Becky-Dee knits

Moving

2009-05-06T15:00:00.001+09:30

I am blogging more frequently over here. I hope I see you there :)

George

2008-08-10T12:31:00.003+09:30

I have a friend who fell in love with the super-cuteness of Elijah the elephant. So for her birthday, I decided to knit one for her. I think he looks more like a George; What do you think?

2 balls of Spotlight Basics Merino
His eyes are really dark navy cashmere(!)
2.75mm needles

Embossed Leaves

2008-08-10T12:22:00.005+09:30

I know it may seem as though I haven't knit one stitch for the past two months but I have, I swear! I've got long overdue FO photo to show you:

True love fiber Merino and Tencel, 1 skein.
2.75mm needles

These turned out a little big but I really like them still. I should invest in some 2.5mm dpns as the ones I knit with 2.25mm needles are too small and 2.75mm are too large.

The yarn was lovely. I have never thought of yarn being 'elegant' but I really think the shine that the tencel gives these socks is really pretty. They make me feel special :)

Sweet

2008-06-11T12:07:00.002+09:30

16!

Yup, its my birthday.

I got a wee little rose charm for my pandora bracelet.......

.....and a flight to Melbourne to see this guy in concert.....

Ramblings and a Bainbridge Scarf

2008-06-10T18:49:00.003+09:30

My drama moderation went well and it was really great to perform again. There are rumors however that the moderator was a rather harsh marker but I'm sure we all did fine. Our last performance was our strongest energy wise and the audience was really great. They seemed to understand the play a little more than previous audiences which helped lift the mood.

After Tuesday night, the moderation, I have been in somewhat of a post-drama slump. Its a bit of a combination of the disappointment of all of the performing finishing and also that I have picked up some nasty cold flu thing. Not very fun. Especially when it's mid-year exams this week!

Whilst in bed and when my brain hasn't been shrouded in brain fog I have picked up a couple mindless projects to use up the silly odd balls of yarn that are lurking in the plastic boxes underneath my bed. One of these projects is my Bainbridge Scarf:

Bainbridge Scarf by Pepperknit
Knit Picks Shine Sport in Cloud, just over 1 ball
3.75mm Denise circulars

I think its a darling little scarf. It's perfect to use up odd balls of yarn. I must say I loved working with shine as it is really soft and slinky. It's a pity you can't get it in Australia because I would love to knit a whole sweater using it (saying that, it's probably a good thing!)

Also semi-finished and waiting patiently for ends to be woven in are a pair of socks. hurrah! progress!

Oh! The Drama!

2008-05-26T11:28:00.003+09:30

I know, I know. I haven't posted for like a month but I have a really good excuse. I have been doing a production for my 12 drama course and all of the rehearsals have pretty much taken over a lot of my spare time (which is probably a good thing!). The play we will be doing is a play by Tom Stoppard called The Real Inspector Hound (wikipedia link if you would like to read the plot) and I have been casted as Felicity Cunningham who I think is really awesome character. I get to be really bitchy (hehe). The script is hilarious!

Our first run in front of an audience is this Thursday (gasp!) with two performances Monday next week and a final performance on Tuesday which will be in front of a moderator who will grade us on our performances. The whole process is pretty stressful actually. There is a lot of things to get done and scenes to get polished off but I am happy to say that I have absolutely loved every minute of it, and we haven't even performed to an audience yet. I can't wait!

Madeleine scarf

2008-04-24T20:30:00.004+09:30

If you are on Ravelry or flickr, the pictures have been on there for a week but now it's officially on the blog!

Pattern: My own, based on a scarf by Madeleine press.
Yarn: 9 skeins of Jaeger Extra Fine Merino Aran in Cypress.
Needles: 6.5mm needles for the blackberry stitch and cable panel and a enormous 4mm circular needle for the frill (which I made my connecting the three longest cables together in my Denise set)

Even though I am a knitter, I don't really own many scarves. They are rather expensive to buy if made out of good materials and I think they are really quite boring to knit but when I saw a scarf by Madeleine Press on Another Shopgirl I knew that I must knit it. The result, 9 balls of yarn later, is a really long and unique scarf that I adore.

It didn't really take that long for me to knit but I swear I nearly went mad knitting the frill part. I think it was about 350 sts in each row but it was totally worth it in the end.

Back with a Bang

2008-04-17T20:25:00.011+09:30

I can't believe that It has nearly been a whole month since my last post! I've been a bit slack updating my blog but luckily it's school holidays so I have finally had the chance to relax a little and do some knitting.

I recently bought some double pointed needles so I have been able to finish lots of small projects that I have started over the past few months. One of these projects was a Koolhaas hat for my Pa because he had some surgery and needed something to cover his head. Here it is finished and modeled by my dad.

I also started sewing some clothes. I am still learning but I am able to do simpler projects without any help from my mum. I have found I can apply what I have learned about of knitwear structure so it isn't too hard trying to interpret the instructions. I have two projects I'd like to get finished these holidays and both are from the Built by Wendy collection from the Simplicity pattern range. I'll show you the finished product!

The Madeleine Press scarf has been photographed. I'll post the details (and pattern!) in my next post! I'll leave you with a sneak peek! Until next time!

Happy Easter

2008-03-24T12:02:00.004+10:30

I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend, however you chose to spend it!

A new project!

2008-03-17T19:36:00.006+10:30

I bought some yarn! yay!

Jaeger Extra Fine Merino DK in Peacock and Smoke.

Becasue I absolutely loved the houndstooth pattern on J.D (which my bro has grown out of already) I decided to design my own jumper with houndstooth.

I will be knitting a basic hoodie with houndstooth pattern all over with kangaroo pockets, ribbed edges and i-cord edges. Wish me luck!

The Madeleine Press scarf ( a.k.a Maddy) is completed and is currently drying outside. I will take some pictures this weekend. It is my favorite scarf ever and it is just awesome. stay tuned!

On the knitting front.

2008-03-05T13:58:00.004+10:30

My poor little blog has been neglected as of late. School work has had me quite busy these past couple of weeks. Luckily though, over the next three weeks I have 5 days off school due to all the public holidays and sports carnivals which I can't attend because I still don't have enough energy to participate.

Apart from all the school work, it has been a so great to come home (and after doing my homework and having dinner) and sit and knit. I have been working on a couple of accessories for the cold months ahead.

The Madeleine Press scarf is coming along nicely but the cable panel ate all of my yarn! All five balls! I have 4 more balls of Jaeger Extra Fine Merino Aran coming which should arrive on Friday so I will be able to complete the frill part.

I also started this cute cabled hat that was is inspired by the cute little hats ones decked out on all the Burberry models in their latest collection. I still need to knit the back brim.

Weardowney Knit Couture

2008-02-15T17:40:00.003+10:30

I have heard mixed reviews about this book. Some think it it's good and some think it's not quite what they were looking for. It's not your ordinary pattern book. It contains essays and biographies of innovative fashion designers and how they shaped knitwear and a general history of the craft.

Personally, I like this book. But compared to their RTW collections, the patterns in the book don't have the same spark, however, I really like a couple of designs which I will be making as soon as I can.

Number One : The Skating Skirt

I already have the yarn! Some Katia Perla Has been sitting in my stash for a while just waiting for something right. It is perfect for it.

Number Two: Chevron Waffle Cardigan

I will splurge and buy some cashmere for this one in an amber/mustard colour.

I have also swatched for a scarf. I am 'drawing inspiration' from the Frill scarf by Madeleine Press . I will be knitting it in a natural brown colour. This swatch is using Cleckheaton Country 8ply/DK but it seems that it is quite a lot thicker than other 8 plys so will be using a worsted/10ply yarn instead. I hope it works!

Tilted Duster

2008-02-11T20:16:00.005+10:30

Tilted Duster by Norah Gaughan from Interweave Fall 07
3 balls Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic 12ply in Delta

This was a gift for my Mum for Christmas last year. Overall, It turned out to be a very nice fitting cardigan. Things went relatively smoothly until I nearly ran out of yarn. I realised that I would need to lengthen everything and forgot to buy enough to compensate. I was able to make the sleeves 5 cm longer but was forced I made the length according to the pattern becasue I had barely had enough to sew everything together. I just managed to get away with three balls of yarn. A wee bit shorter than I imagined, but it looks pretty good. Mum is pretty chuffed with it so I am happy too.

Meet Misty, My Beautiful Kitteh

2008-01-29T17:07:00.000+10:30

some pink and purple

2008-01-27T17:37:00.000+10:30

What a week! It was so busy. Moving house really takes it out of you!

My father bought a fancy new Nikon DSLR and I have been pottering around the garden looking for things to photograph.

I have also started knitting a cardigan from my own design. I will enlighten you with some more details later.

Hope you all are fresh and ready to get back to school!

P.S: Happy Australia Day!

Back To Reality

2008-01-12T15:06:00.000+10:30

Sorry about the sudden, unexplained absence. I have been camping for the past week along the Great Ocean Road. It was absolutely stunning. Nothing like what I have seen before. Me and my family stayed in a camping site situated in the Otways National Park. It was perfect -literally across the road from a beauitful swimming beach, a lovely river just alongside the park and barely 5 minutes away from the nearest town, Lorne. I tried to capture some of the wonderful things we did and saw:

J.D.

2008-01-02T14:38:00.000+10:30

At last I can show you! Presenting J.D:

My first design has been featured in this month's issue of Magknits. Thanks to Reece, my brother, for being my mannequin. You can see the pattern here.

I should explain the name of my design! As I wrote in the introduction of the pattern, I said I was inspired by the David Jones logo, always known by me as DJ's. Swap those two letters around, and you get J.D! Coincidentally, J.D is also the name of the main character of my favorite television show, Scrubs!

Happy New Year & New Years Resolutions

2008-01-01T17:08:00.000+10:30

I'd just like to wish everyone passing by my blog a very Happy New Year and hope they have a excellent year to come

And my two knitting resolutions:

One was to redesign my blog, and if you have visited my little site before, you can see that I have been making a few changes already. It's something I have been cooking up these school holidays and it's taught me so much!

Secondly, I am also going to try and knit more of my own designs. I have a sketchbook full of potential deisgns waiting patiently to turn into finished garments.

What are your New Years Resolutions?

Etsy!

2007-12-27T17:41:00.000+10:30

I only just recently discovered Etsy; the wonder sweeping the D.I.Y. world. Unfortunately, I now spend an illegal amount of time browsing the numerous sellers wares. It is like a giant, colourful, online, craft market and I love that.

I was lucky enough to recieve some beautiful handmade copper earrings from my brothers. They are from susanmariedesigns.

It's got me longing to open a store of my own!

Christmas Day

2007-12-26T20:33:00.000+10:30

I hope you had an excellent Christmas. I sure did. An excellent day was had for all. Lots of laughter, food and presents.

Totally and utterly spolit.

last-minute problems

2007-12-19T09:30:00.001+10:30

Hi all, and thank you for all your lovely comments left about my two new sweaters. It always really nice to when someone leaves a friendly comment!

I am running into some technical difficulties with my Tilted Duster. Firstly, I was knitting away and I thought I was simply speeding along. I had already finished the back, fronts and sleeves and believed that I'd get it done last weekend. Oh how wrong I was; the skirt took me forever. I only just finished it 5 minutes ago actually.

Secondly, I somehow messed up my calculations for the amount of yarn I needed (yardage to meter conversions I suspect!) and the skirt ended up being a little shorter than written. Hopefully I have got a small amount leftover from the sleeves under my bed somewhere.

I am trying not to stress too much because I don't think that knitting would be as quite as exciting without all the drama that comes with it.

Oh well. At least the buttons are pretty.

UPDATE! I completed the Tilted Duster today because I found some leftover yarn! hooray! I will write an FO post when I give my mum her present on Christmas Day.

Thermal

2007-12-10T11:42:00.000+10:30

Without futher ado, I give you Thermal!

Thermal by Laura Chau from Knitty Winter 06
16 balls of Merino Bambino in Off-white (on sale for 99¢ a ball!!)
Ravelry link to my version

I love this sweater so much! it's so light, warm and soft! It took me quite a long time to knit, but folks, it was totally worth it. I have had numerous people ask me I have knit it myself or I bought it. I really like this pattern in white and I know that it will go with everything I wear.

Boatneck sweater

2007-12-05T16:17:00.000+10:30

Pattern: Boatneck sweater by Shiri Mor. My version on Ravlery

Yarn: TLC CaraMia

I did not modify this sweater apart from applying a different gauge (18 sts to 4" instead of 16 sts to 4 ") and knitting the sleeves in the round.

This sweater really didn't take much time to knit and took less than three weeks of regular knitting. The finished sweater is very plain and simple but is so comfortable! The yarn is so soft and squooshy so I wish I had more to use! I know of some people who would go mad knitting this as the whole sweater is stockinette stitch, but I found it really nice to sit down and knit mindlessly in front of the television after busy days.

This sweater is certainly not fitted and is quite roomy especially the sleeves and armholes. If you are thinking about knitting this sweater be warned that on the schematics it seems as though there is 0 inches ease around the bust in the body section. In reality, the raglan seams of this sweater come down past your bust so you are given a little extra room. The styling of this sweater is a wide boatneck so on me it slides down on one side naturally which I think it is designed to do. The sleeves are also shorter in length to accomodate this and the large raglan armholes. It is a nice realxed casual sweater.

I apologise for the terrible photos! Lack of sun combined with my trusty camera phone did not produce very good images. Hopefully this Christmas I will be upgrading!

Christmas Knitting

2007-11-30T16:27:00.000+10:30

As the school term finally draws to an end this Friday, I decided to get underway with my plans for some knitted gifts for family and friends. As it is summer in Australia this time of year, I find it difficult to come up with knitted gifts because are they are generally for cold weather, although where I live, it doesn't hurt to have a couple of extra scarves.

So far, I am planning to knit 2 Elisa's nest totes and a Tilted Duster from Interweave Fall 07. Being the super organized person I am (not really), I have already bought the yarn:

Some more Moda Vera Bamboo/cotton for the string totes.

My progress on the Tilted duster. The back has been completed. I am knitting with 12ply Rustic in a steely blue/grey called Delta from the Bendigo Woollen Mills.

What are your plans for knitted gifts this year?

Back with a FO

2007-11-20T13:51:00.000+10:30

I haven't been posting as regularly as I would like recently so to make up for lack of posts, I have a new finished project to show:

Pattern: Elisa's Nest Tote

Yarn: 2 balls Moda Vera Bamboo/cotton

Overall I am pretty pleased with the end result. It's not perfect but unbelievably practical. The yarn choice probably wasn't the best idea I have ever had. It nearly drove me mad while I knit with it. Bamboo/Cotton is made up of no less than 18 (!) different plies it was very splitty, although the finished fabric is really silky soft and lovely. I have found the perfect pattern for quick summer Christmas presents!

Catching Up: Magazines and Progress Shots

2007-11-09T17:32:00.000+10:30

I know, Its been a while since I've posted. My excuse is school and a very badly timed flu.
What have i been up to apart from the end-of-year homework rush you may ask?
Good question, not much.
Well, not anything that I can show you at the moment anyway ;)
I have, however, bought some new knitting magazines as of late; Knit.1 fall 07 and Vogue Knitting Holiday 07. I have already started a project from knit.1:

I have completed the back and am up to the armhole bind-offs and I have been working on this for only a week! Although, it is pretty much mindless and I can watch a movie and knit at the same time :) The yarn, TLC CaraMia (yep acrylic but awesome amazing yarn) has been sitting in my yarn crate for quite a while. It's so squooshy and soft. My vision of the completed product is a sweater that I can put on that looks good and comfy.

Here are my favourites from the magazines:

Cropped cardi from Knit.1 (is that FUN FUR she is knitting with??)

Sparkle Tank from Vogue

Fair-isle sweater from Vogue

Thats all for now! Bye! (And yes, I know I still need to take a FO shot of Thermal)

Spoils of the U.S and A!

2007-10-25T20:31:00.000+09:30

My mum recently got back from a holiday overseas and guess what she bought me! Yarn!

I received some True Love Fiber Merino and Tencel sock yarn (destined to become some pretty vintage gloves cos it's too pretty to be worn on my feet!):

Some Wisdom Yarns sock yarn:

And who can go to America without getting some Knit Picks?

It's Shine Sport in Cream and Cloud. I bought it to make this (ravelry link, sorry if you are not on) little summer top from Vogue Knitting. I am still waiting on two more colours: blush and aquamarine.

Baudelaire socks and show sucess!

2007-10-20T08:59:00.000+09:30

I finished my first and probably only pair of socks for socktoberfest: Baudelaire!

Baudelaire by Cookie. A

4 balls of Cleckheaton Merino Bambino

Size medium with high instep

I really like these socks and the pattern is really great because it has included the normal sizes and also options for making socks for higher insteps. My favorite thing about these socks are the lacy pattern and the nifty way cookie increased 8 stitches in one row by hiding them as a cable. At the moment I am wearing them with my new Mary-Jane Slippers! The obligatory photo of them on my feet:

As for the show: In the open sections I got a 2nd place for Thermal and a 1st placing for these Baudelaire socks. In Junior, I received a 3rd place for my Chevron Scarf , a 2nd place for my Sweet Georgia handspun and a 1st for my Mary-Jane slippers (I won 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the junior division but I am not sure if I won just because no one else entered :-s ) I am pretty happy!

Back into routine

2007-10-17T16:11:00.000+09:30

This week marked the start of the new school term and, quite frankly, I was more than happy to welcome some sense of rountine back into my life. Tomorrow it is the Mount Gambier show and I sent in all of my entries on Tuesday night. I was a bit worried that i wouldn't have my Baudelaire socks completed in time but I i finished them the night before!

Remember the lovely Sweet Georgia BFL roving I got? Well here she is all spun up!:

There was 100g in the braid and I spun it into two 2 ply 50g skeins. (for some reason my bobbins only fit 50g of singles. They don't seem to wind on very firmly??). I was aiming for a DK weight and I think I did a pretty good job maintaining the thickness. I's long draw spun and is so very soft!

Since I have no other huge projects on my needles, and becasue my dad was so happy with Jamesey, I decided I was going to knit him another jumper (we have a deal going on; if i knit him one he needs to get rid of one of his very out-dated jumpers) With some guidance and suggestions we decided on Cobblestone from Interweave Knits Fall 07 issue. With some further guidance and sample card from Bendigo Woollen Mills, I bought 3 balls of Rustic in the Russet colour. I really like the colour!

Mary Jane Slippers

2007-10-11T10:42:00.000+09:30

Here is a project that I hadn't got around to showing you all:

Cozy-Toe slippers from Funky Knits

7 balls of Twilleys Freedom Wool - double stranded

12mm needles

These slippers are my first felting project and I am surprised at how thick the knitting became. It took quite a few runs through the washer to get these to my size but the finished result are very thick and warm! The only thing I would change is that there is a seam running down the sole of the slipper and it gets a little annoying. Next time I'll use a provisional cast-on and graft the two sides together. But for now, I hope it flattens over time.

I have finished Baudelaire sock #1! I got an awkward shot of it on my foot with my new slippers. Hopefully I get #2 done in time for the Mount Gambier show!

Spoiled

2007-10-05T16:49:00.000+09:30

I am happy because I have some new yarn :)

Claudine ran out of the yarn I used for Jamesey so I offered to send her the remaining balls I had sitting in my stash. Generously, she sent me some Noro Kureyon in the beautiful bright colourway 154. I am sure I want to try out entrelac using this yarn. Maybe an entrelac bag?

Everything inside Claudine's package was so cute and colourful. she also included the bright buttons in the picture below. Thanks so much! Another package came for me this week. The long awaited buttons for my Twinkle Hoodie!

Does the background fabric look familiar? It's my thermal which is completed; Buttons and all! I'll show you a shot of it on the table: Will have a full FO report soon!

Finally, To feed my recent fibre hunger I won some Sweet Georgia (!) roving on eBay from Alison, who by complete coincidence just happened to live in Mount Gambier too! Isn't it amazing how the Internet connects people who you wouldn't meet otherwise?

Handspun, Buttons and Socktoberfest!

2007-09-30T16:17:00.000+09:30

This week has been super busy as I have been performing in my schools musical Disco Inferno (see original post here). We had five performances spread over three days and it was an absolute blast! Man, I love performing!

Winding down after the busy week (and the after party that ended at 2!) I sat down and did some spinning. Here is my first handspun! I am so proud of myself!

Fiber: Handyed English Lecister from here

Sport weight, 154 grams

Who doesn't love cute button pictures? Here are some buttons I have been buying lately. Click here to find out what I will be using them for.

And finally, It's socktoberfest! My first project is Baudelaire my Cookie. A. Once again, I am using Cleckheaton Merino Bambino.

Her Name is Lola

2007-09-17T18:34:00.000+09:30

No, not the showgirl, my new (borrowed) spinning wheel. I believe Lola (yes, I have named her, ahem) is a single treadle Castle/traveller style spinning wheel but I am unsure of the maker as there are no markings or stickers. Miss Millie wanted to join in on the photos. I have ordered some English Leicester fleece from here which I am hoping will be easy for me to spin as this type of fleece has a long staple. Wish me luck!

P.S: This is my 50th blog post! hurrah!

Jaywalker socks

2007-09-15T13:24:00.000+09:30

Pattern : Jaywalker by Grumperina for Magknits

Yarn: 4 balls of Merino Bambino that I dyed myself

Ravelry link here

I am so pleased with these socks! so pleased in fact, that i am entering them into the Mount Gambier show. I am really surprised that the yarn striped as well as it did. I would like to do some more yarn dyeing in the holidays perhaps, but this time I think I might use acid dyes.

I haven't mentioned it yet, but I am on ravelry! I have been for months now. I just haven't got around to telling. If you would like to 'friend me' my username is beckydee.

oh, and I have been buying lots of buttons.............

Knit.1 Fall preview

2007-09-06T18:59:00.000+09:30

After a what I thought was a rather boring Fall Vogue Knitting, seeing the preview projects for the knit.1 magazine was quite surprising. This looks like a rather promising issue and there are a few knits I know that I will be knitting.

I Absolutey love this unique little cardigan/pulloover. I can see myself knitting this one as soon as the magazine comes out

This ribbed cardigan has really cute details. love the toggle button closures.

This coat has potential. I would prefer the pleats to be under the bust. Reminds me of the Stella McCartney sweater coat

I really like this top too! Would be nice over another 3/4 sleeve plain top. All these are only the preview. I can't wait for this issue! It will be out on 11th of September.

I'm getting published!

2007-08-27T14:51:00.000+09:30

Yep! Thats right! I am proud as punch to say that one of my first designs will be avaliable to you in the December issue of Magknits. I am really happy! No hints yet, You'll have to wait!

Too little time

2007-08-24T15:19:00.000+09:30

The past few days in Mount Gambier have been beautiful and warm. You can definitely feel that spring is in the air. I wonder if winter will get it's revenge and come and bite us on the bum?
Probably.
It's Mount Gambier.

It seems strange that winter is coming to close already! I have only realised how many more sweaters and dresses I would like to knit and wear before the season is through. Now that it is coming into autumn in America all the magazines have shown fabulous new designs to tempt me!

Here are some patterns I am loving at the moment:

These three aren't new fall designs. They are from Rowan studio issue 1. The best part is that they can be sent to you via email though knitrowan.com so no more expensive international shipping costs! Picture number 1 is the design I have chosen for all that pink mohair featured in my previous post. The yarn they used is kidsilk haze, doubled, so I am confident it should work out. Although, I am pretty sure the colour has to go. I'll look like a giant stick of fairy floss.

Here is a Phildar design which has been on my to-do list for a number of months now. I love the slouchy grandpa cardigan look it has.

Attack of the Pink Fluffy Mohair

2007-08-16T08:38:00.001+09:30

I am swimming in pink knitting and yarn! have a look:

A whole three bags (30 balls!) of cleckheaton mohair 12 ply gifted to me by a friend who had another friend who was moving house and didn't want it anymore. Long live free yarn!

Remember this? Well it's been frogged. I decided after sitting in my drawer for two months without a single outing, it was time to turn it into something new. A teaser shot, can you guess what it is??

remember this experiment with jelly dyeing?? Well it's knitting up really well! I am so pleased with the colours and the stripes! The sock is a little known pattern called Jaywalker. I doubt you've heard of it ;).

I'm a RGB

2007-08-08T14:06:00.000+09:30

Im a Rockin' Girl Blogger! Thanks to mel for nominating me and leaving such a nice comment! Here are my favourite knit bloggers that I have nominated and why I like them:

Ysolda- I love her designs and sense of style. You can really see it shine through all of the things she makes. Ysolda inspired me to start designing my own patterns.

Luxe Loops - I like the projects she is knitting and her FO's turn out fabulous.

Knit Creations of a Curious Mind - I love how she posts knitwear featured on the runways. her blog is always a source of inspiration!

Joystitch Knits - I love the projects she makes for her gorgeous little boy! Her sewing and dying skills are great too!

Reunasilmukka - She makes beautiful sophisticated but simple knits. Go check out her 'Martha' cardigan! It looks amazing and luxurious.

Jamesey

2007-08-05T10:35:00.000+09:30

Pattern: Jamesey by Mary Neal-Meador
Yarn: Moda Vera Merinos Fine 100% (14 balls)

This jumper turned out really great! Doesn't Dad look pleased? Although it is about three weeks late, I still thought it was quite a achievement to turn out a man-sized sweater in the amount of time I had. This simple sweater has drop-shoulder construction and no shaping so I was able to knit almost mindlessly in the round following the rib pattern. It looks really great and flattering on Dad and I am really pleased that he likes it!

Charade socks

2007-08-03T17:00:00.000+09:30

Pattern: Charade by Sandra Park

1 skein Lorna's Laces sock in Navy

I finished these socks last night and I decided to wear them to sleep. They were really comfy but I woke to find them covered in pills form my flannelette sheets! I've just realised that these are the first socks I have ever made for myself because I have only ever knitted socks for others. I like the herringbone stripe pattern over them. More finished objects coming soon!

A Productive Holiday

2007-07-21T14:02:00.000+09:30

School starts again next week and I am looking forward to it because the musical starts! yay! I have gone shopping a lot this week and have picked up quite a few goodies as well as doing some sewing and completing a (small) project.

I have (another) magazine: Knit.1 Summer which has a couple of 'omg must knit these' projects in it like this:
A finished beret for my friend Mad who had been waiting a while for it due to my Dad's jumper commitments. She really likes it which is great!

Also, Vogue Knitting has their huge 200 page 25th anniversary magazine preview up which has quite a few really nice patterns for free from well known designers like Kaffe Fasset and Debbie Bliss. Go check it out.

Hello Stranger.

2007-07-14T11:48:00.000+09:30

The time that has passed since I have last posted have been packed full of great experiences. My week in Adelaide was fabulous! I learnt a lot and got a fair direction of what I should do if I choose to be an interior designer. I visited many shops and places including 'Studio Barcelona' a place to buy designer furniture where i discovered the 'Charles Eames' chair and the 'Barcelona' chair which i had never heard of before. I visited other shops which sell handles, glass and tiles. And of course, I had to visit Ikea. They had updated the fabrics and had some great sales on so I stocked up. This fabric was super cheap! The green one on the left is actually a huge print of clover in different colours

Perhaps a scrapbooking page is in order?

Last friday, I was lucky enough to go to Cirque du Soleil which were performing 'Varekai'. It was magnificent(!) and I reccomend you go if you are in Adelaide.

Also, My Dad's birthday has come and gone and unfortunately I didn't get his sweater done in time. I managed to get the whole of the body completed and seamed up so at least he could try it on after he had un-wrapped it.

When I Grow Up

2007-06-27T15:05:00.000+09:30

Tomorrow I am jumping on a plane and going to Adelaide for my work experience with an architect and an interior designer. Hurrah! I'll be there for a week and I hope to learn heaps and see if this career (interior design especially) is the way I'll be heading in life. If I have access to a computer I'll post throughout the week but if not, I'll post when I get back!

Knitting Against The Clock

2007-06-21T16:33:00.000+09:30

In less than a month, It is my Dad's 50th Birthday and seeing that he liked the socks that i knit him so much, I have decided to make him a sweater. The only issue is time. There isn't a whole lot of it to get cracking. So, from now on, until the 12th of July, I only will be knitting Dad's jumper and nothing else. It's gonna be difficult to keep focus because I just got some amazingly awesome phildar patterns.

I have decided upon Jamesey from Knitty for a number of reasons: A, It's not cabled; B, I think Dad will actually wear it and C, It's free. Pattern in hand, I ran down to spolight to pick up some yarn. The colour that I originally wanted (teal-y dark blue) had not enough stock so I settled on Merinos Fine 100%, a very dark brown italian dk merino, which feels as though it is excellent quality.

Birthday Time!

2007-06-13T16:55:00.000+09:30

This long-weekend was the Queen's 'birthday' and also mine! I had a lovely day with my family and the food was great. I was utterly spoiled and received some pretty and useful knitterly and non-knitterly gifts. Thank You to my Mum, Dad, Nan, Pa, R, K and Perri for making my birthday such a special day!

Every year one of the highlights are my brothers cards. They are very funny and generally they pay out my love of knitting or my ebay habit. This years was no different and is certainly worth some blog space. He writes:

"It's official!

This is your only material possession which doesn't come from a sheep! This isn't a bad thing; in the last 18 months the amount of jobs available to sheep shearers has rose by 38.3% due to the wool demand. Either a sick minded individual is giving sheep chemotherapy or you have more wool in your cupboard than I think! Have a great day and enjoy it because tomorrow everything's back to normal! From R."

Exam week is over! So have a great weekend!

Burn, Baby Burn

2007-06-03T12:41:00.000+09:30

It's musical year again at my school and auditions were held last week for 'Disco Inferno' which is set in the mid-1970's. This year I was casted as a back-up singer and 'voice coach'. I am not quite sure what being a voice coach involves but I get to make up all the harmonies all three back-up singers, including myself. I am very excited!

Knitting has been going slowly due to the sudden influx of due dates and exams. At the moment knitting has been my stress release time more than anything. Thermal is making some progress still and I am quite excited about the finished product:

I also jelly-dyed some more merino bambino. I followed Eunny's tutorial for making self-striping yarn. I am not sure how 'self-striping' it's going to be but it will have some nice colour graduations. The pink is raspberry jelly, the dark pink is port wine jelly and the yellow is the original colour of the yarn. I am very pleased with how it turned out.

And now for something completely different....

2007-05-25T09:01:00.000+09:30

I've been tagged by The Knitting Librarian! I am supposed to give seven random facts about myself and then tag seven other people by leaving a comment on their blog. here it goes:

I have been suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for just over two years. Hence the name, The Sleepy Knitter. Things are starting to look a bit brighter health wise, but It will take some time still for me to recover.
I am fourteen years old! My birthday is on the Queen's birthday!
I have a cat, Miss Millie, a rabbit, Shelby, and two guinea pigs, Tiny and Fatso.
Both my parents are music teachers.
I hate spiders. One time, in primary school (year 4) I was in the gym with my class and we were getting ready for a race. I had my leg out in a lunge getting ready to go. Ready...set....go! Then suddenly i felt something on my leg and I looked down to see a HUGE huntsman there. I screamed and started jumping in a circle. Jacob, a boy in my class, got it off my leg. Thank you Jacob, I owe you big time. Apparently, the huntsman fell off the 20 meter roof and onto my leg. Whats the odds of that?

Well there you are. not quite seven but that last one counts for at least two

Now for an update on Thermal; which is taking it's sweet, sweet time:

In which the author is a hypocrite

2007-05-19T16:52:00.000+09:30

It has been perfect knitting weather here in Mount Gambier, it's been raining, cold and stormy. This promted me to get going on my thermal which I think I am going to need pretty soon. On the craftster forums there has been alot of dicussion about how much the finished piece grows in length. Since I am using merino yarn instead of a silk/merino yarn I was pretty sure my finished sweater wasn't going to grow 2 inches. To work out just how much (ala Grumperina), I decided to investigate because I needed to know so I could sleep at night. Ahem.

I threaded through 2 yarn markers 2 inches apart
I blocked it and then I measured it again.

Dada! This means that my sweater will grow about an inch. So, If I knit 13 inches total my after blocking, It should be 14 inches long. Perfect!

This proves that you do have power over how your finished sweater looks and just proves even more that you should wash your swatches, something that I probably should do.

Completed at last!

2007-05-08T10:57:00.002+09:30

Yarn: Twinkle Soft Chunky, Peach
Needles: Denise 15mm and 12mm
Mods: Made the cardigan seamless and I also used shortrow shaping on the neckline instead of binding-off and picking up the stitches for the collar.

Well, Here it is at last! My Best Friend Cardigan! Overall I am very happy with the end result. Surprisingly, it isn't really puffy when you put it on. It's kind of slinky and very very soft. I am not sure how practical it will be, but i guess I have other cardigans for that job. It looks great over a my dark blue winter knit dress, tights and grey ballet flat shoes!

Progress of Thermal; Getting there slowly.

Opposites Do Attract

2007-05-01T08:47:00.000+09:30

The extra skein of Twinkle Soft Chunky was received today so my Best Friend Cardigan should be finished very soon. The Thermal Sweater I just started is coming along slowly but surely and I am enjoying knitting the waffle stitch. This picture got me thinking; how cool would Thermal look with a peach-coloured Twinkle-inspired beret from my leftover Soft Chunky?

Out With The Old :: In With The New

2007-04-27T22:04:00.000+09:30

Out: Halter Dress from Vogue Knitting Holiday 06:

As much as I love the design of this pattern my silly decision of a yarn choice managed to end this project prematurely. The CaraMia yarn was to drapey for the pattern and with the weight of all the knitting my dress sagged and as a result my gauge was scarily/crazily off. I might tackle this guy again sometime with a more suitable wool yarn.

In: Thermal From Knitty Winter 06:

The too-good-too-be-true price of Merino Bambino at my spotlight store prompted me start this sweater. I really like the design and the the low scoop neck so you can wear a matching (or contrasting) singlet underneath. It might take some time to get used to going back and forth from 15mm needles (for my twinkle) to 3mm needles, but I am assured all the time is well worth it! wish me luck!

Lotsa socks

2007-04-22T12:26:00.000+09:30

When I agreed to knit my Nan and Pa some socks as long as they bought the yarn, I don't really think I knew what i was getting myself into. Observe:

Nan and Pa got very excited as you can see and bought home no less than enough yarn to make several pairs of socks. I really do love knitting for my grandparents (or parents, family and friends for that matter) I love the look on their face when they see a completed object and when the try it on and wear it proudly for the first time. Nothing beats that.

Here is "Skinny Thuja" based on the stitch pattern of Thuja (Which has saved me many times) only in a smaller gauge.

Things are peachy

2007-04-18T11:33:00.000+09:30

Whoopie! My Twinkle Handknits Soft Chunky yarn is finally here! the colour is peach #15
I couldn't resist:

Best Friend Cardigan, here i come!

More Twinkle

2007-04-13T10:22:00.000+09:30

My Twiggy tunic's gorgeous rosebud vine and cable pattern:

Thanks to some encouraging people I gave in and bought enough Twinkle Handknits Soft Chunky to make this cutie:

The correct answer gets a gold star and if you guess the colour you are physic ;)(there are 27 of them!)

I have a feeling you will be seeing a lot of knitted socks in posts to come.

Happy Easter!

2007-04-09T11:00:00.000+09:30

Starting and Finishing

2007-04-02T17:33:00.000+09:30

Since my last post I have finished my caliometry headband:

An felted ipod nano sock for a friend:

Started a Twiggy tunic out of the deep purple freedom wool I bought:

And have recieved some fabulous new yarn!

Rowan Polar (discontinued) in a pinky-purplish colour 'Frizzle' which I was planning to use as a sub for Twinkle soft chunky, but alas, it doesn't work! *I give up* trying to find a good sub I think i will just splurge and buy the reccomended yarn! I mean, If wenlan Chia uses it for all her designs it must be alright?

'In Between' knitting

2007-03-31T14:18:00.000+09:30

I have been knitting mainly small objects for myself and friends this week using up yarn from my embarrassingly small stash. This realisation prompted me to buy more yarn from trusty Spotlight and my LYS who are having a 40% off sale!! Generally, I don't bother with my LYS because I don't think the owner is very friendly. But a 40% off sale is too much too resist! I only bought a few balls of yarn because I only had like 15 dollars to spend, but I thought i did considerably well for how much I acutally bought. I will be going back on thursday when i have some more money!

Twilleys freedom Wool. $3.60 a skien (!) in a deep purple colour Planning to make the flying gloves from twinkles big city knits

Cleckheaton Merino Bambino in Red. $0.99 each! Planning to make Baudelaire socks By Cookie A from Knitty

Cheap Spotlight brand wool blend yarn
Planning to make a caliormetry headband from Knitty

After project slump

2007-03-26T16:48:00.000+09:30

Not much knitting had been going on since i have finished my Lace Panel Sweater. It is not as though i haven't wanted to knit, I just don't have anything to knit. Even my trusty stash hasn't been able to give me much creative inspiration.

Speaking of inspiration, My new Twinkle book came last week and i have been drooling over this gorgeous book ever since. It is very very nice looking, is well laid out and planned and the photography is really really nice. I love just about all of the designs in it and I would love to knit them all! Even my Nan was getting into it! I would have got my needles stuck into the patterns by now if it weren't for the fact that i have no yarn and no needles. I have had to buy more needles becuase i don't just happen to have a spair set of 15mm and 12mm circular needles sitting around.

Really, I have just been searching for subsitiutes for the yarn the whole book asks for, Twinkle soft chunky. A super bulky yarn which costs 20 bucks a hank! Argh! Saying that, I would still like to get 2 balls and make something small.

More Twinkle for your inspiration:

FO: Lace panel sweater!

2007-03-20T19:46:00.000+10:30

Pattern: Lace panel sweater from Jo sharp Knit issue 2
Yarn: Rowan all seasons cotton melange, Cookie.
Needles: Denise 4mm & 3.75mm
Mods: None
Things learnt: How to seam properly

I really like this sweater! I found it to be quite simple and I thought the pattern was very well written and easy to understand. ASC is one of my new favorites! It is very soft and was much more enjoyable to knit with than other cotton blends I have used. I would definitely recommend it. I think this sweater ended up being a little too large but it is still wearable, just a little roomier than i would have preferred. Don't you just love my seaming!? I thought i did a really great job. It was very exciting watching it all come together!

See that pink tube in the corner? That's my new needle tube from Dimmeys! It's super cute! It has hello kitty on it and it is the perfect size for my needles. It originally held marshmallows but that wasn't too much of a problem ;)

I love Twinkle

2007-03-13T21:52:00.000+10:30

For a while now I have been craving knitting books. Big hardcover knitting books with pretty pictures and glossy paper. I really want to perfect my knitting skills and sink my teeth into a challenge. My mental list included Nancie Wiseman's The Knitters Book of Finishing Techniques, Teva Durham's innovative Loop-d-loop and most recently Eunny Jang's upcoming book. I was about to order Loop-d-Loop when I stumbled upon Twinkle's Big City Knits by Designer Wenlan Chia, and my god, I totally love the designs. Wenlan Chia is the designer of Twinkle whose designs regularly feature chunky knits. In this book, she has given us the patterns for her most popular knits straight off the runway. Have a sample:

Oh, By the way, I ordered this book from Amazon! Progress is coming along quickly regarding my Lace panel sweater. I am halfway through the second sleeve currently and after that is finished all I have to do is the seaming.

When the tough gets going.....Knit!

2007-03-03T15:37:00.000+10:30

This week hasn't been the best. I caught the flu and have been feeling lousy. Lucky I know exactly what to do in this situation. Armed with the best hoodie ever, new yarn, and awsome sweater pattern and some pointy sticks i managed to pull myself through the week. Geez, I love knitting.

I have finished the back and nearly finished one of the sleeves. I am surprised how quick it is coming along. This is probably because when I was sick i sat in bed all day and knit. The lace pattern is quite easy to memorise and moves along very nicely. Sorry about the grainy pictures, there wasn't much light today.

The back before blocking: It looks huge. I hope it fits me! If it doesn't my mum has assured me that she will recieve it from me gladly, which is nice to know in a funny sort of way.

New yarn!

2007-02-27T18:24:00.000+10:30

I got some new yarn! All seasons cotton melange 'Cookie' from the Cucumberpatch

It is a gorgeous color! The pictures on my monitor are pretty accurate.

I started swatching. It took me 4 swatches to get the right gauge! I am on gauge on 4mm needles instead of the 5mm needles it suggests! I am used to going down a needle size to accomodate my loose knitting.

Thanks for the comments for my last post! Austy's mum, I dyed my yarn in small icecream containers.

finishing is looming.....

2007-02-22T16:41:00.000+10:30

My dress is coming along well. I actually finished the body/jumper part of it but then decided that it wasn't meant to be really fitted so then i frogged my cast off edge and knit another gore. I have nearly finished!

I really want to do a good job with the finishing and take my time so it looks neat. I had the idea that instead of seaming the sides of the dress together like the pattern suggests, i wont cast off and I will unpick the cast on edge on the other side and graft them together. like a 'after thought' seam. Pretty cool idea hey?

Oh, i ordered Rowan's All Seasons Cotton in 'Cookie' from cucmberpatch UK for this:

Pretty hey? It is out of a book i bought recently 'Knit #2' by Jo Sharp.

I will post pics of yarn when it gets here.

Happy Valentines Day!

2007-02-14T12:25:00.000+10:30

First FO of the year finally.

2007-02-09T10:31:00.000+10:30

Pattern: VK holiday 06
Yarn: Corriedale pencil roving 'chocolate' from theknittery.com.au
Needles: Denise 9mm
Modifications: Reduced no of sts at the start and followed pattern of shaping

I love this hat! I frogged it once at the start when i realised that the hat was going to be too big even though it is a 'bulky' beret. I just reduced the no of cast-on from 4o to 36 and then just followed the pattern of the shaping. easy. The pattern stitch was nice. a 2 stitch cable pattern. Even though the wool was humungo I still had to take my time to make sure i didn't snag the loosley spun yarn with my rather sharp denise.

More jelly dyeing and yarn buying

2007-02-05T14:39:00.000+10:30

I bought some new yarn! theis pencil roving has been specially dyed for me in 'chocolate' by the knittery.

I am going to make this (the hat) with it:

After the recent success of my jelly dyeing i thought i'd have another shot but this time using 2 differnt colours; lime and strawberry flavoured jelly. I found 4 balls of white cygnet 'wool rich' sock yarn . I am very pleased with how this experiment turned out!

Just out of the microwave:

Soaking ................

dry.........

eh viola! I love this yarn! cant wait to knit some socks out of it!

dyeing yarn with jelly?!

2007-02-02T13:19:00.000+10:30

Yup. and it works quite well actually and quite fun! I guess it is the Australian version of
Kool-aid yarn dyeing. Here are the materials i started with some jelly crystals (note: you don't have to use jelly lite, It was the only one that i had in the cupboard) and the yarn is just a one from my stash. I wound my ball of yarn into a circle using my swift them submerged it in a sink of warm water with a little bit of soap. I them emptied the packet of jelly crystals into a small ice cream container and filled the container with boiling water. I then put in my damp yarn. I zapped it for 4 minutes and hey presto! some cool yarn!

After it had cool i just rinsed it and hung it out to dry and then rewound it. easy as pie.

I might make the headband calorimetry in the latest knitty.

Look what i got!

2007-01-30T10:42:00.000+10:30

This is my new denise set that i said that i was recieving a while ago. There was a little problem with the postage but it is here now and i really like working with it! I think it is really awesome! and it's pink.......

growing....

2007-01-27T13:11:00.000+10:30

My dress is growing. It is getting quite big as you can see. i have 2 slip stitch gores to go and then i am done.... not really still have quite a bit to do (e.g seaming, hemming, blocking, attatching the strap) with it but the big part will be done!

The first globe zucchini off my vine. It grew really quick! It only took a week.

School goes back on monday (groan) THe holidays have gone really quick as always. I have some really good teachers this year so i am hoping for a better year than last year!

Becky, professional bargain hunter goes to spotlight

2007-01-20T12:05:00.000+10:30

About a month ago I got VK holiday 2006 and loved this dress:
So, Naturally I went searhcing for a substitute yarn seeing that most of the yarn displayed in VK is either WAY too expensive or it isn't availiable. It asks for 1600 meters, which is quite a bit. I searched everywhere for a cheap sub yarn. Even Cascade 220 was out of my budget range ($80 @ $10 each). I suddenly remembered I bought a couple of bags of this really soft yarn at spotlight a couple of months ago, it was only $5 and had 200 meters to the ball! yay! I had some leftover in my stash and swatched a couple and they came up really nice. When I get to spotlight, this yarn was selling for $1 a ball!!!!! bigger yay! I present to you TLC CaraMia:

This stuff is fab! Soft, cheap,long, and really nice to knit with! I couldn't believe my luck. The angora makes this yarn. there is just enough in there to make it sooo soft and warm and to not look too cheap. The colour i used here is Cranberry. I ended up buying 8 packs :) :O

here is my dress after i got back from melbourne. as you can see it is coming along quite quickly. It is very uniquie in the way it is knitted together. It is knit horizontally and then you work a section of 100 stitches binding off every second row for one 'gore'. I think i will like this dress.

This is Brocade stitch which is used for most of the bodice:

This is garter stitch stripe which is used for the 'gores'

2007-01-18T21:24:00.000+10:30

adopt your own virtual pet!

Becky makes a yarn swift!

2007-01-18T17:01:00.000+10:30

Look! isn't it pretty? I made it these holidays with help from my dad. I works quite well and I am very happy with the finished product. And It was cheap! only cost $11 for the wood (Miranti) and all the parts! here are some cool pictures!:

Look at it go!

Holding a nice skein of cashmere...........

I am back!

2007-01-01T22:46:00.000+10:30

On Saturday I got back from my holiday in Port pirie and Adelaide. My Mum, my two brothers and I went and visited our relatives there. The cool part is that we got to meet for the first time my 2nd or 3rd cousin, Anne, who flew from Holland with her boyfriend Peter. They were both very friendly and thier english was very good! well, they had been learning for half of thier lives. I hope that I will be able to go and travel in the near future.

Seeing that this blog is predominately a knitting/craft blog I may as well start talking about my Om's sewing/yarn/craft etc etc room. A whole room filled with stuff. Some of her stuff is really cool and unique because it is from Holland. Oma also has a spinning wheel! I desparately want to learn how to spin......but when I asked Oma if she could teach me she said that she had forgotten :( Ahhhh well. I have a artist friend who is willing to let me borrow her mum's for a while. All I need to do now is to teach myself. from Oma's stash i stumbled apon a cross stitch pattern by sara moon. I used to be into cross stitch but I kind of fell into knitting. But i gave in and 55 dollars latern I am cross stitching. I forgot how relaxing needlework is. It is coming on very fast which surprised me seeing the pattern asked for linen which looked difficult and fiddly. I wasn't sure If i should buy the linen or cop out and just buy some 18-count aida. But I bought the linen and it is actually quite easy. Will post back tomorrow with some pictures of lotsa stuff including Oma's peacocks and her really even singles and my cross stitch

The holidays are truly here!

2006-12-14T20:15:00.000+10:30

Today I finished my school year! I am very glad and relieved. I need to go into school tomorrow and collect my report and clear out my locker. It will be interesting to see how many days I have missed this term! 20 is my record so far lol. Here is one of dad's socks. They are coming on nicely. I have tomorrow, saturday and sunday to finished the pair. I hope i get them done!
I will be going away on the 22nd and getting back just before the new year. might get another post in before then in between my frantic sock knitting.

The sleepy sleepy sleepy.....yawn knitter

2006-12-12T13:44:00.000+10:30

The sleepy knitter has been extremely sleepy the last couple of days. and I mean REALLY sleepy. BUT! even though she is feeling crap she bought herself some new yarn and now her spirits are lifted a little for now.

These two are from www.coloredjules.com.au and they are very soft and have a lot of loft. My parcel came very quick aswell only took 2 days! Yes, i know the red and yellow one is a bit bright but little bro likes things that way. The blue is lovely. The best part is they only cost 10.00 a hank for 100g. Bargain! These are going to become socks as a chrismas present for little bro no.2 and my dad. I should get them done in time. they are 8ply after all.

OOOOhh. My other bro fed one of my knitting needles to the cat on the weekend and now the tip has huge great bite marks on it. Mum says that he has to by me some new ones ;) yay! I think i will get some dpn's cos i need those most.

It's a hot day.

2006-12-09T16:28:00.000+10:30

WOW today was really hot! It was 40 degrees and it's only going to be 26 tomorrow, which is rather odd. I made some stitch markers today. When I needed to bake them i put just put them outside on a baking tray and they went rock hard. A good way to save energy! They are in the shape of a bagel and have 'cream cheese' on them. They also have a swarovski crystal on each. How cute are they? They are for sale on ebay. find them here

I have been knitting my summer top in summer tweed still. I have done everything I can without having to use a circular needle. I hope my denise set comes quick! I also ordered some handdyed yarn to knit some socks for my brother and my dad as one of thier presents for christmas.

Weird yarn. looks cool though

2006-12-07T15:29:00.000+10:30

As soon as the Australian Cricket team won the second test against england I wound my hanks and started knitting a test swatch. I have come to the conclusion that this is a weird yarn. the oddest (is that a word?) i have ever knit with. I found this yarn to be rather stiff and difficult to knit with but after a while i got used to it. I is gorgeous but a bit different but i think well worth the effort for the effect it gives to the knitted product.

This is the waistband and the begginings of the bottom ruffle which is picked up and knitted. there is going to be around 300 sts after i have finished the ruffle so I'm going to want to change to a circular. I am going to buy myself a PINK denise set! I saw them in the knitters review newsletter. Mum likes the idea that they come in thier own container. What she actually means is that she wont have to pick up stray knitting needles all around the house ;)

one final thing. I have listed some stitch markers on ebay. They are cookies with a swarovski crystal on each. they are very cute and are made by me! Available in both PINK and YELLOW Find them here

Christmas has come early. sorta.

2006-12-05T15:06:00.000+10:30

Today I got my order from ColourmartUk! THe four pink ones are rowan summer tweed in nectar. It was cheap and i like the colour. I also bought a sample pack which will be cool to knit up with. I like cashmere already! The silk blend one is really soft aswell.

I am going to make this top with the summer tweed. It was in VK spring/summer 2006. Nice hey?

This also is in VK summer/spring 2006. I'm going to knit it in pure silk that I found on colourmart instead of lionbrand mircospun. I love this pattern. nice and different.

I'll show you how the summer tweed knit's up later. but for know i'm watching the cricket ;)

GO AUSTRALIA!

YAy! I finished my exam.

2006-11-30T13:32:00.000+10:30

Hi y'all! I just finished my exam for drama. I am happy. Now i have MORE homework to do. man, It never stops. ahhh well. The term is nearly over and the weekend is 2 days away.

I'll go chrismas shopping on the weekend and I need to buy myself some more clothes for summer. I hope i am going to be up to it. let's think positive shall we?

Tis' the season to be stressed out

2006-11-28T13:45:00.000+10:30

Is it just me or is everyone (Including myself) stressed out more than usual. I know I am. I have tonnes of homework to do and an exam on thursday. Thank god I'm only year 9! But still. And to think I only have one knitting project on the go! I can't remember the last time that ever happened. Gawd, I need a holiday (and some yarn!)

Here is my one any only project for the moment. It's a scarf (Duh) made in a handdyed merino yarn from Hawthorne Cottage yarns. It's colour No.28. Diagonal stitch pattern with seed stitch border made up by me!

Cant wait to get my new yarn, 4 hanks of Rowan summer tweed for a summer top. Should be here in a week. yay!

Woo, My first blog.

2006-11-27T20:25:00.002+10:30

This is my first blog. ever. cool hey? after reading a couple other blogs, I though it would be pretty cool to start my own and ramble on about school, CFS and of course my knitting adventures. Well. That's all for me for now. Visit next time for the second installment of the sleepy knitter.