frilly bits for a hens do

Last night was a wee hens party for a dear friend who is getting married next weekend. She's come all the way from sunny Townsville and a few of us old school friends went out for dinner then a bit of dancing to celebrate the start of her crazy week of wedding preparations.



Of course every bride needs hens accessories, so out came the trusty screenprinting gear! I am really getting the hang of cutting stencils now. The little hens came out so well, I was so pleased with their crispness and detail (Would anyone like a little linen hen patch? I have a few spare which I'm happy to post if some crafty people would like one to sew on a bag or something).

Now we're looking forward to dancing another night away at the wedding next weekend :)

another new thing mastered - kind of

It's a rare and wonderful weekend at home with hardly anything to do except watch Olympic highlights and do some knitting. I've started my first ever cable for Samus!



It's quite tricky, though not as hard as I imagined. I have not quite got into the swing of knowing what comes next, so need to consult the pattern very regularly.

There have been a few stuff ups, but I've managed to unknit some and I think I can live with the others. I'm doing the cables for the sleeves first so that I have had lots of practise when it comes to the body. Mistakes happen whenever I'm not totally concentrating - Nick remarked "every time you pick that up you start swearing"!

big brother little brother

This set was a Saturday morning production for my little mate Sam's 2nd birthday on the weekend. It doesn't seem like 2 years since he was small enough to fit into the suit on the right - but now he is a big little boy and looking forward to the arrival of a wee brother in about a month's time.

(I hope noone mistakes his shirt for a reference to that awful reality show!)

socks-a-go-go

I've been surfing web sites and checking out online yarn shops for a while, wondering where I could possibly find a good source of sock yarn and other nice materials for my new knitting predilection. Little did I know here in Hobart we have a quite excellent LYS!

I had written this place off as it is in the midst of slightly dodgy suburbia, with a small and uninspiring shopfront, on a busy road, only open when I am usually at work or sleeping in on Saturday mornings - but I was lucky to have a parking spot at work for a few days last week and decided to take a lunch-time safari out there just to have a sticky beak.

Wow - it's full of wonderful colours and brands of yarn that I was sure wouldn't be available here. There were several sock yarns to choose from and I thought this varigated "Hot Socks" yarn from Germany looked like a good option for a beginner - plus I really love the colours. Hopefully my buddy does too.



I still haven't quite decided what pattern to use - I thought I might lengthen the legs of the Retro Anklets in this book to make the simplest sock possible. I'm not sure how to make sure the socks fit my buddy's feet - I assume with length I just knit til the foot is long enough but the ball measurement? Methinks a case of trial and error.

my new favourite internet thing

I've discovered Bloglines, so now I only need to look at one page to know when all of my favourite blogs have posted about cute, nifty, funny, useful, enlightening, satisfying, wonder*full things. These blogs and the people who write in them have expanded my world.

(There you go, readers who are visiting here on a procrastination break from work! I know who you are ;)

in which the heroine overcomes the frustration of the turning of the heel

Tiny test sock finished! I now feel suitably qualified to make socks for an army of miniature stumpy-footed people. On to bigger and better things.... well bigger anyway. Sockapaloooza matchups should be sent out any minute now. Don't you love the anticipation of a new project? I might just get a bit addicted to knitting socks :)