Bored, Bored, Bored!!!

The House Cup sorting was this morning and already I'm champing at the bit to cast on for classes.  I've decided the best way to make the wait bearable is to swatch my heart out.

I'd already done one mini sock but changed projects and first of all did a rectangular coaster.  I'm happy enough with my tension but the colours are really too subtle.



I then did a small bits and pieces bag that I'll line at a later date.  It'll serve it's current purpose as is. 



I want to do one more bag with the lavender as the background to see how the other combinations display against that as well.

I honestly wonder whether I do this to myself on purpose

So it's offically confirmed that I'm an airhead.

Somehow I've managed to come away without my current project bag containing not only 3 projects that I really wanted to get done this week, but also my notions bag.  So I don't have any needles to sew in ends / gauges / stitch markers.   I bought along the bag containing all of the preparatory stuff I wanted to do for the House Cup next term (i.e. for my OWL swatching) as well as the cardigan I committed to in the 'Australia -  will Work for Yarn'  group on Rav but not what I need now.

There's nothing for it but that I go shopping tomorrow for needles (don't have all the sizes I want) and other bits and pieces.  And if some more yarn throws itself into my arms while shopping it's not my fault in the slightest.

Happy Christmas to me, happy Christmas to me.....

And Happy Christmas to you too!

I admit that I'm going to start today's post with a bit of a vent but I thought I'd get it out there and out of the way before I focus on the good stuff.

As I write this it's 6pm Christmas Day.  As we traditionally just do lunch, it's done.    Anyway, I live interstate from the rest of my family so they haven't seen me for a fair few months.  Since they last saw me I've lost 5kg.  Now I admit that's not the most radical weight loss but I've noticed that my clothes are starting to feel loose.  Not one of them has told me that 'You're looking good' or anything similar (not that I honestly expected it, but it would've been nice).  I would have been content with them saying I looked happy.

Moving right along....
I usually fly interstate to attend the annual Christmas celebrations but for a variety of reasons this year I wanted to drive.  I had 2 options; the Hume highway (approximately 8 hours driving), the Princes Highway (approximately 14 1/2 hours driving).  I went for the longer option so I'm feeling really sleep-deprived at present as I completed the whole trip in 21 hours including breaks and sleep. Obviously there wasn't much sleep.

The main reason I did this is that the majority of this particular route is through bushland and/or national parks.  Few people were crazy enough to drive it Christmas Eve so I basically had the road to myself.  1,100 kms of peace.



I treated myself to fish and chips at the beach for dinner.



The seagulls took mere seconds to gather.

The gift exchange went pretty much as standard with all expected present given and received.  That sounds worse that it actually is.  We're quite a decided bunch in our family so we tend to give precise guidelines on what we wish to be give, and people tend to give the same general type of things.  (For example I always give lots of small present which I pick up over the course of the year.  They're generally well received.)

Anyway,

I'm raising a glass to Christmas.  Make it a good one.!

I'm so changeable...

So.... already...  (before I officially start the term - HAH!) I've decided that I need to use a different yarn for one of my major projects. 

Well, truth be told, I'm still planning on using the Rowan Felted Tweed I bought expressly for this particular project (a colourwork cushion).


I've just decided that I wanted to do more so I've just purchased another batch of yarn (lesser ply) to play with.  I really do suspect I purposefully overload myself.



At the moment I'm getting ready for Christmas break.  I'm required to take leave been Christmas and New Years and traditionally this is when I catch up on my reading.

This is my current selection (I'm not expeccting to finish all of them, but hopefully one will catch my interest)

• The Making of Modern Japan - Marius B Jansen.
  
  • I went to Japan earlier this year and adored spending time in the museums there.  I will freely admit that I probably should have read up more before I went but I'm not going to let that stop me doing it now.  This looked fairly comprehensive (enough for what I want anyway)
• Golem - Greg Vilk
  • I came across a mention of this during the year when I was researching ciphers.  This author has apparently embedded ciphers and codes throughout this whole book.  I've read his website where it is revealed but I still want to give it a try myself.
• Tensy Farlow and the Home for Mislaid Children - Jen Storer
  • I started this earlier in the year and found it a bit insipid (not related to the target age as I've frequently found that children's books are better written than some adult books so I read a few of them).  I've been told however that it's worth me giving another try so I'm pulling it out.
• The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
  • I've had this for ages but I was waiting on the whole trilogy being released and then having time set aside to read them in one sweep.  I'm really looking forward to this.
• Salt - Mark Kurlansky
  • Just a bit of 'lightweight history' for beach reading (if I get dragged along). I read Cod by the same author and enjoyed it enough that his name stuck in my head.
• The Next Set - Jasper Fforde (The Eyre Affair, Lost in a Good Book, The Well of Lost Plots, Somthing Rotten)
  
  • Holiday reading at it's finest.  Love a good re-read
• Wolfborn - Sue Bursztynski
  
  • I picked this up while shopping today.  Just looked interesting.
• Evil Genius - Catherine Jinks
  • Another impulse buy
  
  I'll likely be given a book for Christmas as well (based on history it'll be 'Chick-Lit' not really my usual style). It'll be interesting to see how much (if anything) I read and whether I even touch any of the above or get distracted by something.
  

I can't believe I'm doing this

Ok,

I freely admit that I'm likely out of mind in thinking that I'll maintain this blog, but I want to give it another go.  However I'm not going to stress too much about it if I don't.

What I'm planning for 2011

- April - going to Tasmania for a holiday.  At this stage I've just booked the ferry both ways and haven't really planned my route.
- November - going away for my yearly destress week.  I'm thinking the Dandenongs this year.  Plenty of time for planning though.

Crafting wise

• I really want to practise socks next year.  I've got in a stash of the appropriate yarn (and will likely buy more) and have selected some pretty patterns that I either want to do immediately, or to work up to doing later in the year.  I'll have to see how I go.
• I also want to get better at colourwork over a variety of projects so I'm looking at patterns which I can do this with.  I'm going to try to incorporate steeking where I can (just seems a natural fit really) so I can learn/ practise that as well.
• Finally, I want to learn to spin on a spindle.  I picked up a basic one at Bendy in 2009 but have never used it.  Then at Bendy this year I bought some fibre to spin.  Once again, nothing was done.  2011 I want to take a stab at it.

 I've just spent a fair few hours recording some of the various yarn I had sitting around the lounge in my Rav stash.  It seems to me that I've got a fair range there so I'm going to see how much of it I can use during Winter '11 in the House Cup.

I'm not deluding myself for a second that I'll just knit from a single tub.

(I already know of something that I'm going to need to buy for a certain pair of socks.  I've got something on order but I don't think it'll arrive in time so I'll have to either buy something else, or think of a different angle of attack that'll require me to pull in something else from stash)

There's also a few yarn clubs I've joined as well as the temptation of the 'oh-so-shiny' that will just throw themselves into my arms and beg to be bought.

Anyway,  this is my tub at present.  I'll try to update regularly on my progress.