Day 31: Love Fridays!

There are several reasons to love Friday this week.

Friday is my day for hanging out with Pirate Jim. As regular readers would know, sometimes it's desperately trying and exhausting, but many days, it's good fun and exhausting. Today was Good Fun. We made lanterns and monsters from empty toilet rolls, went scuba diving in the lounge room. When the Princess and I got tired we could sit on the couch-beach with PJ told about all the under-sea things he could see. We did some other secret-squirrel crafting for an imminent birthday that I will show you later, we had a stress-free trip to the shops (shame about all the boofheads and morons who were also at the shops), we watched Playschool, which has thankfully overtaken the Wiggles as PJ's favourite viewing and we read stories.

It was a fun Friday.

I love Friday because I'm going to cast on something new tonight after finishing the birthday jumper. I've no idea what, but it will be something that's not a pink-striped jumper!

And I love Friday because today is the end of Blogtoberfest - and I made it! I didn't think I would there for a while, but here we are, 31st of October and 31 posts!

I haven't got to visit nearly as many blogs as I would have liked - I'm barely keeping up with my regular reads - but I have discovered some fabulous new blogs that I will be dropping in on regularly (in an ideal world!).

I also feel like I've got some of my blogging mojo back, after a dire few months where I felt all dried up and without inspiration. I almost certainly wont be blogging every day from here, but I've got some momentum and feel like I can find the blogginess in the everyday once again.

I must extend a huge thankyou to Bigcat for dreaming up and hosting Blogtoberfest, she's done a brilliant job. Thanks too, to others who have held my hand for part or all of the way.

Now, if it's OK with you, I may just not blog for a couple of days, and knit instead!

Day 30: I'm too tired to be clever

I've made it out the other side. The birthday jumper for Little Miss M is done! Sadly, it won't make it to Germany for her actual birthday, being that it's today, but it will make it in time for her to wear it this (northern) winter.

It's bad form to blog a gift FO before it's gifted, but I'm low on blog-fodder. So K (M's mum), if you're reading, look away now!! It's in the mail tomorrow!

I'm feeling particularly brain-dead this evening, so will just give you the facts rather than any of my usual witty prose.

Pattern: I used the Tiny Top Down pattern #608 by Deb Gemmell from Cabin Fever. My version is based on the Club Pullover (#66) from the Bouton d'Or #11 pattern book.

Yarn: Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic in soft plum, musk, rosebud and magnolia

Sticks: Knitpicks Options 4mm for the body and standard 4mm dpns for the sleeves



Mods: Plenty. That's the joy of top-down construction. I had Little Miss M's measurements, and I just went from there. I muffed the stripe pattern early on - the dark in-between stripes are only supposed to be 2 rows wide, but I made the first lot 3 rows, so I just kept that up. I also added the rib polo-neck, by picking up the neck stitches and knitting the 2x2 rib up until it was long enough.

This was my first in-the-round top-down, and I'll do it again anytime. The pattern was straightforward and so easy to follow and modify. I know I moaned about it a while back when it seemed never-ending, but that's just because I want to knit so many other things! Really, it was fast and easy, and even all those bleedin' ends only took a couple of hours to sew in.

I'm a bit worried the sleeves will be a bit on the short side, but 4 year olds are into everything so I'm hoping slightly shorter sleeves wont get as wet/dirty/sandy/soapy/gooey.

Otherwise I'm really happy with it.

Finally, I can't go without wishing my gorgeous god-daughter M a very happy 4th birthday, with lots of fun. I wish I could be there to share in the fabulous cake I know K will have baked! Happy Birthday, M, from the Australian heiden-tante!

Day 29: Desperate times....

....call for desperate measures. Never was a truer word spoken.

And I hit just such times this afternoon at swimming lessons.

Imagine the scene: PJ is happily in the pool and find a dry seat amongst all the other parents and take out my knitting (yay! 30 whole minutes knitting time!!).

I've got a pair of Fetchings on the go as pool knitting. Last week I had to cast on 4 times before I got a green-lighter (yarn issues), and that took most of the half hour. This week, I have one more plain row and then the cable row.

K4, P1 for one round.

I reach into my knitting bag........uh-oh.

No notions pouch.

No cable needle.

And 27 minutes of knitting time left!!

A mad scrabble around my handbag didn't even yield a pen. I resisted the urge to upend the bag on the pool deck, and to mug the woman next to me for the pencil she was flagrantly using to fill out a form, for heaven's sake. The only thing I could find was a (thankfully, large) safety pin.

Phew. Crisis averted.

What's the strangest thing you've ever used in a Desperate Crafting Situation?

Day 28: I just want your extra time and your list

I mentioned the other day that I've started making a list of meal options for the week. I loves me a good list.



The plan is (and there's always a plan!) that it will make shopping easier, make deciding what to cook every evening easier, mean I have all the necessary ingredients to hand, and reduce waste. I'm a shocker for buying things on a whim then letting them rot or go off in the fridge because I don't have a plan for them.

I've even got a dedicated notebook where I make the list, and then make a note of how the meal went afterwards. Beloved is always saying "That was great - we should have it again" and then I forget about it and we never do! So I hope this is a way of keeping track.

Each Sunday, I sit down with a couple of magazines or recipe books, and a cup of tea, and browse through them to choose a few recipes to try for the week. Then I add a few sure-fire favourites, and make sure there is a variation of "chicken and rice" included. This is PJ's favourite, so it's essential for household harmony.

Then I check the ingredient lists and add anything I need to the shopping list for Monday morning.

This week's list includes:

• Lemon baked chicken with couscous


• Vegetarian chili with brown rice


• Chicken stir-fry with rice


• Tacos


• BBQ - sausages, flat mushrooms and corn on the cob with salad

It has been slightly complicated by the partial-breakdown of our fridge on the weekend. Freezer Roulette will now feature highly as I try to use up stuff that has been lurking in there. A container of unidentifiable something, which turned out to be bolognese sauce, will now be tonight's dinner.

I'll report back on the success or otherwise of the new system!

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I've been a bit slack with the Blogtoberfest Inspiration Word. The word for Wednesday, from page 1511, is opinion.

Day 27: This is....something Im surprised I like

image from here.

I very rarely start reading a book and give up on it (although that has changed recently, life is too short to read crap!). However I tried and failed 3 or 4 times to read this book in the few years after it was published. I like to read the Booker winners, but this one was just beyond me. The best cure for insommnia I'd ever found, short of my organic chemistry textbook. (my literrary nemsis, perhpas?) I couldnt engage with the characters, didnt find any of them likeable, and found the plot just too contorted and dry.

Last year, my "cube-mate" at work (with whom I shard a cubicle) insisted that I give it another go. It was his favourtest book ever, he said. Even loaned me his copy.

I was enormously skeptical, but because I like G, I gave it another bash. With a huge pile of murder-mysteries on standby to help me along.

But after the first dozen or so chapters, I actually found myself engaged in the stories. Not exactly liking the protagonists, but interested in what happened to them.

By half-way, I found it was becoming compelling, and I was looking forward to picking it up again.

And in the end, found it clever and satisfying.

Suprisingly.

Thanks to threebuttons for hosting This is.... and to Earl and Cookie for this week's theme!

Day 26: I think I can.....

Not, not Blogtoberfest - with only 5 more days, I know I can do that.

No, this is my current nemesis, the millstone around my neck, my albatross:

The deadline-knit birthday jumper for my goddaughter-niece, Little Miss M. I am so ready for it to be over, because there are about a hundred other things I want to cast on right now, and I can't until I Get. This. Done. It feels like it just keeps going and going and going....

The body is done. The sleeves are done. Even though I looked at PJ siting in the back of the car while we were driving yesterday, to see he had TWO dpns in his hands. Two dpns of course means that one has come from holding live stitches, which it clearly wasn't when he was using it as a drumstick. But the stitches were saved. (I am rubbish at picking up dropped stitches, hence the angst. Luckily I was about to be surrounded by several other knitters, so it was only momentary). Note to self: don't leave knitting within his reach in the car.

I'm currently picking up the neck. So a few dozen rows of 1x1 rib.

Then I just have to sew in the ends of all those stripes. Just thinking about it makes me want to weep for all the other things I could be knitting.

Soon.

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And the fascinating results of yesterday's poll have option A, paper over, out in front by a country mile.

Which is my preferred - nay, essential - option. I'm with quiltingmick, I'll change the rolls at work if they don't go over, or other people's houses.

No compromise, no surrender!

And I'm behind on Blotoberfest Inspiration Words. How about nemesis? What's yours?

Day 25: Pop Quiz

Which do you prefer?

a) or

b)

Day 24: One Good Thing

Because some days, especially on a Friday, I need One Good Thing to hold close at the end of the day. In a day of what feels like many crappy things, when my nerves are frayed to a single quivering strand that threatens to go "ping" any second, One Good Thing makes me take a deep breath and know that I can do it all again tomorrow instead of running from the house, screaming.

Today, it was finding this little guy before the home-grown lettuce leaves made it on to our dinner plates.

And watching PJ watching him-her (because snails are hermaphrodites) cruise over his hand and a clear plastic lid before releasing her-him back to the wild.

OK, so that's two good things. Bonus.

Day 23: Raindrops on roses and stitches of knitting

Today's Blogtoberfest post is brought to you by Rosered's List of bloggy inspiration. If you pop over to Bell's place, you'll see she's doing a post on the same topic.

Today, it's #14: the favourite thing that I have knit.

It's a tough one for me. You all know I have issues with knitting large things, and so tend to knock out small stuff, like beanies or scarves. Larger projects often make me, well, bored, and other times apprehensive. A project needs to be really engaging for me to keep on with it; otherwise I'll just pick it up less and less often until it finally makes it's way to the bottom of the knitting basket, where it has a very long holiday.

That's a very long-winded way of saying I don't really have that many FOs to choose from. I've only got 10 listed on my Rav projects page, and several of those have been gifts. There are a few more listed on my (embarrassingly outdated) blog, but you'll see many of those are small stuff.

Anyhoo, my favourite thing. I've actually got two.

1. My clappy

It was fun to knit, it's made from custom-dyed yarn from a local yarnie, so it's one-of-a-kind, I love to wear it and it looks so glam, and I always get compliments on it.

It dead-heats in the favourite stakes with....

2. PJ's Little Star Sweater

It seems I never blogged it as an FO, but it's from Zoe Mellor's Adorable Knits for Tots. It was my first crack at intarsia, and my first time knitting with cotton, and it came out a treat. And PJ just looks so darn cute in it! Of course it no longer fits - this was last winter. Maybe if I stopped feeding him, he might stop growing....

I always wanted to do him another one, in red, white and blue, but when he announced at the start of this winter that he wasn't going to wear jumpers, I thought I wouldn't waste my time. Maybe next year.

So those are my two fave FOs.

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The Blogtoberfest Inspiration Word for Friday is participation. Thanks Rosered!

Day 22: Random Wednesday

I'm struggling a bit today. So here are a few random happenings from Chez KitchenTable.

1. Today was week 2 of Swimming Class. PJ was once again brilliant - engaged and responsive, and happy to be there. I remembered to take knitting, so got and extra 45 minutes of knitting time today. Given that I usually get about 1 to 1.5 hours a day right now, this is Worth Noting.

2. The Princess has started waking up at 5am. Before that sometimes. Anything with a 4 as the first number does not count as morning in my book. That's still Middle of the Night. And not going back to sleep after a feed. So we are taking long morning walks so the rest of the house can sleep. Although I know these walks are good for me, and it's really lovely to watch the sunrise, and the Princess certainly enjoys them....well, I do rather wish she'd go back to sleeping until 6 am. But given that she has been sleeping through the night, from 730 pm til 5 am, for the last 6 weeks, I really can't complain. Not many babies start sleeping through at 8 weeks old.

3. I had to take the Princess for some blood tests yesterday. I have a thyroid condition, and it needs to followed up with her in case she develops the same thing. PJ had to have bloods done at 3 and 6 months too. It is one of the most awful things I have ever done, holding my baby down while a stranger sticks a needle in her arm. But the techs were great and got a vein first go, and she stopped screaming a short while later. I was still shaky a couple of hours later though.

4. We had a lovely weekend, with two couples, who are very old friends, from Kangaroo Island visiting. Lots of eating, a fabulous day at the National Botanic Gardens with a picnic lunch, eating on the deck in the sunshine, going for walks. One of the women, S, is a keen quilter and sometime knitter, so we had lots to talk about, much to everyone else's amusement. I love such visits and miss the friends very much - we would see each other several times a week when we all lived in Darwin. I think a holiday to Kangaroo Island is on the cards for next year.

5. I have been trying to be more organised by making a list of meals for the coming week and writing my shopping list to make sure I have everything on hand to make said meals. Not rocket science, and I've done it before, but fell out of the habit. So far it's working well. On the menu for this week are such culinary delights as chicken schnitzels and steamed vegies, lamb filo scrolls, tuna and corn fritters with fresh salsa, butter chicken with rice and farfelle with bacon and peas. I'm even keeping the lists in a bound notebook so I can look over meals from previous weeks and see what was good (and tantrum-free). See - organised!

6. My knitting continues apace (albeit a snail's pace) on the deadline gift knit that should have been finished last week. One sleeve and the neck to do, and the sewing in of about a trillion ends (it's stripey and I'm stupid for choosing that pattern!). I will post pics and details once it has been gifted. And then there's the Back-to-School vest to finish off (I'm up to splitting the front and back) and some lace to get started on! Not to mention entries for the Canberra Show in February next year. I'm determined to enter several items, and at least one of crochet. Oh yes, I've started crocheting again...but I'll save that for another post I think.

I'm afraid that's as thrilling as it gets around here right now. I'm retiring to the couch to get a decent whack of sleeve #2 of the deadline gift knit done.

Day 21: Desko Fever

There is a groovy weekly game played by lots of crafty blogs that I read called "On my desk", hosted by kootoyoo. I love seeing little glimpses of everyone's crafty inspirations and projects, watching the glimpses turn into wonderful creations, but I'm much to shy to play along.

D'you think this could be why?

My desk, 2pm today.

I think "shambles" is generously understating the reality of my desk. I long to be organised and inspired, to have a desk like other people. I'm organised on the inside, but sadly it never seems to manifest on the outside.

PJ likes to come and play while I'm on the computer, and he's as bad at cleaning up after himself as I am. The last few days my desk has been his construction site, and you can see his roller, bulldozer, trucks, racing car and workmen. Oh, and a forklift.

There's also my diaries - yes, two, one for the desk and one for the handbag - Bendy shadecards (I may have bought some yarn recently - wanna make something of it?), the cutest owly quilt pattern I bought the other day, 4 different USB cables and three separate piles of filing. No one can call me unorganised when I've got three piles for my filing.

There's also a notebook where I've started jotting down important stuff, like phone calls with government agencies, lists of things to do and what patterns I intend to make with yarn purchases. I was writing those on scrap paper, but for some reason I kept misplacing them.

Turn 90 degrees to the left and this is what's beside my desk.

Beloved allocated me a whole bookcase for what he very nicely calls "my things", but what is really all my crap, so I don't leave it in piles throughout the rest of the house. I'm still getting used to that system.

There are numerous bags of yarn - the most recent purchases - and fabric, my pattern folders, and a box of...wait...oh, look, more yarn! No, this is not the stash, this is just the customs lounge where new arrivals await processing.

Today I finally got jack of the whole debacle and spent 2 hours tidying my desk. A generous contribution to the recycling bin was made, and I even did some filing. I'm down to one pile, yay me!

Tomorrow I will tackle the bookcase.

And then Thursday - the WORLD! Mwhahahha....

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The Blogtoberfest Inspiration Word for Wednesday is habit. I'm starting to wonder if PJ can actually read....

Day 20: Summer lacin'

I have long suffered from Lace Lust, but suffered it in conjuction with Lack of Time and Too Many Projects. For some reason, lace seems like an indulgence to me when there are other things to be knitted.

And, I really must admit, I'm a teeny tiny bit scared of it. Not so much the charts and the complexity, but the fineness of laceweight yarn and the un-tink-ability of it. All those yarn overs and knit-together stitches - once it's knit, it's knit. So it's a bit scary. I'd rather not start than muff it up.

My first lace experience was very positive and completely enjoyable, but I just haven't gotten around to more. And it was in 8ply, so avoiding the fineness issue.

However, we must grow as knitters and crocheters, and I will evade the issue no longer. I have decided to join Bells in the Long Lacy Summer.

I've got a few different yarn options in the stash (oh, shut UP already!); a couple of 2plys, lots of 4plys. For the most part, I haven't gotten as far as matching patterns with yarns yet, but do have a bit of a wish list.

This malabrigo laceweight is slated for a Lace Ribbon Scarf.


I would love to tackle a Branching Out, Leisel has caught my eye and I'm quite partial to the Monteverde Scarf. The Woodland Shawl is on my list, as is the Haruha scarf, the Waltz and Travelling Vines.

Hmmm, I can see a pattern here - these are all scarves or stoles! Maybe its the full-blown triangular shawl I'm afraid of.....

So I hereby challenge myself to knit a triangular shawl this summer. Maybe a Forest Canopy? It's the only one in my Ravelry queue!

Are there any other suggestions for triangular shawls that you've loved knitting?

Here's the skein I'm going to designate to this challenge:

110g / 990 m of Fibreworks laceweight, colour #5. Crap photo but it's deep purples and blues through to silvery mid-grey.

Any thoughts?

I'm nervous already!

This is....my favourite film

I'm really not much of a film buff. It's not from lack of wishing - I have a huge list of want-to-see films - but more from lack of time and opportunity. The last time Beloved and I went to the cinema was 2004. And we never seem to have the time or motivation to hire and watch dvds.

And so my favourite film is really not terribly exciting. I'm clearly a child of my generation.

But Harrison Ford circa 1977.....

Yup, Star Wars. I could watch it over and over. I'm not a sci-fan, far, far from it (sorry, little Star Wars pun there). But it's got everything: an unassuming hero with an unknown past, an epic plot, a mission to save a world, a mentor, mercenary made good, scary bad guys, the little people up against a seemingly all-powerful force, and big hair. And Han Solo. I've seen it dozens and dozens of times.

My only advice is this. If you take part in a Star Wars drinking game, try to avoid having to drink on R2D2's lines. You'll probably pass out before you get to see Han.

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The Blogtoberfest Inspiration Word for Tuesday is evade. Thanks to PJ for picking this page.

Day 18: Sew much fun!

Har har, yup, Queen of Da Pun over here folks. It's been a long day.

I've been trying to get more sewing done in the last few months; the cloth nappies for the Princess were the start, but I've got heaps of things on my "must-try" list.

Reverse applique was one thing on my list. I'm not a huge regular applique fan, but do like the funky look of reverse applique.

So when I found this fabulous tutorial, I had to give it a whirl.

This is just a cheapy all-in-one suit (or onesie, if you prefer) from the local department store, a scrap of pretty fabric and a very easy design.

Sweet, don't you think? And very, very easy (Yes, Amy, you could certainly do it!!). Please excuse the crap-O-rama photo, it's late.

I see lots more of these in my future. Like in about 15 years when I have more time.....

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And I forgot yesterday, but the Blogtoberfest Inspiration Word for Sunday is chain. Thanks Sean via Bells!

Day 17: Just for laughs

We have guests all weekend; I'm going to try really hard to blog every day, but....

Anyway, I saw this this morning somewhere a little unexpected (can't recall where. I'm lucky to remember to put my undies underneath my jeans these days, so give me a break). I don't get across all the big knitting blogs - heck, I'm not across any blogs right now - so I may be the last person on the planet to have seen this offering from the Mason-Dixon knitting girls.

But I laughed.

And laughed.

So even if you have seen it, do yourself a favour and go have another look.

Day 16: Skwish!

Tante Mia from Weidenbruek (we have 4 Tante Mias in our life, so we have to differentiate geographically!) sent the Princess some money and asked us to buy her something special.

I've been eyeing off this Skwish toy at our local toy shop for ages and so that's what Tante Mia bought for the Princess.

Danke schoen, Tante Mia!

Day 15: Making a Splash

Today was a Good Parenting Day. I don't feel like they happen terribly often right now, so I'm trying to celebrate them when they do. And I can't up with anything of significance for pilgrimage, so this will have to do!

Today was the first day of Pirate Jim's swimming lessons. He's been having them since he was 5 months old, but we've been having a hiatus since about April this year.

The pool where we used to go, very nearby, had a change of management at the start of the year, and all their good, experienced swimming teachers left. It took 5 weeks (that's half the term) before they had a permanent instructor for his class, and although I'm sure she was fully qualified, and probably really good with older kids, she wasn't very experienced, and didn't know how to handle a grumpy 2 year old.

She and PJ never clicked, and he hated going to lessons. I was determined to see the term through, but he howled every time the lesson started, refused to do as he was asked and often I had to physically force him to sit on the side of the pool for the 30 minute duration of the class.

The instructor just didn't know how to deal with his behaviour. The other kids in the class were a little older, and advanced more quickly, than PJ, and as the term wore on, she didn't seem to be able to tailor any of the drills to PJ's lower standard.

He hated it, I hated it, and I don't think the instructor much liked it either. It was terribly demoralising when he would leap up as soon as the class was over and dash for the toddler pool, where he would happily splash about for as long as I'd let him. He just hated the classes.

So we took a break over the winter terms.

I did some research and talked to other parents, and decided to enrol PJ this term at a pool about 15 minutes drive away.

This afternoon was his his first class.

I was pretty apprehensive, I have to admit. I went along fully prepared to bribe him into the water with anything (up to and including a pony), and even took my own bathers in case it took me getting into the water as well to make him stick it out.

I had been talking it up all week, and PJ was actually quite keen. We talked about all the other kids having lessons as we walked into the pool, and he was thrilled to see there was shallow toddler pool there. We got changed and he asked if he could go into the small pool.

"Yes", I said, "but only if you come out straight away when your class begins." He agreed, and when the whistle blew at 5:00 to signal the class change-over, I asked to come out. He did. First hurdle!

There were two other little girls in the class, and a very young-looking instructor. I've nothing against young at all, but after last time, I was worried that it would equate to "unable to handle toddlers".

But I needn't have worried. Another two instructors appeared, so there was one for each child. Within a few minutes PJ's instructor had him happily being towed around, although he was keeping a weather-eye on me sitting on the sidelines. But in less than 10 minutes, he had PJ totally focused on the exercises, and when they took the kids out of my line-of-sight, PJ didn't even notice.

After 20 minutes, I could see PJ leaping, unaided, from the side of the pool.

I was so proud of PJ today. He was clearly a little nervous about the new big people he had to deal with, but he was calm and (eventually) focused. And he obviously enjoyed it! After all, that's the main goal.

H came tearing up to me when the 30 minutes were up, and wanted to go back into the toddler pool. I explained that no, we had to go home to Papa and the Princess, and then he couldn't wait to get dressed and home to tell them all about it.

And now I think he's actually gone to sleep after only 10 minutes.

Good Parenting Day, I tell you.

Remind me of this when next I'm on the look-out for gypsies, will you?

edited to add: The Word for Friday is synchronise

Day 14: A day in my life

I've been meaning to do this for ages. Little jenny wren started the idea, and I've watched Rosered do it for the last few months and really enjoyed it.

Quite simply, it's a chronicle of my day, on the 14th of the month. So here's my day....

3:10 am Pirate Jim crawls into bed with us and immediately falls deeply asleep

3:11 am - 5:45 am I get woken every 15 or 20 minutes by an elbow or hand to the head, or a foot to the kidneys. PJ is a restless, space-monopolising sleeper. I should have just gone into his bed.

5:45 am Princess Grace awakens for her morning feed. I listen to a podcast of In the National Interest, an in-depth public affairs program. No idea what it was about, I dozed through most of it.

6:30 am Dress the Princess and head out to the kitchen. Kettle on, first cup of tea and a chat with the Princess while I try to wake up properly.

6:45 am I turn on the computer and my suspicion that it is wirelessly linked to PJ's brain is heightened when the Windows boot-up tone and "Morning Mama" are heard simultaneously. I put porridge in the microwave for him, pour juice, dress the porridge with fruit, cinnamon and brown sugar, give him the porridge, fish out the pineapple, add banana, give him back the porridge. Tag with Beloved and I head to the shower.

7:00 - 7:15 am Alone time as I shower and dress - until there's a banging on the door because PJ needs to use the toilet.

7:15 - 8:15 am UN-level negotiations over day's attire for PJ, brushing of teeth, washing of face, combing of hair, putting of shoes and socks. I get to have a bowl of cereal in there too. PJ watches 15 minutes of ABC kids (including Sean the Sheep, which I watch too!) before we leave for childcare.

8:45 am Return from childcare drop-off. The Princess is dozing in her rocker, so I scan the newspaper online and check my email, getting time for one or two few-lines replies before she wakes up for morning tea.

9:00 am Morning tea feed for the Princess. And West Wing time for me; second last ep of the second series. I love this show!

9:45 am Change the Princess and have a play, tidying the lounge room and kitchen, make phone calls to try and see if I can find a swimsuit for PJ, who starts swimming lessons tomorrow afternoon.

10:15 am The Princess is getting cranky so I put her down for a nap and open my email.

10:40 am The Princess is finally asleep so I can finally answer an email or two and do some online searching for a birthday gift. I've been trying to do some sewing these last few weeks, so I get out the patterns and fabric and lay out and cut out a little dress for the Princess. I sit down at the machine but realise I don't have the right colour thread for this fabric. Lay out another fabric instead. She needs a few of these dresses this summer.

11:30 The Princess wakes up, so I grab her and then tidy up the sewing stuff. She has another feed and I watch the final ep of West Wing for series 2. It all gets a bit over done in the last minutes, but is moving and compelling nonetheless. I'm sad because I don't have series 3 yet, and Christmas is a very, very long time away.

12:30 We pack ourselves up and head to the Plaza to check out a large sporting goods store for that elusive swimsuit, pay a bit off my laybys and see if I can find the thread I need. I didn't score on one and three, but did find a nice little short-sleeved cardi for a bargain. It's a lovely red, yay! Wes top at the post office on the way home to try and locate a missing parcel. No joy there either.

2:00 I put the Princess down for another nap and finish cutting out the second little dress. Time for a couple of quick emails and to do an order for some yarn I promised someone.

2:45 pm. The Princess wakes up, another feed, this time watching the first ep of season 3 of Veronica Mars. I loved seasons 1 and 2, but this first ep didn't do it for me. I'll give it a couple more eps, otherwise I may just have to buy myself an early Christmas gift.

3:30 pm Change the Princess, have a play, tidy the kitchen, start preparing dinner. Tonight its salmon and leek tart from the July issue of Super Food Ideas (not online yet, sorry!).

4:30 pm. Put her down for a nap. Check email and start blog post.

4:45 pm She's still awake

4: 55 pm Go and get Princess and go for a stroll in the garden to look at the flowers and pat the dog.

5:15 pm The boys arrive home, PJ clutching a small pink rosebud for me. He presents it to me and promptly clonks his head on the edge of the buffet in the hall. Ow. After the tears are dried, he helps me finish the dinner prep.

5:30 pm Sit down to feed the Princess. Read a book with PJ and discuss his day at the same time. Watch him empty the sand out of his shoes all over the rug.

6:10 pm Put the veggies on to steam, set the table, finish getting dinner ready. UN-level negotiations take place once we are at the table as PJ is unhappy that he doesn't have a "big piece" of the tart like Papa.

6:45 pm Last mouthful is successfully negotiated in, tantrums are averted (for a change), the table is cleared and the bath drawn. Beloved cleans up the kitchen while I undress the Princess and get her and PJ into the bath.

7:15 pm The Princess is dressed and back in the lounge with Papa and I get PJ out, dried and into his jammies. I swap kids with Beloved and give Grace her supper feed and put her down to sleep. That's the last I'll see of her until 6am. PJ on the other hand.....

7:45 pm After a couple of stories, I take PJ to brush his teeth and tuck him into bed. Beloved is making a cup of tea in the kitchen and I come in to the study to blog.....

8:45 pm PJ is still awake and calling out. I've finished this post and my cup of tea, Beloved is talking on the phone and I'm about to hit "publish", go and make another cup of tea and hit the couch with my knitting.

Today was a fairly quiet day by general standards: no lunch dates or other sppointments, no real errands to do, PJ was fairly balanced - trying but at least no real tanties - and the Princess was happy and playful. I'm pretty tired, but it's all good. No major failures of parenting today, always a bonus.

He's still awake. Do you happen to know any gypsies who are looking for a child to buy??

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And don't forget the Word for tomorrow is pilgrimage

In search of....

There's a bit of it around - lack of inspiration in the face of the need to blog every day for Blogtoberfest. I love the concept, but am struggling to not only find the inspiration but the time for a post everyday.

Bells lamented it, Kylie is suffering, other Blogtoberfest goers are wondering what they got themselves in for and even Blogtoberfest SuperMama, BigCat, is feeling the squeeze. Rosered helped out with a list for Bells, that she very generously shared, and will get many people (including me!) out of a tight spot, I'm sure.

Well, I can't do anything about the lack of time (but oh, how I wish), but just to add to the inspiration mix, Bells, Kylie and I have concocted another little scheme to kick start the brain cells on those slow-blogging days. Bells mentioned it in her post yesterday.

If you check out all our posts from yesterday, you'll see they all feature the word or theme transform. That's because it's the word I chose from the page of my Macquarie Dictionary that Pirate Jim picked yesterday afternoon. We thought we might do this every second day, so that there is some inspiration sitting there if we need it over the course of the month.

If you're feeling stuck for inspiration, pop on over and at the bottom of each day's post, I'll give you the Word of the Day for the second next day (that means two days away). A word randomly selected from a page in my Macquarie Dictionary, third edition, once Kylie or Bells give me a page number (up to 2478).

You might choose to make this your post theme, or just to try and get it in the text somehow.

This is just a way of sparking something off in your brain, and providing extra fodder for Blogtoberfest!

Also, I am very honoured to have received a Blogtoberfest Spirit Award from BigCat. Thanks! I'll wear it with pride!

Every now and then everything comes up roses

I guess everyone has them now and again - moments of clarity that transforms what you're doing or how you think; an epiphany; an "a-ha" moment (and I don't mean Norwegian bands in tight jeans).

My mum taught me to knit when I was about 4 or 5, and I knit in exactly the same style as her. Until recently, this was pretty absolute; I used standard Australian patterns from ACS, almost exclusively their yarns, and I knit garments the same way as my Mum (whom I should add is a brilliant knitter who test-knit for ACS in the 70s). That is, in pieces - back, front(s), sleeves, sew up seams and pick up stitches for neckbands, button bands etc.

I thought that's how one knit.

I never thought I'd say this, but I reckon Donald Rumsfeld may have been onto something when he postulated that not only were the "known unknowns", but there were also "unknown unknowns".

I had no idea that my knitting would be so transformed by my exploration of the knitting community via the web and blogging. There were (and still are) indeed unknown unknowns.

The knowledge that has transformed my knitting, probably more than any other thing I have learned recently, is that garments can be knit in one piece, from the top down, or bottom up. One piece. No seaming.

Although this isn't anything new to, oh probably a goodly 99% of the knitting world, it was news to me a few months back when I figured it out.

One piece. No seaming. Wow.

It has changed the way I look at garment construction. I now understand how things go together to make a garment and if I see a pattern knit in pieces, I immediately want to know if it is essential to construct it that way, and if not, how I could make it in one piece. Without seams.

Although my first top-down one-piece was a wrap (so it was straight, really), my current deadline WIP is a roll-neck jumper that I've done in this style, in the round. I can't show it to you right now, because it's a gift, but let me tell you I am totally chuffed with how it is working out. I reckon it might even fit the intended recipient!

Now that I've got the top-down seamless by the short-and-curlies (to borrow a very elegant phrase from my mother), I am really looking forward to the next "a-ha" moment that transforms the way I craft.

What was your ephiphany?

p.s. the spellchecker in Blogger reckons Rumsfeld should be "misfield". Maybe someone should have spell-checked his name back in, say, 2001, and taken the hint.

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The word for Monday is lend.