Wednesday WIPs – New beginnings

August 12, 2015August 9, 2015 | Sonia Knits

This week, I taught a friend how to spin!

I was so inspired and excited by how well she took to it, I had to go home and jump on my wheel right after.

I’m currently spinning up some Thylacine BFL mixed with camel. A couple of weeks ago, I discovered I had 2 similar colour ways of 200 grams each; so I thought perhaps I could ply the 2 colour ways together, in something of a 4 or 5 ply and have enough to knit myself a vest of some description. Stay tuned for that.

The baby blanket was completed and blocked last week. It is a relief to get it done before the baby arrives. I’m pretty pleased with the result too! The yarn was stash yarn, mainly made up of Jo Sharp classic DK wool, with a bit of this and that thrown in. The pattern: Honeycomb Stroller Blanket is free and is pretty nifty if you ask me. The slip stitch pattern forms the hexagons therefore there are no patches to sew together (just lots of ends). If I were to make it again, (and that’s a possibility if more babies arrive in my family), I would do a provisional cast on at the start, to make the border easier to pick up and knit. The other alt that I made was to make the border a garter stitch one, and rather than picking up all the way around, I did each side individually, increasing at the edges each right side row to make the mitred corners. There will be some better ‘glamour’ photos taken when the cute baby arrives.

I’ve cast on a new project, this is Cookie A’s June sock club. I’m making the Apollonia socks. I’m enjoying knitting from the sock lace chart, and knit a fair bit of the leg in one evening. I find knitting from lace charts so soothing and fun.I’m also itching to begin a garment for me, but I thought I should look at one of my Use It Or Lose It projects first.

I picked up my Safire cardigan, which had only been literally cast on. In theory I’m liking how this is working, but I am wondering whether this yarn is more appropriate for niece M, due to it’s ‘blingy’ nature. Only time will tell.

I’m still listening to The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, I can’t recommend it enough. I only have 10 hours left to go!

Wednesday WIPs – Hibernation

August 5, 2015August 3, 2015 | Sonia Knits

I stayed at home this weekend, all weekend.

I began reading Anna Zilboorg’s ‘Knitting for Anarchists’ and I knew I’d like it from the very first page (see brackets).

I listened to podcasts. I’ve begun listening to Craftlit, and it’s fabulous.

My Cookie A sock club instalment arrived last week, coincidently it matched one of Damian’s birthday gifts (yes I can buy him cookware for his birthday and he loves it).

I knitted full-time on my sister’s forthcoming baby blanket.

And I did nothing else (apart from a spot of housework).

I expect the blanket to be blocking by the end of this week. Deadlines, shmedlines, that baby can arrive early if it wants, but not until the end of the week.

Taking Stock – Stash Count

August 1, 2015 | Sonia Knits

It’s only been 7 months since the last stash count, but a lot has happened since then and one major thing, Stitches WEST! Normally I like to do a stash count approximately once a year, kind of like a Spring Clean, but I know a couple of you are eager for an update; and I was kind of interested too.

In order for me to get my stash total, I downloaded my Stash Excel spreadsheet from Ravelry (such an awesome function for those who like to get down to nuts and bolts). But in order to get my total meterage I needed to pass the spreadsheet to my husband (who has excel) to add it up for me. His response, ‘you have a lot of yarn Sonia’. For those playing along at home, I recommend you don’t pass your spreadsheet to your significant other to do the math. Next time I’ll just email it to myself at work…

Just a reminder of all the glorious editions to my stash this year…

That should soften the blow, taking my stash from the New Year total of

248,623 metres

drum

roll

…

296,937 metres

Not really a surprise to me…

AS I’M RUNNING OUT OF ROOM…

to put it all.

But I’m still happy, and I don’t feel overwhelmed. Happy deliciousness.

Wednesday WIPs

July 29, 2015July 26, 2015 | Sonia Knits

Hi there! I was visited by this cheeky monkey on the weekend…

She was wearing the dress I made for her. The pattern warns to make the dress from wool, but I went ahead and made it in cotton anyway, it was the right colour from my stash!So I wasn’t super surprised to see that there were problems with the bodice. But I was surprised by just how much it was stretching, and how easy it was for her to ‘get out of her dress’ from the top down.

Easily fixed I pronounced, if I could just borrow the dress back. Niece M went home in her stockings!

Two goes at the attached i-cord to the neckline (the first attempt made the head hole too small to get over her head). And hopefully this has now solved the issue. Niece M only likes wearing dresses, I know where she’s coming from. I’m thinking maybe a rainbow dress for Christmas perhaps?

I’ve also been working on the next baby blanket…

There’s still a long way to go.

And I’ve got the wheel out and I’ve been doing some overdue plying of some Southern Cross Fibre club fibre.

And this little bit are the odds and sods to empty the little bits off my bobbins…

Because I have so much to get through. How about you?

Wednesday WIPs – Belated Cowl

July 22, 2015 | Sonia Knits

For the careful observers, I didn’t get my hand-spun Honey Cowl finished in time or over the Bendigo Show weekend. But it’s finished now!

Damian’s image of Richmond station in the background was the perfect backdrop for this photo. It’s so cosy.

I’m really happy with how the gradient stripes have worked, and it’s my handspun!

I’m still listening to the brilliantly narrated ‘The Goldfinch’ by Donna Tartt, I think I still have hours upon hours to go, but I’m loving it all the same.

See you next week.

Bendigo 2015

July 20, 2015July 20, 2015 | Sonia Knits

Wow! Just when I thought I had experienced everything that was to be experienced at the Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show, this year had a different flavour.

I attended the Women of Wool luncheon with a couple of friends and we had an excellent time. Everything was great about it. The speakers, the food, the company, the other people seated at our table, the competition prize drawings (even though we didn’t win anything), it was a lot of fun.

Then we got down to the serious part of the show. Nicknamed ‘Spendigo’ for good reason… I exceeded my own expectations, surprising only me. If you really want to see it all, check out my recent stash acquisitions (fibre and yarn) on Ravelry.

White Gum Wool played a large part in my purchasing. Nan Bray the owner of ‘White Gum Wool’ spoke at the luncheon, but I was a fan before that, after seeing this segment on Landline. The pink yarn above is White Gum Wool Boucle, specially hand-dyed by Kathy’s Fibres.

I was given the task of buying some fibre to spin for my husband. So that I wouldn’t run short on his next ‘winter set’ (this time), I bought 500gms of Kathys Fibres merino dyed in ‘manly’ browns, blue and black.

We also spent a fair amount of time with the sheep, searching out the babies, because, how cute?

Thank you to my partners in crime for making it such a great weekend. I can’t wait to do it all again next year.

Wednesday WIPs – Two more sleeps!

July 15, 2015July 14, 2015 | Sonia Knits

My Grace cardigan is finished, hurrah!

The design is by Jane Richmond and the yarn is Lisa Souza’s Organic Merino. It was a real pleasure to knit to the pattern and the wool, oh my, the wool was so nice to work with.

I have the perfect souvenir from Stitches West, my new favourite cardigan.

Gosh my hair looks short!

This by default, is now my ‘Bendigo’ cardigan… squee, just 2 more sleeps!

As a late addition, I thought I might also need a new cowl to go with my new cardigan.

It’s a(nother) Honey Cowl, in my hand spun. Coincidently it is also organic merino, but the fibre is from Southern Cross Fibre. There were 5 different colours and I tried to blend them through, somewhat. Here’s hoping it’s finished in time for Friday.

Meanwhile I’ve also begun ‘the’ baby blanket. I’m so excited by how this is turning out already, have I finally found the perfect baby blanket pattern?

Wednesday WIPs – Pre-Sheep Show, Bendigo

July 8, 2015July 5, 2015 | Sonia Knits

With a title like that, I guess you’re assuming I’m ‘stashing-down’ and bracing myself for the biggest show of the year. Well, you’d be half wrong.

The Australian Sheep and Wool Show, held in Bendigo each year is just two weeks away. And yet on Friday night I found myself on a train to Bendigo to rendezvous with my lovely husband for a weekend away. The concept of going to Bendigo without a Sheep Show was a little foreign to me, but I went with it.

This helped sweeten the deal…

Then finding a breakfast place that had granny square blankets for the diners outside, totally charmed me. Needless to say it was too cold for any diners to take up this offer, granny square or not. But I still thought it was great.

And I figured a trip to this place, two weeks before all the ‘crazy’ knitters descended, could work in my favour.

And it did. My rainbow projects can now come to fruition. I can ‘shop the stash’ whenever the mood takes me to knit a rainbow dress or cardigan for niece M … plus another half dozen baby blankets, some mitts for a colleague, stuff for me, but I digress.

Don’t these balls look small?! Until you put them into a bag… then some crazy optical illusion thing happens…Whilst spending a few quality hours with Damian in a wine bar and knitting by the fire, I returned from the bathroom only to find a knitter chatting to my husband. What a lovely occurrence! She pulled out her latest knitting project and we both sang the praises of self-patterning knitting yarn. She may have also left with the name of my yarn supplier to get some for herself…

And did I mention it was freezing in Bendigo?

Now that I’ve done some scouting of Bendigo, I feel super prepared for anything! Pack ALL the woollens.

Wednesday WIPs (and a FO)

July 1, 2015June 28, 2015 | Sonia Knits

I finally have an FO!

These are my Xeriscape socks (Cookie A’s April Club). I really enjoyed knitting these. They were simple to knit and, the easy-to-memorise patterning, was enough not to get too boring. I would make these again as my ‘go-to mindless socks’.

And my June club yarn has arrived and it’s gorgeous! I’m hoping to make the next deadline for the competition, but as per usual there are a few other things I need to get done and cast on first.

This stunning fibre also arrived for the Southern Cross Fibre club, I got the colour way ‘Peacock’. It was a lovely mail week.

I’ve been working on my Grace cardigan and with any luck, there will be some modelled photos next week.

I’m listening to The Goldfinch as mentioned last week, and I can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying it. I’m only about six hours into listening for a total of 32 hours, I still have a ways to go.