What I made, by Sharon

I miss the yarnalong, and talking about books on my blog, so I’ve decided to talk about what I’ve been reading on Wednesdays. I’ve even changed the tagline of the blog! This week, I’ve been reading Girl 99 by Andy Jones. Here's a picture of the cover: I’m really enjoying it, perhaps a little to my surprise. It was one of those books that Amazon offers for $2 and they can be a bit hit and miss, but this is charming. It’s a lightish, pleasant read, but, particularly for a romcom  all the characters have a bit of depth. It’s refreshing to read a book like this told from the guys point of view. If you want to connect with me about books, I’m Sharonblk on Goodreads, or leave a comment below about what books you’ve been enjoying lately.

I’ve been thinking about stuff (and stash) for quite some time. What’s enough, what’s too much, what do I need, what do I want? This house move has encouraged me to come down on the side of LESS. I love our new flat – the windows, the airy space, the lack of clutter. Oh, I have to make the lack of clutter happen myself!   So, I spent most of April getting rid of stuff. And this time, it felt easy. I don’t need paper books, I love my kindle Voyage. I don’t seed 8 sets of bed linen, two perfect ones are perfect. I don’t need my two childhood dolls, my niece can have them. I don’t need four sets of interchangeable needles. Right? And bizarrely, that became the hardest part of the project. I had the old Addi Clicks, a set of lace Clicks, a set of wooden knitpros, with common sizes in metal and a set of small sized Karbonz. Which I love best. So, I decided I had to choose, and I set the Addis free.   Or rather I gave them to Chris and Alice. I’m not selling any of the thi...

Our house settled! This is very exciting. We got the keys on Tuesday night, and went over to check the place out. The view is exactly what I remember, and one of the main reasons why I want to live here: That view. That sky. That wrap around balcony. It faces north, and I’m going to put a comfy chair out and sit and knit all summer. I’ve always wanted an open plan kitchen and now I’ve got one. Here’s a picture of the bathroom as it was on Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning I gave the keys to the builder, and he has ripped everything out of the bathroom. We’re getting a brand new bathroom! I’ve never had a bathroom (or kitchen) that is younger than me, and I’m beyond excited. I’ll be back with an update with what I’m knitting in a couple of days, but right now I’m going to look at my view and dream a little.

This years Good Beer Week was a bit hectic for me, coming back almost half way through it. We always like to do at least one beer / food matched dinner, this year we drank beer from Oregon, matched with yummy American food on Monday, and then various pubs and various beers for the rest of the week.  Leon, Bee, Cazza and Amy On Saturday afternoon we went to GABS , which is always a good time, but this year was even more fun than usual.  Sheep logo! As I finished by Baffies on Friday, I cast on for a pair of sneaker liners. I'm not really sure how they went, and I'm a little afraid to look now! Yep, those are knitted sausages I was going to go to the Annual Handknitters Guild market in Coburg on Sunday, but after the busy, busy week, and the beery, beery Saturday I didn't have it in me to trek across town. It would have been about two hours round trip, and then only thing I want to buy is some yarn for a cowl for Elise. Instead I sat on my couch and final...

While we were away Anna mentioned she would like some house socks. I made her some twinkletoes years ago, and she is definitely knitworthy. I came back on the Monday of Good Beer Week. I decided that the lace edging of my Village Sweater Wrap   really would not be suitable for a week of drinking, beer and dubious lighting, so this was the perfect time to knit something simple:   I made Anna a pair of Kate Davies’ Baffies, from last year’s Seven Skeins Club. That club really is the gift that keeps on giving.   These were quick and simple, but not without drama. The first problem is they were coming out too large. A normal knitter would have gone down a needle size, but I’m drinking knitter, and I only had 3.5mm needles with me, so I ripped the foot and increased by 4 less stitches. Then, after I finished the first one, the iCord was way too tight. I couldn’t get it over my heel at all. So I ripped it, and re-iCorded, picking up more stitches. And here t...

So our trip to Thailand was fun. I've never had a resort holiday before, but we left the resort every day to do something. We did the normal kind of touristy things one does on Phuket. A boat trip to the islands; sitting by the pool; hanging out on the beach; Babysitting my friend's 4 month old while she did a cooking class; And all the while knitting, knitting, knitting. The Village Sweater wrap was perfect knitting - light enough to work on even in the beautiful humid heat, and I got the entire garter stitch section finished, which was good, because that could have become boring in other circumstances. Thailand doesn't have a knitting tradition, and, although I did see some crocheted toys at the market, there was no yarn shops, so I managed not to increase the stash on this holiday There was a sheep themed hotel, but it was called "Sleep with me" so who knows what's going on there. My other main observation is that most of th...

(I wrote this post while I was in Thailand, but I couldn't get the photos to upload. I'm back home now, I'll post a full wrap up of my holiday in the next day or so) I brought the socks I was knitting for Elise with me to Thailand. Cookie A's Vilai  socks are by far the most complex socks I've knit for a while, and I didn't want to loose momentum on them. Despite how much I bitched and moaned while knitting them, in the end they are worth it: Jayne who is on holidays with me has the same shoe size as Elise. She was kind enough to model these for me. Then she asked me for a pair of her own,and how could I say no, really. 

I'm not sure that i am actually going to blog much, i forgot how much i hate typing on a tablet, but i am sitting on my balcony, knitting on Elise's sock, and soaking in the sun and this view And appreaciating the good things in life.

And now I'm in that bit where I hang about, waiting to leave and worrying. In this case about packing. I piled up everything I wanted to take with me, and discovered that it all fit in my old Country Road kit bag. Which is funny, because I didn't pack light. As well as enough clothes for nine days, and two pairs of bathers, I have a set of power rings , a skipping rope, 200 grams of laceweight yarn and the three quarter finished socks for Elise. I've had this bag since I was 19, and it's been on countless road trips with the girls (women now, I guess) that I am going to Thailand with. The Village Sweater wrap starts with a 299 stitch provisional cast on, so I've done that, and I'll start the actual knitting in the taxi to the airport. For my friends, carrying suitcases is t heir sign they are grown ups. For me, it's saying "stuff this bus timetable, I'm catching a cab"! I'll try to do some blogging while I'm away, even if it...

I’m going to Thailand on Friday with my old school friends. A couple of years ago we started talking about what we were going to do for our 40ths, and decided that, instead of a bunch of parties and presents and all that, we’d go on holidays together. I didn’t think it would actually happen, but happening it is.   Five of us are going to stay in a resort in Phuket, leaving this Friday.   Now, one of the most important questions I have to ask before any holiday is: what should I knit? I’ve decided on Romi Hill’s Village Sweater Wrap. It’s an odd garment – part giant shawl, part cardigan, but I’ve noticed that my taste is moving towards longer, looser, less structured garments. This should be great holiday knitting – the middle is just endless garter stitch, and there is no possibility that over ten days I will finish it. This also has the bonus that I have somewhat  suitable yarn in stash:   I swatched this weekend. Sometimes I can be cavalier about sw...