now we are seven

Pardon the delay in announcing the winner of the knitting book giveaway, but I've been somewhat distracted by a wee brown satin-soft bundle of [evil] deliciousness.



This is Yuki, a two and a half year old chocolate Burmese, on trial here for a week. He came to us via the Burmese Cat Rescue Service and is rather bitey and "headshy" as they say. He had been dumped and probably not well treated prior to that either; certainly he hadn't learnt all the social skills a modern young housecat needs these days (ie. do not bite the hand that feeds you). However he's come on in leaps and bounds so far and it's only Day Three. He is biting less often and with less intensity (or maybe we're just getting used to having shredded wrists), seeks us out for cuddles and lap time, rubs around our legs continually and last night, to the mister's mild terror, decided our bed was the best place to sleep. (Mr Soup sleeps au naturel except in the depths of winter and did I mention the cat is a little bitey?)

He's very beautiful.

The dog is being brilliantly nonchalant about the whole thing, even when the cat perpetrates fly-by attacks on his ankles before skittering away, back legs hopping maniacally sideways in his glee. (Also did I mention the cat is a tiny little Burmese package, and the dog is an enormous greyhound?)

Anyway, I have turned into one of those women who talks incessantly about her cat so you may wish to head elsewhere until the novelty wears off. I believe some people blog about knitting somewhere out there? Quilting? Or culinary experiences? Me? I have a Burmese to bore you with now.

(Oh yes, we have a winner! The virtual hat Random Number Generator pulled Kate's name out of its nether regions and so Knitting at Home will be heading off to live on an organic farm as soon as I've photocopied that bird mobile pattern that is. Is that illegal? If so, then I'm not doing that at all. Oh no).

Did I mention my cat is rather beautiful?

yet another birthday cake in the oven

Family doings:

The wedding went off very well although sadly every photo of me wearing the pipecleaner goggles somehow didn't work out. Funny about that. The bride looked beautiful, the groom handsome, and all the far-flung family gathered for the first time in about five years. It was a very very emotional day for many of us. Sadness in the midst of happiness oi vey. I tell you what though, dancing all night long at a wedding is the best form of exercise.

The eldest child turned 17 on St Valentine's Day and although I made a cake (with soccerball candles!) I had to rush out to a meeting (regarding the Unbloggable Ishews, which hopefully are on their way to being sorted out fingerscrossedohgodwehopeso) and when I returned I learned from the rest of the family that the cake had sunk in the middle and was almost inedible. Sigh. The candles were a hit though.

The youngest child turns 12 today! And to celebrate he is out playing a soccer match. Sigh. Meanwhile I am here sewing cushion covers for his classroom and baking another birthday cake which hopefully will not sink in the middle. Stupid recipe. We went out for a Devonshire Tea this afternoon to celebrate and he has requested Chinese food for dinner which means takeaway in this household. And more soccerball candles.



Don't forget there's still time to leave a comment on the giveaway post. I'll pull a winner out of the virtual hat at the end of next week.

sharing the love

I told you my knitting mojo had finally returned. Recent completed objects include this deliciously soft alpaca beret (the pattern is Rose Red, available here), along with a simple pair of wristwarmers squeezed out of the last part-skein of Woollahra after finishing my Tea Leaves. They're not quite as long as I'd like, but I was running short on yarn.

Can you tell I'm ready for autumn?



I have to say, the arrival of knitting p0rn in the letterbox nudges the mojo along a bit, and these two little beauties did not disappoint.



This book, Knitting at Home, is possibly the most wide ranging knitting book on the planet. I was expecting it to be filled with patterns for rugs, cushions and tea cosies (and it is, oh it is) but it also features slippers, socks, jumpers and cardigans, and rather fabulously, a pair of knitted dolls complete with knitted wardrobes. Oh and my favourite, a knitted, felted and embroidered bird mobile. This knitting book could keep me you knitting for years without ever purchasing another pattern. (You can see inside the book here).



This book, on the other hand, is the opposite in its scope but no less inspiring. It features only mittens and gloves, from the simplest fingerless mitt (like my red ones up above) to the most elaborate intarsia or intricate cables. In addition to those gorgeous chunky bobbly mittens on the cover, it also contains the coveted Druid Mittens (sometimes also known as Green Autumn, for some reason) by Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed. I've been wanting to knit those for years, although I must say the charts are slightly daunting. There are also flip top gloves, elegant opera gloves and fabulous long lacy wristwarmers. (You can see inside the book here).

Anyway, I promised a giveaway I believe, and this is it. I will send either Knitting at Home, or Mittens and Gloves to one deserving knitter out there. I'll post anywhere, and you don't have to leap through hoops or be beholden to me for seven years to be the winner. And please don't offer me your firstborn; I have plenty of children myself. Just leave a comment telling me which book you'd like and I'll pick a winner. I promise to wipe the drool off the book before I post.

Go to it!

PS. the beret and wristwarmers are Ravelled if you need more details and funny pictures of me squinting into mirrors and pressing a shutter at the same time.

har har

In the interests of balance I thought I'd best show you the youngest pirate too. This was for a fancy dress party last year - he wore one of my striped tee shirts with a soft toy parrot safetypinned to his shoulder. Do you like the clip-on gold earring we found?



After these shots were taken his father drew a big scar down one cheek.

Thanks for all your comments yesterday. The suggestions for wedding attire were of great help, particularly the brilliant one which recommended I wear pipecleaner goggles. I'll post photos I promise.

shut up, it's called rich imaginative play

Another one from the archives. 1999?

They were being pirates. Note the telescope, the feathers cellotaped to their foreheads, and my personal favourite, the pipecleaner goggles, also cellotaped to his head. (We went through a lot of cellotape in those days). The top bunk was the pirate ship.

What's going on in your life right now? Mine is full of Unbloggable Ishews right now so I'm being a bit boring here on the blog. Now I'm craving cashews. Oy vey, the power of suggestion huh?

I'm going to a wedding tomorrow. More Unbloggable Ishews around that too! Moving on.

I went out in my lunch hour yesterday to try and find a dress to wear as my wardrobe is out of practice in the Wedding Attire department. Didn't find a dress but came home with a lovely black swing line jumper from Witchery (on sale yay) that will do nicely for work, and winter etc. Still have no idea what I'm going to wear to this wedding tomorrow. Maybe a black jumper? That's not good according to the etiquette ladies, is it?

I made some more soap, with cloves this time. It looks rather murky but it smells like I imagine Zanzibar would smell. It doesn't look appetising in photographs though so here's another random photo from the archives.


Lego rocket ships!

See that urchin on the left? He's now 15 and still has eyelashes and a dimple to die for. (He's also still our token extrovert, trapped in a family of introverts, poor child). Oh and poor Son #3, he just doesn't appear does he?

Speaking of the third child, he's going through a phase where he can't get to sleep at night because he's suddenly afraid of intruders and stray axe murderers, and keeps appearing in our bed at 11pm for snuggles. Poor lamb. It's a challenge being nearly twelve.

Also, please help. I had a minor accident over on Ravelry the other day and somehow bought 5 skeins of delicious Madeline Tosh merino worsted (single ply, yum!) from someone's destash and now I have to knit it into something worthy. Suggestions please. (It's about 200 yards per skein and the colour is 'Stovepipe', a deep lush layered blue-black-grey).

By the way, next post I'm having a giveaway, just like the real bloggers do. Stand by knitters, I think you'll like it.

lately

last few days of the long summer holidays

children returning to school this week

sad news

making bread, soap, toasted muesli (granola), mess

sorting clothes, games, school books

a wonderful day out at sewjourn

trying to stay cool in a heatwave