Secret No More

The secret knitting that was to be a birthday gift has been abandoned because once again, I've cut it too fine and did not make the Sat deadline. I could have done it if I went without sleep for a couple of days but sense prevailed and I chose sleep.

Also the project I picked didn't really match the yarn I had but I powered on anyway, thinking if I didn't think too hard about it somehow everything would turn out fine.

I should've adhered to the first rule of knitting - If it looks wrong, it probably is!

I actually got through sock 1 and the cuff of sock 2 before I gave up.


The failure of this project is due entirely to my own bone-headedness. The yarn is a soft merino cashmere variegated sock yarn from The Knittery in Cherries and the pattern is the picot edge socks in Jo Sharp Knit Issue 1.

Problem was that I got gauge with the number of stitches but not the number of rows. Consequently it took quite a few more rows to establish the heel flap so I ended up picking up a lot more stitches for the gusset.

The result - an elephantine sock for someone with a really fat ankle!

I had bought the yarn with the Monkey Socks in mind but this yarn is not very stretchy so the cuff was really loose when I cast on for them initially. I might try with smaller needles once I've got over my feelings of inadequacy about the elephantine sock.

I ended up giving away the Cloud Bolero I made a couple of months back.

I'm now working on the Wave Lace Socks by Evelyn A. Clark in IWK Spring 04 using some Grignasco Bambi yarn I bought on a whim (really should stop doing that...)

Incidentally, I think my sock craze may be winding to a close although I'm still committed to a pair a month for Socktopia.

Finally, I've got new stash - the 8 balls of Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette is to make a cardigan for my mum so it comes out of our gift budget rather than my stash budget (hehehe... sneaky, I know). I'm aiming low this time - her birthday is not til July when it'll be cardigan weather in Australia. (I'm sure she doesn't read this blog so there's no danger talking about it here)

Also I got 3 balls of some really soft mohair/wool blend with gold thread through it at a sale last weekend to make another Cloud Bolero for myself. I actually went to the LYS to get a pair of Addi Turbos in 2.5mm for the aforementioned Monkey Socks but these were 50% OFF! Who could resist?

Shhhh....

I'm doing a spot of secret knitting this week, hence no knitting progress post.

I'll whet your appetite with the Phylotaxis Scarf I finished in Jan from Knitting Nature. The recipient of this scarf has already received it so I can now post a pic here.

You can follow all my woes with this one on the KAL here, here and here. Or you can just read the project details here.

SP10 Questionnaire

I finally signed up to a Secret Pal! Here are my answers to the SP10 questionnaire...

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I almost ALWAYS knit with natural fibres but I'm not really a yarn snob. One of my favourite yarns is the good quality but affordable Rustic 8ply (100% wool) from Bendigo Woollen Mills. It only costs around AUD$10.70 for a whooping 200g ball.

If I must talk brands, my staples would be the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino range or Jo Sharp Silkroad Tweed range. I do luuuuv Rowan Kid Silk Haze and anything by Noro but they're not the most versatile/affordable of yarns. (Incidentally, Jerms presented me with a box of yarn when he proposed which included a skein of GORGEOUS Noro Iro. I don't think he realises how many points he scored that day.)

Of course I also like anything hand spun or hand dyed. I mean, who doesn't?

I don't use a lot of novelty yarns but I'm not totally adverse to them. I do loathe that Patons Feathers/Ostrich stuff however.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

A couple of ancient biscuit/chocolate tins.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I learnt to knit when I was 6. I was actually taught by my babysitter.

I'm probably an intermediate knitter. I can follow pretty much any pattern and even make up patterns when I can be bothered, but there are quite a few things I have not tried, e.g. steeking (eerie music in background)...

I'm also a poor finisher. I hate seaming and picking up stitches and I can't for the life of me master Kitchener stitch. I would love a book on beyond the basics finishing techniques.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Here.

5. What's your favorite scent?

Anything citrus - like lemon or lime. Or gardenias. I'm not into strong floral scents - they tend to make my eyes water.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Most definitely. The bitterest dark chocolate and Hi-chews. And assorted Japanese snacks, e.g. Pocky.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

In an ideal world where time is not a constraint, I would do a lot of felting and sewing, and learn to spin.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I would LOVE a compilation CD. I listen to a lot of Aussie alternative/rock... The Whitlams are my favourite band of all time. A few more International examples of what's on my iPod are... Ben Folds, Ben Kweller, Kings of Leon, Sufjan Stevens, The Magic Numbers, The Polyphonic Spree and Radiohead.

Yes, have iPods. Can play MP3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I'm not into really extreme colours like hot pink or lime green but I generally like all colours. Except maybe shades of yellow/mustard. I also can't wear any shade of brown.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

Married. No kids. Although am plotting to kidnap my neighbour's tabby.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Yes, yes, no and noooo!

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Cardigans. And definitely going through a sock phase at present.

13. What are you knitting right now?

Socks. A second Cloud bolero. A cable cardigan for my mum.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Sure!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Circs. Addi Turbos and bambo. I have (multiple pairs of) most needle sizes and I'm getting a set of Knit Pick Options for my birthday so it will be hard to get me needles.

I would love one of those Clover felting needles though!

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yes to winder, no to swift (surely that's over the entire SP10 budget?!).

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

I recently discovered pieces of a lime green (what was I thinking?) cardigan at my parents' place which I started when I was still at uni. So it must be between 8 and 11 years old.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

I love the hot Australian Christmas. Beach, prawns, thongs (i.e. flip flops), mangoes.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Japanese craft books.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

Any book by Elizabeth Zimmerman.
Any pattern by Anna Bell from My Fashionable Life.
Yarns you can't get in Australia, e.g. Morehouse Farm Merino, Koigu, Fleece Artist and that Berroco Bonsai stuff. Sock yarns like Trekking XXL or Regia in solids or stripes.

I subscribe to Interweave Knits. Incidentally I'm quite picky about knitting mags. I don't like any of the Australian knitting magazines. I can get Vogue Knitting at my local library so I tend not to buy them unless there's something I actually intend to make (which is rare).

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Steeking. Norwegian colour knitting. Continental knitting.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Recently converted. 26cm. Me, Big Foot.

23. When is your birthday?

21st March

(Hoorah! I finished!)

Elephant Foot

This looks like a normal enough sock...

Pattern is the Spindle Socks by Anna at My Fashionable Life using Debbie Bliss' Baby Cashmerino in a lilac.

When I put the sock onto waste yarn (I'm a good girl) to try it on for length last night, look what happened!

No matter how I tugged, I could not get it past my elephant sized heel!

It was too depressing. Of course I had to frog it immediately, hence the poorly lit photos - taken at night in haste and frustration....

So for the first time in a LONG time, I actually have no WIP (!) Well, strictly that's not true. I found the long neglected Belisa cashmere scarf which I started after Easter last year. I worked a couple rows on the train this morning but am already bored.... ARGH!!!!

Websites As Graphs

Here's this blog as a graph.

Cascading Leaves

Pattern: Embossed Leaves Socks by Mona Schmidt from IWK Winter 05
Yarn: 2 balls Filatura di Crosa Zarina in grey (col. 1494)
Needles: 2.75mm dpns (I'm actually getting the hang of dpns now and prefer them over 2 circs)
Started: Feb 2nd, 2007
Finished: Feb 9th, 2007

Pattern is for a sock 23cm long and my feet are 26cm (I know, I have big feet) so initially I was going to do an extra half pattern repeat but I ended up undoing that after I tried it on my foot because the sock actually stretched quite a bit.

In the end, the only 'alteration' to the pattern I made was picking up 14 stitches on each side of the heel flap instead of 15 as the pattern calls for. I just couldn't find room to pick up that one last stitch for some reason.

The one feature I really like about these socks is the way the toe decreases taper to a point and actually complete the leaves in the final pattern repeat. Really nice touch.

Of course, I would've liked to have found Mona's tutorial on the tubular cast on she used BEFORE I'd finished the socks. For anyone interested you can find it on the sidebar of her website.

Glamour Feet

Shot on location in our kitchen.

(Can you really see me wearing these out?)

I'm on my way to meeting my NY's resolutions! These are knitted toe-up and kind of based on this Knitty pattern but I cast on fewer stitches to get the right width.

There are two things I'm not happy with...
1. The heel is shaped the same way as the toe (with short rows) and doesn't fit that well (not surprising, as the heel is not the same shape as the toe, oddly enough).
2. The loose cuff bind off is really ugly. It doesn't look that bad on because it's stretched but when it's off it kind of flares out but if I did it any tighter my heel wouldn't fit through.

Possible solutions...
1. Cuff down socks (with heel flap and gusset) will probably fit better, but it means binding off with Kitchener stitch which I have an irrational fear of (I can do it but it usually takes me ages to do even a few stitches cos I have to refer to about 5 different diagrams and then I forget it as soon as I look away). Alternatively, there is this pattern which is a toe up sock with a heel flap. Is it really as good as it sounds?
2. I can try tubular cast off - another technique I have not been able to master, but other than that, I'm stumped! Suggestions anyone?

************
Postscript: I didn't post any project details initially because I was lazy but here we go - the yarn is Patonyle 4ply in col. 4308. I used 2 balls with plenty left over (I'm thinking a jumper for Monkey). Needles were 2.75mm dpns.

Another Silver Bolero!

I finally finished the Jo Sharp bolero I started way back in November.

I really thought I would finish this before Christmas but when I got to the 234-stitch 2x2 ribbed band I completely lost motivation.

Meanwhile I got quite sidetracked with a few other projects, including some secret knitting (to be revealed in a later post) and the Cloud Bolero, which was also in silver (or at least the colour was called Silver Lining although in reality it's closer to baby blue).

Some additional pics on my flickr.

Okay, project details...

Project: Short Sleeve Bolero in Jo Sharp Knit - Issue 2
Yarn: 6.5 balls of Debbie Bliss Cathay in Silver (same gauge as the Jo Sharp Summer DK Cotton the pattern calls for)
Needles: 3.5mm and 4mm Addi Turbos
Started: Late Nov 06
Finished: 28 January 07

Modifications:
Instead of knitting the fronts and backs separately, I knitted them as one piece up to the armpits and then knitted the fronts and back separately. This is purely to avoid the side seams and I think it actually drapes nicer without the side seams. I also used a 3-needle bind off at the shoulder, again to avoid the dreaded seaming.

Final 2 Cents:
DB Cathay has great stitch definition so any unevenness in my stockinette really shows (and I'm NOT a very even knitter). That's probably my only gripe with this project.

*****************
On a slightly different note, I noticed that the project list for the Spring 07 issue of Interweave Knits is up. There are a few projects that I like the look of, such as the Tea Rose Halter Top by Wenlan Chia (of Twinkle fame) and the Dollar and a Half Cardigan by Veronik Avery.

Let's just hope it doesn't take 3 months for my issue to arrive this time....

A Very Aussie Aussie Day

We had no real plan for our Australia Day long weekend up until Thursday night because I simply had not had time to think about it since work was so busy last week.

When we finally sat down to watch the Tennis on Thursday night, I happened to flick to another channel where they were playing a pre-Australia Day concert in Canberra and The Whitlams came on. Of course I had to watch because they're my ALL TIME FAVOURITE band, and right at the end, they mentioned something about playing in Sydney the next day....

What?! I googled it straight away. Apparently the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority was putting on a concert at The Rocks to celebrate Australia Day.

And it's all FREE. So our Australia Day activities were set. (Never had I been so happy to be a taxpayer.)

The line up was great. They had FIVE stages with all Aussie bands (almost as good as the BDO without the hefty price tag). We managed to catch the following...

2.30pm - Holly Throsby

A gorgeous little folk outfit with her as singer guitarist, drummer Bree Van Ryke (who also drums for Darren Hanlon) and a guy called Jens who seems to play every string instrument under the sun - double bass, cello, mandolin, banjo). There was one tense moment when a wild gust of wind blew the double bass off its stand and it toppled onto the ground - thankfully these classical instruments are tougher than they look.

4pm - Josh Pyke
Well we didn't actually watch a lot of it we were off foraging for food. He had a cool violinist.

5.30pm - Alex Lloyd

The highlight for me was definitely when they did a cover of Hallelujah and the whole crowd started singing along.

And also the very dramatic dancing by two girls very close to us throughout the entire set.

7pm - The Whitlams

I haven't seen these guys since the Easter Show last year and they were in good form. They did some of their more political songs (Blow Up The Pokies, Year Of The Rat), a few 'Aussie-flavoured' songs (Love This City, I Will Not Go Quietly, Beautiful as You) and a few of my favourites - I Make Hamburgers, Laugh In Their Faces, and Louis Burdett.

My voice was coarse by the end of the set with all the singing along and cheering.

I also wore my thongs for the occasion, ate two whole corn cobs, got sun burnt and had beer split on my foot. All in the spirit of celebrating being Australian. It was a great day.


Just a few more pics on my flickr.

Lost & Found

This post is about my Christmas present.

I know I know, Christmas is already a distant memory for some of you but there's a reason for this lateness.

I want to start by telling you the back story. (Okay, if you're a little short on time you can just skip down to where I've marked the crux of this post with lots of ******)

Two years ago, the first Christmas after we got married, when I was still under the optimistic delusion that, one day someday soon, I will succeed in training Jerms to read my mind, I began dropping some obvious hints as to what I wanted for Christmas. They include casual comments such as "Oh I found this really cool knitting doll kit online today... it's really really cool... did I say it's really really cool?" and "Um, Ben Folds has put out a new book of sheet music. Did I mention that I'm in love with Ben Folds?"

Even to my semi-delusional mind back then, it soon became apparent to me that he was not catching on. For one, there were no visits to www.dotpebbles.com under Mozilla's 'History' page and definitely no visits to Allan's Music superstore in the City.

But being the refuse-to-give-up gunho die-hard that I am, I decided that I just needed to be more obvious.

So I made a wishlist...

with descriptions of each gift, expected price, and more importantly, WHERE one might be able to purchase these gifts, if one was looking to do so.

To be honest I can't remember what I got that Christmas. Needless to say it wasn't on my list.

************
So this last Christmas, I decided it was time to be practical and give up on any school girl silliness and just tell him exactly what I wanted. Tickets to see the Lost and Found Orchestra as part of the Sydney Festival.

We went to the matinee performance last Sat at the Opera House, (which is why I'm only blogging about my Christmas present now) and it was FANTASTIC.

The set looked quite strange to start with, lots of steel structures and stages, even a bathroom up one side of what used to be the choir circle.

When the lights dimmed, a group of people walked on stage and started playing... instrument cases!!

Basically the idea is that they use instruments made from everyday objects, which, as far as I can remember included...

• different lengths of plastic tubes
  
• drain pipes with mouthpieces that sounded like bassoons
  
• a massive wine glass xylophone
• vibraphones made from water cooler bottles
  
• beer bottles
• shopping trolleys
• plastic barrels
• those bouncy exercise balls
  
• witches' hats as horns
  
• garbage bags
• saw violins
  
• bicycle horns
• a harp made from a bed
• really long tubing with a cone at the end
  

And vacuum cleaners! Serious.

Because a lot of these instruments only made one single tone, it required incredible coordination across a fairly large number of people to produce a coherent piece of music. It was a bit like a concert cross with a dance cross with a circus. There were certainly tap dancing elements (the creators created Stomp), acrobatics, clowning, as well as my favourite, a kung-fu sequence where about 10 pairs of people 'fought' with broom sticks and 'played' a percussion piece at the same time.

You can read a write up here. I'm sorry I have no pictures. You can't take photos inside the Concert Hall and in any case there're probably plenty of pics on the web.

************
btw, to Jerms' credit, he did get me something on that wishlist eventually. But this has taught me an important lesson about marriage... ladies, don't try to change your husbands. It's much easier to change yourselves.

Tooroo.

New Year's Knitting Resolutions

I know it's probably a bit late to post NY's resolutions but I really wanted to come up with some this year to give my knitting a bit more direction, rather than going for the same old boring 'safe' projects again. (Although there will no doubt be some of those as well!)

So here we go...

9. Socks
I have only ever knitted one pair of socks. It was the Sock of Doom from Sock Wars (which I wasn't a participant of, but thought I would make them anyway cos I was so bummed I missed the sign up date). I ended up giving them away (very unlike me, see resolution 2) so I don't actually have a photo.

Anyway, I didn't think I would really get into it (I mean, hand-knitted SOCKS? There's got to be less daggy things in the world) but as it turned out, I really really enjoyed it!

Up until that point, I had never thought about how a sock is constructed and the different ways it could be knitted (what on earth is a gusset? And a heel flap?).

I still think hand-knitted socks are daggy and I don't know if I'll wear them outside the house, but I'm going to give them a go just cos the structure aspect of it really interested me.

With that in mind, I went to my LYS last weekend and bought 2 balls of this Paton self-pattern stuff. I was really after the Filatura de Crosa Zarina to make the Embossed Leaves Socks in Interweave Winter 05 (at least these don't look too daggy) but they didn't have it and the lady at the shop was so friendly I couldn't walk away without getting something.

As you can see, I'm just up to the toe-turn (is that a proper sock knitting term? The Toe-Turn).

8. Design a pattern (and write it down!)
I've made up my own patterns before, but I've never bothered to write them down.

My original resolution was that I should try and get a pattern published but maybe that's a little too ambitious. In any case I will post the pattern on the blog if that really happens.

My biggest problem is I have no idea about sizing. I can design patterns for specific individuals, but how do I work out smaller and bigger sizes? I'm assuming this is simply a matter of doing the maths but I'll have to find out what 'standard' sizes are. Anyway, will deal with that when we get to it.

(Although I could always design a poncho or a muumuu...)

7. Experiment! Be Bold!
This one stems from an audit I did of my projects over the last few years, all of which used one single yarn in one single colour.

I can't believe I'M SO BORING!

So this resolution means I can do one or all of the following...

• A multi-coloured project
• A multi-yarn project
• Something subversive/unwearable/just for the hell of it

6. Learn Continental knitting
I just know this will make my knitting so much faster. Plus I'm getting RSI on my right thumb from holding the needle the 'English' way. Argh.

5. Learn steeking
This is too scary I can't even bring myself to think about it as yet.

4. Learn to spin
I already have a plan about this. One of my friend's mum has a spinning wheel. I can just ask her to teach me, right? Right?

3. Actually give away knitted gifts
I have to stop hogging them for myself. I really have to stop hogging them. (But they really prefer a CD or worse, a GIFT VOUCHER!) No, I must stop hogging them...

2. Get involved with a knitting group
I need some knitting-obsessed friends. (Refer to resolution 1.)

1. Act normal
I've been making an effort not to appear completely obsessed with knitting in front of my non-knitting friends (which are about 99% of my friends) because, well, they just end up being disturbed by how much I know about knitting.

So here's my final and perhaps most difficult resolution. I'm not going to talk about knitting with any of them. Even if they ask me, I will first gauge whether they're doing so out of politeness (in which case I'll be as brief as possible because they do not deserve to know how much more fun knitting is compared to drinking or playing computer games) or out of genuine interest (in which case I'll do my best to evangelise them).

The exceptions are Jerms (this is the price he pays for having a free cleaning & cooking service), this blog (you chose to read this) and friends who actually knit.

(This has got to be one of the longest post I've ever written.)

Ocean Boy

Jerms in one of his rare moments not choking on sea water.

A few more pics of our dive off Port Douglas has been uploaded to my flickr!

Mind you, these ones were taken using a disposable underwater camera so the images are a bit fuzzy!

FNQ Holiday Wrap

Now that we're back in cold, wet Sydney, it's time to reminisce about our Far North Queensland holiday before all those lovely memories fade.

Itinerary: 1 night Cairns, 3 nights Palm Cove, 4 nights Cape Tribulation. (Click links to see where we stayed!)

Cairns Highlights: Not much considering we only stayed for 1 night and slept most of that day! We did have a great seafood platter for 2 at Mangostins on The Esplanade for dinner. Great value too - only 75 bucks with the 25% early bird discount (seated by 5pm and done by 7pm). Yeah we true Asians.


Palm Cove Highlights: Great little beachside resort town that's a little less touristy than Port Douglas or Cairns. Thanks to the stinger net on the beach (below) we swam with wild abandonment and baked off on the beach afterwards. (We did lie under one of many palm trees so as to not get too burnt.)

Speaking of stingers, I love this article which basically says that YOU WILL DIE if you get stung by a stinger. This, according to Aussie Stu, is actually not true because it does depend on where you get stung - e.g. chest and face more likely to be fatal.

I must say reading The Phantom comics while lying on the beach was a highlight. It's got classic lines such as "Cold voice of angry Phantom chills even jungle tiger's blood - Old Jungle Saying". Hilarious.

Also the 40 min drive between Palm Cove and Port Douglas has magnificent views of about a million beaches.

Port Douglas Highlights: I've already raved about this in a previous post but snorkeling on the GBR was really the highlight of the entire trip. Here's one of us knackered on the boat afterwards! (More pics on my flickr!)

We went with Wavelength which I highly recommend. The 10% off for YHA members also helps!

Daintree/Cape Tribulation Highlights: Aside from licking a limey ant's bum? Snorkelling AGAIN on the Great Barrier Reef! This time we went with Odyssey H2O and I must say we enjoyed it more than the dive at Port Douglas.

Although there were only 2 dives (both off a reef site aptly named Turtles - see below), the Reef was more pristine and more beautiful there. And it's only a 45 min boat ride to the Reef!

Jerms found a turtle and I saw at least 3 sting rays. Pity we didn't have an underwater camera that time!

Another highlight was swimming at the freshwater swimming hole behind Mason's. Apparently they were one of the first white families to move to the Cape. The fresh water was so refreshing after the really salty sea water!

Finally, seeing a cassowary was pretty special - even though we only got a picture of his butt (can you spot it?). Apparently he's the resident cassowary at the Coconut Beach Resort and his name is George!

Check out the slightly 'modified' speed hump sign and cassowary warning sign below too... *chuckle*.

For more info about The Daintree, we found this guide pretty much covers it.

I Licked An Ant's Bum!

Day 8 - New Year's Eve

Went kayaking around the Cape today. Our guide was a real Aussie bloke called Stu. Everyone was to him either a brother, sister, mate, love, or possum. Gotta love that.

He's one of the most laid back people I've ever met. Whilst on Myall Beach he picked up half a dozen coconuts that'd fallen onto the beach. We carried them on our kayaks back to his 'office' which is basically an outdoor tent canopy and he hacked them open with a machete. We drank the juice and ate the flesh, which he also hacked off with a hunting knife.

Then Stu decided he fancied a walk in the 'garden' and gave us an impromptu bush tucker tour. He climbed a tree and found a jack fruit (tastes like bubble gum), then pointed out a cashew tree to us (cashews are actually a nut grown on the end of apples, see below), a lime tree (we could pick as many off as we wanted), a macademia tree (nuts still green) and then, he pointed out a fruit covered in green ants.

Stu tells us the ants have a lime flavour in their green butts so what does he do? Gives us each an ant to lick.

It really has a lime taste! Very potent too!

Anyway, pics to come when we have the technology.

Hot Hot Christmas Holidays

Day 1 (Xmas Eve) - Cairns

Got up at 5am for 7am flight. Arrived in Cairns around 9am.

Slept most of the day. However we did manage to go out for dinner. Had a seafood platter with prawns, mussels, bugs, oysters, calamari and fruit! Nice.

Here's a picture of the lagoon in the middle of the city. And here's a sign accompanying...

Read the bit about water tight swimmers? Gross.

Day 2 (Xmas Day) - Palm Cove

Drove to Palm Cove (20 mins from Cairns) where we'll be staying for the next 3 nights. This is Trinity Beach enroute to Palm Cove. Just one of about 7 beaches between Cairns and Palm.

And here is Palm Cove.

All the beaches are really nice but I still think beaches in Sydney and Byron are nicer. Sand on Palm Cove is pretty coarse but there's shade everywhere thanks to the abundance of palm trees.

Weather's been good. No rain so far and not extremely hot but still around 31 degrees each day and quite humid. Thank goodness for air-con!

Spent the rest of the day at the beach and just chilling out. Finished my book (The Innocent Man by John Grisham). Well worth a read.

Day 3 (Boxing Day) - Great Barrier Reef

The whole day was spent snorkelling at the GBR. Weather conditions were perfect. Needless to say it was FANTASTIC.

The tour was a full day one to the outer Reef. Took 1.5 hours on a boat to get there. Will post pics in a separate post, including some underwater ones! (ps. pics have now been posted on my flickr! Teaser below!)

We did 3 dives at sites called Ray Ban, can't remember the 2nd one and Turtle Bay.

Heaps of tropical fish (plenty of Nemos), different varieties of coral in an array of colours, and a turtle! Had so much fun and didn't get sunburnt (except on the top of my head and my left ear... ouch!)

Day 4 - Still at Palm Cove

Today was our laze around day. Went to the beach in the morning before it got too hot, then back to the resort for a swim in the pool.

We then decided to visit Mareeba and Kuranda in the Atherton Tablelands, west of Cairns. The drive took an hour up some pretty windy roads. When we got there, there was nothing but a coffee shop! About 90% of the coffee produced by Australia is grown in Mareeba - which is why we decided to visit since I am such an addict.

I was kind of hoping for a tour about the roasting process of the beans (above) or something. Instead there was just a shop and cafe. Pooh!

Here's a really ancient expresso machine.

Best thing about the drive was finding some really cheap mangoes and lychees. My 2 fave fruits! Look at Jerms fondling those juicy juicy mangoes...

What?! $3.50 a kg? Give me 2!

Another highlight was driving past a town called, wait for it... Speewah!

Yeah. Small things amuse small minds.

Don't worry folks, I haven't been neglecting my knitting - even in this heat! Here's the beginings of the Phylotaxis Scarf, my 2nd Knitting Nature project.

Completed Cloud

I'm coming out of hibernation.

Finished the Cloud Bolero a couple of nights ago but only got round to blocking it last night. I hovered the steam iron over it cos' I didn't want to flatten the scallop stitching, plus this yarn is really soft and fluffy.

Here are the project details:

Pattern: FREE from Yarn Forward magazine, by Ysolda Teague, in the M size
Yarn: 2 and a bit balls of Rowan Polar in Silver Lining
(This yarn is discontinued but I found some from Cucumberpatch in the UK. They have excellent service and shipping rates. Also fast shipping, even to a backwater like Australia!)
Needles: 8mm circulars
Notions: Button or ribbon as fastener - I haven't got a proper ribbon yet, the one in the photo is from some left over Christmas wrapping

Modifications: The pattern calls for 2 balls of Rowan Polar if making the XS, S or M size. However, it also has provisions for extending the cap sleeves by 1 pattern repeat (4 rows) , which I did, and therefore ran out of yarn just before the cast off row.
I also lengthened the bolero by 3 or 4 pattern repeats I think.

I LOVED the pattern, despite the strife I had with reading it at first. It was such an interesting knit and so well designed. It's knitted in one piece from the collar down with NO SEAMING (yay). The cap sleeves appear magically as you increase the number of stitches in each row. Also I loved the fact that you try it on as you go and make adjustments along the way so that it's a perfect fit.

The only thing I would change about the pattern is probably adding a button hole at the collar. This isn't written in the pattern and by the time I thought of it I had already gone too far down.

If I was making it again (very likely) I would also print out the pattern with spaces between each row's instruction. Nearly went blind reading it.

Norbert

The new Knitty is up!

This would be quite tempting to add to my growing collection of handmade stuff toys....

On a more distressing note, I ran out of yarn for my Cloud Bolero on the weekend. I'm making the M size which requires 2 balls of Rowan Polar according to the pattern, but because I made the longer version of the cap sleeves (i.e. added the first 4 rows of section 1b before moving on to section 2), I only have about 30 cm left when I got to the bind off row. Plus I plan to make it a bit longer than required now that I'm going to need extra yarn anyway.

I've ordered another ball already so in the mean time it's back to the Jo Sharp bolero.

Cloud Disaster

I needed a break from the monotonous stockinette stitch of the Jo Sharp bolero last night (plus I was getting RSI from the small needles) and decided to start the Cloud Bolero using the Rowan Polar that arrived yesterday.

It started out being a really interesting knit as I couldn't tell from the pattern how it would turn out so it was a bit like secret knitting.

Unfortunately it also meant it was impossible to pick up any mistakes. It wasn't until row 20 that I realised something had gone terribly wrong....

The total number of stitches was correct but the numbers between stitch markers were out by 1 or 2. It didn't help that the instructions are written in this format with no stitch chart...

Row 20 (RS): k3, (yo, k1) 3 times, (k2tog) 6 times, (yo, k1) 3 times, yo, slm, k1, yo, k1, pmB, (yo, k1) 3 times, (k2tog) 6 times, (yo, k1) 3 times, k1, yo, slm, k1, yo, pmB (k1, yo) 3times, (k2tog) 6times, (yo, k1) 6 times, (k2tog) 6 times, (yo, k1) 3 times, yo, slm, k1, yo k1, pmB, (yo, k1) 3 times, (k2tog) 6 times, (yo, k1), 3 times, k1, yo, slm, k1, yo, pmB (k1, yo) 3 times, (k2tog) 6times, (yo, k1) 3 times, k3. 130 sts.

And that's just one row!

I counted and recounted and counted and recounted but couldn't find the mistake for a whole episode of Grey's Anatomy (will have to watch that one again). Eventually I found a mistake IN THE SECOND ROW!!!!!!

To be honest I don't think that was the only mistake but I was so fed up with counting by that stage that I just ripped the whole thing out. That was round about midnight....

One problem with being someone who is highly competitive when it comes to math-related challenges is that I can't rest until I've solved the problem. So there I was up til 2 in the morning redoing the whole thing until I got to row 20 and made sure that the pattern was actually right.

Needless to say I'm not my usual Little Miss Sunshine self today.

Super Geek Of the Year

Jerms sent me this link today with the note "well, it appears you may have married the wrong nerd..." Indeed!

Well if I can't maybe some of you ladies out there can.

On an even more knit related note, I have a progress pic...


I'm onto the 2nd sleeve now. I'm knitting the sleeves in the round using the brilliant 2 needle method up to the shoulder shaping, yes to avoid any unnecessary and dreaded seaming....

My stash is also returning to a healthy level after I flogged off a stack of stuff on eBay to make room in my stash drawers. Yesterday I received 2 packs of Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed - the Autumn colour one will be used to make the Phyllotaxis Scarf in Knitting Nature...


... and the lilac colour probably for a cardigan from Jo Sharp Knit 2, next winter.

And just as I'm posting this, the mail lady today came with a package - 2 balls of Rowan Polar in Silver Lining, which I'm using to make the Cloud Bolero by Ysolda Teague, a free pattern from the new Yarn Forward mag.

Where is She?

It's not like I've gone off blogging. I've just been too busy putting my leftover stash on eBay... including this ball of DB Cashmerino Aran for anyone who wants to knit a pair of Fetching.

I've already made mine!

There are some real bargains there as my main aim is to clear some drawer space for new stash. Including some Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed for my next Knitting Nature project.

At the moment I'm beavering away at the Jo Sharp Bolero. Am up to the 1st sleeve now. Progress pics to come.