We got back last night, and I need to unpack and stuff, but I'm prioritising other things, so we went for a run this morning, and now I'm drinking tea and updating my online life.
Brisbane was great, sunny and warm. We were lucky to be there during the Brisbane festival, so there were lots of shows and free jazz and a great vibe, but even without that it's a fun city. Loads of craft breweries and good food and dogs in pubs. Because of what I'd like to call good planing, but was mainly good luck, both Leon and i were reading Boy swallows Universe by Trent Dalton, a book which is book fantastic in it's own right and set in Brisbane, which is always fun.
There was amazing wildlife in the centre of town, including birds and adorable lizards. I like lizards.
All the while I was knit, knit knitting away on Leon's jumper. The Elizabeth Zimmermann saddle shoulder pattern was great, my gauge swatch didn't lie, the Field of Dreams yarn was beautiful, and quite suitable for knitting in warm conditions - it has 30 percent flax.
After 5 nights in Brisbane we headed down the Gold Coast, where we pet sat my sister-in-law Fiona's lovely dog Dusty, visited the only yarn shop I could find - where they sold Chiaogoos and I finally got another red cable and just generally pretended we were the kind of people who actually live in a house with an outdoor kitchen, a pool and a boat.
On our first night there I finished the jumper, and Leon tried it on. Perfect.
So I blocked it like I always block things, and like I blocked the swatch/sleeve: throw it in hot water until the water is cool, and then chuck it in to spin the water out in a front loader. Unfortunately Fiona's washing washing did not spin the jumper fast, it just thumped it around for 12 minutes. At the end of that I had a jumper which was still soaking wet, and three sizes smaller. Sigh.
So, a good trip, but no perfect jumper to show for it. And now I'm back, and into a string of smaller projects - gift knitting and sOctober, while I get over the disappointment. At least I'm warmed by the sun and quite relaxed now!
Brisbane was great, sunny and warm. We were lucky to be there during the Brisbane festival, so there were lots of shows and free jazz and a great vibe, but even without that it's a fun city. Loads of craft breweries and good food and dogs in pubs. Because of what I'd like to call good planing, but was mainly good luck, both Leon and i were reading Boy swallows Universe by Trent Dalton, a book which is book fantastic in it's own right and set in Brisbane, which is always fun.
There was amazing wildlife in the centre of town, including birds and adorable lizards. I like lizards.
All the while I was knit, knit knitting away on Leon's jumper. The Elizabeth Zimmermann saddle shoulder pattern was great, my gauge swatch didn't lie, the Field of Dreams yarn was beautiful, and quite suitable for knitting in warm conditions - it has 30 percent flax.
After 5 nights in Brisbane we headed down the Gold Coast, where we pet sat my sister-in-law Fiona's lovely dog Dusty, visited the only yarn shop I could find - where they sold Chiaogoos and I finally got another red cable and just generally pretended we were the kind of people who actually live in a house with an outdoor kitchen, a pool and a boat.
So I blocked it like I always block things, and like I blocked the swatch/sleeve: throw it in hot water until the water is cool, and then chuck it in to spin the water out in a front loader. Unfortunately Fiona's washing washing did not spin the jumper fast, it just thumped it around for 12 minutes. At the end of that I had a jumper which was still soaking wet, and three sizes smaller. Sigh.
So, a good trip, but no perfect jumper to show for it. And now I'm back, and into a string of smaller projects - gift knitting and sOctober, while I get over the disappointment. At least I'm warmed by the sun and quite relaxed now!
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