Sydney Tourist

We're on a mission to 'get out more' on the weekends...

So on Saturday we decided to be tourists and walk the Sydney Harbour Bridge starting from Milson's Point, through The Rocks and the Botanic Gardens down to Harry's pies at Woolloomoolloo Wharf.

Was a glorious day in Sydney...


Pies at Harry's were quite disapointing though.

Here's my pie & mushy peas with gravy (mushy being the operative word)

Here's Jerm's potato pie with gravy (more accurately a pie with mash on top)

Tastewise, not even close to Fredo Pies - an essential stop on our way to Byron Bay.

More pics at my flickr under tags harbourbridge, royal botanic garden, harryscafedewheels

Too Much of a Good Thing

A couple weeks ago we hunted out Max Brenner at St. Ives for one last hoorah before GK left for her 'I need to find myself' trip to the UK.

Between me, J and GK we ordered the chocolate souffle, chocolate dome (choc-coated choc mousse with creme brulee centre... I know, feels bad just typing this) and a hot chocolate each.

While I am a great fan of chocolate (dark only thanks) - this type of indulgence is probably not recommended if, say, you want to stay alive.

More than 1 of us suffered heart pulpitations during the course of consumption and I believe someone went home and got sick...

And in the end I actually enjoyed the strawberries dipped in molten chocolate more than the actual desserts.

Nerd Blogs

I've recently started reading the Freakonomics blog. Today, I added Scott Adam's Dilbert blog to my bloglines.

I love this entry on his wedding day... "I’ve been taking dancing lessons for the past several months to prepare for this one specific dance. It would be fair to say that I am not gifted in the performing arts. It would be equally fair to say that I dance like a drunken monkey pissing on an electric fence."

So anyone got any amusing nerd blogs they read? And I don't mean really technical geek stuff. (Leave it in the comments page!)

And by the way, is it kocher to blog on one's wedding day?

Tas Pics Updated

Some new Tassie photos uploaded onto my flickr.

What better to do on a Fri afternoon than reminisce about past holiday and blog about it?

Congrats Mr. Penguin

In the SMH today (full article)...

Two of this trio are world-leading scientists. Can you guess who?

What can't this penguin do?

Monkey Business

Nearly finished. Progress pics on my flickr.

Free sock monkey plan here. Sock elephant plan here.

Sock Pen*s

Started my sock monkey on the weekend. It's really fun and a nice diversion from knitting. Here's what the socks looked like at the start...

But I ran out of stuffing after I did the body so here's what it looks like until I get more stuffing.


No prize for guessing what it looks like. There's more pics on my flickr account. Just click on the badge on the sidebar and search the tag 'sock monkey'.

Tasteless Chaser

What I found most amusing about this incident is Morris Iemma's comment that "last night they overstepped the bounds of taste..."

Dear Mr. Iemma, those blokes from The Chaser and CNNN has been doing that for years... remember the 2004 BDO?

Cupcakes on Pitt

I've heard a lot about this joint but have never ventured to visit it until today.

I got the Jaffa orange and despite its gorgeous appearance I was seriously let down.

The icing was too soft and buttery and the crushed Jaffas were impossible to eat with the actual cupcake (I picked them off one by one and ate them).

Biggest disappointment however was the cake itself. I like a good dense cupcake but this one was dry and stale. And I'm not alone.

For those who still game enough to try, the address is:
Shop 2, 323-327 Pitt St, Sydney
$3.50 for one
$5 for cupcake & coffee

Go here to see a few more pics.

Don't try this at home

Dropped a spoon down the sinkerrator on the weekend and turned it on...

flickr

Finally worked out how to put a flickr badge onto the blog. (Check it out on the side bar)

Only to be told my monthly upload limit has been exceeded. I've only got like 8 pics on it!

Felted Slippers

Whopper red slippers went in the washing machine on the weekend.


Had to put it through 3 wash cycles before it was properly felted. I'm not 100% satisfied with the results - the texture is a little uneven, due to previously discussed problems with a frontloader.

I read the machine manual back to front and still can't work out how to stop the spin cycle. Apparently every wash program has a short spin cycle except for the Delicates program, which won't create enough agitation for felting. Grrrrr....

As a result the spinning put all these permanent creases on the slippers.

I guess the only solution is probably to watch the machine like a hawk while it's felting and turn it off manually when it starts spinning. Really productive use of 2 hours...

My First

Of course, after pulling out all my unfinished projects, I decided to start a new one instead.

My first pair of socks. What I wanted to make was this (Interweave Winter 05)...


But I decided to be less ambitious and try this instead from a Jo Sharp booklet I got for FREE at my LYS...


I'm making it in some old Heirloom 8 ply cotton I had lying around in a rose colour. The good thing is this does not require knitting in the round (which I hate) and shaping is done by doing short rows around the toe and heel.

Have finished most of one over the weekend but I'm ready for something more challenging now!

Rut

I'm in a bit of a knitting rut at the moment.

It all started when I lost my knitting bag which, I suspect, contains the 2nd sleeve of Cosmopolitan. Which means now I can't finish it even if I wanted to (which I don't).

On the weekend I decided to dig out all my unfinish projects. There are no less than 3 scarves, 1 jumper, 1 vest, 1 singlet, 1 bolero, 1 beanie, 1 bag, numerous unidentifiable objects, and of course, Cosmopolitan.

I am resolved to either finish them or unravel. But where is that knitting bag?

Saga Continues

I confess I have not yet unravelled the Rebecca 28 sweater...


That's how much I've done of the back piece. Should I? Shouldn't I?

(I imagine this is equivalent to murdering your baby...)

Whopper Slippers

Ballet slippers completed! They will be felted this weekend.

There's a dilemma though. Because we were overly enthusiastic about being socially responsible environmentally friendly people when we bought our washing machine, we went for a 4.5 star energy efficient water saving frontloader. MISTAKE!

It doesn't put in enough water when you felt so the result is quite uneven and the crazy spin cycle puts in permanent creases on the felt. Most annoying of all, you also can't stop mid cycle to check the progress.

Wish I still had the industrial size toploader in our old share house. It used so much water and energy we could've been lobbied by Greenpeace. But it was great for felting.

Here's a comparison with one I prepared earlier...

Putting our feet up...

Red Slippers

I need a quick project to tie me over the grief of killing off the Rebecca 28 sweater.

So I'm making these slippers from Fiber Trends pattern AC-14 I got one Easter Show.

I'm using the 12-ply Rustic in Red Currant from Bendigo Woollen Mills. It felts beautifully.

Jerms has a pair in Earth without the strap that he calls his kung-fu shoes.

RIP Rebecca Sweater

It's basically not working out between me and this sweater.

I have not enjoyed making it and I can't see myself wearing it.

The fact that I casted on about 5 times was an ominous sign.

Plus my gauge is completely OFF.

So it's off to the knitting graveyard.