Secret project revealed

It's been quiet. Too quiet. Mainly because I've been working on a secret project that has been quite tiring. The sort of project that takes 9 months to mature.

After a miscarriage last year I've tried not to get too excited and hopeful but I hit 23 weeks on Tuesday and am well over half-way. No guarantees of course but all the scans and tests suggest things are progressing as they should and it is ridiculous to think that just by typing a few lines on my blog I am going to jinx it.

Besides, I already have my jinx project. The Debbie Bliss Alphabet Blanket. I'm only 5 rows in and already have to tink back a 187 stitch row to correct a mistake.

Bendigo Sheep & Wool Show 2009

July 16-18, 2009

I went on Saturday, 17 July with my friend Kris of whom I forgot to take a single photo -argh! Bad friend (me),

So only a month late, I decide to upload some photos that were taken on the day.

Eat your heart out J - woodfire pizza

With Charly of ixchelbunny fame

The cutest ugg boots on sale

How can I resist???

My haul from the day - fairly modest in the end!

Ravelry is eating my blog

A common issue I believe.

Some recent finished objects:

Giant Peach Dress

Knitted out of Dream in Color Classy 'Giant Peach' for a colleague expecting a girl this September. I knitted the 6 month size but using 10ply instead of 8ply wool, so it should be good for next winter.

Heart washcloth

For one of the many, many swaps I seem to be doing now. Knitted out of 8ply Bendigo cotton in Antique Rose, it is much pinker in real life.

My child would never...

I am not going to engage on Ravelry but this is my blog and I can write what I want. Most of the time I can let things go but this really pressed all my buttons:

The same store owner was also appalled that I had brought my two-year-old in. She didn’t touch anything except a book, but was given the stink-eye the whole time we were there .I understand that some kids don’t know how to behave in a store, but my little one knows that she is not allowed to touch yarn unless Mommy specifically gives her permission.

Now unless this two-year-old is some freak of nature that doesn't drool, get bored, lick her fingers, isn't attracted by bright colours and soft textures, etc, this is nothing short of delusional. Even if little darling only touched a book, I'll make any bet that she left bent pages and/or sticky fingerprints behind - not because there is anything wrong with her but because she is a kid.

Delusional parents really piss me off.

Travelling scarf

Because I can never resist a swap, this is the first part of a 'travelling scarf' that will be winging its way around Australia and New Zealand and (hopefully!) making its way back to me. The idea is that everyone knits a section and everyone gets their own multi-coloured, multi-styled scarf.

I used 8-ply Marta's Pure Merino yarn, 4.5mm needles, 27 stitches. All rows are [P1, yo, K2tog] repeat. Simple but effective.

Because I can

Another 'scrap-yarn' hat to use up the last of the 'Earth and Fire' yarn in my stash. Off to one of the many charities I support.

Baby Surprise Jacket (take two)

The heart-shaped buttons work much nicer

And here is another version, in hand-dyed blues and with little fire-engine buttons.

(Half the girls at work are pregnant at the moment so it's a good excuse to play with this pattern)

Nemo's Garden Hat

I bought this amazing bright handspin from a Tasmanian spinner on Ravelry. It's one of those yarns that looks amazing on the skein but it's hard to knit up nicely.

I improvised a roll brim hat, knitting solid-colour garter ridges between the plain stocking stitch. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

It's going off in a belated swap package to the US.

Rainbow Baby Surprise Jacket

One thing I love about the EZ Baby Surprise Jacket is how a messy bit of garter knitting

folds elegantly

into a cute little jacket.

This is far from the best example of a BSJ. I love how the rainbow colours came out but had trouble sewing up the top of the sleeves neatly. I also used the wrong 'M1' - note this is what happens if you pick up a stitch between two stitches instead of doing the backwards loop.

The jacket is knitted out of out of odd balls of DK in my stash for the baby of one of my currently pregnant colleagues. Will probably replace buttons as I think the bees are a bit too much.

Happy 3 month birthday

On 5 March, 2009 Marti Aaron came into the world, six weeks early. The doctors had finally realised that his mother Jess, who had been sleeping 18 hours/day for most of her pregnancy was not simply tired or even depressed. She had a massive brain tumour and Marti had to come out then and there if either of them would have a chance of survival.

From the very beginning, Marti refused to behave like a normal premature baby. He was far stronger and healthier than all the other babies in the special care nursery and definitely preferred being fed by dad Phill, rather than via a nasal feeding tube that the doctors had inserted. If his mum wasn't recovering from brain surgery in the same hospital, the doctors would have sent him home much earlier than 3 weeks after birth (usually premature babies have to stay in hospital until their due date).


Three months on, Jess is recovering well from her second round of brain surgery and undergoing rehabilitation treatment. The surgeon said the tumour, although large, was not malignant and he was able to get it all out.

Dad Phill, who is on maternity leave from work (the HR department told him that the leave would be renamed next year to primary carer's leave) looking after Marti and big brother Josh, takes Marti to visit mum every day.

Jess is due home in a fortnight.

Marti is modelling a Elizabeth Zimmerman designed Baby Surprise Jacket knitted by the writer of this blog.