Sunday's are for being lazy

At least that is what I am telling myself. Long time no blog huh? The horror of larger projects is that there isn't much to blog. I haven't even had anything non-craft related to blog about. Life has been blissfully boring (well sort of).

I have finished something though in the last two weeks. Duncan wanted a Geelong hoodie, and given that he loves his handknits so much, I agreed that this should be done.


Rather than strict Geelong hoopss I opted for a more abstracted Geelong approach (read, I did it in navy and white). Duncan decided that he didn't want sleeves so I have just finished off the arm holes with a few rows of garter. To be honest I could have kissed the boy when he said he didn't want sleeves, I was getting pretty sick of the whole kit and caboodle.

This is knit in Bendigo luxury 8ply. I still can't rave enough about this yarn. The hoodie that I made Rohan is wearing really well. As I suspected it needed a shave (and may need another) but it is blissfully soft underneath the fuzz and kid's handknits should only be machine washable if you ask me.

I now have some Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran on the needles that I am trying to turn into a vest. Hopefully it won't be another 2 weeks before that is done.

I tried to resist, honest I did....

Damn Sam for leaving her Noro striped scarf here. Damn me for having 4 skeins of Noro Silk Garden on hand. Damn the boredom caused by knitting another hoodie.

I succumbed. I made a Noro Striped Scarf.

I have to confess that it looks really cool. What I thought were muddy sections when I was knitting at night ended up having the most delightfully subtle variations in the light. I also have to confess that it is warm and snuggly and goes with most outfits in a casual sort of way. I also have to admit that I quite love it and it was a quick fun knit.

It is no where near the full 4 skeins, in fact I think I probably have enough of each colour (251 and 268 for the purists) left for a hat of some description. I knew all along that the full 4 would be too long but whilst debating where to finish I hit a join between red and navy blue. I took it as a sign from the gods and cast off.

So now I am the same as the rest of the internet knitting world. I have a Noro Striped Scarf!

Bendigo!

Yet another trip to the Bendigo Sheep and Wool show has come and gone. Sam and I ventured over on Friday via Purls Palace and the Chocolate Mill in Daylesford before landing at the Bendigo Woollen Mills and then onto the motel. After check in, there was a brisk walk of town with the main intent of finding a bottle shop and hence wine before returning back refreshed and exercised. It was then, clearly, wine o'clock. Rach, Grant and Neko arrived shortly there after. Excellent timing I'd have said!

I was declared the queen of wine and wool and presented with my shell soap-and-toiletry-holder tiara and very long Sam-made knee sock sash.

Wine, pizza, chippies, chocolate lava cakes and Eskimo Pie were consumed and we settled in for some knitting and TV (and more wine).

Saturday saw us head off to the Ravlery breakfast which was a hoot and saw us walk away with a range of prizes and consume the most long-awaited coffee of the weekend.

The show was of it's usual standard. The stallholders had some magnificent wares and both Sam and I purchased a range of beautiful things (although I think I was very controlled coming home with only a little over 500g of yarn).

Here I am showing my justifiable love for some Wooldancer rainbow organic merino and some equally loveable Tailored Strands Alpaca.

Sam was enamoured with her Jitterbug from Sarah Durrant that she has been babbling about for the last month (year, century..) or so.

There was some amazing wool craft like this...

And some VERY ugly jumpers like this...


There was a sheep that Sam tried to speak nicely to...

It didn't reply so I gave it a seeing to.

It was much better after that! There was an alpaca that really belonged in "The Big Book of British Smiles".

And lots of other cute alpacas and big-bummed rams.

And all I came home with was this "little" pile...

See, some of it isn't even yarn!

As Promised.....

The Rose Ribbons Shawl is done and dusted. Another lovely Evelyn Clark design from her book "Knitting lace Triangles". The book is a bit of a bugger to get in Australia but well worth the effort as a learning exercise. In it Ms Clark goes through the complete design process for this particular style of shawls as well as including a number of pattern suggestions.

This is "nearly" as the book prescribes. It went a little askew when I got a little carried away and did the flower beginning and then two repeats of the flower lace instead of one. I then continued on as prescribed but decided that I had enough yarn for an extra round of double repeats of the flower and the leaf lace. I finished it with the first six rows of flower lace and transition 1. The edging is two rows longer than suggested just to get the lighter tone on the cast off edge.

This is a lovely shawl and I am very pleased with the end result. The Kauni Effektgarn 8/2 (ED colourway) is again not the softest of yarns but forgivable for the great colour changes. If you are after a soft-as-silk shawl stick to something else. If you love the subtle gradient changes then go the Kauni.

Oh, and I would like you to note from the last photo that I do not have the 37 chins indicated in the first.

Marriage and the art of the school holidays

Today is my parent's 46th wedding anniversary. That is not a typo - forty-six! That is one hell of an effort any way you look at it. I have been married 13 years. Jas and I have been together now for 17. Most of those years have been marvelous, but I think any married person will tell you that there are times that aren't so great too. There are times that you could easily pack your bags and walk away without a moments thought, yet you don't.

I have seen my parents marriage and take it as an example. I know there were times that were less than great. I know that there were times when either one of them could have walked away. I also know that they hung on despite this and they have had many great and happy times together in that 46 years. Making a commitment to stay with one person forever isn't an easy one.

Jason and I married young, or at least what is considered young these days. I was 24 and he was 22. I sometimes say that we are still together as much through good luck as good management. What I mean by that is that we are both quite different people to who we were as young adults. Thankfully the changes have been positive (or at least bearable) and we still love the person that the other has become. In many ways it could have easily gone the other way.

On a less serious topic it is school holidays. Oh how I love school holidays. I know that some parents dread it but I love the casual, relaxed nature of a school holidays spent at home. I love the lack of time constraints and the lack of pressure (and I confess, the lack of work). Currently the kids are still in their jammies. Bevo is on the computer completing a very important Scooby Doo related photo collage and the two youngest ones are entertained with a cubby made from the couch, the coffee table and two blankets. They probably should be dressed but where's the hurry? We aren't going anywhere.

I also love that the holidays is a chance to tackle some of those bigger jobs that seem to much trouble for the weekends. So far I have sorted all the boys clothes, taking the too small to a friends house and shuffling the rest down a boy. I love that my kids are so unconcerned about these things that they are excited to receive "new" clothes from their bigger brothers. I also finally tackled the bathroom cupboard in our ensuite. I am sure that I haven't organised that since we renovated nearly 5 years ago! The knitting stuff in the lounge also got a going over. Needles back where they belong and all that jazz.

I have also got a little knitting done in the hols.

Pattern: Omo Scarf by Lucia Tedesco
Yarn: Cashmere 8ply from Ebay
Needles: 5mm
Comments: I just love this scarf. The pattern is beautifully textured without being fussy and easily remembered being just two rows.

Pattern: Hannah by Blake Ehrlich
Yarn: Cleckheaton Merino Supreme
Needles: 6mm
Comments: This is my new hash hat. I need to have my hair ponied to run and my old headband had lost it's elasticity. The only mod I made was to add about 3cm to the hat as I wanted it further down my ears. This thing whipped up so quickly. Even with pulling all the decreases to make it a little larger, it still only took about 3 hours.

Work continues on my Rose Ribbon Shawl. I anticipate an end very shortly.

Where to start?

I finally think I am fully back in the land of the living. At least I am finally getting up to posting an update of sorts.

The school holidays are here and I am enjoying a relaxing day at home with the kids. No pressure for any of us. Just bumming around doing whatever we want. Bevan only got dressed because I needed him to pop to the shops for some bread for lunch. Failing that I am convinced he would still be in his jammies. I did a little housework and have just been pottering besides.

I have been doing some knitting since last I posted, although I must confess, not a whole lot. Most of this stems from falling down the stairs (think from 1st floor to ground) and tearing a rotator cuff muscle in my shoulder. For a few weeks there knitting was just a touch to painful. Luckily though it was/is my left shoulder and although it is a long way from "right" I can knit pretty easily now. Ballet however is a whole other question.

The finished objects...

Pattern: Children's Hooded Tunic #232 by Diane Soucy
Yarn: Luxury 8ply from Bendigo Woollen Mills in Brick
Needles: 4.5mm
Comments: This is the new yarn from BWM and I cannot rave enough about it! It is soft and fluffy, knits beautifully and goes through the machine without an eye flutter. In my opinion it is far superior to any of their other yarns. An absolute winner.

Pattern: Edna Rose by me.
Yarn: Jo Sharp DK Silkroad Tweed in Berry
Needles: 4mm
Comments: I modified this to make a slouchy hat rather than a beanie style as the pattern was originally written. I cast on 100sts for the rib and then did an increase row of k4, kfb before commencing the pattern. In reality I probably picked the wrong combo of yarn and pattern for this but the end result isn't bad. If I was to do another (and I might), I would use a lighter yarn and switch to 4.5mm needles for the body of the hat.

My current WIP is a Rose Ribbon Shawl by Evelyn Clark in Kauni (EP colourway). It is great fun and running along. Pictures will come when it is finished. I also have to start another hoodie for Duncan as his is getting a little small and he loves it so much. I have some navy and white Luxury to knit him a "Geelong" hoodie. Should get onto that but the lace does becon....

I have been a little quiet.

Those that know me personally know that it has been a rough week.

Tuesday I watched two marvelous people bury their eldest son. He was 22 years old, in his third year of university, had a beautiful and loving girlfriend and a loving and supportive family. For days now I have known that I had to write about it but it is so hard.

Rhys was one of my students, a number of years ago granted, that as many others have touched my life and changed it. One of the lovely things about being a secondary school teacher is that you watch kids grow into amazing adults. The special ones keep in touch, a process now made much easier through sites like Facebook. Some send text messages, others email, others send messages through younger siblings. My life is enriched by many of these young people. Not just the "good" ones (of which Rhys was one) but also the naughty ones who overcome their issues to finish high school and move on in life. I have cried with them and I have laughed with them.

Rhys died because he was living as he believed was right. A young lady was involved in an argument with her boyfriend early on a Sunday morning in the street. Rhys and a friend asked her if she needed any help. Her boyfrind turned around and punched him. He fell and cracked the back of his head on the concrete. He never woke up.

His mum told me that he was responsive in his coma. At times during the time he spent in hospital he would show signs that he could hear them. She said he looked perfect. He lasted nearly a week before he gave in.

The funeral was massive. With the team mates from his football and cricket teams, his uni mates, his high school mates, family friends and others he has touched, there were hundreds in attendance. So much as it shouldn't have to be, the service was a lovely record of a very special and stupidly short life. The messages were the same. Rhys was passionate and loving in everything he did.

I had to watch my kids hurting. It isn't fair that people so young should suffere such loss. It isn't fair that the world should suffer such loss.

This whole episode is just so pointless and has ruined so many lives. Rhys' family will have the rest of their lives to come to terms with all this as will his mates. Adding to that the boy responsible is now facing manslaughter charges. I am sure life will never be the same for him and his family either. I also can't help but feel for the poor girl who must feel some responsibility in this whole mess. Stupid shit caused by angry beer.

Regardless, wherever Rhys is I hope he realises how much he was loved and how special he was. There better be sport and I am sure if there are others he has already made some new mates.