January 06, 2010
Home again!
So much to say, so little time! (And the holiday pics are still on the hubby's camera!)
The holiday was great, lovely and relaxing. No stress until we arrived home!
Knitting wise, it was very productive.
Who was expecting a completed garment? (Rusty, I'm looking at you!)
I almost managed it.
That's a front, back, two sleeves and a neckband. Not bad, huh?
Most of it was done in the car - two days up to Queensland, various travelling around, then two days back. Well, I got the front and most of the back done. The back was finished on Saturday afternoon, in the carpark of Armidale airport, a couple of hours from our final destination (for Saturday) of Nundle. I began the sleeve on the way there.
Nundle is a very small country town. Very small. It has no mobile phone/mobile broadband access. Well, it probably has Telstra, but no Optus, no Vodaphone, no 3. So we were stuck there, on a Saturday night, no internet, no phones, nothing open, except the pub where we went for dinner. It was the best meal we had for the whole holiday, too!
After dinner, we went back to the hotel to watch TV and II finished the first sleeve and half of the second. So the night wasn't a total waste!
The next morning we headed over t the Wool Mill, but it was a downer. Waste of time, I'm afraid. Last time we went, I scored some nice pink 8ply wool that I made into a cardi for Em, and a kit for a stripey jumper. They had seconds, and patterns, and kits and it was well worth the trip. This time, not so much. There were two baskets in the back room, both almost empty. That was it for seconds. There were no kits at all. No patterns, even.
The yarn is lovely, but it was marked at $9 a ball. It's only $6 on the website. In the end I left with a Rowan magazine, and nothing else. Very disappointing.
But it was more than made up for when I got home and picked up my Christmas parcel from Jill. There was Bugga! in there!!
Bugga!! And it's the most beautiful shade of blue. This will go on the needles next, I think - I just need to find a pattern to do it justice.
I got Polar Bears for Christmas, too. A candle from David and Em, and a Poo-lar bear from Jill. This made us giggle for a while - yes, we're 5 years old. So what?
Now I'm going to go knit ruffles!
Posted by Donna at January 6, 2010 07:16 PMComments
I really hope you didn't get caught up in the Buladelah tailback!!!
I'm really disappointed to hear about Nundle. I was planning a trip to Wangaratta on our return to Victoria, but they're shut until the 18th. It seems the mills are conspiring against us!
Posted by: Andrea @ Let Me Knit! at January 7, 2010 06:30 AMThe Poo-lar Bear came from JoAnns. Who'd have thought that you could go into a craft store for thread, and come out with a candy-pooping polar bear and reindeer!
Posted by: Restless Knitter at January 7, 2010 07:05 AMNice to hear you had a great holiday. Loving that pink it's such a great shade.
Posted by: Kylie at January 7, 2010 08:50 AMLove the Blue Bugga, can't wait to see what you do with it. And what a hoot I got a poopin pig for Christmas from my daughter who thought it was too funny!
Posted by: Karen at January 7, 2010 09:30 AMWeeeelllll, that looks close enough to a finished item so I'll let it slide...teehee. Glad you had a nice time. That Bugga yarn looks very interesting and I like the color.
Posted by: Rusty M. at January 7, 2010 09:53 AMThe new knit looks almost finished Donna, maybe it will need to be called the holiday sweater! I saw those Poo lar bears and thought of you, lol! My son received one of the moose that poos one year long ago and thought it was hilarious. Pity about Nundle, what a waste but the new yarn you got sounds gorgeous. I have never heard of it before.
Posted by: sue at January 7, 2010 10:42 AMHa, ha, the Poo-lar bear. My mother had one of those that was a pooping moose at one time. It was years ago, my niece and nephew liked to play with it.
The sweater looks great. Love the blue yarn, yummy.
Posted by: Suzanne at January 7, 2010 10:47 AMyes nundle wool mill eminently disappointing these days. but rosa looks amazing! so much achieved, its going to be beautiful!
Posted by: drk at January 8, 2010 04:30 PMOh, Rosa, how I love that pattern! Speed knitting, there's no way I would have got that much done in the same time!!
Shame about Nundle though...
Posted by: Rose Red at January 8, 2010 09:51 PMThe Nundle pub was fine the first night, but on the second night we discovered that all the sauces were suspiciously the same. :) There was a very good cafe up the hill for breakfast and lunch (excellent coffee), but that may have been closed for Christmas. Like you, we thought the mill was very disappointing.
Posted by: M-H at January 14, 2010 05:45 PM
Ooooo, Bugga! One of the big perks of living near Washington, D.C. is that Sanguine Gryphon is one of our local hand-dyed fiber suppliers. I've made... hm... three pairs of socks (at least - possibly more?) and a gorgeous shawl out of her yarn.
The Poo-lar Bear made me giggle, too. (Must find one for my Dad for his birthday...)
Posted by: CraftyGryphon at January 7, 2010 06:24 AM