What I made, by Sharon

  I (basically) finished my handspun hoodie on Thursday. Or at least I finished the knitting, sewed up the pockets and blocked it. I can't call it finished until I sew the zip in, and I can;t do that until I receive it. I thought I could just buy one at Lincraft or Spotlight, but they had nothing, and then I thought I'd buy one on eBay, but from Australia. Becasue i was quite specific about what i wanted, I had to get it from China. It'll get here when it gets here. Then I cast on a charity baby jumper which I somehow finished over the weekend.  Now I've wound more yarn, and am about to cast on for a Luminos tee, becasue the middle of winter definitly feels like the best time to make a summer top. On Tuesday (or probably Wednesday) I'll be casting on for Stephen west's Delectable Collectible mystery sockalong, and I'm all ready for that too.  That one only needs 5 colours, and I have 6, so choosing which one I have to leave out might be the most challengin...

 I DNFd  The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth  by Barbara O'Neal,  which surprised me, but I was finding it such a tedious read. Now I'm reading  Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky   and I cannot put it down. Proper old school sci-fi. It will take me a little while, since it's a 600 page book. After I finish it, or during if I need a break, I'll read the  Taco (Object Lessons) by Ignacio M. Sánchez Prado , a non-fiction book about (you guessed it) Tacos. In audio I was thrilled to get a NetGalley copy of   The Seven Miracles of Beatrix Holland by Rachael Herron . She's one of my favourite authors - I follow her on Patreon because she writes such delightful essays about her thoughts and choices. the cover of this book is wonderful, and I am looking forward to starting it, hopefully later today. The knitting is going well - I'm up to the hood of my hoodie: And the spinning is also progressing nicely - all singles are spun, and now I just ...

 My stash is all on Ravely, and the current volume is 19,756 over 26 entries. That's high, considering I'm making more yarn by spinning, and I'm planning to buy a little more yarn when I go back to Bendigo at the end of August (they just released a Corriedale, and they have a good slow colour changing yarn). Also, I'm about to knit Kris a Swancho out of yarn she has provided. On the other hand, it's not too high - the total is less than I knit last year, it all fits in the stashbox  (pictured below, it's also out coffee table) and I'm excited about all my future projects. As promised I have experimented with my nostepinde, or stick, as I prefer to call it. I made two mini-balls. The first ended up quite egg shaped, and the second a little flatter. They took forever to do. They look a little messy in these photos, but they are actually quite nice, neat balls. That said, because I don't centerpull, I'm not sure there is any advantage of this over th...

We're back, and what a weekend it was! These sheep show weekends are all different, but they all have the same structure and rituals that the Richmond Knitters have built up over the years. This year we stopped as Castlemaine Mill on the way up and lunch and bought wine, cheese and chocolate. Then Nat, Katie and I made our way to the super cute cottage where we stayed this year: (Photo is from the Sunday morning, where we were exhausted and about to make our ways home!) On Thursday night we had our traditional Thai dinner, to fuel us for the excitement that is Friday at the show. Amanda was there too - I'm not great at getting everyone in the photo.  On Friday the weather was perfect - blue sky and no wind. As usual we went to the Women of Wool lunch, had excellent food and interesting speakers. In yarn I only bought the mini's for the upcoming Stephen West mystery sockalong. In 'lifestyle' I bought all the things: The stick  in the middle is a nostepinde, although ...

 I love a planning post. Every year, before I go lose my mind (and spend all my money) at the Australian Sheep and Wool show I like to assess what I have, what I'm planning to make and what I want to buy. Then I come back at the end of the weekend and see whether my shopping matched those plans! (Planning Posts  from  2012 ,  2013 ,  2014 ,  2016 ,  2018 ,  2019 ,  2021 ,  2022 ,  2023  and 2024 ) Here's my list, as it is in my note-keeping app: I currently have 13,156 metres of yarn, across 18 entries. Given that I have, so far this year, knitted more than 10 kms worth of yarn I'm not worried about my stash suddenly becoming unmanageable. Unless I buy so much that it can't fit in my storage trunk, I looking forward to revitalising and refreshing my knitting yarn, tools and fibre, as well as having a fun weekend away with friends and sheep. 

  Not that this weekend's trip to the Australian Sheep and Wool show has anything to do with this post, but I am very excited about it. I finished    A Beautiful Family  by Jennifer Trevelyan  a couple of days ago. It was very good, and genuinely made me tense! I've followed it up with   The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth by Barbara O'Neal  Barbara O'Neil is an autorequest for me, partly because I like her writing, and partly because many of her books are locked into Kindle Unlimited, and as a Kobo reader I can't get them from there. So I started this - so far so good. Family drama, and I am here for it. In audio I finished  Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.  I don't know how I got this far in my life without having read it, or seen the musical or a movie or something. The plot was quite a surprise to me! I loved it. now I'm listening to   Medicus  by Ruth Downie w hich is the first of a series of detective novels set in Roman ...

  The last Joji bags I bough t were in May 2024 and I thought I had that addiction under control. The last couple of weeks have proven me wrong. First there was an update with the Fibre Fanny Pack in the prettiest colour of periwinkle blue. It's perfect for a sock project. Because I do so much knitting in public I love having a bag that the yarn ball actually stays in when I'm knitting. I did have to hack this bag - it comes with a cross body strap. but I removed half the strap, put a clip on the remaining half and now it's a short strap - it suits be better for how I knit.  I also combined postage and bough a Cabin Bag. That's the ink bag at the front of the photo, not the giant  SANTA CRUZ   in the back. It's the perfect size for a three skein shawl, a bit like my shawl bag , but more structured.  And finally a new bucket bag, this one with a shoulder strap. I love my Pampa bucket, which usually lives with my wheel, holding the fibre I am currently spinn...

  The knits nominated by the Richmond Knitters for this year's Bendigo (Australian Sheep and Wool show) were all honey or bee themed. We had  Wool & Honey by Andrea Mowry   I dyed the yarn for  Beeswax Hat by Amy van de Laar And then I spun the yarn for the matching shawl.  Beeswax Shawl pattern by Amy van de Laar This really wears more like a scarf. It is so squishy and cosy all wrapped around my neck. It was a very fun knit - simple rhythmic lace, and knitting with my own handspun makes my heart sing. Finally I made   Tuku Honey socks by Andrea Mowry  mainly because I had some hand-dyed pink sock yarn and no plans for it. Or because I'm a bit of an over-achiever. These socks should have been a disaster - I cast on 60 stitches, which is no particular size, started the gusset increases late, freestyled the heel turn, and yet they fit perfectly and are really comfortable. If you see me at the Sheep Show, say hi - I'll be all wrapped up in pink,...

I finished  The Girl Who Came In From The Cold   which is an utterly ridiculous very fun spy romance. It was fun (and it's on Kindle Unlimited, if that's your thing). The cover is very pleasing. Now I'm reading for NetGalley  Bonding by Mariel Franklin.   I'm liking it - it's well written, and has one of my favourite tropes - sad Millenium woman's life does not go to plan, work is unfulfilling, relationships are difficult, money is necessary. This one really captures the vibe of trying to work and date and build a life in late stage capitalism.  Nex up is  A Beautiful Family by Jennifer Trevelyan . Lulu, who I buddy read  T heory and Practice  with suggested it. She said it goes with the '80s theme, and she has interesting taste in books, so I'm in for that. My non-fiction read is  Cat by Rebecca van Laer  another Object Lesson via NetGalley. I haven't actually really started it, but I hope to read it this week. In knitting, I'm finish...

 This weekend started, as many of them do, with a run on the beach. For full disclosure, that was actually Friday morning before work, but I work from home on Fridays so it sort of feels like the weekend. Not the best photo, but it was the best winter sunshine! Friday night my parents came over for dinner, and as is also usual I forgot to take any photos! Saturday we went to Pinopoloza X Mould - a wine festival and a cheese festival, both of which we have been to before, but this time combined. So good. We tasted so many wines and cheeses, and bought a fair amount of cheese home with us.   Here's Leon on the tram home. looking very happy! Sunday morning we got to do house stuff, and then I had some time for spinning. It was warm enough to sit on the balcony and spin, which is basically my favourite thing to do and felt like such a treat in the middle of winter.  We went to Skip and Bee's in the afternoon to celebrate Bee's birthday.   I also finished and blocked...