The holidays are at an end, sadly its back to the grind

Well the last week of my holidays is almost over. I've done absolutely zero tafe work (d'oh) and am not really inclined to do any over this coming weekend. Thats probably bad (okay okay so its definitely bad) but I'm failing to care at the moment.

This last week has been pretty full on and I have a lot to blog so please bear with me.

I found out (quite by accident) on Monday that my father died on the 26th of March. I'm not really upset about it as my parents broke up when I was four so I didn't really know him...so for all of you aching to tell me how sorry you are for my loss, its ok, it was really not that much of a loss to me. I know it sounds harsh that I'm not saddened by my fathers death but please remember I didnt know him growing up so he wasnt really a 'father' to me, he was just the sperm donor really (yeh I know, that sounds heartless too, but what can ya do?). I WAS affected by it, but I was more shocked than anything else. I guess no one is prepared for the death of a parent. I do feel sorry for his spouse though, she is a lovely lady (see? I am capable of SOME compassion ;oP). I did the right thing and rang my mother to see how she was coping. Now THAT was painful...talking to my mother is always a mission...ugh.

Anyhoo...onto the fun stuff :oD

Last week I dyed some optim a super light sky blue and spun it up to ply with some awesomely soft super angorino that I got from the talented Charly at Ixchelbunny. I plied the two together and came up with the most incredible yarn. Its such an uplifting colour...the whole time I was plying it I kept thinking about the few times I've laid in the grass gazing up at the sky on a spring day, day dreaming about nothing in particular and having happy thoughts so I called it 'sky dreaming'. I think that no matter what this ends up being, it will be something I wear to lift my spirits.

hand dyed optim fibre



as singles



awesome super angorino
~unending afterthought~



as singles...a LOT of singles



1 skein of 'sky dreaming'
total - 3 skeins (240g - 685m - 15 WPI)



see? isnt it a happy colour?
go on, try to look at it and
NOT feel kind of good inside
tee hee

I purchased some undyed superwash merino from the fabulous Mandie over at Ewe Give Me the Knits so I had fun dyeing fibre on Tuesday and Wednesday. The first lot I did in the oven using a shallow baking pan to see how it would turn out. I've even had a chance to spin it up; it's incredibly ugly and I love it! I'm calling it 'bad acid flashback'. Here's a pic or two.

as fibre it looked pretty cool



~bad acid flashback~
100g - 216m - 12 WPI



It looks kind of like your great grans wallpaper but its
still very cool, super smooshy and full of yarny goodness.
I'm thinking beanie or mebee scarf.

The second batch I did in a dyebath on top of the stove and its turned out really pretty. I haven't named it or spun it yet but I'm sure I'll get around to both fairly soon. Here 'tis...

100g of soft, muted stormy colours

I finally got a chance to spin up some of my EGMTK fibre club fibre on Wednesday as well. It's turned out awesomely soft and very pretty.

~mirage~
merino/milk blend
118g - 320m - 14 WPI

I've been working on a lace cowl to keep my neck warm this coming winter and its about a third finished now. It's made from my handspun 'winter solstice' so its half merino and half silk. Luxuriously soft and the yarn is knitting up very prettily. I'm knitting it in the round so its kind of hard to get a good photo just yet but here are a couple anyways.

I cant wait to wear this during the upcoming cold months



close up so you can see the purdy

It's just starting to get cold at the moment as we're heading into winter and I dont own any slippers. A friend of mine was telling me about her crocheted slipper socks that she reinforces by adding a crocheted sole to help them last longer. I have all this awesome wool laying about and I figured I'd give it a go. Cant wait to finish these so my footsies can be toasty :oD

Super soft slipper sock I'm knitting from
two strands of thick wool held together.



I crocheted the sole from kitchen twine

I have been quite naughty (who me? noooooo) and put a gorgeous (and expensive) antique Royal Albert tea trio on laybuy at the local antique store. Its called 'Old Country Roses' and I paid $55 AU for the set. I'm hoping to pick it up next week so I should have a photo or two of it soon. I'm very happy to be adding to my collection; thats two tea trios now...that counts as a collection doesnt it? lol.

This last week I've also had a chance to catch up with some people I havent seen in waaaaaaaay too long. Big shout outs and thanks to the awesome Mz Natalickit for a lovely morning chatting and drinking caffiene in her new digs. Thanks also to Misha Militia for having fun days with fibre at my place and thanks to Kelly for coming by to keep me company.

To any of my awesome friends that I havent had a chance to catch up with these holidays; I'm sorry I havent seen you, I miss you, and I hopefully will get a chance to see you soon.

The Bunny Has Landed

TAFE has kept me completely snowed under for the last few weeks with last minute assignments and such, but thankfully the first term has finally come to an end and I have two whole weeks of freedom. YAAAAAY!

I have managed to get a few things other than tafe work done over the past (OMG just checked *look of horror*) three weeks since my last update.

I finished spinning up some lovely yarn that I hinted at in a previous post. I blended up some lovely merino and angelina fibre then spun it and plied it with a strand of pure silk that I dyed in my oven. I've named it 'Winter Solstice' because the shimmery angelina and bright shiney silk sections remind me of the coldest darkest mornings in winter when there's frost on everything and your breath comes out in great clouds of steam.

It came out wonderfully soft and I'm thinking will make a very pretty cowl for this coming winter (if I can just find time to knit one).

I finished the beanie I was knitting for my classmate and he loved it. Another classmate has now asked me to make him a beanie for the coming winter but I haven't started it yet.

I spun some awesome BFL/Bunny & Kid Mohair top that turned out super vibrant. I still have another braid of it to spin up, and have no idea what I'll do with it. Perhaps its a seller.

I received my monthly installments of my three fibre clubs and, as usual, I was NOT disappointed in the fibre I received. I loved being in fibre clubs for my first time and have signed up to another Ixchelbunny fibre club for the next three months.

Funky Bunny Batt Club ~ Dream Time~





Ixchelbunny Fibre Club ~ Genie in a Bottle ~



EGMTK Fibre Club ~ Thunderstruck!~

I managed to squeeze in a little extra spinning last tuesday night...some super soft super angorino in super bright colours called 'Unending Afterthought' from the awesome Charly over at Ixchelbunny.

'Unending Afterthought' singles

And a couple of days ago, I discovered a free knitting pattern for a totally hilarious fish hat that I promptly knitted up for myself. I am now in the process of knitting 10 more for a photography assignment that will be due at the beginning of next term.

So as you can see, even as busy as TAFE keeps me, I still have time for fishy business.

The perfect Sunday

It's Sunday afternoon around 3pm and I'm basking in the sounds of every day life; a neighbours lawnmower outside, the washing machine gently swishing my towels, the Bozo muttering happily over his model tank and the Moo purring contentedly at my feet. Talk about your idyllic Sunday setting...all I need now is tea and cake.

Speaking of tea and cake; this morning my lovely Bozo and I went for a womble down the street to visit the local antiques emporium. I've been eyeing their pretty teapots and teacup trio's for a while now since my friend inspired me with her collection of Royal Doulton tea cups and saucers. So while I was there I decided it was high time I started my own collection. Unfortunately I couldn't afford the gorgeous stuff hiding away in the cabinets (time to start saving) but I did manage to pick up a really pretty set for a really reasonable price. Here are some pics (which I've taken with the awesome new skills Ive been learning in photography class at TAFE).

pretty bone china tea trio

I've also managed to get some knitting done in the last few days which has been incredibly therapeutic. I finished my handspun Gail that I've been working on for ages and I have started knitting a beanie for one of my TAFE classmates.

My handspun gail



Beanie for classmate

All things considered, I'd say this weekend has been pretty darn awesome.

News flash; Image heavy post causes readers eyes to bleed

I thought it was about time I updated again. I've been super busy with my TAFE studies the past couple of weeks. I had two assignments to hand in last week and one due tomorrow, which includes a presentation. I worked on it all day Saturday and most of Sunday and its finally ready.

On the craft front, in the last month Ive been buying fibre and yarn (as usual) and spinning a little. I also finished my angorino socks...you know, the ones I made from this fibre. They're wonderfully warm and super soft, here are a couple of pics of them all finished.

I purchased some more sock yarn, some of which I had dyed specifically for a project I want to work on. I also got some more of that gorgeous super angorino fibre from Ixchelbunny.

Super Angorino Fibre
'Unending Afterthought'.



Gorgeous hand dyed sock yarn
in 'opal blue'.



Lovely sock yarn from EGMTK
in shades of dark green.

I spun up the hopeful monsters fibre that I purchased and it has become a gorgeous sock yarn. It looks like this...

220m of gorgeous sock yarn
made by me :oD

I bought a huge amount of merino fibre and some angelina fibre from EGMTK. I've blended some of the angelina with some of the 'Maeve' colourway and spun it into singles. I'm plying it with a strand of pure silk. Pictures of the finished product next post ;oP

200g Merino - colourway 'Maeve'.



200g Merino - colourway 'thistle'



200g Merino - colourway 'mulled wine'



5g Angelina fibre - purple flash



5g Angelina fibre - calypso blue

I have also received my february fibre club installments. I was very lucky and managed to get an extra braid of the Ixchelbunny fibre club. Here they are...

EGMTK fibre club
150g Merino top
'Little speckled hen'



Ixchelbunny fibre club
200g Blue faced liecester,
angora bunny and Kid Mohair
'Oasis'




Ixchelbunny Funky Bunny Batt Club
136g Angora, merino, silk, soy silk,
yak, kid mohair, Wensleydale, angelina, glitz and
american currency
'Sea Poet'



Outer side of the batt



Inside the batt

So as you can see, I've not neglected my fibre addiction while I'm busy studying. Or my yarn stash for that matter. I unfortunately havent had much time to knit but I guess thats a trade off I have to be prepared to make. More fibre coming soon. Lol.