Thursday, March 26, 2009

Fusty & Fine


Just a quick note to say the weather did improve for the remainder of the trip. I was also very good & got plenty finished... well almost!

Fusty Cardy is onto the last sleeve, then the neck, then sewing - I will be making a concerted effort to knock it off this weekend.


I did however get a tank top for Hugo & vest for Louis done in matching yarn, twee I know, but I couldn't help myself.

Oh well back to Fusty!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Knitting in the rain...


One of the things you learn about travelling is sometimes you just have to release yourself to the Universe in order to have a good time. Dr. Phil & I have snuck up to Rarotonga again for a quick break Whilst leaving the 'Super Grans' in charge of the boy's back home in Napier. The great irony about heading away for some sunshine & R&R has been that there has been very little sunshine, in fact it has rained every day of the 4 days we have been here so far. All thank you to Cyclone Ken further up the Pacific, but as we saw on this mornings news we are better off than Tonga which has an erupting volcano & 7.9 earthquakes overnight.
The best thing about all this rain is I have absolute no guilt about all the knitting I have been able to do. I am just putting the finishing touches on a tank top for Hugo & stop the presses I am going to finish Dr. Phil's fusty cardy this afternoon, well at least try to!!
The flip side of all the stormy weather is when the sun does come out it can leave you with some beautiful skies. Yesterday saw thunderstorms & heavy showers that punctuated the sunshine, it does make some entertaining horizon watching when sipping your brandy.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Last of the Summer Wine


It's the second of March today, the second day of Autumn if you follow the calendar dates, a time that I often reflect over the previous season, regroup, clean up & plan what's next. February has been frenetic. We only had 5 days in the month when we did not have at least one extra guest in the house. So today I have been able to gather a few thoughts about what is to be done before Dr Phil & I head away to Rarotonga mid month, minus children, for a well earned rest.

So during my Autumnal clean up I was cleaning the coffee table & thought I would rescue it from the magazine tower that had mushroomed, teetering precariously, a real & present danger for the freshly crawling Hugo. Said magazines were scooped up & sorted & to my horror I saw how many were my 'occasional' knitting magazines. Occasional my arse, bloody dozens of them. Where had they come from, surely I haven't bought that many recently? I only subscribe to one, yet there in front of me were at least 6 different titles, from 4 different parts of the globe! Thank the tax man that I now have made knitting my 'business'. As a contractor I can at least claim back the GST (sales tax) & have them as an expense (research tool), which is just as well when you see the price of them here, the cheapest being $14 through $20, a significant investment.

Do I feel guilty, no. Should I feel guilty, no. I used to buy forest's worth of cooking, food & wine mags, now I get just one, so I have replaced one genre for another. The good news is, more forward thinking publishers, like Vikant who do Burda's Verena magazine, have now made their magazine available online in pdf format. I can now pay the subscription without the crippling overseas freight costs.... not to mention the weight on my coffee table!!

What's on the sticks this week...

I have almost finished a cabled vest for Hugo with the beautiful Italian Merino I got last month in Wellington, I knitted the same pattern for Louis in a Cashmere/Merino blend & he thrashed it so much it hasn't survived to be handed down. I also started another vest with 4 stray balls of Jo Sharp DK that was found lurking at the bottom of the remnant basket at work. Sharp is a master of beautiful tonal colours & the simple slip stitch pattern I am using gives an almost fair isle look, I have used this before in my beanies, if the vest turns out OK I will post the pattern, wish me luck!