AHFFAB's

Well, morning sickness has settled down quite a bit. A bit more settling would be good, but I appreciate being able to knit again without just the idea of it making me seasick. I'm over all my old projects (and the Vivian isn't going to fit by the time I finish it, anyway) so I've been making some hats. Good old "A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend", which is a nice plain ribbed beanie with a neat top. I've pulled out some Bendigo Woollen Mills "Alpaca Rich", and I'm making three hats for three nephews. One has a birthday coming up, and the other two are getting theirs early, as wool hats are not the best Summer presents Ü


They're soft and squishy, and fairly quick when you hold two strands together Ü

Here's what became of the orange handspun...

I measured it so that I could figure out it was still "Super bulky", even with only 2 plies. lol. Next:

A more expensive wool from Shiloh called "Silky". (When I say expensive, it's only about $8 per 100g). They do something to it that makes it extra soft. I'm getting this thinner, I think. Not sure if it's practice or the wool. I've got 50g of pink and 50g of blue to make something for this baby.

Pink first, because it still feels like a girl... so far.

Also decided that I shouldn't be making my nephews hats when my son's hat was too small, so he got one made of BWM Luxury. Softest superwash wool ever. Here he is walking around the "lake" with it on (still a drought here) the day he got it. At first he said, "No! Go away!" when I tried to put it on his head (gratitude!) but when I offered it to his baby sister he decided he liked it after all...

His has an icord loop on top, and he likes to hang it up. Where Jasmine can't reach it. hehe.

Where's the knitting?

Nathan's been having fun in the shed, whipping me up this little gadget...


Home-made Lazy Kate. Works very well! I whipped up this...


Though I didn't much like how the colors turned out. It's a 2-ply of the 40g of multicolored wool I dyed the other day. The colors mixed a bit, and it turned out a bit too red and green. Think I like how two more-blendable colors come out better. Like this one...


It would have made a better two-ply, because it's as thick as a rope, but I had to properly test out the Lazy Kate. This is about 100g.

And now I'm onto this one, trying to keep it thin.

Sorry about the lack of knitting... I'm starting the Twilight books again Ü

Could you please knit me....?

I've had a project to do this last week, because I had a knitting request: my mum wanted a grey scarf for her birthday. Of course, I didn't find out this until her birthday, so it was a bit of a late present. I made a "scrunchable scarf" out of Luxury 10ply in "Ghost". It's very soft. Nathan held it up to his face (to his prickley cheek!) and declared it scratchy, but I don't know how he can think that. I used about 250g, but it could have been longer, I think. I like the easy, interesting rib pattern...





Then I dyed





dried






and spun up some multicolored wool while watching Twilight again. (hehe). It's only really dyed on the outside, so when I stretched and spun it, I got twists of color and white.





The green/blue stuff is done, and came to about 100g. I'm going to 2 or 3 ply it together when Nathan's finished the Lazy Kate he's making me out in the shed. Ü




The kids are having a nap, and I'm off to have one, too. For some reason I was awake all night last night, and now, of course, I'm exhausted. Stupid pregsomnia. zzzzzzz.

Beware of addiction

From two terrible "singles"...

to a dodgy 50g ball of... ummm... well, it's a 2-ply "Thick and Thin".

Now the piece that I dyed is dry, though a tiny bit felted (as I just threw it into a pot). I put blue underneath, coiled it in, and put green on top. This is a 40g single so far, and I'm getting the hang of keeping it more even, I think. I still can't seem to draw while the spindle is spinning! But we'll get to that.

I'm definitely going to need a wheel now...

Bendigo

Kelly came over on Thursday night to watch the (sleeping) kids so we (Nathan and I) could go watch Harry Potter. In the morning we (Kelly and I) dropped the kids off at Mum and Dad's and headed North to Bendigo for the annual Sheep and Wool Festival.

Since I've been on a yarn diet, I managed to save a bit of money. Apart from jam donuts and hot potatoes, I was hoping to find a few gadgets, so I found this nice umbrella swift, handmade by Ron West ...

which balled up all these soft merino skeins in no time

I also got a bit of Tarndwarncoort polworth/silk in natural colors

and some plain cream merino from Shiloh ready to practice spinning with another Ron West creation, a cute drop spindle with a banksia spine whorl.

Here is this morning's effort: a terrible, terrible 22g of very thick and very thin yarn. lol.

But it was fun. I dyed a little bit, too, to see how that works out. It's cheap, so it's good for practice. I did have a go on a nice majacraft spinning wheel, but I wasn't very good at it! I decided not to get a nice wheel until I've had a little practice...

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We got home just in time to pick up the kids for tea, so it was a long day. But the weather could hardly have been better for the middle of winter... although, as I said to Kelly, it could have been a bit cooler for a yarn festival; everyone was there with all their knitted stuff on, feeling hot!

.

Hope some of you get to go this weekend and spend some money Ü

What I've been working on...

Icecream cake. Can't believe my teeny girl is one.

This turned up on Jasmine's birthday; a present for me! It's a little bit (18m) of each of the 40 colors in the Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 4ply range. Organized on Ravelry. I'm making a scarf lengthways in garter stitch, mainly so I can use all the colors without having to sew in any ends. hehe.
As you can see, the jumper is too big for Jasmine, and she hates wearing it because she can't find her fingers! I'm so sick of this jumper now, though, I don't much want to look at it! Weird. I saw the original one on Elyse at Jasmine's party, and remembered that they're very cute when they're very little...

Byron was kind enough to show me that it will fit her fine next year.

And lastly, here is a "photo" of the project I've been working on these last 12 weeks. Strangely, it has sucked away all my desire to knit, I think because when I feel sick I want to sit very still. Plus my brain has melted Ü

Byron says it's a sister (yesterday) and a brother (today). She/He is "moving in" around the start of Feb next year. A Summer Baby! I'll have to knit 'it' birthday cotton-singlets instead of jumpers. Ü

Just in time

And here I thought the sleeves would be a breeze. They were, I guess; it's not a hard top to knit, but I was Over It before I even started the first wrist. Something about knitting lately is making me want to throw it! So I had to push myself a little to finish this for TOMORROW... Jasmine's 1st birthday jumper Ü

Here's a random one from the other day. It was a "blue sky one minute, bucketting the next" sort of day. The sun's going down and the rain is coming in.

We've had about 5 weeks of colds now. I've rotated to coughing lung chunks now, so I'm off to whinge to the doctor in a few days. Jasmine's birthday is tomorrow, and I've made up a choc-mint icecream cake. I let her taste a bit of the icecream... and she refused to try a second bite!! Oh well. Icecream cake is for mummy and daddy anyway.

I have a redback in a jar in front of my keyboard. She'd strung up a web right where I stretch out my feet under the desk, little wretch, so she got jarred. Redbacks are poisonous but not often deadly; their bites sting, though, so I don't think I'll keep her around the kids. Jasmine had three immunisations today, and that's enough drama for me!