So many things on the go, so little time!

First - a cardi for me, made with the Frou Frou pattern in The Happy Hooker by Debbie Stoller. I have been waiting about a year to make this pattern, started it about 2 weeks ago, ran out of yarn (gotta expect that when I bought what I could find on special but of course there wasn't enough... ), waited patiently for a rescue parcel of extra yarn to arrive from my sister (what a saint!), and now back to it. It is about three quarters finished.

ahh, it is about 12 times this size now, can't find a more current photo...

secondly - a groovy hat for my groovy brother, I showed him Hip Hats and Cool Caps and asked if there was anything that tickled his fancy, and he chose a hat called "OG". It is mostly finished, but since he is coming to visit this weekend I will wait till then to do some more work on it and do a fitting. I don't want to make it and then have him not wear it cos it is too tight...

thirdly - a pair of mittens for Monkey 2. She asked for some, we bought the yarn together (I don't think that 5 years old is too early to start to learn about yarn buying and stashing!), and I have started them. But I had to stop for a bit since she was being such a toad in so many ways, and the things that I thought were important (like getting dressed, getting out of bed, getting to school less than half an hour late every single day and so on) she was ignoring, so I said that I was going to ignore some of the things she thought were important... so the mittens still aren't done... watch this space. Hopefully they will be finished before the weather warms up again.

fourthly - I have only just started a pair of stripy socks for my gorgeous sister. On the backburner, though, I really want this cardi finished :)

After last year's debacle of trying to read the pattern, I decided to start again to crochet some socks.

I used this pattern by Dorothy Hardy from Crochet Me. Crochet me seems to have done something funky with their indexing, it is a tricky pattern to find unless you search for socks. And the pattern has some errata which can be found be reading the posts responding to the pattern, but since it is a digital pattern why didn't she just adjust the pattern for poor newbies like me? Just wondering is all...

Anyhow, I got some sock yarn from Lincraft, and was determined to get this sock pattern happening!

I had heard all about single sock syndrome (where one sock/mitten/glove) gets made and is lonely forever more. I know my tendency to start something and not finish it, and the bugger with making two things exactly the same, so I made the socks at the same time, the toe bit on one and then the other, the foot bit on both, the heel turn on both, the ankle on both,and finally the cuff on both.

This is closer to the real colour, my phone camera did something groovy to the colours on the top photo...

So the socks were finished while I was away for a few days, and they are toasty warm and lovely! I can't wait to find some way to finance getting some more sock wool so I can make some more socks for me. They fit very well, are so very warm and I feel all nice wearing them since I not only made them but I FINISHED them! Not too shabby for the Queen of starting things and never finishing them :)

Whoo hoo, toasty toes!

I made these gnome daddies for the annual Floriade Gnome competition.

Floriade is a flower festival that happens every year here in Canberra, and the best bit to my mind is the gnome competition. This year the theme was "Australian Icons" or something like that, but I wanted to make some babywearing gnomes (as you do). So I found some Australian flag fabric and some baby gnomes and Bob's your Uncle. Can't get more Oz than that! I have a Flickr site for more photos of the daddy gnomes.

finally I post again! Been a bit slow on the creativity front lately, what with being sick in bed for a few days and going away for a few days, and with the house being so messy that I can't find the stuff I need... hate that...

But I did go and see a dear friend of mine the other day to meet her gorgeous baby 5 called Imogen. Baby Imogen is the tiniest little gorgeous little yummy baby! Her mummy has recently found the cloth nappy love, so I whipped her up a pair of woollen soakers. I dyed and dried the wool and crocheted a pair of cute little woollen shorties in 36 hours. It felt marvellous to have a quick project to get into, and felt fantastic to have my hook flying for a day or so! When I get some photos I will try to post them. Really should remember to take photos while I work...

I really need to get all the bits I need together to finish my first adult garment, my crocheted cardi. the pattern is here. the author of the pattern was super nice when I emailed her with a few dumb questions, and now I am determined to finish the damned thing. My dad spun some chocolate brown wool, so it will be a family affair once it is finished. I only need to finish the second sleeve, sew it together and maybe make it a bit longer. o for some time!

How does one spend a Wednesday morning? No, not going to work, or wagging work. Taking Monkey 2 to the doctors so that he can charge me $58 to tell me that the band aid that she had jammed up her nose last night can't be seen anywhere. Likely it has been shoved so far up said nose that she has swallowed it, but just in case we should look out for any smelly discharge for the next few days. joys...

What music would you put on when your Monkey 2 (just turned 5) asks for the song called "Alleluia", but doesn't want the "Hallelujah" from Shrek?

She gave me these lyrics to go on

"Alleluia, ina chiser, your messiah"

Now we aren't a religious household, and I thought it unlikely that she would have heard these Christian type terms in a song around here.

Turns out she was after "Venus" by Bananarama :)

I have been trying to post on this blog more often, but one thing and another and another (monkeys one two and three...) have been keeping me from typing. And then I got lost in the new blogger system. So here I am and happy to be back. I am really really going to try harder to post more often! I seem to have so many things to rant about and to celebrate, that I need to get them off my mighty chest somewhere else than in the face of the most wonderful man in the world.

went to visit mum, dad uncle bick and Harchie the Dog. Went to the beach, swam in the ocean, cleansed my soul. Missed out on a naught walk in the sand dunes with the love of my life, but you can't have everything.

Went to Sydney via the coast road with new funky over ocean bridges and through the national park. Breathed the forest air, cleansed my soul.

In Sydney met up with Aunty Toots and Bike, went and pigged out at Yum Cha (ooooh yeah...), then left Monkeys 1 and 2 with AT & B for an aquarium excursion while the Love of My Life and Monkey 3 firmly mounted on my back (Monkey 3 was on my back, LoML was on his own 2 feet, surely you knew that) went down and had a Max Brenner feast, as if you could ever have any less at Max Brenner.... then we went to Lush to stock up on lovelies, then to walk the sunny streets of Sydney. In an attempt to remember the name of and find the street with all the campling stores in it, we stumbled upon a large and wonderful shop with crochet hooks, yarns and all things marvellous, so I got a bamboo hook and some luverly cottons in case I had a few idle minutes on my holiday.

Then we found the street we were looking for, and shopped just in case we could find a sleeping bag for me that would be compatible with his. Lo and Behold! Angels trumpet and a sugar high from Max Brenner, we found the exact right one, sitting there in Snowgum. So we got it. Mr Visa wasn't expecting to be tickled like that, but what they hey, that's what holidays do.

On to Squires brewery for a wee dram, then home again home again jiggety jig to AT&B's for pizza and sleepy bo bos.

more to come as I can get around to it.......

it is harder to crochet with videotape than it looks... don't ask how I know this...

classic quote from Monkey 2

"I'm in the naked!"

everyone here loves being in the naked!