The wheels on the bus go round and round!

I have arrived at work super early this morning, so am taking this opportunity to kick off my heels, settle at my desk and update about my day of public transporting yesterday!

So I left home at about 6:45am, shveetie gave me a lift to the bus stop (and I made him late when I couldn't find my shoes!! Sorry sugar!!) and I bussed off at 7:07. Arrived at the train station and trained into the city to transfer, went to the wrong platform so had to scoot over to a different one, thought I wouldn't make it, could see the train I needed sitting there just about ready to zoom off without me.... But I made it! It turned out that train was out of service and zoomed off without anybody! So the little delay waiting for a real one meant I made it to work at 8:41, later than I had wanted as I start at 8:45, but in time none-the-less :)
And the awesome thing is.... for that whole time.. I was knittin *grin* I got about two feet done on Skoota's scarf, and on my way home did some more on the scarf and some knitting on my sock, read the latest Knit1 magazine, looked out the window... And was generally completely chilled out and relaxed!! It's a long time to be travelling, but I think definately a few days a week it'll be worth it simply for morale and the relaxation factor! Plus I'm so productive on public transport!! :D

Today I drove in as I didn't have the right sort of yen to pay the driver, and I actually made very good time, left quite early and missed all the stinky traffic - hooraaay!!

I've been getting super excited about Christmas Crafts too *glint in eye* And have downloaded a bunch of different sorts of patterns (can't say too much.. who knows who's reading?! Can't give the gifty surprise away!!) some of which I'll alter before getting to work on. And I've got a few litle plans floating about in my head to try as well. Excitingly, today's payday, which means if I get off work early enough (I worked some extra time yesterday) I might be able to stop past the craft store and get some supplies!! Oooohhh it's lovely and fun doing Christmas Crafts! If anyone has any favourite Chrissie projects do please share them with me! Leave a comment or send me an email with the details of your fabulous designs :)

I haven't any relevant photos to this post, but always like to put one in for interest's sake, plus I'm a sucker for shiny, colourful, pretty things! So here's a fabulous photo I saw once depicting an aurora as seen from space - I don't know if it's an actual satallite shot, or whether it's a photoshop image for illustrating purposes only, but it's awesome all the same :)

One adventure I definately want to have a shot at is experiencing both aurora borealis and aurora australis - imagine the colours!

ohmigosh ohmigosh!

Wheee!
Lookit! Lookit!!
*points excited at sidebar and jumps about with glee*
I've figured it out!! I've figured it OUT!!!
I still need to figure out how to put up a button picture and have that actual button link to the site, rather than having a separate link above it and the picture link back to flickr, but I've got links up - Hooooraaayyy!!! :) :) :)

My lovely Dad's coming over for lunch today, so I've gotta get cracking and make the house a bit more presentable - but it's so much fun adding buttons!! Wahee!!

Oooh in other news, aaalll my purple tops is now spun up! I love it I. LOVE. IT! I've saved one tiny slither of it to show Dad when he comes around :D

Love struck!

I very soon have to get my things together and dash out the door to the CityNits StichnBitch, but this simply couldn't wait, I had to share the news!!

I'M IN LOVE!

I am absolutely besotted with SPINNING!!!! oooooohh the fabulousness that is the rhythm of the wheel, the relaxation of passing the fibre through your hands and magically yarn streaming out the other end and whizzing around onto the bobbin! *smitten sigh*

For a while now I've been wanting to learn to spin, but didn't want to throw myself into it in a bad way by buying a wheel without even knowing what type would suit me, or what type of spinner I would be, having had NO prior experience with spinning at all. So I emailed a few spiners, Pixie, the Yarn Wench etc.. and everyone seemed to give the same wise advice - if at all possible TRY before you BUY! Find a spinning shop, or a fibre festival or a guild or something and go from there. Well.. I found it hard to get to 'there' to go from! Try as I might I couldn't find any sources of spinning-ness in W.A! Then my shweetum came to the rescue and found the Handspinners, Weavers and Dyers Guild of W.A - Hoooorayy!!

So a couple of weeks ago I went to my first meeting of the Guild, signed up, met all the lovely ladies there and hired a wheel (an Ashford Traveller) from their extensive collection! Waheee!!! Yes, they HIRE wheels!!! So I don't need to buy a wheel with only a cursory introduction to how it works, I can hire one for a few months from the Guild, then try another style for a few months and so on, til I've tried GAZILLIONS of them and know exactly which one I like the best! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!! Can you feel the excitement? Can you?!

I went back yesterday for the next Guild meet up, and this one was a specific Spinners day. The first day I was there I'd been taught the rudimentaries of spinning, but in the two weeks between then and yesterday's meeting, hadn't really gotten the knack of it, or had much time to devote to practising. I could spin for a little bit, but my rhythm would fail, or the thread would break, I just couldn't seem to get it down. But yesterday, sitting with the ladies with our wheels all in a circle, chatting and spinning, I got it. I got it! They gave me a few little tips, and another demonstration, and somehow it clicked and now I'm spinning like the wind and completely in LOVE with it!!! Of course, I could never be unfaithful to my true love, the gorgeous sveetie, but he understands my infatuation with all that is spinny, he's as entrhalled as I am!!

Before the end of the day yesterday I asked the ladies to show me how to ply, so we set it all up and I was given a quick demo, then the yarns passed over to me to continue and it was BRILLIANT! SO much fun!! So I came home with a little mini skein alll done up and lovely!

Skoota was equally as excited as me and this morning I gave him a demo of the plying process and he helped me skein it up *contented smitten sigh* how extremely lovely and blissful :) At the moment I'm spinning quite an even sort of thread, with a few little fluffy bumps here and there, but I'm adoring the way it turns out all plied and knittable! So rustic and divine! Skoot doesn't want me to keep practising, he doesn't want the fluffy bumps to go away! He figures, why hand-make something that looks like it's made in the factory?! I agree, and figure the more I spin the more in control of the coils and fluffs and other textures I'll become, so I can intentionally place them on the yarn, then it will truly be art! Yay!

Yay for spinning!!!! *massive grin*

Bad blogger!!!

So by now you may think me a bad and troublesome blogger? Send me to the corner for timeout!!
But I have a reason for being so tardy and leaving my poor blog so alone and forlorn for so long, truly I do...

LOOK!!!!



Our poor computer has been very VERY crook!! Skoota worked wonders (and worked his butt off!) and has managed to fix it all up, but geeeez did it give us a run for our money! Skoot'd been playing around with the computery innards, setting up our exciting 5.1 surround sound set up which we can play through the TV and computer too, I came up and gave him a little shoulder kneading, and unbeknownst to us I transferred not only relaxing massagic energy but STATIC ELECTRICITY from my sparky self to him (he's very unsparky so never wears a wrist band earthing doodad) and fried the computer!!! Gah! So shweetum checked it all out the next day, it turned out not the be the video card as we had first suspected that was demolished by my sparkiness but the motherboard *collective groan* so $260 later we had the parts to put it all right again. But then it simply would NOT be friendly and took the lovely shweetum a good 5 HOURS of his weekend to arse around trying to fix it up - argh!

Argh on his behalf of course, as while it does fret me so to see skootla vexed, and have our computer out of action, I actually enjoyed a very relaxing and lovely Sunday - no computer mechanics for ME! I've been really tired lately, harder and harder to get out of bed in the morning and feeling ultra fatigued and sluggish at work. Pooh pooh! I don't know what it is, but I decided last week that I would get heaps of chores and things done on the Saturday so on the Sunday I could have a Pajama Day. Mmm!! For those of you not familiar with the beauty and virtues of a Pajama Day, it's a day where one endeavours to remain in one PJs ALL. DAY. Preferably no leaving the house, except for pleasant dozes in the backyard sunlight or such, but definately no errands, no chores, and no obligations. A day all for ones-self to enjoy, relax, and rejuvenate. Aaahhhhhh *contented sigh* So while shweetly was tinkering and tonkering with the occassional burst of curses (well deserved on the computer's part) I sat on the couch for moral support, knitting away and chatting with him or simply being a sympathetic by-sitter.

Suffice to say I've gotten quite a lot done on a few knitting projects. Can you believe that I've been knitting now for probably 4 or 5 months and haven't finished A THING!! Not one single thing!! Skoot has a wearable scarf, but the DESIGN's not finished!!It's technically only half a scarf!! Sheez!! So I'm desperate to get some lovely knitted items actually completed! I've only got *pauses to count up* three items on the go! Just the three!! But it seems I haven't heaps of time in my day to really sit down and crank out many rows - how poo is that?!

However! ... Today on my drive to work I was again stuck in peak hour traffic (just like every day) and again sat in the car for over an hour (like I do everyday) inching my way all the way from where I live in to work. ugh. And as I got out of the car I thought "That's it! THAT'S IT!! No more!" and made the decision to one way or another stop the foolishness that is me spending 2 HOURS in a car EVERY WORK DAY commuting - how crap! So I've checked out on the Transperth journey planner (a thing of beauty I reckon) my options and have found it'll still take me an hour to get to work on public transport, but the difference is, that's a full hour I can spend knitting, or reading or what have you while pod-listenin, instead of sitting in a hot car with my right arm getting baked pod-listenin. FABULOUS!! So I shall try out this method for a while to see if it works, and if it doesn't.. I'l just have to quit and find work somewhere down here! But if it DOES work.. *cunning look* think of all the knitting projects I'll get to finish so quickly!! *wicked grin*

I shall post the details of my current knitting projects shortly, but for now I'm going to have a crack at placing some buttons and progress bars into the side bar - eeee! How exciting!! Ann left me a great helpful comment (Thanks Ann!!), and I've got the theory of how it works - adding html to the template, but as to where in the template to place the html?? That's a different story!! So wish me luck!! :)

Geekiness is failing me!

*plea for help*

I'd love to be able to place things like this, and buttons linking to other peoples blogs and sites, progress bars for my WIPs etc.. in the side bar of my blog, but I can't figure it out!!
If anyone out there in blogland has some hot tips on how to do it with blogger, PLEASE enlighten me!! I will be so super grateful and send you many warm fuzzies and imaginary baked goods!
So here's my little geeky Harry Potter shield I imagine would look nice in the side bar.. if only my geekiness would extend to technical programming knowledge!!

The sorting hat says that I belong in Gryffindor!

Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those with brave deeds to their name."

Students of Gryffindor are typically brave, daring, and chivalrous.
Famous members include Harry, Ron, Hermione, Albus Dumbledore (head of Hogwarts), and Minerva McGonagall (head of Gryffindor).

Take the most scientific Harry Potter
Quiz ever created.

Get Sorted Now!

Gingerbull Red-bread Man

MmmmnnnngAAahhhhh shhhnnaaa...
*mumbles and slurs, eyes half closed, barely upright on chair*

Geeeez today was a CUH-RAAAZY day at work! I am completely knackered! I don't know whether it's because school's going back tomorrow so adults are back to thinking about their needs and issues (rather than being distracted or overwhelmed by holidaying kiddies) or what it is but FAR OUT!!!! Monday's are normally busy, but this is ridiculous!! My fabulous workmate Sharon and I were totally inundated with calls, appointment re-sheduling, urgent clients in crisis to organise.. you name it it was on our desk! Neither of us were able to take our normal full break, Sharon took a quick walk down to the cafe for a take away coffee, to at least get some fresh air, then back to the office and the odious phones! Then I tagged out and similarly needed a break from the office so walked down to the cafe.... and.... I simply had to. No choice involved, I had to have them...

I call my day... *dramatic pause* ...

Gingerbull Red-bread man!!

Because that is what I needed to make the day survivable!! Plus that's pretty much how garbled my speech has been since leaving for home!

It really wasn't THAT unbearable, just super UBER busy which is never pleasant. I had done so much frantic scribbling that by the end of the day my hand was SORE with writers crampingness! Gah!

I've started to give less to my job than I used to. I was one of those people (and still am a little) who gets to work super early (mainly because the traffic's better earlier in the a.m) and starts working right then! Then at lunch I'll go and sit at a computer to do my personal emailing etc.. or maybe sit in the staff room or run some errands. But I have learnt the folly of my ways - no self care, no rest time, and no escape from the aircon office-i-ness. So I've started to go out to cafes or to a park to sit and knit in my breaks :) Mmmmmm it's so nice :) Last time I was at the park a trio of ducks trotted past me let out a gentle discussion of "mmwacck" "bbwwackk" "mwackk" as they toddled on by. How I'd LOVE to have ducks in my yard and my yard to be a farm!!

Today I didn't get much done knitting-wise - I only managed two DPNs-worth while having a quick sitdown and scoff. But they are progressing very nicely :) I'm about an inch or so away from starting my heel - yay!!

Socktober-Sash!

Wheee!!! Socksies rocksies - I'm completely adoring the sock knitting adventure!

Today at work I found myself somewhat agitated and more easily irritable.. why was all this work getting in my way when my purpose is to KNIT! Knit damn you!! hehe I managed to placate my inner (and outer!) knitter by retreating at lunch time to a lovely cafe and sitting in a nice big wingback chair and knit knit knitting away between sips of my vanilla milkshake. So much knit knit knitting in fact that I didn't leave in time and took an extra half hour of lunch - so engrossed!!

So I've finished the second part of the toe - very VERY awesome! I love that I've got my head around it, I'm understanding what I'm knitting while I'm knitting it - not blindly making stitches and hoping it's all ok. I feel more confident when I feel I'm on the same page as my pointy sticks - it feels I'll be able to better communicate with the knitted fabric and undo any errors nice and early, or stop them in the making even!

So here's my little socksie toe-sie *proud and excited grin*

For any non-knitters - the little gummi bears are not (unfortunately) extremely delicious sugary treats, but little needle corks! Well that's not their proper name I'm sure but that's sort of how they work, like an inverted cork. They have a little *ahem* hole in their bottom... into which you insert (ouch) the ends of the five DPNs (Double Pointed Needles) so it ends up looking a bit like a chinese finger trap - completely fabulous as it stops a) losing needles everywhere in bag/purse/pocket and b) dropping stitches *cue horror movie scream sound effect* So all in all just about as useful as the extremely delicious sugary treats i also carry in my knitting bag *grin*

I feel so electric with excitement knitting on the sock and learning another new skill, shaping the toe with short row shaping and picking up the stitches and making them live *ZAP* again! Wheee!

Of course this makes me now an official participant in

Socktoberfest 2006!

Yay!

I decided I'd sign up for Socktoberfest and knit my first pair of socks in October as part of the socky knit along, I had even ordered some DIVINE sock yarn off the net coincidentally a short time before, so fancied it perfect for the task! I would knit some socks and some knitty Fetching mitts out of the delectable Sunshine Yarns sock yarn (in Welsh Green Dragon colourway - How awesome and Harry Pottery is THAT?!), however the sock yarn did not arrive in time so being that the SnB was last night so I was having my first tutorial and needed yarn I've started my sockies with Meilenweit Cotton Maya, in a colourway I adore - it makes me think of the freshness and lightness of spring *breathes in nice big lungful of clear cool air with light floral scents of freshly blooming flowers*

NOTE: have just had big deja vu -ish feeling as if I've already blogged about the Sunshine yarns.. I'm too tired to look back to see if I have and faff around editting, so If i have and you've heard it all before.. youget another enthralling and jealous-making rendition - consider yourselves luck *wink*

It's actually ok that the Dragon hadn't arrived, as now I can get my sock knitting technique down before I crack out the fancy handpainted! So I was planning to try the "dividing of the stitches amongst the other needles" thing tonight, but now I'm a bit knackerd and I don't fancy stuffing it and not being able to refix it. So I'll give it a whirl tomorrow and see how I go! Next SnB is on Saturday arvo so that'll be good - in case I can't figure out what I'm doing now and need the fabulous Helen (she's SO AWESOME!! Such a fabulous, friendly, down to earth and helpful friend *warm fuzzies to Helen*) to give me another of her brilliant tutorials! Helen's of Knitting Inspirations and is the lovely lady starting me on my sockin adventure!

Righto! More on the SnB and my sockies and other WIPs tomorrow or sometime soon thereafter, for now it's.. Off to the boudoir to watch some Black Books with my shveetie!!!! I'm in need of some British humour and some sleeeep!

*MAD CRAZY NOISES*

I'VE LEARNT TO KNIT SOCKS AND IT'S INCREDIBBBLLLEEEE!!!!!!!!!!
*pant pant*
Am still only doing my toe but it's AWEEESSOOMMEE!!! I'm LOVING IT LOVING IT!!socky ingredients (in great light at SnB), and startedness of socking(in bad light!)

Show time!

So my Saturday excitement was a trip to the...

PERTH ROYAL SHOW!!

Hooray!! I hadn't been since I was a little tacker, or in my early teens anyway, and have mostly thought of it as a big mass of crowds, loud sprukers, rides I'm not prepared to pay the exorbitant prices for and showbags I'm not interested in. But in my dismissiveness over the years I had forgotten an important (and huge!) element... The demonstrations and exhibitions! So just in time I decided I'd go along and check out any sort of fibre-y stuff they had there (being extremely jealous of all these fancy Wool and Fibre Festivals the US seems to have), and the more I checked out their websites and saw the displays and things they had going on, the more desperately I wanted to go! So I tee-ed it up with one of my bestiest buds, who was planning to go along with her partner , and we all went along together - yayyy!! And we had such a blast!

We saw so many awesome animals and brilliant ecological displays I can't WAIT to have my own farm property with ze shweetie to have a huge menagerie or animals!!

First port of call was the bird and poultry shed where our carefully colour coded and cross referenced day plan (so we all got to see and do our favourites *grin*) told us we could watch the Chook Washing demonstration (bound to be hilarious!) but NO! They had changed it on us without updated the online list - so it no longer fit within our well oiled machine-like plan of the day (which actually was turned into a spontaneous non-plan rather quickly, but all agreed the plan was handy to make sure we CHOSE to miss things rather than be disappointed later to find we had missed the tractor display or lawn mower racing. Yes, lawn mower racing.)

So next we toddled off across the (somewhat huge) showgrounds to the Alpaca sheds....

I waaaaaaaaannttt oonnnneee!!!!!!!!

Well, to be truly true, I want a whole bunch *grin* They are AWESOME! So calm and spunky lookin', gorgeous to cuddle, excellent guard-folk against foxes etc.. for other livestock, don't get footrot and other nasty skanky terrible livestock maladies, plus any animal that will provide me with LUXURY YARN straight off its back!?!! Well, they're a friend of mine!
Needless to say I picked up a bunch of brochures, information booklets etc and had a good chat to one of the ladies who had her Alpacas there on display - she suggested we get involved checking out her farm and how things work while we're researching and getting started - before we take the actual plunge. yay!

We watched and were awe-struck by the sheep dog trials - extremely clever dog-a-logs working their guts out but making it all look so easy, and having an absolute ball at the same time!
They look pretty casual in this photo, but the things the doggers could make the sheep do!! Just incredible *shakes head in wonder* Such an incredible bond between them and the guys that were comunicating to them by word, whistle or handsignal. Add sheepdogs to my menagerie list, and sign me up for the weekend workshops!

The animal nursery was a must-see, with all sorts of critters ranging from fox terriers and little bubby chicks warming themselves under incubators, to... GOATS! (add them to my menagerie list) Here's a little fellow we had a cuddle with..

Blurry shots mostly, he was skipping about a bit and playing headbutts with the other kids *grin*

He also took a chunk out of our show brochure (yummy!) and had a go nibbling my bag and even snuffled at my wrist and my yummy looking beads! You can't eat that!!

We saw a super cool pen for the billy goats with a rock setting and even a little miniature castle set atop the rock with a little wall around it, turrets and everything!This billy goat was standing proudly right on the castle! You can just see the wall around his feet, and another billy in the background getting pats, I loved their loose rustic bondage collars!

We headed to the CALM conservation area and I got even more inspired to have a worm farm, we checked out some other pavillions and things, had some grub, bought some goodies including some super funky Apple Port for shweetie! Apple port?! How bizarre I know! But it received a very positive welcome upon delivery! A most scrumptious and dleicious drop was the verdict, though a bit strong for me :) I also got us some super yummy gourmet chocolate... mmm oraganic milk & dark, plus two blocks of dark organic with WINE INFUSED CURRENTS THROUGH IT!! Now, I'm not a wine person, but the folks convinved me to sample & far out I'm so glad I did!!! Mmmmmmm *bit of drool escapes lips* So i've been munching on that, but trying to restrain myself so it lasts a little.. I even shared some with guests the other night! To part with gourmet chocolate so freely?! - Unbelievable! Chocolate so good it even makes the eater behave so!

But the most unbelievable thing was the purchase I made in the wool sheds.. Not surprising actually given the name of the sheds! But SO EXCITING!!
Loooooooook!!!

FFFLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEECEE!!!!!

How excitement!! They're both Corriedale fleece, the darker fleece is a gorgeous darkashgrey colour 2.4kg and I think it's all pre-prepared. The creamy white fleece isn't washed yet, so I had a go the other day but was a bit rough I think, so the little amount I did (sitting on top all fluffy and white!) felted a little in some spots. Still, it was good fun to give it a go! See the awesome crimpy crinkle of the locks in the close-up shot? *awe*

So my Royal Show experience was complete, I even got to come away with some fleece - it feels almost like a wool and fibre festival, only with more stuff going on to watch and do! Even if we were completely knackered from so much trotting back and forth across the grounds, we had an awesomeness time and I'll definately be up for it again next year!

Excitement Supreeeeme!!

There are SO many things I want to post about.
So SO many excitements have been happening lately my mind is reeling with bright colours and sparkly distractions, I must calm myself and post them ONE by ONE - not splurge them all into one giant post!

*tries to calm self*

So I shall begin with Friday and work my way forwards (and backwards - gah!) from that!

I have had a fabulous weekend *massive grin* Even starting Friday, I've had a fabulous Friday-and-weekend!! How spoilt is THAT!?! So, my scrumptious has had this week off work, and on Friday I get a message from him "Would it make your day if there's a package for you at home?"
EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! A PACKAGE!!!!!!
So of course I exploded into hysterical excitement, dancing about the office extolling the virtues of The PACKAGE! There were only two things I knew were on their way to me across the seas.. only two orders I had made of which The Package could be one.. So that meant The Package could be only one thing....

*~. YAAARRRRRNNNNN!!!!!!!!!! .~*

And sure enough, there on The Package was the label :
SO I KNEW!!
Carefully I cut away the packing tape and voila!!! The gorgeous booty which lay inside was REVEALED!!!! Allow me to introduce you to...

Fresh!
Morning Glory Bower!

and

Berry Parfait!Yaaaaaaaayyy!!! *sash goes wild*

I can tell you, this is such. stunning. yarn. It is so beautifully coloured and the merino so soft, Lynn of Yarn Wench is an incredible spinner and artist *many warm fuzzies sent to Lynn* Fresh is by far my favourite, and the reason I actually ordered in the first place. But in person, the yarn is even better than I had imagined. Lynn's weaved sparkles through it like fine faery spider webs - it is divine.

Here's the photo my darl took of me holding my favourite! See how maniacally happy I look! There's madness in them eyes...

Then I picked them all up and was snuggling into their lush softness, Shweetie took this photo before wandering off muttering something about my "sick obession"....
I didn't pay any attention and kept snuggling. The Morning Glory Bower in particular is SO SOFT!

So there you have it! The divine, the delicious and delectable Friday package!! Who knows what I shall choose to knit with them, or whether I'll knit Fresh up at all! It's such a very nice skein to carry around and gaze adoringly at.... But whatever is knit of them, it will be fantastic - I mean look at those SKEINS!!

A new skill to feather the quill!

Oooooohhhh!! I'm so thrilled to bits!
I completed my first cabled swatch last night! Whee!!
I do a lot of reading about knitting, listening to podcasts on knitting, parusing of magazines about knitting.. so I felt confident about the theory of making cables, but had never tried it in practice. Last night I showed ma shweetie the picture of the knitty.com Fetching gloves/mitts I plan to make and he was stunned, and said "you can do THAT?!" so I said, well I think I could! So whipped out some yarn and had a go! Hoooray! :) Sweetie's super impressed, says he finds cabling perplexing - how do you make the knitting GO like that?! I'm absolutely stoked! I'm so glad I put my mind and theory into practice, it's awesome to know you actually CAN do something, not just think you can! Can't wait to get cracking on the lovely mitts! And anything else with cables for that matter! How brilliant to have another knitting technique to add to my skill quill!! (imagine a quill of arrows with different lovely coloured feathery ends!)