Just Jussi

I live here now

2008-03-23T13:07:00.002+13:00

the new blog is all about the knitting
please update your links to http://justjussi.blogspot.com/

see you there!

I'm leaving this blog up - it has links to my patterns, and items of interest for friends and family -and if you want to see Frasier from now on you will have to check out my flickr page I'm sure he will show up from time to time.

it's not you...it's me

2008-03-03T15:00:00.003+13:00

...yes I'm spending a lot of time with Ravelry, but it's not just how Ravelry makes me feel, it's that it has made me realise that there is so much more to me, I have so much to share, and I want to be sharing it...not talking about it. You and I are in a rut, my feelings have changed, I feel like a new person and I just don't think you and I are heading in the same direction...you were my first blog, and that will always be special, I will miss you - but it's time to move on.

Yes, there is another blog - just a little one, it's work mostly...yes I am planning on spending more time there - but just to show my thoughts and new ideas, and we can always catch up over on Flickr or the Knit Rangers blog

see ya round ok?

(edited to add)
I've had some emails...
"Yes" I am not posting to this blog any longer
"Yes" I will be blogging at the just jussi blog - but it will be more knitting and much less family/frasier!
"Yes" this blog will stay up - it's a nice reminder for me
"Why?" ennui...I'm not saying what I want to say, and when I want to say it.

cosy

2008-02-27T15:43:00.003+13:00

when I am not working, knitting or parenting I do other things...I garden, trawl Ravelry, google for the cat version of Supernanny ("why does my cat come into my bed at 3 am and bite me? how do I put him into timeout when his claws are embedded in my thigh?") bake (I'm getting my baking mojo back, now that I'm planning a new kitchen) and experiment with "other crafts"

this last week I have "mostly been making" cushions - out of the wool blankets I brought back from the cottage, and I'm very happy with the results - cuddly, cosy and soft, a nice new look for the lounge, and as Flash said "I like it when you make things for our house" awwwwwww!

The labels are saved from over the years - a friend's fashion range label, the school badge I designed when the kids were at primary school, the labels from the blankets themselves, odd bits and pieces which felt right.

now I just have to finish making some draught excluders from some leftover bits of blanket and a couple of thrifted swannies and then winter...bring it on!

Friday round up

2008-02-22T18:06:00.003+13:00

last night I'm in the car ready to take Blaise to her belly dancing class (along with Pilates and Ballet) all very good for the congenital spinal stuff as they all build core strength, I always wonder that if we had known about Blaise's condition earlier would we have expected as much from her? is her inate core strength and mental toughness the result of just having to get up and do it? but that is for another time, so my Mama phones...she is in Hobart...at the wool shop..."there's some Gragnisco...something" yes Mum, I like the Bambi... "hmm, no Bambi, theres Jo Sharp...can you get Jo Sharp?" yes Mum...mostly, oh what about georgette, do they have the silk georgette? "(calls to assistant) do you have silk georgette?" and then proceeds to describe the colours to me...I say, Mum I have a couple of balls of light grey, do they have the mauve-y grey there? I mean, I freak out enough (inside) when yarn shopping, so much to choose from, how much to buy? and now I have someone putting the pressure on and I'm NOT EVEN THERE!!! I am laughing so much, poor Blaise is hearing only half the conversation - but figures it out quickly... "Zara? what about Zara?" yes Mum I love the Zara!

Txt this afternoon..."found the bambi"

I love my Mum.

proof of Frasier's addiction...I hid the good stuff...so he is making do with the cheap crack

I am constantly discovering more reasons why I love Ravelry...yesterday I uploaded a lot of my free patterns to my Ravelry store, finally they are (mostly) all in one place, also seeing the interpretaions of my designs is wonderful - in particular a delicious variation of the Fairytale dress...so pretty!

Knit Rangers is growing like topsy, we had a fantastic meetup last sunday, and are planning occasional meetups at Dida in Herne Bay - as the "irregular winos" (so named for the location and the infrequency of meetings)

Knitting news:

1 x ribbing raglan sweater with interesting raglans is in the making (made the body up to the armhomes - just starting a sleeve)

3 x linen washclothes finished, more to come, (even more if I can find those cones that Frasier took off with)

1 x size 2 spirited jacket 1/2 test knitted by my good self (not that I can ever find the mistakes in my own instructions - too close to home) just the sleeves to go.

3 x patterns on the drawing board (no knitting yet) and more trying to eat their way out of my brain...

we are finally getting a touch of rain, the garden desperately needs it, should be a good weekend to curl up with the knitting and a movie.

Friday round up

2008-02-15T17:32:00.006+13:00

today I give thanks;

to Frasier for not running off with all of my linen yarn ( just 3 cones, and probably 8 reels of silk sewing thread - he thinks my sewing thread rack is a self-service toy rack) he does have impeccable taste though...only natural fibres for our boy.

to Telecom (phone line) and Telstra (broadband) for getting my "contractor cut phoneline" back up and running within 56 hrs despite themselves - because, yes of course while I am sitting at my laptop at 9 am, my phones are busy plotting to die and take the phone line out with them - of course it's all my fault or the fault of some communication device within my household...absolutely nothing to with the guy digging down the street...except that it was, and altough it took me 5 minutes to figure out (and TELL THEM) they had to do a whole investigation, blame one another, blame me, and investigate again... and finally phone me to tell me that they had discovered the cause and had rectified it...

to Noro for hiding an amazingly large amount of purple inside the skeins of silk garden lite that I thought were pink, silver grey and charcoal...and I didn't buy them online, I actually held them in my hands and saw no purple (I didn't go pawing through the skein, I will in future)In the end I knitted a wee baby gymslip out of the yarn as I couldn't bear to wear that much purple. I am so happy with the end result, especially the pleats, that I am knitting it in a natural grey tweed as well, for relief.

to Donna, my dear newlywed friend in Sydney - for the SMOOSHY!! it's beautiful Donna, when I've stopped snuggling it it will be Nutkin socks for me. I haven't got a picture of the fortune cat (he is guarding the fridge downstairs) but he is so cute!

to the wonderful test knitters who have helped me so much with getting the Liam and Nikau patterns out there, your words of encouragement (and constructive criticism) have been gratefully accepted.

a week out and forty is still feeling fine, feeling grown up (finally), feeling stronger and more sure of herself, feeling like less can touch her, feeling happy in her skin.

but wait! - there's more.

2008-02-12T18:10:00.000+13:00

Liam - the pattern beloved of many, is now available from my website for $5.00 Australian (with a bonus pants pattern) , yes it is a digital download .pdf, I wish that I had the knowledge and wherewithall to publish my patterns in hardcopy, but I don't - maybe I'll look into it further when I have more of these things out of my head, down on paper and test-knitted!

This weekend the Knit Rangers hope to have the honour to be graced with the presence of Miss E. Clair herself, with a bit of luck (vomiting children and flooding notwithstanding) she will be available from 2-4pm at The Packing Shed 99 Parr's Cross rd, Oratia (that's behind Henderson - otherwise known as Hendo...the home of Outrageous Fortune)

I'm going to the zoo!

2008-02-07T07:13:00.000+13:00

you can come too - but you'll have to pay, and I may go tomorrow, and the next day, and saturday is always a good zoo day...

I turned forty yesterday...for-ty, 40, the big four-oh...hmmm doesn't feel much different, and among the wonderful gifts I received was a real treasure - Blaise, my child who listens, gave me an annual zoo pass, I can go anytime I like for free, I can get into my car at 2.10 pm after work and drive 10 minutes down the road and be at the zoo before 2.30, every day if I choose, I can sit in quiet reverie with the elephants, I can knit with keas, I can powerwalk past the red pandas.

The day itself was a dream, Waitangi Day - New Zealand Day our National day, a holiday. Flash created and delivered a gourment BBQ menu, the girls waited on everyone, Charlotte was the kid wrangler, Maria the waitress, Blaise the barmaid, the weather was exquisite Indian summer.

So - 40...I have a fantastic life, I am married to the man of my dreams, my children and extended family are very nice people to be around, we have a comfortable home and the freedom to come and go as we please,we travel to exciting places, my overwhelming passion for making is pandered to with a lovely studio, and I find my day job very fulfilling. I count my blessings every day, but yesterday I counted them 40 times.

(I wanted to put up one of the beautiful photos I have of the kids having fun in the pool yesterday - but thanks to all of those ickky weirdos out there this is the best I can do)

Friday round up

2008-02-01T07:56:00.000+13:00

the holiday is over, despite the incredible summer we are having it is now February and time to get back to work, time for regular friday round ups again. I'm sorry for my slackness, I offer a few excuses.

- I am hot, tired and grumpy - I'm thinking "how did I cope with this heat in Sydney?" oh that's right they don't have the 99% humidity that we have here. Flash is forgiven for buying that portable aircon unit.

- in-laws visited, need I say more? ok well I won't out of respect for my husband.

- Ravelry - I check in, see what you guys are up to, add my WIPs, comment a bit...and forget to blog.

- my job, I love my job - but there are parts I struggle with in a "social policy" kind of way, can't say any more than that.

Ok, that's the bits that are slowing me down, on the other hand I am enjoying the quiet and lack of mess and housework in my life at present since Maria moved in with her boyfriend (breathe Justine) and Charlotte went flatting with a friend from tech. Blaise and I are spending a lot of time together, browsing bookstores and drinking coffee - loving this bonding time, I've never had her all to myself before.

there has been knitting:

- I'm working on a trio of little girly things - the theme is "cherries", I've finished the first, the second is on the needles, the third still only on paper, each is very different from the next - but the cherries unite them.

- the second sidewinder sock is still sitting in my bag, I have started it though.

-I'm halfway through a little pile of washcloths, using the elegant Linnet yarn, I love knitting this yarn, it is harsh but I know that when it hits the water it will be like silk, it is so cool to knit in this heat, and I feel so connected with a simplicity of life and a need to make utilitarian objects. I cast on 30 sts, work 50 rows garter st, 4 rows stst, then 4 rows garter st and cast off, then sew a lenth of linen ribbon along the stst section, ending with a little loop.

The ribbon is my favourite.

- Knit Rangers this sunday! click the link for more details.

- damn I missed my 3rd bloggiversary

- yes the cat is fine, still OCD but gorgeous.

Nothing gold can stay

2008-01-22T07:24:00.000+13:00

Three and a half years ago we packed up all of our camping gear, along with dozens of videos, books, old toys and other bots and pieces we couldn't take to Australia, but couldn't part with. We stacked everything in the smallest bedroom in our bach (holiday cottage) boarded the windows and placed two locks on the door to deter the tenants and left not knowing when we would return.

Which was yesterday, in driving rain after weeks of nothing but bright sunshine.

We had decided to sell, but during the familiar drive (we used to spend almost every weekend there) Flash and I pondered the wisdom of our decision, we hadn't managed to get there during the year we have been home, our lives have changed too much and the house needs a family living in it, it is a century old renovated kauri bay villa, it needs constant love and attention to keep it at it's best. But on the other hand we had such good times there, maybe we could find a way to fit it into our lives again...

An hour and a half out of Auckland we arrived to see our pride and joy looking neither, it was sad, lonely and dejected, the work we had trustingly paid for was incomplete, the interior neglected and improperly cared for, and we realised that our decision had been the correct one...a cabin by the beach is one thing, an antique house with original leadlights, ceilings and fireplaces is another, the cabin can be left, the house cannot - the house needs a fulltime family.

So we emptied our room of memories, and marvelled at how lives can change in such a short time, re-discovered old treasures, my sewing box, my stitch portfolio from my tech course. I gathered cuttings from the garden, from the 3 foot high rosemary hedge, the antique climbing roses, the grapes that were the classic taste of summer. We swept, wiped and dusted, and we met with a land agent and signed away eleven years of my life.

I do not wish to return.

And as we left, we kept our old ways, Flash sorting out the car and trailer while I closed up and said goodbye, except this time it was in every room, and this time it was forever. I thought of the house that was HOME for my girls

To the verandah where we sat and watched the world go by, the flooded river across the paddocks over the road, the satelites in the darkest night.

The dining room with the coal range where where I taught them to cook - scrambled eggs and pancakes. It was lower than the stove, easier for them to reach.

the lounge - as big as Texas, sometimes the floor was covered with their toys for a week at a time while they played "gymkhana" 30 toy ponies, hundreds of fences and jumps, water hazards and dressage rings. Other times up to 15 children lay in their sleeping bags watching movies and giggling late into the night.

Life has changed, the children are all grown, the old house served us well, now it is time for us to return the favour and let the house have a chance to be a home again.

humid

2008-01-19T17:19:00.000+13:00

In Auckland the summer sun is fierce - it bites the skin like sun nowhere else I have been, the African savannah is hot, the Australian desert very much so - the heat sucks the moisture from your body, but in New Zealand the sun seems closer - some say it is the lack of atmospheral pollution, or the hole in the ozone layer that leads to our extreme levels of melanoma and other skin cancers.

So between 11 and 3pm my family try to stay out of the sun, we lie around in the shade trying to find a cool breeze, the humidity makes the air feel even hotter than it is, the pool is a welcome escape as by 1pm it is in partial shade, the back deck holds shelves laden with factor 30, hats and towels, we are nothing if not prepared for the conditions.

Blaise's room is an oasis of cool, placed in the most shady corner of the house, the upstairs workroom and our room are in the sun's path all day and become superheated - a portable air conditioner brought back from Sydney means that we can sleep without being eaten alive by mosquitos, and is a fascinating distraction for Frasier, who leaps on top of it when it starts up, and then positions himself between the machine and us...in order to protect us from it...he seems to think.

So, the knitting is continuing, but slowly due to the heat.

Thanks to 2 lovely and competent test knitters I have released the "Nikau hoodie and pants" pattern for sale by digital download. It is mostly an easy knit, with a few interesting bits - the cabling for the Nikau palm design and the short rows at the hood and nappy shaping. I can't wait to see the different variations as they come up on Ravelry. I am close to having the "Liam sweater and cowboy pants " pattern ready for release soon too, which I know a number of people have been waiting for, and am working on something sweet for the girls.

No clues, but here is a taste - lots of pink, and don't you just love that Chirimen crepe cherry blossom ribbon - it's from Fabric tales, who are very quick and very helpful!

SSSS-SOS

2008-01-13T09:53:00.000+13:00

Second Sidewinder Sock Syndrome.

I can feel myself going down.

It's not the pattern (free from the brilliant Nona)

(you must trust the pattern, if your gauge is correct trust the pattern...even if it looks too small) I took this advice from Sarah on "socks on the needles in general" and am very glad I did, the sidewinder fits perfectly.

It's not the pattern, it's the yarn - Noro Sock, don't get me wrong I LOVE this yarn, I received a couple of skeins to play with (and yes it is interesting and effective used as baby yarn - more another day) and am definitely going to buy lots of this stuff, but it is the qualities of the yarn, combined with the technique of the sock which became my potential downfall - I don't want to knit the second sock because I know that when I finish it (very soon, because they are so wonderfully quick to knit) I will have to graft the entire back seam...which would not be so bad with a plied yarn, however the Noro sock is a single...a very twisty, turns and goes back on itself single...which doesn't work well when you have 75 inches of it to deal with...75 inches that I had to loop over my big toe to keep the yarn under tension EVERY SINGLE TIME I grafted a stitch;
- put needle through stitch
- loop yarn over toe
- commit bastardised yoga move under toe is inches from knitting, hook over hand to combat extreme looping
repeat over and over and over again.

The knitting took a little over a day, the grafting took 2 days and my will to live.

Today, I will write a pattern up, get another out of my head and into yarn before my head actually explodes - and then try again with the second sidewinder - wish me luck.

(I am semi-prepared, I have made a batch of extra spicy chai syrup, and there is Green and Blacks butterscotch chocolate in the "emergency" section of the pantry)

(adjusted the pattern slightly so I have more garter st rows at the back for better fit - and no, I'm not liking the cerise section...but I'm trying to "go with the Noro")

Friday round up

2008-01-04T08:38:00.000+13:00

Happy New Year!

no resolutions, but a change of attitude brought about by conversations on New Years eve.

I think about time...all of the time, I make comparisons, split second in my head constantly...she's younger than me and has accomplished this, she's older than me and is still doing that, she's older but looks younger, she's 6 months older than me and is having her first baby, my youngest is almost 17, the days are going faster and faster, how does she manage to get that much done in a day and still keep the house clean? I don't have enough time!!!!

It has stopped (ok so not completely, but I am actively catching myself out and giving myself a stern talking to) I am going to be 40 in 5 weeks, life is too short to worry about how other people manage to live it, I have realised, and finally understand and believe...that I am the only one who can live my life, and that there is success to be had at any age.

We have had a lovely couple of weeks here at the castle - Flash has taken time off work, and has re-organised the house, he has dropped me off and picked me up from work on those iccky days between the stat holidays, we have been cycling, swimming and spa-ing, relaxing and enjoying the house and the sun - so much so that he didn't want to go on holiday.

I have been knitting (c0nstantly actually) I have finished Flash's heavy socks - that's his feet relaxing above (bought the yarn and pattern around 3 years ago...) I love this pattern, and am going to use it with my hand dyed for socks for the kids. I used the knitted graft from knitting daily - which I absolutely loved! I found it much easier than the usual grafting.

Charlotte's version of Le Slouch (top) from Wendy at Knit and Tonic took me a few hours and 1 ball of Naturally Woodland (mohair) 50g 100m in ballet pink. She is too much of a sprite to dress up and behave for the camera - so this is the best photo I'll get.

Don't forget - Knit Rangers this sunday - 2pm, more info here

dress ups

2007-12-31T08:36:00.000+13:00

Lime and Violet is one of my favourite knitting podcasts - it's the one I can have playing when Blaise is upstairs with me, because she doesn't find it boring, Flash often thinks I have friends over - only to come up and find me completely alone, but laughing out loud.

Today the Fairytale dress is featured on their blog - all due to the power of Ravelry.

I posted the Fairytale dress pattern for free because it was so easy, and the pattern is only in one size, and probably not the clearest, so I don't feel I have done enough work to actually receive payment (let's not try headshrinking me here please!)and now it seems to have taken on a life of it's own.

Go forth and have fun little dress.

Fairytale dress pattern

2007-12-29T23:08:00.000+13:00

looks good with or without the over the top decorative elements

I still haven't managed to get a photo of Miss Belle in it though!

Pattern free from here

the day after

2007-12-26T10:28:00.000+13:00

I think my family are starting to realise that knitting themed gifts will be gratefully accepted and appreciated, and although the husband doesn't quite get it yet, I am looking forward to a knitting marathon enjoying the 6 disc set of "Bones" though.

This book is the "piece de resistance" a hardcover bound book containing many many vintage knitting pamphlets and magazine spanning the 1920's to the 1970's, when my Mama told me that she had found me the perfect gift I must say I had some doubts, now I just have faith!

and this delightful print from Suzette M Morgan is going up on the wall of fame - just as soon as the crowds clear and I can get to the picture framer.

I hope everyone had the kind of Christmas they wanted, and no matter what anyone says - on Boxing Day cheesecake IS a breakfast food!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T08:51:00.000+13:00

teenage girls laughing while making French toast for a surprise Christmas breakfast,good naturedly arguing over who gave Mummy the best present, cathedral cookies and speculaas wrapped up for friends, looking forward to lunch with the extended family for the first time in 4 years.

Merry Christmas my bloggy friends, from me and mine - to you and yours!

yeah, so about those monet socks...

2007-12-22T07:37:00.000+13:00

once upon a time I had a wonderful idea

the idea was that I would knit a length of fabric using 2 ends of yarn ensuring that the gauge is the same as my sock knitting gauge, paint a picture on it using woool dyes, unravel it into 2 centre pull balls, and then knit 2 identical socks with the image I had painted reproduced on the socks. I chose one of Monet's Nymphaea as they had the diaphanous quality I knew I would get using dye, and I loved the colours.

Matching those colours was a problem, but I adapted, the swatch once painted, was cooked in the microwave in a plastic steamer for 10 minutes.

Does anyone see the problem yet? no? I didn't.

unravelling the skein into 2 balls was a challenge, but Blaise and I each wrangled an end and with the help of two ballwinders we managed to subdue the yarn.

So, it seems - if you knit something in the flat, well....you can't then go on and knit in the round... and expect it to look the same...duh!

I knitted 1/2 a sock while in Paris, just to feel I had - and the colours are very lovely, very Monet - just not very anything at all like a painting!

That sock is now unravelled, and the balls are waiting, waiting to be incorporated into a flat price of knitting in order to reveal their true nature. I am certain the right project will come along eventually.

No time to get bogged down with that now, there is still Christmas knitting to complete:

this watchcap for my uncle

a pattern for the Liam (wolf in sheeps clothing) sweater to finish

and

Horatio is finished, as is the pattern

Celebration

2007-12-17T08:03:00.000+13:00

Holly turned 21 yesterday, surrounded by the Auckland contingent of our family I felt very content and happy, we have got this girl to a point where she has a wonderful career ahead, where she is smart, funny and friendly, outgoing and optimistic about the future. It felt good to officially mark the day when my child became an adult - and as the other girls told me (often) "you don't look to bad for someone with a 21 year old daughter" thanks guys.

Friday round up

2007-12-14T17:46:00.000+13:00

a round up of 'things to do" really, I am taking next week off work to get some Hollytime in, and have planned a number of projects - some previously listed, curtains, laundry hamper, tiered skirts for Miss M Belle, stained glass window cookies, speculaas, candy cane cupcakes, cheesecake...and a good amount of lying around on the pool lounger.

The tattoo sweater is coming along nicely - and has been renamed "Horatio" the sleeves will be blue/white stripes, currently I am working on the boring part of the back, and I can't wait to see it finished!

and I have just finished this wee sweetie, my first crochet project!!! I have crocheted edges before, but never whole "things" so excuse my excitement, I love this book (bought from the very, very missed Kinokuniya) so much, even though it is in Japanese even a complete newbie like me could work out how to do an amagarumi cast on etc. Now I just have to decide who to give her too...

consumed

2007-12-13T07:34:00.001+13:00

I feel the need to admit a button compulsion, those in the photo above are from the grab bags Mum bought from Trelise Cooper's workshop sale...3 of them would have paid for the bags themselves, individually all of the 100's of buttons are beautiful, these are (almost) all made from either wood, metal, ceramic, stone or bone.

I usually only use mother of pearl or black mussel buttons on my baby clothes - so had better start getting creative with my own clothes - the best trick I know for "upmarketing" cheap black and grey cardis is to replace the buttons with beautiful ones, or a range of different buttons in the same size.

I have a week off work next week - Holly has the good grace to turn 21 (TWENTY ONE!!) on sunday and is coming home for 10 days, and Flash might actually take some time off as well, I am making a list of "things to do" - Blaise's curtains which I still haven't got to, a new (removable) bag for the laundry hamper (the current one is calico, not removable and hence has turned mouldy in Auckland's 99% humidity) and a couple of tiered skirts for Maisie's christmas present. I can't wait to have time with my girls - all making things in my workroom...bliss.

(and in reply to Miss Donyale's question yesterday...yes I did take the time to spray on perfume, it too is a compulsion - an unconcious act! and what I didn't tell you is that I took 10 seconds to wack on some lipgloss as well...)

The adventures of Flash part 6

2007-12-11T16:12:00.000+13:00

dateline 6.10 am: this morning :Flash's car.

Flash drove through the early morning mists of the Waitakere ranges, bound for the domestic terminal and the 7.30 am flight to Wellington - nerves high as he thought through his day, meetings with members of Parliament, television interviews and PR opportunities filled the day to bursting, everything was scheduled to the minute, nothing could go wrong, today was the kind of day careers are built on and reputations made.
Flash thrust his broad shoulders back and breathed deeply, a broad smile languished on his lips, today was the day he was born for, today he would show them all how it was done.

cross to Jussi: 6.20 am: our bedroom

"why is Flash's phone here?, he never leaves his phone, won't he need his phone today of all days?"
Check's his itinerary
Throws on yesterday's work clothes, brushes hair and teeth at the same time, sprays perfume all over, grabs bag and runs for the car, goes a wee bit too fast sometimes knowing that if she doesn't hit Hillsborough rd soon the motorway will be a carpark.
Call's Flash's boss - her phone is turned off
Turns into the domestic terminal carpark (I'm not a complete idiot) parks across 3 parks and dashes into the terminal.
Tries the information desk - elderly gentleman volunteer absolutely no help, he is Mr Magoo...I need MacGyver.
Tries the Koru club desk, no one there, it's 10 minutes till the plane leaves, I can feel myself starting to get crazy eyes.
Tries the counter staff - directed back to Koru club counter, finally grabs a man walking past - he has a security pass - that's all I care about, luckily he takes one look at the crazy eyes, the handful of phone and charger and stops to help - looks Flash up on the system, "this seat, this row, I'll take it to him now"

at 9.30 am the phonecall comes -
"You're a legend"

Yes, yes I am.

Friday round up

2007-12-07T16:40:00.000+13:00

I came out of the shower this morning to a still unmade bed...Flash is usually so fastidious about these things, but he is a bit of a sook* when it comes to this guy...

after removing the cat to his own bed, I went to clear our postbox - where I found the copy of Alice Starmore's Celtic collection that I purchased on ebay a few weeks ago, I can't wait to sit down with a coffee and dream over it. However, dreaming has to wait, as there is knitting and pattern writing to be done - Ravelry has changed my life in many good ways - one of these is the Testing Pool...a group of knitters who will test knit patterns!! I asked for help and they swamped me with kindness, I've had to start an excel spreadsheet to keep up with who is knitting what - it is fantastic, I'm not asking for the garments - just feedback and improvements (I have told them though that I am in NZ - so everything is metric and NZ English spelling!)

Some of them are knitting my Organic merino hoodie and pants set (not necessarily in organic or merino!) and next out will be the Liam pattern with cotton pants, and a cute intarsia tattoo sweater.

Unfortunately it hasn't all been raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens around here lately, remember babies grow into teenagers, and teenagers are basically hormone transportation devices, we've had our moments with Charlotte in the past but currently it is Maria who is testing the boundaries of parental sanity, she is 18, and now that school has finished and exams are over Flash and I have had the "if you want to act like an adult you have to behave like an adult" lecture - if you want to live with your boyfriend, live with your boyfriend...stop sneaking out every night, get a job and stop expecting pocket money, yes we will help you out if you study animal sciences at University - no we won't help you out if enrol for a 6 hr a week animal care course at Polytech, have some respect for your Dad and yes, we found that tequila you were hiding in your toybox.

But, for now the house is quiet, Blaise has been away for a week, staying with friends on an island and will be away for another week yet ( with her delightful friends, boy and girls - but worry not, just think Famous Five, they are writing plays, reading for hours and drinking lashings of kiwifruit flavoured fizzy water (sorry no ginger beer)) I must finish the tattoo sweater and start on Blaise's new curtains - the dark green Ikea fabric I bought prior to leaving Sydney, sew buttons onto Flash's shirt, and play with the fake eyelashes I bought for tomorrow...and tomorrow involves partying with some of these people and will be post of it's own.

Happenings:

Trelise Cooper workroom sale on in Lyon Street Newmarket today and tomorrow - Mum bought me buttons, I love her.

Knit Rangers last meetup for the year (last meetup for a whole month!) this sunday at the Packing Shed, 2pm. I'll come dressed up as a hangover.

* sook: (rhymes with "took")kindly description of someone who is being silly, or behaving like a softy or scaredy cat. As in:- "you're being a sook"... "just a big sook" and so on... More often than not the phrase is used as a term of endearment.

80's revival

2007-12-03T16:43:00.000+13:00

a wee while ago Mel graced the KnitRangers with her presence, and admonished me to visit Patricia Roberts' store whilst in London, being the knitting maven that she is I realised that this was advice worthy of following and I duly added the address to my list, noting that the shop was only a 45 minute stroll from the hotel, unfortunately when we arrived in London we were pretty unwell and moseyed around like zombies most of the time. Flash was much more poorly than I and I wasn't up to dragging him to yet another yarn store/ clothing shop (Liberty was a happy accident...really!) I was disappointed, but since I had just had a luxurious trip to France I couldn't complain.

While browsing on Trademe recently (I'm a bit scared to tell the Aussies that they can join up) I found one of Patricia's books, the blurb went like this:

"These knitting patterns are certainly different. Bright and colourful, wonderful designs, all patterns included in this large book. 232 pages.Knits for children, women and men. The dust jacket has some staining, also some pages, at the top. Does not detract from this book though. A very experienced knitter would have fun with the patterns"

so it arrived today, and I am very impressed - I have a bit of a collection of 80's knitting books, and most of them are pretty scarey, this book does have some wild moments - but I expect Patricia was working with the trends in some cases for example:

hmm...

but then there are many exquisite and very wearable items such as these:

Flash told me he wants a cardi (not a grandpa cardi...whatever that is) and I could see him in this vest and cardigan combo, however I love the blue one...and I could never wear matchy matchy with my husband.

Friday round up

2007-11-30T18:38:00.000+13:00

well - there's only one momentous happening on my mind today

go and congratulate Lara and Mark on the arrival of their beautiful baby boy

Welcome Inigo - may your life be filled with wonder and joy!

and while I usually only knit my own designs these days I think Inigo's parents would appreciate this, so it is next on the list.

The Peace sweater

Friday round up

2007-11-23T15:56:00.000+13:00

Roses in progess

another beautiful day? fingers crossed for the weekend to remain the same.

Problem: fledgling birds falling out of nests all over the back yard - parent birds screeching, cats fascinated - these things don't run away, and our bells don't scare them away...luckily there haven't been any casualties, yet - now the cats are locked inside with a litter tray, the laundry door is kept closed because Frasier (aka Houdini) has learnt to undo the catches on this side of the cat door, and then bash the door over and over until it flips up a little, he then hooks his paw under and lifts the cat door so that he can escape, he then undoes the catches on the outside so that Layla can get out too...scarey.

I'm out in the garden every time I hear a screeching parent bird, and using an old towel to pop the babies back into the branches. I'm also making a note in my calender to book the cats into the cattery for a visit this time next year!

Knit Rangers this weekend - yay! I am loving this group!! Come and join us - see the blog for details.

The denim pants are 1/2 finished (jeepers must go load them on ravelry) I'm using the machine knit pattern of my own design, but adapting it for handknitting. I can't wait to see them teamed up with the sweater, then I suppose I'll have to make bootees and a hat...and then there are 3 more babies to knit for (so far)

The one where he is in trouble - again...

2007-11-21T17:55:00.000+13:00

I came home to find Frasier burrowing through Charlotte's clean laundry...I won't tell her if you won't.

I have just finished the "Liam" sweater and am so pleased with it, I love garter st on babies, and learnt a lot while making Inigo's jacket of many colours - mostly that I had to trust my swatch, and not freak out if the garment was looking a bit bigger than I had expected.

This sweater is for a friend's baby-to-be, I'm knitting some denim pants to go with it, and the patterns for both will be available when they are finished.

I was thinking of calling it the "one black sheep" sweater, but the black sheep is looking more and more wolf-like...maybe I should have called it "wolf in sheeps clothing"!

On a good day

2007-11-19T16:43:00.000+13:00

We had a great weekend (though I would rather have been here) - go wish Ailsa a happy birthday - she's right, 40 IS the new 30 and what's even better is that 4 of our 6 kids are almost financially independent, and all 6 are personally independent, Flash and I are almost free to come and go on a whim - and we're still young enough to enjoy it!

The weekend passed thus: SUN, Auckland is magnificent in the sun, everything is green and bursting with life, kids were charging up and down the road on go-karts and peals of laughter came from the reserve over the road where they swung on rope swings and splashed each other in the creek, I played in my vegie garden (which is SO the new black, everybody who is anybody seems to be growing vegies this season!) and made plans for a new plot, I'm trying to get rid of as much lawn as possible, and there is nothing like having fresh herbs to hand when you need them (the catnip gets a fair bash too) we are currently eating rainbow chard (ok silverbeet!) baby beetroot, radishes, spinach, strawberries and a huge variety of herbs and they are all organic - makes me feel like such a good Mum! Frasier and Layla frolicked around me, and the neighbours chihuahuas made a break for freedom and joined us as well (too cute). Flash cleaned the pool and did other man-type stuff (barbeque-ing and cork popping mostly) there was a lot of lazing in the sun, lazing in the spa and relaxing, and for once he didn't even touch his emails or other work stuff, just enjoyed the peace and drove the car up and down the newly finished driveway - just because he could.

Saturday evening we went to the netball champs finals with my parents - who deserted us and went off to the VIP stand (if you see my photo in the Leader I was laughing at a joke and they took my photo - I must look like a maniac!) I'm so much better at being in a sports crowd due the experiences in Paris, and we had a great time - Australia won, and they deserved to, frankly because they wanted it more. I'm never going to be into sports, but at least I can go and not freak out inside when I'm surrounded by big,scary, yelling people - wearing tinsel and waving giant foam hands.

Yesterday entailed more relaxing, and some knitting - things are getting finished finally, but I'm not making any Christmas knitting promises that I can't keep - I am tempted to knit some wee dog sweaters for thos puppies from next door though!

Friday round up

2007-11-16T14:58:00.000+13:00

back to normality

this is my driveway - actually, no this was my driveway this morning - since then it has rained a lot (you know Auckland's weather forecast "it's raining", "it's about to rain", "it has just stopped raining") so now the driveway is a puddle. Hopefully they will be able to concrete tomorrow.

why did we get the driveway diggen up?(that's a Blaise word invented 14 years ago and still used) so the man can get the beast up the driveway without first having to bury it in mud.

yay

Knitting news: there is knitting, and unfortunately - due to ravelry, I keep forgetting to tell you about it. Currently I am knitting more preemie hats with Debbie Bliss cashmerino (one of the best baby yarns ever), a baby sweater using my favourite "fantarsia" technique (where you strand the yarn across the motif, but have seperate bobbins for each motif) using Dale baby ull (another wonderful baby yarn) which I will have photos of and a pattern for soooooon.

Found this via Lara, the highest I have managed so far is 46. This is a useful waste of time!

Hanging with my homie

2007-11-15T08:23:00.000+13:00

Mornings I am patted on the face until I wake up

Sleeptime is from 9.30 until 2.30...corresponding with my work hours

talking is constant

I cannot move without being followed

Knitting is now ignored so long as he can sit in my lap while I do it

if I am out of sight - screaming ensues

has trained Flash to give him treats every night when he returns from work, and knows the sound of his car

no, we haven't adopted a toddler - Frasier turns 1 today

and no, there were no presents, extra treats or catfood cakes!

the design process...yeah

2007-11-13T08:45:00.000+13:00

people often ask me about the design process...so I have tried to come up with an answer that someone who doesn't knit will understand...but trying to condense it for small talk is difficult. How do I say "well, first I procrastinate A LOT, I leave piles of yarn on my cutting table and walk past it often, rearrange it, knit little swatches, leave them, play with them, tidy them up, pull out my notebook and actively try to pair up yarns and drawings, swatch again, then wing it" without sounding like a moron - you must have a defined process, but I haven't, I think of things I try them, they work or they don't work but they give me more ideas, and then some of those work...it is an amorphous, inclusive, organic process if anything.

So I say "I start with an idea of a garment, then I look over my yarn swatches, then I write the pattern and test knit it, correcting the pattern and idea along the way"

And the pattern writing, I am terrible, don't get me started on how irresponsible I am in my pattern writing, I start with the measurements and gauge, and then scribble as I go, and then I have to decipher my scrawlings and sometimes re-knit to figure out how I did something - madness, why can't I just write methodically, and why the hell are my pattern notebooks full of phone numbers, addresses and memos?

(short vent post due to excess of social occasions with strangers)

YARN magazine - you already know, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that a white knight will appear to save it. Most importantly I want Barb to know that she suceeded beyond our combined hopes and should be immensely proud of her accomplishment.

New wrap cardis are up in my Etsy shop, these are knit from cloud-soft merino and are too cute.

(picture: new design "Liam" sweater in process)

Friday round up

2007-11-09T11:54:00.000+13:00

Finally a friday roundup because my brain has officially returned from France.

Don't forget Knit Rangers this sunday!

I love my knitting room/workroom/studio, I'm lucky that I have a lot of space for all of my knitting/machine knitting/business paraphenalia (and what a lot of "paraphenalia" there is) but I can never get it to a point where I am completely happy with the storage situation. The Ikea bookshelves are full (Ikea still haven't opened their promised Auckland store - and I don't like any of the alternatives) I have realised that although I like boxes - they are not for me, I can never find things when I want them, or I forgot I had them and later on find them and say " damn that would have looked amazing on that dress" and then forget about them again...I have yarn in a wooden chest, in a restored giant suitcase (with great wooden framing on the outside and brass hinges) in the cupboards below the shelves, in boxes under the sewing machine...fabric in piles on a shelving unit, and in 3 bags under my cutting table...oh and 2 plastic boxes of fabric and yarn under the stairs...

Anyway...I've won a battle (but not the war...)

All of my "good" buttons have been placed in plastic bags and pinned to a noticeboard, as have all of my braids, ribbons and tapes, and the bits and peices I use to make buttons and fastenings, now they are on display, readily available and inspiring. It seems to be working, and is handy - I buy buttons and pin them up straight away, instead of finding them in my handbag 2 weeks later!

The rest of my buttons are in jars based on colour, and I still have a box of lace and zippers, but at least the critical things are there where I can see them. I had considered Martha Stewart's ribbon box (there is a similar one available at Spotlight - I know, wash my mouth out with soap) but not her storage rack - a wee bit OTT I'm afaid, and I just know the Bunnings man would be laughing at me, so I'll stick with my bag system for the present.

Does anyone else have a storage strategy for dealing with the "little bit's"?

Speaking of Spotlight (and I try not to) I did spot some Lion Brand magic stripes sock yarn while I was in there with Blaise (she was trying to decide between transparent glittery knitting needles and needles with bunnies on the ends... we bought the glittery ones because the bunny ones were too short) it didn't cost much, so I bought some for the novelty value, we don't usually get Lion brand in NZ and it is iconic!

Designer shopping

2007-11-07T18:29:00.000+13:00

There's nothing this girl likes more than having a spend up at Trelise Cooper or Liz Mitchell, their shapes fit me and make me feel good, their fabrics are always exciting and the styles intriguing and the cut always fabulous.

However - with multiple children in the "expensive" years, multiple houses, a part time job, and a business which pays for itself (apparently this is a positive) I am more likely to be haunting Hartley's sales than shopping in Ponsonby Rd.

Today though I managed to buy a colourful delight from Trelise and a little black number from Liz daaaaarling.

That's right - the designers are doing their bit for cat charities in New Zealand - that's $10.00 per bowl to help felines in distress, and they chuck in some free fancy feast too.

Renewal

2007-10-30T14:48:00.000+13:00

We were away almost 3 weeks.

The herb garden has undergone a re-birth, dormant plants are out of hiding and flowering, blueberries are fruiting, the sycamore is no longer skeletal but covered in green finery hiding the neighbours.

3 weeks of non-stop action, movement, busi-ness. Up at 7 for breakfast, into the coach by 9, a couple of hours free time in the afternoon,dinners in amazing places, bed hopefully by 1 am (except for the occasional self induced 4 am -er)

Singapore for 2 days together before the event, nothing to report, just together time enjoying the warmth, walking and talking.

Paris - everything I expected and more -

highlights:

- on the taxi ride in from the airport we did a circle of the Arc de Triomphe, at rush hour - adrenalin!

- Sephora - right next door to our hotel on the Champs Elysees, girly heaven

- walking, upwards of 10k a day with Flash, just experiencing the city

- La Droguerie - I went, I figured out the system, I bought!

(Alison, you inspired me, I HAD to buy there just to say that I had done it...for both of us!)

- Bon Marche droguerie - I went, I figured out the system, I bought!

not much, 3 balls of silk garden lite in a hitherto unseen colourway, 4 balls of Bouton D'or "Songe", some regia in a kaffe Fassett colourway, loads of buttons and braids.

- Celebrity spotting in our hotel

- Macaroons at LaDuree

- lunch in a bistro in St Germain, next to a little old woman who from time to time squeezed my arm and smiled at me.

- making friends with the most unlikely people in our group.

- 28 thousand kiwis in Paris, and they LOVED us!

- the mexican wave that did 5 circuits of the stadium during the Pumas game - awesome.

The Loire Valley:

- staying in a 16th century chateau, situated on 100 acres

- wandering the oak forests by myself, going off the path to take photos - which I ceased doing after an adder was found in a third floor room...

- the bike ride to Luyns

- wine and cheese matching at Vouvray, buying special presents which I can't discuss yet.

- Petanque lessons with a team, lots of laughter, lots of wine, and I found out that I am a champion "smasher"

- Dinners at beautiful medeival places that i thought would end horribly - and discovering that our hosts thought that we were wonderful, spirited and gave the places "ambience"

London, didn't go as well as we had hoped due to the fact that we were ill, but we walked and caught buses and tubes, and saw everything you need to see - thanks for the list Alison, Paperchase was amazing, Marylebone rd took us an afternoon! and I bought a weekender bag from Cath Kidston as my birthday present from my parents.No yarn shops except Liberty.

Singapore, we needed the break - went on the Night Safari, a bit cheesy, but still entertaining, shopping for the kids (loved the DC comics store) I finally had my eyebrows done professionally (that is a definite improvement)

Home - where the girls had filled our bedroom with 300 balloons!

(when somebody tells me they have a surprise for me, the first picture in my head is a room full of balloons...always has been since I can remember...I told Blaise ages ago, and obviously she remembered)

Frasier is still having fun stalking and "killing" the balloons.

All in all...when you live in NZ or Australia the world feels like a big place, there is lots of space...but everywhere else was full of people, lots of people buying lots of stuff, lots of rubbish, lots of cars and pollution. I loved visiting, and look forward to doing it again, but there is no place like home. I still have to download the photos from Flash's laptop, but until there here is me at La Droguerie.

oops we did it again

2007-10-23T21:20:00.001+13:00

I have to be quick, am late for breakfast, we're in London - alone at last, spent yesterday looking around - we both have a ghastly headcold (we were the last of the group to succumb) so we can't walk too much or concentrate, but we had to get out and see the sights. I had to show Flash Piccadilly circus and Trafalgar square, and of course I visited Liberty - wow! and Mary gets to go to knitting group there!!! I bought some Regia bamboo sock yarn - restrained aren't I?

I thouroughly enjoyed our time in the Loire Valley, and our last days in Paris were exciting, I don't have time to write more now, but we'll be home in a few more days

Light the bar!

2007-10-17T02:14:00.000+13:00

Sunday night's rugby game was vastly different to saturday's, the atmosphere was amazing, and the game was faster (not quite so much kicking) and of course many of us backed the Pumas for the night - and became quasi Argentinians...

(my children can stop reading about now)

Around the corner from the Marriott is a bar, and working on that bar was a blonde german waitress who happened to be mad as a snake, combine that with kiwis on holiday, lighter fluid and tequila slammers and you have the makings of a memorable evening, somehow I found myself (yes...ME!!) salsa dancing with a yummy Latin American man, while another woman in our party was taking dancing lessons from a Mexican woman, and our husbands were all agog at the spectacle (which included a couple getting very intimate in the booth next to us) the mad waitress lit the bar on fire regularly, and when we asked for the whole bar to be lit - the bar staff quickly agreed - that woman was a pyromaniac! It was a great evening, or should I say night...as around 3.30 am I led the conga line out of the pub and into the night. It was wonderful to be able to let our hair down, these events can be quite stressful - and this was a great stress relief.

Now we are in the Loire valley, we travelled here yesterday via the Fast Train (I could get used to this first class travel and accommodation) we had a quiet day that the chateau recovering, and we spent this morning on a bicycle tour of the local area - the gardens, farms ruins and houses are so different from home, it is spectacular countryside, and lot's of little things I remember from the short few years of my childhood in England - tiny snails, open forestland...stunning. Holly you must come and work here for a vintage!

there are more photos on Flickr (search Just Jussi) my apologies I am working on Flash's laptop - no photo editing.

Also to my girls - my emails do not seem to be going through, talk soon, love you.

Bonjour!

2007-10-15T04:49:00.000+13:00

although I have the ability to blog - I do not seem to have the time to blog, we have been so busy trying to see as much as we can of this amazing town.

I did manage to negotiate la Droguerie and have come away with an array of beautiful buttons, braids and some lovely Bouton D'Or Songe yarn, enough for a ruffley scarf or similar. I also bought some Silk garden light in a colourway I had not seen before and am looking forward to knitting something...I know not what.

Soon we are off to the second semi...Sth Africa vs Argentina...go the Pumas! I'm not a rugby fan at the best of times, so the absence of NZ is keenly felt, the number of people in black at the stadium is outstanding - there are 28,000 kiwis in Paris apparently!

We are overwhelmed with culture and history, fashion, food and wine and are enjoying it immensely, Kenzo has received a lot of my attention, and some investment shopping may have to occur...anyway I leave you with a photo, and to my darling children - I will be home all too soon nagging you to finish your homework - Blaise, the caramels with sea salt have been purchased - fret not.

gah! I can blog.

2007-10-10T17:19:00.000+13:00

In Singapore, and discovered that I can blog using Flash's laptop

yay!
hope the pic works - next stop Paris!

It's bon nuit from me, and it's bon what? from him...

2007-10-08T15:26:00.000+13:00

Mother duck and ducklets in my garden - for Lara...who knows that while I am often late, I never ever forget.Our big boy who went to the cattery for the first time today

and the Monet yarn...that will be a story to tell on my return...

So, we're off in the morning...I'll be back with tales of castles and Cath Kidston, palaces and Patricia Roberts, yarn, art, museums and history, until then sayonara, see you and good night!

Friday round up

2007-10-05T17:29:00.000+13:00

Blaise is home, safe,well and happy, and aware at the tender age of 16...that you can never "go back" you can visit, you can move back to the old neighbourhood...but things will never be the same, so you keep going, you make new friendships with old friends, you keep in touch, you lose your way, nostalgia is nice, but in the moment is the only place to live. Hard lessons, but better learnt early.

My good shopper brought me all I asked for and more, having explained her Mother's pining for that ephemeral "scent of Pentimento" the Pentimento man went to the back of the shop and returned with a small glass vial...now my studio is redolent with the scent of sweet cinnamon, and I am happy, smell being that most primal of the senses.

The past few days have been crazy, we have had to purchase a new car, as our babysitter only has a restricted drivers licence, so the rental companies won't let her drive their cars - the girls are happy, they know that they will soon have a car to call their own! (there goes half the spending money...) extra hours at work to prepare for 3 weeks away, timeout with Blaise last night as we saw a performance of "The money conversation" ...food for thought...(I gave it back -there wasn't any alternative)

I have been experimenting with a new dyeing method, the results are not what I wanted, but are interesting nonetheless...more will be revealed when I return.

Friday round up

2007-09-28T08:48:00.000+12:00

This has gone

These have gone

3 of these are finished and going

I have a weekend of baby pants, singlets and preemie hats ahead

then a week of work

then a weekend of frantic packing and procuring

then Paris

weekend

2007-09-23T17:01:00.000+12:00

Blaise managed to have all her stuff together - and left early Saturday morning, neither of us cried - but I did take a photo for her baby book...I think it will be poignant as the last one, waving her passport at me from the immigration gate because she is pretty much grown up now. I'll still keep taking photos of her(of course!)

Saturday night we went to a rugby match - not my choice for an evening out, but it was great - we had the corporate box to ourselves and invited my parents, my sister, her husband and kids. Anyone who knows me knows that my sister and I have not talked much in the past 5 years, so it was nice to be able to spend an evening all together.

My new best friend and I had a great time outside watching the game, she is two, and didn't understand what was going on...just that there was a ball, lot's of man's and lot's of mans needing a plaster (bandaid) and a kiss...which pretty much sums up everything I know about the game too.There was lot's of dancing standing on Aunty Jus's lap, high fives whenever the crowd roared, waving and saying"hi" to the camera man (it was a small crowd - she ended up on TV numerous times) and trying to remove all of my jewellery (pretty...) my nephew is seven and had a brilliant time eating chippies and watching the game, I'm really happy that Flash organised it and made me go - even if it was rugby.

Sunday morning dawned warm and sunny - for me anyway...Flash was hungover!

I caught the ferry to Devonport and met Libby, Sarah and Edwina (sadly blogless) at Wild and Woolly which is the best allround yarn store in Auckland, we then retired for coffee (I didn't buy anything except buttons - which I need for an order - I feel very virtuous!)it was wonderful to meet Libby - whom Sarah and I have been talking to on Ravelry, I love the knitternet!

(and yes I ordered my Ravelry shirt...and some pins)

Friday round up

2007-09-21T18:08:00.000+12:00

Before she goes here...I have a list...the orange plastic spoons from T2 ( they're handy ok?) Green and Blacks with caramel and seasalt, the scent of Pentimento...(she offered to go in with a jar and capture some air!) did you guess?...Blaise is off to Sydney for a week.

As a gift to the friend she is staying with, Blaise is knitting a scarf...but in true Turner tradition it's just not that simple.

First buy your yarn....cream Naturally felted lambswool

skein it and soak it

then paint it with a variety of purples (your best friend's favourite colour)

cook it, wash it, dry it, re-ball it...then knit it!

Some Knit Rangers are meeting up with KiwiChick this sunday morning at 10.30 outside Wild and Woolly, we'll have tea and cake and talk knitting, join us if you can!

Friday round up

2007-09-14T08:10:00.000+12:00

Apparently Kate McCann's diary has been leaked to Portuguese "journalists", they have reported that she made entries like " looking after Madeline and the twins is exhausting" and "Jerry doesn't pull his weight with the chores" - damning stuff, obviously she did it, lock her up and throw away the key.
And while you are it you might as well lock up every other wife and mother.

Last night we had an enjoyable and entertaining dinner at my parent's house, my step-father is originally from Bray in Ireland, and in his position has forged firm sister city ties between our city and Galway, which led to Ursula Rani Sarma coming over for our annual literature festival "Going West", my parents rightly thought that our writer-in-residence Blaise would enjoy meeting Ursula, she definitely has a new mentor and friend, and we all had a wonderful evening - nice to stretch the brain and engage in thought-provoking conversation.

I discovered yesterday that I do indeed still have a job at least until early next year, my manager came to me to work out a time to do my annual review - I told her that my contract ends at the end of September and she laughed, and told me my review will be early October, that's a relief - I'm actually enjoying it.

Culture comes out West!! just kidding, there is plenty of culture out here, I discovered a tiny gelato and italian soda shop on the main street of Henderson yesterday, and when I decide I am allowed to eat sugar again I will be straight in there!

I had a cathartic experience at the hairdressers yesterday - not a common comment huh!
I have not had my hair cut since we came home, to cut a long story short the hairdresser asked why not - and I realised that it was a reaction to coming home to Auckland, that I was unhappy on the inside and it was showing on the outside, now I have grownup hair, and I've lost 5 kilos in the past couple of weeks - I'm feeling happier about everything and it is starting to show.

Knitting - work on my secret projects has been suspended while I make up orders for 2 shops (yay!) but I am really happy with how one of them has turned out - and just have the sewing up and weaving of ends to do, which I will probably do at Knit Rangers on sunday,all will be revealed soon.

it's over

2007-09-10T19:04:00.000+12:00

The Hourglass sweater....she is done.

excuse the 80's ensuite - but Frasier was in the shot and I couldn't resist
cos I loves him

stats: 12 skeins of Noro Cash iroha (beautiful yarn even if it is a single)

perfect when I tried it on prior to blocking, after blocking the sleeves are perfect for a gorilla, and the neck is most definitely flashdance, I was reminded of the Yarn Harlot's story of the sweaters that grew. I will shorten the sleeves with surgery, the neck is not so bad that I can't wear it, and my collarbones are one of my favourite features - so the neckline can remain. The cosiness of this yarn is beyond belief - no itch on my itchy-scratchy skin, heaven!

Friday round up -really!

2007-09-08T09:16:00.000+12:00

ok so it's saturday - but I wrote this last night - so it's fair!

- the movie "Pan's Labyrinth" - watch it, set during the Spanish civil war, (and in spanish - but with great subtitles) it is the story of Ofelia a young girl placed in a horrific situation whose imagination takes over to protect her from reality. It is not a happy story, and there are some gruesomely violent scenes, but it is beautiful to watch the magic lift this child above the horror.

- I have finally - wait for it....finally finished the blue blob, it is now officially an Hourglass sweater, however it is still damp after blocking for 2 days now, and I am scared to pick it up...but there will be photos as soon as I can put it on.

- flushed with the success of the Hourglass sweater I immediately cast on for a Droplet hat from Nora Gaughn's "Knitting nature" with the remainder of the Noro cash iroha I used for the sweater, the next day Blaise had a cute new hat(above). I enjoyed this knit, it went quickly and the pattern was interesting enough to keep me amused, and easy enough to be TV knitting.

- apart from that slight deviation, Ravelry has been great for keeping me honest and on track with my projects, last night I worked away at the secret knitting which is now at the top of my projects list, this is a first for me, I am so easily distracted that it is nice to have such a tool to keep me focused.

I'm off to pick Flash up from the airport - another week away from home...hmm maybe that's how come I got to finish so much knitting!

planning

2007-09-02T09:09:00.000+12:00

I have chosen a sock yarn for the journey - Colinette jitterbug in the "Monet" colourway - I shall definitely be taking it to visit Monet's Nymphea at the Musee D'orangerie - probably no photos though...unless I can get Flash to kinnear one with his phone.

We have found a lovely young woman who is willing to live with our teenage daughters for almost 3 weeks, she has a degree in Psychology, but we haven't told them that yet!

I know that I have readers in Paris - I will be staying at the Marriott Champs Elysees,arriving on thursday 11 October, we have friday until 5pm, saturday afternoon and sunday until about 5 free of commitments, we then have the following friday and sunday afternoons free-ish. I would love to attend a knitting group for an hour or so, so if there are any on in the City during these times please let me know, or if anyone lives nearby and wants to meet up for a coffee- email is justine@justjussi.com.

As you can see, I have finally received my itinerary:
we leave NZ 10/10 for Singapore, 24 hour stopover (just long enough to grab some Chili crab!) and arrive in Paris 11/10 - where we have a day and a half alone (yay - this is when I will be BonMarche and La Droguerie shopping) before we meet up with the rest of the group on friday at 5pm.
Saturday morning we have a 2cv tour of various sights, and can be dropped wherever we like, we get to spend this afternoon doing whatever we want to before we meet back at the hotel to go to the rugby semi-final.

Sunday is at our leisure until the rugby again

Monday we depart for the Loire valley - via TGV - we will be staying at the Domaine de Beauvois and will spend this day wandering Tours.

Tuesday bicycle ride to "discover a variety of landscapes" and picnic lunch, and dinner at Le Moulin Fleuri.

Wednesday visit to Amboise, which I am looking forward to immensely.

Thursday visit to Chenonceau (picture above)which I am looking forward to even more than the Amboise, a bit of wine and cheese tasting, then a medieval dinner at Le Clos Luce - Da Vinci's last home before his death.

Friday back to Paris - free for the day, and then "a romantic dinner cruise" apparently it will be "tables for two" unfortunately knowing this lot they will push them all together and dance on them...

Saturday - the Louvre, and then more freedom before the Rugby final.

Sunday - it's over - utter freedom to go wherever we like! at 6pm we take the Eurostar to London

Monday - wander London (yes we have plans for all of our wanderings)

Tueday - blat down to Gloucestershire to visit the house I was born in, and the cemetary where my Grandfather lies - the rest of the family have been and planted NZ native flaxes and hebes, now it is my turn.

Wednesday more sightseeing and shopping in London, then back to Singapore for a break- this time we have time for shopping, the Night safari and more chilli crab (and the bucket curries that Flash was too frightened to eat on the way there in case he spent the holiday in the bathroom! - he'll take his chances on the way home)

Friday - home, and sleep.

Friday round up

2007-08-31T15:25:00.000+12:00

Small things: this Ponga (tree fern) shoot has sprouted in our fern garden which occupies the shady space near the steps to the front door.

Small magazine requested a possum beanie for a photo shoot, I was happy to oblige, and very happy with the result, the magazine is stunning, and the editor hardworking and moral - I appreciated her offer to pay postage and return the hats after the shoot, as she understands the financial costs to small business when people ask for "samples" (I have had a few dealings with these opportunists - I hope they do not sleep well) I refused her kind offer, and advised her to keep the beanies for her children, as a thank you for the exposure. I love how the internet can bring our community together in this way.

Coming soon: Mary-Annette Hay - Queen of Wool, exhibition at Te Papa in Wellington I am watching the cheap fares and may just manage to pop down there.

"A Fairytale dress for dancing" a two year old's description of this confection, which I admit is over the top...but then so are two year olds. Knitted from soft cotton it has stretchy side panels and i-cord tie straps so that the 2 year old's dress (shown on a size 1 dummy - it is supposed to be mid-calf length) can be the 4 year old's top.

this is "the yellow blob" and one way or another there will be a pattern available.

happenings on the far side

2007-08-29T16:17:00.000+12:00

Thanks for the lovely comments about the kitties - yes Layla did smack Frasier on the head once or twice.

the Hourglass sweater now has two sleeves which look suspiciously suitable for a gorilla - however I have been assured that this is perfectly normal - and as soon as I am feeling calm again I will commence the final countdown - the yoke and the neck - "Flashdance" is a phrase which is used often when describing the fit - so thanks to Mary's advice I have already made my plan of attack - hopefully I won't be visiting the frogpond...

there were other exciting happenings last night:

Luna Rosa

Friday round up

2007-08-24T08:16:00.000+12:00

the despised cat tree has finally been shifted from the lounge, to the landing - where it is out of sight, but also much more fun for the cats - as they can run up the stairs and then up the cat tree - like screaming meemees. They are well trained, when they hear Flash's car they race to see who gets to the top of the tree first, because he always gives them a treat when he gets home - the top kitty gets the first treat - Layla wasn't moving last night.

- These kiwis do not want to fly home - so much so that they are hunger striking on the rooftop of the Villawood detention centre in Sydney - where they have been incarcerated awaiting deportation.
One of the 2 gentlemen is being deported after serving a sentence for armed robbery, the other for common assault.
I fully support their cause, we have enough criminals here in New Zealand.

- I hate duck season - I forgot how much...we live in an area surrounded by native bush, with lots of little streams and creeks leading to wetlands, it is all very beautiful, and it is all full of ducks, they wander our streets and forage in our gardens, silly people who think "oh cute!" feed them, and then have a monkey on their back forever more, as they open the door each morning to 10s of birds wanting a feed.

I hate that they pair up, and when one is inevitably run over (don't mix bogan petrolheads and ducks) the other one sits beside the body - I feel the weight of our collective human guilt heavily on my shoulders, and I haven never hurt one.

I hate that some of them have babies in the middle of winter - stupid ducks, and that I will see a local mother with 15 babies in the morning - and only 6 left by the afternoon.

This year we have a new duck challenge - despite our refusal to feed them, our cats who chase them, and our 6 foot high fences...this morning a duck found our pool, and very happy he was too, swimming around and quacking like a class of 3 year olds singing "Old Macdonald".

I will be buying a pool size net.

- there has been knitting - but if you are not a Raveller, then you do not know the extent of it...I have finished one sleeve of the blue blob, and attached it to the body stitches, now I am halfway through the other sleeve, looks like I will finish it before we go away!

a good weekend

2007-08-20T09:13:00.000+12:00

Saturday

Flash cleaned the Castle

I went to the Papkura knit-out, I was impressed with the turn-out, the vendors, the prizes and the organisation, not so impressed with the lack of tables and chairs (knitters need long tables with lots of chairs so that they can make friends and chat) still, I am sure they will fix that next year.

It was wonderful to finally meet Mel Clark 0f South seas knitting, she is very sweet and calm - and she will change the face of knitting in New Zealand, note the picture above - I bought Koigu from her, lovely raspberry Koigu, beautiful multi-toned green and pink Koigu, she had Blue sky alpacas, and the elusive Habu ( I asked about the stainless steel, Al - not to knit with, but just to experience!) needless to say I was very happy to know that I will now be able to buy yarns that my friends in Oz can't go and fondle prior to buying - hah!

Sunday

Flash continued to clean the Castle.

Sunday was Knit Rangers day, what a crowd! there were 10 of us (not including Blaise - because she wasn't there)crocheters and knitters, we seem to have hit our stride now, the wait staff have worked out a system to deal with our many and various orders and Jo was very happy about yet another glowing write up, I've promised to knit a baby hat or 2 for Kristie's friend's 2lb preemie baby boy, and we are all borrowing patterns and gaining knowledge from one another.

the perfect weekend - lot's of knitting, and a really clean house (but now I have to re-organise the cupboard under the stairs - as thats's where a lot of the house was "tidied" away to!) and Koigu - what could be better?

p.s. Layla is doing great, but I would be happier if she weren't climbing trees right now.

p.p.s the koigu? - fairisle socks or fairisle fingerless gloves - my own design, but I have to design it first.

Friday round up

2007-08-17T16:03:00.000+12:00

yep, I'm here.

- Almost over my Ravelry binge (go friend me!) I've loaded 50 projects (and learnt a lot along the way - for instance, I have not knitted much this year - the thing is, I have done very little but knit this year, but it has all been for customers, much of it on the knitting machine). I haven't got around to loading my stash or needles (but I can see that loading my needles could be useful for when I go shopping)

- trying to organise my family so that i can go to the "Great Papakura Knit Out" (yes MH I think it is pretty much the same as it was - but it looks interesting, and you never know what will happen, life is full of surprises) at least they are out there, loud, proud and knitting!

- Layla was speyed yesterday - she is not too miserable, but Frasier is upset as all get out, running around the house crying, and jumping all over the place, he was upset that she was gone, then he was upset that she was back and smelling so different. Speying is so different now to how it was 12 years ago the last time I had a cat speyed - Layla has pain relief pills for 3 days, so much more civilised.

- the blue blob is fair racing along now, i have nearly finished the first sleeve, and the second one shouldn't take long seeing as I am working the bugs out on the first one. I love knitting with this cash iroha, such a lovely experience.

- see you at Knit Rangers on sunday, and if you live to far away, join our group on Ravelry!

Friday round up

2007-08-10T14:41:00.000+12:00

My dear friend and colleague Anne told me to get my arse out of Ravelry and write a Friday round up, because that's how she catches up on what I've been up to.

Anne sits 2 desks behind me...

so here goes:

- 18 year old girls are not always wonderful company.

- I fear that Fraiser is ADHD, he likes to sit next to the cat door and hit it with his paw...over and over again, not in a OCD kind of way - just in a wow! this makes heaps of noise! kind of way.

- I have finally picked up the blue blob and have made progress on a sleeve - I have pre-calculated the changes I need to make, and am happy with my progress thus far, however tonight being friday, is Champagne cocktail night...so there may not be so much progress tonight - for fear of having to rip tomorrow.

- Sarah posted this link on our Knit Rangers group on Ravelry (join it!) it looks great, I am shocked that I have heard nothing about it. A great big knit-out in South Auckland (they have a banner and everything!)and I know nothing - Barb obviously knew much more about it than me - and she is in Adelaide - I hang my head in shame, how can I call my blog "Just Jussi - kn itting in New Zealand" when I haven't the faintest idea?

- sorry Anne, that's about it, Flash and I finally have a whole weekend together - we'll probably drive out to the West Coast and go for a bushwalk, so long as the weather holds - i'll get him to take a photo of me knitting near a waterfall or something!

help

2007-08-08T16:11:00.000+12:00

I got my invite - I'm in Ravelry and I can't get out.
This thing is the biggest timewarp I have ever been in, it is like a giant amusement park of knitting...and my friends are there (well most of them) I am having fun, and almost revealed 3 secret projects today because they are all WIPs and I wanted them on my WIPs page! tragic yes.
If you are, have ever been, will ever be a Knit Ranger - go and join our Ravelry group - even if you just think you may visit Auckland NZ one day - go join our Ravelry Knit Rangers group, even if it is unlikely that you will ever visit NZ - but you feel connected in some way - go become a virtual Knit Ranger!

had a great wage slave day today - went to meet the people I send all my work too...long story, across town - everyone I met said such wonderful things about me and my work, so cool to feel appreciated.

On another subject, completely seperate: the latest death of an abused child in NZ - today a 3 minute silence was organised - at 12.12pm people were asked to stop whatever they were doing (yes even driving down the motorway) and observe 3 minutes silence as a mark of respect for the dead children and to show the community that we care.
I didn't stop.
I do care, of course, immensely, most of us do - the TV and radio are filled with interviews with ordinary people who care - but I don't know what 3 minutes silence will do...I asked one of my colleagues "will it stop the babies from dying?" no, of course not,the people who abuse their kids in this way don't watch the news, many don't even get out of bed until the afternoon, the anti-smacking law is unknown to them, and silence is the last thing we need, silence from those who could say something is part of the problem, maybe they could have spent their 3 minutes writing to their MP, or checking that child screaming next door, 3 minutes is all it takes to phone the police, what about 3 hours per week volunteering or fundraising or getting to know your neighbours, how about chasing up those babies who have fallen through the cracks and telling their caregivers about the 20 hours free early childhood education that is now available for 3 and 4 year olds (yes I know some centres don't offer it...most do) I feel that the 3 minutes was a stunt - to make the rest of society feel good, feel like they are doing something...like I said before, if you want to do something write to your MP, write to all of the MPs, ask them what their stance is, ask them what they will do to make things better, and keep asking until we get the right answer.
I have heard the comment many times that it takes a village to raise a child - well, it seems like these babies are everybody's child and no-one's responsibility. I remember their names, I remember the photos of Delcelia Witika's blood soaked mattress, how many years ago now? James Whakaruru, Cris and Cru Kahui, and all the others, little lives so full of promise - lets see now if we have the collective guts to do what has to be done to stop this now.

New free pattern

2007-08-05T10:09:00.000+12:00

I thought it was about time - we haven't had one for a while, and as always my free pattern disclaimer:

if there is a mistake in the pattern, I'm sorry, please let me know. Please don't ask me to re-size the pattern, think of it as a challenge, grab a calculator and measuring tape and do it yourself.

I designed this pattern for "Real Nappy Week" which was a while ago.

Knitted soakers for Real nappy week.
Here is a pattern for the cutest pure wool soakers, quick and easy in 8ply yarn.
wool stays warm when wet, takes water away from the body, and breathes

Materials: 8ply (DK weight) pure wool
Main colour (MC) approximately 75 grams
Contrast colour (CC) approximately 25 grams
Set each of 3mm and 3.75 mm straight needles
Tapestry needle for sewing up
Elastic knitting –in thread if desired

Size: (6mths – 18 mths depending on nappy)

Notes: this garment is knit all in one piece.

Abbreviations: K (knit) stst (stocking stitch) inc (increase)
P (purl) dec (decrease)

Front: With 3mm needles and MC cast on 50 sts using a stretchy cast on (knitting books and magazines often have numerous cast-on techniques, check your library, online help can be found at www.knittinghelp.com/)
Otherwise you can use your normal cast-on, but use 1 larger needle e.g. size 4.5 mm, along with one 3 mm, remember not to use the larger needle to knit the rib!
Work 16 rows K1P1 rib. Use knitting-in elastic if you want a very stretchy rib.
Leg: Change to 3.75 mm needles, work 14 rows stst
Mark both ends of the last row (use a piece of contrast colour yarn)
Next row: do the following 2 things at the same time
1.) Decrease 1 st at the beginning of next and every row (knit 1 st, knit the next 2 sts together)
2.) Knit 16 sts (count the dec st as a st, you want to add a contrast colour to the centre 18 sts)
Add in the contrast colour, knit 2 sts, knit 2 sts with MC, alternate until 18 sts have been worked. Continue to end of row in MC. Continue in colour patterning as set. (This creates a padded section where it is most needed.
Continue decreasing at beginning of each row until 24 sts remaining.
Knit 4 rows with no decreases
Back: Start increases: continue with colour in pattern as set.
Increase 1 st at the beginning of each row (knit 2 sts, pick up a loop from below the second st, place on L needle and knit) continue increases until 50 sts are on needles. Place markers at both ends of row.
Shaping:
Short row shaping. Using MC only, knit 40 sts, turn and purl 30 sts, turn and knit 31 sts , turn. Continue to knit 1 more st each row until all sts are back in play. (wrap the next st on the needle at the end of each row to avoid making a hole)
Work 14 rows straight.
Back rib: Change to 3 mm needles, work 16 rows k1p1 rib, cast off in k1p1 rib, using a larger size needle.
Leg rib: with right side facing, pick up and knit 56 sts between the leg markers with 3mm needles and MC. Work 20 rows, then cast off in rib with 1 larger needle (to maintain stretch)
Work the other side to match.

Match the markers up and sew the side seams together.

TDFKAL almost done

2007-08-01T17:18:00.000+12:00

here it is, my almost completed long wrap/wide scarf (wanted something I could wind around my shoulders a couple of times) the monotonous hours of stocking st (with 2 edges sts knit every row at each end) are over, now I just need to sit down and plan the needlefelted silver fern outlines.

I have excuses: 5 tax returns - 2 for me, one for my business and 2 for Flash, NZ tax returns are a doddle, you can't really claim anything, Australian tax returns are complex and cause hair-pulling, but mine was easy because I didn't work last year, and my business made a loss (capital purchases upfront) the business one was more confusing, but is over, Flash's aussie one took a long time, but with the help of his previous 2, and a list from the accountant - I made it through with flying colours.

One word of advice for Kiwis thinking of crossing the ditch though - there is an urban myth in NZ that if you move to Oz, your family income is added up, then split between husband and wife, and then taxed...NOT SO...there is a potential for a tax offset if you have a dependent spouse, but the amount is not huge - so if you thought of moving to Oz, and earning $100 K which you split with your househusband and paid low tax on - think again.

Next was Blaise's school play - months of rehearsal culminated in 1.5 hours of hilarity, a great performance, and Blaise's part was, like her, small but perfectly formed - the audience erupted in laughter, excuse Flash's poor camera work, I may have to add subtitles.

Flash has been in fine form with our latest car drama being a real winner - the air was blue around here last night, as he plowed the car up to the door frames in the muddy porridge that was our car pad, and is now just a gravelly muddy pit. To add insult to injury he decided to back my truck down the driveway, instead of me, becuase he was worried I might bump his car (I back down the driveway at least twice a day, I could do it blindfolded - why does this sexist streak come out in men sometimes?) in doing so he managed to knock the letterbox down, but not before gouging a foot long scratch into the side of the LandRover...if we had a dogbox he would have been sleeping in it.

The landy made short work of extricating the beast from the mud, and this morning he hosed his car down to show me where that tax return money will be going...paintwork for the Holden, and blocks for the car pad...but not until the landy's paintwork has been fixed darling...!

Friday round up

2007-07-27T20:04:00.000+12:00

again??? I almost missed it again???

- you have been here, haven't you? I can make anything!

- Blaise - school play, Maria - with boyfriend (does anyone else find young luuurve faintly nauseating?), Flash - making a hit in Wellington (someone has to), me - curled up on the couch with the cats, the black and yellow blobs, and Casion Royale...sad really.

- Donna is an angel, she sent me a pile of Fortune cat beads - and a really sweet card...argh! I miss you guys!

- at least the TDFKAL isn't full of drug cheats - cos it REALLY messes with your knitting!

- if I lived in the USA...thriftshopper.com

have a great weekend!

mutant kitty

2007-07-26T08:54:00.000+12:00

Frasier and the mutant kitty eye off

I wanted to make a baby toy - there are many things to consider when making anything for a baby, safety is paramount, then there are the aspects of visual and tactile elements, elements a baby will appreciate, but that a parent may not, baby aesthetics are quite different to those of adults - we want harmony and balance, babies need some jarring and contrast. Shape is important too, something that is easy for little hands to hold, and nothing long or thin to go into that mouth, fabric ranges from soft and cuddly, through smooth to more heavily textured.

Taking all of that into account I made this touchy feely kitty, it has a face (important) is a shape babies can hold, has bold visual statements, (and a more restful back) is securely sewn and stuffed with sheeps wool, has securely attached ears and feet made with interesting fabrics, big enough to hold, but not big enough to choke on. The front is made from a cashmere suiting -so is smooth and soft, the back from that printed linen tablecloth I showed you last week, nice and tactile, the ears and feet from printed fabric - cotton and flannelette - interesting and cuddly.Eyes and nose are needlefelted into position, they have become one with the felt of the face, and the pupils are embroidered in wool.

You can make your own touchy feely kitty, the pattern is here. Mine is being parcelled up with a couple of other items as a surprise for a wee girl I've never met, as a thank you to her Mum.

(he has no tail - he is a Manx cat)

caught in a web of time

2007-07-23T16:00:00.000+12:00

Firstly “Hi” to the new readers who came here from Mums on Top, now that you guys are tapping straight into my blog I’ll have to pull my socks up and provide more knitting content! But for now I’ll take a minute now to re-introduce myself and the cast of players who feature here from time to time.
I’m Justine, late 30 something, working part time in an office and fulltime on my line of baby clothes “Just Jussi” (we do not speak of the first job here on the blog!).I have a predilection for designer skirts, Doc Martens and cute cardis (however have never managed to knit one for myself that I like) and spend my “spare” time designing and knitting baby clothes even though our kids are all over 16. My husband “Flash” and I have 6 kids between us (3 each – yes we’re the Brady Bunch), and raised the younger 5 girls together, 3 have left home and now we only have Blaise and Maria who are in their final years at school, Frasier our ADHD Bengal kitten, and Frasier’s cat Layla – a lovely, placid moggy.
We live amongst the bush clad hills of the Waitakeres in the wild west of Auckland, a magical place with restorative powers for those with hectic schedules – the bush, the birdsong and the really great coffee.

My blog is a running commentary to my life, from the knitting perspective, from time to time you will hear of my children’s accomplishments or my husband’s adventures, but mostly it’s me and knitting, and how the knitting is winning. Occasionally I delve into other crafty pursuits such as toy-making or felting, but then dash back to the comfort of the needles and yarn.

So - back to our regular posting:
I have slipped into some kind of time vortex where every hour of your time = 2 hours of mine, I do not have enough hours in the day and have been thinking frantically to find out where I lost them – it’s Monday and I didn’t do a Friday round up, too late now of course, and then I look at bloglines and it is enough to make me want to scream out loud STOP THE BLOGGING! People, I want to catch up! there is so much exciting stuff happening out there in blogland, but I just can't take it all in!

I try to plan, I make lists, I even sorted out a filing system for all of the different things I need to complete, start, think about…and then I forgot to look in the folders, I lose the lists and make new ones, I have 3 day books but end up writing everything important on the back of supermarket receipts… what happened to the Mum who could juggle 5 kids uniforms, lunches, bus money, afterschool activities, an often absent business traveler of a husband and a fulltime job? See, the only answer I can come up with is physics, temporal/spatial relations, quantum physics has the answer - string theory… a thread of yarn from the beginning to the end…I’m knitting my life and my gauge is wrong.

Today finally I feel like I have made some progress…little parcels sent out across the globe and a visit to the bank, all before work, and now dinner is in the oven, the washing is up to date and I managed to find a 60cm 3.25 mm circ at the LYS (no pink or green cotton though…that would be pushing it) the cotton? To complete the yellow blob – call that the hated yellow blob…I was coping with the colour until I realized that the laws of physics and knitting were against me, and my dream of box pleats knitted the way I wanted to knit them…would never be realized…I was and still am, slightly shattered…the dream is dead, but the dress needs to be finished, so I shall continue to hope that it looks almost as good as the original in my head.

Thank you to the lovely girls who have nominated me as a Rocking girl blogger, very sweet and I would nominate you back, but you are rocking girls already!

Ok, ticked off my list, next is to update the Knit Rangers site… and then TDFKAL knitting…may the force be with me.

Ravelry placing update, I am now at #1569, I have calculated that they are inviting 100 people a day...so I'm expecting my invitation a fortnight this wednesday...let's see if I'm right.

and finally - a kitty photo - Frasier trying to decide wether to go for the yarn or the fabric piles...(Layla is the black blob at the bottom of the photo...trying to insinuate herself between the wall and the shelving unit) The cats aren't allowed in the workroom, so of course when they manage to get in - they think it's Christmas, so many toys!

detour

2007-07-18T18:30:00.000+12:00

these blobs (black TDFKAL and yellowsecretknitting) have been kicking my butt, so I felt it was time to take a wee detour to a kinder, gentler place, I've been knitting some wee things for a wee gift for a wee person.
shown here with a vintage printed linen tablecoth which is just screaming to be made into something cuddly and cute - don't you just adore the bluebird!

Monday-itis

2007-07-16T15:52:00.000+12:00

working fulltime this week - and already missing part-time, saw 4 x my usual number of appointments, although I am only working an extra 2 hours a day - hmmm don't know how that works!

this is another bitser post - and I am sending you off to listen to something that I haven't listened to myself yet! a radio interview with Margaret and Christine Wertheim the women who crocheted? the Great Barrier reef, it was at 10.08 this morning - thanks Mama for the link.

can't find the camera, Flash returned yesterday (though if you blinked you missed him!) I think the kids will see him again tomorrow evening, but it will be nice to have that body in bed next to me, even though I will probably be asleep by the time he comes home tonight - then he is off on all sorts of adventures all week and saturday - and the same the following week - he is becoming a sunday Dad, but I'm coping ok as the solo mum! He'll have a few days off when this work stuff is over, I think I may too. Knitting progress: black blob - bigger, yellow blob - bigger, blue blob - stagnant. Kakariki parrot sightings - nil.

Haloscan seems to be ok so far (despite the banner thing - I do miss my banner)if anyone has any ideas as to how I can get it back please feel free to email me.

I checked out my place on the list at Ravelry...wow, theres a long way to go....2271 people ahead of me...but 8744 people behind me.

comments

2007-07-14T17:41:00.000+12:00

I've decided to try haloscan comments, blogger only tells me sometimes if people have commented, so i only reply to some people, or I never find out that there is a new comment on an old post etc - hopefully this will work - it means that I lose my title picture though...seems it doesn't gel with the Haloscan spell, so we'll see, if the comments work better it is worth losing the banner - but if they don't, I've saved the old template!

Friday round up

2007-07-13T07:17:00.000+12:00

and boy am I glad!

- I have so much knitting to catch up on and have had so little time, there's the hourglass sweater (the blue blob), my TDFKAL wrap (the black blob) and the secret knitting (the yellow blob) I'm scared to pull all of my wips out, I know there are 3 different socks, a cushion cover and a lace shawl hanging out in the workshop somewhere - and I'm feeling guilty about every single one of them, they are holding me back - I have to either rip or knit and get them out of here!
- I have no photos, old story - Flash has taken the good camera and the batteries, the good camera has photos of our neighbourhood Kakariki parrots (a bit like Rosellas - very bright and flashy) and the black blob - I hope he doesn't wipe them, the parrots don't often sit still enough to photograph.
- The weather in NZ has been diabolical, a weather bomb detonated over the North of the North Island, please join me in sending thoughts to Eclair from Mad Hair day, whose home was hit by the last big storm in March, hopefully her family fared better this time, and everyone else up there who are still isolated and without power. One of our great living treasures - a huge Kauri tree named Te Matua Ngahere was damaged during the storm as well. Our Prime Minister is suggesting that some small towns may have to be moved, as it is obvious that global climate change is affecting flood patterns.
- Quelle horreur!
New Zealand is erecting a giant blowup replica rugby ball next to the Eiffel tower during the rugby world cup - apparently it will showcase all that is great about New Zealand - obviously what these people think is great about New Zealand does not include aesthetics, design and style -it looks like a giant kiwi egg. I understand that this is a "great opportunity" for NZ Tourism, but it is still bloody ugly. I'm tempted to take a pin with me when I visit the Eiffel Tower. One of our esteemed politicians - when asked if it was a permanent structure that would have to be destroyed when the promotion finished replied "no, it's inflatable - like a blow up doll"... classy.
- this weekend I am going to do the same as my knitting - blob, I am going to sit and knit and wait for my Ravelry invite - I'm missing out on all the fun - even my patterns are there enjoying themselves without me!
- ooh, ooh and finally - it's "French Day at French bay" 10-3 this sunday this monthly market is going to be extra special due to Bastille Day on Saturday.

tempest

2007-07-10T16:59:00.001+12:00

this abandoned birds nest has sat in our camellia bush since we moved into this house, and is remarked upon by everyone walking past - well - was, the weather has been horrendous here for the past 2 days, today we have wind gusts up to 140 kph, and Flash was white knuckling it as he drove over the harbour bridge -anyway, back to the nest...I watched this morning as it was blasted from it's perch and driven down the road by a sudden gale, had a quick inhalation as I realised the temporary nature of existence, then exhaled at the thought of how much needed doing in weather like this...I've been outside and tidied away everything that could be damaged or cause damage in the wind, and we're battened down again with the roraing fire and the hot chocolate (white this time with an extra dash of vanilla) the wind is literally howling, the cats are huddled together, I'm willing the roof to stay put and yet more bread is baking (just can't help myself in this weather)

My Tour de France wrap tore out of the starting blocks, I'm making good time, but seriously it is just black stocking stitch with a garter st border, not difficult! the fun will come on the real mountain climbs, needlefelting the design onto the wrap - stay tuned.

Visit the Lovely NZ site that Charlotte has set up, if for no other reason than to look at the lovely pictures or to plan your trip downunder.

The Titirangi Tatler article increased our Knit Ranger numbers, we had 2 new women turn up on sunday and I have had 10 phonecalls, I am slightly concerned that we will overflow the table at our next meeting! It is wonderful to meet new people, and having shared interests make the conversation flow easily - more on the Knit Ranger's site

Friday round up

2007-07-06T16:12:00.000+12:00

Auckland is wet and cold, I've had to drain water from the pool twice in the past 2 days because it threatened to overflow, the bad car has ploughed the front lawn horribly, and the spouting hasn't coped with the deluges, we have had a tornado is Waitakere, and a spate of them causing millions of dollars in Taranaki (the new tornado alley?) however, in the words of the immortal Fred Dagg...we don't know how lucky we are...

- the garden is loving all of the rain, I have Dublin bay roses in bloom, and little baby caulis and broccoli heads forming.

- Frasier and I are knitting in front of the fire for the rest of the afternoon

the kids are safe, the washing is done, and the house is warm, we have dark hot chocolate, bread baking, and it's friday - we don't know how lucky we are.

and because it is friday, I slipped and did this...

don't you judge me!

See you at the Knit Rangers! 2pm this sunday

and then sometimes you win!

2007-07-01T18:00:00.001+12:00

Remeber I was trying to figure out how to finish the secret red thing? I wanted something easy but effective, well I worked it out,some nice garter stitch bands in alternating stripes, and then went to find buttons...I won't bore you with my button finding dramas - you have heard them all before!

Please excuse the picture quality ...

this button was too orange...

this button was too "all about the button"... but this, this is the Goldilocks button - this is the button which is just right, it works with the overall design, but doesn't detract, it is flat enough to be comfortable, but 3-d enough to be interesting.

(shown sideways Left-Right hem -circ)

here you go Ruthanne - you asked for it, a sad pathetic sight indeed, but now that I have dragged it out of it's hiding place I have remembered how much I like that colour...I still have to finish that all in one sideways sweater I ripped out last night, but I think I may be able to alternate between the two.

Excuse my dip into negativity, rugby does tend to annoy me, and Holly went home this morning, I'm so proud of her, but I wish I could see her more often, this "letting them go" thing sucks!

Anyhow, I'm back to normal now, not even a trip to Spotlight managed to wipe the smile off my face, and there is nothing like finally finishing a project!

you win some

2007-07-01T09:18:00.000+12:00

you lose some - we spent the evening at my parent's house, beautiful lamb shanks for dinner, and good company as always, Flash wanted to watch the rugby, so I knitted during it's monotony, glad to be getting somewhere on this sweater I have been planning for ages, and I was so happy, I knitted the whole sleeve, then started my calculations for how many stitches to cast on for the front and back (it is knitted sideways) - problem...I did not increase enough while knitting the sleeve - I did not read my own diagram carefully enough, just bowled in and thought I was clever - pride comes before a fall - NZ lost the rugby too...and the 5th race in the America's cup - it's raining today, it should be.

Friday round up

2007-06-29T09:06:00.000+12:00

It is COLD here...I know it is cold in Sydney too...I don't like the cold. I wore my scarf all day at work yesterday.
The day before I wore my Clapotis all day - and told a few people at work where to get the pattern.
I have taught one person to knit and shown one person how to do intarsia this week (well I showed her on sunday - but I wasn't a good teacher - so I showed her properly at lunchtime) I am happy to wear the "enabler" label!
Holly is here and it is lovely to see her, and she passed her "Q-mit" ??? (is that correct Holls?) the hardest exam at Lincoln - once again I am very proud. She did tell me that she has moved out of home though...which I didn't know...I mean, I know that she is living in Christchurch - but I thought that was just because she was at Uni - but no, apparently from now on she is only home to visit - wow, that was easy!
I have no photos - we have a battery monster in our house, all of our batteries have disappeared...now to find the person with the DS lite in our house...(quick, put them back!)
Frasier has a problem with the cold too - his coat is very sleek and quite short - so he seems to feel the cold - I'm tempted to knit him this out of Opal Tiger! As if the back door neighbour's dog doesn't laugh at him enough - but then again it may trick the next door neighbours chihuahuas into thinking he is one of them!
I am battling with the "red thing" I am very happy with the way it has turned out so far - but now I am on the home stretch - the treatment of the fronts and neck - and I can't ask you guys for help - because you haven't seen it...but does anyone else get infuriated when they get so far and then just can't decide what would look best, this part is so important for the final look of the garment - I don't want to get it wrong, but I have to get it finished and at the moment am just paralysed for fear of not getting it right, looks like I am going to have to play trial and error with this one.
The blue blob (otherwise known as the Hourglass sweater) is still a blob, but it was heartening to hear from Sarah and Helen at knitting on sunday, that they have both knitted circular garments up to the armholes recently and then placed them to one side in order to pursue other wips, I am not alone.

Community

2007-06-26T08:30:00.000+12:00

Finally I have a chance to sit and write about my experiences this weekend, saturday was once again spent furiously sewing up as I had "invented" the possum beanie on tuesday and made a heap of them for the Luxury market and the current special over at the website (and yes I am making them for adults) I have made a promise to myself that I have a cut off point - 2 weeks prior to market day, anything I design after that day can go into production for the NEXT market, so that I can have a nice relaxing family day on that saturday. I am following my own rules now and have 2 weeks to complete 4 designs for the handpainted yarn kits - I must say I am very excited about these - the yarn is beautiful, I have finally found my "voice" with my handpainting technique.
I have been playing with the "Sensational knitted socks" books over the past few weeks too, since I saw Sarah's beautiful red boot socks - knitted from Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino, these books are great for showing you how to use any yarn to make any sock for anyone - I've ripped out my first attempts, but should have something to show you soon.

Talking about Sarah's socks segues us nicely into the second day of the weekend - let's give the markets a miss for now, they were fun, successful and a great marketing and networking tool - enough said.
When I moved to Sydney I knew very few people, my neighbours changed almost weekly and I wasn't working, the girls were big enough that I didn't need to stand around in the playground chatting to other Mum's while we waited for them after school - so I had none of my old reliable ways of meeting people available to me - I knitted a lot, shopped a lot, and started a blog to communicate with friends back home - then I found the Monica's blog - the legendary Knitting Revolutionary, and discovered that there was a local knitting group, SSK met just up the road from me in a cute wee cafe, I gathered my my knitting, my notions and accessories, put my big girl pants on and had Flash drop me off - before I got out the car he grabbed me and said "I'm so proud of you" he's a top manager and here he is telling me that I'm braver than him because I am going to meet strangers.
Knitters aren't strangers though are they? I loved it from the first day, even if I didn't feel that I could add to the conversation (I'm shy) I still had something to do with my hands and I could listen and learn - I didn't get put off because I didn't find my niche immediately, I understand group dynamics, you can't just charge in and take over - but if you sit back and observe you will soon find out where you fit, some people didn't stay long because they didn't understand this, others moved between various groups which was great, a mass cross-pollination of ideas, I loved the train trip out to the group at Gordon and my forays into the Courthouse group, lot's of different people, but all with one thing in common.The most important quality for the groups to be able to work and grow though, is integrity - which I saw so much of at SSK, everyone is true to themselves - Lara knits acid bright colours and novelty yarns, Alison has an awesome clarity of style and design, Kerry is quietly passionate, Mary-Helen felt like a Mum to me (she isn't old enough to be my Mum!) she keeps the group centred, Kris is joyously loud, Veronica patient and quiet. It just works - whether there are 6 or 26 people there, it is always a riot. When I started my business I received so much support - a photographer, babies, feedback, legal advice, i.t. support, honest criticism - it blew me away.

So, when I came home, I desperately wanted to start a group where those values come through, everyone is welcome, young, old, newbie, master knitter, loud, quiet, male, female - just a place where they could come and knit and talk and feel part of a community - and you know what? I think we have cracked it! the Knit Rangers have taken off, the group is still small, we had 8 this week, some people travel a fair distance to spend 2 hours together talking about sticks and string (and life) and we all agree that despite the distance - the cafe is the right place, Anna the quilter has started knitting, I see new friendships forming, we all can teach one another - we are growing a new community. I miss SSK deeply, and am so glad I have been able to take the model and see it work in a new place. Thank you SSKer's and Knit Ranger's. (and anyone who wants to come along in 2 weeks time is very, very welcome!)

Friday round up

2007-06-22T15:34:00.000+12:00

there are many possum hats, they are threatening to take over the studio! So I took the only course of action open to me - I have paired them with the possum pants and released them into the wild. They sat there for a while trying to disappear into the greenery, wasn't going to happen so I took pity on them and brought them back into the warm, hopefully thay will find new homes this weekend.

This the red thing I have knitting in my "spare time" finally finished and if I get a chance to finish the pattern this weekend it will be off to it's new home next week.This turned out almost exactly as I had hoped - love it when things fall into place.
If you get the Titirangi Tatler - look out for an article on Just Jussi and the Knit Rangers, nothing like a bit of free publicity to swell the numbers.
Speaking of which, I will be at the market until around 1.30 pm on Sunday, so Sarah, if you or anyone else wants a lift, drop in and see me at the Stamford Plaza, I'll then be racing out to the Knit Rangers gathering - remember it is 2pm, this Sunday at the Packing Shed cafe (directions on the Knit Rangers site) My Mama and Flash will take over and stay until the markets close.
We'll have lots of yarn available - handpainted light DK and 4ply superwash merino.
Holly arrives this sunday - yay a week of Mummy/daughter bonding time!

all the better to hear you with...

2007-06-19T10:37:00.000+12:00

this morning Flash left before dawn, with the good camera (yes I know I said he could never touch it again since he broke it...) to add insult to injury he cannibalised the batteries from the little camera...and the spares.

So I had to take this photo in the dark, when the spare, spare batteries had finished charging, but I just had to take it because they are sooooo cute. Now I am not usually one for dressing babies up like the darling little animals they are, but in this case the possum hat was just screaming for wee possum ears. I promise that for every hat with ears, there will be at least one without.

These are for the markets this weekend, I'm selling them as a set with the possum pants - doing my bit for conservation.

Friday round up

2007-06-15T18:28:00.000+12:00

Not much minutiae this week, but I'll try:

NZ really is this small - go welcome Rachel - kiwi knitbloggers are a rare breed, we knew one another (cough, cough) years ago, I found her blog through another NZ blog - look out Donna, we NZ-ers could almost form our own breakaway Ring!
My contract was renewed for another 3 months yesterday - great news, more money for France! Apparently this could go on for years, I don't mind, I love working part-time, just when I think I can't take another minute - it's 2pm and I'm done for the day.
Why is it that for every sale I make, I get 10 phonecalls or emails from people trying to get me to buy advertising, obviously the advertising I am buying is working really well...at attracting advertising salesmen!
I need Supernanny for cats, Maria says that I am Frasier's drug, because he can be sleeping happily, but then when he hears my voice he leaps up and starts screaming until he finds me - I told her "no, I'm his Mummy, and he is a toddler" a toddler who sits outside the bathroom door screaming while I pee, or outside the shower screaming while I wash - I have given in and let him in the shower now...(he's a Bengal people - he likes water)
Please go and drool over Jae's Palawan Peacock shawl, which my favourite Ailsa is test knitting. It is extremely beautiful - I think of all my poor lace wip's stuffed down the bottom of my knitting bag, and think "could I just drop them for this shawl, am I that fickle?" and the answer is a resounding, deafening YES! yes I am.
I'm doing all of my sewing up this weekend, so I don't end up being caught out like last time with my market knitting, I've made lots of cuteiful little possum pants, and I'm thinking maybe a couple of possum scarves for the not so little people.
I'm also thinking of making up some kits for a jacket a bit like the Spirited jacket, but with my hand dye, does a kit need needles? what do you guys think? I was going to put in the pattern/yarn/buttons/label/needles (only one size is needed) because I thought that the hotel guests may be more likely to buy them if the needles are included.

Finally, here is an okay photo of that "80's eye makeup" hand painted yarn

liquid eyeliner anyone? electric blue mascara?

yet more yarn

2007-06-14T16:15:00.001+12:00

Darned NZ light means I can't find anywhere in the house to take photos without glare! I dyed another 30 skeins yesterday, mostly in the colours I'm selling on the website, but I did try out a few ideas: above - this photo can't quite capture the blue greens of the yarn, I'm calling this one "West Coast breakers" because that is exactly what it looks like, I love it so much I'm keeping it to make socks. The greens below are the colours of my vegie garden and almost as yummy.

No prizes for guessing who the garment made from this yarn is going to be for, and in case Mummy feels left out, I dyed up some laceweight for her too. I'm calling this one "Pinata!"

I haven't been able to get a good enough photo of the last experiment, basically it is underpainted with jewel bright pinks/blues/purples and overpainted with black, the colours peek through the black and charcoal - I'm calling it "80's eye makeup" because it reminds me of those Revlon eyeshadows from the 80's, you chose the case, then mix and matched the shadows, the first 2 I bought were electric blue and hot pink...stylish.

Knit Rangers

2007-06-11T09:06:00.000+12:00

a very successful meetup yesterday! see here

thanks for the comments about Frasier - he has bells on his collar, so hopefully won't be dragging any dead creatures back home, if he does we will have to re-think his liberty.

those toilets

2007-06-10T16:49:00.000+12:00

are in a small town in Northland - the north of the North Island, I have visited them once and would recommend them - they literally are a work of art - by the artist Frederick Hundertwasser - for more info and more photos go here .

There's no-one else quite like us...

2007-06-09T18:16:00.000+12:00

the whole family are loving this ad created to promote domestic travel in NZ...this one's for you Mary-Helen and Kate (make sure the sound is turned on!)

Friday round up

2007-06-08T15:02:00.000+12:00

so - all week i have had the kind of headcold they have on the TV ads, the kind where you just keep taking the pills and you can "soldier on" so to speak - I felt a bit spacey, and my ears were blocked, so I felt like I was underwater...but I went to work etc. However, now I remember there were things I meant to tell you...like the "rugby thing" how did that go ? hmmm

NZ won against the French - the game was very bad, even people who love rugby agreed that the game was very bad...we were served dinner at 12.45am...I was kinda no longer hungry, and hadn't had any alcohol, so was quite bored, unlike the rest of them who were partying up large and loud...oh and Flash dropped our good camera...onto concrete...luckily he only broke the sunfilter lens,but he will not be allowed that camera again! I was very well behaved in the face of adversity. (the muesli bars helped) I also enjoyed the fact that I was seated next to a large contingent of French fans - they gave the place a bit of culture!

Cute secret knitting continues a-pace, so cute and so easy to knit...except for last night, when I actually did manage to curl up in bed with John Safran (vs God - the tv series on DVD) my knitting, and Layla (previously known as the good cat) I'm knitting away happily, watching John work his way through various religions (and try on Mormon undergarments) when suddenly I came to the end of my yarn..."weird" thought I, I could swear I've only used 1/4 of the ball...and then I realised, Layla (the good cat) was not really asleep, she was pretending to be asleep, while secretly chewing on my yarn....I don't know which is worse, Layla quietly undermining me, or Frasier's new trick - he launches himself at my backside from the top of the stairs when I am halfway down the stairs, and invariably pulls my pyjama pants down, it is very undignified.

Frasier has also taken to stealing...first it was a wire coathanger which I found he had dragged onto the front lawn (through the cat door no less!), next Flash saw a green streak as Frasier ran past him in the hallway...he was making off with a decent sized bag of cat treats! We are worried that he may extend his nefarious ways to the neighbourhood as I have heard many exotic cats do...I'm very concerned that he may drag back one of the nextdoor neighbour's chihuahuas...he is bigger than them already!

thank you for the nice emails back from people who have purchased yarn - as I said, now send the photos of what you make!

I hope everyone has a good weekend, the girls and I are baching it until sunday, with Flash away, so we'll keep the fire stoked, the DVD player humming, and Blaise baking cookies, who knows I may not wear day clothes at all this weekend ( except to The Knit Rangers - meeting on Sunday - I promise I will not wear my jammas)

moving right along...

2007-06-07T14:42:00.000+12:00

from yesterday (oh and THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN!)

don't get me wrong, I love New Zealand - it truly is the most beautiful country on Earth, that's why we call it Godzone. I am happy to be home, and settled into our new old life (I keep writing "2004" on documents at work because thats when I left...my brain seems to have stuck!) I travel the same route, just from a different house, however, life is harder here - the cost of living is higher, even though our tax is lower, the higher rates kick in earlier, electricity and food are definitely more expensive. We are fine and happy, and home is where Flash and the kids are of course (except when he is away!) I just want to be honest about what I feel.

It's pouring with rain here, I have a stinking head cold, and just want to crawl into bed with my test knitting, but have to go and buy firewood and pick the girls up from school, Blaise is an ace firestarter, so I'll be able to go to bed once we are back home - I've already made beetroot pesto again to mix into fettucine tonight - it went down reasonably well last time, half of this family just aren't as enthusiastic about vegies as they should be!

I'm boring myself - go see Jessica over at Indexed her venn diagrams and graphs are hilarious and thought provoking - go, go now before I start posting Frasier photos!

7 random things

2007-06-05T16:33:00.000+12:00

I have taken a pledge not to do any more memes...but I have a soft spot for Lara

1. to this day I remember the faces of the pixies I saw in the outhouse of the cottage we stayed at in Wales when I was very small. There were 3 of them - they are not the same ones who lived behind the headboard in my bedroom in Gloucester.

2. I can't eat olives - I try, but I can't.

3. I like it that my husband goes away quite a lot - I feel guilty, but I love being alone for short lengths of time. I think this comes from having 9 years alone just the girls and I, it also means that he doesn't feel so bad for me while he is away.

4. I can only sleep in 2 positions, on my back or on my left side. I have to have the sheet over my exposed ear so that "the ghosts" don't whisper in my ears when I am asleep...yes I know it is stupid, but when I was 7 years old Stephen Jennings from over the road told me that's what they do...and it became a habit.

5. I have no tolerance for people who don't like garlic - I don't know why, but it just makes me want to feed them garlic to make them realise how good it is, my Granny says "it doesn't have garlic in does it?" and I say "noooooo" (fingers crossed) and she eats it and loves it, I'm kind of a benign garlic dictator.

6. I love to drive - I drive safely, but love to get out on the road and plant my foot, I can't wait to take the LandRover off-road and see what it can do, and despite my comments about Flash's car, driving it is an amazing experience. I may be gawky and clumsy on land,but when I am driving my brain and body seem to finally sync, my reflexes are razor-sharp and my reaction times are legendary - even Charlotte says "skills Mum!"

7. If Flash came home tomorrow with a job offer in Oz, I would jump at it - weird given the amount of sulking and whingeing I indulged in over the 2.5 years we were there - I love NZ, the country is spectacular, and I missed my family so much - but Australia has an attitude of success, whereas NZ has an attitude of entitlement - I am generalising greatly here, but unfortunately the welfare system in NZ is so seductive, we have inter-generational poverty and unemployment because people are so afraid to step out of the safety net. I worry about my children's future if they stay in NZ, unless there are some radical changes - as the number of people being supported by every worker is growing all the time.

I'm not picking anyone - feel free to do this meme yourself.

Friday round up

2007-06-01T15:01:00.000+12:00

this week has been one of playing catch up and dealing with "The List" the peice of memo cube paper I carry in my handbag everywhere - not on the PDA, not in the laptop, not even in the diary...just a tiny peice of paper with writing on both sides, and finally there are more lines through errands than not.

I got the Knit Rangers blog up and running - yay!, please feel free to add it to any Stitch and Bitch lists you may have - you never know when someone is going to visit NZ and need some knitting time.

I sent Donna's present off a whole DAY before her birthday...not much solace when she lives at least 4 days post away (really have to get my act together with mail...note to self) Please go say Happy Birthday for yesterday to help make up for my tardiness.

I finally put in a claim with our health insurance only to discover that our agent gave us a good policy - but it didn't include the extras I wanted included...and the company won't backdate, as it was the agent's fault not theirs...gah!

Next job - reorganising my studio - believe it or not I still do not have enough room! I need more storage.

I re-finished this wonderful old suitcase - see the wooden strapping and brass fittings, $10 from the Sallies - ok it needed a clean, and re-lining, but now it has pride of place under the cutting table filled to overflowing with fabric and sock yarn.

the "Great Dividing bookcase" between Flash's side of the room and mine...full.

I can't show you anymore...the story is the same...full, full, full...I am taking all of the equipment boxes and putting them in the room under the stairs, maybe that will help, or maybe I should start taking over Flash's study...

It is a long weekend here - Queen's birthday (not her real birthday mind you, just her "official" birthday...what's up with that?) Flash and I are off to the rugby tomorrow night - I am practising being enthusiastic - I will be channelling my basketball watching self...GO THE BLACKS! I am also practising being a good CEO's wife, because goodness knows I don't know the first thing about actually being a good CEO's wife. I have a first aid kit containing muesli bars, water bottle, rescue remedy, panadol, my i-pod and a teeny bottle of absolut vodka - to stave off my two main "grumpy Jussi" causes - boredom and hunger...(yes the husband has banned my knitting for the evening...he will pay...actually I do have to laugh reading that sentence because the husband would never, ever say "I ban your knitting" he actually just suggested that it would not be appropriate...on the phone...from another country.

I have also started releasing Frasier into the wild for a couple of hours each day - so scarey for us, so wonderful for him... we had planned for him to be an indoor cat, but he has different ideas, we were worried about him being run over, even though the road is pretty quiet, and catching native birds ( he has 2 bells to stop this happening) and getting lost (collar with name and phone number) he is so happy chasing Layla all over the garden, climbing trees, chasing grass, and then he pops back inside and is so affectionate - as though he is saying "Thank you for letting me go outside". Here is a cheesy pic of the boy - I think it is how he would look in a school photo!

Yarn Pr0n

2007-05-31T08:58:00.000+12:00

I have put a bit of handpainted yarn up for sale on my "Specials" page, we'll see how it goes, I may make it a regular event.

The yarn is a superwash NZ merino wool, it has been dyed with standard acid dye, and can be machine washed on a wool setting (preferably alone - just in case some dye residue escapes) It is a light DK/sport weight knitting up at 24 sts x 32 rows over 10cm on 3.5mm needles. The skeins are 50g each, let me know if you want a skein or centre pull ball.

$10.00 NZ each plus postage

Secrets

2007-05-28T07:36:00.000+12:00

I've been busy lately - I'm not complaining, busy means working and working means money and money means that we can get our Waihi house back to being a holiday home by Christmas, it means spending (ok - yarn) money for France. Every day for the past 3 weeks I have either had an order to fill (which comes first) or have been knitting for the market,I had designated saturday as "finishing day" - sewing in ends, checking everything is perfect, sewing on buttons, sewing up remaining garments etc - I knew it was going to take all day, but Flash was happily taking the car for a warrant, cleaning the pool, all that arh arh stuff, Blaise was enjoying events at the Writers festival , and Charlotte and Maria were off doing what they do, so I was looking forward to pottering around in my studio for the day.

Enter distraction #1

Holly (my eldest - studying wine in Christchurch)

popped up on friday night for a quick "hello" - I haven't seen her since March, and miss her terribly, we had dinner at Mum's on friday night to catch up, and she stayed with us on saturday.

Where she was joined by distraction #2

Our dearest friend Jason, Holly's Godfather, mine of information and all around good guy - flying visit to Auckland to film a commercial -

for that little pill that starts with "V" and ends with "agra" - I fell to weeping with hysterical laughter, after realising that one of my contemporaries was advertising a drug for middle-aged men, are we middle-aged Jase? is this what it has come to?we had such big dreams - and now here I am 2 cars, a mortgage and some cats!

So my dilemma, 2 delightful people to talk to...and ALL THIS WORK! Holls went out with a friend, and I dragged Jase upstairs, so that I could work and he could trawl the internet looking for a date for the night - seriously this man needs a wife! anyone know any nice single girls in Sydney?
That just sounded worse than it was...anyway Flash dragged him off to stand around the BBQ and drink beer, it was so great to catch up, we have missed him terribly, he is a part of the family and the kids adore him.

Blaise heard of his arrival and raced home between engagements.

I worked until 2am, then woke at 6 and finished the last bits, arriving at the market at 9 am, Holls helped for the first hour before going home (sniff, but she will be home again soon) and Mum and Flash took over from 1pm so that I could go to knitting - we sold a lot of yarn and gave away heaps of patterns and business cards, I came home to an order immediately and 3 queries, so as a marketing tool it is looking good.

here is the garment I alluded to before - this is the jacket in a size 2
the yarn is a DK weight merino, organically grown, but not organically spun, the handle and lustre are a dream, it holds the pattern so well, crisp and chunky, the buttons are from Mission Falls and work so well with the undyed yarn, the hearts are dyed wood and the round carved buttons are henna dyed bone.these will be available on the website from this afternoon.

knit rangers

2007-05-27T08:08:00.000+12:00

are go from 2pm this afternoon at The Packing Shed 99 Parrs Cross Road Oratia, I have the luxury markets this morning ( wish me luck) but will be relieved in plenty of time to get to the cafe.

see you there!

Friday round up

2007-05-25T17:31:00.001+12:00

lots of wool in waiting for sunday

I keep forgetting to tell you all about my wee garden, I want to show you a "before and after" shot, but can't find a "before" so you'll have to be happy with the "after". We have mini caulis, broccoli, spinach, rainbow chard, baby beetroot, leeks and baby radishes, all organic and spray free due to the wandering neighbourhood ducks who give the garden a going over every morning...slug and snails beware! In another corner of this handkerchief sized garden we have a herb garden groaning under coriander and italian parsely, theres lemon grass, chilis, every kind of thyme, chive and basil, marjoram, mints and thai basil - then theres catnip, catmint and cat grass and another wee bed with the dyeing plants...and then there are the fruit trees...but I'll leave them for another day!

The knitting is going well, I have something so cute to show you, but not yet...I want it to be perfect first.

Masters

2007-05-23T15:15:00.000+12:00

What a wicked look! Our boy is certainly getting big.

Holly - thank you darling for reminding me! Fanny is from France and is studying wine at Lincoln for a semester, she writes the most delicious blog, beautiful photos, gorgeous recipes, and delightful prose. Holly tells me that Fanny's course of study involves patisserie for a year, then cheese for a year etc, I must ask more questions, so it is a tribute to Lincoln that she has chosen to attend their wine science programme.

Speaking of food blogs - I was looking for a baked ricotta recipe recently (we are deprived I tell you!) and yowser! found my new favourite food blog! We are having the beetroot pesto spaghetti for dinner tonight, I slow roasted the beetroot to deepen the flavour, and best of all, it's vegetarian, so Blaise will be smiley!

Kaffe was wonderful, he looked no older than the last time I saw him, the hour was inspiring, and reassuring, the evocative photos of his work and inspiration, this time I took away the feeling that I am still heading in the right direction as far as my creativity goes, it wasn't the "ka-pow!" I felt last time I listened to him, more a comforting knowledge that what he does is right for him, and what i do is right for me. Brandon Mably was there, which I hadn't expected, gah! if I had known I would have taken my book to be signed, but as it was they were swamped with quilters at the book signing! To answer that question...I love his fabric designs, but I doubt I will ever take up quilting! I also did not get any photos, being the diffident kiwi girl I am I thought cameras would not be welcome - slap my hand!

monday make up

2007-05-21T07:12:00.000+12:00

for missed Friday round up!

I am afraid that there is not much to report, truth be told I have been head down knitting like a bandit for the market which is this sunday from 10 - 3, and trying to work out the logistics as Blaise has a number of lectures to attend and I have Knit Rangers at 2pm.

I have finally managed to knit up a few of the garments I had written patterns for, and modifications have been made, which in turn have led to new scribbles and sketches which are patiently waiting for me to have 2 minutes free time in which to do something more concrete with them.

As an aside, I am skiving off for a couple of hours tomorrow night to see the Great One, Kaffe Fassett is giving a talk on his quilts and fabric range at my old grammar school, and my Mama scored a ticket for me - wheee! The last time I saw him he was the Master of Knitting, and I was awestruck, I was inspired to knit this wee waistcoat for Charlotte who was 0ne at the time I used the "magic ball" method of tying lengths of different colours together, for this one I had a bright colours ball, and a light colours ball, the brights are the background and the lights are brought through every few stiches to knit 1 st, and then carried at the back, the squares are made using the intarsia method - that was 17 years ago, Kaffe and I have probably both changed somewhat.

21

2007-05-14T16:50:00.000+12:00

skeins of yarn, dried and reskeined - Blaise's new day, and "sing the blues" Blaisie does think it's a waste of time balling the yarn up and reskeining it, but I think it shows the colours better when they are offset.

Apologies for yesterday, I ended up having a lovely day, and Charlotte did apologise to me for not being nice earlier in the day. Flash, Blaise and I went to The packing shed for afternoon tea and met my Mum and grandparents, who have just returned from a trip to Sydney (sob). Helen turned up despite the throngs and we had a nice wee knitting group after the rellies left,(sorry Knitting and Writing group - Blaise brings her laptop and pounds away on her book) I was worried that the cafe staff would be a bit grumpy at us for taking up table space on the busiest day of the year, but they weren't at all, and when they started closing doors, we made movements to pack up and were told "No, stay, we're just trying to keep people out!" I do love the ambience of the place.

Last night we finally had the lamb - I could sing about that lamb! and a nice bottle of wine (no Champagne cocktails - with it being a work night!) and cuddled up on the couch in front of a roaring fire to watch Top Gear, a very nice end to a mostly lovely day.

And thanks for the words of support guys, I wouldn't usually air my dirty laundry on the blog but I was SO CROSS! and now you can see that it isn't all wine and roses at our house. I know they will come through the other side, but I had actually thought we were through the worst of it - they are trying out their independence just like any young animal.

For Lara: la la la everything is lovely, my children are sweet angels who float around on clouds looking for ways to make me happy, they do not yell, or makes messes, they do not leave fingermarks all over the walls, doors and refrigerator - leading me to believe that the Vegemite glands in their hands did not dry up when they started school, they think about others, clean the shower after they have used it and their bedrooms look like an IKEA catalogue. (they also go and pick up my Valium refills weekly) la la la! but seriously - you've met them, they are sassy and pretty cool, there are going to be off weeks, that's why babies are so cute - to sustain you through the tough times. I have a photo of mine when they were little pinned to my wall above the computer, when they were little I promised them that I would try to be understanding when they grew up - that time is now, and I have to work at it everyday.I wouldn't swap them for the world.

ticking off the list

2007-05-13T11:55:00.000+12:00

Yarn skeined, dyed and re-ordered - done and drying in the shade

Particularly loving Blaise's input, with a colourway called "Brand new day" - light blues, pale pinks, cream and gold with a touch of indigo to represent the edge of dawn.

Custom order, which has entailed much more work than anticipated, scaling patterns up in size is not easy for littlies, their shape and ratios change so much.I am very happy with the final result in a silk/merino blend.

wonderful surprise gift of vintage buttons from Shan I particularly love the green ones, thank you so much, Auckland isn't a complete button free zone, but it's pretty much a beautiful button free zone!

Flash is home (a day late, and more than a dollar short - I got Moet for Mothers Day, there's Cointreau and sugar cubes in the pantry - think we'll have a champagne cocktail before the lamb which has now been marinating for 2 days.)

He enjoyed Shanghai - think I should start learning Chinese? Do they have yarn there?

Some 18 year old girls - gggrrrrr, I suddenly realised that Maria and Charlotte are actually our first 18 year olds to live with us full time, Holly was living with my parents while studying at Uni, and Melanie had left to work fulltime and was living with her Mum. They are horrid - society, tv, magazines all tell them that they are "adults" so they think they have all sorts of "rights" and we have 2 of them - backing each other up constantly and treating the house like a hotel, I found Blaise folding 8 loads of washing last night, while the other 2 watched t.v. - she said it was easier just to get on and do it than to listen to their whingeing if she asked them to help, they disappear when there are jobs to do, but are first in line for dinner or pocket money, they argue about curfews and we are "SO MEAN".

Draconian measures are called for.

I hate to end on such a ickky note - especially on Mother's Day, and I know that I am just having a reaction to a week of trying to parent these two in particular alone, they have gone out with their boyfriends, I did manage to get a Happy Mother's Day out of Charlotte, and will spend a happy afternoon with Flash, Blaise, my Mum, my Gran, and then knitting group, the day is warm, the sun is shining.

Friday round up

2007-05-11T08:38:00.000+12:00

Friday morning has dawned bright and sunny in the Waitakere Ranges, it is slightly crisp out, and the car was covered in deep crimson Liquidamber leaves.
I am happy this morning, for many reasons, the first of which being obvious - it's Friday!
- I washed the Pinwheel Beanie to see how the wool and dye held up, and am pleased (and relieved ) to report that on the "wool" cycle of the washing machine (warm gentle wash, cool rinse, medium spin) the beanie came it looking the same as when it went in. I was , as always, very scientific in my technique, which consisted of drawing around the pre-wash beanie, and taking numerous photos in controlled lighting, when it was washed I placed it back on the template to measure shrinkage (none) and took more photos to compare dye loss ( slight to none) I have changed my dye routine slightly, to prepare the yarn more thoroughly, I now soak it for an hour, and then place it in a plastic bag in the dark for a day or two, apparently this opens the yarn up even more - very important as this superwash yarn, which is notorious for not taking the dye, we've all seen superwash (often sock) yarn which looks patchy, or the core is still white (I don't mean yarn like Opal which is printed) I always think this kind of dye job looks temporary.after
David Bain's convictions have been overturned by the Privy Council - yes folks a group of Lords in London get the last say in the New Zealand judicial system - and for once I am glad that they do (not for much longer). I don't know if David is guilty or innocent - I would like to think the latter, but what I do know is that there is more than reasonable doubt, and much evidence tampering. Everytime I have heard of him over the years I have though about this gangly kid who returned home from an early morning paper round to find his family dead, and then being charged and imprisoned for their murders...all this, 12 long years in prison, fighting constantly to clear his name, and if he does get released early next week - he is still just a young man whose whole family are dead.

Knit Rangers this Sunday, 2pm at The Packing Shed, 99 Parrs Cross Road. As it is Mothers Day I know that a number of people won't be there, but come along if you want to join in a small group ( that said my Mother and GrandMother will be there!)

Said Mother visted Melbourne last week for the Climate Change conference...(read great chance for a bunch of greenies to jet into Melbourne for some shopping - not much reduction in global warming there!) ~cynic~ aaaaaanyhow, I noted a spike in orders from Melbourne - hmmmm thought I - must be word of mouth - yeah my Mama's mouth! she left my business cards in the baby change room of the Koru Club, tucked into parenting magazines in cafes, and handed them out to shop keepers in return for buying up large at their stores, with family like this who needs an agent?
I have taken a boneless leg of lamb out of the freezer (bought from Clark's Organic butchery on West Coast rd - scroll down) tonight I will marinate it in oil, garlic and fresh lemon peel, then tomorrow I will cut little pockets under the skin and stuff them with garli, oil and rosemary, force a whole lot into the whole where the bone was, run a knitfe under the skin and shove in as much fresh oregano and lemon peel as I can, and Flash will rotisserie it on the BBQ until it is crisp on the outside, pink on the inside and melting. Add capsicum, eggplant and zucchini bbq roasted wih balsamic vinegar, homemade bread and a nice bottle of duty free red, catch up time with Flash, chatting under the patio heaters...Bliss.

yep

2007-05-10T15:57:00.000+12:00

Flash is in China this week - it suddenly dawned on me (I am not a MOTO - master of the obvious) every year he is overseas at a big conference at the same time as our anniversary - oh, maybe theres a link there (I'm usually pretty cluey) maybe they have the conference at the same time every year - yeah ? you think? I'm the Mum who doesn't know when report night is, oh jeepers is it the holidays again? and you would think that Christmas moves around like Easter the way it surprises me every year.

I have already blocked out the calender for this time next year, and put a reminder in in 6 months time - to find out where it is going to be and book to go too, wherever it is I'll have fun sightseeing while Flash works and we'll finally be together on the day.

Here's a photo from the man himself - seriously, when it comes to photography he has a gift.

not for lighting, composition or design - but for comedy.

Pinwheel beanie

2007-05-06T22:35:00.001+12:00

Yarn: Just Jussi light DK 1 skein (light worsted) (100 m/y = 50 grams (2 oz)
Needles: 3.5 mm dpns
gauge approx: 22 sts = 10cm
Tapestry needle for sewing up.
Fits up to 6 (12) months size baby
Cast on 66 (72) sts
Work 10 (12) rows 2x1 (2x2) rib
Work 30 (40) rows stst
Start pinwheel decreases;
Next row: Knit 4, k2tog repeat to end
Knit 1 row
Next row: Knit 3, k2tog repeat to end
Knit 1 row
Next row: Knit 2, k2tog repeat to end
Knit 1 row
Next row: Knit 1, k2tog repeat to end
Knit 1 row
Next row: K2tog repeat to end
thread yarn through sts and fasten off.

This is one of the patterns which will be free on the label of my "Bushbaby" handpainted yarn which I will be selling at the Luxury market, at the moment I am just looking at 50g (2 oz) of the light DK weight, which is enough to make a beanie, bootees or a body warmer. I am working on an adult sock pattern to go with a 100g skein.

Friday round up

2007-05-03T17:07:00.000+12:00

Dyeing is not the simple process that it was in Camperdown, with it's huge granite benchtop, and endless bright (retina destroying) light, here it is a small kitchen and formica (?) benchtops, still as long as there is a sink and a microwave we're in business.

"Liquidamber"

I have never seen a superwash wool take the colour like this merino from Tai Tapu, I'll be phoning for more in the morning. It is a light worsted/dk weight and still has that beautiful sheen through the colours.

"Iris"

This yarn is destined for my stall at The Luxury Markets at Auckland's Stamford Plaza hotel on May 27th, I will be selling the yarn and giving away some basic patterns - a baby beanie, a vest, maybe baby socks, so that the customers don't just walk off with 50grams of wool they will look at but never use (or they can just look at it - I don't mind!)

"Gloria"

Having a stall at the luxury markets was all my Mama's idea, and after we had had a wander around, spent some money and had a coffee, she dragged me off to meet the organiser - good thing too, I am terrible at doing things like that.

"I saw a red tractor in a field of lavender"

there were many beautiful items for sale, jewellery, art, candles...the tables are all set up ready and waiting, and everyone dresses up in their nice frocks.

"camo"

Flash and Mum are eager to man the stall, they are both enamoured of marketing and talking to the public, I'll stay in the background and stick to my knitting.

"smoked paprika"

these colours were a lot of fun, the colours aren't quite right on screen, but almost.

I'd like to dye more solid colours, but people rave about the "Rosamundi" colourway especially - I am tempted to call it "Favourite child" instead

"if I squashed blueberries onto white yarn..."

- If you haven't alreayd done so - go see Lara, and rejoice in her and Mark's fecundity!

- then go and congratulate Donni on the event of her 21st'st birthday

- Frasier has managed to break more precious items this week than my children have in their entire lives, I am toddler proofing the house.

- Flash is off to China on monday (our aniversary - as is traditional in our relationship, he is always overseas on our anniversary, and had a lovely time alone in Paris for our honeymoon)

a numbers game

2007-05-01T19:25:00.000+12:00

we have a winner:

Frasier was born on the 15th of November 2006. MohairPink - email me with your postal address and the book will be in the post.

I am reading a beautiful book "The nine emotional lives of cats" Jeffrey Masson lives in Auckland, and goes for walks on the beach with his cats (he is a "dog person" too)the book is very good for counteracting those "it's just cupboard love" comments. I thought I knew a lot about cats, but have learnt so much from his gentle observations.Frasier loves me so fiercely, won't leave me alone, squawks when I leave the house, know that I am leaving by the jangling of my keys...but when I feel like a cuddle...he'll just glance at me and keep on doing whatever it is he wants to do...and now I understand why.

the latest addition to my wardrobe - the Georgia Hoodie from Threadless, how could I not? I need some knitting themed doubleknit to wear to a knitting festival - not this one I'm afraid - the only attraction is James, and lovely and talented as he is, it's too far and too much money for what it is. However I am thinking about attending this one - the machine knitting festival, there are some interesting and talented speakers attending, and some great field trips, however I really should be head down saving money for our trip in October, it's another of Flash's work trips, and regretably involves a lot of rugby - which I am trying hard to tolerate, but apparently I won't be allowed to take my knitting to the games...(we'll see about that)to make the rugby side more palatable to me (I don't really have a choice of wether or not I go...we like our lifestyle...as the boss's wife there are sacrifices I have to make) we are having 3 days in Singapore alone together (our next favourite goodtime town after Sydney)then the 10 days in Paris and the Loire Valley with 40 of Flash's customers for the Rugby world cup (the trip is called "Rugby and Romance" - we are in Paris for the rugby and the Loire Valley for the romance - from the look of the schedule the events co-ordinator obviously has romance confused with wine) then 3 days alone in England - 2 in London, and 1 in and around my home town of Gloucester for a spot of nostalgia and 2 more days in Singapore on the way home. I have had expert help putting together an itinerary, now we are just working on Flash's french (he had to call me from the Metro last time he was there, he couldn't get out! he was on his cellphone - I'm saying "sortie, sortie" poor baby!)

The blue blob update - I have reached the yoke, and have taken your advice Mary, I no longer have the chiselled collarbones required for the wide neck look, I'll be increasing the decreases to end up with something slightly more discreet, loving the calmness of the stst, something that I can't stuff up...(there have been monumental stuff ups)

Friday round up

2007-04-27T07:42:00.000+12:00

- My dearest, middlest child turned 18 yesterday - Happy Birthday Charlotte!

- Renegade knitter strikes in Wellington!
see this news item about a mystery knitter sending wee jumpers to the local SPCA!

- the Hourglass sweater from "Last minute knitted gifts" (check the erratta here) I have modified it already, I haven't left the hem for slipstitching later, rather I picked up and knitted the cast on sts together with the hemline sts, use 1 slightly larger needle to avoid the hem "flipping" up. I love the colour of this Noro cash iroha number 87, it is the colour of the ocean in winter, perfect with my skin tone. Basically it's a blue blob, I'll post again when it gets interesting.

- my view this morning, I never ever tire of this

- remember if you want to win my hardly used copy of this book, leave a comment guessing the date Frasier was born last november, free postage and I'll pick a winner next week if no one guesses correctly.

- Knit Rangers this sunday 2-4 pm at the Packing Shed cafe 99 Parrs Cross rd Henderson, YES! it is up that gravel drive, and yes you will find parking, don't fret if it looks full, the winery gets a lot of visitors.

2 days early 5 days late

2007-04-24T20:32:00.000+12:00

(for Friday round up - I realised I missed last week - what can I say, I broke my bottom)

- Knit Rangers - once again small but perfectly formed, 2 attendees, 2 apologies, and 4 apologies later from people who assumed that I, Jussi. would.miss.knitting.because.I.broke.my.bum

never, never, never assume.

We are meeting again this Sunday between 2- 4 pm at the Packing shed.

- I spent last week sleeping, and knitting on the Hourglass sweater, I now know just exactly how many rows of stocking stitch it takes to drive me to despair, and then round the corner into agony and regret...and it is a surprisingly low number.

- Speaking of agony and despair, I have a copy of "Friday night knitters club" which I would like out of my house, I paid good money for it, so don't want to put it out with the rubbish, the first person to tell me when I will be off crutches can have it, and like the delightful Donna, who gave me the book recycling idea, I'll even pay for the shipping. Ok, so I can't expect you all to be p-sychic, in the comments tell me when Frasier's birthday is instead, the first correct guess gets it (it's sometime in November)

- my bottom isn't really broken, I can't remember the technical terms (the 2 very wonderful physios were explaining it to me as they tag teamed me, I nodded and "yupped" a lot but was in too much pain to take it in) something in my L sacro-iliac joint has rotated, and the relevant muscle has gone into spasm, the physio is working extremely well, as are the exercises I have been given. I am back at work this week, and enjoying not sleeping all day.

- Just Jussi, is just lovely, I have decided to go with an evolving range rather than " 2 collections a year plus resort wear" I just don't design within that structure, I start with a barrage of ideas, modify and work with them, follow them to other places, then refine them, I think most are reasonably classical and prefer to work with a continuous long term range. I have worked a lot with de-structuring, and have a couple of nice garments come out of that exploration, but the thing I was really looking for, the draped, pleated neckline, is not working at a commercial level, I have acheived what I wanted, but the time it takes is unworkable, still it has led me into other directions. I have a couple of sweet tunic style dresses which I hope to have up soon, and a funnel neck sweater which is the perfect vehicle for the naturally dyed organic merino.

- If you would like a Frasier fix, go here, I am too ashamed to put this on the blog - yes, he is the "Posterboy for "pathetic"" and no he wasn't taken away from his Mummy too early.

- Finally, a big smile to my husband...background - I don't like tattoos, never wanted one, and didn't really like Flash's, but they are part of him, yadda yadda.

While escorting Blaise to the tattoo parlour to have a small ladybird etched onto her upper thigh (the thigh that grew in my womb for 8 months and 12 days, the thigh that I fed, clothed and sought medical treatment for for sixteen years - can't keep that Jewish ancestry down) anyway, that's another post.

One of the main problems I have with Flash's tats, is that two of them were done to celebrate his previous 2 weddings (yes I'm the lucky third Mrs Flash) and have his ex-wives names on them, one was acided out, the other inked over, but I can see the names, particularly the inked out one, and that bit. He has offered in the past to get a new tattoo over his heart with my name in it, I always refused as I didn't want him to have any more, it wasn't that big of a deal.

The dear man decided to share Blaise's pain, and had the offending tattoo touched up in pretty colours, and a change made - thus:

he's a keeper.

nothing

2007-04-19T07:07:00.000+12:00

going on here, just sleeping and physio.

To update- the first GP (locum) (after telling him I couldn't walk and the pain is intense)
you have bruised your hip, here are some antibiotics for your excema (it got infected) come back if your hip is still sore in 10 days, are you sure it didn't hurt when you first fell over?

The A&E doctor - you have put your back out, why didn't the first GP give you painkillers?, I have to check the first GP didn't give you painkillers in case you are double-dipping (you crazy drug-seeking housewife) are you sure it didn't hurt when you first fell over? I don't understand why the pain would be getting worse.

The physio- you have sprained the (?) muscle in your sacro-iliac area, the more you walk the more it goes into spasm, thats why the pain has been getting worse, here is a stretch, and some massage, come back in 2 days.

guess which one I trust, and yes, the stretch is working, I am feeling a lot better, thanks for the kind wishes, I will return to knitting content shortly.

Funny cat story: Frasier has been sleeping on me the whole time I have been laid up, he looooves water, I left my makeup brushes soaking in the ensuite sink one night, and later on was awoken when a soaking wet Frasier decided to tell me how much he loved me, and was smooching up against my face and head butting me. nice.

Friday round up

2007-04-13T18:58:00.000+12:00

So last sunday I slipped on the front step, whilst trying to close the front door, and fell straight down on my arse, I got up, dusted myself down, and carried on - after all, falling down, bumping into things, smacking my head, these are things I do on a regular basis, I am no graceful swan.

I carried on with my day, Flash and I were doing outdoor work, I built the first of two built up, no dig vegie gardens, and I am very proud of the result, my herb garden was doing so well, that I was encouraged to carry on.

Tuesday morning I felt a slight twinge in my hip during the day, but tuesday night - man! the pain was intense, if natural childbirth was a 10, this was an 8, I didn't want to go to a 24 hr clinic because experience tells me they will say "take 2 panadol and get some rest" after a 4 hour wait surrounded by puking toddlers and old men coughing up their last lung, so I went downstairs and squirmed on the couch, watching SKY with Blaise, and finally fell asleep around 3 am. Whe I awoke the next morning I grabbed some panadeine at the chemist, booked an appointment with my GP, and carried on, GP says keep taking the painkillers and come back in 10 days if still sore, meanwhile the pain has spread to my shoulder, hence the lack of blogging enthusiasm.

Flash has taken off for the warm beaches ofTahiti, and left me here to freeze, but a new toy arrived today, via Trademe, $60 for a complete print gocco kit, Blaise is excited too, this will be a great addition to her repetoire, she is taking photography this year and loving it. I also bought the book "The loving stitch" for $30 on Trademe, had been searching for it for ages, then suddenly there it was, Trademe is great, it's just like ebay 5 years ago!

The Knit Rangers are meeting again at 2pm this sunday, at the Packing Shed, 99 Parrs Cross rd, up the gravel driveway into the orchard, come along, we would love to see you.

Finally, knitting, I have been playing possum, well playing with possum (and merino and silk to be precise) the link is to the website blog,as I am too sore to keep typing, Lara I know you won't be happy, but that's the wonderful world we live in, and there are mitigating factors for the use of possum fur in NZ yarns mmmmmwah!

and final finally - see my silly kitty jumping here

Good Friday round up

2007-04-06T10:38:00.000+12:00

One of Flash's birthday presents, it has a post, now just needs attaching;

For the cocktails at Kuleto's, gnocchi with sage butter at Cicciolina, summer evenings on the roof at Zanzibar, movies at the Dendy and Abby Dabby at the Vanguard, long walks on summer evenings and friday night blow outs.

Hand dyed merino, cochineal and brazilwood, it's not as pink as the photo, more subtle purples and deep rose. I'm thinking another skinny scarf. It's all about the fashion in this house. (gah!)

3 people from the job which must not utter it's name want to come to Knit Rangers, and the cafe have put us in this month's newsletter, this could be the start of something!

Get thee to "Nut and Bee" cute notecards and other paper goods, I got some "Pink tea" cards because they look like Frasier (if he was standing up. drinking tea and a cartoon), "where rainbows come from" for a certain girl with a unicorn addiction, and "polar pickles" for someone else. Very quick service, and a handwritten note - love it!

Last night I bought yet more pyjamas, but then while surfing I found these great Lounge Pants at Nichola's blog,so cool and comfortable, just the ticket for working at home, and not wanting the postie to see you in flannelette!

Have a good Easter

knackered

2007-04-05T23:06:00.000+12:00

this is what I found when I came home this evening, a little boy asleep on my bed, obviously plum tuckered out from the taxing job of "protecting" my knitting. (isn't he getting big, and long, and shiny! - his coat is like velvet, short and sleek)

does anyone else have a cat who carries knitting needles around the house?

Community

2007-04-01T18:51:00.000+12:00

I arrived at the cafe at 1.55pm, and freaked, the carpark was full, there were cars parked on the field, all of the outdoor tables were full...oh dear, oh my.

I walked up the stairs, full of trepidation, would it all be over before it began, had I made the wrong choice?

No, I had not, the staff were run off their feet, the counter was crowded, but the Packing shed itself was almost empty, I surveyed the two rooms, and chose a table for 6 in the lighter room, because I'm an optimist, ordered fruit pancakes and a chai, and sat down to knit, I am working on a soaker pattern, it is quick and easy to knit, I needed something that didn't require too much concentration.

Five minutes later Gaayathri walked in and said hi, I was so relieved, just one person was enough, and here she was! We chatted about her latest project (handwarmers from Knitty), learning to knit, where to buy yarn in NZ, dyeing, you name it, and something impressed me very much, that she too recognises the distance between knitters in NZ, and the cultural cringe that is still very much in existence in this country, that knitting is something that "Mums and Nanas" do, Women strived so hard for economic, social and educational independence in this country that many can't bear to see other women doing such "menial" tasks as knitting. Gaayathri is nineteen and a uni student, studying law, history and politics, wonderful, dynamic stuff, and just the kind of person we need knitting in public in NZ.

Jo runs the cafe, and has a huge knitty history, we couldn't have felt more welcome, she has so many contacts and ideas that I know that this group is going to be a success, the space is so conducive to creativity, and as Gaayathri said "it's really funky", there are two main areas, both full of art and craft, and wonderful paintings of the nearby beaches and landscapes.

We turned out to be the only ones today, others had transport concerns, hopefully noone turned up, looked at the packed garden and turned tail. Today was definitely a case of small beginnings, but big possibilities.

And we'll be there again on the 15th of April, between 2 and 4pm

Friday round up

2007-03-30T08:37:00.000+12:00

The view from my workroom window this morning, Titirangi means "fringe of heaven" in Maori, because of the fog - they say that it's it's where heaven touches earth.

I suppose I should call it "the studio" sounds more professional than "the workroom" we'll see if I can maintain the word. We are loving this room, we have divided it by building a half wall from IKEA Billy bookcases - so there are bookcases on both sides, Flash has a lovely old desk in one corner for his home office, and the entertaining corner is on his side also, as is the wireless router, so that's where Blaise sits as her laptop does not have wireless, my side is all business! I love the evenings when the three of us sit up here together, gentle breezes wafting through the open doors, chatting and listening to podcasts or music as we work away individually, it's very productive.

Flash's birthday was on monday - everyone has taken the "I want the patio to look like Mexican cantina" comment to heart, he was overwhelmed with old tin signs and light garlands - I bought him a set of traffic lights, and something else which I will show photos of this weekend.

The Knit Rangers are away! meeting this Sunday at The Packing Shed cafe between 2 and 4pm, we are going to meet fortnightly, I am really excited, I have had 3 RSVPs so far, and hope that some others just turn up on the day.

Work is going well, this is probably the last thing I will mention about it, as the blog is public and my work is too, so it's probably a breach of the code of conduct for me to say anything, suffice is to say that I am happily "helping people" (to quote Lara) 4 hours a day, it leaves plenty of time for knitting, and is a nice social outlet.

I know I haven't shown you any knits for a while, there have been heaps of things in the pipeline, and many have been discarded along the way, one day I may be brave enough to show you the "ideas that did not make it", I am working with some Perino at present, and it is just heavenly - yummy!

and one for Mary-Helen (to the tune of "The gumboot song")

If it weren't for your yarn stash where would you be?

You'd be in Champion or Tapestry

and you would be very low on cash (that's penury)

if it wasn't for the stash in your cupboard

Ummmmm yeah, I'll leave it to the experts!