I've been busier than I thought

Well, I'm ridiculously pleased with myself:
Voila! the completed sleeve portion of the seashell shrug! Only 6 months in the making... phew. I've been a very responsible little puppy and washed the piece. After 6 months i figure it wouldnt hurt to rinse the dust off it, right?
Yesterday I finished my Moses Fire socks too. Ooh, that pic is blurrier than i thought. Let's just pretend it's the cashmere fuzz, k? They were meant to be for me but i think i need to gift them to a woman at my work who's been just the most amazing source of support over the last month or so. It's not like I've been teaching long enough to have any decent advice or resources to offer her, and i know she'll appreciate them.
Also started a lace shrug on friday. It's going to be for Taph who needs one in October and does not have the lace-is-fun chromosome in her genetic makeup. It was originally going to be in a frugalled coned 3-ply but clearly I am a decadent hedonist because i succumbed and purchased some 2ply cashmere (from here) because it would be so much nicer to knit with... and of course, to wear.
Having finished the red socks i cast on some green ones so I wouldn't be without bus knitting tomorrow morning. It's the Catherine pattern from ravelry using Filati Bacio. I am surprised at this yarn! It's 50/50 wool and ack which is a little too much ack for me usually... but it's a gorgeous yarn.
I love European yarns for this reason; when they use acrylic, it's to improve the yarn. They do it so well! In Australia, ack always gives the impression that it was chucked into the mix because it was cheap. Katia, GGH and Filati... the ack is to improve wear, soften the yarn up, do something special. I respect that. It's the yarn first, you know?
Anyway, my point is - this is a very nice sock yarn and I'm sure it will wear like a dream. And of course the colours are sensational.
Oh, and I finished Francis on Thursday night - mad dash to have something warm to wear on Friday!Photos are not great because, as usual, i dont have a photographer or decent light, but you get the idea. It is my new favourite - so soft, so warm! No seaming! yummeh!

I'm sure there are heaps of other little WIPs running around but that's enough for now. i dont want you all thinking I'm a crazy person.

One week and then it's mid-year holidays! Expect slightly more lucidity soon-ish.

Peace out,
Ms Spider xo

PS. Big clicks to Georgie who added to her family tree on Friday. I wonder who cleaned up on the due-date bets?

ETD

Drum carder is, of course, via the lovely Mandie of EGMTK. She knows her stuff and will find out for you what she doesn't know - go to her :)

I'm a good girl, I am. No, really.

So after several painful days, I've finished writing my reports. blech.

Report writing is a strange art. It's all about saying a lot without saying what you really mean, in a way that kind of gives away what you're really thinking anyway. I bet John Howard would be really great at it.

Quick Report Comments Translations

X is a vocal student who is always prepared to engage in class discussion = X is a mouth on legs and makes me mental.

Y is a very social student = If Y doesnt stop flirting with the guy behind her i may throw up on her shoes.

Unfortunately Z failed to submit any assessment pieces and this is reflected in his grade = Z is a lazy little shit who spends his afternoons smoking questionable substances and watching Futurama.

...needs to remember to be respectful to all teachers in the school = It's very sweet that you behave like an angel for me, but it's a real pain in the arse when you're a bastard to a relief teacher and i have to pick up all the pieces and soothe troubled egos.


Anyway.

There has been knitting (of course). I finished Jacqui's birthday mitts in time and she adores them. I felt a bit of a pang handing them over... I'd make myself a pair but they're the sort of WIP that all the muggles fuss over and I'd have them promised to someone else before the first thumb gusset.

I've also picked up my Seashell Shrug again. It really is a lovely yarn, vintage Country Collection 8 ply crepe. I've finished the shaping on the mid-back of the sleeves and am back to knitting 2x2 rib forever. It's pretty mindless, and oddly therapeutic at the moment, so we'll see. I do intend to finish it, really.

I also realised this week that i never blogged about my self-spoiling a while ago. After the obdm wool day, after i had weighed my profits and thought... i bought myself an ashford fine cloth drum carder.She is soooooooo pretty. Next to her you will notice two clip-lock baggies. These are works in progress. The bag on the far left contains pure angora fluff straight from the bunny's indignant little back, and the other bag contains said angora carded into lush and fluffy batts with the softest, whitest optim wool. I dont know what it will be yet... other than gorgeous. mmmmm.
oh and i have a confused little hyacinth in a vase. I can't work out if it's shy or cold or what. Constipated?
Sorry, I never said this would be a classy blog.

I also did a little dyeing this week because i needed the colour therapy. This is some Moda vera Sentiments Sparkle i confiscated from Taph at the TASDA meeting on Monday night. It's not the nicest yarn in the world but I'm having fun.. and it would make a pretty funky scarf i think.

Oh, and Satan's bunny not like cold. No sir.

Ok, I'm going to go knit 18 and a half inches of maroon rib and watch Law and Order. In case anyone was wondering.

Peace out,
Ms Spider xo

PS. Why you should not leave your computer unattended while working on a comment for a student with an amusing name: Axel is capable of working effectively as part of a larger machine. He constantly greases the wheels of academic progress and contributes to the educational revolution. Without him we would still be riding horses.

Thanks Monkey. Very helpful. :s

WWKIP day

So only three of us showed up? So what!

Presenting my tree cosy

Rachels horn-cuff.
And Jo's leg-warmers... and hysteria
I'd forgotten how much fun it was to be subversive :p

Peace out
Ms Spider xo

PS. Yes, we did look like massive dorks and Jo had to sew the legwarmers onto the sheep which was fairly amusing for me at any rate. And the lables were down to Rachel's organisation...

lots of pics and words - beware!

I am having a strange week. I think the long weekend threw me out a bit. and I may not have quite adjusted to the new bus timetable.
All i want to do is sleep. Monkey keeps teasing me because i fall asleep on the couch, in the car, and according to him 8 oclock is way too early for a self-respecting twenty-something to be in pjs. I can't help it! I think I've lost a little weight too. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Sure, there are some jiggley bits around my middle that i would happily send far far away, but having bits of me depart without warning is fairly... disturbing.
It's probably because when i was a little younger, weight loss was sudden and scary and really hard to stop. i mean i literally lost 8 kilos in a week and i was eating properly... it was weird. and this isnt that - it's probably just the side-effects of working my arse off (literally). but it makes me a little edgy.
and i realise this is totally mental to everyone who heard me complain about gaining weight in the last year or so. Hey, i never pretended i was rational!



I've been a bad blogger too. i cant say quite where the ennui is coming from. I love being able to just vent. i think it's partially ravelry consuming my web hours and making me forget to mention FOs (or even WIPs come to think of it).
there have been a few in the last couple of weeks.
My Mobius Wrap. I wore it to work today and it's ideal - keeps shoulders warm without crowding your arms. it was a total mind-f**k to work out but it only hurt my brain when i tried to think too hard about what i was doing. i dont think i quite understand how the cast-on twists... but it does and so i dont really need to fret too much. I used alternate rows/rounds of two of my hand-painted 8plys (Hydrangea and Wakame)
Another baby surprise jacket. In my fruit tingle colourway. Catherine at work admired the other one I made but her baby is too big for it and I am apparently the worlds biggest sucker. Luckily (ish) the new bus timetable doubles my morning travels so i do get a good deal of knitting time. Still looking for the perfect buttons, might have to wait until Saturday.
What else?
Did i mention that i finally finished the socks for Monkey's Mum? I shouldnt still care but she only got them today so they've been glaring at me for a while.
I started a new cardi in Cleckheaton Country 8ply (and a bit of woolbale where i needed the colours). It's Kaffe Fasset's Floral Jacket from the most recent Vogue Knitting. (this pic is a bit out of date now but you get the idea) It's pretty and I've deliberately gone with a base of Navy because i suspect it will be a little old for me. And my mum LOVES this kind of thing. and her current navy cardigan is... huge. a great big sack that swallows my little midget mother whole. So a cute, retro, slightly fitted one wouldnt hurt. (no promises though - might love it and that would be another matter. at this point it's a process joy rather than a race to the product).
Monkey's little sister turns 16 next week and I am halfway through a pair of endpaper mitts for her. I'm quite enamoured of the one i've produced already - grignasco bambi is such a lovely yarn! She chose the colours and shows definite skill in this area - perhaps i should give her some needles and the leftover yarn as well?
Oh and i did a trade via ravelry which resulted in my having a large quantity of Cleckheaton Merino Spun in the best blue. So I'm making Francis Revisited (rav download). it's such a nice yarn :) too big for bus knitting though. I just want to make a nest out of it and sleep (again with the sleep!)

I just turned around to see Monty climbing around on the top of the couch back. He quickly jumped down and pretended to be merely seat-theiving but we know the truth. Little acrobat. Now he's licking the arm of my couch rather diligently (I wonder what delicious substance I spilt there? He refuses to let me in on the secret and I refuse to lick the couch so i guess we are at an impasse)

This reminds me that the little terrors need to be put to bed and so do I.
Friday tomorrow! Thank Gawd! I think i feel a hackneyed phrase coming on... no, it passed.

Peace out,
Ms Spider xo

PS. Hi Caleb. Have you finished your journals yet?