Leafygal

You're Jesting

Just in case you were wondering, I have finished some knitting projects recently.

The Jester Booties have been felted (more properly fulled as they are knitted items not fleece)
I think they need another go in the hot water to shrink them a bit more. They looked bedraggled when wet but spruced themselves up once dry again. The pattern is actually titled Old World Booties

The Dog Coat has been done for a while now. It has been waiting for photos

First I couldn't get my usual model to wear it because she had 2 episodes of torn dew claws and I wasn't game to try to pull anything over her feet. Now she has modelled the coat but won't sit still for a photo.

I resort to a static job. The coat has gone to the shop and hopefully someone will buy it for Xmas.

It was fun to knit. I used a pattern for Latvian Mittens and just applied it to the plain vanilla dog coat shape.

The ragbag

Ragbag posts are what happen when you haven't posted anything for ages and you have lots of different things to blog about.

Activities Include:
    A busy weekend starting with a family dinner at the house in Ocean Grove to celebrate what would have been my father's 90th Birthday. We opened his hoarded single malt whisky and enjoyed it for him. (24th Oct)
    On the Saturday morning the Morongo Old Collegians' AGM and luncheon (as president I had to attend) although it meant missing out on:-
    Back to Ocean Grove celebrations to mark 50 years since the Proclamation of the Township. I remember pushing my decorated pram in the parade next to my brother's decorated tricycle. Apparently we both won prizes for some art works as well, according to contemporary accounts in the local paper.
    I did get to the dinner that evening held in the OG Bowling Club where I had spent so many lunchtimes with my father in recent years. The Dinner was delicious against all expectations and we had a good time. Having my brother on board helped us to come second in the history of OG Trivia quiz. (Who else would know the absolutely exact location of the OG railway station?) There were at least 4 other members of my Primary school class there and we were just able to recognize each other!
    Sunday morning spent going through all the family photos,  newspaper clippings and other treasures with my cousin Ann who is the Menzies family historian. We found things that neither we nor she had seen before so it was quite productive.

 Our day off Tuesday was spent taking Tony's mum out for lunch for her birthday. She has recently moved from her unit in the retirement village into a  serviced apartment in the same location. It seems a very pleasant place to be and she still has access to the old Casey family home as the community centre at Edrington Park.

Caught up with friends on the Monday evening as they have been down for the "long" weekend of Cup Day.

Melbourne Cup Day saw us lunching with friends in Melbourne. Pepper came too and enjoyed her day with 2 pugs, Millie the black one and Oki  the other one and Gemma, their "cousin",  a silky terrier Jack Russell cross. They all behaved in exemplory fashion although Pepper seems to get bored with other dogs after a while. She ended up snoozing on the mat in the doorway and watching proceedings from there.

A photo at last - Ann's grandson Freddie finally got his jacket and it still fits him - and isn't he gorgeous in it!!!

Knitting weather

It's certainly Winter here. All the better for knitting. That extra layer of wool over the knees is a bonus.

I have actually finished a few items lately.  Hampered by illness, (my own then Tony's) I finally sewed the buttons on to the Moss stitch Baby Jacket. This is destined for my Cousin's first grandchild named Frederick, I think after my Grandfather (his Great Great Grandfather - my how old that makes me feel!!)
I also finished my Feather and Fan scarf, using very fine handspun and hand dyed wool purchased at the Fibre Forum at Geelong Grammar about 2 years ago.  I hasten to add that I already knitted one last year which I used about twice then lost!.
This photo shows it unblocked, which I may get round to doing some time in the next years!

I am over half way (ie 1 sock finished) with knitting Tony's socks, also using hand dyed wool from the Fibre Forum. I promised them to him  as a bribe to stop any recriminations over the yarn I bought!

Saturday, a busy day

Managed to fit in lots of fun stuff to my Saturday this week.
First my monthly trip to the Farmer's Market. My friend Irene and I have vowed to single handedly (well double really) keep the market going and to that end we spend an inordinate amount of cold hard cash at many of the stalls.
This time I bought Artichokes, Cavolo nero (black Kale) Coffee beans, Fruit bread, Gorgeous Pink Proteas, Misty Morn blue cheese from the Apostle Whey Cheese company (near Apollo Bay),  Music on CD of the Andean band who were playing there, Onion Focaccia, Portugese custard tart (1 only for Tony!) and Tomato Passata.
I could have bought lots more but a girl's shopping bag is only soooo big and her purse soooo little.

Next stop Eastern Beach for World Wide Knitting in Public Day (also the Yarn Harlot's 40th Birthday - how she managed to have these coincide I'll never know!)
 A great group sampled the menu, knitted, chatted and enjoyed the soft blues of the bay, the sky and the You Yangs
I even wore my Collinette Tagliatelli cardigan as it was such a cold day and I felt that WWKIP day required a special effort.

The day was not yet over however. We proceeded to Melbourne, got there in time to view the Kimono exhibition at the Immigration Museum.
Then on to at the Crown Casino for dinner at Guiseppe Arnaldo & Sons (GAS) and on to the Ballet.

The Australian Ballet presented an evening devoted to Jerome Robbins and the four pieces were each very different from the other. Music by Shostakovitch, Bach, Debussy and Chopin showed just how much variation there could be in one evening. The Cage was a study in the conflict of good and evil set in an insect community.
A Suite of Dances produced a pairing of dancer and cellist, along with gorgeously rich music by Bach.
Afternoon of a Faun captured the narcissistic movements of a young Faun and a passing girl, both dancers totally engrossed on their own performances as viewed in the imaginary mirror across the front of the stage. We were lucky to see Carlos Acosta the visiting artist who made the perfect self aware Faun inspecting the world from his own point of view.
The Concert is a comic ballet which explores the way an audience's minds wander during the performance. Lots of laughs but the dancers made some difficult pieces look easy.

What a full day - there should be more of them !!!!

Pink Pigs and Watermelons

I do sometimes finish knitted items. This one has been languishing in the UFO (unfinished objects for the non knitters out there) pile for nearly a year. All that it required was for me to sew the "pips" on to it.
This proved to be one of those monumental tasks that are so difficult because I had to:
A) Have the item out in plain sight
B) Have a darning needle in my hand at the time
C) Have the right colour wool handy
As you can imagine most of these only coincide during a blue moon, so one night recently I went and found the hat, got out my sewing kit, found the wool and BINGO!!
This watermelon hat is destined for one of my sister's de-grandchildren. Hope it still fits her.

 The photo doesn't do it justice as the colour is up the creek. The fetching model is the cute pink pig that was my first gift to my eldest nephew when he was born. This photo ties events together as I took it on the night of Ryan's (and the pigs) 18th Birthday.(May11th) Congratulations to them both and to my sister and her spouse for surviving the first 18 years!

Knotty Knitty

Would you believe that the Baby Surprise has been back to the frog pond again.
I'm not even going to discuss it this time, except to say that this isn't the sort of surprise I was expecting!!.
By way of compensation here are a couple of pictures of some finished knitting from last year. See I CAN knit!!!

1 The wormy apple hat done for a friend's 28month  old. He loves it!

2 The knitted hat done to the young model's directions.
I'll have to call it the pastel striped lime pom pom!

Living in the Frog Pond

No this is not about my  supposed career as landscape designer.  Nor is it about the wonderful rain we have heard on the roof for the first time in months!

It is about my knitting.
I seem to be in a fog of seniors moments lately.  Many moons weeks ago I started knitting EZ's (Elizabeth Zimmermann's) wonderful Baby Surprise cardigan for my new cousin several times removed ( don't ask me to work it out! - He is my cousin's daughter's first baby, named Frederick)
Something seems to be seriously amiss as this simple piece of knitting - garter stitch all the way (knit every row, for the non knitters among you) is undermining my confidence.

First time I frogged it (rip it, rip it,....get it?) it was because I had decided it was so simple that I would use the opportunity to teach myself to knit "Continental Style". This involves pushing the wool round the needle with the left hand fingers instead of my usual right. I did this in the misguided belief that next time I do a Fair Isle pattern, which uses 2 colours in each row, I could try EZ's method of one colour in each hand. Sounds great, perhaps a little complicated for someone so  mentally challenged as I, but a sound theory.

I duly picked up the method, but in my madness mixed it freely with my "old" style of knitting as well when it got just too hard.  Result - many rows completed and me looking at a totally unevenly tensioned piece of cloth that even a new face washer knitter wouldn't have been proud of.
My slight touch of perfectionism kicked in and I gritted my teeth and took it to the pond.

Second time around determined to keep the tension even and ditch the new method.  It would go much faster now wouldn't it?
Late night TV watching Owl that I am, I happily knitted like crazy through late episodes of Judge John Deed (which I love - I find it fascinating to watch Martin Shaw as an oldie - I can still see him in my mind as Doyle in The Professionals.)  Is he really that old?  That must mean that I am older than I think!!

I also ate up episodes of Jamie in Italy and my other favourite on UK TV - Relocation, Relocation - which gives me vicarious visits to country cottages,  manor houses and converted barns in the beautiful English countryside.
What's all this got to do with knitting you may ask?  Well one night recently I stopped knitting to look in smug satisfaction at what my flying fingers had wrought.  Quell horreur!! Quell disaster!!!!!

Where there should have been lovely stripes going neatly round 45 degree angled corners there were 65 degree slopes and a possible 35 degrees,  one end had too many stitches past the corner and one had too few. Surely when I had said to myself earlier that the corners looked a bit funny I should have stopped and listened to that small inner nag.

No - like Stephanie's friend who knitted a whole sweater too big because she refused to acknowledge that her gauge was off, I had merrily watched TV until my own project was beyond pretending that a bit of a squint would fix it!!

It took a day between the decision being made and the actual ripping, but I am now back on the straight and narrow, a somewhat chastened and a carefuller(?) knitter (who counts stitches now before any drastic action!)

I can't even show you a photo to prove any of this - I couldn't bear to snap anything so awful looking.
I take my hat off to my knitting buddy Gingernut, who sails through Baby Surprise jackets by the dozen to stock her market stall.
Here's to the end of this one and a photo to come!

PS. Do you like my new look page - I couldn't resist the watercolour background?

Sampler M conquered

Finally.....Sampler M is finished.
Since I last posted a progress report I have had monumental struggles with a couple of the patterns.
One should have been easy to do because the pattern was such a clear dotted outline, but knitting it proved to me just how many mistakes I could make in 3 inches of fabric.
I lost count of the unravellings,  mine as well as the sampler's!

I stopped for a  while because so many people in the group had enormous trouble with the next pattern and I was by now almost frightened to attempt it. Once started however I zoomed along without any dramas.
This gave me a false sense of security for the next pattern - allegedly so simple with only one row of pattern in a 4 row repeat.  Many starts later and a tutorial session at our last knitting meeting and I still had to go home and rip it back to the start.  With some more group communication I finally "got" the stitch and romped along to the last few patterns.

I decided to add an ending to my sampler so it could be worn as a scarf. I started a new piece of knitting with the same pattern as at the other end and did an initial pattern of a "G", so I now have a G and an N at the ends of my scarf.

I grafted the new piece on with Kitchener stitch. It looks quite good I think but I have to block it now to allow all the various widths of patterns to fall into line along the edge.
Here are the scans I took before blocking.   

Stocking Sampler

Finally I have scanned the latest piece of the reproduction of the 1860's stocking sampler that I am doing as a knitalong.
I am up to date at pattern 15 and pattern 16 has just been posted - so off I go again.
I hadn't done much lace knitting before and this is a great way of learning as you just get a little taste of each pattern.
Maybe next time (!!!) I will do it as a series of face washers - lovely to look at and useful to boot!

Sampling samplers

I have become involved (yet again!) in an on-line knitalong
This time it is run by a Dutch knitter who discovered a sampler knitted by a young girl in the  mid 1800's. It was done as a sampler for knitting stockings - very fine white wool .
An intriguing side issue here is that the patterns are given in Dutch and English, as is the posting to the group, so I am absorbing a few Dutch knitting terms as I go!

We are getting one pattern each Saturday and I have so far kept up.
I'm knitting in cotton and think I'll make it into a scarf when I've finished.
Here are the photos of the first eight patterns. The original had a letter M on it which I changed to an N.

Famous Knitter

My square, knitted for the "Wall of Yarn" project will be launched on the unsupecting public tomorrow night at the Nectar Bar  at 584 Glenhuntly Road Elsternwick.
Some of you might be able to get there to see the display which closes 10th August.

Dream car

Silly me!
Fancy going out and buying a car when I could have just knitted one for myself!!

Want a Ferrari? Knit yourself one

Art graduate Lauren Porter, 22, is queen of the road after knitting herself a full-size Ferrari sports car. “I get men admiring the racing lines and old women admiring the stitches,” Lauren, whose 12 Miles of Yarn will exhibit at Studio 95, said.

(taken from the Times On-Line)

Hip to be Square

Just posted off my 150x150mm knitted/crocheted square to be part of a wall hanging at the Nectar Gallery
It seems like a fun project and the Nectar Lounge sounds like a great place to have a bite to eat and a Juice?
Nichola the owner is one of the members of the Melbourne Stitch 'n' Bitch group of knitters/spinners/crocheters etc

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The colours have come out most peculiarly, with a sort of orange cast over it.  The twirly embellishment is really a bright lilac!!

I didn't have time to blog this before but I finally finished my cardigan - the one for ME!
I wanted it to wear to Sydney for our recent trip. It looks fine, but I think a little more weight loss would help it to look Great!
The pin is from our shop, fortunately the last one left.
(photo will follow)

Off and nearly off the needles

Finally pictures of the knitting in progress.

Here's the finished Li'l devil hat for friend Thomas.
Apparently he likes it and it keeps his ears warm!

STILL on the needles is the little coat jacket for Edward. It is taking so long because I decided in my wisdom idiocy to invent the stripes as I went along so have to keep looking at each row as I go to find out where I'm up to!
Now I'm on the sleeves I have to contend with increasing as well and the mathematics involved makes my brain ache and I can't knit it in front of the telly!
I thought I would show a progress shot just so you can see that I really am knitting!

No Knit today

For a blog that started out with plans to document my knitting career this seems to have fallen by the wayside recently.

I have been knitting - really I have!  I just don't seem to have finished much.
I don't feel like a knitter who documents works in progress, as it feels a bit like cheating, but if the famous and revered Yarn Harlot can do it I don't see why I can't.

So I now have to photograph the following WIP's

Little Devil hat for friend's baby - needs earpieces and horns to be done.

Cardigan for friend of my sister Lou - I wanted to knit her something because she loves unconventional baby clothes, and I just love the unusual. - Navy background with orange and lime green stripes!!
I've finished back and 2 fronts and have started sleeve #1

Now Autumn has arrived (or has it - today was at least 25c) I can pick up my gorgeous cardigan and finish it off. I have to sew the seams and then knit around the edge. Not really much to do but too heavy for over summer.

More babies are popping up every where.  I now have several more to knit for - what fun!
Friend Jane's 1st grandchild, due  in about 2 weeks.  My new great niece/nephew due late June.
Pru's new De-grandchild due in September (De grandchildren are those belonging to children of one's partner - leading to the title De Gran!)  She was clever to aquire grandchildren in this relatively painless manner!

I'd better leave this now and go and finish knitting something

Cardi!!

I have been knitting a garment for me lately. A Cardigan/jacket thingy which is knitted from the back up and over the shoulders and down the fronts. Sounds wierd but it works nicely.
Using Collinette Tagliatelli pure merino wool tape to knit it. The colour is gorgeous and I have never knitted with tape before.
I've just started the sleeves!
It should be ready just in time for the hot weather!!!

Six Sock Knitalong.

Yaaaaay!!!
I've finally finished my Chutes and Ladders Socks for the Six Sock Knitalong. (Snakes and Ladders to us Aussies)
Knitted using Lorna's Laces sock yarn in a very fetching shade of Lilac which shows up the pattern beautifully.  Needles were my new Addi circulars 2.25 mm with 70 stitch cast on.
These took so long to do, I started them during the first week in June but did a lot of ripping back and Tinking (for any non knitters out there this is knit ting backwards, ie stitch by stitch or unknitting!!)
I finally got into the swing of the pattern and the second one went a lot faster than the first.
I also stopped for a few breaks to knit some beanies for a local Primary school where the children are in need of warm clothing.  My sister L and I did 9 between us, not a bad effort even though once we worked out a quicker pattern than my first 2 they were fairly quick to knit.
Will post photo when I get one done.
The six sock knitalong gives a pattern every 2 months for a year and everyone in the group knits the same socks at the same time. We post our efforts and encourage each other along the way.
I don't know if I'll get 6 done - the next pair had better be in thicker yarn than the last ones!

Socks to boot

Ages ago I finished my first pair of knitted socks.
I was totally fascinated by the Opal Sock wool from Germany which makes its own Fairisle type of pattern as you knit.
It has taken me ages to get a photo of these, so long in fact that I have now finished my second pair- proudly worn to my Knitting Meetup meeting tonight, and in fact still keeping my toes toasty warm!

The second pair aren't quite as lairy as the first, and are a better fit, due to my now being an experienced sock knitter!!! (I put into practice all I learned while doing the first pair!)
The first pair will be my cosy Sitting- in-Front- of-the-TV socks for this winter.
I bought a new pair of PURPLE soft ankle boots last Friday and the second pair look very handsome peeking from the top of the boot.

I've come to the conclusion that I am a wierdo knitter as my new project is the Vegan Fox from Knitty.com.  It is a knitted version of the real fox furs popular in the 30's where the scarf fastened using the foxes mouth attached to its tail (rather grisly but one of our members was heard to say that she wished I was knitting with real foxes.  I guess I can't blame her as she runs free range chickens and foxes are not her favourite thing!!)
My fox will be less orangey than this original!

I'm also about to start a beanie or scarf for the Ardoch Youth Foundation who look after needy children in Primary schools.  We are doing them for a local school. It should be quite fun to knit as we can do all sorts of colours and patterns!

Hat Trick

Decided to knit the hat for niece Kylie as a change from the tiny yarn and needles used on the socks.
To my delight I finished it in one night in front of the Telly.  It was one hank of mixed yarns plied together by the Yarn Barn.  I got so excited that I used the second Yarn Barn hank to do one for me, and took 2 nights to finish it, mainly because we were watching Metropolis on the World Movie channel and I had to read the subtitles!!
How great to finish 2 garments in a few days after the socks have dragged on for weeks.
Photos will follow when I can wrest the camera back from DH who likes ot have it available for work related stuff.

Knitt wits

We had our Knitting Meetup group last  night at the appropriate venue of the Black Sheep Cafe at the Wool Museum.
Lots of patterns, new and old to dream over, new mags and a great old Hollywood Knits from the forties.
I am still working on the dreaded socks, but have sworn to finish them before starting on anything else.  How I long for thick yarn and fat needles!!

Kitty Hat

Been so obsessed by the socks that my niece's Kitty hat has been languishing in the background waiting for its tassels.
I also decided that it needed another row of the fluffy orange/pink/red yarn so I crocheted a chain of it along the top stripe's edge.
Now I finally have a picture of it and I can post it off. It is going to this Month's
Month of Softies on the theme Vintage Catwalk
Today the weather forecast is for 35C  (94.9F) so I guess she isn't in a real hurry for it to arrive!

Smart dog

Finished dog coat! What a smart puppy!
Shame that the weather is hotting up.
Won't she be gorgeous next winter!

Sumptuous Stashes

Two recent Yarn stash enhancement trips.
Lincraft yarn sale netted me Schoeller & Stahl "Excellent" wool acrylic alpaca mix in a graduated blue twisted with white.  Also fell for the last remaining Lana Grossa "Mylord" in a black  background with multi colour flecks.  Three balls of  misty dark blue mohair looked too lonely to leave behind.

Much joy on a trip to Melbourne last Monday:
Work visit to the plant wholesalers then dinner with Mum (Dear Husband's) and stay overnight with my sister.
This enabled my first visit to Marta's Yarns http://www.martasyarns.com.au/   
Here I  coveted some Rowan Summer Tweed but settled for Cleckheaton Remo in Violet and 3 cones of cotton yarn at $5 each -violet and mauve from her sale table.
A hank of Himalayan sari silk  multi coloured just leaped into my hands - have no idea what to do with it yet!
4 Balls of multi coloured cotton completed the  haul.