Tangled Up In Projects

My Webs order arrived last week (yipeee), and apart from the package being opened by Australian Customs and most of the yarn unwound and tangled (I think they were looking for suspicious things burried in the yarn???) I was very happy with my purchase....

So I decided that I will first cast on for Cherry (by Anna Bell) and have already done my gauge swatch (which I have even gasp washed and blocked) using the Dale of Norway- Svale....

I love this yarn! It is so soft and the silk threads sparkle in the sun, just lovely. It does have a tendency to split, but the end result is worth the hassle.

Otherwise I am still plugging away at #11 Forestry cardigan (nearly finished the second sleeve), and I did end up running out of the Malabrigo yarn for the Joukahainen sweater which I now have more on the way from the US. Unfortunatly there was no black colourway available here in Australia so hopefully it wont arrive from Australian Customs in a massive tangle! I have also finished the first sock for the Australian Swappers 'Double your Pleasure Sock Swap' and am just about to cast on for the second sock. So hopefully I'll be finished at least one of these projects within a week or two.

Stitch

I ordered the first two issues of Stitch from Interweave Press a few weeks ago and they arrived last week...


Heres a sneak peak of my favorites from both magazines...






Looking forward to the next issue due out on the 6th October.

Ive Been Tagged

Thank you SweetP Knits for the meme tag! Here goes....

What is your current obsession?
Pattern stalking! At the moment Im obsessed with searching out knitting patterns on ravelry and then checking out others FO's. Unfortunatly not a lot of knitting is getting done and my queue is growing at an alarming rate.

What are you wearing today?
Tripple layers...its freezing!

What's for dinner?
Im making a Chinese Ken Hom recipe...fish in hot and sour sauce also stir fried spinach and garlic and boiled rice. His recipes taste so good!

What would you eat for your last meal?
A huge fresh seafood platter with a good bottle of white wine and profiteroles and macchiato coffee for dessert.

What's the last thing you bought?
I brought yarn at WEBS to make 3 different things....

Cherry by Anna Bell using Dale of Norway- Svale

Lace Top by DROPS design using Reynolds Sunday Best

..and Ishbel by Ysolda Teague using Malabrigo Sock yarn

Cant wait for it all to arrive.

What are you listening to right now?
The crackle of my fire.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
I would go to a beach on one of the Greek Islands, take a swim in the Mediterranean then find a beach side Ouzerie to enjoy some mezedes and ouzo ahhhhh.

Which language do you want to learn?
Japanese, so I can read all their lovely craft books.

What do you love most about where you currently live?
I like the old buildings and the rural life...but I do miss the sea.

What is your favorite colour?
At the moment I love green, especially olive greens and sage greens.

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?
My jeans, I wear them all the time.

What were you doing ten years ago?
I was living in Glebe, working at RPA Hospital and I had just met my partner Paul (wow was that 10 years ago????)

Describe your personal style?
Casual, I mainly wear jeans with my beloved Converse sneakers or boots, lots of layered tops/knits. I especially love shopping at second hand stores and finding lovely vintage pieces.

If you had £100 now, what would you spend it on?
I would probably go to Amazon.co.jp or Yes Asia and buy some more knitting or craft books from Japan.

What are you going to do after this?
Eat Dinner then watch 'The Sopranos' (up to season 3) and knit.

What are your favorite films?
Rushmore, The Godfather, Stand By Me, Whats Eating Gilbert Grape and recently Stranger than Fiction.

What inspires you?
Japanese craft books, blogs, photography, colours and patterns, fabric and yarn.

Who's work/designs are you inspired by?
I love Norah Gaughan, Ysolda Teague, Veronik Avery, oh yes and Elizabeth Zimmermann.

Your favourite books?
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I'm currently reading 'East of Eden' by John Steinbeck which I'm really enjoying.

Do you collect anything?
Not really, I have this idea to start collecting vintage plates, bowls etc from second hand stores that I come across in my travels. My idea is to build up an eclectic dinner set, each piece reminding me of where I have been...we'll see.

What makes you follow a blog?
I love looking at pictures, so plenty of pics as well as similar interests.

What was the most enjoyable thing you did today?
I had a wonderful sleep in and I relaxed. I suppose not having to go to work was enjoyable lol.

Whats one thing you dream of doing?
Taking a year off to travel the world.

The rules:1. Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your invention, add one more question of your own. 2. Tag eight other people.

Now its my turn to tag!
These are all great blogs which I read regularly, so I hope you don't mind being tagged.
Looking forward to reading your responses to meme!

Blue Kelebek
Missy Fee
Knitting On the Chaise Lounge
The Inner Stitch
Hyena In Petticoats
Twoandsix
Knitting Box
Bellsknits

Sock Swaps and Jumpers

I have joined yet another swap, this time its the 'Double Your Pleasure Sock Swap' with the Austalian Swappers group on Ravelry. Last week I received the first part of the swap, two fabulous skeins of sock yarn with the all important chocolate (Haighs Chocolate YUMMM!) from Missfee...

...the skeins of sock yarn are Kougu KPPPM and Knitabulous.

The second part of the swap is to knit a pair of socks from one of the skeins to send back to your partner. The other skein you get to keep! This second part is a secret, but I can say that I have chosen the skein I will knit with but I am still undecided on the sock pattern (there are just so many good patterns!). I sent Missfee her parcel on Thursday so hopefully she will receive it on Tuesday, cant wait to see what she thinks!

Otherwise I have been slowly knitting my way through my projects. The #11 Forestry (Old Penny) cardigan is coming along well, I am nearly up to joining the arms. I just cant understand why the pattern is written in such a complicated way when in actual fact it is really simple and easy to memorise. Anyway I cant wait to finish it and wear it now the weather is getting so cold.

I have also been knitting a jumper for my partner Paul using the pattern Joukahainen by Kristel Nyberg. Its very simple stockinette stitch pattern, which is what he wanted and I'm using Malabrigo worsted in black. I'm just hoping I have enough yarn left to finish it as what you see in the picture is all I have left!

Autumn

Its getting cold where I live, the fire is burning day and night, the days are short and the Autumn colours are glowing...








....so to keep my hands busy and my lap warm I have started #11 Forestry (Old Penny Cardigan) by Veronik Avery which was featured in Vogue Knitting, fall 2008.

The yarn is Tahki Yarns Donegal Tweed in a beautiful shade of gray green with lovely flecks of Autumnal colours...


..Im really loving this pattern, its going much quicker than I thought it would. Heres a close up of the coin cables...


While Ive been knitting 'Old Penny' Ive been cosily sitting by the fire listening to the audio book of "Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski. I brought this from Audible.com and now have a wish list a mile long. I love how you can download the books straight onto your laptop or audio listening device at a pretty reasonable price. You can also listen to a snippet of the book to see if you like the sound of the reader. If you like books check it out!

Baby Steps

Pattern: Saartje's Booties by Saartje de Bruijn (free PDF also available in Dutch)

Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease- Cotton/Acrylic 10 ply (Colourway Berry and Gray)
Needles: 2.75mm (US 2)


These booties were made for the Destiknit Spring Baby KAL/CAL...

Im so happy with the way they knitted up, its such a great pattern and only took about 6 hours to fully complete the pair....

I used buttons from my stash, which are the same colour but are each slightly different...

And this is the completed baby set!

Baby EZ

Pattern: February Baby Sweater on Two Needles by Elizabeth Zimmerman (from the book "Knitters Almanac")

Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease- Cotton/Acrylic 10 ply (2 balls 'Berry', 1 ball 'Gray')
Needles: 4mm (US 6)

I made this for the Destiknit Spring Baby KAL/CAL. Each of the garments made for the KAL/CAL are to be donated to a charity of your choice...I am thinking of giving it to a local womens refuge.

I wasn't sure which buttons to use until I went searching through my button stash and found exactly the right number of these 'mother of pearl' buttons....I think it was meant to be.

This was such a quick knit, the only thing I would do differently next time is to knit the sleeves in the round. There was a lot of yarn left over so I am also knitting a pair of Saartje's Booties (by Saartje de Bruijn) to go with the sweater.