i knit, that's it

Another breeder/blog neglector

2010-10-12T14:42:00.002-05:00

Seems I've turned into a blog neglector. I used to follow a few blogs that fell by the wayside after babies were born. Here I thought that having a baby would be a great excuse to stock one's blog with gorgeous baby crafts and pics. Turns out having a baby takes up a lot of time and energy. Never would have thought that! I used to do a moderate amount of blogging while at my work desk, it was a great thing to do when my brain needed a little rest. But since returning to the states, I have no work desk. That is not a complaint. I am loving every minute of my stay-at-home momness.

Regardless of employment, when you are a parent having time to knit (or participate in any hobby) is a huge accomplishment. It seems that the photographing and writing about it go by the wayside. Such is life. Some day I may blog more regularly. I have been doing a bit of knitting, a few hats, a scarf, finished some socks I started long ago. I would really like to get some xmas knitting done (a stocking for the little girl is at the top of the list) and I long to spin something luscious.
A month and a half ago little girl turned one and we had a fine party in the park. I made her a cute princess hat and tutu to match her cupcake shirt (which incidentally matched the cupcakes I made). The green leaves are now gone and cool autumn weather will so on set in (we are really enjoying the nice warm days though). Before you know it the snow will be flying and hopefully the knitting needles along with it!

I miss my knitting group!

2010-08-18T10:11:00.003-05:00

Sniff sniff sniff and a few tears this morning. I've been back in the states now for almost 4 months and have missed out on so many life events in my knitting group. One had a baby, one shifted house (which also shifted the meeting place), now my dear Michelle is closing her most amazing hand painted yarn business! They have also added a new member and had countless amazing gossipfests (bitchfest is probably a more appropriate term) without me! (woe is me ;-)

As for me, blue and I are still in Wisconsin splitting our time in the north of the state with my parents and the south of the state with his. He is still toiling away on his dissertation while I spend time with the little miss (who turns 1 very soon!). But come January we are headed to the east coast where blue has accepted a job. It is in the upstate so will be pretty rural I imagine. I'm hoping hoping hoping to be able to find a group of knitters close to as talented, funny, and supportive as those I had honor of joining for a few years in New Zealand.

I also just read the book 'Friday Night Knit Club' and this made me homesick for them as well!

And just for fun, here is my little miss doing what she loves - hanging out on the beach (and having a snack), lookin' cute.

Independence

2010-07-04T09:19:00.003-05:00

What a nice Sunday morning. That baby is asleep. The husband on his bike. And me, I'm knitting on the couch and listening to neko case. The dishes need to be done, floor needs to be swept, and on and on go the never-ending list of chores. But this morning I'm taking advantage of the quiet house for some me time. Love it.

It also happens to be the fourth of July. Not a bad way to spend the morning of the 4th either. I was out on the porch this morning and an older lady walked by decked out in navy/white star shoes, red shorts, white shirt, and a denim visor with an american flag on it. Too cute.

This video isn't great quality but there are some great summer/nostalgia lyrics in it. I also saw Neko on this tour just before leaving for Nzed.

Happy 4th!

chirp chirp (or whatever noise crickets make)

2010-06-07T10:54:00.005-05:00

Yikes, that's my longest blog break ever! One might think we took a ship to get back to the states! Alas, no, we flew and it took about 24 hours. That was quite enough with miss noseypants baby who wouldn't sleep with all the people around on the plane! By the end of the trip we had all had quite enough of the notsleepingbaby and not enough of the sleep.

The lack of sleep really put her back on track to get over jetlag though (always good to put a positive spin on these things!). I don't recall getting too many dirty looks from other passengers for having that screaming baby but I probably looked so miserable that people just felt sorry for me. And they were probably amazed at how cute my smiling, curious baby was (after all that screaming!).
Since getting back we have been bouncing around between the 2 grandma's houses. The little miss really enjoys both places, especially with their various animals that she likes to chase, pet, and climb on.
This week we are headed to Madison to move into my brother's apartment that is vacant for a month and half because he bought a house a few blocks away! So excited to have him and my future sister-in-law as neighbors!

my heart breaks

2010-04-15T17:39:00.007-05:00

a little more each day as I realize I'm leaving New Zealand for good.

For each of my complaints of living here, there are probably 10 things that I love about it here. I will miss my friends, colleagues, knitting group, the weavers and spinners guild, the beautiful scenery, public healthcare, absolutely free maternity and baby healthcare, plunket, the organic/free range/grow your own mentality that most of the population possesses, the fact that you can bank, pay bills, do your dry cleaning and send mail at the postshop, hot pies, fish & chips, my friends' chickens' free range eggs, working half time, the little miss' daycare, tea breaks, trademe, no guns, no ratrace, my little red subaru, my clothesline, shortland street, the list goes on and on. Some of them are just little things, but I imagine those are the things I might miss the most.That said, I can't wait to see my own whānau and introduce them to my little sunshine! Also, can you say mexican food withdrawl! So many foodstuffs I plan to consume! (most of which are neither homegrown nor organic!)(friends checking out how the man in the moon is at a different angle down here!)

a long time coming

2010-04-09T03:31:00.004-05:00

According to my ravelry project page, I started the Juno Regina pattern on August 9, 2008... I just finished it a few weeks ago. Yeah, more than a year and a half. That's commitment, or lack there of. Not surprisingly, it was my first (and maybe my last) lace weight project. Mind you a lot has happened in that year and a half and I have finished many other projects (not all of them knitting!).

I enjoy knitting lace patterns, I think I just prefer a slightly heavier yarn to work with (light fingering is fine enough for me). As you can see this scarf is fine, it fits through my wedding band!

Some specs:
I made this pattern a bit skinnier than the original so it is a scarf rather than a stole.
yarn - touch yarns kid mohair merino 2 ply
The middle section measured 42 inches post blocking
My gauge/tension changed several times throughout this knit, thankfully blocking fixed any issues there.

It's been a bit busy around here lately. We are preparing to move across the world, again, at the end of the month! So much to do... so little time! Anybody want to buy a fridge, bed, tv, washer, stereo, couch, dressers... the list goes on and on and on. Trademe is getting much business from us lately.

a clean catch

2010-03-08T02:02:00.005-06:00

Oh that little girl of mine. She has not been feeling well all weekend long. I stayed home from work today with her. Even if she had miraculously gotten better by this morning, I was in no state to form sentences, let alone work.

We headed to the GP and it seems that she has some virus that needs to run its course, but he gave me a vessel to collect some urine in... a clean catch. The first time I attempted, she wasn't quite finished with what she was working on at the time. Always a fun thing to discover after you've begun the cleaning process. The other times not even a trickle. We shall try again in the morning.We started solids a week ago and she was really enjoying them until she got sick. Around the same time we got her to sleep through the night. Maybe in a couple of days she'll be back on the food/sleep track. Luckily, she is still as cute as a button and during the day her spirits are high and she gives smiles generously. Makes the sleepless nights bearable. Now if I could just get her to wipe her nose!

Check out what my friend Kellie made me! Cutest little wallet I ever did see!

finally some sleep, with added finished objects

2010-02-22T02:48:00.004-06:00

The sleep situation seems to be improving so Hurrah to that. After reading some snippets out of the dreaded Ferber method book, I picked up some tips on how to deal with the little girl's middle of the night wakings and by night 2 I didn't have to comfort feed her at all. So maybe we are back on track now! (It's only been 2 nights, so lets hope I'm not jumping the gun)

I would also like to share some finished objects:

Traveling woman in sundara ~~grass-stain~~ basil over buttercup. I whipped this bad boy (girl?) up in less than a week, that's pretty quick for me to knit an entire skein of sock yarn. I repeated chart A three times and was left with just a few meters of yarn.

I've also been doing some weaving with more sock yarn (madeline tosh- victory garden, i think). I added some blue and white bamboo plaid bits to the warp. I'm really happy how this number (weaving object no. 3!) turned out.

the supplies

warping up (the spinning wheel makes a great warping peg)

weaving

final product

a bit of sewing

2010-02-09T14:35:00.002-06:00

With the little girl starting daycare I wanted her to have a designated bag just for those days. My lovely friend Kellie lent me a few sewing books (while she took my loom home and got hooked on weaving!). I found the all day tote pattern in this book. Following some online advise I got some interfacing (iron-on) to stiffen it up. Prior to this project I had no idea such a thing existed, but what a great idea to give it some added strength and structure! The outside fabric is a fine green corduroy, it was a bit stretchy and the interfacing made it a lot easier to sew.

And for the inside I used some skull and crossbones canvas. I wanted her to be able to keep her edge even while at daycare. I added a few extra inside pockets to keep all her little bits organized.
I also tried my hand at making a wet bag and used these instructions. It's big enough to hold a days worth of diapers and soiled clothes. If I made one again, I think I would add a little wrist strap with a snap for easier carrying when it's full. It was my first try at sewing in a zip, now that I know it isn't scary, I may even try one again some day!
I've also recently hit up some op-shops for old fabric. There are some great sheets and table cloths out there oh and aprons... a girl can never have too many aprons (especially in great vintage fabric).

preservation

2010-02-03T03:19:00.007-06:00

Last night I headed out to the garden with a colander to pick some beans only to head back inside for a second one. Holy beans! We had already been living off a drawerful in the fridge that blue had picked last week, so I decided it was time to do something with these beans!
I wanted to freeze some, but was also thinking that some pickled beans would be a delightful treat. They are just so tasty (especially in a bloody mary - nom nom). I settled on this recipe, but had to substitute dried dill for fresh dill sprigs. I had to do that last year with the cucumber pickles too - I really need to remember to plant dill in the future! In 2-3 weeks they will be ready, but I don't promise to wait that long.
We also had enough to freeze for future side dishes and stir-fries. Note the straw that was used to 'vacuum pack.'
If that weren't enough in the preservation realm, this morning I got up to take care of the plums our neighbour friends had gifted us. I chose this stewed plum recipe. It turned out pretty well, nice and tart and reminiscent of cranberry sauce. It tasted really good with some yogurt for a morning snack.
I sealed the jars... or attempted to. I'm not sure why, but I can never get them all to seal. I was at 50% for these two canning lots.
Tonight I took a long soak in the bath and read Breakfast at Tiffany's. Back to work tomorrow.

Sleep... or lack there of

2010-02-01T02:09:00.003-06:00

I've been back to work now for a couple of weeks. It has been going pretty well. Although I wouldn't have chosen to be back at work yet I recognize its many benefits, the driving one being of the financial variety (and yes I'm well aware that most moms in the states don't have the luxury to even have as much time as I've had, doesn't make it any easier though).

So yeah it has been going well, the set up is really great. Little girl is just across the street from my building and I go to visit/feed her 3 times a day. If she is sleeping at the scheduled time they give me a call and if she gets hungry before the scheduled time they give me a call too. Also, I'm only back 1/2 time so she is only at daycare 2 full days and then blue watches her for 1 afternoon.
The first week I wound up with a cold (of course!), but little girl seemed to only be mildly affected. I also noticed that all the little kids had crusty snot noses, which finally today she has wound up with. I hope it doesn't last too long and that the snot nose kid thing isn't a permanent fixture at the daycare. Blue and I are still battling the tail end of this cold (well I hope it's the tail end... it has to be!). And lately little girl hasn't been sleeping too well. I guess it's due to her learning new skills and also she's been having a bit of a growth spurt. She keeps waking up and wanting to play at like 3 or 4 am and then getting stuck in the bars of her crib. It's really exhausting.

She seems to know when I have to go to work and chooses those nights to be up for hours on end...

I've been battling with trying to decide if we should do the 'family bed' thing which seems to keep her happy as long as I don't try to move her back to her own bed, or if I should just get some bumpers on her crib and let her resettle herself in the night (leaving feeding as a last resort). From what I can tell this could just be a phase. I'll leave it at least another week I guess and see if things calm down.Look at how sweet and peaceful she is when she's sleeping! (in our bed...)

yet another textile hobby

2010-01-15T12:42:00.003-06:00

Hmm, it must have been a bit over a year ago now... I purchased an old Spear's loom on trademe. It was $10 and I couldn't resist. But it sat and sat and sat until last December when I got a bee in my bonnet and decided it would be useful to help me bust my stash, especially those odds and ends. After a trip to the hardware store for some replacement bolts and some youtube instruction videos on how to warp, I was off.

This is my first creation. The warp is some touch yarns fingering weight merino that I had left over from a lace scarf and the weft is a worsted/aran weight handspun I bought before I started spinning. I had also knit a few little things with this yarn and even now I still have some of each left. Guess I should have made the scarf a little bigger.Since this little number went so quickly I warped up for another project, this one a xmas present for blue. I used touch possum merino for the warp and weft with some little stripes of noro silk garden in both (to use up some bits left in my stash). I also double threaded a few of the slots for added texture. But because this project was wider, longer and with thinner yarn, it wasn't as quick and I just finished it the other day.I fulled it a bit to finish, but the noro didn't full at the same rate as the other stuff so it's a bit puckery. Other than that it turned out pretty well and is a good size. I don't really remember what the specs are, you know the kind that I appreciate when other weavers provide, maybe I'll have to start writing them down in the future.The $10 loom is alright and does the trick if you're willing, but since I enjoyed the weaving process/results I bought another old used loom. Only slightly more expensive and not just intended for a child's toy. It also needs a little love and attention which will hopefully happen soon so I can keep busting my stash!

(first) road trip! (with baby)

2010-01-12T02:41:00.006-06:00

We took our first road trip with baby, it was a whole new way to travel!

Packed up the car with baby and all her gear and headed down to Dunedin.
Had a bit of a walk around the city in the evening. The next morning packed up again and headed to the Catlin Coast via Milton. Stopped by the illustrious Mill, but...
so i fed my baby on the front steps instead of shopping... almost the same thing :(The Catlin Coast was beautiful. We spent a few nights there, saw lots of pretty sights and tried to stay dry - it rained off and on for 3 days (and we forgot an umbrella).

Here are just a few of the things we saw.

a sea lion resting in Surat Bay:
the southern most sheep on the south island (slope point):
southern most sleeping baby on the south island:
some pretty little nuggets at nugget point:

(photos 2,4,5 &8 were taken by blue. you're my boy blue, you're my boy)

2010!

2010-01-01T14:47:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year! Yesterday we went out to visit our friend Nicola who lives by the beach and took a nice stroll and checked out the local flavors. We got to talking about the last decade and we all concluded that 10 years ago we weren't even thinking about 2010 and where we were going to be, but that most of us wouldn't have imagined it how it turned out. I would have never guessed that I would be living in New Zealand. Married with a child, yeah I think that would have been imaginable, but it still seems a bit surreal to me now. We also pondered "should we be thinking about where we will be in 2020?" I've got no idea where I'll be living a year from now so 10 years is a bit far off.

santa's little helper

2009-12-27T23:48:00.009-06:00

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. We spent the christmas day with friends and their family. It was close to the beach and after dinner and relaxing conversation we went for a stroll in the sand and took a few turns on the flying fox (both of which should be christmas traditions if you ask me). Then on boxing day we video chatted to the families back home that were gathered for xmas.

I wanted to get little girl handmade gifts this year (you know before she starts wanting all the mass produced crap from china that her friends have). So just before xmas I did a swap with miss millie. I made her some handspun yarn and she sent me one of her cute monkeys. She wanted something green so I dyed up some merino and it looked like this:

As I was spinning it, it looked so pretty and striped on the bobbin just for a little bit.

I really liked the final product, a nice light semi-felted single. I named it Usnea because it looks like lichen.

And here are the handmade gifts: Millie the monkey (blue named her...), Nicola the handmade doll (because she is a ginger, like our friend Nicola), and some soft cotton grapes for chewing (okay these are mass produced, but still handmade by some co-operative thingy). I got the doll on felt from poppetto.

Here is little girl opening her first present on christmas morning! What a sweet little elf!

ornament swap

2009-12-14T03:54:00.004-06:00

This year I took part in a 'kiwi only' handmade ornament swap organized by twenty cent mixture. I made some felt fabric out of merino and silk and cut some sweet and not quite symmetrical stars (that's just how I like my stars ;-) They are pictured in the middle. The rest of the ornaments are from my swap partners. Thanks very much ladies!!!It was quite a handy swap as this is my first year having a tree and I didn't have too many ornaments otherwise. I was going for an all handmade ornament tree, but ended up splashing out for an elaborate and sweet hummingbird ornament at ballantynes and a rubber ducky dressed as santa (it was cheap and I couldn't resist). I have a thing for bird ornaments. There are 5 on the tree... out of about 16 ornaments.

My friend Simone also did the ornament swap and since we were in different groups we decided to exchange too. She made me this sweet e....which inspired me to make some more felt cutouts for my niece and nephew. I used some felt 'samplers' that I made at the felting workshop I took last fall. I knew I wanted to do something with the felt and I think I found just the right thing.

super simple little legwarmers

2009-11-18T03:02:00.006-06:00

After making my other legwarmer pattern for my own babe, I thought it would be nice if they could be slightly more versatile and stretch and grow with the little one. So I have super duper simplified the pattern and this version goes a little something like this...Materials

Yarn: Needlefood sock yarn - color is red hot chocolate (other finger weight yarn will work, but might not be as cute ;-)

1 hank is enough to make a few pairs

Needles: 3.25 mm circular (I've also used a 2.75 mm and 3 mm to make these with the same success)

Size: This pattern is a stretchy rib and will grow with the little one. Designed to fit a newborn (the whole length of the leg) and then as the baby grows they eventually will fit more like legwarmers (knee to ankle).

Pattern notes: I prefer to work the magic loop method when knitting in the round (on small items like this), but if you would rather work with double points or the 2 circular needle method, it is easily transferable.

I learned how to use the magic loop method from here, but knitting help has a video too.

Pattern

Cast on 40 stitches
Knit 2x2 rib for 10 inches
Cast off loosely

Make second exactly the same

Yup that's it! Little embarrassing to call it a pattern, but it's so sweet and effective I thought I would share. Add stripes for a cute variation. Makes a great gift too!

This pattern is also available as a free ravelry download.

Look at those little legs wiggle!

Off to see the wizard

2009-11-12T14:44:00.004-06:00

Here she is in her recently revised neck. Ah much better she says! This week (like all of them) has flown by. Munchichi is 11 weeks now! In no time I'll have to take her to get her 3 month jabs, I am not looking forward to that at all!

Today is Canterbury Anniversary Day and we had toyed with the idea of checking out the A&P show, but the weather has suddenly turned and it even looks mean on the radar. It's actually a little bit Wizard of Oz at the moment with trash blowing past on the street. I wonder if the neighbour's flag will get blown away.

Back in the saddle

2009-11-07T00:43:00.004-06:00

After 11 months, I pulled on my cycling gear (it was a bit tight!) and got back on my bike. The main hurdle was psychological and although it was only a short ride, hopefully now it will be easier to do on a regular basis. And if that happens... maybe the cycling gear (and the rest of my clothes) will get easier to pull on!

(The bottom one is mine, the top one is blue's fixie)

Earlier today I had a difficult time getting the munchkin into the little blue sky alpacas sweater I knit well before she was even a twinkle. And then later when I took it off she was pretty upset at how difficult it was to get over her ever growing head! (I think it grew over the few hours she was wearing the sweater) When I got back from my ride I sat down and took out the bind-off and the last row and cast-off again with larger needles, hoping it was large enough to get over said head. Then I remembered a surprisingly stretchy bind-off I heard about on the new New Zealand knitting postcast with grannyg. So of course while I had the gumption I took out the bind-off again and tried the new stretchy version. And it worked (not surprisingly ;-) I tried it on her head and there was loads of room! Now she can get more than two wears out of it. Hoo-rah!

(this is the original neck... couldn't be bothered to try to get a photo of the new one without daylight)

Not one trick-or-treater!

2009-11-01T02:43:00.002-06:00

We haven't had one trick-or-treater the whole time we've lived in New Zealand. It's a bit sad really. I love seeing the kids dressed up, even the ones that are too big and just want some free candy - that's cool with me. I pushed it as far as I could too when I was a kid.

Here's the full view of my little punkin.

Puttin' the hurt on

2009-10-28T04:38:00.003-05:00

Nothing like a sleeping baby to put the hurt on gettin' stuff done! Without a baby in the house you can always put off chores/things you want done until you feel like doing them. But with the bebes around it's important to do those things while she sleeps. And you never can tell just how long those naps are going to be. When you think it's going to be a long one it's not and when you think it will just be a little one... she sleeps for 4 hours!!! That was impressive. I did so many little jobs today that I had been putting off, then I'd check on her... another job and check, you get the idea. I eventually just sat down, relaxed and did some knitting. Gotta love naps that are long enough to accomplish household tasks and sit down and knit!

This morning we had a plunket class and the little munch wore her halloween costume that grandma sent over. Sadly she was the only baby in costume. Kiwis really need to get into the spirit of halloween because babies in costumes are so darn cute! This is what she looked like before the 4 hour nap.

passport pics

2009-10-18T21:44:00.002-05:00

my accomplishment for the morning :D

Naps and knits

2009-10-09T16:44:00.003-05:00

The little one is taking her morning nap so I thought I'd do some catching up and read some blogs and then I remembered that I have a blog that I should update too! I have started knitting again which is a nice and relaxing activity to do while she sleeps (instead of running around trying to pick-up and clean the house). I have to keep it simple for the obvious reason of possibly frequent interruptions. I've made the cutest little legwarmers which she is wearing now but I just finished them so no photo yet. There are a few babies back home that could probably use some legwarmers too so I may just stick to knitting legwarmers for a little while :)

The legwarmers featured below are the ones I made in the handspun set. They still fit great and look so cute under or over her clothes and on just bare legs with a onesie too. The hat was knit/lent by my friend Carol who made it for her wee man when he was born. She has long since grown out of that as her brain is rapidly expanding ;-)
I thought I'd throw in another photo of some knitting that I completed but didn't report on before the birth. They are the Norwegian mittens by Elizabeth Zimmerman. It was a great pattern to knit and went really quickly. I enjoyed knitting with the Noro silk garden but was disappointed that the 2 balls looked like completely different colourways. I guess it pays to go and pick out your own yarn when possible! Nonetheless they have a quirky mismatchedness that I can get into. Originally I thought I would gift these come xmas time... but they are so my colours! We'll see how I feel as xmas draws nearer (it will be summer here then so maybe I won't have a problem parting with them).

Can't believe it

2009-09-25T01:37:00.002-05:00

Wow, my little girl is 4 weeks today. Time has gone by so fast! It seems like she just popped out, but she is growing and maturing each day. It's so amazing to see her daily changes. And she has left me no time to get my craft on. Which at this point I really don't mind :D. Funnily enough the last bit of knitting I did was while I was in labour! Tee hee hee, that amused all the hospital staff that came in. But I figured I was going to be there for a while, I may as well get a little knitting in (and yes that is a sure sign that I had an epidural).

And here she is getting ready for nap time ;-)

Ta -Da!

2009-08-31T18:11:00.002-05:00

Look what I made! It's a girl! She is so wonderful and funny. So far she is an excellent sleeper and eater - all a new mom could ask for.
I was induced last Friday and 7.5 hours after my water was broken I had a little girl to cuddle! She was 2 weeks late and quite content to stay put it seemed but after we got things going she didn't take too long to get out! She wasn't too big either, 7 lbs 3 oz and 20 inches long.
We got home from the hospital last night and are settling in at home nicely. Grandma is here for 3 weeks to help out and provide cuddles!
Looks like I get to keep the pink set, good thing I have back up for the other little girl that's coming!

The waiting game

2009-08-17T16:33:00.003-05:00

Well my due date has come and gone and no contractions yet. Today I'm going to see the midwife and hoping to speed things up a bit. I don't really want to be pregnant for 2 more weeks and I'm anxious to meet this little monster that has been digging into my hip bones this morning! So in preparation for the possibility that I may be going into the labor within the next 48 hours I've been trying to pick up/clean the house. But it's making me tired :P so I'm incorporating some resting bits (also because I maybe going into labor soon).

Oddly enough I don't have any knitting projects (that aren't in hibernation) to distract me and give me some down time. I've finished a few things in the last week including the extra cute orange elijah (with a rattle in his belly).

I also knit up a bunch of cute baby clothes out of some handspun that I made from a swap fiber I received last year sometime. It's all very sweet pinks for a baby girl. It's intended for someone that I know is having a girl, but if I end up with a baby girl I'm just going to have to keep it as I have no other pink to wrap it in! That's okay right?

things in the oven

2009-08-05T16:34:00.007-05:00

Being off work has been great. I'm averaging at least 1 nap/day, have had time to cook yummy meals, finish knitting projects, and I've learned to bake bread! I have started with a really simple no knead recipe, it isn't instantly gratifying (much like the other 'baking' I've had in the oven) but it isn't time consuming at all and the results are pretty stunning for how simple it is. So simple a 4 year old can do it. For last night's dinner I altered the recipe by using half whole wheat flour, it made the crust nice and crispy while keeping the inside soft and moist!I have also finished and blocked the baby chalice blanket. It looks great and matches my vintage rocking chair beautifully. I wish it were a little bigger so that I could use it for a lap blanket, but it is a perfect size for a bassinet or stroller. It's probably a good thing that it is smallish otherwise mom would probably steal it!And I finished knitting the toy kiwi that I started a while back. My major pause in the project was not knowing what eyes to put on. I finally decided on some handmade felt ones and stitched them on. I have named him Ringo after the kiwi that I got to meet last week in the bush.

0 days of work left

2009-07-22T19:54:00.003-05:00

until i go back that is. Today is my first day on leave and so far it's pretty great. I woke up early due to a small munchkin in my belly pushing on my bladder. After some toast and coffee I saw blue off to work, took a small nap and did some cleaning up of the house. Yup pretty exciting.
The midwife came over for a checkup too, all is well in the belly. I didn't end up getting a 3D scan last week as bubs was too big to get a good shot and of course facing inward which is good, just not for getting a nice shot of the little face.

A month or so ago it seemed like I had been pregnant FOREVER, but now that feeling of doom (and excitement) is setting in. Sh*t I'm gonna have a baby soon! Then we'll have a whole new set of issues to deal with. Bring it on I say. But give me at least a week to get some more nesting and readying of the house done. Like many first time moms I will probably go 2 weeks past my due date and be griping to get this thing out of me. I would like to deliver around the due date or a week before would be good I think.

Here is a pic of the bebe in my belly from 14 weeks ago! Yikes. The star is a bit bigger now, the outline not so thick. I think this afternoon I will take a walk and do some knitting, not necessarily in that order.

7 days of work left

2009-07-11T02:22:00.005-05:00

4 this week and 3 the next. Can you tell I'm ready to be done with work? It's not the work that I mind really, my bosses have been pretty easy on me, it's just that having to be there all day... no laying down, no napping. I think a lot of women here in NZed finish work by 34 weeks or before. However back in the states it is more like right up until you give birth - crazy 'maricans. I'm about 35 weeks, so 5 weeks until the due date.

We had a little surprise at the midwife appointment on Friday. After a night of not sleeping that well and waking up feeling sore, we found out that baby has 'dropped' and it was definitely during the night because the day before I was having plenty of rib kicks! Seems a bit early, but I guess that just happens in some pregnancies. We're pretty sure the head is down, but to be certain and to check on the size I get an ultrasound next week, a 3D one at that. It will be cool to see bubs again, especially in 3D.

Blue has come and gone to the states. I missed him loads while he was gone and I had to take care of myself. He's treats me pretty good when he's here. A few times last week I got to nap after work while he started the fire and cooked dinner, just like a little elf! :D

He brought me back lots of baby things, much of which got laundered this weekend. And some yarn! I had ordered some lorna's laces shepherd worsted (which is washable and dyed beautifully) to make the baby chalice blanket (below). I'm really enjoying the yarn and the pattern is a cute and quick knit. I haven't made anything in worsted weight on size 10 needles in a very long time! It's a nice little treat!I've even had my wheel out lately too! I dug out some superwash merino I dyed last spring. I split it in half lengthwise and spun two bobbins, starting from opposite ends and then plyed them together. I dyed it to be a nice striping yarn, which I still think it will be, but I love watching colours blend together as I ply and that's why I decided to spin and ply it as I did! It's very bright (especially for me) but I think I'll be able to dream up a good project for it... maybe for a little girl?

handspun baby knits

2009-06-24T14:46:00.003-05:00

This little gem is my most recent baby sweater. I used two different handspun yarns (one I was just able to eek out enough yardage) and it's name is February Baby Sweater.

I had enough of the darker yarn to get two of these little aviatrix hats knit up in 2 sizes, the first one seemed just a bit small. Now all they need are some buttons! I picked some out but not sure if I like them or not, may have to double check and make sure there isn't anything better out there.

And this beauty was gifted to me by stella down in dunedin. She used some beautiful handspun perendale and it is oh so soft and lovely.

The immenent arrival of bubs is drawing nearer. I have less then 4 weeks of work left and have enough annual leave to take fridays off for those remaining weeks - hurray for 4 day work weeks!

fluffy kitty

2009-06-17T05:07:00.003-05:00

I got this in an email from my mom (who is now the mom of my fluffy kitty).

These annoying robins keep flying into our windows over on the side of the house by our bedroom. They just go on and on thump thump thump. I cut out silhouettes of hawks and they stopped crashing in. Kitty thinks they are real birds and keeps reaching for them :)

Silly kitty.Hopefully mom doesn't mind I posted her email ;-) xo mom for loving my kitty (and feeding her... and scooping her poop).

3rd trimester blues

2009-06-04T01:39:00.003-05:00

Well officially I have been in my 3rd trimester for a few weeks, but I am just now starting to feel it full on. My face is puffy, my ankles are swollen, I tire super easily and bending just keeps getting harder! I visited my midwife this morning and thankfully the swelling is just a bit of edema and nothing to be worried about.Blue and I had a long weekend away, probably our last one without a bubs. We went over to the west coast to Karamea. Luckily the sun was out and the weather was great while we were there. The first night we stayed at a backpackers about and hour south of Karamea called the old slaughterhouse. It was a charming place up the hill with ocean views, a comfy lounge, big warm log burner, and a nice kitchen. They make their own hydroelectric power on site so the fridge was small and the toaster was a stove top one! The owners were really nice and welcoming and we really enjoyed our stay.
Here are some of the Nikau palms that the area is known for:

okay, it can stop raining now

2009-05-24T04:16:00.005-05:00

It seems like it has been raining for weeks on end now. And I guess it has, but to be fair we have had a few sunny days mixed in, a very few. I think it's starting to get to me, these antarctic blasts, they are so wet and also cold, and just keep coming one wave after an other. Supposedly tomorrow is the last day of it for the rest of the week. Let's hope it's the last for a few weeks.
I've been doing lots of knitting and spinning lately. I just finished up a 3 day class at the guild where I learned to make boucle and tweed and other designer yarn. It was cool and good to get me spinning again. Right now I have a few completed hanks soaking. Hopefully I'll have some pics soon, but with this weather it might take ages to dry.Here is a pic of the cute bonnet I just finished and the 5 hour baby sweater knit up with some organic cotton that maepress gifted me! The pooh bear and outfit were sent to us from blue's sister - so cute!!! The baby stuff is slowly starting to accumulate... soon enough it will be taking over our house!

Scoop fruits

2009-05-06T23:11:00.006-05:00

We've been treated to some winter weather her in Christchurch. I forgot how wet and cold the winters tend to be! Luckily we are all moved into our new flat and LOVING the log burner and insulation. It's no secret that Christchurch has a smog problem - an urban area with lots of people heating their houses by fire combined with a location that locks in the smoke, makes for some pretty icky evenings and mornings (even wikipediea mentions it). But I can see why people like their fires - they are warm, much warmer than you can get with any of the various other options around (still haven't caught on to that whole idea of central heating yet... it may make it here one day).

Somewhat related to the smog issue, I found out this week that I have asthma. The previous 2 winters I ended up having a cough the whole season and figured it was related to cold and damp living conditions, apparently it's been asthma. So now I have an inhaler. Not sure how much it will help, but I'm hoping to cut down on the coughing. I feel bad for bubs, must be loud in there!One great thing about this time of year - feijoas! Yum! They are so tasty. A while back we had a bunch of passioinfruits too and one afternoon we sat around eating 'scoop fruits.' What fun.

200th post!

2009-04-21T03:12:00.006-05:00

That stupid man cold turned into a nasty lady cold as well. It was not fun and I didn't get the decongestants the man did! Apart from a sporadic cough on my part everyone is feeling well and we are back on course. And I got lots of knitting done while I was sick!
I finally finished the stripey socks and think they look great (despite that at least 2 people asked me if they were for wearing around the house... I guess they won't be getting any hand-knit socks from me!).I also cast-on 2 socks on 2 circs and completed (that's the kicker) the no-purl monkey socks. I used some needlefood yarn I had in my stash. Needlefood is a new online sock yarn shop that my friend Michelle opened up at the begining of the month. It's a great shop and has everything you need to make beautiful socks! Check out the needlefood sock blocker displaying my perty socks!
And finally I've finished some baby items. Cutest of which include small booties and socks.
This weekend is moving weekend and we have been busy packing and avoiding packing. We are excited to get into an insulated house with a fireplace to keep us toasty (not to mention the dishwasher...)

man cold

2009-03-31T16:09:00.000-05:00

We've got one of these in the house at the moment.

chocolate...yum

2009-03-30T20:11:00.002-05:00

So the old cake was pretty good. Actually the chocolate truffle layers inside were still amazing. The cake itself... a little dry. The outter ganache... now slightly waxy. So yeah as a whole package it was alright, but much better the first time around. Now the tuna steak, that was GOOD. Yum!

What a year

2009-03-25T21:31:00.004-05:00

It's hard to believe that a year ago today Blue and I tied the knot! We've had a very exciting and fun year. The next year is sure to bring us even more of the same!

I'm super excited to go out to a nice dinner tonight and I've been dreaming of the tuna steak on the menu. Tuna steak isn't very easy to come by here in NZed so I don't think I've had any in the last two years (maybe once when we went to oz...). And then maybe a nice cheesecake for dessert... if I have room.

We still have the top of our wedding cake from last year. Maybe I can have a slice of that to tide me over before dinner. I took it out the other night so it should be thawed by now. I'm a little scared of it, it is a year old. But apparently that cake that Elaine ate on Seinfeld was like 50 years old and she seemed to really enjoy that. I'll do my best to report back.

haircut time

2009-03-12T03:08:00.003-05:00

I was long overdue for a haircut so I went in for a cute wee bob tonight. So far I really like it, but as always the true test is when you have to style it yourself. I was very specific and told the new (to me) stylist that I did not want messy top layers or a style that required a straight iron every morning. I'm way too lazy for that and would rather spend my time sleeping in the morning. Thanks to Millie for the recommendation!

Last time I got a new haircut someone down the hall got a similar one just a few days later...not cool. Hopefully I can be a loner at least for a little while with this one.Ohh, I also got new product (YES!) It's this stuff and I have high hopes for it.
I have been living a very riveting life lately, as you can tell.

Finally some knitting

2009-02-25T15:33:00.003-06:00

I started on a few baby things over the weekend to distract me from the endless stockinette of my top. First I made the toadstool rattle by purl bee. It's a great quick little pattern. The rattle itself is a cat toy ball thingy -very clever. Blue has been really enjoying playing with this so I just might have to make a few more! It's also a great way to use up sock yarn scraps. Now all I have to do is finish some socks so I can use the scraps for more mushrooms.

After I finished the rattle I started in on this little ribbed cardigan that is knit from right sleeve to left. Another clever idea. I picked some sock yarn out of my stash for this project purchased from Kellie's destash, it's zen string loopy legends 'southwest sunset'. The colours seemed gender neutralish enough for me, but then started pooling pink. Ugh! Of all the colours to pool! I offset the yarn just a touch and may have taken care of the issue... I hate making more ends to sew it, but to avoid pink pools I'll do it!

hapu

2009-02-17T16:52:00.006-06:00

As Kellie alluded to in the comments, I have been working on an extra special project. One that has been consuming all my energy and making me think more of cooking/eating than knitting or anything else. Isn't he/she cute? My mom thinks that little profile of a nose looks like me. Hee hee hee. This is my 12 week scan. Too early to tell the gender, but we aren't sure we want to find out anyway. I'm at the beginning of my second trimester so I am hoping my energy levels will soon return as will my knitting motivation. After all I've got a lot of little knitting to do now!

In knitting news I have seamed my smocked top and have started the endless stockinette body that is going to take FOREVER. Because it is going to be large enough to accommodate my hapu belly there are a lot of stitches and I would guess that it takes me a few minutes just to knit one round. Oh well. I should probably work on a few small baby items to keep me interested and then do the mindless stockinette when I need something extra mindless. Or maybe I should just get a monkey and teach it knit stitch? That sounds more exciting. As long as it isn't one of those cigar smoking monkeys, can't have that!

I'm still here...

2009-02-06T15:42:00.005-06:00

Just quietly.
The summer is speeding along and I've got nothin' to show for it!
Well my smocked top is finally under way and the back section is almost finished. Hopefully within the next week the top sections will be merged (dreaded seaming!) and the endless stockinette body will be begin.And now that she is finally all cleaned up with wood and bearings oiled I can share my newest pet - Wendy! Ain't she perdy? Stella kindly sent me some nylon cord to give her a new driveband and so far she works like a charm. Well okay I haven't actually spun anything on her yet, but I gave her some treadles. Soon, on one of the not so hot days, I will pull out some wool and the yarn will be just as beautiful as the wheel!
I also sold one of my other wheels to Lucy. It wasn't getting much use here so I hope it is happier with her and Punky.

kickin' out the jam

2009-01-20T03:08:00.005-06:00

Eh, not too much to say lately... Got some new drugs for migraines today. Hopefully I won't need them but it's good to know I have stuff to take if I need it. The GP said to be sure to keep hydrated and on those hot days I probably didn't do that very well so I'm going to be more conscience of it now and take my water bottle with me wherever I go!
Here's the yummy jam I made (with more than one of me reflecting in the jars). Below is the pan fried scone (a first) blue made complete with cream cheese and jam - a delicious Sunday morning treat.

black currants

2009-01-17T01:36:00.005-06:00

I finally made my black currant muffins. They were pretty good, but not quite as good as a blueberry muffin (my fave). I think the brown sugar/butter crumble on top was really the best part.
Today I finally picked enough of them to make a batch of jam! And just in time because they seem to be on their way out. This time I decided to do it properly, sterilizing the jars/lids before hand and then sealing them in boiling water afterwards. Yeah I probably shoulda done that last time, but I didn't have proper jars so I made refrigerator jam. ;-) I used quite a bit less sugar (4.5 cups ish) than most recipes call for (6 cups to 1kg of berries - yikes). We had a tasting on crackers and cream cheese and I must say the jam is delish. Makes me want to pick another kg to make my stores last longer.
The veggie garden is also putting out crazy amounts of courgettes and beans at the moment. Oh and cucumbers - just enough for me to pick one as I'm headed to work and have it with my lunch. I miss the lettuce that bolted a while back, but tomatoes and peppers are on their way. Mmm fresh salsa!

I haven't been knitting or spinning much lately. It's been so hot...

Ahhh... much better

2009-01-10T02:36:00.005-06:00

I am feeling much better! The migraine is gone and a southerly came through bringing cooler temps. ahhh...
Just before xmas I got a bunch of cool stuff from some friends that I meant to share, but didn't get around to. So I will now.
I got this amazing little felt fantail at the local knitting group's xmas ornament swap. Miss lucy made it just for me (blush) and I love it! I also love that it isn't xmas colours so I can keep it around all year without feeling shame. She has details about it here. Thanks Lucy!
I also picked up some destashed fabric and socks from Miss Millie. Unfortunately Millie moved up to Wellington over the holidays and was trying to unload some of her stash. I called dibs on the browniest of them and she revealed that she thought of me after putting it's very browness in a pile. I have just acquired a lovely (and hopefully working) sewing machine and am dreaming up some toy patterns to make with the fabric.

On the very same night that I receive both of these prizes Michelle surprised me with some burt's bees lotions that her husband brought back from Canadia. I was telling her of burt's greatness and how I miss their products and voila! They are handbag/knitting bag size too.
What nice friends I have!

miss misery

2009-01-08T01:25:00.003-06:00

I'm alive, but just barely.
I haven't knit a stitch in weeks and am currently setting a personal record with a 3 day migraine (I blame the nor'wester). It was only 2 really good days of agony in the blistering heat (probably the only heat we'll get all summer!) and today is what I like to call a migraine hang-over. Still didn't feel well this morning, although not the agony that was, and pretty much stayed in bed all day. I was happy not to have the photophobia part too bad so at least I could read today and watch a little tennis on the tele.

Blue has been most wonderful taking care of me and picking up around the house as I have been completely useless in all respects. I've been longing to bake some black currant muffins (our bush is abounding with fruits). Do you think if I get the ingredients prepped and maybe measured I can convince blue to bake them? It would have to be later in the evening though when the heat isn't so fierce.

We got back almost a week ago from our trip to the north island. It was lovely up there and there are lots of photos to sort through. Maybe blue will do that after he bakes those muffins...

For lack of other photos on the computer at the moment, here is the smocked top I started before xmas:

Better than George Costanza

2008-12-19T16:33:00.004-06:00

You know that Seinfeld episode where George is bragging to Elaine about what a good parallel parker he is and as he is yammering on the guy that called Jerry a phony tries to snag the spot by pulling into it? Then they sit there both half in the spot, blocking traffic and miss the big fight they were going to watch at Jerry's.

Well, last night we went downtown to meet up with some friends and I was lucky enough to find a spot less than a block away from the bar we were headed to. There was 2 people standing in the spot as I approached and I wasn't sure if they were crossing the street, trying to get to the car parked in front of the spot or what. So I pulled up and past the spot to do a parallel park job and the pedestrians ended up crossing the street behind me. So after they crossed, I looked back preparing (but not bragging like George) to pull into the spot and what do I see? Someone with their signal on trying to pull in nose first! So I says to myself, oh no they don't and I whipped into that spot, quick as lightning, one fell swoop, no need to adjust forward or backward, put her in park, shut off the car, and off we went to enjoy our evening. Apparently I'm quite good at parking under pressure and unlike George, I only brag about it after the fact!

(I couldn't find a pic of the parking space episode so I went with this gem! )

Moss stitch neck warmer

2008-12-19T16:13:00.009-06:00

This pattern is great for a quick last minute knitted gift. After making the feminine promenade neck warmer, I decided I wanted to make a more masculine version and thought this brown handspun would look nice knit up in moss stitch.

Materials

Yarn: I used a worsted to aran weight handspun, about 50g

Alternative yarns: I think this would look nice in a noro yarn, but kuyeron or silk garden would be closest in weight to what I used . However, any yarn you fancy would work, just use appropriate needles to match the gauge.

Needles: US 9 (5.5 mm)

Gauge: 4 stitches/inch

Size: one size fits most

Pattern

CO 98 stitches
Knit in moss stitch (k,p to the end on both odd and even rows) for 28 rows.
On row 7 and 21 make an appropriate sized buttonhole 3 stitches from the end.

I used this buttonhole tutorial and castoff 3 stitches to match the button size I used.

Bind off loosely, sew on buttons (using the pic above as a guide), and you're done!
If you have any problems or questions with this pattern please let me know so that I can fix it!

*this pattern has now been added as a free pdf download on ravelry

I was busy last weekend

2008-12-13T21:11:00.005-06:00

This weekend... not so much. But last weekend, last weekend I realized that I needed to get all family xmas shopping/knitting done and in the mail in order for them to receive it (hopefully on time). And with the exception of one failed hat (which I may or may not cover later) I think everything was a success and I'm glad to have all the shopping over at such an early date!

Item number 1: the haruha scarf finally finished and blocked.

I'm pleased with the turnout and hope the recipient enjoys it.

Item number 2: the promenade neckwarmer knit out merino/possum wool that is o soo snugly. I hope I have enough left over to make myself one!

This item's finishing touches were the buttons that I received in a swap from Lyn in the UK. They went beautifully with this neckwarmer!

Item number 3: my improvised masculine neckwarmer. This was knit in moss stitch out of hand-dyed, hand-spun yarn. It was also finished off with buttons from Lyn!

And item number 4: Tudora, an elizabethan collared neckwarmer. This one is also knit out of hand-dyed, hand-spun yarn. The yarn is a purposefully spun thick and thin and I really liked how it turned out and it knit up all texturey and nice.

You may have noticed the neckwarmer theme! It was nice to find some patterns that had at least a little intricacy and were small enough that I could finish 3 of them and most of an ill-fated hat in 2 days. In addition to the knitting in those 2 days we also did all the shopping for the non-knitted gifts and watched the national cycling criterium here in Christchurch. I never thought I would enjoy watching a cycling race, but it was really neat to see some nzed Olympians. I was cheering for Hayden Roulston who got 4th.

With christmas knitting quickly behind me I've started a top for myself and knitting some stripey socks for a friend. One more week of work and then 2 weeks of vacation! I can't wait! We are headed to the north island for a tiki tour. So far we have done no planning for it... might need to get on that pretty soon.

Some sweaters

2008-12-04T00:17:00.003-06:00

Here are some sweaters I have made (in the last few months anyway):

This is my first adult sweater! Sure it's lacy, on kinda big needles, and only has 3/4 sleeves, but a sweater's a sweater. The pattern is named February Lady Sweater, it's an adult version of an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern (February Baby Sweater - I'm thinkin' I'll be making one of these someday). I am pleased with how this cardi turned out and happy with my springy colour choice. Truth be told I totally made it to match the skirt in the picture and don't they look sweet together?

Next up is a teeny tiny little fly away cardigan that I started knitting for my boss' baby. Then he had a boy... So now it sits awaiting a baby girl to be gifted to. I used a pattern out of a cleckheaton pampletty booklet thingy. The patterns in it are cute, but soooo many small pieces. The small part is redeeming enough for me to knit them. But sewing that lacy edging on after sewing all the pieces together was a bit much.

This last one is another Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern. It is called the baby surprise jacket because it is knit flat and then you fold it up (very origami like) and sew two little seams. It's hard to know exactly where this knit is going until you are almost finished with it. This is my first handspun project. I used the roving I spun up from maude & me. She's got a gorgeous green and pink one up right now! Yum! For a picture of the whole sweater click here.

I would just like to say that E Zed sure was a smart and innovative knitting lady. She's got some amazing/simple/beautiful patterns. They seem to be timeless as well. Funnily she only lived a few miles outside of 'craps' (where I went to high school) and had a knitting show on PBS which if I think really really hard about I might be able to vaguely remember.

Swaps & Birthdays

2008-11-27T03:12:00.005-06:00

Earlier this month I organized a New Zealand Fiber Swap on ravelry, an online knit/crochet/spin community for those of you not so into the fiber crafts. I've been taking part in a few other swaps this spring, but having to ship overseas is so expensive! By keeping it within the islands of New Zealand we were able to save some coin (that will then be spent on more knitting/spinning items!).

Lucky me got my swap package earlier this week from Stella. It actually came on Blue's birthday (tee hee hee). I felt a bit like a small child getting a hush present as to not get jealous of the birthday boy. As it turns out, it was more like having my own birthday! I had lots more presents to open up in this package than blue had all day (shhhhh, if he thought about it, it might make him feel bad). The above photo is of all the unwrapped gifts matching beautifully blue's birthday flowers. Now he is claiming that I bought these for myself! On his birthday! Not me, I wouldn't do that. Nope boys need flowers on their birthdays too!

So here is what I got: soft white wool pencil roving, 4 ply cream coloured cotton, a beautiful handknit washcloth, purse sized emery boards, a nice big button, dark chocolate (mmmmm), "blank" vintage purls sock yarn (for me to dye), self striping sock yarn, AND the yummiest looking and smelling handmade soap I have ever seen! Check it out:

Thank you Stella! What a great birthday er I mean swapday present!

And as far as blue's birthday went. He got a nice new grill for us to enjoy all summer long, a delicious dinner (that well frankly he had to cook) of groper steaks (aka grouper steaks - yum.), and a yummy yummy cheesecake made by yours truly! This year I went with an oreo cookie crust as he wasn't a huge fan of the wine biscuits last year. Oh graham crackers where art thou?

Catching my breath

2008-11-18T03:42:00.007-06:00

We took a 5 day vacation almost 2 weeks ago now! Work has obviously been keeping me too busy to blog! We had a great trip up in the Abel Tasman, 4 days of kayaking and 3 nights of tenting on (or close to) the beach. For blue and me this was our first overnight paddling trip together (and my first overnight paddling trip ever) so it was a bit exciting and unnerving.

Our first day out we had perfect weather and the sea was wonderful and calm. The next morning it was perfectly calm, but by the time we got packed up and ready to head out to our next destination the waters had become rough and we struggled a bit to get our grips. But we made it safely (and sorely) and spent 2 nights at our next campsite. There were naughty possums and a beautiful estuary. On the 3rd day we got up early (in an attempt to avoid rough waters) and paddled to an island seal colony and past some sandstone arches. It was really really beautiful. We ended up not paddling all the way back to Marahau (our starting point) but instead we took a water taxi due to rough waters/inexperience. We were even more pleased with this decision when we got out in the open water on the taxi into 2 meter high swell! Yikes! Oh and we saw two little blue penguins swimming! What a treat! The bottom photo is of our first campsite bay. So nice and round. The top photo is of one of the tractors used to put the boats in/pull them out. I love that they use old tractors and they keep them so nice and pretty! The clouds are pretty amazing in it too!

YES!!!

2008-11-05T01:01:00.001-06:00

I think this is what most of us americans are feeling right now.

Big Smiles!

2008-11-03T22:52:00.003-06:00

I'm so excited I came home to not one, but two packages today. I was expecting one this week (from a swap) with surprise spinning items in it, but I was not expecting the other (with surprise spinning items in it!). I'm such a lucky girl.
Sweatergirl rocked my stash with some roving she didn't quite get around to spinning up. I think the blue and white are both bfl and the brown might be romney.

The package also came with some paintings by an aspiring artist ;-) and lots of photos of munchkins that I miss! Oh and cheetos mmmmm cheetos, spicy cheetos (which are unobtainable here).
AND THEN I got this from a fiber swap I'm taking part in! More hand-dyed bfl and lots of extra goodies including handspun singles and a super bad-as* button! What to do with that button? On a bag? On a hat? Top of a cardigan? I'm sure I'll find the perfect use fore it, but it may take a bit of searching/serendipity.

Success!

2008-10-28T04:27:00.003-05:00

These little guys sure are good at hiding! But we finally found a few within viewing/photographic range. They had a baby too! But we didn't see the baby, it was in the bush. Oh baby in the bush. It was crying though. Which made us feel bad so we backed off and watched from afar for a little longer.
It was a really nice weekend with great weather. Although 3 nights of camping at primitive camp sites with sandflies was enough. I was glad to come back to my kitchen, bed and shower (oh and personal space). I also didn't get much knitting done, so I was glad to come home to that too! Winding roads and knitting do not agree with me. Knitting by flashlight in a prostrate position isn't my bag either. Sitting on my couch with a beer nearby in decent light, that's my preferred knitting position.
Oh and I've put a cute youtube clip from march of the penguins. The little baby call is similar (although more calm) to what we heard this weekend.

coloured wool

2008-10-23T20:50:00.003-05:00

IMGP8365.JPG, originally uploaded by .ily.

Here are some of the fibers that I pandered to the women at the guild last saturday. I personally like to stick with the browns/blues and earthier tones, but I thought that maybe everyone doesn't have the same taste as me. And I was right, the brighter shades were a hit!
I can't wait to see some of them spun up!
I'm also taking part in a fiber swap for the next few months. I got my package out yesterday, along with my U.S. ballot (hurray!). I'm hoping to get my swap package next week!
This long weekend (Labour Day) blue and I are off to the west coast in search of fiordland crested penguins! Hopefully it won't rain too much and we'll be able to get some hikes in along with some great photos.

yarn so soft

2008-10-22T22:11:00.004-05:00

The yarn for my february lady sweater arrived a while back and then a week or so later I ordered the right needles. Now the sweater is well under way and I'd say I'm about halfway done. I'm in love with the yarn -malabrigo, merino worsted. It is so soft and fluffy, like a cloud (or what I would imagine a cloud should feel like). It is also a single and I love knitting with singles. Before I knew much about the construction of yarn I knew that I loved singles and didn't really stop to think about what made them so special and fun to knit with. For the yarn novice (aka me a few months back) a single is just one spun piece of yarn not plied with anything at all.

Last Sunday a group of us guild members went on a fiber buying trip to a farm south of here with more fleece on shelves than I could have imagined! It was beautiful. All the natural colours! Here are some pics of the combed corridale and merino.Then in the shearing shed there were boxes upon boxes of raw fleece and the lighting was lovely and diffuse. I opted for a few houndred grams of prepared merino (in brown, silver, and silvery brown). I am planning on plying it with hand dyed merino.The raw fleece was so nice and soft. This box was calling my name. But I'm not really into fiber prep at the moment and I don't have room to spare in my house (you buy one sheep's worth of fleece at a time - that's a lot of fiber!). Maybe next time I go I'll be ready to tackle washing and carding the whole sheep's worth of fleece.

my first sale

2008-10-15T17:41:00.001-05:00

hand dyed merino, originally uploaded by .ily.

Last night the weavers and spinners guild had a fiber destash night. So I bundled up all my hand dyed fiber I've been hoarding over the last few weeks. Unsurprisingly I arrived late and the announcements were already being made and everyone had placed their items to sell on the table. So I snuck in and sat by a friend and immediately the women around me started fondling and claiming their braids of fiber. I only had amassed 5 so it didn't go far, they barely made it out of arms length before getting snatched.

I was happy that my goods were so well received and even happier to be able to make a little profit off of them. I realized it was the first time that I have ever sold anything that I have made. (I'm pretty sure it is anyway.) Out of all the crafts I've ever crafted, I've only ever given them away. So now I have a little pocket money... to go and buy more fiber of course! It's a vicious cycle I tell ya.

On my way to the guild I realized that I hadn't photographed any of the ones I was selling. This fiber photo is my first acid dyed roving and it turned out so lovely that I had to keep it.

When I got home last night I cooked up another special request batch of fiber and will try and get another 2 done to take on Sat for the continuation of the fiber sale.

3 dogs, 2 horses, 1 bunny, and some rat babies

2008-10-05T02:30:00.001-05:00

Yup rat babies.
Blue and I are housesitting this week and that is the role call. The rat babies were a surprise. Turns out they live with the bunny, or rather next to the bunny. We went out to feed her the first night and almost as soon as she had her food and we shut the gate this little rat came scurrying out towards the food dish, saw us and then ran back to where it came from. We looked around and waited quietly (after I gave out a little girly scream, but it was only a little one) and then a few other little rats peaked their heads out. I must admit, I'm not really into rats, but was a little curious about them and their relationship with the bunny. Are they friends? Does the bunny willingly share her food cuz I'm pretty sure she could scare them off if she wanted. Maybe they keep her company. She's so fat and soft.The puppies are wonderful too. They are all very nice and entertaining. I'm not allergic to them either which is a bonus. That and they don't seem to really shed much (perhaps one of the reasons I am not too allergic). Here are 2 of them: kiwi & hamish.

sexy spring flora

2008-09-29T03:07:00.005-05:00

Rhubarb leaf

Rhubarb flower
(who knew?)

Daffodils

Magnolia

Why knitters wane in the summer months

2008-09-18T16:50:00.004-05:00

Because your hands sweat and it just isn't pleasant to work with wool (or most fibers probably) while you have sweaty palms. I remembered this the other day when it reached 26 degrees! (78 for those of you Fahrenheitly inclined). Also, it's fun to play outside and garden and hike and all those other sunshiney more activite type things. Knitting is definately more suited to cool (or cold) evenings snuggled up on the couch.

However, because it really just doesn't get that hot ever in New Zealand (don't get me wrong, it gets warm, just not very often is it hot), I think I will be enjoying my summer evenings knitting this year... Or at least my knitting season will be extended beyond it's normal season (we'll have to see if this really holds true).

Earlier this week it was beautiful, sunshiney, and warm here in Christchurch (it's been raining again the past 2 days). So when I went out for knitting night on Tuesday I put on a springy skirt and top, but just didn't have a sweet little sweater to keep the evening chill away. Hence, in light of spring I have decided on a cardigan pattern and ordered some yarn. The pattern is this:

and the yarn is this:I have also recently found some online knitting stores that have reasonable international shipping prices. Hurray! I ordered this from Eat Sleep Knit and I'm dreaming up new projects so I can order something from Loop.

a new knitty.

2008-09-14T00:35:00.004-05:00

I just discovered that latest issue of knitty and it actually has some really great patterns, which was a nice surprise.
I think these are my favorite:And I really like this blanket... but I am afraid it would send a wee one into a seizure. Don't ya think?I was able to finish my yarn today which was a relief. I sat out on the deck and plyed til my little hearts content in the beautiful, and much appreciated, sunshine. Plying always takes longer than I expect it to and yet I continue to expect it to go quickly. Sigh... when will I learn.
The yarn is currently stewing in the crockpot with some kool-aid. I am sad to say that I don't think it is going to be as pretty as I envisioned. I used a grey fleece to get deeper/more muted colors, but the dye just doesn't seem strong enough to penetrate and probably would've worked better on white wool. I am excited to try out some real acid dyes. Hopefully they will arrive this week.

It's true

2008-09-12T17:09:00.002-05:00

I've been wanting to make myself a sweater lately, but nice yarn is so darn expensive and you can never be sure that you/the pattern are going to be a good fit. Also most of the best yarn comes from the states. I'm pretty sure a lot of the wool that makes that nice yarn comes from elsewhere, but they sure spin some nice yarn back home. Heck, maybe it isn't spun there either. And because it comes from the states, it is even more expensive to get it here... Bless Kpixie.com and their delicious yarn, but $25 for all international orders is way steep!
I do like this new pattern that Wendy Bernard has worked up though... And Aurora 8 is so nice and soft and bouncy. I think I would like it in a nice light grey with blues for the details... Maybe the yarn fairy will come for a visit soon.
As for spinning I am working up some grey romney I picked up yesterday. I am hoping to get it spun and plied so that I can dye it tomorrow, which isn't going to happen now that I actually think about it... Maybe Monday or Wednesday...

Autumn Colours

2008-08-28T03:36:00.002-05:00

I made this

Out of this

It's a very pretty, soft and autumn coloured... I'll have to find some inspiration from back home to bring it to life. :DI haven't checked the wraps per inch, but it seems to be about fingering weight maybe a light dk. I think it will make a nice scarf.

Some finished objects

2008-08-23T02:13:00.004-05:00

I have a lot of finished knitted items to share. First and foremost is my favorite little elephant.
This guy is Elijah and he is fated for my boss' newborn boy - Owen James Eric.

This little hat goes with too. Hopefully it fits little Owen, cuz it's too big for elijah.
This wee crayfish is the one aforementioned. He was knit in 11 pieces, sewn together and hand felted. It was my first time for hand felting too. Usually I just chuck in the washer and check on it every so often. The hand felting actually pretty easy and I think I will use that method in the future for smallish items. He (or she...)is in Louisville now, enjoying the end of summer.

Another present that I made way back in June for my mom's birthday in July was the Clementine Shawlette. It was my first shawl, with a pretty simple lace pattern. The only tricky bit was the seam in the middle. I did my best with the kitchener stitch and blocking, but it was still evident. :/

And last night I finished these snicket socks. I made quite a few (probably unnecessary) changes to the original pattern. I used the heel flap heel instead of the short-row heel, I made the bottom of the foot in reverse stockinette instead of regular stockinette. And I changed the toe a bit to be a less pointy and more round.
Now I'll probably try to finish up some other items I have going (4 things that I can think of right now) continue with my spinning and maybe (just maybe) start knitting something with something I've spun. But that sounds a bit silly to me!

Swap package for me!

2008-08-19T20:37:00.005-05:00

A few months ago Maepress and I decided we would put swap packages together for each other. So I knitted and felted a little loony lobster for her and skatergirl and sent some funky kiwiana stuff that I hunted out a various gift shops. Today I received mine in the mail! I got oodles and oodles of kool-aid (for dying fiber and yarn) and kitchen cotton, that I requested (neither are available here). Some books! (which are quite "dear" here), some great stickers - including that fantastic one of Barack, a deery-lou lougage tag, AND a much needed and appreciated handmade tote in my favorite shade of poop brown!Skatergirl (she is 5) had a few questions about New Zealand 1) are there cats in New Zealand 2) do people have pets in New Zealand?
I would like to answer both of those questions with a photo of our neighbour's cat that I took this morning (she of course refused to look at the camera or was moving every time I took a picture). Also, that is a frozen dish of water (or simply a dish of ice) that she was licking at.

As any good sconnie girl would...

2008-08-19T05:09:00.005-05:00

I much prefer winter snow to winter rain so this weekend was a wonderful break from the rain! We headed up to Hanmer Springs and played in the snow above Jack's Pass. The original plan had been to head all the way to the summit of Mt. Isobel, but the weather didn't look like it would hold too long and we ended up just scooting up a few snow covered hills. Snowshoes and gaters would have been helpful. We ended up getting a bit wet. The snow, especially in the lower elevations, was really wet and we kept falling through the snow, sometimes past our knees! It was fun and basically just some big kids playing in the snow!
Funnily enough Blue and I realized that the last time we were in Hanmer was almost exactly a year ago. There was considerably less snow and the weather was warm and spring like then.
I didn't build this little guy, I just added a little snow hat.

1 plus 1 is 2

2008-08-09T04:47:00.004-05:00

I've been knitting a little lately, but mostly it has been spinning and acquiring spinning wheels. One of the women I spin with offered me one of her wheels at a very reasonable price (the little peggy in the foregroud) and later that same evening I won an auction on trade-me for another (similar, but different ;) wheel for very cheap as well. Had either one of them been much more expensive I would have had to choose, but now I get to learn on 2 different wheels. And although they look very similar one is a double drive and the other is a single drive (meaning that they have different personalities). I obviously need to master both! Plus now when people come to visit me from the states they can learn how to spin (without hoggin' my wheel), yeah I'm practical like that. So come on over statesiders, we'll spin together!

I also finished spinning and plying some wool I was working on the last time I posted. The colors still aren't "me" but I think the yarn turned out pretty well nonetheless.

Since I spun the orange second, and my spinning is obviously still being refined, it turned out a lot thinner than the multi fiber. The varying thicknesses show up in the skeins too which I thought was pretty interesting, but not that surprising. Anywho, so I had quite a bit of orange left over after the plying so I decided to use the remainder to learn how to navajo ply. It was very awkward at first, but I got the hang of it. Now I just have to work on my technique.

I now have about 7 pretty good sized hanks of my own handspun yarn... maybe I should think about knitting them sometime soon... I still haven't knit anything that I have spun which I find pretty amusing.

In nonfiber news (there is such a thing?) it is still rainy and cold here in New Zealand. A few days of intermittent sunshine snuck in last week, but nothing substantial enough to satiate those of us longing for some warm weather. It snowed last night with some sleet and rain mixed in. The hills above us look beautiful with their dusting. I love when it snows here because it never last longer than a day and is usually followed by sunshine. Maybe tomorrow we'll get a warm sunny day?...

spin spin spin spin spin spin spin

2008-07-29T06:58:00.003-05:00

I'm thinking that I may need to change the name of my blog... in order to incorporate my newest passion (passion makes it sound a bit lusty, which I guess it is), spinning.

Over the weekend I took a spinning course. It was full, but I was lucky and got in due to some drop-outs. It was taught by a world renowned spinner and weaver, Anne Field. Before I even heard of the course I had picked up some of her books at the library. The class was really neat. Instead of learning spinning techniques we learned about different sheep fibers and how to spin them appropriately. We spun raw fiber which was new to me, carding each individual lock out is pretty time consuming and it's harder to spin for me compared to the roving and sliver I have been using. The lanolin did ooze from the fiber though coating and moisturizing my hands!

Here are my little sample skeins illustrating the 2 different fibers we worked with.

And because we didn't work on spinning techniques at all I have been using my evenings this week to hone my skillz on the wheel. These are the 4 hanks I spun in the weeks before the class. The 2 on the left were made and plyed on the drop spindle and the 2 on the right were made on the wheel. The green one has a nice novelty yarn look to it, but I'm not sure how structurally sound it is. I will have to learn the proper way to make thick and thin because I know for sure that wasn't it!

And this is the yarn I have been working on this week. I picked it up from a local woolery. The color choices weren't exactly to my taste, but I thought I would work with it. They are romney slivers. Romney have nice long fibers making them an easy option for beginners. So the plan is to spin up the orange stuff and then ply the 2 singles together. I think they will look nice together and maybe tone down the purply color in the multi ply (yuck to purple says me).

Other than spinning, not a lot is going on over here in NZed. It is raining for the second straight week in a row, but it isn't too cold out. I am hoping for some warm and sunny days soon. I haven't been on my bike all week!

Over and out.

Ruh-roh kids, I'm hooked

2008-07-13T03:52:00.004-05:00

I had my first taste of spinning with a drop spindle less than a week ago. Having mild success with that, and really enjoying it, I have made some steps towards becoming a spinner. I attended a meeting at the weavers & spinners guild on Saturday (to see if I could test my luck at a wheel).

The members of the guild meet every Saturday at the Art Center in town. There is a room full of spinning wheels and a room full of looms. From 10 - 2, the women trickle in, each with their wheel and set up in a circular formation around the room. They greet each other, catching up on the events of the week, and checking in on each other's progress and new projects. Many people come to spin, but others choose to work the fibers they have created and sit and chat while knitting.

I didn't bring anything and chose to observe and learn about the process. After taking in all that I could, I had one of the women show me how to spin. She picked me out a traditional ashford wheel and grabbed me some of the 'learner's' fiber (it was a beautiful brown with flecks of grey). She adjusted the wheel for me and off I went. It wasn't perfect yarn, but it was much nicer looking than my first attempt on a drop spindle (see left). It was relatively even and skinny! I filled up a bobbin in less than an hour so I'm thinking I'll have time to do the same next week and learn how to ply the two together.

Oh and after having a go on the wheel I picked up my own drop spindle and some more fiber. I put all my newly learned techniques to use on the drop spindle and my yarn product was greatly improved (see).

This page is a nice basic intro to drop spinning (and the pics of the old lady are pretty great too).

Thick 'n Thin

2008-07-09T04:34:00.002-05:00

Sometime in the last week I got it in my head that I needed to try the ancient art of spinning with a drop spindle. So my friend Deirdre from stitch n' bitch offered to bring her's along with some roving to the meeting this week and she even let me take it all home! I explained to her that I was pretty sure I needed to be in the frustration of my own living room to truly give the spindle a whorl. After thinking about spinning all day at work I came home and tried it again. The result isn't very pretty, I'll be the first to admit, but practice practice practice. With all this practicing, I hope I have time to knit!

genisis

2008-07-04T18:17:00.003-05:00

One thing is for sure, commercials here are better than back home. They are generally less annoying and man are there some catchy jingles! But they are also played too loudly here, I hate having to turn the TV way down during commercials. Anyway this here one is one that gets turned up cuz it's just that great.

Keepin' it warm

2008-06-29T00:28:00.004-05:00

Last weekend I finished my cabled wristwarmers. For me this project served 2 purposes, 1) to keep my little hands warm while I compute and knit 2) to try my hand at a cabling pattern. The got a big thumbs up from me on both accounts. I have been wearing them on the daily.

Blue was also quite taken by them. He was impressed with my cables and jealous of the warmth they provided me. So I made him his own pair (dashing), designed for "him." I had to rework the pattern since the first go 'round with the original didn't work.

I also finished up some felted slippers (that are still drying) and a baby sweater this weekend. It has been rainy and cold all weekend. Yesterday we didn't even leave the house (that's how I was able to be so productive in my kniting).

new FOTC video (makes me smile)

2008-06-23T03:29:00.000-05:00

Hurray for mixed tapes!

2008-06-14T18:24:00.004-05:00

Thanks to stitchkommander for another fun toy!

more icelandic crazies

2008-06-11T05:49:00.003-05:00

Last week we were watching the news and at the end of the broadcast the anchor said, "and now a new song an video from the icelandic band sigar ros." Then they proceded to play this video of naked people running around the forest. I turned to blue and said, "well that would never happen in the states." Then we giggled.

It was on again tonight on our version of Mtv (C4). I think I may like the song, but I can't tell because the nudies are so distracting. I looked them up and they have a free download of the song on their website where you can also watch the video (you're welcome).

stitch n' bitch

2008-06-11T02:11:00.005-05:00

I attended a local stitch and bitch last night and the girls were all geared up for international knit in public day, which takes place this Saturday starting here in NZed (since we live in the future and all). It was a nice night out for me: wine, stitchin', bitchin'. Anywho someone designed this for the event and I am trying to find out who... I think it's perty.

Oh and the meeting place in town this Saturday is one of the (few) places in town that sells yummy local beer. But I'm thinking, Sat 11am + bar = one bloody mary for me.

Snowflake, just before it melts

2008-06-07T16:24:00.001-05:00

Balanced Snowflake, originally uploaded by SusanNobleSmith Photos.

It snowed here last night! I find this exciting while others find it annoying. But it isn't like back home when the first snow fall is a reminder of all the cold snowy months to come. Here it is a fleeting novelty that will be gone probably within the hour. We didn't get much accumulation here, but apparently in more western parts of the city it actually accumulated. We did get those big beautiful wet drops of snow though, the ones that look like 100 snowflakes stuck together.

Having no good pictures of snowflakes, I went to flickr to find this cute snowflake hanging out on a cedar.

The Game

2008-06-04T17:18:00.003-05:00

My creation
Originally uploaded by mmm gin

Thanks to stitchkommander my morning was really productive... She posted the method (and her results) on her blog.

FO's fo sho'

2008-05-28T03:59:00.003-05:00

palette scarf and banana
Originally uploaded by mmm gin

Here I am tossin' around my little knitted banana with my new favourite scarf before I got all my hair chopped off.

It isn't that I didn't like my long hair, I actually did (more than I ever thought I would like having long hair). But I was sick of it, sick of having to dry (at least part of) it every morning. Sick of having to tie it back all the time and then having that annoying ponytail bump when it got so painful I had to take it out. Sick of catching myself unknowingly playing with it while I worked at my computer. I didn't (and don't) want to be one of those girls that plays with their hair all the time. So for all of those reasons, it got the chopped. Plus everyone in my family and my husband have said that when they picture me in their heads, I have short hair (I may as well have short hair then!).

Moving on to more important things, knitting. The palette scarf that I finished a week or more ago was knit with some local (New Zealand anyway) merino wool. It is worsted (or 8 ply as they call it here) weight. The pattern called for fingering (or 4 ply), but I couldn't find any that I liked so I adapted the pattern. Instead of casting on 31 stitches, I think worked 27 instead. Then I just worked the lace pattern as normal for the length that of 2 hanks (that I hand rolled into balls - liz).

(old) gossip in the knitting community (gasp!)

2008-05-14T05:31:00.003-05:00

As I have mentioned, I have been on a knitting streak lately. Thus I have been collecting patterns and adding them to my 'to knit' queue. Tonight I decided to stop by magknits. To my great surprise, it was not working and there was a cryptic little email address instead of knitting patterns. You see magknits was always there for a wwwandering knitter. Every month there were new patterns. The quality and layout wasn't as good as those found on knitty (which is only updated 4 times/year), but there were a few gems, like the jaywalker socks. Anywho I guess some unhappy knitters were trash talking the woman that ran the page on a forum called ravelry (which coincidentally I recently joined), so much that the woman up and closed the thing! She had hinted in the past that magknits wasn't going to be around for the long haul, but apparently too much trash talk on an open forum was the straw that broke the camels back. Gossip on the subject can be found here. Oh and this happened over a month ago so needless to say I'm not really on top of knitting gossip. I'm not even good at being a knitting nerd...

And because I am currently rocking out to the ramones, I have added their pic. Oh and I am enjoying a delicious G&T in celebration of finishing my scarf!

license to mac (probably lost on those not haling from lincoln high)

2008-05-14T02:13:00.004-05:00

I've been trying to upload this photo for 3 days now! My little macbook is a bit cranky these days. I tried to 'repair the disk' but apparently need my 'startup disk' to do so... I don't think I have seen my startup disk since I pulled this puppy out of the box. Mom, I'm guessing it is in your basement somewhere. If you come across it, please send it in the next load ;) There aren't a whole lot of maccers around here and 2/3 of the ones I know are on 'baby leave' at the moment (and the other one does not have the disk). So it may be a while before my mac is running a full speed again.

On the other hand, my knitting is revving back up to full speed again and I am nearly finished with the palette scarf. In fact after I finish this post I am going to knit the last few rows and bind off so I can wear it tomorrow.

... and knit.

garden... finished?

2008-05-05T22:46:00.002-05:00

garden... finished?
Originally uploaded by mmm gin

The weekend hail storm didn't finish the garden, but the frost over the last two nights certainly has! Yesterday we scavenged the garden and harvested what we could. However other things didn't make it. Good-bye lettuce, good-bye spinach, good-bye basil (I think he took it the hardest), good-bye brussel sprouts (that never produced). The cilantro and green onions are still hanging in there, but I doubt that will last much longer if these cold temps keep up. Last night it got down to -3 C, 26 F (that is cold for people in a country without double glazed windows or insulation or central heating...)

On a positive note, all this cold weather has got me a knitten with some New Zealand merino wool - oooohhh so soft. I need many more hats and scarves!

Baby Legwarmers

2008-05-02T16:44:00.006-05:00

This pattern was inspired by some baby legwarmers my cousin's little boy had. She said they were the best thing to add an extra layer and keep her little one warm.

Materials

Yarn: Karabella aurora 4, colour 06, 100% extra fine merino wool

1 ball is enough to make a few pairs

Needles: US 3 circular (a longer length circular works best)

Size: Designed to fit a 2-3 month old baby. Pattern has ribbing on both ends so it can be easily cuffed if they are too big.

I learned how to use the magic loop method from here, but knitting help has a video too.

Pattern

Cuff: CO 32 stitches

Divide sts evenly between the 2 needles.

Join to begin working in the round, careful not to twist.

k2, p2 rib, repeat for 2.5 inches

work stockinette for 2 inches

next round, increase 4 stitches evenly across (k8, inc 1, repeat 4 times)

work stockinette for 0.5 inch

next round, increase 4 stitches evenly across

work stockinette for 0.5 inch (there should be a total of 3 inches stockinette now)

work k2, p2 rib for 2 inches

bind off (loosely)

Make second legwarmer exactly the same.

photo cred goes to sweatergirl, props for making the model too :D

*this pattern has now been added as a free pdf download on ravelry

3 months later...

2008-05-01T06:00:00.004-05:00

It's been 3 months and neither blue or I have seen hide nor hair of little arm man... until today.

Apparently he was on sabbatical or something. He was back at the gym tonight and up to his old antics and hogging the same bench that I wanted to use! All I could do was giggle.

sunrise in queenstown

2008-04-28T17:17:00.004-05:00

sunrise in queenstown
Originally uploaded by mmm gin
Mornings in the mountains are always a treat. Over the long weekend blue and I headed down to Fiordland to check out Milford Sound and the beautiful scenery. We got a late afternoon start on Thursday so ended up stopping halfway in queenstown for the night. We woke up to the sun creeping over the mountains and the moon still high in the sky. There were also lots of great little low clouds in the valleys and over the lakes. I made blue stop several times so I could take photos.

anzac biscuits

2008-04-22T03:48:00.008-05:00

Anzac stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and anzac day is April 25. Not to generalize, but it is kind of like Memorial Day in the states (not to be confused with Labor Day ;). It marks the day of first major military action by Australia and New Zealand (in WWI, btw that sentence was totally plagiarized from wikipedia).

Anyway anzac day is great for 2 selfish reasons. 1: I get the day off work. 2: anzac biscuits.

These delicious little gems are little more than oats, sugar, butter and coconut. mmmm... I added some sultanas (slightly different from raisins) and chocolate buttons to half. I worked from two different recipes: eating out loud had one up and the australian government did too (I figured they would know what they are talkin' 'bout). There are only very slight differences between the two.

needles, of the nonknitting variety

2008-04-22T00:37:00.003-05:00

Last week all (most) of us staffers at work went to the student health services and got our flu shot. It was weird getting a flu shot in spring, but it isn't spring at all. It's fall and feeling more and more like winter, which is depressing. The days are so short now. It's 5:30 now and already dusk! But back to the flu shot... So the department shouted (they say that here when someone else picks up the bill :) the shots for the staff (at the STUDENT health center), but per usual left the students to fend for themselves. Not that blue would get one anyway, but the fact that the benefits offered to the student's at the university seem to be continually downsizing is disconserting. I haven't been here long enough to know if conditions were ever that great for the students; all I know is they are way worse than they were in so' cacalaca (aka south carolina). That being said, the support from professors is way better.

Moving right along to nonknitting needle number two. I got acupuncture today! I've had an issue with my hip ever since I slipped on some ice and gave myself the bruise of a lifetime. After several bouts of physio (aka physical therapy) both in the U.S. and here, it still ails me. So I decided to try something new. It was pretty interesting, but not scary at all. The needles were very small, I didn't feel them go in. He then sent electrical pulses through them to loosen up deep tissue (electro-acupuncture). It was a relatively relaxing experience and I hope it helps. So far it feels a little better...

unthrown flowers

2008-04-16T22:28:00.004-05:00

We just got our photos back from the photographers and are really happy with them. This is my beautiful bouquet that turned out just how I envisioned. I avoided the tradition of throwing the bouquet for a few reasons. But now my bouquest is dried and the white flowers have turned brown :(

For my sisters (bridesmaids) I wanted pommanders (aka flower balls). I was also very happy with how they turned out.

Simple green hydrangeas for the men. For blue's buttonhole I had a koru (fiddlehead) added in. The silver fern is a national symbol here in NZ and koru images are very prevalent in Maori culture where it symbolizes new beginnings, rebirth and all that jazz (We also had a koru on our invites).

Sconnies in New Zealand

2008-03-31T22:16:00.001-05:00

who knew...Burger Wisconsin!
Originally uploaded by kirsteng117

Families and friends have come and gone and now we are left with fond memories and great pics! (and still a few scattered family members traveling the country) I can't believe how fast the last few weeks have gone. We have been running around like a bunch of crazy people trying to help people navigate around NZed, getting (or trying to get) organized for the wedding, and trying to enjoy every minute. Sometimes that was hard (the enjoyment part). We had a few minor debackles, but things turned out pretty well all and all.

Now I have time to breathe and enjoy my new husband :D
Coming soon: more updates on wedding near-catastrophies and good stuff too!

Knitting for babies

2008-03-14T04:13:00.004-05:00

It seems that everybody is procreating as of late. So all of my knitting has been for babies. The great thing about knitting for babies is you can afford (and feel compelled) to use nice yarn, baby things tend to be quick knits, and since the items are so small, they always look cute!

This particular set was knit for a work colleague's baby girl - Sophie Kate. I hope she appreciates the little pink bows I added for that feminine touch (I even sewed them in place - mostly because I was afraid they would come undone before the presie got unwrapped).

The hat pattern is Vine Lace Baby Hat free from knitting daily.

a kiwi dictionary excerpt

2008-03-06T18:44:00.002-06:00

In preparing for family and friends to arrive for our big day, blue and I put together a few lists that will help them to ease into New Zealand culture. Below is a list of definitions we came up with:

Dairy - a convenience store
Bach - holiday home (not usually very fancy)
The ditch- the Tasman Sea
Sealed/unsealed road - paved/unpaved road
Footie - Rugby
Pavlova - special new zealand cake
Smoko - break
Togs - speedo
Tea - dual meaning: 1) literal translation, tea 2) a less formal meal (dinner)
Torch - flashlight
Fush & chups - fish and chips
Chippie - fish and chip shop
Chips - fries
Crisps - potato chips
Jandles - japanese sandles (aka flip flops)
Biscuits - cookies
Bonnet - hood of the car
Boot - car trunk
Breakie - breakfast
Entree - starter
Main - entree ;)
Jersey - jacket, sweatshirt
Swede - rutabaga
Courgette - zucchini
Aubergine - eggplant
Lollie - candy (any kind)
100s & 1000s - sprinkles
Plaster - band-aid
Chemist - pharmacist
Tomato Sauce - ketchup
Z (pronounced zed) - Z
Long Black - similar to an americano, but stronger and much smaller (can be ordered in larger sizes or with extra water)
Flat white - strong, small coffee with steamed milk (no/little froth)
Fine (referring to weather) - nice/clear
Kona coffee - drip coffee

Koala cuddles

2008-03-02T14:26:00.001-06:00

Koala 1
Originally uploaded by blue442

Blue just put up a few pics from our trip to Oz (just click on the image to access).

Thieving pilot jerks

2008-02-26T03:11:00.003-06:00

Remember that amazing helicopter ride I went on? Well it turns out that the pilots (both the guy that took us in and the guy that brought us out) are jade thieves. Jade, also known as greenstone here or pounamu here is sacred to the Maori people of New Zealand. They are not Maori and have been stealing and selling it for years. Check out the story and their sketchiness here.

Surfs Up Dude!

2008-02-26T02:32:00.004-06:00

Back from Oz and back to work :( But while we were there we had a great time! We flew home Sunday evening, so we took full advantage of the morning/early afternoon and took a surfing lesson! I'm not gonna lie, the waves were no tubes like the one pictured above. All-the-same Blue and I were able to ride some in. Along with the waves, we also caught some knarly sunburns. Bummer dude. At least it was on the last day of our vacation, dude.

Oz (I'm not sure if that is a british or a kiwi term, but it means australia. I'm pretty sure I never heard it until we moved here, but I like it) was pretty great, once it stopped raining and the sun came out! It's a big place with many many things to see and do. We kept our trip pretty coastal and even took a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef, my first snorkeling experience, can't say it disappointed. I hope to put up some pics soon, but for now I'm trying to catch up on laundry and put things away.

On a knitting related note. I took the socks I am working on, on the plane. No trouble getting out of NZed. Getting out of Oz however was a different story. They told me that knitting needles were a big no-no because they are a long pointy object! Surely not my turbos, they could never hurt anyone! Plus I have called (only in the U.S. of course) about knitting needles before and given the ok, nor have I ever had a problem flying with knitting needles. So the security guy was consulting security guy #2 and thankfully they decided that my beautiful little turbos were no more dangerous than a pen - phew! So I didn't end up crying like I thought I was going to. I don't think they sell turbos here (plus it was 2 pair) and they are just too expensive to replace. They are safely resting next to me now. From now on they are going in checked luggage which is too bad 'cause I usually only end up knitting on the plane.

I.D.

2008-02-07T18:12:00.001-06:00

While at the local library, I.D. magazine caught my eye. On the cover was a hand-crafted wedding gown (out of recycled plastic). Being in the midst of planning my own wedding, I added it to my stack. I finally got around to thumbing through it the other day and found everything in it interesting; the pictures, the articles, even the letters to the editor. Being a scientist and not an artist, I had never stumbled across this bad boy before and am ever so happy I did. However, their webpage does not even remotely stack up to the magazine itself (or at least the issue I checked out).

Happy Waitangi Day!

2008-02-05T17:08:00.000-06:00

This is a video from the helicopter.

Need. To. Vent.

2008-02-04T22:58:00.001-06:00

So there is this guy at the gym that always hogs the stations, machines, benches, basically anything and everything you need to use, at the same time! I commented to blue about him one time and he says, oh you mean little arm guy? Me, I'm like, wha? He has a little arm, I never noticed, I'll have to check that out. So I filed that away until my next encounter, sure enough, he does have one short arm, whaddayaknow.

Anyway, today was no different than any other day in little arm guy world, he's hoggin' again. Two sets of free weights were sitting on the bench I needed to use so I chipped away at the usual exercises, checking back to see if the weights have moved and to confirm that indeed it is little arm guy. Well time kept ticking away and I got through everything except for the few exercises I do on the bench in the free weight area. Check, weights still there. And I says to myself, "self go move those and get on with it, he can't be hoggin' all the time like that, it's a small gym after all. What does little arm guy thinks he's special because he has a little arm? or perhaps for another reason unknown to you." So I go over and move the huge weights, one at a time, with two hands for each. Sure enough, as soon as I get them down to the ground, little arm guy runs over to let me know he was just about to use that. And I say to little arm guy (in my nicest voice ;), ok, but could you please not just leave your weights here to "save" the bench (no I didn't do air quotes). And he tries to rationalize with me, like I don't know he does this all the time while he goes on multiple other pieces of equipment, he tells me that it is OK to go and have a drink of water and then come back. So of course I have to say, "but you don't just go have a drink of water and come back, you go and use other machines. It's a small gym and other people may want to use the equipment you aren't currently using." And he says, "yes they may."

So I put the weights back that I was going to use, realize that I would just have to stand there and wait some more for little arm guy in order to complete my workout, and I leave. I hate confrontation, but I'm not afraid to use it necessary situations such as these.

On an up note, I went to yoga today at lunch and it was lovely. Blue's advisor was in the class and it took me a while to compose myself (aka not giggle myself into a stupor).

Helicopter, helicopter, over my head. I pick the color and the color is...

2008-01-29T00:52:00.000-06:00

Although the helicopter ride was short, it was sweet. When we got dropped off, it was cloudy and cool so the views weren't too great. But still, I was in a helicopter flying over the rainforest in New Zealand, so it wasn't bad.

After the drop off we worked for 2 days at the treeline and then had a day to hang out before the helicopter's scheduled pick up. Luckily the weather on the day off was great. We ended up taking a short trail from the hut up to a ridge where there was a nice lake surrounded by boggy forest. It was very much like being home on Lake Hildebrand. The species were a little different and it was a bit smaller. All it needed was a few rafts and a pier ;)

Urchin

2008-01-19T15:18:00.000-06:00

I made this hat from knitty last night. Unfortunately it didn't turn out as cute as expected. It's a bit big on me and if I pull it down in order to actually keep my ears warm it looks like a big puffball. If I made it again I would probably use smaller needles or make size small. Luckily for me, it's summer so I don't have to worry about pulling it off or not.

I'm off to work in "the bush" for the week. We get to helicopter in. HURRAY! Hopefully I'll get some great pics to put up.