Shimmer-trails and a Celadon Glaze

These have been the accessories of unfortunate circumstance - Miss 1 1/2 caught the cold that kept Mr 7 home the previous week, and for the past week I wouldn't have needed an ankle-bracelet GPS to track her - the bubbly cough and grizzles announced her whereabouts every fifteen minutes. Picking her up resulted in that personal touch of shimmer across shoulder and down the boob, and due to scruffing her hands across nose while asleep, she needed a good wash after every sleep to remove the fine, slightly crazed glaze that looked (but did not smell) like an expensive rejuvenating mask......

Praise be to rest, fresh food and baby panadol, she is much, much better. I will be much, much better when she stops waking me up at 5.16 am and not going back to sleep again.

Yesterday morning I took a me-time (which I actually need way, way more today), and took computer, knitting, tea, biscottini, dark chocolate and snuggly shawly thing in to the tv room, shut the door, and watched 'the Holiday' a second time. Awesome movie!!! For once the blurb did not lie - I could happily add this one to my shelf to sit beside 'Love Actually'. Very enjoyable romcom chick flick, and I got a nice double flower facewasher gifty done in front of it ( it took two viewings because the movie was too good to look away from).

Now I'm on to the next facewasher gifty thing, this time making it up a little as I go... I've also got a nice sock on the needles, pic later when I've had the next cup of tea :>

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What I Did This Week

or:
the Real Reason Why There Aren't Any Interesting Photos to Share
by A Knitter.

This afternoon, the lovely M & FIL arrive for a fast visit (they leave on Tues), during which we will drink many cups of tea and eat necessary numbers of bikkies and assorted treats (stay tuned for recipes to delight your tastebuds and dismay your waist), witness the shaving of the Movember Mo, have the first installment of Christmas (probably on Sat morning), attend and be enthralled by Miss 4's dance concert (and by the MOMD performing in the Dads' Dance!!), fit a Christmas mini-feast in there somewhere, talk gardens, pets, family and friends, possibly move the cubby house to a different spot in the backyard to block our view of the living room windows of the villa being built behind us, take dogs for walks, and generally have a lovely time.
So.
Shopping - $150 and one hour at the Salamanca Markets, and I came home with prezzies for S & BIL, Mum, MIL, and teacosy swap partner.
Housecleaning - not manic, but enough to make it possible to walk on 90% of the floors without sticking to it or stepping on a painful (and broken) plastic toy.
Mending - a pile of items from the cupboard which have been waiting my attention for quite some time have now been hemmed, patched, or are on their way to new waistbands and buttons.
Curtains - the above was curtain-avoidance. I am running out of excuses.
Kitchen - more cleaning, especially since the ants chose yesterday to remind me that I haven't silicon-sealed the gaps where the cabinetry, benchtop and wall would meet if it weren't for the gaps. Cue removing all items from several cupboards, playing with the weird ratchet-gun thing for squeezing out silicon stuff, tidying up and putting it all away again. Still wondering how to insert ant poison into the gaps first without spreading it all through my plastics cupboard. Wish me luck.

**** MUM!!! SKIP THE REST OF THIS!!!!! ****

Knitting - has been happening, just not on anything I can show you yet. I have half a tea-cosy for my MIL, which was meant to be done in May - am starting to get the worries about my off-the-cuff design, so may just display and ask for input.
I have done 1 1/2 lovely facewashers for MIL, in some creamy Heirloom cotton, and they are turning out so soft and beautiful!! (I'll put pics up on Ravelry very soon) Patterns here (Yvonne's Double Flower) and here (Doily Style). Try them - so easy and so pretty!
I am 2/3 through a nice horseshoe-lace style back-scrubber-without-the-straps extra long washer for my Mum (as per discussions) - pattern from a Lily Sugar'n'Cream booklet from my Dishrag Tag team member. (Also pic on Ravelry soon - I know Mum can't get in there!!)
Am dithering about purple cardi - what with the way the bamboo/cotton stretches out widthways, am considering going down a needle size. May need to reswatch, after visitors go.

So. Sadly, no knitty pictures, but I know you will all forgive me. If I can extract a promise of good behaviour from my Mum, I may be able to post pics of her gift before Xmas, otherwise you'll just have to wait for non-xmas knitting activities to resume!

Good luck to all who are knitting/buying/wrapping/writing/sending to postal deadlines!!



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Had I but worlds enough/ And time...

This poet was such a lech, don't you think?? But what a fabulous way to be propositioned! I also love some of the sonnets of Donne. Lovers' Infiniteness is beautiful, and expresses the tangles of emotion of loving someone so well...

BUT YOU ARE HERE FOR THE KNITTING, AREN'T YOU???

So I'll share a little:
The MOMD [formerly known as my DH, but that wasn't adoring enough, in his humble opinion!!] paid attention when I showed him this in the bookshop - I guess he's earned the MOMD title :) I was finished by bedtime on Boxing Day - I kind of inhaled it, but how could I not?? The Word of The Knitting Goddess aka Yarn Harlot aka Author Whose Other Books I Must Collect Right Now Or As Soon As I Find Money In The Gutter Or Some Other Unlikely Place Like Paid Employment (Ha!)
And also:
Glass-and-a-half Tychus, version2.0. This time I know I have enough wool - 2 balls of each colour, one ball does about 3 segments. (Yarn gods, please do not smite me any further on this project - I've learnt my lesson, really I have *grovel grovel*)
Furthermore, there is a toddlersock waiting for toe-grafting (I figure 2nd sock syndrome might not notice me if I haven't quite finished the 1st sock *fingers crossed*), and some ideas for an iPod cosy, but PhotoBooth is having a sulk after I decided that the computer-screen flash wasn't enough, so pics some other time.

Posting will be sporadic for the next 2 weeks, my timetable looks a little like this:
Monday
8.30am dogs to vet - grooming, weird lump on tail, probable cataract on left eye (she's 9 ie 67 dog years)
drop off dry cleaning
make appt to get hair done (getting scary enough to need a hairband full-time)
go to gym
book carpet cleaners
get removalist quotes
new watchband
pick up dogs
calendar
sort out phone connection issues
packing, cleaning, cleaning, packing

Tues
dentist
leftovers from Monday
packing, cleaning, cleaning, packing

Wed
10-12 playgroup across the waters in West Hobart - unless it's raining, in which case NO WAY am I taking 3 kids to a park
packing, cleaning, cleaning, packing

Thurs
gym
packing, cleaning, cleaning, packing
5pm pre-Settlement inspection

Fri
9.30 gym
Settlement and Getting Of The Keys at some point
Happy Dance in Various Rooms Of Our First Ever Own Home (Which We Share With Which-Bank)
packing, cleaning, cleaning, packing

Sat
measuring, planning, cleaning, moving boxes boxes boxes, cleaning kitchen and bathrooms of Our New House (if nec) (always nec, right?) and unpacking essentials

Sun
more of same

Mon
gym
more of same

Tues (or Wed )
Moving Day

Thurs
physio appt

Fri
gym

Aside from all of that, envision me running a house with 3 kids, lots of rain to make drying the washing interesting, and darling baby V is TEETHING - first 2 teeth have broken through the lower gum, and although she is chewing on everything in sight, and waking up three times per night, so far we have been spared the horrendous nappies of the firstborn, and the sore face and excessive sadness of the secondborn.
Knitting is replaced by fondling of stray items and reading 3 blog posts with stolen cups of tea....

Regular scheduling will resume in 2 weeks

Wish me luck!!


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Picot-edged Fetchings

As I may have mentioned, I was totally on the Fetching Fetish this Silly Season, so I made Chocomitts, Green-Fingers, Glove-Trotters, and have only the thumb left to do on a pair of Raspberry Rippers.
Since all my photos on DH's camera 'mysteriously' disappeared sometime between the 21st Dec and yesterday evening, I do not have proper pics until I can bribe the new owners into modelling for me! But I can offer you this Raspberry Ripper:

For the Picot Cast-On:
*Knit-cast on 6 sts, K2tog, slip st back to left needle, K2 tog, slip st back to left needle, cast on 1 *repeat to end

I fiddled around for a while to get it to work, but this way gave me little bobbles centred along the line of the cables, which I kind of fancied :)

For the Picot Cast-Off:
#1 work as for pattern instructions but centre over line of cable twists
#2 bind off using {K2tog, *slip st to left needle, K2tog*}, but cast on 2 extra sts over the cables and cast them off again straight away using same K2 tog method - makes a little tail-bit that curls over like a bobble.

You could also do a simple crochet cast-off and just work a few double-crochets (single in the US) where you want your bobble - of course, I haven't tried that one yet ;)

My thanks to Nonaknits for her excellent post that helped me work out what I wanted to do.
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Knit like it's the holidays...

Just to let you know - I knifted multiple pairs of Fetchings this Christmas (and it's not over yet!), plus a Tychus that needs a new edging to hide its resemblance to a floppy tea-cosy (don't talk to me about gauge and yarn-substitution), and there has been travel knitting galore:

1 entire Fetching on the ferry, 2/5 of the Tychus in the car, 1 Mini-Basketweave Toddler Sock in the car and at lunch today, and the cuff of the 2nd Fetching in the car this afternoon - when we go to visit relatives for Christmas, we don't let a few hundred kilometres get in the way of meeting for lunch!!!!

Will post pictures once I have internet access on own computer.

Meanwhile, here is a repeat of a little something I snapped earlier - the first two

Fetchings; 1 pair in a chocolatey wool/silk mix, 1 pair in a sunrise alpaca/wool mix

Since then I have been tweaking the pattern to add picots at cuff and hem (hours of fiddling), and centre them over the cable crossings - I like the finial-effect.

Best dash to dinner - Happy Silly Season to you all!

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Plunged!

Into the no-longer beta Blogger, in the hopes that it will be better.... just a leetle Xmas wish :)

So, the knifting:

• the TARDIS being currently unavailable for private hire, the Cadbury's Hat has been shuffled to the end of the line, and it's spot in the (v. late) Xmas parcel is being taken by an understudy
• another item on my list will be finished tonight and packaged with some Lindt pistachio-centred chocky - there is a connection, trust me :)
• another Tychus will be on the needles later today, at which I must diligently loop my way to closure by Sunday - it being a very quick knit, I have faith in the possibility; failing that, I have faith in the recipient's sense of humour!
• another item may need to be packaged as yarn+suggested items, recipient to choose preferred form (which would make me a little more confident with sizing). We shall see what the next few days of packing and travel bring in the way of hands-free time, and just how effective those ginger tablets and acupressure wristbands are for preventing mal de mer!
• the next knifty thing just needs those pesky ends woven in - yay! (not)
• lastly, something for a friend whom I will see after Xmas, before New Year's, so can knit in between playing with prezzies, fixing newly broken new toys, eating, drinking and family-festivity-ing

And I have yet to pack for tomorrow's departure (still washing, and very grateful for the warm spell that is drying it all in time). In bed by 10 is a foreign concept for the time being... >0 (that's a big yawn)
Despite the not-quites, I am feeling pretty pleased to have attempted so many handmade gifts into this month - it feels nicer to make and give than to buy and give.

Time is of a scarcity, so I bid you all

A Very Merry Christmas
and
A Happy New Year!!

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