Unprepared

The things one has in one's hot little mitts when one doesn't have a spindle handy! And I love the possum/merino blend yarn.

Thank you all for your condolences on Nanna's passing. The funeral in Wagga was small without fuss - she would have approved. I'm very glad I won't have to delivery any more eulogies for grandparents.

Knit on, Nan

My Nanna, that yarn stealing 90 year old, left us today at 5pm.

We were prepared for her going, although we didn't know when.

My mother, her youngest daughter, got to see her and spend time with her just a couple of weeks ago and was content. My brother saw her only yesterday. He is probably the most surprised of all of us.

I was close to Nanna for a very long time.

When Dad was sent to Vietnam, Mum and I lived with them on the farm at Jerilderie. A few years later they sold the farm and came to live in Canberra to be near us and I saw her most weeks after that.

She helped teach me to knit and to do fancy work (embroidery) and for a few years, there, I was her yarn supplier for blanket squares which I sewed together for the Red Cross - she really hated sewing up.

We made dolls' clothes together, first for my dolls and then for hers. When Mum and Dad started going away for the winter, I'd come down from Sydney every couple of weeks to see she was alright.

She was a hard woman and a generous one. Once her mind was fixed on something there was nothing you could do to change it.

She made the best boiled fruit cakes and Christmas puddings and the worst savoury mince.

Her life was a hard one but mine is the richer for having her as a grandmother.

Knit on, Dot.

What he said.

And he did a photo shoot on his desk at work and brought it all home on the bus.

And I'm pretty sure it's not stash if I don't buy it myself.

Wow, what a great list compiled by a slew of women with great taste. I'm checking out the library's DVD holdings, because a swing through a couple of DVD shops last night failed to find a few of those titles and the prices on some of the others were heart-stopping.

I'm feeling much better than I was, thank you - back at work this week and largely functional.

Chicken Soup for the Eyes

That allergic thing really sucked.

What sucked the most was the inability to do anything for days but sit on the couch and stare into space or sleep. I was too ill to knit much (what, lift my arms?), couldn't wear my glasses so reading was out, daytime TV is nothing to stay home for and I had no talking books at my disposal.

What I need is an emergency sick day pack of DVDs, tissues and teabags. But what DVDs? I used to have a video tape of the Laurence Olivier in Pride and Prejudice for such occasions, but it's long dead or lost. What's your DVD version of chicken soup?

On a roll - a Summer Roll

The Old Flame's parents' good china is a discontinued pattern by Johnson Bros. called Summer Chintz. They like to get extra pieces when they can.

The Old Flame purchased four cups and saucers at Vinnies recently. I was dead chuffed to get a dinner setting for four (less 2 cups and 2 soup bowls) plus a rectangular sandwich plate and milk jug at Salvos Phillip this afternoon.

reprinted from I Op Therefore I Am ACT

Take the last train to Snotsville

It's official, I'm allergic to the Riverina and have returned with a raging case of allergic rhinitis. You don't need all the details but my nose is so swollen and sore I can't wear my glasses. Computer time is limited to how long I can squint at the screen; which is not all that long.

Nanna's happy and wonderfully cared for in the Narrandera Nursing Home. Thank you all for your good wishes.

When we got there Saturday she and my aunt were sitting in the courtyard knitting. We sat for a while, three generations of us, knitting.

Nan is not asleep. She is working out how to steal my yarn. The geranium coloured yarn in front of her was, momentarily, my aunt's but Nan decided she like it better than the pale blue and that the pattern was boring anyway. She really liked the Naturally Aspire I was knitting into brioche stitch scarf. I had to move it from her reach.

(details on Ravelry)

There were sheep on the road - been a while since I've seen that.

Somewhere on the "short cut" between Leeton and Ardlethan that added an hour to the journey home.

There was op-shopping in Temora, Young and Yass. Total haul 2 pieces Tupperware ($1.50), 2 pairs new swimmers ($4), 3 blouses ($8), and 2 balls old Patonyle ($2).

Salvos shop in Young

And there was more dealing with Nanna's stuff. Several more cartons of dolls have now found appreciative homes, books have been delivered to Lifeline and clothes to various op-shops and the Old Flame scored a pressure cooker for his putative still.

Manana

Or actually, sometime next week.

Mum and I are off to the Riverina for the weekend to visit Nanna. She had a heart attack on Christmas Eve which made her fall and break her hip. She's pulled through it all and we're seeing her in her new home in Narrandera for the first time.

Oh, and there may be a little light op-shopping on the way home. Monday is a public holiday in the ACT but not in encircling NSW.

We're not all hooligans

I was knitting at the bus interchange this evening. Knitting and waiting for the free bus to the stadium to watch the Socceroos lose in a lacklustre fashion to Kuwait.

The woman on the bench next to me asked what I was knitting, fondled the spare balls of Jet and marvelled over stitchmarker bling and told me about how her late mother was a knitter and how nice it was to see someone younger (than her late mother) knitting.

The bus for the stadium came. My neighbour let out a huge sigh and said "Thank heaven the stadium bus is here, now all these hooligans will leave!"

I smiled and said, gently, that I was leaving on that bus too. She blushed and replied "You? But I thought with the knitting and everything...."

"We're not all hooligans", I assured her.

Mind you, I think I like the sound of hooligan knitters.

Footy Knits

The Brumbies lost very badly indeed to the Western Force on Saturday night. The scoreline should have been worse, but Matt Giteau didn't kick very well for the Force. Doesn't bode well for next year when he comes back to Canberra.



There was knitting, naturally. Finished the TTWC that TSS and I started at Twilight the other night and started another Inca beret from scraps. This photo was taken seconds before I realised why it didn't feel quite right - I'd forgotten to change needle size for the body of the beret. Bugger. It's in the frog pond now.

I also spotted this rather nice jumper causally slung around the shoulders of a bloke a few rows in front of us. Interesting columns effect pattern with a garter stitch shawl collar.

Knit Flicks

I thought we'd get a knit free experience on Friday night with a double bill of Body of Lies and
Towelhead but this was not so.

Body of Lies was completely knit free. It was also very violent, with quite explicit images of torture, but it wasn't gratuitously so. Tightly scripted, it was a very good film, despite the lack of knitting content.

Towelhead was more disturbing because the abuse was more personal and more within my imagination. The Old Flame and I agreed that a read of the book the film was based on would be a worthwhile excercise. Uncomfortable viewing. There is one scene in which a minor character is observed knitting.

Flick Knits - Twilight

Oh Lord, where to start? The film is mostly laughable - an entire theatre can't be wrong. There were a couple of tense, engrossing bits, but largely it was laughable ... and long.

The Old Flame found the clause in the ANU Film Group membership rules that allows members to take up to two under 16 guests for nothing to any film, even those marked "No Guests". E, my just-turned-14 niece, is a twerd (Twilight nerd, how could you not know that!?) so was beyond excited to attend with us. OK, there was squealing involved and it wasn't only her father pleased to have someone else listen to endless chatter about Twilight - she's been banned from speaking of it at home.

This was her third showing of the film, although, she assures me, the book is much, much better. And that's exactly why I took her - she's finally reading. Her whole life I've been trying to get her to read. Her twin sister is never without a book, but E has resisted despite all the gifts of books to tempt her. She valued the book as an object but just wasn't all that interested in what lay between the covers. Now she's reading with appetite and we are all overjoyed.


TSS contributed to our first TTWC of the year but that wasn't the only knitting that night. The knit count in the film was pretty high - between 8 and 12 different items, including some lovely cabled mittens worn by Bella (our heroine) and a sweet lacy scarf worn by Rosalie (picks on TSS's blog). No-one was actually caught in the act of knitting and there were no knitting references. Crochet also featured a couple of times.

A quick Rav search showed several copycat patterns and lots and lots of tribute ones (there's even a Twilight sock club).

Here's some of the copycat patterns for you - I've provided non-Ravely links where I can. The prices are US dollars.

Bella's Mittens
Snoweviolet has created a pattern for these (Rav link) $5; as has Beth Galantino (Rav link) $6. Both must be purchased.


Rosalie's Scarf
Shigella has created a pattern for this and there's a crochet version, too. Although, I admit, I had a different idea of the scarf myself. Free.

And one by Beth Galantino (Rav link). $4.


Alice's Scarf
A fine version with free pattern by Craft with Kater Tater.

Seven Things Week 78

In an episode of Absolutely Fabulous, Edina once said (against type, I admit). "I don't want more choice, I just want better things."

This is where I leave Seven Things, maybe just for now or maybe for good - dunno yet. All I know is it's been a good experience. Difficult but, but good; one that has matured my ideas about consumption, particularly my own, and improved my self-knowledge and self-acceptance.

It has also prepared me for the unbelievably difficult task of dealing with the family's stuff. For the next few months I'll be concentrating on clearing Mum's decks, so crafting time won't increase in any significant way until at least the middle of the year and most likely later. And there's still stuff here that is earmarked for disposal but is waiting for the appropriate home. I'm never going to have a sparse, clutter-free living space - it's just not who I am - but I am now better able to assess what I bring in to my home and what I retain, and why.

IN (23)
7 lots of Tupperware (YMCA garage sale $5 the bag)
4 vintage knitting patterns (YMCA garage sale)
1 roll knitting in elastic (YMCA garage sale)
1 thimble (YMCA garage sale)
1 lot yarn (Vinnies $2.50)
1 knitting magazine (subscription)
1 lot spinning fibre (subscription)
1 WPI tool (gift with subscription)
5 beanies worth yarn (purchase by proxy - thank you Old Flame)
1 book (off loaded by TSS, but I do want to read it - ta)

OUT (149)
5 skirts - women's refuge
18 tops - women's refuge
7 prs trousers - women's refuge
5 dresses - women's refuge
3 jackets - women's refuge
1 cardigan
6 prs undies - bin
52 balls yarn - gifts & donations
52 books - Lifeline

SHAKE IT ALL ABOUT (2)
1 beret
1 neckwarmer

TOTALS

IN 23
OUT 149

NETT 126
SIAA 2

Flick Knits

The movie year has begun. ANU Film Group started up again last week.

Ill health (create a shared history - give your loved one food poisoning for your very first St Valentine's Day together!) kept us from attending Quantum of Solace on the first night but I reckon the knit quotient in that is fairly low anyway.

There was no knitting to discover in Burn After Reading, either, which we took in on Friday night. Coen brothers through and through. Incandescent performance from Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton shone. Not so much Brad Pitt - wrong side of ham.

A freebie to the preview of a new NZ flick, Dean Spanley, netted a much more likely bunch of knits. Two garter stitch scarves (Bryan Brown's looked the more interesting of the two, if any garter stitch scarf could be called interesting), and a black capelet which I would love to have seen more of. There was also a fine fisherman's rib jumper. Definitely one for the pause treatment when the DVD comes out.

The movie was lovely. It's odd, quirky even, but Sam Neil does a fantastic job, as does the ever-divine Peter O'Toole. As frail as O'Toole obviously is, he still has IT. Bryan Brown played his usual character, and Jeremy Northam held it all together quite well. It's a story about loss and grief and while not completely successful, is worth a watch.

Seven Things - Week 77

Not a very productive week. Busy, but not productive.

In 0

Out 0

SIAA 0

Roadkill for Good Causes

Over on her blog, Making Good Use is keeping track of roadkill money - cash she finds in the street etc. It got me thinking about stuff we overlook or throw away everyday that can be put to good use, either for ourselves or for others.

The Old Flame and I collect aluminium cans which are sold to support a local community group. My nieces and nephew collect them to supplement their pocket money as their father and I did before them. There's not a huge amount of money in it, but it's an activity with lots of social positives, including cleaning up the neighbourhood and increasing recycling. It also teaches the kids that you have to work for money - although they do tend to delegate a lot of the actual collecting and crushing of cans to we adults. Managers in the making, I fear.

While we give the cans to the community group, they don't get the ring pulls. The ring pulls are made of titanium and can be recycled to make artificial limbs for the victims of land mines. We were a bit dubious when we heard this (and it did have a touch of the jumpers for penguins about it) but we are assured by an acquaintance (and I know her mother, so she wouldn't make it up) that she can ensure the ring pulls get to a local contact. About 36,000 ring pulls are needed for a single limb. That's lot of aluminium cans, but it doesn't take that long to remove them, and again, lots of positive benefits.

Postage stamps are something I've saved for charity all my adult life. The Presbyterian Women's Missionary Union in NSW is my preferred outlet, but often Rotary groups sell used stamps to raise funds for their projects as well. Stamps should be clipped or ripped with a few millimetres of space around the edge of the stamp. All stamps are welcome and I can provide contact details for the PWMU if anyone wants it, otherwise a call to your local Rotary group will probably put you in touch with a non-religious outlet.

Wine Corks from Taph Towers and associated abodes are donated to the Girl Guides who make cork boards from them to raise funds for their activities.

Clear plastic mailers. You know the clear plastic that magazines and other publications come posted in these days? Great as knitting pattern holders, I also use them for picking up the dog mess on walks. I get a few at home, but at work we get lots and at least one extra use of them is better than just throwing them in the bin as soon as the mail is opened.

Any one else have outlets for roadkill of this kind?

Too tired to blog, but not too tired to waste time on stupid memes

The Name Game meme

1. YOUR REAL NAME: ah, now, that would be telling

2. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME (father and mother's middle names): Ian Elaine or for a woman Elaine Ian

3. NASCAR NAME (first name of your father's dad; mother's dad): Charles Clarence or for a woman Elizabeth Dorothy

4. STAR WARS NAME (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name): Bucant

5. DETECTIVE NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Green Ferret (ok, so the ferret is my least favourite animal - but it's a fantastic detective name).

6. SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, town where you were born): Maree Butterworth

7. SUPERHERO NAME (second fav color, fav drink, add 'the' to the beginning): The Blue Vodka

8. FLY NAME (first two letters of your first name, last two letters of your last name): Anan

9. ROCK STAR NAME (current pet's name, current street name): Peggy Collings

10. PORN NAME (first pet, street you grew up on): Ginger Sunny-Glee

11. GANGSTA NAME (first three letters of your real name, plus izzle): Antizzle

12. GOTH NAME (black, and the name of one of your pets): Black Rose

13. STRIPPER NAME (favorite perfume, favorite candy): Chanel Nougat

ETA - Certainly play along if you want to - I just don't do the whole tagging thing.

Seven Things Week 76

IN (19)
4 prs trousers - OP SHOP
4 shirts - OP SHOP
1 necklace - OP SHOP
1 suit- OP SHOP
1 pr hiking boots- OP SHOP
1 pr Birkenstocks- OP SHOP
4 vintage knitting patterns - OP SHOP
2 lots wool - bloody Cassidy's sale
1 set Tupperware - GIFT

OUT (75)
72 sets knitting needles - GIFTS & DONATIONS
1 plate - BROKEN
1 stitch marker - LOST
1 book


SHAKE IT ALL ABOUT (3)
3 berets

So 9 cowls and 3 berets in a fortnight - comfort knitting. Loving Patons Inca, right now. It's a big quick knit, without being too chunky, and has enough wool and alpaca in the blend for a good hand feel when knitting. It's a loosely plied yarn and others have commented on the splittiness of it, but with a blunter needle (using Denise Interchangeables ATM), not bad at all.

The cowl is Snuggle Cowl, by Elspeth Kursh AKA Wry Punster. The pattern isn't on the blog, though, only on Ravelry - sorry non Ravellers.

The beret pattern is my own - will write it up, eventually

Not blocked yet, but soon.

Seven Things Week 75

IN (13)
1 coin purse - gift
3 lots of wool - gift
4 pieces of Tupperware - gifts
1 set magnets - gifts
1 book
3 sets undies - retail, even I don't buy my knickers second hand.

OUT (14)
1 skirt - GIFTS & DONATIONS
7 tops - GIFTS & DONATIONS
1 pr yoga pants - GIFTS & DONATIONS
1 pr undies - BIN
1 book - GIFTS & DONATIONS
1 phone charger - GIFTS & DONATIONS
2 display bottles - recycling

SHAKE IT ALL ABOUT (6)
6 cowls

TOTALS
IN 13
OUT 14
NETT OUT 1
SIAA 6