When you get better, you frog!

I always say that the measure of whether you do something well is how well you handle mistakes and how willing you are to deal with the bad stuff. From management to knitting, it's all the same. I must be going really well with my knitting as the two personal projects I've had on the go have both been frogged....back to the start!

The first is 'Leaving' from the Twist Collective. I highly recommend this online magazine. The designs are really interesting and there are things to read. They support themselves by the advertising, but also by selling the patterns.

I wanted to support them by buying a pattern and when I saw this pattern, I decided that it was the one! However, choosing a slightly different yarn meant that even though I swatched, it did seem to be coming out a bit small, so I started again. I kept trying to convince myself that it was fine, but you have to be honest with yourself......so I frogged and started again, AND, am much happier.

From the beautiful to the simple, well that was the second journey. I won't go looking, but I did start another cardigan. There wasn't enough yarn, my compromise sleeves were too much of a compromise and it just sat there, so:

Then, I started:

Which is from the latest Vogue Knitting (or Designer Knitting as it comes to us, via England!) I love the simplicity and if I don't have enough yarn I have a stylish and happy finish, which will involve another colour and an odd sleeve. I love that, so here it is, so far:

Now I'm a happy knitter!

UFO's and other excuses.....

Ok, so I haven't blogged for awhile. I'm busy. It shows....

Usually, I don't have many personal works on the go, but they've escalated. (Almost out of control!)

First, there's the lovely deep green short sleeved cardigan that I've been working on for awhile. I'm up to the sleeves with only the last ball left, so I have to do them in tandem from the top down till I run out of yarn. It's messy, so not so good at Snb or on the train.

Then there's a pair of socks I started at SnB one day when I'd forgotton some needles, or something and 'had' to do something, and 'nearly' finished at a slow day at Rose St. I do so want more socks.

Then, there's my niece, who's just turned 21, the first of the next generation. As well as a beautiful hand-made box from Ivanhoe Makers Market and the talented Smiljan, I wanted to knit her a blanket, just for her. After finding the pattern, and the yarn, I managed to get it almost half-way by her birthday, I am going slowly along, and the deadline I set myself is likely to pass by. Sorry Hayley, but it will get there.

Then, my gorgeous son, Michael, has asked for a handknit jumper.....hooray! I had just the pattern. He liked it. We decided on the colours. I've ordered the yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills, it's arrived. I've started....

And finally, I've ordered the yarn to go with the Twist Collective pattern I bought and am really looking forward to knitting.

Oh, and that doesn't take into account the unfinished Yarn Forward knitalong blanket and the black cardigan I want to design and knit. I haven't designed for awhile and I know just exactly what I want to do!

Then add on to this all the fingerless mittens, shawls, scarves and assorted goods that I need to stock my market stall. All the drawing, painting and printmaking that is proceeding slowly as I work on my minor, works on paper, second year project. Various other assorted projects, it's a busy year. I'd like to say that I'm going to regularly get back to blogging, but who knows.

I have worked out a setting on my camera which has given me some lighting freedom, (thanks Leanne - photographer extraordinaire!) so here's hoping.

Cricket in Sydney

Yep, hubby, youngest son and I drove up to Sydney for the last test match of the current Ashes cricket tour. After a disappointing Melbourne test we hoped for, at least, a high spirited effort by the Australian team. We saw lots of runs made (by the Brits), lots of good bowling (by the Brits), an incredibly vocal Barmy army (supporting the Brits) and a win (by the Brits)!

The Barmy Army was amazing, not only confirming that we should be a republic by their very pointed rendition of God Save the Queen. (It can't come fast enough.) Not only this but they managed to steal Waltzing Matilda; though I couldn't make out the words, which was just as well as their Mitchell Johnson chant was very pointed!

Anyway, it was lovely to see the Sydey Cricket ground, with it's heritage Members stands and being a smaller ground, how close you felt to the play.

Of course, if you go to the cricket you have to take some knitting. Sitting in the sun on a couple of hot days did slow me down but I did get some done.

I chose to take this pattern from Vogue Knitting Holiday 2008 edition. It's working up beautifully with the yarn I purchased with my Sheep to Shawl win prize of Zara by Filatura di Crosa. It's a beautiful yarn, very soft but with good definition so you can see all the work in the pattern. I'm not sure I have enough, but if it becomes a sleeveless vest that's OK with me. That's what I'm likely not to be able to do.

For the spinners, this yarn is very interesting. It is a very high twist yarn with a beautiful softness. This has alot to do with the Italian extrafine Merino, but also that the twist is achieved by combining SIX two ply yarns together. Whilst there is alot of twist overall, each component is softly spun. This is much easier to achieve with machines as there's alot of spinning. I'm very happy with my choice!

A New Years Resolution

As another blogger bemoaned her lack of blogging and the wish to regain her momentum, said "Isn't that what new years resolutions are for?". All I can say is 'Yep'! So here is my first blog for 2011.

I have been a bit thin on magazine reviews, for no other reason that my head has been IN the magazine and not here. A little bit of luck on New Years Eve provided me with the latest edition of Vogue Knitting (or Designer Knitting after it has been sent to England, repackaged and sent here! Hasn't anyone told them that England is the WRONG direction!) I didn't expect anything but there it was.....

I love this:

and this:

and would love to modify this dress to something else!

Oh, and here is our lovely extension. It is finished (basically) and we've furniture and TV and it's the lightest and biggest room in the house. We love the terrace and the view!

Unfortunately, the landscaping is still to come. 2011 project....I thought it would all be over.

Anyway, I hope your New Year celebrations were filled with friendship and fun and achievable resolutions. See you somewhere, sometime, I'll be the one with the busy hands!

Frogging

When people ask me if I have a lot of UFO's, I can honestly answer 'no'. If you look at my current set of projects, I think you can see that this is a fair response. I have a pair of socks I'm currently knitting for myself. These have been put aside by the knitting of a blanket for Woolybutt's bushfire appeal.

I have a couple of fingerless mittens, waiting for buttons and a scarf that requires a fastener. This is fair game as I am confident these will be finished and find their way to my Etsy shop.

I have also some UFO's that will be frogged because they're experiments that haven't quite worked out. I usually wait for inspiration and these cause me no problems.

You can see from this that I'm happy with the state of affairs and I like to keep it that way.

So WHY, after reading an article in the latest 'Yarn Forward' magazine about frogging, a subject I don't need any further information on, and while a pleasant read didn't afford much in the way of new information, did I end up with:

This is a jumper that I've had for many years, it started out as this:

It came from a pattern book called 'The Creators' published in 1986, which is when I purchased it. It does, nowadays often appear in op shops. I don't know why as I still like looking at it and it has some interesting designs. You might have guessed the era from the hairstyle and makeup?

I have worn this jumper to death. It's very open and catches on everything and finally there are too many snags/holes to look good. To emphasize the age, when I frogged the seaming was in back stitch and I can't remember the last time I used back stitch, mattress stitch being my preferred method of finishing off my knitting.

I don't need a new project, not just yet, but I will skein up the balls wash it and contemplate when to start on this:

From the latest Designer Knitting (Vogue knitting - still not really used to the new name). I figure that in our hot climate, I can't really justify another jumper.

And really, all I want to do is start!