Sewing, Snaps, Selvedges & Socks.

It seems I missed last week-I kept on meaning to blog but never got around to it.
I was busy.
The past 2 weekends I've been madly sewing to submit a project- hopefully to be published-its surprising how much time it takes to get a project together. Fingers crossed, now I just have to wait.
The weather has been absolutely glorious the past week- very warm days, cool nights for sleeping & even a soft breeze on a few days- perfect- who would want to live anywhere else than Sydney! Not me.
My socks are progressing- that was one of the reasons I haven't blogged I was waiting for a work colleague to take a pic of my GS's socks I knitted on one of her children's feet-so I could post a photo of them....maybe she'll take them this week for me.
Yesterday I attended the stitches & craft show at Rosehill- there are 3 of us that go together every year, since it started.
The past 2 years I was not too happy with the exhibits & wrote to the organizers & complained about the lack of sewing-it was all beading & paper-that sure doesn't float my boat.
Things had changed this year- they had some young designers upstairs with their wares & blogs & sites to sell their wares- really interesting & trendy stuff-yeah! what a wonderful change.
We did notice that a lot of the old faithful stall holders were missing-its probably got too expensive for them to take a site as I know they charge pretty heftily to exhibit here. That's a shame as they were missed.
All in all we came home with very little- I purchased a knitting pattern, a shirt pattern & a small piece of wool blanketing to do sample on for another project I've had on the back burner for quite some time.
I did come home & make a little purse after seeing a dress, chair & an umbrella covered in selvages- what a clever idea- although they used to make smoking jackets from these & the idea came from a blogger called ricrac- so its not my idea, but I loved the look.
My socks are progressing slowly but surely- am just about to the gusset on the second sock in the raspberry wool- they are very pretty- wonder who'll nab these.
My DIL tells me her Pilate's class are very jealous of her new socks & have asked if I'll knit them & sell them- not bloody likely! who would pay $50 for a pair of hand knitted socks? & that wouldn't even be a good return on my time.

Through the week I had a birthday-another candle in the cake- I'll need a fire hose to put them out soon....not too sure I like the changes as I get older- there are more wrinkles- the boobs are lower (thank heavens for good bras that keep the girls up there!) & I'm not as flexible as I used to be either....and we wont even mention the extra weight!!!
The kids have bought me a couple of books on photo shop so here's hoping that I actually learn how to edit the pics I take to make them look even better- although the key to getting a good photograph is easy- take lots to start off with & get it right pre-edit!
DD & MOTH are still busy organising their trip to do the Trans Siberian Railway- I bet it'll be cold in Mongolia-sleeping outdoors in a tent!
While MOTH is gone I'm hoping to get some quilting done- although he still hasn't fixed the frame...not sure what is so hard about getting a piece of dowelling that will fit inside the tube.
Until next time,
Happy Crafting,
Oz-tralien

Call to Action.

Sometimes I wonder what it is that finally urges us to DO something about things that have been niggling at us for ages. We put up with them for so long, then ...WHAM...we can't stand it any longer & we have to do something about it! The straw that breaks the camel's back.

My sewing room has been driving me nuts-I can't stand it when it gets too messy.

I know I have plenty of friends who can only be creative when they have a mess around them- not me. Its not like I want my room to be pristine all the time, in fact I find this counter-productive, in that, I don't want to mess up my nice clean room again, so I don't sew.....go figure.I just like it to be tidy enough so I can cut things out & have most of my things away-not in piles all over the place.

Saturday I played around with double folded mitred corners to make a 'window' in a chalk board place mat I was making for our Grandson who is coming to visit next week. Took me most of the day measuring & playing around to do what I wanted-I realised after I cut it & folded it I needed to allow 12" instead of 8" to get the size window I needed- lesson learnt & then I had to do my window a different way so as not to waste the space fabric I had bought for him in the US as I didn't have more....where there is a will there is a way. No mistakes in this house just a new way to make something!

This morning I was going to start on DIL's quilt- the aim being I'll make everyone in the family a quilt for Christmas....at this rate maybe 2 will get them,if they are lucky, (only because I have the top already made for one of them!)

And that's when it started. The towel I throw over the chair I have up here in the sewing room, slid to the floor, as it usually does-it slides off & I pick it up & throw it back on,constantly. I decided that I'd just recover the chair-just like that, I'd picked up the towel once too often. It has been doing that for the past 2 years....it never really bugged me that much, but this morning that was it- time to do something about it. I pulled out some fabric that was sitting in a pile on the floor & chop, chop, stitch, stitch...2.5 hours later I was the proud owner of a very swishy looking chair- covered beautifully- couldn't believe how well this all went together....why didn't I do this sooner?

That was then I decided that the room could do with a bit of a tidy up, thorough vacuum & all the surfaces wiped down & ALL the piles of fabric from my recent trip be put away....I'm not sure what happened along the way but the curtains came down- I decided that the roman blind wasn't going back up again ....now that I look at the new curtain (yep, I just sewed a new one- back into that stash again!)-I'm sitting here in my very tidy sewing room & looking at the new window treatment & thinking 'why the hell didn't I do this 2 years ago when the curtain started to bug me then?'- even washing the sheer curtain has made a difference!

My room is looking all light & airy & its so tidy- everything is away-including my old sewing machine that has been sitting here on the desk since I bought the CV (anyone want a loved 2140 with more hoops & gadgets than you'll ever need- I have one for sale at a very cheap price!) Incredibly tidy. Oh, I love it!!!

Now what prompted all this action?-I never set out to make chair covers, pull curtains down & wash them- re-arrange the sewing room & make new curtains & put everything away.....I wish I could bottle this urge to action- I would make a fortune selling it to mothers of teenagers who never want to do anything......imagine putting it in the MOTH's morning coffee & getting all the odd jobs done around the place.....in a sewing slump?- just 2 lumps in the coffee & off you go! No more waiting for the final straw.

My neighbour rang this afternoon to let us know she'd been burgled last night-they got her wallet with her cash & cards-they have already tried to use the cards....but what was more upsetting was they came in while she was asleep & she never heard a thing, even after breaking a glass door to gain entry- she's feeling somewhat violated . This will be a reminder to us to be more vigilant with where we leave things when we go to bed.

MOTH can very lax in leaving the doors open when he is out doing the gardening in the backyard-I'm always asking him to lock the doors...maybe this might prompt him to lock the door! Our suburb is not immune as he thinks it is, to being burgled.

I finished a pair of socks this week- oh, have they been dragging on, I never thought I'd get them finished- these were the gainsey toe up pair that I started in Billings....but I can now tick them off as finished! Have started the second sock to match the purple one, also started in Billings-this one shouldn't take so long as I like the pattern better-its more interesting. Not sure what I'll start when I finish this one- more socks maybe, I have much more yarn!

All in all a productive week-I can feel good about everything I managed to get done-even managed to get 5 patients onto the new computer system at work- we won't even go there with those changes!

Happy Crafting
Oz- Tralien

Sock it to Me!

I finished another pair of socks today & started yet another pair, the needles hardly have time to cool down!-this will be my 7 th pair this year-I certainly seem to have caught the sock bug!

Socks are so easy to knit, they are very transportable, you can try out different patterns on not too many stitches & everyone who doesn't knit is fascinated at what you are knitting.

This last pair I have started are from Jeanie Townsend- sock knitter extraordinaire-they are called Lilac socks- but mine are blues rather than mauve.

Some weeks back I ordered 4 balls of Patonyle sock yarn in white & I have it in hanks ready to dye whatever colours take my fancy-it was blue-y/turquoise the other night. If I keep knitting at this rate I may even knit up all my sock yarn stash before the winter is out. That would be something.

I really don't think I'll get too much knitting done in the next week as I leave for Hong Kong very early Tuesday morning & wont be back until the the following Monday morning. This year there are 4 of us going-a nice small number for me to handle as the 'tour guide'.

During the past week I have researched prices on cameras & lenses-its always best to know your prices before striking up a deal with those shifty Kowloon salesman. One thing I have learnt is that they will tell you they have no stock if they don't want to bargain with you- if the price offered is too low for them. This is a change from many years ago when they'd rob you blind if you bargained too hard with them!

Hong Kong is a great destination- I think this is my 18 th trip there- I've really lost count these days. Its safe,its interesting (especially if you leave Kowloon & Nathan Road & get out a bit) & its a shoppers paradise.
We will travel up to Shenzhen on the Wednesday- hopefully we will still be able to get special visas to go over the border there. I know things have changed since last year,so it will be interesting to see what is going on there. I was told that all shopping there now is in CNY$ not HK$- so that will be a change for us.

My bags are not packed- although I do have some fabric pulled from my stash ready to pack to take to the tailors if we are able to get over the border. Last year I had tailored pants made for $12 a pair-this year its more trousers & tops. I do find it better to take something that fits well & have it copied- this is where they excel.

Baggage allowances have also become stricter since we were away this time last year. I was told by someone who works for an airline that they now get bonuses if they get lots in excess baggage from the passengers.....hmmmm...seems unfair!

I remember last year a very nice gent at Heathrow told me that my bags were 15 kg over weight & that I would have to pay for the excess. I reminded him that I was on a RTW ticket & had gone through North America first, which gave me 2 bags at 23kg each. There was no charge. Seems unfair that they will still carry the excess but charge you excessively for it-in my case there may have been no charge, but unless I knew this bit of information I would have been charged! I need to check the allowances prior to the USA trip this year.

MOTH has finally come around on the camera- I have done lots more research & will buy the Nikon D80 or a Sony A200- I have decided it is time to change cameras. The prices are on my notepad to pack with me.

Hopefully I'll get lots of pics while we are in HK-not that I don't have lots! but there is always something fun to see.

Until next time, happy crafting,

Oz- tralien

Socks & Security

One thing I did find out on this trip was-short 6" DPNs made from bamboo go through the security checks in airports without any problems- so did my knitpicks wooden interchangeables (left in pieces so no-one would think I could garrot someone with the cable).

One of my under wire bras didn't fair so well & a pair of jeans with all those little studs (it was a short flight, I wasn't thinking)- this meant I had to have the full pat down & get everything checked-everyone was wondering what had happened to me..well, that will teach me. I'm sure if airport security could get us to go naked, they would! (not a pretty site, in my case).

Flying these days is not as much fun as it used to be, but it's not going to stop me.

After knitting 6 dishcloths & 3 shawls/scarves I decided to tackle socks-seemed a lot of my Internet pals were discussing the merit of knitting them.

I've been knitting since before I started school- I was taught using fiddle sticks & scraps of yarn at my mother's knee, as were all my sisters. Over the years I've knitted just about everything, except socks. It wasn't that I thought they were difficult, it was that no one ever wanted a knitted pair of socks, so why knit them?

Truth be told, I'm not sure that anyone wants them all these years later, but they are going to get them! and they better wear them!

Not long before I left to come on this trip I did attempt to make socks- I made one. I was not that pleased with the result, the sock & the rest of the yarn were put away. I used self patterning yarn, the pattern on the back of the ball band & I thought the sock looked ugly when finished (& I had bought 2 balls of this stuff YUK!).

My pal in Canada took me to a lovely little quilt & wool shop-I came out with bamboo DPN's & a ball of Noro sock yarn-bright & cheerful looking stuff. I found a free pattern online & I couldn't knit fast enough!

Sock one was started on the flight from Canada to London & the second sock knitted on the London to Paris eurostar train ride! Lucky I had picked up another ball of sock yarn in our few days in London! By this stage I was altering the pattern to give me different looks & what an easier way to knit socks this pattern was. They even looked like some one might wear them!

We hurtled across the french countryside on our way to Bordeaux, me knitting as fast as I could, glancing at the scenery whizzing past, here we were going to catch up with our daughter & her DH who had been driving around Germany & Spain after going to a wedding in Germany a couple of weeks earlier.

I love the French countryside,the quaint villages, the outdoor cafes & the weather, it was hot-oh bliss after Newfoundland & London, it was lovely to see sunshine & feel the warmth again! And not to have to wear 5 layers of clothing!

Our DTR had organized a drive around the south of France- taking in sites she wanted to see ( she's a geologist) & things she thought would interest us all-nothing booked, except for the first night, a road map & lots of printouts from Google. We had a ball. Every time we thought we were lost, the road we wanted would turn up or directions on how to get there-talk about a wing & a prayer. It is wonderful to travel with your grown-up kids.

Unfortunately for me I can't knit or read in a car-so the needles had to be put away through the day, only to do short bursts of a night time before going to sleep. I envy those that can sit in a car & read, embroider, sew, knit- me I just usually fall asleep!

The pic was taken from the car window of the Cathedral in Bordeaux & my first 'pair' of socks- the Noro yarn ones. When I showed these to my DTR she just loved then, I couldn't believe it- she even ASKED could she HAVE them-my socks had a home! Just what every crafty person likes to hear!