I am sick...

Poor little blog thing, you have been so ignored for such a long time! I haven't even been reading what everyone else has been up to. I have more cysts in my liver. And that has totally shot the shit out of me. I was just beginning to feel better, recovering from the major surgery of December, recovering from maybe YEARS of that HUGE liver cyst growing and being so debilitating. My GP reckons that perhaps the diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia post meningitis five years ago was due more to the liver cyst than the post-viral symptoms. I was beginning to do stuff. I even tackled the ironing basket and got half that put away. It is more "Ironing Mountain" than basket of stuff. So the linen closet was full of lovely smooth pillow slips, and a basket in the kitchen with pretty tea towels. It is growing again... I even started tackling some of the housework crap that for the last year was just filed in the Too Hard drawer. I knew something was up when I couldn't eat more than two prawns and had to hand over my dessert to my S3 to finish at my nephew's wedding a month ago. And that the middle-aged spread was beginning to happen again around my belly. And that I have put on a couple of kilos, too. So I went back to my GP, and I am back on the medical merry-go-round. There are TWO of the fuckers this time. Two that 10 months ago were measured in millimetres and are now 4 and 7 centimetres. Bastards. Bloody, bloody bastard bastards. I am so miserable about being sick again. And just after I bundled all those maternity clothes off to the op shop, too. I hope this doesn't take until December cos that will be another year wasted.i got so lively I even started thinking that I could even worka PROPER job (ooooh, money would be so lovely. I am all so very over not having enough $$$ to last from one fortnight to the next. I eat a lot of toast...). I initially had a couple of ultrasounds to do a rough check on the livr which found the cysts. And also found a very tender lump in my left breast. So Tuesday to Bendigo for a mammogram and another ultrasound, as well as a CT scan with contrast etc on my liver. Fortunately, there is nothing sinister in my breast. Is just maybe fibrous tissue. I haven't got to see the radiologist's report yet, just going on what the radiographer told me. And that they didn't go into any sort of panic mode when they did the procedure. And now I am awaiting a note from St Vincent's hospital in Melbourne to let me know they are so anxious to not only see my face but my belly.And chop holes in it. I HAVE been sittin' and knittin' a lot lately. If you are on Ravelry you can have a look at what I have been up to. I am AuntieJappa. Actually there are quite a few things that I made that aren't (yet!) on Ravelry either. I even dyed a lot of porridge coloured 5 ply pure wool. Laboriously winding it into skeins before hitting to up with some lovely deep purple. Got about 2kgs so that should be enough to make something pretty Lush! I shall keep you posted...

March marches on...

I know, I know - missing in action (inaction, too!) for much of this month.
But - whiny voice - I have been busy.

This is some of what I have done:

The start of it all with the clever cast-on stitches for the little cap sleeves.

The yoke IS a different colour. There wasn't enough of the original so I got a heap of balls of the pink/rose that also had lots of cream through to milky-cocoa colours in it. I sorted them out (see below for what they got used for!)  and then went back to the neckline with a tiny remainder of the bottom-half wool.

Gorgeous cables! I loved doing these, tho I am piqued somewhat that the cable pattern wasn't the proper Celtic over and under thing that cables MUST do (well in my book!)

Found wonderful buttons at Lincraft that are perfect (even if they were $4 each, sigh).

Here we are. It is a trifle snug but apart from planning to keep on losing weight - just a few more kgs) it also looks mighty fine with just the top few buttons done up...

This is a scull cap I knitted to be able to use up the wool that was shunted out of the yoke wool of the above.

It is a lovely pattern for this hat. I sort of made it up after  following an on-line pattern for a hat knitted in far bigger wool.

Then I made MILES of I-cord to make a Brain Hat for S3 for his birthday. Using that culled wool.

More of the Brain Hat. S4 is silly, err brave, enough to wear a hat like this. He will probably wear it to uni - where he is studying Youth Services, 3rd year. Hey, he is off to Belfast and the UK in June/July for a Study Tour and to do a Placement. Clever fella!  I am a tad proud of him...

A friend told me her MIL had a spinning wheel sitting in her shed for the last 20 years and she would be happy to get rid of it! It was only 50 kms away, lovely trek. The lovely MIL said that she suspected that the person who donated it to her 20 years ago had also had it sitting in their shed for 20 years...

I haven't even seen anyone spinning. But I cleaned it up (urkies) and oiled it and scrubbed it, and found some cord to use as the string bit that goes around the wheel and the spinny thing. And I carded some of the wool that my neighbours gave me for Christmas (good job they gave me the carders too). And then I spun some wool!

It is a bit curly, and I haven't got any more workable bobbins to be able to ply it, but that will change soon enough. The wheel came with a Clever Kate (yeah I know, I know) and three extra bobbins but they are old and the ends are broken off. I learned a friend of ine has a step father who will be able to turn up some more for me.

My cousin showed me her gorgeous tattoo. There is more to come. Isn't this a work of art? I think so. Wouldn't have that much of a tatt myself - cos I am a sook, but I think this is beautiful. There is more to come over her right shoulder, flowers and pretties like that.

I spent a couple of evenings stitching sheets and pillowslips for my Lesbian Dolly Mummies and their new baby. The pillowslips and bottom sheet are from a very old rose printed hanky, and the top sheet is from a very fine silk cami that I have mostly worn to bits. Aren't they pretty dollies? The one on the right is also handicapped - she hasn't any legs...

The bed needs painting. It is from the cheap doll's house kit I bought when we lived in SF. All very cheap furniture you punch out of sheets of ply and cobble together. But suits The Lesbian Mummies perfectly.

I created a chandelier for my kitchen. It is from two rather crappy three armed 1960s chandeliers, and I bolted them together and added a great collection of extra crystals, and some elegant hand blown glass balls that The Boys gave me for Mother's Day back about 1992, and then draped the lot in tiny LED Christmas lights. It contrasts very well with the rustic mud bricks and tongue-and-groove pine lining boards and bare bricks that is my home.

We had 24mm of rain in 10 minutes on evening two weeks ago. This isn't a creek but the road in front of my place, looking East. On the left of the pic is the creek that couldn't cope with all the water...

...and looking West down the road - a couple of trees dropped big branches too. Fortunately, the bogan dad across the road was on his way home with the council road grader when the storm hit was was able to clear the trees off the road.

Next door's driveway with the overflow from his dam that went to make all the water on the road. It's not a bad pic for a panorama, I reckon!

However, my dam got a lot of water in it...

I am making another cardigan. This time I am making up my own pattern with lots of cables and fancy pants  stitches. I scored a few lovely little beaded stitch markers as a freebie on an English knitting magazine so decided to make some more.

I didn't have any (ie couldn't FIND any...!) jump rings so had to make my own. Using plastic covered paper clips.. I rolled them around a fat knitting needle and then cut them into rings.

Some of the pretty handmade beads in my collection. My clever smart-arsed camera has a little thing that comes up saying "FACE DETECTED". Which made me think it really is a clever little beast.

Until it said "FACE DETECTED" here too!!!! How immensely clever of it!!! And look at that dear little teapot. I didn't use it cos of the spiky handle bit that I thought would annoyingly get caught in knitting.

I had to add tiny beads at the bottoms of most of these beads as they have rather large holes.

And here they are already in use. The reverse stocking stitch parts are going to be the backgrounds for cables, and there are some stocking stitch areas  that are already going to be cables, and the line you can see 12 rows up is the row os holes I knitted so I can turn the hem up double and have a line of picots along the hem line. This is 3 or 4 ply wool (gauge 29 sts/10 cm), and I am using 2.75mm needles. With 156 stitches cast on so far. I am sort of using some other patterns to get some ideas but mostly making it up as I go along. But using a lovely big pad of graph paper too.

I made another vest/jacket. This time with 8 ply pretty flecked wool, and added a collar, and longer cap sleeves with a sort of I-cord hem on them, and a knitted on buttonhole band along the right side with a juicy fat I-cord on the edge of it. And only three buttonholes at the neckline.

This is more the colour of the above.

I had my hair cut again and some highlights bleached into it.

And I did LOTS of other things in the last month that I didn't get photos of. 

The Beez (my musician friends from Berlin) came and stayed three or four times in their travels around the country - next time we will have a House Concert here!

My Cousin Kathy came to stay with a friend of hers from Skye who is also a relative (her great great grandmother and our great great grandfather were half brother and sister. That is close enough in our family to travel halfway around the world and be welcomed!!!!) and we went to listen to The Beez, and to a family birthday party. And ate lots. That isn't My Cousin Kathy with the tatts earlier, btw.

Lots of other little time filling things went on. And now I am getting back to my knitting...

I hope you have made it this far...

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...