knittinginperth

City Nits Highlights

Thought it would be nice to share some photos from our City Nits knitting circle yesterday.  Our group has has certainly grown, which is delightful.  As always we all had such a lot of knitting fun.  We welcomed three new people and a visitor from Paris.

I am currently working slowly on two pairs of socks and are trying to find time to finish off my Gale stole, which is technically finished, but I need to add quite a few more repeats so it will wrap completely around me.  It is lovely and warm which is just what I need at the moment as I always feel cold.  I am also trying to update my Ravelry stash.  I have to admit to lots of yarn retail therapy recently, which has been driven by my pink yarn obsession.  Enjoy!

Blissful Knitting

I had the pleasure of accompanying 23 ladies on a knitting retreat to Toodyay this weekend that Ann and I had organised.  Everyone had a fabulous time and we enjoyed ourselves that much that we have booked again for next year and cannot wait to do it all again.  This will become annual event for us the weekend after Mothers Day.

The weekend consisted of a sock and vest knit alongs using yarn especially dyed for the retreat.  We were very lucky to have people volunteer to do a hand dyeing and steeking demo.  I did a blocking demo with half my Gale stole, which I have technical finished knitting according to the pattern, but need to make it longer and things have been rather busy of late, so I didn't get it completed in time.  I need to add another 10 repeats, so must put aside some time to get this done, as I could do with a nice warm stole now the mornings are getting quite cool and we are heading into winter.

Here are some highlights from the weekend.  You can view the Retreat flickr photo stream here.

Truly an amazing uplifting and inspiring weekend!  A huge thank you to all our knitting friends who made this such a successful retreat for us.  Joyful knitting wishes to you all.

Autumn Beauty

May I share with you my joy of finally finishing my Totally Autumn Throw designed by Anne Hanson for Knitty.  I know it has been along time between projects and I have just about forgotten what it is like to finish something.  I am the first to admit that I find it hard to finish knitting projects with all the daily life interruptions.  This was a thoroughly enjoyable knit as the stitch pattern and yarn blended together beautifully.  It took me a couple of weeks before I got around to blocking this as I decided to purchase some blocking wires from The Knittery to make the task easier, which it did, although through lack of blocking experience it took alot long than I expected.

I have tried to be a little more creative with my photo taking and managed to capture the afternoon sun in the family room of where the throw is going to rest.  For those of you on Raverly I will posted a different set of photos over there taken as I normally do in morning sun in my studio.

I am extremely pleased with the finished throw and already have more of those yarn pillows in my stash to knit another one for my 2 seater lounge, so both my boys have one each.  Here are the details again

Pattern:   Totally Autumn Throw - Knitty Fall 2007 (I knitted the large size)
Yarn:       Briar Rose Abundance 100% Corridale in colourway 3104 using one and one third skeins.  I have                enough left over to either make another small throw or matching cushion covers.
Needles:  6.5 mm 80 cm Addi Circular

I am now knitting Gale another stunning stole pattern by Anne Hanson of Knitspot, which we are offering as one of our Autumn seasonal knit along projects for our knitting circle participants.  I am using The Knittery's Merino Cashmere sock yarn in warm pinks, which is delightful in softness and colour.  I just adore the intensity of the pink tones of this colourway. 

Here are some progress photos.  I am onto the 4th repeat and are aiming to get at least one repeat completed each day.  So far I am not doing too badly, but missed knitting yesterday.  Must catch up tonight.  This pattern flows beautifully and is a very relaxing knit that I can do in front of the TV.

If you love the pattern of Gale, but are looking for a faster project then take a look her sister pattern Gust, which is lovely.  Actually Gust inspired Gale.

I have also cast on the Lighthouse Gansey socks from Knitty's Winter 07 issue by you guessed it Anne Hanson.  I am knitting them cuff down as I wanted to experience knitting socks this way after only knitting all my socks using the toe-up method.  As you can see I haven't got very far and are just past the cuff.  This is my portable knitting project, so will probably take me a while to finish.  I am using Dream in Color Smooshy in Cocoa Kiss colourway, which is knitting up very nicely.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Easter holiday with lots of knitting time. 

Unexpected Surprise

Yesterday I received the most exquisite divine birthday gift of all time from Ann at City Nits, as it was my birthday on Wednesday.  I opened the small perfectly wrapped blue package and saw this folded bundle of knitted lace and became totally overwhelmed and speechless when I realised the lovely Ann had gifted me a simply stunning Alpine Lace stole from from Victorian Lace Today in a customed hand painted 2 ply 100% merino from The Knittery.  I knew Ann had been knitting this stole for many months on and off, but had not idea it was for me.   

I am touched beyond words with Ann's generosity and again a HUGE heartfelt thank you Ann from the bottom of my heart.  I will treasure this stole forever and never forget the moment of total surprise and it was so lovely to share the moment with so many of our knitting friends.  It was such a lovely surprise.

I am very much looking forward to showcasing your knitting talent at every opportunity I get, including a ball at the beginning of April at Burswood.  The timing couldn't have been better, as I was contemplating  knitting myself a lace shawl/stole to go with my ball grown, which I have yet to purchase.  I will probably have something made by the dressmaker that made my gorgeous wedding dress, which incidentally was out wool fabric from Switzerland and embroidered with wool roses and flowers.

Finally, here are some photos that DH took this morning of me modeling Alpine the stunning stole.

Not to be out done the gorgeous Sasha gifted me a voucher for Zeromarkers who make these gorgeous freshwater pearl and semiprecious stone stitch markers,   so can't waiting to go shopping.  A HUGE thank you Sasha.

I also received some generous amounts of money from DH, Mum, Dad and MIL, so are looking forward to getting some more yarns and books.  I have already subscribed to Wild Fibers magazine after hearing David's recommendation on Sticks and String.  I was also lucky enough to get some 2007 back issues as well.  They are a great way to learn more about where fibre comes from and the photos are wonderful.

Lots and lots of thank you hugs everyone for making this birthday so special.

Flying High Brother

Today is my younger brother David's birthday, so I thought that is was only fitting that I post some photos of him flying his gyrocopter around the farm early one morning while we were staying there recently.  The boys love watching him fly over the house and surrounding farms.   He has been flying for quite a few years now and has rebuilt and sold some gyrocopters along the way too.  He has had this one for awhile now, as he doesn't really get much time to rebuild them anymore due to all the other farm work that needs his constant attention. 

He has always been very good with his hands and fixes all sorts of vehicles and farm machinery, which keeps him very busy.  My Pop (Mum's Dad) was a pilot for many years and I have vivid memories of him landing his small plane up on the farm air strip when I was a small girl, so I guess that is where my brother inherited his flying passion from.   

It is at times like this that I wish I had a SLR digital camera as my current camera struggled to capture the flying  shots, as it doesn't have the zoom capacity needed for shoots like these.

He is definitely the more adventurous one of us, as I like to have lots of metal around me when I am flying and even then I would still prefer to keep my feet on the grown.  He doesn't get to fly very often as  you need perfect weather conditions with no wind.

Happy Birthday Dave and I hope you had a super day and we wish you many more happy flights!

Lace Socks for Me

My wonderful knitting fairy Ann presented me with some gorgeous lace socks at our first City Nits gathering for the year on the Saturday after I returned from holidays.  They are knitted in Dream in Color Smooshy yarn in pink my favourite colour, which fit beautifully and my feet didn't want me to take them off, so a HUGE big thank you Ann.  Actually we make a great team as I am the enabler when it comes to yarn and Ann is a fantabulous sock knitter.  All the sock specs can be found on her blog here, which has been updated recently by the very talented Michelle.  A very nice refreshing new look indeed, so take a peak, if you haven't already.

Happy New Year

Hope your new knitting year is off to a great start with lots of FOs flying off the needles this month and every month in 2008.  Mine got off to a good start while we were on holidays, but once I returned home I have been busy on the home and shop front and haven't had much energy left to give my knitting much attention, but try and get a few rows in each day, as I find it keeps me sane. 

My totally Autumn throw has progress to repeat 5, which is very good going for me, particularly that it is my first lace project.  I am hooked on lace now, as I just love watching the pattern evolve and it makes me feel so clever, and really it is quite easy as all you are doing is just following a sequence of stitches on a chart, which are mostly knits, K2togs, purls and SSKs.  I think knitting a chunky lace pattern is the  perfect beginner project for someone who wants to give lace knitting ago, as it grows quickly, which holds your interest.  I also managed to finish off the heel and start the leg on my Solistice rib socks while on holidays too.  I had to stop as one of my rosewood needles broke, which was unfortunate, as I probably would of nearly have finished this sock.  Anyway here are some progress shoots of the throw. 

Onto our holiday.  We all had a wonderful time and it was great to be surrounded by lots of karri forests, water and fresh air, which was so energizing after such a busy year.  I took heaps of photos, so here are the highlights.   

View from Karri Valley Resort Reception area and view of resort from across Beedelup lake

Boys canoeing  and swimming at the Resort on Beedelup lake

Front and back of our very comfortable chatel.

Horse riding west of Manjimup, which was so much fun.  As you can see we all had a ball.  I haven't being horse riding for probably 15 years or more, yet like knitting you never forget and it naturally comes back.

The most famous tree in Western Australia is the Glouster Tree.  Tourists from all over the world come to climb this 61 m tree that was originally built to keep a look out for bush fires in the surrounding forests.  Read more here

Here are the boys trying to climb the Diamond Tree, which I will point out that 10 steps was the limit for obvious reasons. DH and I were not all that adventurous when it came to climbing any of the trees, as those pegs didn't look all that  secure me, but I can assure you that didn't stop most from climbing the tree, although most only got to the halfway platform.  The going up isn't that bad, it's the going down that's hard.  We then discovered a kid friendly tree on the pathway, which was much safer and the boys really enjoyed climbing.

We walked to Beedelup Falls along a path that followed the lake around from the resort, which took us about an 1 hour with the kids walking with us and then an 1 hour to walk back, although that was going the whole way around the lake.   It was lovely being able to walk up close to the magnifcient karri trees.
A highlight for the boys of our stay at Karri Valley was the feeding on the parrots on our balcony every morning. 

Well I hoped you enjoyed our holiday pics.  I still have a few more that I will share in next post.  Happy stitches everyone!

Seasons Greetings and Reflections

Still not sure where the year went and cannot believe that Santa is visiting us tonight.

On reflection is has been an amazing and extremely challenging year for me on all fronts and I am quite looking forward to our family holiday at Karri Valley Resort in Pemberton for 5 nights and a few days at my parents farm in the south west to restore my energy levels again and spend some quality time with my family as well as knit. 

Although I haven't really achieve many FOs this year (3 pairs of socks to be exact), which is nothing like what I planned and hoped for I have been touched by many other wonderful knitting related moments throughout this year, such as introducing new unique yarns for here in our shop by fiber artists Zen Yarn Garden and  Dream in Color who dye fabulous soft yarns, nurturing and sharing with our knitting circle friends, planning Perth's first knitting retreat for 2008, making new friends on and joining groups on Ravelry (UN: helenann), enjoying  many great episodes of my favourite podcasts, receiving beautiful sock club yarns and patterns from Zen Yarn Garden and Blue Moon Fibers, adding to my yarn collection, reading my favourite blogs, new magazines and books and reading your lovely comments.

There is nothing like the day before Christmas to get one motivated to update my WIPs and yarn stash in Ravelry, Blog and post up new Knit Picks needles in the shop.  I have to admit that I have let things get a little behind as I am in holiday mode and have been just knitting every time when I get a chance.

For those of you who are not in Ravelry I have to confess that I am having a Briar Rose Fibers affair at the moment and have two new WIP using these beautifully hand painted yarns.   

I am halfway through the fourth repeat of the first chart on my 4th of July Icarus shawl.  I have really enjoyed knitting this and love watching the colours evolve as I go.  I feel like I am knitting a masterpiece of colour.  After having to frog twice on this repeat I decided to take a little break and cast on for the Totally Autumn Throw from Knitty Fall 07.  This was designed by Anne Hanson of Knitspot one of my favourite designers that I discovered this year.

I am knitting the Totally Autumn Throw to decorate our new lounge with and the first time I saw it knew I had to knit this as the pattern was stunning and perfect for me to practice lace knitting leading up to knitting my favourite shawl of all time Irtfa'a and I must say I am finding much comfort while working on this throw.

Here are some recent yarns acquisitions, which I can't wait to knit with:

Briar Rose Fibers 4th of July on the left

 

Briar Rose Fibers Legend, which I am planning to knit into a Twinnings stole by Anne Hanson   

Briar Rose Fibers Legend left

 

Zen Yarn Garden Artwalk Sock Club colourway inspired by Black Iris, 1936 & 1926 by Georgia O'Keef fe above

Thank you my wonderful knitterly friends and I wish you all a Joyful festive and holiday season with much good knitting in 2008.

Adam's Birthday Socks are Finished

I finished these socks off about 2 weeks ago, which he loves.

Pattern: Wendy's Fingering Weight Toe-Up Socks with Gusset and Slip-Stitch Heel with a Sherman Toe Yarn:     Cherry Tree Hill Solids in Adam's favourite colour yellow
Needles: Addi Bamboo 2.00 mm DPNs,
Size:      Medium (he has large feet for his age)
By knitting them on 2.00 mm reduced the size a little making them a good fit with room for growing feet and saved me having to make adjustments to stitch numbers.

In other sock knitting progress I have just about finished the heel on my first STR Solstice Slip sock and will concentrate on getting these ones finished.

As my ebony circular needles arrived today I am hoping to start my Briar Rose 4th of July Icarus Shawl in the next day or two.

I also want to get my Snow on Cedars Mitts in Briar Rose Sea Pearl on the needles too.  I am hoping for more knitting time this week.  Cheers to a good knitting week everyone.

Knitting Party

On Saturday Ann and I hosted a knitting party here which was attended by some of our lovely knitting friends including Michelle, Yin and Sasha from the various groups that we host throughout the year.  It also provided an opportunity to see our new studio and my house.

We served the following yummy home baked treats which everyone enjoyed by everyone with tea and OJ.

 

From left Anne's Turkish Dips, Lemon and poppy seed muffins, Mei, Father Christmas cupcakes, my Organic Chocolate and Raspberry cupcakes and Carmen's Spanish Lemon Ricotta cake (sorry no pic as it was in the fridge when I took these), which was delicious.

I was overwhelmed by everyone's knitterly love when they gifted all these house warming gifts.  A  big thank you hug to you all for the perfect gifts, which was just what I needed.

From left:  cupcake stand with cupcakes made by the lovely Sasha, mug and serving plate set brought by Sasha as a joint gift from knitty friends, Hand knitted dish clothes and gorgeous perfumed soaps by
Anne.  Again Thank you again everyone for such great gifts and for a lovely knitting afternoon.