No knitting allowed for potential jurors

Well my excitement about spending my day around the courts knitting turned out to be a little premature. Despite the official website of the Courts and Tribunals - Victoria stating:

You can bring things with you, such as books, knitting or paperwork, to
occupy yourself while you wait.

(Scroll down to 'Facilities in the pool room')

my knitting was promptly confiscated as I entered the court building.

While I realise this is consistent with the policy of airlines, I was a bit annoyed as I had specially checked before taking my knitting. And it is not just the website; it's in the official handbook for jurors which they gave me after taking away my knitting. Apparently if you are selected as a juror you can bring in the knitting for when you are not actually in the courtroom but I don't know if I want to test this.

Lucky I had brought a book.

Finally a place to legitimately knit!

Knitting needles may be banned from planes but at least they are not considered a dangerous weapon as far as Melbourne's law courts are concerned. I've been summoned for potential jury duty on Monday and "knitting" is listed as one of the acceptable items to bring to occupy oneself while waiting to be called or otherwise. Everyone I've spoken to who has been summoned for jury service has told me it will be the most boring day of my life and to bring a good book to get through the day.

I bought a good book today (Dymocks was having a 20 percent off sale) but unfortunately I've already finished it before even making it to court! Kazuo Ishiguro is probably most famous for "Remains of the Day" (which was made into an excellent film starring Anthony Hopkins). This book, "Never Let Me Go", is completely different - if I didn't know who the author was, I would have confidently bet that it was written by Margaret Atwood; there is the same sort of "feel" and skewed morality of "The Handmaid's Tale" - and it is equally, scarily, devastatingly believable. Written as a memoir, "Never Let Me Go" traces the life of a group of friends growing up in a seemingly loving boarding school to their inescapable fate in the wider world as part of a subclass born and bred only to provide vital organs for others. It is totally enthralling and devastating and "unputdownable".

So, I will bring "The God of Small Things" (which I still haven't been able to get into) to court on Monday and my knitting (probably a pair of socks).

Lizard-ridge progress - 17 squares complete. I will probably be able to finish 20 before I need to buy more wool.

More blanket squares

The top picture is Lizard Ridge squares 12, 13 & 13 1/2. I'm now using colourway 126 which I bought off eBay. A bit garish for my taste -- there is a lot of orange and yellow -- but it will work in well with the blanket.

We had a sudden burst of summer this week (two days above 30 degrees Celcius) which slowed down the knitting. Looks like my timing (re: when the blanket will be ready) is as good as ever.

Also pictured is the blanket square for Grandma Purl which I will post off this week. The pattern I used created a little row of holes around the outside, so I threaded through some contrast thread to brighten it up. Hopefully she won't mind the Christmas colouring :)

And a square for Grandmother Purl

Well I've signed up for the Knit a Square for Grandmother Purl blog. The squares are supposed to be 8 inches square and as they are all going to be sewn together, it's pretty important to get the sizing right. I've always had a problem calculating tension and my first attempt started a square that ended up more like 9 inches in width. So although I would have loved to do a square complete with Australian motif, I decided for the sake of my sanity to knit a square on the bias that at least would come out the right size :) And yes, that is my lurid green stash that is being used up - too bright for an individual garment but fine for a patchwork blanket. And perfectly good quality 8-ply yarn too I might add.


Maybe after this one is finished I will try another style. Or maybe I will return to my own selfish Lizard Ridge personal blanket making (currently halfway through the 12th square in the most lurid Noro colourway I have ever seen).

My contribution to the Beaconsfield scarf

Well this very unexciting piece of over-loose knitting is my contribution to the scarf remembering the rescue of the Beaconsfield miners. Look out for the over-bright green patch if the scarf makes it to your town! I'm actually very happy to have finally found a use for this recycled yarn that I could not bare to either throw away or use in a garment that I would actually wear. We've been asked to send some thoughts about the Beaconsfield rescue with our knitting. So I'm contributing the lines: "In memory of the Beaconsfield rescue for showing us that miracles can occur even in this day and age and that light can come out of the most tragic circumstances". Corny, I know, but true and I think they will like it.

I'm knitting as fast as I can (part 2)

Pictured are Lizard Ridge squares 8-11. Mostly knitted out of Noro Kureyon Colourway 169 - sea greens and blues. With a few bits and pieces of other Noro leftovers.

The lime-green is the beginning of my contribution to the Beaconsfield scarf knit-a-thon. It's just 30 stitches of 8ply on very large 9mm needles, which creates a net-like fabric. The aim is to create a 925 metre scarf for the Beaconsfield Museum to commemorate the miraculous rescue of 2 miners who were trapped 925 metres below ground after the mine they were working in collapsed (a third miner, Larry Knight, died). Not the most challenging project in the world, but for a worthy cause.

I'm also hoping to make a contribution to the Knit a Square for Grandma Purl project as Crazy Aunt Purl is one of my favourite blogs and I'm pretty confident that the square will end up in a blanket for a worthy older person.

Then OzKnitter starts a My First Toe-Up sock knitathon. OK, I've made one pair but I'm keen to make Daimante from Fall Knitty, which are toe-up socks and will be a challenge for me. And my new supply of sock-yarn from the Netherlands arrived today. It is very sad that not only is there a better range of sock yarn available overseas but it is far cheaper, even taking into account postage.

What can I say? I'm knitting as fast as I can!