Christmas and the Usual December Mayhem

Whew! Long time, no post. Bad Anna - I've been trying to do the blogging-type-thing more regularly, but the last few weeks have been chaotic. I've been working A Lot over the last few weeks, and when your work day is nine and a half hours long, and you only get to sit down for half an hour the whole time, you tend to come home too tired to even think straight, let alone write blog posts. Especially when you're having to deal with Christmas shoppers....

My own Christmas shopping was fairly limited. I don't tend to go into a mad gift frenzy this time of year. I tend to make things for most people, and only buy a few things for immediate family and sometimes close friends, which really doesn't take that long because I actually think about what I'm going to get them beforehand, rather than just aimlessly trawling the shops and getting depressed by the rampant consumerism and the stress all around. That sounds bitter, but it isn't really. I really like this time of year because I enjoy making people things and giving gifts - I really enjoy it. What makes me sad is the fact that so many people don't seem to enjoy it; they seem to get so bummed out by the feeling of obligation to get gifts for everyone that it sucks the joy out of the whole thing. That's one of the reasons that I like making things for people - I would much rather stay at home, relax, make up a few batches of biscuits to give to friends and enjoy the process of doing something for them than traipse sadly around department stores.

So, long story short, most friends and coworkers got baked goods this year. Though there was a little spot of Christmas knitting. I acquired a present or two for my brother, but by Christmas Eve there weren't that many presents for him under the (hastily erected) tree, and I thought I should rectify the situation. So I spent a rather delightful Christmas Eve night watching Watchmen, eating grilled cheese on toast and knitting a hat for the brother:




(I did have a picture of him wearing it, but he'd just gotten off of an international flight and I thought it would be uncharitable to post pictures of his jet-lagged self on the internet. Maybe later)

The info: Turn a Square by Jared Flood, knitted on 5.5mm double-pointed needles, out of a bit over half a ball of Rowan Pure Wool Aran, and scraps of Cleckheaton Merino Supreme and Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic 12ply.

The commentary: This was a really great, simply pattern, and was wonderfully quick as well (I hurried it along a little by using heavier weight yarn than called for and casting on fewer stitches). Given my love of raglan style pullovers, I'm actually quite amazed that it took me this long to try the decrease style out in a hat, especially given the fact that I've in the past had quite a bit of trouble with crown shaping. At any rate, I'm definitely glad I did try it - I think I see more of these hats in my future...

The hat aside, the rest of Christmas was a good bit of fun. The aforementioned brother arrived back from Canada on Christmas morning, and bestowed some gifts that he'd acquired over there. My father was particularly enamoured with these slippers:




Not long after, we all sat down to a lovely lunch. Nowadays we don't really tend to do the Christmas roast - too often the Australian weather doesn't really lend itself to such a thing, and when there are only two carnivores in the family, there's not that much call for excessive amounts of meat anyway. So instead we were traditional in the Australian sense and had a barbeque! Behold, our fine spread:



Lamb skewers, roast potatoes, salad, and some lovely cheese and cornbread kebabs with grilled vegetables... Yum. For dessert, we had almond biscuits and ice-cream with this sauce. I have been eating the sauce leftovers today, scooped into my mouth with whole pecans. Yes, I know this will clog my arteries faster than you can say 'saturated fats' - don't care! So a good time was definitely had by all.

In other news, despite work grinding me into the ground, I have been doing some knitting. I have a nearly completed hat and a half completed cardigan on the needles - both my own designs. So stay tuned for those in the near future.

Lastly, on a sadder note, we unfortunately ended up celebrating Christmas with one less family member present than on the previous year. While he had battled on for quite some time, determined to keep sleeping all over my knitting and getting under my feet while I baked for as long as he possibly could, a little under two weeks ago Alex my poor old man cat was just not doing well, so I took him off for his final trip to the vet. We had hoped that he'd last long enough to see my brother at Christmas, but alas it was not to be, and in some ways it's probably better that way - it would possibly have been ever sadder for my brother to see him as he was by the end. I was a bit of a soggy mess at the time - the cat and I had been a duo ever since I was six years old - but really, it was a happy ending. He was nearly 20 years old - he'd had a long life, and a happy one, and he had a merciful end when it was time, with someone who loved him by his side: we should all be so lucky. I, umm, have something in my eyes.... so I'll just leave it at this: Goodbye old man cat - I'll never ever forget you.




So as not to end on such a maudlin note: I generally find the phrase 'Seasons Greetings' to be somewhat irritating, so I don't really want to employ it here, but to everyone who's celebrating at this time of year - for whatever occasion or reason - I hope you have a really wonderful time!

Self Restraint and a Cat

So. It occurs to me that I probably have enough yarn (see above for pretty green things!). More than enough yarn even. Realistically speaking, I could probably continue knitting at my usual rate for an entire year without needing to buy more yarn. This is arguably a rather delightful problem to have, if indeed you could call it a problem, but I have decided that seeing as I don't really need more yarn, but will have a need to conserve money (exams are not too far off, so I won't be working nearly as much as usual), some self restraint might be in order over the next little while.

I'm not going to use the word "diet" because I'm not keen on it. It's not something I do when it comes to food (frankly, I'm young and healthy, so what on earth is wrong with just eating well and exercising?), and I'd really like to keep my life "diet" free. So I'm not going to stop buying yarn all together. However, there shall be creative and productivity-encouraging restrictions put in place: the rule of this Not Yarn Diet is that I am now supposed to knit 500g (so ten 50g balls, or whatever) from my stash for every yarn purchase I make. Blog will keep me accountable. Hopefully this will curb the unwarranted impulse buys.

I considered putting a meterage requirement instead of weight, but decided against it: I'm too lazy to add up lengths, and I don't really care about yarn weight as long as it gets used up. Yes, I know that I'll burn through 200g of bulky yarn in the same time it'll take me to knit up 50g of fingering. I don't much care - it's not a competition. I just want to reduce the space being eaten by my terrifying stash of knitting fodder. To play fair though, I'm not counting any part of Sylvi, as it's been going for so long (shame, because I believe that there's over a kilo of yarn in that monster). To not play fairly, I'm counting all yarn knitted from the point that I received my last purchase in the mail. Which puts me at nearly 100g, all from the Gathered Pullover (which is coming along nicely, thank you very much).

That's the plan. Now let's see if I stick to it.

In other news, well, life is crazy. Beyond crazy. Between uni, work, and social commitments, I have so much to do that it isn't even funny. For the first time in my life, I'm being afflicted by semi-regular insomnia, because I lie in bed unable to sleep because all of the pressing demands on my time are dancing around in my head humming circus music loudly. Thank heavens that knitting is a hobby that you can sort of slot into the gaps formed between everything else - one of the many reasons that I love it.

In knitting news, I have started seaming my Sylvi and have commenced the hood. I am so close to finishing that I can almost taste it - and I'm hoping that that will help me finally knock it on the head. Even the fickle Melbourne weather wants me to finish - the weather at the moment is bitingly cold for October, and it's just begging for a slightly unseasonal woollen coat. The Gathered Pullover is coming along nicely as well - I am still in love with the colour.




Unfortunately all is not well in other areas of life - the furred and finned areas, more specifically. More diligent readers might recall me gabbling happily about Titus, my fighting fish. Well, alas, poor Titus succumbed to a fungal infection yesterday, despite putting up a brave fight while we treated him with scarily green medicine. Poor wee fishy - he was a lot of fun, had a lot of character as far as fish go, and I will miss his hungry little face in the mornings.

If that wasn't enough, my poor old geriatric cat Alex has a large nasty swelling in his neck. The vet is not sure whether it's cancer or just a gland that's swollen up as a result of an inflamed tooth - he's going in tomorrow for blood tests and possibly dental surgery if he's stable enough. Anything involving anaesthetic is risky for a 19 year old cat with heart issues, so I'm trying to be prepared for the worst, just in case it happens. He's content enough at the moment though - asleep on my dressing gown, which I suspect is now officially His dressing gown. At any rate, please send cat mojo for my poor old man!

And that's about it. Hopefully the next post will involve a finished Sylvi - let's just hope that procrastination doesn't strike (again) in the meantime...