Bendigo 2022 - the full report

This year's show was perfect! Kris and I drove up after work in Thursday, staying in the same wonderful cottage as we have the last couple of times.

We started with the traditional Thai dinner on Thursday night.

On Friday we went to the show early and did most of our shopping before the Women of Wool luncheon, which was more good friends, as well as a wonderful meal, some interesting speakers and rather a lot of wine.

There were dyers that I know I love, like My Creative Garage, and others who were new to me - including new favourites HodgePodge and The Autralian Yarn Co.

We then did some more shopping, before heading to Suzanne's for the traditional Friday night pizza event.

I was not very good at getting everyone (or even most people) in photos this trip!

On Saturday we watched the sheepdog trials, which I always find fascinating, ate lamb for lunch and went and looked at (and patted!) some sheep, as well as finishing off the shopping.

We had dinner with the Richmond Knitters and guests, including Shelly Husband, my crotchet idol!

Sunday Kris and I went out for breakfast before reluctantly making our way home.

Except for one skein of sock yarn and some minis, all the yarn I bought was on my list. I have yarn for Leon's winter set, at least one jumper for Leon, a three colour shawl, a brioche dress, a colourwork dress and one braid of spinning fibre.

I also did not hold back at the lifestyle tent, with garlic salt, pud-balls, herbal tea and a range of other items making their way home with me.

And I have put all this on Ravelry and my stashcount now stands at a very healthy 23,630 meters.

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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.

Linky Wednesday - the one with the drama

The drama about the Stephen West MKAL continues, and I can't be bothered with it. It's meant to be a fun, interesting, communal knit and and that's not what this year has turned in to. Stephen has done his best in a difficult situation, but I'm just not feeling it. Meanwhile, Israel is at war, and we (as a country) are going to vote "no" on a referendum that asks for basic consideration for Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders. So yeah, lots of turmoil here. It's very tiring. I'm knitting a sock and considering what happens next. Luckily the reading was dramatic in a good way. I'm reading a NetGalley review copy of Last Summer at the Lake House and it's great. Super dramatic family drama about three sisters who loose their father unexpectedly and then find out that the family has secrets. I 've nearly finished it and I don't know what I'm going to read next. I've got a bit of a break between review books, so maybe Sta

Mussleburgh musings

I made a Mussleburgh hat earlier in the year, and even though I thought I was following the directions exactly it did not come out quite right. It was a little bit loose. My head is 51 cm, my gauge was 7 stitches, so according to the pattern I knit the right size. It's also a little bit shorter than I would like it. Too long for a beanie, too short for a good turn-up. I couldn't work out why. I still wore it, but it was not quite right. When I decided to knit one for Elise I knew I wanted to make it longer, and tighter. After I finished Elise's (with 24 fewer stitches) I realised something about mine: Now, this is a knit tube. I know how to knit tubes. When I make sleeves or socks, they don't balloon out in the middle. So I decided to reblock it. The instructions actually specifically say to fold it inside each other after blocking, but I probably folded it and dried it on my head, because that's how I block my hats. Not this time: Now it's longer and thinner

What I made, by Sharon

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