'scuse the silence

Sorry for leaving you in the lurch there when I was supposed to post my next Tamora Pierce review - 

...but first I got distracted when I got an email from Morris and Sons (aka Tapestry Craft) saying the new Melbourne store was open - so I just had to dash into the city. Unfortunately, the announcement was a little premature, but the love shop assistants let me in to have a look around - the Morris and Son yarns are divine. The should be open next week, just in time for the yearly May/June sale. For a better sneak peak at the store check out my flickr page (after they so graciously let me have a peek I took photos from outside the shop with my new super duper telephoto lens) 

The store is at 234 Collins st (right above Dymocks mecca) and the will be having weekly s'n'bs on Thursdays from 7-9pm (tho I am assuming they will start after the sale finishes)

...then due to parental units being in town I was out and about and busy busy busy for a couple of days

...and I got stuck down by some lurgy (not to worry, no curly tail a la Dudley, so it mustn't be swine flu. If I start oinking I'll let you know so you can disinfect your computers, because with all this panic about swine flu I am sure it must be contagious via the interwebs)

...but the best news - I got me a new macbook :) oh yay! Quick Q for all you mac pushers users out there - anyone used google chrome? It's now my preferred browser, but I am not sure how well it will work on the mac.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be back into it with the Pierce book reviews.... for now I am curling up in bed and catching up on my blogs :)

Scarf Festival Update: Workshop Program

Forwarded to me by the lovely Gillian - http://leafygal.blogs.com/

Dear Scarf Maker

 

I am pleased to announce the festival program for Transformation: Scarf Festival 2009. I hope you will find an activity that suits your skills and interests with nearly 40 different classes on offer by 22 professional and amateur craft practioners from across Australia!

 

Bookings for the workshops open on Monday 18th May at all venues across Geelong and Melbourne. Please note the venue of the workshop and contact that venue directly to make a booking, Monday - Fridays during business hours. Bookings and prepayment are required for ALL workshops regardless of the venue.

 

Please note the special offer for the NWM membership which is open to all participants and attendees. NWM Membership attracts a 15% discount for scarves entered into the Transformation Showcase and workshop fees and free entry into the Museum for 12 months.

 

We hope you will join us in transforming your winter this year!

 

Kind Regards

Lynette

 

Lynette Nilaweera (Christie)

Scarf Festival Coordinator

National Wool Museum

PO Box 104

Geelong VIC 3220

T: 03 5272 4864

F: 03 5222 1118

E: scarffestival@geelongcity.vic.gov.au

W: www.nwm.vic.gov.au

 

The Workshop program is available in google documents here:

Scarf festival 2009 Workshop Program.pdf

http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=F.7116d928-05b1-49d0-9d1f-76c01719933e

some good, some bad...

the bad news first - 

• I got made redunant from my job at the start of March
  
• I am still unemployed
  
• I hate dealing with Centrelink
  
• The Man and I split up
  
• I need to find new digs  - somewhere pet friendly (for the pupster and I) to live 
  
• Currently I am 'between' fixed addresses, crashing at my parents and couch surfing in the interim

the good news - 

• I finally paid off my car loan with the paycheck before I got made redundant
  
• I entered The Australian Wool Fashion Awards....
  
• ...and I am a finalist !
  
• check out the details here - if you make it to the Royal Easter Show look for a green dress with purple i-cord 'piping' - very fitted and very 40s. I don't have a picture because I can't find the dang camera I used :( However, it is knit completely in one piece (apart from the belt) in gorgeous 8-ply / DK / Light worsted merino yarn :)
• I had a fairly good interview for a retail management training position last week so hopefully will be gainfully employed (and not reliant on centrelink) very soon...
  
• I am surprised at how resiliant I have become - I had quite a bit of crap land on me at once and am dealing rather well. Yay for minimum black dog issues in a time of crises!

Anyway - please excuse the lack of blogging recently... didn't really know how to start telling the negative stuff.

Mum and I will be in Sydney about the 15th of April (next Wednesday) for the presentation night of the Australian Wool Fashion Awards - if anyone wants to catch up while we are in town drop me a line :)

knitting for psychos

stumbled upon this mildly disturbing website today...

rockin xmas tree

rockin xmas tree, originally uploaded by pierretheyarnsnob.

I got this teeny tiny table top xmas tree when it was no longer needed at work. Turns out it is the perfect size for my emergency sock club keyring 'ornaments'!

I LUFF my knitters xmas tree!

cccxiv - Kate Hudson gets crafty to cut costs at Christmas

hmm.. this article was obviously written by a muggle - everyone knows that these days you don't save any money by knitting.

Sure you get better value by knitting - but saving money? Unless you are re-claiming yarn from op-shops you're not really 'saving' money by knitting. And then wouldn't the bigger story be "Kate Hudson goes bargain trawling at the thrift store"??

I like that when I knit I can spend approx $50 on (somewhat budget) yarn and get a lovely pure wool sweater, made to high standards that completely suits me. But if I really wanted to save money I could buy clothing made in China much cheaper (obviously not made out of the same quality fibre, but it would still perform the function of clothing me and keeping me warm).

Perhaps I should write in and explain the value of knitting.

I can buy a months worth of socks for the price of a really purdy skein of sock yarn - or at least 3 pairs for the cheapest ball of sock yarn. And that's before you add in all the hours labour - even at minimum wage you're looking at looking at about $200 for a single sock...

CCCI - Geelong Textile Fibre Forum

Saturday found me joining Kathy and her friend Daniel at the Geelong Grammar Campus for the Fibre Forum open day. Of course - we bumped into many like minded pilgrims from our S'n'b, as well as a few ravellers and I was very happy to bump into Doris (Lisa G's mum) from my first ever pub-knitting group at Bar 2060 in North Sydney (I think the group has now moved to another location as the pub was renovated and switched to very low wattage bulbs...) anyway... I digress...

I think our little group managed to see just about anything (except for the fabled Habu textiles that apparently were on offer) and I managed to walk away with only one purchase - a pattern book: Norah Gaughin Vol1. I'd already been in touch with Gusseting to grab one, but hadn't a chance to catch up with her to collect it... so really I didn't give in to the impulse buy nerve at all.... (yeah, I know, pure sophistry...)

My absolute favourite part of the open day (apart from bumping into friends including my tapestry teacher, Joy, we spent the week as 'Artist in Residence') was the knitting instillation I have dubbed 'The Womb Room' (don't worry none of us felt the need to return to the foetal position due to stress)

Squishy, red, knitted walls that envelope you and make you feel safe - 'womb' was just the first word that jumped into my head. Kathy and I both knit a row for this project.

(photos kindly taken by Daniel as I forgot my Camera...)
There was another knitting instillation in the next room completed by some elderly knitters in SA. (photos top row below) You can't quite see it, but one of the walls was full of knitted tubes about the size of sleeves. I could imagine people hiding behind that wall and putting their arms into those "sleeves" so they could wave to the world :)


We also enjoyed the "hogwarts" like scenery of the Grammar Campus. Yes, we really are just big kids at heart...

Yarn Porn..

Just when you think you fully understand the meaning of the term Franklin comes along and with a new project.

I wonder how he distracted Dolores while he was doing the shoot...

Geelong LYS

Direct cut and paste from a Ravelry forum post I thought I might keep here for ease of reference. (I have linked all of these to their ravelry LYS page - if they have one. When I have time I'll find some more detailed weblinks.)

Twisted Threads is right in the centre of town - in the main street in fact! It has just been taken on by a new owner and would have the biggest variety of yarns. It is the only store in Geelong that is dedicated to knitting and needlework.

If you are keen to go into the suburbs, there is Busy Bee Fabrics in Belmont is an outlet for Bendigo Woollen Mills and has lots of pattern books, and there is the Belmont Drapery across the road that also has some yarns (once you get past all the old lady underwear!).

Woolsy Trading Post is in Geelong West and is a stockist for opal and Ashford products.

After that you may choose to head down the Bellarine Peninsula - there is the Ocean Grove sewing centre which has a selection of yarns, Wildpurl at Port Lonsdale - which is a homewares store with a yarn section out the back, and Coloured Jules at Queenscliff - which specialised in Hand painted mohair.

If you are heading that way you may want to stop at Drysdale. Not actually a yarn store - but Shiloh is a small farm specialising in natural coloured wool that is grown, scoured and spun in Geelong. Quite possibly a good place to get some unique souvineer wool. You will probably need to make an appointment thou (and if you are keen it is right next door to one of the main Bellarine wineries)

Depending on when you are in town you may also want to check out one of the weekend markets on the Peninsula - There are a couple of stalls (including GingerKnits - me!) that sell yarn and crafty stuff.

Heading south from Geelong along the coast you may want to check out some of our famous surf beaches, and while you’re there it would be the perfect oppotunity to check out Pear Tree Yarns in Torquay. Pear Tree also sources local producers and is scoured and spun in Geelong - and has some products to die for.

One last thing to mention - the National Wool Museum (external link) is located in Geelong and definitely worth a visit for any knitter. I don’t recommend you buy any yarn there thou - it is incredibly overprices (I think it has something like a 70% markup!). Save your pennies and go round the corner to Twisted Threads!

out of habit...

The Man, pupster and I ran away to the bush block last week, and I am now having difficulty getting the blog posting happening again...

There was lots of 'rain-on-the-tin-roof' of the shed when we were tucked up nice and warm in bed, lots of reading by candlelight, knitting by day and crosswords in front of the fire. 

I ventured down into Colac one afternoon and hit the jackpot at the lifeline shop - I went trawling through the knitting patterns and about 2kg of vintage knitting patterns followed me home for only 50cents! 

I happened to double up on a couple of them, so Taph aka Queen of the Vintage Patterns, if you would like some more for your collection get in touch.

The prototype Kimoncho is now complete(rav link - photo in progress sidebar) and will get the pattern written up pronto. I'll be offering this in different sizes so it will take a little while to up-size it a bit (It is supposed to be a loose fit so my size will be the smallest). Because of this extra effort it will be offered for a nominal price.

GingerKnits.com is also donating door prizes for the Bendigo/ ACS/ Ravelry Brekky meet-up in a few weeks time. There will be two prizes will each consist of a skein of handspun and a new product that will not be launched until after theWool and sheep show weekend - the Fibre Freak Stitch-marker Charm Bracelet . 

Well - it appears that I got into rhythm of writing again! 

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be back with a few photos...

Free Pattern: Elegant Drinking Scarf and Tassel Tutorial

This one was a special request for a male friend - a non-frilly scarf one could wear out on the town during Melbourne winter. Oh - but it needed a classic tassel fringe... 

May I present the Elegant Drinking Scarf...

Yarn: Naturally Me: Merino and Cashmere 8ply

50gram balls (102metres) x 4 (one ball used for tassels)

Needles: one pair 5mm needles.

Gauge: 20 stitches/10 cm (this is worked at a looser than recommended tension to create a looser, cushier fabric)

Directions: Cast on 28 stitches. 

knit 4 (purl 4, knit 4) 3 times

Repeat this row until scarf reaches desired length.

Finishing: Weave in all ends. Add a fringe of tassels - a photo tutorial of how to make a tassel fringe is available on my flickr account here

Throw your finished item around your neck, find a pub crawl, and get yourself ever so elegantly wasted...

A perfect day...

Yesterday The Man and I went to Melbourne to drop in to both the Handknitters Guild Expo and the Spinners and Weavers Guild open day - 

I have to say I was very restrained... this is all I cam home with:

I  x skein of Collinette Jitterbug in Slate (I'll be using that to seam up a jacket in Point 5... and then make some anklets)

I x second hand book (pocket sized) on woven tapestry. This book will live in my handbag to show everyone who thinks that tapestry can only exist in it's needlepoint form... (And I think it will get me some bonus points if I add it in to my Tapestry portfolio when I hand it in... extra research and the like!)

The Man was very well behaved - while I made a beeline for yarn in the Brunswick town hall, he went hunting coffee (I sent him down to Moka GiGi - best coffee within a 10min class break) and he brought me back a cappuccino. 

A mere block from the Spinners and Weavers Guild we found one of our favourite restaurants, The Calabrian, so we had a late lunch al fresco enjoying the last of the Autumn sunshine.

We rounded out the day with dinner at Big Mouth in St Kilda with Sis and her new hubby (they eloped in Los Vegas), did some late shopping down the street and picked up some sweets at a patisserie to take back to sis's and enjoyed them with some espresso before The Man drove us back to Geelong... all in all, a perfect day!

A green afghan*...

This here is one of my current WIP - a wedding afghan for friends of mine. This is it exactly at the halfway mark - only 40.5 squares to go (no-one mention the border, okay!... or that the wedding that this was for was in March!) My friends selected the yarn, colours and pattern from a bunch of colour cards, stash samples, books and magazines I took over to their place, and understood there was a very big possibility it could be running a bit late....

It was originally supposed to be the cable blanket from Jo Sharp contemporary knitting, but I decided the pattern was written by a numpty, and ripped out the third of that pattern I had knitted (after starting it twice because I decided the pattern was badly written). The stitch pattern was making the finished product look a little card-boardy, so I decided to go with good ol' fashioned garter, and keep the diagonal colours as per the original pattern. To reduce the need for seeming, I decided to work a variation on your standard entrelac to get a nice looking blankie without the need of any starter triangles.

This is worked in Bendy 12ply Rustic - have to say that although it is supposedly the same yarn, with the same fibre content in different colours, the lighter colours (particularly the cream fleck) is so much softer than the darker colours. Anybody have any idea why this is???

Needless to say, this is a fantastic knit for rainy days in front of the heater! Now that the weather has turn crisp and chilly, a hellava lot more work is getting done on this project now :)

And because I had the camera out, I thought it was time for a couple of Pierre pics.

This is his favourite place to greet guests as they come in the front door (which is just behind the right of the couch)

It is rather kitten like the way he bounds up to the back of the couch and runs back and forth along the narrow cushion until a guest will pay attention to him.The next thing that happens when we have guests, is that the toy sitting on the couch there gets dumped in their lap, because, of course, the guest is there solely to play with P!

And I took these pics while I was running a few errands today - 

I absolutely love these kimmidolls, but this red-headed one is my favourite (her name is Seiko, meaning success - also the name of one of my Japanese exchange student pals) However, I just can't justify spending $20 on a doll, no matter how cute. 

So when I saw these little key-ring dolls for 7 bucks I got all excited... 7 bucks isn't much, and a key-ring you use for your keys and see it all the time and does more than sit on a shelf and looks cute....

....except there is only a limited number of characters in the key-ring line, and Seiko isn't one of them :( Guess it just wasn't meant to be...

And finally - I just got back from the Geelong S'n'B for May - it marks my knitsaversary as being a part of this group! I loved finding this group - they cannot replace my rubi'n'lana knitting buds in Sydney, but I feel lucky to have found such a great group of friends locally.

*if you don't know the relevance of THE green afghan, you need to get a hold of Yarn Harlot's book of short stories :)

Textile Tuesday

This week brought to us by the loverly Purls Palace in Daylesford... the LYS that, like the rest of Daylesford, is cosy and classy. While I wandered around fondling yarns and fabrics, and flicked through books, The Man and Pupster sat on the comfortable couch and read through the Age (because, like the rest of Daylesford, Purl's Palace is Dog Friendly* and caters for partners)The Man bought these goodies for me as an extra birthday present when we had our dirty romantic weekend away back in March. 
These are the shots where I pay a homage to Brooklyn Tweed and his amazing yarn portraits. Above - Noro Iro, and below, Noro Kocharon.
These beauties have been turned into an incredibly warm beret/tam that gets lots of comments at Markets. I really should take some piccies of it!

*Of course, when we turned up on the doorstep of Purl's Palace The Man, Pupster and I were all wearing hand-knit sweaters. You'd have to be an idiot to turn away that sort of clientelle!

Textile Tuesday

A special order I got on the weekend - 

a customer liked the hat I had on my stall, and really liked "Crazy skein" - a yarn I had dyed and spun (shown right).

24 hours of project monogamy and this is the result..

The wool fibre was dyed prior to spinning. There were six colours, and I spun singles randomly selecting the colour order. I then andean-plyed, creating a 2-ply yarn, and then I andean plyed that, creating a crepe/cable yarn. The end result was this great striping effect. 

It is now sitting in the living room waiting to be picked up by its new owner. I hope she likes it!

Read and discuss...

I just posted the following to a Ravelry forum. Thoughts? Opinions? Please?

_____________________________________

There seems to be a lot of confusion about "eco-friendly" fibre and "cruelty-free" fibre.  

Something that is eco-friendly means it is good for the environment where it comes from. Possum fibre from New Zealand is eco-friendly. The possums need to be culled so they do not ruin the environment, and as a by-product of this the manage to use the fibre from the dead possums in yarns and fabrics.  

Likewise, rabbits are a pest in Australia, and as a result rabbit felt hats were made from the culled animals. The brand 'Akubra' is quite well known for these hats. Foxes are also a pest in Australia, and it would be quite eco-logically friendly to wear australian fox fur (though not cruelty-free).  

In a similar argument, just because something is "certified organic" does not mean it is "eco-friendly" either. 

Growing cotton uses lots of water - growing cotton in an environment experiencing drought (like Australia) does not make it "eco-friendly", and is, in fact, very eco-logically irresponsible, whether or not it is grown to precise certified organic practices. Cotton would ruin an environment like this.  

People are getting so caught up in what is good for the Earth, that they do not realise that a lot of this is just a marketing ploy to sell a new, different line of yarn. Sometimes the impact of these yarns can still be quite significant for the earth they are grown upon.

Who got free stuff???

Bells got free stuff!

For the month of April, each time you shop at GingerKnits.com you will go into the draw to win a handspun skein of your choice from the shop.

So far the small project bags are proving to be very popular - I only have two left in stock at the moment, but am currently chasing some more down. If you have been eyeing these off and they just aren't quite in your colour check back towards the end of next week when I should have the new stock updated.

Mandie - you Rock!!!

This post is spoiler free!

Just got the latest Ewe Give me the Knits fibre club installment, and I have to say... 

WOOT!

SQUEE!

YAY!

Mandie - the swag is fantastic! Made my day - and love the top paddock blend and the colour!

About to dash out the door to school, but I'm glad I was here when the postie stopped by. And also glad that he had my current ebay purchases for my Passap :) One less trip to the post office for me!

Legend says it killed Socrates...

I'm talking about hemlock, of course...

This one is addictive, but not poisonous...

And I blame BrooklynTweed! Ever since he finished his gorgeous chunky Hemlock Ring Doily, it has been begging me to give it a go.

Cast on with Paton's Shadow tweed - I love how organic the colours are, and the ripples caused by the feather and fan. And the pattern is great too - loving the fact that there is only one pattern row in every five. Mindless knitting for four rows is all so much fun!

And best of all - this is knit from stash yarn I picked up at the Wangaratta Woollen Mills last April. So far I am into my third ball.

like a tiger... grrr

The Man and I have reached Kanchanaburi - historically infamous for the Bridge over the River Kwai. Those not in the know, the Bridge was part of a rail system that was built using POW labour during WWII so Japan could have an alternate supply route to Burma (now Myanmar). It was estimated that rail system would take 5 years to build, but it was complete in 14 months - many of the POWs being literately worked to death. There a a few movies about the Bridge over the River Kwai and lots of museums and monuments around Kanchanaburi. The man and I went to the Allied Forces War Cemetery last night, and plan to make it out the the bridge today.

Fortunately, Kanchanaburi does have a far less grim claim to fame - Some of the Monks in the area started a wildlife rescue a few years ago, which has resulted in the attraction "Tiger Temple". We are going to get up close and personal with the big cats this afternoon, where we will have oppotunity to pat and touch the carnivores.

Tomorrow we head back to Bangkok (or Krung-thep, as the locals know it) for a bit of sightseeing before jumping on a plane Sunday night to head home.

Oh.. and slightly knitting related - I managed to pick up a couple of skeins of beautiful rough silk yarn when we were in Chiang Mai. Picture will be forthcoming when we get home :)