Accentuate the Positive

This could have been a stressed and tragic post just like the Sunday shift I had - but instead I'm going to be accentuate the positive and speak of Cupcakes and Picnics and Picots progress.

It was a busy weekend because, as usual I was juggling lots of things at once. Guild meeting on Saturday then travel down to the City after picking the young Dragon up.

Centennial Park Sunday morning; planning on having one of the great Bacon & Egg rolls they make at the caravan kiosk in the middle of the park when we espied many, many little tents and tables. By happenstance we had stumbled upon the SMH Good Food Month Spring Picnic - and me without my camera!

The cupcake is a sample of the myriad and multinational food they had available. We had Dogs Of Warr, Japanese Crab Balls, Guatemalan coffee, organic guava juice. We passed on the Wagyu Beef, the Chorizos, the Venison rolls and the char kway teow.

On the knitting front I tried on Picovoli and am fairly happy with the progress - the raglan increases leave a little to be desired but the fit is good and the sleeves are to my satisfaction. I'll try the cap sleeve method Grumperina suggests to bring them a bit further down.

Obligatory Cat Post

Cats and Knitting Blogs are apparently synonymous in the Cyberworld, so here is my obligatory Cat Post.

This is Trim. A noble and adventurous cat who, in his master's words, was
"The best and most illustrious of his race. The most affectionate of friends, faithful of servants, and best of creatures."

Trim now has pride of place on the window ledge (a place most cats like to sit) of the State Library in Sydney where he can keep a watchful eye on his Master, Matthew Flinders, who stands before him.

They traveled together from the Cape of Good Hope to the great Southern Land where this puss had the honour of being the first feline to circumnavigate Australia.

Picovoli

I've jumped straight into Picovoli with no second thoughts about finishing off other UFO's or what's next in the queue. The weather is a big factor in making this decision. It is Hot and therefore anything that is wool or has the slightest hint of mohair in it send my palms into an instant sweat. Even that delicate little cashmere scarf is too warm.

Luckily I had all the makings for Picovoli in the Pile ready to go. Six balls of Debbie Bliss Cathay in lovely Grass Green courtesy of Wool Shack's effective discount sales technique.

I only had to upgrade the needles to a set of Naturally 3.50 Bamboo circulars. I did this when the young Dragon was being entertained by a reptile show at the library - he got to pat a Children's Python while I nipped downstairs to Katoomba Knits and shopped for necessities.

With a pattern as popular as this one I have no lack of past examples to inspire or dissuade me. The only feature I would alter is the sleeves - I might try and make them a bit more of a cap than a strap.

I started off Picovoli as Tivoli because I couldn't be bothered doing the provisional cast on it required. I also did the first 5 or so rows flat as the my 80 cm circular was initially too stiff to magic loop. Changed my mind about the picots on the third row and put them in. I'm now in the process of knitting up my standard cable cast-on stitches into the main body to make a firm, no sag, picotlated edge (I hope) .

Of course I wish I had changed my mind about this before I had done the first increase row. I have to do some jiggery at the increase points to prevent the edge developing an extreme slant because of the extra stitches. What - why didn't I tink that extra row and do it proper? Because I'm a masochist I like a challenge.

With the No Seams, Start-at-the-top -keep-going-til-you-stop design I have high hopes of a speedy finish.

Pretty in Pink

I've finished the ISE scarf and can pack it off to California just in time for winter. With its pinkness and crystal beadiness and shells it's the most girly thing I have ever made - obvious its not for me!

I don't think I'll be venturing back into the realm of 4 ply for a while though. Progress seemed to be so slow - the fact that I had to frog back to missed yarn overs in all that faggoting may have accounted for this.

Despite this I do have a Cashmere laceweight piece on the needles but that's different - don't ask me how, it just is.

A simple Feather and Fan on Size 3.5, 7 inch needles is very handy to have in the handbag for the little bit of quick knitting in the bus or on the train - the stitch is a classic and easy for me to remember. Just knit til the yarn runs out and you have a lovely, light soft little scarf.

Fun Was Had

Playschool 40th Birthday - this was a fun show.

- I met the talented Jay and Karen, two very funny and very friendly characters with so much energy and vitality.

It was also Simon's Birthday so he got several rounds of "Happy Birthday to Simon" and a very rich Chocolate Cake.

The show was only about 40 minutes long but was very energetic and, as you can see employed the most highly trained staff the Opera House could provide.

This is Slush the Pig making sure he's got a second career choice when his looks give out or they start talking about 'Babe' replacements.

I also had many knitterly chats with Miss Fee who designed the set and who completed a sweet little Rowan Cotton bag during the run of the show. I thought I was doing well grafting my scarf together!

Hard Rock

The Foo Fighters in Full Flight. I wasn't directly working on this show so I was able to get fairly close and personal to this band that (again) I had never heard before. My pop musical education stopped around the late 80's but it's been getting a big update lately. This group was pretty loud and in-your-face - not your typical hard rock group - in fact at times they were almost (dare I say it) folky, but with attitude, lots of it.

As is the way in the Concert Hall barely had the vodka bottles and beer cans been cleaned out of the dressing rooms than the next big name event came in. And for this lot the Mosh pit had to be expanded because this audience knows how to ROCK a bye baby with the best of them.


Yes it was the Playschool mob celebrating their 40th Birthday with their star studded cast:



Jemima in her Logie frock; Scrap the dog with Big and Little Ted, a single Banana in pajama with Humpty all waiting backstage for their entrance cue.

The audience went mad, screaming and waving; some having to be physically restrained in their seats. Three shows today and another three tomorrow - "If You're Happy and You Know it Clap Your Hands" one more time!

The good thing about this lovely happy little show is that I have been able to finish the ISE Scarf and graft it together. The Faggot stitch grafts leave something to be desired unfortunately but the rest will shake down in the Block - then it's add a few baubles and beads and it's on its pinky, silky, alpaca way. This will then leave the way open for the completion of the neglected items in the progress bar which have been static to the point of fossilisation.

Just Walking in the Park

Its Labour Day today - one of those great Aussie long weekends that normally wouldn't really make a difference to me because I usually work weekends and public holidays. What it does mean is that the highway at the top of my street is bumper to bumper with traffic coming back from the Leura festival or the Bathurst races.

I usually try and stay as far away as possible from public or tourist destinations at this time, being more of a backstage person with a dislike of crowds. This proves to be a bit hard when I live in "The City in a World Heritage Park" so we went walking through our backyard away from all the crowds.


This is a fire trail at the back of Lawson that is a 10 min walk to a lovely waterfall. Along the way we came across lots of local fauna such as this delicate blue Dotted Sun Orchid and the state's symbol the Waratah, along with parrot in the background.



It's nice to be able to go for these walks at present - in a couple of months (maybe weeks) it will be too hot to go out in the midday sun as we did today - especially once the bushfire season starts. This is the beauty and the danger of this wonderful place though and I wouldn't change it for quids.

A better time had by all.

I must say that this weekend has panned out a lot better than last. The wind has been mild, the temperatures more suited to a Spring day and good progress has been made on my project du jour - the ISE alpaca/silk scarf. The mental block I was suffering under seems to have dispersed and two lots of Gazebo lace have been completed. This is Bou sitting at the back door showing off the progress that has been made.

I found another tempting scarf design in a Cleckheaton Studio Mohair book that was light and lacy and challenging. If I understand the distinction correctly it was knitted lace more than lace knitting - one having a purl row on the return and the other having lace stitches on every row? The test swatch I did looked lovely so I may save it for another day.

I'm impressed with most of the designs in the Studio Mohair range. Maybe it's the art direction or the colour range that appeal to me but I have acquired all three of the pattern books in this yarn and have 3 items from these books on the go.

The garden festival we have entered has taken up all my weekends so I haven't been to any Knitting groups near or far. Next weekend knitter Sally, fresh from "sunny Bristol", will be going to the Rubi & Lana's knitting group, and hopefully bearing copies of Yarn Forward and Knit Today . A yarn Mag Hag such as myself can never have enough so I may have to do some serious roster jiggling to get to this meet or (more likely) wait til next time.

Spring is here

Spring has arrived with a gale force wind. It's going to be a long and hot summer if today's 30 degree temps are anything to go by. I can smell the whiff of bushfires in the air already.

All things knitterly have been sidelined by the local Garden Festival which we are organising and entering - Glutton for punishment is the phrase of the month.

The bits of garden that haven't been blown away by the wind do look beautiful though. The creamy mass of Wonga Wonga Vines in blossom is a wonderful introduction to the small but tidy little native garden we have. Even the next door plants have climbed over the fence to join in. Their scent at night is rich and intoxicating.


Yesterday was the opening day of the festival so, for a bit of variety, local Middle Eastern Dance Groups entertained the crowd in the School playground.

Everyday 'school Mums' were transformed into swirling, shimmying, exotic denzins of the Seraglio.

It was inspiring to many of us who don't have an anorexic waif physiques, to see how graceful and senuous the dancers were. Apparently it's also a fun way to get fit.

Note to self

Note to self: it doesn't matter how much you want to get past the first 20 rows of your International Scarf Exchange Project, it is not advisable to knit while operating a show comprised mostly of Snap cues and critical visuals! No wonder I have to now frog the last 10 rows I did last night.

These 20 rows of Lace have been on and off the needles so often they must be feeling seasick. I was commuting by car this time so I didn't have 2 hours of dedicated knitting time to fix it, as I do travelling by train. At least I'm past the first 18 rows of Nicky Epstein's Gazebo pattern from "Knitting on the Edge" and when I repeat it for the other end I (hopefully) will have learnt from my mistakes.

The show was an energetic dance piece called Special Mention, nicely lit by Bernie Tan. It was a collaborative work commissioned by the House and involving young dancers, aged from 14 yrs to 26, from all over Sydney.

There was a lot of Teen Spirit around and except for the odd outbreak of 'Whateeever' and 'Shut uuup" it wasn't too excruciating. The cast and crew had a lot of fun and the music was LOUD. The audience of Sydney Symphony's performance in the Concert Hall may have noticed a 'doof, doof' back beat to the Mozart Overture. I had earplugs in one ear and a big headset on the other.

All in all it was a good day - the Stash sale at the Mountains Knitting Guild went well and I divested myself of one packet of Op Shop wool (replaced by two skeins of hand dyed Merino!). I think I will have to start selling stuff on ebay if I am serious about getting some stash reduction happening. At least the Bluebell Crepe went to a good home. Janette traded me a lovely pair of wooden Addi's for it. Go and check out her 'quick knit' in Cleckheaton Cotton Soft that she 'just threw together'. Classic lines and beautifully finished.

Op Shops

I love op shops and this is why. A quick visit to the local Vinnies store resulted in whole stash of wool including Jaeger Mohair Spun, Totem 8ply, Patons Bluebell and Heatherwood as well as a half completed jumper of Studio Mohair in a discontinued shade plus the current Cleckheaton pattern book it came from. All for about $1.00 a ball and the book thrown in for free.
It seems that someone has disposed of their Stash so I therefore undertake to find it all a good home.

We are having a Stash sale at the Guild this weekend; I'll add most of this to the not-as big-as-it-could-be pile I have managed to extract from my stash.

Now what are the chances that I'll be able to resist temptation and come away from the meeting empty handed?

A typical day at the office.

I had occasion recently, to visit Lara in her workplace. (I was retrieving knitting I had left behind at SSK ) She works in a lovely, light filled space with a beautiful easterly view over the harbour, freshly ground coffee on call and lots of techie stuff to play with.

On this note I thought I'd put up some shots of my usual working environment - cramped dusty lighting positions high up in the roof with a minimal view and no coffee at call.

Here is my 'office' at the moment, (working on Ben Folds unplugged - more on that later.)

On the right we have me high up in the roof above the Concert platform working on a project in this 'office'. (Fixing up the keyboard special on Mr Fold's piano)

Then I moved to a "Front of House" position and fix up a call light. Here there are lots of airconditioning ducts, winch lines, cable trays and pointy bits of sharp metal everywhere. It is not an area designed for anyone over 5ft tall , of a portly stature or in any way claustrophobic or scared of heights. I just sneak in because I'm 5'3". The rest I'm not so sure about.


This is what all that crawling around in the hot dusty cramped roof is for - Ben Folds performing with the Sydney Symphony orchestra for four nights. It has been a very pleasant experience although I am embarassed to say I knew nothing about Ben before I started this Gig. I am now able to recognise at least 8 songs from his, no doubt, extensive repetoire and they don't all sound the same to me as they did when I worked the first show. It's a very laid back show in most respect - it only has 3 cues! So this means that once the house lights have gone down I am able to concentrate on my knitting for at least 90 minutes. That more than makes up for all the hot and sweaty 'roof rat' work that precedes it. Life's Good.

Spring Diversions

Another weekend of Social Knitting and my spirits are restored. SSK on Saturday was a lovely diversion before I headed off to work.

Then, the following day as we were traveling to a Father's Day excursion I just 'happened' to come across a newly formed little knitting group at 'The Kiosk' in Katoomba.
Barbara and Tess had met up at the Knit-in for East Timor Refugees that was held at the Carrington Hotel the previous month and they decided to form a very casual group at this lovely little cafe near the Scenic Skyway. That was our original excursion destination but as there was a bit of a gale force wind blowing nobody minded the diversion. Traveling a "720 meter journey 270m above ancient ravines and dazzling waterfalls" in a box on a bit of steel rope is challenging at the best of times without the added drama of high winds.

We did journey on after Fathers Day gift Ties and handwritten cards had been dispensed. The brisk winds blew away all the clouds and revealed the beautiful scenery of the Narrow Neck Plateau. The brief bit of bushwalking we did revealed some spectacular views and exquisite foliage; The native heath, Epacris microphylla, and the pink Boronia ledifolia as well as many, many lovely Banksias, Isopogen and Acacia species.

I think this is a little sprig of the rare and endangered Epacris reclinata growing out of a rock crevice (above rather a sheer drop I might add.) Spring in the Mountains is a subtle affair (if you don't count the in-your-face and up your nose wattle blooms) The Bush is rich with delicate flowers that are such a contrast to the northern hemispheres intensity of Daffodils and Cherry Blossoms that feature so predominantly in the Mountain townships.

The Botanists Way

"The Botanists Way is part of the larger Grand Circular Tourist Drive through the Hawkesbury, Lithgow, Oberon and Blue Mountains areas."

This is the introduction to a lovely website which harks back to the time of doing 'the Grand Tour". When traveling to the heights of the Blue Mountains was something that took several days and people had mansions and estates that they escaped to, away from the heat and smell of Sydney in the middle of Summer.

I've just finished reading Delia Falconer's book "The Service of Clouds" which is in the time of 'taking the mountain air' and going to Medlow Bath for the waters. While I'm not overly enamoured of her thesaurus style of writing, which one critic called "exuberant meditation", I did manage to get into the story of life in Katoomba at the turn of the 20th century. It took a lot longer to travel the Grand Circular Tourist Drive then and the traveler probably saw and experienced much more than today's day-tripper tourists in their air-conditioned deluxe coach.
The webpage suggests that "The 90 km drive along The Botanists Way between the Hawkesbury and Lithgow takes less than an hour and a half, but a whole day or even several days can be spent exploring all the sights and experiences along the way."

Much of that journey is along the wonderfully named Bell's Line of Road and it includes the Botanic Gardens at Mt Tomah, the elegant garden estates of Mt Wilson, and a myriad of cafes, orchards and small produce stalls. The last time we visited this area we bought honey at the farm gate and picked apples, walnuts and chestnuts straight from the trees. A novel but exciting experience for the young Dragon.

Until I read this website I was unaware of the wealth of other, non-commercial attractions along this route. I didn't know about the Waratah Native Garden or the lake on a mountain top at Mountain Lagoon near Sam's Way.

I think its time to start the Slow Travel movement to complement the one for Slow Food.

Sea Silkiness

It was dire - because of work and sickness I went a whole two months without going to a Knitting Group (I don't count the Guild meetings because I'm the convener and there's not much time for idle knitterly chatter.) Finally, I managed to maneuver work, domestic and other commitments around so that I could attend Rubi & Lanas last weekend. It was a full house - Lara finally made it as did Pamela and Celia and Sally and first timer, Simone. Taryn brought along a skein of beautiful Blue Sea Silk yarn from Hand Maiden - I've been wanting to check it out ever since I heard about its apparent therapeutic properties - and it has a slight salty smell too it - just like they said. Apparently it takes time to fill all the orders (especially as it seems to be the yarn of blogging choice lately) so I've put in a request for one skein for whenever it arrives. I don't mind waiting because I've got so many projects on the go. Truth in sidebar progress bars? I don't think so.

Rag Mag Hag

I've just discovered a wonderful online magazine, Spins & Needles. It is published from the "haven for spinners, knitters and felters" That Spinning Place which is based in Riverstone, NSW, and from my first look it certainly gives some commercial Australian Yarn magazines a run for their money!
I mean who can resist a pattern for knitted boots (that look a lot like Uggies). The Fern shawl pattern is probably nothing new to any owner of a decent set of Barbara Walker but it looks so pretty. I have a recently aquired skein of laceweight Cashmere that may have found a reason for being.

Some of the articles I found interesting -
Knitted then felted slipper boots; Knit a romantic Fern Shawl; Beaded stitch markers - How to make your own; and Fibre Focus: English Leicester Sheep Breed.
The next issue is due out this month so more fodder for this Mag Hag.

Super Troupers

At 73 I hope to have half of the energy of this woman. Chita Revera is an amazing trouper in the true sense of the word. Her short season in the Studio has just finished and I was one of a number of totally impressed punters who were entertained by her stamina and charisma. She was the original feisty Anita of West Side Story and she's still got it (as well as the best legs on any person her age or younger!)


In the Concert Hall another doyen from the same era was performing a more sedate set. Debbie Reynolds may not have thrown herself around the stage with the same energy as Chita but her audience was still as adoring. She kept them enthralled with snippets of songs, anecdotes and film clippings. She managed to make a 2000 plus hall seem as intimate as the Studio and ya gotta respect that.

More power to these divas, may they all go out dancing.

Serendipiditous shopping

We were looking for the Kings Cross Library on a Sunday afternoon and I ended up with 10 Balls of Rowan Magpie Tweed instead.
The building where the library used to be was next to the El Alamein fountain and in the large square surrounding it there happened to be a market. Neither the Young Dragon nor I can resist such a thing so we went shopping. He came away with 7 collectors teaspoons, a bag of Columbian Organic Sugar (no, that is not a euphemism) a Mexican hot chocolate and 'The Magic Schoolbus' book; I gained this lovely yarn.

It's in the freezer at present going through quarantine but it seems to be in good condition with no visible damage or moth signs. The remainder of the yarn on the stall was all single balls of bright acrylic, so it was no wonder this caught my eye - even with its understated, handwritten 'English Wool' label.

At $50 I think it was a bargain - but of course the issue now is what shall I knit with it? I have seen it recommended for 'Rogue' and as there are several people that have already finished this, in my neck of the woods, it is up for consideration. I may also look for a simple basic Aran pattern for a 9yr old as the colour is so suitable (it matches his eyes).

On a ps. note while I was searching for inspiration for Magpie I came across several posts on Something from Nothing's Blog detailing the troubles she was having with the different gauges and textures of Jo Sharp Aran Tweed. Not to harp on about the poor old Rib Wrap but I may have got off lightly with only one wonky ball - so I will count my blessings and appreciate its warmth.

pps. We finally found the Library in the old Woolworths building in the heart of the nightclub and sex shops strip. Must be fun to work there.