Look what came in the mail!

I've kind of been wanting a Joji and Co Mini Santa Cruz for a while. It's about the same size and my beloved Box Bag (which I bought in 2020 and painted turquoise in 2022). The Box bag is looking a little sad, although the painting was definitely something I'm pleased I did:

I had initially decided I didn't want / need a full sized Santa Cruz bag, but I'm knitting three cardigans in a row, and they get too big. My current project would be perfect to start in the mini, for the sleeves, and then put the body together in the full size bag. (not that I didn't have enough project bags. I used my Pampa bucket and Shawl Bag to achieve the same outcome:

And sometimes Joji releases a bag that is great (like the brown Pampa sets from two weeks ago) and then releases one that is even better. So I has a list of requirements to buy these bags:

Had to be in a colour that was perfect (teal, aqua, or pink)
Smooth leather, not suede (I knit in all sorts of messy places)
Matching mini and full size

I actually thought I had set up a set of criteria that was so limiting that I was never going to get these bags, and I was fine with that. And then in last week's update she released these:

Perfect. Fits every requirement. Smells like beautiful leather. So pretty. If you need me, I'll be busy knitting out of, and admiring these stunning bags.

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Linky Wednesday - the one with the pause

In meditation it's said that the pause between the in breath and the out breath is a gap, a space to rest. Well, I'm in that in-between space for reading, listening and knitting. This is a random photo of a highlight of my week - I filled up my lolly jar. These are just supermarket party mix. During the lockdowns, we sources a great pick-and-mix delivery service, but at some point they started sending from the UK, which is a bit silly. Rachey messaged me a new one she found, and I impulsed purchased a kilo of mixed lollies, and then she sent me a link to the biggest lolly shop in Melbourne, which also delivers sweets by the kilogram, so i think I'm sorted for the rest of the year! In reading I've just finished The Beckoning Lady by Margery Allingham . It's the second last book in the Summer of Mystery, and I have to admit, having now read nine Margery Allingham books, that they are OK. I wouldn't have read them if they were not connected to this club, but on...

Why Andrea Mowry, why? (A rant and a rather nice finished object)

As mentioned, prior to our hiking trip I suddenly, and rather randomly, decided to knit Andrea Morwy's Traveler Shell . It's basically an open fronted rectangle in a knit purl pattern. The pattern is FOURTEEN pages long. Why is the pattern 14 pages long? Because, instead of explaining the ten row repeat and then putting the shaping on top of that (e.g. decrease while continuing to knit in pattern), she writes out the entire ten row knit purl sequence every time something changes. Additionally, most of the time she starts with even number being the right side and wrong numbers being the right side,which is just plain odd. It's confusing and it's like she wants to keep you looking at the pattern for every row, rathe than following the very intuitive stitch pattern, which I had memorised after one repeat. The instructions for the band just say 'pick up x number of stitches'. No ratios, no acjnowledgement that different bits of the band have different ratios. Afte...

Geogradiant MKAL Part 1 - that was unexpected (spoilers)

Stephen West released the first MKAL clue on Thursday night. I started knitting it without looking at spoilers. When I got up on Friday he had sent through an "alternative" clue one. I then went and had a look at the spoiler thread to try to work out what was going on. Which was that some people thought the pattern looked like a "German hate symbol". I knit on anyway, since I was half-way through. Then he took down the original clue, replacing it with a mitred square in garter stitch. The Ravelry forums and Instagram are a complete shit-show, even though Rav is being moderated. It's been a bit disheartening, having something that is usually quite light and fun weighed down with all this. I admire Stephen's quick and sensitive response to this drama. I also feel that anything can look like anything if you squint. To me this looks like a Celtic knot. I think mine is pretty, and I'll knit on through all crises.

What I made, by Sharon

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