P.S. I love Ballarat. Where in the city would you see a supermarket with a whole aisle dedicated to flannelette shirts?
Tuesday, 29 June 2004
Knitting but mostly Pets
This weekend, I went to stay with my Mum and my brother in Ballarat. I took my Dinosaur project with me, but I only got a few rows done. Instead, I'll bombard you with pictures of their cute pets.
P.S. I love Ballarat. Where in the city would you see a supermarket with a whole aisle dedicated to flannelette shirts?
Shelby
Ruben
Holly
Genie
P.S. I love Ballarat. Where in the city would you see a supermarket with a whole aisle dedicated to flannelette shirts?
Thursday, 24 June 2004
The Top 100 Classic Books Bandwagon - the List of Shame
This should be interesting. I just discovered from another Blog Random House's list of Top 100 Classic Books (fic and non-fic versions). First of all, I'm always highly dubious of these lists - they're the opinion of one person or a committee of so-called experts, who are usually out of touch with reality and what the majority of people appreciate.
I, too, am finding it irresistible to tick off the ones I've read, but not as a 'smarter-than-thou' exercise in high-cultural superiority. I want to see how few I've read! I'm not ashamed to be seen of as stupid! I read many books, just not the ones on the list. I'm too cool for that! ;)
BOOKS I'VE READ:
5. BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley
13. 1984 by George Orwell
31. ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell
BOOKS I'VE ALWAYS MEANT TO READ:
1. ULYSSES by James Joyce
10. THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck
44. POINT COUNTER POINT by Aldous Huxley
50. TROPIC OF CANCER by Henry Miller
BOOKS I'VE READ ABOUT:
9. SONS AND LOVERS by D.H. Lawrence
15. TO THE LIGHTHOUSE by Virginia Woolf
41. LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding
48. THE RAINBOW by D.H. Lawrence
49. WOMEN IN LOVE by D.H. Lawrence
I'VE SEEN THE MOVIE/MINI-SERIES:
14. I, CLAUDIUS by Robert Graves
41. LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding
BOOKS I'VE DECIDED I'D LIKE TO READ SINCE LOOKING AT THE LIST:
2. THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce
7. CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller
25. A PASSAGE TO INDIA by E.M. Forster
38. HOWARDS END by E.M. Forster
BOOKS I'VE HEARD OF, BUT NOT INTERESTED:
4. LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov
19. INVISIBLE MAN by Ralph Ellison
26. THE WINGS OF THE DOVE by Henry James
45. THE SUN ALSO RISES by Ernest Hemingway
HEARD OF THE AUTHOR, BUT NOT THE BOOK:
18. SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut
21. HENDERSON THE RAIN KING by Saul Bellow
27. THE AMBASSADORS by Henry James
28. TENDER IS THE NIGHT by F. Scott Fitzgerald
32. THE GOLDEN BOWL by Henry James
34. A HANDFUL OF DUST by Evelyn Waugh
35. AS I LAY DYING by William Faulkner
46. THE SECRET AGENT by Joseph Conrad
47. NOSTROMO by Joseph Conrad
BOOKS I'VE NEVER HEARD OF:
The other 19 books in the Top 50.
Nos. 51-100 are more of the same.
There are plenty of other lists out there; I just chose the first one to come out. If I'd chosen one of the others I'd seen, the results would be quite different. What's wrong with the Brontes? So it's all arbitrary and stupid anyway.
I, too, am finding it irresistible to tick off the ones I've read, but not as a 'smarter-than-thou' exercise in high-cultural superiority. I want to see how few I've read! I'm not ashamed to be seen of as stupid! I read many books, just not the ones on the list. I'm too cool for that! ;)
BOOKS I'VE READ:
5. BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley
13. 1984 by George Orwell
31. ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell
BOOKS I'VE ALWAYS MEANT TO READ:
1. ULYSSES by James Joyce
10. THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck
44. POINT COUNTER POINT by Aldous Huxley
50. TROPIC OF CANCER by Henry Miller
BOOKS I'VE READ ABOUT:
9. SONS AND LOVERS by D.H. Lawrence
15. TO THE LIGHTHOUSE by Virginia Woolf
41. LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding
48. THE RAINBOW by D.H. Lawrence
49. WOMEN IN LOVE by D.H. Lawrence
I'VE SEEN THE MOVIE/MINI-SERIES:
14. I, CLAUDIUS by Robert Graves
41. LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding
BOOKS I'VE DECIDED I'D LIKE TO READ SINCE LOOKING AT THE LIST:
2. THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce
7. CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller
25. A PASSAGE TO INDIA by E.M. Forster
38. HOWARDS END by E.M. Forster
BOOKS I'VE HEARD OF, BUT NOT INTERESTED:
4. LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov
19. INVISIBLE MAN by Ralph Ellison
26. THE WINGS OF THE DOVE by Henry James
45. THE SUN ALSO RISES by Ernest Hemingway
HEARD OF THE AUTHOR, BUT NOT THE BOOK:
18. SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut
21. HENDERSON THE RAIN KING by Saul Bellow
27. THE AMBASSADORS by Henry James
28. TENDER IS THE NIGHT by F. Scott Fitzgerald
32. THE GOLDEN BOWL by Henry James
34. A HANDFUL OF DUST by Evelyn Waugh
35. AS I LAY DYING by William Faulkner
46. THE SECRET AGENT by Joseph Conrad
47. NOSTROMO by Joseph Conrad
BOOKS I'VE NEVER HEARD OF:
The other 19 books in the Top 50.
Nos. 51-100 are more of the same.
There are plenty of other lists out there; I just chose the first one to come out. If I'd chosen one of the others I'd seen, the results would be quite different. What's wrong with the Brontes? So it's all arbitrary and stupid anyway.
Wednesday, 23 June 2004
Retro patterns
Yesterday I went to the State Library to check out some old knitting books and pamphlets. The ones from the 1970s were fantastic! Hoo! I laughed! (On the inside of course - it was a library after all!) The ones from around 1900 were quite amusing as well.
Apparently, at that time, it was okay to show photos of underwear, as long as they were upside down (as if hanging on the line, but pasted onto a plain black background), and/or folded up so you can't see what they are. Then, it's all good.
The best one I found was called Specialty Knitting Book: Ladies' Dressing Jackets and Underwear. It was from the 1940s, with lots of ladies lounging elegantly with cigarettes and doing their darndest to look like Marlene Deitrich. Many of the jackets were way too lacy and ribbon-bedecked to be of any practical interest, but the first one was really cool. It was a very simple cardigan, knitted in one piece from the back, over the top and down the front, like this:
The arms extend down into fingerless gloves, "for reading in bed, and invalids." It looks too nice just to wear in bed though. I was quite surprised. It struck me as really modern. The method of making it seems so simple. I read/copied out the whole pattern (it was only half a page) and I understand the whole process. This could be the way to go for me, making my first garment. I'm a bit excited, and a bit scared at the same time!
The only problem is, it uses 'Beehive Silversheen'. What on earth kind of wool is that?!
There are a few websites around with advice on making retro garments, so I'm sure I can work it out.
Apparently, at that time, it was okay to show photos of underwear, as long as they were upside down (as if hanging on the line, but pasted onto a plain black background), and/or folded up so you can't see what they are. Then, it's all good.
The best one I found was called Specialty Knitting Book: Ladies' Dressing Jackets and Underwear. It was from the 1940s, with lots of ladies lounging elegantly with cigarettes and doing their darndest to look like Marlene Deitrich. Many of the jackets were way too lacy and ribbon-bedecked to be of any practical interest, but the first one was really cool. It was a very simple cardigan, knitted in one piece from the back, over the top and down the front, like this:
The arms extend down into fingerless gloves, "for reading in bed, and invalids." It looks too nice just to wear in bed though. I was quite surprised. It struck me as really modern. The method of making it seems so simple. I read/copied out the whole pattern (it was only half a page) and I understand the whole process. This could be the way to go for me, making my first garment. I'm a bit excited, and a bit scared at the same time!
The only problem is, it uses 'Beehive Silversheen'. What on earth kind of wool is that?!
There are a few websites around with advice on making retro garments, so I'm sure I can work it out.
Tuesday, 22 June 2004
Bored!
Well, I'm afraid the inevitable has happened - I'm bored with the Dinosaur already! My best friend was right, I do have a short attention span! *sighs* I'm still working on it, just more slowly. I've started a few other things as well:
1) I was at Big-W yesterday and I decided to swing by the wool section. I bought some very beautiful purple variegated wool (my first!) which I thought I'd make into a hat, or sumfink. I also bought a Knitting Nancy (it's actually shaped like a bee, so it's a Knitting Bee, with free PomPom Maker!) and I was so bored with the Brontosaurus last night, that I started alternating working on that with making a cord on the Knitting Bee. It's about 20cm long now. I'm going to have to decide what to do with it before too long, or else it will have been a complete waste of time.
2) After I bought the variegated wool, I was thinking "Hat!", and I decided to leave that wool for now, and rip up an old hat I made last winter and never wore, and re-knit it. I was trying for a hippy-style thing with a hole in the back for a ponytail, but it really just looked like a green-and-beige Devo cone hat. Not terribly attractive! (Plus it was too tight). I'm using the same needles as before: 5mm double pointed needles. I've added 4 stitches to the original circumference, and done about 4 rows so far.
So now I have about 4 projects to work on. My theory is, even though each one will take longer to make, overall I'll have more fun because I can swap from one to the other when the boredom factor sets in, and I'll get them all done quicker.
Hopefully...
1) I was at Big-W yesterday and I decided to swing by the wool section. I bought some very beautiful purple variegated wool (my first!) which I thought I'd make into a hat, or sumfink. I also bought a Knitting Nancy (it's actually shaped like a bee, so it's a Knitting Bee, with free PomPom Maker!) and I was so bored with the Brontosaurus last night, that I started alternating working on that with making a cord on the Knitting Bee. It's about 20cm long now. I'm going to have to decide what to do with it before too long, or else it will have been a complete waste of time.
2) After I bought the variegated wool, I was thinking "Hat!", and I decided to leave that wool for now, and rip up an old hat I made last winter and never wore, and re-knit it. I was trying for a hippy-style thing with a hole in the back for a ponytail, but it really just looked like a green-and-beige Devo cone hat. Not terribly attractive! (Plus it was too tight). I'm using the same needles as before: 5mm double pointed needles. I've added 4 stitches to the original circumference, and done about 4 rows so far.
So now I have about 4 projects to work on. My theory is, even though each one will take longer to make, overall I'll have more fun because I can swap from one to the other when the boredom factor sets in, and I'll get them all done quicker.
Hopefully...
Sunday, 20 June 2004
Brontosaurus update
I'm halfway through the first piece of the Brontosaurus - the left side of body and head. I'm using a dark turquoise green wool (Fiesta Double Knitting %100 acrylic, 'Peacock'). Once this and the right side of the body are done, that's the two biggest pieces finished, and it should be much quicker from there. I'm trying not to think about the sewing up process, which I think I've mentioned before I HATE!! I'm already having doubts that I'll finish it all in one go. We'll see!
I've realised it's just another way of putting off making a garment. I'm just too scared to make one! I've read about people who've made many - ones that actually fitted! - and people who made a jumper as their first project, but that still hasn't made me more confident. I've bought/downloaded lots of different patterns, thought through the process of making a vest or a cardigan so many times in my head, and I've meant to start one many times, but I just haven't gotten around to it.
The strangest luck! The other day I went to the local library to photocopy the pattern pages for my Brontosaurus (like a good little knitter) and what should I find in the recycling bin next to the photocopier? An old knitting leaflet! It was c.1970s, very crinkled and well-loved, and for a mohair vest, with 3 versions for different thicknesses of wool. It had a few notes, etc., scrawled on it, but it's all still legible. I looked around, and there was no-one it could have belonged to, so I quickly slipped it in with my papers. Is the universe trying to tell me something??
On a funner note, go to Portrait Illustration Maker to make one of these:
I spent about an hour making this look as much like me as possible. (Those who know me know it doesn't really!)
My flatmate said, "I know an easier way: put a photo of yourself up!"
That's not the point!
I've realised it's just another way of putting off making a garment. I'm just too scared to make one! I've read about people who've made many - ones that actually fitted! - and people who made a jumper as their first project, but that still hasn't made me more confident. I've bought/downloaded lots of different patterns, thought through the process of making a vest or a cardigan so many times in my head, and I've meant to start one many times, but I just haven't gotten around to it.
The strangest luck! The other day I went to the local library to photocopy the pattern pages for my Brontosaurus (like a good little knitter) and what should I find in the recycling bin next to the photocopier? An old knitting leaflet! It was c.1970s, very crinkled and well-loved, and for a mohair vest, with 3 versions for different thicknesses of wool. It had a few notes, etc., scrawled on it, but it's all still legible. I looked around, and there was no-one it could have belonged to, so I quickly slipped it in with my papers. Is the universe trying to tell me something??
On a funner note, go to Portrait Illustration Maker to make one of these:
I spent about an hour making this look as much like me as possible. (Those who know me know it doesn't really!)
My flatmate said, "I know an easier way: put a photo of yourself up!"
That's not the point!
Friday, 18 June 2004
New Project!
I've decided to make the Brontosaurus (the easiest-looking one!) from the Dinosaur book. The pattern calls for 3mm needles, so I bought some at Clegs along with the pattern book. I've never used anything smaller than 4mm before, and I'm finding it a bit weird. They're plastic, and they bend! But they are a very classy black, not boring grey like most ones!
I HATE doing gauge swatches, but I did one just in case. It's only 5cm square; I just can't bring myself to do any more. What do you do if there's less rows, but more stitches than there's meant to be?! I want to start tonight, so I guess I'll just stick with the needles I've got and see how I go.
I HATE doing gauge swatches, but I did one just in case. It's only 5cm square; I just can't bring myself to do any more. What do you do if there's less rows, but more stitches than there's meant to be?! I want to start tonight, so I guess I'll just stick with the needles I've got and see how I go.
Thursday, 17 June 2004
Clegs
Oooh! I rediscovered Clegs today!
They have the most beautiful wools. Very feelable. Some bee-yootiful mohairs and angoras... and huge hanks of homespun wool which were just amazing ... and about $30 each! If you're on a budget (and everyone I know who knits is!) Clegs isn't the place to go to for wool, but the needles, etc. are pretty cheap, they have a good range, and they're not out of most things like at Lincraft. The bamboo needles, if I ever were to buy some, are just exquisite.
And look what else I got:
Brilliant! It combines two of my favourite things!!
Clegs all the way, man!
They have the most beautiful wools. Very feelable. Some bee-yootiful mohairs and angoras... and huge hanks of homespun wool which were just amazing ... and about $30 each! If you're on a budget (and everyone I know who knits is!) Clegs isn't the place to go to for wool, but the needles, etc. are pretty cheap, they have a good range, and they're not out of most things like at Lincraft. The bamboo needles, if I ever were to buy some, are just exquisite.
And look what else I got:
Brilliant! It combines two of my favourite things!!
Clegs all the way, man!
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