What I made, by Sharon

 At the 2013 Bendigo show, I bought my first pair of ugg boots. i don't know why I never had ugg boots before that!  In 2014 I bought a high pair, because I loved having ugg boots. And then I wore them, and wore them and wore them. And in this year of the pandemic, I wore them even more.  I wore the short pair bald, and I wore holes in the soles of the long pair.  I was planning to buy another pair at this years Bendigo show, but, as we all know, that didn't happen. I was stubbornly seeing if i could hold on until 2022, when two things happened: lockdown 6 looks like it's going to be a long one, and I fell over in the kitchen, because there  is no grip left on my Uggs.  So I got on line and ordered replacements. And I love them. The short ones are a little higher, because I like having warm ankles, and they are a very sweet shade of purple. The long ones have teal soles. I love teal. TBH they are a tiny bit tight at the top, which is why  I've rolle...

For inexplicable reasons, at the beginning of Lockdown 6.0 I decided to knit a Diaphanous Raglan. I had the yarn in stash, and I got it in my head that I wanted to wear it with this specific skirt when I get to return to the office again. Why? I don't know. I do know that it was a very fun knit. And I got it finished during lockdown 6.1.   We wanted to take photos in the courtyard / lightwell / winter garden, which has been renovated since we took the photos for the first pandemic jumper I finished, way back in April 2020, but there was an issue with the lock, so we went and took them on the street, near the palm trees and birds of paradise. Tropical plants for this not very tropical weather. Despite the sheer arms, this jumper is surprisingly warm. Unfortunately I don't think it's because of the super high quality mohair, since I did the burn test the other day, and it shrivelled into a lovely pile of chemical smelling plastic! Unfortunately with 80 cases today I'll...

The cool kids are now referring to lockdown as "locky D" because we needed a nickname for this shit situation. Melbourne has just passed London as the city with the most days locked down (204 and counting) as well as one of the harshest. They brought back the curfew last week. Anyway, I am going for a ride with my father after work - we live in the same 5kms and it's allowable to exercise with one other person not from your household. As you can imagine, we are all very tired. Which brings me to the NetGalley review book I started yesterday Reasons for Avoiding Friends by Megan Leaval.    It is awful. The plot focusses on two women in their late 30s who were friends at school. One has moved back to where they grew up and has 4 kids and an out-of work husband. Gwen's husband hasn't actually been home since I started the book, she hates her mother but speaks to her every day, and is upset that her kids are growing up. The other character Iris  is a troph...

I finished everything from last week, and got to start new things! In knitting I started a new jumper, the Diaphanous Raglan by Jessie Mead. It's holding mohair together with a 4ply. I love knitting fluffy fluff! It's growing remarkably fast. I cast it on on Sunday, and joined for the body on Wednesday. In the background of that shot you can see the Joji bag I ummed and ahhed about. i'm so glad I bought it - it turns into a yarn bucket that I can knit straight out of. I think it's my favourite bag so far, and that's really saying something.  I'm reading The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi. It's another book set in India, but this time in the 1950s. I'm coming across some words and themes that were present in The Far Pavilions, but this is a more modern and snappy book. I'm enjoying it, but don't feel compelled to read all the time. Which is good, because I do feel the need to spin all the time! I also got a review copy of Dan Savage's Savage L...

Last Saturday I started a spinning project to soothe me through the current lockdown. On Sunday the wheel was feeling and sounding really clunky and not quite right. I loosed and tightened everything you can loosen and tighten on the wheel and it didn't really help. I emailed Majacraft in New Zealand, and we worked out that the crankshaft had worn out.  I needed to order a new one, but most of the sellers in Australia order then in... from New Zealand, which, given the current postal situation would take weeks. Majacraft put me in touch with Virginia Farm Woolworks in Sydney, who were very helpful and got the part in the mail last Tuesday. Meanwhile I could still spin, even with the issues. I spun the first bobbin I was working on and decided that I want to pair it with some black yarn for Waiting for Rain - yes I know I just bought yarn for this shawl, but I'm going to spin for it instead. Although I have tried that before , so who knows when / whether ...

One night ages ago  I was browsing instagram and saw that Louie and Lola were launching a short (3 month) subscription yarn club, based on crystals and stone. I'm not normally an impulse shopper, but I signed up on the spot. I'm not sure why - I've got one of their skeins - destashed by Suzanne - and it's a nice shade of gray, but I've never bought anything from them. I vaguely remembered signing up, and then nothing happened for what felt like a couple of months. I think the delivery was meant to be late July, but it was very rainy in Tasmania and the yarn wouldn't dry! Then it arrived: Apparently I signed up for the skein and mini option. Isn't it beautiful? I love a variegated speckle.  Also, for your viewing pleasure, my final skein from the Bendigo disaster arrived ( or rather was hand delivered by Dani the one week my knit group was allowed to meet between lockdown:    I'm planning very long socks with these, and I think they go very well toget...

I seem to have got behind in posting my finished objects. It amazes me that I can still find anything to write about, let alone manage to get behind! Last Saturday I finished the crotchet blanke t I made out of LOSY (Left Over Sock Yarn). I've been worried about the amount of LOSY I had. Well, this blew through over 700 grams of left overs, and 100 grams of other assorted yarns!  At the same time as I discovered my scary LOSY situation, I said I was going to make 10 projects for charity, to help clear the decks. Well the blanket was project 13, and then I immediately cast on a pair of mitts . Since they only took me a day and a half I backed it up with another pair. Isn't it interesting the way the mohair I'm carrying along completely changes how the main colour looks? I want to finish the ball of yarn, so I think it will be at least one more pair before I quit. Between the blanket and the mitts I made Woolley Wormhead's Toft hat , out of Stranded in Oz June Club yarn....

and it's all going on at home, since lockdown 6 has just been extended. I've been knitting small projects this week, and will do a finished object post to cover off on them, probably on Friday. Right now I'm making a pair of mitt s for KOGO (charity knitting). They asked for mitts, and I'm going to see how many pairs I can get from this 60 grams of sock wool, carried along with left over mohair.  I'm still listening to, and enjoying the review audio copy of The Second Life of Mirielle West . It's a good solid story, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it resolves. It has one of my favourite tropes - the real [whatever] was the friends we made along the way. I've been mainly listening to is when I sit down to spi n for a bit between  finishing work and the starting dinner portion of my evening.   I'm also listening to Bella Green's Happy Endings . We saw her in show in this years comedy festival, and this little memoir covers a lot of the same g...

Yep, after last week out in the world we are back in lockdown. It's not all bad though. I finished a secret project I was working on - I'll tell you more later! I also finished the crotchet blanket, which is currently blocking.  But the main thing that happened is a I got up on Saturday morning and thought "spinning. I have to spin". I found this muddy rainbow in my stash - it's cashmere, merino and tencel sparkle, from Ixchel Bunny. I split it in half and decided to spin it thin. I'm going to do a two ply. I'm aiming for laceweight, but it's more likely to end up a light fingering.   It's nice to have a longer, slower project to focus on, because on the knitting front, I think I'm about to go on a hat frenzy - more of that when it all comes together!

Anyone who has been following along for a while knows that I read quite a few review books for NetGalley. I love it. Recently NetGalley introduced review audiobooks., along with a new app. I requested The Second Life of Mirielle West   by Amanda Skendandore. it's about a society women in the 1920s, who gets leprosy.  I have a bit of an interest in leprosy, and a couple of years ago read The Gift of Pain , whose author ends up being a doctor in a facility like the one described here. It's a good listen, with a very suitable narrator. I'm about halfway through and looking forward to having some time this week to find out what happens next! Additionally, the NetGalley app is pretty good, so I will certainly consider requesting books from them in the future. I've almost finished my crotchet scrappy charity blanket. it currently weighs 780 grams and I just have that corner to go. I have NOT almost finished The Far Pavilions.    Here's a different, equally overblown cover...

Before the pandemic, I really only wrote weekending posts when I'd been away, or done something out of the ordinary. Now, going out and meeting friends seems noteworthy! We got out of lockdown 5 last Wednesday, but current setting are no one is allowed over to your house, so out it was this weekend! First, on Saturday, afternoon we met my parents at a dessert cafe. Terrible coffee, lovely cake! And it's always so good to see them after an enforced break.  Then we headed to a brewery to meet Tony, Ingrid and some friends of theirs. I had my crotchet blanket and I swear I crocheted all afternoon and night, but I barely got anything done! A highlight was when Tim, the partner of a friend of a friend showed up to meet and her, and asked "why do you have a crotchet hook?" Because I am crocheting, obviously! He was very proud of knowing the difference between crotchet and knitting. Then on Sunday I met up with Elise, Rach and Rachey for lunch. I finally got to give Elise h...