Spinning Wool

Isn't this wool beautiful? I love the colours and the texture. It's the work of my knitting friend. I just love the way she has it "hanging around". It's a better decorative touch than anything from a shop! Decor by the spinner! I am going to sew this week. I have a plan and I think it will work! Here's hoping!

I've been knitting!!!

I was talking to a friend on the phone this morning. She had just been given some fleece to spin and said that she wasn't ready for it to be spring. She is busy making a rug and she wants it to be winter! I guess I'm feeling the same way, because I have been knitting! Perhaps this feeling is a backlash to the 31 degree celcius days the weather beaureu keep trying to pass off as spring (hey! it's got to be someone's fault!) or perhaps I've been reading too many northern hemisphere blogs waxing lyrical about the chill in the air! Whatever it is I have been knitting (and I'm not a knitter - which is something I'm going to have to stop saying if I do much more knitting!).


Maybe it's more to do with the fact that our local discount department stores are clearing out their yarn and now I can afford to buy some! I really love berets and have always been too scared to knit one. What was I scared about? To my great surprise it's just like knitting a beanie! Why didn't someone tell me this before? So, if you've ever longed to knit a beret, but were too afraid to start, rush right in and DO IT! Hey! I'm such a scardy-cat. This yarn is Carnival Fair Isle Effects from Big W. I bought some to try, but I don't think it works. It's definitely multi- coloured, but that's about it.

Of course this has not detered the many people in my house who love to appropriate the things I knit. "Why did you knit a beret in this weather Mum?" was quickly followed by "Can I have it?" and "What's Fair Isle anyway? Cool colours Mum." So this is a photo of Miss 15 wearing the first beret I produced. It's hers now.

I have also knitted a scarf. My eldest daughter is now a spinner. This is something that impresses me greatly. If you want to see some of her work go to picklesticks and have a look. She very kindly spun some brown fleece for me and I turned it into this scarf. I knitted the scarf on 8mm needles and did a garter stitch border with lattice in the centre (see the detail below).

I am still enjoying knitting and I'm working on another beret at the moment. When it gets too hot I might stop, but I'm just knitting small things so I don't think they will "make me hot" whilst knitting. Oh well, back to the knitting!

A New Camera & Thursdayness

Yesterday the love of my life came in to talk to me and declared that the moment had come. It was time to go purchase my very own camera. It was a terribly thrilling moment. So it was off to JB's to buy the camera. It was such a thrilling moment that I got all stressed and had to go look at JB's large and varied DVD collection to calm down whilst Brad bought the camera. (That was my story & I was sticking to it!!!!) Then we made our way to the car where we opened the box and extracted the new camera. It even came with batteries! Which Brad put into the camera and then I started snapping. By the time we got home I had taken over 100 photos. What can I say? It's a great camera!!! In the photo above you can see what the best DVD shop in Adelaide looks like!

This is the drive home. I snapped and snapped and snapped all the way home. When I downloaded the photos from my camera to the computer today I noticed how dull and dreary the drive home looked! I'm not sure whether that is due to my photography skills or whether I just live in the middle of drabdom. I've never really had a camera of my own before and haven't really had much experience taking photos. I guess I'll get better at it! Whilst on the way home we stopped for fuel. So I even have a photo of the fuel pumps!

Now, for my Thursdayness. Yesterday Picklesticks went and felted all day with some girls from her textile course. She was so excited by what she had learned that she wanted to come over today and show me what she had learned. She also wanted to come over to my place and spin. Not because I'm a spinner and she wanted to use my spinning wheel, but because there is no room in her tiny flat for her spinning wheel so it lives at my house. We invited one of our spinning friends over to join in, so while they spun I knitted. I'm knitting a scarf for my girl who is overseas in the cold! It was a most relaxing day. Knitting is terribly relaxing. Must go knit some more.