2010: The Retrospective: Knitting

In 2010 I knit 10 items! Which is a pretty paltry effort. However of those 10 items I will probably wear/use all of them, as opposed to some years where I knitted 20 items, half of which were ludicrous and unwearable. Actually there are two extra items which weren't photographed: I knit a plain red scarf for a friend and a second Aestlight Shawl for a work colleague's mum.

I also went to Knit Camp in Scotland which was awesome!

My knitting goals for 2011:

• knit more than 10 items
• use up lots of stash yarn
• more fair isle and colourwork
• more insanely overambitious Easter Show entries
• Knitters Guild achievement certificate Level 1 completion

kai-mei

It's Japanese for "sock mojo". okay maybe not, but finishing this pair of socks has actually gotten me a bit excited about making some more:



Details on Ravelry here

I have another skein of Wollmeise in Fliederbusch, a vivid deep purple. I've decided to make another Japanese inspired pattern, this time from this lovely book by Judy Sumner. But which one?

- Bonsai
- Origami
- Chouwa

HALP

vincent

I visited Melbourne a couple of weeks ago, and managed to get to the Tim Burton exhibition at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. Amongst many highlights, probably my favourite thing was seeing the sketches and notes for one of Burton's early short films entitled "Vincent", about a regular kid who wishes he could be Vincent Price, one of Burton's own childhood heroes (and one of mine!). Price himself narrates this film. The exhibition featured a note from Price to Burton wishing him the best of luck and commenting "I wish I was this Vincent".

Edinburgh Part 2: Water of Leith

The Water of Leith Walkway runs through Edinburgh from Balerno to Leith, a total of 13 miles. I joined the path at Roseburn, the closest point to my hotel, which turned out to be about the halfway point. The Water of Leith is nicknamed Edinburgh's Secret River, and it's truly amazing to wander along this glorious path knowing that literally two blocks away are bustling main streets, buses, shops, pubs and train stations.



So equipped with camera, iPod, water and a bag of delicious Cadbury chocolate eclairs (99p!) I set off. At first it was all a bit Fellowship of the Ring:



I wandered along plotting various means by which I could somehow live in one of these apartments:



Then I encountered St Bernard's mineral water well, imbibed by the 18th century gentry for medicinal purposes, replete with a statue of Hygieia, the Greek goddess of health:



Further along, I stopped off to visit the Royal Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh, the highlight of which was the Victorian Temperate Palm House, built in 1858:



After about 4 hours and 7 or so miles of delightful walking, I ended up in the port town of Leith:



I found a pub serving delicious seafood, ate some haddock and chips and read The Scotsman. After exploring the Leith Docks some more, I hopped on a bus and headed back into town for some Edinburgh Fringe Festival mayhem.

it will all end in tears

Oh no, I am running behind on Blogtober after such a good start!! Tres busy though, packing to move, going to the gym and doing ludicrous things like "Body Combat" class, and eating all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ. But I have completed knitting coming up - got to get some photos though. And Part 2 of Edinburgh - The River of Leith Walkway.

But I'm about to go and try a new Polish restaurant in Newtown shortly - New in Town

So I will leave you with a music recommendation. If you took the Smiths, threw in some Shangri-Las and a dash of The Cure, you end up with The Drums. Perfect summer listening (if only the weather would cooperate). I managed to see them at Splendour in the Grass in July:



This is their songwriting philosophy (taken from their bio)

"We only write about two feelings: one is the first day of summer when you and all of your friends are standing on the edge of a cliff watching the sun set and being overcome with all of your hopes and dreams at once. The other is when you're walking alone in the rain and realize you will be alone forever."

Seaside melodrama!!! Le sigh....

more victorian mayhem

So as part of my rather sudden obsession with comics/graphic novels (I blame reading Watchmen on a recent 10 hour train journey and just being OMG NEED MORE at the end of it), I am currently reading this:


The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
WHY have I not read this before? It's almost as if while I was asleep Alan Moore crept into my brain, extracted everything I love, and then wrote a comic about it. It's got the lot: laudanum! Urchins! Shady dealings in Victorian London! Mina Murray and her red scarf! Mechanical squid ship! Home for Wayward Girls! The Rue Morgue!
And I'm not even halfway through volume 1 yet! Better get the smelling salts.....

audrey in unst

So I finally knitted a complete garment that (a) fits perfectly and (b) I will actually wear (in fact I've worn it to work twice already)!!
I got kind of disillusioned with garment knitting about a year ago and stuck to shawls, socks, and other general accessories. Admittedly it was mostly my fault, for either choosing the wrong colour, wrong pattern or failing to do a gauge swatch and assuming that size small would just automatically fit.

Then I made Audrey in Unst!!



And it turned out PERFECT!! I'd say this was due to a number of factors all coming together like some sort of divine knitting planetary alignment:

(1) I actually did a gauge swatch and took my measurements and worked out which size to knit
(2) The pattern is EXCELLENT. Gudrun Johnston is a brilliant designer. Small touches, such as the I-cord neckline and the short-row shaped set-in sleeves really make this garment look amazing
(3) The yarn is beautiful - Blue Sky Alpaca & Silk blend. yummmmm.
(4) The buttons cost me $1 from St Vinnies!
(5) Zero seaming meant that it didn't languish in my "finished but needs seams" pile which contains items stretching back approximately 5 years

My only regret is that I didn't actually finish it in time to wear it that much, as it is now spring in Sydney, I will be spending the summer living in the Blue Mountains, and then I may be moving to Darwin for 4 months. But I will definitely be wearing this at any available chilly opportunity!!

ALSO NOTE: IT'S NOT BLACK!! Yet I still love it!! Don't worry, normal black knitting will resume shortly.