Bobb's Christmas

I'm sure you've all been wondering about Bobb's Christmas presents. I took three packages out to him on Boxing Day.



He loves opening presents...




And was feeling very pleased with himself!

Yarn Confession

So here it is - time to admit to yarn acquisition in November. I think I've remembered everything and I may have doubled up one or two from October's haul (she says, hopefully).

First up is the "forgotten" yarn from Knitabulous. A glorious fifty-fifty called Citrus Punch. Next is the November shipment from Needlefood - Picnic in the Rain. On the right are two skeins from Angels & Elephants - Holly Berry and Damson Delight.

Then there is Poison from Yarn Lust, Wine Tasting from Sundara Yarns and another Needlefood - Lupin. The final three skeins are all from Posh Yarns - Miranda 4 ply in Holly Golightly, Elinor in Angel Eyes and a gorgeous Alpaca / Silk blend in Sanctuary. I don't think I've missed anything but I do seem to have a few more skeins than this lurking in my home stash and my secret office stash.

Off the needles last month was Rosered in Malabrigo Silky Yarn but that was all! So November was definitely a Yarn Positive month.

It Itches

Sadly not a reference to Frankin Habit's book of the same name. I have not been feeling 100% for some time and felt vaguely unwell at the excellent M&S Christmas High Tea. On Sunday morning I woke up itching from a rash on my trunk. Dr Google confirmed my suspicions that it was shingles and my real life doctor seconded that opinion. Which explains the burning back pain of earlier in the week and general malaise. So now I'm on aggressive anti-viral medication which I'm hoping will fix the shingles and also my knitting doldrums.

I am assured that barring physical contact with the rash I am not contagious so all my fellow tea party-goers should not be concerned.

I am using my ailment as a valid excuse to defer the stash total confession.

Current works in progress include Flutter Scarf using Posh yarn Beatrice. It's a lovely yarn and a soothing pattern to knit.

South of the Border

Yes, I'm working in our Melbourne office for a few days. The people in our office are very friendly and it is always a pleasure to come here. And the office is in a stunning building. Here is the foyer all dressed up for Christmas

I only had time for a quick dash to Clegs where I bought some organic cotton to make washcloths for Christmas gifts.

You will have noticed a deafening silence on the Yarn Neutral status this month. I haven't actually tallied it up but I fear that the input has far outweighed the output. This is partly due to the persistent knitting doldrums and also to some forgotten yarn arriving. I shall bite the bullet and record the month's totals when I get home.

Knitting Doldrums

I've been trying to find the right word to describe how I feel about my knitting at the moment. I haven't lost my knitting mojo but I seem unable to get enthused about any of my current projetcs. I keep starting things and then frogging them. I have knitted the back, a sleeve and half the left front of Pebbles and am seriously thinking of unravelling it all. Rosered suggested starting a new project every day for a week as a cure (it worked for her).


In the meantime - a finished Christmas present:

I'm quite pleased with this - it's for my daughter-in-law. My family in the UK are all getting hats this Christmas. I still have to knit two so I hope that the feeling of ennui soon passes!

Relocation, relocation!

We found out last week that the whoever owns our unit has defaulted on the mortgage and the lender wants vacant possession - understandably! There is some question as to who actually owns the unit as there are several names on the court document - none of whom are the landlord. Since it all sounds distinctly dodgy, we decided to start looking around.

Can I tell you how depressing this is? There is not much out there and what is available in our area is pretty grim. At one of the inspections another lady was muttering about the need for a good dose of Domestos and I have to agree with her. The one bright spot in an otherwise disheartening day was this jacaranda.

Sadly, not even the proximity of this lovely tree could compensate for the dire state of the inside of the unit! I was extraordinarily fed up and grumpy by the end of the day. The thought of relocating the stash - let alone anything else - is quite overwhelming!

On the knitting front there are a few items off the needles - hoorah!

The socks that were started in July in Knitabulous Ultimate sock yarn in Chrome:

And the Trinity Shawl made from the one of the Lush Yarns Pink Ribbon Day special yarns.

This was a very satisfying knit. It knitted up quickly and the yarn - a fifty / fifty blend of silk & merino was beautiful to work with.

Grumpy in WA

The flight over yesterday was not too bad. I watched (and cried over) Mao's Last Dancer and experimented with the dreaded crochet hook. Boteh still eludes me but I did manage to produce this:

Not sure what I'll do with it but it did pass the time.

I eventually left the office at 6.30 WA time. Since I had left home at 6.15 am (Sydmey time) it had been a long day and I was tired. The hotel I was staying at was a 3.5 km drive away and when I got there it was serviced apartments. No room service. My room was configured for disabled patrons so nothing was at my height. I was tired, grumpy and not happy with the room. There was nowhere else so I agreed to stay.

I thought I'd get out my knitting to calm me down. I wanted to just bring carry on bags to save time at the airport so had taken off my metal Knitpick tips and brought two new, security friendly wooden tips. The screw connection on one tip was faulty so it wouldn't tighten up and I COULDN'T KNIT!!!! This was the final straw!

Fortunately there was a Vintage Cellars right opposite the hotel and an IGA down the road. I got bubbles from one, superglue and some food from the other. I got back to my apartment and filled a glass with the bubbles, stuck the Knitpicks tip on with the superglue, and banged the food in the microwave. Calm descended......