October Roundup

It's been a bit of an up and down month. Healthwise - definitely down. After an episode of excruciating tummy spasms it seems I have diverticulitis. I also managed to sprain my ankle which has been a nuisance and interfered with the physio I was having for my knee (same leg). I am now seeing a dietitian, and have a referral to a gastroenterologist. I am a bit grumpy about the diet I will now have to follow even though I am grateful that it is a very manageable condition and it could have been a whole lot worse!

Work has been challenging. We are very busy preparing to move offices and three of my team were terminated for breaching just about every policy you can think of. Great timing!

Last weekend we flew to Adelaide for a wedding. The wedding was held at Currency Creek. It was a very pretty venue, the bride looked lovely and everyone had a great time but there was just a bit too much Celine Dion for my liking. I can't show you photos because the next day I lost my camera.

On the knitting front there have been some finished objects (photos on the aforementioned lost camera) and some yarn acquisition. So not a lot out and quite lot in. I will update when I either get a new camera or resuscitate my old camera.

Busted!

In the interests of complete disclosure, there was actually more yarn purchased than admitted to earlier. I have owned up to them on my stash page in Ravelry but here is more from last month:

And whilst I am thinking about designating 2011 knit from stash year, this obviously excludes any purchases that might be anticipated on an overseas trip and any yarn that might be required to knit things for my grandson-in-the-making.

Ins and outs

So - last month there were two finished projects - Damson in Knitabulous Fifty - fifty.

And Los Monos Locos (Crazy Monkeys) in Fyberspates Dream sock yarn:

There was some yarn purchased. This from Posh yarns - a silk wool blend for a summer top:

And a final shipment from the very excellent Needlefood:

Sadly, Michelle is taking a break from dyeing yarn so I had to grab some before she shut up shop. There may have been other yarn purchased. I have been updating my stash on Ravelry with a view to (possibly) declaring 2011 knit from stash year.

In the meantime, I am of the view that it would be criminal not to take advantage of the strong Aussie dollar - we'll never have it so good again!

Knitting Foibles

I will admit to having a few little foibles - but there is usually a reason for them. I prefer to sit on the left side of a bus, for example. But that is because I usually knit on the bus and prefer not to have my right arm hard up against the side of the bus. And I don't like buying shoes that have been on display in the shop but this is because so few shops insist that people wear those sock things to try on shoes. Call me fussy but I don't fancy buying shoes that have been worn - however briefly - by someone else's bare feet. Particularly in summer.

I'm not sure that my knitting foibles are based on any sort of reason, though. I get quite stressed if I have to put a project down having just completed a right side row. Why is this? I don't know - I just prefer to finish on a wrong side row.

I don't like knitting projects that don't use up a complete skein. Now this is clearly ridiculous but I find myself avoiding knitting items that use less than one skein.

I have a not inconsiderable stash of yarn but am reluctant to use some of it. Again, why? Why am I saving any yarn? Am I waiting for the perfect project to appear? It's all getting a little out of hand so I am going to make a concerted effort to knit from my stash and to base my project selection on the suitability of the yarn, rather than the amount of it.

A Disorganised Knitter

My working life occasionally involves developing and putting in place information management taxonomies. So you would think that I would be good at organising, sorting and classifying. Somehow, when it comes to my home life, all these skills depart and I seem to live in a perpetual muddle. I can't even describe it as organised chaos!



My stash is a good example. Although I do try to store similar yarns together, I don't really have a firm idea of what I have or where it is. So I have decided to really use the organisational tools available in Ravelry and to document my stash. This is a somewhat scary and daunting proposition. It will mean that I will have to confront the size of the stash (or yarn collection according to Randomknits ). I am working through my stashes - the home one and the office one - and photographing, uploading and sorting. I may surface eventually!

Pipe down

Some of our knitting group have recently moved house. Last week, we were talking about the trials and tribulations of moving and how we inevitably lose stuff in the process. I have moved house many times and have lost things that were dear to me. However, one thing seems to survive. And this is it:

It's a boatswain's pipe sometimes called a bosun's whistle or call. These pipes can be traced as far back as the Crusades and were used to pass commands to a ship's crew as they could be heard over the sound of the sea. Nowadays, they are generally used on ceremonial occasions.

I found this one almost 50 years ago on Eastbourne beach. Many of you will know how stony English beaches are so it is miraculous to find anything. This has stayed with me through house moves across four countries, three continents and two hemispheres. I haven't consciously treated it any differently to any other possesion but it is the one thing that has remained with me through all that time and the only remnant of my childhood.

It might seem fanciful but I wonder if this little artifact has had a deeper influence on my life. I was married for almost forty years to a master mariner and my present partner is ex-RAN. As the songs says - all the nice girls love a sailor!

Things knitterly

Last Saturday Liz Gemmell was the guest speaker at the Inner City Guild meeting. In the afternoon she conducted a workshop for us. It was an amazing day and Liz was incredibly generous with sharing her knowledge. I think we all felt inspired!

I shall certainly be more diligent about swatching and will try charting out patterns before I start knitting. I realise that this is why so few - well, none really - of my knitted garments work out the way I would like. It absolutely makes more sense to spend time doing the maths rather than waste many hours knitting a garment that I am not happy with and will never wear!

Two items that have turned out well are

the Vintage Lady scarf. This is the Lacy Kerchief Scarf in my favourite yarn - Knitabulous Fifty Fifty.

And

Many Yards of Heaven. This is 195 Yards of Heaven in Rowan Silky Wool. I bought four skeins in John Lewis in London but needed a fifth to get the size shawl I wanted. To cut a long story short I eventually got the yarn from Webs and amazingly it was the same dye lot!