What I made, by Sharon

I'm at a weird stage with my knitting. I've knit most of what I want / need. I'm enjoying some charity knitting, but I'm finding my craft energy is going into new things, things I'm not so familiar with. Tis weekend I've been processing the small amount of fleece I bought and washed last month .  I pulled out my drum carder, which I bought in 2011  and which I've barely used. It was living in my parents storage loft. I'd forgotten how much work it is to prepare fleece for spinning. It's not the drum carding that takes the time, it's the flicking and lock preparation. It is worth the effort to do it properly though. But it does make beautiful lofty batts, that will be  a pleasure to spin, once I get it all processed.  This weekend I also assembled the Dropcloth Samplers Christmas ornaments I've been embroidering. They have been a real pleasure to work on, and I felt very creative, choosing colours and stitches. Well, i feel clever now. There

Last week I wrote about being back at trivia, and then I wrote a Weekending post  about how normal everything is starting to feel. Then, on Monday night I got the dreaded DHHS text message saying I needed to test and isolate because I may have been in contact with someone who has COVID. At the pub. At trivia. All seven members of my team who attended got the same message at the same time. We all got tested yesterday at different places, and we all came back negative within 24 hours. Because I'm back in the office, they put my laptop in a taxi, and I've had two days working from home. So, not quite back to normal yet! Last week's just started cardigan has progressed, and I'm up to the waist shaping. It's a simple and fun knit. It's going slower than it otherwise would because I'm spending all my free time embroidering. I'm really pleased with how that is going, and rather surprised at how much progress I've made.  I'm almost finished reading The

Last weekend we went to Torquay, a sea-side village a couple of hours from Melbourne. Skip and Bee drove us, and we stayed in the cutest beach shack, all done up in retro 60s style. We had a pretty quiet time of it, mainly because we were there to do Afterglow a twilight trail half marathon that runs on the Surf coast trail (parallel to the Great Ocean  Road). Start line The theme of the run (or as my coach calls it, the party) was "the trail unicorn is real" and the fun was definitely  real. People dressed up - including one person running in a full on unicorn suit:  It's such a beautiful trail and running in the dark with head torches was new to us, but not difficult at all. And the views were indescribable.  It was a really friendly, chatty run, and I'd say that the first 14kms were the most fun I've had on a run in long time. Then there were 3 kilometres on the beach, I was getting slower and slower, it was ten at night and I did not enjoy the last bit at all

  The second item in Romi Hill's Acts of Kindness Oddments Knitdown subscription is a hat knit with two strands of mohair and an 8ply background. Perfect, I love using up bits and pieces of left over yarn. The pattern uses a simple and not tight tubular cast on. One I appear to have failed with before, but it worked here. Can't explain it. The hat took two nights to knit, one at knit night, and I'm always too busy talking to make much progress at knit night! It's lovely pattern, and a really great way to use up leftovers. I was going to make two, but I think I left the yarn at the pub! Not important, since I'm going back next week, so if they have it they will give it back, and if they don't, I guess that's one way to destash! 

Life is returning to some semblance of normal. I've been back in the office for a week, and this week I made it to knit night! it was such a pleasure to be face to face in the pub together. Zoom is banished from my life. I cast on a cardigan last night, at the pub (that was at the pub for trivia, not at the pub for knitting. I spend a lot of time in pubs. I'm so glad to be back) There is not a lot to show yet. Come back next week and it might look a bit more like a garment. The embroidery is progressing, and I've just finished the second tree triangle. It is a lot of fun choosing crazy bright colours and textures. Very different from knitting, where the big decisions are all made before I start. I also didn't realise how much progress I made last week until I compared the two photos. I'm reading a review copy of The Ballerinas and I am blown away by this book. it's written in a two timeline style, with the "past" timeline slowly revealing the reason b

 I finished the  long socks I have been working on since sOcktober and they are magnificent. They fit perfectly, and nothing, and I mean NOTHING will make them fall down.  It's a great pattern, using the principle of start with a tight cuff, and then put in a calf gusset, and then reduce back to where you started.  So, I'm very happy with these. The problem is these autumn colours are not my most favourite. They are Stranded in oz club yarns, and they are gorgeous, particularity the gold glitter main colour, but I really prefer teal, or pastels. In fact I used my perfect colour pallet is in the teal socks that I knit in May this year.  The problem with those socks is that they start with the maximum number of stitches, and reduce from there. And they DO NOT stay up. you can see the problem in these photos. i guess if they were knit quite stiff they might stay up, but the Half-baked Hand-dyed self stripping is beautiful and soft.  I know I should rip them and reknit. For the m

 Shawlography:   Stephen West's 2021 mystery knit-a-long report.  I had so much fun with last year's MKAL, and we were in a similar situation, (ending a long lockdown) that I was very excited for this KAL. I had four of the five yarns in stash, and I dyed the fifth, so it seemed a good use of a number of really pretty yarns that I loved, but didn't know what I was going to use them for. I found some of the knitting this year really annoying. Fiddly stitches that look great, but there was no flow in the knitting. I think this was more reflective of my state of mind than anything else.  I was actually quite pleased with the way it looked when finished. The problem is, because of the bobble row (the bright pink) it doesn't have as much stretch as you might expect. So I can't wear it wrapped around my shoulders like I would with a shallow triangle, and it's too bulky to wear around the neck like a scarf. It's sort of similar to last year's shawl shape, but l

After last week's struggle to find a book and an audio book I could enjoy I read Penny Reid's (Folk) and Eddie The happiest Man Alive , both of which restored my enthusiasm for literature! Now I'm reading  a NetGalley review copy of Love in The Big City a Korean story of a  gay guy and his sad adventures.  It's not bad, but it's a bit adolescent. The structure is as four stories of four relationships, and it's reads a bit more like four novellas than a cohesive book. I've just started listening to The Dictionary of Lost Words, which is the free Audible book this month. So far I'm really enjoying it.    Mainly I'm spending my listening time on The History of English Podcast. I'm chugging away on my knee high socks . I love knitting with glitter yarn! And in embroidery I put aside my sampler in favour of Christmas ornaments.  Each year the Richmond Knitters do an ornament swap, so if I can get this finished by early December, that's where it

 I'm writing this on Monday, because we took the day off so we could have a long weekend in Marysville. That's right, three nights away. We went with my parents, which was lovely. The impetus for going (other than that the border between Metro and region re-opened last weekend) was the Marysville marathon, a run I have participated in ten times. This year I did the ten kilometre and Leon did the the half marathon. It was amazing being out on the trails with so many friendly faces. (Traditional mid-race selfie with waterfall!) I took my embroidery. I've put aside my sampler and am now working on a semi secret project. Which I will probably tell you about quite soon. I also got into a good reading groove, but more about that on Wednesday. Since it was my mother's birthday, I gave her the Yorlin cardigan I knit for her. it fits, it suits and she's very happy with it. My father wore t he felted slippers I made for him all weekend, and seemed to really like them. They a