Where I rant about the weather, public transport and short-term thinking

Yesterday the Minister for the Obvious Lynne Kosky blamed underinvestment over a long period of time for the virtual meltdown of Victoria's public transport system.  And that was BEFORE the temperature reached 43.4 degrees Celsius (110 Fahrenheit) IN THE SHADE - it hit about 60C (140F) on the train tracks, causing them to melt and buckle.

Like most Melbournians I am in a pretty grumpy mood at the moment but I've been fuming about the state of our public transport for years now.  I'd have a bit more sympathy for Lynne Kosky being scapegoated over the trains if she wasn't simply the latest in a long line of government ministers who had put public transport in the too hard and too expensive category.  Even if you don't care about the environment, a well-maintained public transport system makes good economic sense - but only in the long term.  Most politicians can't see past the next election.  Public transport use has jumped 30% in the past few years due to increases in the cost of petrol - and would be higher still if it were reliable.  The economy is rooted, more and more people are giving a damn about the environment and demand for public transport is only going to increase.  So how about a few extra dollars for improving and maintaining and fixing and extending Melbourne's rail network?

In my job I get to talk to a lot of engineers and here is the sorry truth about our rail network.  Much of the infrastructure is over 100 years old and being held together by the engineering equivalent of band aids and string that were never supposed to be long term solutions.  Engineers who actually understand how these things work say the fact it hasn't all fallen apart completely is a bloody miracle and testament to the ingenuity of their predecessors.  Our trains are made of components that were originally designed for the cooler German and French climates where it is reasonable to engineer tolerance to a temperature of 35 degrees because the climate is cooler there.  In Melbourne you can pretty much guarantee at least a couple of weeks in summer of temperature exceeding 35-40 degrees.
 
Every day we hear about how the economy is in free fall and the governments need to bail out yet another industry or sector.  Now here's an idea.  Instead of bailing out a sector that is in global decline (sorry auto-makers), how about pouring some of that cash into the rail system?  The engineers and technicians and tradespeople currently working in the auto industry have the intellectual aptitude to be cross-trained in the skills needed to build and maintain the tram and rail network - surely it makes more economic (not to mention environmental and political) sense to do this?

I'm not saying it would be easy; it needs a committed leader with a strong conviction and plenty of imagination and charisma to move us out of a state of inertia.  But these people do exist; it can happen.  I'm heartily sick of all the economic doom and gloom stories in the media.  Why can't we turn this economic downturn into an upturn?  The simple fact that we are all buying less unnecessary cheap crap is already having a positive environmental effect.  If the government invests in decent infrastructure it will all be in place for when the next upturn arrives.  And even if that time is beyond the next election, the masses are less likely to revolt if they can reliably, safely and financially move from A to B.

Why one should always pack knitting on a train journey

My train sat for 25 minutes at Eltham station this evening as the late-running earlier train crawled up and down the final few stations of the line (it's a single track beyond Eltham). The upside was that it was almost empty, had fully functioning air-conditioning and I had packed my knitting. So Blue Lagoon has been finished for my swap pal slightly earlier than anticipated. I love the yarn, a truly soft and delectable merino and the colour is divine. I was seriously tempted to keep it for myself but I have many other gorgeous colours in my stash, many other gorgeous completed hats and only one head to wear it on.

I seriously doubt, however, that I will be knitting tomorrow. I will be prepared, however, with all options including a book as well as my knitting.

Melbourne faces worst hot spell in 100 years

A girl passed out in the train this morning and the temperature hadn't even reached 30.

The curse of Caulfield

To my absolute delight, one of my best friends has recently moved back to Melbourne.  Next week she'll be moving into a new home in Caulfield.  She will be for me the ultimate test as to the strength of the curse of Caulfield.

The curse of Caulfield is an invisible series of concentric force fields that seem affect those who live in or near Caulfield.

• The first force field is fairly weak and just makes residents disinclined to go north of Dandenong Road or south of North Road
• The second force field is stronger and causes them discomfort if they need to head north of Toorak Road or south of South road
•  The third field is stronger still, causing acute pain if they are asked to travel to Kew, Doncaster or Moorabbin
• By the fourth force field, which intersects Foote Street, Templestowe, most Caulfield residents are in squirming agony.  Unless they are heading for lunch at a Yarra Valley winery.
• And they seem to believe that the path to my residence, a further 15km further north-east is guarded by fire-breathing dragons.  Which is handy for keeping certain people at bay.
  

I've never really appreciated the appeal of a flat concrete suburb dotted with over-priced bigger-than-the-block concrete houses.  In every socio-economic, political and aesthetic sense I clash with the suburb.  But I know quite a few people who live there, including a former Lower Templestowe resident who now tells me how wonderful her life is now that she never has to drive further east than Murrumbeena or further north than the Harold Holt Pool in Glen Iris.  (I can't imagine having such a tiny, narrow outlook on the wrold.)  It will be an interesting test of our friendship if she is willing to endure the trek to J & my housewarming.  I did the reverse journey the other week - it only took 50 minutes.  Plus another 10-15 minutes to find parking, which is not a problem in our town.  But I digress.

My newly-returned friend grew up in Doncaster where her parents still live.  I had hope when she made the observation that my home was only a 20 minute drive from there.

But ever since signing the lease for her new house in Caulfield, which takes effect from one week into the new school year, she has been complaining about how for a whole week she will have to schlep her kids all the way from Doncaster to their new school in Caulfield.

Maybe the curse kicks in, the moment someone decides to move to Caulfield.

Australia Day - - Celebrating the Inner bogan in us all

You know Australia Day is coming up when:

• VB-themed thongs are being sold in the local Coles
• Mitre 10 is having a "Spend $60 and receive a free pair of thongs with built in beer-opener" promotion
• Target and Big W are selling kid's t-shirts, women's bikini's and men's bathers (along with unisex towels, caps and thongs) emblazoned with the Australian flag - all of which are made in China
• Everyone, no matter their class, creed or religion, is hosting or attending a BBQ
  

Celebrating Australia Day with the lamb marketing board

The Australian lamb marketing board should be pleased. A few weeks ago J said to me "Australia Day is coming up. Hope they do another good lamb ad this year. And are we having lamb on Australia Day."

Australian comedian Sam Kekovich basically takes the p*ss out of politics, current events, etc with his annual monologue about how eating lamb will lead to a better Australia. This year's ad was mildly amusing.



But compare it to the classics!

2008


2007


2006

Stashbuster Jnr Hat

This is my fifth hat of the year; a child-sized hat made out of DK scraps in my stash. I made up the pattern as I went and am quite happy with how it turned out. The green was a bitch with lots of breaks - I'm seriously thinking of chucking out the remainder.

It will probably end up going to a charity a fellow knitter has set up to raise funds for medical accessories for her seriously disabled daughter. (Ravellers can read all about the project here.)

Clearly I don't have enough knitting in my queue as I seem to find myself signing up to more and more projects every day. I'm currently doing a 'Favourite Colours' swap with the Australian Ravellers - I've been paired up with a Clever Chook who keeps her own sheep and llamas and dyes her own yarn; I'm a bit intimidated but she sounds like a lovely easy-going lady. And on her list of requests was a beanie. In a large size. And teal green. I cast on today and am already a third of the way there. After thumbing my way through every hat pattern I could find, I decided the simple 2X2 rib in a quality wool would make a very nice, if simple, hat that she would actually want to wear. I used some decadent Dream In Color 'Classy' - Blue Lagoon - from my stash - it actually looks much nicer and greener in real life.

The Hats for Israeli Soldiers project is still going - I find black a very boring colour to work with so I am alternating hats for them and hats for other purposes.

And because I was, I don't know, BORED maybe (joke) I contacted The Big Issue and asked them if they'd like some hats for their vendors. The answer was 'yes please'. Eighty-five percent of the vendors are male, so they'll also mainly be in the duller colours. Hopefully I can convince some fellow Melbourne knitters to join me with this.

The biggest joke is that this may be the last knitting I do for the week. Temperatures in Melbourne are predicted to hit above 38 and even 40 for the next seven days in a row. If you are looking for me, I'll be in the freezer.

Not that I'm gloating...

OK, maybe just a little bit...

But can you see the recommend price of some of these buttons? (You may have to click onto the original Flickr photo)

I'm already sharing the love on the Australian Ravelry karma swap.

The joy of silk

If money were no object and I could trust myself to wear it, I would probably only knit with pure silk. Note, pure silk. Not mixed with merino or cotton or any other fibre but the 100% pure unadulterated thread made by murdering the innocent babies of caterpillars for their protective cocoon.

Sorry. Went a bit over the top there. But every time I read about how (most) silk is produced, I'm wondering where is PETA and why are they worrying more about sheep that at least don't have to die every time someone wants a jumper (only if they want a lamb chop...)

(Silkworm rights activists promote the use of Tussah silk which is gathered after the moth emerges but it produces a more yellow/brown and rougher yarn.)

I received the above silk a a "bonus" in a Ravelry trade. It's been sitting in my stash for a while. I was flicking through my 101 designer one-skein wonders book and had an overwheleming sense that the Cross-Stitch scarf (Ravelry link) would be the perfect pattern for this yarn. And I think I was right! I have no idea if I have enough yarn for a whole scarf but I will knit it as far as it goes and if all else fail, turn it into a headband.

Foolish purchase or the ultimate bargain?

I must not buy crap... I must not buy crap... I must only buy what I need or what I genuinely want... A bargain is only a bargain if you use it...

So there I was in Clegs this morning to buy a 40cm 5.5mm circular needle (a genuine need to make hats from the 12-ply Bendigo yarn - my 5mm circulars give too tight gauge and the 6mm too loose gauge and I am not going to knit an entire hat with my cheap Chinese-made bamboo DPNs because this is too irritating for a whole hat).  I was going to hang off buying them until my Addi Clicks arrived - I ordered and paid for them a month ago but it seems there is a huge backlog in Germany and I have no idea when they may finally turn up.

ANYWAY I look, as always, on the clearance tables which is a very dangerous thing.  Fortunately all the yarn on offer either contains mohair or is novelty or is orange or is acrylic and I have no desire to even touch it with a 10-foot pole.  Then I look at the button box.

I normally don't worry about being tempted here - the buttons are only 10 cents each, which means I can't do too much damage.  But this morning's offering contained the motherload.  Clegs had obviously decided to unload novelty buttons that weren't selling well.  I ended up spending $17.50 (you do the maths) on cute little wooden sheep, ceramic cats, plastic dogs and Beatrix Potter characters (I am a huge fan of Peter Rabbit) - all these buttons normally retail for $2-$5.50 each.  Most of them are too big and heavy to use in knitting and I am not a sewer... What the hell am I going to do with all of them?

I tell myself that I am taking part in lots of swaps this year and these will be lovely additions to my packages.  Some of the buttons I can use on handmade cards and other projects.  And a few of the buttons are actually usable on finished garments.

But 175???  Lord help me.

Another black ribbed beanie done

No point posting a picture, it's identical to the other two.

A photo and dimensions have been sent off to Israel to see if it will meet Israeli army requirements.

If not, I have a list of locals, starting with my husband, who want one.

How to torment your fellow public transport users

Knit

In 35+ degree heat

Using wool

And with a big smile on your face

I finished the stashbuster hat on the train this morning and am quite happy with how it turn out. I had to fudge a little near the top but it still looks reasonably professional and artistic, rather than sloppy and home-made. I think it may be a bit bright for charity donation and am seriously tempted to send it in to the Alice Springs Beanie Festival. I knit for love, not money (the amount I could sell a beanie for - even a pure wool beanie - would price my time at only about $3-4/hour which is less than 20% of minimum wasge in Australia) but I would rather the hat be warn than just tucked up in my cupboard for years.

Stash busting hat making

Part of my challenge this year is to use up some of the stash - if for no other reason than to free up space for more yarn :)

I can't even recognise where some of this yarn came from - I particularly like this particular purple but didn't have enough for an entire hat on its own, so I did all the ribbing in it. The blue/green is the remains of the Utiku Multi Colours (gem) while the pink and yellow remnants are from I don't-know-where.

The hat below is made with a very clever pattern that I got as a freebie when I purchased some yarn from a small Australian company. It's knitted sideways, with short-rows.

Oz Knitters 4 Israel

I have set up a new blog, Oz Knitters 4 Israel, to promote the Hats for Israeli Soldiers project in Australia and try and find some sponsorship. I am acutely aware that while I am fortunate enough to be in paid employment most people who have the time to do this sort of thing - ie pensioners - don' t have the kind of money that enables them to send off a package every few weeks to Israel.

In the meantime, here are a couple I made earlier (as the saying goes).

Needle gauge for the passive aggressive knitter

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_7&listing_id=19347183

I am so tempted...

Hats for Israeli soldiers

One of my projects this year is knitting hats for Israeli soldiers. You can read all about the project here and here.

It's easy for people in countries like Australia to condemn what is happening in the Middle East but without going into history, politics, etc the situation is a hell of a lot more complex than most people in the West appreciate. Everyone wants to be able to point to a "goodie" and "baddie" side but life doesn't always work like that. I don't want to turn this into a political blog, but this article is worth reading.

Like many Jews around the world I felt helpless and distressed when the latest conflict erupted. The mere existence of Israel means Jews around the world are in a better position today than 100 years ago. The vast majority of Jews in Israel do 2-3 years compulsory army service and are in the reserves for life - whatever their personal politics. What could someone living on the other end of the earth do? And then I read about the Hats for Israeli soldiers project.

I know (see previous post) that one can't buy hats like I can make. I know a hand-knitted pure wool hat provides physical and emotional support that no mass-produced hat from China can reproduce. And thanks to Channah Koppel, the founder of the hats for Israel project, I know how to knit a hat that meets both the soldiers' and IDF's requirements and how to send it to them.

The only problem is that the official pattern calls for 10-ply (worsted weight) pure black yarn which is not widely available in Australia. I have tweaked the pattern for the more easily available 8-ply and 12-ply yarns. While Channah says pure wool is not mandatory, I firmly believe there is no point knitting with acrylic yarn. You won't enjoy the knitting as much and the soldier won't get the warmth and water-resistant benefits of a pure-wool hat. And Australia produces some of the best and most reasonably-priced yarn in the world - one can buy a huge 200 gram ball of 8 or 12-ply Australian made and spun wool from Bendigo Woolen Mills for just $11.20. This is enough for 2 hats out of just one ball of 8-ply yarn (or 5 hats out of 3 balls of 12-ply yarn). Or buy what you enjoy knitting. Cleckheaton Merino Supreme is sublime but unfortunately has been discontinued - I'm knitting it from my stash.

The only caveats are that the yarn must be machine washable (so it doesn't felt when washed) and it must be black, and the hat must be knitted according to the official pattern.

The 8-ply pattern uses less than 100 grams of yarn, making it a cheaper (but slower) knit. The 12-ply pattern uses about 120 grams of yarn making it a faster (but more expensive) knit.

8-ply hat
Use 4mm 40cm circular needle and/or double-pointed needles (3.75mm if you are a loose knitter, 4.5mm if you are a tight knitter).
Loosely cast on 112 stitches. Join work, place marker and work in K2 P2 rib until work measures 9.5 inches/24 cm

Shape crown
(Here you begin a series of decrease rounds. When you find the hat getting too small to work on the circular needle, switch to double-pointed needles.)
Round 1: K2, P2tog to end of round (84 stitches remain)
Round 2: K2, P1 to end of round
Round 3: K2tog, P1 to end of round (56 stitches remain)
Round 4: K1, P1 to end of round
Round 5: K2tog to end of round (28 stitches remaining)
Round 6: Knit
Round 7: K2tog to end of round (14 stitches remaining)
Round 8: K5, K2tog twice (12 stitches remaining)
Round 9: K2tog to end of round (6 stitches remaining)

Break yarn, leaving a 6-inch/15cm length. With a tapestry needle, thread the yarn though the remaining 6 stitches and pull tight. Weave in the ends. Wash and dry your hat and mail it to: Channah Koppel, POB 3081, Efrat 90435 Israel.

12-ply hat
Use 6mm 40cm circular needle and/or double-pointed needles (5.5mm if you are a loose knitter, 6.5mm if you are a tight knitter).
Loosely cast on 84 stitches. Join work, place marker and work in K2 P2 rib until work measures 9.5 inches/24 cm

Shape crown
(Here you begin a series of decrease rounds. When you find the hat getting too small to work on the circular needle, switch to double-pointed needles.)
Round 1: K2, P2tog to end of round (63 stitches remain)
Round 2: K2, P1 to end of round
Round 3: K2tog, P1 to end of round (42 stitches remain)
Round 4: K1, P1 to end of round
Round 5: K2tog to end of round (21 stitches remaining)
Round 6: Knit
Round 7: K2tog, K1 to end of round (14 stitches remaining)
Round 8: K5, K2tog twice (12 stitches remaining)
Round 9: K2tog to end of round (6 stitches remaining)

Break yarn, leaving a 6-inch/15cm length. With a tapestry needle, thread the yarn though the remaining 6 stitches and pull tight. Weave in the ends. Wash and dry your hat and mail it to: Channah Koppel, POB 3081, Efrat 90435 Israel.

52 hats

I haven't been blogging too much lately. Plenty I have to say; just not sure I want it out there in the public domain.

I joined the 52 hat challenge on Ravelry - yep the aim is to knit 52 hats in 2009.

On weekdays, I travel for 3+ hours/day on public transport. That is a lot of knitting (and reading) time. If I knit both ways, I can get a hat made in just 2 days - 3 if I decide to read on one of the legs.

I like knitting hats. They are a fast and easy knit, giving pretty-much instant gratification. I don't know if I'll ever buy another beanie again, as a basic beanie made out of quality yarn is better than anything that can be bought in the stores. Unfortunately the most satisfying hat to wear - a basic 2X2 ribbed beanie - can also be the most irritating to knit. So I alternate the ribbed beanies with the fun patterns. Veronik Avery's short-row hat - this is particularly effective in Noro yarn - or Sally's Super Sideways hat, a free pattern I got with some variegated yarn from a small Australian business that also utilises short-rows to produce a unique double-thickness hat. I have a pattern book of "folk hats" waiting to be explored and probably another dozen hats on printouts around the house.

Obviously there is no way that I or even my family and friends could use 52 hats, so a lot of these Will be going to charity. But I am determined that such hats will be appropriately styled and coloured for people to wear. They will be thoughtful hats. And while the full-ribbed hats are the best, I may decide to knit a few plain beanies with just a ribbed brim for my own sanity.

I am

• A knitter
• A reader
• A feminist
• A Zionist
• A trade unionist
• A wife
• A daughter
• A good friend
• A conscientious worker
• A gamer
• A sci-fi fan

I am

• Caring
• Thoughtless
• Charitable
• Selfish
• Lazy
• Hardworking
• Loyal

• I wear long skirts
• I live almost in the country
• I work in the city
• I changed my surname when I got married
• 
  

Some people think many of the above are contradictory

But they are all me

The dutiful daughter-in-law

This is attempt number 2 at a hat for my father-in-law. The first time I mis-guessed how many stitches to cat-on, so I also have a child-sized hat floating around. Lucky it's such a quick knit!

Recipe: Cleckheaton's Merino Supreme wool (discontinued), one 5.0mm circular needle, 5.0mm DPNs (I used 5.5mm DPNs as they were handy). Cast on 84 stitches, join in round. Knit 60 rounds in 2X2 rib before decreasing.

Ye Gods! Photos of finished projects

Noro Silk Mountain Scarf

This scarf is for my Mother-In-Law who probably can’t appreciate just how luxurious and expensive this silk/wool/mohair yarn is. So, why am I giving it to her?

1/ It’s a very quick, easy knit. Just 21 stitches, slip the first stitch and knit each row. The yarn does all the work.

2/ I bought this yarn on impulse and while I know it looks great, I just really don’t love it or love knitting with it. I was glad to have an excuse to get it out of my stash.

3/ Even if the MIL doesn’t appreciate how great this yarn is, she will appreciate the thought and the fact it is warm. And it will impress the hell out of people around her who actually get it.

Baby Surprise Jacket

This jacket is for a friend who is pregnant with her second baby boy. I just have to sew on the buttons. It looks so tiny but I guess babies come out this size.

Contentment is being happy with what you have

"What I really want," I told J some months ago, "is security.  I don't have any desire to be wealthy or wear designer clothes but I want to know I have enough money to do what I want when I want.  When I retire I want to own the roof over my head - if we don't have to pay rent or a mortgage we can live pretty cheaply."

"I can understand that," J said.  "But look at yourself now.  You are lying on your couch with your cat and your knitting watching Midsomer Murders having just eaten a wonderful dinner cooked by your husband.  AND we have dark Lindt chocolate for desert. Tell me - is there really anything else you want right now?"

************
Fast forward four months and the stock market has crashed even more spectacularly - 45% since this time last year.  I'm glad I'm not facing retirement in the next few years.  I can close my eyes when the superannuation statement arrives and tell myself this will all be a blip in 25 years time.

I'm glad my job seems relatively secure; that the new CEO likes me; that all my hard work over the years is paying dividends.  Too many people, often undeservedly, are losing their jobs, not through any fault or greed of their own but because they were in the wrong company or industry at the wrong time.

I think back to my accounting graduation during the recession of 1992.  "Get into insolvency," a young Turk from KPMG told me. "It's a dynamic and growing industry."  I don't think he realised the irony of what he was saying.  But who am I to laugh?  He's probably managing the section now, making more money than I could ever dream of.

Whereas I am in a job I love, where I am respected, with a husband who loves me, a comfortable house, wonderful friends, the two best cats in the world and enough DVDs and books and knitting yarn to get through the recession of 2009 without having to buy a single thing.

Life is good.

Settling in

A picture is worth a thousand words but only if you can find the camera cable and your home computer doesn't spontaneously shut down every few minutes.  As J says, would I rather he spent time fixing the locks or fixing my computer, because he would much rather devote the time to fixing the computer but there is a lot that needs to be done around the home.

So I will have to be descriptive with my language.

Still settling in.  The cats are finally "legal"; the new registration tags having come in the mail.  After a fortnight of whining, they were finally able to go outside, where they gingerly poked around for a few minutes before demanding to come back in. OK...

There are all these expenses when one moves that can add up to a frightfully large amount, a few hundred dollars at a time.  So far they have included carpet cleaning, new locks; new door handles, two ceiling fans, a kitchen hutch/dresser (paid less than half price due to a few scratches and bumps), a new sofa and chair (indulgent, but a worthwhile quality investment that will outlast cheaper models), extra lights and a tv antenna booster so we can consistently access the news.

J's become - much to my pleasant surprise - very house proud.  He's set up the living room beautifully and has even pulled out the vacuum cleaner without me saying anything.  We are eating our meals in a very civilised manner at the new kitchen table, rather than on the couch watching TV (J even seems dubious about the risk of us taking coffee into the living area), and while we have heaps still to unpack and sort out, we seem to be more on top of things in the new place.

I haven't quite worked out the best way of managing all my travel; I have to discipline myself to leave on time from work as an extra 30 minutes of mucking around can mean arriving home up to an hour later than need be.  Sometimes I'm so tired I nap on the train; other times I read or knit.  I think it's just a matter of getting used to my new routine.  I love our new place and the area and don't regret moving for a moment.

And by the way, I wasn't compalining about our new council's green policy - I agree with it entirely - but that doesn't mean that it isn't diffiuclt to change the habbits of a lifetime.  And there is a limit to how much one can reuse all the packaging used in moving.  We will eventually put the cardboard boxes on Freecycle - we'll have to use the general Melbourne site; funnily enough for such a green precinct there is no Freecycle group for our specific region.

In knitting news, I'm getting close to the end of the BSJ.  I hesitate to say this, but I'm finding all the garter stitch a little boring.  But I hate trying to do lace as I have a tendancy to miscount and hate having to either fudge or frog rows of lace.  J is very keen for me to crochet a throw for our couch - I think he has no idea of just how much is involved in this.  He want's it one or two colours but I am seriously tempted by the Babette Blanket - it's one way to burn through some of my stash and will be a lot easier and more entertaining than just doing 100-plus identical granny squares.

Another excuse to baby knit

One of my pregnant friends has discovered that she is having another boy, which provided the perfect excuse to pull out the machine washable baby print Zara that has been hiding in my stash since I bought it on impulse at a sale last year.  Zara is often described as 8-ply but I find it knits up more like a 6-ply; a light sportsweight as the American would say.

So I used my 3.5mm circular Addis (I know everyone is raging about the Knitpick Options but I am very fond of my Addis) and cast-on another Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise jacket.  I've made it before but in a too-heavy bulky yarn.  I figured that as I still had plenty of time prior to the birth and both parents are fairly small, that I could risk making up a smaller item.  The nightmare for all knitters (at least me) is to devote dozens of hours to a project that is unwearable.

As it is purely in garter stitch, this is the perfect mindless knitting for the long train journeys.  The regular double decreases and shaping provide enough stimulation to keep me awake also.  As with most variegated yarns, it looks far better on the ball than in a garment but the overall effect is not too bad.

Photos will follow, once (if) I find the cable that will allow me to upload from my camera to the computer.

Moving is hell

Moving must be like giving birth.  The pleasure of having one's own place eventually wipes over the memories of how hellish the actual process is of getting there.

J, of course, did all the bullwork, including our library-sized book collection but there has been more than enough to keep me busy, with unpacking, finding important documents in our files (always at the bottom of the box), sorting clothes and discovering that virtually all the space in my "knitting room" has been appropriated for temporary storage "until we sort everything out".  Hmm.  My boxes of yarn are too large to store on any of the shelves in the room, so I will have to think of another solution.

Then of course there are all the usual joys of moving house, reconnecting utilities, discovering that the previous owners had loosely glued handles on the cupboards and drawers in the kitchen, buying and changing locks, and putting up with the tantrums of two cats who will not be allowed out of the house until the registration for the new council comes through.

Oh, our new council.  Did I mention that we have moved into possibly the "greenest" local council in Australia?  Which I agree with in theory but takes some getting used to in practice.

To begin with, our local shops are a plastic bag free zone.  We have no choice but to remember the green bags.  Or to buy yet another one every time we buy more items than we can easily carry in our hands.  The positive side of this compulsory re-education is that we now remember the bags, even when we go to the shops in the larger suburbs/towns that don't enforce this policy.

Garbage collection is also a new experience.  Unlike our previous council that frowned on anything messier than garden clippings going into the green bin, we are now encouraged to include all organic waste - including meat scraps - in our gree bin, which is picked up weekly.  We have a very large yellow recylcing bin, with also a far more liberal list of products that can be included in it.  It gets picked up fortnightly.  And we have to use our green and yellow bins to the max because our "other" bin (red lid) is tiny and only picked up on alternate weeks.  Reduce, re-use, recycle is the mantra here.

Technically we are still living in Melbourne (including the all important metropolitan train into the city, just a 15 minute walk or 3 minute drive from our house), but the feel and attitudes are definitely that of a country town.  In many ways I feel like I have stepped back 30 years in time.  Local politics are very big, with handpainted signs supporting one or another - or putting down one or another - of the candidates in the upcoming elections.  Even though we are not yet entitled to vote in this electorate, we have received photocopied leaflets deriding the current members for supporting the building of new municipal offices 15km away.

Our new street is filled with families with young children and we have received an invite to the upcoming annual street Christmas party.  Although we are nervous, J and I are going. 

Travelling to and from work from our new home has not been as dire as some have suggested.  The best trains of the day only take an hour to get into the city, and even is a worst-case "stopping every station and pausing 10 minutes to allow another train to shunt into place" only blew out the journey to 1 hour 20 minutes.  I knit.  I read.  I sleep.  One advantage of getting on at the end of the line is that I can choose the prime seat.

A miracle has happened

I went to Clegs today during a sale and didn't buy anything.

Then I went into the chemist and found my necessary but usually overpriced vitamins on sale - less than $35 for a six month supply (it's normally $50 for a four month supply).

I couldn't help wondering if God was rewarding me for finally not buying unneccessary yarn.

For all my good intentions...

So much for all my good intentions of knitting from my stash, not being consumed by materialism, resisting 'sales', etc, etc.  I've been spending a fair bit of money over the past couple of months on unnecessary but lovely stuff, mainly related to my fibre pursuits .  On the plus side I haven't bought any cheap crap - it's all quality stuff.  On the negative side, some of it has been quite expensive and far from necessary or even desirable.

Things I have learnt

• I like wool.  I like silk.  But for some reason, I don't like yarn which combines the two. 
• I'm a purist when it comes to Noro.  I love Noro Kureyon, which is the original 100% wool in a 10-ply/worsted weight. I have used various sales to try out some of their other yarns and none of them have quite the same wow factor for me.  These include Cashmere Island (lovely and soft but too fragile and very poor stitch definition); Cash Iro (too stiff and scratchy); Kureyon sock (too harsh and inconsistent for sock yarn.  Besides, I've decided that I hate knitting socks and/or with anything thinner than 6-8-ply); Silk Mountain (I hate boucle yarn); Silk Garden (I've become super sensitive to anything with any mohair in it).  I haven't yet tried knitting with the Silver Thaw. I have hopes as it looks and feels gorgeous.  But I suspect it still won't have the wow factor of Kureyon.
• Angora may be very soft but it sheds a lot.  Hence I will not knit with it.  Ditto, alpaca.
  
• I hate boucle yarn.  It's too close to novelty yarn.  Even if it is Noro Silk Mountain
• I should always check the exchange rate when buying yarn in American dollars.  Especially when the Aussie dollar is in free-fall.  I spent more than AUD$1/gram on some beaded silk yarn that was on sale.  But it is gorgeous.
• Buying knitting-themed mugs, cards or books is acceptable.  Buying knitting-themed Christmas ornaments when one doesn't even celebrate Christmas is silly.
• Always research prices and take into account shipping before making a purchase.  It Itches arrived safely from The Book Depository and is very funny.  And it cost me less than a third the publishers wanted to charge (I'm not letting go of this one for a long time.)
• A drop in interest rates is not an excuse to go on a yarn buying spree.  Especially when one's about to move onto a larger loan for their new home.

And in swap news
I think I'm going to take a break from doing swaps as I want to knit a little for myself for a bit. 

• The 100 gram challenge was fine - and my swappee was dutifully grateful for her package.  I included a skein of the Silk Mountain since I wasn't going to use it and it is a lovely gift for the right person. 
  
• The organiser of the Stashbuster swap sent me an 'angel' gift of a knitted dishcloth, some chocolate, tea, soap, a key ring and bamboo yarn, which was nice. 
  
• But I'm still struggling with the 'No Sheep for You" swap which has to be posted this week.  I made a mistake in the Forest Canopy shawl and have to tink back - and I've really lost enthusiasm for the project.  I whipped up a drop-stitch pure silk scarf out of 70 grams of worsted yarn which would be fine, except for another knitter who knows what a cheat knitting job this is (I only chose the pattern so I could get a scarf out of so little yarn).  I'm currently frantically finishing a market bag out of dishcloth cotton (which was fine except for the super-annoying centre-circle start) and will probably throw in a couple of dishcloths crocheted out of green, yellow and white yarn - I'll put on a note about it being for wiping up spilt beer on Australia day.
  

Buying It Itches –the options

(or why I love The Book Depository which provides free worldwide shipping)

I wanted to buy Franklin Habit's new book, It Itches which is not yet available in Australian stores

So I considered my options

Price comparison for Australian buyers

Directly from the publisher, Interweave Press
Book US $12.95
Shipping to Australia US $25.35*
Total US $38.30 (AUD $57.36)

From Amazon.com
Book US $10.15
Shipping to Australia US $15.21
Total US $25.36 (AUD $37.98)

From The Book Depository
Book ₤6.41
Shipping to Australia FREE
Total ₤6.41 (AUD $15.64)

* Interestingly, when I contacted Interweave Press to question their shipping costs, they said that it was correct and that they still LOST money on their overseas sales. Not surprisingly, I decided not to put them through such a sacrifice since I could buy the same book from The Book Depository for almost a quarter of the price Interweave Press were charging.


Just out of curiosity, I also compared the prices for those living in America

Directly from the publisher, Interweave Press
Book US $12.95
Shipping US $4.95
Total US $17.90

From Amazon.com
Book US $10.15
Shipping US $3.99
Total US $14.14

(note – shipping within the US is free if It Itches is included with other eligible items from Amazon creating an order total of $25 or more, so the total cost for Americans buying from Amazon could be as little as US $10.15)


From The Book Depository
Book ₤6.41
Shipping to the US FREE
Total ₤6.41 (US $10.47)

Panopticon loot

I am a HUGE fan of Franklin Habit and his knitting-related cartoons. When the Australian dollar was at its record high, I finally caved in and picked up some of his work, including:

A scarily appropriate mug that seemed to have been designed just for me



A highly appropriate knitting bag



Here is a close up



And some gift cards that every knitter who has poured her heart and soul into creating a garment for someone else will appreciate.

How I got hooked on crocheting dishcloths

I've recently been doing two things that I never thought I would: Crocheting dishcloths.

I've never had the patience to work in fine yarns and I associate crocheting in thicker yarns as ugly and old-fashioned. Very 70s. In a non-cool way. As for dishcloths - why would anyone want to put their time and effort into creating a rag to wipe up dirt?

Then someone sent me a knitted dishcloth in a swap. It was made out of the most butt-ugly white, orange and brown variegated yarn I had ever seen. I tossed it to one side on the kitchen bench and forgot about it.

Several weeks later I spilt coffee on the bench and was casting wildly around for something to wipe the mess up with. I grabbed the dishcloth and used it to absorb the excess coffee. It was really effective. It was soft and useful and absorbent. And it rinsed out easily in the sink. I tossed it in the washing machine with the towels and it came up good as new.

A light-bulb went off in my head.

I grabbed an odd ball of ugly cotton yarn from my stash and knitted up a square in moss stitch. The knitting was fine but the colours looked terrible. As a lovely absorbent dishcloth it worked perfectly. Unfortunately, however, I hated the knitting; it was boring and took forever and the cotton yarn was stiff on my fingers.

For some reason a few weeks later I was playing about with some of that yarn and a crochet hook. I've never really learnt how to crochet but I can do a basic chain and sc stitch. I looked down at my handwork and discovered that the ugly yarn actually looked a hell of a lot better crocheted up than knitted. And crocheting was certainly faster than knitting. I wasn't very good doing the turning chains at the end of each row but who cared if the edge of my dishcloth was a bit wonky? It was just going to hide in a draw and come out to wipe up coffee stains. As I finished my square, I had a brainwave. What if I did a final sc row around the entire perimeter of the square? That would neaten things up.

Two dishcloths later I had the idea of finishing my final sc circuit with a chain of about 10 stitches that could be formed into a simple ring tag, making it easy to hang my dishcloth on a hook in the kitchen.

And that was it. I had designed the perfect dishcloth for me. One that was easy and fast and fun and could be done while concentrating on an enthrawling movie or tv show.

I bought a few bags of cheap cotton yarn "odds and ends" on sale. I adjust my dishcloth size to suit the yarn available. Sometimes I do the final circuit in a different yarn. Sometimes I do several circuits. Whatever I feel like.

I still haven't perfected doing a neat turning chain, despite hours pouring over diagrams and instructions in "Crocheting for Dummies". But I am getting better and better at fudging and covering my mistakes. And I relax knowing the in the worst case scenario, it will still be fine for wiping up the kitchen floor.

We interrupt this knitting blog for some sporting news

Australians love their sporting heroes.  And they love stories of Aussie battlers who overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles to come out on top.  So what to make of their reaction to the following story?

Queensland teenager Samantha-Jane Stacey, 14, battled through five matches with a sprained ankle to win a silver medal in an elite international competition – the youngest Australian ever and first Australian in 16 years to win a medal at the event.  Japanese representatives, whose athletes traditionally dominate this sport, invite her to train with them in their country before returning to Australia.

Meanwhile back in Australia, is Samantha-Jane celebrated as a hero?  Offered lucrative sponsorship deals? Held up as a role model to other young Australians?

No.

In fact, in response to a straightforward news report of her achievements, some online readers responding to the story mock her and claim she is a disgusting embarrassment and can't possibly be regarded as a healthy role model for children.

The reason is that Samantha-Jane won her silver medal at the World Sumo Championships in Estonia.  And like most sumo wrestlers she is big – 127kg (280 pounds).

Not that this worries Australian Sumo Federation president Katrina Watts who told The Courier Mail: "She has been wrestling since she was a kid and she is very fit and healthy. Her whole family is big so it's not an issue. Some of the female sumo wrestlers are over 160kg."

Samantha-Jane's mum Sue is extremely proud of her daughter, telling the The Courier Mail: "She's a gift from God and I love her so much… She's very confident in who she is and I'm just so happy she's found something that she's good at in sumo wrestling."

Sue reckons her daughter's critics should "get a life".

"Some of the comments were the most disgusting, un-Australian things I've ever read…The things people say don't worry Sam because she's happy in her own skin. To me, she's beautiful inside and out and I'm so proud of her."

Full credit to Samantha-Jane for her incredible athletic achievements - and to her fantastic mother who obviously provides her with the unconditional love, support and positive reinforcement she will need to live in a society full of nasty judgemental idiots.

Update

100 gram challenge swap
I am so proud. Our of 100 grams (2 balls) of Noro Kureyon, I made a hat, a Calorimetry and three little crochet flower broaches. It's hard to believe all these items came out of one colourway of yarn.

No sheep for you swap
I have to get off my duff on this one. I've kind of gone off doing the forest canopy shawl and am thinking of doing a wide lace cotton scarf wrap. Currently contemplating different stitches; trying to find a balance between a simple lace I can memorise and the desire to do a leaf pattern. Maybe travelling vines?

Dishcloths
I was fidgeting with some revolting variegated cotton yarn and a crochet hoot and found it looked a lot better crocheted rather than knitted. And crocheting, even single crochet, is much faster. So far I've hooked 2 1/2 dishcloths in sc. I realise this is the crochet equivalent of knitting garter squares but it is quick, easy, productive and I'm not bored yet. I've never crocheted anything more complex than a simple border on my knitting and am 95% self-taught. Dishcloths are the perfect thing to practice on as it doesn't matter if anything is wonky. And they do work well.

Still waiting for...
My international stashbuster swap package. Hopefully it arrives before I move house (mid November) which leads us to...

Other news
J & I have bought a house on the outskirts of north-east Melbourne. It's a beautiful area, a fantastic house and only a short walk to a train to the city. I envisage even more knitting and reading en route. Funnily enough, despite being three times the distance from the city as our current home, it will only add about 15 minutes to the journey to work - trains being so much faster than trams.

Financial news
The crashing Australian dollar has finally put a curtail on all my overseas online shopping. Just one more bag of yarn and a few knitting items left to arrive.

Schadenfreude

I'm sure that as usual us plebs are going to end up paying the highest price for the meltdown on Wall Street, but for a few brief moments today we experienced a bit of schadenfreude when the greedy traders all of a sudden realised that the US taxpayer wasn't going to bail them out after all. It was a close call and possibly by the time this post appears on my blog the Republican Party machine will have arm-twisted a dozen of their members into voting for the bailout. Will the world really end tomorrow if this doesn't happen? Will we experience the horrors of the Great Depression as some fear? Will unemployment rise to 60%, will people be dying of starvation in the streets? Or will we regroup and go on, poorer but a bit wiser and not quite so confident that our superannuation will carry us in our retirement years.

Will Monday 29 September 2008 (US time) go down as the day capitalism collapsed? I seriously doubt it. Anyone who thinks that capitalism is dead should go along to any left-wing gathering and observe the all-pervasive low-level capitalism in action as aging hippies try and flog badges and bumper stickers and newspapers to all and sundry.

And it is too much to hope that the seriously immoral will pay for their crimes. At the age of 37 I have a strange sense of deja vue; in the 1980s we had Michael Milken and co. with their junk bonds; today it's subprime lending. Gordon Gecko and the Greed is Good mantra and the immorality and lack of social responsibility have always been around in the past and will still exist tomorrow. And the world somehow survives to the next day.

It's days like today where it is good to be a non-materialist.

So can someone please explain why I felt compelled to spend money I didn't have on a fresh collection of knitting paraphanalia?

Photos to follow.

On the needles:
At work - Baby blanket in Peaches 'n' Cream double-worsted cotton (Springtime colourway)
At home - Veronik Avery's Short-Row Hat (in Noro) for 100g swap
At Home - Forest Canopy Shoulders Shawl

(The last two are from patterns I actually bought as PDFs off the net. So far, they have been worthwhile.)

Lost in the wild
A Magic Yarn Ball I made up for a fellow Aussie Raveller using two skeins of Nor Kureyon (argh!), buttons, a bar of soap, lollies and a crochet needle.

I stupidly neither took a photo of it nor sent it registered post, so I have already made up another (with a different pure wool 12-ply yarn which is nice but no Noro), expecting to have to send it (probably by registered post this time). I've already taken a photo.

I also haven't yet received my stashbuster swap parcel :(

Recently received
At least I have already received my own Aussie Magic Yarn Ball, made out of the softest wine-coloured merino yarn, containing lindt chocolates, tea, candies, embellishments and a giant 12 mm crochet hook.

Pictures of finished objects

I finally finished Jackie's scarf in Vintage Twist (just in time for the warmer weather)

I finally made some mitts for myself (also in Vintage Twist, the pink colourway). This was from yarn rescued from my frogged Flat-Top Hat by Iris Schreier.

My stashbusting swap pal Noeller67's daughter seemed pretty happy with my gift.




And I finally started the Forrest Canopy shawl for the No Sheep for You swap (made out of Bendigo cotton in the colour teal). It doesn't look very impressive yet.

Books I may or may not have acquired in recent weeks (from swaps and direct purchases) include: all four Barbara Walker Treasuries (apparently even if you knit one sample a day, it will take 2 years just to get through the first book) and a book about knitting 2 socks at a time on circular needles (I can dream). Plus a few back copies of Yarn magazine.

I know I am getting old...

• When I look at the school kids sprawling over the train seats and catch myself thinking: "In my day, we had to give up our seats to full fare paying travellers." (I was quite put out when I discovered that it is no longer a condition of a student transport pass that they give up their seats to full-fare paying travellers).
• When men in their 30s and 40s offer their seat to me.  This never used to happen to me.  I'd like to think this is because they are chivalrous men enamoured by my beauty but I fear the reason is that they think I am pregnant or ill and likely to pass out or puke if forced to stand for long distances.

I am not sure which of the two scenarios is disconcerting me more...

The modular hat was nothing but frustration - I couldn't get the triangles to match up on the top and I hated the look anyway. Urgh! So it is sitting in the frog pond waiting to be ripped. I fell back on an old stalwart, whipping up a pair of Seed-Stitch Mitts using some Cleckheaton Merino Silk Spun yarn in my stash. I think I'll have enough yarn left over to make a matching Calorimetry. So that's my international stash buster swap out of the way.

I've also joined up for 3 Australian swaps - a 100 gram challenge, a "no sheep for you" and a "magic wool ball" swap. My intention is to completely fulfill these using only yarn from my stash. Apart from the obligatory chocolate "extras" and postage.

Elvish Leaves Dishcloth

Now this is a dishcloth I don't want to use. I made it with some lovely soft 8-ply cotton I had in my stash and I think it is just a little too fragile and nice to scrub the floor with. I was seriously tempted to continue the lace pattern and turn it into a scarf but I didn't have enough yarn. I think this will become a doily.

Ravelry mischief making

I have marked my tea towel (see post below) as an 'ugh' on Ravelry and added my less-than-flatterig description of my opinion of the colour combination. I then linked it to both the Hall of Shame and Peaches & Cream groups. I'm sure it will be appreciated for what it is by the Hall of Shame members. The Peaches & Cream group, however, is run by the manufacturers of this yarn and they take it all just a little too seriously, basically using the group as a way to advertise their wares without charge. The moderators say they will delete any projects not made using the official trademarked Peaches and Cream yarn. Will they allow my less than positive project made out of their yarn to remain? Time will tell.

Dishcloths

It looked so lovely on the ball
But knitted up, not at all
The yellow, green and pink hue
Combined to look like dog spew

I have to admit, I never 'got' the point of dishcloths. What was the point of spending all the time and money to knit what effectively was a rag to wipe up muck?

Then we needed some new tea towels and I discovered the near-impossibility of find decent quality, thick absorbent 100% cotton tea towels. Even the expensive ones seemed to have some sort of water-repelling coating and most were ridiculously thin.

One of the Australian girls on Ravelry was putting in a bulk order for Peaches & Cream cotton yarn, so I decided to get some and try to make my own. This thought hadn't come out of nowhere - in a swap I had received a small dishcloth and while I found the mixed colours rather revolting, I had to admit that it was lovely and soft and absorbent.

I bought some 'bargain' grab-bags of yarn ends which, in retrospect, was probably false economy. Postage from the US far outweighs the cost of the yarn and I would have been better off selecting a few full-priced cones in colours I liked. But even if I had have done that I may have been tempted by the 'ombres' which is Peaches & Cream speak for variegated colour yarn. Which, in my experience, rarely knits up as nicely as it looks on the ball.

But anyway, now I do 'get' the point of dishcloths. In this age of "cheaper is better", making one's own is a way of at least getting a quality product. And when the resulting colour combination looks like dog up-chuck, one has few compunctions about wiping one's handiwork on the floor!

Projects on the go

Ravelry has got a lot to answer for. I spend so much time on it, that my blog has become neglected. I have finally got around to editing this post and uploading photos.

Completed projects
Junior size SES beanie for Phill's son. I have also written up the pattern for the SES beanies, which I found much harder than just knitting the damn things. I am donating it to SES Victoria and will only post it publicly with their permission (they might have problems due to trademarks or security).

Vintage Twist (Cleckheaton)
I bought a lot of this in various colours on sale; it's a self-striping single ply yarn that I suspect will felt beautifully. It's one of those few yarns that looks a lot better knitted up than on the ball. Vintage Twist supposedly knits to its own 'unique' gauge, something between a DK and worsted yarn, which means it isn't great for subbing but 1/ I have the official pattern book and 2/ I have never paid enough attention to gauge to start caring now.

I am knitting a twisting curving short-row scarf in the brown colourway for my friend Jackie - the pattern came out of the Cleckheaton book and is probably the first time I've used the recommended yarn for a project. It's a very easy but effective pattern - I love short rows. It kept me sane while attending a conference in Melbourne last week. While I loved knitting the patchwork scarf, I never felt it was truly Jackie's style, whereas this yarn seems to be much more her.

I am making Iris Schreiber's Flat-Top Modular hat out of the pink colourway for the international stash-buster swap. It's a pattern I've always wanted to try and it uses just 50 grams of yarn. I've tinked the pattern to knit with 90 instead of 84 stitches - if it seems to large I will try and semi-felt it when I've completed it.

Other projects
My flat sold on the weekend for a price I was happy with. Now comes the fun part of buying a new home. We are looking at various options. As long as we are on the train line, I will be happy. Tram travel is unbelievably slow and tedious - it seems amazing that one can travel twice as far by train in less than the time it takes the tram to lumber along.

Stash acknowledged

Obviously I am avoiding doing something very important as today I completed a project I thought could never be completed. I have catalogued and photographed every bit of yarn in my stash. Every lot is in its own clean clear plastic bag. Yes, even those pesky partial skeins of unknown vintage. The messy ones have been rewound into neat little wool cakes on my new whiz-bang yarn winder.

I'm exhausted. And ashamed at the sheer amount. I had to purchase a Flickr Pro account to handle it all. But still feeling a faint sense of achievement.

Next trick: To knit from the stash before buying any more yarn.

It's the little things that weigh me down

I'm getting down to the business end of trying to list my stash on Ravelry. Recording the garment-sized lots of yarn might have been confronting but it was relatively easy. 30 balls of black Merino spun, 20 balls of Jo Sharp Viola DK. Ditto for my 'luxury' items - a single skein of Black Bunny Fibre; five balls of Noro Cash Iroha. It was the two tubs full of partial skeins and odds and ends that was too overwhelming to contemplate.

Until I was procrastinating from doing something that was probably more urgent and important. I decided to rewind some of the partial skeins using my lovely new toy, photographed a few of them, and slowly, slowly am working my way through the process of actually listing ALL my yarn in one place and acknowledging just how much I have.

I've signed up for three more knitting swaps - the highly appropriate international stash buster swap and two Australian swaps: 'No Sheep for You' (where you can knit with anything but wool) and the 100 gram challenge.

We're supposed to be blog-stalking each other for these swaps... I've decided whether or not I receive any of the following in the swaps, I will be making myself these items sometime in the future: a cotton tea towel (dishcloths are all rage and I received a useful one last swap but I want something large enough to dry dishes with), some more headbands, another pair of fingerless mitts. As you can see, the focus is on the pragmatic. I've got more than enough hats and scarfs but will undoubtedly continue to make more for myself.

Heading down the slippery slope towards the spinning wheel...

A few months ago during one of my buying sprees, I purchased a yarn-winder. Royal pretty much has a monopoly on the market, at least here in Australia. They have a great reputation but it's a lot of money for what is essentially just a few bits of plastic and metal. I couldn't bring myself to spend even more money on a matching swift.

Other more mechanically minded crafters have made their own swifts with bits of wood and/or child's toys. I've settled for the moment for jamming skeins of yarn around my knees or across my chest as I wind.

I was a bit worried that I had essentially p*ssed away $70 on a useless gadget but I've been using it the last few nights to rewind balls of frogged yarn and it is really, really good. Not only does the yarn winder make up nice neat little cakes of yarn that stack nicely, are easy to use and are no longer being pulled out of shape due to over-tight winding, but I find the whole process of turning the handle and feeding the yarn through my fingers very, very soothing.

No wonder people get into spinning. I want to learn to spin now.

Maybe after I move to the new place.

It's not a hat, it' s not a headband, it's a Calorimetry

It's not a hat, it' s not a headband, it's a Calorimetry.

I'm wearing my Calorimetry as I type. It is so comfortable and warm and practical and I know I will be making more of them.

Finally I know what to do with less than a skein of lovely expensive Noro that I don't want waste.

I ended up knitting this in one evening while watching TV. I'm glad I read everyone else's comments about sizing on Ravelry as I ended up casting on just 100 stitches and using 4mm needles and it fits perfectly.

And I think I have enough Cashmere Island left to make up a matching pair of mitts.

Cashmere Island ZigZag scarf finished

It's so soft and squishy! I'm contemplating making a matching Calormetry.

The Stashaholic

In preparation for an upcoming move, I have finally put (most of) my stash into storage crates. I have 5, 16-litre plastic boxes literally full of yarn. And this doesn't include my secret stash at work. Or any orders that may or may not still be coming my way.

Ad it's all (well mostly all) good stuff. I discarded the novelty and acrylic crap a long time ago.

Be afraid. Very afraid. I know I am.

Finished object!

I'm really chuffed how this turned out. But Phill's not getting matching mitts anymore. I have a much better idea for the remaining orange yarn...

More stash acquisitions - 4-ply yarn

I don't even like sock/fingeringweight/4-ply yarn but I couldn't resist any of the following for a variety of reasons.

Koigu Premium Merino
I had heard so much about this yarn on the knitting blogosphere that when some came up for sale on the Australian Knitters Board, I couldn't resist. It certainly looks and feel gorgeous.

Kauni EQ
Shot to fame when the Yarn Harlot knitted a sweater out of this; bought during a 15% off sale at Astrid's Dutch Obsessions. Beautiful rainbow colours tucked inside. The yarn is quite rough to touch but I've read it softens up with washing.

Kauni ET
The purple, black and grey version. I love the colours, and if I'm paying shipping all the way from Holland for the rainbow Kauni EQ, I might as well get it...

Trekking Hand Art
Again, I loved the colours, it was 15% off and I had already paid the shipping from Holland.

Grignasco Bambi
This one really wasn't my fault - it was a gift from my last Australian Knitters' Swap partner. But isn't the colour fantastic?

Progress on SES hat

My friend Phill is a volunteer with Victoria’s State Emergency Service. Amongst other things, he goes out on the coldest, windiest, wettest nights of the year to help clear trees which are blocking the road or have fallen onto people’s homes. And he doesn’t earn a cent for this community work. So when he asked for a beanie in SES colours, of course I was happy to contribute what I could. The hat is about 80% done. I should have enough orange left over to make a matching pair of mitts.