Tag: Unraveled Wednesday

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🧶 So what..

So what have you been up to this week? – a constant query from family
Honestly when I’m home we can go from one week to the next without hearing from any of them….leave town …and they’re like helicopter parents
(of an 80yr old) 😊

So I told them… it’s been a very quiet nondescript week…

Where there’s been a little bit of knitting done
Two plain sleeves for another of the fair isle jumpers – which had me thinking that if I just concentrate on finishing the fronts for these two and make them up I can then look at some of the other projects I had in mind.

16 June
19 July
11 July

Also a little bit of reading
I picked through the pile of books from last week, – after a couple of false starts 2 went back to the library unfinished 😕…..I did finish one of the ‘come from home’ lot (The Beekeeper’s Secret – Josephine Moon) and some of the others have been lent to other campers.

Along with some eating out and shopping!
On one of the days when the strong winds were making life uncomfortable and ensuring the town lived up to its nickname of Blowin’ Bowen we went out for a pub lunch, laughed at some ‘dad jokes’ while waiting for it to arrive and then popped into the op shop next door when we’d finished.
Last of the big spenders came out with a lighthearted Monica McInerney plus crockery…crockery? he said – yes, I’m missing my China and am fed up with that thick white stuff in the cabin ((and it won’t go astray at home)

And to finish the week an early morning visit to Rose Bay was in order – from the moment day broke today there hasn’t been a cloud in the sky,. Just an hour on an empty beach, soaking up the sea air and warming my bones in mild temps (22c/71f) will boost my spirits no end – then it’s back to the cabin for coffee.

9.30am 19 July. 22°c


Joining in with Kat and others at Unraveled Wednesday 
There’s always lots of knitting and reading and general chit chat going on

Apologies for the small sized gallery photos. Just click and they will open/enlarge/enbiggen- then scroll side to side

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More than I can chew??

Flushed with the success of actually finishing a book I came back from the library on Monday with three……all written by completely unknown to me Australian authors. A couple of historical fiction (19c & early20c) plus a crime which seemingly is riddled with humour..

The Tailor and the Shipwright- Robert Westphal . 2019
Perfect Criminals – Jimmy Thomson. 2018
Dark Angels – Ron Thomas 2018

If you add those to several others brought up from home, as well as the download of Northanger Abbey I’d planned for Jane Austen July , there’s certainly a few weeks worth of material there. Here’s hoping I can carry on the way I’ve begun and can say ‘job well done’ on at least some of them at the end of the month….I’ll keep you posted.

I do wish my local library would use those little ‘roo icons – that way readers would become more aware of lesser known Aussie authors and they would get the recognition/publicity they deserve. They’re all on the shelves at my local but knowing nothing about the authors I’d have bypassed them all.
I wonder what other countries could use to signify their ‘national’ authors?
Maybe they do already
Any ideas?
~ ~ ~ ~

Last week might have been a worrisome one but wasn’t quite the write off it appeared – staying close to the cabin/ not going anywhere had some benefits…. I was able to knit a couple of sleeves for one of the fair isle jumpers, adding a couple of repeats of one of the borders for interest. I had visions of being overwhelmed thinking about the 3 fronts and 6 sleeves still to be knit yet here we are with a third of the sleeves done already. They look a little crumpled – caused by a bad habit of just stuffing things in a knitting bag instead of rolling in a tea towel as my mother used to do (‘keep it flat, it’ll look much better’) I’m sure once the whole garment is finished and made up it’ll be much smarter.

Joining in with Kat and others at Unraveled Wednesday 
Where there’s lots of knitting and reading and general chit chat going on

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🧶Stranded…..

I am now officially finished with knitting for ‘friends’!
I should’ve known better but this one wanted to give her grandson something to wear this winter that was entirely different to anything else he had.
To begin with she wanted a fair isle jumper – as In the whole of the garment completely covered in bands of colour.
Similar to this 👇

Source

It’ll be too busy for a two year old I said, too heavy as well. It’s almost like two layers of knitting and where we live our winters don’t warrant that, also his mother won’t thank you when it comes to washing/drying.
Maybe something simpler like half and half would be be the thing – plain sleeves with front and back having small bands of stranded patterns below the armholes. He’ll have ease of movement at the top as well as interest at the bottom.

This is what she chose from my pile of patterns – ‘love the red, he’ll look good in that’.
‘ It doesn’t have to be red’ I said.
She dropped off a bag of red 8ply (acrylic mill ends manufacturer unknown) a couple of days later!.
That was much earlier in the year.

It was returned – unworn – three weeks ago.
‘My daughter doesn’t like it, it’s too bright. She says to put it in your charity box’

I don’t mind too much, someone will benefit from it and I definitely enjoyed knitting it (even if the wool was a bit rough in texture). Making it gave me the idea on how to use up some of the left overs as well as looking at a different way to reduce the large amount of yarn I have waiting to be used …..the supply of knitting material I have gathered.

So the idea at the moment is – I want to make more of these –
What do I have I can use?
Original Sirdar pattern for sizing – library and online resources for band (peeries) patterns. Various colours for the body plus white/cream for contrast.

Never one to let an idea pass here’s the nearly finished back of my next one

And….I have enough cream to use as a contrast with this denim blue as well the tweedy brown. And….look what I found on the library shelf

The very easy guide to Fair Isle Knitting – Lynne Watterson

It’s all out there just waiting to be discovered!.
(As was the last of this year’s Roses and the first Camellia)

Thank heavens for plain knitting The Golfer said when I reached the end of the last pattern row. I was driving him batty with my mutterings of 1 2 3 – 1
as I counted the colours along the rows

Just wait until he finds out I have more in mind 🧶😊
*****

Joining in with Kat and others at Unraveled Wednesday 
Lots of knitting and reading and general chit chat going on
Why don’t you pop over – you never know who you might see there

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🧶 Can’t do them all

At times we are our own worst enemies – I get carried away thinking I can do it all but there just aren’t enough hours (or even the means) to do everything I want to do. I’m not talking about household management or maintenance here by the way😊

(Think colourwork, stranded or intarsia – that beautiful ‘all over’ look of Fair Isle being a favourite. Aran with all its different interpretations of cables. Baby and children woolies in all shapes, sizes, styles and designs- get the picture 😊)

A ‘favourite’ blog I like to visit and ultimately get lost in is Gansey Nation – written by Gordon Reid, who lives in far north Scotland, in the small town of Wick (just south of John O’Groats).  It’s a blog about ganseys/guernseys – his current project on the needles, (on which there’s a weekly report) and how to knit them. As well as – sometimes very humorous – daily happenings in his and others lives.
The website address is: http://www.ganseys.com. ‘a blog celebrating the traditional hand-knitted pullovers worn by the fishermen of the British Isles.’ source

So when I saw this in the libraryI knew it had to come home with me. A pick up/put down large sized book – not quite what I was expecting – just a little about the history, mostly (as the back cover says) The ultimate sourcebook for Gansey knitting techniques and stitch patterns.

The sections on ‘gussets and shoulder strap’s’ would definitely be useful if I were to knit a traditional Gansey – in the round . Pages and pages of stitch pattern designs with knitted samples to look at, tidbits of information like possible origins and interpretations of the motifs eg cables/ropes made interesting reading.

Close to the end there’s some author designed ‘projects’.
This one for a child caught my eye

……until I saw this ?project/review on Ravelry and changed my mind
Instead I’ll take the idea and work it into those little ‘me do it’s’ I make

Which meant that even though I’d been eyeing up some more ‘left overs’ to use up, with the word Gansey/guernsey running round my mind I fished around and pulled out some full balls of fawn instead. There’s a ‘simple’ version of one in this book – one I’ve knit before

And have started again!

Its time for Unraveled Wednesday  hosted by Kat…
Why don’t you pop over and see what’s going on

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Leftovers again!!

You know how some shelves in your freezer seem to be dedicated to ‘left overs’ ( things too ‘good’ to throw away, that can maybe be added to other ingredients to make a meal) well I seem to have accumulated an awful lot of left over yarn. Bags and bags of it shoved into stored in other larger bags.

Just one – there are more 😊

So here we are following on from my attempt a few weeks ago and working with the principle that ‘from little things big things grow’ (combine lots of little things….) plus ‘make hay while the sun shines’ (because sunny autumnal days are never to be sneezed at) – I’ve an idea in mind and look I even found some cute buttons (in my large collection of left overs of course) that hopefully will work. So as they say – watch this space!

Sadly the plain orange ones are a tad too small


And for once I have actually begun to enjoy my reading
the world without us – Mireille Juchau. (book club)
Two chapters in and eager for more

It has been six months since Tess Müller stopped speaking. Her silence is baffling to her parents, her teachers and her younger sister, Meg. But the more urgent mystery for both girls is where their mother, Evangeline, goes each day, pushing an empty pram. When their father Stefan discovers a car wreck and human remains on their farm, old secrets emerge to threaten the fragile family. A storm is coming and the Müllers are in its path

~ ~ ~ ~
And look at this , just by magic- because I didn’t publish this post earlier in the month – here’s the finished cardigan (now tucked away in the charity box) plus a ‘lovely little book’ spotted on a library shelf, sitting there waiting for me to find it. Lots of short ‘stories/essays’ by knitters about- what else but – their stash of yarn. It’s been a great book to dip into, with each chapter just the right length to enjoy while resting my hands. Have any of you read it?

Not sure about those buttons but they’re all I had and little boys or girls will love them

Its time for Unraveled Wednesday  hosted by Kat…….As Kat Knits……
Time to pop over and see what’s going on

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🧶 They’re all the same…just a little bit different

Say hello to some little things I’ve had bubbling away in the background. A couple of little newborn sets for the baby programme…..knit over the last few weeks using left overs from other projects….from years ago in some cases 😊

Those odd ‘bits of this, bits of that’ half & less balls were getting out of hand
or should I say…..filling the bag and needed to be used up.
There was enough for backs as well as fronts on another two, not all 8plys are equal so they turned out slightly larger. The charity welcomes ‘traditional baby colours’

Just hanging around

Made using a ‘favourite’ adaptable pattern…..we’ve all got them haven’t we😊.
This one couldn’t be easier if it tried – after the rib band the back is straight, on the fronts the only decrease to think about is for the neckline starting half way up and the sleeves consist of a rib band, several side increases then straight knitting with the cast off all in one line.

Here’s some others I prepared earlier 😊

It’s a style that lends itself to so many interpretations…. Over the years some worked – others, well they weren’t a fail, let’s just say I wouldn’t try it again (the fisherman’s rib pattern was too chunky for the sizing- but that’s what the recipient wanted)


Sometimes where reading is concerned – a bit like food and knitting when things aren’t going the way you’d like them to – ‘comfort’ books are all you want. What I call Australian historical is often where I go to….especially to those written by Darry Fraser. They are ‘lose yourself’ novels many of them about strong females in a man’s world in 1800s Australia

Elsa Goody Bushranger – Darry Fraser

When Elsa Goody’s father and brother George die in quick succession she and her sister Rosie are in trouble. Pursued by an unpleasant suitor with dubious motivation, Elsa leaves for Victoria on the hunt for a fortune in gold coins that her brother has hidden. If Elsa can find it she will be able to save Rosie and herself from married slavery.

…..  Unraveled Wednesday  hosted by Kat…….As Kat Knits……
is on again! Pop over and see what’s going on.

#enjoyeverymoment

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🧶 I call them..‘me do its’

It’s Wednesday again – that middle of the week day.
Some days have been and gone – some have yet to arrive
I don’t know why but this year seems to be galloping along at quite a pace, this is the last Wednesday in March…..one month of autumn gone already – and to make matters worse the clocks go back this weekend 🙁🙁😕…..

A while ago in amongst their requests the charity was asking for children’s woolies.
Jumpers/Sweaters were included – unlike 2019 when they were frowned on
When a friend sent me the message she had reworded it this way
2/3yr olds need functional – added colour optional.

Functional to me means serves its purpose
works well with no stress
So I dug around in ‘the pile’ and came up with an old Totem booklet

And what could be less stressful (and oh so quick & easy to knit) than these little *left hand blue* ones that I call ‘ me do its’
Easy to put on, no recognised front or back, no problem with getting it right.
No stress on child trying to be independent…..or supervising adult😊

Usual run of the mill

These four are now sitting in the charity box ready for delivery soon. I had fun doing the little cars, one row on the chest and the other near the hem added a bit of interest…..not as much as the frequent tangled threads situation. Three different colours plus the main in use on every row was interesting. I really enjoy intarsia….but prefer fair isle where I have no problem whatsoever.

A little bit different
Lots of fun

(I was working on the royal blue/yellow one during that ‘interesting’ craft morning)

My reading has come to a standstill
As much as I wanted I just couldn’t get into A Sand Archive……the March selection at what I call my ‘real book club’.
It’s all well and good the library encouraging readers to open their minds to different authors and supplying the books but sometimes those choices sound ‘good/interesting’, start off great then turn out to be strange – and very disappointing
So we’ll say no more about this month’s offering!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Today I’m sharing my post at Denyse’s weekly link up called Wednesday’s Words & Pics
~ ~ ~ ~
Wednesday is also the day Kat hosts ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘.so I’m sharing my post – and if you’d like to see what others are knitting, reading and talking about just click on the link


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🧶 There are websites and there are deep rabbit holes……

You know your friends know and understand you when they send you things like this


One also sent me a link to a section at Trove containing ‘very old’ knitting patterns – https://trove.nla.gov.au/about –

Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, source

Vintage knitting patterns from newspapers & magazines : https://bit.ly/3NsUt1p

And….if you love old magazines, here’s a copy of The Australian Women’s Mirror dated 26 August 1953 to read
📷: https://bit.ly/3mhFyLL

And….as a treat perhaps this might interest you

Cosy knitted brassiere – using ‘silver sheen’ 2ply with UK size 11/3.00mm

The pattern can be found here – https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/22174651

This is one rabbit hole I’m not going to want to come out of 😊
~ ~ ~

And talking of rabbits – we grabbed a quick photo
before my friend took these off to her house for safekeeping

I do have some other things on the go….
A bit of craft for those in need – back to the little ones….must use up some odds and ends before they breed 😊

And the new book club read – A Sand Archive – very Australian…not too far from here

Seeking stories of Australia’s Great Ocean Road, a young writer stumbles across a manual from a minor player in the road’s history, FB Herschell. It is a volume unremarkable in every way, save for the surprising portrait of its author that can be read between its lines: a vision of a man who writes with uncanny poetry about sand.

in the mean time, now my eyes are ‘under control’ again, I’m changing my name to Alice (which just happened to be my mum’s name😊) and am going back down, down down deeper than down….’you know where’

I’m sharing this post with ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘ hosted by Kat


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🧶 3 Large & 2 Small….

Sounds like something from a television show 😊

‘The Trio’ is finally finished and on its way to the charity. In the end I was quite pleased with them and maybe- just maybe- might be inclined to knit some more of that size…..sometime.

Sirdar 3213, 4265, 4273 – Size 26 chest




~ ~ ~ ~ ~

No sooner had I started to think about the Rabbit Project from last month than I had a call from a friend just returned from interstate telling me about her new Gt granddaughter.
Her very first Gt grandchild!


‘She was born just after the Lunar New Year- she’s a rabbit….her mother had a rabbit as a special toy when she was a child, I must see if I can find one for my little darling.’

And you can guess what happened after that😊

‘Cathy, if I provide the wool would you do me a favour – there’ll be no hurry- I was thinking, possibly for winter next year’

There was no need to think about it….of course I would.
Within days yarn in ‘deep’ soft colours arrived (not too light – not too dark), size (to fit 18mths) style (cardigan plus easy fit jumper) and chart design were agreed on

So all that was left was for me to start.

Much love is being knit into these garments – for the new life that will get to wear them and for the sweet sister who loved to wear hers


******

At the moment I’m listening to:-
Oscar and Lucinda – Peter Carey…….although I think maybe reading it might be better – I’m having a problem with the narrator’s voice.

At the moment I’m reading:-
The Tea Rose – Jennifer Donnelly…..just started and I think I’ll be at it quite a while. The copy I have is over 500 pages. If I fancy the other two in the series …..well, let’s just finish this one first 😊

And I guess I won’t be reading Jane Harper’s new release anytime soon. Exiles – Aaron Falk #3 – has an enormous hold list…..I’m there at 306…..bets on it could be May at least before I’m in the top 10!. I found The Dry a bit slow, enjoyed Force of Nature much more, hopefully this one (when I get it) is better still.


Wednesday is the day Kat hosts ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘
I’m not sure where the month went but this is the first Wednesday in March so I’m sharing my post – pop over and discover what others are knitting, reading and talking about

#enjoyeverymoment

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🧶 But wait, there’s more….

The 2nd of the ‘big boy’ jumpers is finished.
And the 3rd in the trio is begun.
Another Sirdar pattern from the same era so I’ve just used the same measurements and adjusted the side panel stitches.
They should (hopefully) all be very similar in size


As simple as it looks
it took a little while to get the cable sequences right
and there were a few choice words spoken
and rows unpicked at one stage
so I might just chicken out
and do a plain back as well as plain sleeves


When all three are finished and finally on their way to Knit one Give one aka KOGO the time will have come to concentrate on something different- something close to my heart – something I’ve been thinking about for a while.

It’s two years to the day since Patsy my blond curly haired little sister died
Tribute – Sleep well my little one.

Next sister – Me – Little sister Patsy – Baby brother 1998

Take a look at this delightful photo (which I might have shown before) of Patsy (aged about 3)…….maybe just maybe, there might be some woolies coming up featuring little bunny rabbits. And as an aside it’ll be 20yrs on Saturday since my mum (she who knit Patsy’s rabbit jumper) died. These anniversaries are so hard on the heart.


I’m thinking my ‘2023 word to work with’ is going to be consider so I’ll have to think carefully about this one.
Cardigan or Jumpers (sweaters).
Size….can’t be too small or it will be dwarfed by the motif.
Colour……practical for children in unknown circumstances or ‘soft and pretty’ because that’s what she was.
I know there are graphs somewhere in amongst my patterns so guess what I’ll be doing today……if I don’t get sidetracked by my latest read .

Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont is a very short book to begin a shorter than usual month. Hopefully this will rekindle enthusiasm after my short reading lull during the last month.

Apart from the two mentioned early last month there was just one more book finished during January.
The Commandant – Jessica Anderson.
Historical Fiction about Moreton Bay Penal Colony (later to become Brisbane), involving the strange combination of its real life controversial commander Patrick Logan plus his wife’s (fictional) sister Frances.
I didn’t make it to book club because covid had come visiting so after a reasonable pause this (January’s) book was delivered to my door. It would’ve been rude of me not to start it…….actually it turned out to be a very good read

Wednesday is the day Kat hosts ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘
Today is also the first Wednesday in February so I’m sharing my post – pop over and discover what others are knitting, reading and talking about

#loveispatient

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🧶 Et voilà…

And there you go…..from flat to that – just like that!
Something that always amazes me
(And sometimes baffles and on one occasion definitely confused me)

Crossover Jacket link.
Tiny Trauma Teddy link
~ ~ ~

Slippers – no link. Obtained online years ago

I sometimes wonder what it is that intrigues me about these ‘all in one ‘ garments, they’re like those ‘one pot wonders’ the meals you can cook using only one pot
Take these ingredients, add your pot and see what emerges at the end.
Have needles- add yarn – a little twist here and there – no seperate pieces to mislay
And voilà – one item ready to wear.
~ ~ ~ ~
Back in November when I had a break between the back and front of the blue cable jumper this is what was keeping me amused. All in one knitted gloves – garter stitch, made on 2 needles.
Something I’ve been itching to make since coming across the pattern years ago

A group request for bright hats and gloves was all I needed
After discovering how easy they were to make I was off and running
one pair down …..and look, now there’s more!
(I used size 10/3.25 mm needles with 8ply/DK yarn)

There’s no rush ….winter’s a while away yet
It doesn’t seem that long left and I’m sure it’ll be back again😊
~ ~ ~ ~









As for the reading – over the past few weeks it’s been a bit hit and miss….more miss than hit if the truth be told!


At the moment I’m making my way through
The Dust that falls from Dreams – Louis de Bernières
******
And listening to
The Spare Room – Helen Garner.

I must say (for me) listening to a previously read book is strange….the story is familiar but it ‘reads’ differently. A little like watching an adaptation, there are scenes that just don’t seem right.
Does anyone else have thoughts on that?

**********

Being Wednesday you’ll find Kat and others over at ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘
which is where you’ll find lots of knitting and reading and talking going on


👇Vintage glove Pattern, making instructions + other bits of interest can be found here. Three blog entries in order👇

#keeplifesimple

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🧶 In again- begin again


It’s Wednesday again
the first Wednesday in a new month
The first Wednesday in December 2022
Which means it is the first
Wednesday in Summer in Australia.

 Also being Wednesday it’s the day Kat  hosts ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘
which is where you’ll find lots of knitting and reading and talking going on

After finishing the Royal Blue jumper
– which turned out to be not as ‘cabled’ as I envisioned it would be –

Yes I see the ‘wrong’ stitch


I decided that knitting that larger size wasn’t so bad after all so using the same measurements have begun a similar one (patterned front and back with plain sleeves) in Fawn

The charity is closed now until February so even if I lose interest there’s plenty of time to finish it – and other bits and pieces I might fancy making along the way

~ ~ ~ ~

Reading has been really slow over the past couple of weeks
(The Golfer having Covid definitely hasn’t helped)
After finishing the book club choice I mentioned last time – Tourmaline – Randolph Stow I felt the need for something short and fairly light so
84 Charing Cross Road, (the ‘book of letters’ between Helene Hanff and Frank Doel…. a ‘buyer’ at a bookshop at that address) came home with me from the library.
Definitely what I needed!

And one just started The Dressmaker’s Secret – Rosalie Ham

It is 1953 and Melbourne society is looking forward to coronation season, the grand balls and celebrations for the young queen-to-be. Tilly Dunnage is, however, working for a pittance in a second-rate Collins Street salon. Her talents go unappreciated, and the madame is a bully and a cheat, but Tilly has a past she is desperate to escape and good reason to prefer anonymity.


However reading the first chapter and thinking about those recently unearthed photographs has brought back more forgotten memories
~ ~ ~ ~
First a little story…..
Singapore 1964
I had not long delivered a baby girl so ‘nothing fit properly’.
Feeling tired and weary, wondering how I was going to cope with two other little ones (even with the help of our live in amah) when The Golfer was away on an upcoming short detachment to service/‘fix’ some aircraft engines on Gan in the Indian Ocean
As in all Southeast Asian countries there were local dressmakers who would run you up something almost overnight but The Golfer, with all the panache of a man with his mind on other things, suggested I make one. “You’ve got a machine sitting there doing nothing, use it”.
I know I’ve mentioned before I inherited the knitting gene, not the dressmaking one, so as you can guess things didn’t go quite to plan – and The Golfer playing with his camera, thinking he was being clever, recorded my despair/misery in black and white on the afternoon I was finishing it off.

Here’s a few little quotes from The Dressmaker’s Secret, chapter 1…..

“ ….The new girl adjusted the tweed jacket over her knees. It was impossible to do really good work without her table, but every table was stacked with second rate fabrics…….”

Our table was probably covered with children’s toys same as the floor behind me.
~ ~ ~ ~.
“ ….Deftly, she pinned and draped the material around the thick form, letting it fall, shaping it around the bulky curves…..”

There was nothing deft about my movements, I’d pinned then sewn it together in a clumsy way and in my mind there was no way it was going to fit properly.
~ ~ ~ ~.
“ I know that customer………she’s forty-four, forty-five, forty-four…..”

And seeing my reflection I remember thinking how ‘large’ I looked
and wondering was I ever going to lose that ‘baby weight’

The dress did actually get worn – just not by me.
It was ‘unpicked’ by our amah who ‘turned it into’ a dress for her oldest daughter.

~ ~ ~ ~

Our little girl (3mths) with Aho –
our amah who helped me in so many ways during the time she was with us

‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘ hosted by Kat

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🧶 Done it again…

It would appear I’m still as daft as ever.
Remember that old saying – measure twice cut once. Meaning double check before you do anything.
Spotlight had wool on special.
The brand I use for charity knits has a standard range of colours so I just pick up the colours I know I can work with and am happy to knit.
Many balls of Royal Blue went into my basket

After finishing the back of the cable jumper I had the plain sleeves done in no time at all……then took a break, working on something else instead.

On to the front with a new ball…..initially thinking the yarn didn’t feel the same but it had come out of the same bag and was the same colour so carried on knitting.
After several pattern repeats (4 x 8 rows x 94 stitches!) I looked at the ball band…….oops, it was a different dye lot number.
When there are sales, supplies are topped up continuously and a few from a different dye lot must have still been in the bin
In my haste I obviously hadn’t checked each one properly before going to the cash register.

So……. I have looked and looked in various lights and can’t see any visible difference, but just in case, have decided that as the back and front are the same up up to the armholes, what I’m knitting now will be the back, where it’ll be less obvious.
The already finished ‘back’ has been unraveled down to armholes and I’ll knit it up as the front.

And ‘why don’t you leave it as it is’ remarked a friend, ‘who’s going to know’
Me, I replied!

Another ‘done it again’ moment a few weeks ago saw me agreeing to ‘make up the numbers’ and join another book club. It wasn’t until later and some info arrived I realised this wasn’t going to be as casual as my other one. No ‘tell us what you read’ chat over a cup of coffee…..this one is ‘we all read the same book the library provides then discuss it’ coffee comes afterwards. Too late to back out – this month’s book is Tourmaline by Australian author Randolph Stow published 1963.

Tourmaline is an isolated Western Australian mining town – a place of heat and dust, as allegorical as it is real. Out of the desert staggers a young diviner, Michael Random, offering salvation to this parched town. The once comatose community is indeed stirred to life, by hate as much as by love, and its people find salvation neither in water nor gold.

It’s turning out not to be a read and devour hour after hour book. It’s a bit of a slog more like. After noting all the characters and working out how they relate to each other I’m having to take it a few pages at a time to actually get the gist of the storyline…breaks/changes of scene written into the quite shortish chapters make it a bit easier …. You know, they say nothing ventured nothing gained, try something new and different- this book is certainly something new and different – surprisingly I’m actually enjoying it. Hopefully when the time comes I’ll remember what it was all about😊

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it’s Wednesday – the day Kat  hosts ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘ …….that’s where you’ll find lots of knitting (and reading) to admire and think about.

And Wednesday is also the day to look out for Wednesday’s Words & Pics hosted by Denyse …..  you’ll find much to interest you there

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🧶 It would seem….

See a book recommendation – see if the library have it in stock

Yes, it’s there – but see what they said



Previously borrowed- my first thought was…..but when?
Seems it was April last year but I don’t remember a thing about it 😯

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So curiosity piqued I ordered it again.
set to with the front of my latest knit.
yes, one of the ‘cabley’ ones I spoke about last time

and began the Robert Harris waiting in the wings
Front finished – a little wobbly in places but not too bad.
‘Second Sleep’ on the go

My first read by this author. ‘Oh, historical fiction’ is what I thought when I picked it off the library shelf. Then at the end of ch.1 that thought changed to ‘Oh, sci – fi or maybe even something else’. I’m up to ch.9 and to me it’s moving quite slowly but we all know that with some books that could change quickly!

Library reservations must be working overtime – my book arrived sooner than expected. Not just The Sea Gate but 5 others as well!
That’s me sorted for November I think 😊

…..  Unraveled Wednesday  hosted by Kat…….As Kat Knits……
is on again!.
Why don’t you pop over and see who’s visiting this week

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🧶 Style…..

Style – a form of appearance, design or production. source


Most of my knitting these days is for the baby & toddler programme of a local charity but recently they’ve been asking for larger sizes – so I’m looking through this pattern book and this caught my eye.

It’s one I’ve made a couple of times previously in a 2yr size – described as ‘a child’s jumper with yoke patterning front and back’

I found it a ‘relatively easy knit’, the shape reminded me of a fisherman’s Gansey. Patterned yoke, drop sleeves, straight up and down.

And the instructions are available in sizes up to 8yrs 😊


(Use of the word jumper (or other options such as “pullover” and “jersey“) is largely determined by the regional version of English used.[1] In the case of Ireland, Britain and Australia, “jumper” is the standard word, “jersey” is used in South Africa whereas “sweater” is mainly found in tourist shops and in North America. The word used in Irish is geansaí (“guernsey”). Source)

There’s just one problem – one that probably only I see – my plain stocking stitch knitting is becoming very uneven. And there’d be an awful lot of it to be seen on a four/six year old sized jumper 🙁

Sometimes I’ve used other stitches or cables to ‘cover part of the ground’ but that doesn’t always work. Remember how uneven the fronts of those little shirts were…..

I’m not sure why, it was the same brand yarn I’ve used before. Of course it’s possible my hands are losing their grip/strength and I’m getting sloppy in the way I hold the needles so that’s something I’ll have to work on.

However…..

I think I might have found the answer to my dilemma

Do what I’ve done before

Knit Aran style or similar

No (or very little) stocking stitch to worry about

Here’s a couple from my collection – vintage now, fashionable when I bought them!

Last week’s book was set aside when a friend loaned me this
The Night Tiger – Yangsze Choo

“A captivating and magical story set in 1930s Malaysia about a dancehall girl and an orphan boy who are brought together by a series of unexplained deaths and an old Chinese superstition about men who turn into tigers.”

Much writing about customs superstition expats life in Malaya  Brought back memories of life as expats during the 1960s when we lived in that part of the world.

Oh and I have a rather nice Royal Blue waiting in the wings
That’d be the big boxes in the garage 😊
I’ll keep you posted
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Wednesday’s Words & Pics hosted by Denyse ….. Denyse Whelan Blogs.
is on again

…..  Unraveled Wednesday  hosted by Kat…….As Kat Knits……
is also on again!

Click/ tap or finger slide to enlarge

Ganseys

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aran_jumper

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aran_knitting_patterns
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_knitting

Cable Knitting Without a Cable Needle

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🧶 I’ll get there some day…..

A gentle reminder from an ‘acquaintance’ (just someone I see at a group) that I’d promised – one I have no recollection of – to knit some clothes for her granddaughter’s doll had me scrabbling through the garage looking for a long forgotten Tiny Tears. One of those things left behind years ago but ‘please don’t give it away Mum’ so it lingers out there along with various other bits that really should have been given away….guess when Mum’s gone those 60yr old children will finally make that decision they should have made years ago.

The 16” dolly clothes will have to wait a bit (Christmas is a while away yet) – Mum has been making decisions of her own since she returned home and discovered an awful lot more yarn in the garage than she remembered – several of those interesting 400gm ‘sealed so you have no idea what the ply is’ mill end bags suddenly appeared (tucked away in a box below another box – no idea when they were bought) so it’s use it or lose it. ‘Mill ends’ are the surplus yardage of yarn produced by mills every time a production run ends. source

Meaning I’ve some planning to do…….decide what to make and if I’m capable of offloading/donating/giving some of it away.

This little sweater/cardigan is so easy to knit it’s become a favourite of mine ( see the very well used, bit tattered and torn pattern…..priced @ 6d! One I bought for my first born – 1962😯)

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And it turns out this particular ‘mystery yarn’ knits up like a dream. Soft and comfortable to work with, smooth on the needles and using 10/3.25mm with 8/4mm needles is sizing to the pattern measurements.
I’m sure it could be used in the same way as an 8ply……Watch this space 😊

My latest library book turned up a couple of days after we got home…..I definitely timed the putting on hold process just right
It’s a new to me author so I must have seen it recommended somewhere
The sea, the sea by Iris Murdoch

As they say…in for a penny, In for a pound. If I don’t get on with it, it can go back😊

Remember Violeta – I mentioned her back at the end of August and again in September.
After a few false starts I finally made it to the end of over 300 pages.
Different – Interesting – Readable – no plot as such, more a letter to her grandson.
it did seem to go on and on at times so I had to stop for a breather now and again
Having said that I enjoyed it but sometime or another I’ll try another, with a ‘storyline’, to get a better feel of the author

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…..  Unraveled Wednesday  hosted by Kat…….As Kat Knits……
is on again!

Others are sharing their knitting (and reading) – pop over if you’re interested.
Maybe join in – they’re very welcoming.

Click/ tap or finger slide to enlarge

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🧶 I’m not just a pretty face….

There’s more to me than a pair of knitting needles!

That was an expression used by a friend I had in England many years ago.
I met her at a ‘mum’s and babes’ group and marvelled at the knitting she produced.
However it seemed in a previous life before she married she had been a plain clothes policewoman, now dissatisfied with her present life (…..”reduced to nursing a baby and clicking knitting needles”….) she certainly let everyone know where she’d been and what she’d done.

So to prove that I can do more than knit I’ve managed to read several books in the last couple of weeks😊
My aim for these last few weeks we’re here has been at least a book a week, meaning I had to finish the ‘backlog of 3 by the bed’ before I could start the two new library ones

David Baldacci introduces a new character in Zero Day (the first in a now 10+yr old series of 5 books) John Puller, who could be called an army special agent investigator, sent to rural Virginia to look into ‘an unusual death’ he meets up with Samantha Cole a local police detective and the story unfolds from there.  This was an impulse ‘pick off the shelf’ from the library. I enjoyed it – a pick it up – put it down – and pick it up again – to get to the end as soon as possible sort of book.  A great way to pass a couple of wet windy days.


Linda Fairstein hadn’t been on my reading list before – this was a find on the ‘drop & swap’ shelf in the laundry.   Final Jeopardy is her first novel about Alexandra Cooper, a sex crimes prosecutor (there’s about 20 in the series now) so I got in on the ground floor as the saying goes.  Friend is killed, she becomes involved and then is a target as well.  I’m not a picky reader (will read anything and everything) but to me this seemed a bit humdrum.  I might see if I can find others and try again.
Other readers love her so maybe I should have another go.


David Mark’s Dark Winter was also another I plucked from the libary shelf.  Some days I go there with nothing in mind and just take something for the heck of it – not sure if I should be more organised or not.  Anyway this is his first novel about Aector McAvoy (10 in total now) – a policeman living in Hull, not the most glamorous city in Yorkshire but one that had a serial killer on the loose.  I became really engrossed in the story as it unfolded just before Christmas (Christmas in the book not real life Christmas lol) – 3 deaths that seemed unrelated till right at the very end.  And yes I did guess the killer but not the way he was involved.  He had vaguely crossed my mind sometime or another and it was only when it became apparent who it was I remembered my thought about that character lol

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Did I knit over the past couple of weeks – well, sort of 😊

I got fed up with the fawn shirt, then remembered I brought some half finished items with me – aiming to finish at least one. These rather crumpled looking pieces of green (which when finished will be a matinee coat looking like the pink top left corner) will be going home looking very much like they did on the way up. I reworked one of the sleeves then put the pieces back on the big stitch holder…..guess who forgot the very long needles to use for the yoke 😟

A very old pattern book from my very large collection

SO…..if you aren’t just pretty face and there’s more to you than meets the eye would you like to tell me what you’ve been up to ???? 

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I’m linking to Wednesday’s Words & Pics hosted by Denyse – you’ll find many interesting blogs there. Perhaps you’d like to join in as well.

Oh, and why don’t you pop over to see Kat…….She’s hosting Unraveled Wednesday
a great place where you’ll find lots of knitting (and reading)

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🧶 Winter Day90

How strange that the first day of our Winter (June 1) was a Wednesday and here we are at the last day (August 31) and it’s also a Wednesday!

Day1 at home in Victoria was the day we went for a drive in the rain (https://cranethie.com/2022/06/02/winter-day-1/) – I’m not sure how today will pan out but yesterday (Day90) here outside my little cabin in Queensland it was also wet!


Unlike Day1 when he didn’t play – on Day90 The Golfer decided maybe it wouldn’t be that bad…..it was the Veterans afternoon and ‘we can’t let the side down’ so just after lunch, waterproofs and brolly at the ready he headed out.

By early afternoon it was coming down in bucket loads

And had turned cool – well much cooler than it had been😌

But certainly nothing like it was at home!


Me – well I gathered up my blanket (to keep my toes warm) new library books
latest knitting project, parked myself on the bed and settled down
to enjoy an afternoon doing as I like on my own

He was home just after 4pm……a little wet and a bit subdued. Still doesn’t enjoy playing in the rain so didn’t stop for a drink in the club house…..something he usually enjoys
(reliving the game with all and sundry😊)

Me – well I was comfy so suggested he might like pop down and get pizza for dinner!.
Thanks for your suggestions
I’ll think about doing something with those egg plants another day !
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On the needles
The makings of another shirt similar to last week. I’ll do the ‘grandad neck’ on this one

Library books.
Violeta by Isabel Allende. ~ Her new release but my first read of any of hers
Cooktown by Andreas Heger. ~ A debut novel by a new to me Australian author

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As it is Wednesday why not visit…..  Unraveled Wednesday  hosted by Kat…….As Kat Knits.  where there’s lots more knitting (and reading) to admire and think about

Linking to Wednesdays Words & Pictures …….Hosted by Denyse

#enjoyeverymoment

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🧶 Two finishes….

it’s Wednesday – the day Kat from As Kat Knits hosts ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘ …….that’s where you’ll find lots of knitting (and reading) to admire and think about.

I finally finished a couple of little shirts for the charity box – actually following the pattern this time by knitting and placing a collar.
Something I’ve avoided instead preferring to work these ‘grandad necklines’
I’ll add buttons and fix the button band when we get home – and remind myself not to knit anymore rib patterns as my stitches never came even after frogging and reknitting 😟

My reading this past week has been – The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

One of those novels I’m sure many of you have read – one I’ve said to myself ‘you should’ but never have.
Classed as a classic by the library in Bowen and that’s where I saw it (in the display I mentioned the other day).

I’m having the same ‘problem’ here as at home earlier in the year – pick a book, oh that looks interesting, two chapters – two pages in some cases, nope not for me. So I thought why not try something different- something unknown. So it came home with me.

A smallish book that had words (language, situations, ideas) I had to think about. I enjoyed it – and at the moment that’s all that matters.

I also found myself so engrossed I realised I was ‘acting out’ some of the things I was reading.

  • I looked at Miss Baker…..I enjoyed looking at her. 
    She was a slender small breasted girl with an erect carriage which she accentuated by throwing her body back at the shoulders like a young cadet

Straightening my spine and pulling my shoulders back – not recommended if you are non slender and large breasted😊

  • I glanced at ….and at Jordan who had begun to balance an invisible but absorbing object on the tip of her nose 

Lifting my chin and looking down my nose wondering what I had balanced there – not recommended….makes you go cross eyed 😊

… … … … …

A book and two woolies…..that’s me finished.
Do pop over to Kat’s to see what she and other ‘unravelers’ have been up to

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🧶 Honestly….it would appear

The older I get – The dafter I get!

I knit the back plain, in stocking stitch …then decided to do the front in broken rib

But couldn’t fathom out why my stitches were so ragged and out of shape

Look at the needles – I’ve been using two entirely different sizes😟

(I think there might be a bit of unravelling and some new beginnings coming up )

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It’s taken a while but I’m happy to say I’ve begun reading again.

Two new to me authors plus two entirely different genres
One down and one on the go!

The Things We Keep ~ Sally Hepworth

’Realistic Fiction’ – an interesting read, full of different emotions, one I really enjoyed about Anna, a well educated young woman in her 30s diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers disease. Set in an aged care facility where she meets and strikes up a friendship with a young man with the same diagnoses.

Confronting for many with no experience of the disease in younger people it follows their intermingled times (good and bad) together, along with another character plus daughter trying to sort out their own lives

The Goldminer’s Sister ~ Alison Stuart

Australian Historical Fiction – set in an 1870s Victorian gold mining town.
Just begun – what I think will be an easy read about a young English woman arriving in the goldfields discovering all is not how she expected it to be. Her brother has died mysteriously…her uncle now has ownership of the brother’s mine….

(Even though it’s not marked as part of a series and can be read as a standalone seemingly it follows on from an earlier book ’The Postmistress’ set in the same small town so I might try to find that one)

Yes – sometimes it’s the little things in life on these winter days that make me happy 😊😊

As it is Wednesday why not visit…..  Unraveled Wednesday  hosted by Kat…….As Kat Knits.  where there’s lots more knitting (and reading) to admire and think about.

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