Sienna Finished!

Woot! I think, like many people, the only reason I made this cardigan was to look like the 'heavenly creature' in the Interweave Mag. I look like a man in drag. oh well. Comparison pics.




















I am fairly happy about how this cardigan has turned out. It was an easy knit, and took me about 2 weeks. I had to make some mods though.

1. I couldnt get row gauge, which affected the cable along the front. In the end, i just made the last cable repeat a little shorter.

2. I did 3 inches of rib on the sleeve instead of leaving as is.

3. The shawl collar did not lie flat - even after blocking. I had to tack it down in places. I think i will try blocking again.

Overall, the pattern instructions were dead easy. I used Bendigo Wool Mills 'Rustic' in 12 ply green opal (a misty teal colour). Very nice stuff to work with! The hardest part was finding buttons to match - i literally went to every place in a 20km radius to find nice buttons.
I'm not sure if i'll ever wear it, but it is nice and warm and cozy thats for sure. Oh, and the wide ribbing around my hips doesnt make me look as gigantic as i thought it would.

Would you believe that this is the first 'proper' (i.e. not socks or beanies) garment that I have made? And please excuse my bed hair, i remembered i had the Boi's camera in the house and could take a photo. And yes, my room is messy - deal with it ;).

Introducing Clanora - Stitchcraft 1937

And heres another Vintage Knitting Pattern free for you all ;) - its knit with an angora blend....

Big Day Out!

Woot! What a fun day! Hanging with my friends J and T (pics of us are below). Hardly any Aussie flags (compared to last year) and not so many thugs! (thats me with the chuppa-chup)

I even managed to knit between acts (ok, during John Butler Trio but he was a bit boring. Bring on the Killers!). The Killers did not fail to please thats for sure. Peaches was a great show visually (i admit i only know Impeach My Bush), and Little Birdy was lovely. Lily Allen was a bit disappointing. The Herd rocked out. Loved the Spazzys (go femme-Ramones) but wished they played more old stuff.

Bex's BDO Round Up

The Good

Not so many Aussie Flags = not so many Yobs. yay!

The weather - overcast and 25 degrees C. No sunburn.

Seeing a girl in the crowd wearing a Crafster Crafty Pirate T-shirt. We rock.

Hanging with J and T - that was the best bit. Too fun!

The Funny

Getting hit in the head with a beach ball in the Mosh Pit, and then getting slapped on the back of the head by a guy trying to hit said beach ball. Hurts, but was pretty funny...

The guy in a blue mu-mu and a leopard print fez - rock on!

The chick in the wheelchair, with "Walking is for suckers" written on the back.

The Bad

The queues - OMG a queue of about a hundred people to use the ATM?!? And not to mention lining up to get an alcamaholic beverage.... 20 mins at least!

Donuts. I love donuts (and can smell one from a kilometre a way) but theirs were rock hard. I'm not exaggerating - think stale bread roll. sigh...

The line up could have been better i think.... Looking back, i dont think i would have bought the ticket except I thought the Red Hot Chili Peppers were touring as well....

The Ugly

I left my ID at home so i wouldnt drink. Little did I know that certain areas were only accessible to over 18s and they wouldnt let me in (how can they miss my wrinkles!).

Drunk guys (esp with no shirt on). I had a guy walk up to me, say "Hey Red!" and literally shove me and walk off. WTF? And no-one wants a semi-naked sweaty 20 yrd old male rubbing up against them. Well maybe some other boys i know, BUT NOT ME! EW EW EW.

And lastly, me piking at 8.30 pm.... i had a stomach cramp since 11.30am when i skulled 2 V-energy drinks on an empty stomach and i couldnt take anymore... So my lovely Boi offered to come and get me and drive me home (aaawwww... hy rocks my world! and hy had risotto for my dinner waiting!)

Oh where oh where have i been?

Running around like a 7 yr-old on Ritalin! I just cant seem to commit to a project right now.... I started the BFF (Best Friends Forever) socks by Cookie, finished 2/3 of the first sock and then realised that the cables are so dense i will need to buy another ball of delicious Chocolate Royale yarn from The Knittery (purple and mocho colourway). I did try to bust my stash - honest!

The socks are for my fabulous Boi, who puts up with my many moods. Many many moods ;)... I have put them aside until the new ball of yarn arrives (and my Brittany DPNs) as I cant be bothered. BTW is it just me or do bamboo bend something chronic!

I recently finished (or so i thought) the Skullholders from SnB Crochet (pot holders with skulls) until i realised i did one side with a 4mm hook and the other with a 5mm... sigh. Project 2 to put on the back burner....

I've spent the past few nights flipping through Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits and other mags, searching for inspiration to get my groove back...

So i've started the short sleeved capelet from the latest issue of Vogue Knitting Winter 2006-07 (thinking it was going to be easy). Its the pink one, on page 87 by Leah Sutton. It was knit in Heirloom (yay! a wool thats cheap and easy to find in OZ) and looked like it had a lacey eyelet pattern - ITS NOT! It was actually a waffle stitch (or garter slip stitch for us plebs) of brown with the pink..... so here I am thinking, stashbusting, it looks easy, what do i have. Then some balls of Patons Zhiavago (50%acry 50%tencel) spoke to me. Normally i hate the stuff, but its growing on me. Its really soft.

So here I am knitting away, following the usual non-sensical Vogue instructions - beg w/ stitch stripe pattern, inc 1 stitch each side (working inc sts into pattern).... what tha? So basically they give you the stitch pattern, and you have to figure out where the increases (and decreases) go.... hmmm... okay. I'm up to here so far (theres also a pic of the waffle)

Its taking forever cos its all garter stitch. I think I get bonus points if i finish this one - its actually a little bit hard (i noticed the 'Advanced Knitting' thing after I had started) but even the Boi was impressed with the little waffle do-dads.

I am so slack - i will post some FOs soon i promoise!

Non-knitting news - ummm... Mardi Gras is coming up, and the Dykes on Bikes Tattoo and Bike show is on my birthday! YAY! hehehe....