Friday, July 27, 2007

What is the use of a blog without photos or hyperlinks?

No photos today. Sorry. I am well aware that the modern-day equivalent of Alice's "What is the use of a book without pictures or conversations?" (C S Lewis, Alice in Wonderland. The original book. Not the Disney movie. Go visit a library. Look up 'classics'. Hell, it can be downloaded free here) is "What is the use of a blog without photos or hyperlinks?"
However I'm blogging from my gmail account which means it's a case of either no pictures or no entry today. I'll try and include some hyperlinks.
Knitting: I'm about a third of the way through the baby raglan cardigan. I'm using 6-ply self-patterning Opal sock yarn which I'm convinced is the best yarn possible for baby items. Reasons:
  • It's the perfect balance between being hard-wearing (25% nylon) and quality natural yarn (75% wool)
  • It can be thrown in the washing machine and dryer with few ill-effects. After watching one of my friend's babies throw up over a jumper I had lovingly knitted in hand-wash only yarn, I had a greater appreciation of the value of using washing-machine friendly yarn for kiddie clothes - especially as sleep-deprived parents will just chuck everything in the washing machine and dryer, no matter what you or the label says.
  • The self-patterning nature of the yarn means that one can get a very impressive effect on a relatively simple item - in fact it shows up best on plain stockinette stitch.
  • 6-ply knits up relatively fast compared to baby-weight yarns but is not ridiculously bulky.
Best Knitting Exchange Pal ever: Beth. She has put me in touch with some brilliant patterns that one day I will have time to knit, offered to hold my hand through the EZ Baby Surprise jacket pattern, and has provided lots of helpful knitting tips and plenty of inspiration as she knits her way through enough socks to outfit every kid in Hogwarts in their house colours.
Biggest waste of time: YouTube. J & I went to see Phantom of the Opera which is currently playing in Melbourne, starring Anthony Warlow who is arguably the second-best Phantom ever (after Michael Crawford). It was brilliant. But then of course I had to go onto YouTube and download the five million versions of Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman (the original Christina; the part was written for her) singing Phantom and then I got side-tracked into downloading their other music videos and it was after midnight before I got to bed.

2 comments:

Beth said...

Have I already forced you to watch this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx1XIm6q4r4

I get it going in my head and it just won't quit - but I *love* it! :)

Thanks for saying such nice things too - this has been "one of those days" here at work. I'm ready for the weekend.

Marg B said...

No forcing required... and at least this is still slightly on theme. My jaw is still on the ground for all those gay-themed Harry Potter mixes