take a ride on the wild side

it has been pretty quiet around here the past few days, the girls have been busy socialising and working, and Flash arrived home from Adelaide late on friday.
I pootled around on friday afternoon, visited the Salvation Army for books and waste yarn ( machine knitters often take their knitting off the machine on waste yarn, it keeps the live sts from unravelling until the next step - but it is difficult to find good smooth, cheap coned yarn - this was 4 ply cotton in a loud emerald green $2 a cone, perfect)I made bread, tropical fruit salad cake and yummy coconut bread.
Yesterday I finally put myself to bed with the new books, I have been nursing a virus for a few days, not sick enough to be "sick", but not well enough to concentrate for any length of time, I actually managed to stay in bed all day alternating between knitting and reading, it was bliss!

Today feeling well rested and much better, Flash and drove north for a look around, we drove on the new M7, after seeing the quality of the bike track which runs alongside this new motorway Flash proclaimed that we should go and buy bikes ( we sold ours when we moved to Oz - we used to bike through the Karangahake Gorge, including the kilometre long rail tunnel - in the dark, great fun!) I gave him a withering look and said "give me 5 good reasons" - ok, so it's a great bike track, and we love biking together, which we haven't done for 2 years... and I am enjoying the cross trainer and feeling a lot fitter, biking in the fresh air would be wonderful (remember - it's relative, living above Parramatta road means that biking beside a motorway in the country equals fresh air!) I basically gave myself the 5 reasons, and then said "no we can't afford it, new bikes are not in this month's budget - end of story" Husband pouts. I feel bad, after all - he is earning 95% of the income at present. I ignore his pouting.

We ended up at the Lane Cove national park, and settled ourselves on a blanket by the river and relaxed, watching the antics of the cockatoos and listening to the ballads of romantic parrots in the the tree above us.

Flash read the paper, and I knitted - see she does knit, and it's not stunt knitting - I did it myself! (just like the hair - which has run wild too...sometimes I wish I was a girly girl who knew how to do hair, and make up, and dress...) The t-shirt is from Threadless, it has a picture of a cloud crying as a plane cuts it in two, it's called "clouds are people too".

Here I am knitting two little cardi front's at once, I'm using Rowanspun DK, and it is knitting up cute and fast, I love this yarn, it has been in the stash for as long as I have had stash in Sydney - 2 years, it was one of my first purchases, and I have often wondered what to do with it, waiting for the perfect project for this special yarn, it is the "Rush" colourway, a lichen-ish gray with flecks of pumpkin, cream and bottle green, I am loving knitting with it, it runs easily through my fingers, is not splitty or sticky, and I know that the slight uneveness of the fabric will come good after a gentle wash.

I didn't design this pattern, I had a gauge disaster with some cashmere this week - it was mindblowingly awful - I won't go into details because I am still living the horror. For my sanity's sake I needed to take refuge in a tried and tested pattern, which I could just knit as written. Ok, well I couldn't quite knit as written, I substituted yarn, so had a different gauge, so had to change the stitch and row count - but basically I followed a pattern from the Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino book 2, a wee cardi with moss stitch borders, a perfect foil for such a ruggedly handsome yarn.

What lovely way to spend an afternoon, leaning against my husband reading his paper, as stitch after stitch flowed from my needles, the rhythmic motion calming my busy mind, the sounds of water flowing, birds looking for mates, and children laughing, fresh air and the scent of newly mown grass and native trees, the worries of the world evaporated as early morning mist surrenders to the kiss of the sun.

Then we went and bought bikes.

alls well that ends well

Flash finished work earlier than expected yesterday, to swing by the house in order to return the camera, he took heed of my words and borrowed the office camera ( and transported it in MY camera bag, so my poor wee camera was flung around loose in his briefcase)
His early arrival also meant that I could drop him at the airport, meaning that I have the car for a couple of days, so far I have resisted the urge to drive into the city and visit Tapestry Craft, drive to Bondi junction and shop, drive to Miranda and shop ( I have a limited number of "tracks" I can drive to Wollongong no sweat - but you think I can get to Rose Bay without chest palpitations and liberal amounts of rescue remedy, no way).
I settled on driving (I usually walk so it felt incredibly bourgeouis) to Broadway for groceries, and an alarm clock for Blaise - rhymes with malaise, as she is having trouble waking, she told me she has so many ideas spinning around in her head, that when she settles down at night to write them in her journal her imagination wakes up and it takes hours for her to settle down again, so I bought her some baby Moleskines (the ones that come in a 3 pack) to live in her bags and pockets, so that she can write the thoughts down immediately, she can then transfer them into her big mummy moleskine at a time more conducive to her sleep schedule.
It's not just babies who have sleep problems!

here are some of the swatches, I staple the yarn ballband and notes to them, so that I don't forget the details, then they go out into the wild for rounding up at a later date.

Blaise is asking constantly about the monkey backpack, it's still in the WIP basket somewhere...

A letter to my husband

darling - where is the camera?

I have just spent the past ten minutes arranging knitted swatches (those little bits of knitted fabric piled on the coffee table - you know the things I'm talking about, you say "whats that going to be?" and I say "nothing - it's a swatch, I checking out ideas" and you say "I don't like that colour" and I say "it's not FOR you")

yeah, so I just finished making pleasing piles from those swatches, and was preparing to take some arty shots (ok so some kinda out of focus shots) so that my mates in blogdom could see that I have been knitting, but could not actually see what I have been knitting, because it is still kind of a secret, well, not a secret, but submissions in waiting and not to be divulged as yet.

I digress, I went to the place where the camera lives, it was not there, I went to the OTHER place where the camera lives, which I had organised on monday (cleaning day) so that the camera would now live in the one place - it wasn't there.

I became slightly concerned and frankly a little hysterical, checked Blaise's room, not there, Maria's room, not there, the knitting broom closet, hallway, patios, bathrooms, kitchen cupboards and finally the wine fridge...not there.

I have come to the conclusion that you, dear one, have taken the camera; last night you packed for a business trip, you then placed your bags in the boot of your car.Tonight you will be delivering training at an countryside resort, there will be scenery, and group bonding exercises, you want to take photos of this event, sweetheart, need I remind you that you work for a huge multinational company, a company that not only can afford an office camera, a company which probably makes bl**dy cameras, you do not need my dear wee little camera.

I am sorry if I sound a little testy, there will be customers and staff from all over Australia at this event, I am sure that one of them will have a camera, in fact I am sure that one of the 3 people from your office who are attending, will have a camera, a camera which is not required by their knit-blogger wife who is in dire need of proof that she has not become a label checking, name dropping, wannabe socialite, handbag. Proof that she is still the hair-do challenged, lucky if she is wearing matching socks, let alone matching lippy, fluff covered quietly mad knitter her friends know and love.

In the meantime gentle reader, go visit Doodlebug, she illustrates beautifully, and has a whole new use for my yoga socks! (scroll down a little).

back from Beaudesert

we flew into Brisbane (Brizzie, Bris-Vegas) at 8.45 on saturday morning, in time to rush to the hotel, change into our finery and get to the Brekkie creek pub in time to catch the coach to the Beaudesert racecourse, just over an hour out of town.
A beautiful spot, despite the obvious drought, a huge marquee housed 300 of us in comfort and the weather was extraordinarily pleasant, warm with a hint of a breeze, not a cloud in the sky, and the blackfly were not too overwhelming.
The racecourse was an oasis of green in a sea of brown grass and dust, the farmers are doing it hard up there.
Here I am, all dressed up, unfolding my parasol before the sun gets me, a hat would not have been big enough to protect my arms and decolletage, so I found a cute chintzy foldup umbrella in a homewares store - good score! I was able to stay outside for ages without worrying.
And here is a rear view, wether you want it or not!

Our group outnumbered the locals by at least 10 to 1, but they got to sit in a beautiful old stand, cool and shady with the best view of the track, while we townies packed against the rails to rally on our favourites. Flash and I lost $40 all up, which was pretty good going, I chose my horses by name, Flash had no system whatsoever, and we had the best time!
Early evening a the smoke from a nearby burnoff changed direction, enhancing the beauty of the setting sun.


Farmers are the backbone of Australia, I don't envy them, it's a damn hard country.

I had a bread roll for breakfast, lunch had been served around 2pm,and I hadn't eaten much of that, so by the time we left (around 8) I was starving, Flash and the others seemed fine, but then again they had been drinking all day, our bus dropped us off at the casino in the centre of town, Flash and I took the opportunity to make our farewells before we lost even more money, we wandered down Queen st, where there are a number of nice outdoor eateries, had a very late dinner, and wandered back to our nice, quiet, dark hotel room, (as opposed to our streetlamp lit bedroom above the car race known as Parramatta road).

This morning we just had time for a quick stroll through the river market before we made the flight home, Brisbane is a nice town, with a lot going on, rapid growth and lots of infrastructure being built.

Here is Flash enjoying the sun and the river breeze.

Lots of knitting content this week I promise!

a new look

I needed this.
I have needed this for 6...8...ok 12 months.

I do not understand why I can not spend money on a haircut, but I can spend money on wool.

I promise that I will go back in 6 weeks and get a trim, I will probably forget, so I have put a reminder in my diary, I will probably ignore my diary, so I have made a follow-up appointment. I will not break the appointment...sometimes I have to trick myself into caring for myself.

I also bought new make-up, shoes - with heels, I haven't worn heels since I was 20...reason?
1. I am already tall, I like being tall...but not freakishly so
2. I like being able to walk away, I like being independent, I cannot stride in heels, in heels if I am unhappy, I feel like I have to stamp my foot like a child in a temper, heels make me feel dependent.
3. heels make me feel feminine and sexy...I am starting to feel ok about this one.

they aren't high,high heels - that is the path of foolishness and back problems, and I have bought 3 different kinds of gel pad to ensure pain-free standing.

no I am not contemplating a romantic affair.
this skirt, worn under this dress, with a little silk chiffon cardi in fuschia, all from one of my favourite laaaadies shops and an aqua parasol to protect me from the sun.

The reason for the frivolity? a bush race meeting in Queensland for Flash's work, an invite from a customer who can't be ignored. I can't wait - I get to dress up and see horses, if I thought I could get away with knitting a bit too I would be ecstatic!

here you go Cindy - see not high at all!

where it all gets a bit crazy...

So we have managed to get our new elliptical trainer (in box) back home to our carpark, before we go any further you need to know that the box is HEAVY.
Flash gets into a "zone" when tackling heavy lifting, this involves him doing something and me being expected to intuit what he is doing and "help". We arrange a shopping trolley behind the boot of the car, and Flash starts to manouevre the box out of the boot into the cart - I figure my job is to hold the cart steady, then I feel the pain - and shriek, Flash looks at me, annoyed, he keeps pushing the box, the pain is intense, I suddenly remember how to speak to a man on a mission - calmly and clearly I say "sweetheart, my wrist is pinned between the box and the cart, I think it may be broken" it works, suddenly the box goes into reverse and my husband is cradling my mangled wrist. Yay - my right wrist, anyway, it's just abrasions and contusions ( thats scrapes and bruises to us lay people) and it's feeling much better now.


Yesterday we both needed some beach time, it was a beautiful day, so we ended up at Brighton-le-sands, not our favourite beach, I don't even think of it as a beach, it's so flat it's almost a lake, but we didn't have much time, so there we were, Flash sunbathed while I collected tiny little snail shells, I'm afraid staying still is not one of my attributes, anyway, these shells are so pretty, pinks, blues, stripes, lemon and blue stripes, sunbleached but still colourful.

My shell collecting provided Flash with a serendipitous opportunity to mock the pain of my homesickness.
Contrary to the caption I am happily searching for brightly coloured treasures, I did not even notice the Air NZ plane in the distance...but he did.

Thanks for all of the comments about the pants, I have decided to have them out with some other baby knits, when the parents-to-be next visit, then if they go "ooh and aah" I will know that it is safe to give them the pants, if they don't I will give them something else - easy! I think I will make bootees with the remaining Koigu, everyone loves rainbow feet!

p.s. the elliptical ?? it is a joyous thing, I had stopped going to the gym (in my building - Flash goes to a proper gym near work)because I felt very intimidated everytime I went in there, there are a lot of people in my building, and not a few personal trainers, a couple of whom use the gym to train their clients ( yes there are on-going complaints) no one has ever said anything, but it is uncomfortable sweating and puffing while you have an audience waiting for the equipment, now I can turn the stereo up loud and sweat, puff and swear to my hearts content...bliss.
p.p.s Blaise has informed me that it is a CROSS trainer, not an elliptical, because it has handles which move when the pedals move. My apologies.

You be the judge

a few months ago Stripey sent me some beautiful Koigu KPPM, which I knitted into a wee baby surprise cardi for a friend's new baby, and loved the experience so much that I had to buy more, it languished in the stash until yesterday when I decided to make some wee pants, I decided that all of that colour, not broken up by a stitch pattern, was going to be a wee bit overwhelming, hence the black stripes in a merino/silk blend.

When Blaise arrived home from school I asked for her opinion..."they're cute - are the parents hippies?"
"no why?"
"because they are rainbow pants"
" they're KOIGU" (like that explains it)
" I know - I like them - but they are rainbow pants"
"but, they're KOIGU!!!"

so guys can you answer me this...do we get carried away with our love of Koigu KPPM and Noro...is it true that to non-knitters look at us and instead of seeing artful colour blending and the witty use of tone and shade - they see RAINBOW??? are these HIPPY pants ????


and why am I listening to a 15 year old whose style could be neatly summed up as Emo ( that's if I was cruel enough to try and stick a label on her...like "hippy") and the others have absolutely no clue - Maria just left the house in a lime green tweed coat over jeans and Flash thinks everything I make is marvellous ( honey, I can take criticism, just hide the knives first).

It's friday night, hopefully it will be quieter and less eventful than last friday ( I sat in something very wet in the taxi, bought new pants and other bits and bobs, had an amazing Indian dinner - and spent a restless night feeling like I was on speed - as did Flash - those must have been some fresh! chillies in that curry) I'm looking forward to a cool Pinot Gris, and catching up with my husband as he cooks chili con carne, hope you all have a wonderful relaxing weekend.

home

whenever I refer to home, "the bach", "the cottage" I realise that you have no frame of reference to see the changes that have been made, I haven't been there for 2 years, we have been carrying out a renovation by remote control, and have just had to trust that what people have been telling us has been correct (luckily the process has been overseen by a darling, old school man whom we trust implicitly)

Photos arrived this morning from our rental agent, it is great to see the old rhododendren is still happy (drips with cerise blooms in season), that the sage colour I chose for the weatherboards is not too green, the rotten weatherboards have been replaced, all that is left to do on the house (lets not talk about the new fence etc here today) is to paint the trim (currently undercoated) and choose a colour for the door - which can wait until we return. The sky is typical of a Coromandel morning, full sun filling the front living room with golden light, and turning the front bedroom walls pink as it streams through the antique rose glass, ice blue sky turning singing blue by 10am, and cold enough to freeze the water in the cat's bowl.

Once again, we will not be living there fulltime - too far to make commuting feasible (why oh why did they get rid of the trains??) but I can't wait for those weekends, maybe I'll stay a couple of extra days, keep a machine there for swatching and experimenting with,some quiet time, with that extra space I yearn for, start a stitch and bitch in the cafe on the main street - the one with the open fire, actually having to wear that hat, scarf and mittens, and blessing those knitted socks.

loving it

I have just added this wee hoodie to my shop, I enjoyed designing and making it so much, I love it when a plan comes together! The hood really freaked me out, I have made knit fabric hoodies for my kids, but knitting a hood is so different to sewing one. When I finally finished the calculations and drawings it was a beautiful thing - amazing how it just worked.

I wanted a point of difference between this sweater and every other organic merino baby garment on the web (there are HEAPS out there...who knew?) most of them seem to be scavenged from vintage knitting patterns - which I feel is kind of cheating, but I digress...I just have to feel satisfied that I have created my own designs from scratch. I searched my cable designs and this one caught my eye...it looked just like the top of a nikau palm...it just needed a cabled trunk - perfect! The nikau is an iconic symbol of NZ, along with the kiwi, pukeko and silver fern - iconic without being overtly "kiwi".

While I was putting the website together I was so flat out that I didn't have time to design, now that everything is ticking over (apart from the firefox issues - which I will fix when I transfer the website to a new server) I am enjoying the design process again - sketching, daydreaming, calculating and finally knitting - listening to podcasts (I feel like these have always existed) Penn Gilette , New Scientist, Scientific American, Nature - as well as the usual knitting suspects (tip: if you have big kids - over 8 or so - check out the Naked scientist podcast - they have great experiments) I have to make myself leave the house every day - go over the road for coffee or something, just to avoid becoming a recluse!

has it been that long?

I am tired, not because I live above the busiest road in Australasia, I can cope with that, nearly 2 years without double glazing or adequate shades on the 18 ft high windows has given me the ability to sleep almost anywhere, but because Wednesday night is student night at the local pub, Flash and I are awoken every wednesday night by screaming, wailing, cackling, yelling drunk people - the police can't help anymore, unless the revellers are interfering with our property, so we put up with their supermarket trolley races, their attempts to direct traffic and the resultant high speed braking and verbal abuse, and their very audible protestations of love or distaste, oh and the vomiting.

I awoke at 1.30 this morning, to what sounded like gunshot, when Flash peered over the balcony he saw it wasn't...it was our next door neighbour throwing $2 coins at our windows from the street below, he had forgotten his swipecard and his girlfriend wasn't answering the intercom. I am afraid that "ok mate" was not one of the phrases Flash used.

So, this morning I am sloping around in pjs, drinking tea at 8am, and posting instead of doing housework, I am considering taking the day off and wandering into the city for a visit to Kinokuniya and to run some errands, after days of swatching for some new ideas I need to be away from knitting for a few hours. I will leave you with a wee cardi knitted this week for the soon-to-be son of one of Flash's workmates.

I have some knitting to do.

clockwise from top left ; Blaise's backpack, Flash's sock, zephyr for the Sheep shawl (not started), test knitting, lovely ripply scarf in kidsilk haze and jo sharp's silk georgette.

For the past few months I have been flat out designing, knitting and trying to get the website up and running, now that it is up, I have tweaking to do, but not the same volume of work as I have had. I knit on stock items everyday for at least 4 hours (I call it "going to work") but because I have launched the website during the "off' season (high summer in the northern hemisphere, spring on the horizon in the southern) I have a bit of time to play with every day (and I am NOT going to spend it doing housework) so I have piled my UFOs onto the table next to the couch, and will force myself to finish them while I still can (the test knitting is just there for show, I have to finish that today to ensure that the pattern is correct)

I feel a bit like I am "in waiting", I am in that no-man's land of online stores - the Just Jussi store is there, but until the advertising and links kick in...it kind of isn't there, I have had over a 1000 unique visitors, they are there for the free patterns, not to buy, but at least it helps the search engines to take notice.
It is so hard for me to just sit on my hands and wait - people who know about this stuff keep telling me that it will take 6-8 weeks to get a sale ,and I've had 2 in a week (to people who are not related to me or friends!) but I know it will take time and lots of effort to generate more.

Ok time to move my butt, and to show that I am not knitting 24/7 I will share a recipe;

Sticky Date pudding

Ingredients
200g pitted dates (chopped)
1 teaspoon baking soda
150ml boiling water
125g butter
125g brown sugar
2 eggs
125g self-raising flour

Method.
Put the dates, baking soda and boiling water in a bowl, stir and leave for 20 minutes.
Beat butter and sugar until creamy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating until light and fluffy.
Stir in the flour, then the date mixture.
Pour into a medium size baking dish or casserole.
Bake for 30 minutes at 180°C check with a toothpick to make sure it is cooked.

While the pudding is cooking, make the sauce
200g brown sugar
50g butter
1 cup (250ml) cream
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Method
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, bring to the boil, then simmer for 1-2 minutes.

When the pudding is ready, remove from the oven and coat the top lightly with enough sauce to produce a sticky glaze. Return to the oven for 2 minutes.

Serve with extra sauce and whipped cream.

This is the standard recipe, we do something different, when the pudding is cooked we serve it up piping hot, cover with Monin gingerbread syrup and eat with vanilla icecream or custard.

enjoy! (and to those readers in the northern hemisphere, print this out and stick it in your cookbook, with all of that beautiful weather you have no need for comfort food!)

Zombie baby

Blaise was certain it was breathing...

Thanks for the kind comments and emails...and visits, the website has had over 200 hits, which makes me happy. I did get some negative feedback from a guy who said that Tesco's and Asda had cheaper baby clothes...well...yep...thats nice.

Today I bought and took delivery of (God bless the internet) the "creepy zombie baby" which frightened Blaise when she came home from school, he/she/it will serve as the intermediate stage between hiring the stunt baby and where we are now with a homemade baby body. It's amazing how much better the clothes look on a real-live dummy, though I do like the zombie better when it is headless.

Now if I can just resist the urge to take it into Blaise's room when she is sleeping..."Must...eat...brains!"

Birth

Birth is a difficult, life-changing process, you find strengths you didn't know you had, and new depths to those around you, the outcome may not be as you expected - positive or negative, but the experience leaves you a better person.

The delivery of my website is like a birth in some ways, I have worked hard, I have been constrained by the limits of my webserver - the fact that it is only "so" wide and you have to scroll vertically, the fact that I don't own a baby at present, so have to wait until I can pay a stunt baby to model the clothes. I don't want these barriers to stop me doing what I enjoy, they will be overcome in time.
Friends and family have gathered around and seen either a gorgeous addition to the family or a little red-faced monkey. I am not so blinded by maternal affection that I do not see the flaws in my creation - so please feel free to leave your comments - but constructive criticism please! I am still tender.

The free pattern for my newborn baby singlet (pictured above) is available there

a few more of my favourite things...

Kids are back at school, YAY! finally I have the house to myself, although I love Blaise very much, I felt like her siamese twin as she sat at her laptop next to me for hours on end, hopefully for a good cause, she has entered a couple of short story competitions, with the amount of time she spends writing she should make out like a bandit!

well, this is the kind of post you write when you know you should post but also have other deadlines, so i'll catch you up on what I have been listening to, because I can't show you any knitting. I sometimes write about the music I like, and most of it isn't available on I-tunes, but youtube is not so anti-antipodean so here are some links to a few favourites,(leave to load with the sound off then replay at volume) first off

Fur Patrol
(so named after one of the band member's posse of cats who would "patrol" the garden)
song 1 "Andrew"

song2 "Lydia"
Flash took me to see them soon after we met, the concert was in a small theatre off K Rd in Auckland, Galatos st I think...we were both in black leather coats, the place was packed, but we managed to hold our own in a booth because the kids around us thought we were cops - too funny!

Bic Runga - magic

song 1 "When I see you smile"

song 2 "sway"

and this is for my mate Jase, to see if he is awake!

Underdaks ad

or maybe it's for you Al!

ok, enough of that...here's more kiwi music

Tadpole
song 1 - Alright this has to be my favourite rock out summer at the bach (holiday house) song (needs to be LOUD)

I am also listening to a lot of podcasts, some knitting (though most of the goodies are on hiatus at present) I am particularly enjoying listening to Penn radio (Penn Jillette from Penn and Teller) he is though provoking AND hilarious. Jeepers all this listening, I must be getting some work done huh?

that's the story

The school holidays are drawing to a close, and I have been spending time with Blaise - today we are going to the movies to see a comedy "Sione's Wedding" which as the name implies is about a Samoan wedding, I am so excited, I have missed the Pacifica aspect which is evident in everyday life in Auckland, and an old friend is also in the movie - when we were younger I had to be careful when we were together, he is so funny that I would spit out my drink or accidentally hit my head while laughing, of all my friends back then he taught me the most, that to be yourself is more important than being popular, and to be able to make people laugh is one of the best gifts you can have, plus he gave me the title of "Miss Pink Chardon 1984" thank goodness my taste in alcohol has improved since my teens.

Which segues nicely into this, if you know New Zealand this will make you laugh so hard, if you don't know New Zealand this will make you wonder...anyway it's an ad for 42 Below Vodka, it is full of sheep (just like NZ) and it is choice...bro.

what to do...

about Blaise - just when she had recovered from the gigantic , disgusting tonsil episode, she went to the playground and sliced her finger open on the slide, she was taken to a local pharmacy, where her companion's Mum worked, and she cleaned and dressed the wound, and advised Blaise that it wasn't bad.

Next morning Blaise comes to me and tells me that she is worried about her finger, here am I thinking it's a wee cut...so off to the GP (who is threatening to give my family a recurring appointment) it's not a wee cut, she has filleted her finger, the skin is hanging on by a thread, and it is too late for stitches (almost used the knitting abbreviation sts there) the best we can do is stick it down with sticky strips, keep it elevated and hope for the best.
We returned home, Blaise was sent to bed (no computer!) with yet more DVDs ( Mirrormask - I must watch it), she kept her finger up near her shoulder, looking all the while like a demented criminal mastermind, she eschewed the washing up (yeh, like she was desperate to do it) and covered the hand with a plastic bag when showering.
This morning, three days later, we returned to the GP, he was surprised to see that the skin was a healthy pink, the digit was re-wrapped and Blaise is under orders to bend and stretch the finger at least 50 times a day - I am her trainer...and I am ruthless.

I received a comment today from Veronica - she followed my Shibori tutorial(in the sidebar) and has excelled, you must go look at her beautiful work, I must learn Spanish - she sounds so excited, I don't know what she is saying, but I know she is happy.

Thank you to everyone who commented this week - I have tried to get to all of you individually, but have missed out those who do not have their email on their blog ( go to g-mail and get one!)I have also been amazed at the response my last post received - I was so happy to hear from so many people who had thought about this issue - I don't care what decision you make, so long as it is the right one for you and your family.

And lastly, because I have to:

"Go the Blacks!!!"

jeepers - never thought you would hear those words from this non team-player did you!

What's in a name?

On the weekend an in-law discovered that Flash and I were married, I didn’t realize that this person didn’t know, she is rather difficult and I walked myself straight into a minefield…to the point where I could see her daughter waving “no, stop” at me, but I just kept going.

The issue was not the marriage – the issue was “the name”

The conversation (interrogation) went a little like this:

So you actually are a Bloggs* now?!

Well, no, my name is still “Justine Turner”

Whats wrong with Bloggs*, it’s my name, it’s a good name

There is nothing wrong with Bloggs* – but it’s not my name

Well, it actually is…oh, after all the trouble we went to, to find out your last name – and you actually were a Bloggs* all the time. I am so angry!

I am not doing this to upset you, I prefer to be called “Justine Turner” it has been my name for 38 years, and it is unlikely that will change, you wouldn’t ask Flash to change his last name.

But he is a man, and you are a family now – the Bloggs* family

I am married to Flash Bloggs* but my daughters are named “Turner” I don’t want to add to the upheaval in their lives by changing my name – so there has to be a big explanation every time I take them to the Dr or visit the school – given that I am still the person who engages in 99% of these activities with the children.

(note how I completely ignored the “he’s a man” statement – I am silly, but not suicidal)

I am so angry about this!

(husband finally got the desperate telepathic messages and came into the lounge- abruptly ending the conversation)

Now,
I am an intelligent woman, I am a nice person – therefore you would immediately surmise that:
a) I have a reason for retaining my maiden name after marriage and
b) I am not doing it to hurt anyone.

I figure that’s all anyone needs to know, if they are curious they are welcome to ask me (nicely) but they are not welcome to attack me for my choice.
If Flash and I were to have a child, I would probably add his name to mine, not hyphenated, but in the tradition of some North American women “Justine Turner Bloggs*” however Flash and I are not going to have a child, so it isn’t an issue.

Flash’s last name isn’t the easiest name, people always ask twice, it isn’t terrible, but in his explanation to people of me retaining “Turner”, he simply says “well you wouldn’t want to be a Bloggs* if you didn’t have to be” he also ensures that if we are going to any event for business reasons – the organizers know my name ( usually to escape the inevitable comment from me “ Mrs Bloggs* ? jeepers Flash you didn’t tell me that your ex-wife was going to be here!” boy am I lucky he has a wicked sense of humour ) most people are aware enough to understand, and when introducing myself in these situations I just say “Hi – I’m Justine Turner – I'm married to Gordon” that gives them my name, and answers their unsaid questions.

I am not dogmatic, I do not have a problem per se with women (or men) changing their name after marriage, it does give the family cohesion, but I have a problem with it being automatic, names have magic in them – your name quite literally is your identity – so giving it up should be done with thoughtfulness and awareness.

I would love to hear your views and experiences…did you change your name happily – leaving your old one behind like a discarded cocoon? Or did you feel bad inside and not even know why? Did you question the convention internally – but were too scared to rock the boat? Did you and your partner retain your individual names and negotiate when naming the kids. Or did you choose a whole new surname together?!


* - not his real name, oh that it was - I probably would change my name then...imagine "Justine Bloggs" because it's who I am and what I do!

Busy hands

Holly goes home tomorrow - we will miss her, I feel bad that we haven't done all of the things we had planned, as we had to stay home while Blaise was ill, still Holly is her Mother's daughter and made the most of it, as well as watching over 60 episodes of "Scrubs" every Monty Python dvd ever made, and a daily dose of "The princess bride" to keep Blaise company, she worked away at a patchwork bag of her own design, and numerous peices of jewellery.

the bag has patchwork on both sides, striped chambray lining and a knitted garter stitch handle in thick cotton, Holly took to my collection of fabric with abandon and exuberance, combining an eclectic mixture into a visually appealing peice.

I professed my love for this peice

but I have made a resolution not to buy any more jewellery until I deserve it...

so Holly made me a substitute, just as sweet!

Look!!

Blaise asked for a backpack similar to the Punk Rock Backpack from Stitch and Bitch she wasn't happy with either of the motifs and gave me her Aranzi Aranzo pencilcase to copy, so here it is so far, I have knitted the front and back (the pink whipstitching is holding the opening closed, as it will have a zipper inserted) the intarsia for the monkey wasn't bad at all, it goes quickly because it is interesting. He needs to have his eyes embroidered on, we had decided on little plastic eyes, but when I put them they freaked us both out - evil toy monkey eyes!

she also wants me to embroider the book title - she hasn't decided, but it will be either "The ascent of Man" or "Planet of the Apes".

I received a knitting machine, ribber and associated bits and peices yesteday, unfortunately most of it has to stay packed up as there just isn't room here, I can't wait to have my own room! I also have scored a garter carriage and wonderful new knitting machine, and loads of accessories, but they are in NZ and will have to stay with my parents until we know where we are going to be living next year.It is a bit like waiting for Christmas, I know what I'm getting but can't touch it!!!

So, back to the stuff that arrived yesterday, there was a huge box of books and pamphlets - patterns from the '70s and '80s, treasure! and the gold? well next to the punchcard dictionaries, which are amazing compilations of fairisle and lace patterns, there are a few Japanese machine knitting pattern books - AmimonoVogue from 1982, they are wonderful - the Japanese did not seem to succumb to the intarsia batwing styles so prevalent in the '80s - there are a lot of tidy twinsets with interesting detailing, I can actually see myself making a few garments - and thats where we come to the second wonder of japanese machine knitting mags - the instructions are all diagrams - so it is easy to decipher the pattern.

love the Nana and Grandad bodywarmers!

I am tempted to commit Amigarumi

alright now

Blaise had a bad week, the tonsils got worse, they looked disgusting, I can't understand how Doctors can think that something that looks that disgusting should be allowed to remain in your body. However, none of them looked terribly surprised, so I followed their lead and remained nonplussed in front of her.
We saw our family Dr on wednesday after the emergency GP on sunday, Blaise wasn't getting any better, so a change of antibiotics, a shot of penicillin in the bum, and a blood test were called for, and that was the last straw for Blaise.
With her almost grownup brain Blaise understood that a blood test was required and would be over quickly, unfortunately she has memories from 4 years ago - being admitted to hospital for major surgery 3 times , and having to have all of the bloodwork done the day prior, Doctors not being able to get blood out of her tiny body, trying up to 10 different places, 4 adults holding her down, and one time squeezing blood out of a hole in her thumb for 20 minutes.
The surgery was cancelled at the last minute twice - a lack of paediatric intensive care beds - and each time we returned she tried to bargain with them "you can use the blood from last time right?" "I don't feel sick - see" running and jumping around. Sitting with her when she came round from surgery and the joy in her face when she realised she had a central line in - ahhh, no more blood tests.
So, that was what she was up against, she wept silently as the big Nigerian nurse gently punctured her arm and swiftly changed vials, before she knew it, she was being handed a sticky plaster - "it's over?" yay all over, a new positive memory to dampen the old negative memories.

I have people to thank,

firstly to Rox who must think her parcel never arrived - beautiful dye-your-own laceweight - a whole hank and loads of KoolAid, Holly and I are going to play at mad scientist artists this week, thank you Rox!!

and also to Jade, who really has to stop fretting, you are the most wonderful, sweet person.

Jad made me the sweetest knitting bag, striped denim/chambray lined with a sweet pink print, and a matching stitchmarker pouch, I managed to take a photo of the pecan/walnut praline before they were devoured - all my favourite flavours - vanilla, caramel, pecan - I was in heaven. A Creative Knitting (not the Aussie one) mag that I have never seen before and a Lion Brand book of re-worked vintage patterns, which I adore. What I loved beyond all else though was the " Officer Jussi of the Knitting Police" badge (and Jade isn't a knitter, but she still "gets" us!!!!) it's not the grumpy "you can't do that" knitting police - here is the oath from the back of the badge

I solemnly swear to appreciate that which I make with my own hands,

and to not waste one second of time worrying what others may think of my efforts

If it is good enough for me, it is good enough.

I am my own Knitting Police!

I'll be flashing it all over the place Jade.

really ill but not fully sick*

Blaise is ill.

I made that a sentence by itself because it is such a rare event, Blaise has not been ill since she was 4, and then she had whooping cough. I took her to the emergency GP on sunday, we waited an hour, explained the symptoms on the way to his office and were out again in 1 minute - "say "ahh" oh yep that's tonsilitis".
She has been miserable, her "word of the day"(description) for the past 3 days has been "festering" poor wee thing, utterly, heartbreakingly sad at missing school, missing her friends, feeling so sick, sleeping on the couch with her patchwork quilt and Uncle Doug the bear, because she doesn't want to be alone, and is watching 3 series of "Scrubs" ( I think thats more than 60 episodes - I feel I am being assimilated into their world)when she can't sleep.
I am slightly stressed, I can't fix my child's pain and that is distressing, I have parcels to go out, and haven't got to the Post office, I have a husband who feels that sick people belong in their beds and are happier left alone (he is trying hard to understand) and I had planned outings with Holly that I can't fulfill - I feel torn in 20 directions.
So I am submitting, I will do my work, clean the house, and catch up with Holly, but my first priority is to sit on the couch with my baby and cuddle her, because I know it works.

* "fully sick" a colloquialism meaning "really good" often associated with aussie elite swimmer Ian Thorpe

poppies in motion

I spent Saturday morning on tenterhooks, would Holly's flight be snowed in and cancelled, would she get to the airport on time, would she remember her documentation? This is the first time she has had to get herself to the airport etc. I needn't have worried, she was perfect.

We had a dinner party on saturday night, to welcome Holly - the food and decorations were Indian, and these poppies were a highlight as well as a talking point as they slowly shed their pods and blossomed over the course of the evening.

here is another Poppy who has blossomed into a delightful young woman

(Poppy is Holly's nickname - funny really when both names are the same length)

look Nana - she's cleaning!

Hollydays in June

Holly (eldest child) called me early on monday morning (very very early - Sydney is 2 hours behind Christchurch) she has exams this week, and the one on monday was cancelled due an excess of snow, the powers that be had intimated that they may hold the exam on saturday - the day that loads of students flee the freezing city by air, train or car (anyway they can really) we were worried, the flights are fully booked, no changes possible, we didn't want wee Holls freezing her poor miserable butt off in Christchurch - thankfully commonsense overwhelmed the administrators and the exam has been rebooked for friday.

Holly has seen and touched snow, but has never lived with it, so we received the inevitable photo - the Hudson Hall mascot - built by kids who should be studying -come on people!

thats some funky snowman.

And lest you think I have not been busy enough lately - here is a taste

better get back to it, I have a very demanding boss.

Fairly good

today was the first day I have been able to do as I please, after the adventures of the past couple of weeks, it was sunny and reasonably warm out, so I decided to go visit the Sydney Craft and Quilt fair down at Darling Harbour...I had been planning to take Holly, but she arrives on Saturday afternoon, and as Sunday is the last day and a weekend day, it would be packed beyond reason.

I arrived around 11 am, and things were in full swing, if you were a quilter, then this was heaven, there were fat quarters for Africa! I started at the far end, and meandered along the rows and tried to remember bits and pieces that I needed, thin velvet ribbon, $1 a roll - 3 in crimson, 1 black, 1 eggplant, beading needles... I found the Bendigo yarns stall and bought a hank of cream cotton for more petal bibs, and some baby wool at 30% off, if you could get near the yarn stands there were some reasonable bargains to be had, and it was great to see some yarns close up.
I splashed out on some Belisa Cashmere in plum and school jersey grey, I have been wanting to try it for ages, not 100% certain what I am going to knit with it, but an idea is blossoming.
The ladies from the machine knitters guild were very sweet, and the quilts on display were stunning, I restrained myself and only bought 2 beads - little fortune cats to make into stitch markers. I stayed away from most of the quilting stalls, trying to avoid being in too much of a crush, however there were 2 that I just had to purchase from "wabi-sabi" and another whose name I have mislaid, both had japanese fabrics, so I had to buy a few charm squares as well.

as you can see, I was very restrained. The queue for coffee was long, so I made my way back out into the sunshine and headed for home.

Verdict: If you are a quilter - GO!

if you are a knitter - go if you are interested in other crafts as well, though for some the Colinette may be all the encouragement you require!

Knitting in public

We made it! There were times during the day when I thought I really should stay at home and look after Flash, but he was up and about and raring to get out of the house. He went shopping while I knitted.

we met at the Sidewalk cafe at the Sydney Opera house, I think about 20 people turned up, it was interesting watching the reactions of passers-by, many were intrigued, some stopped, talked, even knitted for a while, others looked on with distaste, people are funny.

shot with the Harbour bridge in the background and Clair (e) in the foreground, I didn't know everyone there, and wanted to visit people's knitting, but was still feeling a bit fragile after Flash's stuff, it's amazing the way things can knock you around isn't it? Anyway he is fitter than fit, you see his body (and multidirectional Noro scarf) standing behind Veronica in this photo on Kris's site, you can also see more photos at the SSK site.

Interesting: the Opera House car park machines have instructions in English, German , French and Swedish - I took it that this is because the architect Jorn Utzon was Swedish and so many Swedes would want to check the place out - but he wasn't, he was Danish, so I am left wondering.

And to Lara - I bought the plastic cover before I bought anything else, thanks for the tip!

A is for

Angioplasty, which is the name of the socks I am currently knitting. A month ago I knitted the anniversary socks for Flash for our third wedding anniversary, and have decided to knit him a pair of socks for every big event in our lives (no there will not be any "baby" socks!). Flash had an angioplasty and stent on thursday, (he had one 7 years ago - very bad genes) so he knew what to expect, I just stayed with him and knitted and worried quietly.
All went so well that the surgeon said that he could go to the Split Enz concert the day of his discharge, and we did (which would have great except that we had some idiot girls from Gore sitting behind us who decided it would be fun to give a loud running commentary of the whole concert - yes I did turn around and ask them nicely to be quiet, no it didn't work - (would that be "B is for Bogans.)
So we need a "C" - Cyril Cullen my parents visited Farney Castle a few days ago, and met Cyril's wife and had a good old chat for hours, she has sent me a book about him, which I can't wait to read - apparently he is a porcelain artist as well as a knitwear designer, and I am fascinated to learn more about how they seperate the colours when spinning the wool from the Jacobs sheep, my Mum has met lots of people and had some adventures over the years in her hunt for yarn for me, she loves the tactile nature of yarns and fabrics more than the act of crafting so we are a good team.

I am off to knit in public at the Opera House this afternoon, the weather is looking a little dodgy, but I know we will have fun, at least we are not knitting next door in the Botanical Gardens - where guys like this try to take your yarn, needles, bag - anything that isn't tied down!

(gratuitous cockatoo shot)

a gap in the weather

Flash and I ducked out yesterday afternoon and visited the infamous Gap Bluff at the inlet to Sydney Harbour, "The Gap" is legendary as a preferred location for dramatic suicides, however being decidedly unsuicidal despite the inclement weather, we chose to wander around, take photos, watch tourists (climbing rocks in high heels -what is with that, did the woman think the guy would find her less attractive if she wore sneakers??) The sea below the cliffs was thunderous, dark blue grey smashing into the rocks and changing momentarily to a glowing aquamarine before spraying white and rolling back to icy flint, discussion quietly centred around the levels of desperation required to fling yourself into that churning cauldron - a conversation which continued over coffee and cake in the cosy tearooms at the base of the park

I gave "The Gap" an 8 out of 10, it scored well on breathtaking vistas, pounding seas, moody fogbanks and continental apple cake (spicy!) but was slightly let down by ignorant tourists being shepherded by rude tourguides and the destruction of Aboriginal rock art by the military (yes I know it was a long time ago).

It also scored well on drama - I love visiting windswept places and wrapping myself in my black trenchcoat, black scarf around my head, and sunglasses to protect my eyes from windborne debris, "so elegant she must be famous" I heard someone whisper , "yes - Brangelina are so yesterday, thats the new celebrity couple *Gorjus" replied her friend.

(any similarity to the truth is purely co-incidental, your author is day-dreaming)

*Gordon and Justine - cute huh!

Now to redeem myself, here is the "Petal bib" from the book "One Skein". I knitted it in 2 hours last night, a very quick and satisfying knit, beautifully constucted and a nice introduction to short rows for people who may find them scarey. I used approximately 30 grams of Anchor magic line cotton, I think it looks nicer plain, but made do with what I had lying around. I'll make a couple more and send them off to my sister for Maisie, I don't know how well they will cope with babymush, but are very absorbent, so will be a good dribble-bib...and pretty good for peek-a-boo too.

remember this saturday is worldwide KIP (knitting in public) day, at the Sidewalk Cafe at the Opera House (from Circular Quay, just keep walking towards the Opera House keeping the water on your left, until you find the knitters) the more the merrier, and it will be wonderful to meet the faces behind the words.

snippets

Friday evening draws near, cold and rainy - just the way I like it, there is a beef casserole, thick with carrot, tomato and onion -bubbling away in the cast iron pot in the oven, garlic and rosemary bread dough pounding away in the breadmaker, a Marlborough pinot noir waiting for my sweetheart's homecoming.

Gifts in the mail, my parent are now in Ireland - supposed to be holidaying, but I know my Dad will work, I have already received an email intimating such, knowing my Mama she will have booked a week or two at some far-flung place with no internet connection or mobile coverage.
The kidsilk haze arrived today - 2 balls in each of the majestic and dewberry colourways mmmm yummy! as well as the Rowan "Little Treasures"
book (who knows, maybe my wee neice will get something handknitted this winter!) and "Pub knitting" by Rachel Henderson (which Holly will probably borrow)

I don't know what I am going to make with the haze (suggestions anyone?) that is if I ever get anywhere near it, the last domestic knitting I did was the anniversary socks, and they were a wee while ago (please let's forget the Noro Aurora fiasco) That is not to say that I have not been knitting, I have been doing little else - witness...









yes those are roses, and yes I embroidered them.