Survival, a scarf, and yet more garlic.

Good evening internet! I am pleased to announce that I have officially survived my Week-of-Assignment-Hell. I even have my sanity intact (more or less).

Okay, perhaps I'm blowing it all ever-so-slightly out of proportion, but it has been a long and gruelling couple of weeks. Once I had handed the last essay in, I was so wrecked that it was all I could do just to stagger onto the tram and let it carry me a few blocks to my comfort food joint of choice. Half an hour, a dozen steamed veggie dumplings, and a thermos of tea later, I felt more or less ready to face the world again. That was late last week, and while I've had work and uni since, I spent the last two days making the most of my long weekend, and sleeping as much as possible. Which is not actually all that much, as I tend to wake early and get hungry, but hey, I'm trying!




I've not been idle either, despite all of the aforementioned sleep. I finished the Boy Thing's scarf, and it is just as cosy warm as I'd hoped it would be. Just in time too, as cold weather has hit Melbourne in a big way the last day or so - on my walk last night I experienced the first 'visible breath' of the year. Yes, I know that to all those readers who regularly have snow, this is a little pathetic, but in my neck of the woods, below 10 degrees Celsius is cold, all right!



Mmmm... so warm. I only tried it on for a moment, I swear!

I also got a lot done on my current major project - I'm making a Tea Leaves cardigan from some Dream in Colour 'Classy' that I've had kicking around, sad and purposeless, for quite a while now.




I've just finished the textured part of the yoke, so now it's straight sailing in stockinette until I divide for the sleeves. While I am definitely no stranger to top-down construction, this is the first time in ages that I haven't used the raglan style, so the round yoke is providing quite a novel experience. It feels like it's taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r, but they always seem to. And I'm really pleased with how the semi solid yarn is working here. The variegation is quite subtle, and looks quite lovely.

In other news, I have been doing what I always do when I have some free time - cooking! I spent the worst of the Week of Doom living mainly off of tinned soup and breakfast cereal, so the first thing I did once finished (okay, the first thing after dumplings and sleep) was make up a huge vat of vegetable and barley soup. Of course, the wonderful thing about doing this is that you have meals for days afterwards without having to do anything more taxing than turning the microwave on for a minute or two. And, if you feel so inclined, this gives you more time to get creative with your accompaniments. I've done garlic bread before, obviously, and toasted Turkish bread is something I am rarely without, but this was something else entirely:



Isn't it glorious? Cheesy garlic Turkish bread. I grilled some chopped garlic and olive oil on a square of foil until the garlic was cooked, then spread it on the bumpy side of the bread. I then sprinkled some mozzarella cheese over it and microwaved it just a tiny bit to soften the cheese. And then the whole thing got a good grilling - just long enough to melt the cheese. I always used to just spread raw garlic on the bread, but this usually entails toasting the bread to within an inch of its life in order to cook the garlic through. This was the garlic is properly cooked, but the bread is still ultra soft.

I will be making this A Lot over the coming autumn and winter... I know, I know, I have a bit of a tragic addiction to garlic, but how many foods are there that manage to be this delicious, healthy and inexpensive all at the same time? Ours is a love affair that will continue for a long time to come!

A Cure for the Rut

So, a few posts ago I made reference to a shawl that I had started in an attempt to get out of the knitting rut that I found myself mired in. Amusingly enough, knitting the shawl wasn't really as enjoyable as I had hoped it would be. I kept angsting about whether or not I liked the way that the stripes looked, and when you're unsure about whether a project is working, it takes away some of the joy of making it. The fact that the last few rows of triangle shawls last forever didn't really aid matters. Still, I'm happy to say that I'm actually really pleased with how it turned out:



And this is: A basic triangle shawl with stripes of 'Sundara Sock' (100% wool) in 'Brambleberry' and some black Patonyle (wool/nylon blend), knitted on a 3.75mm circular needle.

Anna says: As previously mentioned, this project basically revolved around my desire to finally use the Sundara yarn, and use it in a project that wasn't socks - the colour was far too beautiful to be subjected to the ravages of my feet. There wasn't really enough of it for a garment, or to make a decent length scarf, so a shawl it was.

For all those interested, my process went roughly as follows (this is a basic triangle shawl, and about as basic as you can get, but writing this out makes me feel important and knowledgeable!):

Cast on 7 stitches.
Row 1 (RS): k1, m1, k2, m1, k1, m1, k2, m1, k1 (4 stitches increased, 11 stitches total)
Row 2: Knit all stitches
Row 3: k3, place marker, m1, k2, m1, place marker, k1, place marker, m1, k2, m1, place marker, k3
Row 4: Knit all stitches

From this point, work as follows: On every RS row, knit first 3 stitches, slip marker, m1, knit to next marker, m1, slip marker, k1 (this is the centre stitch), slip marker, m1, knit to last marker, m1, slip marker, k3. On every wrong side row, k3, purl to last 3 stitches, k3. Basically you are increasing 4 stitches per right side row - once on each edge, next to the garter stitch edge, and once on either side of the centre stitch. Continue on until your shawl reaches the desired size.

My stripe pattern went as follows (MC being Sundara, CC being the Patonyle):
4 rows CC, 4 rows MC (72 rows, 18 stripes, ending with MC)
2 rows CC, 4 rows MC (30 rows, 10 stripes, ending with MC)
2 rows CC, 6 rows MC (18 rows, 5 stripes - end with an extra 2 row stripe of CC)
16 rows MC
4 rows MC in garter stitch (maintaining increases).
Bind off all stitches.




As previously mentioned, I really wasn't wild about the striping while I was knitting the shawl. But now I've decided that I quite like the way that it turned out. And while it's smaller than most of the other shawls that I own, it's still just large enough to wear in a couple of different ways (as a scarf, knotted around the shoulders, as a shrug with the ends tied behind the back, etc). And I finally managed to get that Sundara knitted up and out of my stash! This was a classic case of a yarn that just felt 'too nice to use'. Which is arguably a state that no crafting material should ever reach. At least I've found this skein a good home.




In other news, I am making good progress on my cabled Cybele vest. I've survived my first week of the new course, and I am actually really liking it so far! This week I ate my body weight in delicious home-made museli. Oh, and I forgot to mention this earlier: last week I went and saw Amanda Palmer play at The Forum, and it was awesome! I even survived the crazy rain/hail that Melbourne weathered yesterday. The flooding was pretty nuts though - the underpass next door to my work flooded so deeply that the cars that got stuck under there were fully submerged, to the point that they weren't even visible. This situation wasn't made better by the fact that people kept trying to drive through... *rolls eyes*

So yes, I have officially survived the first week of uni, flash flooding, and death by museli. Let's see what next week brings...

About time, I know...

Well, this one's taken a while, so without further ado: Sylvi!




The specifics: Sylvi, by Mari Muinonen. I used 12 skeins of Cascade 128 Chunky Solid, with a 6mm circular needle.

The rambling: I am not normally one for abusing the poor defenseless Caps Lock button, but there are certain select situations where I think that it's called for. I FINISHED MY COAT! FINALLY, I FINISHED MY COAT!

Ahem.

I've been working on this one since July, so having it finally finished is a huge weight off my mind (and also my fingers - knitting the hood with the entire weight of the body hanging from it was difficult!). I'm glad to say that I love it. Or perhaps I should say, relieved, as I honestly don't know what I would have done if I'd finished it and been anything less than delighted with it, after all of the time that it took. The only problem I can see with it so far is that people don't fall down and worship me in the street when I wear it, which really you're half expecting when you spend this long on a project (okay, not really, but you know what I mean), but I suppose I should give the poor unenlightened fools some time to come to their senses before I start getting irked... Oh, and also the fact that it is only a month and bit off of summer. But then again, this is Melbourne we're talking about here, so I'm sure there will be the odd opportunity to wear it out and about.




As far as actual commentary on the knitting goes - the pattern was awesome, of course, and very clear and easy to follow. I did make a few modifications though. I changed the cuffs because it was the only part of the original design that I wasn't too keen on - I made very slightly belled folded up cuffs. On the hood, I worked another leaf motif instead of a flower, partly because I didn't like the look of a flower randomly sprouting from my head, and also, I'll admit, because I was just so sick of marking petal stitches and working the leaves had gotten pretty intuitive by that point in proceedings. I also lengthened the body by a few rows, and there are a couple of places in which I deviate from the chart a little, just because I was up a stitch or two, or couldn't get the moss stitch to line up as instructed (disclaimer: I'm definitely attributing this to it being my first time following a chart, and definitely not to any errors in the pattern!).




Why yes, I am going to spam you all with excessive amounts of pictures. If you had just finished a coat that took four months to complete, you would be spamming too!

Oh, and the last modification: as you can see above, I didn't add button holes, as I'm going to opt for some kind of clasp closure instead. I haven't added them yet because I'm still deciding if I like the ones that I have.

I was very pleased with the length in the end too. It seemed woefully short while I was knitting it, but I put my faith in gravity and the tales of those who had gone before me, and it did indeed grow a mile with blocking. I know it's still a little shy of full length, but bear in mind the fact that I am nearly six feet tall - this is not a short coat!

And now I'm going to stop rambling about the coat. Nearly. It feels great to be finished with this one. This is definitely the biggest project I've ever undertaken, and judging by the incursions that it made into my sanity, I think it will be the last. I may later embark on projects as big. I may also start projects that are just as elaborate. But never again will I ever try anything that it both this huge and this intricate! It's been fun though, in a masochistic way, and I learned a lot. I am now a lot better at following charts, and have a much better understanding of the ins and outs of cables. I realised that seaming a slipped stitch edging is actually the opposite of scary, and that bobbles aren't nearly as difficult as I thought they'd be!




At any rate, now I am free to dive into all my new projects with complete abandon! Or as much abandon as I can scrounge up, given the fact that I have a massive essay due in a little over a week. Doh. But still, it feels awesome and really very liberating to be finished.

Anyway, farewell all - I have a wedding to attend, and baked goods to muster!

Where Anna is a Bad Melbournian

I am now merrily halfway through the mid-semester break, and am happy to report that I have not gotten all that much done. Oh well - what are you going to do? I'm catching up on sleep, eating lots of vegetables, and doing lots of knitting, and that's what's important, right?

Today was a good example of all of this. Today, for those not in the know, was AFL Grand Final Day. For non-antipodean readers, the AFL Grand Final is arguably the biggest sporting event of the year in this country. It's definitely a huge deal in Melbourne, at any rate. And delightfully, this year I had no idea who was even playing until work yesterday. And it's currently 10:46pm, and I still have no idea who won. I'm wondering how long I'll be able to stave off finding out. I have to work tomorrow, which I think will be the downfall of this particular plan, but that will still be a pretty good effort, given the saturation level of coverage that this event always receives.

Anyway, while everyone else was watching the football, I was spending my day as follows:




I did some knitting on my latest project. It's a Gathered Pullover in Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light in 'Blue Glasnys'. I've been wanting to make this one for ages and ages, and now I'm finally getting around to it. Like most everyone else who has made this one, I'm adding waist shaping, but that's the only mod I have in mind thus far. I'm happy with how it's going - the fabric that the yarn is making on the 4.5mm needles is really nice, and just look at that colour! I was a little unsure about this yarn for this project originally, as I was worried that it might not have the best stitch definition for the cabled section, but after examining some other people's projects on Ravelry, I'm cautiously optimistic.




On non craft related fronts, I also hit up Bunnings Warehouse and got a shiny new bucket, and some more tomato plants for the garden (they were stupidly cheap, and the solitary plant I have at the moment needs company!). I know that I look like some kind of deranged elf wannabe in the photo, but in my defense, it was raining. However, this excuse then begs the question of why I was trying to wash towels on such a day... I just can't win...




It also occurred to me that despite the fact that I not infrequently mention food around here, I had never before made reference to this particular love of mine. See that substance up there in the picture? The one that looks like oddly anaemic butter? That, my friends, is goat butter. And I could happily eat it all day long. You use it just like normal butter - I spread it all over crusty bread - but it has a subtle but distinct goats cheesey flavour to it. Mild, but definitely there. I love it, so very much. Hurrah for Queen Victoria Market for keeping me supplied with such wonders. It's not even prohibitively expensive.

And thus concludes the tale of how Anna was a Bad Melbournian. However, I would also like to make mention of the fact that I also finished the back of my Sylvi today. Yes, I will make this coat if it kills me. I considered doing more today, but after grinding my way through the rest of the back cabling, negotiating raglan seaming for the first time didn't sound too appealing. Tomorrow perhaps. But I am progressing!

Busy, busy, busy...

Well, things have been weird around here - a strange blend of busy, yet not busy. More specifically, there has been lots of me making valiant attempts to be constructive, but getting thwarted at every turn. Curse you, foolish reality! Why won't you work the way I want you to?

Anyway, one thing that I have found time to do in between running-around-like-a-crazy-person-to-no-avail is work on my Sylvi. I will make this coat if it kills me. Which it probably will, for the record, provided it is indeed possible to die of convoluted chart poisoning. Anyway, I realised that it was about time to get my arse into gear if I actually wanted to have a chance to wear it this year. I know that it's only mid July, which gives me a good month and a half of winter left, but it takes time to knit a full length coat, you know? And the fickle Melbourne weather does love to thwart me... So I started last weekend and went about it rather vigourously all week. As a result, I am now in possession of two sleeves, and the start of the back:




Doesn't look like much now, but hopefully it will be cool. Or rather, the pattern is definitely rather awesome - I just need to deploy higher/equal levels of awesomeness in order to live up to it. Hopefully this shall occur!

And this is all that has really taken place on the knitting front. There has also been a lot of reading, and a lot of baking - more birthdays and other cake-requiring-occasions than I've been able to shake the proverbial stick at. There was also lemon meringue pie, because I was having a sorry-for-myself day. And whenever I'm down and really don't know what to do with myself, I make lemon meringue pie. You can generally tell how good a year has been by the number of pies I make. For the record, it's now mid July and I've only clocked in at two - this is good!




Mmmm... medicinal pie. I cheated and used a bought base, which is normally the very antithesis of how I go about these things, but on Monday I needed to busy myself with therapy pie more than I needed to buggerise around making pastry. So there. Surely my otherwise exemplary levels of baked-goods production compensate for this little hiccup, yes?



And these little blighters are biscuits for Bendigo (oooh, what delightful aliteration!). Tomorrow, complete with Ravelry buddy and train munchies, I am heading off to the Bendigo Sheep Show like the fibre nerd that I am. It sounds like it's going to be far, far too much fun. I am embarrassingly excited... Full report and hopefully some photos next time.

(disclaimer: photos may or may not contain graphic footage of my biscuit riddled corpse, depending on how hungry I get on the train on the way up there...)

A hot and restless entry...

Man, but it is hot here... Not just warm, but roastingly, sweat-drippingly, skin searingly hot. 36 degrees on Tuesday. 43 degrees yesterday (that's 109.4 F for all of you northern hemisphere types playing at home). And it's apparently getting to 43 today, and staying nearly that hot for the rest of the week... This is why I'm not a fan of Melbourne summers. It was so hot yesterday that the tracks on one of the train lines buckled in the heat (that's probably more a reflection on the disgrace that is our public transport system than it is evidence of the heat, but it really isn't a good idea to get me started on Melbourne's trains... grrrr).

Anyway, I haven't been knitting much the last few days. This is partially because of the heat, but I've knitted in hotter (yes, really). In all honesty, it's more to do with the fact that nothing is really exciting me at the moment. I go through phases like this all of the time, so it doesn't bother me too much, but I wish it would hurry up and pass. The main problem is that nearly everything that I have going at the moment is a self-designed project. I find that it's generally harder to get on with those, since pressing forward means that you actually have to think (as opposed to just losing yourself in hours of relaxingly repetitive knitting) and do calculations and try things on constantly.

The last point especially is a killer in this weather. Example: I'm currently making a pair of elbow length armwarmers that fit quite tightly at the moment because they have colourwork and haven't been blocked out yet. I've nearly finished one - there's probably maybe 15 minutes worth of knitting left on it. But I'm snagged because in 43 degree heat, I just don't feel like wrestling something woollen and tight-fitting onto my poor overheated self. If it was loose, maybe, but I don't want to have to wrestle with wool today. Just no.

I'm also in between projects when it comes to other people's patterns. There are two that I even have the yarn for, but my swatches (yes, I'm bothering to swatch for a change) are a bit off, and even though I own the more appropriately sized needles, they have current works-in-progress on them... All self-designed experiments - see above... Sigh. I know it probably won't be too long before I get my mojo back, but I hate knitting limbo.

One good thing though: I cleaned my room up. I'm aware that this makes me sound like a seven year old, but well, I'm a slob. Or more to the point, I am a person who has over the last six months had to figure out a way to cram a two bedroom unit's worth of crap into a small bedroom with no cupboard/wardrobe. Fun.

Mmm... yarn (excuse the dippy photo - the light is odd in my room). That's only part of it actually - there are some more boring plain yarns in bags too. These are the fun/pretty yarns. Combine all of the above yarn, plus more, with a book collection the size of mine and you can probably understand why I have storage issues. Still, I got there: the yarn is now organised, and my floor is now visible. Very good things.

Also, I like the way that my jumpers look in their drawer. It makes me happy...

At least the last week has been very productive from a writing standpoint - I've gotten a lot done, and rebuilt the momentum that I'd lost over the months before I went away. On that note, I'm off to go and play with words now. I'll try not to roast in the process.

Seasonally inappropriate finished objects!

Well, winter finally seems to be over. Melbourne cranked out a toasty warm day today (forecast was for 25 degrees but I think it might even have been warmer). Happily I was out in it - and only about an hour of sunshine was sacrificed to law school servitude! I even raided the bookshop on the way home...

Anyway, to celebrate the warm weather, here are the two latest finished objects - both of them things that I won't be able to wear until it's cool again!

Firstly, yet another pair of Garter Mitts:

I love this pattern to an extent that is truly ridiculous. It's easy and quick, but clever enough that it's immensely satisfying too. This is my third pair, though the first pair that I've made for myself that have actually fit - the last ones were a little too big because I made the large size. Apparently my hands aren't as big as I think they are! This pair were made in the small size (actually, with slightly fewer rows worked than the pattern specified), and they fit perfectly (sitting neatly underneath my sleeves, which was what I was going for).

Reason #8,437 that I love this pattern - it's a really good use for varigated yarn. I have a little bit of a problem with varigated yarn. Nine times out of ten, I don't like the way that it looks when it's knitted up. But for some inexplicable reason, I can't seem to stop buying it... Anyway, this pattern more or less circumvents the whole unpleasant pooling issue, and that is a fine, fine thing. Soon after I bought this yarn (Moda Vera Fun - $2 for the ball, so I couldn't exactly complain), I had one of those "erm, why did I buy this?" moments. But I actually love the way that the colours look together here - kind of rustic. I love these, and I can't wait to wear them.

Anyway, moving right along... to the Mrs Darcy cardigan - finished at last!

I guess "at last" might be a little too strong a phrase, given that this was knitted in a little over two weeks... But it felt like it took forever to block (we've just turned off floor-heating-what-makes-things-block-at-super-speed), so for my attention span, "at last" is appropriate!

I'm very happy with how this turned out. The style isn't one that I normally wear, but it's more flattering than I was expecting it to be, and I Love This Shade of Green. Seriously. If all yarns came in this particular shade, I would be one happy camper. As it was, they don't all come in this shade, so I used Lincraft Merino Crepe 8 ply (about 8 balls of it). Not particularly excited about the yarn, but at least it was cheap (cardigan cost about $25 all up). And did I mention the colour? Mmmmm... bottle-y forest-y green...

Erm, moving right along from salivating over tasty viridian shades - this pattern was great. I made it nearly exactly as written - the only modification I made was to add a few rows to the back/sides, since my row gauge was ever so slightly off, and I'm tall so I wanted to be sure that it would be long enough. I didn't change the number of rows in the sleeves, because everyone on Ravelry seemed to be saying that the sleeves were too long, so I figured that mine would come out about right unaltered (I was actually right for a change!). Oh, and I didn't crochet around the bottom, because I wasn't having the curling issues that the designer had. I did however crochet around the back neckline, because it was curling a little there. Problem seems to be mostly remedied now.

I was very impressed with this pattern all in all - minimal shaping but it didn't end up boxy at all (hurrah for ribbing!). I would definitely recommend this pattern to anyone knitting a garment for the first time - it was ridiculuosly quick and straightforward. As whinged about on Ravelry, the only even slightly difficult part (in my opinion) was seaming the ribbed section - my seaming skills are not particularly impressive, and that combined with the comparatively loose gauge of my fabric meant that there were a few parts that looked a little dippy. I'm not too fussed though - it isn't all that noticeable, and I'm no perfectionist! Some people have had trouble with the sleeve cap, but none of that here - it fitted just fine for me.

And yes, I was roasting when these photos were taken. Double layers, one of them wool, on a warm spring day = an uncomfortably toasty Anna!

So yes, lots of warm clothing that is thoroughly inappropriate for current Melbourne weather. Thankfully, I'm not fussed by this for two reasons:

1. It's Melbourne we're talking about here. It'll probably be snowing by dinner time.
2. In a little over two months, I'm off to Europe! Bring on the woolly scarves!

Unfortunately, before I get to gallivant merrily around Germany, Austria, Italy and France there will be exams. Grumble. On that note, I'd best go and tackle the Constitutional Law textbooks. If anyone hears a banging noise, don't worry - that will just be me repeatedly bashing my head against the table in an attempt to euthanize myself in order to avoid the otherwise long, slow and painful death by boredom that awaits me... Or something.

Possibly still alive - haven't checked in a while...

Yes, I'm still knitting away. Unfortunately, haven't had as much time for it lately. Much like I haven't had much time for anything... like sleeping, writing, studying, and even eating... At least the desire is still there - I want to knit! - and I'm managing to get little snatches done here and there. It would be easier if I was willing to knit at the shop, but that's not something I want to do. It's probably a bit of a silly double standard to have; I'm happy to let my knitting kick around in my grotty unit (it doesn't do to think about how long it has been since I've vacuumed), but I won't take it to the shop just in case it gets dirty. I just figure that while it might be dusty here, at least there aren't as many greasy things around....

Anyway, I resolved this issue by starting a shop specific project: more tea-towel/bench wipey cloths, with that Cleckheaton Fiddle di Dee yarn that's been hanging around... They don't exactly blow my mind with excitement, but it's a lifesaver to have at work - when customers have gotten stroppy for no good reason, when the phone finally stops ringing for the first time in ages, when all the other staff are out on delivery, I can pick it up, hammer out a few rows and feel a lot better. Knitting = sanity remains in place. I suspect that this is a good thing.

This is what hangs around our living room: knitting and Warhammer 40k manuals. Unit of supreme nerdiness stikes again! Also, kindly note the amusingly pink needles - they're some of the batch inherited from one of my grandmothers (not sure which one), at least 20 years old, probably more. Amusing. Heaven knows pink objects are somewhat thin on the ground in this household.

Anyway, in other knitting news, the Basalt tank is probably about fifteen minutes off being finished, but I'm procrastinating because I know it's not going to fit, and this is discouraging. In happier news, the alpaca cardigan I've been making is coming along nicely, and should be finished within a week if I can keep up the rate I've been working on it. Pleasing.

Also, since Melbourne has been in the throes of its usual weird weather the last week and a bit, I've rediscovered the joy that is bed socks. The night have been bloody cold, and I've had a couple of pairs of hand knitted socks kicking around that came out a little on the large side because I was still getting the hang of socks and dpns when they were made. So, I put two and two together, and now I have the toastiest feet that ever toasted and have slept like a log every night since. I especially love my stripey ones. Just the sight of them makes me happy:

Something that may or may not have come up in this blog is that not only do I like to knit and write (both not all that proficiently at times), but I'm also, well, a little bit (okay, a lot) odd. Kind of eccentric, would be the nice way of saying it. Anyway, the other day I'd just washed the socks in question and was trying to finish the drying process off in the small smattering of midday sunshine that the fickle gods of Melbourne weather were kind enough to bestow on us. It was only until a person walked by on the footpath and looked at me oddly that I realised that I was singing a song to the socks (a song all about socks and how great they were). Hmmm... Probably not healthy.

Anyway, maybe next time there'll be finished objects. We can only hope. At least I'll try very hard not to be dead next time I post. Make no promises though...