A Partridge In A Pear Tree

Today is Christmas Party Day. I hope it's not too stressful but I know it's going to be fairly full-on. I've still got a lot to do when I go in this morning. The two centrepieces I made turned out quite well, according to what others have said (I am a bit critical of them but I do think they're nice, I just don't know if nice is what I was going for).

I have received all but one of the orders I was waiting for, one being the first lot of wire and beads, another from eBay being more wire and beads and one from eBay which was the 2 balls of Rowan Tapestry the seller forgot to send me initially. The one I am waiting on is, of all things, a crochet hook case. I have two vinyl pencil cases for my hooks and I wanted something a bit prettier...

I also received my Amazon order - last week, although I forgot to mention it here earlier. I bought: Amazing Crochet Lace: New Fashions inspired by Old-Fashioned Lace, Every Day Crochet: Wearable Designs Just For You, Positively Crochet and Crochet Me: Designs to Fuel the Crochet Revolution. They are interesting books with a lot of nice patterns in them but how many I'll actually make, I don't know. I think I can live the rest of my life without ever needing another scarf pattern, too. I do like a lot of the Doris Chan patterns but I don't seem to have enough of any one type of yarn here to make anything...so either I do a scrappy piece or I buy more yarn.

I have already misplaced my Amazing Crochet Lace book or I guess I already would have ordered the yarn I need for some projects, it's probably just as well - maybe mum has hidden it from me!

I was correct in my prediction for the Necklace Number Three, I ran out of wire and I don't think I've got enough beads to complete it anyway, I'll have to order more wire and beads but it's not urgent. Provided the company doesn't sell out of everything I need, I can wait...and this from a person who hates waiting? We'll see how long it lasts.

Time for me to make myself as beautiful as possible before work.

Nothing Exciting

Saturday was a busy day, I voted early in the morning, spent the rest of the day shopping like a mad woman and then I stayed up most of the night watching the election coverage. Yesterday was much quieter - I watched TV, I crocheted, I napped...

Today, I have to work so no TV, no crocheting until I get home and no sleeping until late. I am fairly sure my boss isn't keen on employees who snooze at work, as tempting as it sometimes is!

The yarn I liked at Lincraft is "Romance", more acrylic than anything else (80%) with a bit of mohair thrown in (20%). It's soft and fluffy and I am enjoying using it...of course, as is the way lately, a little frog has the potential to turn into a Big Toad because the yarn snags on itself and breaks easily. The first few attempts of a pattern ended in wrong stitch counts so I just cut the yarn and started again, now I've made some progress I really don't want to do that, so I am being extra careful not to make any mistakes. They are all simple ones, just missing a stitch or repeating the wrong row of the pattern, so there's no excuse for them. I'm counting as I go and double-checking each half of the pattern before I move on, I can undo a few stitches without too much drama, it's undoing rows I want to avoid.

I haven't worked on Second Sock much, I still have a bit to go but I would like to get it finished fairly soon, I have a lot of Christmas crocheting still to do - and time is getting away from me.

I ordered more of the Tapestry in two different colourways - "Antique" and "Moorland". I received two balls less of the Antique than I bought but the seller replied to my query and said she had made a mistake and will send them out to me so I am happy with that. The Moorland has green in it and my boss likes green, so I don't know if I should make her something from it...I probably won't but I'm still thinking.

I should get my order (another one!) from CrochetAustralia today - at least I hope I do, I have ordered a few patterns and some hankies to play with. At some stage I need to get back to the 4ply doilies and also attempt that Crinoline Doll Table Runner - I should've ordered the pink #10 thread from CrochetAustralia but I didn't - I checked at Lincraft and I still can't see any #10 thread there, I am sure it is there but I must be overlooking it. I'm fairly sure next weekend will involve a pilgrimage to Spotlight so if I can get a few things finished this week, I'll feel better about buying stuff again on Saturday.

My Spoilee must forgive me, I have not sent her package yet! I was supposed to send it last week but I didn't so I will have to send it this afternoon - it's ready to go except for the card I want to include so I must get that done today.

Bit o' This, Bit o' That...

I was very naughty yesterday morning, bright and early before I went to work, I put in an Amazon order! There should be a law about spending money before 7am...it just doesn't seem right - but I couldn't help myself! One of the books I ordered was "Amazing Crochet Lace" by Doris Chan, it's been on my wishlist for a Very Long Time and I decided I wanted it enough to order it. With the Aussie dollar being as good as it is, it's really not too bad. The few times I do come across crochet books here, they're very pricey so I'm better off ordering through Amazon, even with the shipping costs. Now I am looking forward to my Amazon order arriving.

I came home from work yesterday to find my eBay order had turned up and I was very pleased - now I have my swift and my slipper patterns! What more could a girl want? I read through the patterns and they seemed simple enough for me to follow so that makes me happy. If I can muster the energy and make some space, I will attempt some winding with the swift today. I don't know if I'm game to try the lace-weight Merino or if I should try something a bit more substantial?

I got confused last night and thought I was using my 3.50mm hook for the CTDC and I couldn't find the 3.50mm hook so I didn't work on it - I just checked the pattern and I am using the 2.50mm hook, so I am using the 3.50mm hook for the Matinee Jacket. I took the 2.50mm hook with me to work on the Matinee Jacket so it's just as well I didn't attempt it, isn't it? I went to a friends' place for dinner and my God, over 12 hours later and I still feel full. To be honest, I was full half-way through dinner but I valiantly persevered and it was the last half of a potato scallop that brought me to my knees. I could have finished it...

Apart from that little blip, The Plan is (was?) going well.

A very dear Italian lady I know who is a marvellous knitter and crocheter gave me two little thread filet pieces to "remember her by" and use as a pattern for my own attemps. She is the type of crocheter who makes tablecloths and bedspreads and curtains and trims for towels etc - in other words, a much better crocheter than I am! She can't follow a written pattern but she can look at a piece and work it out, or she asks for a reduced sample of the pattern and uses that. I like written patterns, so it makes us swapping patterns a bit tricky but she gets her point across and I have trouble explaining my written ones to her. She has just completed a knitted baby cardigan and a few booties and some bonnets, all her own patterns and they're very sweet.

I hope she doesn't expect me to turn up next week with my own version of the filet rose trim because it is not going to happen. I am very appreciative that she gave me those two pieces and I do think they're lovely, it just may take some time (eternity?) before I am ready to try them. I will have to count all the stitches and try and write a pattern for myself.

I am starting to think that I made a mistake with the Tapestry - I like it but I don't think it is ideal for the recipient, she prefers pastels and particularly blues, pinks and greens. These colours might be a bit too earthy for her. I will still make Seraphina but I might have to give it to someone else - which is fine, or I can keep it for myself but I still have to find the right colours for her...now I have my swift, I think I will go through all the yarns I do have and try and find some in there. And maybe I'll change my mind (again!) about the Tapestry when I have it here.

Anyway, I had better start tidying and making some swifty-yarn-winding space so I can make a big mess for a few hours and then spend the rest of my life trying to detangle it all. Nothing like the power of positive thinking, is there?

The Emperor's New Clothes

I'm glad I bought a fully-clothed Barbie - it will be a long time before I make her something to wear. My CrochetAustralia order came in and I had a look at the pattern - I think it might be quicker for me to crochet my own wedding dress and quite possibly cheaper, too. I was thinking I would use this thread but that was before I knew I'd need 4000 yards of it. Yeesh, that's a lot of thread! Particularly when you compare it to the Viceroy Butterfly Shawl which is in size 10 thread and requires about 1500 yards (or something along those lines). Maybe I will try that pattern with the metallic thread instead of the Dress...

I also received the Crinoline Tea Cosy pattern and items, it seems straightforward enough for me - but things are not always as they seem. I have half of K's present 'organised' now - the Cosy and a pattern book (Crocheted Jug Covers - another Vicki Moodie one) and the other half will be some thread, a few steel hooks and the Crinoline Runner. I will work out the thread I want to buy for the Runner and put an order in again soon, even if I don't buy any for the Wedding Dress.

Secret Pal, I am looking forward to seeing your "PCB", I hope you are better at reading patterns than I am! I am sure you will be very happy with your blanket when it is done. I am reminded of a question I have been meaning to ask - to adapt a pattern from a finer yarn and smaller hook, to thicker yarn and a larger hook, how do you convert the requirements? I can't work this out - (and even if I did, I'd get it all wrong) but I'd like to know because I think I'd like to do my next PCS in a thicker yarn but I have no idea how to work out how much I will need.

Speaking of Secret Pal, yahoo is telling me it can't deliver my e-mail to Spoilee because my IP address is blocked - I don't know what's going on there but it is Very Frustrating! I will keep my fingers crossed that it's just a glitch in the system...if I don't hear back in a few days, I will ask the Hostess to contact her for me and find out - at least we're heading into the last of SP11 now so it's not too much of a disaster but I did have some questions I wanted her to answer for the last package.

I think I can get a start on Crinoline Cosy before I go to bed.

eBay, I Love You

It is my 200th-Post-"Birthday" today. Go me! I was almost late for work this morning ("late" being a relative term, particularly from someone who is often at work an hour before she should be) because I got sidetracked by yarn on eBay - eBay is so good, I am surprised it isn't illegal.

Christmas is almost here, each day we are getting closer and before I know it, Christmas will be tomorrow and I'll have done nothing...which is just my roundabout way of saying I gave in and I bought yarn but it's for a Christmas present so it doesn't count (and no, nothing in the 6 boxes of yarn I have here was suitable, how silly of anyone to think otherwise!). Besides, with that excuse, I can probably buy yarn from now until the end of time because most things I make (not that I finish them all) are for presents (some days I curse whoever invented Presents but today, it works in my favour).

Getting back to the point, I have really wanted to make "Seraphina" for a Very Long Time...and I really wanted to make Seraphina in Rowan Tapestry, since Miss USA posted her Tapestry Seraphina to C'ville in December '06. Typically, all the colours I liked have been out of stock (or too few in stock) or just too pricey so when I found a colour that would "do" on eBay for $5 a ball, I thought I'd better get it and hope it arrives soon. So I did and I am.

Those are the colours I was considering, in order of preference...



...and this is what I ended up buying, a bit different but I decided I did like it (and, more importantly, the recipient should like it) - and then I twigged that, while the photos aren't the same, it is apparently the same colourway as the third photo...so now I am not really sure what to expect. It'll be a bit of a mystery but I am sure I will like what turns up.

Won't it be hilarious if a: I decide I don't want to use the Tapestry for Seraphina and b: if I can't work out the pattern for Seraphina? I still have the 4 skeins of MCY that I am a bit frightened to touch due to the un-wound state and the potential issues with dye, so they may eventually turn into something for Christmas, too.

I should receive my CrochetAustralia order tomorrow and then I can start planning how much thread I will order next time (and thread is not yarn anyway, so it doesn't count - besides, it's smaller and easier to store) for the Dress and Crinoline Runner. I also bought the kit for the Crinoline Tea Cosy so I can get started on that for K as soon as it gets here.

I frogged the Matinee Jacket due to the fact that the sides were getting quite wonky. I will start it again and this time I will use my trusty hoops to mark the first stitch of each row so I know what to crochet into at the end of the next row...I had a nap this afternoon and I dreamt that I started it again and, somehow I had forgotten all the increases so I had to undo it all - I was actually making good progress and, despite the missing increases, it looked exactly as it should (not so much a nightmare as wishful thinking, I imagine).

I was hoping to win enough money from my Melbourne Cup bets so my 5am spending spree would be wiped out but, sadly, that was not the case - I don't even think I came out in front (I will find out when I head back to the TAB).

Any Excuse Will Do

Something Very Important occurred to me, as my alarm was making hideous noises at 5am this morning - I don't actually own any Appropriate Walking Shoes. I own a lot of shoes (I'll have to take a photo, or photos as the case may be) and I can walk in all of them with varying degrees of comfort, they're all very pretty...but there's not a pair amongst the bunch that can be honestly described as joggers, sneakers or runners. As a result, I decided sleeping in was more important than walking in pretty but impractical shoes.

My version of sleeping in this morning was getting up at ten to six, which is actually pretty pathetic as far as sleeping in is concerned - but not as pathetic as some (and I mean that in the nicest possible way, Manda). I made up for it by having a 3-hour nap this evening, which was 90% unintentional, I set my alarm to wake me up an hour later but I forgot to change it from AM to PM. I had planned on going shopping and buying some Appropriate Walking Shoes but it obviously wasn't meant to be. This walking thing was doomed from the start!

I finished Round 53 of PCS and started Round 54. I might continue for a while when I finish this, as I'm not likely to fall alseep any time soon because, as well as my nap earlier, I am currently enjoying a very strong cup of coffee (damn the Plan, I need my caffeine). I think (and with me that's always dangerous), that Rounds 54 - 58 will go quickly, since they consist of of chains and a few double-crochets and not much else but the counting might slow me down a bit. I will take photos in the morning, if there's anything worth taking photos of.

SP11 ends on November 30th, so I'll send my Spoilee another package next week and that will be the end of it I think, I've still got a few things for her and she seems to have enjoyed what I have sent so far. I am still waiting to receive my eBay order which contains my yarn swift and crocheted felted slipper patterns...when it arrives, I will start those Knotwork Socks and maybe try and get a pair of slippers done as a Christmas gift afterwards, too. I think the 3ply and 3.50mm hook have prepared me just a little bit for lace-weight yarn and a 1.50mm hook. We shall see.

Pleasant Surprises All Week

This will be the last 'received yarns' post for a while, unless someone feels like sending me some, because I am not buying any more for a while...we'll see how long "a while" is, I'm not entirely sure myself!

So yesterday I came home to an eBay order which I was waiting on, and it was from "Mystical Yarn Creations" - the yarn looks good (to me, at least) but I have heard some not-so-flattering things about it...but also a lot of positive things, so I was willing to try but felt a bit wary. The postage was a bit slow but not excessively so and I ended up with the amount of yarn I ordered and the colours are accurate compared to the Auction photos so I haven't got anything to complain about.

I bid on four of these but only won one (I hate Dutch auctions sometimes) - I would've liked enough to use to make "Lorna's Shawl", as blue is her favourite colour and I thought the colours in this were particularly nice. Oh well - anyone have some ideas what I can do with one skein of this?



I bid on and won four of these, so that should be enough to make a shawl for Lorna (I am leaning towards the Seraphina shawl pattern because I think it's beautiful but I haven't decided 100% yet). I quite like the colours in this yarn but I am just not sure if it is right for the recipient, I need to think about that a bit more...

Today I came home to my other two yarn orders, one for Spoilee and one for me:



This is the cotton I purchased to make some more Short 'n Sweets and a Sweet Pea Shawl. The green and pink are for the Short 'n Sweet (and the purple for the Sweet Pea Shawl, obviously). I have been working on the Pineapple Circular Shawl a lot this afternoon and I finished one more repeat and I wanted a break, so I thought I'd start the Sweet Pea Shawl. Imagine my chagrin when I remembered I had left my copy of Happy Hooker at work. I was very sad, so no Sweet Pea yet. I don't know where this cotton rates on the scale of cotton yarns but I'm happy with it.

I decided to continue with the PCS, and this is the current progress:

It is about 48.5cms in diameter thus far (19.4inches), I think it was about 40cms when I measured it last night, so not too bad but still a long way to go.

I checked this morning and found I do, in fact, have a 1.50mm steel hook. I don't know how I got it or when, I may have bought it or it might have been given to me...because I have never had any desire to use a 1.50mm hook before. But there you go, I have no excuse not to start those Knotwork Socks tomorrow night - except my reluctance to wind 900+ yards of lace-weight merino. To err on the side of caution, I decided to buy some more steel hooks today while I was shopping (at the whopping great cost of about $1.60 each) so I bought one each of these sizes: 1.75mm, 1.25mm and a 1.00mm. I think I would have to be a bit mad to want to use the 1.00mm hook but I guess "never say never" is right.

That's about it, more tomorrow - either the start of the Knotwork Socks (or a tale of woe relating to winding lace-weight merino) or the Sweet Pea Shawl.

Another One!

First of all, I was appalled by how ugly the colour was in those pictures of the 8ply merino - I have retaken the photos in the kitchen (the light is better) and uploaded them so the photos in the post are more accurate. Those colours were awful and definitely not true.

I received another order today from one of my eBay purchases - my lace-weight merino, mohair for my "Cold Shoulders" and a skein of something interesting for my Spoilee. I haven't worked with mohair before and I'm not really sure about it but this looks nice and doesn't feel itchy. I am worried that I didn't order enough - the pattern calls for three and that is all I bought. I probably should've been a bit cautious and bought extra...

I had better give lace-weight knitters and crocheters more respect, I somehow didn't realise how thin it would be. I've got some two ply lace-weight silk which I have dyed a myriad of ghastly kool-aid colours somewhere (and despite what I just wrote, I actually like it!) but I guess I viewed it more as a thread rather than a yarn. Does that make sense? Anyway, this merino is lovely, so soft and the colours are beautiful but I am feeling very, very intimidated. I can barely handle a 3ply yarn with a 3.50mm hook, how will I cope with this?




Speaking of being intimidated, here is my progress on the Pineapple Circular Shawl - after 16 rounds:

The rounds are starting to take me a while, although I guess I am not the fastest crocheter at the best of times. I am ashamed to say it but I don't want to work on ES3 at the moment, this yarn is nice and soft which makes the other yarn feel a bit stiff and scratchy...or more than a bit.

To put it into perspective, while the lace-weight is quite fine, it's not that much finer than the 3ply I'm using for the blanket, not as big a difference as between the 3ply and 8ply anyway. It's the hook size that worries me, I think the pattern calls for...a 1.50mm - and I have to make two and they have to be fairly similar (I know they won't be exactly the same if I do them) so I'm feeling a bit nervous. I also have to wind the yarn into balls and I am dreading the mess I will get into (I managed to tangle the 3ply while I was winding it, too, which is why I only did one - but since I've barely made a dent in it, I'm sure it will be a while before I need the second one, let alone all 5 remaining).


So that's about all the fun yarn-y related stuff I have for tonight. Still waiting on 3 orders, two for me and one more item for my Spoilee. I missed the boat with the SP11 "Flash Your Stash" competition but that's okay, I don't have the energy to get all my yarn out and take photos but I might do that this weekend, I think I will come across things I have forgotten about.

I'll try and make a dent into what I have and then I might buy some more Karaoke in some of the colours I have had my eye on for a long time now. Speaking of Karaoke, I haven't checked my Spoilee gift today, it is probably not dry yet because we had rain last night, I'll check it in the morning and bring it inside if it is dry enough.

That's about it from me tonight, my crocheting is calling me - and it is impatient!

Hey Mr Postman!

I'm happy! I got two (two!) packages waiting for me when I got home.

I got my order from CrochetAustralia (God bless CrochetAustralia!) which is great since I only ordered it last Thursday (at 10:33pm, no less).

In this order: two crochet patterns for jackets (Lilliana & Lisette), one Patricia Kristoffersen doily book (inspired by a Crochetville post which I will link to in a minute) and the pattern and yarn for the Pineapple Circular Shawl. It is 3ply baby yarn and requires a 3.50mm hook, so I know it is going to drive me mad but I really like how it looks and I'm willing to give it a go. I may surprise myself and make it nicely, too (fingers crossed!).

The Crochetville post was by Krystal16, "Momentous Occasions" Round Baby Christening Blanket - I am secretly (or not so secretly?) quite a fan of doilies but I hate thread. My limit is the 4ply cotton and then I've really only used the Panda 4ply because it's lovely and soft (I tried the Sullivans 4ply and it's like crocheting with wire, very stiff). This seemed like a fun way to utilise the patterns without the stress of itty-bitty hooks and fine thread.

Anyway, I've gone through all my doily pattern books (and I have lots) and picked out patterns I think would still look nice in yarn - but for blankets, particularly baby blankets, I don't think it is a good idea to have a pattern that is too open so that limits my choices somewhat. I've never tried any of Patricia Kristoffersen's patterns but she is very well represented on Crochetville and the patterns I have seen have been very impressive...so I bought "Ultimate Doilies" which contains the Momentous Occasions pattern and other very pretty ones. What a long-winded explanation, when "I really wanted the book, so I bought it" would've been sufficient...

Why say in 10 words what I can say in 100.

My other order was from an eBay seller, I looked at her shop and she had what appeared to be nice yarns but it is hard to tell...so I ordered a "Mystery Box" and I am quite happy with what was sent. The yarns seem quite nice in real life, so I am actually looking forward to figuring out some way to use them all. Maybe a really funky blanket? Maybe a modified "Coat of Many Colours"? I don't know. But I'm thinking and that's the main thing!

So instead of working on ES3, I decided to start the Pineapple Circular Shawl. I wound one of the balls with my winder and put it in a plastic bag (because it's cream and I'm a grub) - it wouldn't fit into the zip-lock bags I have, so a freezer bag will have to do. I've done 10 rounds and it's still tiny - it's not a Lace Weight Merino Christening Gown (and I promise you right now, I am never doing one of those!) but it's a far cry from 8ply and a 6.50mm hook! The pattern seems to be coming along okay, only another 50+ rounds to go. I foresee a lot of "still working on the pineapple shawl" blogposts in my future (and hopefully no "I give up on the pineapple shawl" posts).

I have a feeling (and I have a feeling that my feeling is an accurate one) that I am not going to want to give this away when it is finished. Either I will stuff it up and I won't want to give it away because I don't think it's good enough or I will do it well and I won't want to give it away because I want to keep it for myself! The most likely scenario is that I will stuff it up slightly (I am an optimist tonight) but still be stupidly proud of it and will want to keep it. It is going to be time-consuming to complete this pattern and I don't know if I will ever have the desire to make another one.

I am still waiting on four other orders...maybe soon?

I took some photos of Short 'n Sweet on a friend who stopped by, this is the same friend who will eventually get the purple shrug and I may give her Short 'n Sweet, too. Funny thing is, with both items, they fit her well but fit me almost as well, except she is so much smaller. I must crochet very stretchy fabrics. Anyway, I'll sort out the photos and put them up here tomorrow.

I wore my turquoise sandals today and got a lot of nice compliments.