Christchurch Earthquake Auction

Originally I'd planned to spin something, and I still may later, but at the moment I have my hands full with my family, all the extra work we need to do to keep them safe after the earthquake and my actual paying work which I'll be starting tomorrow.   Instead I decided I'd go stash diving and find something that people will like instead.   I decided to go with some Vintage Purls yarn, it needed to be old enough to not be affected by the failed superwash issue that came up (I kept the yarns that I had that were affected by this).   The yarn I came up with is from the Winter 2009 sock club.   It's for the yarn only, but it's beautiful yarn.

It's called "Taimi".  Now the way this works is you bid using the comments.  I'll close this off 5pm Friday 04th March NZ time.  I'll post it at my cost to the winner, but not until the winner has provided me with an emailed copy of the deposit with the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal, this can be done by credit card, or over the counter; more details are here: http://www.christchurchearthquakeappeal.govt.nz/

I figure this way I know the donation is definitely made, and you know that I didn't pocket it.   I will send anywhere in the world, not sure on timing as of course it's dependent on when my local post shop is open.  

All bidders need to put an email or Rav name in the comment as well as the amount they are bidding.

quick knitting post

Not been doing much knitting over the last few days; been trying to work but my concentration is a bit fluffy.  I have made a decision about the Open Windows socks I was knitting.  They're coming out too big despite being on gauge.  I've decided to change to the Alpine Glow pattern which is very pretty and should look really nice in my handspun.

what a mess!

We'd not been able to get hold of my brother and his wife or Thomas' parents so went out in the car this morning.  No photo's as I left the camera at home; but what a mess!   Most roads have at least some damage, either surface liquefaction, or the humps from where it didn't break through.  There are stretches with no damage, but they're fairly short.
Luckily everyone we were visiting was fine, their phones came back on while we were on the road which was good.   My brother and his wife have no power or running water, but luckily have plenty of drinking water.  My In-Laws do have water and power, so they're lucky in that respect, though FIL is mourning the loss of both his TV's, and one computer that's disappeared under a pile of stuff in his computer room.
Thomas and his sister went on to help out a friend who has liquefaction on his property, they're biking back, which may well be quicker than the car trip home was.   Brougham St was down to one lane while heavy machinery was cleaning up the worst of the silt, so it was barely moving for several blocks.   We got caught in that, and our own street was backed up a long way too; luckily some kind person waved us through into our drive.   Most drivers are being careful and courteous which is great; I think I got over 40km/h a couple of times, but was mostly keeping to 40 or below.  Some were going along at about 60km/h which I personally think was a bit stupid.   I went with careful and getting home in one piece with the boys.

Post earthquake, again

Yesterday was not a nice day; today is also not nice and it looks like things won't be good for a while, and for some people never again.

At 10 minutes to 12pm yesterday we had another earthquake.  This wasn't as big in magnitude as 4th September, but it was shallow and centred near town.  It felt worse than the original to me as I lurched from the sewing machine into the bedroom (less stuff in there to fall).   Our house coped ok, my hot chocolate didn't so the keyboard is now full of sticky stuff.  Cleaned that up quickly, my neighbour was home for lunch and he came to check on me which was really nice.  They were staying out of the house.   After I'd cleaned up the hot chocolate and a couple of hazards from the floor I ran down the road to the school to pick up the boys from the school field.   Yesterday that field was full of children and teachers; today it looks like this:

You can see the liquefaction at the front, the little grey bits on the field at the back are where the kids were yesterday.   Today we went for a walk down to the local dairy.  We passed a lot of liquefaction on the way, I didn't take any photo's of the worst affected area as that would have been infringing on the privacy of the people living there; but you can get an idea from the following 2 photo's of the road near there:

the bottom shot is of the hole you can see my husband pointing at; it's a sinkhole about 2 feet deep with a lot of water in it.  Someone had put a rubbish bin next to it so no-one would drive into it.   On the street I previously mentioned my husband saw a car sunk into one of these up the top of the hubcaps, my father-in-law drove my sister-in-law's car into one of them during the earthquake; the car is stuffed, but he was ok which is all that matters.

When we got to the local dairy there was a queue which we joined as we were out of milk and now that power was back we needed some more.  He was getting very low, had already packed the milk into bags of 2 to 4 bottles.  We only got what we needed which was 2 bottles and a small pack of jellybeans for the boys.  I didn't get anything else luckily as I had to pay cash which I was getting low on.    On the way back there was another aftershock; there's been a lot and some have been over 5 on the scale.  

We dropped into school which was closed to show Ian his bike was safe, he's not happy about it, but it's safe and sound

His is the green bike, so safe and sound, even if out of reach.   There's a security camera nearby so it should still be there when school reopens.   I don't think it's going to be this week though, water has only just come back on at 1.30pm and the pressure is rather low and we're on boil notice so not suitable for school to open yet.  I hate to think what the lunchboxes will be like when we get back to school, but I'm sure it'll be able to be washed.

But annoying as all this is, we're lucky! No-one hurt and minimal property damage.  We know everyone is safe; so many people do not have that luxury.

I've not got much crafting done, was in the middle of sewing quilting patches when it started and the power went.

Will post more crafting photo's once things are a bit more normalised.   That might take a while.

Tidbits

Still a couple of days before we're back with broadband and it's running really slowly, so I'm just posting a quick update.

1.  I've lost weight!   1.2kg in the last week; hope that continues.   I have been eating better and also exercising more; went for a bike ride as soon as I got home from spinning today.

2.  Have got past the thumb for my mittens and they're looking really good.  I'm keeping notes and have decided to decrease every third row for the thumb gussett as every second seemed too steep.   Once it's finished then it'll be available free for a while; or at least until I've worked out a couple or so more sizes and had those test-knit.

3.  Citron is looking beautiful, working really well with the handspun yarn

4.  Open Windows is about to start on the chart, will check my gauge first though; love the yarn.  

5.  Finished spinning the Yak down.  It's a little overspun and underplied, but it's my first long-draw using such a short fibre so I'm not unhappy.  It'll be a cabled hat, might work something out from top down to make sure I use all the yarn.   I wonder how "blue barf" would look with it?

6. EQC.  Still waiting on a visit, also waiting on the payout for my damaged Lilliput Lane cottages etc too, will check again in 2 weeks as it seems they were waiting on info from me, but hadn't let me know.  I've now given them that info.  As an aside the Xbox is being a little less temperamental, but still having issues with 2 player.  We've found more house damage, I would be very surprised if we don't hit the $10,000 threshold for a managed claim with Fletchers.

7.  Quilting has been revisited.  I've cut out 300 little squares of 2.5" fabric to make a start on our king-sized quilt and have picked up the backing fabric.  I still need to get the batting, but I'll do that rather later.  Wish me luck!

7.

No Photo's for about 8 days

which I think is when we get our new broadband allowance.  We're not sure what happened, but a huge amount of our allowance was used up in a couple of days earlier this month.  We have a secure wireless connection so not sure what happened; but we're monitoring it.

In the meantime a few things are going on.  Thomas is still suffering with his injured shoulder, I'm thinking I may have to force him to go back to the doctors; we're wondering if he actually broke his collarbone.

I've picked up my new bike yesterday, it's nice to ride, though a little harder on my legs because it's actually set up correctly; will post a photo once I can.

Been tidying up in the hall cupboard today and yesterday; it'll take a couple of days yet though as there's a lot of stuff there; and we've discovered cracks in the floor from the earthquake as well as some crumbling concrete outside the house.   EQC hasn't come yet so will be interesting to see if they pick the cracks etc up.  I have a list of things we've noticed which I can point out if they miss them.

Knitting:   Finished Whisper cardigan, it could have been longer but I'd had enough; it's slightly longer than the original pattern.  Started a pair of socks out of my handspun, also a Citron shawl.  I've also got to the thumb on my mittens which I'm designing the pattern for and using Morag's Bug Out charts.   Got to work out the decreases now, once they're finished I'll be getting the pattern test knit after working out a larger and smaller version.

Implausible Yarn

Is having a giveaway here.  In the meantime I'm thinking about what I should do for my next giveaway.  Please comment as to whether you'd prefer some handspun or a commercial or indie dyed yarn.

A big step towards fitness

I went down this morning and put the deposit on a new bike.  I have 3 months to pay it and the bike rack off, and I don't get it till it's paid for, but at the end of the day I'll have a new 21 speed road bike with front basket (for shopping) and a bike rack that can carry 4 bikes so we can go farther afield as a family.
It's not the bike I'd originally thought I was wanting, but after trying a similar one to that and also the one I'm getting I decided it was worth spending a bit more.

Straight from their website here it is, the Discovery 1.0

The reason for this?   My old bike was bought 27 years ago and it's showing its age.  Bearings need redoing which FIL is going to do in the meantime, but all the nuts and bolts are getting difficult to adjust as the aluminium has corroded a bit.   I'll probably end up selling the old one in the end if I can.   I've already got the second bike on Trademe; I don't like that bike, it's never been comfortable though the only thing physically wrong with it is a little surface rust.  Hope someone wants it, I could do with the space and the money

Troll Days

We had one of these yesterday.   Both boys misbehaving; it started with Ian's usual slow getting dressed, followed by me having to take them home halfway through the meat shopping.   I still have to get 5 more meats for the rest of the fortnight, but there was no way I was staying any longer with how they were behaving; I think the butchers were quite glad they were leaving too.
On the way home we needed milk and Ian wanted jellybeans.  I said no as he'd not been good enough and he screamed.   I pulled the car over, turned the engine off and the keys and I went and sat on the bonnet of the car for 5 minutes while we all calmed down.   We then went and got the milk, and only the milk before going home.
Behaviour did not improve throughout the day so the only privilege not removed was movies; and that was more for my sanity, and so I could get some work done.
The one good thing is that Thomas got to appreciate what I'd been going through when he got home as they didn't improve.
The did go to sleep fairly quickly though which was good as I needed to keep working to get all my work finished.
It was a pretty busy day for aftershocks yesterday though, so maybe that contributed.

Today seems to be better so I've treated with KFC for lunch and a juice box for each of the boys.  The weather here is pretty bad so just staying home this afternoon.  We had a visitor this morning to assess George for some carer support time, she  reckons we'll get some as well as a Kiwiable card for him which will give cheaper entry fees for some activities.  She reckons we should also make an appointment at the doctors to apply for Child Disability Allowance; not sure if she's right on that one, but I guess we may as well try; it would cover his fish oil tablets which I'm hoping will help with his concentration issues.

Right atm though, I'm doing a little knitting on my Whisper Cardigan, 3" of ribbing in laceweight takes a very long time.  

Let's go to Ferrymead!

Yesterday was a nice day, not too warm, not too cold and with no appointments so I suggested to the family that we go to Ferrymead.  The boys weren't keen, Thomas wanted to go to the beach, but as it wasn't really warm enough for that he agreed to go to Ferrymead instead.  For those of you not from Christchurch, Ferrymead is a historic township where you get to see what life was like back in Edwardian times, and a little later.
$36 got the four of us in and the first thing we saw was a water pump that the boys had to try

Unfortunately the seals on this one had gone and it no longer worked, but there was one in the main street that still worked well with an application of several pumps.  We went to see the town church, a cob cottage with dirt floor, a couple of normal houses with teeny beds.  Loved the oven, an old wall oven, not electric though!

There were lots of other places we saw too like the fire-department history, communication history etc.

 Ian

George

We got to ride on a tram and see an old tram being done up; that was amazing.  We saw photo's of what it was like when rescued; much of the bottom had rusted away, it was a dingy white colour and looked like a dead duck.  This is what it looks like now

and the tram we were on

The bakery oven; which is being repaired atm after the earthquake.  They lost quite a few chimneys from that little incident.

 We saw a huge butter churn!

The local millinery, I think headwear styles have changed a little since then

 and a relatively flattering photo of us; we're not really that tall and slim unfortunately, but that would be a marvelous mirror to keep at home.

After the boys saying they wouldn't like it, both really enjoyed themselves and wanted to know when they could go back, lol.

After we got back I finished my latest spinning:

This is 100g of 335m of Merino/Silk 2ply yarn.  I have yet to check its weight, but I think it's somewhere between fingering and sport weight and it will be socks.  I'm testing how well silk goes in socks.   Love the colour, it's not as soft as normal, but that's because I overspun and overplied for strength.  I had bought this especially to see how silk/merino blend works for socks, unfortunately I completely forgot to take a photo of the actual fibre before spinning.  Next month will be some fibre from Morag (Vintage Purls).

Today I finished my socks; the pattern is Spiral Bound by Morag MacKenzie (Vintage Purls), the yarn is Handmaiden Casbah Sock in the Hummingbird colourway.  I think it's beautiful

This just leaves me with 3 items on the needles.  My Whisper Cardigan which is what I'm working on atm, my One Sided vest which will be next and my Central Park Hoodie.   I also have a cardigan that Mum did most of, I just have to do the button band and sew it up and that's finished.  I'll do that somewhere in there, it's a mohair cardigan so for winter.
My next cast ons will be Open Windows socks in the above Merino, I've knitted these before, but at the wrong gauge, looking forward to a wearable pair; then the Bug Off mittens that will be based on Morag's Bug Off socks pattern, and a Citron scarf in some my handspun.

What's coming up

There will of course be more family stuff on the blog in the coming year.   Ian's starting in room 6 which is Year 2 this year.   He will still have the same main Teacher Aides (Wendy and Michelle), but is going to be full time after about 3 weeks.  Wendy will not always be available as she's starting to do teacher training; a full year with Ian didn't put her off and she still thinks he's lovely (he is, just a little challenging at times).

Sewing:    I'm going to be doing more of this in the coming year.   I've got one more skirt to make and I need some bike shorts as well.   Thomas needs more trousers and I think the boys could do with a couple of pairs of shorts too.   I'd also like to work on a costume piece at some point as well, maybe even something practical like a long skirt with bloomers underneath that I can still actually wear.   I think the Elizabethan costume might have to wait a while.

Knitting:  I've got 4 projects on the needles at the moment which need to be finished.   Whisper Cardigan, Central Park Hoodie, Spiral socks and One Side vest.   I'm going to finish Whisper first as I need that right now, then the socks.   At that point I will finish a cardigan not on the list that Mum did most of, but doesn't suit her; only got the button band to do.  Then One Sided will be finished and I can cast on something new.   I'll be casting on my Bug Out mittens, and a shawl, probably the Evenstar or Citron.  Maybe both.  I want to get at least 3 more pairs of socks finished this year and am aiming for 12 cardigans/vests/jerseys including some colourwork.

Spending:  I've got to pay back for my new bag and pay for the old one to be fixed, then I'll be saving for a bike rack that can fit all 4 family bikes on it.  That way we'll be able to go places as a family and bike around. Should be great fun!

Ok, that's all for the moment.  Wish me luck!

Sewing days

We've been pretty busy here, despite the heat (32 degrees on Tuesday) we've managed to clear out the section a lot and Thomas has been busy in the garage and lean-to as well.  Red bin was full to the brim and so was the green.  They've been emptied now, but the yellow is still full and that doesn't get emptied till Tuesday next week.
Been getting more exercise as a result and on Tuesday I went out for a decent bike ride.   On Monday the kittens got to go outside for the first time, they went absolutely nuts!   My flax plants are now flattened; if you watch this you can see why!

We've had to rescue Ray from up on the conservatory roof too, she's the adventurous one; though right atm both of them are curled up on the beanbag, fast asleep.

Yesterday we went to Willowbank with the boys and had a superfast tour by Ian, he lead, we ran along behind.   Some photo's to show what we saw when he paused.   It was a good day for it, not too hot.

 The voracious eels

 The beautiful peacock

 The only deer that was interested in us, the rest were hiding

 The very bored looking gibbon

 Our favourite Clydesdale horse

 A juvenile pukeko, his red colouring will come in later

 Our boys on the donkeys which they both enjoyed

 A lamb in the Arapawa/Karakul sheep enclosure; he's got a fat tail, so I suspect he's Karakul

 The sulphur crested cockatoo who was refusing to talk

 A tortoise, this is the first time we've seen tortoises here

A wallaby, we also saw one with a joey in her pouch.
The boys really enjoyed themselves and afterwards we bought lunch at Bakers Delight and an iceblock each from the dairy.  All in all a very good day.

That afternoon I got more sewing done.  I finished this skirt a couple of days ago

This is a New Look pattern that I've changed quite a bit; shortened and removed the waistband so I could use a facing instead.  The fabric is a stretch cotton sateen from Fabric Vision
My second skirt is the same pattern, but the fabric is a quilting cotton from Stitch and I've used a velvet ribbon trim

I really like the way this pattern works out after the adjustments and a size reconciliation (according to the back I should be a size 20, however size 16 fits perfectly).  I've been wearing this skirt all day and I'm in love!  I bought another 1.4m of another quilting cotton to make one more, then I'm right for summer skirts; that's a blue with spots on it and I might embellish one or three of the spots when it's done.   I've got to prewash the fabric though, and I need some bike shorts first.
Got the pattern for them today as well as a new trouser pattern for Thomas as the one I've been using is feeling rather sad, that and if he can't shift some weight then I'll need a larger one anyway.   I also got some more invisible zips, love those things when I install them correctly.
The last thing I got was a new shoulder bag, my current one is over 15 years old and starting to fall to pieces. I've dropped it in for repair, but I found one in the same range for $155 which I bought in the meantime.  I think this will get used lots too.

Right, back to knitting while I"m waiting for the weather to improve for my prewashing.   See you later and wishing you a happy crafty new year.

Happy New Year!

1st day of 2011 already!   We've been busy here, but first I want to show you my last project that I finished on New Years Eve.

My husband's business trousers.  Made from a Burda pattern that apparently fits well, or at least the old pair in it do, the new pair are a little tight.   He has 3 weeks to lose some weight or for these trousers to stretch to fit as apparently the old ones have.

Aside from the fact that he's expanded they're a really nice trouser, I could possibly add a little extra room in the seat, but to add any into the waistband means I have to undo a lot of topstitching first.  We're hoping he'll lose the weight; it'd be a lot easier for me.  

I also got the heel turn done on his last sock in the pair, so just 62 rounds to go and that'll be finished too.

My birthday the day before didn't go so well due in the main to a nasty cold which gave me a headache and a middle ache from all the coughing; feeling a bit better now, but it means that I didn't get the sewing, spinning and knitting done that I'd planned as I wasn't feeling up to it.   On the plus side, Thomas took the boys out for an hour or so for a walk so I could play Fallout 3 on the Xbox, that was nice.   He gave me a skein of Dream in Color Smooshy in blue.   Liz (MIL) gave me some hankies, some biscuits in a very nice tin and some Belgian chocolates which are not opened yet as I want to be able to appreciate them.

Today we got to clearing out the lean-to next to the garage so we can store the bikes in there and so I can get to the freezer.  It's looking a lot better, but our rubbish bin is now full.   I also cut out two skirts which I'm hoping I'll get some sewing done on them tomorrow; no time tonight as we're playing Talisman.  I'll post photo's once they're done.

New Years Resolutions:

More sewing and knitting of course including more socks and jerseys; also much more sewing to get the mojo back up and running.   I need more workout gear too.
Less eating of sugar and junk
More exercise; this will be easier now my bike is fixed.
Less tv/xbox etc again too.

Merry Christmas!

You wouldn't think it was Christmas Eve, the boys are not going to sleep, which means Santa isn't coming yet.  We can't wrap the presents yet either.   However, they are looking forward to tomorrow, despite already having some of their presents.  They already have the pool, and the kittens!

I'm still working on Thomas' socks; the first is finished, second is only 10 rows into the foot after increases finished, and I realised afterwards I did a different toe on this one.  Nevermind, this means Thomas can decide which he prefers, I'm not frogging.

Just a plain basic sock, but in this yarn that's what we want.  I'm not sure I like the colourway, but Thomas seems happy enough, so we'll keep on knitting.   I'm going to take a break tomorrow for some spinning on Christmas day though, between making a loaf of bread and another pavlova (Dad wants one too)
Last couple of days have been busy, today's been cleaning day.  Yesterday I made the first pavlova

did some gardening

and watched our kittens.  Ray desperately wants to get outside, she's worked out the front screen door so we have to lock it now; she's a shoulder cat given the chance.  Star's not quite so friendly, but still lovely.   Here for your entertainment are some gratuitous kitty photos

Look at us, aren't we lovely?   I am controlling your mind silly human, we are lovely!

Why thank-you for the lovely dangly toys; we are finding them fascinating, do you mind if we steal some to kill later?

Fratello Finished and Interweave Knits Review

This is going to be a fairly busy blog post.   1st of all a photo of the surprise blogtoberfest package I won

As you can see there was a red theme.  2 covered buttons, a small thimble, a trowel and fork pair of buttons, a print ribbon, 1 skein of embroidery floss and some gorgeous fat quarters.   It was well worth the wait!   The Crafty Librarian was the blog I won this from.

Next thing is Fratello is finally finished!  George likes it and so do I.  The cable doesn't show well in photo's  but it looks fine in real life.  I did make one adjustment to the pattern, I added some 2x2 rib to the bottom of the sleeve so it won't curl up

Excuse the funny look on his face, I couldn't get a good photo.

In other news the kittens are gorgeous and growing and wanting out!

as you can see, this is both of them attempting to get to the doorhandle to open it.   Luckily they haven't succeeded yet.  Oh, and Ray it turns out is a girl, so we have 2 wee girls

Interweave Knits Winter 2010


Yes, it's that time again.  It arrived earlier in the week and now I'm going to go through and say what I think of each pattern and what changes need to be made to make them nicer.

This isn't one of their best efforts, if I'd seen it in the shop I probably wouldn't have bought it, but having a sub, I do have it.

The Charvet Pullover:
This has potential, I'm not sure if it's a round neck or V, but it's not too wide.  I think the shoulders are a little too wide on the model they've chosen and I'd lengthen the sleeves and body.  I probably won't knit it even with those ammendments though, it just doesn't have enough 'wow' factor for me.

Zoe Scheffy's Latvian Braid Mitts:
These I like very much, enough texture to be interesting and with a touch of colour.   Might put these in the queue.

Barclay Sweater:
Not really my thing, can't see DH in it, though in black, charcoal and grey he might consider it, there are more suitable patterns out there for him though.  Neckline is a little wide.

Flowering Plum Pullover:
Don't like this much at all, doesn't fit very well under the arms.  I think it might work better in a more subtle colour selection.  The purple and white is a little too stark.

Kinetic Cowl:
Fairly basic looking, but with being bias I'd expect a little more drape, maybe the gauge is a little tight.  I think if it draped more it would be very pretty.

Lollipop Cap:
Looks more like a beret to me, but that's just semantics.  It is a nice hat once again in different colours, maybe navy instead of white.  I would knit it.

Spoked Hat:
I really like this wee hat, it's feminine, classic and sweet all at the same time, this I would knit.   Nicely fitted and should be easy to knit.  Would look good on a guy too I suspect.

Isobel Skirt:
There is potential here, but it needs to be longer, just too short  for me.

Prism Pullover:
Where's the full sized photo of the front?   Mind you the photo of the back puts me off completely.  Too low in the back, shapeless and from what you can see on the tiny front photo in the instructions it's just as bad from the front.

Evergreen Vest:
I like this, slightly rustic looking.  I think I'd ditch the pockets as they just spoil the line of the front, but aside from that it's practical and would be fantastic on the farm or doing outdoor work in winter.

Tuckernuck Cardigan:
This is gorgeous, if I had a little girl she'd be getting this in a heartbeat, in fact I'd drop what I was knitting now for it.  However I don't so if anyone asks me for a cute girl cardigan I'll point them to the magazine.

Crocus Cardigan:
I'd knit this for me, but longer n the body and sleeves.  Aside from that love the shape and the front panel pattern.

Slouchy Cable Pullover:
Once again shapeless, sleeves too short and neck too low.  Yuck.

Galvanised Cardigan:
I quite like this, it's a basic cardigan with a little embroidery to highlight the rib details on the collar, cuffs and hem.  Simple, but effective and with a raglan sleeve.

Ginevra's Pullover:
I like the idea of this, but something's not quite right with the real thing.  I think it's the level that the laceweight goes down to, it's not low enough to be an empire, but too low for a flattering standard neckline it's also too wide at the shoulder.  Would have worked better with just a couple of inches less width.

Oslo Walk Shawl:
This is more of a scarf than a shawl to me due to the width, however it's still very pretty and I think will be on the list for a later knit.

Winter Wren Cardigan:
Parts of this I like, others I hate.  Love the colours and fair-isle style, however it doesn't work with the ruffles. Make it longer in body and sleeves, deruffle it and change the fastening and I'd knit it.

Thandie Funnel Neck:
This I love as is, no changes required.  Love the combination of yarns, love the neck, length; everything.

Pinked Socks:
I like these well enough, but I'm confident enough in colourwork that it's a bit simplistic now.  Would look fantastic in black and white though

Art Deco Argyle Stockings:
I'd use different colours, probably more traditional ones, but I do like these.  I do think they made them a touch too long for the model though.

Stranded Boot Stockings:
Traditional Norweigan style knee socks, I hate the colour they've used, but love the pattern.  Unfortunately they're not exactly unique.

Alpha Stockings:
I like these a lot, I like twisted stitches and they look really good in a knee high.  Will definitely keep these in mind.

Pavo Slipper Socks:
I like that they have sizes for children and adults, but probably won't knit them as I prefer longer socks.

Houndstooth and a Half Jacket:
What on earth were they thinking?  It's the wrong colours, the yarn's too heavy, pattern too large and.....
I think this one needs redesigning from scratch.

Gloucester Coat:
I like the look of it, but would like a picture with the hood up.  From what I can see my interest is piqued and I'll be watching it on Ravelry for pictures of other people's creations.  I love the cables.

Ginza Sport Coat:
No man I know would be caught dead in this.  DH thinks it's hideous, and I have to agree.  Yuk, looks like something that Grandpa put in the shed for doing his gardening in cos Nana wouldn't let it in the house.

Burnham Wood Capelet:
This I like, nice shaping, a little tight on the model, but that's easily rectified.  I like the closures too.

Ok, that's it for this.  On a related note though, does anyone know where I put the scarf I finished a couple of weekends back?   I can't find it and I need to find it tonight!

Fratello Finished and Interweave Knits Review

This is going to be a fairly busy blog post.   1st of all a photo of the surprise blogtoberfest package I won

As you can see there was a red theme.  2 covered buttons, a small thimble, a trowel and fork pair of buttons, a print ribbon, 1 skein of embroidery floss and some gorgeous fat quarters.   It was well worth the wait!   The Crafty Librarian was the blog I won this from.

Next thing is Fratello is finally finished!  George likes it and so do I.  The cable doesn't show well in photo's  but it looks fine in real life.  I did make one adjustment to the pattern, I added some 2x2 rib to the bottom of the sleeve so it won't curl up

Excuse the funny look on his face, I couldn't get a good photo.

In other news the kittens are gorgeous and growing and wanting out!

as you can see, this is both of them attempting to get to the doorhandle to open it.   Luckily they haven't succeeded yet.  Oh, and Ray it turns out is a girl, so we have 2 wee girls

Interweave Knits Winter 2010


Yes, it's that time again.  It arrived earlier in the week and now I'm going to go through and say what I think of each pattern and what changes need to be made to make them nicer.  

This isn't one of their best efforts, if I'd seen it in the shop I probably wouldn't have bought it, but having a sub, I do have it.

The Charvet Pullover:
This has potential, I'm not sure if it's a round neck or V, but it's not too wide.  I think the shoulders are a little too wide on the model they've chosen and I'd lengthen the sleeves and body.  I probably won't knit it even with those ammendments though, it just doesn't have enough 'wow' factor for me.

Zoe Scheffy's Latvian Braid Mitts:
These I like very much, enough texture to be interesting and with a touch of colour.   Might put these in the queue.

Barclay Sweater:
Not really my thing, can't see DH in it, though in black, charcoal and grey he might consider it, there are more suitable patterns out there for him though.  Neckline is a little wide.

Flowering Plum Pullover:
Don't like this much at all, doesn't fit very well under the arms.  I think it might work better in a more subtle colour selection.  The purple and white is a little too stark.

Kinetic Cowl:
Fairly basic looking, but with being bias I'd expect a little more drape, maybe the gauge is a little tight.  I think if it draped more it would be very pretty.

Lollipop Cap:
Looks more like a beret to me, but that's just semantics.  It is a nice hat once again in different colours, maybe navy instead of white.  I would knit it.

Spoked Hat:
I really like this wee hat, it's feminine, classic and sweet all at the same time, this I would knit.   Nicely fitted and should be easy to knit.  Would look good on a guy too I suspect.

Isobel Skirt:
There is potential here, but it needs to be longer, just too short  for me.

$100 Holiday Gift from Novica

$100 Holiday Gift from Novica

Yesterday and other things

 I think this is Star, she's usually moving fast, so's Ray and in this photo it's hard to see her markings.  Both kittens are doing well, they get their first shots on Wednesday, so another month or so and then they can go outside.   Star wants outside now!   Unfortunately for her we're not prepared to let her do that till she's fairly safe from cat flu etc.

This arrived probably a couple of weeks ago now, it's a fibre sampler from Ewe Beaute fibres.    There's a couple of yarns in there and a stitch marker, but I requested the fibre heavy version and that's what I got.  Now I can add the fibre in this to my scrappy yarn fibre bag.  There's some yummy stuff in here including a couple of part-batts.   Will be fun to use this.

Now, the reason for this post was what I did yesterday.   Joanne, Paula and I were invited to fill some spots on a mystery bus tour.  It cost $15 for the bus as we don't belong to Fran's guild (Wigram Spinners), but that was still a completely reasonable cost for a full day out.  
We got to park our cars in a secure carpark, we had to take money for lunch and possible purchases (I needed more).  We started doing a competition where we had to write down all the things we could see from the bus that started with the letter P.  I won the first prize, a peanut slab which I gave to Thomas when I got home as I dont' like peanuts.

1st stop was Helen Heddell's farm where we got to see some Moorit Merino's; they wouldn't let us get close, so I had to use zoom to get these photo's.

One of them had the cutest black and white lamb; you can see him in this photo.  Helen had a couple of very nice Merino fleeces available, but I already have lots of white Merino and a couple of half fleeces of grey/black Merino's too, so I didn't need any more of that.

Next stop was at an Angora goat farm, these guys weren't shy!  Lovely animals, really enjoyed the time with them, and I had to buy some fibre as I only have a little mohair atm.  I got a kilo of kid mohair, medium grade as high grade wasn't too affordable.  $30 got me a lovely bag of soft yumminess though.

 Fibre

 Angora female goat

Part of the herd

Next stop was at Cust where I spent nothing, but did see a couple of bags I really like.   I"m going to have to save up for one to replace my current shoulder bag.  It's looking rather the worse for wear and a lot of the stitching has gone.

After that we went to Oxford where we stopped off at Jo Seager's restaurant for lunch.  This is what I had

Waffles with banana's, bacon and maple syrup; I was a little overfull after that so didn't get a dessert, to be honest I thing a dessert on top of that would have killed me!  I also got a rather nice hot chocolate too.

After lunch I had a wander around the art gallery, took a look at the old jail (2 rooms) and also looked through a little shop that had less stuff than the one in Cust, but also less atmosphere.  I didn't buy anything from there, or from Jo Seager's kitchen shop.   I'm afraid $59 for a cake form is a little too high for me.

Our next stop was Heavenly Wools where I'm afraid I blew the rest of my spending money.   I got 7 bags of dyed Merino top; 4 different colours.  I also received the mystery gift from the trip which in my case was some navy Merino top and some dyed mohair locks; yummy!

 a little peak at my fibre purchases here

my gift, you can't see the locks, but they're in lots of pastelly shades so should work well with the navy

Here's the place that they live, it's a converted church.  Not enough space for me, but very nice

You can see our bus on the left.  Some of the outside was covered in plastic siding by the previous owners, the current ones are not sure about this concept, a bit like they're not sure about the hot water cylinder that's currently on display in the kitchen end of the church.      I didn't get a photo of that, but I took one from that end of the house looking up towards the nave of the church

Isn't it pretty?   The bedroom is upstairs above my head when I took this photo, it's a mezzanine floor but quite private.

I did get quite a bit of knitting done on the trip, haven't a photo of it at the point I got to yesterday, but here's Fratello before it hit the bus

This wool doesn't photograph well, but it looks fantastic in person.  The jersey is for George and is being knit top-down with a centre-front cable.   I'm hoping to finish the body tonight.

That's it for a bit, got lots happening in the next couple of weeks, the NZ Creative Fibre group is putting on a gathering for Christchurch guild members next Saturday due to the earthquake, Sunday next week is our Christmas celebration with my family as some of them won't be in town on the day.  The following Saturday is another guild Christmas lunch.   This Monday is the Judo Christmas thing, not really looking forward to that, I have nothing in common with most of the parents there, or at least that's how it feels and Ian finds those things a little overwhelming too.