Christmas Stuff

We have had a very Christmas orientated week.

Mr S' Christmas concert on Tuesday - watching 2 year olds singing 'Jingle Bells' is very amusing indeed! Organised chaos at best.

On Wednesday, Mr S' grandmother (who still does volunteer teaching at the local primary school) had her Christmas concert. Robert took him. They had a lovely time.

And then on Friday the mandatory visit to the city. We caught the train. Everything about trains is fascinating for Mr S - even waiting on the platform.

The Myer windows were fab. This year the theme is 'How Santa Really Works' - based on the Alan Snow book of the same name. Mr S loved it. I bought the book for him a week earlier and we have been reading it. Although much of the detail is too complex for him, he understands the basic concepts.

Then we visited Santa. Followed shortly afterwards by Mr S falling asleep.

It was a big day.

We still don't have a Christmas tree and I'm only half way though my shopping, but things are pretty under control.

I'm also pressing on with the orange aran hoodie for Mr S. Nearly finished the back. Looking good. Photos soon.

The Beach

With the first day of summer looming tomorrow, my thoughts turn to the beach.

Mr S and I spent a lovely 30 minutes one evening last week sitting on this seat and observing the beach.

There was much to see. People walking their dogs. Seagulls wheeling in the sky and stalking each other across the sand. And a ship moving up the bay towards The Heads.

Mr S was in his PJs, so I didn't want him running around, but he had lots of enjoyment sitting with his mummy. There was also a fair bit of jumping on the seat! He is very talkative, so there were lots of words to explore. And watching the dogs was a highlight. Since Mil has left us, Mr S has become very very interested in other dogs.

More chocolate cake too...

My recent reminiscence about Bill Granger's chocolate cake in 'Simply Bill' led to me hunting out the recipe and making the cake again. It's a good cake. Sound. Probably not the best chocolate cake that I have ever made or eaten, but good. It's easy and quick to make if the butter is really soft. Great icing (chocolate and sour cream).

By way of comparison, the chocolate cake I made for Mr S' birthday was much richer and moister.

Mr S had a great time helping me icing it and sprinkling mini M&Ms over the top. He needs to have more sprinkling practice! Sprinkling very quickly became pushing the M&Ms into the chocolate. Mr S' side of the cake is a bit mucky. But a fun time was had by all.

More sewing...

It could be some kind of fabric vortex, but no, it's actually a photo of the lining inside Mr S' new pajama bag.

Having dusted off my sewing machine, I got a rush of blood and made Mr S the PJ bag today. Mr S loves the pandas. He originally saw it in Amitie and was so excited. He pointed it out to me, as I hadn't seen it. I hope he keeps loving it.

What Mr S and I have been up to!

I used to have regular contact with someone who would always ask, without fail, what I had done since we last met. I could never remember anything particularly interesting or noteworthy. Just stuff. It didn't matter, because the question was really only a ploy to enable them launch into a long list of really fab things they had done or were planning to do. The conversation always left me feeling dissatisfied and reflecting that I must be a really boring person... I don't really think I am boring. It just took me a while to work out that it's just that I don't treat my life like a 'to do list'.

I think of my life as something more organic. Continuous and evolving. I tend to live intensely in the moment, enjoying it for what it is. For instance, every work day morning Mr S runs to the car declaring at the top of his voice that he is 'running'. I love that moment. The photo above attempts to capture it. But by putting it into words, the moment seems some how diminished - smaller than when it happens. It's difficult to convey the feeling of intense pleasure experienced in that moment.

I think less about events and milestones. It's not that I don't reflect about the past or think about the future, it's just that when I do, I think less about the detail, and more about the overview. I'm more interested in the 'grand narrative', less about the individual events, which on the surface can appear disjointed and without particular meaning.

So I tend to push to the back of my mind quite quickly the granular specifics about 'what have I been doing'. That can make blogging (or diary writing for that matter), quite a test. These mediums tend to focus on events. An item that has been made, a meeting, an outing... It was only when I down uploaded a batch of photos this morning that I realised just how much I had done in the last month or so, which I hadn't shared on the blog. So here it is... What Mr S and I have been up to!...

I finally finished Mr S' textured cardigan to match the hat that I showed you a few posts ago. It's a Sirdar pattern. Gosh they do nice things for little boys. I have a stack of their patterns for 0 - 10 years that I am hoping to knit through in the future. Unfortunately the uploaded photo isn't as clear as it is on my computer. I don't know why. The buttons are wooden elephants, which come from Sunspun. My favorite yarn shop.



And the garden is chugging along into Spring. Roses Roses Roses. And a few other things too.

I love this rose (below) - Rosa chinensis mutabilis. I think Rix and Philips in their book on Roses, describe the flowers as butterfly like. I agree.

And lots of woodland plants - foxgloves, assorted apiaceae and the like. My dream garden would be a clearing carved out of a dense wood. Moist, shady.... mmmm. I think that's why I like Beatrix Potter so much.

A few weeks ago now, Mr S and I went to the Royal Melbourne Agricultural Show. It's an annual event. City meets country. Lots of animals; dog trials; craft displays; show bags; fair rides.

The biggest highlight for Mr S was sitting on a tractor that was on display.

Not sure how the salesman viewed it. As much as I love Mr S, I felt that buying one was a tad excessive! So we had to disappoint the poor salesman.

He still talks about it (Mr S, not the salesman). Whenever we see a tractor, he points to the cab / drivers seat and says "I sitting in there."

The second highlight was the train trip there and back. It was a long ride - over an hour each way. I wasn't sure how he would deal with it. But his fascination with trains kept him sustained. He loved it.


We also recently took him to his first theatre experience - The Wiggles' "Dorothy the Dinosaur Show". Again we weren't sure how he would deal with sitting in a theatre for about an hour, but he loved that too. He is very keen on their music, so he danced and jumped his way through an hour of singing.

Here he is with his grandmother.

In the last week I have pieced together the top for Mr S' new quilt. I haven't used my sewing machine in over 3 years, so I felt very virtuous! The quilt contains lots of Japanese fabric, which Superbuzzy sell online. Next step is putting on the borders.

The Cake

Well together Mr S and I chose a cake.

It was the three layer chocolate cake that is on the cover of Kathryn Kleinman's 'Birthday Cakes' (see post below).

Wow, it's a rich cake. 10oz /375g of butter, 23/4 cups of brown sugar, 11/2 cups of cocoa, 3 eggs... and it tastes wonderful. It's the darkest chocolate cake I have ever made. Almost a devil chocolate cake. The frosting wasn't quite as successful. I don't know what went wrong but I was way too sloppy. And as you might see from the picture, the assembly didn't quite happen as I had imagined. Partly because I was rushing and had to put it together while the cake was still warm, partly because of the frosting and partly because in the rush I broke the middle layer in half when I picked it up - oops!

Still, despite the visual challenge, it was pretty good to eat! I just looked at it and laughed at the slightly askew presentation!

Anyway, birthday cake is about taste and love. Right? There was lots and lots of love that was mixed in to it - so it must have been good.

Oh, and the candles were a hit! The first time Mr S has tried to blow out candles. He was mesmerized.

Winter Hats

It's been a cold winter for Melbourne. I've been busily knitting, but a bit slow about finishing anything. However, I have managed to complete two hats for my toddler. Ya!!

The first is made from Shepherd's Colour 4 Me in a good strong traditional red. It's 100% wool and knits up well. I used a Sirdar pattern (1682). I've also knitted a matching jacket - I just have one more side seam to sew on that, however it's been at that stage for well over a month!

The hat is nice. I added the stalk.



The second hat is really more of an old fashion 'helmet'. It's a Zoe Mellor pattern. It needs the tie to keep it on properly. It is designed to be close fitting and if not tied on it pops up. If I was knitting it again I'd knitted it a couple of sizes bigger and at least 3 cm longer so I could do away with the ties. I knitted it from Sublime Baby Cashmere, Silk, Merino DK. Super soft, but it does pill a bit. The hat also has a pompom!

I haven't been spending much time in the garden. Too cold and too difficult with Mr S. We did plant some bulb recently (they should have gone in during February!). Mr S now refers to the garden as a sandpit!

Despite the neglect, or maybe because of it there are some nice vignettes that have appeared naturally. Here lie the fruits of the Pseudocydonia nestling amongst decaying leaves.

We are still missing Mil very much. Mr S still asks about her and was very excited yesterday when he saw a picture of a blue heeler. She lives on in our hearts and our memories, but it is still very sad and painful.

Welcome Leo

Well finally...

Leo looks kind of cute. I gave him a friendly face. Mr S loves him. He has a book with a reference to a 'soft furry lion' that 'goes roar roar roar' - we read it several times this afternoon, with Mr S clutching Mr Leo!

The pattern comes from the V&A website (as I have previously mentioned) and Mr Leo was knitted in Rowan Scottish Tweed 4ply.

17 Colours

Seventeen colours!

I've finished the first colour repeat. Four more to go!

I figure that five repeats will give me about 180 - 190 cm in length.

I have several other 'nearly finished' projects banking back. All requiring sewing up and finishing. My least favorite part of making anything. I think because I don't rate my needlework skills very highly, so I'm usually fairly tense when I pick up a sewing needle. Generally not a good start to enjoying a task.

Never-the-less, I've finally finished the renovations of this simple Debbie Bliss jumper, which uses four strands of Marta's Yarn 2ply merino.

I knitted the jumper last year for Mr S. I made the 6mth size, but it never really fitted him properly. Too wide, arms too long. So he wore it once or twice only.

Now that it's getting colder, I'm looking at what jumpers Mr S has for this winter. I tried this jumper on him and width wise it is perfect, as is arm length. But it was ridiculously short. So I went to Marta's and bought a complementary colour way. I've knitted an extension. About 10cm. And tacked it on to bottom. It looks (I hope) like he is wearing layers.

This is a slightly better representation of the colour, although still not great. The actual colours are far richer. Never mind!

And my swap partner (SueChicago) has received her package. Yah!

Pretty in Pink

Well, I'm on to my twelfth colour. I think it's looking ok this time around.

But nothing is ever straight forward. I've now got a tension problem. The first six colours were done during summer, when my hands were hot and the wool didn't slide smoothly. So the tension is tighter. Now that it's cold, well the yarn's flowing freely and the tension is looser. Mmmmm.

Progress on other projects is steady:

• Mr S' red cardi has a sleeve and collar to do - and then it's finished!
• Leo Lion is sewn up, I need to to the finishing touches - embroider the face, sew on a tail and ears - and then it's finished too!

I've started a new winter hat for Mr S. It's from Zoe Mellor's "The Bid Book of Kids' Knits - 50 designs for babies and toddlers". It has ear flaps and cables.

Zoe Mellor's book is fab! There are lots of great patterns including a pirate jumper and a puppet theatre, with hand puppets.

Red Hill Agricultural Show

Well it was Red Hill Agricultural Show again on Saturday. I had been umming and arring for sometime about whether to put anything in this year or not. I've been quite disorganised this year. Run over by work, a caring for a 'always on the go' toddler and I guess just life in general.

In the end I put in three items.

This alpaca cardi has been on the needles for some time - well over six months anyway - I had changed the sizing, failed to record what I had done, and every time I picked it up I kept making mistakes that I had to pull out. Very frustrating. But I used the deadline of the Show to give me the final kick along to finish.


Anyway, it won a first prize, so I was quite pleased in the end.

I also finished the plum pudding tea cosy. I love it, but it didn't get a gong.

And lastly, Mr S' Sailor Sweater. It got a second prize. I'm quite pleased with it. The only criticism I have is that I don't really like the edges. If I knitted it again, I'd knit a garter stitch band. The yarn is Sublime's Baby DK (a mix of merino, cashmere, silk and microfiber). The yarn is gorgeous to feel, but is a bit of a trial to knit with. It splits quite easily and it's difficult to get an even surface.

Late at night - hot again

So, to fill in the time until exhaustion beats discomfort and I decide I can finally go to sleep, I'm blogging.

I'm just starting to think about new knitting projects for 2008 - on the To Do list so far are:

• socks;
• jumpers and cardigans for Mr S;
• tea cozies;
• knitted toys.

I recently bought some beautiful soft organic baby wool in a silvery browny grey (4 ply / sock weight) to knit Mr S a jumper of some kind. It comes from Mr S' Steiner teacher at Morningstar Crafts. It's just lovely to touch. I think I'll make him some kind of textured jumper - maybe a Debbie Bliss style fisherman's jumper?

I recently found this sock pattern via a link in a Knitter's Review article about the new Green Mountain Spinnery sock yarn (I just love her yarn reviews - really useful). I'm very tempted... but equally this sock pattern (Leaf Lace Socks) over at Tiennie's is really delicious too. Oh, the agony.

And do I make Mr S a pig, or an elephant or a lion??? I just love this lion from the V&A knitting website:

In gardening news: excitement reigned this evening when I got home - finally the Alpine Garden Society seed has arrived. Not that it's planting weather yet - far too hot - but all that potential wrapped in paper just waiting to get loose. As usual I ordered an eclectic mix of species - Digitalis, Paeonia, Lilium, Fritillaria, Erythronium etc... Bring on cooler weather!

And I know this looks like one of those dodgy UFO photos that turn out to be a Frisbee on a string, but REALLY this is a frog on the other side of the bathroom window. I have been hearing them sing BONK BONK BONK for a few weeks every night. To see it was a bit of a treat. I think it's a Pobblebonk. You can listen to a recording of its song on the Frog Watch website too.

Happy Christmas

Well, why not... only a week late and on NYE!

It's 11.25pm on the Mornington Peninsula ... I'm safely tucked in my house, with the TV on, Mr S is asleep, and I'm quietly sweltering (it was 34 deg C last time I checked). While more police than you could shake a stick at are supposed to be 'locking down' the general area. All public feastivities are cancelled to discourage young visitors although how you could keep them away from the beach on such a night is a bit of a mystery to me. There was rioting in nearby Rye last year, so no repeat required. But there is enough illegal fireworks currently being let off to be make anyone happy! Bit premature, but that's the youth of today for you.

HAPPY 2008!

Such a long long time!

Wow, can't believe it's been so long since I posted last.

Of course much has happened. I think I stopped cause life just got too chaotic and something had to give, otherwise I would have become miserable.

Mr S is now 14 months! How did that happen?

I've just looked at my last knitting pictures - both the navy Jo Sharp and 4ply red kimono style cardigans have been finished and worn and washed and worn and washed and worn and washed and worn and washed.... it has been a long time since I posted!

Several knitted hats were also completed.

I've knitted another cardigan since then too - Sublime's Brunch Coat - which Mr S wore to his christening in October. Here is the picture from the pattern book:

I'll try and post of a picture of MY version soon.

I've also been knitting toys and Christmas decorations. I want my tree to be full of things that Mr S can suck on, throw about and generally 'have a go' at, without endangering him.

Finally!

Well, it's a few weeks since I posted. Life's been 'out of control' busy. Nothing disastrous, just busy. Every time I thought about blogging something happened to prevent me!


There has been slow progress on my projects. But finally the red rib cardi is almost finished. I just need to sew it up.

I don't think I will ever knit this again . I'm pretty sure I'm going to like it when it's finished BUT at the moment - Mmmmmmm. I just HATED the endless rib - rib - rib - rib - rib - rib - rib [well you get the idea].


I've also finished knitting the teal and orange hoodie, but it's half sewn up and in a state of visual disarray, so no picture til it's done! Hopefully very soon.


And now that I've finished knitting two items, I've allowed myself to cast on a couple of new things. I don't have strict rules about how many items I can have on the go at any one time, but one is not enough (I need to be able switch projects if I get fed up with something); two or three is manageable; and once I get to four or five I'm starting to feel out of control.


This winter hat for Mr S uses the Benambra Blue yarn that I bought at the Red Hill Show in March. It feels beautifully soft. It's a mix of wool and silk. It has some imperfections (fluffy slubby bits and some variations in thickness), so it suits a more rustic design. You couldn't knit the perfect twin set with it!


And this is the start of a cardigan for Mr S using Jo Sharp's DK Silkroad Tweed in navy. It's difficult to see the pattern, but it's a variation on the basketweave pattern. Mr S is in DESPERATE need of a navy cardigan. I'm hoping I can whiz this one up a bit more quickly than the two months it took to knit the red cardi!


On the domestic front:

Autumn in the garden is in full swing. These yellow kniphofias flower every year at this time. I have other kniphofias that flower during summer and winter. The leaves are turning colour and I'm feeling a bit sad. I love autumn, it's beautiful, but it feels like everything is dying. AND it's almost dark at 5pm!! YUK.

Mil seems fine. Her illness is a total mystery. The specialist vet has asked that I make contact with him at the end of May and suggested doing the heart tests again in a few months. The pictures are The Mil outside in the street. She loves going out side our house; it's a real treat for her. All the doggy smells. She can spend a long time with her nose firmly pressed to the ground!

So far Mr S is doing well with the introduction of food. The Organic Cookbook is a gem. I've cooked 'First Vegetables' and 'Cheesy Potato' - both delicious (even if I say so myself).