I’ve never joined a yarn club before but to support my friend, Ailsa, and because I truly LOVE her yarn, I joined the first Knitabulous yarn club.
The second installment, delivered at the end of December, came with one of her own patterns – the Bollywood Shawl. So I did something I don’t do often – I knitted the pattern with the yarn specified.
A Knitabulous Shawl, knitted with Knitabulous 50/50 (Merino/Silk) Yarn.
p 
>
Fabulous, Knitabulous!
Technorati Tags: Knitabulous
Well, that’s cheating really. This was cast on in 2009 – and cast off in 2009. But it was too small.
So I frogged the border, did a few more repeats and re-knitted the border. And cast it off in 2010 . . . so I think it qualifies.
I’ve knitted it for a friend who wanted a cotton shawl for a cruise and as I never know what to get her for Christmas (or her birthday in January), I asked her to choose the design and the yarn. Rather considerately for me, she chose Bendigo 4ply Cotton so it didn’t exactly break the bank ($12 for 200g and the shawl used 120g). And she likes it. So success all round.
My second FO for 2010 came off the needles on Tuesday so I’ve got off to a flying start. Pictures and details in the next few days.
No idea why I’ve never heard of this organisation before but they sound like my sort of people.
10.23 – Homeopathy: There’s nothing in it.
Join them if you can on Saturday morning.
Their main UK site is here
I’ve just come across this You Tube video (thank you, Judith) of the winner of Ukraine’s Got Talent (yes, there really is such a show). She’s 24 year old Kseniya Simonova, who’s a sand artist.
She tells the story of the Second World War which killed a quarter of the Ukrainian population and in the process reduces most of the audience to tears. And she does it all in sand. It’s really quite extraordinary.
It’s difficult to imagine, while I’m trying to type this in the current heatwave (it’s about 32C today) that there are people in the world suffering serious ill-effects from icy cold weather – the most serious, of course, being death. So it’s not easy to ask you to think about knitting for very cold babies and children in Afghanistan. But here goes!
This year I’ll be collecting again for the Winterwarm Project, sending knitted clothing to Afghanistan for distribution by the Save The Children Fund. Last year, we held a very successful event at the Stitches and Craft Show in August and collected 191 items.
In 2010, there are TWO Stitches and Craft Shows at Rosehill Racecourse and those wonderful folk at Living Creatively have invited us back.
The first one is being held on Saturday and Sunday 13th and 14th February, from 10-5. The Show runs from the 10th but we’ll only be there for the weekend. So if you’ve visiting the show over the weekend (and frankly you’d be stupid to miss it), this is a wonderful opportunity to sit down and knit for a while. If you haven’t brought any knitting with you, don’t worry – I’ll find you a scarf you can help complete. If you can’t stay to knit, that’s a pity – but you can drop garments off to me then. We collect hats, scarves, gloves, socks, jumpers, cardigans and blankets. Knitted in wool, please.
Do remember – this ISN’T a competition. ONE hat for a child may be all that is needed to save a life. Knit 20 if you have the time and inclination. But just one will do.
I find it a good opportunity to try something different – a pattern or technique. I was a bit embarrassed about a hat I knitted which had a bit of a ‘jog’ in the stripes. As was quite rightly pointed out to me, the hat was warm, did the job it was created for, and no Afghanistan mother is going to complain that the knitting isn’t quite as perfect as you would wish.
Look forward to seeing LOADS of you there.
This sums up so many of my views but in a gloriously, witty manner I can only aspire to. Thank you, Dara O’Briain.
My favourite line: “Just because science doesn’t know everything, doesn’t mean you can fill in the gaps with whatever fairy tale most appeals to you”.
Today I met a lovely woman from Sierra Leone. She came to Australia as a refugee a year ago. She hasn’t seen her husband or children for 8 years. She has no idea where they are or whether they’re alive.
I also read today a speech that the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, made about refugees and asylum seekers. He’s berating the Government for not sending out stronger signals that there is no place for these people in Australia. In an attempt to appear caring and considerate, he expressed concern that the Government is actively encouraging people to put their lives at risk by undertaking this journey in unsafe and ‘leaky’ boats (his word).
And how should the Government discourage asylum seekers from committing such dangerous acts of folly? Well, apparently it should force them to turn around and return them whence they came.
In unsafe and leaky boats, Mr Abbott? Surely not.
But he didn’t mention anything about giving them safer craft for their return journey.
Whatever next? “Darning Socks with Nigella Lawson”? “Gordon Ramsay’s Needlepoint Selection”?
It’s an interesting concept though. He’s marketing the wool from the farm where he sources his meat to raise money for his Fifteen Restaurants.
And what did I ACHIEVE?
In terms of knitting, not a great deal though I seemed to do loads of it. I’m a bit slack at taking photos of everything I make and I don’t record everything on Ravelry (Note to self: Must be better organised about it this year).
BUT
1. I DID eventually get to finish something for the Easter Show – not particularly well-knitted and I didn’t win anything but it was a thrill to see it in the cabinets.
2. I DID get my first pattern published in Yarn Magazine.
3. I DID knit 4 other items for myself from my own designs (well, 5 actually, but one had to be completely frogged!).
4. I DID organise a really good WWKIP Day (though a bit immodest of me to say so myself!)
5. I DID organise a pretty good collection for WinterWarm – with the help of the Stitches and Craft Show and all you lovely people, we collected nearly 200 items.
And failures?
1. I didn’t try enough of the great new patterns out there. As soon as I finish what’s on the needles at the moment, I’ve got two new ones lined up.
2. I didn’t get my own patterns up on Ravelry and my blog. That will be rectified shortly I hope – in fact, as I type, David is designing the layout of my pattern sheet.
3. Biggest failure? Won’t mention here but UOTO know what I’m talking about! (Sorry to be cryptic. If you’re in UOTO, you’ll know what I mean!)
This year:
1. Nothing for the Easter Show as I can’t get it together in time. But I’ve been invited to do the Sticks and String commentary again, which was great fun.
2. WWKIP Day has been left in my hands again and I’m hoping to make it even bigger and better.
3. I have TWO collections for WinterWarm this year – February and August (watch this space).
4. I have beautiful yarn coming out of my ears and wonderful patterns I want to knit. That is a great combination for any knitter and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in
5. Message to UOTO: Will try again this year. I’ve given it my best shot and if I don’t succeed, I give up.
Happy New Year to you all!
You are currently browsing the PomPom blog archives for January, 2010.
