Trekking Trinidad socks

My turn for some socks: I need them to go with my new purple jumper. I found this yarn on-line when I was googling to find out if Australians are allowed to take knitting on planes—because some Americans were chatting on Ravelry about what projects they take on planes. Strange, I thought, surely knitting needles are deemed a security risk... but knitchick has some hints at
http://acechick.typepad.com/knitchicks_features/knitting_on_planes/

Anyway the first Australian blog I visited said NO to knitting on planes so I read on and found a link to a wonderful source of sock yarn, Astrid's Dutch Obsessions in the Netherlands. I can't find this blog again but I like her idea that sock yarn doesn't count as stash so I ordered some too.

http://www.astridsdutchobsessions.com/scripts/default.asp

Astrid is very prompt with posting— I received the yarn in 7 days—and she doesn't charge an arm and a leg for posting.

Here it is: Trekking hand art 511 Trinidad 75% wool 25% polyamide and very soft. It came as a skein so this time we were very careful to wind the ball slowly.

Kaffe Fassett Landscape 'Fire' socks

My favourites so far! Easy to knit with well-behaved wool that doesn't split easily and gorgeous glowing colours!
Must get some more Kaffe Fassett wool.

poppy scarflet

I bought the pattern for this from Etsy.com as I thought it would be nice for Alison's birthday. It took a while to find the right green yarn as green doesn't seem to be fashionable at the moment but Cleckheaton Bamboo has a pretty soft green—perhaps more yellow than the photo shows it— and the red is a pure wool Cleckheaton Merino Bambino.

The button is an antique from Mum's button tin which I never saw on any outfit of hers so it must be 1940s or older.

kaffe fassett socks

I received some new sock wool yesterday from England and couldn't wait to get started - have already knitted the cuff plus. It's Kaffe Fassett's Landscape series by Regia, this colourway is Fire; 75% wool and 25% polyamide so machine washable, can be dried and ironed. Why would anyone want to iron socks? That's what feet are for.
The wool took 7 days to get here from Kangaroo Yarns in England (woolly jumpers - geddit?)
and postage costs are very reasonable.
Go to http://www.kangaroo.uk.com/

cherry red tie-one-on

My cherry tie-one-on shawl turned out nicely!

It's light and warm, was fun to knit and didn't take very long. What more can you ask for! I got the pattern from knitty.com and adapted it seriously as the yarn I used was completely different.

The sequen strips don't show up very well but they are surprisingly soft and non-scratchy.

Hannah modelled it on the condition that I cut off her face - so I did.

happy socks

These are for Elizabeth when she comes home from her stay in Adelaide.

They're knitted in Wendy's Happy which is 100% bamboo the label says (though the website says 75% bamboo and 25% nylon...)
It seems an incongruous gift for a farmer but I will tell her she must see what the opposition is doing - and maybe she'll plant bamboos instead of running sheep.

It's a soft, silky yarn and knits up beautifully - as long as you don't drop a stitch or split the yarn. Any dropped stitch slithers away and is diabolical to pick up again and the yarn splits into 5 little filaments, each of which waves in its own direction.

I'm going to stick to wool in future: I have ordered wool for the next 3 pairs of socks, though there are 2 balls of Maizey awaiting their turn and that's made from corn.

Daisy's spaghetti scarf

Voila!

Daisy has finished crocheting her own scarf.

(It's like the Chinese proverb: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." )

Sure enough - she has enthusiastically embarked on another scarf with ideas of how to improve it.

socks and scarves

I've finished off the socks for Richard, so now he can have warm feet in Perth.
This is the Italian-made Grignasco Strong Print yarn - 75% wool and 25% polyamide so it will wash well and wear well - I hope.



They'll go nicely with jeans and perhaps a maroon jumper.




This is one of the spaghetti scarves I've been churning out for everyone who wants one: school colours of navyblue white and grey eyelash wool for Hannah and Daisy and a Redbacks hockey one for Alison.
Now Daisy is making her own - and excitedly texting whenever she completes another row of colour.
My friend Jan supplied the idea and lots of different yarns from her stash. Jan has CUPBOARDS of stash.
I spent another 3 hours last night on Mulberry Mess and produced a tiny little ball the size of a golf-ball.