My Ramblings

I'm a "tad" disappointed.

The baby jacket I was knitting was going along swimmingly, the first ball ended at the end of the pattern and I went on to the next ball, bought at the same place at the same time by the MOTH.  All looked great........till I saw it in the light of day that is.
This yarn is obviously NOT of the same dyelot.  If I had pink, yellow, green or any other colour, it would be ok as I would MEAN for it to be different, but this is just a couple of shades different.  I was so annoyed and upset I just tossed it in my knitting basket and have ignored it for a couple of days.  Now I have to face the task of frogging.  Perhaps I'll just frog back to the pattern, and continue on in a totally contrasting colour, but I'm open to suggestions.

I have to knit something for a swap partner, a "winter warmer" even though winter is just about over for this year.  We are meant to use about 200 grams of yarn, and I have absolutely no idea what to make.  My partner has said she'd be happy with anything, so I guess I could do a shawl.  What do you guys think?  Maybe the Shoalwater shawl, in 8 ply/DK yarn?  I've seen the one Natalie knit for my mother (her nanna), and it's beautiful.

I have been housebound this week due to my car needing to have the cooler pipes for the transmission repaired.  The cooler hoses carry the transmission fluid around the radiator to cool it (obviously), and they have worn through so the fluid is leaking badly and is all over the undercarriage of the car.  This is extremely dangerous as the fluid is highly flammable and could have ignited at any time.  The car had been at the mechanics since Sunday, and hopefully it will be ready this evening or tomorrow.  I sincerely hope so as I'm sorely lost without it.

Take care, and happy knitting.

Dish Rag Tag Woes:

As Captain of one of the Aussie teams, I had to wait till I had word from Emily that the boxes had started to arrive at the US captains homes.  Posted on the Wednesday in the US, some arrived on the Friday and I received an e-mail to that effect..............BUT!!....here it was SATURDAY morning.  As I had no idea how much it wold cost to post the parcel, I had to wait until Monday before I could post it.  That already put us behind as I'm sure that some who received the box on Friday would have been quick enough to re-post it by that night.  Our box reached its next "victim" on the Wednesday, and was posted again the following day.  By Thursday this week the box still hadn't been received, and then when that person found out she should have also had a package from someone else, she went to the post office to investigate.  Sure enough, there were the two parcels, and not once had she been given any notice that they had tried to deliver them.  Here in Australia the postie should leave a card in the letter box stating that an item of mail had arrived but that there was no one home to collect it, and to go to whichever post office is applicable to pick it up.  Two parcels and not one card.  I've suggested she write to the post master of that post office to complain about it.  That now puts us well behind many other teams, and I doubt whether we'll be able to get back into it.  Still, we can have some fun.
On the knitting front, I have started a matinee jacket for Kayla, using the snowflake pattern as I said I would.  Silly me is doing them on straight needels, and short ones at that, and for the skirt part I cast on 179 stitches which increases to over 230 and back every 4 rows.  Whilst that is ok, it makes it very difficult to be able to show the pattern on a photo as it's all scrunched up.  Once I am onto the bodice, hopefully by tonight, I will take a photo so you can see it.
I was looking at my stats earlier, and I now have 286 posts.  Getting close to the 300th now.  Who is that going to be?  And what will you get for it?  Now THAT is the question. he he.  I'll have to get my thinking cap on and think of something really nice for the lucky person.
Take care everyone, and happy knitting.

A week in the Hird #3 household.

After Kayla's hurried hurried arrival, she and her mum had a restful night at the hospital.......well, as restful as a night in hospital can be, especially in the maternity ward.  I stayed over at Eliot's house and when he and Jayda went to the hospital the next day, I went home to shower, change and get a little shut eye as I didn't sleep all that well on the settee.  The MOTH, #1 son and I went in to visit that evening.

#1 son, Aaron, once again a proud uncle.  He says he looks like he has evil intentions in this photo, and I have to say I agree.  Gotta love candid shots. lol

Unlike big sister Jayda, Kayla is quite happy to sleep in her own bed once her belly is full.  Apparently she wasn't too happy when during the night, because it was cold, Juanita took her into bed with her.  She grizzled until Juanita gave her her space.  Let's hope she stays like that.  Jayda still wants to sleep in mum and dads bed......and she does too.

Back at Eliot's after visiting on Saturday, it all seems to have been just a bit too much for Jayda and Rachel (#4 son Aiden's g/f)  Jayda just adores her aunty Rachel, and the feeling is definitely reciprocated.

Sunday morning the happy family is reunited when Juanita and Kayla arrive home.  Kayla continues to be undemanding most of the time.  Occasionally, when she has a touch of wind, she can be a bit difficult to settle, but for the most part she's happy to sleep in her bouncer.

Jayda loves to hold her little sister.  This photo is taken on the same settee that Jayda and Rachel were sleeping on last night.

I had to show you this photo because Jayda took it.  How wonderful are digital camera's that they are so easy to use that a 2 1/2 year old can take a photo.

Monday - Wednesday Eliot was able to be at home, so no visits during this time to allow the family to really bond.  Tuesday evening though, I got a call from Eliot asking if I had Juanita's car keys as they couldn't find them.  On the day of Kayla's birth, Eliot picked me up in Juanita's car, and was going to take Juanita to the hospital in that car as he couldn't find the keys to his car.  When the ambulance was about to take the three of them to the hospital, he said he'd leave Juanita's keys for me so I could bring Jayda to the hospital; however, I found Eliot's keys so had no need of Juanita's.  I couldn't remember Eliot giving me Juanita's keys, but I still had a look in my bag, pockets etc, to no avail.  Both Eliot and Juanita searched vainly for the keys for the next few days, including going through the rubbish bins.  On Thursday with no sight of the keys, we rang the hospital and the ambulance service to see if they had been dropped in either place.  On Friday Eliot went to the police station to search through their lost keys box (apparently they have dozens), all with no joy.  Seems the keys were gone for good, so now the choice was to get new keys and immobiliser control, at a cost of at least $200, or disable the immobiliser and alarm and just use the spare key that Eliot has on his key ring.  The final decision was the former choice as they eventually want to sell the car, so will need it to be complete.

Saturday morning they awake to another surprise.  They have two dogs, male and female, and we all know what two dogs will get up to........yep, Chirp was pregnant and Gremlin is the daddy.  Not knowing exactly when the pups were due, Eliot was hoping to be able to fix up their run and kennels to make them more comfortable for when she gave birth.  Ah!  The well laid plans etc.  Saturday morning they find 8 puppies, sadly one dead.  Chirp was then brought into the laundry so that it was warmer for her and her babies, and the garage was tidied to make a suitable area for her.  Whilst arranging the garage to house the canine family, the rubbish bin was moved, and lo and behold, there were the lost keys.  As I said the Juanita when she rang to tell me, it I had been the one to go through the rubbish bins, I would have also looked in, under and around them too.  Obviously they didn't.  So anyway, alls well that ends well.  ALL the babies are doing ok, and both mums are happy and healthy.  What an exciting week for them.  Thank goodness not all weeks are like this.

So now for the knitting.  Apart from the dish cloth I knitted for the Dish Rag Tag, I haven't done any other knitting till today and I have done 3/4 of another dish cloth this afternoon.

This is the snowflake pattern, and I really like it so I'm now thinking of knitting a matinee jacket for Kayla with this pattern.

 

Oh, and also, on Tuesday I got some fantastic (well for me it was) news.  Kayla's middle name is Sue.  Isn't that lovely?

Take care everyone, and happy knitting.

SP11 Questionnaire.

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Just about anything natural. I love silk. Acrylic is ok if it’s really soft and not scratchy. I also don’t like harsh wool next to my skin as it itches like crazy.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? A lantern moon needle roll, and my two knitting bags.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? For as long as I can remember, but not sure when I actually learnt. I asked my mum the other day, and she can’t remember ever teaching me, so who knows how, when or where I learned.  I'd rate myself as an intermediate level knitter.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Yes, the link is on the left hand side bar.

5. What's your favorite scent? I love vanilla, and also really like frangipani, honeysuckle, and musky scents.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I DEFINITELY have a sweet tooth. Love chocolate, except white. Love cinnamon flavours, mint and peanut butter. Do not like cherry or orange flavours.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? No, I don’t spin. I like cross stitch and scrap booking.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) Pretty much anything except grunge, heavy metal etc. Yes, my computer can play MP3’s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? Greens, purples…..bright rather than pastel. Do NOT like pink or orange.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? Married with one adult son living at home. One dog and several slightly feral stray cats brought in by the dog.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Have never owned a poncho.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Just about anything.

13. What are you knitting right now? Socks, baby jacket, scarf.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Both. Sort of getting over the Brittany birch as they seem to splinter around the points, creating a snag for the yarn.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? No, but would love to.

17. How old is your oldest UFO? Hmmm. Probably only a couple of months.

18. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas.

19. Is there anything that you collect? Don’t get me started here. I’m a compulsive collector, so I’m trying not to get into anything else. Bells and china, cups and saucer sets etc.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? Just about anything from knitpicks. Books, plenty in my Amazon wish list.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Not at this time.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Yes, and foot size is 9 inch length and 9 inches around the instep.

23. When is your birthday? 24^th April.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID? Qwarkus, though there isn’t anything in there as yet.

Dish Rag Tag, I was tagged.

The first dish cloth for our team (Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi! Oi! Oi!) has been knit, and is in the box all ready to post as soon as the Post Office opens tomorrow morning, Monday 6th August.

It is actually pale blue, but the colour doesn't show up too well in this photo.

Good luck to all teams.

The happy family.

Just a couple of photo's for you to look at.
Meet Kayla Hird, born 0701, 3rd August 2007, weighing 7lb 4oz, 20 1/2 inches.

And with big sister Jayda.

I will get some more tomorrow.  I took lots yesterday, but most were on Eliot's camera.

Happy knitting folks.

Oh! My God.

Just before 6 this morning I got a call from #3 son to say that his partner was having contractions and could I come over to look after Jayda.  I quickly got dressed, no shower or anything, and left the house.  Of course, as is often the way when you are in a hurry, I got just around the corner and my car died; in the middle of the intersection, and I only just managed to coast to the side of the road.  Try as I might, I could not restart it, so it's now sitting there, hazzard lights going, waiting for #1 son to wake up enough to go around and have a look and ring the roadside assistance if he can't get it going. 

In the meantime, #3 came to get me and we headed back to his place, a 15 minute drive away.  When we got there, my D.I.L was kneeling at the foot of her bed, groaning and saying the baby was coming.  I immediately went to help her and found she was having a massive contraction, that her waters had broken, and I could certainly feel a bulge in her nether region.  I quickly looked and found that the bub was crowning, (top of head showing), so got her pants down while #3 rang for the ambulance.  Within seconds bubs head was out and not long after I delivered a healthy baby girl, with dad and big sister (almost 3) in attendance.  I worked in maternity in the early 70's, and assisted in many deliveries, but this is the first time I've actually delivered, and certainly the first time outside of a delivery suit; apart from my own youngest son who was born at home.  Bub was wrapped and put on mums tummy once I'd got her onto her back and when the ambo's got there, #3 was able to cut the umbilical cord.  I was very controlled till the ambo's got there, then I started shaking.

Mum, Dad and bub are now safely at the hospital, and I will follow shortly with big sis.  And guess what?  Bub wore her new hat to the hospital, funny how I suddenly decided to get it done isn't it?  Only finished yesterday.

Details of weight, length and name when I have them.  Same with photo's as I didn't grab my camera before I left home, though #3 managed to take on on his. 

OK, gotta go and get big sis bathed and dressed to that we can go and see the rest of the happy family.

Happy knitting.

A little bit of knitting and another package.

Some time ago I hosted a swap for the Aussie Knitter Yahoo group.  My partner Penni  wasn't able to get her item finished before she went over to the US for a much needed holiday.  She was quite concerned, but I told her not to fret, and that when she got back was fine with me.  Well, she's been back for a couple of weeks, and she has sent me a lovely beret, an extra ball of the same yarn, a lovely shawl pin, some stickers for my scrapbooking and some yummy Reece's peanut butter cups; one of my favourite American chocolates.
There were two packs of the chocolate, but greedy me couldn't wait till I'd taken the photo to get stuck in. lol.  The shawl pin is identical to one I already have, so it shows what wonderful taste Penni has.  I'm rapt that I now have two as a cardigan I knit a couple of years ago needs to be held closed by a pin.........or in my case, two.  Now I can have matching fasteners.  With the ball of yarn I am thinking of knitting a short scarf with a keyhole at one end to slot the other end through.

Yesterday I finally started some knitting for my nearly due grandchild.
This is what I accomplished yesterday afternoon and evening........

And this is the end result today.  Such a cute little outfit, and tomorrow I'll do the socks to go with it.

Right now I have to hit the shower and get ready to go to my Lions Club meeting.
Happy knitting everyone.