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• 17:02 Blogged: Baby Shower bit.ly/aULVBU #

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• 20:10 Damn I hate moving... goo.gl/UjsI #

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• 11:33 50 things you should know about baby feeding goo.gl/gtkl #
• 12:48 Blogged: Damn I hate moving... bit.ly/9MSUNX #

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• 15:42 Otter Methods Of Transportation - Otter riding on mom - Jezebel goo.gl/4yfB v. cute #

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• 10:37 And I Don't Feel So Good Myself goo.gl/bSEB #

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• 15:12 Blogged: Theatre Review - The Barber of Seville: Melbourne Opera bit.ly/b7YFkk #
• 16:54 Theatre Review - The Barber of Seville: Melbourne Opera goo.gl/poNs #

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• 14:00 How To: Guinness Ice Cream Float, Perfect for St. Patrick's Day goo.gl/Vdig #
• 14:00 Worst game ever goo.gl/xXTt #

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• 10:22 Anyone Else Die A Little On The Inside Just Now? goo.gl/utKP #
• 14:18 Blogged: A very cool warm ad bit.ly/a3eShj #
• 14:19 A very cool warm ad goo.gl/evM1 #
• 14:23 Why Should Cats Have All the Fun? goo.gl/JxFF #

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• 13:19 Blogged: Chambord - New pattern bit.ly/9XZWDa #

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• 15:46 Pleasures of the fur goo.gl/uRfm this is beyond wrong #

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• 22:14 Protecting Breastfeeding in Haiti goo.gl/bomN #
• 22:14 A look into the past goo.gl/zUoN #

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• 09:00 That, You Know, Miscarriage You Had? Turns Out It's Illegal. goo.gl/rLqI #

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• 14:48 Zelda Lily Zingers: The Best of This Week's Comments goo.gl/25v5 #

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• 07:35 Get Smart goo.gl/zpSF #

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• 21:43 Emily faved MariannAn's # 39 - Leaving for Miklagaard at Sunset goo.gl/Fi7d #

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• 15:49 to be or not to be goo.gl/zGea #
• 15:49 to be or not to be goo.gl/bKHg #

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• 09:46 Funny signs goo.gl/ZfPA #
• 09:48 YouTube - Chrome starts fast (pointer) goo.gl/cLaZ very cute google crome for mac ad :) #
• 10:30 YouTube - The Man Your Man Could Smell Like goo.gl/hYi3 old spice gets an hilarious re-vamp! #

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• 10:02 YouTube - Wolverine Movie The Musical : BFX : Original Short goo.gl/kkf6 fantastic! #

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• 09:14 British Supermarket Bans Pajamas in Public … Or At Least in Their Store goo.gl/T69w #
• 10:53 A look into the past goo.gl/zUoN #
• 11:04 Reading your way out of depression | Books | guardian.co.uk goo.gl/J36W #
• 13:49 Metric Map: Which Countries Don't Belong With The Others? goo.gl/yWGb #

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• 00:34 Book closes on Geelong retail institution Griffiths - Local News - Geelong, VIC, Australia goo.gl/3IaY #

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• 01:09 Our views on Mandatory ISP Filtering j.mp/7jvN6k speaks to me it does. #

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• 15:47 Snow Globe Coca-Cola Cupcakes « bakerella.com j.mp/6AY8Rq "so cute you could eat them all up!" #
• 17:04 Out of the Sketchbook j.mp/7PC3sV instead of sainting mary the pope should of done this #
• 21:26 Guess who's in Cleo magazine??? j.mp/7JuYXp #
• 21:35 Gingerbread TARDIS on Flickr - Photo Sharing! j.mp/6qxRV4 "Complete with K-9" #

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• 19:16 Twilight | New Moon | Kristen Stewart | Robert Pattinson j.mp/37RvIz #
• 19:18 Twilight | New Moon | Kristen Stewart | Robert Pattinson j.mp/22b3fg great discussion of the values in this series... #

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• 08:46 Support #Knitty.com, add a #twibbon to your avatar now! - bit.ly/199sQO #
• 08:49 did anyone get a good photo of me in costume for hallowe'en? I feel the need for a profile pic update :) #

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• 12:59 Spider Wranglers Weave One-Of-A-Kind Tapestry : NPR j.mp/xyA79 #
• 13:00 Weaving with spider silk! j.mp/4G5Uys #
• 14:07 my body is currently growing a second brain. and possibly a teeny-tiny-little penis... #

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• 12:02 in case you missed the meaning behind my earlier, somewhat cryptic 'enciente' post - i'm having a baby! #

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• 09:01 Damn Doctor Who scarf DONE!!!! #

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• 10:53 Taunton groom's cake j.mp/UDWSR "for the die-hard starwars fan. ta Kris" #

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• 10:03 Four Baby 'Taz's' Live Up to Their Reputation j.mp/4Givyv #
• 10:11 Sarah Kruzan Serving Life Without Parole for Killing Her Pimp as a Teenager j.mp/1u1Uuv #
• 14:49 Is Enceinte #
• 23:00 "Ho White" Brings Beer Ads To A New, Strange Low j.mp/3nwzTb #
• 23:12 [VIDEO] Get a look at Queen in LEGO Rock Band j.mp/TjEFt #

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• 11:48 Zombie Cake on Flickr - Photo Sharing! j.mp/bkFo6 #

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• 09:57 Michelle Obama's Ancestry Includes a Sold Six-Year-Old Slave Girl and a White Man j.mp/3W6hjY #

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• 08:01 many things make a post j.mp/Rd1nn #

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• 10:18 Blogged: Seedlings bit.ly/HUhO6 #
• 10:48 Hand-dyed Silk Dream 8ply seconds j.mp/Li0aT #

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• 08:08 Spinning Wheel First Aid j.mp/uBdHT #
• 13:51 Goshdangit! no milk left for coffee. Lucky we still have ice-cream :D #

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• 16:41 Did not make it to the Dali exhibit :( #
• 21:47 Blogged: Spinning Wheel First Aid bit.ly/4Ui0i #

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• 18:56 thinking of being a zombie in part two of job induction tomorrow to make it to 24hr Dali exhibit before it closes tomorrow. #
• 19:47 Blogged: Liquid Desire...? bit.ly/iUC2N #
• 21:18 Liquid Desire...? j.mp/bbzNj #
• 21:18 The Doctor Who Insanity... j.mp/IlxaC #
• 21:27 Zea mays. j.mp/d9FZz #

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• 17:17 Ardi, oldest known skeleton of a human ancestor j.mp/IOigk #
• 23:17 Blogged: The Doctor Who Insanity... bit.ly/ZI1h1 #

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• 14:26 screw the lemsip and chicken soup - i need a coffee! #
• 21:21 Twinkerbell faved pelicanknits' Twin Pumpkins j.mp/3VbWbp Too cute project over on ravelry! #
• 21:48 Blogged: Blogtoberfest 2009 bit.ly/11NVHZ #
• 22:35 Connosr Ranks All Things Whisky j.mp/gBLAL #
• 22:46 Blogtoberfest 2009 j.mp/b6T34 #

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• 12:51 would say that I am as sick as a dog, but Pierre is running round with boundless enthusiasm... #

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• 14:19 think I'm coming down with a cold - gonna spin some rainbow bunny fluff and see if that makes me feel any better.... mmm angora... #
• 14:23 "aaa-choo" perhaps angora not such a good idea. Shall find something else in the fibre stash... #
• 18:36 extremely annoyed I can't find my ferrero roche... god help the person who got between me and chocolate #

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• 09:41 thinking the new muse album channels the doctor who theme... #

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• 19:25 Priceless clip from upcoming episode of "Glee" - why are footballers dancing so entertaining? bit.ly/wFNo5 #

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• 10:10 pantheon of footy gods let there be fair umpires, few injuries and fantabulous gameplay.... oh, and may the SAINTS win! #afl #
• 21:55 poor saints - they were in there til the end :( #
• 23:09 been following the saints since they were wooden-spooners. I think no less of them for being runners-up. #
• 23:10 congrats to the cats - too bad not all their followers can be gracious winners... #

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• 10:05 saddened by the passing of my hight school drama teacher. RIP Quinn xx #
• 10:05 saddened by the passing of my high school drama teacher. RIP Quinn xx #
• 18:57 "knock knock" #
• 18:57 "knock knock" "who's there?" "Owen!" #
• 19:01 Owen the Saints... go marching in...! #

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• 18:44 happy my 2 fav teams made the grand final. Saints definitely deserve the win this year. #afl #

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• 13:04 Arrgggh! Go cats - Keelhaul those mangy pies! We be wantin a saints - geelong grand final! #tlap #afl #

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• 14:14 suffereing from TMI - shall be removing a few ppl from updates so I can keep up bettera with my near and dear... #

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• 12:08 finding it frustrating not being able to make my own choices :( #

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• 19:23 only ten and a half feet of the doctor who insanity left to knit... any bets on how far i get before i die of boredom?? #

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• 10:59 just cast on for a www.doctorwhoscarf.com #

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• 14:51 my wardrobe now hosts a collection of unflattering red polo-shirts... and I couldn't be happier :) #

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• 08:38 RT @Jollyewe: RT @ajdury: Sorry, but charging people $20 to "learn" how to navigate @ravelry is just wrong. * agreed!, that sucks* #

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• 15:56 woot! two job offers today - safeway and bunnings! #

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• 18:12 @randomknits don't feel too bad - due to paranoid deadlocking partner I have been locked IN the house with my keys still in the front door.. #
• 19:41 Feeling horrid for quitting happy pills cold turkey... #
• 21:20 @elfinwear congrats on the $$ :) #

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• 15:39 Yay for getting the internets back two+ weeks after we moved :P #
• 22:53 Just joined a twibe. Visit twibes.com/ravelry to join #
• 22:54 @randomknits why you think the net was born? #
• 22:56 Support #Ravelry Love!, add a #twibbon to your avatar now! - twibbon.com/join/Ravelry-Love #
• 23:02 only casually of the move so far - a small part on spinning wheel. Hoping visit to Bunnings shall fix it... #

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I've moved....

I forgot to mention that I am now blogging at my new website. You will find the blog here - if you are a subscriber please update your feed (and you are able to subscribe to the new blog in either a reader or by email.)

I am also attempting a video podcast - my first episode is also at the new website. It is an interview with Henrietta Dups of Biggan Design.

If you are feeling generous can you please do me a favour? Pick either a blog or podcast post on the new site and leave me a comment - I am not sure the comments are working properly :)

testing my new super serious professional site :)

here...

letme know whatcha think...

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• 19:53 is legend for getting the airport at the parents house networked! plurk.com/p/14y7k2 #

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• 07:26 has been wide awake for several hours... it's sposed to be my sunday sleep in! #

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Meg S wants to keep up with you on Twitter

Meg S wants to keep up with you on Twitter To find out more about Twitter visit http://twitter.com/i/e7c9cf277a33664c558efad12b27f5d08cd15e42 Thanks, — The Twitter Team About Twitter Twitter is a unique approach to communication and networking based on the simple concept of status. What are you doing? What are your friends doing—right now? With Twitter, you may answer this question over SMS or the Web and the responses are shared between contacts. This message was sent by a Twitter user who entered your email address. If you'd prefer not to receive emails when other people invite you to Twitter you can opt-out

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• 12:25 QOTD: Procrastination is just like masturbation - at first it feels good, but then you realise you just screwe... plurk.com/p/117umo #

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• 13:23 has just realised WWKIP (world wide knit in public day) is tomorrow! plurk.com/p/108sb7 #
• 20:50 will be knitting at Eastern Beach cafe from 0930 tomorrow morning for KIP day! plurk.com/p/10cb9f #

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• 17:03 wonders if its wrong to cut and paste from one job application cover letter to the next... plurk.com/p/1011gy #

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• 10:52 importing CDs into itunes and listening - some of these I don't think I have heard in years! plurk.com/p/yhv21 #
• 15:11 enjoys a pipsqueak cider on the road to a long weekend away with friends! plurk.com/p/yjsfh #

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• 12:54 is going to watch a little heroes and knit on the scarf for a second rate football team plurk.com/p/y9hhs #
• 22:03 had a lovely evening catching up with old school friends, but now needs a good night sleep! plurk.com/p/ydtel #

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• 17:44 thinking about getting a bicycle for general use - where to start? Any suggestions welcome? plurk.com/p/xknhj #

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• 15:23 is applying for jobs in the public service sector - unfortunately I missed out on the Pattern Writer(knitting ... plurk.com/p/xblv9 #

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• 16:06 loves her new macbook (with protective keyboard cover)... and the neighbour who has the un-protected wireless ... plurk.com/p/vegvz #
• 16:22 wonders if chrome and macs work well together? plurk.com/p/vekua #
• 00:40 needs sleep and to not be ill plurk.com/p/vi3jq #

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'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 :)

Song of the Lioness Quartet

The Song of the Lioness was originally published in 4 books (hence quartet), however, I believe it has been published as a single edition omnibus in both the US and UK.

The four books, in reading order are:-

1. Alanna, the first adventure

2. In the hands of the Goddess

3. Woman who rides like a man

4. Lioness Rampant

This series in a nutshell?

10-year-old tomboy Alanna doesn't want to waste her life by being a 'Lady', whilst her wimpy twin brother, Thom, really doesn't have the mettle to undergo 8 years of gruelling training to become a Knight. Solution? Alanna cuts her hair and assumes the identity 'Alan' (because girls can't become knights) and heads off to the Capital to start service and training as a page and Thom heads off to learn sorcery (no, he doesn't have to dress in drag to do this.)

Despite having enough trouble just completing the exhausting page timetable (a half day of classes behind desks, followed by a half day of physical training, and then pages are required to wait upon a senior noble and serve dinner) Alanna also has to keep her sex a secret - until she hit puberty all she had to do was not bathe or swim with the other pages, but once breasts start growing she has to come up with slightly more creative ways of hiding her real identity. And then if that isn't enough, Alanna and her colleagues also face a mystical illness that plagues the capital, evil spirits from before the time of man, and - what is quite possibly the hardest thing for young adolescents, an overgrown bully.

Along the way she picks up a few allies - her manservant Corum, Crown Prince Jonathon, fellow pages and squires Raoul, Gary and Alex, elderly scholar and knight Miles, and the King of Thieves, the Rogue aka George. 

The first installment of the quartet, Alanna is doing everything in her power to forget she is a girl and to be taken as a equal to a man. A few people are in on her secret, but for the most part she is happy she doesn't have to learn how to be an 'insipid girl'. 

However, after she has matured a few years in the second installment, she becomes intrigued by the interactions with her friends and the females around court. Being heterosexual herself, she cannot grasp at the way her friends are taken by such 'useless creatures' and decides she needs to learn what being a girl is really about. This idea is built upon in the third and fourth books of the series. 

In the third book, Alanna is taken in by a nomadic desert tribe whose customs place more restrictions upon women that her own culture. With her magical ability she becomes Shaman and forces the tribe to accept changes she instills when she selects two girls as apprentice Shaman. However, from these girls Alanna begins to see the value of 'female work' such as weaving. 

It is not until the fourth book that Alanna befriends females her own age - and when these new friends mock and laugh at Alanna's lack of skills with looking after a baby, Alanna begins to realise that females are in fact quite skilled human beings, and it is the men who are ignorant for not realising it. 

Of course, while Alanna is growing and learning all this, she is still having great adventures. The threat of treason and possible regicide looms over the kingdom - and Alanna believe she knows who the traitor is but no-one will hear her out. She also has a few other internal struggles - such as how to handle relationships with men including an unexpected marriage proposal, and whether or not she could have both a family and still maintain her Independence as a knight. 

As a protagonist, Alanna would certainly fit in well with (first/second?? wave) feminists who believed that to fit into a 'Man's World' you needed to act like a Man, whilst acting like a Woman made you weak and insignificant (yes, I am making a huge generalisation about the feminist movement here. I believe that as Pierce is writing more novels her ideologies are becoming more in line with neo-feminist or third wave feminist thinking.)

The dominant ideology within this series is that you do not have to accept the place you are given in society. Although Alanna had to resort to subterfuge in order to be in control of her own destiny, she ended up proving that she was able and worthy to continue down the path she, and not society, had chosen for her. 

I would highly recommend Song of the Lioness as an excellent starting point if you are new to Tamora Pierce's work. I still love to reread these novels every so often - and don't think that just because the marketing is not aimed at you that you will not enjoy them. Pierce has mentioned that she originally wrote Alanna's tale for an adult audience, but after a suggestion from a friend rewrote and edited it for a younger audience (which possibly helped it along it's way to getting published usually publishers are begging for books written for this age group)

Anyway, below are a few of the different covers of the Alanna books that have been issued around the world. 

Hope you enjoyed this review (without me giving away too much, like the ending) and you'll come back tomorrow when I review The Immortals

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• 19:40 is slightly freaked out by the dancing eurovision bears... plurk.com/p/u4tbm #

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This is for the Disco Knitter...

Happy Birthday Lara - and if you haven't seen this yet, you should get a kick out of it...

Kingsford Goes to the Beach - 

I wonder how Pierre will cope with one running round the house...

Did you know that 80% of childrens’ books published today feature male heros?*

*Fact from http://www.sheroescentral.com/

Way back when I was an angst-ridden pre-teen, I stumbled across a series of fantasy books where the main protagonist was a short, stocky, redheaded female who was disguising herself as a boy so she could complete training to become a knight. She yelled insults at bullies, got into fights, could perform magic and had an affair with the crown prince before she turned 18. I was completely captivated and devoured all the books in the series. 

For those of you not in the know, the author is Tamora Pierce... and to this day she is still one of my favourite authors.

One of the reasons her books resonate so well with me, is because she generally writes fantasy with a female hero or shero (as opposed to an heroine - a shero is a female of decision and action, rather than an heroine who is characterised by her indecision and inaction and is basically just an object for the real hero to save)

Anyway, I am mentioning this because I just finished reading Bloodhound- Pierce's latest novel. And I thought I would do a mini-series of blogging this week where I can introduce to Pierce's work, and hopefully you can share it with the adolescents in your life. (Particularly the girls, but I see no reason why boys wouldn't enjoy the adventures too)

I'd personally love to see Pierce offered a deal where she simplified some of her tales down to picture book level, and had a couple of action figure tie-ins in order to give younger children an alternative to Barbie and Bratz dolls 

(Imagine it - child one "my Aryan big-boobed dolly is in a wedding dress..." child two "well... my dolly is shorter than yours and has small boobies, but she comes with armour and a sword and has the temper of a redhead and can cut your silly plastic fake in half with a single stroke....)

Anyway - tomorrow I shall start with my review of that first series I read, Song of the Lioness. 

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

Fwd: Llama looking for a loving home (Mornington Peninsula based)

Sent to me by the big hearted Lara:)

Anybody want a Llama?

Amy is a 5 year old desexed female Llama who's looking for a loving home, due to a change in her owner's circumstances.

 

She's a very friendly girl who will eat out your hand, but only once she trusts you.

 

Amy is fine with other gentle animals. She would suit a property with other Llamas or Alpacas as, being a "pack" animal, she needs the company.

 

If interested, please contact Robyn on 5979 4509 or brookfieldfarm@bigpond.com (Mornington Peninsula based)

boo to cadbury

I am rather vexed that Cadbury have repackaged the 'family sized' block of chocolate so it looks the same size but is in fact now only 200g. 

And that Safeway is merchandising these new carboard covered blocks at the end of aisles with the $3.99 in big numbers and bright pink 'new' signs in the candy aisle so people think they are getting something for a good price. 

Of course - I wondered what happened to the old 250g blocks. I found them hanging from a special display in the soft drink aisle on clearance for a dollar less than the new smaller blocks. 

Well done Cadbury - thinking your clientelle such fools that they won't realise that they are getting less of a product for the same price.

Of course - I only buy the Cadbury chocolate when it is on special* - I much rather prefer the Green & Blacks or Lindor Lindt chocolate.

*Me as a chocoholic is like a wino to metholated spirits... when I get desperate just about any cocoa will do...

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• 19:25 is unsure whether today's job interview went well or not... plurk.com/p/rpc0f #

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• 19:16 is gonnna cast on sahara in great big sea silk - origin colourway :) and then might find the camera for pics o... plurk.com/p/qego0 #

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• 21:11 has just finished the knitting of her Elizabeth I :) plurk.com/p/q8gue #

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• 13:08 "Lest We Forget" plurk.com/p/q0k63 #

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• 20:51 has returned to her Elizabeth I (starmore design) in Bluebell - just the yoke remains :) plurk.com/p/pwn26 #
• 21:16 hopes she gets a call back from her latest job application - pattern writer:knitting&crochet. Dream job or wha... plurk.com/p/pws5e #

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• 20:59 is drinking beer from an aluminium bottle at the opera. plurk.com/p/ppvxp #

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• 15:29 is playing the centrelink game... plurk.com/p/phcfv #
• 16:29 is amazed - competence, punctuality and timeliness all from the one centrelink appointment. plurk.com/p/phope #

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• 19:05 loves Jacinta's Flower Studio - best florist in Geelong! plurk.com/p/pbnn1 #
• 19:07 is going to see Fast and Furious. I bet there are a lot of cars and not one piece of sweater pr0n! plurk.com/p/pbnxr #
• 00:22 feels severely annoyed that her car is now missing a wheel cover... AGAIN! damn thieves! plurk.com/p/pdofd #

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• 16:05 shares tinyurl.com/c6thkp (video of giant grey pumpkin dress and one second of my dress (in the stream... plurk.com/p/p3yvx #

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Check out the grey furry pumpkin!

okay - I found some video footage of the giant grey furry pumpkin... and best is that at 0:57 my dress is seen making its way down the catwalk...

The video is available here: http://www.nbntv.com.au/index.php/2009/04/17/a-toast-to-wool/ (sorry, I am not tech-savvy enough to embed the movie in the blog)

Now I think I should point out that I am not being sour grapes over the whole awards - firstly, there was a lot of great competition that made it too the finals, and, in particular, many great entries in the knitting section. In order to be considered for the grand over-all prize you had to win your section - which I didn't - so I was never in direct competition with the furry grey pumpkin. I just don't think that the winning design was wearable, innovative, marketable or a particularly good use of colour - and I don't think it relates to any current fashion trends or forecasts. HOWEVER - I do think it is a great peice of sculpture and a great example of wearable art*.  And I certainly think that the winning garment is certainly contreversial and will likely create a lot of publicity for the awards and the use of wool - which is what the awards are about. 

But I still think it looks ridiculous!

*a category that is no longer part of The Australian Wool Fashion Awards. 

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• 21:32 still feels a little ick... perhaps more sleep is the way to go :-& plurk.com/p/oz80x #

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AWESOME Sheepies :)

Okay - so you may have seen this before - but I just had to share!

flyby catch-up

Unfortunately last week when I was in Sydney the visit was so short I had limited times for catch-up. Ness was keen for a catch up and luckily we had time before we headed home on Thursday morning to meet Ness at a cafe before she started work. Once I recognised her (she has great long hair these days) it was great to have a chance to chat about everything that had changed in the two years since I moved back south. Before we headed back home, and Ness headed off to work she was able to snap these pics - which she kindly emailed me and I am now sharing with you :)

TAWFA Linkies :)

• Even though I didn't quite make it, you can see the full list of prize recipients here.

• Managing Director, Liz Foster, is interviewed about the Australian Wool Fashion Awards in this video here - I think the dresses featured in the interview were last years entries.

• Fashion designers say wool must go casual -  Article from abc.net.au, and I quote 

Overall winner Rachel Hunt, from The Oaks in New South Wales, says the use of wool has to change to stay modern.

"A lot of the designs on the runway tonight experiment with a lot of different shapes, and a lot of quite casual things," she says.

"I think people expect wool to be in suits or in something a bit dressy, so I think it's great that it's a lot more casual these days." 

because dressing up in a grey sueded dress shaped like a butternut pumpkin that makes you look like your pregnant with 8 is just what you would wear out for lunch with the gals.... (yes, I am narky, but you will see what I mean when I finally find a picture of the monstrosity!)

• Troubled AWI pledges not to cut wool promotion  - Article from abc.net.au - mentions TAWFA
  

• Blog post  I stumbled upon last night of one of the winners - *I think* Eva Pu. Check out the rest of the blog - it has some cute outfits she has designed and sewn on it.

Pictures of the dress, at last!

The rockin' 40s frock on the catwalk!

This dress was swatched, knitted, finished and mailed off to the competition in under a month!

It is knit completely from pure Australian Merino Wool (Patons Merino Deluxe DK purchased from great LYS "CCCK")

Construction is knit all in once piece, with the exception of the belt. The bottom 'frill' is knit side to side with short row 'pleats' and grafted together at the back before stiches were picked up on the side and the body was worked. The paneling effect is due to incorporated i-cord 'piping' and the shaping is due to various increases and decreases within the green panels. Short rows were worked under the bust before a mock cast-off 'braid' was worked between the bodice and bust. Gathering of the bust is due to slipping stitches in the middle of the bust. Cute cap sleeves were created by casting-off the underarm stitches in one round and then casting on the sleeve stitches in the next. The dress is finished off with scalloped crochet edging at the neckline, and double crochet at the hem (to prevent roll) Sleeves were left 'unfinished' as i like the small 'frill' the stocking stitch roll created there. 

Belt was worked seperately, in moss stitch to add a bit of texture and so it would lie flat. 

The only error I really had to amend was that I miscalculated the number of stitches to cast on for the sleeve about three times. (I was frequently trying it on as I worked it to see if it fit - when I didn't have the mobility to get out of the dress without help I knew I had a problem) In the end I didn't have time to rip it back AGAIN to fix it, so I got a little crazy, did a crochet chain about 5 rows before the underarm cast off and then literally cut through those rows to make a bigger armhole. This left me with a metric-shipload of extra ends to weave it, but it was quicker than trying to reknit the top of the bodice.

Of course, this model is leaner and taller than I am, and she really worked the catwalk well and deserves credit for this frock rockin' the catwalk as much as it did :)

More pics of the awards and royal easter show here http://www.flickr.com/photos/gingerknits/sets/72157616772530761/

Dress on Ravelry here http://www.ravelry.com/projects/gingernut/rockin-40s-frock

australian wool fashion awards update

My frock rocked the catwalk. But the judges preference was for the
giant grey furry butternut pumpkin...

Flying Sydney Visit Update

Mum and I will be arriving tomorrow arvo - and we are staying in Homebush for the night and heading home Thursday. Drop me a line if you wanna catch up.

Let me know if you have something entered and on display in knitting / crafts - and if you could give me a hint on where to find them that would be great too.

I am very excited about the Australian Wool Fashion Awards Presentation night. I am not certain I will win anything (I think my design is a little too 'classic' and 'conservative' - ie wearable - rather than 'daring' and 'innovative' - ie sculpture, but I am just glad to be a finalist). I shall certainly have fun dressing up and attending the cocktail party and fashion show with Mum. Too bad I hadn't planned ahead - I could have knit myself another outfit to wear to the awards!

Anyway - apart from that not much happening in the life of me. Still applying for jobs, still not hearing much back, still have hurdles to jump with centrelink and still pretty much broke. 

Oh - but there is some good news. Apparently the camera with the pics of my entry (and finalist) dress has been recovered - and I should have some pics for you later this week. (I won't be collecting the camera before I go to Sydney, so I may even have pics from the fashion show before then!)

And I finished a pair of socks - holly-dazed from last years rockin sock club - I made a small change to the pattern so the socks were symetrical, and once I have camera I will share on Ravelry. 

Going to the Royal Easter Show??

IF you are heading to the easter show be sure to head to the fashion and style pavilion to check out the Australian Wool Fashion Awards parades (details on this web page)! 

There are two different parades that will be alternating (half the designs in one parade and half in the other) so if you don't see the gorgeous green hand knit fitted 40s inspired dress in one parade make sure you hang around for the next parade 

(yes - that pretty little fitted dress is my own entry design - knit all in one piece with the exception of the belt)

I shall be around on the wednesday - the actual Awards presentation night is that evening at the show. Details of how to get tickets are at http://www.tawfa.com.au

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 :)

Tired of being a wallflower?

Funnest scarf ever (and possibly the funniest scarf ever too!)

 
From an email forwarded to me by Gillian
http://leafygal.blogs.com/
A journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step

  

Do you sit unnoticed on the sidelines  while others are picked?   Try the latest scarf fashion and you too will be the center of attention..................

Donate to Bushfire Appeal - Win Yarn

details here!

performance review

The heavy world bears down one me. Beneath its weight I want to crawl into a little ball and hide from the world. I want to be insignificant. Invisible. Inconsistant, they said. Peaks and troughs. Hit and miss. Highs and lows. I absorb this... I am silent...

 

Really, I want to yell...

 

I AM HERE!

 

At least there are highs to offset the lows! At least I aren't flatlining.

 

meh...

New toys to test drive...

tree pretty, fire bad

fire real bad...

if only tears could put those raging fires (that are yet still flaring) out...