See saw

Day one brought both my first FO and first set-back.


The Pretty in Pink socks are done (thanks to a staff meeting and a lunch break). They are pressed, beribboned and in the pressie box for the next baby girl.

However, I got a bit muddled with birthdays. The Old Flame's mum's birthday is July, it's his Dad who was born in October.

What to do about the blanket? Give it to his Dad instead? Not sure he goes for mauve all that much. Knit like buggery and hope to get it done by 6 July?

There are exactly 5 weeks until 6 July. Presumably it will need to be ready a couple of days before that, but we won't quibble about that. I estimate I need to knit 3 balls of Studio Mohair each week until b-day to finish. Not entirely sure I can manage that, so what I'll do is knit it this week, review progress and revise estimates accordingly. It might have to be an "on the needles" gift, but I'd like to get it done ASAP.



I'll be helped along by this, though. A very sweet colleague (also a knitter) bought me this at Spotlight over the weekend. She reckons I'll need another cup for the extra caffeine required to complete this challenge.

WIPeout 2009 - Vestigal

PATTERN: Vestish by Robin Dodge in size 2X

YARN: Recycled black 8ply crepe

PROGRESS:

• Back completed
• Front at 9" - nearly finished the waist shaping

ISSUES:

• It's for me, so I tended to put it aside in favour of other projects.
• I hate sewing up, I really should be knitting this in the round
• I got to 9" on the front - halfway to the armholes - and put the back and front together to make sure the waist shaping would be in the same place and discovered I'd knitted a 3x back and was knitting a 2x front. Effin' brilliant - very cross with myself.

ACTION: This will be unravelled, the wool washed and I'll knit another vest with it. I won't cast on until the end of this challenge though.

WIPeout 2009 - unbirthday socks

PATTERN: Ribbed Socks from Cleckheaton

YARN: Lincraft Balmoral Tweed from Lincraft sale earlier this year

PROGRESS:

• first sock finished
• second sock knitted half way down leg

ISSUES: None really, except they aren't wide enough for The Old Flame so there is less motivation to finish them. They'll go to Mum's cousin who brings me jumpers to unravel.

ACTION: Keep knitting. These are very portable and will be finished quickly if they are the only thing I have to knit at lunch-times.

WIPeout 2009 - Pretty in Pink Baby Socks

PATTERN: Mim Felton's Baby to Toddler Sock Pattern
YARN: Kanebu Kintting Yarn Chuboso 4ply from the Smith Family a few years ago.
PROGRESS:

• sock 1 - done
• sock 2 - knitted to gusset

ISSUES: I'm bored - these were the fourth pair in quick succession.
ACTION: Just bloody knit it. They'll be finished in a lunch hour or so if you do.

WIPeout 2009 - Phyl's Footy Rug

PATTERN: Ribbed Mohair Throw by Jo Sharp
YARN: Cleckheaton Studio Mohair in the mauvey pink colour.
PROGRESS: Slow and sure - nearly 40cm of 180cm knitted in

ISSUES:

• This is the project most likely to be still on the needles at the end of the challenge. That's OK, it's not due until October.
• The stripey effect is deliberate and will be echoed at the other end to account for different dyelots.

ACTION: Knit a few rows everyday.

Winter WIPeout 2009 - Rules of Engagement

1. This is a personal challenge to reduce my WIPs either by finishing or frogging what's on the needles.


2. For the period 1 June - 31 August 2009 I will knit only current WIPs.


3. Given the number of socks in the WIP pile - it's socks in the daytime and out and about.


4. Hats are also acceptable portable knitting but no more may be cast on until the socks are done.


5. Jumpers, cardies and blankets get knitted at home/at night to maximise concentration time unless there is a particularly portable piece.
   
6. There will be three items in my knitting sights at any given time - the portable (most likely sock) project, the at home project (jumper, cardie or vest) and the blanket that I'm knitting for TOF's Mum which will get a little attention each day.
   
7. Each project will be documented prior to becoming the prime knitting item during the period and its progress assessed regularly.
   
8. There is a get-out-of-gaol free card only if a quick gift is required and the yarn is already in stash. (I anticipate some baby socks or hats may be needed during this challenge.)

I'll put a list of items up in the sidebar tonight. There are more than I thought and I cleaned up a couple in the last day or so when I found how truly little there was to do to fix them.

Winter WIP wipeout

This doesn't often happen, but in the last few days, the number of WIPs in this house has started to annoy me.

Partly it is frustration at work. The nature of my work is ongoing. There's always a back-log, because collection building is about the future there's rarely an immediate pay-off even when a project is completed, and we just don't have enough people to do what we need to do. Everything is juggled so little bits get done at a time and it takes ages to finish even small projects - and I'm the head juggler. Also, new volunteers and temporary staff are all starting new projects, which means there are a lot of balls in the air right now. I can't really control those things much, but I can clean up the at home projects to get the satisfaction of time control and a job well done.

Also, I'm facing seven weeks of having some extra time. If the flood waters recede, Mum is going to South West Rocks on Friday and I will join her in late July for a few weeks and then bring her home. That's a few extra hours in a day. There are a couple of things planned, like a website for family history stuff, getting my paperwork in order etc., but I reckon even then there will be an hour most days when I can knit and relax.

So with those motivating forces taken into consideration, Winter 2009 will be a WIP wipeout.

So far 5 prs of socks, 2 hats, 2 jumpers, 2 cardigans, 2 vests and a blanket are in the WIPeout pile. I suspect there are other items lurking and will recommence excavation this evening, take some photos and properly assess each item. Then I'll work out some sort of schedule and game rules.

Beanie there, done that

Yep, more TTWC. They really are the perfect portables - better even than socks because I only use the one needle until the very end.

These are in Cleckheaton Country 12 ply in a gorgeous dark purple. The second one is slip stitched with a very old Wangaratta Woollen Mills 12ply custom dyed by the Happy Spider in the Hydrangea colourway.

A few more of these yet to come as I work my way through the purple bag.

Starve a cold, feed the freezer

Unwell. Sore throat, ears and no voice. Not at work yesterday and will only go in today for a late afternoon meeting because no one else can do it.

I anticipated couch time with the chicken soup for the eyes that you all kindly recommended, but found myself making soup instead. We have Smashing Pumpkin on the left and Chunky Veg & Ham on the right.

Why "smashing" and "chunky"? Because the blasted stab blender died. Anyone recommend a good replacement?

Blighted expectations

Everyone whinges about government services and usually I try not to, but just this once I need to.

Had to go to Medicare yesterday. Wanna know how long I had to wait in the queue? Go on, guess?

Ribbed blanket for TOF's mum in Cleckheaton Studio Mohair. Details on Rav.

3 minutes. I had time to sit, take photo and knit 27 stitches.


Can't even rely on inefficiency these days. When am I meant to get knitting done if it's not in queues?


Oh, and I got more back than I expected!

Some days are busy, busy but still productive. Take Saturday, for example.

9am Up early for us on a Saturday and at Kingston for the Snow Sports ACT annual sale, via a drop off at my brother's on the other side of town. The Old Flame has some items for sale* and wants to check out what else is on offer. I knit a beret I'm winging in some 12ply remnants but forget to take photos.

10.15am Old Parliament House, Canberra for the opening celebrations of the new Museum of Australian Democracy (yes, it's a MAD House). A friend is serving up breakfasts, so we scam a couple of bacon and egg rolls, grab 5 minutes with her, take some pics and race off. Am still knitting the beret.

11.30am Belconnen Remand Centre Open Day . BRC closed recently, being replaced with the state of the art Alexander Machonichie Centre (gaol). The open day was our only opportunity to see the inside of the BRC which will soon be demolished. Eye-opening. Squeeze in flying visit to Vinnies as it's just across the road. Continue to knit the beret.


12.45 pm Ginninderra Labor Club for early Mother's Day celebrations with TOF's extended family. Very nice lunch. Knit beret and finish in car on way home.

4.00pm Home to change for the evening's engagement - Brumbies at home to the Crusaders. Woollen trousers under jeans, two long-sleeved t-shirts, fleece and, wind-breaker, hat and gloves. Should be almost warm enough.

4.15pm Start for Kingston again to see what's sold and collect what hasn't. Cast on a TTWC as we leave home.

5.20pm Park car at Civic to catch free bus to Canberra Stadium. We're early, so head off to King O'Malley's for a Guinness to kill time. Continue knitting TTWC.


6.00pm Get on very crowded bus to Stadium. Kind young man gives me his seat so I continue to knit.

6.30pm Arrive Stadium, settle into seats etc. Knit beanie.

7.30pm Finish beanie.

7.40pm Kick-off and not enough wool to cast on another beanie. Ah well, the Brumbies thrashed the Crusaders and two items of headwear in a day is a reasonable result.

10.00pm Have caught bus back to Civic and collected the car. We've only had water and a couple of bananas since lunch so drop by the G-Spot for a Bastard to find that it's the second last night of trading! Tragedy! It's our venue of choice for after the footy and, more importantly, for first breakfast on those early mornings (4am) on the way to the ski fields.

10.40pm Home, fed and changed into trakkie daks . Cast on a new pair of socks.

11.30pm Sleepy-bo-bos.

* Need snow chains this winter? Own your own for the same price as a weekend hire. Send me an email with your wheel size for more info.

Days of wine and beanies

While not knitting the un-birthday socks, I managed another beanie in the standard Time Thief Watch Cap pattern, omitting the turn up and knitting a 2" double rib band instead.

The yarn is pure wool mystery yarn bought at Vinnies. Harsh in the hand; it washed up nicely.

The beanie enjoyed the Penfolds Grange 2004 vintage at the Dan Murphy's wine tasting last Saturday (more on The Old Flame's blog). Apparently it's not too discriminating, though, and polished off a bottle of Cabernet Merlot later in the evening.

SOCKSY

Tickets to Cheech & Chong - $200. Socks knitted by the woman you love - priceless. Someone had a little pout that he didn't get socks for his birthday this year. The situation was remedied by these babies.

Knitted in Bendigo Woollen Mills 5ply Colonial, they took 12 days of mostly monogamous knitting. The pattern is Sarah Golder's Simple Socks (Rav link) from Yarn, issue 5.


Here they were off to the opening of the National Library of Australia's Treasures Gallery - a Preview last Thursday.


And here they were finished off over a bottle of Cabernet Merlot on Sunday night.

Because the yarn is pure wool, I knitted a strand of fuzzy nylon through the entire heel and foot.

The reason the heel in this looks different - I ran out of the dark brown fuzzy nylon and had to use a grey. No one else will notice and if they do, they can knit socks.

Little socks, maaaaan

I don't knit during live theatre performances or these would have been finished at the Cheech & Chong gig at the Royal Theatre in Canberra last night. Nor was I paying $150 (for an unspecified charity) to meet the fellas afterwards, so you'll have to make do with sock posed on speaker box.

Mim Felton's Baby to Toddler socks pattern in Patons Dreamtime 4ply on 2.5mm needles.

The Beanies are Back

I'm taking the bus to work more often at the moment - it's something I do when schedules permit - so more beanies for Stasia's Soup Kitchen clients are likely in the next little while.

This is my standard hat in Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic 12 ply, colour Azure. Such a joy to knit with.

Bootee Call

We have a few babies due (or just joined us) in my work and friend circles.

Mim Felton's Baby to Toddler socks in Patons Dreamtime 4ply on 2.5mm needles. About 6-9 mos size.

The only modification to the pattern was to continue the ribbing down the foot for a bit more grip.

Easter Sunday Evening

Books, bloke, knitting, dark chocolate and booze (and from the shake on this photo, a little too much of the latter) - and there was another day off to follow.

Lovely.

Easter Saturday Lunch & Knitting

Finished Object: a pair of baby socks over a leisurely and lovely lunch at the Poacher's Pantry.

Long weekend, great weather, great food, entertaining knitting. Bliss.

Easter Lilies

I know you will appreciate these.

Filet crochet pillowshams in a lily pattern made by the Old Flames' maternal grandmother.


The Old Flame's mother had a clean out of the linen cupboard and thought I might like these. She remembers them being on her mother's bed over pink encased pillows.

They are lovely, special pieces which are about to go on the bed. She couldn't have chosen a better gift.

they'll none of 'em be missed

I write lists so I don't have to remember things.

Now I've lost the bloody list.

Have a creme filled Easter. :)