Nearly there....

Well, square no. 10 is finally on the blocking mat, I will soon be coming to the end of this amazing journey into fair isle knitting.  I have learnt so much, and will treasure every square of this blanket.

When I have finished it, I will write up a more detailed blog on it, but for now, here is a peak of square 10....

Thankfully I have my eating back under control, it is weigh in day on Thursday, so fingers crossed.  Meanwhile, I have to work today, so I had better go and get ready. 

Happy knitting......

Sad times

It has been a tough month.  Without going in to too much detail, my dad passed away in Tasmania on September 11th.  Thankfully we arrived in time to say goodbye, it has been a very sad and stressful time.

I just couldn't do any knitting for about a 3 week period.  My heart was just not in it.  I also totally binged on junk food and my weight started to soar again!!

So, I have now pulled myself together, I have started knitting again, although I have to say, square 11 of this blanket is the hardest yet, I can only manage about 5-6 rows at a time because I lose concentration, something you simply can NOT afford to do with this square.  Maybe it is because of all that has happened, I don't know.  Still, when it is finished, this blanket will be my memory blanket for my dad.

Sitting underneath it is my presently shelved Cottage Ripple blanket from Attic 24, if you haven't heard of Lucy's blog, I highly recommend it, you can find it here.... http://attic24.typepad.com/ wow, Lucy is a genius how she puts her colours together.

It is a beautiful sunny day here today, but I must go and do some food shopping, then it will be home to catch up on some chores!

Happy knitting.....

New Job

Well, after a long hiatus from blogging land, I am back!  At the end of last year I lost my job, due to budget cuts.  I was devastated to say the least.  I mean, how was I going to fund my future yarn purchases!!!!

Well, they say when one door closes, another opens, and I now have been working at the FABULOUS  new City of Perth Library as a PERMANENT part time library officer.  I love my new job, I am working with a fabulous crew, and I am a very lucky girl indeed.  You can check out my new workplace here....http://www.perth.wa.gov.au/living-community/city-perth-library


In the meantime, I have been working away on my Marie Wallin Fairisle Club blanket, wow, so much work, but I am nearly there.  I am on the penultimate square (a big word for 8.30am), and OMG this is the most difficult square yet.  I have a rule when I knit at night.  If I make a mistake, it usually means I am tired. So, I fix the mistake, then put it away for the night.  Well, with all the other squares I managed about 10 rows per  night.  This square..... about 3 !!!  Marie assures me that the final square is much easier.  Hmmmmm I shall reserve judgement until I see it!

This is one of the squares,

I hope you can feel my pain!

So I have been thinking about life after this blanket.  So much wool in my stash, and so many patterns I would like to knit. Where does a girl start?  Well, the library officer in my has made a list, yes, a spreadsheet in fact, listing all the wool in my stash, and what I can see myself making with it.  Then, I shall cut all these projects up in to strips, and have a lucky dip to chose my next project!  Cool hey!

Another thing I am trying to get control of is not only my overeating, but my BUDGET!  Oh how I hate that word!  I was watching a segment on the morning news today about a lady who feeds her family for $200 a fortnight!  She does her main shopping at Aldi, yay, we have one of those now, and her fruit and veg from a farmer's market.  Grrrr we don't have any of those.  And her family is 2 adults and one 2 year old.  A little different to my 2 adults and 2 children, oh, did I say children, 30 and 32, does that count!

So perhaps if I could strive for maybe $400 per fortnight, and that is everything, cleaning stuff and all, I wonder how I would go.  What was interesting is that she plans for 10 meals per fortnight, which allows for leftovers (WHAT ARE THEY??) , and meals out at friends/restaurants.  Basically a good idea, I might give it a go.

Happy knitting!

Well, I have certainly been missing in action from my blog.

My weight has soared over the last two years, I am still LOVING my knitting, but unfortunately, I also LOVE all the foods that are bad for me.

I have just started an AMAZING new job, at the brand new City of Perth Library, such a beautiful new building, and the team I am working with are just amazing. The only trouble is, I am on my feet for most of the day, and as I am carrying an excess of 40kg around on my 5'2" frame, my dodgy knee is really suffering.  I am in pain with it all through the night, and by the end of a work day, it is all I can do to get myself to the train station to get home!

So, what do I do?  Do I sit back and play the victim and have a good old moan and cry?  All while watching Netflix?  No Way!   Today is a new day.  I am joining the gym (yikes).  Don't worry, I am still intending to knit my way through this problem, but I also need the benefits of some exercise. Yes, I know I could go for walks, but for those of you who know what the Perth, West Australia climate is like, it is just too hard over summer.  Here we are two weeks into Autumn, and yesterday hit 40oC  !!!   I just laid around like a beached whale, under the air conditioning vent all day!

The gym is air conditioned, so there will be NO excuses!!

I am just going to fit it in around my days off from work (my job is part time), and try very hard to fuel my body with healthy foods.

So, today I weighed in at 91.7kg, wish me luck!!

Near Miss

This is a very quick post before I head off to work.  Weigh-in day today, I was hoping to reach 86kg, which would have meant I could have started knitting my beautiful Rowan top.  But alas, would you believe it, the rotten scales said 86.1  !!!!  Yes, I know it is much the same thing, but I am determined I am NOT starting it until I reach 86.   Drat, I knew I shouldn't have had that beautiful vegie tart with puff pastry yesterday :(

On a brighter note, I have started my next customer order, which is going to be a doggie polo jumper !! It is a DROPS pattern, and I have had to make it a little bigger as this doggie has a slightly bigger tummy than the pattern states!  So, I have written it out, allowing for an extra 12 stitches, oh, whoever would have thought that learning maths at school would have come in handy one day!   Then I have coloured my own chart, which I am quite impressed with...

So now I am all set to go.  At least with having to postpone starting my Rowan top for another week, I will be able to make good progress on this!

Well, hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go,

Happy knitting........

Back in to the swing

Well here I am, no thinner after my long absence, in fact, oh no, my clothes are not fitting any more :(  Time to take action again.

Having just returned from a week in Tasmania, thought I would share some photos...

This was taken in the beautiful town of Oatlands, this house with attached shop was up for sale, so SORELY tempted!  

And what did I find in the middle of the main street - yes, a wool shop!  Sadly it was not open when we were there, truly, you could have heard my sobs from the other side of the world.  All the door knocking and foot stomping in the world would not bring anyone to the door.  I had to stand and gaze longingly at this beautiful locally spun wool through the window (yes, I know it is very blurry, but I am a knitter, not a photographer)

And then there was this one, knitting chair already in place..

And so it was back to beautiful Hobart, where thankfully their wool shops WERE open!  Here is the addition to my stash, I wonder what it will all become.

So now it is back to the real world, I am recovering from a horrible cold that I picked up on our travels, and I just wish I could sit and knit today, but must get some washing done, ironing, maybe after lunch.........

Happy knitting......

Where's Winter?

Well, I can't believe we are just in to August, we should be having temperatures in the mid teens, rain, wind etc, but what do we have?  Nothing but sunshine!  24 yesterday, and 25 today!  It is just like spring.  Yesterday, I had loads of cleaning to do, but decided with such a beautiful warm day, I needed some time to enjoy.  So, armed with my pot of jasmine green tea,

and my knitting

and beautiful Scully,

I enjoyed some lovely time out in the sun.  The sun was making Scully's collar sparkle,

and everything felt great.

I made a lovely vegetarian dinner, lentil and veg hotpot, but forgot to take photos.  

Today is another beautiful day, but I must tackle the bathroom (ugh) and the bedroom.  Then, it will be time to get on with some knitting this afternoon.  I am in the process of making my first ever doggie jumper, not for Scully, but for a friend's dog.  If it is a success, I will be selling them, so fingers crossed. Well, off to the cleaning :(

Happy knitting....