Starry

Garments and Gadgets merino in Manganese. I spun about 70g of it and two-plied it. Then I threaded up a silver thread with tiny beads, and spun it around.

See the beads? They're only tiny, and my phone camera is a bit dodgy with close-ups.

I suppose there are about 200 beads on there. The silver thread was a pain in the neck, not coming off the reel well, and not sticking to the wool at all. But this is 'art' yarn for Astronomy, and I think it is very fitting. Hehe.

Happy Birthdays

Happy Birthday, Byron! On one hand, I can't believe he's already 4. On the other hand, it feels like we've had him much longer than 4 years!

This morning, while Byron was anxiously waiting for everyone else to wake up so he could open presents, I sewed the last buttons on these little mittens. They are the handwarmers from the Powder River Set. They're very soft and light, so I'm not sure if they're "UK-level warmth" but they've been posted over to Kelly, who's birthday is coming up.



While I posted those, Byron and I picked up his present from Auntie Kelly. We don't often go anywhere without his little brother and sister, so he wanted to prolong the trip with a cool little walk up and down the street.

I think it's a good jumper to wear over a white shirt. A bit of a haircut, and he'd be very swish :)

Happy Birthday little boy! And Happy thirty-mmpphhth birthday for the end of the month, little sister! hehe.

Muggle studies homework

Jasmine is spinning

LOL. Is that title a bit deceptive on a knitting blog? Sorry ;)


I bought Jasmine this awesome 'spin dress' from an online shop called "Playing Fair". This is about as still as she would stand, because "dancing music" was on! It's Fair trade fortnight, and since I can't have Fair Trade chocolate or coffee, I thought I could at least buy FT cotton clothes. Also bought her a little "ballerina belt"...

which is popular. She is a dress-girl, that's for sure. Don't know where she gets it from. She always wants to wear her long white flowergirl dress everywhere, so for $18, I'm going to get her a few more spin dresses.

There wasn't much I liked in the boys' clothes, unfortunately, or I would have spent three times as much. But Jas loves these. They seem really well made, and I like supporting women who are being paid properly, especially since I started reading this:

Nadiah at "Playing Fair" offered me a discount for mentioning her shop on my blog, since she only really advertises by Word of Mouth, but I decided not to take it. It's so cheap I don't need a discount, and I would have mentioned it anyway.

Live below the Line is going well. I probably should have eaten more before going to the blood bank, but that's my own fault entirely. It didn't occur to me that an 1130 appointment was close to lunch, and with a few problems and delays it was 2:30 by the time I finished my platelet donation. So I got a bit dizzy! lol! First time in about 110 donations... they made me lay on the floor, laughing and a bit embarrassed, with my feet on a chair. I ate what they gave me, because you can't be dizzy when you drive your kids home, but next time I'll be prepared.

And now, the kids are in bed for a nap, and I'm going to grab the wheel and do some spinning, too :D

$2 a day

Breaky: 3 cheap weetbix, watered down milk and sugar, microwaved into mush ;) and three pikelets with jam (made a batch and froze them the other day) and some hot chocolate.


Lunch: half a tin of baked beans, 2 vegemite sandwiches and enough cocoa/sugar to make three hot chocolates (though I only had two), packed up to take to Mum's, where everyone else got to eat... oh... delicious-looking stuff...

Dinner: 100g of rice with a spoon of tomato paste, a spoon of gravy, some herbs and parmesan and 100g of chopped fried veges.



I still feel vaguely hungry most of the time, but nothing worth whinging about, of course! This is temporary. I have gotten about $100 in donations, though, which is extremely nice.

Manos in May is going well. I've nearly finished one mitten, which hasn't even used half a 50g ball of Serena. I've been distracted spinning a bit of EGMTK fibre up into a self-striping n-plied yarn. It's going to be kind-of thick, I think, because navajo-plying is 3-ply, and even my singles are not as slim as the last spin I did. I'm blaming the lack of silk ;)


Happy Mum's day, Mum! And everyone else :)

Dramas and diets

Firstly, and MOST importantly, I'm in Slytherin! (hehehe)
I've put in my OWL application, and while waiting for approval I've been working on my first class assignment. I chose to do the Potions class, to spin a self-striping yarn.

However, in the spirit of teamwork, I also signed up for a Quest within my house, which is to do 18 classes this "year" (May to July) and participate in Quidditch, on top of the OWL. We'll see how I go. I might have to be admited to St. Mungos yet...

I've had to pull out half what I'd done on the first PowderRiver mitten, because the instructions (which are perfectly clear in hindsight) completely confounded me. I'm blaming the diet! I'm also planning to pull out what I've done on the AllYouNeedIsLove mittens, because I did my compulsory swatch with cheap white 5ply, as my nice Madtosh sport had not yet arrived in the mail. I got it today. (But I can't reknit it until next month, because it's Manos in May).

The drama of the week has been work. I was on the casual nurse bank before having a baby or three... I haven't done any shifts for about 2 years, but since I never resigned, I just assumed I was still on the list. I called and left my name and number. The supervisor called and gave me a shift. I worked Sunday morning. No problems.

Until Monday, when a different supervisor rang and said that now, if you are inactive for 3 months you are automatically 'resigned'. So, "Sorry, but you won't be getting paid. You're not an employee."

!!

I was a bit cross and sad that my weekend labor was so cheap. So I called the payroll people today. They said, "It's no problem. Just get the supervisor to authorize it." Hmm. The man from Monday didn't seem likely to do that. I rang him, but it was a different supervisor. Yay! A woman who said, "of course you deserve to get paid, and you will" and even used the term "over my dead body!" which made me quite cheerful.

So now I am in the process of applying for the silly job again, to the hospital where I've worked since 2000. Dramaramas.

As for the diet (phew, this is a long 'quick update') I have been feasting on al-cheapo vitabrits and skim milk, rice and tomato paste, handfuls of chopped frozen veges, and good-old-worth-every-cent cocoa! Oh, and vegemite sandwiches.

My head feels slightly foggy (but it's almost 1am, I guess) and my muscles feel a bit shakey sometimes. I feel hungry quite a bit, but it makes me appreciate the next meal so much! Tonight I had pasta with tomato paste, gravy and veges. It was so good! lol. My only concern is that if I don't ration this stuff well, I may have some hungry days at the end of the month!

Oh, one more bonus. Not only did I get yarn in the mail, but Sue from Hawthorne Cottages sent a heap of old magazines to the knitting night tonight. (She was sick and couldn't come). So I came home with 7 new knitting magazines.