THE DAY HAS DAWNED!!

This day has been in my mind for ages as a huge looming deadline and now its here!!

So what's on?? I have Stitch 'n Bitch this afternoon, there are two kids parties that we are invited to before lunch, its my dad's birthday and we also have a dinner invitation! (Well we did have a dinner invitation until I realised that it was actually for next month - but it was still adding to the critical mass in my head!!) Then some friends from uni that we haven't seen for AGES phoned and they are coming to visit tomorrow, so all in all its going to be a corker of a weekend.

Oh and here I am raving on and I forgot to say that most importantly, today is...drumroll..... MY 1ST BLOGIVERSARY!!!

Here are two first birthday cakes to celebrate: This one is Milly's first cake. I loved that cake. It worked out so well. I just love decorating cakes. Milly was one more than two years ago now!


The next cake is Gemma's 1st birthday cake, she was one about 9months ago. This cake was a big hit too but I don't have such a great photo. What a shame!


So there you go 12 months of blogging!! It has well and truly become part of my life. JT gets on line twice a day and goes to all the news sites, I get online and check the 'knitting world news'. I love that you are all so close but so far away. Truly, I think I learn more about people's real lives and world view from my blogging friends and surfing knit blogs than JT does from the news!! Well maybe...

BLOGIVERSARY COMPETITIONS!!!

Anyway I was going to have a fabo contest to celebrate my blogiversary but when I sat down to post I couldn't think of anything, now after raving on I have two ideas. One is fun and one is serious! So two prizes full of Aussie fun will be announced next Sunday - You have a week to enter....

One prize will go to the person who leaves a comment telling me the most suprising fact they learned from blogging about someone's life. It can be someone either close by that you've only met in cyberspace or someone blogging in another country entirely.

And the other prize will go to the most imaginative and humerous idea for the blogiversary cake I should have made and decorated for myself.

You can enter both comps as many times as you like - Judging will be purely subjective, although I may get JT to join the judging panel. Also I'd love it if you could let me know where you are and how you found my blog! Then I might learn some more suprising things about the world.

MORE RAVING ON:

This week has seemed so full of deadlines because I have had 1001 things to finish for the Wollongong Stitch 'n Bitch exhibition (you may have noticed from my posts this week) As 'Official Exhibition-Coordinator' (lol) I'm happy to announce that as of 11pm last night I was all prepared on that front. So at Stitch 'n Bitch this afternoon I am all ready to, hand out exhibition invited for everone to give out to their friends and to collect the avalanche of works that everyone is submitting for the exhibition next month!!

Well I'm ready but are they?? It will be interesting to see who has read any of the info I have previously handed out and who is interested in exhibiting at all. I know that there is a core group of about 15 of us that do actually see each other and communicate between meetings and all of those fabo knitters are well and truly involved (You know who you are!!) But will anyone else be interested?? All will be revealed today at 2pm!!

So see you at snb or chat to you later in the week!! BTW if you woudl like an invite to our exhibition to pop on your fridge just email me your snail mail addrees and I'll send you one - my email addy is in my blogger profile.

Happy Birthday to my fantastic Dad!!
Happy Blogiversary to me!!!

Falling into place

It's all falling into place!! Planning for the Wollongong Stitch 'n Bitch Exhibition is coming together!!

This week I sent out a number of press releases to all the local area newspapers, radio and TV and we already have had one request from the Illawarra Mercury who will publicise the exhibition closer to the date and the Northern Leader took some photographs today for an article which should go in next Thursday 4th May. So look out for it if you are in Wollongong!!

Have a look at the Wollongong Stitch 'n Bitch site for more details if you are a member.

If you are not a member of our SnB we would LOVE to see you. You gals that we haven't met from Sydney, Wagga, Canberra or where ever would be MOST welcome. In fact if you let us know you are coming I'm sure we can manage a nice lunch or something!

I could bore you by pasting in the entire press release but I won't- here are the main details .

Warm Hearts: Busy Hands
An Exhibition of Contemporary Knitting by Wollongong’s Stitch ‘n Bitch Knitting Group.

Venue: The Old Courthouse, Corner Cliff Road & Harbour Street, Wollongong.

Exhibition Opening: Friday 19^th May 2006, 7pm- 8.30

Exhibition Hours: Saturday & Sunday 20^th & 21^st May, 10am to 4pm.

Knitting Group Meets: 2pm – 5pm on the last Saturday of each month. Novotel Lobby Bar, North Beach, Wollongong, Knitters Welcome!

Surprise!!

I've managed to get kind of 80% through some big tasks for the SnB exhibition thanks to (Donni, Ailsa and Kerry for their input!!) and the wave of panic has subsided for now. Still got a few things to manage this week but I'm not doing too badly. I'm still managing to do some knitting. I just can't watch TV of an evening without knitting in my hands...so...

OK so here is my baby surprise cardy as of this afternoon. I'm guessing I'm about halfway through since the pattern asked for two skeins of Koigu KPPPM and I've just got through the first one. Boy it's a wierd pattern. I thought I was following it 'properly' but my row and stitch count seems to have taken a strange diversion at some point from the pattern and also the right sides and wrong sides seem to have become mixed up. But it does pass the galloping horse test at the moment- So I'll persevere - If it's really bad when I'm done I'll frog it and begin again.


I was worried that I wouldn't have enough yarn - now I'm thinking that there's going to be heaps over so I'm intrigued to see what will happen! I'm looking forward to doing the origami that you have to do to turn it into a cardy shape rather than an undulating landscape. I'll show you then - Happy knitting!

Plea Update

Update to my plea below - within less than 2hours of the post the blogosphere has provided!! Help with my pattern search has arrived from Janette .

Janette can help me with the 'Wayside' pattern from Hanover Bay Collection but I'd still be interested to see how it differs from the Rustic Texture #145 pattern leaflet if anyone has it. Cheers and thanks heaps to Janette!!

I'm off to make a combat plan about how to attack the next few weeks - I just have the hugest avalanche of things to do in the next month - not the least of which is having a baby. I am pretty prepared on the baby front (although they say I am measuring bigger than my dates and may have to be induced early if she's too big -just what I need -lol!!) but deadlines relating to the Wollongong Stitch 'n Bitch Exhibition (See the button in the sidebar for a link) are rushing at me headlong... eeek!!

Caio!

A Plea!

I have a small plea!
Do you have any old Jo Sharp patterns??

I have a brochure from her early days for single pattern leaflets that used to be available. It is called Jo Sharp Hand Knitting Collections and is a three leaf fold out A4 brochure with a woman in a leafy autumn scene on the front.

The brochure shows a pattern for a man's vest called 'Rustic Texture' pattern #145. I would love to get my hands on a copy of this pattern. I have had some yarn in the stash for a vest for JT (FOR EVER!!) and I think the time has come to actually knit it - just in time for summer ha ha!

I emailed Jo Sharp to see if it was still available but alas it is no longer extant. They did say though that there is a striped version of the same vest called 'Wayside' in one of Jo Sharps books called The Hanover Bay Collection. Unfortunately that is no longer in print either but this is what Hanover Bay Collection looks like.

And so could you?? - Would you?? -Please have a look through your pattern leaflet and book stash for either of these:
'Rustic Texture' pattern #145. or 'Wayside' from The Hanover Bay Collection

I'd be most appreciative!! Really!! And so would JT. I've knitted loads of things for the kids, friends kids, for me and for gifts but nothing, nada, zip for him. Shocking isn't it??

In current knitting news: I am happily knitting Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Cardigan (and yes finally I am spelling surprise correctly lol) from the lovely Koigu KPPPM that I purchased in San Fran but I have a little inkling that I'm not going to have enough yarn eek- I thought I was 'on guage' but it is appearing as though I am not. @%@^@$^ But I shall persevere... I shall not be cowed at this early stage.

Happy knitting all!! And I hope you had as homey and productive a weekend as we have had here chez stripey!! :-)

FOs Galore

Yesterday, whilst listening to a couple of my favourite knitting podcasts, I was so excited to finish a few jobs that had been hanging around that I posted each achievement as I made it. Meg commented that she hoped I'd post up some shots of these FOs and so here they are:

The Heart Baby Blanket - shhh it's blocking. I'm really pleased with how the blocking has evened up the shape and flattened the whole lot. Looking forward to making up the basinette with it!


Then the umbilical hats made from my Summer Berry Smoothie handspun. the smaller one is for a 1 year old and the larger one will fit a 3yo.


The Rasberry Ripple Cardigan knitted from my georgeous Artfibres Harlequin yarn. All seamed up waiting for the most perfect shot silk organza to make a ruffle edging all around and on the sleeve cuffs.

Finished over Easter: The Katia Cotton OSW -I still have almost a third of a ball left! Thanks Rach!! To fit a 4 yo-6yo.


And later I found the pattern that I was looking for and so began swatching my georgeous Koigu KPPPM for the Elizabeth Zimmermann Baby Suprise Cardigan. See an example here. I am just loving knitting the Koigu!! Its just so soft.

So there you go. Better keep knitting... got to keep up the pace or my fingers will atrophy...lol

FIN!!

Oh wow - I have just this very minute woven in the very last end on my Heart Baby Blanket!!! Now I'm off to block it -pics soon!!

Edited 15 mins later to add - OMG I just this very minute finished seaming up the sleeves of the Rasberry ripple cardigan. Now I just have to find the right organza to sew a ruffle on it.

AND just before Easter I finished the Katia Cotton OSW (includng all those ends) that I was working on but I think I forgot to mention it.

AND yesterday, I spun up some more yarn to finish the second Summer Berry Smoothie Umbilical Hat, then last night the yarn was dry enought to finish knitting it. Woo Hoo!! So now I'm going to post this and weave in all the ends....

Edited 30 mins later to add - AND FINALLY I have woven in the ends on the Summer Berry Bmoothie Hat - with Milly's help snipping off the ends.

Sooo that's three FOs in a pile next to me and one where all the knitting is done and only the ruffle remains. Happy Happy Dance!

What is next??? Well I need to work on the admin stuff for the Wollongong SnB exhibition at the end of May and I'd hoped to cast on for a Baby Suprise Cardy by Elizabeth Zimmerman using some Koigu KPPPM that I bought in the states BUT WOE IS ME - I CANT FIND THE PATTERN.

Happy Knitting all - I'm off to 'rest on my laurels' for a small while oh and find that pattern....

Easter Weekend

Easter Weekend hasn't been much of a holiday worse luck! It was mostly work for us grown-ups. Poor old JT had a 15 hour shift to work on Good Friday - How foul!! Then on Saturday it was straight to Sydney to keep working on our house so we can put it on the market.

My Mum and Aunt baby sat the kids for two days which was great. It meant that we could all concentrate on the work but even then it was a bit frustrating for me because I couldn't help with any of the heavy stuff and was relegated to tea and lunch maker.

So the hall got repainted by my sister in law and her father and the front concrete steps and walkway got replaced with wooden steps which my Dad built. My Dad is a total handyman legend and so is my brother Ross. Those two and JT took two days to make this;

Become this;
And finally, this!! Stairs!!
It was hard work and now we have to make all the dirt and rubble left in place of the old steps look presentable. Sometimes I think it will NEVER be done....

Anyway the kids enjoyed the Easter Bunny on Sunday and now it's Monday afternon and I'm off to read my novel for a bit of RnR while the kiddies rest and JT potters in the garden. Fingers crossed!! Here are the girls with too much chocolate in their baskets!

I'm so proud!!

Just look at this georgeous thing!!


No really !! Look again!! It's stunning.


I'm so proud! A good solid two years of complete neglect has resulted in these wonderful flowers. They didnt flower last year so I moved them out of the shade a little and you see what happened.

One day I'm going to have an orchid collection. Maybe when I'm retired?? Just so you know -I'm also going to take up easter show worthy cake decorating when I'm retired!!

Weekend Knitting

There was no weaving in of ends! Not one. The baby blanket languished in the knitting bag all weekend with its 3020 (or more!!) ends and I didn't even look at it. The rasberry ripple cardy only has about two ends to weave in and I didnt touch them either - nope not once. Instead I did this:


It was great fun and speedy as we all know One Skein Wonders (OSW) are. This one is for Milly again as she seems to have grown out of the other one I knitted for her.


Aren't the colours great!! It's Katia 'Jamaica' 100% cotton, self striping that Rachael sent me for SP6. I admit to the stripes being semi-random, I did tweak a couple that came out little wierd - there were a few stripes that were suddenly way too skinny. I should have it finished tonight!! Another FO for the Wollongong SNB exhibition that we are holding in May.

So my list of things to show is now as follows: My Olympic Clapotis, The Heart Baby Blanket, The Rasberry Ripple Cardigan, Two handspun umbilical hats, The Katia OSW and maybe even the Silk Garden OSW that I finished earlier in the year and maybe another thing if I can make it quickly enough.

The exhibition is the 20th and 21st Of May (I'll post more details shortly on the WSnB blog- I'm a little behind with that blog - oops) and my bub number three is due 23rd May - I know I've told you this all before but its dwelling on my mind you see, because I'm responsible for organising the 'hang' (you know -the display of the works) and I MIGHT JUST BE HAVING A BABY RIGHT THEN - either that or incapacitated by my elephantine proportions.....In the mean time I must knit, knit like the wind to make sure that I am at least contributing to the show.

And here is a little knitters eye candy for you.

If you are in OZ and like the look of the Mollydale dyed silk or the Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted go and see Taryn at Purl Yarns.