"But Mummy, Betsy's feet are cold!"

Subtitled: Why I am a sucker when it comes to my daughter..

This is how I don't get my Raspy (for me) done. I get sidelined by the people I love.

First it was Action, then my man's beanie (which awaits more yarn) and now... dolly socks.

Because she's cold, apparently. (I suspect she just needed to match her little-girl-mum).

I cheated though - DK weight yarn and 3.75mm needles. :) but they were done in the same afternoon...
And, importantly, I have an additional tagger for the 7 Random things!
The magnificient Heather Ordover of the podcast CraftLit. Read on!

I'm making progress... but no finishing...and I'm tagged!

Well, I finished my bag..
And I've stalled on knitting the beanie, while I wait for more yarn.

And so I am back to knitting on Raspy. Which means sometime soon I need to think about how I am going to adjust the raglan sleeve caps to adjust for the different height front & back that I am altering to allow a crew neckline.

In other news, the rather nice Pen&Purl tagged me with a meme.

It's this: Each person tagged gives seven random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write on their blogs seven facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and need to read your blog.

Which means I need to find seven bloggers who I can tagged, who haven't been tagged already! And since I am but a newbie nobody knit-geek-blogger, this is going to be tough.

Factoid one: I was born in Perth, and have never lived anywhere else. I am somewhat embarrassed by this fact.

Factoid two: I am deeply enamoured of the 1920s period. Fashion, fiction based there, just about anything. English 1920s in particular.

Factoid three: I used to run a role playing game (that's the people sitting around table playing pretend) based in the 1920s. But with horror monsters. Based on HP Lovecraft writing, and called Call of Cthulhu.

Factoid four: I love red wine. But can't drink it in any significant quantity anymore without getting a bad stomach. I hate getting old.

Factoid five: Part of me wishes I'd done worse at school, so that I'd pursued art as a career, rather than getting caught up in hard-core maths and sciences. I suspect I'd have been more happy with my final career.

Factoid six: I have wanted to go to Italy and Egypt since I was 15 and secretly sulk that my mother randomly decided to go to Italy last year.. and went in that same year!

Factoid seven: I never trust men who are too model-good-looking. I have a deep predilection for 'intellectual' types.

Tagging:

• Nadine (who may have forgotten me)
  
• Meshell (who I have been admiring as a troll)
• Craftyaction (who I know is a group, but all those without their own blogs can all take a turn each!)
  

I'm making a clutch bag!

This pattern here by Amy Butler, "Clutch Purse with Antique Pin Closure".

Shown here in stages, very very nearly finished...

Step one: all bits of fabric cut out. Retro large print outside, black inside.

Step two: Attach the interface to the reinforcing canvas (or as I used, herringbone heavy-weight calico)

Step 3: Sew the reinforcements to the outside pieces...

Step 4: Reinforce the handle/tab.

Step 5: Sew on the Velcro..Step 6: Sew the outside bits together (see my uber-leet sewing jargon?)

Step 7: Sew the lining together..Step 8: Put the outside in the inside, and seam around the top.

Step 9: Do bag origami and put the outside to the, well, outside..Step 10: Iron and neaten it up ..
And then realise its late, and your family probably expect dinner, you know, tonight...

Next time I top stitch the hole shut, and do pleats on the edges and add the pin.

(Oh and I got some belated birthday money for fabric, and have progressed the beanie, which is looking very much like it needs another ball of yarn for the beanie. So another Knitpicks order....

so what else do I want to order? heeeheeeheeeheeee..

Not-so-Red Light Special

Well, I am trying again.

Despite how beautiful the fair isle swatch I did was... (my first ever fair isle)

it didn't fit (as discussed earlier).

So, after using the swatch as a size gauge, I did the math and re sized the pattern, to the looseness requested of my man. I decided to use the original fair isle pattern, but without the false seam BrooklynTweed used.

The odd blue fine fair isle is the leftover Patonyle I used as the soft lining. And you can see the real deal being worked up above it. I have to say, I am really enjoying knitting it, but it's murder on my fingers after a session.

And I may run out of the main colour. For which I may beg a trade from Bibnbub - who I has some more. [psst: I'll trade you one ball of the navy for all my remaining part balls for your felting plans? Let me know :-) ]

FO: Doll's patchwork quilt

You may remember I was completing a patchwork quilt to see if I enjoyed the process.

I quilted the top and edged and finished it this afternoon. You can see it got put to use by my darling girl as soon as I got home!

I learned a lot (including the vital importance of good tension when quilting) and was proud to have a finished object - even with all its flaws!

I'm glad I did it, and have picked out some retro fabric to make a bag.

When I can get some grownup-time that is. Sewing is harder than knitting - i can multitasking with parenting while I knit, but sewing takes more of my concentration ;-)

Aww man! Red Light Special hat

I ordered the yarn (from the US no less!) and got all the stuff and started knitting the lining.

And then...

Actually, um... measured my man's head.

It won't fit. See, he's like got really curly hair. And lots of it. Which means he needs a larger than average beanie.

And cos its all charted and stuff and I got gauge bang on when swatching and everything... I can't just re size it. I'm so disappointed. It'll fit me.. but I am not the rugby fan.

So.. back to square one. Only with yarn and needles in a size I don't really need. (sigh)

I was so excited to try it out.

A bad photo with Action

Not a great photo. I tried to edit the colour which looks better than the washed out thing it was originally, but still not the true beautiful indigo it really is.

Will try to get a modelled photo in daylight. :)

Actioned item

I'm so there with the bad puns for this.

Action jumper (sweater) is DONE!!!

The relief is palpable. Photos later.

:)

Be still my beating heart!

Bendigo Woolen Mills is online.


(some might make a narky comment here about 'finally' or 'took bloody long enough', but not this cookie, no-no!)

I have the new shade card if anyone wants a look.

Action sweater, Rowan Denim People.. progress update

All pieces knitted? Check.

Extra swatch knitted up for seaming yarn? Check.

All pieces washed and dried in hot water/air? Check.

All ends sewn in? Check.

Amazingly painful extra-neat seaming started and stopped after about 2 hours resulted in about 25cm seaming done in total? CHECK!!

God it's slow. I'm doing backstitch seaming for the seam that runs down the front & back of the sweater. It takes forever. It looks perfect for the type of 'deliberately showing' seam, but dear god its slow. I've given up for tonight.

At this rate, seaming it will take longer than a sleeve did :(

{Pats self on back}

I have finished the second sleeve in record time - 5 days. :)

I need to seam a shoulder, knit a collar, some heated washing/drying and do a bunch of seaming.

But it's happening.

Oh geez, did I miss a memo?

Somehow, now I'm worried...

You are The Tower

Ambition, fighting, war, courage. Destruction, danger, fall, ruin.

The Tower represents war, destruction, but also spiritual renewal. Plans are disrupted. Your views and ideas will change as a result.

The Tower is a card about war, a war between the structures of lies and the lightning flash of truth. The Tower stands for "false concepts and institutions that we take for real." You have been shaken up; blinded by a shocking revelation. It sometimes takes that to see a truth that one refuses to see. Or to bring down beliefs that are so well constructed. What's most important to remember is that the tearing down of this structure, however painful, makes room for something new to be built.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Two weeks since I posted?!! Bad blog-geek, no biscuit!!

Okay, so I've been gone a long while. Not much interesting to report on the knitting front. I continued doggedly knitting on the Action jumper.

I've now finished all the pieces that make up the front and back, and have started on the first sleeve. It doesn't make for interesting photos, but here's the proof -

Also, on other vaguely knitting related items, one of the lovely Bibnbub at knitting gave out these pretty Easter gifts - Aren't they nice? Every one's was different. :) We all felt very spoilt.

Today I wandered around in my lunch hour avoiding eating food that was bad for me and I ran into the Contemporary Art and Craft gallery (not sure if that's its exact name) on Murray Street. I bought this lovely card which I intend to frame for my room in the new house as part of my attempt as designer-beautiful-things-at-a-price-I-can-afford. It's so pretty, isn't it. (a Kelly Hyatt design according to back of the card).
Also on that last point (not the pretty bit, the house bit) I have succumbed to the sewing/quilting thing and ordered two books via Amazon (damn, isn't the Aussie v. US dollar good at the moment!)

• A copy of Amy Butler's In Stitches via the Marketplace (long wait through Amazon proper at the moment).

• And a copy of Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing: Patterns and How-To for 24 Fresh and Easy Projects
  

From Amazon itself, via the lovely Fitzwilliam and his book addiction-related ordering. hurrah!


Both books have a number of items I am interested in making, as due significantly to Lupinbunny's influence, and general web surfing of blogs, I have decided that I don't hate quilting. I hate country-style quilting. (No offence to lovers of the form, just really not my thing.) And now while I doubt I shall ever be a 'quilter/sewer' as a major hobby designator, I can happily see myself getting into it in so far as a way of getting the designer style pillows, throws, maybe even napkins etc that I can't really afford to buy.

I'm even considering trying my hand at a little sashiko in order to see if I am interested in hand-stitching a doona cover for our master bedroom of the types I admire. Now there's an(other) area I never thought I get into. But I like the Japanese indigo and white sashiko thing very much.

I have time to consider these things as my books won't be here for 3-6 weeks, and so I'm hoping to finish the Action jumper by then and be able to start the sewing etc with a clear conscience ;-)

With hope, I might even get back to.. Raspy!! The weather perfect for it now..

Whole lotta knitting goin' on

Sadly, though, not very interesting to blog about!

I have finished two more pieces of the Action jumper this weekend. That's rather a lot of knitting for me. You could say I am keen to get this rather overdue present completed!

So one more piece to finish the front and then two sleeves.

And a bunch of washing, and seaming and collar knitting and more washing ...

and then done. Gifted to the deserving recipient.

Who I shall beg to let me photograph in it so I can blog!

A finished piece of the Action & a new hobby?

Okay bad joke, but I'm like, so funny..

The first completed piece of Action, from Rowan Denim People.

It's interesting construction the front and back are both pieced from two pieces, with a seam that runs down the 1/3 mark or so (length ways).

So this is the right back piece.


And this is going to be a patchwork dolly blanket, to see if I like this patchwork/quilting thingo. I bought the fabric at last year's craft show in Perth (which was otherwise nearly a complete waste of time. I went for yarn. There was little of interest. But it does show I've been fiddling with this idea for rather a long time..)
If I enjoy it, I'll give myself permission to buy enough Amy Butler/Echino/Liberty etc. to make a throw for my room in the new place. Purples/blues and greens most likely. We'll see.

Yup, winter definitely on its way!

The dead giveaway? I'm wearing my first ever grown-up sized sweater.

This is my own special variant on Skully, from Debbie Stoller's Stitch and Bitch book.

It's knit in Jo Sharp Silkroad Ultra, which is which is warm, and squishy and pills like a bastard, making it no longer going-out wear. That, and its boxy unflattering shaping ;-)

In other news, its my birthday soon. And this means I get to "suggest" (read pick) my birthday pressie from my lovely Dad and step-mum. Now normally, there's plenty a thing I am coveting.

But. Yarn is obviously normally high on the list, but as I have not one, but two jumpers on the needles, and one/two pairs of socks.. I just don't want to risk getting the yarn for something in particular, getting to the end of my project list and then deciding I really want to knit something else entirely.

I am also vaguely fighting a desire to pick up a new hobby - quilting. Not so much of the country style stuff, more like Amy Butler's quilts, and Denyse Schmidt's quilts.. Contemporary modern stuff with beautiful fabrics a la Florence Broadhurst.

Current hold ups include: lack of time, needing to borrow Mum's sewing machine (at her house, no room in this tiny apartment) and money. Oh, and a nagging sense that I sucked at sewing clothing when younger. But then quilts are a) straight lines which I expect I can manage and b) maths, which I can do.

I've decided I'm nesting in a major way (not the baby-sense family, don't panic!) but in the I-want-a-proper-house sense. I haven't decided whether to ignore it or go with it yet. I'll let you know when I do ;-)

Oh, and action continues on Action (that denim gift-to-be-jumper). Nearly up to arm shaping on the first panel. I didn't bother photographing it, because its just a big blue square of knitted stuff. You can visualise that, right?

Making progress on the Action jumper - Rowan Denim People

38cm into the first of the two front pieces. I need to check the intended length on the recipient on the weekend, to work out how much it needs to be shorteneded by (length sense and my 18% shrinking versus the Rowan measurement of 20%.)

Good progress, I'm happy with that. The colour is Nashville - a darker shade than my Raspy.

My cool links of the day: Cut + Paste & Whip-up

www.cutxpaste.com

Lots of neat stuff. Which I found through this brilliant craft related feed:

whipup.net

New yarn arrives.. and a better photo of Diamond Stitch Top

The Nashville denim arrived.
And, a better photo of that Diamond Stitch Top (very slightly photoshopped - but only to hide the messy house that neither I nor the photographer didn't notice at the time).
Pretty cute, huh?

Raspy knitting.

Well, Knitting Camp (and several taped episodes of Heroes) makes for excellent knitting progress.

Below you can see that I'm up to the arm scythes on Raspy.


Unfortunately, while I knitted about 2 inches at Stitch and Bitch last night, it got ripped out this afternoon.

Why?The pattern calls for k2togtbl. Clearly, this is very untidy. It also does not match the k2togs on the other side. How dumb is that? Anyway, I've ripped it back to do the proper paired decreases.

I am also doing an awful lot of reading about the construction of round necked raglan sleeves. I have some ideas and plans so far, but it'll probably end up a try-it-and-see thing.