Things done, doing things.

A little kimono vest for a baby. And the baby wearing the vest. How lovely it is to knit something that provides almost instant gratification! This is a very easy knit. It's the Sachiko Kimono Sweater turned into a Sachiko Kimono vest for a hot climate baby. What I would do in future - and I think I've thought of this in the past, as well, is to make it as seamless as possible.


Sewing has happened as well. This is an unironed Vogue 8876, complete with slightly wonky collar - although not as wonky as the photo suggests. I do like the different panels and seams in this.

 
I'm making another one as soon as I finish the Motherships replacement RattyOld Dress. I have buttonholes and handsewing to go on that and, who knows, today might be the day!

I feel that my sewing skills are improving and I'm determined, this year, to buy only the clothes I simply don't feel I can make. Given that I have two still serviceable swimsuits and quite enough jeans, this should add up to zero clothes bought this year.

On the knitting needles is another Lanesplitter skirt. I get so much wear out of my Noro Silk Garden version of this skirt that when I saw this Rowan
Tapestry for sale on Ravelry, I snaffled it up. I adore pinks but can't often 

wear them next to my face. So this is a perfect solution. It's a discontinued yarn made of 70% wool and 30% soybean protein. It may be a bit prickly but I intend to wear it with tights or leggings. Who knows, I may even line it. I have quite a bit of a plum coloured very thin stretch fabric which would

be okay with this, I think.

Next item for show and tell? The plyed yarn on the left. It's some bright bright roving I've had for yonks, dyed by Ewe Give Me the Knits which I've plyed with some natural grey.  Who knows what I will eventually do with it? The grey yarn could be Corriedale? And it's not particularly soft, so you wouldn't want it next to your skin.

Finally, more spinning. This is a batt from Ixchel Fibre dyed by the wonderful Charly. It's absolutely beautiful - the colours and the fibre

 mix make it a dream to spin. I'm a little late for the February spinalong with this but made a start last night while watching the end of Death Comes to Pemberly. Note that I tried to do that wrapping around a coin thing to show off the yarn's width but it didn't quite work. I'm really happy with the way this is spinning, however.

I have two batts of this and I don't particularly want to ply them with each other, so I'm wondering what I can do about that. I haven't really anything in my fibre stash that would suit the colours. So, I may end up simply plying it on itself and using it for a small shawl, or even as striping in a larger shawl.

Despite so much making, writing continues. I am about to begin Chapter Sixteen of the young adult love story! So delighted by that.

And of course, reading continues. I do recommend Hilary Mantel's collection of short stories. Brilliant. I'm trying to borrow as many books from my local library as I possibly can this year and using the 'Hold' system with alacrity.  What a lovely sentence this is:

Buried in the grass we talked: myself monosyllabic, guarded, eight years old, wearing too-small shorts of black-and-white check, that had fitted me last year; Mary with her scrawny arms, her kneecaps like saucers of bone, her bruised legs, her snigger and her cackle and her snort.

from Hilary Mantel, 'Comma', The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher,  Fourth Estate, 2014.

Read it aloud - there is that lovely moment of poetry 'kneecaps like saucers of bone' and then the bold  rhythm of those sound nouns at the end.

Autumn resolutions

I think maybe one should make seasonal resolutions. Today I decided to move my knitting and fibre adventures back to this blog. I think it will make me feel happier.

This is one of the Ixchel angora bunnies. I've just knitted my daughter a variegated grey cowl from pure angora - it's unbelievably soft. I think this bunny was giving me the evil eye. It's name is Kabookie. Who knew they had fluffy little feet as well?

I learnt to spin when I was about seventeen - on an Ashford wheel. I learnt to spindle first - using a drop spindle. We bought them in Melbourne - we'd driven through from Queensland, my mother, her partner and me in the old Dodge Ute. We bought the spindles from the Spinners and Weavers Guild, Victoria - it was then in the city, from memory.

I can remember standing on a table in order to get enough drop for my spindle - and being totally frustrated when the yarn broke, time after time.

Shortly after that I learnt to spin on a wheel. It's a very relaxing thing to do. I loved brown fleece in particular and spinning in the grease.

I sold my Ashford when I left Brisbane years ago. I was given another Ashford by a woman at a Warrugul writer's retreat years later. I gave that away sometime back and now I own a Majacraft Little Gem - which is an upright wheel - and an unknown Norwegian-style spinning wheel which I bought secondhand from the Spinners and Weavers Guild, which is now in Shakespeare Street, Carlton.

I feel much happier when there's time in my life for spinning, knitting and sewing. One of my autumn resolutions is to keep this time and not be overwhelmed with work demands. Quite frankly, I'm not paid enough to be overwhelmed!

Word Tree

will feature Peter Bakowski reading from his new collection. Don't miss it - Saturday Oct 3 at Burrinja Cafe, Burrinja,Upwey from 3.00pm - open section as well.

Did some spinning yesterday on the deck - it was so pleasant in the sun. The novel suffers because of it, but I'm sure my soul felt better. Love the new wheel - a Gem from Majacraft.

More sunshine today - gosh, by the time I finish the Beth Jacket it will be too warm to wear it! Must finish my mermaid-green vest - should do that today - there's a chance I will still be able to wear that!

Have to find a book launch venue for my new collection of poetry. We'll launch it in early November - any venue suggestions gratefully received! (Thanks to Matt Hetherington who suggested Dantes. I'll put it on my list!)

Snow at Olinda

 

We had to pick the manboy up today at a friend's house in Olinda. As it snowed briefly in Belgrav we knew it would be snowing in Olinda. Admittedly the Belgrave snow was kind of melt-in-the-air-snow but Olinda is higher. The Accountant was concerned and even more so when we went to a local hardware store and the dude behind the counter shook his head and talkeda bout road blocks.

Nonetheless we headed to Olinda. There was snow at Kallista. The Accountant muttered about snow chains. Cars coming down from Olinda had ice on their bonnets.

Olinda was beautiful! The Accountant mellowed. We missed the turning point to the manboy's friend's place but we rang him and he walked in and we walked up and then we threw snowballs at each other. By the time we got back to the car my hands were so cold I longed for some kind of mittens. But my hand-knitted socks and my purple Docs kept my feet warm and dry.

I came home and spun some Sunshine and Czar with English Leciester. (Sunshine and Czar are the Bayards' two samoyeds.) I am not an expert spinner and my yarn is always texturally interesting. I am really enjoying Sunshine and Czar, however, because of the softness and loft they bring to the English Leciester which is essentially a sock yarn.

Once I've finished enough for a mystery hello-Germany pressie for the younger Bayard who goes on exchange soon, I intend to mix them with a very soft merino roving I bought from the Spinners and Weavers. Then I shall microwave dye the yarn. Some of this will be for another ward-off-the-snow-in-Schwerin pressie but there'll probably be enough for a Shetland shawl, too.

I must say that now I've spun fur from those dogs I watch the state of their coats with vested interest!