Post sock breather

After knitting furiously for six days, Kendal's socks are done and making their way to Melbourne. I chose Waikiwi prints yarn. It has a really lovely feel and knitted up absolutely beautifully. They were in a variegated blue and close gauge meant they were quite thick. The pattern was a free Ravelry one, called Gravel Grid Socks by Jessica Baird. She's done a marvellous job writing the pattern, I didn't have to interpret it at all.

It has been really interesting knitting with 2mm needles, they are sooooooo skinny but because I treated myself to a set of Sox Stixs, knitting was amazingly comfy. However, I am waiting for a reply from the shop I bought them from about replacing one.

I knit the entire leg with 4 of the set (there are 5 in a set) and finally, smugly picked up the gusset stitches and started to knit when the 5th needle snapped. I wish I could have seen my face. John thought I was having another heart attack. Apparently, there was a swift intake of breath which was held, a muffled moan, obviously because the breath was being held and then a squall of tears. I truly think that the histrionics at this point were quite necessary, because at $6 a needle, these bits of stick are really expensive. So then afraid to use them anymore in case another baby snapped I used the cheap bamboo ones which, although only 2mm thick felt like they were 17 metres long. They were far from being perfect for the job but they were utilised for the rest of the foot. Yesterday I replaced them with Knit Pros and so socks got done.


Just finishing an EZ February baby cardigan in "Monza Red" (can you tell my ex was a car man), and desperately want to go into town to Mandy's and purchase Arne and Carlos's doll book and perhaps some yarn to make a doll. Maybe flippery is just what I need.....

Test Failure?

There was once a time when quite honestly I could say I was as healthy as a horse. And apart from some problems at the end of my pregancies, the occasional flu but mainly colds, and a couple of back issues, it's been pretty much smooth sailing. Until the heart-attack. Then without warning this have to change. Quickly and almost dramatically. But after a year I've joined a gym, can go my version of flat chat for 45 minutes, which is actually better than before. But the doctor wanted me to do a stress echocardiogram test. So instead of cramming at the last moment I have spent the last 2 months exercising and stuff, jokingly I referred to it as training for the 'test'.

But I think I've failed, or at least not passed with flying colours nor a pat on the head for good cardiac function. Instead, there were mentions of "have you seen the images" to the other staff in the room, and my three amazing medical attendants went quiet when they looked at the scan. It was asked in passing when I was going back to the doctor, and then like "I'm sure ********* meant to see you before January. I'll give *** a call so *** can contact you." Brought up like I was, I actually apologised for my results as I left. And now I have an appointment on Monday next week instead of January 2013. Wow. So I'm feeling a bit scared, and overwhelmed, and disappointed.

Which unfortunately has flowed onto other things. I was making a EZ (solemn bow of the head) baby sweater on two needles (February baby sweater) for Knit1 Give1, because they asked for more baby jumpers and I felt so clever that I had a stunning red in my stash from a large chain store with the word 'craft' in it's name. So I figured I would have enough for the main piece and would dash out today to get another ball for the sleeves, acknowledging that the dye lots would of course be different. Well the large craft store had NO stunning red. In infact it had no black, dark blue, bottle green, or even a royal purple with which to knit the tiny sleeves with. It only had baby cack brown, olive bluck green, something that looked vaguely tan and one pink ball. Might have to take little cardigan to Mandy's and see what I can find there.
Gelati still in a vomit pile but it's back on the needles. Mary Mary is sooooooo beautiful but so delicate in Lace Merino after Gelati in Taiyo. Socks in project bags too numerous to actually admit to.......HEEHEE.
John's in Melbourne, Rob has a new mobile phone, Jo pregnant and Mandy I'm not sure about. Chris will be here for dinner tomorrow night so better make chocolate cake. Mum's paving done. I love my family. Life should be good, But I feel flat. I know, I'll be fine, but there's so much stuff waiting to be done, so I better start.

good intentions

I tried so hard to control the frogging. I had a lovely ball of yarn but I got lazy.........yarn vomit....pure and simple. My challenge now is to knit this into cardigan before bed.

Yarn vomit

My projects are getting more technical, but I think I am overestimating my skill set yet. I finished the blue cardi (Craftsy - Crazy lace bolero) but objectively there are things I can improve on. It's too baggy between my bust and underarm; I didn't think enough about how deep to make the V-neck and it's more like a round neck; I didn't put in buttonholes; the texture at the bottom of the cardigan is too dense for my liking; but it has some redeeming features like the yarn, the colour and its a cardigan. So after many months tinking, frogging, winding, blocking and fiddling it's done. Not perfect but enough I can put it on at home and not feel too unkindly.
Not satisfied I set about planning, measuring and thinking about Mark II. Hence the Gelati Cardi. Two weeks in the making and now several hours in that corner where I throw the failures. In between bouts of Gelati I have been working on a beautiful cardigan by Andrea Black, called Mary Mary. I feel like a newby knitter. First poor Mary Mary had not enough stitches on one side, then she dropped a stitch then I realized I couldn't keep my gauge right, and then I couldn't follow the chart for the front panels. My Mary Mary was very Contrary and nearly went in the corner but some very kind knitter set me right after an SOS went off in the discussion forum. By then all you could see of Mary dearest was a pile of frogged yarn, which looked like the cardigan had vomited. But I have concentrated hard and the mess has turned into beautiful knitting and all is right with the knitting world.
. So back to Gelati. I am sure that an entire cardigan vomit on my chair and floor is a bad idea. Not that Tom the cat would care he would just sleep in the billowing strands, but the galloping dogs will gather it up and move it all over the house so instead of vomit I'm frogging and winding as I go. And because it's multicolored I'm going to line up the balls as I wind them so I can reknit in the same order.
Maybe that's the skill I'm learning now. Patience and perseverence. Maybe I had to put myself under pressure to increase my skills this time. Or maybe I just didn't want to clean up vomit............