Not Much to Say

...and how unusual is that? I hear several voices ask :)

The reason is that I've temporarily lost my voice with a summer cold. (As another school mum said to me this morning, "If you were a man, you'd have been in bed for three days!") Not lost, exactly, but I sound like a teenage boy whose voice is breaking, very squeaky. If I start sprouting hairs on my chest, I'll be seriously freaked out.

Speaking of being SFO, check out Yarn Harlot's latest experience with her new neighbour. Now is probably a good time to warn you not to eat or drink while reading this post. You'll work out why for yourself.

Also waiting for DH to come back from Perth (again) tomorrow night. He's expressed an interest in seeing this play, so I might have a review to post here before long. The last time I went to the theatre - not counting kinder concerts? A Christmas panto in the UK, but I guess that doesn't count, either. God, it was so much fun, though; gotta love shouting out "Oh, no, you're not!" and "Behind you!" like all the other kids :D The last serious theatre was probably a production (John Bell?) of Richard III in Canberra in 1997/98 with my brother, who was visiting from Melbourne.

Oh, and check out my friend Michelle's blog and gallery. My favourite painting this time around? This one.

Totally Lazy Sunday

Thanks for all of your lovely comments about the shawl. It's not actually for me, but as I haven't given it away yet, I can't say any more. I must say, I went to the Guild yesterday and bought the other three skeins of this Merino; it's so lush, I couldn't help myself :D

Meanwhile, here's a lazy way to enjoy your Sunday:

You Belong in Winter

Quiet, calm, and totally at peace... You're happy to be at home, wrapped in a blanket, completely snowed in Whether you're lighting a fire or having a snowball fight, you always feel best in the winter.

What Season Are You?

Sssshh ... Another FO

OK, here it is, dressing for your enjoyment (sounds vaguely tarty, doesn't it?) The ceiling fan is your friend; this dried in about two hours.

The yarn is from Andyle Farms (just outside Melbourne); it's a 2 ply fingering weight Merino. It took less than the 150g skein to make the whole shawl.

I must say, I'm totally smitten by the idea of using ravel cord (machine knitters all nodding in unison sagely here) threaded through the straight edge to - well, get a straight edge. Saves all those scallopy points where you don't really want them.



Unlike this part, where you *do* want it to go all wavy and scallopy. (See, it even sounds like I meant it to do this.)





Here's a better view of the point of the shawl. I think this is the best part of the whole design.

Oh, sorry, haven't I told you what the pattern is yet? It's Seraphim by Miriam Felton, she of the Icarus shawl fame, among others.


I highly recommend Miriam's patterns, not just because they're beautiful designs, but because the presentation is so professional and easy to understand.




Unlike Dash's photographic skills. This is his idea of showing the shawl (and his mother) to advantage.









This is Goose's idea of photography - and Dash's idea of being a good photographer's assistant *sigh*









Maybe I can get Goose to stand still long enough for me to show the drape of the shawl over her shoulders. OK, yes, that is my shadow in the foreground; can't have everything. At least the shawl turned out right.

FO - only it's not mine

Go and have a look at Nikki-shell's latest FO.

Beats me how a busy girl like her has time to knit or otherwise craft so stylishly, let alone blog about it all.

Sorry I've gone AWOL again, but I had some sad family news over the last couple of weeks. I don't even want to blog about it; it just feels too raw and sensitive. The main reason I don't want to blog is that I'm not the primary one affected, so it's not my life I'd be exposing to all and sundry.

I was about to say that I'll be really glad when this year is over, but that's not strictly true. Goose has had a red-hot start to school this year, and has coped with everything she's been asked to do beautifully. But I shouldn't be surprised; she is a beautiful, mature six-year-old. DH and I are still trying to work out where she gets it from; maybe it skipped a generation...

Dash has also really grown and matured this year, while enjoying his four-year-old kinder. He can now read nearly as well as his sister (who seems to be reading well beyond her year level) and is looking forward to starting school in a little over two months.

Wow. I keep asking the kids what I'll do with myself when they're both at school, but it's yet to sink in that I'll be on my own for most of the school day. DH thinks I'll be in the job market, but I keep saying I'm too busy to get a job. Seriously.

All joking aside, I'm not sure I want to put that sort of pressure on the kids (and us) before and after school. I'd be happy to hear from working parents, on themes like when do you get to hear their reading, talk about their day, etc? How does it work when you don't pick them up from aftercare until nearly 6pm? What do you do about school holidays or when the kids are sick?

I know I'm a really lucky mum. I don't have to work; I've had the last six years out of the paid workforce, and while we haven't achieved all of our financial goals, we do feel especially blessed that we've been able to give our two a home-based start to life. I'm sorry if I sound complacent or smug in any way. I'm not putting down anyone who has made other choices or taken other paths in their childrearing journey.

Hopefully I'll have a knitting FO to show next week, but it's a secret for now. Funny how I started this blog as a record of my knitting...