Crafty Update!

My secret pal present arrived today!

It could not have been better timing - I had a bit of a crappy weekend (bit hung over on Saturday, then pulled a muscle in my back digging in the garden on Sunday), and it’s been grey and raining all day… a package in the mail was just the medicine I needed to bust away those Monday blues. Secret Pal, wherever you are - thanks!

My lovely package included some gorgeous wool from Finland, that I’m sure will make some awesome socks:

(I love the colours!)

Some HAND MADE stitch markers… and some Addi needles!

Am I spoiled or what?

But wait, there’s more!

see those gorgeous felt hearts? (in green!) Those were from SP too!
(the earless pig and turtle are products of my pottery class.)

Thank you so much, Secret Pal!

Oh, and in further crafty news, I finished that Rosa sweater and FINALLY took a picture of myself in it. I’m tired, it’s the end of a day at work (still in my work clothes) but you get the picture:

Finally!

Finally I’m in Ravelry! So excited. My details are here: ravelry.com/people/herself. Now you can hop on, see my projects, look at my stash, etc. etc. and so forth and so on.

Work is slow and quiet at the moment. Warm day today. Went for a walk along the waterfront, as far as the far side of Te Papa. Before that, sat on the waterfront and had a bagel (reuben on pumpernickel, oo). Quite disappointed with the lack of progress made yesterday on essay, though I DID finish off the Rosa sweater I’ve been threatening to complete for the last year or so. Will have to sort out photos soon.

Anyway, must press on.

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oo, and

• You signed up on June 28, 2007
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• 448 people are ahead of you in line.
• 19055 people are behind you in line.
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Ravelry, you WILL be mine soon!

Hey.

Just a little update today. Added a couple of things to my ever-growing projects list, and aside from that have been busy with work! I’m going up to uni this afternoon to discuss my research essay, which I’m happy to report is now up to 2,500 words - in other words, 25% is done! Just saying that is such a relief. After that I think I might walk home… it’s just half an hour’s walk from uni, and it’s such a gorgeous day out there.

Ooh, and Brent lent me his copy of The Princess Bride on DVD (I only have a crappy VHS taped-off-TV version with ads), which I think I shall watch tonight over my Rosa that I’m knitting:

(In green, not pink!)

A little silk problem…

Y’see, Steve and I were wandering around Sapa last October when my feet stopped right outside this place where all the women were gathered around. I poked my nose in, mostly surprised that they were more interested in what was inside, than us gringos with US dollars to spend. It was the most amazing store, most mind boggling due to the copious amounts of silk inside, that all the women were buying to use for their embroidery to sell. I caved, and bought 400g. I think all up it cost me 8 dollars.

Anyway, fast-forward to nearly a year later. I’ve still got all this silk - all eight gorgeous hanks of it:

…it’s really a problem…

Kidding!

Anyway, I really need something to do with it. Lace, I suppose. But should I try to dye it first? And what would be a good pattern to highlight its roughness (which I love)?

I’ve been thinking about it for ages, and I just don’t know.

droooool!

Just ordered some yarn from englishyarns.co.uk:

736-RowanspunDK 736 Goblin
747-RowanspunDK 747 Catkin
015-harrisDK 015 - Apple

drooool!

(the RowanspunDK was on special, cos it’s been discontinued…)

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Oh man

I really want to make this.

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Ravelry

Found you!

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• 2017 people are ahead of you in line.
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• 34% of the list has been invited so far

SP 11 Questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I can’t think of anything really that I don’t like; I tend to knit with wool, but that’s usually because I guess it makes sense to knit hats, mittens, scarves, etc. from something warm, rather than acrylic. I haven’t knitted much with silks or any other ‘luxury’ yarns, mostly because of the cost to buy (and my LYS really only stocks the basics).

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I have a needle case that I sewed myself, out of the Stitch and Bitch book, and recently bought a case for my circulars. I’m all ‘cased up’!

3.
How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you
consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I’ve been knitting since I was young; knitted my first sweater in high school, and over the years just knitted the odd scarf and the like. I really got into knitting about three years ago, and spinning about a year and a half ago. I’d say I’m an advanced knitter, in that I can follow any pattern and not have problems with it. I haven’t designed anything myself aside from hats (but do they count?).

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Yes, though it’s bordering on the ridiculous now:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/2AZBC26D1FVSK/

5. What’s your favorite scent? I like Lolita Lempika, which my sister got me a few years ago. I also like the new DKNY apple perfumes. I like apple :-)

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I love sour candy! Sour, fizzy, you name it!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I love spinning, and do a little bit of sewing (though only the really easy stuff). I’m taking a pottery class, love to cook and garden, make lip balms, and if I’m really organised, making hand bound books.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) Yep, I can play mp3s! I love music of all kinds, though I really can’t stand anything like soft pop. I’m into jazz, indie, rock, some metal. Not a huge rap fan, though I like a few different hip-hop artists. My favorite bands include Pavement, Belle & Sebastian, Air, Pixies, The Ramones, the Cure and the Clash. I love Thelonius Monk.

9. What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand? Green’s definitely my favorite color. I can’t think of any colors I really can’t stand, though I think I prefer bolder colors over pastels. (Actually, I really don’t like lilac.)

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I live with my boyfriend Steve, and my black cat named Sooty. (I didn’t name him, it was the name he came with when I got him from the cats protection league.) I also have a tank of tropical fish (mostly guppies and catfish). My parents live in Taupo, in the North Island, and my sister lives in Somerset in the UK.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Yup! I haven’t made my mind up on ponchos; I’m not sure if they’re sillily trendy or a fantastic idea.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Well, hats are nice and quick, as are hand warmers. They make nice presents! For myself, I usually make socks or sweaters (probably because I have enough hats).

13. What are you knitting right now? I just finished knitting an Elizabeth Zimmerman watch cap for my
boyfriend’s father, and am working on the “Sartje’s booties” for my
friend’s new baby.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I like the feel of straight needles, but the ease of circulars. (I don’t really have that many circs though.) I have a mix of needles; initially I liked bamboo the most but have found they can split and snag the yarn a little too easily. I have one set of rosewood needles that are wonderful to knit with (though they’ve got a bit of a bend in them). Aluminium are good once they warm up in your hands… basically, if they’re cute and/or colourful, I don’t mind what they’re made of!

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? I have a manual ball-winder, but no swift!

17. How old is your oldest UFO? Uh, a year? I also have a red mohair sweater I knitted and completed but now have to frog as it’s just too hot to wear! One of these days I’ll get to it…

18. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween! Pity it doesn’t really get celebrated in New Zealand…

19. Is there anything that you collect? Fountain pens, blank notebooks, cute stationery.

20.
Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get
your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I don’t have a subscription to any knitting mags but have on occasion bought Interweave Knits, Rowan magazine & Rebecca (GHH). I’ve never tried Addi circulars - I’d like to see what the fuss is all about! I am also keen to read “Handspun Revolution” by Alexis Boeger. Yarns? Anything cool and colourful, and at least enough to knit a pair of socks with :-)

21. Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn? Never learned how to knit fair isle. While I’m at it, I’d love to learn how to knit with both hands!

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Yes I am! Let me get back to you with measurements, I’m at work…

23. When is your birthday? December 22 (Sagittarius/Capricorn cusp…)

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what’s your ID? I’m on the waiting list!

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Interweave hurt sale

So I only heard about the Interweave Hurt sale when I came into work this morning, and being all out of whack compared to US time, I think I missed out on at least a half day’s worth of frenzied purchasing. There were actually a few books left, so I was able to score:

• Design Collection 18: A treasury of towels (OK, so I don’t weave….yet. But I reckon a book like this will inspire me)
• In Sheep’s Clothing
• Folk Socks - score!!
• The Soap Book - soap making’s another thing I’ve been wanting to try out for ages.

In addition to all of that, the last of my Amazon order arrived yesterday:

• Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
• Favorite Mittens: Best Traditional Patterns from Fox & Geese & Fences and Flying Geese & Partridge Feet

These are so brilliant. The Ball book has over 400 recipes, everything from strawberry jam to pickles, chili sauces, juices, and some really inspired combinations (raspberry and chipotle - if my memory hasn’t weirdly distorted that one). The huge garden and the glasshouse were two of the things that made me fall in love with our new place, so of course I’m dying to plant as many veggies as I can this summer, and hopefully there will be a lot of preserving as a result as well. The Favorite Mittens book is one I’ve had my eye on for a while now, and includes some awesome traditional (US east coast, and Canada) mitten patterns, for everything from thrummed mittens, to fishermen’s wet mittens, which are shrunk so the stitches get so tight that nothing can get through them.

foul

I’m already in a bit of a foul mood after getting some bitchy email from this woman at work, wondering why a report went out half a day later than when it was finished (even though I sent it out four days before it was due). I took the bait and sent back an equally snarky email. Aargh. Hate work.

Have been trying to update my blogroll and links (have been trying to get rid of the waffly and meaningless “personal” category, so you might notice a few more have appeared, namely “booze”, “cooking”, “daydreaming”, “food”, “OMG News!”, “pets”, “swimming” and “travel”). I’m also acutely aware that most of the blogs I like are riddled with photos, but the unfortunate reality of my blogging habit is that most of it is done from work, where I can’t really spend a lot of time playing around with pictures. I’ll try and make a bit more of a concerted effort to do some photo blogging on the weekends (and also finish that damn Vietnam section).

We’re due to go to the bank this afternoon to finalise the mortgage, but Steve’s solicitor can’t get through to their Public Trust people to agree on a settlement date. I’m not sure if that’s going to hold things up, but I hope not…we’re hoping we’ll be able to take ownership by this Friday (and go run around the place on the weekend, hehe).

Oh, and last night Daph and I went to the Craftwerk knitting night at the Southern Cross. It was lots of fun! The weather was cold and miserable, black and rainy, and we all sat in on the couches near the fire, knitting (some crocheting) and drinking cider, then hot chocolates with rum. ‘Twas lovely.

Some new dramas

So last night I was working on “Hike” and realised that the arm was starting to look a bit long. Many people would have put their faith in the pattern and continued onwards before doing anything rash, but I have had so many problems with this pattern so far that I had to take evasive action and sort it out.

Just going back a few years (!), I started working on this pattern in 2005, when I ordered the very lovely Pakucho organic cotton (in Avocado) from Elann. They were having a special, offering the yarn for something like $2.90 a skein. I ordered what seemed like plenty, and when it arrived, swatched and confidently set forward on my new knitting adventure. About halfway up the back, I grew doubtful about the size of the expanding blob, checked it against the pattern, and wound up frogging the whole thing and starting again, in a smaller size and with smaller needles! Radical, I know. Anyway, I got up to completing the back and one side of the front (it’s a zip-up cardigan), then obviously got carried away with something else and put it aside.

I finally picked it up again last week. Completed the other front half and started on the sleeve. So when I found that the sleeve was getting tremendously long, I had to nip it in the bud and go back a few centimetres before I started the decreasing. Now I think the arm length is right (as is the width), but now I fear I’m nearly out of yarn. Guess who didn’t order enough at the time? (what a nightmare)

I hopped back on Elann, but of course they don’t sell Pakucho organic cotton any more. Very few people do! They’ve got a website and all, but this seems to be more interested in selling cotton tshirts than yarn, even though the yarn got great reviews when it first came out. I found one shop selling it, got through the ordering process, only to find that they only shipped to the US and Canada. I finally found someone who ships overseas (a store with the bizarre name of ‘Chez Casuelle‘), only to find that they are stocking something called “Green Avocado”. I want Avocado. Is Green Avocado the same thing?

I’m getting desperate here. I order the Green Avocado (plus some Cherry Tree Hill Supersock merino to make the most of the $20 shipping I’ll have to pay to get these things to New Zealand) and hope for the best.  If worse comes to worse, I’ll frog the damn thing and make hundreds of knitted washcloths for everyone for Christmas.

(Oh, and we’re meant to hear back today about whether our tender was successful for the house. I am so freaking nervous! )

Tender and Secret Pal

So last night the real estate agent came over to discuss the whole tender thing. Steve and I had a figure in mind, after talking with the valuer, and I was ready to just sign the papers and be done with it, but there was so much else to talk about: what percentage do we offer as a deposit, do we let them pick a settlement date earlier than the standard month, do we offer to take the rest of the stuff from the house (save them from cleaning up), etc. etc. etc.? It was surprisingly more difficult than I’d imagined - Steve’s conflicted about really wanting the place but not wanting to spend a ridiculous amount just to get it. I figure if it’s in our budget, and somewhere in the vicinity of what the valuer suggested, then we should go for it. In any case, of course the real estate agent had to talk up the price, and then left us with the papers to “think about it overnight”. A cunning ploy, if ever there was one.

I hate this closed tender crap.

What else…. oh yeah. I finally signed up for Secret Pal 11. I’ve been wanting to do it for ages but always heard about it when it was too late. Thanks to the very cool Google Reader, I subscribed to SP10, and caught the recent announcement about the next one. It’s not starting for a good while yet, but hey, I wasn’t going to miss out again! I hope I get a good pal.

I finished Nicola’s “fetching“s (pictures to come) and have finally got back to working on Rowan’s “Hike” (see here) that I started back in 2005. Once that’s done I need to finish my “Rosa” by Louisa Harding (here) that I also started a while back (in green, not pink).

Then there’s more spinning to do, the new Harry Potter game to review, a research essay to write……

Big time catch-up

Jeez, it’s been a little while. Things have been so busy, it’s not funny!

Steve & I have found a place that we’re going to make an offer on. It’s up for tender and we’ve no idea what anyone else is going to be bidding, but we’re going to go for it. So we’ve been going back and forth to the property (with the real estate guy, Noel) to go through it with a builder, Steve’s mate Scott (the plumber), the valuer (tomorrow) and a trip to the open home with Daph & Graeme. We’ve also been back and forth to the bank a couple times but have got our pre-approval sorted out now. The tender’s next week, so we’re gonna be crossing our fingers till then!

I’ve been trying to find a new job for ages, and finally got one! It’s with a software company in town (Intergen), doing software testing. They’re a really cool, young, growing, go-places sort of place. It has a really good vibe and some of my friends (Brent, Simon & Nathan) already work there and say it’s a great place to work. My last day here is the 20th of July, which is weird, but also feels really really good.

I’ve been doing a little bit of crafty stuff lately, including spinning, knitting, and making lip balms! The spinning and knitting are my own hand-dyed (and hand-spun) stuff, which always feels wonderful, while the lip balm making is pretty new. I read up about it on Majestic Mountain Sage but then found out they don’t ship liquids overseas. So then I went back and ordered some basics off TradeMe, and got the rest (flavour oils, cute little containers) from Escentials of Australia. They were really good to deal with - they rang me from Aussie when I had typed in my credit card details incorrectly, and the goodies arrived in only a couple of days.

I’ve also got my research essay I have to complete as soon as I can (especially if the house goes through, cause we’d be doing a fair bit of renovating before we moved in) - 10,000 words by October. Ideally I’d like to get it done before then, so naturally I’ve been spending all my time reading the Robin Hobb Assassin books (nearly through book number three!) which are totally compulsive reads.

I really do need to get through my huge stash of fleece and wool that’s threatening to take over one corner of my little study. I’ve got one big bag in particular, that I was hoping to spin in the grease. I haven’t been able to find a lot of information on the net about it, cause most people tend to like spinning white fluffy fleece. I just want to try it out and see what it’s like (though I hear it clogs up your spinning wheel’s orifice just a tad)! Plus I see the listings in my Etsy shop have expired. Whoops. Better get spinning again.

Lopi, lopi, lopi!

This is a slightly obsessive sort of entry, but I’ve really been obsessing about these Lopi patterns, at the Camilla Valley Farm website. They’re just so pretty!

They just look so cozy… nevermind the fact that we’re racing into Spring already!