A finished bag!

...I HAD ran out of yarn kit yarn, BUT....I managed to match some brown stash yarn pretty well :-)

I love the way that it turned out (especially the clever shaping)...I still think that it's a tad floppy, but I guess it's not really intended to hold too much....I'm thinking about adding a lining, but that wont happen just yet (too much other stuff I wanna do first!).

It's hard to see the size on the photo, but it measures 33cm (13in) across the widest part, and it's just big enough to put my hand through the handle.

A bigger, shoulder bag version, has now been added to my (rapidly growing) to-do list ;-D

My knitting kit ran out of yarn !!!!!?!!!!!

...how wrong is that? The ball of brown wool supplied in the kit, only lasted for one and a half handles :-( I did everything the pattern said AND made sure to leave shortish tails (just in case! haa, must of jinxed myself ;-D), but still there wasn't enough.
I do have some similar wool in my stash, so I guess I'll knit both handles again...oh well!! at least they're only 4 rows of garter stitch each!

A body to go with my sleeves!

The one thing I love about knitting with bulky weight yarn, is just how QUICKLY it knits up :-) ...even when half of it gets sent to the frog pond because you decided to add waist shaping as an afterthought!!

I have now started the raglan shaping, and will just stop when it looks right. I played with the idea of adding a deepish crocheted trim to the neckline, but after doing some experimenting last night, I'm thinking that the yarn is too thick for the crochet detail to be effective... I may just add a row or two to give it a more finished look......hmmmm, we'll see?!

....anyways, I'm off to knit :-D

My bag has a front..

..or maybe a back! Either way, it's finished, but in desperate need of blocking.

I'm about halfway up the body of my red sweater..I would have been further, but after trying it on, I decided that it needed some body shaping...... sooooo of course, I had to undo a fair bit and start again....same old same old!!

I joined 3 new knitalongs....Check them out in my nice, newly neatened sidebar ... I am truly trying to get more 'net savvy' here ;-D

Two sleeves and a bag

After finishing the two sleeves of my EZ jumper, I needed a break from looking at red, so started this little handbag. I bought it in kit form, which is something I've not done before, but I couldn't resist the bag or the knock-down price! The kit is from Sean Sheep, and it contains the 3 balls of yarn and the pattern. I'm guessing that it won't be the most practical bag in the world, as it's knitting up quite flimsy, but it's the actual rounded construction that I really love. If I make another, I think I will choose a sturdier yarn, and maybe even extend the handles...but hey, I'm running ahead of myself again....I really must try harder to 'stay on task'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Same yarn - different jumper

After spending the weekend trying to convince myself to finish my minisweater, I finally conceded defeat, and undid it :-( I still LOVE the pattern, and all of the different versions of it that others have made, but for some reason, I didn't like mine. I'm thinking that it may have been my yarn choice, so I'm going for a change of yarn next time (which will be sometime soon...really!). But in the meantime, here is the same Katya Himalaya being knit into a different jumper (hope its a case of second time lucky!). I am knitting the basic raglan from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop...progress so far, one third of a sleeve...! I'm using my new Denise needles for the first time, and they feel GREAT!!

To frog, or not to frog...?

....I really can't decide whether I'm going to like this or not :-(
It fits real nice, and the Katia yarn has a feel that I like, and I love the curvy shaping at the front(minus the hair clip holding it together!)...but still I'm not sure?!
Maybe I'll do a sleeve, and then decide. At least it knits up really fast on size 7mm needles, so even if I do frog it, it wont be SO bad...(oh please...who am I kidding...you guys all know that frogging aint good!)



...so, on to a more positive note(!)...look what I got from Ebay this week...yay!! I have been thinking about getting a set of Denise Interchangeable Needles for a while, but being in Aus, our options are limited to about 2 online shops or US Ebay...needless to say, I was VERY happy to find this set on Aus Ebay :-)
...just gotta get my head around US sizes now ;-D

**just a quick edit - Big W are selling off their entire range of Sean Sheep yarn for 50c a ball, but be quick coz its going fast...(how brilliant is the name Sean Sheep?..love it!!)**

Ebay goodies

It's official!..I have Zimmermania! I've been reading about Elizabeth Zimmermann for a while, but have never seen any of her books. After seeing all of the photos on other people's blogs, I couldn't hold off any longer!..The first decision was which book to buy?...agggh- decisions, decisions?...I wanted bits out of all of the 4 books I'd read about...so in the end there was only one thing for it...buy all four :-) These three came yesterday from Ebay, and Knitting Without Tears is on it's way from Amazon...ok, next decision is what to make first!...aggggh again!

I think that in future, I will probably try to reply to comments in my post, instead of replying with a comment (does that make sense?)....anyways: Fiona was asking about the freezer paper in my recent post: I've only found one brand of copy paper that isn't wrapped in freezer paper...and wouldn't you know it!...I can't remember it's name!..I do know that it was a browny stripey sort of paper, that definately felt different to the other stuff. EXP is the one that I usually get (as you can see in the photo), and it works brilliantly!! Joan, you're right about the lack of yarn shops here in Adelaide..I shop south of the city, so my usual haunts are Spotlight, Lincraft, Kmart and Big W...not very impressive is it!? .... and finally 2paw, I like to think that there is a little anorak in us all (ok, more in some than others!), but we should all 'wear it' with pride !!! ;-D

Some weekend knitting

A weekend of knitting and watching TV!..How good!?
OK...this is the start of a Minisweater by Glampyre using Katya Himalaya. The yarn is thicker than the pattern asked for, so a change of gauge was needed. There is going to be a few modifications, so maybe I will re-name it to the 'long (non-puffy) sleeved, wrap around , without the crocheted edging minisweater'...hmmm, very catchy!
I knitted this whilst watching Dr. Who, The Bill and Dangerous Davies...ABC all night!
...and as for Dr. Who ... flying Darleks...'exterminated' Cybermen...and did I see right?..Catherine Tate as the Doctors next sidekick?... ***you'll have to insert your own Dr Who cliffhanger music here coz I haven't gotten around to audio blogging yet***...you get the picture :-)

Spread the word - freezer paper for free!

I was really surprised to read, over on the Crafster board, that word hasn't gotton around yet about our free source of feezer paper, here in Aus. Hey, spread the word that our copy paper comes wrapped in freezer paper :-)
It irons on, and peels off (repeatedly!), just like the real stuff. Plus, the big bonus (other than it being free!), is that you are doing your bit for the environment..re-using stuff that would usually be thrown...win, win :-)
Check out your office bins, or speak nicely to the person in your local copy shop...my supply was even carefully opened (not ripped off in a hurry), folded, and bundled together ready for my pick-up....how cool is that!?
I hate to think of anybody paying extortionate quilt shop prices for something you can get for free!

Shortest post ever!

...hey, who needs words when you can have a quilt progress piccy instead!? ;-D
...see ya later!

How cool is this?

Wow...I posted my pattern for the ipod/mobile phone hoodies I made, over on the crafster forum, and people have made them!! :-) How impressed am I! Check out the forum...it's by far the best online crafty hang-out. Shirley at warmfuzzies posted her hoody on her website... it looks awesome :-D

I'll wear my heart on my bed...

...actually, I wont now until next winter...summer is just on its way, and already I've gone from 2 dooners to 1...definately not the weather for this blanket!!
It measures about 110cm (45in) square, and weighs absolutely heaps. It was all knitted in garter stitch, other than the orange edging, which was crocheted.
I love the feel of it...I bought some more of the Lincraft chenille in maroon and beige, so I'm thinking that there are more blankets on the way :-) ... later