Oh so dreamy

Oh. My. GOODNESS!

Most times when a package arrives on my dorstep, or I pick up a new and exciting item out comes the camera straight away to document the unwrapping and unveiling process for a blog post truly rich with illustration. But not this time!! Ooohh no! Although I did restrain myself on the drive home, sometimes holding the plastic wrapped Options binder set on my lap, or gazing yearningly over at it on the passenger seat on my drive home from Helen's place - as soon as I got home and had hugged the shveetie I whipped out the pack gabbled to him about how brilliant it was and it has this feature and that feature, all the while removing the wrapping, unzipping and basking in it's knitterly glory. So it was only when I had all the goodies out of their packets and spread out on the floor before me to set them up in the awesome elegant binder than I thought to take a shot of it!

aaaaahhhhhhh
*basks*

Skoot was suitably excited and stoked to see how thrilled I am with the set! See.. I was hoping with all my knitterly heart that I would like knitty with them, and thus would be justified in buying the whole set - because otherwise, why buy a whole matching awesome interchangeable set of needles you don't like and so will never use?! I was cautious because the addi turbo I used to swatch my clapotis yarn really didn't do it for me. It seemed a little... un-smooth. Not rough as such, but just.. it gave me the sort of feeling inside like a mild version of a fork across a plate - that sort of metal on metal put-your-teeth-on-edge feeling. But when I tried one of the needles from Helen's set it took me only a short cast on and row to feel the smoothness, the glide of the needles across each other.. ooohh my it was float away blissful knitting!!

SOLD!!

hehe I am loving them more and more with each time I get to fondle them, knit with them, or gaze adoringly at them! One of the screw in ends wouldn't go in all the way, but magical Skoota with his magical skills is going to fix it up for me - and if that still doesn't work, Fabulous Helen said she'll chase up the manufacturer's for a replacement - but it doesn't seem a big deal, Magical Skoota said i could even over-ride the little "dag" in the thread by simply screwing it in really firmly.. but they feel like my lovely silken, precious princess needles and I LUFF them! So we'll do it the fancy pants Magical Skoota way instead :) It's handy (and lovely) having a skoota around *smitten smile* Oooh and the cables are so flexy and lovely.. mmm.. So many good things can be said about these divine delicious needles!

So it didn't take me long to swap my Tahki Dongeal tweed swatch off my bamboos and onto the Princesses!!

From there I zoooooomed along, the knitting seemed the fly from the needles, one slick, smooth, dreamy stitch at a time!

Finished! I'm really curious to see how it turns out after washing and blocking. The finished fabric doesn't feel as rough now it's knitted up from the yarn - but it's still reasonably course. This isn't a huge drama as I'm knitting it into the Hoodie so I'll almost always have a t-shirt or something else underneath. So we'll see how it goes!


Did I mention I love them?

Ack!!

Blogger has gone bananas!!

I didn't think I'd changed that much in the template and now lookatit!!

The sidebar's all crazy yoga and I couldn't get the recent posts to do what I told it to... gah!

Definately seems like a job for.... Super Michelle!! hehehe There was superhero music there, I hope you know *wink* Yes indeed, about time for a blog makeover with the help of Super Michelle, Momo-Powered Designing skills! hehe =)

IN OTHER NEWS.....

The knit picks options needles have arrived!!! I didn't think I'd get the whole set rightaway because I normally don't dig metal needles but I tried them at fabulous Helen's and I LOVE THEM and they're aweesome awesome AWESOME!! I'm SO THRILLED TO BITS!! *does crazy arm flailing jumping about excited happy dance* I LOVE that I adore them! I now have a brilliant, stunning, practical, elegant matching set of DELICIOUSNESS!! Can't wait to knit knit knit all day stinky work in the way!! More pics and actual review to come! I would have posted about the DIVINE needles yesterday but.. I was using them!!!

There's jam in my donut

One of my favourite sayings is "Who took the jam out of your donut?" Meaning - what's gotten up your nose, what's bothering you etc.. And it seems this last month or more I've used it quite a bit... leaving me with a rather insatiable craving for a jam donut myself!!

So yesterday I did the deed, I had myself a tasty, sugar coated, jam donut! For breakfast no less!! I really could have done without it, being that I'm focusing on health at the moment PLUS I now fit into a pair of pants I haven't been able to wear for quite some time - YAY!!! =D But the lure of the jam donut I had covetted for so long was too strong - I decided to indulge and enjoy - yum!

So there definately is jam in my donut =)

A picture tells a story of a thousand words

So in the spirit of that saying, and because I want to start knitting NOW.. here's a quick picture post!

[The yacht amidst the yachts and the lads on board- if you look super closely you can see the handspund handknit birthday beanie too *grin*]

Our weekend away was spent mostly around one of Albany boat ports as we were helping our mate prep his wind-thief for the big sail. Beautiful weather, big tall blue skies, sea birds, pelicans, fish, squid and all sorts - including me donning my fins and mask to dive beneath the boat and jetty to retrieve a staunchon dropped over-board mid-weld! Brrrr!!!

[Billy on board]

We were blessed with the company of the cuddly, clever cutie Billy dog - she and I enjoyed many relaxing good times on the bow together soaking up the sunshine and serenity =)

[Red dirt and revs]

When we'd had enough of sitting around waiting for our ol' pirate mate to sort out his bits and bobs, we took off with his gorgeous and gung-ho son (but not in the kidnapping way) and introduced him to the world of pit bikes!

[ooooeerrrr.. the packarge!]

And what was there to meet us when we arrived home from our tiring long drive?

[Eeeeeeeeeee!!!]

The Tahki Stacey Charles Donegal Tweed in liiiiimmee greeeeeennn!! Wheeee!! *does crazy excited dance running around room waving arms about*

[The bounty laid out for all to admire!]

I ordered 2 more skeins than required JUST in case - I'd hate to be caught short and have to scrounge around trying to source the same dyelot, ship it over yyyaahh yah and so on = nightmare. So I went the safe options with my PIRATE'S BOOTY OF YARN!! hehehe I'm so excited =) If I have heaps left over I can make a matching something!! Feels quite rough, which is surprising and a bit disappointing. But I'll see what happens to my swatch before I cry myself to sleep over less-than puppy-soft yarn. Besides, it's a hoodie, so I'll be wearing it over other items of clothing, so softness isn't paramount. And I love love LOVE the colours =D

[old fashioned windings!]

I unwound the skein and wound it loveingly into a ball, the old-style way, as my swift and winder and still on a sleep over :) And it was super duper fun! Can't wait to get knittin!

p.s. I'm chuffed!! Skoot and I had put the tellie on ready for Top Gear but found that the news was only just starting on most channels.. whaaatt? Then we realised that W.A had turned off daylight savings and back to normal time and left us unawares! So to my delight I have an extra hour of knitting time tonight - woohooo! =D

Bootiful Birfday Beanie!!

Yipeee!! *jumps about with joy and glee*
The hand-dyed, hand-spun, hand knit birthday beanie is completed!!

Skoot is absolutely thrilled to bits with it and hasn't taken it off yet - even though it's not really that chilly yet! He was especially touched that it's the first item I've ever knit up out of my own handspun. =) And I'm especially excited by that too! It turned out better than I could've imagined *beams*


I swatched with about 4 different needles, and with the yarn doubled or single stranded, and finally decided on size 6 1/2mm straights (in red no less!!) single stranded. I had to alter the Meathead Hat pattern as my gauge was different, but with a little bit of maths I got it sorted and off I went!

A very quick knit, and super fun =D I'm a particular fan of the little tiny peak at the top - it looks like a gumnut hat SnugglePot and CuddlePie would wear!!

[Snugglepot and Cuddlepie - May Gibbs' fabulous gumnut babies]
As I was seaming it up I realised there's no reason it can't be a reversable beanie.. so I left two little tassley bits on the top of the purl side - tada!!! (hehhe me at my most attractive!)

Turns out I even have some yarn left over! So I'm planning some co-ordinated mitts, or maybe another scarf... There's not enough handspun lft to do a full scarf, or mitts, but I'll use it as the accent at the cuffs or ends *schemes a plan*

A bit of country air

We've packed our bags and hit the road! Off to Albany for a longish weekend (both taken a day off work - whee!) to help a mate of skoot's get his boat ready to sail over to Tassie - Yikes! From Albany to Tasmania he'll have to sail across the bite (hehe) at the bottom of Australia which is pretty much like driving across the nullabor but even more so - you need to take MORE fuel than you'll need, more water than you'll need and be prepared!! Although Skoot's working diligently away at the moment while I sit at this bookstore 'net spot and post (now that's blog commitment!!) it's really good, as always, to get outta the city for a while and enjoy the country scenery - and Skoota'll be freed from his duties soon so then the real holiday'll start!

I swatched with the Silk Road Ultra on the way down and last night sitting in the boat before bed, and it is GORGEOUS!!! It is simply stunning - such lovely stitch definition, and feels glorious to knit with - imagine wearing it!!

I've taken clapotis with me too to cast on and see how I go =) Rather excited about that - might have to find a nice cafe somewhere with a view and sit for an hour or so knit knit knittin! But for now I'm off up the street to find the knitting store! Yay! I've checked out the sizeable craft store here already, and they had quite a large range of the standard sort of things - nothing tempting though. So we'll see what the specific Knit Store can offer!! It's a good thing if there's nothing to tempt me though - we're saving the dosh quite nicely at the moment, and I don't want to spoil our run!!

Pictures when I get home and upload =)

Rings on her fingers, bells on her toes...

AND KNIT STICKS ON HER WRISTS!!!!
Wheee!!

I saw picture of a knittie bracelet like this on a website somewhere once and decided that I must must have some!! I wanted to have a go at making them myself and tried a few different heating methods to get the needles soft enough to mould!

AND I ADORE THEM!!!
Modelled here by Happy Cloud =)
I shall wear mine everywhere and at all times!! Hooraaayyy!!!

p.s. I did a search to find a link to the original image I saw, and it took me here! Liana Kabel has created other fantastic artistic items too! Check her out!

Knitterly lovelies from The Knittery

I've arranged the purchase of two lovely jubblies skeins of purple blue delight from The Knittery to add to my warm, delightful stash! And the bonus is they're Aussie yarns, and at 10% off thanks to kind and gracious Yin! Yay!

Moonlight 2ply Merino

Seabreeze 2ply Merino

Yummy!
I've bought two skeins, one for the flowerbasket shawl I'll be knitting up for my Gran as she loves wisteria purple and jacaranda blues, and the other for my Secret Pal who's a big fan of purple! Shhhh!!!

Top Secret Pals

I am already having such a blast with my first go at Secret Pal, and it has only just begun!!

Now I not only have the identity of my spoilee, but my spoiler has MINE!! EEEEEeeee!!!! She (he? nah, I think SP is a she:) are you? hehehe) emailed me today and introduced herself (secretly and mysteriously of course) and I'm so thrilled!!

THANKS SECRET PAL!!! =D

She's a spinner and knitter as well - how excitement! I'm finding it so hard to focus on the day's work and not go reading blogs and investigating gift items! Must... focus!

In other news, some FO pics and news to come *wink*

Secret Pal is ON!!

Wooohooo! After many days of sympathy for my poor Secret Pal Hostess who had a foul and evil stomach virus, and many long looong days of anticipation, checking my email every few hours.. I've been matched with my Secret Pal!!

I am SO excited and can't wait to sit down and cruise through her blog getting to know her!

So that probably means I'm now someone's secret pal spoilee.. !!

Hiii Secret Pal!! Thank-you for being my Spoiler! =D *hug*

This is all so much fun already! But must be disciplined and get back to work.. maybe just a bit more blog reading..

This is SO much fun!!

=D =D =D

Skoot's birthday fluff is plying up FANTASTICALLY!!

I'm having such a blast and adoring ADORING the yarn!
Look at the colour graduation in this singles from the black/grey through white to pink and red!

EEeeeee!!!!!

*gets straight back into the plying fray*

Re-run with pretties!

Phew! The microwave is whirring away in the background, my hands are dusted with talc and the kitchen smells faintly of warm, moist wool - This can mean only one thing..

I've been dyeing again! =D

Or, more accurately, in the process of dyeing again! The microwave tings every now and then prompting me to leap up from the computer and swap fiber bowls around, rinse etc.. See, it turns out that the 200g or so of fiber I've dyed and spun up for skoota's (ever-approaching) birthday giftie does NOT look like it'll be enough! Alright, don't panic.. I have a plan! I've taken tomorrow off work - and all day I plan to spin, knit and create funtasteric celebratory treats!! Wheee! hehe This of course also results in a three day weekend and a potential sleep-in, neither of which are to be sneezed at. ;)

A couple of pretties to share too - yum yum for my tum! A trip to the shops after work today with a friend of mine left us both with some delightful new additions to our homes/wardrobes. We hit the mega store first for the massive homewares sale that was on, so my chica could stock up with great new gadgets and items for her new place she's moving to soon (so far away over in NSW!! Waahh!!) and I got into the homewares spirit too with a new (and much needed) quilt cover! I saw it in the cattle-dog (read: "catalogue") as we poured over it at lunchtime (she was pointing out all the bargainus things she planned to nab!) and adored it - so fresh and lovely. Plus we're down to only a few quilt covers which can make things a little monotonous - something snappy required, and at around half price why not?!

As you can see, the packaging recommends an immaculate bedroom with matching streamlined reed lamps, candles, 73 pillows, no creases in the sheets and the bedroom walls painted to match. I don't know that we'll be following quite that serving suggestion but I'm thrilled to have delicious new white sheets!!

I've been feeling lately that I need a little injection of newness, fun and such into my wardrobe, so am chuffed to have picked up (at bargain price) 3 tops! yay!

I was practically minded and picked three that will be work/play/fancy friendly for the most part - gotta love that versatility! I'm a particular fan of the golden and silver embossing printed onto clothing - this one's on a simple long white tee and looks so crisp and bright - plus it's in a viney style pattern :)

Post-purchasement we headed to Sushi Station Fuji for some grub. I'd never been to Fuji before but heard great things, particularly on Yin's blog! It certainly didn't disappoint - scrummy vegie tempura.. mmmmm..!

And to top off my outing-filled evening I stopped past Helen's for a yarny chin-wag, some super-tempting-delicious sock yarn ogling (Petals sock club and anniversary edition yarn) and of course to pick up the 2.5mm DPNs I need to get cracking on the *shhhhh!!* birthday socks *grin*

It was lovely to catch up with Helen again, chatting with a fellow knitter is always such an exciting conversation filled with exclamations over this and that, and of course sharing of knowledge and advice. Helen shared more than advice of course, being the generous knitterly pal she is! I started my journey home with my addi DPNs, but also three of her knitting books to borrow and a ball of Jo Sharp Silk Road Ultra to sample for when I knit Cleaves up!

The bonus is depending on the weekend's layout I may get to catch up with her and all the other faaabulous knitters again at Citiknits this Saturday! yay! I have to say I'm loving the fortnightly schedule - a month always seemed so long to wait!

Exitements!

That's the word 'excitements' in noun form - as in "There were many little excitements nestled in the knitting basket" meaning many items which cause excitement and glee-like emotion

*grin*

Firstly.. The new Knitty is up! Wheee! It's the spring issue and has MANY excitements amongst its digital pages!
My personal faves include Dashing, the "guy-friendly version of Fetching".

The Fetching mitts would have to be one of the most celebrated and quickly knit items in online knit-o-sphere! And I myself am indeed planning to knit up a few pairs! So it's awesome to have a less curly wurly elaborate "guy-friendly" version too!

I also liked the look of the sleeveless ultra feminine top Isabella

I love lace patterns like this that look leafy or flowery - ones that remind me of a vintage, ancient secret garden *imagination carries self away* I imagine it knit in a nice cool cotton or some such for summer.. Mmmmmm :)

and of course the cover shot - bmp the space invader fair isle socks! Brilliant! I might use that pattern to make something like a bag or a beanie or some such rather than socks - very flash! Very impressive in sock form though I must say, with the stripey heel and so on.. go have a look!

Right! That's enough traipsing over knitty.com! On to the other excitements!!

As mentioned before, the library knittin' was as always, barrels of fun. Lots of sharing of stories, hot tips, examining other people's knitted or being-knitted or soon-to-be-knitted items! I took along my wheel and sure enough it was a MEGA source of interest and intrigue! I explained the process to everyone and some people even had a shot! I arrived there a little early so was able to get started on finishing up the redblackwhite for skoot's pressie - but hadn't finished it in time so continued to spin it up when everyone had arrived. Consequently there were people quite anxious to have a go before they went home and I kept having to quell my nerves and calm myself down so I didn't feed a rushed sort of feeling into the fiber I was spinning up! It'd be terrible to give a gift full of that urgency feeling! But soon enough I'd spun it all up and was able to change bobbin for them all to have a shot! I directed them on how to draft the fiber, allow the twist to travel up the fiber in their pinched fingers, and feed it into the wheel and they all seemed to enjoy having a go! I must say it was a bit of a shock to see how difficult it was, as now I've been spinning for a few months it feels so easy!! I've forgotten the times of frustration and un-coordination!

I made sure I had time, however, to have a chat with Helen about all her recent delicious acquisitions!! She's part of the Socks the Rock Sock Club (am I envious or WHAT?!) and received a delish delish delish pack in the mail yesterday! So so cute - I'll definitely be signing upnext time they do a sock club - expense be damned!! She has some Cherry-Tree Hill yarn, tofutsies and other new delights she and Anne have ordered for Knitting Inspirations (and themselves!) too!

I was super tempted by the jungle colourway of the Lorna's Laces (such lovely solid purple and greens) she had in stock amongst the other brightly coloured Lorna's and Knittery yarns.. but I find it too hard to get past that keystone pricing dilemma.. I refuse to support companies that are unethical. I did make a purchase however *wicked grin* And I feel it's better than the Lorna's and MUCH more economic and fun too!

Et voila!!! Some fantasteric Opal sock yarn! 75% wool 25% polymide and SO super squidgy and yum! I decided *shhhhh! - looks around to make sure it's safe* to make some socks for skoot's birthday too!! =D Of course they'll be belated, but he will LOVE to get a pair of hand-knit socks! The wool is perfectly his colours - earthy and variegated - lovely!! I might try something like the Jaywalker pattern or some such :)

Super-Kelli-Most-Delicious Podcast!

(spoken in rhythm of Mary Poppin's "supercalifragilistic" expialidocious!)

The last few days I've been listening to one of the newer fiber podcasts out there - one I've only just discovered - UNWOUND - and it's FANTASTIC!!

I'm becoming addicted, much like the days of my discovery of Cast On - I'm a glutton, feasting on the back episodes, two per day!! Soon I'll be up to date, sad and forlorn that I have to wait for an update each week! hehe

Kelli lives in Alabama and produces this excellent podcast on a weekly basis. It covers knitting, crochet, book and fiber reviews, hot tips and other such juicy tid bits! I highly recommend you have a listen to this fabulous addition to the fiber podcast world!

Right, now back to work - Knittin group last night was fabbo as usual - but no time now to post about it - I want to get away early today so I need to keep my nose down and tail up!

Would you like flecks with that?

When it comes to delicious Donegal Tweed by Tahki Stacey Charles... yes I would!!

Although I haven't seen the yarn in prson yet I am SO excited about it! I've ordered 11 skeins of the lime colourway 803 - funded by my lovely Mama, who is purchasing me enough yarn for a jumper for my birthday! It's taken us a while to first of all decide on the colour and yarn - an easy choice really as the one pictured in the magazine and pattern is FANTASTIC and in my fave colour too which doesn't hurt! Plus then we had to hunt around for a store that would not only ship to Oz, but is affordable and had 11 skeins in stock!

We found oooonnnnee!! hehehe! I'ved ordered from Webs www.yarn.com so I'm hoping it'll be sorted and shipped out quite promptly as they seem to be quite a competent and large yarn store.

As mentioned on a previous post the jumper I've decided to knit up with this delicious green foresty yarn is the Central Park Hoodie from Knitscene! Yay! It'll be my first "real" garment so I'm very excited!!

But I mustn't get too far ahead of myself - I have other projects I'm thoroughly enjoying at the moment too - and MUST finish!! I've done some more spinning of the red-black-white merino which is turning out faaabulously, I'm so exicted and thrilled with it! I'll be taking my spinning wheel to Library knittin tonight to finish a second bobbin so I can ply it up when I get home. I'm sure all the knitters there will love to see the wheel too and have a go spinning even! I've brought along some undyed merino tops too - super soft and dreamy - for anyone who wants to have a fang! I'm hoping I can get it all spun up tonight, ply it when I get home so skoot can see it being plied together, then that gives me a few mor days to knit it up! Yin commented kindly on the fiber/yarn and said "nice....drool....have u found a pattern to knit with it yet?" - Thankyou Yin!! =D And yes, I do know what I'm knitting it up into.. but just in case skoota checks out the blog before his birthday I can't say.. but I'll give a little clue - it's a warm accessory garment. :)

Yesterday in my lunch break I dipped my toes in the other project I have going at the moment. Or.. almost have going! The Swallowtail Shawl from Interweave knits!

This is a picture of a gorgeous completed Swallowtail done by Trish from the SwallowTail Knit Along blog.. well one of the two KAL blogs!

I haven't knit lace before, and one of the hot tips I was given my a vetaran lacer was to have a go at the lace pattern with 8 ply or other large wool first on larger needles, so I can get an idea of the pattern and charts before I hit the teeny tiny gear! So I had a shot at it in my lunch break and booyyy is Yin right or what! She said doing up her (extremely impressive and inspiring!!) Flower Basket shawl (also her first lace project!) that she had to have COMPLETE concentration! No tv, no radio, no talking - nothing!! And I see what she means! I only went a few rows before realised I'd been purling where I should've been knitting and vice versa - as the pattern is Right Side/ Wrong Side specific - argh! hehe nevermind! So I'll be casting on for that soon! I plan to wind up one skein of sea silk tonight then lend my ball winder and swift to Helen for all her fabulous sock yarn acquisitions! I'm really looking forward to lace knitting - and it'll be super special fun as Yin, Helen, Ann and I (maybe even Michelle..?? *pokes Michelle w knitting needle*) are all going to knit the Swallow tail at the same time! yay! Our very own little knit-along! Whee! =D

Alright! Just about time for some dinner then off to the library! Planning to get there early to get some spinning done before the group lands there - from what I've seen on Helen's blog she's got loads of gorgeous yarns to fondle, books to look at and stories to share with each other so I wanna be free to do some of that too! Plus I'll need to change bobbin for when anyone wants to have a shot at it so that'll make it easier if I've finished or almost done all of skoota's :)

p.s. Over one THOUSAND individual IP addresses (so individual computers) have visited my blog! Oh my goodness!! That's so hard to get myhead around that 1000 people have potentially checked out ma blawg!

The red, black and white post!

Ta da!! =D
hehehe the boy's borthday fluff has been dyed and dried and I'm SO glad I re-did! I'm thrilled with how it's turned out! *huge grin*

I compacted it all into a lovely manageable (and super fun to peg at each other!) ball o' fluff last night, and started peeling off layers to spin with. Look how yummy, soft and RICH it looks when I draft it apart a bit before spinning!!

I'm trying to spin it uber thick, as the pattern I'm using *wink wink* requires a chunky/bulky wool. I figure if I spin it up nice and thick, then ply it it'll turn out a suitable thickness. It's really fun spinning thick yarn actually - as normally I spin a much finer style. But it's just the ticket because skoot's been particularly hankering after something made from "tow-rope" hehehee! That was how he described his first go at spinning when I brought the wheel home for the first time and we both had a go - he didn't really draft the fibers apart before he fed it through and allowed the spin to twist the fibers, so it ended up SUPER MONDO chunky!!

So it's been fun trying something a little different, and especially fun spinning up my own hand-dyed for the first time ever!! *almost maniacal excited glint in eyes*

p.s. you can see some little coils I've put in the yarn too - like little springs!
p.p.s YAY!!

Busy busy bee

oh my goodness - a week has passed without a post - I can't believe it! There has been so much happening I've wanted to post about, but it's taken up every minute of my time leaving no moment to post ANYTHING!

Where to start...

Skoot's birthday is on the horizon, so I've been busily creating away in order to have his pressie ready for him on time! He's so encouraging of my fiber arts adventures - and the other day said "Aren't you just hanging out to knit something up from your own handspun?" Which is absolutely true! I've produced multiple knittable yarns but haven't yet actually knit any of it up. So I decided his pressie would be my first hand dyed, hand spun and knit item!

So I cracked out the food colouring and set up the kitchen for some dyeing!

Starting off by wetting down the wool for a while so it would absorb the dye more easily and thoroughly, I then laid the roving out and applied the dye. The problem was I didn't have enough red and black dye to cover all the roving, so I considered it and decided to dilute some of the red dye just a little bit to make it go a bit further.

When all the wool was dyed, I zapped it in the microwave, cooled it, zapped it again, cooled it then did the big rinse out!

The strips of roving soaking looked like a giant pot of entrails - very appetising!!

But unfortunately, when I had dried the roving and brought it back inside.. it was simply too pale for what I had in mind.

I showed Skoot and he loved it - "it's like nothing I've seen before" but we both agreed when I started to spin it up that it wouldn't really be a 'wearable' colour. So I've put it aside with the plan to still spin it up and knit it - skoot loved the earthiness of the shade and didn't want me to dye over it, so I'll into some cushion covers or some such instead :)

So after hitting the shops for a huge and bottomless supply of dye I had another shot at it!!

This time I didn't hold back and DIDN'T dilute!! I had in mind a roving that was black and red but with some white undyed parts too, and maybe some speckled red amongst it.

I've now completed the process, finally all the rinsing is done leaving me with a little plate of squidgy woollen treats!

Must dash now - Off to the river for a lovely post-wedding picnic :) I'm so keen to see wheat the roving's like when I get home! It's all pinned out on the washing line now warming and drying itself in the sun!

p.s. I've now purchased some gloves, but in my first dyeing frenzy I was too keen to wait (and besides coloured hands don't actually bother me at all) so got stuck in without any glove protection. The next day I was most glamorous and professional at work with bright purple hands!!

Saturday Magic

Wow - what a fabulous Saturday!!
Delicious luxurious time spent at home with skoota, then into the City for Citiknits knitting group! Always so so much fun fun at the knitting group :) A fantastic group of knitters - I love them to bits! It was particularly special and fun as Helen gifted me with a fibery treat completely unexpectedly!! Absolutely gorgeous colours - so vibrant and electric! Helen is such a generous and thoughtful woman, she never ceases to surprise and delight me with how much she gives (not just fibery treats but support, encouragement and advice too!!) to us all and how thoroughly I enjoy chatting with her and divulging all of our knitterly desires and excitements :) Thank-you so so much Helen, you're a gem :) *hug*

I also picked up the Interweave knits Spring 07 mag which I've been hunting for a while - before it was even on shelves - oops! I really must subscribe to save money - seeing as I do buy it every time anyway! I was deliberating over whether to purchase it or not, my rule being there has to be one "OH MY GOODNESS!" pattern or two "oohh that's nice" patterns for me to purchase a knitting magazine. I learnt this from my earlier times as a much newer knitter when ANYTHING knitting was a must-have - and many magazines now lie by the wayside, completely unuseful and undesired! Think of how much money that equates to and how much YARN that could have been!!! hehe So in this issue I was intrigued by the Bonsai pattern which I think looks lovely (and of course it's in green so that grabs me immediately!!)

But the clincher was the Dollar and a Half cardigan...

HOW FABULOUS!! I love the stripes and would be happy enough were it simply all stripes, but nooo it's even more fantabulous with the different patterned side!! Adore adore ADORE!! Another project to add to my ever growing list!!

So home from knitting group I rushed so we could get our things together and zoom off to meet my lovely Papa for dinner before we went to THE CIRCUS!! Wheee!!

We were running just on time, we would have arrived there on the dot of 6pm to meet Dad... then when we were almost in the city I remembered...

THE TICKETS!!!

Noooooo!! You can imagine my utter frustrations when I realised the ticktes were still sitting safe and sound in my musical box waaaaayyy back at home. It'd be a good 50min round trip to fetch them - bye bye dinner! So we managed to make very good time in getting them and had a quick sit and drink w Dad, then the three of us strolled across town to get to the BIG TOP!

I've always been a circussy gal - went to circus school as a kid and even now as an adult I love fire twirling and other such circussy past-times. So I was super keen and super excited to see the Circus Oz show. And my goodness, they didn't disappoint!

I was absolutely gob-smacked by the extreme skill and honed talent of the performers.

The hours and HOURS they must spend not only learning the skills but honing them into the crisp, exact and INCREDIBLE level they perform at.

[starting with one bloke on a bmx, one by one they leap on til TEN people are perfectly balanced on the bike as he rides around!]

And on top of the actual athleticism and genius talent, the music was FANTASTIC and had me bopping about in my seat, clapping in time, and the performers mucked around in different skits inbetween amazing feats - it was hilarious!!

The ring-mistress sang about equality, and the basic principles of humanity, the changes society is experiences and the impact that has on the individual. I CANNOT recommend the Circus Oz enough!!

In knitting news the little itty bitty bubby beanie is almost complete! I need to make the little i-cord drawstring and sew in the ends - hoorah! I've had word from the Mum that little Adam is happy and healthy at 8 pounds :) yay! Now to knit a little something for his big brother so he doesn't feel left out! But geez.. I've got so many birthday's looming.. gotta get KNITTING!!