Summer of Scarves

The following 2 months are going to be dedicated to working on the Raven Shawl for the Easter Show. I have officially entered and paid my registration fee etc, so there is no turning back now. I am also progressing fairly well with Irtfaa; I have completed chart 1 and am halfway through chart 2, which according to my Excel spreadsheet (NERD!!) is about where I should be in order to complete by March. I will however have to purchase a longer lace needle, as my 200 or so stitches are soon to become about 400 or so. eep!

Anyway, before I began seriously applying myself to the shawl (and in some moments requiring less focused knitting), I managed to complete a couple of WIPs from 2009. First up, the Peaks Island Hood by Ysolda:



I've always liked the idea of hooded scarves, particularly in colours which make me look like a gothic nun. But I wasn't sure if it would turn out to be one of those garments which takes about half an hour of assembly and fiddling to get it to even remotely resemble the photo in the pattern. I was pleasantly surprised that, even though I haven't even bought and attached the buttons yet, I had very little trouble getting this to look decent. Anyway, check out the Rav link for more details.

I also managed to finish a project I started in June 2009, a simple garter stitch scarf in Noro Kureyon sock yarn:



This was one of those projects which travelled with me to lots of places where I needed a portable and simple project; including trips to Byron Bay, Jervis Bay and the SCG. Originally I had planned to give the scarf away to someone who appreciates bright colours a bit more than I do, but now that the scarf is woven with all my 2009 travel and leisure memories, I'm thinking about keeping it. Rav link provides specs etc.

Personal Sock Mayhem 2010

Inspired by other bloggers I admire, I plan to embark on a Personal Sock Club for 2010, considering in 2009 it would appear I only knit one pair of socks. I am going to aim for 7 pairs of socks throughout the year, so one package every 6 weeks or so. Here are my chosen yarns:



From Left to Right: Shibui Sock in Seaweed, Hazel Knits Sock in Chocolatier, Numma Numma Toasty in Gooseberry Jam, Sundara Sock in Deadly Nightshade, Vesper Sock in Witchy Woman, and Yarntini Sock in Lime Twist. The caked yarn at the top is my first PSC yarn, Wollmeise 80/20 in Merlot. The pattern I have chosen for it is Cookie A's Kai-Mei (rav link).

And yes, I have started my epic Easter Show project, and am plugging along on the first set of charts for the shoulder shaping. I have calculated that if I continue at the current rate, it will be finished in time. Fingers crossed!

Third Time's the Charm

My first attempt at entering the Royal Easter Show knitting competition = FAIL. Trying to convert an Alice Starmore jumper into fingering weight and getting easily distracted proved not to be a winning combination.
My second attempt at entering = FAIL. Fair isle mayhem (Ivy League Vest) including techniques I'd never tried before (steeking) meant I got scared and wimped out.

HOWEVER, my third attempt I think may be my breakthrough. Bear in mind I am not expecting to actually win anything, or even make it to the cabinet display. My goal is simply to finish the thing and deliver it to the RAS people on time, thereby not forfeiting my entry fee and feeling like a loser.
Why do I think this one will be different? (hello overlap with personal life). I present the following evidence:

- I am in love with the pattern and have owned it for a couple of years now
- The yarn is currently on its way to me from a Ravelry destash
- It's LACE
- It's BLACK
- It's.......THE RAVEN



Yep, it's Irtfa'a. I am confident enough in (a) my lace knitting skillz and (b) my tendency to get really obsessive when knitting lace and (c) my obsession with ravens and (d) my obsession with black lace shawls that I think this just might work.

I will be using Filatura Di Crosa Centolovaggi in Black and some 3.25mm Addi Lace needles.

So watch out, Arts Pavilion - the raven approaches!!!

inaugural michael haneke film festival

Does it count as a film festival when it's conducted in my living room and really just involves me re-watching all of his films in preparation for the release of his new one, The White Ribbon (English language trailer here)?

The other night I watched the English-language remake of Funny Games. Newsflash: not a comedy! In fact, it's probably one of the most brutal and confronting films of the modern era. Haneke constantly challenges the viewer to switch it off, and then forces us to question why we didn't. I think this film may be even more important now than when it was originally released in 1997, and I wonder if Haneke didn't remake it for an American audience at the time that he did in response to the rise of "torture porn" horror genre films and the "pornography of violence" played out night after night on CNN since about 9am on 11 September 2001.

Next up is a re-watch of Cache (or Hidden), which I remember enjoying yet being utterly baffled by. Perhaps a re-watch will reveal the alleged "lightbulb moment" contained in the film's final scene, although it's most likely a red herring.

It must be my month of divisive and confronting film-makers, as I'm off to Popcorn Taxi in a couple of weeks for a preview screening of Lars Von Trier's highly controversial Antichrist. Although it apparently contains a talking fox, I somehow doubt there will be many light-hearted moments in this one either.

damson

Yes I disappeared again, and have returned again. I'm going to stop the constant apologies for almost abandoning the blog. But I will say that due to the re-capture of some much needed free time (due to the COMPLETION OF MY LAW DEGREE), as well as the acquisition of exciting new computer technology (MacBook Pro!) I am planning to post more frequently than I have been lately.
I finished this a little while ago:



As referred to in my previous post, it's Damson by Ysolda. Ravelry details here. Sadly I did not manage to obtain the Posh Yarn, but instead used up some lovely Knittery 3ply merino from the stash, in colourway Bloody Mary.
I've also got an Aestlight finished awaiting blocking, and am midway through the Audrey in Unst Cardigan. The knitting mojo is certainly on the rise.

oh my goth

I can't seem to shake the goth shawlette obsession that has overtaken me recently. Case in point:

WANT:



Posh Yarn Diana in "Cad"

TO MAKE:



Damson by Ysolda

Only problem is in order to get the Posh Yarn I have to be up at 4am on Monday morning. This bodes ill for me, considering I normally struggle to be up at 8am to go to work.

I'M STILL ALIVE (but I have The Clap)

So it's blindingly obvious I am a terrible blogger. Perhaps now I am 99% confident that no-one bothers to check this site anymore, I feel I am able to condense 6 months worth of knitting news into one post and then start afresh.

Too often in the past I'd knit something really nice in a colour I'd NEVER buy as a completed garment. I feel I'm finally getting better at choosing the right tones to suit my personal style.

Exhibit A: The Clap


Clapotis using Sundara Aran Silky Merino in Black Cherry (ravelry link)

Exhibit B: The Emo Ishbel


Ishbel using Sundara Sock Yarn in Night Blossom (ravelry link)

Sundara Yarn certainly seemed to be the flavour of the past 6 months for me. For the upcoming spring/summer 2010 season I have two knits planned using the beautiful Habu Textiles range:

- With the New Cowl Neckline using Kuzaki Zome silk in a champagne colour
- Whisper Cardigan using black Tsumugi silk

empire of the ants?

I don't know if it's just me (highly probable), but every time I go to the Courthouse Hotel in Newtown (which is most Sundays for knitting), I come back with mysterious insect type bites on my feet and ankle area.



They're not mosquito bites, and I don't think they're flea bites, so my conclusion as a scientician is that they might be ant bites. If only they resembled the ants in the film Empire of the Ants, which had awesome tin foil eyes and attacked Joan Collins.

2009?

So will 2009 be the year I actually get my act together and take the blog a little bit more seriously? By which I mean continue to post facetious and outlandish material, but on a more regular basis? We shall see. I'm certainly going to try.

Anyway, here is my last Finished Object of 2008. Considering I'm apparently getting more and more neurotic as I reach the age of 30, it's quite fitting that lace knitting completely absorbs and obsesses me almost to the brink of madness. Even at 3am after a bottle of wine, I am telling myself not to stop until I have 328 stitches on my awesome Addi Lace needles. Some might say I need to get out more, but I go out all the time!



I finally made a Swallowtail Shawl (ravelry link). I used Handmaiden Yarns Mini Maiden, which is a glorious wool/silk fingering weight blend in Indian Summer colourway with 3.5mm Addi Lace needles.



delightful!

Mr. and Mrs. Vernon and "Family"

Mr. and Mrs. Vernon and "Family"
Originally uploaded by undream the echoes. . .

And the award for the CREEPIEST FAMILY OF THE ENTIRE 19TH CENTURY AND POSSIBLY EVER goes to.....

astonishing tales of the sea

Radio National strikes again! This afternoon I was listening to Rear Vision, and managed to learn all about a mad historical incident involving the sea, which I'd never even heard of before - The Cod Wars!!
This was a dispute in the 1970s between Britain and Iceland about territorial waters and fishing zones, which led to confrontations between British and Icelandic fishing trawlers. Go here to read all about it or here to download the audio.

midnight maniac

well well well, here we have an actual unadulterated blog post with a finished knitting item!! Has the world gone topsy-turvy?!

I have a strange knitting habit, wherein I like to try and match projects to yarns in a thematic sense. For example, for Midnight Meadows I was looking for a pattern which reflected both the name and the colour of the yarn. So for ages I had Vinnland queued, due to its pagan influences (apparently inspired by the Green Man) - although it's quite possible I was just mesmerised by the Type O Negative references. I had grandiose visions of knitting these socks and becoming some sort of cavorting druid. Sadly it was not to be, as I realised that (a) I am unlikely to become a druid, not being within easy access of a henge, and (b) it was likely that the Vinnland pattern would be obscured by the dark murkiness of this yarn. So I went through my sock knitting books and chose a simple rib sock from one of my favourite designers, Nancy Bush.



Pattern: Spey Valley Socks by Nancy Bush (from Knitting on the Road)
Yarn: Sundara sock yarn in Midnight Meadows
Needles: 2.25mm

So I'm still striving for that magic thematic connection of pattern and yarn. I have another skein of Sundara yarn in a colourway called Deadly Nightshade. Perhaps I'll design my own sock pattern and call it Belladonna.

President Barack Obama

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

(from "Still I Rise", Maya Angelou)

I really didn't think America could do it. I don't think I've ever been more overjoyed about being wrong.

Current Flickr Faves & Inspiration

Mmmmm....pierrots, silent film stars, abandoned mental asylums....

current faves/inspiration
Originally uploaded by miss_reecie

1. Aileen Pringle (1924), 2. rid, 3. Buster Keaton (1895-1966), 4. Lily Verlaine - La Vie en Rose, 5. Erte (Romain de Tirtoff), 6. London After Midnight (1927), 7. over grown, 8. Do I have lipstick on my teeth?, 9. country honk

outlandish plans of varying degrees

The Southern Summer of Socks is back on again this coming 2008-09 summer. My achievements vis-a-vis last summer's version were nothing short of a failure (albeit a quite spectacular one), and for lack of a better scapegoat I'm going to blame it on the fact that I didn't set any goals for the project.

So in keeping with my approach to tasks and life in general, I feel it's time to set some mildly outlandish and completely unrealistic goals!

• I plan to knit 10 pairs of socks between October 2008 and April 2009
• All of the socks I knit will be with yarn from my sock stash
• some patterns I plan to knit up include Garden Gate (already started!), Twisted Flower, Lissajous, Vinnland, Baroque and Ornette. (Do you think I can be bothered linking all those?? check Ravelry, but trust me they're all HOT)
  

Right! All that remains now is to sit back and wait for the entire plan to fall apart in my face as I get distracted by something shiny (par example - watching endless episodes of Never Mind the Buzzcocks on YouTube).

ALSO, this needs mentioning. Plans (no doubt of an outlandish nature) are afoot to make American Psycho into a Broadway musical. Has the world gone mad? (Hmmm...don't answer that). The only possible way this production could work would be if it starred Troy McClure.

RIP

Paul Newman 1925-2008
Actor, humanitarian, and all-round dreamboat.

Cleopatra

Cleopatra Begins
Originally uploaded by miss_reecie

Is it possible that I can finish this beautiful stole in time for 9 October, which is when I'm seeing The Pearlfishers? Now that the weather has finally started to warm up, I'm envisioning wearing it with a beautiful draped Grecian-style black dress which I bought last year at the end of summer and haven't worn yet.

cincinnati kid

I've just returned from my second bridge class. I'm loving it so far. I'm one of those people who always wanted to love chess, but just couldn't get into it. Too much waiting around and planning about eight moves ahead, i just got impatient. I like bridge because it's faster yet still requires strategic thinking and memory skills. It also utilises my arch-nemesis, mathematics, but even that's not too bad.

In other news, I will be moving in a week's time, to a studio apartment in my beloved Newtown. I lived in Newtown for about 3 years from the age of 15 to 18. Some things have changed, such as my favourite cafe, formerly "The 381" on King Street, with old couches, squillions of interesting notices covering every inch of the walls - I remember sitting there reading true crime books all day with friends and neighbours dropping in to chat or sing along to the great music the staff were always playing on the stereo - it's now a "trendy upmarket" cafe with a sterile interior. Some things are still the same, such as Faster Pussycat - I remember being there on their opening day and am so glad their business is still thriving. There are also new things too which weren't around when I lived there last, such as the knitting groups at the Courthouse Hotel and SSK which I enjoy so much, not to mention my favourite boutique, Elvis for Cleo. So overall, I'm really looking forward to my second stint living there.

ALSO, my blog's title is now more apt than ever, as I am now the proud owner of an antique chaise lounge which I snapped up from the Salvos Store in Glebe last week. It's in good condition, could probably do with some new upholstery, but it's absolutely gorgeous. My amateur Antiques Roadshow skills are telling me it's probably Edwardian. So now, knitting on the chaise lounge becomes reality!!

ch-ch-changes

In big life news, I have to move in eight weeks time!! So I'm plunging head-first into the apparently terrifying Sydney rental market, and looking for a semi-decent studio apartment somewhere in the inner city. I plan to wear elaborate headscarves and sunglasses when I put out the recycling so that the other occupants of the building think I'm a faded film star.


In knitting news, I'm at a bit of a standstill with my projects in the sense that nothing is finished, nothing new has been started, am just plugging along with the same projects. The Mystic Light Shawl is nearing completion, I now have about 350 stitches on my needle and just 6 rows to go! But I have been buying lots of vintage yarn from Ebay. Loppem in bright orange (I'm talking 1970s orange) vintage Patons Jet - insane or hot? Or both?

bezique

I've become obsessed with the idea of becoming an expert Bezique player. Not least because I can then imagine I'm in an Edith Wharton novel. My scheme has now moved up (or down, depending on how you look at it) a notch in the sanity stakes, as I'm now bidding on EBay for a 1930s bezique set with original bezique markers (see opposite) and mother of pearl features.