Saturday, May 19, 2007

More Stash and UFOs

I've realised that its been ages since I actually posted here. We've just been too busy knitting, and I've started a new job.
That was one crazy ride. My job at the State Government finished the week before the wedding. The Wednesday before I got a quick 4 question interview on the phone. Friday I got a call back to say I'll be having an in person interview on the Monday (just after the wedding). Monday I had the interview. Tuesday I got a call to say I got through to the next round, which was an interview on Wednesday with manager in the finance section. Wednesday at the interview I was offered the job. As of Monday the 23rd I've been working for Anglicare SA as part of the IT team. It's a great place to work, I work with some pretty crazy people, and I really fit in well. Definitely feels different to where I was before. And they seem to have cake for morning tea almost every second day.
So back on track with the knitting.
For our wedding we got a $50 voucher to IKEA, which we just had to spend. Denise has had enough of the stash all over the ground in a pile, so we bought a second stash tower. And it all fits in, well that was until the new Bendigo order arrived.
Thankfully someone through Anglicare needed donations of yarn, so I got rid of all my scraps of yarn, and those odd balls of fluffy stuff that seems to breed when I'm not looking.
It's scary how much I'm beginning to hoard, and the different types of wool we have. There are at least two tubs full of Bendigo Mills wool. And the large tub at the bottom of the front tower is full of sock wool.
So, apart from this, we've also joined up with the UFO competition through the GLBT-Knit list.
This was my UFO list as of the 29th of April:
1. Red Baby Jacket (my oldest project at 3 years old)
2. Purple Baby blanket (about 2 and a half years)
3. My baby wool socks
4. Red baby socks
5. Red fluffly beanie
6. Brown & pink wrist warmers
7. Green sock wool wrist warmers
8. Maroon baby socks (although I may frog this as I've made it too short)
9. Yellow children's slipper
10. Purple & white socks
11. Tubey jumper
12. Brown granny square blanket
13. Dress for baby gift
14. Pink and blue stash slashing beanie
15. Socks for Denise's Nan
16. The square for Brooklyn's blanket (does that count? Its only been on the needles for two days)
17. Coronet beanie for mum
18. Origami Slippers

And Denise's list:
1. Alan's socks
2. Mum's socks
3. Blue Tubey
4. Ang's Adapted Tubey
5. Green Cable Jumper
6. Wave Alpaca Scarf -
7. Frog - 2004
8. Dad's Footy Scarf - early 2005;
9. Blue and Yellow Gloves
10. My Socks
11. Teddy Bear
12. Baby Suit
13. Cable Coronet;
14. Blue Fetchings;
15. Dad's Water Bottle Cover;
16. Cathy's Fetchings
Well, I'd like to show off our first things finished.
The boob tube Denise adapted from the Tubey jumper pattern. I modeled it for Denise, otherwise it just looks like an odd tube. Denise gave it a picotted cast off along the bottom, as well as giving it a folded down top to hide some elastic in. The last thing Ang would like is to have her top fall down while she's bouncing and jiggling on the dance floor. Might help her to pick up though...

And my Merino Bambino socks. There would have to be the best socks I have made so far. The wool is sooooo smooth and warm. I think I might try the new dye lot that seems to arrived this season. It has more blue and yellow in it. Well that's my excuse for making another pair.
Thankfully they seem to have mostly kept their pattern. Jessica made a pair that had two different patterns, despite making both identical.

Oh, and to my surprise the other day, I noticed that Spotlight have sock wool, of sorts. Its their Moda Vera range, the wool is called Adore. It's very fine, but seems to be the same 25% polymide, 75% wool that most sock wools are comprised of. Was rather shocked when I read the recommended needles and tension for the yarn. 4.5mm needles! The example they hang by the wool was so loose I can imagine that it's not going to attract too many people to it. Anyway, I've got a couple of balls, especially since they were only $3.95 for 50g. Denise's Nan is getting a pair of socks made out of this. So far they feel nice. It will be interesting to see how they wear.