Needs

I don't usually do this, but it seemed like a good laugh. I found this idea on this blog. Type your name followed by "needs" into Google and see what you need.
1. Disquina [not her real name] needs to be prompted to see a reproductive endocrinologist.
2. Disquina needs someone to buy her debt.
3. Disquina needs cheese.
4. Disquina needs to stop living vicariously through her daughter.
5. Disquina needs officers or will cease to exist.
6. Disquina needs to get her priorities straight.
7. Disquina needs to die.
8. Disquina needs to shut the fuck up [pardon me, just quoting Google].
After this they start to get dull.

Yummy

I forgot a couple of things yesterday, a couple of tasty morsels.

Morsel #1:

Noro Kureyon Sock yarn. 4 ply, pretty colours. What on Earth am I going to do with it? So many possibilities. Lace? Perhaps. Hmm.

Morsel #2:

Terrible photo. It's actually chocolatey in colour. Lovely 8 ply Perendale from the guy at the Bus Depot Markets for hubby's jumper-to-be. One day. I just like to cuddle up to this stuff.

I have big time cat envy. All around me people are cuddling cats, and yet I am catless. My boy passed away in 2007: That's a little cat treat he's interrogating there. 15 years old and then bitten by a snake. Then when we moved into the share house we currently live in, we adopted the resident cat Kujo (as we re-named him) who had been abandoned by previous tenants and was unwanted by the current ones. He had lived at the house for several years, but about three weeks after we adopted him, and he was starting to enjoy sleeping in my armchair, he died from causes which looked suspiciously snake-biteesque. It's terrible, but I pine for a cat. I dream about them all the time, mostly my old boy coming back. I see them on just about every blog I look at, and I can't resist looking at them in the pet shops. The other week on the radio I heard an interview with a man who wrote a book about the grief he had resulting from the death of his cat Blackie (also the title of the book) who died from a brain tumour. Sometimes I think the universe is trying to punch me in the face. My boy died a month after my brother's death from a brain tumour. I feel so silly getting sad about not having a cat when life is so precious and beautiful!

I'm not always a miserable sod you know!

Universes

Now I know that it would seem that I am slack, and if knitting is truly the centre of the universe, as I often suspect it is, then that would be entirely true. However, the world tells me that knitting is not in fact the centre of the universe, and that knitting is in fact a distraction from what one ought to be doing (which is why it is so enjoyable). I have been working quite hard on my research lately, and until an hour ago had not knitted a stitch for two weeks.
The knitting in question is Laminaria. I am perhaps a quarter of the way through it:

I decided not to do the star stitch repeat in the pattern because I wanted a more open lacey look, so I replaced it with honeycomb stitch. I'm not sure if it matches the look of the rest of the pattern really, but of course you can't tell until it's finished and blocked:

I'm sure it will be fine. I'm looking forward to having a lovely lacey shawl, especially now that the weather has gone mad here in Canberra. I have a lovely blue and green silk dress which this shawl will look spectacular with. I'll have to make hubby take me out for a fine meal at a respectable establishment so I have an excuse to wear them together.

I have been going a little mad. Well, I can't put it into words. I have "issues" which I won't bore anyone with, but I can be fine for a couple of months, quite happy and working well, and then within half an hour one day for no reason I turn into a mess. I panic, I can't sleep, I can't assess anything rationally, every dark thought becomes obsessively turned over and over in my mind. I know a lot of people have these sorts of problems. I think reading stories in the papers about the deaths of so many people in Victoria is bound to set these things off. Since my brother died, I take every death I hear about personally, and to see photo's of these people is heartbreaking. Grief is so incapacitating, and we are not allowed to talk about it openly. I don't know why. What I wanted to get to is that I think that knitting plays a large role in the control of my mental health. I knew when I woke up this morning that I couldn't possibly work today, so I finally picked up Laminaria again, and I really do feel better already. Perhaps it's the familiar comfort of one stitch after another, or the enforced rest and contemplation. Maybe I've been working too hard. I won't go on about it. Knitting good. Working bad.

Back at Last

Well I'm back from the Victorian countryside. So much green it hurts. It's always brown or grey here at home. I didn't knit a single stitch! I had Laminaria with me the whole time, but I was so busy or exhausted I didn't even cast on. I did however finish the second Coronet for hubby's grandmother. 'ere 'tis:

I'm quite happy with it, more so than with the purple one. The mercerised cotton looks lovely and shiny. It's got me so excited that I want to knit doilys for everything! I've never understood doilys, what the hell you're supposed to do with them, but now I realise that it doesn't matter what you do with them, they're just fun to make! I'm keen to do the Primula design in the same book now, but I really must start Laminaria. I'll cast on tonight! I've been so busy since I got home making jam and jelly and beer, because it's the season for these types of things! So much fruit around so cheap. The blackberries will be out soon, and I'm planning blackberry jam, blackberry wine and whole blackberries in syrup for winter desserts! Last year me and hub picked two buckets, and that was only one day. We didn't get around to going back for more. Anyway, these are topics which probably require their own blog, but since I'm so slack about updating this one, I'm not sure it's a good idea to take on another.
Well I did have a little bit of a fibre-lover's holiday, thanks to hubby being such an angel who thinks that knitting is cool rather than boring. We stopped off at an alpaca farm in West Gippsland called something like Candeleraine. They were very nice, and even offered me work handknitting shawls from their 2 ply to sell in their shop! I said yes of course, although I'm not sure that I can really fit knitting shawls for money into a full time PhD schedule... We also stopped at the National Wool Museum in Geelong. Unfortunately it was a real disappointment. Especially since we went to Geelong especially for it, and paid $110 for our motel room and everything. It could have been so good, there was so much potential. I guess wool museums don't get much funding hey? There were definitely parts I liked, like the carpet machine demonstration, and some of the demo knitting machines. I think the shop could have had a lot more stuff too. I was expecting to have to make painful decisions about what wool I could and couldn't live without, but they didn't actually have any wool I wanted to buy at all. There were some lovely jumpers and shawls and things though. Australia is the biggest exporter of wool in the world. Surely there could have been more Australian wool products? (The little toy sheep were made in China, the second largest wool exporter). I did buy a handy little wool directory though, which lists heaps of wool-related companies and organisations. We were going to stop at Bendigo Woollen Mills, but they were closed. In the height of holiday season. We almost considered staying in Bendigo overnight so we could go the next day, but then I found out from the tourist info place that you can't actually see the mill itself, just the shop, and I thought well I can buy from them on the internet. I know about the famous back room and everything, but it wasn't worth staying a whole extra night, especially since funds were low by this time (thankyou Geelong). However, I learned about the Australian Sheep and Wool Show held in Bendigo in July, and I thought that would be a good opportunity to see BWM instead. I think I might saving now for that trip!

In which Disquina makes more work for herself.

Time for a monster post.

So, what's news?
Well, by now one would expect me to be posting about a lovely finished Swallowtail Shawl, because in the last post I was saying how I had finally finished the repeats on the budding lace. However. Because I had only just finished the same shawl not long ago, I didn't look at the pattern for some reason, and when I tried the first row of the lily of the valley pattern and found the stitches didn't add up, I realised that instead of doing 14 repeats of the budding lace repeat, I had done 16. Well I contemplated ripping back to the 14th repeat, but then thought "ah bugger it, the shawl is too small anyway, I'll make it larger!". So I pulled out the calculator and worked out how many repeats of this that and the other etc., and then found that someone on Ravelry had already worked it all out, which is a relief, because when I alter patterns I have anxiety attacks the whole time I'm knitting in case I've buggered it up.

So I kept knitting, but in the back of my mind a wise voice was telling me "you don't have enough yarn, idjit, what are you doing?". And of course the voices were right, as usual. So now I have to order more of the Regia, and have found that I can only get this colourway from Germany or France. So, after Christmas when money is less scarce I'll order another ball and hope that the dyelot difference isn't really obvious.

Next: Why I haven't posted lately - finished objects:

Pattern: Coronet Design doilie/doiley/doyley from The First Book of Modern Lace Knitting by Marianne Kinzel.
Yarn: Some cheap maroon cotton I bought from Spotlight many years ago. They don't seem to have it anymore. It's about a 4 ply or size 8.
Needles: 2.75mm.
I reckon: This was fun. I've never knitted flat in the round before, and it was a great learning experience. This doilie is quite large, about 40cm across.
It's a Christmas present for my beloved grandmother. I starched it (which I've never done in my life). I boiled some cornflour in water and soaked the doilie for a couple of minutes and then pinned it out. It sure is solid. I'm not sure how solid doilies are supposed to be! This one was actually just going to be a trial, and I was just going to do a couple of rows before starting a white one in mercerised cotton, but you know how it goes, I couldn't put it down, so I just finished it.

Next:

Pattern: Extermiknit
Yarn: Lincraft Cozy Wool (grey) and Cleckheaton Country 8 ply (black).
Needles: 3mm
I reckon: Very fun to knit. Weighted with a homemade sandbag in the bottom. I don't think I'll do the sandbag again, it makes it less cuddly. Xmas present for hubby's cousin.

So, what about that order from Bendigo Woollen Mills?

mmmmmmmm.......

aaaaaahhhhhhhhh........

The green 2 ply (Guava) is about to become Laminaria as soon as xmas knitting is over. As for the Cherry Red 2 ply, well I keep changing my mind. I was thinking of various lacey shawls, but I've also been contemplating a design of my own. That one is still on the backburner.

As for the Red Tweed fibre, well it'll wait around for a while, but depending on how well the spinning comes out, it'll probably be a jumper or something. There is a kilo of the stuff! So cheap! I was a bit annoyed that BWM overcharged me, although it was only by $1.50 or something. The wool is all so cheap that it really would be ridiculous to complain. They've really expanded their colour range since the last sample card I got in 2006. The colours are much more usable I think.

So there's just one more piece of xmas knitting to finish as quickly as possible before we go on our travels around beautiful Victoria (during which we'll drop in on BWM in case there's anything I missed...), Coronet #2. This one's in DMC Cébélia (size 10) on 2.25mm needles:

I was worried about using mercerised cotton, because the last time I tried to knit with it, it was so slippery it just drove me nuts, but I'm knitting this on some cheap plastic dpns, and the cotton sticks to them quite well. This one is for Hubby's grandmother whom we're having xmas with this year. I thought a doilie and a jar of homemade strawberry jam would be a nice present for a fine elderly lady I hardly know.

Hubby's present. I have no pictures yet, but I can talk about it freely because he doesn't read this. There's a guy at the Kingston Bus Depot Markets who sells these lovely skeins of several types of wool, some dyed, some natural. I bought three 300g skeins of brown perendale 8 ply which will become a Norwegian Lusekofta jumper with the patterning in natural white from the same guy. This is one project I'm really looking forward to. I've squished the skeins into a box and wrapped it up. I chucked a few heavy candles in there too so he doesn't guess what it is from the weight. He's completely mystefied, which is exactly how it should be!

One last thing. Lately I've been hearing a lot of bad-mouthing about blogs. I don't know why anyone even bothers to complain about them. If you don't like it, don't read it! I know that the idea of reading what some stranger thinks or does seems boring to the average smarty pants, but the amount of knowledge I have picked up from blogs is phenomenal. We learn from eachother, we interact with eachother and we learn even more. Perhaps 50-90% of what I write here is boring, but somebody somewhere may learn something new and expand their world, and that is the most important thing I can think of.

Bits and Bobs

So, what have I been up to?
Well, I finished the last repeat of the budding lace repeat on Swallowtail #2 at the Tilley's Stitch and Bitch last night. I'm glad to be done with that, it was getting quite tiresome:

I'm still not sure that I like the yarn choice, except of course it always looks much better after blocking.

I've been to the 2 northside S&B's and they were great. It turns out that other people are not as scary as they're cracked up to be! It was lovely to be sharing knitting with other people. In a way, there doesn't seem to be much point if there's no one to share it with. I've been going to see my grandmother in the hospital to show her what I'm working on, and she looks approvingly at my work, but can't speak. She was looking closely at Swallowtail #1 and having a good feel of it, so at least we can still share knitting in one direction...

I've been planning future projects. I'm keen to try the Spring Shawl from Heirloom Knitting. It'll be a challenge, but if I just take my time and take it easy, I'll get there eventually. So I've been trying to find an economical way to do the shawl, and trying to use what I have instead of buying more and more yarn, so I was thinking of dyeing that 31 wpi merino I showed off last post, and in an effort to be really cheap, I was thinking of dyeing it with food colouring, because I've had some success with it in the past. So here is a sample of "Pillar Box Red", and I think it's pretty much the colour I want.

Of course the problem with cutting too many corners expense-wise is that you're at risk of spending many months of your life making a pile of crap. I should probably do this properly and just spend the money. But what the hell am I going to do with that lovely merino? I keep changing my mind.

Another piece in the works is an asymmetrical cardigan in Cleckheaton Vintage Hues. Spotlight was having a sale, and there they were, bags and bags of the stuff for $3 a ball. I just couldn't bear to walk away. I almost did, and 10 metres later I turned back again and jumped in. I got 20 balls, which should be more than enough for a nice cardy. I'm getting a bit sick of my tatty old handspun altered Central Park Hoodie which I've been wearing for 2 Winters now. So here's a sample of Vintage Hues in moss stitch:

The transition looks lovely and soft in moss stitch, but I know that on the cardie they're going to be quite narrow stripes, and I'm not sure how flattering that will be for my, um, voluptuous proportions... Nonetheless, I've measured it up after washing, and it's 15 st/inch, and of course moss stitch is so incredibly flexible anyway. So next I just need to sit down with the calculator and work out how many stitches I need etc. and where to do the waist shaping. I got this idea after seeing Buttony. Looking forward to the finished product.

Ooh, ooh, I'm sitting out on the front porch writing this, and the postie just arrived with my sample card from Bendigo Woollen Mills! I'm so excited I have to look at them right now!
Mmmmmm, drool.... (excuse me while I wipe the keyboard). It's all too much! So many beautiful colours!! Aaaaaarrrgghhhh!!! I get paid on Thursday, and now all of it is already spoken for! I guess it's porridge and rice again for the next fortnight. I am definitely getting the 2 ply in Guava for Laminaria! It's heavenly.....

Anyway, where was I? Ah yes. Here are some close-ups of the nupps on Swallowtail #1 for Bells:

They weren't really very hard, just a bit cumbersome at first until you get the tension right. Think of it this way, if you think they're pretty loose, make them looser. It can be really hard to get the needle through them all on the purl row if they're not really loose. After a couple of rows of them, they fly by, and they really do look quite nice really.

One final thing:

I bought this cute little guy at the Gormon House Markets in the early months of the year. He has a zip on top and is lined with fabric and is just perfect for my camera to stay safe in. He's so gorgeous I just wanted to share him.

By the way, I've finished my annual report, so I'm not being naughty!

Treasures, Arrrr

Well this isn't so much of a treasure (arrr). This is the Regia I'm doing Swallowtail #2 in. It really is a sock yarn, it just doesn't feel quite right for a lacy shawl, but I've had it hanging around for years, and I may as well just do something with it. By the way, it seems that Blogger only does pictures in giganto mode. I'm working on a solution!


This is a treasure, have a look at this baby!

It's probably not obvious, but this is about 4km of 31 wpi merino which I bought from the Salvo's for......$3!!!!!! Holy Moses that was a good find. I don't expect anything like that to happen ever again. Sigh. My only problem is that I covet it so much that I can't bear to use it. I look up patterns, or attempt to design patterns, and none of them seem worthy! I would really have to dye it if I were to wear it, because I just don't do white, but how can I possibly dye it when the next day I might change my mind? I know I know, I could always buy something similar. I was considering possibly using it to make Margaret Stove's Flowering Eucalyptus Shawl and dyeing it a eucalypt or olive green, so I tried to find one on Ravelry knitted by someone else, but no one seems to have done it on there, and it would be good to see how it turns out, because I can't get much of an impression from the photo's in the book (Creating Original Hand-Knitted Lace). I guess the only thing to do is knit some samples and see if I like how it looks...but still, that wool is so gorgeous.... Another option I've though of is to knit some gorgeous amazing baby shawl of my own design for the baby (-ies) I will one day have, but I don't know if I can capture the zeitgeist required for such a sentimental undertaking. Maybe that sort of thing ought to be done when the baby is known to be coming to harness then necessary emotions to create something amazing.

Well I think I'm going to Stitch and Bitch tonight. I'm pretty nervous, going all alone, but the automatically generated reminder email was encouraging to newbies!

Woopidoo

Well I'm back at last, and I've finished the Swallowtail Shawl. Here it is just after casting off, before blocking:

Being blocked (on a blanket wrapped around a huge piece of cardboard from a recent Ikea acquisition - unfortunately the main blanket is grey, the same grey as the wool):

And some close-ups of course:

And me wearing it, front:

Back:

Whew. Talk about procrastination of a lifetime. I've been frantically knitting this in order to avoid writing my Annual Report and Thesis Proposal Review. I'm trying to be half good, so I haven't allowed myself to blog, hence why I haven't posted recently.

What I think about working this pattern:
Nupps - At first I was wondering "why the hell make nupps? They're a pain in the arse and look like a mess", but now I see why. They were a bit painful at first, but if you just allow heaps of slack, it's not too much of a drama.

Cast-off - I love the cast-off used in this pattern, I've never seen it before - k1, *k1, k2tog*, repeat to end. It's a lovely springy edge, not tight and ugly as they often are.

Size - it's a bit small, but I knew it was going to be.

Wool - not the best colour, a bit scratchy, and fibres seem to come off, float around and make me sneeze, but I guess you can't expect too much for a $5 handspun bargain. I weighed the shawl when it was done - 152g - I weighed the remains of the ball - 153g - a bit creepy.
The pattern - once I used my brain, it was really easy and clear to follow.

So I was thinking that next I would finish that Versatility adaptation I mentioned in the last post, but it keeps buggering up! Very irritating. So, for the moment, I'm going to do something I didn't plan to do, I'm going to knit the shawl again! I have this variegated sock yarn in blues and greens made by Regia (the photo of which I have temporarily misplaced). It's just to fill in the gap until I can afford some yarn for something more substantial. I'm in the mood for lace at the moment, and I just don't feel like working on the other projects waiting in line...

Speaking of lace, I've joined in on A Long Lacy Summer on Bells's blog to keep me motivated, although it's all casual, so I won't get too worked up. I'm considering making a doilie or a lace tablecloth from Marianne Kinzel's First Book of Modern Lace Knitting which is funny, because Bells is too. I need to get some cotton though, so next payday will be the decider.

Something else new for me is that I may, possibly, go to Stitch and Bitch tomorrow night in Civic. I'm scared. I tried to get someone to come with me, but to no avail. The message says newbies are welcome and all that, but I'm not accustomed to new people and all that. I'm such a coward. I really will try to go, although it is on Uni Pub kebab night, which is breaking my heart.

I've also joined Ravelry, and am terrified of the potential it has to suck entire weeks out of my life. There is just so much candy to taste that I'm at risk of becoming morbidly obese with knitty treasures. Lordy me.

One last thing, because I really have to get back to writing that report. The shawl I wore for my wedding. It was knitted by my grandmother for my mum to wear at my parents' wedding, which was in about 1973 I believe. I was married back in April this year. The pictures don't show the shawl all that well:

Hubby looks pretty freaked out in the last one. Well he was freaked out. He wouldn't look at me for the first half of the ceremony because he thought he might cry! In a good way though!

The shawl is a lovely length, made from handspun silk. It feels like heaven and is nice and warm for a mid-Autumn afternoon. I gave it back to Mum, and don't have any decent photo's of it. I'll see if I can get some. In case you were wondering, the dress was made by my favourite clothes designer in the universe, High Tea with Mrs. Woo, a Newcastle (Australia) designer.

Blogger is an effing pain in the arse to use.

Back to work!

Gee Whiz

Holy Smokes! I just discovered that there are a bunch of Canberra knitting bloggers. I'm exhilarated and terrified. Dare I enter the world of Other People? Anonymity is so warm and cozy...

Catching Up

Okay, my latest projects, in rough chronological order. I did once have a rule that I am only allowed to do one knitting project at a time, but I decided that was boring. Why have one mess lying around when you can have dozens?

#1 Hmm, started this some time early 2007 I think. My version of a fisherman's guernsey. Here it is up to the armpits, in the round Zimmerman style:

And a close-up of that decorated panel:

This jumper/sweater/whatever is designed to fit around my rather large bust without being a sack. The moss stitch and cables panel begins below my boobs and up to the shoulders, and below the boob region it's just plain knit. Unlike traditional guernseys, the pattern doesn't go around the back. The idea is that because the moss stitch is stretchy it will stretch over the lumpy region while the plain parts stay where they are. You'll get what I mean when I finish it....one day. I've started the first sleeve, but I put it down a long time ago and haven't picked it up again. I have to remember all the numbers and wotnot and just haven't got my arse into gear yet. The wool is from a lambswool op-shop jumper I ripped.

#2 Started October 2007. Norwegian patterned socks.

These were supposed to be hubby's birthday present last year. He has two gorgeous Norwegian cardigans, one hand-knitted by his great-aunt for his father. I've been promising for quite a while that I would knit him a jumper version (steeks and all) of the handknit cardie so he could wear it around without fear of damaging the heirloom. Well it's an expensive exercise for us struggling artist/academics, so I started a pair of socks to whet our appetites using the patterns on the cardie, but I guess I just got sick of knitting more bloody socks, so I put them down, one day to be finished, maybe. I don't really like them all that much. I actually hate this shade of grey. It looks so artificial. When I eventually get around to the jumper, I'll use Rainbow Wools. Their colours are just lovely, and last time I checked they had a nice realistic grey!

#3 November 2008: Ugly Knee Rug

I knitted quite a nice scarf in this pattern a while back. A few weeks ago I decided to knit something, anything. We had just moved and I was organising my (surprisingly small) stash, and I decided to use up all of the tail ends of the 8-ply wools. I just started this because I knew it would be brainless. I'm not sure that I like it much either, but I'll keep plugging on.

#4 November 2008: My own version of Amanda Williams' Versatility in the recent issue of Knitty.

Long story. I fell in love with this pattern, mostly for the concept. So clever. My only problem is getting wool which is 114g/113m. That is huge. I found some very close, but in hideous colours and variegations. I'm not too keen on buying yarn unseen over the internet unless it is very cheap, so instead I bought a colour I could live with (Patons Inca, can't remember the colour) in a fairly heavy weight and designed my own more lacy version, a hybrid of Versatility and Susan Pierce Lawrence's Branching Out. However I keep making booboos with numbers, so I have to rip out the latest attempt, re-chart and start again. In the meantime we have...

#5 November 2008: Evelyn Clark's Swallowtail Shawl.

And a close-up:

It has actually progressed a fair bit since this photo was taken. I've finished the budding lace repeats and am up to the beginning of the end. I saw this on Franklin's* blog and decided I would just jump to it. I'm using some handspun I bought at a garage sale. I couldn't believe it when I found this stuff, about a kilo of handspun, 18 wpi, for $5! I'm sure the woman selling it couldn't have been the spinner. The other stuff she had was all odds and ends of acrylic.


I'm not sure exactly what the fibre is. My aunt thinks perhaps mohair or something goaty, because it has lots of longer black hairs, and it is quite fluffy, although not too much so. It's not terribly silky, a bit rough in fact. Anyway, this should be finished within the next couple of days.

Well now we're all up to speed, the blogging process can begin. Next time we will look at what is on my to-do list.
I have been very naughty, because I've been working on this entry for over an hour, and I really should have been writing my Annual Report. Sigh. By the way, I apologise for the terrible quality of the images. I shall endeavour to do something about it. I'm also having trouble with the consistency of blogger's layout. I'll see what I can do, because I loathe bad formatting!

*Isn't it funny how if you read someone's blog for long enough, you feel entitled to refer to him by the first name, even when the person in question doesn't know you from a stalker? I'm not a stalker by the way.

Holy Mackeral and a History

I simply can not believe that this blog is still here! I'm going to start 'er up again. I also can't believe that I made this blog pink! Must fix that. I've been knitting lately, and have been feeling the urge to share it. Maybe one day someone will actually read this.
It's been a long time, and so much has happened since I last updated. I'm going to just get it all out right now, and maybe it won't come up again, or maybe it will.
Well....
Soon after my last entry, I knitted a guernsey for my beloved brother Alex, who a few days after I had started this blog was diagnosed with a brain tumour. I had taken time out of my studies to help my mother care for him, getting him to his treatments etc. His tumour shrank and we got back to life as usual. I knitted that guernsey in 4 or 5 weeks in order to get it to him for his 30th birthday. I learned to knit while walking (ball under the arm) and knitted my brains out. I got it done and got it to him, and he loved it and wore it happily. Four months later, a new tumour had grown, and within a few weeks, Alex died, on the 20th of September 2007 at 4.10am. There is absolutely no point at all in me trying to express anything about the whole issue. There is nothing that humans can say which means anything in the face of death. All I will say is that it has been hard, life is completely different, and I will never ever get over it. A few weeks later my cat Pussal died at 15 years old of a snake bite.
On the 3rd of March 2008 I started a PhD on metal vessel manufacturing technology of the Bronze Age Aegean (don't ask, please!). On the 26th of April I got married to Bubbadoo (not his real name). About a month ago my 90 year old grandmother had a stroke. Last weekend my new cat Kujo died three weeks after I acquired him! Soooo.... the universe has twisted my life into something entirely unrecogniseable. However, I have recently started knitting again because I have spent long hours sitting with my grandmother in hospital. She can't talk, is half paralysed and sleeps most of the time, but it's comforting to be with her, and I hope she gets something out of it too! The doctors say her higher functions are gone, but that's bollocks. I have a few projects on the go, and I need to share them, so there will be piccies to follow.
Another thing. I am an extremely shy person, terribly introverted and embarassed over the most ridiculously minuscule issues. I love writing, but am always horrified by anything I write as soon as I write it, especially once it is in the public sphere. This blog will hopefully force me to just write and let it be, and maybe that will bring me out of my shell. I will not edit anything after I've written it, and hopefully one day I will use my real name. You may think I'm being ridiculous. Part of me knows that I am, another part wants to scrunch into the foetal position rocking back and forth just at the thought of thinking about writing for other people! Please be kind!

This program will be resumed shortly...

Never fear legions of fans and admirers, Disquina will soon be back in action after she finally finishes her 7.5 years of university on Thursday the 21st of June at 12pm! Stay tuned for more rivetting tales of knitting and self-righteous bitching!

I'm really bad. Haven't updated in a long time. BUT I'm still being constructive and creating stuff. I've learned crochet! At least some very simple crochet, and I'm making a veil for belly dancing! Here's the progress so far:

And I know you can't see what I've done to the edge. so here it is:

So simple yet effective. I'm putting on another row with some coins so that it jingles a little bit. My grandmother showed me how to do it, and now that I know, I reckon I could make entire dancing outfits. My next feat will be a coin belt with gold-flecked maroon thread on red or purple velvet (haven't decided yet). I think the veil will be finished by tomorrow.

The veil is actually a royal purple chiffon, though of course you can't see it in the shot, and the crochet is this lovely glossy cherry-coloured thread; it reminds me of that Beatrix Potter story, I think it was The Tailor of Gloucester or something like that, and the tailor is freaking out, because he's run out of cherry-coloured twist (actually, the cat hid it).

And next:

Oooooooooh!!

Aaaaaaaaaaah!

I am so spoiled! Madeline you are a legend! It's funny to be getting these pressies from the other side of the planet, and then find they're being sent by an Australian! Everything is beautiful. I can't believe you told me I could rip out the panta. I love it! It's a bit warm to wear it for too long at the moment, but it'll be perfect for Winter. Nice and big, almost hides my new short hair (good for greasy days)! I liked it so much that I looked up the pattern and knitted another one, but somehow the shape isn't as good as your one. I forgot to take a piccie before the batteries died in my camera. Next time! As for the wash cloth, it is so beautiful that I don't want to wash my filthy face with it! The Rowan cotton feels lovely and soft. One day I'll knit something in cotton. The stitch markers will be good too. I've made some for others, but the only ones I've used myself are these little plastic rings from spotlight, half of which are broken before you open the packet. And that soap is humungous. It smells lovely.

I've had such a great time with this secret pal business, but I've been so busy that I feel I haven't had enough time to do it justice. Who would have thought that the day I started this blog, May 11 I think, that my brother would be diagnosed with a brain tumour and my whole world, and that of everyone I love, would be turned upside down. It's been almost 6 months since then, and I feel like a completely different person. I would never have survived without the support of my lovely boy Luke, and having knitting there to keep me busy when I started to become obsessive with grief. I've taken up belly dancing, which I love so much, and I started running three days a week, and have lost over 10kg as a result, and regained my self-esteem, I've quit smoking and I now only eat beautiful food made by nature, not man, and my body is loving it. Watching someone struggle for their life makes you re-evaluate your own, and I've discovered that life is absolutely fucking fantastic.

Enough drivel. The Melbourne Cup is about to start, and I've got some crocheting to get on with.

Damn Buggeration

Alas, I've decided to rip the sock and start again. Ladders! Freakin' ladders are forming between the needles, and it doesn't matter how tight I pull the stitches at the ends of the needles, they just won't go away:


I've never had this trouble before, and I've decided that it must be that the tension is too loose, so it's getting ripped and I'll start again on 2.25 needles with 60 sts round, instead of 48 sts on 3mm. I did actually notice earlier on that it seemed a bit loose, but I chose to ignore it, and now I pay the price! Very slow progress, but I've just been busy doing other things. It's getting pretty hot these days - was 33C the other day. Not natural knitting weather I suppose. We'll get there though.

Hair 'n' Stuff

Here we go, a bona fide blog entry!
Well after 20 years of long hair, I've finally had the chop. In this pic I look pretty haggard, but it's really not that bad!

I think maybe I look older, but like I'm having more fun! I did actually cry a little when she cut it off, which was pretty embarressing, but the haridresser had been a bit snappy with me before, and after I cried she was a lot nicer. That's terrible isn't it? It makes me sound like a sooky lala! Anyway, that's how I am I guess. Crybaby at the drop of a hat.

And in other news, I have been knitting again! I went to the Canberra Spinners and Weavers group this morning with my grandmother, which we usually do every week, but lately I've been busy travelling with my bro, getting him to appointments etc., but today I finally started those socks with the Fyberspates sock wool generously bestowed upon me by my lovely one skein pal. While the exchange is supposed to be over, I have the excitement of having it drawn out a little longer. It's funny, but I feel this strange connection to you secret pal, although I have no idea what your name is, what your sex is, what you look like, anything. Despite this, it's nice to send off or receive a friendly email. It seems you're like a guardian angel watching over my shoulder - or at least my blog! Well I'm sure that's all silly. Here is the beginning:

This one is a toe-up, which I've never done before. I've knitted so many top-down socks that I'm sick of them, so I thought that I could learn something new this way, plus I can use up all of the wool and make the socks as long as possible. I started the sock using the toe cast on from Anna Zilboorg's Fancy Feet (a book I love and adore and am dying to get a copy of), but I don't like how she does the heel - leaving a gap and putting it in afterwards - so I'm trying a heel from Wiseneedle.com. At the top of the sock I'll be doing some entrelac like on Dad's socks, but this time I'll try to avoid making them bulge so much. The width of the foot and leg is 48 stitches on 3mm needles, so they're about 18cm around. Seems to be working out so far. I absolutely hated starting on the toe - so few stitches on so many damn needles! But now I'm on to the brainless knit, knit, knit. I can't wait to see what the entrelac will look like with this wool.

I'm having a bit of an issue at the moment. Knitwankers. People who think that they're king shit because of how they knit. I've had several knitters mention to me that they don't use patterns when they're doing this that or the other, as though that makes you amazing, a genius ahead of your time! Sometimes I use patterns, sometimes I don't, but who gives a crap? Knitting is a creative process which people do for their own entertainment. It doesn't matter how you do it, and thinking you can piss all over other people who are enjoying themselves anyway is pretty pathetic. Besides, there is always someone better than you at anything you do, no matter how good you are at it. Comparing your skills to others is just pointless and soul destroying. Do it for the love of the art, not to make you feel that you're better than others.

Sorry, bit of a rant there. We're all equal. That's all. Man, I wish I had some kindred spirited knitters to talk to. The spinners group is okay, but often some ladies just sit around complaining about the younger generations (of which I am helplessly part, no matter how hard I try to be 50 years older!). Last time I went I was getting so offended that I had to go and sit outside with another lady who was on her own in the sunshine, and we had a lovely chat. Life is so beautiful, aren't there better things to do other than complain about everything? I guess I'm a bit of a hypocrite hey? One good thing I've noticed about the older ladies is that (most of them) actually listen when you talk, pay attention to what you say and remember it for later reference instead of just waiting for you to finish so that they can talk about themselves!

Ah, enough bitching. Better go before I become annoying.

I'm in Trouble

Whoops, haven't updated for almost a month and I got in trouble with the Aussie web ring dudes. I just haven't been knitting! I'm a very changeable person, and I have about a trillion hobbies. I've been sewing new clothes, which I desperately need, and working on my Kombi, which needs a hell of a lot of work. I didn't really think knitters would be interested at all! I'm also about to get my hair chopped off. It's been long for as long as I can remember, so I'm a bit freaked. Sigh. I'll try to do something knit-related to update with. Not enough bloody hours in the day.

Holy Balloony, Batman

Wow, I don't know where to start.
I just realised that people have left comments on this blog. I had no idea! I'll have a look at them when I've finished this. I can't believe that anyone is actually reading this!

Well, maybe I'll start with this!:

Yes! It's me and Bubby about to take off in a balloon! And here's proof that we did:

I particularly like this photo. We had to drive around for about an hour to find the right spot to take off from, and I was sure that the wind would be wrong and we'd have to wait till the next day, but then it just happenned!

Bubby was very snap-happy. And before you say it yourself, I know that I look like some kind of freakish gypsy witch or something. Here I am on my broomstick! Cackle cackle.

Well I didn't finish the socks in time for Father's Day, so Iwrapped up the first sock and gave it to Dad, and the other should be finished soon. Everything's been so crazy. I just found out that one of my friends has just bought a house, and my best friend from primary school has just had a baby! Jeez, and I still feel like a little kid messing around and having fun. Apparently I'm supposed to be all growed up now! Well I can tell you, I ain't doin' either of those things for quite some time.

Anyway, now on to the grand finale. I got a box from Mr. Postman. I opened it a little bit and there was a box within the box...

So I opened it a little bit more, and discovered a little treasure trove of red goodness!

And then I just went apeshit and opened all of the little packages and squealed with delight at each one!

Well Jeanne, this is absolutely beautiful! You put so much thought into it, and it was so exciting! Oh yeah, and Pussal enjoyed his part in the excitement!:

Mmmmm, Tasty Morsel!!

Pussal is so unaccustomed to receiving gifts that he wasn't quite sure what to do at first, but he soon made short work of that morsel!

I'm starting to feel a bit guilty that maybe my packages aren't quite up to scratch! I loved how every little parcel had red stars on it! I'm wearing the lipbalm and earrings right now, I've eaten half of the skittles (whoops) and I've drooled over the magazine several times already. I love this world, where you can receive a beautiful gift from someone on the other side of the planet who you've never met and there's so much thought put into it! Sorry, I sometimes go all gooey over the beauty of life.

Thank you once again Jeanne, and I hope that the present you receive from your pal makes all your care and attention worthwhile!