I just spent AU$270 on a suit.
Never mind we are broke, it's the first payday after Christmas and we have credit cards and a holiday to pay off. No, I am presenting at a conference next week which warranted the purchase of a suit that is a) good quality and b) actually fits.
But still....two hundred and seventy dollars!!!!!!
First week back at work was huge, lots of really interesting stuff going on. I was so braindead by Friday night, I just got home and switched off!
But I am really looking forward to a quiet weekend pottering around, cleaning and trying new recipes. Plus big plans to watch Fellowship of the Rings on our big new TV and knit knit knit! And seam up that first glove....I hate seaming.
Last day of the holidays. I shouldn't be sad, there are lots of great things happening at work. But still, it's quite nice wake up whenever you want and do whatever you want. Lots of reading and knitting and shopping and mooching and I even managed to get a bunch of chores out of the way so I feel pretty satisfied.
The first cable glove is done bar the seaming, I am very pleased with how it came out and doing the thumb wasn't as scary as I anticipated. The blanket is also proceeding apace, I have worked out how the pattern grows which means I can work out where the yo's etc go without counting every single stitch.
Someone lent me the first two Twilight books which are definitely interfering with my knitting time. I've read them once before but from memory I was unimpressed with the second book and never bothered reading the rest of the series. Now it's such a big fuss with the movie and all that I thought I would give them another shot. The first was as good as I remembered, much better than the movie which doesn't quite convey Bella's acerbic and amusing narrative style. Just starting New Moon. The annoying thing will then be whether I can wait on the reserve list for Eclipse at the library...or cave and spend $20 on the book instead of the yummy Malabrigo yarn I have been virtuously resisting. This budgeting/saving business is hard.
No, not masses of shoes from Myer or even stacks of half-price towels and sheets (although I did get one set).
Yarn.
All of the Aussie online shops are announcing their sales, and it was just too hard to resist. Wired for Fibre won me over (poor Yarn and Kisses experienced a server move at the worst possible time). So I picked up some 4ply alpaca to make mum the socks she requested. And you may as well fill up the satchel, right? So I bought some merino 4ply as well. I talked myself out of some merino/silk laceweight, so there is some hope for me yet.
Better get back to knitting to justify my latest purchases!
So in the last few weeks I've tackled projects requiring two new skills - cables and double pointed needles. Not the same project, I'm not that crazy!
The cable project is fingerless gloves (flat with seams) for my assistant. They are knitting up very well and I'm loving them. Holding the cable to the back is a bit tricky, I'm not always sure whether the yarn goes behind or in front. It was cool enough before Christmas to get started on them (they're alpaca which is very warm) but since then it's just gotten too hot to think about.
So I decided to get started on a cotton blend baby blanket instead. Not for me (everybody asks) but for a friend up in Tamworth. It's a circular blanket knitted on dpns. The biggest challenge was casting on 8 stitches and trying to join them up and knit in the round. Took about 3 goes but I'm well established now and sailing along. Here's my progress so far.
Now all the presents have finally been handed out I can show off the dishcloths I knit. I quite enjoyed knitting with the Sugar n Cream worsted weight cotton - it's very easy to see where you have gone wrong and work back to it. A good place to start learning about lace knitting. Hopefully their recipients will find them helpful with the washing up. Now it's time to knit one for myself!
I think it may be a sign of excessive interwebbing that I want to post pics of my Christmas presents online. Hmmm. Oh well who cares!
My hubby got me some lovely jewelry, he really does have lovely taste and seems to read my mind sometimes. I was thinking about a dressy new watch and look what I got!
My mum-in-law is a very clever, crafty lady. I don't know where she found the time but she made all of us little Christmas bags (visible on the left) and a placemat to take home. She also made this fabulous quilted knitting/all purpose bag for me - I love it!
My grandparents and great-uncle also gave me presents (jewelry etc) that are just perfect and I know I will wear and/or use.
The cutest stories is definitely two small friends of mine, aged 8 and 6. They both bought me something out of their pocket money! AS got me a paper clip holder (which I asked for) but ES gets an A+ for initiative - she picked up on my knitting love and bought me a ball of yarn. Gorgeous acrylic 8ply, very bright pink/purple/teal. Not something I would wear but of wonderful sentimental value - I will make a small carry-bag or i-pod cosy with it.
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