Christmas: 9, Spiraing: 3

Hatie for netty
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

Another Chiristmas knit completed, a super easy, finished in an evening spiraling hat for a friend in Canada who will be in Whistler over Christmas.

This is the friend who introduced Pants and I (after knowing us individually for 10 or more years, but still...) and we love her to bits.

I've been seeing heaps of similar hats on ravelry with killer embellishments, so I might add something to this one.

Pattern: made up, see this post

Yarn: Lamb's Pride Bulky in RPM Pink

Needles: 10mm DPNs

Made for: Netty!

Ravelry Details

Biome

I recently discovered Biome, the website of a fantastic eco friendly store in Brisbane, and managed to drop quite a bit of money there today.

I bought a bunch of these ceramic decorations, made by a Brisbane designer, Kylie Johnson of Paper Boat Press.

I bought these gorgeous stars for our mothers, which I think will look fantastic on their gifts:

I bought this Peace on Earth bird (dove?) to tie onto my best friend's present:


And a few of the spotty stars for myself:


While I was there, and to take advantage of their free shipping, I also bought my dad some eco friendly golf tees, derived from biodegradable corn-based polymers, some beautiful looking soaps to give with the knit washers I'm planning on making as spare gifts and some baby things for the nephling.

I'm also planning on buying eco friendly hampers from there as corporate gifts from my day job this year, they have some fantastic options that I'm sure anyone would love to receive. I know I'd be stoked with any one of them, but especially this one.

All photos taken from and property of the Biome website.

think pink

think pink
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

I managed to do a little spinning last week, after my card-a-palooza.

This one is hand dyed merino, spun on the Roberta and navajo plied.

It's for my partner in the Think Pink swap (ravelry link), and will be sent along with some hand dyed Spiraling Sock, a strawberry freddo, strawberry timtams and whatever else pink I can find.

Christmas: 10, Spiraling: 2

dinosaur
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

The Christmas knitting is coming along, with the addition of this little dino (Chloesaurus) for my baby cousin, who happens to be a bit of a dinosaur nut.

Super easy, like all Greenhowe patterns, I made this while watching 3rd Rock from the Sun DVDs. Man, I love that show. Top 10.

I really suck at embroidering faces, so I'm calling this my version of a Steiner toy. Stuffed with wool roving.

Pattern: Little Men and Monsters, from Jean Greenhowe's Toy Collection

Yarn: Villawool Speediknit

Needles: 3.25mm

Made For: Chloe

Ravelry Link

Card-a-palooza 07

Pants and I have some fairly inflexible financial goals at the moment, which have resulted in our jumping at any overtime or extra work we can get.

A consequence of this is that I've been travelling quite a bit and working most weekends and that Pants has also been doing the occasional weekend and a couple week nights a week.

He worked one evening earlier this week, which I designated CARD-A-PALOOOOOZAAAA!!!!, wherein I take a giant basket of fibre, generally consisting of bits I couldn't fit on a bobbin, dye trials, bits I use to exhaust dye pots, samples of fibres and generally anything interesting I find in my studio.

Then, I throw handfuls into my drum carder, roughly card them and see what happens.

I made 19 batts in this bunch, 3 for me, 15 for the store and 1 for my new friend Miss Vicki.

They're so much fun to spin, because you never know how it's going to turn out. No two are the same, but each of the 15 for sale all have at least 10 fibres in common, so they would make a giant, coheisive yarn, if all spun together. This lot all have silk, mohair, merino, angelina, corriedale and a bunch of other things.





I really love making these, it's always a surprise to see how they will come out and I'm really happy with this batch.

Now, to find enough time to list them on etsy and eBay.

Spiraling Hat

spiraling hat
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

This pattern is an old favourite of mine and this hat is the only one I've kept. These make really great, easy to knit gifts. Seriously, they only take an hour or so to make, no seaming, fantastic.

It's such a basic, easy thing to make. Doubled lamb's pride bulky, knit in the round on 10mm dpns (made by Pants out of dowel), an inch and a half of 2x2 ribbing, two and a half inches of kniting, then even decreases to a point.

Too easy.

Pattern: made up, as above

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky in Lipstick Red (LOVE this yarn, adore this colour)

Needles: 10mm dpns

Made For: ME!!

Ravelry Details

Jelly Baby for Mirabel

jelly baby
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

This is my fourth softie for Mirabel, I'm express posting the lot to Mikes today.

I had grand plans of buying some real jelly babies for a photo shoot, so you could see how little this is, but when I got to the store, I remembered that I hate jelly babies and bought boost bars (I like to take them when I fly anywhere, I think it's a Danish thing [also, I pretty much blame everything unexplainable on my heritage]).

When I got home, I felt a bit silly about the boost bars and had to use them in the photo anyway.

I've been stuffing my softies with wool roving and, I have to say, it kicks polyfill.

Pattern: Jelly Baby from Jean Greenhowe's Little Gift Dolls

Yarn: Paton's 5Ply Treasure

Neddles: 2.5mm addi turbo lace circ

Made For: Softies for Mirabel

Amendments: I knit it in the round on a circ, using magic loop and Judy's magic toe cast on, instead of knitting it flat and seaming it. The yarn I used was actually 3 ply (fingering) instead of 8 ply (worsted), so it's pretty teeny.

Ravelry Details

Bunny for Mirabel

Bunny for Mirabel
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

Pattern: Bunny from Jean Greenhowe's Knitted Animals

Yarn: Villawool Speediknit

Neddles: 3mm aluminium

Made For: Softies for Mirabel

Ravelry Details

Autumnal!

Autumnal Detail
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

Autumnal is finished, bringing my Christmas gift knitting total to... one.

*cough*

Pattern: Autumnal, designed by me

Yarn: Tactile Fibre Arts sport

Needles: 2.5mm Addi Lace

Made for: Mumsie

Scraping the bottom of the barrel...

finger
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

William is missing middle finger.

Funneh.

William

William
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

This little fattie is William, my mate's blue tongue lizard. There's another blue tongue in his menagerie, Tuppance, who Pants saved from a dog this week. He's just there to recouperate, though.

William is awesome. He has no toes on his back foot there, but my photo is pretty crap.

Yeah, I'm scratching for crafty content, I just need a chance to take some photos of projects.

Levi warms up

levi
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

1.What were you doing at 0800?
I'd been at work for an hour, but was sneakily reading blogs for a break before anyone else came in.

2. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Working, I'll head home soon. Busy day, 12 hours so far.

3. What was the last thing you said out loud?
I love you, to Pants, who is also working, far away

4. How many beverages did you have today?
1 cup of coffee, 1 1/2 beroccas and a few litres of water

5. What was the last thing you paid for?
A train ticket - Summer Hill to Bondi Junction - $3.40

6. Where were you last night?
Terminal 2 of Mascot Domestic Airport

7. Where do you keep your change?
In a St George's cross coin purse

8.What’s the weather like today?
I'm actually not sure, I've been at work for the past 12 and a bit hours. All of my meetings came to me today

9. What’s the best ice-cream flavor?
Choc mint, or possibly cherry

10. Do you want to cut your hair?
I haven't had a professional hair cut in years and I can't say I'll be bothering to any time soon

11. Do you talk a lot?
Yes, it took me to 23 to become comfortable with silence, but I can say a lot of words quite quickly without stopping for breath

12. Do you know anyone named Steven?
I promoted a delightful boy by the name of Steven, a few weeks ago, and he hasn't let me down

13. Do you chew on your straw?
Yes, Pants always knows which drink is mine

14. Where’s the next place you’re going to?
The train station, to go home and work from there for the weekend

15. What are your plans for this weekend?
Working, then playing on the new motorcycle that was delivered this afternoon, then some more working

levi hiding

levi hiding
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

This is Levi, my mate's long neck turtle.

Not that you'd know it to look at this photo.

He's a bit of a scaredy-cat and takes a while to warm up when you play with him.

I'm travelling again, so there's no actual real content to be had.

Dodgy

Dodgy
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

One of the good things about the rediculously well-stocked garage Pants maintains is that you can pretty much always dodgy yourself up a darning needle out of a coil of wire shoved on a shelf out the very back.

It's not ideal, I went and bought six real ones today, but it does in a pinch.

Dead Spinning Wheel

Dead Spinning Wheel
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

For the record, I hate the Ashford Traditional. In fact, I hate everything Ashford makes, I hated the Ashford 'villiage' in Ashburton, NZ, and I hated that all of their salespeople knew nothing about fibre or spinning.

I look at the ashford wheels and wonder why they decided to forget aesthetics and produce wheels with function and no form, especially when their function isn't so hot and their prices don't reflect their ugly.

That said, I've managed to pick up a cheap Traditional somewhere along the way (in Canberra, actually, it came home in the backseat of the land rover) that I pretty much hate.

MItzy is pants' wheel (though I use it overwhelmingly more), the Peggy is mine, but lives in my mother's living room and the Roberta is my workhorse, production wheel.

That said, I'm excited now, because we're modding (or as Pants says, Rodding) the crapford into a super spinner. It involves welding, checkerplate and detatchable parts, which is kind of exciting.

I hope pants finishes up today, or at least next week while I'm in Qld again for three days.

Gorgeous yarn

tactile
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

This is the yarn I'm using for my autumnal sock and it's GORGEOUS.

Hand dyed using natural dyes (leaves and insects, which is awesome) but the very talented Maia, I won this skein in a competition on her blog.

This is seriously amazing wool, 100% superwash and the colours! My goodness. Plus, you know, I've unravelled the heel three times and it's still in perfect condition.

Maia doen't have anything up on her website, Tactile Fibre Arts, at the moment, but I'm watching like a hawk, because I must have more.

My mum is going to love these socks, she caught a glimpse yesterday afternoon. I hid them quickly, but she looked rather smug.

Superspinner

Superspinner
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

This weekend, Pants and I are modding our crappy Ashford Traveller into a superspinner.

We pulled it apart last weekend and now he just wants to bash on the keyboard while I type, somewhat like a monkey.

So I'll write more later, when my love has gone away.

Where is my mind?

Autumnal progress
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

This is the second sock of Autumnal, the first time I attempted the heel.

Yeah, first time, I've just started on the leg after my fourth attempt was finally successful.

I don't know what my problem is. The first attempt ended up really narrow after I somehow managed to get my stitches divided unevenly somewhere in the foot. The second attempt I just wasn't paying attention and I botched it.

The third attempt was at the Tapestry Craft S&B tonight, where I was talking too much and not watching enough and missed a decrease. Moron.

Now, however, it's done, as is one of the 11 pattern repeats, which makes me a very happy girl.

I'm secretly hoping to finish and cast on Pants' mum's socks tomorrow. This time I'm doing both at the same time, which will hopefully be less confusing.

Monkey for Mirabel

Monkey for Mirabel
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

I'm secretly attempting to finish five softies for mirabel, which is kind of a lofty goal, considering how busy I am and the fact that I'll be travelling for business next week.

Here's softie #1, made from a Sewing Stars pattern book. He's made of cuddly fleece and his arms can tie in the front to hold onto things.

This is a super pattern book and I've made a few of these monkeys before. I really must make some of the other patterns.

Autumnal foot

Autumnal foot
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

I started designing this sock on October 31.
I call it autumnal, in honour of the gorgeous Tactile Fibre Arts yarn. It's for my mother for Christmas and as soon as I've made it and another pair for Pants' mama for Chirstmas, I'll be publishing the pattern.

Poor old Mitzy

Mitzi spokes
Originally uploaded by wearespiraling

I've been neglecting my beautiful Mitzy terribly.

I'm all about the sock knitting these days, to the detriment of my other crafty persuits.

Tonight, though, I have to get cracking on soft toy Christmas presents and my contribution to Softies for Mirabel.

I'm thinking monkeys.