Twas the night before Christmas . . .

I hope you and your families have a wonderful and safe Christmas!

My Favourite band: Linkin Park

Do you have a favourite band? Mine is Linkin Park. I have been enjoying their music ever since I heard "One Step Closer" around 10 years ago now. I own every album they have released and their songs frequent my most played songs on iTunes. Their style of music evolved with each release of a new album and is something I thoroughly enjoy.

I have seen them live in concert three times now. To say that they are utterly amazing live is a huge understatement. They are the only band that I can say that sound better live than they do on CD (and they sound fantastic on CD). Maybe it is hearing Chester's awe inspiring voice live, the great audio-visual show they produce or the electric atmosphere that is present from the time they grace the stage and grows till the very end of the show.

Here is a video of their opening song "Iridescent" from their show at Sydney's Acer Arena on Saturday 11th December 2010. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!



So I was wondering, who is your favourite band?

It's almost finished!

Hopefully it will fit this time!

My not so creative space

Wow, I didn't realise how long it had been since I last posted! Well, I've finished Ishbel, finished all my uni assignments (and uni really too!) and went to Bowral and Canberra. And trying to fins a new job too!

First of all, here is my Ishbel all finished and blocked! I'm happy with in, but I think it could be bigger. I have enough yarn left over so I could make a second one if I wanted.


I went down to Bowral and Canberra recently for a week. It was nice and relaxing, but my favourite memories are of the Australian War Memorial and Canberra Zoo. The War Memorial was fantastic, we went on a guided tour with a volunteer who really knew his stuff! Also, we were there for the closing ceremony which featured navy, army and air forces recruits from the local miltary college and that was amazing. At Canberra Zoo we got to meet a cheetah. I love cats so this was a dream come true!


Isnt the cheetah beautiful ?!

So thats what I've mainly been up to. I havent done much since coming back from holidays two weeks ago. Just been working and looking for another job. And a little bit of knitting, but mot too much. Hopefully I'll have something to show you soon.

Happy crafting :)

My Ishbel is almost finished!

I spent today finishing my Ishbel shawl. It has been sitting in my WIP tub for a few months untouched and I pulled it out yesterday and realised I didn't have long to go!

I used Lush Yarn's Silk/Merino fingering weight yarn in Ghost. I just need to block it, but that will have to wait about a fortnight until I finish my assignments and I get back from holidays. I used 55g of yarn and still have 90g left. I'm not sure what I'll make with the left over yarn.

As I went to put the left over yarn away, I realised that I dont have a lot of bright coloured or multi coloured yarn. Admittedly I dont like most multicoloured yarn, but I do like semi solid coloured yarn quite a bit. Most of the yarn in my stash is either gray/black/white or shades of those neutral colours or shades of blue or green.

I do then to wear clothes in these colours as these seem to look the best on me, but I'm getting bored of these colours. I want something bright and intense. I think I will need to expand my colour preferences...

I also just thought I'd share the preview for the next Glee episode. I'm not a Britney fan, but Glee (or any other musical) is pretty awesome. Enjoy!

Sometimes things just dont work out the way you want...

So my Lotus Hat didn't quiet work out the way I would have wanted it to - it was too small despite doing a few extra repeats :( I do want to make this again, but I just cant bring myself to start it again at the moment. So, after feeling rather down (and not just because of the hat) and dissatisfied about the current projects on the needles, I broke my agreement not to buy any more yarn or cast on another project until I had finished the projects mentioned in the previous post.

So, I bought some 8ply wool (don't worry, it wasn't expensive) and cast on a new project. I cast on the Dandy Neckerchief.



Progress is very slow, but in approximately 3 weeks, that shall hopefully improve and work will resume at a regular steady pace. Along with my other 3 projects listed before.

Until then, I need to get back to the work that I need to do to get through the said 3 weeks.

Happy crafting :)

You know, yarn is addictive

I was naughty today. Instead of doing the millions things I need to do at the moment, I spent a large portion of today looking for a cardigan pattern and deciding what yarn to do it it. Opps

I really want to branch away from small knitting projects into larger projects, such as clothing. I would like to make a cardigan as my first project and plan to begin after the next school holidays (that way my prac will be finished and will have recuperated)! So after trawling through Ravelry a few times, I've decided that my first knitted piece of clothing will be: Girl Friday made with Cascade 220 yarn.

However, in order to be able to buy the yarn for the project, I need to finish four projects I currently have going. So here is the list of projects I want to finish so I can cast on the cardigan.

1. Lotus Hat
2. Lush Yarn socks
3. Ishbel
4. Column of Leaves scarf

Hopefully I will be able to finish one of these whilst I'm on prac, but I'm currently not getting any time during the week to knit. This leaves me with the weekends so I should be able to fit in a bit of knitting over the next 9 weeks.

Happy crafting :)

Shibui Yarn!

I know in my last post that I said I would not buy any more yarn until I had finished at least 4 projects that I currently have on the needles, but I ordered this yarn BEFORE I made that promise - so this doesn't count!

Look at what was waiting for me when I got home today :D Some divine ShiBui knits sock yarn, in a colour aptly named Peacock.


Now I have no clue what socks to knit with it, so any suggestions are greatly welcomed!

Lush Yarn Sock Club Installment

I received my first Lush Yarn sock club installment last Tuesday ans started knitting with it straight away! It is a beautiful colour called Deep Teal and came with a goodies and a pattern!

The sock pattern is easy and produces an interesting texture - I can't wait till I'm finished the first sock to see the yarn in all it's glory :)

As lovely it has been buying all this yummy yarn to knit with, my stash just seems to be growing and the amount of time I can spend knitting is diminishing. And I must admit, it is a little bit depressing. So, in order to combat it and help my wallet from drying up, I am announcing a knitting pact! I will not purchase any new yarn until I have finished at least 4 of the projects I currently have on the needles, and even then, I will only purchase yarn for one project.

Wish me luck, I think this will be a hard pact to follow, but one I must stick to. I will keep you updated on the progress.

Ten on Tuesday

10 Things I hope to improve this year...

1. My health - eating better, exercising more and sleeping longer.
2. My teaching - more engaging and inspirational lessons.
3. My sense of adventure - doing more new things, and less of the same things.
4. My savings - save more, spend less (I want to travel next year).
5. My photography skills - taking better photos.
6. My knitting - branch out into clothing.
7. My sewing - get back into making clothes.
8. My cooking - more exotic and difficult dishes.
9. My vocabulary - read more.
10. My eco footprint - use more earth friendly products and method of transportation.

Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair 2010

I went to the Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair yesterday afternoon. It was a fun afternoon and gave my wallet a good workout. Here is my latest crafting supplies acquisition. Ahh, so much to do. So little time...



You'll have to exclude to poor quality photo. I think its time for a new camera.

Life of late...

I know I have been neglectful of posting to blogland lately, but I have been keeping up to date with everyone's blog. I just haven't had anything to blog about lately. I have been busy getting ready for my upcoming prac and havent been doing many crafty things in my spare time. I have been reading 'Sustainable Fashion & Textiles' by Kate Fletcher. It's very interesting and informative. I would definitely recommend it if you are interested in anything fibre related and sustainability.


I've also been doing a bit of knitting and trying to plan a trip to Europe next year.

Happy crafting :)

I finished my Monkey's!

Yay! I finished my monkey socks in the early hours of this morning when I got home from work. I'm so glad they are finished, I just need to block them!

Have a good weekend!

Publish Post

Dear silk, I hate you!

Well, not really. I love the fibre silk. It is one of nature's most beautiful fibre's. It's just I can't knit with it. It grabs my knitting needles like it's holding on for dear life and makes my life hell. I've tried knitting twice with Kaalund Yarn's Enchante in Wisteria and I end up frogging what ever I'm making in frustration. So, it's official - I will never knit with 100% silk again.

Lush Yarn Lucky Dip

Yesterday I received a package on my doorstep. It was a box with some pretty yarn in it. Three skeins to be exact. I knew that there would be something green in there, but I had never seen the yarn before. I had purchased a green lucky dip from Lush Yarn. I opened then box in anticipation of whats inside and was surprised by these lovelies!

Twinkle Twinkle


Gratitude


Great Minds

They looked so goo, I had to order the blue lucky dip box. Can't wait till it arrives!

It's Finished!

I finished my Traveling Woman Shawl! Blocked and ready to rock this winter - very exciting :)

I've already cast on my next shawl/neckerchief project - Ishbel - with some lovely yarn I pick up from Lush Yarns at the CraftExpo. It is a very exciting time...now I must return to the real world and work on my assignment.

Eeep! Three More Rows!

Only three rows to go. Should be finished tomorrow and then blocking!

I think a trip to the CraftExpo this Thursday is necessary to pick up some new yummy yarn worthy of my next shawl project, Ishbel!

I should be sleeping

It's 4.23am. I should be sleeping but thanks to my neighbour who likes to play annoyingly loud music at ungodly hours, I am now awake. Not happy. I was looking forward to having a good long sleep in today. Anyway, enough of that.

Just thought I'd share my crafty plans for today:
I plan to continue sorting the array of buttons I have gathered according to colour in these spice jars I picked up from Ikea.

And then I plan to keep on knitting my Travelling Woman shawl. Hopefully finishing it this weekend too!

I hope everyone has a craftly good weekend.
:)

Anywhere but here...

I sit here struggling to finish an assignment for uni, wishing I was somewhere like here:

Photo by: JSMoral

Isn't it just beautiful!

Knitting my way to happiness

I wonder if this is possible??? I haven't been in much of a sewing mood lately, so I have been knitting the Traveling Woman shawl. I'm fairly pleased with the progress and there have only been a few minor mistakes - but they will add character! It is my first time knitting a shawl and I am quite enjoying and looking forward to wearing it this winter!


The yarn is Morris Empire 4ply in Bluestone. The picture doesn't do they colour any justice - it is much nicer. A nice deep smoky blue.

Happy Tuesday - hope you have a great day

Good things...

Today has mostly been filled with good things.

Firstly, I found out that John Mayer is coming to Sydney in May - I'm very excited about that!

Secondly, I bought a pot and planted a bay leaf tree that I got late last year as a gift - it's the first time I've tried gardening so I'm a bit proud of myself :)

Here it is before a massive storm hit. I hope it rained just as hard over the dam as well. We need the water.

And third, I'll soon be able to partially reclaim my sewing room. I'll have to share the room with mum, which means so big table and a lot less storage, but I will be able to have my machines set up permanently :)

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Its been a while baby

Has it really been that long since I last posted??!!?? I know i have contemplated many times over the last month about blogging, but I haven't for reasons that now escape me! Not cool I say. Maybe it was the few weeks I've been at summer school for uni. Or the fact that not only did my brother move home, but we renovated our kitchen over xmas, making our dining table our make shift kitchen. This took away all the decent amount of space where I could set up my sewing machine away from me.

But there is some good news. The kitchen has been moved back to where it belongs. And the bro is moving back out. The bad news is I will not have the space I used to craft. It is a bittersweet feeling I tell you. Maybe it will be for the better - teach me to really consider things before I purchase them and to be a little tidier. Hmm, only time will tell.

I will be back soon with some pictures of a new project that I am working on. You have seen a sneak peak of it so it may look familiar to some.

Until then, happy crafting.

New Year Resolutions

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a fantastic start to 2010!

I rarely make new years resolutions because I find them next to impossible to keep. But this year I have decided to make a change, so here are the things I want to do this year:

• sleep better
• eat better
• live better
• make more
• appreciate more
• learn more
• smile more
• laugh more
• save more
  

2009 as a whole was a very uneventful year, so here is to making 2010 a year that is eventful and filled with joy and happiness.