A Town Called Berry

It's nice to go away for a little weekend break. It's especially nice to go away with a few close girlfriends and just hang out. This was a weekend long in the planning, driven mainly by one member of the group, George, who has routinely been either in labour or caught up with kid stuff and unable to join in other fun things like knitting camp etc. So a weekend was planned and excecuted very, very well. There are some nice photos and a run down over on Dr K's blog.

Berry was the town we chose. It's a tiny little town nestled amongst some very green and pretty hills, which you'll have to just imagine since I got very lazy on the weekend and took virtually no photos. Trust me, it's every bit as scenic and adorable as you could imagine it to be. Sean and I spent a weekend there last year, around this time, so I knew what I was in for. Actually there are a few photos from last year's trip I can recycle. This one gives you an idea of the landscape around Berry.



It's your typical small Australian town that has turned to small, folksey business in order to survive. Bed and breakfasts, antique shops, excellent restaurants, bakeries and cafes.

And a wool shop. OK, a yarn shop. Somehow calling it a wool shop sits more comfortably with my sense of old time Australia. I grew up calling such places wool shops because in the 70s and 80s, that's pretty much what they sold. Wool. And haberdashery in general. I still feel most at home in those old shops with their packets of fine Australian fare, Patons, Cleckheaton, that sort of thing.

More on that in a moment.

There was a fabulous garden at the 1860 cottage George found for us to stay in where I found some fun things to photograph.

Like the scarecrow who I think had seen better days.



I dubbed him Worzel Gummage.

We found asparagus growing in the garden. A small, developing patch so we left most of it in tact, but I got to eat this spear later on. Fresh asparagus out of the garden - my first time!



Just one photo of me posing cheesily in the garden. It seemed like a good idea at the time!



And pretty, pretty bluebells. It was that kind of garden. Little points of discovery and interest around every lush corner.



Do you want to know what five obsessed knitters talk about all weekend? Go on, have a guess.

Ravelry. I think we talked about that more than anything else, or at least it felt like it. Who knew that a knitting site could sustain so much interest and conversation. Thank God there were a couple of iphones there on the weekend so that we could easily check Ravelry for the patterns we were talking about. I'm not sure how we'd have coped! (Joke)

So let's get down the really important stuff. The stash. Sew n Tell in Berry is a very classy shop. It's got the good stuff. And it's amazingly well priced in some instances. I think I was quite restrained in terms of volume. I aimed high this time and I did not disappoint myself. Note the purple Kidsilk Haze. I've never owned that before. I just want to stroke it all the time and listen to it purring!



1. Cascade 220, 2. Kidsilk Haze, 3. Rowan Cotton, 4. Noro Iroha

And to continue the purple theme, which was not intentional, it just happened, here's the Wollmeise I bought from RoseRed who is the kind of person who has Wollmeise to burn, I mean, destash.



I saved up for all this stuff and loved every single moment of choosing it all. I decided, when I looked at it all and my other stash at home that really, it's like a collection now. A collection I'm increasingly proud of and besotted with. And I know I'll enjoy knitting with it.

So all in all a very happy weekend. And just maybe, the idea was born in Berry of a chick-lit novel with a handsome sheep farmer and a heroine who loves to knit. Or something. It's fun to dream about it any rate. Who knows maybe I'll even write it!

Bells

Wollongong Weekend

I took no photos on the weekend. I was too busy having a fine time at Kylie's house in Wollongong. However, Sean went out exploring on his own and took a lot of photos so I present a couple of his for a change - taken with his iphone.


Looks like he had a very pleasant afternoon down on the rocks!



Meanwhile, Kylie and I were lusting after the sock yarn stash of a friend of hers who came for afternoon tea. Kylie's friend arrived with a suitcase of show and tell stash! Jitterbug, Socks that Rock, Malabrigo - you name it, she probably had it. A sock yarn stash to envy, that's for sure.

I got a little stash enhancement of my own, just two skeins of Blue Moon Fibre Arts Socks that Rock - oh please admire my restraint in both purchasing only two skeins and not having cast on anything yet since getting home this afternoon!

It's called Winter Solstice and I have nothing like it in my stash. Two skeins is enough for a modestly sized triangular shawl. I just need to decide which one now, so I'll think on it a little longer.



Also, while at Kylie's, under the watchful eye of her friend with the amazing stash, I did my first toe up heel on my pretty stripey socks. Check it out.



Now that I've done it, I can't believe I ever felt afraid of it. Fear of trying new things really, really shouldn't get in the way. It has no place in the life of a serious knitter, I say. Just do it!

Bells

A riot of colour

Really, I think one of the best things about birthdays is all the ways in which you can extend the celebrating. You can spread out time spent with friends and family over several days and this means, rather happily, sometimes being the smiling recipient of generous gift giving.

During the week, good friend George presented me with a book I've been longing to make mine for some time.



Custom Knits is one of those MUST HAVE books, I think. I was thrilled when George gave it to me and I've spent the last few days devouring it. I'll be writing a review shortly!

Next came a very special gift from Jejune during the week. Jejune is, if you know her, a talented artist and she very generously gave me one of her original pieces of knitting art. I'm told that some discussion took place with Sean in readiness for this gift. I liked knowing that. It made me smile.



Towards the end of the week, a package was handed me at my desk at work and I recognised the handwriting immediately. I was having a particularly nasty morning so the timing of this package of squishy goodness landing on my desk couldn't have been better. It was from the ever wonderful RoseRed.



Wollmeise. Always, always treasured. I'm not even taking it out of the wrapper. The fun thing about getting this at work was seeing the faces of workmates who have not seen me receive yarn at work before. The presentation, the gloriousness of yarn wound into a twisted skein such as this - they were amazed. It's nice to be reminded sometimes that not everyone gets to experience the wonder of this stuff like we do!

And finally, today, Kylie came to town. We gathered together in the afternoon to farewell Shelley who is sadly, for us, leaving town next week. Kylie gave me some of the gloriously coloured Kaffe Fasset Regia sock yarn. That man knows color - such an explosion together in the one skein!



I have such wonderful friends. Just such great women. I count myself very lucky, and not just because they have excellent taste in yarn!

And since I'm in a yarn p0rn kinda mood, here are a couple of skeins that arrived today, courtesy of Tinkingbell who organised a bulk purchase from Blue Moon Fibre Arts. I chose a couple of colours that were not my usual style.

Socks that Rock in Sunstone.



And Socks that Rock in Beryl.



God I love that name. Beryl. I was partly inspired by the socks made by RoseRed in this colourway and partly I just wanted to have yarn called Beryl. I don't know why it's so funny but when I showed it to Sean and said the yarn was called Beryl, even he laughed. It sounds like your great aunt, doesn't it? The kind of woman who chain smokes and boils all her veggies to death. Or maybe that's just me.

It's been a fine birthday week all round.

Bells

Another Year Older

Today is my birthday. Sean and I took the day off work, planned some time ago, and disappeared down the coast for the day.

We would never dream of going to Bateman's Bay (or Little Canberra) in summer, when you'd have to queue just to get a table at the fish and chip shop. But in winter, we like these touristy places a lot.

The sun poured down on us today. I'd had visions of a bleak, wintry seascape but really, who gets annoyed at the sun?

But first, the day began with Sean gifting with me a lovely set of Knitpicks Harmony needles. As I noted recently, the name has changed outside the US to Knit Pro. I hadn't realised the names of the needles also changed. They are no longer called Harmony needles. They are Symphonie Birch needles. Doesn't matter to me. I will still call them Knit Picks harmony because, really, who is going to pay attention to the name change?



Sean's a good husband. This is the third year in a row he's sourced a set of Knit Picks needles from Donni, my supplier. Wonder if they'll come up something new he can buy for me next year?

Before we left for the coast, I found out Adele had provided me with a year's subscription to Donna Hay magazine. Life is good.

We headed down the coast soon after and soaked up the difference that approximately 7 degrees can make in the air. It was 15C (59F) in Bateman's Bay today.

First stop was the village outside Bateman's Bay - Mogo. Antiques, second hand books, artsy stuff.



We found a couple of treasures in the bookshop and headed to Bateman's Bay for lunch. This was our view from the deck of the fish and chip shop.



And this was one of the main reasons I chose the coast for my birthday. Oysters.



Sean can't eat them. He's got an allergy. But I can and the Bateman's Bay oysters are quite wonderful. I lapped them up.

We passed the afternoon with a little more wandering, a little more sitting and taking in the ocean views. I wore my February Lady Sweater today, but it was possibly a little warm for it on the coast. I don't think worsted weight yarn is good for coastal weather. Thank goodness I live in Canberra where we have real winters!



Eventually, we had to head home and when we arrived, I found my birthday present to myself had arrived from the lovely Sarah Durrant. This woman's service is second to none. I ordered this on Friday. Colinette Tao in Ginger Cinnabar. Delicious.



Could you imagine a more blissful end to a birthday? Oh, other than your five your old nephew singing happy birthday down the phone line to you. When I described my day to him he declared, 'how good is that?' It's very good, Willem. Very, very good.

Bells

Knit Picks Haul

As those of us who live outside the US well know* Knit Picks does not ship to anywhere else in the world beyond the US border. Oddly enough, they appear to have changed their name, to customers outside the US, to Knit Pro. What the point of this is isn't really clear, since they don't appear to want to deal with the international market as far as their yarn goes. Thankfully there are distributors for their needles outside the US, but not the yarn.

Many of us have hypothesised that this is because a) Knit Picks don't feel they need the international business or b) their yarn is so cheap they figure the international postage costs would be more than the price of the yarn.

I imagine there's an element of both of these theories in the reasons why this company routinely fails to acknowledge international interest in their yarn. That sort of attitude pisses people off, I think. I know it irks me, as well as several of my knitting friends.

Quite rightly, one approach we can take is to declare that if they don't need us, well we don't need them. It's not like there is no other option for yarn. There's a huge yarn market out there, both locally and internationally and there are plenty of companies we can support in our purchases.

That said, I do like their stuff and while I won't go out of my way to acquire it, I'll happily accept an offer from a friend to bring some home for me if convenient. One such friend is Dianne. We've never met even though she only lives about 90 minutes away in the Southern Highlands. Dianne is American and returns home with astounding regularity. She brought me home some Knit Picks yarns a couple of months ago and I haven't touched them, if by touching them I mean actually knitting with them. I have, however, played with them a lot, dreaming of the things they might be.

It's not high end yarn. It's mid-range quality but the allure for me is in the colour. There are some gorgeous colours and their lace weights are particularly nice. I adore my Adamas Shawl made from Shadow and loved making Sean's birthday socks from their Essential Tweed. It's worn really well so it was only right that I ordered some more for him (see first photo below).



1. Flint Tweed, 2. Knitpicks Gloss Lace Raisin, 3. Knitpicks Palette Cream, 4. Knitpicks Essential Ivy, 5. Knitpicks Palette Lipstick, 6. Knitpicks Palette Black

One of the things that I'm confused about now that I have my order is why on earth I ordered FIVE balls of the Palette in black (see item 6 above). Two balls of it in red and white are for a pair of Endpaper Mitts. That much was very clear to me when it arrived. But five balls in black? I really ought to start writing down, when I place orders, what projects I have in mind. This is probably something obvious to many people and I'm just sorry it took me so long to figure out it's a good plan. I'm sure I'll find something to do with the black Palette - a shawl maybe? - but it's not something I'd have done deliberately. It must have been a typo. I wear so much black that I tend not to knit in it because I like to knit things that accessorise well with black. Sigh.

Nonethless, I am grateful to Dianne, my yarn mule, for bringing a lovely haul home to me, even if Knit Picks is a company who behaves as if the rest of the world doesn't exist. If the reason is that their yarn is so cheap (and it is REALLY cheap) that the international postage would cost more, they should look at companies like Bendigo Woollen Mills. Their yarn is astoundingly cheap and they post internationally. It's kind of arrogant to make that choice for customers, don't you think?

Bells

*Naturally I mean those of us who live outside the US and who also knit or crochet.

Purple Tangle

As luck would have it, I awoke this morning sick. All that talk of getting on with plans came to a screeching halt with a definite bout of a sore throat and a cold. I'm not dying, but I don't feel great.

There's just one thing to say about this that's good. I will now rest. And knit. And go out little. Can't complain about that.

I was not, however, too sick to start the day with a bit of yarn buying. Before I'd even had a cup of tea, mind you. Ailsa over at Knitabulous has opened an eye-poppingly gorgeous etsy yarn shop. Her dyed sock yarns and lace weights are stunning and I've resisted for a little while, but the delirium of illness made me buy something in vivid purple today. Oops.

After a spot of reading in bed (Nancy Mitford's Love in a Cold Climate), I got reacquainted with my February Lady Sweater. If you've made this, you'll know that the yoke for this cardigan goes on forever. Much like the garter stitch edging on my brother's pi blanket (which is finished, I might add. Photos later in the week.)



Between the blanket edging and the cardigan yoke, I'm doing a lot of garter stitch at the moment. Almost an entire week of it.

The afternoon did not pan out so well. I've got a secret knit on the go, which I can't say anything about at all, but I can talk about the yarn. It's Fibreworks 4ply merino which I bought at the markets a couple of weeks ago. It's lovely but I think the people at Fibreworks need to take a bit more care with the way they skein up the wool. I was careful but I messed up the first one. Look.



The last time this happened, a kindly reader called Catherine stepped in and saved me. Today, in a rather forward step, I wrote and asked her if she was keen to help me out again. The crazy woman gave a resounding yes and promised to return it ASAP. It'll be in the mail tomorrow.

The second skein was also pretty messy at the points where it was joined but I was on high alert and managed to avoid another crisis.



After that, I got on promptly with starting the Top Secret project and knocked over a goodly amount of it. Maybe this being sick thing isn't so bad after all. Tomorrow, I head to the country for the day for an Austen-fest. I'm not too sick for that. After all, it's what I'd be doing if I was at home anyway!

Bells

The Old Bus Depot Markets or Where All My Money Went Yesterday

The 'Celebration of Wool' day at Canberra's Old Bus Depot Markets is now an annual event and one the yarn lovers amongst us build up to with great anticipation. It's held in a great big tin shed that, funnily enough, used to be a bus depot. I don't know when. Certainly not in my (adult) lifetime.

The markets are on every week but they have periodic 'events' where the focus shifts onto something like wool (and other fibres), or other things. I don't know what things. I only get excited about the Celebration of Wool Day. And of course, it is de rigueur to wear something you have made. There were cardigans, scarves, socks and shawls galore and Ravellers from Sydney to boot!



I was reflecting after the event that I can remember the first time I went to the wool day and how far I've come since then. I went along with a friend the year I started knitting seriously. 2004. I was utterly overwhelmed. For a girl who'd grown up on a diet of Patons yarns, all this stuff that seemed not so far from the sheep's back was a bit scary.

I remember seeing hanks of wool that still had bits of twig or grass in them and I wondered 'why don't people clean it up?' Sure, we don't seek out the twigs and grass, but sometimes that's charming isn't it? We love to be a little nearer to the paddock, don't we?

Now of course I know differently. We don't go there to buy the stuff you can buy in shops. We go there to celebrate the people who produce this stuff and bring it straight from their farms or dye pots or spinning wheels. There are days I really, really wish I could smell because I reckon being around all that earthy stuff must smell SO GOOD.

Anyway, onto the day. I met up promptly with a couple of friends. They spent some time deliberating over the stunning Polwarth yarn from a very, very gorgeous farmer called Tom who had some members of our crew all aflutter. He hails from Tarndwarncoort Polwarth Yarns. (No photo of the hot farmer on the site, sadly but you can admire his sheep!)

Kylie and Shelley and the Polwarth.

Pretty much from that point, it was on for young and old. Sometimes, as much as I love going to these things with my friends, it's all so crazy and my mind becomes a whirligig and the next thing I know, I emerge blinking into daylight, realising I spent a tidy sum on some seriously lovely stuff. A few minutes even on my own might help me a little with that whirligiginess!

But I'm not complaining, because I emerged with some beautiful yarn. Like this stunning purple alpaca silk laceweight yarn from Glenora. I remembered these people from last year and knew that they would hold my attention again this year. Oh boy, did they ever. I was restrained, I think.



I only bought two of those skeins - one in purple and one in red. Well, why wouldn't you?



From the same people I got some merino to spin. Not for me, this spinning thing (at least not at the moment). No no, this lovely pretty merino below, called Shiraz (oh, so me) is going to cross land and sea and be spun by Julie. She offered. She said, get something and I'll spin it and send it back to you.



Ok. Sure. Why not. I'm not silly. I know a good deal when I hear one! When she gets it, we'll discuss what it'll be spun into. 250g worth. Yummy.

So that was pretty much it. I also bought some gifts but they obviously can't be posted.

There really aren't enough hours in the day, are there?

Bells

It's polite to share

After the Victorian bushfires, there were all manner of great ways in which people could donate to the cause for helping victims put their shattered lives back together.

One of those ways, of particular interest to the knitters and crocheters amongst us, was to donate to the Red Cross and leave a comment over at Serendipity to say you'd done so. Contributors went into the draw for an astounding array of prizes donated from all over the place. There was much buzz.

I didn't win anything. That's ok. Really. It would have been wonderful but that wasn't really the point.

RoseRed, on the other hand, scored big time. One whole kilogram of cashmere was hers for the choosing from Colourmart in the UK. That's 2.2lbs of cashmere, for the non-metric among you.

And she could choose cones of heaven in any colour or weight combination she liked. You can imagine the discussions that flew back and forth across cyberspace. Days of examination. Hours and hours of agonising. Dreams galore.

And the absolute best part of all this? RoseRed said she was going to share her bounty with me. Is that not the most wonderful generosity?

So the agonising was mine, too. I could choose a cone of anything I liked and so I did. Behold.



This is a 150g/5.2 ounce cone of laceweight cashmere to call my very own. It was delivered by Kylie on the weekend, who took her mission most seriously.

Want to know the yardage? Sure you do.

2103 metres, or 2300 yards. Bloody hell. What's a girl to do with that much laceweight cashmere?

Well for a start, I'm just going to love it. And love it. And love it. And some day, I'll knit it into something really, really big. Just not any time soon. This thing's gonna need some seroius training first. Some preparation. Some build up.

Oh and I might have to finish this black beauty first. And have a little rest. Then, maybe I'll be ready.



For now I'm happy to dream. Dreaming is good. So are friends who share. Thanks RoseRed.

Bells

A Bowl of Yarn

There is a lovely post over at Make Do and Mend today, where Mooncalf discusses the way in which she uses a large bowl to hold knitwear. Go have a look and then come back. The rest of this post will make more sense after that.

+ + +

Back? Good. Read on.

It got me to thinking and as I was thinking, I looked up from my laptop and saw the ceramic platter (which was a gift from my sister, Adele, on my 30th) which has for some time now featured some beloved skeins of yarn. Each of these skeins, bar the silver laceweight at the end, was a gift.



I brought it out to the kitchen for the photo, because the lighting is better there, but the rest of the time, it sits on the coffee table in my lounge room. I try and keep the table clear so the platter can be the true centrepiece, but well, me and flat surfaces, we have a difficult relationship.

It's one of the few concessions I make to household decoration. I'm not really into it. I mean, I like the idea and little bits I've done please me but on the whole, it's not really my thing. The living room Yarn Art though, really makes my day some days. I look, admire, and feel glad that I have left the skeins out as adornment. 

It's useful, too. Most recently, when I was cast adrift in a sea of darkness, two skeins of palest blue koigu were in my direct line of vision every time I looked up from another darkly coloured piece of knitting. I stared at it long enough that I knew I had to knit it. 

If it had been put away with all the other stash, I might not have considered it. It might not have saved me from drowning in the black, or nearly black projects that seemed to be multiplying daily.

And so I love my yarn art. But I also rather like Mooncalf's idea of a bowl of knitwear by the door. If only I had enough hats and mittens to fill one.

I think there might be a bout of small/accessory knitwear looming on the horizon. 

+ + +

And finally, I've had a few requests for where to get the knitwear labels from yesterday's post. The answer is, I have no idea. I can't remember. I've long since lost the details but I will try and remember! 

Bells

Wensleydale - it's not all about cheese

Until late last year, if I heard the word Wensleydale, I immediately thought of one of two things, neither of which had anything to do with wool.

I thought mostly of cheese because Wensleydale cheese, as any self respecting British comedy afficianado will know, has featured twice in great comedy. Once in the famous Monty Python cheese shop sketch, and most recently in the Wallace and Gromit series.

Have I just lost the Americans? Are Wallace and Gromit known there? I'm pretty sure they're universal, since there was an animated movie by the makers starring Mel Gibson.

So that loveable fuddy-duddy, Wallace, even has real life Wensleydale cheese with his face on the wrapper now.

Wensleydale cheese is funny. I don't know why. I am not sure I've ever even tried it, but I mean to. Is it just that the word itself is funny and that's why it's been used in comedy? I don't know. It's like 'trousers'. I think 'trousers' is a very funny word. Some words just are, don't you think?

Anyway.

Last year I stumbled across some lovely wool I'd never seen before, in a delicate cranberry colour. I rather liked the look and feel of it but mostly I just bought it because of the name.

Wensleydale.

And it was only recently that I investigated what a Wensleydale sheep looked like.

And aren't they cute? I want hair like that - it kinda looks like a dropped perm, doesn't it? According to Wikipedia, these lovelies are at risk. There are only 1500 breeding females in the world. So now I feel even better that I bought more Wensleydale recently.

Kylie went to the UK recently and she offered to do a spot of shopping for various friends. When I knew she was going to I Knit in London, I checked out the website and sure enough, they stocked Wensleydale yarn. It's pretty hard to get here. I requested earthy tones and Kylie kindly delivered.

I got some grey Wensleydale! 8ply/DK weight. This will be a warm winter shawl of some kind.



And this is, despite poor photography, is green Wensleydale! In 4ply/fingering weight. I couldn't quite capture the lovely forresty greenness of this stuff.



Wensleydale sheep originate in Yorkshire and Yorkshire is one of my favourite places so I'm rather happy to hold onto this hard to get yarn for a while longer and just love it to bits. Thank you, Kylie. You're the best.

Bells

A few dot points

There just really hasn't been the scope/need/desire/material for blogging this week. I've got nothing I can show that hasn't been seen before, or else nothing that has been photographed in readiness for posting. Nothing. So, a few dot points is what I'm capable of for now.

• I will forewarn you all (apologies to those who've been reading me whining in emails or in person or on Facebook) that I think my Something Blue cardigan isn't much cop. I intend to post photos of the finished cardigan on the weekend when I can get photos but I'm really not sure it's me. Unflattering, is how i feel about it, but I'll let the readers help me decide.

• Some of you may not know, because we've been slack for quite some time, that RoseRed and I have a shared food blog. It's called Mouthfuls of Heaven and it's devoted to the work of British cook, Nigella Lawson. RoseRed's been baking and updating the blog. Her Boston Cream Pie looks wickedly wonderful.

• I fully intended to be a good girl this year and only buy yarn on the rarest occassions, and when it seemed like a considered and worthy purchase. For the most part, I've done that although I did buy more of that $2.50 Chinese cotton earlier this week. That can hardly be said to be overdoing it, now, can it?
  
  
• On that note, however, I did splurge considerably this week. A blogger many of us know and love, Kylie, is heading to England and Wales for work tomorrow and I've placed an order for some stuff that we either can't get here or which is a better price over there (despite the poor value of the Aussie dollar against the pound). Stay tuned. I'm a little bit excited. Have a safe trip, Kylie.
  
  
• I'm all about the gift knit at the moment. Young Will is turning 5 next week and I'm knitting him a vest which is flying off the needles. Adele turned thirty-something last week and I'm working on a little item for her to accompany her main gift (not knitted). And a friend at work is having, shall we say, intimate surgery next week and will need several weeks' recovery time. I'm going to be working on something for her over the next little while, too. The sooner that's finished the better because I want to give it to her early in the recovery process, not later.
  
  
• Now that the weather is cooling down, I've made a startling and wonderful discovery. This time last year, I owned one shawl. My brown forest canopy shawl. I'm wearing it right now and love it to pieces. It thrills me to no end to realise now that I have not one but four small triangular shawls to choose from every day and I fully intend to have more. Sean asked, 'how many shawls does a girl need?' Scoff. As many as she can knit I say. In all those different colours? Why not?
  
  
• Do you Tweet? If you do, I'm there too as Bellsg. Follow me if you want!
  
  
• One other thing, I believe some readers thought that in my recent post on the crochet doily I had completed said doily in one, sleepless night. Even Sean said it read that way. No no. Not at all. I was only awake for a few hours that night. It was completed a few days later at more sane waking hours.
  
  
• And finally, a bit of advance notice. In April, which is my blogiversary month, I've had this crazy idea that I'll attempt a repeat of last year's Blogtoberfest scheme - remember the month where lots of us posted daily? I thought it might be a fun way to celebrate my third year of blogging and to include random prizes for small items periodically. So keep an eye out for my month of celebratory (and, most likely, draining) daily blogging! With prizes! You have been warned!

Have a good weekend everyone.

Bells

A Day In My Life - Feb 09

It wasn't until I was emailing with RoseRed today that I remembered today is A Day In My Life day. 

Each month, RoseRed does this meme, which is about capturing the day, recording the great and small moments, and each month I forget. By the time I remember, I realise I've not taken photos and give up on the idea. 

This month I thought i'd give it a go, despite the almost lack of photos. Mainly it's because Sean is watching Mythbusters which doesn't interest me in the slightest and I want to do something else.

So, my day. 

We went to the markets nice and early, stocking up on veggies and meat. We bought a chocolate croissant from the delightful French-style patisserie, Knead, and brought it home to have with a pot of tea.

By 10:30am we were at the National Gallery of Australia waiting for our friends Polly, Steve and Julia so we could see the Degas exhibition before it finishes its run in Canberra. I know almost nothing about Degas, other than that he was an Impressionist. My knowledge of art history is sorely lacking and it's something I try and rectify by going to exhibitions when I can and watching Sunday afternoon art documentaries as much as possible. I seem to enjoy it so much that I think I really ought to make a study of it, even if it's just in these fairly simple ways.

Sometimes, I think these sorts of excursions are really defined by who you go with. The paintings are wonderful but there's something about the company and the mood of the day that contributes significantly to the moment. 

I've known Julia, Polly and Steve since university (approaching twenty years). We have dipped in and out of each other's lives over the years and now, in our late thirties and early forties, we seem to have all reconnected in a really meaningful way. Our lives are all at different points. We each have either grown up children, small children or no children but the differences don't seem to matter at all. There's a common understanding, a shared history that overrides all of that.

Being with them, and Sean, made the Degas exhibition the most enjoyable art gallery experience I've had in a long time. We've not done this sort of excursion before and together we seemed to just fit. Sometimes we sniggered at Degas (some of the paintings of horses really seemed strange as if he'd never really seen a horse before) and sometimes we were in awe. To stand in a dimly lit room with old friends, inhaling the colour and light of, for example, the ballerina paintings was special in ways I can't really explain.



Old friends are as valuable as these paintings.

We left the gallery to go our own ways and because of a wrong turn, Sean and I ended up near Kingston where one of the better yarn shops, Cassidy's, is to be found.

I must digress here for a moment. A few days ago, in a quite serious need of some retail therapy, I went to Cassidy's at lunch time to indulge in the Rowan sale. I admit to feeling a small twinge of guilt to be buying something like this when so many have suffered and lost so much in the bushfires but when another round of IVF fails, as I found out it had on Thursday, I allow myself to do whatever helps in the first 24-48 hours. I can hardly speak about this, but that's what the  yarn indulgence was for. It's pathetic really to think that a yarn sale can even come close to making up for the loss that yet another failed IVF represents, but like the wine I'm drinking right now, it doesn't fix anything. It's just something that soothes me in those first, horrible days.

I emerged on Thursday with more than a little Rowan Felted Tweed (some was for RoseRed!). Like I said, few photos of today, but I can post other photos. 

My new Rowan.

Ten balls of this.



Four balls of this.



Sigh.

When Sean saw this on Thursday, he immediately asked if the chocolate colour was for him. Ah, no. It's been earmarked already for a shawl. But today, as we were out that way, I deviously suggested we call in and choose some yarn for him which I don't have a photo of right now, but he chose a colour called Dragon. For a fantasy/sci-fi boy as he is, that seems somehow fitting. It'll be a scarf for him by the time winter arrives.

Sean and I spent the better part of the afternoon preparing food. We bought a BBQ recently and last week Sean bought a BBQ cook book. He's all enthused and we've dined well since the book arrived. Veal steaks, pepper steak, lamb burgers. Fabulous stuff. So now we have various kinds of meat marinating, just waiting to be cooked in next to no time after work this week. 

Tonight we dined on an Indian feast that was also partially prepared this afternoon. Madras Chicken with dhal, raita and basmati rice. We work well in the kitchen together when we get motivated and work in tandem. We drank champagne while we prepared it; red wine while we ate it and felt immensely satisfied afterwards. I even remembered to get a photo.



And that's really it. The rest of today will be spent knitting, watching TV and polishing off the rather delicious Shiraz we're drinking. We don't really bother about Valentines Day, but cooking something tasty together and doing the things we love, well that feels like a celebration of love to me.

Bells

Just because

Sometimes you do things just because. No reason, really. Like buying new yarn when you said you'd try not to for a while.



I'm on a bit of a slow down with yarn buying and am quite enjoying savouring the stash I've got, but sometimes an opportunity presents itself, like finding out that some yarn a couple of friends are raving about is both discontinued and on sale at Clegs. Grignasco Tango at $3.95 a ball (x 10). Amazing. It will be a cardigan for me and there's a shortlist.

Speaking of cardigans, I started one. Again, just because.



It's Something Red by Wendy Bernard, a cardigan I've been eyeing off since I bought the pattern last year. Mine is, of course, blue, because that seems to be the only colour I know how to knit lately when it comes to cardigans. I do plan to rectify that this year but this Lana Grossa Nico cotton has been in the stash for a while and I think will make a delightful autumn garment.

Oh and by the way, top down construction rocks! George had been raving about this for ages and I believed her, I just needed the right vehicle. It's a very nice contrast piece for when I'm not feeling the lace love (which is rare, but it happens). 

And another just because. Mad, Mad Rachel sent me some Debbie Bliss Cashmere for Valentines Day. Presumably just because she wanted to. Thank you Rachel. You are too sweet, as were the heart candies and chocolates we both enjoyed! 



In closing, it would seem just wrong to not mention the fires. They're still burning and the number of dead rises almost hourly but it's tremendous to read that people are contributing so much to help out. It's great to see. What else can we do? I'm trying, personally, not to overdo watching the stories. The way some of the media seem to almost feast on the grief never sits well with me.

Bells

'Twas a lovely visit

Thanks for everyone's kind comments on the sad visit we made to our sick friend yesterday. I know Sean felt the kindness was in some way comforting. 

I did wonder beforehand if winter weight socks he may never wear was kind of insensitive as a gift, but I hadn't realised that extremities can really suffer when those with Cancer are so near the end. So thank you.

***

Earlier in the day, we visited RoseRed at her lovely new home. We found her in the pretty, leafy suburb where she now resides and settled in for a meltingly hot visit as Sydney had one of its hottest days in ages. Sean planted himself in front of the TV and RoseRed and I retired to the room, which I dubbed The Parlour, for knitting and chatting. 

Here's proof I was there. I call this photo Portrait of a shawl in the Parlour. 



Note RoseRed's perfectly suited and elegantly draped Lady Eleanor shawl in the background. 

At some point in the morning, we exchanged belated Christmas gifts. I can now reveal the gift I was SO excited about giving her. 

About six months ago, a friend of mine who is a print artist, took us to an exhibition of her work. The loveliest piece, in my opinion, was of a pair of red shoes. I fell in love with it and thought of RoseRed naturally enough. Polly said she would make a print of it for me and late last year, I got it and some time after, framed it. Here it is.



Isn't it lovely, and perfect for her? There's a tender, sad story behind the shoes. The piece is dedicated to the artist's friend who died around a year ago of cancer. The shoes were hers and somewhere, Polly hopes, her friend is still wearing them and dancing.

I also gave her Loani Prior's lovely book, Wild Tea Cosies. It's gorgeous. Check it out. I bought it from Wool Addiction in Bowral who sent it so beautifully gift wrapped that I had to leave it as it was for RoseRed, rather than doing my own notoriously dodgy wrapping. 

RoseRed's gifts to me were equally lovely and beautiful. 

Some red Alpaca Silk from Blue Sky Alpaca which is so very gorgeous.



I have some in ice blue which was a gift from Mad, Mad Rachel and it's quite possible the two will make something beautiful in some colourwork. We shall see.

As well as the yarn, RoseRed gave me a beautiful, delicate shawl pin. Here it is adorning my Adamas shawl.



Stunning huh? I feel so blessed to have someone with such exquisite taste as a friend of mine! 

Now, I shall go back to sitting around sweating. There's an image for you all! 

Bells