit and knit and knit). When whole work measures 17.5cm (7"), begin decreases.

Decreases:
Round1: *K6, K2tog, repeat from *
Round2 (and all even rounds): knit
Round3: *K5, K2tog, repeat from *
you'll need to change to dpns about here
Round5: *K4, K2tog, repeat from *
Round7: *K3, K2tog, repeat from *
Round9: *K2, K2tog, repeat from *
Round11: *K1, K2tog, repeat from *
Round13: *K2tog, repeat from *

Finishing:
Cut wool leaving a tail of about 10cm (4"). Thread tail onto darning needle and run through all remaining stitches. Remove dpns and draw tail tightly. Pass the threaded needle through the cat's bum at the top and weave in. Weave in the cast on tail. Turn up the brim at the turning ridge and c'est finis.

Things you might like to know about how I knit this pattern.

• It's called the Time Thief Watch Cap because, quite literally, I knit it in stolen time - walking to work, standing in queues, during staff meetings, at red traffic lights (shhh) etc... It takes about 30 mins for the cast on and final decreases time, the rest is bonus knitting time.


• The fabric is meant to be reasonably tight to increase the moisture repelling properties and warmth of the hat.


• I used a cable cast on, you can use whatever method you prefer.


• I hate joining in the round so I knit the first round as a row and join at the beginning of the second round. The small gap is sewn together at the end with the tail from the cast on.


• I don't use a marker until the decreases as it slows me down. The cast on tail indicates the beginning of a round until that point.


• To change sizes, go up or down in multiples of 8 stitches. 72 stitches, for example, would be good for a kid's size.


• There is no pattern for the stripes - I just make it up depending on the amount of wool available.
  

Someone, somewhere in summer time...

Chevron Lace Wash Cloth

Yarn: 1 x 50g ball 8ply cotton (you will not need a whole ball - somewhere between 25g and 35g depending on the brand) .

Needles: 1 pr 3.75mm (Imperial 9, US 5)

Notions: 1 darning needle for the endy bits.

Tension: Only if you've left it until the last minute. No, really, tension is not that important.This wash cloth will take about 3 hours to knit.

Finished size: About 22cm x 22cm (8.5" x 8.5")

Instructions:
Cast on 48 stitches.

Knit 6 rows.

Begin chevron lace pattern
Row 1: K4, *K2tog, yo, k1, yo, sl1, k1, psso, k2, repeat from * to last 2 stitches, K2
Row 2: K3, P to last 3 stitches, K3
Row 3: K3, *K2tog, yo, k3, yo, sl1, k1, psso, repeat from * to last 3 stitches, K3
Row 4: K3, P to last 3 stitches, K3

Repeat these 4 rows until piece is about 1 pattern repeat shy of square - I did 14 pattern repeats on some and 15 on others because the cotton knitted differently.

Knit 6 rows.

Cast off.

Darn in ends and give it a bit of a tug to square it up.

Things you might like to know about how I knitted this pattern.

• I used a cable cast on, you can use whatever method you prefer.
• I slip the first stitch of each row knit-wise because I like the little bump on the edge. If you like a smooth, chain edge, slip the first stitch of each row purl-wise.
• To avoid the little loop that sometimes forms on the last stitch of the cast off, knit into the stitch below and voila!, no loop.
• Sometimes I only knitted 5 rows at the end to make sure the piece was reasonably square.

Promised you a miracle ...

39 wash cloths completed by 2 December. Gift giving has begun with positive responses, although one of my volunteers guessed it was either a lining for his cod piece OR a wash cloth. Even he admitted it was beautifully knitted, though. The guys (apart from the cod piece remark) were particularly responsive to these gifts, which I didn't expect.

All of the yarn was purchased second-hand and no ball cost more than $1. In the main I got 3 wash cloths out of 2 balls. There are very few scraps left. I will be a making stripey garter stitch cloth for myself with the left overs.

I've been thinking about why these were the perfect items for hospital bedside knitting. Some reasons are obvious -

• portable
• simple
• distracting when necessary
• easily cast aside when required to assist the patient or the staff. With no more than 52 stitches to a row, you're almost always near the end of a row.
• quick - one cloth a day was not uncommon, so a sense of achievement was maintained
• rythmically comforting

Not so obvious reasons included

• something positive to talk about with Mum, visitors and staff that wasn't about illness, hospitals etc. It seems everyone was grateful at some point to have another topic of conversation, even for just a while.

It wasn't until I started wrapping them to give away, however, that I recognised a potential benefit to these knitting these simple wash cloths. The wash cloths were gifts. Intended to be given to other people. Had I been working on a large project for myself or my immediate circle and had Mum died, something that was a very real possibility and almost happened several times, I don't think I would have been able to deal with seeing the item again - it would have reminded me of a loss far greater than 39 wash cloths.

Roma loves Jack

Mum and I had morning tea with her Uncle Jack and Auntie Roma today.

After a cup of tea and piece of fruit cake, and while we chatted over this and that, I took out my knitting. Roma asked if I knitted constantly like my mother used to and told me how Mum and her sister never sat with idle hands. Then, between them, Jack and Roma and Mum told me the story of Jack's cardigan.

Jack met and fell in love with Roma at an early age. Roma was beautiful and kind. To my mother she was a glamourous older sister. Jack and Roma became engaged just before Jack was posted overseas with the Army. During his time away, Roma knitted him a cardigan.

It was a Fair Isle cardigan with eight different colours of beiges, greens, browns and tans. Mum, Roma and Jack all described the pattern and the colours in detail. It was Fair Isle all over, not just the yoke, Roma and Mum took pains to tell me.

Roma knitted Jack's cardigan at night at the kitchen table. She couldn't sit in the living room to knit it because she needed the family's tea cups and a flat surface. Each ball of wool was placed in a different tea cup to keep the colours separated. It was lucky there were only eight colours because that was all the tea cups they had. When someone in the family wanted a cuppa, knitting ceased until the tea had been made and drunk and the cup washed, dried and returned to Roma at the kitchen table.

When Jack returned home from his posting a year later, he and Roma were married. Jack swears the cardigan was his favourite and he wore it all the time. Mum, who was 7 when they married, confirms that he did as she vividly remembers the cardigan.

Jack's eyes glistened this morning when he told me how upset he was when Roma discarded the carigan when they moved into their retirement unit earlier this year. He smiled and held her hand when she told me that although she'd always hand washed the cardigan and looked after it properly, it had shrunk a little and was becoming quite worn.

Jack and Roma married in 1949.

Uncle Jack selling hub caps at the Jamison Trash and Treasure Markets, 5 September 1985.

Image courtesy of the absolutely essential ACT Heritage Library, Canberra Times Collection.

Last Tango in Braidwood

I really did think that a day looking at quilts hanging off balconies in Braidwood with my mother and her friends would be S.E.X.* free. Heaven knows I could do with a weekend of yarn celibacy.

Then I met this evil temptress.

From the moment I touched her soft downy balls, I was beguiled. Her charms were seemingly endless.

It began with a smile and a caress but soon escalated.

Watched and encouraged by both her husband and my mother (oh, the perversity), we engaged in a mutal petting session that ended in an exchange of cash. I felt so cheap. $2 for each of the Patonyle, and $3 for each of the cones of Bendigo baby 4ply. She threw in the set of 2.25mm dpns because of my enthusiasm.

My reserves breached it was an orgiastic frenzy of linen and alpaca (50c a ball for 2 balls of each), climaxing in a box of 20 pairs of tortiseshell needles (some still in their virgin state original wrapping), 7 sets of circular needles, a few cr****t hooks and assorted accessories for $40 in which I was joined by my mother's friend Bernie. Sadly, the photographs of these will not load. Seems Blogger has moral standards.

I needed a towel down (tea towel with knitted top) and a cup of tea ($5 for a really cute Bodum plain glass teapot). Sometimes I really miss smoking.

*Stash Enhancement eXercise, for the uninitiated