I wore this yesterday (as you can see by the picture), and the only downside to it is that its quite 'slippery' as it moves a lot. I might have to invest in a shawl pin to stop it doing this.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
My Lovely Ishbel
I wore this yesterday (as you can see by the picture), and the only downside to it is that its quite 'slippery' as it moves a lot. I might have to invest in a shawl pin to stop it doing this.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
e-reader + knitting = AWESOME!
I recently got a Kobo Wireless ereader to test out how my love of books and reading would go in a compact format. I was curious as to how I would go reading from a screen rather than a book, however any fears I may have had about the compatibility between myself and an ereader were quickly made redundant as I found a new love for this piece of technology. The screen is so easy to read and I have to admit - I have been converted!!
What does this have to do with knitting I hear you say?? Well, I have started loading all of my pdf patterns onto it which is useful because I always seem to forget to print out my patterns, or I lose a page, or I forget to take my pattern with me... The other advantage is that I can zoom in on charts and the ereader always remembers what page I am up to on the pattern.
When I got the ereader, I wouldn't have thought that it would have come in handy for my knitting - who would have thought!!
What does this have to do with knitting I hear you say?? Well, I have started loading all of my pdf patterns onto it which is useful because I always seem to forget to print out my patterns, or I lose a page, or I forget to take my pattern with me... The other advantage is that I can zoom in on charts and the ereader always remembers what page I am up to on the pattern.
When I got the ereader, I wouldn't have thought that it would have come in handy for my knitting - who would have thought!!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Travelling Woman
Last night I finished my Travelling Woman shawl! I was able to block it out last night and it was nice and dry this morning!
This particular shawl was a little painful in that I thought I would be able to add in an extra repeat of Chart A, but turns out I didn't have enough yarn. When I ripped it back, I didn't 'read' the knitting properly, and ripped back to the wrong point, so I basically knit everything I had just ripped back.
I had started this just after the Bendigo Wool and Sheep Show last year, and finished it after the same show this year! The pattern isn't that hard - I just don't like ripping back! haha!! However, I managed to get most of Chart B done while travelling back home from the show and last night finished off the last 3 rows before casting off.
I am actually thinking about making another one of these. The pattern is fantastic! It's easy to follow, simple lace design and quick to knit up (as long as you don't throw a hissy fit and refuse to rip it back! haha). However, at this stage I think that I should try a new pattern... maybe keeping with tradition and using some wool I bought at the show this year!
I had started this just after the Bendigo Wool and Sheep Show last year, and finished it after the same show this year! The pattern isn't that hard - I just don't like ripping back! haha!! However, I managed to get most of Chart B done while travelling back home from the show and last night finished off the last 3 rows before casting off.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Whoops! Discovered Etsy!
At the show on Saturday the only thing I couldn't find there that I really wanted was stitch markers. Today, I thought I would see what some of the Etsy stores had on offer... Well, PrettyPurly has some gorgeous stitch markers on offer!! There were a few others up that I liked, but considering i wanted more than one thing, and I prefer a loop to the wire, i bought myself 3 sets (pics taken from the store)
The other issue is making sure I dont lose them lol I really need to be more organised when it comes to my knitting accessories lol.
Or maybe I just need to learn to put things away lol!!
Fantastic Weekend Away
OMG! What an amazing weekend away!!! Just what I needed - the only thing that could have made it better was spending more time down there in Bendigo!!
After the Tiger Fiasco of 2011, we managed to get tickets on Qantas, who really helped us out with cheaper fares. Talk about relief!! I have to say that while I usually have no problems with Tiger, the pressure of having to try and find new flights will probably mean I will never fly with them again, I think we will be sticking with a more reliable airline from now on... but that's a whole other issue...
Anyway, being our first weekend away together, B and I were quite excited by it all and as I love airports, it was just nice being together, having coffee and waiting for our flight.
When we got to Melbourne, we were picked up by my bestie who drove us back to her place in Bendigo. It was just awesome to catch up with her and her husband, I have missed them so much since they moved away.
On Saturday morning, we headed off to the wool mill, where B got his first taste of yarn craziness for the day... The back room wasn't as impressive as I had seen it in the past, but I still managed to pick up a few things, such as the Pure Wool (right) which will be used for felting - maybe some clogs?? There were quite a few people in the mill, although I know a lot of people see each other and want to catch up, it's not the best thing to do in such a small shop, with lots of people - and definitely not a good thing to do in the tiny back room where you almost need to walk around single file. But in all honesty, it's the way it goes, and with so many online knitting friends out there, catch ups are bound to happen.
From here, we were off to the the wool show! All kinds of excitement!! We started at the second gate at the bottom of the hill - which meant the first stop was COFFEE! The second stop was for Kai to go to the petting zoo (left) which we got to in a round-about kinda way... I was following Kai, and apparently she was following me... meaning we ended up heading in the wrong direction before we realised!! haha!! B was a little excited to see the Woodfired Pizza guy (can you guess what he had for lunch?) who was near the petting zoo.
I managed to get to all of the places I needed/wanted to. I got my sock blockers and yarn from EGMTK as well as picking up some of Ixchel's yarns, which I have never tried before. Having B there reminding me about colour choices was good, as I only bought one heavily variegated yarn, which I have nicknamed wicked witch as it has black, purple and orange in it. I got some really nice laceweight and also managed to pick up some lovely 50/50 wool/silk from Moseley Park. I loved walking around and seeing all of the lovely yarns and gorgeous colours! Being able to spend time with Kai and talking about the different options out there and what we would make or do with yarn was just absolute bliss!! The coffee was so great once again and in my opinion, there is nothing like walking around with a friend looking at all the lovely yarny goodness, gossiping and shopping with a delicious coffee in your hand. As you can see below - the Bendigo Wool and Sheep Show was a hit!! And I can't wait for next years!!!
When we got home, Kai and I cast on our Yggdrasil blankets which we are hoping to put into a "Baby Hope Chest" for when the time comes. We are doing a bit of a mini KAL and have both chosen greens. I am doing mine in Braken and she is doing hers in Forest. Both are in 4ply Luxury from BWM and I think they are going to be so wonderful once they are done!!
To top of such a wonderful day, we went to Pizza Hut for dinner - now while this doesn't that great or special, we actually don't have a Pizza Hut restaurant here, so being able to get the Works is a bit of a highlight, especially considering it brings back memories of my teenage years.
On the way home, I did some work on my Travelling Woman - a project that was started at the end of July last year with wool that I bought from the Show last year!! It needed to be ripped back again but it was a good project to be able to take on the plane with me. I am happy to say that I only have 3 rows to go before I cast off, so the next blog post will probably be of the finished project! Funilly enough, I specifically started this last year so that I could also use the blocking wires that I bought at the show at the time... Well, a year late and it's almost finished!! Can't wait to block it out now!!!
Overall, best weekend away!! Got to go away with the boy and spend time with him, also got to catch up with the best friends and visit my second home and on top of all that, I got to go to the Wool and Sheep Show and do a bit of shopping!! Already planning the next visit to Bendigo - hopefully in a couple of months, and definitely will be going back to the Show next year!!
After the Tiger Fiasco of 2011, we managed to get tickets on Qantas, who really helped us out with cheaper fares. Talk about relief!! I have to say that while I usually have no problems with Tiger, the pressure of having to try and find new flights will probably mean I will never fly with them again, I think we will be sticking with a more reliable airline from now on... but that's a whole other issue...
Anyway, being our first weekend away together, B and I were quite excited by it all and as I love airports, it was just nice being together, having coffee and waiting for our flight.
When we got to Melbourne, we were picked up by my bestie who drove us back to her place in Bendigo. It was just awesome to catch up with her and her husband, I have missed them so much since they moved away.
I managed to get to all of the places I needed/wanted to. I got my sock blockers and yarn from EGMTK as well as picking up some of Ixchel's yarns, which I have never tried before. Having B there reminding me about colour choices was good, as I only bought one heavily variegated yarn, which I have nicknamed wicked witch as it has black, purple and orange in it. I got some really nice laceweight and also managed to pick up some lovely 50/50 wool/silk from Moseley Park. I loved walking around and seeing all of the lovely yarns and gorgeous colours! Being able to spend time with Kai and talking about the different options out there and what we would make or do with yarn was just absolute bliss!! The coffee was so great once again and in my opinion, there is nothing like walking around with a friend looking at all the lovely yarny goodness, gossiping and shopping with a delicious coffee in your hand. As you can see below - the Bendigo Wool and Sheep Show was a hit!! And I can't wait for next years!!!
When we got home, Kai and I cast on our Yggdrasil blankets which we are hoping to put into a "Baby Hope Chest" for when the time comes. We are doing a bit of a mini KAL and have both chosen greens. I am doing mine in Braken and she is doing hers in Forest. Both are in 4ply Luxury from BWM and I think they are going to be so wonderful once they are done!!
To top of such a wonderful day, we went to Pizza Hut for dinner - now while this doesn't that great or special, we actually don't have a Pizza Hut restaurant here, so being able to get the Works is a bit of a highlight, especially considering it brings back memories of my teenage years.
On the way home, I did some work on my Travelling Woman - a project that was started at the end of July last year with wool that I bought from the Show last year!! It needed to be ripped back again but it was a good project to be able to take on the plane with me. I am happy to say that I only have 3 rows to go before I cast off, so the next blog post will probably be of the finished project! Funilly enough, I specifically started this last year so that I could also use the blocking wires that I bought at the show at the time... Well, a year late and it's almost finished!! Can't wait to block it out now!!!
Overall, best weekend away!! Got to go away with the boy and spend time with him, also got to catch up with the best friends and visit my second home and on top of all that, I got to go to the Wool and Sheep Show and do a bit of shopping!! Already planning the next visit to Bendigo - hopefully in a couple of months, and definitely will be going back to the Show next year!!
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