LOSY hat fun

I don't do a lot of charity knitting, but I do give to KOGO - when your husband gets a new winter set each year, the old ones have to go somewhere, and they are usually in perfect condition. After I finished the Village sweater wrap I wanted to knit something quick, easy and fun. Something I didn't have to think about at all. So I knit a LOSY  hat:

60 grams of left over sock wool, held double, changing colours when the previous one runs out. So much fun.

Then, when I went to put it in the box where both my gifts and my darning live, I discovered that there were a few pairs of Leon's socks to fix. 

I've got the day off work today - the hospital wanted to operate on my finger, but I got a second opinion who said "absolutely not" so I took the day off anyway, just to relax a little after a fairly stressful week, and now I'm going cast on my next big project, a jumper for Leon. 

Wednesdays are for books (Court of Lions)

I've decided that numbering these posts is silly, and I'm going to start naming them after the book I'm reading. Which is still Jane Johnson's Court of Lions. Which is not a negative reflection on the book, it's a good read which I look forward to sitting down with at every opportunity. It is exciting and romantic and suspenseful and lovely.

I think one reason I'm not reading quite as much as usual is I'm listening to Patrick Rothfuss' The Wise Man's Fear.  I've read the book in paper and loved it, and it's even better in audio. it is also 42 hours long, so engaging and very good value for my Audible credit. The only thing is, it's the second in a trilogy that has reached it's ten year anniversary - and there is no release date for the third book, which is rather concerning. 

 I hope you are enjoying what you are reading this week as much as I am!

Technique Tuesday

Recently, Sonia did a Norah Gaughan hat class. When she showed me her sample, I was very impressed with the cast one edge. It looked like a tubular cast on, but it wasn’t. I’ve said before wI love the tubular cast on,  but sometimes it can be a pain to work, and can be slightly tight. So, when Sonia told me this was a knitted on cast on, I was intrigued. It turns out a knitted on cast on can be done using knits and purls, and it gives a very nice edge.

That's the edge of a hat, in case it wasn't clear

The other nice thing about this technique is, unlike the long tail cast on, I can still work it, even with my broken finger. So that’s a win – it’s pretty and I can actually work it in my current state.

Back Again

We had a fantastic time at the Festival of Voices. There was lots of singing - or in my case listening to other people sing - and drinking and hanging out with friends.  I did pop into the two yarn shops in Salamanca, including one that had lovely hand dyed yarn, but I just couldn't buy anything. I've worked so hard to get my stash down, and I want it to keep going in that direction.

Glee Plus singing at MONA

It was freezing in Hobart, which meant everyone was wearing their best knitwear all the time!

Sheep on the ferry to MONA

And I had time to work on the Village Sweater Wrap. I was good to knit, even with my finger in a splint although doing the long tail cast on was very challenging. I finished the wrap on the aeroplane home. Which seemed very balanced, since I cast it on at the beginning of a very different plane trip,  I'm pretty much unspeakable excited about. I haven't tried it on yet, so here's hoping it looks ok. I'll block it and take photos soon.

The only downside to the weekend was this morning I stacked it on a trail run. Now, in addition to having a broken finger, I've got a very bruised foot. The upside of that is that I'm catching public transport to work tomorrow - more time to knit!

The never ending Village Sweater Wrap

I had a blog post written, about how we were going to Hobart for the weekend, and how it was going to be really fun, and how I might even finish the endless Village Sweater Wrap.

And then I fell over at the gym and broke a finger:

All in all it could have been a lot worse. It was my work gym, and when it happened I went up to a guy a said "this happened" and showed him my twisted finger, and it was bleeding all over the place and all very dramatic. He and his team sorted me out and took me to he hospital.

I can knit, which is a relief, but I might be better off on bigger needles and thicker yarn. It's like this project really doesn't want to be finished.  

Mainly I'm just relieved I can still knit. I might also be able to spin, although I imagine mainly long draw.Have a great weekend, especially if you are going to Bendigo, and I'll catch you up on Sunday.

Wednesdays are for books (VII)

Robin Hob is one of my favourite authors, and the other day she tweeted that she was going to read Court of Lions by Jane Johnson. It sounded really good. This is the blurb:

Kate Fordham, escaping terrible trauma, has fled to the beautiful sunlit city of Granada, the ancient capital of the Moors in Spain, where she is scraping by with an unfulfilling job in a busy bar. One day in the glorious gardens of the Alhambra, once home to Sultan Abu Abdullah Mohammed, also known as Boabdil, Kate finds a scrap of paper hidden in one of the ancient walls. Upon it, in strange symbols, has been inscribed a message from another age. It has lain undiscovered since before the Fall of Granada in 1492, when the city was surrendered to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. Born of love, in a time of danger and desperation, the fragment will be the catalyst that changes Kate's life forever.

An epic saga of romance and redemption, Court of Lions brings one of the great hinge-points in human history to life, telling the stories of a modern woman and the last Moorish sultan of Granada, as they both move towards their cataclysmic destinies.

Then Netgalley gave me a copy (thanks Netgalley!) I started it a couple of days ago and I am loving it. It's set in two time periods, and I love both story lines. A bit of mystery, a bit of suspense and most of all really great writing. I'm only about 20% through, and I can't wait to find out what happens.

Spinning and minimalism

 When Leon and I moved into our new, smaller flat, we tried to use the principles of minimalism: what do I use? what do I love? what do I need? Mostly the answers to these question were easy, and we got rid of literally a truckload of stuff -books, DVDs, shmontzes, old photos, gone without a qualm. But my spinning wheels were another matter. Even though I rarely spin, I wanted to hang on to them. Luckily my main wheel is a very attractive Majacraft Rose. Leon loves the way it looks like a ships wheel, and I think it's very pretty. So it lives in the living room, despite rarely being used.

A few weeks ago Louisa said she was knitting a shawl for a friend,  but was using laceweight held double. I offered to ply it for her, but she was in a rush and got knitting instead. I think she may have had some tangles, because she asked me to ply the leftovers. It was only 20 grams, but it was such a pleasure to sit down at my wheel and do some spinning.  

In even more excitement, I now have a laundry sink, so, instead of having to put this the bathtub to soak, I could use my sink! Sometimes it's the little things that make me so, so happy.