Happy Christmas

Quick hello and Happy Christmas Greetings. All is well here I just haven't had regular internet access and we only just moved back into our own home last weekend so we are still awaiting our broadband connection. Hopefully I'll be back more regularly in the New Year when we are finally settled back home. Kiwibabe is doing well too, when I get a chance I'll post the latest scan and maybe even a pic of my ever expanding bump, we're now at week 25. Till 2008 then.

Kiwi Babe

It's been so long since I wrote on this blog I don't quite know where to start. So, instead of giving a blow by blow account of whats been happening in one long post I'm gonna let this picture share our biggest news. Meet our kiwibabe at 16 weeks.

I'm having another scan at the end of this week and if the pic is any clearer I'll post that up.

P.S. My name in Ravelry might make a bit more sense now! Eek must start using ravelry.

Jo Sharp Vest

Pattern: Jo Sharp Vest from Knit Issue 1

Yarn:Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette

Time taken:Mmm not sure I seemed to knit this really quickly and then left it there when all I had to do was finish off one of the armholes. I'd say probably 2 weeks knitting in total.

Pattern Modifications:For some reason I thought the armhole was going to be too long so I cut it short a few rows at the top but I'm really sorry I did now as I could do with the extra length in the body - ah well. I don't care enough to unpick and reknit! It was only 6 rows shorter so it wouldn't have made a drastic difference.

Difficulty: None!

Winner/Loser?: Yes, total winner, I love it!

Only one more day before we start the marathon journey home, 4 planes, 27 hours in the air, 36 hours travelling in total - how I wish for a Star Trek "transporter" to just whisk me there. Ah well, I've no doubt it'll be worth it. 2 Weddings, a big family birthday celebration and many meetings up with friends already planned for the next 3 weeks - it's gonna be busy, I can't wait! Next post from Ireland - wahoo!!

Sunny Days

Hello! Is this really my first post of September? You'd be forgiven for thinking that I had just disappeared or forgotten that I have a blog - well neither are accurate but I have been remiss in getting back to it. We had a great time in Raro, as usual Cathal has been keeping the other blog up to date. To celebrate my return I thought it was about time some long finished knits showed up here. So, the photo above is of my Clapotis pictured having a great time in Muri Beach in Rarotonga.

Project: Kate Gilberts Clapotis

Yarn: Hummingbird 100% wool, (it's seems to have disappeared from the Knitworld site so no link - sorry). It was a total bargain aswell.

Time taken: I started this in May whilst we were travelling the South Island. I'd say in total it took me about a month to knit but I left it lying on a chair for months - all it needed was some ends sewn in and blocked - so I finally got round to it and brought it to Raro with me for the chilly evenings which never materialised.

Pattern Modifications: Just added on 5 or 6 more repeats of the middle straight section before the final shaping section. I wanted this to be more of a wrap than a scarf.

Difficulty:Not! Yet there's enough interest to keep you going and not bore you totally to tears. I decided to purl the stitch to be dropped rather than use stitch holders to indicate the stitch - I don't have 18 stitch holders for a start!

Winner/Loser: Such a winner I would definitely knit one again, I really like Kate's clever knits.

Wow, that wasn't so difficult after all. I might even be back again soon!

Late!

I'm being a bad blogger again. It's nearly two weeks since my birthday and although I have sent many thanks by texts I also wanted to show my mam and sister the lovely flowers they sent me - although they should know what they looked like they sent them all the way from Ireland! I also got lots and lots of cards and other gifts so thank you to all the well wishers. I especially have to mention the beautiful handpainted cards I got from Shona and Niamh and Alice and Daithi - who also shares his birthday with mine. Unfortunately this year neither of us were in Ireland but I'm sure we'll be back to our usual celebrations next year Daithi - I missed you.

We are off to Rarotonga on Friday for a week in the sun, gosh it's a hard year. Will be back blogging after that. Till then, happy knitting.

Felting Flowers

Well it looks like the break did the trick knitting wise. I did bring the lace wrap with me for the week but I never once took it out of the bag! But I did pick up sticks yesterday and worked on 3 WIPs - two just needed ends sewn etc, the finishing that takes patience and yesterday I seemed to have it. I also cast off on the 3rd WIP. So, some washing and blocking this week and I may have some FO's to show off really soon.

So, just so there's some pics to go with this post I thought I'd share a felting tale from some time ago now. Being in NZ this year and being blessed with an abundance of easily accessible 100% wool combined with the fact that for the first and probably only time ever I have a top loader washine machine it seemed the time was right to delve further into the world of fulled knits. I got a book, some yarn and then got distracted by some very cute patterns and decided to give one of them a try first.

I ordered the patterns online and as soon as they arrived I rushed down to the LYS to get some suitable red yarn and got knitting. It's important that I point out that I rushed into the LYS just as they were closing for the weekend and grabbed a brand of yarn that I had previously bought and known to be NOT machine washable - same brand different 100% wool yarn.

So, home I went and got knitting. This is how the flower turned out pre-felting. (Didn't think of measuring it but at least it's pictured on top of my laptop to give some sense of scale, also I don't recall if the light was bad or if the particular shade of red was hard to photograph but the photo is pretty crap, sorry!)It's kinda large and although I had no fixed idea for what I intended to use this flower I still hoped that it would shrink a lot. Now I believe Fisher and Paykal washing machines are known for being gentle so I thought I may have to run this through a few cycles before I got the desired results. I was patient but nothing was happening. Wash after wash after wash. I began to lose patience. I consulted the book. Yes I was doing it right. The flower just wasn't co-operating. I'm not sure at what point I thought to consult the ball band but when I did I just might have let a bad word or two slip out. So, yes it wouldn't take a genius to see where this was headed - the yarn was 100% wool but it was superwash!!!! Yipee I could send it through as many cycles as I wanted but this flower just wasn't ever going to get smaller. Blast. I've tried to think of alternative uses for a huge baggy flower but I can't come up wih anything! So, I made another trip to the LYS and took my time this time and even consulted the staff as to whether or not they knew if my chosen yarn would felt well. I knit again and this time with much better results (although I forgot to take measurements before putting it in the machine).

Although the flower is still huge - 20 cm across.Not exactly corsage size but maybe I can use it for an embellishment on a bag at some later date.

I'm off............

Just for a week. Off North up to the Coromandel Peninsula to meet up with some friends this weekend and then to the Bay of Islands. Back next Friday just in time for my birthday!! We haven't been away travelling in a while (2 months) and I am really looking forward to the trip. I'm also hoping it'll shake some of the bleugh out of me. Lately I've lost all interest in blogging and knitting and it's just not like me so hopefully I'll return rejuvenated and raring to finish off the many nearly finished items I have hanging round here at the moment. Hope ye all have a good week.

I'm in........

I got my invite , I'm in! Wahoo - all I've managed so far is to create a username, I'm kiwibabe in honour of our time here. No time today to play, will be logged in 2moro from daybreak though!

Sew what?

Sewing - the latest crafty thing I've got myself into is the one thing I really wanted to learn during our time here in NZ (that and crochet, that has been even more unsuccesful but I digress). With all the travelling around it's been very difficult to start any night courses as we have invariably been away when the course commenced. Not so, this time. I have been looking forward to starting a dressmaking class in Wellington High for the longest time. I had an inkling that we'd be around for the July intake and so it was 2 weeks ago I took myself off to the beginners class. I was feeling pretty confident, I mean I'm pretty crafty, I have used a machine before (granted I was probably a child and did so with my mother by my side) and both of my parents are well acquainted with sewing machines so I thought you know I had a lot of things going for me.

The class began with everyone introducing themselves and saying what they wanted out of the course. I told everyone I was a Knitter (why?) and that I really just wanted to know how to sew - I didn't really have any great lofty aspirations. Others wanted to make garments that fit and look professional etc. It was then that I started to get scared. You'd think that by the title of the class I would have known what was ahead of me but it hadn't occurred to me that we'd actually be making clothes ( by week 2)!!!!

So, the first night was all about learning to use the machine and it turns out most of the beginners in the class aren't beginners at all and I'm quickly left behind. The clincher in terms of my own stupidity came though when the instructor told us to sew a zig zag design on our sample fabric and drew a zig zag line to illustrate. I quickly started looking at all the dials and buttons on the machine thinking to myself - I know this one, I know this one, it was one of those dials that we were shown at the beginning of the class. So, delighted with myself I switch the dial and start sewing lines of zig zag stitch. One of my fellow "beginners" noticed after a little while and said to me was I sure I knew what I was doing. Confidently I replied sure, we're supposed to be doing the zig zag stitch and this, as I held my sample up - was zig zag stitch. Then I looked around, I'd been so industrious and sure of what I was doing that I hadn't bothered lifting my head to see what everyone else was doing. Then I noticed something and it clicked - really why would the teacher want to see us doing lines and lines of zig zag stitch which you know effectively the machine was doing. No, the teacher wanted to teach us to sew a straight line and then learn how to turn the fabric and sew another line in the opposite direction and so on and so forth.

Thankfully the bell rang and I was spared the embarrassment of starting over. Just before we packed up we were told to go buy some fabric and a pattern and cut it out and bring it to class next week - WHAT? I still can't sew a straight line never mind a zig zag and as for cutting fabric - yikes. Turns out though I'm not too bad at that part, it's just the sewing that's the issue. Do you think if I knit a skirt they'd notice?

8 repeats and I'm done

1/2 way there. The tour enters it's final stage today and I'm very happy to be putting this wrap down for a little while. I had hoped at some of my more insane moments that I might finish this wrap during the tour but I just didn't have it in me. Nonetheless I am very pleased to be half way there and if I wanted a sprint I wouldn't have entered the Polka Dot Category. I honestly wouldn't have got this far without participating in the kal (thanks Meg and Debbie for organising this, I've really enjoyed reading the daily updates on the blog).

This is one of those knits where I'll really enjoy the end results but the process - not so much. I have other things screaming to me from the knitting basket so I look forward to putting this down for a little while. From here on in I hope to do one repeat a week whilst knitting other things (turns out I'm really not fond of project monogamy) and this way I hope to have this finished to bring home to Ireland at the end of September (9 weeks away - I can't wait to catch up with all my friends and family).

I started a new craft this week and it's kicking my ass - photos next time.