I am stunned after that Imogen post, thanks for the emails and comments. I should get myself a website so that I can post patterns and things like that, without filling up the blog, but hey, we all know that ain’t gonna happen anytime soon, unless I decrease the hours I spend as a wage slave.
(note to self - add to list as reason #57 for reducing my hours)
This week I have been reasonably productive, knitting – wise
( life-wise too…I finally finished and lodged my tax return-yahoo- go me! no seriously, we kiwis have it made when it comes to tax returns…we no longer have very much we can deduct, we have no Medicare, most wage-earners don’t need to file returns, I filed one for the last tax year because I only worked half the year, so have money owing to me – yay, but this Aussie system had me pulling my hair out, Flash has conceded defeat and gone to an accountant.)
Anyway, I have made 3 One Skein Wonders…because wherever I was when I was working on them, I didn’t want to do the pick up around entire edge, so put them aside for later, and started a new one, then I sat down with all three in one evening and did the edging. The actual knitting is so easy, I no longer required the pattern after the first one, and the sizing is so good, I can make it in a thinner yarn to make a smaller size or a thicker yarn for a larger size, and have put together a bag of orphan balls of yarn that I can use to make them…guess what all of the kids will have in their stockings come Christmas! The main thing I like about them is …it’s a garment…but it has less rows than a sock.
I have played with the pattern a wee bit, as you do, tweaked it for my convenience, I am using dpns to knit the sleeves so that I manage to escape even that teeeeny bit of seaming, I have played with a picot hole before and after the sleeve “seam” increases and threaded ribbon through for added interest, and of course the ubiquitous colour and yarn variations. I will of course draw the line at a fun fur edging, I will not expose my children to rainbow feathers. Though I do think it could be interesting as an accompaniment to a ball gown…made in real fur of course…not. 
So here is Blaise, with her sweet little shrug in handpainted yarns “Pagoda”, her fibrearts “desert sunset” and her Bamboo in cobalt blue (and I am tempted to make her one in Karaoke rainbow…to make up for her previous hippie comments…that said the child has very hippi-ish leanings herself fashionwise…but she calls it “bohemian”)
Though she isn’t shy about her foot long scar, wearing one of these does cover it when she is wearing skinny straps, for those times when she doesn’t feel like explaining, so that just makes this cute thing even better.
postscript: this child has just headed off to a Garbage concert...she has tickets for the Mosh pit, I am not a little nervous, this is sorely testing my mission statement to"raise sassy girls" , I want my baby home playing video games against Flash, (and winning)...breathe Justine.
