Well, it was a rather hectic weekend again!
Lets start with Saturday sky. This is the pic I took first thing in the morning.

Yet another perfect Sydney winter morning, I know.
Later in the day, we headed down to Stitch n Bitch, but more on that in a bit. However, we found prime material for Saturday Sky!

See them? The pic was taken through the window of the Wollongong Novotel. Here's a slightly better one.

In other weekend news, it was SnB weekend. My sister-in-law was visiting from 1300km or so away. She's leaving our fine shores for the UK in 3 weeks, but I didn't let that stop me. I brought the whole family along to SnB.
I gave my sister in law the gloves, she was very enamoured of them. Then I said "I need them back now, to take to SnB, you can have them back this afternoon."
I'm fairly sure she thinks I'm rather odd.
David and his sister were happy to sip drinks and read their books, leaving me and Em to get down to serious knitterly business.
Ailsa tried to teach Em to crochet little flowers.

I caught up with Jussi and Sharon.

Then I put the camera away and forgot to take more pics.
SnB was wonderful fun, as always. Wonderful company, and great inspiration from all the lovely projects.

Yesterday, we took SIL to the Sydney Fish Markets for lunch.
In a word, Yum.

I should've taken a picture before we demolished it!
We sat on the jetty in the sunshine and enjoyed the food and watched the seagulls trying to steal food.

They're very brave little souls. There was one guy, chatting on his mobile phone, and the seagulls were walking right up and stealing the food from under his nose.

I even got a little knitting done.

The black blob, otherwise known as Icarus is growing, albeit slowly. I've done 2 out of 5 repeats of chart 1.
And I'm already thinking about what I can do next.

And they're finally done and blocking!

It feels like I've taken forever to knit these gloves.
I'm hoping they don't take too long to dry, as David's sister (the recipient) arrives tomorrow afternoon to spend the weekend with us before she heads off to the UK for a year or two.

I'd like to say that this will give me more time to work on Icarus, but I've promised Em that I'd knit her this hat.

It's from the current issue of the Australian Creative Knitting. Sorry, the picture isn't very good.

I received a great email last night. In amongst all the other great emails from people joining the lace swap, that is!

David's cousin and his wife live in Queensland, 1300km away. Almost 3 years ago, they had a beautiful baby girl, so I knit up a few little pink things and sent them along. This is the same little girl whom I knit the little pink STYK cardi for last year. Earlier this year, she got a baby brother. That would be the baby boy whom I knit the shawl for.

So yesterday I received a lovely email from P, the children's mother.
This is how it started.

Hi Donna
I have you to blame for my newly acquired affliction- I have taken up KNITTING!

It feels so great to spread the knitty bug :)

Thanks to everyone who has signed up for the lace swap, it's all so exciting! Remember that sign ups are only open until August 1.
Isn't it odd that I have quite a stash of laceweight, yet I'm so excited about getting more?
No, you're right, it's not odd at all.

I got mail!
Remember the lace weight yarn that I dyed blue, and offered up for swap?
Donni took me up on the offer, and sent me this.

KnitPicks paint your own Laceweight, dyed in yummy shades of green. I think it wants to be Mim's "Mountain Peaks Shawl". Also in the package was this fun notepad.

Love it!
There is a rumour floating around that there may also have been chocolate in the package. I can neither confirm or deny that on the grounds that I may incriminate myself.

Knitting. Why yes, I have been.
I'm this close to finishing the second Fair Isle glove.

Crappy colour in the picture. I'm hoping to get a new digital camera soon. This one has colour issues and takes crap pictures at night.
I've also been working on Icarus.

Just kinda looks like a black blob, really. The Misti Baby Alpaca is a bit splitty, but it feels so soft. I've finished the second repeat of chart one, so there's still a long way to go.

Three posts in three days!
Don't get used to it.

Ailsa and I had a little chat last week, and the idea of a Lace Swap was tossed out casually.
As these things are prone to do, it grew, and grew, and has been born!

Whose lace is it anyway?

Who wants to participate in a secret-palesque lace swap? If it doesn't appeal to anyone else, I guess Ailsa and I can send each other a surprise parcel.

If however, the idea does appeal to you, details can be found on the swap blog, or you can email me at randomknits at gmail dot com, and I'll add you to the list.

Tell your friends and feel free to advertise it on your own blog.

Two posts in two days, alert the media!

We had an outing today. Thankfully, the weather was a vast improvement on yesterday.

Where did we go? To the football.

That would be the NRL for out-of-staters, and Rugby League for the international contingent. Anyone who knows me is scratching their heads in puzzlement. The football and I generally don't make a happy couple. However, there was an ulterior motive.

We had free tickets because Emily was performing.

Emily, and roughly 800 other kids!! Isn't she a star?
Okay, here's a marginally better picture.

Anyway, the dye bug bit again, and I had dyed up the Knitpicks Dye Your Own worsted weight that Tammy sent me, and I took it along to work on. In my gorgeous new Jordana Paige bag!

Just a scarf, but I needed something relatively easy to work on. I seem to be in a muted phase at the moment. The colours I used here are Gaywool colours, Meadow, Watercrest and Violet.
So it was a happy family day. Em got to dance and show off, I got to knit, and David got to watch the football.
Every Sunday should be this good!

Saturday Sky!

I took the picture when we had a brief flash of blue, but it was pretty gloomy for most of the day. And cold.

Good knitting day!
The Fair Isle gloves are progressing, and I didn't fix the mistake.

It's actually not bothering me too much, and David's sister will be recieving them next week, and then taking them off to the UK, so I won't see them.
Four rows of palm to go, then it's just the fingers left.
I haven't touched Icarus, but I have managed to almost complete David's second glove.

Nearly at the end of my obligation knitting!
I created a knitter today. Well, I hope I did. I was in Lincraft buying zippers, and browsing the yarn section. A lady was there with a daughter about Emily's age. I overheard them talking about how-to-knit books, so I helped her pick out an easy-easy baby pattern (garter stitch, simple shaping), some suitable yarn (acrylic, I hate to say, but she wanted something soft, and easily washable - not a lot of choice in Lincraft!), and some needles.
After we'd left I wished I'd given her my email address so she could contact me if she had any trouble.
God knows Lincraft won't be much help to her if she has any difficulty!

The glove remains in the same state I left it in, but thank you all for your input!
I'd never thought of myself as a perfectionist, and Donni seems to think I can't help myself from ripping it out, so I think I'm going to leave it, just to prove to her that I can!
Well, really it's because my lazy side is beating my perfectionist side to a pulp. I've been weaving in the ends as I go, and ripping it out means undoing all those ends.
Mind you, I'm not totally decided, so it sits, untouched.

So what do you do when your current project is leaving you frustrated?
You start something new!

It's the Icarus shawl from "Interweave Knits" Summer 2006.
The yarn I'm using is Misti Baby Alpaca in Black. It's a little splitty, but I love the feel of it, and the halo it has. As you can see, I haven't gotten far wiith it yet. I think I have about 4000 rows before the real patterning starts.

And if starting a new project isn't enough to ease the frustration, you whip out the dyepot.

Knit Picks Dye Your Own Sock yarn, dyed wth Gaywool originals in Meadow, Iceberg and Watercrest.

And look what arrived today!

It's my Jordana Paige satchel in Grape, from Yarns Online. It's gorgeous, I love it!
And there was even stuff in there for Twinkie.

Paper, for chewing and dragging about the house!

Shit.
Can you see it? I didn't notice it until now, but now I have to decide if I can live with it or not.
If you honestly can't see it, the patterning above the dark stripe is off by one stitch. If you can't see it, feel free to reassure me that it'll be fine.

Picture heavy post ahead!
We've been busy little beavers at Casa Del Random.
But first, it's Saturday, so it's Saturday Sky time!

No perfect blue sky today. It's raining, but no one is complaining, becasue we need it. Let's hope it's raining over the dams though.
Twinkie is unimpressed.

Lots of knitting happening, finally!
The second Fair Isle glove is finally seeing some action.

There's cuff. I'm past the corrugated ribbing, which really is the part I hate the most. My sister in law will be here for a visit in two weeks, and the gloves are for her, so I really need to get busy with these.
And I finished David's first glove.

I figure that I did one Fair Isle glove, then one of his, now I'm on the second Fair Isle, then I'll do the second of his. I'm not sure how he likes that idea. At least one of his hands will be warm!

I got it into my head that I'd like to start Peacock Feathers.
I have this gorgeous Possum/Merino yarn that my good friend Meaghan gave me, and I'd hoped to use that.

The colours aren't quite as bright as they appear here, and I love it, but I swatched and the yarn is a little too thick for the pattern.
So I went through the stash, and found some Centolavaggi. But it was white, so I decided to have a play with some dye.
Bad idea.
I didnt' take pictures along the way, but I wanted a green. The only green dye I have on hand is a bit pale, so I added some turquoise, hoping to darken it. It came out too dark, so I redyed it. It was too bright, so I added some purple.
I don't like it. Especially for this pattern.

The picture isn't quite right (my kitchen benchtop is definitely not yellow!). It's a jewel tone sapphire, with lighter blues through it.
I'll never use it, it's just not my colour.
If anyone is interested in a swap of some kind, let me know. Otherwise, I think it'll go up on eBay.
And I have to start again for Peacock Feathers.
You think I'd learn. Every time I try to start a new project when there's something else I should be working on (like the Fair Isle gloves) the results are disastrous. Every time.

Em finished Imogen's hat!

She also knitted the other things you see here, the jacket and the bag. There is a slight problem witht he jacket, which is awaiting my attention. She didn't leave a long enough yarn tail, and her cast off edge started to unravel, so I've undone some of the crochet edge to start the work, but haven't actually gotten around to the repairs. There may also be an end or five that require weaving in.

Another thing Em made yesterday is..

A mess!
Oops, sorry, I meant cupcakes.

Her baking skills are definitely not inherited from me.
And finally, yesterday I spent most of the day making this.

A tiara-y thing for Em's newest dance. No costume yet, but that'll happen. Eventually.
It's not quite finished, I need to cover the visible wire, but I'm pretty impressed with myself.

If you look at the picture of her in her tutu a few posts back, she is wearing something similar. I paid a rather exorbitant amount of money to have that one made, and decided to give it a go. Voila!
But now she wants a beaded headpiece for every dance.
Not happening, dudette.

I started something new.
It's still some of my promised-to-others knitting, bt hey, it's something new.
To avoid the Fair Isle gloves, I cast on for...

More gloves! I think I need to question my sanity.
These are the cable gloves from One Skein, in Cascade 220 for David. He has been patiently waiting all winter, so I thought I'd better get moving on them before winter is over.
Plain gloves in worsted weight work up far more quickly than Fair Isle gloves in Shetland Jumper weight. Funny that. ;)
I did finally start the second Fair Isle glove.

But obviously didn't do much more than start it.

Em's doll's beret is coming along beautifully.

She's doing very well for her first go at knitting in the round. Her decreases are looking good, too! Don't mind my polar bear pjs.

Twinkie is happy to play prettily in the weeds.

Busy, busy, busy. So busy in fact, that I'm blogging at 11.30pm, when I should be long in bed, and I haven't knit a stitch in two days.
And I'm missing it sorely. I need the stress relief.

The dance comp.
On Saturday afternoon and evening, Em competed in two sections. Each section required two dances. The first was the ballet section, and required a character dance first.
Em's character dance is a Snake Charmer.

Then she had to do her classical routine.

See the trophy? First place!
A little bit later on, her second section was a tap section and required two tap dances.
This is her first one.

This is her second.

See the trophies? First place again! Way to go, Em!

Did I get the scarf done?

You bet I did! I finished it at the comp on Saturday night. I also finally finished Em's fluffy socks on Saturday.

She's pretty happy with them, and has declared them a perfect fit. She also doesn't want to take them off! (First pic is much more accurate colourwise)

As long as she doesn't go telling all her friends I'll knit a pair for them!

To anyone who I owe an email to, my sincere apologies. I'm flat out keeping up with all the crap I've let slide, and I'm exhausted. My house is a pigsty and the sewing I'm being paid to do is seriously behind. And it's all stressing me out just a little.
I'm having difficulty finding time to knit over the past week and a half or so, and when I do find the time, I'm lacking motivation. I'm working on a pile of stuff I've promised to other people, and right now it feels like obligation knitting, not knitting for enjoyment.
If it wasn't for loved ones, I'd throw it all aside, but it is for loved ones, and I know they appreciate what I make for them. It's just not inspiring!
I've been promising myself that I can knit all sorts of wonderful things just as soon as I finish the second Fair Isle glove, and one or two other small projects. But I might need to start somehting gorgeous just to kick the motivation into gear.
I just happen to have a single ball of Cashmerino Aran, and the new Knitty has a rather fetching pattern which just happens to call for a single skein of Cashmerino Aran.
Hmm.

Saturday Sky!

Yes, it's winter in Sydney, and this is the second absolutely beautiful Saturday in a row. Just so you know I'm not throwing up random blue squares, here's some sky with a bit af tree.

Twinkie has been playing in the sun.

And there's been some knitting.
After quite a bit of nagging, Em finally got me to teach her how to knit in the round, using DPNS.

She's knitting a beret for her aktraditions doll, Imogen. And doing a pretty good job! She's also had to learn "m1" increases.

And we've had a dance comp for the past two days, and we're back again this afternoon and tomorrow. A pretty goopd haul so far, 3 first places, 3 second places, a third place, and a highly commended or two. And a nomination for the scholarship section tomorrow.
I need something brainless, and easy to pick up and put down when I'm at these things, so I started a scarf. I'm using Patons "Jet", a wool/alpaca blend that I'm really enjoying.
I decided on an easy pattern, but I think it's knitting up nicely.

Here's a closeup of the stitch pattern.

I wonder if I can finish it today or tomorrow?

It's school holidays. Again. Am I the only person who is starting to think that these kids have too many holidays?
Anyway, as a result, there is little or no knitting going on.
But I baked!
Anyone who knows me is now shaking their heads in disbelief.
I noticed that we had some chocolate chips in the cupboard, and got a hankering for chocolate chip cookies. Being ever-so-creative, I noticed lots of other yummy things in the cupboard, too.

Behold, milk-and-white chocolate chip, mini m&m, nut and peanut butter cookies.

And they were even better than edible!

In knitting news, the ends on glove number one have been woven in. That's it. No second fluff sock done, no second glove cast on, but I'm having some serious lace yearnings.

I knew I wouldn't finish the glove on Sunday. I jinxed myself.
Well, really, I started playing computer games and never picked up the glove.
However, I finished it last night.

Well, almost finished. There's an end or two to be woven in.

Of course, that's just glove number one.
These gloves were supposed to be a stash busting exercise, using up the leftover yarns from my Fair Isle Sampler Hat.
Guess what?
The main colours, the green and the blue? I've run out and need to order another ball of each. I will end up with more of those yarns than I began with.
Stashbusting, my butt!

Twinkie knows that if she gets into her hutch at night, she'll get vegies.

So she thought she'd give it a go in the daytime. Nice try!

It's Saturday!
Saturday sky in Sydney.

It was a beautiful sunny day, but cold. Those were the only clouds in the sky, but the rest of the sky looked like this.

And that's a bit boring, isn't it?
Knitting? Yes, please.
Anyone with some forethought would have taken these pictures while I had the camera out during that beautiful sunny day, but I have no forethought, and so I had to take the pictures on the night setting. That's why they're crappy.

The glove is growing fingers. Hopefully I'll finish the fingers tonight. Of course, now that I've said that, I won't. I've jinxed myself, no doubt.
The fluffy socks continue.

One down, another begun.

I'm up to the heel flap, and that means I'm done with the fluff. It's all smooth sailing now. Who wants to bet that I just jinxed myself again?

Sharon had a little competition a week or two ago, and I won. Look at the yummy yarn she sent as a prize.

Mohair boucle in gorgeous blue and purple shades. Thank you, Sharon! What to do with it? A scarf? A simple triangle shawl on big needles? Oh, the agony ;)