Sun Shoes day!

Okay - I know that according to the Goddess of Footwear RoseRed that Shoesday is supposed to be the day after Monday, and not the day before, but I spent ages taking product photos yesterday and today, and felt the need to share this shot with you.

Shoe-stylin' stitchmarkers available from GingerKnits.com. 

From l-to-r; b-to-f: purple enamel high heel, high heeled sandal, slingback high heel, 

plain flip-flop, flat slide, floral flip-flop.

One of the aims of the photography class I am taking as part of my course is to be able to take reasonable product pictures. I don't yet have the Digital SLR as part of my kit, but I do have the ability to play with the ISO, exposure, white balance, macro and flash settings on my camera, and can also play with light and the composition. 

I took heaps of pictures, and got lots of over/under exposed shots, blurs, out of focus etc etc - it is very difficult to take nice pictures of teeny tiny little shiny beads and get any detail. And I only used Photoshop for cropping and extending the background colour into the back corner.

stitchmarker frenzy...

I literally just added hundreds of stitchmarkers to the store - and rather than put them in sets, I have them all up for individual sale, with prices starting at $2.50 a piece.

I have had a beading marathon, and my hand is now bruised where the handles of my pliers and wire-cutters dig into the fleshy part of my palm.

There are a wide variety available - cloisonné, glass, acrylic, polymer clay, metallic and enameled - and cute funky motifs, such as pirates, shoes, handbags, animals, cocktails, butterflies and candy-coloured glass beads. If you need a little knitting bling, pop on over and check it out. Some tempting images are below to whet your appetite.

Ravellers already get a discount, but if you are reading this and you haven't yet gotten past the Ravelry velvet rope drop me a line at info@gingerknits.com with the subject "Discount Puh-lease" and I'll let you join in on the savings :)

Don't forget that every-time you shop at GingerKnits.com in April you go into the draw to win a skien of handspun!

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.

spoilt!

Me - well and truly! 

Thanks to everyone who sent comments, emails, messages or texts wishing me a Happy Birthday on Friday - I had a fantastic day weekend!

On Friday arvo the Man, Pierre and I departed for Daylesford. The Man had booked a pet-friendly B&B - hence P came along. We arrived just before sunset - so after finding our accommodation we took the pupster for a wander down the main drag.

When we strolled passed Frangos & Frangos it became apparent we were rather peckish -and they were rather dog-friendly, so we stopped for dinner. Well... The Man and I had dinner - poor Pierre didn't get any of our cuisine...

Due to the fact it was early in the evening, the staff weren't too busy, so I nabbed the waiter to take a pic of us when he brought out our mains - 
(The Man had lamb, black lentil jus and mash while I had canestroni with roast pumpkin, ricotta and mustard fruits - see, it wasn't mere food, but cuisine)

And there wasn't a birthday cake, but we shared this - 

Blood Plum and Rum Trifle topped with gold leaf - so good we had to taste it before we got the camera out...
Oh - and P loved being out to dinner with us!

After dinner we went back to the Double Nut Chalet (appropriate seeing as it was gingernut and Mr gingernut!) where there was champagne sparkly, choccies and a spa bath awaiting for us.

The view from the front door of our 'Chalet'
See those high ceilings? The only thing that went wrong during the whole weekend was that at about 2am the smoke alarm battery decided it was going flat... and was giving out persistent chirps every few minutes and the smoke alarm was riiiight up the top of the wall! The Man had to climb on the table to reach it to shut the thing up!
Funky cosy living (even port supplied for that nightcap)
And cosy heating (and aircon if you need), a good supply of movies, and electric blankets if its your thang (we prefer to snuggle under an extra woollen blanket thou)

MMM... Spa!

After our lingering breakfast on Saturday, we found Purls Palace (more on this in another post!), the Convent Gallery and had lunch (well, I had Devonshire tea coffee) at Rhubarb Cafe and stopped at the bookstore before heading back to Geelong to catch up with The Man's family for dinner. (All dog-friendly... except the 'Bad Habits cafe' at the Convent Gallery, as it doesn't have al fresco dining)

At the Queenscliff Market on Sunday I tracked down  the "Tea with Alice Cupcakes" stall and bought this goigious lime-iced vanilla as a birthday cake treat for myself.

(Well - to keep with the theme, Sunday was actually an UNbirthday for me, but I am sure the Dormouse and Mad Hatter would have approved!)

Free Shipping anywhere in Oz

Hey everyone - 

Tomorrow is my birthday - and to let you all join in the celebration I am offering free shipping over at GingerKnits.com until the end of the month - and yes, it is available with any other discount*. The caveat is that this offer is only available in Australia^ - and it will take a day or two in the post as The Man is taking me away to Daylesford for a dirty romantic weekend.

Happy Shopping!

*discounts are available via blogs "Pimping my store"(see post above) and there is also a discount for Ravelry users...

^Australia Post is too expensive for overseas packages for me to cover the costs - something to do with us being so dang far away and surrounded by water...

Bliss!

Rain on a tin roof...

Distant thunder rolling by...

The refreshing smell of wet bush-lands...

A wood fire crackling nearby...

Soft candle light...

Collinette Point-5 on the needles...

I love it when we escape to the bush block!

Want some free stuff???

To help promote my new store over at GingerKnits.com I am having a competition and a sale.

All you need to do to win stuff from my store is to "Pimp my Store" and offer a discount to your blog readers. 

Sound easy???

Here's the deal - 

1: you must have a blog....

2: email me at info@gingerknits.com with details of your blog.

3: I will email you back with a unique code you can pass onto your readers for a discount at my store.

4: post this code, with a link to my store and the GingerKnits.com button (shown in top sidebar at right)

5: The bloggers who generates the most customers and/or the most sales for GingerKnits.com gets $50 to spend at GingerKnits.com

Promotion starts from now until the end of March. The sooner I get your email the sooner you can start to "Pimp my Store" and direct your readers my way.

Pierre news

On Saturday I was supposed to attend the Stitches and Craft show with some of the Geelong Knitters, but had to pike due to a lack of spare change, and a promise to the Man of a stash diet...

Instead, the Man and I gathered up Pierre and took him to the Dogs Day Out run by the Geelong Animal Welfare Centre and the local Council. The main reason we went (apart from giving P some doggie social hours) was to sort out his registration for the next year, but we decided to have a go at the agility course that was set up.

Apart from trying to duck under the jump (set only about 20cm above the ground), the pupster did really well. He ran over the 4m high beam (he's had practice on the backs of our armchairs and couch) and had no problem running through the tunnel. 

I got some information about training sessions, and unfortunately the club meets on Sunday mornings - so P and I won't be able to go until markets wind down a bit....

When discussing this idea with the housemates, they were certain the Pupster did not need any more agility...

In fact - they fear that with any more agility Pierre may turn into NINJA PUPPY :

Ninja Puppy would cling to the ceiling near the fridge to stalk any housemates wanting a midnight snack. Once the Ninja Puppy lands on your heads, he owns your food....

(yes.. I have been playing with photoshop... why do you ask???)

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!

kindergarten painting...

Have I mentioned how much I love my course???

One of my classes is colour theory and applications... but rather than learning about radiation wavelengths and frequencies, or doing a whole bunch of heavy reading what we are doing is a lot more fun...

Yesterday I spent the whole day making a colour wheel by mixing primary colours - yes, the same principle that you learnt in kinda...

Okay - perhaps a little more advanced, we were trying to mix exact shades and there was no finger-painting, but do you know how much fun it is to spend the whole day at a higher education campus and and play around with gauche and paint? After spending years reading articles about subversive patriarchal ideologies in literature or trying to write computer programmes for spherical trigonometry there something so freeing about going to class just to paint colours so you can learn by doing....

Of course, one of things I am enjoying most about my course is  difference is pedagogical method between tafe and university. Everything that you do at tafe is so practical, with the theory being taught during or after you have completed the task. Quite refreshing after years of uni where you learn the theory and then, if you are lucky, do the practical (which, when I did physics, I found rather redundant: "We learnt in the lecture about Boyle's law and low pressure - why do I have to waste three perfectly good hours first thing on a friday morning to test it... the guy is obviously right or else it would have been dropped from the course content...") 

Oh - and did I tell you last week we spent a day at the zoo sketching animals for drawing class? You can't get more fun than that! If I remember I'll take some photos of my sketches and see if you can guess which animals we visited!

seven simple joys

Caffeine Faery tagged me for 'seven things' and I thought I would take Taph's idea for a ride - so without further ado, seven simple joys:-

1. Surviving a long weekend without having to put fuel in your tank until the Tuesday... 

2. Hearing Alex Lloyd's Amazing on the radio - I find that song so uplifting... I remember when it first came out in 2001 I would drive the hour home from work at 1-2am flicking through radio stations hoping to hear it play.

3. Having discussions with The Man about 'our' future.

4. The pupster jumping all over me the minute I walk through the front door. When I sit down he gives me a thorough face-washing with his tongue. 

5. When people (okay, older women) at the market comment that they wish they had grandkids to buy my products for. 

6. Having a housemate who wants to watch all your Buffy and Angel DVDs... in order... and doesn't think that doing so is overkill.

7. The Man waking me up in the morning with a coffee... and grabbing his laptop so he can work checking his emails in bed and spend more time with me before he dashes off in the morning :)

Launching GingerKnits.com!

Hey everyone - 

Big news... I have finally started my own online shop over at GingerKnits.com

This will have all the stuff I sell at the markets, things I am making as part of my textiles course, plus a few extras from other crafty people out there. 

I have most of my current stock up there, but have some baby/toddler clothes, doggie sweaters and stitch markers that have yet to make it.

Please pop on over and let me know what you think. Next week I am hoping to run a competition to celebrate the launch of my new store (and a way for you to save money) - details to follow.

If you are interested in getting your stuff online, drop me a line at info@gingerknits.com

Saturday in the Park..

well, the dress is 'saturday in the park' but we were 'saturday at a wedding' - Ceremony at a church and reception at a coastal winery.

The Man and I spent a wonderful day celebrating with our friends and their family, dancing well into the evening. 

For those interested, the dress is from Glampyre's Fitted Knits, and knit in Spotlight's 70/30 bamboo/cotton yarn. 

waiting in the wings...

..is a bit of a special project -which hopefully I can go public with on Monday :)

NinaRibena from http://canberrasgotstyle.blogspot.com is jumping on board as well...

....check back on Monday for the big unveiling!

Tapestry Workshop

Visit to the Victorian Tapestry Workshop 19th Feb 08.... as part of my elective class in tapestry weaving.

This workshop has produced many great tapestries hanging in public places- one of the better known ones being the Parliament House Tapestry in Canberra.

Somehow I can't see myself completing these huge communal pieces that take many much...

but I do love these - they are much more me :)

web hosting choice

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study in porcelain

One of the classes I am getting quite a bit out of is Drawing.

Week one was 'Drawing the Porcelain Bus'  

First time I had touched charcoal since about year 8 high school - and it was a little bit daunting staring at a toilet bowl with a whole bunch of easels set up around it.

Week two was 'Passengers on the Porcelain Bus'

An exercise in surrealism - we had to integrate a picture or photo into our drawing. Apparently my drawing is okay, but my shading is shite... 

Considering this stuff is all new to me, I am quite happy with the results - however, I am quite looking forward to next week, which will apparently be toilet bowl free.

garage sale

Hey there - 

I have a couple of things up on ebay - an ipod and a designer handbag. Both new.

If your interested, check 'em out!

***edited to add - iPod already sold***

I signed up for PPP!

Okay - so I am selling out a tad bit :)

I signed up with PayPerPost, where every so often I will earn money for 'sponsored' blog posts. Don't worry - I won't be turning into a sad cable channel, running informercials all the time - part of the understanding when you sign up is that you continue your normal blogging. In fact - I am hoping this will encourage me to blog a little more than I have been of late. 

The plan is to use half the funds I get from this to help out with bills and such (it takes a while to get used to centrelink after having a professional salary) and the other half will go into my 'Yarn Money Box' - which is only fair, as this blog really is all about the yarny-goodness... and yarn was the first item to disappear from my budget.

All sponsored posts will be fully disclosed - I won't try to pass off any paid advertisements (which is exactly what this is) as a normal blog post. Print media can't get away with it, and neither will I!

If you could also do with some extra pocket money, and keen for a similar opportunity check out PayPerPost. 

blog reviews

mac the knife*..

oh yeah baby - I have joined the mac revolution and I'm loving it. I got my new macbook on tuesday night, and less than half an hour after opening the package I was connected to our network (via airport). The Man had terrible trouble getting his PC connecting to this network. After consulting the IT guys at his work, it appeared some obscure setting on Vista was turned off...

The only trouble I have had is that my external hard-drive - which has all my music on it - I imported about half a dozen songs before something decided it needed to be formated. Lucky the Man copied all of my music to his external hard-drive so I shouldn't lose any of it (of course, I will have to import all of my Harry Potter #7 from the CDs again... The Man didn't get a copy of that!)

*of course - I don't have one of the brand spankin' new macbook airs you could get a paper cut on (it was another $700 for that one), but I still think mine is pretty sharp!

geek-cool

I'm in photography class and this image came up - it was taken by Muybridge to settle a bet in the 19th Century.

I recently read about it in a book, and mentioned this in class. I actually admitted to finding out about it in "The Science of Discworld"... cue the nerd alarm!!!

However, I didn't feel too much of a nerd - the instructor is wearing a Dalek t-shirt!

I love school...

Just a quick one because it's the first week of my course and I am exhausted...

but I was sitting up the back of class today, quietly knitting some socks - teacher notices and...

turns the lights on for me, cos, you know - good OH&S practises :)

It's over, Socrates...

Here tis - the hemlock ring doily blocking on my queen size bed. It is about 120cm in diametre - and lovely and warm. I am really happy with the FO - I was rather worried that it would end up looking like a very bad tie-dye job... but the muted neutral colours striped very nicely.

I am rather attached to this one, but have promised a couple of friends I would make them an afghan for their upcoming nuptials. If they fall in love with this one I may end up passing it on, with a couple of cushions to match. Or I may end up knitting another threw-for-the-carch before the month is through :)

Where's my cow??? Bugrit!

'That's not my cow - that's foul ol' Ron!'

If you are a discworld fan, and have read THUD! you would be rather familiar with these lines... one of the better habits I have adopted from the Man is a rather keen ambition to consume discworld novels at a crazy pace. When I discovered that Pratchett had written a discworld picture book, I went a-hunting it down.



Unfortunately - the local bookshop didn't have it,but could order it in... and it would take about a month...and would be rather expensive.... so I went a-hunting on the internet, and managed to surprise the Man with a random gift (he didn't know about the book at all!)



The Man is rather delighted with the book - particularly with the illustrations of Commander Vimes (One of the man's fav discowrld characters - the other is Lord Vetinari)

This is a delightful picture book, great for kids and a must have for any discworld fan. I recommend you chase it up!

And on other note - just to prove Pierre did survive the three weeks without me, a cute dog photo:

evil ducky; good ducky

evil ducky said "buy me - I can show you how to have lots and lots of fun"

good ducky said "I gots nothin'! I only share my opinion with those who legally own me, and have a sales receipt for proof of purchase."

evil ducky won. Of course - good ducky came home with me too, just so I could find out what opinions it had :)

All Enrolled

So today I finally made it up to RMIT and I am now all sorted for my enrollment in Diploma in Arts: Studio Textiles and Design. My electives for first semester are Knitting and Tapestry, and second semester will be Weaving and Printing.

It's a rather full on course - I start on the 11th Feb, less than two weeks away. I get to do fun courses like colour theory, Drawing, Design Principles and Elements, Fibre, yarns and fabrics, and Photography.

Now I just need to chase up some arty materials so I'll be ready to go!

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.

The demon barber or Fleet Street - Sweeney Todd: a quick review

Johnny Depp appears to have come full circle - he first rose to stardom as Edward Scissorhands, a character incomplete because of razor-like appendages on the end of his arms instead of hands, and now portrays a man who feels incomplete without a razor in his hands.

As with most Tim Burton creations, this film is set in a world that is obviously not our own, but close enough to it you feel a little uncomfortable laughing at the black humourous content within.

This film you can imagine a Scissorhands who has grown up in an unkind and violent environment. The innocence has all but disappeared, and you are left with an experienced, jaded character intent on revenge.

As usual, Depp throws himself into the role - creating Sweeney Todd into a homicidal psychopath feeling such pain you could nearly empathise with him. As with previous roles, the hair, makeup and false teeth are there, but it is the acting and singing that really create the character.

Mrs Lovett is a role made for Helena Bonham Carter - you could not imagine another in the role. As the film progresses it is made clear that Lovett is just as villainous as Todd - however, her betrayal consists, not of taking the lives of strangers, but of a deceit based upon her envy and desire. If possible, she is a character flawed even more than Todd.

The horror and gore content is theatrical - the blood is a tad bit too bright a red, and behaves as an extra character within the film; nowhere near as spine chilling as the Judge (Alan Rickman). The ends of the film are poetically justified, but Rickman convinces you that none deserved their unhappy ending as much as the Judge. This is a character who is guaranteed to give you more nightmares that the blood-letting barber.

Of course, I cannot go without mentioning the cameo by Borat, sorry Sasha Baron Cohen. Playing a larger than life caricature, this is possibly the most serious acting job he has completed. I have previously not been a fan of his work, however, it again was the perfect marriage of actor to role.

I definitely recommend that you check this film out, however, if you are a tad bit sensitive perhaps try to see it in the daylight hours. For information on the plot check out the official movie site, or the wikipedia entry.

PS: keep your eyes open for Anthony Stewart Head, aka Rupert Giles from Buffy, who makes a very brief appearance!

Guess what this is....

Right about now your probably thinking this is another two needle / february baby cardy knit out of debbie bliss cashmerino...

and you would almost be right....

ipod included for scale -

This is knit out of cashmerino superchunky on 7mm needles. Turns out to be the perfect lacy 3/4 sleeve cropped cardy for moi!

Made exactly to the pattern in the knitters almanac - except for a couple of short rows around the back of the neck.

Turn in tomorrow when I show you some more chunky knitting ala brooklyntweed...

Funky links

These are courtesy of the adorable Miss Em (The Man's sister, freeform crocheter and seamstress extraordinaire*)

Links so good I had to share!

------------------

First up, a cabled goat!

http://www.cyn.ca/knit/2008/01/06/happiness-is-a-cabled-goat/

This site makes me very happy:

http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/completelist.htm

It's an archive of scanned antique pattern books, for knitting, crochet, tatting, embroidery and the rest.

And finally, Net Grannies!

http://www.netgranny.ch/sockenshop/This site cracks me up (once I clicked the translate button in the top right corner - it's in German). You go online and select a granny to make socks for you. Brilliant!

*Yes, the fact that The Man has a yarnivore in his family means he understands my addictions somewhat better than the average male :)

Harvest!

Thank goodness for housemates! I was able to harvest these colourful gems because my housemate made sure my small garden didn't get too thirsty during the reign of 40+ degree days with no rain...

This is the third harvest off my tomato plants - the first harvest was picked the day before The Man and I flew to Thailand (one grape and one sugarless yellow - you wouldn't believe how proud I was of them) and the housemate used the second harvest in a spag-bol-from-scratch.

These tomatoes are teeny tiny - but pack a big punch in flavour. These are cherry, grape, sweetbite and sugarless yellows - small fruit that is great to nibble on during the day. I also have some Moneymakers and Black Russians - however these are still ripening on the vine.

The garden appears to have exploded during the three weeks we were away. The capsicums and chillies have fruit on them, as do my cucumber(?) plants (these were a gift from The Man's dad, and look like little Heinz gherkins) and there are two red hunchback looking things on my strawberry bush. The beans are still going crazy, and the eggplants have flowers on them, and the pumpkin runner has taken off (I think it may be attempting a half marathon, or at least a cross country...)

Post-script: Yes, it is 3am and I can't sleep. During yesterday's tyre saga, I rather foolishly spent too much time in the sun wearing a tank top sans sunscreen. I now glow in the dark red across my neck and shoulders. Silly really - it was at least 10 degrees cooler here than we had in Thailand (where I didn't get burnt sunscreen or no) so I didn't think about it. Shows just how bad a hole in the ozone layer and the sun directly over head can be. Oh well, at least blogger is letting me post pictures now... And in case you're wondering- I have an appointment to enrol in my course next Tuesday. Allaz wal!

a two flat tuesday...

There is nothing like real life to remind you that you are no longer on holiday!

While I was away, I received the official offer for the Studio Textile and Design Course. Enrolment day on the letter was listed as today....

So this morning I jumped in my car, backed out of the drive, got halfway round the round-a-bout....

...and had a sneezing fit...

BUMP BUMP! I ended up driving over the gutter....

I heard a funny noise coming from outside the car, so I pulled over.

Got out of the car.... the back passenger side tyre was completely flat, and the front passenger side tyre was slowly joining it...

First of all, I called for help. The man said he was on the way...

Secondly, I called up RMIT - I spoke to a girl in the enrolments information office who made helpful comments like "oh... your enrolment session is 11-1, which is now. No one will be in their office to take your call...'' and ''...you really need to go to your enrolment session cos otherwise they will think you're not interested and give your place to someone else...'' After finally convincing this bright spark to put me through to someone because I was sure they had voicemail, she then hung up on me....

So I found a direct number for the textiles school... which was a lot more helpful :)

The Man sorted things out with the car for me... (put the spare on, take the flat to be fixed, put the new tyre on, now need to get spare repaired...) ....and I have spent the rest of the day doing laundry from our trip and pottering in the garden.

Ahh... yes... real life :P

ug

home

puppy

zzzzzzzzzz

farang* only one day more...

The man and I have spent the last couple of days in Bangkok, and have now checked out of our hotel and will be heading to the airport soon to fly home.

We stayed in the heart of 'Siam' and visited the Royal Palace, Emerald Buddha, and the giant Reclining Buddha. We also tested our bargaining skills at Chutachuk Market...

I managed to grab a couple of books on Thai and SE Asia Textiles - I am inspired by Julie over at Samurai Knitter, and may try and do a bit of run-down of some of the textile traditions here.

Oh,.. and I can't wait to see Pierre again :)

*Farang is the Thai word for foreigner

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 :)

on the road to Chiang Mai...

After our relaxing week at Koh Chang, the man and I are running like crazy around the country trying to get to a few different places we are keen to visit.

We spend a couple of night in Khorat, where the man organised a visit to a silk weaving house. It was an amazing experience - the only mechanised part of the process was the skeins being put onto bobbins and the the bobbins being wound onto the shuttles. The warping and loom work was all done by hand. By request the man took lots of photos and some short movies, which I'll figure out how to put up when I get back to Oz.

Of course, we couldn't walk away without some of the gorgeous silk - I definitely have to start working on my sewing skills so I can make garments worthy of all that hard work.

Today we are going to catch a train to Chiang Mai - there are supposedly lots of little handcraft cottage factories there so we are hoping to see some more of the local crafts in action.

We have done some amazing things since we have been here - we swam with an elephant (again, there is a movie), played with a pet monkey (that tried to steal my new carved elephant necklace), and saw a baby porcupine for sale at a pet stall (the same stall also had some bunnies dressed as dolls with bows in their ears and everything - it was a very scary sight). We plan to visit the Monks with the tame-ish Tigers in Kanchanaburi before we head back to Bangkok,

Pierre is apparently coping okay without me, however the housemate has mentioned that the pupster has tried to snuggle into his bed in the middle of the night. I guess Pierre is missing all the cuddles he gets from me :) I'm missing my pupster lots too - The man has mentioned that a couple of times I have been searching for the dog in my sleep, and we can't walk past cute fluffy things without me stopping to say hello...

Oh, and Kate, you would love all the sewing machines here - it is quite common to see someone working on a treadle machine at the bus stations to make a quid. And we saw a shop that had brand new cast iron treadle machines for 3000Baht (about $100)...

That's all I have time for now - pictures and etc will be forthcoming when I get back to geelong :)

sawadee-ka

hi all -

the man and i have arrived in Thailand, and have been spending the past few days living in a grass hut in a tropical paradise! For those who want the details of our paradise, we are in BangBao on Koh Chang island, in Trat Province (near the Cambodian border) - tomorrow we go elephant trekking and give them a bath before we start the next leg of our trip up to Khorat where we will enjoy all the Thai Silk cottage industry has to offer, as well as some old ruins of temples.

I haven't heard from the dog-sitter (aka my housemate), but I am assuming Pierre is well, albeit pining for me a tad bit ;) I admit - I am missing the pupster terribly :(

Happy New Year!

Not sure when I will next be able to post - but til then, anon!

last one for the year...

Well, i have been pretty slack with the posting of late - however, my computer is dying (the fan no longer works and I need to sit it on icepacks to stop it from frying itself) and has trouble talking to my camera and is really really slow :(

I plan to upgrade (well, buy something that runs a little better) but will be waiting until I start studying next year (I'll be doing a studio textiles&design course at RMIT) because I am not sure whether the department uses PC or mac - and I'll want to get something compatible. Blogging will continue to be sporadic until that happens. Oh - and will probably be non-existant for the next couple of weeks while I am in Thailand. The man and I plan to rough it - a bit of a holiday from technology and such :)

I hope you all had a good xmas, solstice or whatever - and wish you all the best for the new year. I hope to be back regularly next year with all the details of my new life as a student again :)

a little insane....

I am not sure if I have mentioned this before, but the Man is taking me to Thailand for 3 weeks in January (actually, we leave on NYE... and arrive in Bankok at about 8pm...)

Apart from a few things I want to do (heffalump rides, silk and textiles warehouses) the plan is to spend most of our time hammocked up on a tropical island (the basic sort of island, not the resort type!)

I have a bit of a vision of me with a very simple dress I can pull over my head.... something out of bamboo and cotton... oh.. and I want to knit it myself.... hence the insanity :)

I have spend the last couple of days knitting away at this dress while sighing over DVDs of the doctor ('who...?' I hear you ask.... well David Tennant) So far, I have made some progress - I am already up to the waist!

Pictures will be forthcoming...

PS - The time is Thailand is still rather fluid, I'd love any suggestions you have of what not to miss!

Mary Mary Quite Contrary, How does your garden grow???

UP! stoopid...!

hehehe.... I think that was a poem from 'Far Out Brussels Sprout' (or perhaps 'All Right Vegemite'?) when I was in primary school. Anyone else remember those fantastic introductions to poetry, rhythm and rhyme???

Oops - slight digression there, before I even start...

A couple of the men in my life have been conspiring to give me a new hobby. One that gets me out of the house a little bit....

These are some tomato seedlings that my Pop gave me after one of his markets. (well... the seedlings have been in the ground for about a month now...)Having joked about my 'black thumb' (I have been rather unsuccessful with anything green - so much that The Man suggested I try a Bonsai Mountain aka a pet rock), Pop gave me half a dozen of these seedlings to have a go with and The Man, despite earlier commentary, has been encouraging me quite a bit too. And they have been amazing me - I didn't know that tomato plants had flowers (apparently the ones that don't get you unfriendly calls from the narcotics squad!) I am happy to report that as of this morning I have two teeny tiny green tomatoes on these plants.

And I got a nice pumpkin plant....

And Pop gave me some magic beans (well, okay, they are regular climbing beans - they didn't quite grow up to the clouds overnight, but they are popping up rather quickly)After this, I took advantage of a sale at kmart and came home with some mixed capsicums...

and eggplants (they aren't doing too well thou :() That's just a sample of my new green finery :) - The Man visited his Father (also a keen gardener) in Melbourne yesterday and came home with some more additions for the backyard - including a strawberry plant ... yum yum!

Sweater Curse be Damned!

I have to say that I have the bestest boyfriend in the world... he has been keeping me entertained and looking after me (and pierre) quite well over the past couple of weeks... hence the main reason for not keeping up with the blog so well...

Not only does my man find my yarn and fibre stash amusing, he also has no quarms about me pulling out a WIP in public - even if we are having a casual drink in a pub. My Man also is happy to spend a saturday in the workshop to make me an andean plying tool so I stop cutting off the circulation to my fingers when I spin.

He is also a bit of knight in shining armour for me.... I was beginning to have some financial troubles (the job at the LYS fell through and my savings were running out) and he took sword and shield and went to do battle with centrelink for me (I had a claim rejected because of some paperwork/filing error) .

He cooks wonderful, simple food - like the most mouthwatering rissottos made from good fresh ingredients - and is beginning to fatten me up somewhat :) When you are having a bad day, this is the best sort of comfort food!

He also is encouraging me to stretch my comfort zone - the Man has taken Pierre and I to a 'bush block' out in the sticks past Colac, to play at dog beaches and to enjoy walking through the greenery at Daylesford. If he keeps this up, I'll become one of those 'outdoor' people with a camelback and a 4WD and *shudder* a TAN! Oh, and he is taking me to Thailand to spend a couple of weeks on a tropical island for the New Year. (P will have to stay home for that one :(

So... how do you thank a guy that great???

Given that I was having financial troubles, I couldn't go out and buy him a present...

if only I had some talent to show him how much I appreciate all he has done for me...

oh.. hang on... I can knit.. and he had been hinting about a nice woollen jumper...

....but what about the sweater curse....

damnit... !!!!!

I made it for him anyway, and worked on it in secret (rather difficult seeing as we spend near on every single second together) and he tells me he loves it :)

Anyway... I am trying to get back to more regular blogging. In the meantime, enjoy some piccies!

Fight the Black Dog #8 - November 07

Yes - I am approaching you hat in hand - if youare so inclined, please click on the dontate button in the side bar to help out with my internet related costs. I would like to raise enough funds to create a dedicated page for this cause.

Tale from another black dog knitter

Although I don't know you personally, after reading the story that came out today in Knitty I feel like we have much in common. I have suffered from depression since high school (for about the last 18 years or so) and know what it is like, and also know how hard it is to realize that you have to get help (being in total denial until after college). In my own experience, mental illness is one of those things that people sometimes think you can just "get over" -- I have been told that I was focusing too much on myself, I should just "stop thinking about things too much" and that I was selfish, while in fact I had a serious issue with depression and anxiety. It is a horrible thing to go through -- it takes your time and energy away from things you love, from your friends and family, and turns you into a different person that does not reflect all your true skills and talents. After 8 years on SSRIs, several attempts to get off the meds, and a couple of severe relapses, I am now medication-free and a lot happier. I want to wish you the best in your treatment and recovery, and would really like to thank you for being so open about this issue. Like you, I too have found that knitting has offered me a way to calm my mind, focus on something, and feel like I have the potential to create something beautiful and appreciated, even if I don't feel so good about things otherwise.