Gift knitting

You've got to love it when your gift knitting is appreciated!
This past week I've been busily knitting a neck warmer and beret for a family member's 30th birthday. Seeing as she lives in Melbourne I thought a couple of hand knitted items would come in handy, and was pleased when she said how lovely they were and that all of her friends would be jealous as they all try to be cutting edge when it comes to fashion!! I'll take that as a massive compliment thank you very much ;)



The Blackberry Cowl is a nice easy knit which works up pretty quickly and the finished product looks quite impressive. I chose to use some Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed in Parisian, a great looking purple. Once blocked this yarn softened up considerably and felt beautiful to the touch, it won't be a problem against a bare neck that's for sure.

I also made Kim Hargreave's Robin, a cute beret that was rather time consuming due to using a 4ply yarn and tiny needles, as well as the fact that there is a tonne of purl stitches in there. This pattern would be much more suited to being knit in the round and if I ever feel the need to make it again I will be attempting to convert the pattern to knit that way. That being said it still came up looking lovely and I did manage to complete it in record time for me. I left off the pom pom as I thought that would be a bit of over kill and I like it better without, a much simpler and cleaner finished product.


So overall I've had a satisfying knitting week. I just need to go and finish a few of the other projects that have been languishing in project bags, and also try and finish something for myself!

(Of course there are more details on my Ravelry page if you care to look there.)

A month of finishing

Now that April is finished I can do some show and tell of what has been happening knitting wise this past month. I've managed to finish a few projects and have had a few more cast on and worked on as well.

Firstly my BIG project that took me months to do, mostly because I was too chicken to try and work out how to seem the thing up, is finished, totally finished. Finally I took a deep breath and dove in. Once I got going it wasn't too bad, took me ages though and I still have a lot to learn but I now have a wearable cardigan that I made myself (very proud).
It's Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed and the pattern is from her Knit Issue 2. I have all my details in Ravelry of course.

The other projects finished this past month are all smaller items including another Jo Sharp pattern, a beanie for my brother's birthday made with Silkroad Ultra.



A nice plain garter stitch scarf made with some lovely Noro Silk Garden was also made. I started this one once I'd finished my clapotis with the left over yarn and I had to keep going as the colours were looking so nice.
Another couple of hats were finished this month too. Firstly my beginners attempt at knitting in the round with circular needles, changing to dpn's at the end. Very fiddly but I got there and am quite happy with the final product, it's Purl Beret from The Purl Bee.
I also finished a reversible hat for my nephew who's having his first birthday in a couple of weeks, it's made from the beautifully soft Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. I'm hoping it fits him ok.


This month I've learnt that I can definitely get things finished if I put my mind to it and just slowly sit and work it all out. I have had a little help from friends, but that's what they're for isn't it?
I'm looking forward to finishing a few more things this month now, some more adventures to be had, yippee!

It can't be....can it?

How time flies, yet again it's been over a month since my last post. Can't say I haven't been thinking about it but have been a bit lazy and have the excuse of not having taken any good photos lately. Weak I know but I promise to try and be a bit better at this.

What have I been up to you ask? Just the usual, lots of playing with the Lukester, lots of knitting and spending time at home. Time spent sitting on the computer playing on Ravelry and reading lots of blogs, trying to get ideas. There are just so many creative people out there , I'm in awe of what everyone gets up to. In an attempt to start the creative juices flowing I've been making a list of possible blog posts and am starting to get a better feel for our new(ish) camera so I can put some pretty pictures up here.

In the mean time, here's a picture I took at Christmas time that I was quite chuffed with! See you soon...

A day, just like any other...

This morning when I got up I was greeted by a calm morning with the lake looking beautifully smooth, almost like glass, so I decided to take a couple of pictures and the idea of this post was born.....a day in my life!

It's been pretty much a normal weekday with me hanging out at home with the Lukester. We had a play this morning, kicking the ball and playing catch as well as some colouring in (mostly on my part!). Then it was off to the shops to grab a few things for dinner and a birthday present for my niece who's 4 on Sunday. An interesting expedition was had with Mr Terrible Two displaying all the annoying traits of a toddler by constant crying for things he couldn't have. So we did what we had to, came straight home and he was put to bed for his daytime sleep.


Ordinarily he'll have a good couple of hours so I can happily potter around the house, and have a nice sit down with my knitting. Today though, it wasn't to be. For some reason he refused to sleep and was banging the wall and throwing his pillow and toys around until I gave in and got him up again. Some more playing and eating then took place and by the time my MIL got home I needed a break. So to kill two birds with one stone I picked up the Purple iPod and headed out the door for a walk down by the lake. I clocked up 3kms too so I've added a few dollars to the Exer-Stash!!


Back home, dinner needed to be made so I set to on a favourite standard meal of Nigella Lawson's Pollo Alla Cacciatora from Nigella Express This one has become such a popular meal that I've now committed it to memory and it's one that I know will be eaten by Mr Terrible Two.



Dinner was enjoyed, the toddler was bathed and is now quietly sleeping in his bed - hooray!! Now I get to sit on the couch, watch some Law & Order and hopefully get to finish the back of the cardigan I'm working on. Hope you enjoy your evening too!

Just had to try it....

I came across a little meme today whilst looking at Tinkingbell's blog where you Google Unfortunately (insert your name here)

This is what I've come up with:

Unfortunately Susanne could not go with me. So I am going to be without her for 4 weeks.

Unfortunately, Susanne does not seem to plan to have any forthcoming training courses organized in my local area that I could attend.

Unfortunately Susanne was sick up in Sweden, so she had decided to stay at home, rather than infect all the rest of the team with her bugs.

Unfortunately Susan twisted her ankle on her way off stage at the end of the gig

, given that she was wearing heels the proportion of Olympic ski jumps,

Unfortunately, Susanne has been having episodes of vertigo since then, which may be connected to the toxicity.

Unfortunately Susanne had a major epic because her hand jammer was not on properly.

Then there's my all time favourite:

So true, but now unfortunately Susanne has decided she simply has to have Lederhosen! Dirndlen, you see, "are sooooo last Tuesday!

I'm off to find me some Lederhosen, do you think I'll find some to go with my purple shoes??

Birthday Purple....#7

It's my birthday today, I'm older than yesterday.....

I've had a lovely day. The Handsome Husband managed to get the day off work and we had a great family day taking Luke to his music class and then down to the beach for a leisurely lunch at a cafe we've not been to before. I had lots of good wishes from friends and family as well as - da da da da......a Purple iPod Nano! It's a fantastic new toy for me to play with. I've promised the Handsome Husband that I will keep up my exercise plan now to justify him buying it for me!

I've been trying to get a bit of knitting done too. Will try and get a few more pictures taken so that I can do a good post here with substantial knitting content!

PURPLE...#6

If ever I want to watch a good movie to have a laugh and a really good cry then 'The Color Purple' works a treat. I remember watching it not long after it was released and really loved Whoopi Goldberg and especially Oprah, I was so impressed with her acting skill. It's such a fantastic story that I've always meant to read the book but have never gotten around to it, maybe I should. I guess I have the idea in the back of my mind that my having seen the movie first would taint the reading of it.

There's one line that my husband and I like to quote from it every now and then too and it's.... 'I's married now!' Cracks us up every time.