Fruit Tingles

Last year, Donyale spun me up this lovely yarn for my birthday. It's lovely, squishable and soft, 100% Optim. I believe the colourway was officially "Fleece Navidad".

But as I wound it up, it reminded me of Fruit Tingles. I think these might be an Australian thing, they're kind of like Lifesavers, without the hole.

They're a favourite around here, but you can't see them in the packet. Here they are, with the yarn partially knit.

See what I mean? So the scarf was dubbed the "Fruit Tingles" scarf. I'd had the yarn for a while, and I knew I wanted it to be a scarf. When I saw the Scrunchable Scarf on Ann's blog, I knew that it was the one I wanted to knit.

I had it in the car as my wait knitting, or long drive knitting. The knitting you always have on hand, at any rate. It still took me more than 3 months to knit, as there was a lot more yardage than I'd bargained for! I do wish I'd made it a little wider now, but I'm still happy with it - and it's unbelievably soft!

Specs:
Yarn: handspun expecially for me, by Donni!
Needles: 5.5mm. I could have gone down to a smaller needle, and the scarf would have been a little denser.
Pattern: Scrunchable Scarf. Super easy! I can see this one being repeated.

No mods, just cast on and knit the same row over and over until I ran out of yarn. The scarf is super long, and sooooft.

I blocked it yesterday, and so it's finished - just in tine for this years birthday, tomorrow! It's like a gift that gives, two years in a row :)

Still computerless

My computer is still off being repaired. While this makes blogging, cruising Ravelry and twittering more difficult than usual, it's done wonders for the sewing and the knitting!
I'm using Emily's computer when she isn't, but it's not the same as my own, and it's making downloading pictures and stuff a pain. But I do have some!

I finished the Rivendell socks, much to Emily's delight. (I'm still peeved that they're too small for my cankles!)

I love the finished look of these socks, but I wasn't impressed with the pattern, or the yarn.

Specs:
Pattern: Rivendell by Janel Laidman
Yarn: Sundara Sock Yarn in "Pink Dreams"
Needles: 2mm
Mods: I rewrote the heel turn, because the one in the pattern just didn't work for me. I also rounded the toe a little more than the pattern called for.

By the way, the actual colour is pinker than it appears here, at least on Emily's monitor. I couldn't get it right on this computer!

As I just mentioned, the heel as written just didn't work. I looked on Ravelry, and maybe it was just me, because I couldn't find any errata, or any comments or posts about the heel! The yarn? I can't understand the fuss, to be honest. The red dots through it aggravated me. And you can't see it in these pictures, but there is a great big red spot right in the centre of the top of the foot on one of the socks. And there was a placein the yarn that was almost split through. It was nice enough to knit with, but it wasn't the fantabulous stuff I'd thought it must be.
But again, maybe that's just me!

I got to pick a new sock club shipment.

Mountain Colors Bearfoot in "Wildflower". I'm going to use this to make CookieA's BFF socks.

Selbu Modern has also seen some action.

I'm still uncertain about the colour combination, but Em still loves it, and she's the one who will be wearing it. At least she does seem to wear the handknit hats, even if she doesn't wear anything else I make her!

In sewing news, I'm in the middle of sequinning something else she will wear.

It's for her new fast tap routine, and I need to cover all the gold lycra with sequins. It's happening, slowly.

And when you walk around here, you need to watch where you're walking.

You may trip over half a bunny.

Bits and pieces

I did take my camera to Canberra, but as usual, apart from the visit to the Big Merino, I failed to take it out of my bag. Ailsa didn't! Her husband took this picture of Jacqueline, Ailsa and myself.

Knitting wise, I've done some work on Emily's Selbu Modern.

I'm a little worried that the contrast Pink is too close to the pink in the variegated colourway, but it might be alright.

And of course, there's been sewing going on. My supervisor takes her job very seriously.

Me getting on the floor to cut things out is her favourite part, although she has been known to inspect my cutting very closely. Like close enough to almost get the tip of an ear lopped off!

My 18 month old computer is going back for it's second repair tomorrow, so I probably won't be around as much. I have my iPhone, and I can use Emily's and David's computers when they're not qith them, but excuse me if you email me and I take a while to get back to you! Maybe I'll get lots of sewing done without my computer here to distract me!

Canberra

Yesterday, David and I drove down to Canberra so I could have lunch with some long time blog buddies. It's not at all unusual for Ailsa and I to get together, but yesterday we finally got to meet Jacqueline, who has been one of my online friends for a long, long time. In fact, she was the first person to join the Aussie Knitters Webring when I first started it, way back when!

On the way down, we stopped at Goulburn, so I could feed the coffee addiction and also so I could take a picture of The Big Merino.

There is a store inside the Big Merino. It sells lots of local goods, knitwear and sheepskin goods, but unfortunately no yarn. Boo!

Anyway, we went back along our way, and met Ailsa and Jacqueline at the Botanic Gardens where we had a very nice lunch, and a long leisurely chat. Then we decided that the day was young, and there just happened to be A Celebration of Wool happening at the markets just down the road, so off we went.

We were remarkably restrained. In fact, I only purchased one single, solitary skein of yarn.

Although I'm not sure it's earned the title "yarn". Thread seems somehow more appropriate.

60/2 pure silk. 3000 metres per 100g. Hello insanity!

I was somewhat excited to see that Waratah Fibres were there. They're the people who dyed the yarn I'm using for my Clapotis. But the lady confirmed that the yarn I'm using was a one-off dealie, and there is no more to be had.

Woe.

I haven't yet frogged it, but I have decided that frogged it must be. Right now, it's in the naughty corner. And I've started something else.

A Selbu Modern for Emily. Again. She rarely wears the things I knit for her, so why do I continue to knit for her? (Besides which, I got her report card today. She's fortunate that she's still breathing at this point.)
I saw Miss Fee's Selbu Modern a while back, and loved it immediately. And made the mistake of showing it to Em. So a Selbu Modern it is. Or will be, anyway!

I'm having a birthday soon. Well, kind of soon. In two weeks. But Jill decided not to take any chances on the Postal Service, and sent me a birthday gift early.

So pretty!

I thought about being strong and not opening it until my birthday. That lasted about 45 seconds. Inside were treasures.

Some Dizzy Blonde sock yarn in the "Faith" colourway, some Dove dark chocolate, and Cookie A's sock book.

But it gets better.

Signed! How awesome is that?

Clapotis?

Thank you all for the lovely comments on Aeolian. She's still draped over the back of the lounge, where I can admire her whenever I glance over.

In the afterglow, I decided on a reasonably easy project. I delved through the stash, trawled through Ravelry and went through a billion magazines, and finally decided on a Clapotis.

I did make a Clapotis once, a few years back, but I don't wear it very often. It's quite heavy, and I dyed the yarn myself. In really, really bright colours. So at the Bendigo Wool Show last year, I bought some 4ply (fingering weight) Polwarth from Waratah Fibres, intending it for a Clapotis right from the minute I saw it.

So I wound my yarn and off I went. I even went to the trouble of alternating skeins because of the handdyed yarn. And I'm pretty happy with the way it's looking.

But.

There's always a but, isn't there?

It's a little further along now. I've used 58g of the yarn. I only have 150g. The short side is around 33cm (13") and the long side is 56cm (22"). I think that if I keep going, I'm going to have a stumpy Clapotis. So now I can't decide what to do. Admit it's going to be too short and give it up? Or hope for the best and keep going?

It's going to be too short, isn't it?

And a great deal of my knitting time is currently being sucked away, and will continue to do so for the next six months.

Sewing for the annual dance concert has begun. Sixty one costumes in six months.

I'm an idiot.

Hello, my pretty!

I blocked Aeolian on Friday. And once she was all pinned out, I stood there for quite a while just admiring her. When David and Emily came home, I insisted that they both come in and admire it, too.

Now I'll let all of you admire her, too!

I'm in love with it!

Specs:

Pattern: Aeolian by Elizabeth Freeman from Spring 2009 Knitty (The shawl version)
Yarn: Mama Blue Limited Edition Silk Lace in "Urchin"
Needles: 2.75mm Knitpicks Harmony
Beads: 8/0 Silver Light Amethyst seed beads

Mods: The pattern calls for 1100 yards of yarn, and my skein was only 1000 yards, so I was worried that I'd run out. I contacted the designer on Ravelry, and she was very helpful! As a result, I only did 10 repeats of the Yucca chart, instead of the 12 in the pattern. In the end, I had 17g of the 100g left over, so I could probably have managed all the repeats. I'm not concerned though, I'm perfectly happy with the end result! Possibly the only thing I'd change would be to get beads that contrasted rather than matched.

Love it all, the yarn, the pattern, the beads, the end result!

Today I'm anti-title

The Rivendell socks are progressing nicely.

But I'm not entirely happy with them.

First off, the heel turn instructions were wrong. I couldn't find errata for them, and no-one on Ravelry had mentioned any problems, but I just couldn't make it work, so I substituted my own instructions. Next, they don't fit my cankles, so it looks like they'll go to Emily by default.
At least she's happy!
And I'm not really loving the yarn. This is the first time I've used Sundara sock yarn, and to be honest, I was expecting more. It's no different really to Yarntini, The Plucky Knitter or Koigu. And I know people say it's the colours. Yes, her colours are beautiful, and I love this colour. But. Up close, there's lots of tiny little dots of red. Undissolved dye, I suspect. And, half way down the leg I came across a spot where it looked like the yarn had been cut. It was holding together by a tiny little strand, so I had to cut it and rejoin it.

Don't get me wrong, it's nice yarn, it's just not living up to the hype for me.

But something that is living up to the hype? Aeolian. No full pictures yet, but here's a teaser or two.

Full pictures as soon as I weave in the ends and actually take the pics!

This morning, David noticed something while watching Twinkie out in the yard.

(Apart from the fact that the grass needs to be mowed!)
Twinkie is eating herself a little path through the grass from the clothesline to the table.

Now we need to find a way to get her to work on the rest of the yard!

Aeolian

So finally, Aeolian is off the needles.

I began casting off on Tuesday night, but only got a quarter of the way through before I gave up and went to bed. I worked on it on and off yesterday, and finally finished around midnight.

I shouldn't really have been surprised that it took so long. Row 43 (out of 47) of the edging took 3 hours on Monday night. I've never been so glad to see the end of a row! There was a crapload of stitches on the needle, and that row required 250 beads. Here's how it looked on the needle.

But now it's done, and hopefully tomorrow, it will be blocked!

Twinkie still has a thing for the broom. I mentioned it quite a while back, complete with video. It used to be just the hand broom, but now any broom will do. She detests being brushed properly, but has been known to chase the broom until we brush her with it. These days, however, she just plonks herself down in the pile of sweepings until she gets swept, too.

Sometimes I need to lock her outside until I'm done, or she'll sit there all day long!

The EmPress beret

This project was actually finished at camp, but I was lazy about blocking it, so it's taken a while to blog!

It's been dubbed the EmPress beret, because the pattern is called The Baroness Beret, but Emily has long been known around here as the EmPress.

As can be seen from the picture, she loves it. She had been requesting a red hat for a while, and I finally got around to it.

Specs:
Pattern: Baroness Beret by Susan Power (Rav Link)
Yarn: Cascade 220 in Ruby, purchased from Yarns Online.
Needles: 3.75mm and 4mm.
Mods: None.

This was a super quick knit. I cast on just before we left for Camp, and worked on it Friday afternoon and evening at Camp, and finished it late Friday night. It looked very small though, and I was a little worried that I'd need to rip it and start over on larger needles.
When I got home, Em tried it on and agreed that it was a tiny bit small. I decided to block it before I ripped it, just in case it grew a little, and sure enough, after blocking, it was perfect.
It actually didn't even take a full ball of Cascade 220, I still have 47g left!

Pink

Here's a picture of my current works in progress. Can you guess what my favourite colours might be? Right now though, even I'm getting a bit sick of pink!

Wash Day

Wash Day for the family's socks!

Our internet is throttled until Monday, so I'm off to have a lovefest with Aeolian.