BUSY weekend!

Ohmigoodness! You know that feeling when you stop for a moment and ask "is it THAT time already?!" followed by "where did the last two days go?!" and finally "how did all of THAT fit into those hours?!?!" by which you answer the former two questions!

Such was my weekend!! And barrels of fun along with it of course :)

Starting on Friday I received a very exciting and so long anticipated I had even forgotten it was due to arrive! My Ravelry goodies!

Ordered who knows how long ago, my shirt and buttons arrived in a mushy package and brought much delight particularly as although ordered online, the shirt is a perfect fit! =D

Saturday was a whirlwind of fabulous events! The spin guild closes up over the Festivuss break, so we all band together for an annual stock-take sort of thing. One of the perks of volunteering is, not only the tasty cakes and goodies brought along and the entertaining natters we have while catalouging and such, but the privileges of 'Free Reign' over the guild library for the break period! NO LIMIT on loans!! Suffice to say we all poured over the shelves - knitting, crochet, weaving, dyeing, macrame, embroidery, books, magazines, videos - you name it! I very happily came away with 5 titles to keep me occupied;

*Knitter's Almanac - Elizabeth Zimmerman
*Knitting Workshop - Elizabeth Zimmerman
*Knitting Around - Elizabeth Zimmerman
*Knitting From the Top - Barbara Walker
*Unexpected Knitting - Debbie New

I'm very much looking forward to snuggling into bed (well.. "snuggling" in the sense of only a bed sheet lightly tossed over me with the fan going full speed - it's been so HOT lately!) with these titles and absorbing all the wisdom and inspiration from their pages!

From the Guild I dashed past my lovely Mum's and on to Helen's fabulous Knitting Party - Hurrah!! =D

As always, such a fun time spending a few hours with fellow knitters! We all saw Helen's lovely new home and wished her well with a housewarming giftie of cute cupcake crockery (cake dish, server and mugs) and and matching 3-tier cupcake stand, complete with cupcakes of course! I completely forgot to get a shot of the complete gift set, but you can spy the 3-tier stand in this shot of all the yummy treats we devoured!

Ann was so generous with her time and helped Yin and I get our heads, and hands, around the Magic Cast on! Unfortunately I forgot to knit a plain row every other row and went full steam ahead increasing every single round - gah! Consequently, here's my little tiny toe seed needle-less and about to be frogged!

Will have to cast on again soon - these will be a Festivuss giftie *wink* so I can't wait too long to try it again!

["HUH??!!" Michelle and Yin]

[Ann finally managed to grab a chance to knit!]

I couldn't stay too long at the Party though, as we had an EVENING engagement too! A firey evening engagement.. Bonfire Night! A delectable meal, excellent company, stimulating conversation - top it all off with the most gigantic earth-consuming bonfire you have ever seen! Here's a picture pre-igniting to give some perspective...

Now that's a man, a fully grown rather large adult man on the right there, or his silhouette anyway. Notice to his left the FREAKING MASSIVE HEAP OF FLAMMABLE MATERIAL?!?! Well.. that's the bonfire.

Now before you get all up-in-arms about safety and "isn't this Australia, home of the rapid bush fire?" yes, it is indeed, but the area was very well prepared with all vegetable matter removed and flying embers kept in control :)

There was one down side to the evening.. a somewhat unsettling wine label I happened across. When parusing the drinks selection I saw a rather engaging wine bottle...

And lo, a dear little story on the back about the inspiration behind the name "Three Little Pigs".. or so I thought...

*cue horror music*

What kind of PSYCHOPATHIC CREATURE rears an animal, bond with it, is delighted by it's personality and character... THEN DEVOURS IT?!
Just think on that for a moment. Yes. Mmmhmmm. You're revolted now too, aren't you?

Moving briskly on to knitting content!!

About a month ago I was delighted to discovered Moda Vera had brought out a new yarn consisting of Bamboo and Cotton - hurrah!! =D I was very restrained and didn't snaffle several balls on a mere impulse and whimsy at first sight, but calmly and in a lady-like refined manner returned a week or so later to partake of the smooth, glossy, colourful treat that is Bamboo/Cotton (a name somewhat lacking in imagination, don't you think?).

The yarn itself however is not lacking, I find :) I've knit up a little moss stitch, cable swatch to test it out and apart from being rather splitty (you can see that at the yarn end in the photo) it is great and I love it!

I'm even fantasising about a potential summer cardigan knit up out of it.. Véronik Avery's Dollar and a Half cardigan perhaps...? Or do my frosty-girl bones really require something warmer to ensure I'll get enough wear out of it.. An exciting prospect in any case! So this little swatch will be going towards my Festivuss creations, but SHH! I can't say anymore!! *wink and grin*

And finally today we went out for a delicious and picturesque lunch by the beach. Tasty gnocchi and spending time witht he family really wrapped up this super busy weekend just nicely :) I'm speeding ahead with my studies too, posting in my finished assignment tomorrow and getting started on the next assessment, phew! So now I think I'll hop into bed for some reading, knitting and relaxation!