Another pair of socks

What happens when you're heading into Summer, we're all knitting socks. Well a few of us at SnB are, here are my finished socks.

They just need some ends sewn in and they'll be wearable. I learnt a new cast off, a knitted Kitchener stitch. I was a bit awkward, as it isn't designed to be used by a Continental knitter, but I'll manage. I was a bit tight, but that's the 'P' work - practice!

Seaweed is endlessly fascinating

I hope you all had a successful flutter on the Melbourne Cup. Two of the four of us managed to pick 2nd and 3rd place getters. Good luck to you if you picked Viewed.

We usually spend the long weekend at the beach, this time managing to get down on Sunday afternoon and staying till Tuesday afternoon. It's always a relaxing atmosphere and I always wonder how to maintain the feeling when I get back to Melbourne..????

Anyway, this was another chance to add to the seaweed collection. Not many different types, though I always love the colours and forms of those I found. A new discovery was, don't do this when walking with someone else...."I thought we were walking.."......"We are, I'm just stopping to take photos...."

Saturday afternoon was Experimental Spinning and we spun with cotton, wrapping it around a core. I love cotton, having spun it a few times. It is challenging because it is such a short fibre, but creating punis (mini-rolags using your hand-carder) or using a core, as we did, makes spinning so much easier. Ginned cotton has a very satisfying texture, being full of lumps and bumps. (Question: I do wonder how cotton is processed to remove these?) The resulting yarn is beautiful and soft.

Off to SnB today, yes, we couldn't miss it for a week!

What is the name for a group of UFO's?

There has to be a name for them, doesn't there.

I'm not talking about the individual UFO's out there. You know....start off knitting that jumper for a significant other, or, in my case, for me, and then you realise that there isn't time in the day for it, if everything else is going to happen, or it's just not working and eventually you'll have to do something....

No, I'm talking about all those, 'gees, that's a good idea, I'll just try that...'. Doesn't matter that they seem to increase daily, or that the deadline to finish something looms. No you'll just have to try it and see.......and before you know it you have....

A great idea for using up those leftover yarns. Just do a little mosaic pattern and change when you run out of yarn, just like in fairisle. Oh, they'll look good as fingerless mittens.

Or, I can't take needles on the airplane, so I'll crochet a background for the crochet and weaving sample. (Yes, Australia is in the dark ages...they took my nailfile!) Maybe that will make an interesting scarf. I do have some lovely yarns to weave.

Or, maybe I'll make another knot scarf with this knot yarn. Oh gee, it's not quite working, so I'll make a reversible lace scarf, but now it needs blocking......WHEN IT'S FINISHED!

And then, finally, there's the one, that's been sitting around for ages. The lovely twisted single, knitted so that there is extra twist, but I can't finish it because, I want to embellish it, but I have no idea what to do, and, if it isn't finished, then I don't have to come up with ANOTHER IDEA!

Back from Sydney

I've come back from an arty weekend in Sydney. Two friends and I went up to see the Woollahra Small Sculpture award, including attending the opening and artist talks, as my friend was an entrant...no, not I.....

It was worthwhile going on many accounts. A beautiful building and a beautiful view. Finding out the winners. I loved the highly commended, but the winner provoked much discussion! The Woollahra Council and Award committee people were very friendly and helpful and seeing all the entrants was worthwhile. I felt that I could make it into this award, I just have to get it right? It was alot of fun attending and supporting my friend, whose work stood out well, including being well displayed...another plus for the organisers.

We also got to be tourists for the weekend, visiting the Gallery of NSW with it's beautiful Monet exhibition, which was well worth a visit, and the permanent collection, including an excellent Contemporary section and some good iconic Australian work.

Took a trip on a ferry. You sort of have to, don't you? Though I think this is more iconic of Sydney in my mind than the big showpieces.

However, you can't go past the Opera house. Though it looks like it needs a bit of a spruce up, it's still amazing and beautiful. Love it.

Great weekend. I'm tired now!

I've finished a painting

I've finally sorted out a little computer issue that has made blogging difficult. Should be good now.

I have been busy! I've finished another painting. This was an incredibly good exercise in colour. Being a technique where you only apply dots of paint and you build up layers of all sorts of colours, I'm happy with the result and may just have sorted out some of my colour issues.

I really don't always comprehend the use of colour, but this exercise and the mantra 'it's only paint and paper, so it doesn't matter', have helped enormously.

I have also completed this scarf, which was really an exercise in casting off and casting on. I used a beautiful boucle to hide the cast off and on edges, which don't always look good. It created a really great ladder up the middle. Though it does take a long time and boucle doesn't make it any easier, I'm happy with the result. So much so, it's gone straight onto Etsy.

I do love to weave

It doesn't feel like it this week, but I have been working. I'm onto my next woven wall hanging, about half way up at this point. Again, I'm using a mix of handspun yarn, three different textures, this amazing black tape, like video tape, but not! and also add in some gold wire which I will twist prettily once off the loom.

It's slow as I didn't prepare the warp for this pattern. I wasn't really thinking that far ahead. But I do know what the next one will be...

What did you first knit?

Snb yesterday was a joy. Lots of people, sharing projects, ideas, yarns, problems and even finished projects. Here is the scarf of our new knitter (I think I said spinner, yesterday...probably wishful thinking on my part!) And here is her sample feather and fan. A whole morning was spent winding the yarn for her next project and she is very excited.

My show and tell for the morning was the yarn I dyed with the Red Onion skins. I didn't start with any mordanted yarn and that gave me the dark brown. The second skein was dyed with the remaining dye and some copper coins in the pot. I'm not sure the coins did much, I think I'll try a much more scientific method and actually pre-mordant properly. Unfortunately, I do have to wait for the red onion skins as Jenny at the Greville Rd Fruit supply doesn't supply as many.

I did like the colours achieved and found a pattern in one of Barbara Walker's pattern books, called 'String of Purls', which just might make a nice pattern with the two colours.