Yes, there has been (some) knitting

I have been very slack not reporting on a couple of FOs from the last month or so. Sadly, they've been few and far between. First I got a bad case of casting-ons, now Ive got a bit of startitis. I currently have too much choice (but more on that in a future post).

Firstly my beloved Clapotis. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways....

I cast this off weeks ago, just in time for Canberra's warm spring weather to hit. I still love it.

Yarn: Happy Spider custom-dyed; about 110g.

Sticks: 4.0mm addi circ

Mods: I only did 5 increase reps (following RoseRed's lead), and I'm quite happy with the width; in hindsight though I should have done a few more straight rows for a little more length.

Next up: a vest for Master O, a commission (my workmate keeps me busy!). And one for the Pirate (see issues below):

Pattern: Vest with splits from Panda book 204

Yarn: Bendigo 8ply Classic in Tuscan

Sticks: 4.0mm straights; mark II on 4.5 mm straights (see issues)

Mods: none (except I knit on the first one at SnB one evening and got distracted, so its about 3 cm longer before the armhole decreases than the pattern states)

Issues: I was given Master O's measurements, and the met with the pattern finished measurements, and I got correct tension, so I knit this as the pattern stated. Except when I finished it, it was 2cm smaller a the chest than it should have been. Master O is the same age, but a bit bigger, than the Pirate. This vest is intended for next year, and I figured if it was only mildly roomy on PJ now, it wasn't going to go close to Master O next autumn. So I sucked it up and knit another one on 4.5 mm sticks, which is much better.

So now both PJ and Master O have tuscan vests.

Confessions: I outsourced the finishing. But I did try! Several times! But considering these were a commission, I thought they deserved better than my efforts. Next time, I promise.

Because, believe me, if I'm going to regain any credibility around here after last weeks little expedition, I'm going to be doing A LOT of knitting over the summer.

That's all I have to say about that right now.

She's back....

And because I'm too lazy right now to recount all the comings and goings of the last 2 weeks, I'm just going to ease back into the saddle with the meme that's been doing the rounds lately (first seen by me on Amy's blog).

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night.
Pirate Jim saying, very seriously "oh my goodness" when he dropped something.

2.What were you doing at 0800?
Having a shower and listening to the radio news (we have a radio in the bathroom)

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Brushing my teeth (its only 845 am)

4. What happened to you in 2006?
I got a job in the Commonwealth Public Service - I had been applying for about 3 years, and then got a call out of the blue the day before Good Friday to ask me to apply for a job I had never seen advertised based on submitting my cv for about a dozen other jobs in the place.

5. What was the last thing you said out loud?
"Bye" to Pirate Jim and Beloved as they headed off to take the dog for a walk.

6. How many beverages did you have today?
One - a juice with breakfast. Haven't gotten around to making my first cup of tea, but that's next on the agenda.

7. What color is your hairbrush?
I don't use a hairbrush, I use a comb. Its blue.

8. What was the last thing you paid for?
A prescription at the pharmacy yesterday.

9. Where were you last night?
On the couch. S.O.P.

10. What color is your front door?
Blue, same as the trim (inside and out) of the whole house. The owners obviously have a thing about steely blue-grey.

11. Where do you keep your change?
In my purse. Unless the Pirate has been in the there, in which case its all in his pockets.

12.What’s the weather like today?
Overcast, mild. About 17oC (62F) right now, predicting 25C (77F)

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor?
Pistachio. Or bacci (choc hazelnut). Especially from a Roman gelateria.

14. What excites you?
Yarn. Patterns. A block of clay waiting to be worked. Getting mail (even junk mail). Good news. Having guests over. Unexpected guests dropping in. Right at this very moment, the prospect of a change of Federal Government.

15. Do you want to cut your hair?
Meh...no. I can count on one hand the number of times I have actually liked how my hair looks. I would really like to trade my hair in. Too fine, too frizzy, too mousy, and I'm too lazy to take the time to do anything about it.

16. Are you over the age of 25?
On the outside, well and truly. On the inside, I'm somewhere about there. I always get a little shock when I fill in a form with the age groups and my pen hovers over the "18-25" category, then reality sinks in.

17. Do you talk a lot?
Yes. More than I should.

19. Do you know anyone named Steven?
Yes - very amicable work colleague.

20. Do you make up your own words?
In English, not so often. In German, all the time. Usually by taking the english word and "german-ifying" it. I hit the mark a surprisingly high percentage of the time!

21. Are you a jealous person?
Sadly, yes. I don't much like the idea that stuff goes on without me. I'm working on it.

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter "A."
Antoinette

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter "K."
Kylie

24. Who’s the first person on your received call list?
My mum. She returned my call when I called her from Cassidy's (LYS) to tell her about the $2 yarn sale.

25. What does the last text message you received say?
"You have 2 new V-mail messages". I'm completely hopeless at hearing and answering my mobile.

26. Do you chew on your straw?
No.

27. Do you have curly hair?
Kinda. I had ringlets as a child; now its kind of wavy-frizzy-totally unglamorous.

28. Where’s the next place you’re going to?
The local primary school to vote in today's federal election.

29. Who’s the rudest person in your life?
I have an aunt who is appalling rude, but I don't have much contact with her. A couple of work colleagues.

30. What was the last thing you ate?
Weeties and sultanas fro breakfast.

31. Will you get married in the future?
Already am, so its not on my radar.

32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks?
This could be "the last 2 years" and I still wouldn't have an answer. I don't have the attention span or patience any more to watch the rubbish that passes for movies these days.

And I haven't actually watched a movie in the last 2 weeks.

33. Is there anyone you like right now?
John Corbett. But I don't think its reciprocal.

Otherwise there are lots of lovely people in my life right now who I enjoy spending time with.

36. Did you cry today?
Not yet. But the day is still young and Pirate Jim has a lot of boundaries to push. Never say never.

37. Why did you answer and post this?
I love a good meme, and I needed something a little bit easy to get back into the blogging mood.

Did anyone get the number of that truck?

Today I graduated from bed (where I have been since Wednesday) to the couch.

Can't do more than a few minutes on the computer, can't knit (even thinking about knitting does me in), thankfully can read for short periods....thank goodness the cricket's on the radio.

Normal services will resume shortly.

Sock Progress

Due to popular demand, here is an account of my sock progress in the last week or so.

If I had to describe it in a single word it would be this: slow.

Since my triumphant finish of the first Opal Smoke plain sock, I have been plodding along with the second:

I may be about to lose my "newbie" status on Southern Summer of Socks with the following statement but...I think I'm over the plain sock. I'm up for a challange.

So I dived into the stash, joined the rest of the known knitting universe and cast on a Monkey:

The yarn is Jawoll Colour Superwash. I did the cuff using three needles instead of 4, being still too newbie-ish to juggle 4. But Im loving the pattern and it cruises along quite nicely.

Not as easy to pick up for a round or too when the Pirate is rampaging as a plain sock, so I think there's room in my life for fancy and plain socks.

That my boy Part II

It's been a slow blogging week Chez Kitchentable - Beloved has been away, pushing back the frontiers of science, and Pirate Jim's Nana has been keeping PJ and I company. Not a lot of screen time available when I'm keeping those two in line.

Regular readers know my Mum as the Master Finisher; she was a sample knitter for Patons in her youf and does beautiful work, as well as having a seemingly bottomless supply of patience. So there's always lots of knitting going on when she visits -often because she has big pile of my finishing to do!

PJ clearly decided if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

PJ: (with my 4mm Addi circ) Nana, I knitting too.

PJ: Nana, I want wolle (wool)

At the ripe old age of 2 years, 2 months and 3 weeks, PJ has his first knitting lesson.

Thank heavens for Nanas!