Knitting as Blood Sport.
I’ve been doing a bit of crochet with some odds and ends from my stash – odd balls that are never going to make it in to a special project. But I’ve been fantasizing about a Babette blanket, or at least a blankie that I can make gradually, a couch project that I can pick up and put down without worry about pattern, gauge, attention span, sleep deprivation induced dementia…
And today I came across this tutorial, which shows how to make a hexagon fabric, and join new pieces as you crochet. Gorgeous, and with minimal finishing? Sold!
Now I just have to squeeze some yarn money out of our very tight budget.
Oh, and I think I might have slipped up, and offered to knit my dad a jumper like that guy on Time Team.
The Questions:
1. What is your first name? Lara
2. What is your favorite food? Tetsuyas
3. What high school did you go to? Australian International Independent School
4. What is your favorite color? Pink and Orange
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Oprah
6. Favorite drink? Gimlet
7. Dream vacation? Whale Island, Nha Trang, Vietnam
8. Favorite dessert? Caramel Dumplings
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Peaceful
10. What do you love most in life? Family
11. One Word to describe you? Fun
12. Your flickr name? discoknitter
1. New Canon EOS 30D – First shots …thank U Lara!, 2. Tetsuyas – Petit Fours, 3. Designer CONTACT +491789803472 – Phone Germany Cultural Jamming Interface Design, 4. ready for the party……???, 5. Mr. Winfrey, 6. You Lookin at My Gimlet?, 7. Whale Island, 8. Dumpling au caramel.jpg, 9. Meeting the pregnant princess of the forest, 10. Prayer, 11. breathless, 12. Baby Jacket for Inigo
I’ve seen Cat Bordhi‘s new book. New Pathways for Sock Knitters has taken the sock knitting world by storm – but since I no longer knit socks, I flicked through it without really paying attention.
Today I had the DIY Network on while I was expressing, and Cat was on Knitty Gritty, demonstrating the Coriolis Sock. So I did a quick search, and found the pattern here. I might even have a go at these, as they are knitted with a double strand of sock yarn, on much larger needles than normal socks.
A test shoot for a calendar competition I am considering entering. Not happy with any of the shots, but this one shows the singlet beautifully. Thanks Bex!
For the last three weeks, Inigo’s weight gains have been only 40-60grams. It’s on the low side of normal for his age, but it takes him further away from the 50th percentile – that he had been sneaking closer and closer to.
Today, he weighed 8.80kg, up 250gm from last week (8.55kg). That is a pretty massive gain from last week, and fantastic in the light of the past three weeks mediocre gains.
This number takes him closer to the magic 50th – of course in real terms it means nothing, but the number is significant to the paed, as it ‘s in line with his length. And, of course, it means that I can stop worrying that the minimal gains of the past weeks mean that I have to worry about another infection.
My neck feels bruised after a visit to the chiro on tuesday, but my range of movement is much improved. And Inigo had his first unsupervised play date with Charlie, a kid from our playgroup. Charlie’s mum, Liz is great, I liked her as soon as I met her, and she volunteered to take Inigo while I was a the chiro. He also stayed at Adam & Sarah’s for a few hours last Friday while I took Josephine and Owen to the hospital.
My Mr Greenjeans is coming along – after a false start and a trip to the frog pond. I’m now past the armholes and heading for the ribbing, which starts just under the boobs. I might be knitting for some time!
I finally finished the Melon Scarf (from “Victorian Lace Today”), the night of Kerry’s going away party (August 2nd, 2008). I think this project took a year from start to finish, and was even lost for a few months. I had intended it to be given to Kerry for her birthday in December 2007, and then for her last speech, but it was finally ready a couple of days before she went to Timor.
I’m really happy with the final result, but the border really kicked my butt. The scarf itself was a pleasure to knit, but this was my first attempt at a knitted on border, and I really wasn’t prepared for it to take longer to knit than the body!
The yarn is OnLine – a Croatian Tree Wool (cotton) and Viscose blend. It has a gorgeous lustre, a fabulous drape, and the colour is rich and splendid, but it was splitty, slippery, and a bitch to join one ball to the next. The whole thing will probably degrade into a pile of knots the first time it is washed or comes across a harsh breeze, but I have come to terms with that and am glad to have the thing out of my life.
The invisible omnipotent being only knows how many balls of yarn I used on the project, what needles, and all that other juicy knitting blog content that you get on real knitting blogs. All I know now is that it is done…
…and I rock!
Note: I apologise for the dodgy background. Photographs were taken in the bathroom, due to it having the best lighting in the house at 8pm, as we were due at the party at 7pm. The scarf was not blocked, and probably still smells of stale beer from a pub knitting accident.
Note Also that the model for this shot is the ubiquitous bathroom bottle of Passion Pop. But that is another story.
As a celebrant, I have an obligation to do ongoing professional development every year, and today is the day. I arrived at the venue early, after dropping the boy at Bev & Ted’s (they were there, I didn’t leave him in an empty house!), and tried to find a park.
I thought I would find a park behind Glebe library, and went up a narrow laneway towards it, only to find that the entrance was at the other end of the carpark. Reversing, I encountered an unexpected telephone pole.
The car bumper is scratched (but it was already scratched), and I have whiplash. But at least Inigo wasn’t in the car!
A few weeks ago, I dragged the boy out in the cold so that we could knit for charity at the ABC studios in Ultimo.
Here‘s a link to the ABC site with pictures. And there is a pic of Inigo and I here. Which I found out about today, Lyndal from R+L told me!
Inigo inspects the specifications before embarking on the project.
Bex and Miss Fe workshop the finer details
Excitement reaches fever pitch
Cecilia is voted “Girl Most Likely”
It was early – it really was that blurry!
And then Miss Fe took us down to the dungeon where she works
Bex meets Big Ted
Cecilia meets Little Ted
Emily is concerned that Aussie Humpty is a poor copy of the English original
Big Ted thrills yet another generation (I think he was around when I was a little tacker!)
Inigo tells Henny Penny about her cousins in the wilds of Granville
Interview with the Nerdy Husband:
Lara: What is your favourite thing about my knitting?
Nerd: It makes you happy.
Lara: What is your least favourite thing about my knitting?
Nerd: Sometimes it takes you away from me.
Lara: What is something I have knitted, that you recall as good?
Nerd: The shawl that you knitted for my mother (Swallowtail).
Lara: Do you think knitters have an expensive hobby?
Nerd: Not excessively, no. There are plenty of more expensive hobbies.
Lara: You don’t spend much money on gaming, do you?
Nerd: Not since I cancelled my WoW subscription.
Lara: Do you have a gaming stash?
Nerd: Yes, a shelf full of gaming books.
Lara: Have I ever embarrassed you, knitting in public.
Nerd: No.
Lara: Do you know my favourite kind of yarn?
Nerd: No, it changes.
Lara: Can you name another blog?
Nerd: Yes I can. Web Goddess, Subversive Lesbian Knitter. Several.
Lara: Now, do you mind my wanting to stop at knit shops wherever we go?
Nerd: Mmmm. No.
Lara: Do you understand the importance of a swatch?
Nerd: (Laughs) Yes. From bitter experience. (He knits, but isn’t big on swatches, or patterns for that matter)
Lara: Do you read DiscoKnitter?
Nerd: Yes. What a silly question.
Lara: Have you ever left a comment?
Nerd: Yes. (in fact, he can comment without being moderated – it feels a bit intimate really!)
Lara: Do you the house would be cleaner if I didn’t knit?
Nerd: Only that there wouldn’t be a huge pile of yarn in the study, but you’d probably just collect something else!
Lara: Thank you for this insightful interview. Would you like to add anything in closure?
Nerd: Knitting is fun. Sometimes.
——————
Idea stolen from several places – but I think IrishEyes was first!
Disco Knitter 
