How Many Podcasts?????

This weekend in Australia we have a long weekend - yeehah a Monday off work!!!! I had a nice little plan happening for the three days. Saturday: housework (yuk), Sunday: meet some fellow knitters from the Up the M4 Rav group, watch the rugby league grand final & the Japanese F1 race and Monday: more knitting.

Of course, there were no unexpected interruptions to Saturday's plan - I was left completely alone to do those boring but necessary chores around the house. And when I say "alone" I mean it in the sense that everyone else seemed to have something to more interesting to do than housework (thanks for nothing guys). Sunday, on the other hand, was much more fun. I met with the M4 ladies at a pub at Penrith. The food was great, the knitting good and the ladies were just lovely. I'm not sure why I ever doubted they would be - after all they're knitters!! In my experience knitters are, on the whole, remarkably friendly people. I arrived home right on time to flick on the TV and watch the F1 race in Japan (read as knitting time) which led nicely into the NRL (football) grand final (not conducive to knitting). The Melbourne Storm defeated the Parramatta Eeels (not the result I was hoping for).

Monday's weather was perfect for knitting - cool & rainy. I did manage to fit in some of the dreaded housework (mostly ironing) but I quite happily spent time knitting a few laps around my EZ's PI shawl. As one does when in the knitting zone I began to plan some other knitting "chores". "Gee, it's about time I reorganised my needles & notions" became "I must find a better way to store my interchangeable needles"!!! And where does one go to solve such mysteries? Ravelry of course. So off I went like a woman possessed. And away went the hours.......

I was innocently listening to my favourite podcasts while merrily surfing the Rav forums when I had another brilliant (?) idea. "I should tidy up my podcast feeds". O yeah, sounds simple doesn't it?? Anyone have any idea exactly how many knitting podcasts we have to choose from nowadays? Toooo many. No that's not true - we are spoiled with choice that's all. Like I said earlier, knitters are a great bunch aren't they? All these podcasters out there who willingly provide their time and equipment to entertain us and share their life and knitting experiences with us. Aren't they just the coolest people????

I spent absolutely ages searching out shows I had heard about but never listened to, had never heard about but listened anyway and caught up on a bunch of show notes of few old favourites. And what did all this lead to?? More net surfing of course - actually hours of net surfing!!! I guess that's what they mean by saying Monday was a Public Holiday.

Very Fetching Indeed

Today I've spent a heap of time playing with my Ravelry stuff - updating stash details, projects, etc. As is always the case, once you get onto the site, the clock starts ticking at warp speed and before you know it the hours have slipped away. I did manage to (remarkably) work out how to add those nifty little progress bars of WIP to the blog. Not bad going since sadly I'm completely illiterate when it comes to geeky computer stuff. I spent forever on the forum of the we <3 Progress Bars! Rav group. OMG how clever are those people!!!!

Off the Needles: Fetching for Gerda

PATTERN: Fetching by Cheryl Niamath
SOURCE: Knitty - Summer 06
MATERIALS: Panda Magnum Soft 8ply
NEEDLES: 4mm dpns
SIZE: one fits all??
CAST ON: 9th April 2009
CAST OFF: 13th Aprl 2009
NOTES: Cast on 45 sts using the Long Tail method for elasticity. I added and extra Cable Round and 4x1 rib rows at the top and bottom to add extra length. I was pleased with the finished size because they were intended for maximum warmth. I added a row before cast off of k1, k2tog, k1, p1 to slightly draw in the edge.

Amazingly I realised this project was my first attempt at Cables and it was fun. I loved knitting this pair so much that I immediately cast on another - only to be sidetracked by something else. The 2nd pair are about 80% complete so I'm hoping that seeing their progress bar on my blog will spur me into action!!!

I Really Do Need A Blog

I started this thing about 100 years ago & thought I'd be blogging away every day & fill it with interesting stuff & spectacular photos. Clearly I'm not all that interesting & I'm really slack in the photo taking department. Now I've come to the conclusion that I'd like to start blogging again. Not because my life has taken a turn for the better and I've got exciting stuff to share with the world - just because I'd like to use the blog to keep my knitting life a bit more organised. I have a room literally full of knitting "mess" and even though I have a Ravelry account (you can find me there as hhknits) I need to keep other knitting "stuff" somewhere.

I've been knitting bits & pieces - socks mostly - and I jot down my pattern notes, swatch stuff, etc on bits of paper which then make their way out of knitting bags to shelves, cupboards & assorted nooks & crannies all around my house. When I eventually locate them I pile them on top of the other "important" scraps of knitting notes in my knitting room. What a mess I've accumulated.

My yarn seems to have a mind of its own as well. I used to have a few reasonably organised plastic bins in which I'd place newly acquired stash. Not any more. No sooner does yarn come home with me than it's off to find a spot around the house, other than the yarn bins, and it is only located when I attempt that mundane activity that people refer to as "housework'. I don't even want to begin on the topic of wayward knitting patterns and books. They are completely out of control.

And so I return to the world of blogging in the hope that recording my pattern notes and purchases, my knitting successes (and failures) and those bits and pieces of info that knitters acquire will become a bit more orderly. Along the way I might get my Ravelry page up to date, my Flickr photos sorted and my knitting in some sort of order. (I also want a silver Lamborghini but that probably won't happen either).