Hussif

I made a hussif for S4 to take to Germany with him. It has little pockets for press studs, elastic, velcro dots, and whatever, and cute little cylinders to hold the tiny reels of thread, and buttons sewn on individually so he can cut them off as needed, pins, needles (already threaded...), safety pins.

Felt on the inside, and pretty Phasgogale Dreaming (tiny flying possum creatures) Aussie material on the outside to remind him of home.

That gorgeous tape measure tape? He and his girlie gave me that for my birthday present last year (along with lots of other treasures). Appropriate ties for this hussif I reckon!

Knitting and Skiting

I have had fun whipping up a pair of socks for S4. 

He headed off on Valentine's Day to study in Germany for a semester. 

He is about to start 3rd year Electrical Engineering,and is off to some Uni near Stuttgart who thinks he is a wonderful student. He is on exchange which means he can still get all the Government allowances that he gets when studying here, but he also won a scholarship (for "Academic Excellence"!). He has just had a week in England to catch up with friends from when he was working and living there with the Gorgeous Clancye. She isn't going, she has to stay here. This will be the longest they have ever been apart. Hard for them both I reckon.

The background is the jumper I am knitting for The Sweetheart. 

Last year I got to the armholes on both the back and front before it all got way too heavy for my poor belly. Will finish it in time for this winter...

Mallee Sunset Vest

I just knitted a vest - this pattern:

http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/us/pattern.php?id=4707&lang=us                                                       Fabulous to make - I started it the weekend before last and finished it last night (although I have yet to sew on the buttons, I did undo the collar bit and reknit it so that counts as having sewn on the buttons in time used...).

It is knitted in one piece from the hem up (lovely ribbing) and in reverse stocking stitch so all the ribby bits show. And also make the cables pop beautifully. Some decreasing up to the waist and then increased over the bust so it is a lovely neat line, hugging my waist. 

I used some 10 ply from Lincraft, the colour is like a Mallee sunset (hence the name!) - blues and mauves through to pinks and oranges, with some grey-green and tan bits in between.          Gorgeous.

But - of course - I ran out of that wool and there wasn't any more in Lincraft. However, they did have some pink rosy-red that shaded back to pale, pale pink and milky cocoa. I got 10 more balls and bastardised them, just using the pinks for the cable bit, and saving the pale bits for another project (sssh, will tell you later cos it is going to be a surprise for someone. Hehehe)

Here is the WIP, the cap sleeves are knitted separately, four rows and then added in to the 6 stitch cast off armholes. So easy and simple and not at all complex. Did I also mention EASY????? Here you can also see the waist shaping, where the side seams would be.

 

Back view (right). There are 11 cable pattern repeats around the yoke. I wasn't happy with the way the colours of the Mallee wool came out around the collar so pulled it out last night and fussy knitted it up again just using the pinks and purples of the wool. Cos I ran out of the pink colourway, too...

Will add a photo of that when I am inside it.

I am such a smart-arse. I started this on Saturday (umm was that the 11th?) and finished it last night - 21/2/12 (love a nice palindromic date). I am going to fiddle with the date posting of this so it will look like I wrote all this last night. Why? Cos I can. That is why.

This is some I-cord I am making from the remains of the gutted out balls of wool I used for the yoke. Can't tell you what it is going to be yet. Bit of excitement and tension in your life wont hurt you.

And this is all such a wonderful pattern I am going to make another one. This time in 8 ply. Might make a few of them even, it is such a great pattern. I might add more cables up the body, and pockets and perhaps without an opening down the front (ie a jumper not a cardi), and maybe with a bit of a collar, too. My brain is off and running. Off and running down the road without me it seems...

Painting

I started this picture last year.

And then got too blaaah to add more to it.

It is a canvas that I added words to with cheap sticky letters (from the Cheap Shop) and then painted over.

The letters are going to be turquoise (in the same way that the canvas is "orange". (It is reds and pinks and yellows and golds!*). Getting there...

There are some shapes in the blanks spots - map of Australia, butterfly, heart, bow, flowers - that will be highlighted. Maybe even gold leafed. I will see what it needs when I get to it.

I also painted up a star that S4 made years ago and which has been stuck out in the garden since forever. Time for a change...

You can see where the turquoise and orange thing is heading with the background paintings. I didn't do them. The face is a print that S4 got from his father as an 18th birthday present (apparently he has (umm had) the original at his place until S4 "got his own place" or some such...). It looks like my tall fiddle playing mate Andrew Clermont. 

And the RH painting is by an Iranian refugee who sells his work on The Esplanade Sunday Market. It is fabulous, I love the perspective, the painting within a painting.     

There is a glimpse of the cream/gold painting that I did on 10/10/10 with 3 sets of ten hearts, three Xs, 10/10/10 etc. It is a bit obscure I think. Last time someone looked at it I had to explain it and I shouldn't have to do that with paintings...

* I discovered 7 different tubes and jars of golds - not counting the box of gold leaf - when I consolidated my paints...

Canadian Glue

The Canadian Glue is called Weldbond and it is  REALLY useful!

You can even use it as a concrete hardener. Just in case your concrete is going soft...

I have heard we can now get Gorilla Glue here in Oz but have yet to see it. That is the glue that everyone in America thinks is the bee's knees.
But that is only cos they haven't heard of the Canadian glue that sticks elephants to ceilings...


I bought it at the local hardware shop (thanks Tonks), but I think it would also be in Bunnings. About $20 for 500mls.

Home Repairs

The screws fell out of the bottom hinge of the front door. And when I tried to screw them back in I found they had just been sitting there, wandering around inside vast spaces.

SO - I glued in some matchsticks - each hole needed three as the screw holes were so worn. And then I chiselled off the matches and screwed the hinge back together. I used that wonderful Canadian glue that you can use to stick elephants to ceilings.

And now the door closes properly!

Pantry Cupboard

The pantry cupboard got some shelves installed and is now in the pantry and all loaded up. I still need more storage for all my cooking pots and cake tins. That will come, I can't keep hiding them all in the four ovens of the Rayburn!

S2 and S4 came last Sunday week and did some wonderful musclebound bloke stuff, adding more insulation tot he ceiling above the pantry. Next job is to fill in the triangular space with more pine boards, and to mouseproof the gaps in the ceiling (the bloke who started building this house was short and didn't have a ladder so there are a lot of high up spaces which have gaps big enough for large animals let alone tiny weeny antechinuses, possums, and urk - bushrats and mices.

This is S4 up the ladder and S2 about to give him a hand with the insulation batts....

You can see light shining onto the ceiling from a gap in the pantry ceiling. Sigh.

And somebody took a photo of me whilst I was busy Making Lists. I didn't even know it was on my camera! There aren't many photos of me in any form, so you are lucky!!

This Week Has Been Hectic!!

I have yet to add the sparkly Christmas lights to the kitchen chandelier - I haven't had time...

Most of the time was taken up with Newstead Live music festival. Lovely lovely music, and I was billeting The Beez who are from Berlin. They also stayed with me two years ago so this time it was like Old Friends returning!
And also last week, my former husband died. Malcolm The Unwelcome. Poor bloke, though he did deserve the title we did have some good times at the beginning. And lovely sons.
Here is a eulogy.
His funeral is tomorrow in Geelong - "wear bright colours" always seems to be wrong for a funeral. I don't want to be so bright I look like I am happy he has died rather than celebrating his life. Which was really interesting, and I still yearn for all the great science we did together. He has six children from three of his five marriages. I was the fourth (Castlemaine Four Ex...), he is still married to my successor who he hooked up with in mid 1989 (though I didn't find out for two more years...hmmm!).

Anyway - here is the chandelier:

I don't know what those little orange bits are in the cup pieces of it - maybe just the reflection of my lovely pine lining boards...