Acorn-ucopia!

And it fits! Ta-da!And less ham-my... and showing off the awesome pockets!
And with my newly finished project, the Miette cardigan in Moda Vera cotton/bamboo (Rav link here). It isn't quite this luminous in real life - this is the result of very amazing morning light.And the back view.

I was at work for 12 hours today, so that's all I got. At least I liked my outfit today though!

Peace out,
Ms Spider xo

Peacock Feathers II: a sequel (silk-quel?)

In February 2007, I made myself a Peacock Feathers Shawl. - rav link. Also, blogged here and here. It's a great shawl, and gets a lot of wear in cool weather as a scarf. I used my own laceweight wool, and it's grown a little halo over time.
However, I've been thinking increasingly that I need a really lustrous silk shawl for summer evenings, and finally decided that it was time for a rerun. Because I tend to be too focused on projects when they are incomplete to blog about them, here is the journey from skein to feather in pictures:

1. Fibreworks 2ply silk from Waratah Fibres.
2. About 30% done
3. Finished!
4. Blocking.
5. Preening.And it looks REALLY easy when you explain it like that! It took a little over 2 weeks (but I was stuck on the couch for four days solid trying to overcome horrible side-effects to hard core antibiotics, so this isn't a realistic or repeatable timeframe) and I think I might wear this outfit to the yr 10 formal this year. I will just have to restrain myself from flapping my wings, because they already think I'm a big enough dag ;)

The colour in the second pic is most accurate - it's a really lustrous, opalescent purple and green colourway.

Oh and I totally wouldn't have held it together at work over the last few weeks if I hadn't had this baby to distract me ;)

It ain't all bad!
Ms Spider xo

Thoughts

So... this blogging thing. Weird, isn't it?

I think of it as a little like money. You either have plenty because you work but no time to spend any, or time to spend money because you don't work and therefor don't have any. With this blog... I have a busy life, so lots to write about. But no time to write about it! Added to that is the issue of confidentiality with my job, and I end up with lots I want to say, very little I can say, and no time to say it.

I used to compose posts in my head and champ at the bit to get home to write them down. These days these thoughts come to me in facebook updates. The time I want to give to composing just isn't there. All my thoughts are posted as they occur, and I don't want to repeat myself here.

And I am at the point in my life where the world is shrinking. The connection I have with my husband is wonderful. Whatever happens, we have fun and I don't have to be anything except myself (it was just our first anniversary by the way!). The downside of this is that I am kind of getting rusty with the ol' small talk. Don't get me wrong, I have yet to meet a parent teacher night the butt of which I cannot kick. But when it comes to the social thing... I struggle with the transition between acquaintance and friend. Honestly, I think I am most charming and interesting when I don't know people at all.

So this shrinking thing? It was my yr 10 ten year reunion yesterday. I've been battling with the migraines again and was really not well enough to go. And this morning I'm looking at the requisite pics on facebook and thinking "I have no idea what I would have said to any of these people". I can count my friends on my fingers. And of those friends, the ones I manage to keep in contact with I can count on my thumbs. And I feel like I should feel worse about this.

Anyway, the tangential nature of this post reflects a) the fact that I no longer edit the poop out of my posts, b) the tail end of my latest migraine and c) a possible crisis of identity.

But there are socks!Apparently my limited brain power of late has made me susceptible to the deep and calming persuasion of the sock. I've just looked back over my rav projects, and I've finished 7 pairs since the end of August, and have two pairs on the go. More details here: rav link.

I also made another cropped cardigan: Bright Star from Twist Collective in Cleckheaton Country 8ply.
I love the idea of a cropped cardi, but am having trouble finding a colour I can wear that works for this type of garment. All the cute ones I see are bright red or yellow, and I look pretty unwell in both of those. Navy works well for me, but is kind of hard to accessorise. There are only so many white tops I have...

Anyway, a nice wingey, confusing post. Hope to get in another one soonish. Still have no solution to the issue of confidentiality vs. needing to get the hilarity off my chest... I'm open to suggestions, if there's anyone still out there ;)

Peace out
Ms Spider xox

And life goes on (and on)

Well, the best laid plans, eh?
Life has this way of kicking you when you're down, have you noticed?

I continue to faint for no apparent reason.
The job continues to be hard, thankless work.

And then, miraculously and without warning, the clouds part and the sun shines through.

Being a week away from the school holidays is probably partly responsible for my sudden cheer. The husband and I are taking a little trip next weekend - his idea. The theory was that if I get out of Canberra as soon as the term ends, I'll adjust to being on holiday faster.
I do have a tendency to develop what I refer to as a 'stress hangover'. Basically I spend a week swinging between anxiety that I've missed non-existent deadlines and depression. It's really annoying, because most breaks are two weeks, and at best I manage three days of feeling relaxed before I start worrying about the term to come.

Anyway, we're going to a B&B in the Hunter Valley and I'm really looking forward to it. I think I'm closer to burn-out than I ever have been before.

My couch-surfer returned home and things seem to have stabilised. It was amazingly stressful and I didn't fully catch up on work until about three weeks into this term. And the term itself was shitful, for want of a better word. One of my colleagues resigned, someone else went on long service leave and we were all left to pick up the pieces. For the last two weeks I have been taking an extra class to keep everything ticking over and I tell you what - overtime needs to be introduced for teachers. In the last ten weeks I had flu and a baaaaad migraine. So, basically, I need a holiday!

Despite it all, I have been knitting away. I finished my fifth cardigan for the year - Cecilia by Elin Berglund. Ravelry entry here.I used Patons Dreamtime 4ply in cream. It was a brand-new bag of ten and had many, many dye-lot inconsistencies! I've very unhappy about the yarn - I'm a bit of a freak with colour, so it's really obvious to me, but no-one I've shown it to notices it unless I hold it under very bright light and point to the streak. But still! What's the point of a dye-lot if it isn't consistent?
Anyway, I do adore the pattern, and as soon as it warms up a little I think I'll be wearing it a lot.

Since this I've had some ennui, and really want to knit another garment of some type but can't make a decision. Instead I've been knitting a large number of accessories.

This is a Drops scarf, using short-row shaping to create the ruffles. It was a birthday present for a close friend. I used 4ply baby alpaca - it was cherry red but I overdyed it so it was more of a dappled brick colour. She loves it!
This week I knitted up some handspun. I spun it over the last set of holidays. It was a 50g bag of fibre dyversity space-dyed merino. I split it in half along the roving, and spun two bobbins of very fine singles, keeping the colours in order. I then plied then together, creating a sort of DIY two-ply noro! I really love the colours, and the fibre is so soft :) not at all like noro.

And this week, I finished a pair of socks that have been sitting around for a couple of months. My usual cabled and ribbed sock pattern - I've knit many, many different sock patterns, but this is the pattern I always return to. I used Moda Vera Adore in the green colourway. Quite pretty :)

An upcoming project is a reworking of this cardigan for my mother-in-law. It's her favourite cardigan, and she wants another. The original is an acrylic/mohair blend, and I'm making the new one in Zhivago. It's a bit of a chore, honestly. I don't particularly like it, and she's not a knitter so doesn't really understand the work involved. Liable to nag about progress etc. But, ever the matyr I agreed to do it. :p I think, honestly, I think it will make her like me more, which is so pathetic I can't believe myself. Oh well! Ever human, eh?

Anyway, it's my first Sunday for months that I don't have to work through, and I have a lovely friend coming over in half an hour!

Peace out,
Ms Spider xo

Not the doctor

So it's April now! Funny how the time goes.
Right now I'm just past the half-way mark of my term break. And, quite frankly, the break part has yet to kick in. After the first weekend, every ACT teacher had to go back to school for two days of Professional Learning (which is always something I've already done to death at uni, is badly presented and involves at least three painful and unnecessary role-play exercises - with "someone you don't usually talk to". Seriously, as a professional, give me enough credit to know who I can work well with!). Then I had a couple of days off, and even went on a road trip on Friday, down Braidwood, Batemans Bay and Mogo. I needed to get out of Canberra and was starting to feel a bit normal again.
And then on Saturday... Shit Went Down.
It's not my story to tell and I can reassure you all that I am ok and so is the husband. However, the result is that I have had someone living on my couch since Saturday who needs to be coaxed to eat anything and swings between teary self-loathing and sullen silences. This person has a history of self-destruction and really needs to be monitored a lot. Husband is working during the day and doesn't understand why I am so exhausted by the time he gets home. Of course I want this person here because I love them, they need to be looked (after much as they resent it sometimes), and it will pass. It's just kind of impacting my ability to do any school work or have me-time. Considering how close I was to burning out this term and how much I needed a break, I can't help feeling a little desperate right now. Forget getting any dyeing done!

Enough complaining and on to the good stuff! I've just finished my 4th sweater-esque project for the year, and am very happy to be on track still for 12 in a year.
This is Cassidy from Chic Knits. I used about 12 balls of Panda Woolbale and got gauge on the recommended needle size. As usual, I lengthened the body by a couple of inches and I'm glad I did. I like where it sits. And I don't know if it is a record for me, but I finished it in 14 days.

I also finished the Loretto vest for my mother, which was my third project of the challenge. It's without buttons because I had none :p Mum and Dad are camping across WA right now, so she took it and b0ught buttons and sewed them on in the car. She really liked it, and it actually suited both of us, which is an unusual occurrence.

For the record, Crapacious means crappy. I've been at my students to find more creative ways to complain about things than to swear... and one of my poppets invented a word to suit the situation. :)
On the last day of term, I talked through the plot of Romeo and Juliet with my yr 8 class to give them a little bit of a heads up on next term. They always groan at the beginning of the lesson and then don't want to leave when the bell goes: lust, murder, suicide, poison and dirty old men who want to marry 13 year olds! Sucks them in everytime! And every time, I get a comment like:

"Wait, what? Miss, I didn't know Romeo was a stalker!"

or
"Romeo's kind of Emo, Miss..."

It's seriously my favourite text to teach :) they always get so into it, often despite themselves!

Ok, I've got to persuade my couch-surfer to eat something.

Peace out,
Ms Spider xo

PS. Happy Belated Easter! (these booties)

take a deep breath now

So apparently now I have 62 days to go. Arg!

The dress has been delayed. Was supposed to be early June and now it won't be at the shop until September 2nd. Considering the wedding date is 3rd October, it's taking a concerted effort not to hyperventilate about this. Busiest time of year for weddings, 4 weeks to fit...
My veil also appears to be taking longer than suggested - why is white so hard to get a hold of? If I wanted cream I could have walked out of the boutique with a new one in a packet! Every wedding shop treats me like a freak of nature because white suits me better... I'm trying to take it as a sign that I'm special.
The jeweler ordered Monkey's ring in the wrong size - apparently Q and O are too hard to tell apart.

I finished weaving the bridesmaids stoles this week, which is a huge relief. it's not that they were at all difficult, it's just warping is a pain in the butt. Has anyone worked out a more efficient method than shoving loose bits of paper in as you wind up the warp? I also found these earrings at Diva, which i think are perfect for the bridesmaids. I love them so much that i bought myself a pair too.

On the weight-loss front, I'm doing really well. From February to May i lost about 4 kilos on my own, and then I joined Fernwood to give me a boost. Since I joined I've lost another 5, and i actually have muscle tone again. I feel like I'm getting my body back.
Through Fernwood I have had help through their Slimplicity program, but I have to say I'm ambivalent as to how helpful it's been. To start with, their daily food allowances gives you 1200 calories, and everywhere else I've looked suggests that this is way too low for my height and level of excercise. Dangerous even.
Also, I am doing a great deal of weights training, and the protein allowance for one day is 90g. This is less than a small tin of tuna.
So, basically, I've been ignoring it. I already ate quite well, but I've cut down on sugar and high-fat foods, and upped my already high intake of fruit and veg. I also read up on the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, which makes HEAPS more sense. Plenty of protein, enough carbs for energy but not so much that it's awkward for me (who doesnt eat gluten and is out of the habit of eating any breads etc). lots of fruit and all the veges i can eat. perfect.
Problem is, I am between two consultants at the gym. One, I'll call her L, is lovely. late 30's, motherly, relaxed and positive. Every gram I lose is an achievement and she understands that i'm modifying the diet to suit my needs. The other lady, K (late 20's), is driving me nuts.
Now, before i go on too much, I need to explain my position. I gained weight because i was sick, for a long long time. The coeliac's affected my vitamin levels and i was physically sick all the time, just working 5 days sent me spiraling into exhaustion at night and weekends, migraine headaches, fatigue, nausea (on and off since age 7)... plus medication for depression etc over the last 10 years that all cause weight-gain. My weight-gain was not due to lack of self-control. I do not eat 20 donuts a day, i have never eaten at McDonalds... I enjoy excercise. I have good eating habits, despite my sweet tooth. I do indulge, but i'm not stupid about it.
Now L totally gets all this. She is awesome. Unfortunately, without any real warning, half the time i end up booked in with K. K clearly has one approach to motivating weight loss clients - fear. when i re-gained 500g due to bloat she gave me a telling off like no other, despite my telling her I was having a shocker period and had probably gained. When i lost a kilo in a week, she tells me (very sarcy) "see what you can achieve when you follow the program?". For starters, I am NOT following their sadistic program, and secondly she needs to back off before i smack her in the teeth.
I dont think I'm being unreasonable to expect her to modify her approach for me. After all, I'm paying for the priviledge. I've rebelled so far by refusing to keep a food diary any more (she doesnt trust me, despite 2 months of identical daily food lists). It's all very passive aggressive - i just dont bring it and tell her i forgot. I'm honest with her about what i eat, i tell her i had a couple of minties a few days ago ("We just have to make sure it isnt every snack, mm-kay?" Knowing look, ARGGG).
She also tells me my weight and measurements like a) she is giving me a gift that she made herself and b) she owns this knowledge about my body and i should be grateful that she chose to share. I know what I weigh. I know my measurements. I measure myself every week to make sure my knitting is going to fit. She wants me to thank her for all the hard work i have done.
Any suggestions about what I do about this would be appreciated. I dont want to be nasty, and i dont particularly want to complain to her manager, but i also dont want to keep paying for a weekly reprimand (whether i do well or not).

In knitting news, I joined the ravelry group NaKniSweMoDo (National Knit a Sweater a Month Dodecathon) earlier this year and am quite chuffed to announce I am up to number 11 :D
Number 1
Number 2
Number 3
Number 4
Number 5
Number 6
Number 7
Number 8Number 9
Number 10

Number 11 is Slinky Ribs by Wendy Bernard in Bendigo Harmony. More news on that one when i finish. More details for all projects here

ok, enough now. phew!

peace out,
Ms Spider xo

Elizabeth Bennet

So, on Thursday I finished my pink cardigan.
The first set of buttons I attached were really cute Beutron Vintage buttons I had in my stash.... but sadly the pearl colour started to flake off and they didn't really keep the cardigan closed with any kind of genuine effort.
So this morning I replaced them with some second-hand pale blue buttons. Much better!

No pics on me until it gets cooler. I obviously only knit short sleeves, I didnt trust 2 balls of Zara to make two nice long cabled sleeves.I also lengthened the peplum cable by an extra cable and also widened it to get a bit more shape (for some reason this pic came out blue. It's actually a very pale pink).
The Zara is so soft I can wear this over a camisole, so short sleeves work well.

The bunnies enjoy sharing corn.
last night we had our Engagement party which was great fun. No pics, nobody needs to see that ;) Thanks everyone who came, and no hard feelings to those who couldnt make it :)

Peace out,
Ms Spider xo

it's 2009 already?

whoops! It seems being on holidays has not improved my time-keeping any. I've been playing with flickr mosaics (havent we all) but before I show you that, I'll quickly squeeze in the last few knits for 2008.

My Nightsong Shawl, knit from my own 2-ply lace-weight hand-spun, from EGMTK's merino/silk in Octopus' Garden.
The last couple of repeats really felt like they were dragging but when I actually checked on ravelry.. it took me 8 days. I think that's my new record! and it's full-sized too!
I havent got around to snapping it after being rescued from blocking - that's our queen-sized bed it's blocking on to give a size indication. I love it! :) You can't really see but each point has a clear silver-core glass bead threaded onto it.

Also, on New Year's Eve I finished off my Naive socks in Trekking. These were almost instantly gifted to the lovely Heather, my future SIL. (and no, I can't be bothered fixing the photo. They're socks, whatever way up.)

As for wedding stuff - blech! We're planning, tentatively, for October 2009. And it is doing my head in! Finding a balance between 'dodgy' and 'affordable', 'inviting who I like' and 'not pissing off the rellies' and 'doing it all myself' and 'forgetting about it til the last minute' is... well... I'm glad I'm on holidays.
In some respects I am very lucky. My parents are total hippies with no ties to tradition and my Mum really doesnt care. This has the wonderful silver-lining of meaning she doesnt think I should have to invite rellies who openly hate me or havent seen me since I was 1. This also has a down side: my Mum really doesnt care. So I can't mention it to her or she just says "oh how horrible, why don't you just elope?". Which, while I see her point, is rather like knitting someone a very elaborate and mind-numbing lace shawl and being told "why dont you just buy them a scarf?".
It's early days and I am still in enough of my senses to be vaguely on top of things. Our net being down for three or four days REALLY didnt help, so I'm fairly confident I'll get it together... if i can only work out what sort of dress I want (no, not knitted. am not quite that mad yet.).

Oh ok, mosaic.
I was going to do 2008 in knitting and spinning but got bored so here is the last 6 months or so.



1. Handspun Nightsong Shawl 2. Indigo Ripples Skirt 3. Starburst Sweater 4. Starburst Sweater detail 5. Sea Surf Scarf (handspun) 6. Flora cap 7. Loop-through scarf 8. Naive socks 9. Casablanca 10. Slubby handspun, Hippie Heaven 11. navajo plied BFL/soy, Boutique Skies 12. Scalloped Edge Hat (handspun) 13. Jaywalkers 14. Flutter Sleeve Cardigan 15. Catch-me-if-you-can-socks in HappySpider Kelp Forest 16. Process of spinning for Nightsong shawl 17. BFL/soy fibre from EGMTK 18. Sock-it-to-me scarf (handspun) 19. Laceweight handspun with 5c for scale 20. Sayuri Sweater 21. Viking Battle Bonnet 22. Catch-me-if-you-can-socks 23. Scallop-edge beaded necklace 24. Devil hat 25. Owl 6-ply socks 26. Mohawk beanie 27. short-circuit scarf 28. BSJ in HappySpider Pansies 29. Felted clogs 30. Hanspun merino 2ply 31. Felted clogs 32. Spider Socks in Swamp Beast 33. Square for Jet blanket 34. handspun tinsel 35. Merino and Angora, navajo plied in Big Top from EGMTK

Ok, and now I'm being told it's bed time.

Happy New Year, I hope everyone has the best 2009 possible.

Peace out,
Ms Spider xoxo

Anything you Say-uri

Presenting the lush and lovely Sayuri sweater from Sensual Knits by Yahaira Ferreira.I finished it on Sunday morning and fell deeply in love.
I am less in love, however, with the fact that I cannot both pose for a photograph and take the photograph that I want."aw crap, you've got my butt in the shot, don't you?"
It is, of course, not Monkey's fault that it doesn't occur to him to fuss around to find the most flattering angle or backdrop. He rather likes my little (ha!) belly and so does not see a problem with taking photos that show it off.
He similarly has no problem with weird facial expressions that are the result of taking photos while I am explaining what I want."Monkey, if you are not careful I will look thiiiiiis big!"

Also, not being me, he doesn't think about framing the picture to best show off the garment or to make me look as svelte (and, lets face it, un-me) as possible. Sometimes having someone who loves you no matter what you look like is strangely frustrating, no?
I know we are all aware of this problem with socks, but there are ways around it. Generally, feet all look the same. Socks all looks similar. If what we see is not foot-shaped or sock-shaped we can assume there was an angle problem, a swelling problem or perhaps a gauge problem. And you can always pose them on your sock blockers, if you have them.
Bigger garments though? Those can be problematic.
In the past I have used the 'artistic i-might-be-blocking' type shot for when I have no photographer and little self-esteem.

Surplice Bodice Camisole by Joan McGowan-Michael

There is also the joy of having a dressmakers dummy on hand for some photos.

Back-to-School U-Neck Vest by Stefanie Japel

But using Arabella always seems like cheating to me. Anyone who has met me knows I am not built like that. When I use her for sewing there is adjusting and padding attached to get things right. Plus... I can't always make things that don't clash with the bright, bright red.

So I fall back upon old faithful - the awkward pose in a grubby bathroom mirror. Not all that glamorous really.
Specs:
I made no changes to the pattern except for a few less rounds of the linen stitch waist-band because I was getting a larger row gauge in that stitch.
The yarn is Naturally Yarns Merino et Soie 8 ply and it is DIVINE. I used just under 10 balls and there was only one join in the whole batch! It's lovely to work with, doesnt shed... just. gorgeous.
I got gauge on 5mm addis and then did the i-cord collar on 4.5mm dpns.
I love it.

Also finished a pair of frilly socks on Monday. They are so dorky but very fun. It's like wearing really nice knickers or something, they make me happy.

Went and had a blood test today to check for Coeliac's Disease. This is the most obvious explanation for... well... ALL of my health problems. I'm trying not to dwell, but I did an assignment on the disease in year 9 and I ASKED MY DOCTOR IF IT WAS POSSIBLE. HE SAID NO. Eight years later and the list of symptoms looks like I wrote a quick list of everything that bothers me in a week. Including weak tooth enamel!!!! BASTARD!

cough

sorry. I am trying not to be bitter... but seriously! Someone pass me some knitting, please.

Peace out
Ms Spider xo