Sash's Stash

Allow me to present...

My Stash

Such a beautiful thing to behold, but at the moment, it also feels a little crushing - no that's too strong.. how do I describe it..

See, I'm a fan of a stash, I really am. But as I mentioned in yesterday's post, for me there's that line between inspiring and guilt-evoking. And at the moment I'm past that line and into the guilt and trapped feeling - like I can't chooose what I want to knit, I must keep up with all these fabulous plans I've had and all the lovely yarn I've purchased and thereby comitted to!

In anycase, I'm being rude, allow me to introduce you to my stash, properly.

Starting at the left side of the couch and moving across.. We have the cotton balls. Some freedom, bernat organic, quite a little gang of Anchor there, some Jo Sharp in black, some fancy pants ones that start with M (I can't rememebr!) and a few odd bits and pieces. Perfect selection for cotton cloths, baby items and perhaps the odd Amigurumi when my crochet skills are up to it?

Moving along we encounter the rather rare and deluxe, sock and lace yarns.. mmm.. yes.. An elegant and sophisticated bunch, including Koigu, Sunshine Yarns (in delicious Welsh Green Dragon), Sea Silk, Socks That Rock Silkie (in another edible colourway - Fire on the Mountain), Misti Alpaca, and the ever enticing Golden Chai. Amongst the gathering there we also find some Opal remnants, both wool and cotton blends, some Lang Woll, and special guest star hand-painted (by me) big scarlet skein at the front there.

Close neighbours to the deluxe yarns, we find the equally divine but somewhat fluffier, cuddlier yarns. Jo Sharp silk road in various colours (yum!), some Heirloom, Colinette Point 5 in popsicle, completely edible Knittery Cashmere sock at the front in that dreamy forest moss green and some stow-away Hemp at the back there pretending to be squooshy ;) I won't dob them in!

The Squooshiness continues with 100% wool Freedom in a lusciously snuggle-able unplied fluff, Bendigo alpaca and harmony, Bendigo Classics in silver and navy (cannonballs remaining from some Hogwarty knits!), and then the super dreamy and utterly nestle-against-the-cheek-able handspuns.. mmm... some by me, others by the fantastic Yarn Wench

Causing havoc up there on the top of the couch we find some hand-dyed skeins! These ones were worked up in small amounts to demonstrate food-colour dyeing at one of the knitting groups I go to. Not much yarn in each, but enough for small projects, baby goodies or stubbby holders etc.. I love LUFF these colours, particularly skoot's psychedelic one in the middle there.. oh and the green one with little flecks.. and then the orange.. hmm.. can't comitt - love them all!

Then there's still another box of random single balls of pure wool, and novelty fluff.

And of course that doesn't include my remaining 5 skeins of Donegal Tweed I'm using for my Hoodii..

Oh, and my fibre stash for spinning too..

...

You see now why I need to sloooooow down and start using the 'knit' verb instead of the 'collect' verb!! hehee

So I have concocted a plan. A rather cunning plan I feel. It incorporates both respecting, adoring and USING my already stashed lovelies, but also allowing room for current inspirations, creative impules and love-at-first-sight! I shallknit away on my current projects etc as normal, and for each two balls/skeins I knit up from my current lovelies I can adopt another one ball/skein! That way the amount will slowly diminish butnot feel cramped or restricted. Since I don't really go nuts buying yarn I think I'll be happily satisfied with this arrangement and quite content :)

Let's see, shall we? I think I'll make these Stash airings a regular sort of thing, once a year or so, maybe more frequently. It'll be interesting to see which yarns get snaffled up and used quickly and which others I tend to enjoy the look and idea of but not actually knit with much!

*contented sigh* Now I am armed with a plan of action I feel much relived from the guilt and weight of the Stash. I can now carefully squirrel it away again in it's nice boxes, waiting for the next time I go poking about and reaquainting myself!

Something a little new and a little little

So I decided that I'd like a little black shrug of some description, in a summery sort of fibre.

I wanted a shrug that was lacey, holey, in fact it didn't have to reeeally be all that warm at all - more like a modesty snug, to cover the shoulders and dress up a singlet for more semi-formal-casual attire, but if it kept the cool breeze off so much the better.

I browsed around and Lo! Is anyone here surprised that the charming and dashing Ravelry came to my rescue, suggesting a perfectly suitable pattern? I didn't think so ;) The pattern that fell into my lap as I browsed about was the Reading-In-Bed Shrug by Pam Allen. A most fabulously little, lacey shruggy shrug - it would do just the trick!

Then I remembered that Spotlight's stocking a rather lovely shiny smooth Bamboo/Cotton blend that would do nicely, and a good price too!

Unsurprisingly, as I'm sure most knitters and craftsfolk out there can attest to, the passion grabbed me straight away! Particularly following an evening discussing patterns, sales and spotlight yarns last night with Shaz I was pretty keen to head on over to Spotlight to see what I could see!

But I was diligent, I was productive, I got my chores and study done first before I even entertained the notion of heading out to check out luscious fondle-ables. And then I paused. I thought.. why not pop out to the nestie and check on The Stash. Y'know, paruse what I have already to make sure I don't double up on anything.

I had heard excellent things about the Cleckheaton Naturales - great for dyeing up. And the bamboo/cotton of course for my shrug, Ooohh! And the Cleckheaton Vintage yarns had also caught my eye - sort of Noro-ish colour variations.. So you see, there were several temptations luring me out to the store.

But I did the responsible thing, I unlocked La Nestie and I took out the two boxes that store my lovely fibrey goodness and brought them into the lounge to examine.

Well.

Now.. I'm actually a fan of A Stash. I think it's health and important for the creative process to have a palette of textures and colours before you, a pool of delicious inspiration to dip your finger into and swirl around testing and playing with different options and possibilities. But for me there's a limit. There's a fine line and once crossed The Stash feels more burdensome than inspiring - I feel the desire to knit ALL the things I want to ALL at once and there's simply not enough time and what will I DO!? and then I feel guilty and start to feel BAD about my knitting - and that is NOT ok.

I adore almost all of the yarns in my stash and stroked them adoringly as I spread out The Stash across the couch.. yes, the entire couch.. I even took pictures to document The Stash size and contents for future reference (and blog display of course).

So... Let's just leave it that I'm not going to Spotlight today. The little black shrug can wait. I've decided to stay at home and KNIT!

2nd, 3rd, 4th Hand?

Aren't Op Shops such a fantastic source of fabulous hidden precious treasures?!

All sorts of exciting items, filled with history and meaning. You can find goodies from people's past, complete with inscriptions inside book covers, little treasures within miniatures tins, forgotten photos within book pages and so on - pieces of someone's story.

And these enticing goodies, once discarded by someone, no longer wanted or needed, can now become your most wanted treasure! Something fabulous and marvellous you've discovered again, or been looking for for ages - a wonderous discovery!

I even know a certain someone *sideways glance at Shaz* who found the complete Barbara Walker Stitch dictionary at the local Op Shop for under a dollar! A DOLLAR people!!

In anycase, my most recent discovery has not been that exciting or momentous, but a nice little walk back in time - with 'KNITTING and homecraft' magazine, edition #9, August. It doesn't state anywhere what year, but I'm guessing somewhere mid 60s to 70s by the look of the garments inside!

My most favourite, for cultural history's sake, is this dashing number, modelled by a chap who is obviously quite an admirer of household crockery.

Not many of the items have been added to my knit queue, I must admit, HOWEVER! I did discover this fabulous Kitchen Set!

Including something I've never encountered before.. A Toaster Cosy!!

Now go on, run right out to your Op Shops and see what excellent goodies you can uncover!! :)

Knitting Progress!

Of the projects on my needles at the moment I seem to be focussing on just three at present. These three projects are quite different which is why I think it works so well to knit them concurrently.

First of all I've been tonking away on the Flowerbasket Shawl which is turning out to be a lovely pattern with the Seabreeze Knittery yarn - yum yum! This project is excellent for mild entertainment moments - such as staying up til 2am watching the tennis.. hmm.. Maybe the 2am part is a little counterproductive, but I must say I'm finding tennis to be a sport most conducive to knitting! Perhaps not so relaxing as the Tour De France, a knitter must have quick neck reflexes to glance up and back swiftly between stitches and points!

My fabulous, riotously colourful birthday project -The Clap is coming along swimmingly too! I've been enjoying knitting along with this one in much more social times. The pattern is engaging enough to be done in front of a movie or television too, but also straight forward to allow for chatting and distracted attention.

Apart form, that is, at the knitting group the other night when, so involved in talking with Jolene and Shaz, I looked down at my knitting and gasped - A HOLE?!! Oh nooo!! And prompted tinked back a row.. then realised that.. uh.. that little hole is MEANT to be there.. it's where the dropped stitch will shoot down to! Gah!! hehe nevermind! A mistaken identity of a YO for an actual problem - these things I can live with!

I'm very happy with how the Socks That Rock, Fire On The Mountain is knitting up. There's a little bit of pooling here and there, but I really enjoy the effect it gives the fabric, and I know the pooling will vary as the garment continues, seeing as it's knit on the bias, so it will be like a watercolour painting. A bright and shocking watercolour painting.. but I like it!

Ihad intened to knit it very large, like a fabulously snuggly pashmina, but when I lay my pashmina wrap out on the bed, to gauge what width I would continue knitting to before going on with the straight section of The Clap I realised just HOW big and snuggly my pashminas are!! Hmm.. so will need to reassess the size situation!

And lastly I have just finished turning the heel of the first of Dad's socks! Hurrah!!

So not only project progess here, but progress in my skill set as a knitter too! I executed a gusset heel with slip stitch flap on the cuff-down socks I knit for Skoot, but this is my first Toe-Up heel gusset experience :)

I'm very happy with how it's turned out and.. oh dear.. no pun intended there.. and with how the socks are coming along in general :) My feet are of course a lot smaller than Dad's, but at least the photo demonstrates my progress!

Unfortunately I must now put the needles down and continue progressing in the much less thrilling elements of houseworkare study! But nevermind, progress inmost areas of life tend to give some level of satsfaction- even if a little mundane!

Knitterly Movie Quote

I was sitting on the couch watching the last of 'Friends With Money' as I knit away on my shawl.

The context for the scene is - a group of very rich people (and their peasant friend) sitting around a table at a hideously expensive charity dinner. They're reading the auction list of things they can aquire for equally hideous amounts of money.

And LO! What should one character exclaim???

"Aah!! Reese Witherspoon will knit me a sweater! ... I wonder how long that would take..??"

hehee!!

Very lucky knitter!

I am officially a very lucky and very SPOILT knitter!!

We had an unexpected knit night yesterday which was LOVELY seeing as I'd missed the actual first official Kwinana FIbre Arts Group meeting!

The fabulous Shaz and lovely Jolene and I sat and knit, chatted, poured over each others' goodies and generally had a knit-tastic time - just what I needed!! :)

You know what makes me extra specially lucky though? Not only do I have a fabulous bunch of knit-buddies; Citiknits, the Willetton library, the Spinning Guild and now the Kwinana Fibre Artsies... THEY'RE SO GENEROUS TOO!!

I have been absolutely spoilt! Spoilt rotten you would even say!

Knowing it had been my birthday these Stunning Stitchers both brought gifts to the group!! *blush* How spoilt did I feel?!?! Thankfully I'd brought along a box of chockies for us all to chow down on, so at least I felt like I'd contributed something!

Shaz had sewn me up a bright and brilliant sock sack! I adore the dazlingly bright and funky little flowers on the fabric, and the little zippered sacky is the perfect size for socks on the go! (as you can see by Dad's socks poking their toe out there for a peek around!!)

Shaz didn't stop there, she ensured I was thoroughly spoilt by also including those magic blue bear toppers (perfect for my 4mm DPNs! how did she know?!) and some very pretty beaded stitch markers made by her daughter!

Jolene presented me with a teeny tiny green box, hand made of course! And inside.. something equally teeny tiny and equally green...

Miniature socks!!

And I mean absolutely miniature - look at the scale here on my hand!!

Made true blue though with a little tiny gusset heel and tiny ribbing at the top of each cuff - teensy little socksies!! I am SO in love with them and have them hanging in the hallway by the door so everyone can see them! :) Jolene even dyed the yarn so it would stripe especially for tiny socks! Isn't she UNREAL!?

And the giving certainly didn't stop there! With Shaz moving house she decided some of her magazines might be ready to relocate to new homes - and relocate they DID! Jolene and I left with arms full and heavily loaded - LUCKY!

Thank-you SO much Lovely Ladies for spoiling me so, lifting my spirits and being such knit-tastic buddies!! :)

Fantabulous Birthday fun

It has been my birthday again, yay!! And to prove it, here is photographic evidence of my ginormous chocoloate-sculpture-topped cake!! Yum!

I thoroughly enjoy birthdays, to be able to spoil people, bake and make for them and wrap up presents in elaborate presentation. But when it's my own borthday it's a different kind of enjoyment. I love being surrounded by friends, and catching up with people I haven't spoken to for a little while - which of course always happens on a birthday :)

But one of the most fun outcomes of a birthday is an excuse for a dress up party!! =D I am a HUGE fan of stoking up that imagination, hunting down appropriate decorations and costumery and having a ball!!

This year we decided on a Jungle theme and decked the halls with vines, rubber snakes, flaming torches, wooden serving platters and green drapery! To set the mood we sorted out some tribal drum music with a second backing track playing over the surround sound with macaw parrots, elephants trumpetting and the occasion monkey call - it was FANTASTIC!!

We were honoured with the company of a butterfly, gorilla, two explorers, a Jane of the Jungle, King & Queen of the jungle and more!! I, of course, had to crack out the body paint (any excuse ) and was an Amazon Warrior Woman for the evening!! Scrumptious Skoot knew straight away who he would be a colonial british invader.. i mean.. explorer/safari man!! We found the perfect Pith Helmet for him which he was thrilled about- he's even been wearing it around the house, who wouldn't!?

And what sort of party would it be without GAMES!! Why should kids have all the fun and adults have to just sit around drinking and talking?! Bah! Poppycock!!

Here Safari man Skoot engages in a little Jungle Pictionary!

So seeing as all my party guests won prizes and such for my birthday, I thought it only fair that I give YOU gentle reader, the opportunity for some birthday fun too! =D Plus I was so stunned to see my IP counter (the musical staff on the left sidebar) get up past 10,000 (!!!!) that I think an exciting goodie or two are definately in order!!

So!! Leave me a comment on this post and I shall enter you in The Fantabulous Birthday Goodie Bag! If you include a story or suggestion of a dress-up party theme you've really enjoyed or think would be awesome - I shall enter you TWICE into The Fantabulous Birthday Goodie Bag!! How's that for incentive?!! hehehe! I'll fish around in the Goodie Bag and draw someone out in a couple of days :)

At this stage the 'Goodie' part of The Fantabulous Birthday Goodie Bag is yet to be disclosed - gotta keep the mystery there somehow! - but rest assured, if you are not a fibre-fiend you will be well looked after, and if you ARE a fellow fibre-nutt, well.. I don't even need to TELL you about the goodies!

Many thanks and warm fuzzies to all my snuggly friends and family who make everyday of my life (not just my brthdays) fun-filled, love-filled and generally FANTABULOUS!!

Emergency lace!

Yesterday we left Perth for an unexpected road trip!

We embarked upon a bit of an adventure up to Kalgoorlie to see some family, an adventure that involves about 7 hours of driving each way!

And you know what that means... Knitting time!

Skoot and I did share the driving time on the way here, and we will on the way back too - but I didnt manage to get a fair start on the Flower Basket Shawl!

[terribly blurry car photo]

Yes!! MORE lace! It seems I am addicted *shakes head* A terrible state of affairs - I wonder is there such a thing as L.A? Lace-aholics Anonymous? Well.. there is Ravelry, I suppose.. but that's more like an alcoholic going to the pub than an AA meeting!!

I'm using the lace weight (2 ply) fine merino from The Knittery (double stranded) in a discontinued colourway - Seabreeze. I bought this yarn specifically for this project, to knit for my maternal Gran, but had some hesitations as I thought the lace patterning might be lost in the variations of colours in the gorgeous blues and purples of the Seabreeze. I was also concerned that a wool shawl might be too warm for the Australian climate and that another silk shawl might be the practical way to go. In the end I decided to stick with the Seabreeze but use larger needles to ensure the lace design is clearlyvisible

It's quite a repetitive knit which makes it nice and easy for car knitting, I can chat with Scrumptious Skoot as we drive. So for the trip home I'll see how much further I can get through the basket repeats. It seems to be zooming along at the moment, that's for sure!

Out of the box

Come on everyone!!

You've commented on my blog before!

Now all of a sudden everyone gets shy and apathetic when I have an exciting mystery object and even offer PRIZES!! Prizes people!! Gah!

In anycase..it's alright.. I forgive you :)

Do you want to know the answer? What exciting object skoot and I got out of that GIANT box and have been experimenting with since?

A SCREEN PRINTING CAROUSEL!!!

Wheee!! Would anyone have guessed it, do you think? I know the picture may have been a little hard to see the scale and dimensions of it - but it's very exciting all the same!!

The beauty of a 4 screen carousel is we can use 4 colours and more involved screen stencils much more easily - yay!! We've sourced all the goodies we need to get cracking - photo emulsion, scoop coater, squeegies, water based printing paints, gel emulsion remover and so on! Skoot is much more savvy on screen printing than I am, but I had the thrill of executing the very first print on our new setup!

[First run!]

I definately need to work on my technique! But nevertheless, we got a print out of it! And a knit-related print of course *grin*

[First print!]

We tried a shirt after the initial paper print, but in our frigging around the paint had dried a little on the screen, so the shirt was a bust print, and now has a new home in our rag bag!!

Nevermind! There will be many more prints and shirts to come! =D
So just be sure you come out of YOUR box and comment when there's a another prize draw! *wink*

Swallowtail Flying High

I am so thoroughly delighted with my finished Swallowtail Shawl!!

The yarn blocked out SO beautifully, the sea silk has a lovely sheen to it and the pattern itself is gorgeous

I really enjoyed knitting this as my first lace project. I found the pattern challenging but do-able, and not so challenging that I was disheartened. In fact.. I think a lot of it is in the mind. To start with I inched along at a snail's pace, knitting on other items because I didn't feel I could knit the lace while watching tv or the like. So over about 5 months I made it through the main body part of the shawl, the Budding Lace charts. Then within the last month I cranked out the rest of the shawl - which is actually over 50% of the stitches!! I actually found the lace quite easy and fluid and very much enjoyed the process. So I think I became more comfortable towards the end, and had better techniques for keeping my place and keeping count. Plus, it helps that I've had a lot of free time to sit and knit it out while Skoot and I've been on holidays!

My Gran is absolutely overjoyed with her shawl too :)

She had no idea I was knitting it for her, so when she opened the gift box and turned back the tissue paper to reveal the folded lace, it had quite an effect! Although it was my maternal Gran who introduced me to knitting oh so many years ago (a skill I didn't reignite until recently) like so many women of her generation my paternal Gran (pictured below) was also an avid knitter, and at one point knit an entire DRESS in 2 ply lace weight! Yikes!!

She assured me though, as she felt the fabric between her fingers and looked at the patterning of stitches, that her dress was as fine as the shawl but she never did anything as complicated as the Swallowtail. I'm not sure whether that's true or whether she was simply expressing her appreciation for the time and effort she, as a knitter, knew I had put in.

But one thing's for sure, if something that is this enjoyable, that I can learn so much from, and that is by no means up there with the trickiest lace knitting and looks so beautiful as a finished object, is within my reach as a knitter - I think I am in danger of getting hooked!!

Particularly if it puts warmth in the heart and a smile on the face of someone you love :)

Squidgy Squidgy

My second official Finished Object for 2008 is one of my Squidge Cloths! This is the one I used in the pattern post, and have knit it up for a friend's birthday.

She's a great lover of all lollies and sweet tasty goodies, so I'll be putting it in a gift bag FULL to the bring with lolly snakes, jelly babies, lolly-bracelets etc..!! Fun Fun!!

oooooerr!!

Look what we had arrive in a great big delivery truck today!!

Just in time for my birthday!! =D
(although it's not actually my gift, but something Skoot and I have been itching to get into!)

Can anyone guess what it is?

I might just have a little prize draw for the correct answer... *grin*

Lace Milestone!

The many hours of silky, slippery knitting have come to fruition with the completion of the Swallowtail Shawl!

It is officially cast off and tails woven in :)

I felt so happy and to be honest, proud too, when I finally bound off and had my finished shawl in my hands. It feels a very special sort of thrill of excitement and anticipation that I'll be gifting the shawl to my paternal Gran :)

Living with a scrumptious tradesman has numerous advantages, one of which is the amount of unusual and specific toolery present in the household and workshop! Including.. Stainless TIG filler wire or in a knitter's perspective - blocking rods!

I very careful threaded the top edge of the shawl onto two of the rods, slipping the rod through the little eyelets at the very top, then doused it in water to soak. The rods made this a little more tricky but there was no way I was going to be threading rods into lace when it was WET!

Then to the blocking - my first real attempt at blocking something other than a long straight scarf.

Aided by the scrumptious Skoot I braced those top rods and then began pinning out the lace on our spare mattress.

Slowly the lace opened up more and more, like slow-burning magic, or watching a flower bud in time-warps photography - awesome!

Gently drawing out the yarn, and meticulously pinning the shawl would have to be the most exciting knitterly moment so far, I have to say. As I crawled around on the mattress I was overflowing with then excited tension of the moment and thinking of nothing else! A very mindful moment, really :)

Overall I am completely smitten by lace work, and very pleased with how the swallowtail shawl came out. At this stage it feels just a little bit little, but that's ok.

So all that remains is to unpin the shawl this morning, now that it is completely dry. We're having dinner with my Gran this evening, so I shall unveil her secret knitted goodie to her :) I have to admit I'm a little hesitant about unpinning the shawl.. it feels as if when I let loose the pins the whole shawl will spring back to it's shrunken original size! But I will have faith in the Blocking Gods.. I will..

p.s. I've just realised looking over the post that I'm wearing my Ravelry shirt in the blocking photo! Completely unintentional, but very fitting I must say!!

Mr Cat Rogers

For those fans out there of LOLcats, and even those who aren't fans, but listen to Cast On and enjoy the intro music to Today's Sweater..

A be-jumpered kitty from icanhascheezburger.com

The Squidge Cloth

My first knitting design!! hehe but really a very simple one to start with!

THE SQUIDGE CLOTH!

A face cloth, dish cloth, gift cloth - use it as you will! The alternating rectangles of knit and purl give the ultimate squidge factor for a fabulously fondle-able cloth. Enjoy!!

YARN: Any cotton or cotton blend yarn, I often use Anchor Magicline
NEEDLES: Whichever required to obtain desired gauge, I use 3.5mm
GAUGE: A nice tight gauge gives a good squidginess, and a cloth that won't stretch out too much when wet. I get a gauge of 22sts & 44 rows : 10cm/4 inches
NOTIONS: Yarn needle, soapy sudsy water!

Cast on 40 stitches. (or any multiple of 8)

Row 1: *Knit 4, purl 4*, repeat between *s to end of row.
Row 2: Repeat row 1.
Row 3: *Purl 4, knit 4*, repeat between *s to end of row.
Row 4: Repeat row 3.

Repeat rows 1 - 4 until cloth is the desired size.

Bind off all stitches reasonably loosely to allow for stretch.
Sew in ends.
Immerse in soapy sudsy water and enjoy your new squidgy cloth!!

Hurrah! =D

First FO!

Turns out that my first Finished Object for 2008 is quite unexpected!

The Bunker Bay Scarf!

I haven't really touched this silky knit in what seems like ages! But I realised a good friend who lives in a far away state is having her birthday early this month (tomorrow in fact!) and I would love her to have this scarf :) She's a fellow knitter, but doesn't purl or do any shaping - garter stitch baby blankets are her project of choice and she produces some lovely big ones!!

So all that is left to do is block it out, let it dry, then pop it in the express post to get to her! =D