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I’ve had a spate of making screwups, which may account for the recent burst of activity in the garden (hell, when the crafting gods have left the building, you may as well throw it all in a heap and get on with some planting) but today I thought I’d get back to a project I’ve had on hold for a few weeks. I hadn’t screwed it up, I had all the stuff, and the kid is at childcare, so there was nothing that could possibly go wrong.
Unless of course you are of the opinion that a quilt backing should cover the entire back of the quilt, in which case, what I have here is another screw up.
Excuse me while I add that to the sock that needs ripping (the Bloke wants them to be the same length) and the top that I need to purchase another ball of expensive wool for (so that it will cover my torso without breathing in all day). Fortunately the extra quilt backing fabric and the wool come from the same shop, so fixing these measuring blunders could be relatively quick. Just cross your fingers for me that they haven’t sold out.
A week or two of full time work is about to begin. The work pants are mended, the childcare arrangements altered, the kid prepped, and the Bloke is readying himself for a week or two of juggling and cooking. Now all I need to do is get my sock needles back so I have commute-knitting ready. Sometimes you just have to turn everything upside down for a bit to remember why you usually do things the other way.
Woohoo! The Obamas are planting a veggie garden on the front lawn. They’ve clearly been inspired by the good people of Melbourne’s inner north-west, where front yard veggies never went out of style. It’s most helpful if you’re a novice veggie grower, walking home from the tram you can see what seedlings you should be putting in and compare your harvest to the masters. It’s quite heartening to see how a bit of friendly viral internet-based lobbying can alter peoples’ thinking. So Kevin, how’s about some broccoli on the roof at your place?
In other news, I planted stuff too. From top to bottom there are scarlet runner and green beans, red cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, nasturtiums, spinach and parsley. Out of shot there is sage, rosemary, thyme and alyssum (which we wont eat, they’re just for the pretty factor). Still to go in, carrots, more beans, onions and garlic. The Bloke planted some natives in the front yard, so it looks ever so slightly less bogan. And I finished the biggest thing I’ve ever knitted. The Jo Sharp Sideways top in Sublime Organic Cotton. The details are on Ravelry for the interested types.
Some time ago, when the lad was still getting started on the whole speaking English deal, some people were blogging their kids’ language, because you want to remember that sort of cute when your kids are teenagers. Lately we’ve had a storm of cute. He’s hailing cute. Every morning he gets up and declares it’s snowing (he’s got a northern hemisphere book about bunnies and seasons), which is pretty funny, he’s getting the hang of more grown up phrases, which is novel enough for us to be amused, and he’s still getting some words and phrases a bit wrong. Which is the best sort of cute. He’s quite fond of eating Ice Quackers and his rocking horse requires constant motivation from the rider: “Giddy Up! Giddy Down! Giddy Up! Giddy Down!”
But not prayin’. Because we’re not the prayin’ kind. We’re not above beggin’, though it wasn’t in the song. We applied for a house last week, and we’d really quite like to get it. The agent will be ringin’ back today.
In the meantime, there’s knittin’ and sewin’ and wrappin’, and showing that we care, etc.
I finished a sock on the bus & train back from Carrum yesterday. The kid enjoyed the first of our family Christmases, especially the splashing and jumping in the water, although the train and bus trip there was also pretty exciting. He loved his pres-pres and I had to disappear them before childcare this morning to ensure he wouldn’t try to take them with him. He got a Beetle!
and a Dumb Fuck!
So, should we unpack the Christmas decorations, or for the third time in my life, will I be moving house the week before Christmas?
It took lots of goes, several online sock-knitting tutorials, a fair bit of retiring early for peace and quiet to concentrate in the evenings, master classes during family get-togethers, and one false finish. I couldn’t bring myself to blog it when the first finished sock started unravelling while I finished the second.
Knitted between and during paid work, parenting, studying, housework, watching the male football grand final, and a few sick days on the couch, hence the name. They’re also mine all mine, for me and by me. Which is a bit unusual.
I finally finished my boring essay, and celebrated with traditional sucking up to partner with Indonesian sweets and European beers, then we all got The Cold.
Blergh.
I am therefore spending the day that I’ve been looking forward to for weeks not doing any of the things I planned on. The kid is at childcare, I am in my trackies, I am knitting and watching stuff on youtube. And blowing my nose. I’m doing a lot of that.
I can now tell you with some confidence that there are a lot of Americans interested in making stuff out of their currency. I’ve also got tips on knitting continental style, which I should implement so that I don’t get RSI from knitting one way all the time.
The vest continues fine. Ish. I’ve made a few errors I don’t think I can be bothered fixing. My child will be amateurishly clothed, but warm.
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