Exhibition Failure but the knitting was great

Some of us girls from Kiama Knitters Guild set up at the Annual Dapto Art & Craft Exhibition with high hopes of selling alot of our knitting. How wrong could we be, I sold nothing, as did some others, and others sold only a few of their items. We did have 2 days of great knitting, chatting and watching the people go by at the exhibition. Tianne took some pictures of a couple of things I hadn't got photos of before so I could put them here.

A full length picture of the Christening Gown. I am going to sell it, after speaking with some other knitters I have put a price of $120au on it.

It is so lovely and fine, it was a pleasure to knit. I would love to do a baby shawl, but not in the near future.

Another item I have just finished is a pink baby cardigan and matching hat which is from Lion Brand Baby Yarn sent to me in a swap with a lovely person from New Jersey. I have been told we can buy some Lion Brand yarn from Spotlight stores here in Australia.

The blue bootees are knitting in 3ply pure wool baby yarn, made in Australia. The colour is a bit dirty looking, but you did get that impression with older style pure wool as it wasn't the vibrant colours of today, this yarn was a good buy of ebay a few years back, and is finally all knitted. Yahoo, less stash with all of this knitting.

While at the exhibition I did knit another pink hat the same as with the cardigan, then starting on some pure wool bedsocks for the girls in Berrima Women's Prison, it is an ongoing project for the Kiama Knitters Guild, I finished that pair last Sunday night, and I have nearly finished a second pair I started last night, and that will be the end of that colour 8ply pure wool. I think I will then continue on #2 son's knitted blanket until I finish it. I am going to just enjoy knitting for a while and not worry about things to sell, most will be charity knitting for colder parts of this world.

Talking of great ebay buys, last week I purchased 10 balls each of Cleckheaton Country in a brown fleck and a tan fleck, they will look great in Aran jumpers which I am thinking of doing for the Guardian Pharmacy for World Vision, last year the knitting was sent to Mongolia, so pure wool will be great for where ever it may end up for their next winter at the end of this year.

I guess I have been doing a great job of stash busting, so I guess 20 more balls won't make much of a difference in my room and they will be going to some very needy and cold people with love.

Christening Gown

It's all done. I got up at 6am this morning to sew up the side seams, thread through the ribbon and then pack it for the exhibition. I bundled up all my knitting and headed off to the Wollongong Old Court House to help set up for the exhibition this weekend, we were meeting at around 10am or so, I left around 3pm to to some things on the way home and then get ready to go back for the opening at 7pm. I was so tired when I arrived home, threw some dirty washing in the machine, and laid down for a bit. I was too tired to get myself ready and go to the opening, I am sure that everyone who attended had a wonderful time, they will really enjoy the exhibition. I will be away this weekend so won't make it back to see the exhibition while open. Hopefully Tianne will go over the weekend. I also forgot to buy a raffle ticket, you should have seen the lovely basket of yarn as the prize.

The Christening Gown was knitted with 2ply pure wool by Te Awa (New Zealand). It was lovely to knit, well after getting past the ball that had 5 knots that had to be ripped back to the edge of the row and tired off. I used organza ribbon which looked lovely. I have taken some photos quickly this morning, and if I am lucky one of the girls from SNB will take some photos this weekend and email them to me.

Another year goes by

Today (only coincidental) that it is my blogging anniversay, don't ask which one, I think a year?? could be two.

I have been knitting away on the pure wool 2ply Christening Gown, which I need to have finished by Wednesday, to be in the Wollongong Stitch N Bitch Annual Exhibition being held at the Old Wollongong Court House across from Belmore Basin (Harbour) in Wollongong on the weekend of 14 & 15 April.

Being the Easter Long, Long Weekend (4 days) I thought it would be good to be raining all weekend so I could knit, well so far so good we have had rain a few times on Good Friday and today is pretty much raining all day, see wishes can come true.

I knitted a fair bit on Thursday night, up till around midnight, then up again the next morning after a bit of a sleep in to knit more, something didn't go right on the pattern row , counted the stitches, yep they are right, looked at the previous few rows, yep they looked right. Kept knitting for about 3 hours and got heaps done (remember this is 2ply yarn, it grows really slow). Later in the day I picked up the knitting again, I had another hitch with the pattern row (3rd row of 4 row repeat), couldn't work it out, but when I held the gown up, pulled the patterns apart a bit to see, and there it was way way way back it would have been the second last row I knitted on the Thursday night, I didn't pattern the 3 x knit 2 togethers, bugger it, I felt ill. What will I do, I want to sell this for a lot of money at the exhibition, well I did the only thing I could do, I ripped it all out, way way way back to before where I finished on the Thursday night, got a very very fine needle and put the stitches back on, counted them a few times to make sure I had the 136 stitches needed. Then back to knitting, so another late night knitting, then up early this morning and now I am back to about 8 rows past where I was yesterday at lunchtime. I need to get back to it. The photo will show where I was at about 10am on Friday before about 2 more hours of knitting which was ripped back.

Hats, scarfs, and dishcloths

I have been busy knitting slowly away at my stash. I have completed a hat and scarf in a mauve boucle yarn which is going to the Knit4charities March charity. I have completed a black and white scarf in a black/white chunky yarn combined with black/white ostrich type yarn which will be on sale at the May sale at Ribbonwood centre, also for that sale is a brown Bamboo/Wool yarn, it was nice and easy to knit.

The other item I have done is a pink dishcloth with a heart pattern, this is for the SNB exhibition in April.

My ambitious project for the SNB exhibition in April is a Christening gown in 2ply pure wool, I have not long started that and only have knitted about 4 inches so far.

I have also done a few more pattern repeats on the blanket for #2 son.

still stashing along

I can't show what I have been knitting over the last couple of weeks as my camera seems to have gone 'walkabout'. No-one seems to know where it has gone, but it has gone.

I finished more stash knitting with a matching hat and scarf in a boucle yarn in a nice soft mauve colour which is for the March knit for knit4charities, a beanie that is going to Burma (I can't remember the new name for it), to children through the Red Cross organisation. I have knitted a nice black and white two yarn and two tone colour scarf, I am currently knitting a light brown scarf using Bamboo/Wool yarn (70% bamboo, 30% wool) made in Italy, both of these scarfs will be for sale at the May Craft exhibition at the Ribbonwood Centre, Dapto (NSW Australia).

I have a beautiful long christening gown pattern in 2ply which I am going to knit for the SNB Exhibition in Wollongong in April and then maybe I will put it for sale at the May exhibition at Ribbonwood Centre.

I went to the NSW Knitters Guild AGM last saturday, they had some yarn from Bendigon Mills for sale, it was pure wool 8ply, 200g balls for $5, I touched them, I picked them up, I fondled them, then Tianne and Irene grabbed me and walked my away to lunch and told me to remember I am on a yarn diet, yeah yeah, But thankyou, you saved me from messing up my Bustalong commitment. But is was very nice, a soft off white with flecks of red, blue, green and yellow through it, it would have made some lovely jumpers for Guardian Angel project that sends garments to place like Mongolia etc each winter.

Other knitting for the SNB exhibition I have done this week is a bright pink 'dishcloth', the theme is going to be "Shabby Chic", so a lot of old fashioned items are being knitted for the exhibition. This exhibition is held at the Old Court House, Belmore Basin, Wollongong, it is such a lovely old building and right across the road from Belmore Basin (Wollongong Harbour).

I was looking in our local bookstore the other week and noticed a new release book "The Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs, I had to have it, but didn't have the money, so on pay day I went back and bought the book, It reminded me of the Tuesday (every 2nd week) knitting I do with some girls from SNB at CRK Daisy Design shop, I knew I had to have this book and read it.

Bedsocks for Charity

I have been knitting and have only had time or energy to post as I finished two pairs of bedsocks for Knit4charities for one of the February charities we are knitting for. These are going to Bethesda Nursing Home. There are again two charities listed for the month of February, the other needs clothes for babies to 10 year children from Aboriginal families in need. So this afternoon I will go through my stash and find some yarn and patterns to get started on. I am still on the grey and black rug for #2 son but my deadline for this is 15 April, plenty of time to get more knitted on it.

Circular socks all done

I finished the pair of children's socks using the two circular needles method. I knitted one sock at a time, I would have to really think about knitting them both at the same time. I used Patons 4ply patonyle yarn which knits up really nice and soft.

As part of the January Knit4charities I had some knitted squares I had done a while back when we were going to breed our dog for when the puppies arrived, but we didn't breed her, and as one of the charities for January was a dog rescue organisation I decided to give them away as they could be put to great use now. Dare I say it that I am going to try to knit a thing or two for each of the charities each month, that will be a great stash buster.

On the needles tonight are a pair of bed socks, this time I am getting ahead this is for one of the February charities.

Socking along on a circular honey...And happy Australia Day for yesterday 26 January

I have completed my first ever sock knitting on two circular needles. It was a bit of a learing curve for me, and after 3 or 4 times having to frog the sock, I wasn't going to be put off, and kept on trying to understand how to continue after turning the heel, which stitches went on what needle, finally it all clicked and I was on my way again. I have started the second sock this morning and hopefully I can remember everything that I did on the first sock.

I went and checked out all the handicrafts at Kiama Show today, it is a wild day with wind, some rain (not much to speak about) and it is so cold on the headland in Kiama where the show it held. There were some wonderful things to see, the knitting was really nice, I wish there was more of it. I didn't do any good with either of my entries, but the looked nice amongst all the other knitting. The spinning and weaving was wonderful, met up with a couple of friends from SNB who were at the show demonstrating spinning wool, the work people have done with their handspun yarn is absolutely wonderful, I am going to check out my spinning wheel soon and try to have another go with it.

Happy Australia Day everyone in this great land. I didn't get to post yesterday as DH and I left home at 5.55am to drive to near Liverpool (western Sydney) to help his cousin dig a big, no massive hole for a new swimming pool. What a hot day it was and DH and his two cousins worked so hard until after 8pm, then we ate dinner had a drink and drove home. We arrived home just before midnight and was so glad to get into bed.

Here is some great information on Australia from a friend I knit with, go check her blog out it is amazing. (The bits written in italics are my added bits)

26 January each year is a day where all across the country we celebrate being Australian by having the day off and doing next to nothing. What's not to like? I thought I'd toss out a few facts about Australia that many of you may not know or realise.

A lot of people look at a map of Australia, and think we live on a little island. Let me assure you, it's not small. The total area is 7,741,220 km² (2,988,888 sq mi). For comparison, the area of the United States is 9,631,420 km² (3,718,695 sq mi). 1% of our total area is water, 4.87% of the USA is water, bringing the total comparison of the land masses even closer.

However, our population is estimated at 20,555,300, and the USA's is estimated at 301,019,000. Our largest city is Sydney, with a population of 4,254,900, compared to New York City's 8,143,197. We have the lowest population density in the world - about 2 people per square kilometre.

Australia is a bit like a donut though. The vast majority of our population lives in the coastal areas, and the centre of the country is more sparsely populated.

Kangaroos and koalas are not all over the place as many people assume. I have seen them in the wild at Port Macquarie (NSW north coast - about 5 hours north of Sydney). We are possibly the only country in the world that eats both of the animals on our Coat of Arms. (The kangaroo and the emu).

Voting is compulsory here, and you must register to vote at age 18. We don't vote for our country's leader. We vote for our preferred political party, and they choose the leader of the party. The leader of the winning party becomes the Prime Minister of Australia.

We have no Bill of Rights.

Australia was the second country to give women the right to vote.

In 1954, Bob Hawke was immortalised by the Guinness Book of Records for sculling 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds. Bob later became the Prime Minister of Australia.

You can also drink and go to bars and clubs at 18.

You can get your car drivers "learners permit" at 16 years and go for your licence at 17, we have a 3 year probation driving time for new drivers called Red P's (for first year) and Green P's (for next two years) these plastic P plates have to be displayed on the front and back of the vehicle you are driving. On a full licence we get 12 points, if we loose all 12 points we loose our licence, when you loose points it takes 3 years to get the lost points back.

School begins at 5, although some parents keep their kids back a year and start them when they turn 6. In NSW, you go to Primary School for the first seven years (Kindergarten, then grades 1-6) and then to High School for the next 4 or 6 years (Grades 7-12). There is a leaving certificate at Year 10, but most kids now stay until Year 12. I believe that they Year 10 certificate is about to be done away with, though. A school day is generally 9-3, the work day is usually 9-5, although a lot of work places are pretty flexible about that now, and business hours are often extended.

Our seasons are opposite to the USA (It's currently summer here), and we drive on the opposite side of the road.

Our cable television is fairly recent (last 15 years or so). And the cable we have is vastly different to the USA. We have about 40 channels. There are four free to air television networks. That's all that many people have.

We like a party and a drink, and are much more laid back about swearing and nudity than much of the world seems to be. The J*net J*ckson wardrobe malfunction would barely have rated a blip on the radar here.

We have universal health care called "Medicare" everyone over 18 has a medicare card (families are all listed on the same card) To put this into perspective, my son has crohns disease and he has a specialist he visits probably about 12 or so times a year depending on how he is feeling, he has numerous hospital visits for blood transfusions, he has medication by intravenous drip approx. every 8 weeks which costs over $4,000 each time, all of this is provided free. Some things people have done at different doctors or specialist and pay the cost out of their own pocket, can get a rebate from Medicare. After a certain amount is spent on medication which I think is under $800 for a single person per year, all further medication is free for the rest of that year. We can pay to have hospital cover, and the government try to encourage that, but it can be expensive, although I don't think as expensive at USA. We use to pay under $50 per week, this was for moderate level of cover including dental, optical, physio etc. You have to be covered for Ambulance as it is expensive to use, it costs about $25 per year for a single person for cover.

We are the world's largest exporter of sheep. I'd prefer it if they kept and processed a few more here!

Summer knitting.....damn it's hot

It has been extremely hot lately, but that hasn't stopped me knitting. I finished a pair of bed socks in 8ply pure wool very late last night (they are for Berrima Women's Prison), and I was itching to find something else to start. I have been wanting to read through the Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles, and then try to knit socks using this method. So I got out the book and read through a bit of it, then I got the needles out, found some sock yarn, then decided that it was way after midnight and I should go to bed.

Today in this extreme heat we went for a ride for lunch down the coast, I told DH that it was going to be too hot to ride the bikes, but did he listen...NO, anyway we had a nice lunch and a lot of cold lemon water when we got home, and then I sat and got out the two circulars book, a pattern book for socks as I decided to try this method on a childs sock, and away I went. It is pretty easy so far, I will wait for better judgement when I have to turn the heel. I am only doing one sock at a time, not two like some people I know. I am using Patons Patonyle 4ply sock yarn, it was left over from my very first pair of socks I knitted for myself, the colours are knitting up nicely.

It is now 8.30pm and after an extremely hot summer day of over 40C this is the sunset I am looking at from my chair here at my computer as I type this post, it is beautiful. I have even put Ruby's quilt flat on her blanket in her kennel, she still lays under the quilt when sleeping, I hope tonight she will just stay on top as it is way to hot for her to be under it, and it would be much cooler to sleep on than sleeping on top of the blanket she always has slept on.

Show & charity knitting

Here are the items I have knitted for Kiama Show - the 3 piece baby set knitted in 3ply pure wool and the tea cosy knitted in 8ply pure wool. I am knitting for "Knit4Charities" and the January charities are Wangaratta Hospital (Victoria) and Cordelia's Canine Rescue. The hospital needs premmie and newborn size hats, mittens, bootees etc for the babies and the shelter need blanket and dog coats. This knitting is a part of my stash/UFO bust along knitting for 2007, the bootees and blue hat are in 4ply baby yarn (acrylic) and the green and yellow (Aussie colours) are in 4ply pure wool. I still have some more baby yarn to get through until the end of January.
I have also completed one of my UFO bustalong items, the knitted squares have been put together into 3 blankets in total. It is a pity my holidays end tomorrow and then back to work on Thursday, I have been getting heaps done in the knitting department, even a bit of tidying up.

Flash that Stash

For the Stashalong/Stash Bustalong I have joined and starts today, here is my stash that I am committed to knitting by the end of 2007.

And there is more.......

And there is still more.......

It is all pretty messy except for what is in the drawers, I just want my floor back.

UFO's and Wedding Anniversary

These are my UFO's that I am committing to finish by the April 15 deadline for Bustalong.

The knitted squares are by DH's great aunt and then I have the good job of putting them together and making into blankets that the local knitters guild donate to the local hospital mental health ward. I have put one together and have enough squares for another two blankets.

The next UFO is the blanket for #2 son, I want this finished before his birthday in July, so the April 15 deadline will suit me fine.

On the knitting front I have finished the 3 piece baby set for Kiama Show, I just have to sew it together....YUK, I don't like sewing knitting together.

I will flash my stash soon, I have to get it a bit more organised and take pictures.

Today January 14 is our 24th wedding anniversary. Yeah I know the boys are 27 and 23, you know you have to try before you buy, well it worked (well most of the time), more than 30 years have gone by since we first set eyes on each other, and it has been fun, sometimes a bit rough (alot lately), but so far we have got through it.

Well I had better get back to knitting this stash away to nothing, I still am committed to having it all knitted by the end of 2007.

My First Born's Birthday today

27 years ago at 9.13pm, I gave birth to my first child, a son. He took a fair bit of convincing to arrive, but he finally made it 2 weeks late. He was a cute baby, 7lbs 10oz. Lots of black hair and he slept a whole lot, even through his 2am feed. But being a new mum I would wake him for it, that lasted a short time until I relaxed and let him sleep through.

Today we all got up late, had bacon and eggs for breakfast, some family visited for lunch, then had a drink at the club before dinner.

Happy Birthday son, I hope all your wishes and dreams come true.

I will have to get some photos and post here later.

New Year Knitting

Since finishing my green cotton top on Boxing Day, I have been knitting a tea cosy for the Kiama Show at the end of January, I did run out of wool with about 10 rows or so to do, I went out in the rain today and got some more wool today to finish it off.

You can see by the photo how close to finishing the second side I got, it is using double yarn. I will finish this in the next few days as I have started the baby set for Kiama Show and I am enjoying knitting it in a 3ply pure Australia wool.

In the meantime I have knitted another cotton top, again in Bendigo 8ply Cotton in the colour "Flax", it is softer to knit than the green cotton top.

Pattern: Jo Sharp Book Knit issue 2.

Bolero Version 1 with short sleeves. (page 9)

Yarn used: Bendigo Woollen Mills 8ply Cotton

Colour: Flax

Amount: 350g

Needles: 3.25mm; 4mm; & 3.25 x 80cm Circular for band.

Started: Wednesday 27 December 2006

Finished: Monday 1 January 2007

For Christmas I got the Stitch N Bitch desk Calendar for 2007, I have been looking ahead a few pages and it looks like it is going to be full of good information and tips.

Cotton Top for me

I have finished something for me. An 8ply cotton top knitted from Bendigo Cotton using a Bendigo Pattern. It is nice to knit with, it took 400g of cotton. I was trying to get it finished to wear on christmas day, but just couldn't get it done, but did finish it today on our Boxing Day holiday.


I am knitting a blanket in the same pattern as I did my parents and in-laws last Christmas, it is for #2 son, his birthday is in July so I will take my time and get it finished for then, which is in time for when it is cold here.

Christmas day was great, we had a really nice sunny day, sometimes the wind was really strong, but most of the time it was just lovely. We had bacon, eggs and hash browns at our next door neighbours at about 7.30am, my parents arrived around 9am to pick up some outdoor chairs then we all headed off to my sister's home for the day. The boys and girlfriends spent from around lunchtime on at their girlfriends families, a very relaxing and fun day. In Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales snowy mountains regions had snow on christmas day, how weird is that for a summer day. Anyway today after visiting friends I sat down and finished my top and now am blogging, before going and sitting down and relaxing before having an early night tonight. It can be so tiring at this time of year.

Six Weird things about me!

This meme of 6 weird things about me after being tagged by Cece.

Here are THE RULES:

Each player of this game starts with the weird things about you.People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says you are tagged in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

My weird things...

1. I don't like talking on the phone much... go figure....I am an executive assistant so you can imagine how many times a day my work phone rings, but at home I wouldn't just pick up the phone and ring someone for a chat, only when I need to speak with people I will.

2. I budget fortnightly, shop for groceries fortnightly and in my diary on every second thursday I have my own budget for my own personal money I get to spend how I want too, this does not include the house budget (groceries etc).

3. I only like to be knitting one thing at a time, but I have been trying to have a couple of things going at once, not much luck doing that.

4. I have to have our bedroom door closed and locked when sleeping, yeah a big chicken of the dark.

5. I always had to check on the boys before I went to bed to see if they were tucked in and OK, now they are adults I don't do that (not that I wouldn't if I could mind you), I do the same to Ruby our dog. I go outside and check she is safe and secure in her kennel.

6. I would never put a green peg on blue clothes or blue pegs on green clothes when hanging on the clothes line to dry, I have fixed that problem I only use wooden pegs.

That's it! Tianne, Donna, Jae, Jade and Rox - I tag you for this one!

My Last Tribe Gift and Soaring Eagles

I posted the last 11 beanie, I didn't get to finish the 12 beanie, in total I knitted 23 beanies for the Soaring Eagles Project. A friend from knitters Guild knitted 3 beanies which I sent with my lot. I will check out the site later and see how many beanies she has collected so far, I really do hope people can knit a beanie or two for this wonderful project.

I received my last Tribe gift the other week, some lovely knitpicks Shadow and dye your own, along with knitpick cirular needles, a wonderful Blue Day book, and other wonderful things.


A friend and fellow tribe member send a lovely Christmas Card with two cute little puppies and a crochet Christmas Stocking with my most favourite Lifesavers "Musk" flavour, a Christmas Cane Candy, and Caramello Bear, which didn't last for the photo. The crochet stocking to hold them is so cute and will get a special place on the Tree.

Today I started Christmas shopping, I had an accrued leave day off work, I amazed myself, the "I hate shopping" person, I arrived at the shopping centre at 9.40am, got a few things, then off to another one about 15 minutes drive to get some more things, all going well, then drove to DH's worksite to swap cars with DH so I could along with #2 son take the trailer full of rubbish to the tip, a couple of groceries on the way home, and all before 3pm. #2 son loaded trailer onto car and off to the tip to get rid of the rubbish. I got more than 1/2 my Christmas shopping done. And not a headache in sight, I am really pleased with myself.

WTF

WTF...was how to described the weather on Wednesday, it is still spring here and we had 38.5 celsius. Thank goodness it was only one day, the heat was unbearable. I keep reading all the blogs where winter is approaching, wishing I was there, in the cool and the snow, rugging up in nice thick woolly jumpers, sitting by a fire place knitting, sipping hot chocolate with a marshmallow on top, heaven. Anyway back to reality, we are heading for summer, that means nice sunny days, heat, swimming, sweating, wishing winter would fast approach. How easy do we wish our lives and years away, hoping for winter or hoping for summer. We always seem to want the opposite to what we have. Anyway wherever we are, we should all enjoy the present and make the best of it we can, even if that may be difficult some days.

I have pulled out of the "Comfort Jenn" project, I have just been too busy with Soaring Eagles project to be able to knit a square, I know what you are thinking (well most of you), it is only one square, but I am a woman possessed with knitting beanies for these kids, and they need to be in USA by 18 December, I can see myself knitting and finishing off a beanie as the person loading mail onto the plane is trying to untangle my yarn as I try to finish off ANOTHER beanie. Yes it is that bad, I am totally obsessed with it. I have sent 12 beanies early last week and hope to send another 12 at the end of next week, with a 14 day delivery as said by Australia Post, I hope that they are delivered at the other end quickly.

I have knitting planned (in my head) to do before christmas, but I can see myself rushing out at the last minute and buying all the gifts this year.

A busy weekend coming up with Christmas Party's starting this weekend, I am trying to make time to get to SNB tomorrow arvo before our HOG Christmas Party at 6.30pm, Sunday we have to rip out our laundry ceiling, cut a large damaged piece of ceiling out of the front upstairs entry and rip out the upstairs hallway ceiling, the plasterer is coming at 7am on Monday morning, so I will need to get up early to get ready for work before he arrives. And we all know what these reno's mean, Yes, more painting, so I also plan to get all the painting done before Christmas.

When I get my camera back from #2 son, I will take photos of more beanies, they are pretty nice, I am still doing the cable pattern from Stitchnbitch, it is a great pattern and quick.

S.O.S. - Comfort Jenn

Please go and check out this blog, a young woman is enduring probably the worst time she will have in her entire life. She lost her parents in a car accident as a teenager, her brother in a motorcycle accident, and last month lost her husband, her 7 year old son and her 4 month old baby in a car accident, and now she has lost the baby she was carrying. Cathy has put out a plea for help, she would love to make a comfort blanket for Jenn. She needs 64 squares, 8inches square, made in 8ply washable pure soft wool. She is asking for comforting colours. Any excess squares will be made in blankets and given to charity.

Please help, I know alot of us are busy with Soaring Eagles, but please take the time to make just 1 square for Jenn. We could only imagine the pain and sorry she is going through now.

Keepin the shiny side up

Well I tried to keep the shiny side up, but it didn't work so well. We had our annual weekend away on the bikes to Canowindra (western NSW), with the Illawarra HOG Chapter. It was a lovely day, hot, sunny and a lot of great people. We have a few raffles amongst members and raised $3,500 for the Kidz Wish Foundation, a local charity for sick kids and kids with a disability in the Illawarra area.

In our chapter there is a patch "Ground HOG", yes it is for those who can't keep their bikes upright, or drops it over so far that you can't pick it up yourself, even if it doesn't actually all hit the ground. I had always thought when others were getting these patches, that the only way I wanted to get a ground hog patch was if the bike was sliding down the road, yes I know that would hurt, but I wasn't thinking of that, it was the embarrassment of dropping the bike at a standing position or similar. Well we arrived at Canowindra, all bikes at the front of the Canowindra pub for the officially photo's. Then park the bikes around the back for the night. Most had parked there bikes along the side fence, but if there is a heavy dew, then the seat is wet when you get on the bike in the morning, so there was one bike under a lovely big tree, DH road his bike up under the tree, I followed and had plenty of room between the two bikes (photo below), as I road in, DH turned his bike to stop, our mirrors hit, I lost balance and toppled over, but I wasn't going to let my bike hit the ground, and RJ's bike (brand new I might add) actually stopped my bike from going all the way to the ground, so with my leg between the two bikes, and my left hand mirror resting on his saddle bags, it didn't go all the way down, but I couldn't lift it, shit. JB came over and picked the bike up and asked if my legs were OK or were they a bit shaky, no they weren't shaky, I put the side stand down, looked at RJ's bike and was so relieved that is didn't damage his bike. I did go and find RJ and tell him about the accident, he said he would worry about it in the morning. The next morning he come out and said, where did you damage my bike, I showed him the tiniest scratch on the hard case saddle bag (pannier??? bag), he wasn't worried about it at all, after all he is a spray painter.

The ride home through Cowra and Yass was great, we were so tired when we got home, it is such a huge weekend. Riding up through the Blue Mountains of Lawson, Leura, Katoomba, Blackheath and Mt Victoria, then through Lithgow, Lunch at Bathurst, the on through Orange, and finally to Canowindra. The local Lions Club always cook us dinner and breakfast, they have for the last 10 times we have visited, they even made a special cake to celebrate. We did stop at 11am for Remembrance Day, we were outside the Hydro Majestic Motel at Medlow Bath (Blue Mountains area) at about 30 seconds to 11am, by the time the last bike pulled in it was 11am. One minute later we were starting up the bikes again and on our way. We have two members who served in Vietnam, one who is a member of the Vietnam Veteran Motorcycle Club.

I didn't take knitting, and have only finished one more beanie today, and another on the needles tonight, (number 14).

Blogger isn't playing fair, and won't upload my photos. I will try to put them in this post tomorrow. Now the next day (Tuesday night) and blogger still won't upload pictures. WTF.

And the Eagles Soar higher

I wonder how many beanies have been made for the Soaring Eagles Project? I am knitting my twelve beanie (mauve beanie in photo), should finish that tonight, I may send some on ahead of when Tianne and I are going to send a parcel later in November. I have checked it out at the Post Office and was told that it takes 2 weeks air mail, even as it gets closer to Christmas. I just don't won't to take too much of a chance and not get all the beanies needed there on time.


I am loving the cable beanie pattern from StitchNbitch and the Hot Head beanie patter from the other StitchNBitch book. So easy only take a couple of hours each to knit. I probably should look for more nice beanie patterns so not too many are the same, but with a deadline fast approaching, and these are quick knits, I probably should just stick to these patterns.

I have posted my last Tribe swap parcel today, I was a bit slack and then I forgot to send it friday, so it is all gone and on its way now. Hopefully you won't wait to long Cece, and I can see if the Post Office is right in saying it only takes 2 weeks.

Soaring Beanies and a Silk Scarf

At Knitter's Guild on the weekend we made a silk scarf, no yarn in sight, but we had fun, and while having afternoon tea and waiting for scarfs to dry completely, I did manage to do some knitting on my first soaring eagles project beanie.

The colours I used for the scarf were a purple, bright pink and deep aqua, they came together pretty well for my first attempt. It was a pretty windy day, so we took the scarfs outside and held onto them as they flapped around in the wind, which dried them nearly completely in a short time.


I have finished 3 beanies for Soaring Eagles Project. They have asked to be knitted in acrylic for ease of caring for.


The first two (at the bottom of photo) are from the MODA Impact Issue 3 Children's Knit book, on size 4mm needles and knitted with blue acrylic. The were both a quick knit, plain but versatile.

The third beanie is the Basic Cable beanie on page 75 of Stitch N Bitch Nation. I didn't read the instructions properly (surprise, surprise), and didn't do the 6 rows of rib, I just got stuck straight into the 6 row cable repeat, it was so easy, and nice to knit, I am really happy with this pattern so will probably do more.

Soaring Eagles Project

Looking for a good cause? How about knitting for less fortunate school children? Rachel over at Procrastiknitter is looking for lovely people who are willing to knit small projects for the children at her school. These things might be the ONLY things some of these kids get for Christmas.....And it will keep them warm this coming winter in the US. If you would like to help out go HERE!

It will be a bit like "Paying it Forward", doing a wonderful thing without wanting anything back. And just imagine the faces on these school children when they receive a hat or a scarf, or with a little bit of effort both for each child.

A group is going to make 300 scarfs, so that is one for each child, so we all need to get knitting on some beanies or headbands, so each child can receive a scarf and beanie/headband.

So come on all you knitters in this big wonderful world of knitting, lets all get together and make this one of the best things to happen to all the children at this School. And especially for Rachel for putting this great idea out there.

Catch up with gifts

I must apologise to anyone who has sent me gifts for POM, Dishcloth exchange or just because they are wonderful people, that I haven't posted photos of the gifts, well here they are, and please don't be mad if I have forgotten anyone, it has been a rough week in this household. DH lost his job last week, #1 son was really sick last week, couldn't keep food down, lost heaps of weight (wish that was me), and is very pale looking, our Dr. picked up that his Specialist gave him the wrong medication, son stopped taking them on weekend, a day later started to feel a bit better, after a blood test yesterday, our Dr. rang and told me to get son to emergency in Wollongong Hospital straight away he needed a blood transfusion, he got there about 5pm. Not only did specialist prescribe the wrong medication but failed to act on his last blood test a few weeks back that was showing his blood count to be low. He rang us at 1.20am to see if we could drive in and pick up his girlfriend and take her home, I drove in and picked her up at 2am in the morning getting back to bed at around 3am, after 14 hours in hospital overnight all is well with him now, I just need to catch up on some sleep and find some stress free things of some kind so I can feel a bit normal myself, all in all not a good week here. Anyway can't complain, things can get worse and probably will, the house is a bit of a hot topic here, with only about 4 weeks of money to keep us going, things look as if we won't be enjoying our new renovations for very long, and that some other family may just benefit from them. Not a happy knitter am I.


Shannon sent me a nice tea bag in a lovely bag, actually two tea bags, but customs opened it and sent one to me with sticky tape on the end of it where they had opened it, so it went straight in the bin, what do customs think people are actually going to consume something they have literally cut open then taped back up, what are they stupid. The remaining surviving tea bag was really enjoyed, thanks Shannon.

My dishcloth pal sent me a lovely Katharine Hepburn book, I love Katharine Hepburn, wish my spirit and get up and go was like her. Along with 4 very lovely dishcloths, which I did take a photo of when they arrived but it got misplaced somewhere along the line, so I took another one tonight, they have all been used and the red one with the initial "A" on it is in the washing basket (clean) waiting for me to fold and put away.

Then there was a lovely gift again from Shannon received today, some really nice Halloween things, I have to admit, I have been eating the candy while typing this, pretty nice, washed down with a bourbon and coke....lovely.

Another gifts received today was from Amysue, a lovely Autumn note pad and a lovely note typed on it, with a lovely autumn leaf shaped stitch holder with the intitial "A" on it and some pretty pink ribbon.

What else, oh yeah... pictures of the scarfs and gloves I am knitting for someone who ordered them, not doing that again, not really my thing. I still have to sew up one of the mauve gloves and finish knitting the blue fingerless glove, hopefully tomorrow night that will be done and I will try to contact the woman and see if she will collect them while I am at knitter guild on Saturday.


I also have on the needles a Bendigo cotton summer top for me, the back nearly finished, but will take photos next time.

Still a knitting, broken needle and all

I have gotten some lovely gifts from Tribe members, thanks so much, you are all so thoughtful.

I did finish the black vest and gave it to person today for her birthday. I also finished both of the scarves for my order.

I then started on the first set of gloves, and was about half way through the first glove and not without a bit of a needle drama, and with life time guarantee Ivore needles I might add. Can you see, yes look below.

I got about half way through the first glove, the first time I used these needles and guess what, into the row, knitting along, and then it happened, the damn thing broke, yes it broke. They will be going back for a refund I can tell you. They were nice to knit with, but never again. Anyway I did remember to take all my needles away with me, so it wasn't too much a drama, just had to pick up stitches and transfer others to a new needle.

I am itching to start a cotton top for me, but I am here blogging instead, as I am trying to avoid starting it until I finish the order of gloves, I wish I could just loose the woman's details and not finish them. BAD bad knitter, if I do that. I guess it is because I am not sure I even like the mauve scarf, I do like the second scarf, so that is why I am in two minds as to finish them or not.