LOL POLZ

Want more information about the spill?

This might help.

That's 35 in dog years you know

I can't believe my blog is five years old this month. Who knew I could crap on about knitting and children and goats for that long (ok, don't answer that)?

I first came across blogs by googling 'knitted flowers', as I wanted to decorate a little woolly hat I'd made for a friend's baby, and Google led me to these funny things called blogs! Interesting, I thought. And jumped right in. A nanosecond later I had one of my own.

I've just spent a happy few minutes reading my June 2005 archives, which are a bit cringeworthy and still-finding-my-voice (but they do contain a pea soup recipe to appease the poor bemused people who arrive here courtesy of their own Google search), so I moved on to my July 2005 archives which aren't much better but oh it was lovely looking back at pictures of the [now deceased] cat, and the littlest crouton aged six (six! aargh!) and shots of our old house. My, how things have changed in five years.

Anyway, to celebrate five years of waffling on here at Pea Soup, I am giving away a book on knitted flowers. Yep, how's that for serendipity?



Nicky Epstein is kind of a knitting hero of mine. She can take fancy coloured bits of string and two sticks and fashion the most amazing embellishments, decorations and borders. This particularly lovely book is all about how to knit or felt flowers, obviously, which is also entirely appropriate for an anniversary.



If you think you'd like this rather beautiful and clever book*, leave a comment below. You don't have to answer any tricky quizzes or tell me a funny story about your left shoe in 25 words or less**, just make sure you include an email address or make sure your profile is active so I can contact you. I'll even post overseas because let's face it, today is a historic happy-making day. Not only is this blog now school-aged, but for the first time in Australian history, a female Governor-General swore in a female Prime Minister today. And although this time yesterday none of us knew it was even on the cards, it's kind of special to see the x chromosomes getting a guernsey around here. Go Julia.

*if you have not the faintest interest in knitting a flower, just comment anyway and if you win I'll think of another prize. Or just go back to that July archives link and enjoy my dead cat and pictures of my children when they were teeny.
**although if you would like to, please don't let me put you off.

winter solstice

Welcoming the gradual return of the light. Happy solstice, wherever you are.

midwinter retreat

Recipe for the perfect midwinter retreat:



Choose a beautiful location



Select fab people to spend it with, remembering social inclusion is the new buzz word [participants should include representatives of the following : single mothers, regional citizens, today's yoof, ethnic minorities, redheads, recovering children of hippies, the Welsh etc]



Watch them make amazing things





Get up early enough to marvel at the light



twice



three times


(yep, definitely choose a long weekend)

laugh a lot, talk, listen, eat, sew, listen to various peoples' music collections, knit, fall over, swear, take photos.

Rinse, repeat.

(Other folks' reports here and there and here too and more to be added as they blog 'em) This one just in!


More pics here. And here!

things to make and do

Please to enjoy.

sev[en]circle

Are you growing tired of my knitting yet?

This little piece is stunning. Part necklace, part scarf, all style.

an ingenious pattern
beautiful yarn if I may say so myself
left over from
my mother's Christmas shawl
worked on intermittently
in my lunch hours

Just in time for the damp fogs of winter.



Ravelled.

bluegrass brass and steam

Cast on on Friday



Knitted on Saturday



Cast off on Sunday



Blocked and photographed on Monday



Worn on Tuesday.

Ravelled.