BeatleWear

knitting and the life I almost have around it

Friday, December 28, 2007

don't mess with who you are

December Lights Tam blocking on a dinner plate.
so much frikkin fun, it took me no time at all. Go on, knit one, you know you want to...

Ms Spider xo

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Thursday, December 27, 2007

frisbee!

Just in case anyone is suffering from the post christmas blues, here's something to cheer you up :)



In case it doesnt imbed properly, you can also try here.


I can also now give you a preview of my December Lights Tam. I am using my own sock yarn : Kelp Forest against Gothic Princess so i am getting stripes without the effort.

I think i'm in love :)

Peace out

Ms Spider (and Monty)

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Wednesday, December 26, 2007

box-erific

Isn't boxing day the best? no obligations left, holidays... and thinking about it, it's my first day off proper since school ended.
so in true spidey style i did a good deal of dyeing and knitting.
This is the EGMTK optim knit up
Looking like a weird sea creature
And hey presto! folded up to be an EZ baby surprise jacket.
I love it! the yarn is so soft, perfect for a little one with brand new skin and the pattern is genius. It started making sense a bit before half way and then i was able to relax and enjoy it a little more. I've since seamed the shoulders and am hunting down some perfect pretty buttons.

I can also now reveal my secret knitting for my Monkey:
Yes, i only have one finished but i was only knitting when he wasn't around... and i'm only human. plus it's too hot to wear them so i'm letting myself take my time.
I just finished dyeing yarn for my December Lights Tam by MaryJane Mucklestone from the recent Interweave Knits Holidays. I'm using 2 yarns instead of 8 but am using my own hand-painted yarns with long, toning colour repeats so i'm expecting it to look pretty fab.

I'm sure now i have time to myself i'll be be blogging again soon, but until then...
Happy holidays from all of us here!

Peace out,
Ms Spider

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Sunday, December 23, 2007

christmas came early

As my in-laws-ish are going to hawaii for christmas, we had christmas day with them.. yesterday.
Meet the newest member of my little family (who is currently thumping around behind the couch): Montgomery Megatron III.
the theory behind naming him is this: anyone this cute must be an evil mastermind. So. Montgomery for the very evil and calculation Montgomery burns and Megatron from Transformers: possibly the two most evil people (?) in history.
Monty is rather enjoying himself. He is a mini Rex (not angora: we're going to get him a friend after christmas who shall be more fibre-y) and he is veeeeery soft. Despite not really being a fibre bearing animal... he investigated my stash rather quickly, so clearly he is the right bunny for me.He took a little while to get used to me (partly because yesterday meant three changes in venue over 6 hours) but now we are firm friends. We still need to talk about his toilet habits: christmas lunch is not always improved by smelling vaguely of urine, i've found.
He's going to be a lap-bunny but his hutch is outside (because i have a very good sense of smell and the aforementioned toilet business).
I also finished spinning and plying and this is the EGMTK optim fibre as a fingering weight 2 ply. i've started a baby surprise jacket... which is bending my mind somewhat but i trust her.

Now today we are driving to Sydney to take the out-laws to the airport and are also seeing Billy Elliot (takes the sting out of it somewhat). so Monty will have the day to get used to his hutch and poop everywhere.

Peace out
Ms Spider xo

PS if i dont post again before chrissy: have a great one and thanks to everyone who has been such great support this year. it's been a bugger and having friends is such a blessing :)

PPS if you know any angora breeders could you let me know? we're happy to go on a road trip to find a good bunny.

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Wednesday, December 19, 2007

phew!

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Monday, December 17, 2007

listing

1. I'm not sleeping again. I don't know why. I'm not particularly stressed, certainly not more stressed than usual. Just.. not sleeping. And if i do i have crazy dreams that exhaust me. this is making me cranky and increasingly less amused with my Monkey's usually hilarious sleep-talking episodes. I dont think i'm much fun to live with at the moment.

2. I graduate tomorrow. I didn't want to go but my grandmother would never forgive me if i took this away from her... and i think my parents are a little excited.

3. there are four days of school left. Thank Guinness. and the kids are nuts this week... they know all their assessment is over and we cant make 'em do a darn thing!

4. Monkey has been nominated for a CAT award (watch out, the website claps so turn your speakers off) for his performance as the Scarecrow in the Ickle Pickle production of the Wizard of Oz earlier this year. He is somewhat excited, it's fair to say. He's not shaking any more but is still pretty buzzy (it's Best Actor, are we surprised?)

5. I have just created a new self-striping colourway of sock yarn, i think i'm calling it 'Gothic Princess'. It stripes from black, violet, purple, plum, deep deep pink and back again. I don't know if it's going to be a frequent occurrence because it takes heaps of dye and lots of work... but it IS very pretty.

6. I've been spinning my latest EGMTK fibre... Optim, mmmmm tasty! The colourway is 'Fleece Navidad' and came with the cutest sheepy tag ever.

7. Have also been knitting a secret project for my Monkey for Christmas. Am making reasonable progress considering i can't knit it at home when he's home and we work the same hours. Worst case scenario: i knit all day christmas eve when he's doing hideous shift of doom.

8. It's official: i'm fat and ugly. Just to clarify, I've attempted to buy myself some new clothes twice in the last four days and not found a thing that sits well on me. I dont know if its the current styles not suiting me, a general shoddy workmanship at the places i can afford or just my own mutating body but i'm getting the shopping blues. I know i'm not huge or anything... i'd just like to find a blouse that doesnt make me look pregnant or like a giant sausage. is that too much to ask?

9. My christmas shopping is done. Unless i trip over something perfect for someone i love... i dont need to buy any more.

10. I've run out of things to say. Peace out.

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Saturday, December 08, 2007

the joys of silk

I may be just a tad OCD (i'm sure i've mentioned it before).

For example:(hey, I didn't say it was necessarily a bad thing to have OCD). So yeah, count it! also, i frikkin hate the crochet cast off but love how it looks and blocks. grr. that was a three and a half hour process... just casting!
totally worth it though..
While we wait for it to dry, let's all enjoy some Black Beauty roses.

Happy Weekend,
Ms Spider xo

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Monday, December 03, 2007

again with the 'flu??

So it would appear. At least i caught it on Sunday before it had really knocked me over and started taking cold and flu tablets then. Went to work this morning to take my classes and leave lessons for tomorrow... and teaching was a struggle. Lots of kids away on a camp though so at least i didnt have to shout.
Even though this was the only way Monkey would let me go to work today i still feel quite pleased with myself for recognising my limitations. Shame to lose a day's pay though. Hope i won't need to take Wednesday too :p and i need to go to a damn SnB soon... so i hope i'm ok Thursday.

Had a massive freak-out at the end of last week: got a letter from the uni saying i didnt have enough points to graduate. This totally floored me since i thought i had sorted it. Of course, by the time i got the letter, everyone at the UC who is anywhere near useful had gone home so i didnt get to sort it out 'til today.
When i started my degree it was a split/double degree: BA/BEd. Then they re-me-jiggered (technical term) it about a year in so that all courses were now worth three points instead of four and unless you had already started it the degree didnt exist. This has made for a very awkward four years. And there was a great deal of confusion in regards to which units anyone should be doing... since the degree didnt exist. AND all the education units are so shambolic that they get re-written basically every semester... so i did end up taking the same units (badly reworked) once or twice.
To cut a long story short, I have enough points to get my BEd this year. This means i CAN take my permanency next year, get a real income and start doing what i want to do officially. I can also take ONE more unit (because i need ONE measly point), wherever i like on whatever i like next semester and be awarded my BA next July. This seems smart in theory but i might wait and see if I get a placement at Lyneham next year: i know the school and the staff and the students and reckon i could cope with a little extra work if i was there. If i get somewhere random like Calwell.. maybe not so much.

Those of you scanning my jibberish looking for something interesting, the breakdown of the above paragraph is 1. Uni is stupid, 2. Spidey is stupid and 3. Spidey is graduating this year.

I have been knittin but i need to be sleeping now. Might update tomorrow.

Peace out,
Ms Spider xo

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