FIBRE ALIVE

Walkie Talkie Man - Steriogram

Sunday's are great for catching up... and I certainly needed a catch up day today!

Ian and I made a quick trip up to Hastings on Friday aternoon.

As we passed through Dannevirke Ian's luck was in as Aunty Ma's food caravan was open and doing business. As you can see from the picture above her trade is in fried bread. I stayed strong and opted not to have any but Ian indulged in what must be one of his favourite treats.

And this is what the diabolically delicious stuff looks like... dripping in butter!

We were heading to Hastings to take his Mother out to a concert performance at the Hastings Opera House as a combined Birthday and Mother's Day treat. The concert was by the Seven Irish Tenors and it was a good night out... the Irish link of some of the performers was a little stretched though... case in point the tenor who I thought was the easiest on the eye was in fact Norwegian but... he had an Irish Grandmother. I described it to Ian as a bit 'Irish lite' due to the fact they sang so many songs which had no Irish or classical connection but having said that the harmonies on 'Danny Boy' were beautiful and their version of 'Barcelona' was quite impressive. Ian's Mother enjoyed herself so the evening was a success.

We stayed at a friend's beach house in Haumoana and this was the view looking out from the front porch on Saturday morning...

That's the pacific ocean and even on a dull Autumn morning it was still a beautiful sight to see. There is something really quite special about about being beside the ocean. I love the smell of the air and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. Perhaps one day I'll be fortunate enough to be able to live close to the ocean... but until then I'll make the most of the opportunities I get to visit places like this.  

We had lunch with Ian's Mother, Sister, Niece and her boyfriend in Hastings at Westerman's which many years ago used to be a traditional department store selling things like liberty fabrics and spode potteryware. The building itself had the most amazing art deco stained glass windows and a pressed tin ceiling on the verandah ceiling outside. Today it is a cafe and the food was just as beautiful as the surroundings. After lunch and goodbyes all round we jumped back in the car and headed on home again.

 As we passed through Waipukurau Ian needed a pit stop so we stopped and while I was waiting I happened to notice this metal work art on the wall... I guess that in New Zealand you really can't get away from sheep (or images of sheep) anywhere! It is very cute though.

So this morning I had a little bit of a sleep in until 7.30 and then headed off on a 10km run... well run is a bit of an exaggeration as I don't do running but it was a reasonable paced jog and I have a blister on my left foot as proof! As I got home I decided it made sense to start raking up all the leaves.

 Miss Paisley was interested in watching me rake the leaves... but that was as much as she was prepared to do until I started rolling acorns down the driveway. She swatted a few around and then Miss Ollie joined in so I spent more time playing with them than actually doing the yard work...

After I dealt to the leaves I looked back down the driveway and saw more leaves... this time from the oak trees reflecting off the car. Yet another summer like day in autumn.

So back inside for the afternoon I finished off the sock I was working on while I was catching up on a couple of tv shows I had taped (I'm still an American Idol fan!). Then it was an afternoon of web surfing and planning for the week ahead. One of the great things about web surfing is discovering the creativity of other people...

  

So here is a video I re-discovered on youtube today. I saw the video on TV back when the song was released but I had forgotten about it. NZ music combined with knitting... brilliant!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there!

C'mon Let Me Ride - Skylar Grey

Doesn't this picture sum up Autumn in Greytown?!?

We had a new person come along to the Sunday Knit-tea meeting and she chose to come along on her modern classic old fashioned push bike complete with basket on front ideal for carrying your knitting! I was extremely jealous when I saw Millie's bike and it got me thinking that perhaps I should start scouting around for a bike of my own. Now that I'm a lot fitter than I used to be cycling might be a fun way of keeping me active on the weekends.

Speaking of modern classics... well here's a couple of classic... classics. On our recent holiday to the South Island we stopped off in the historic precinct of Oamaru and Ian couldn't resist jumping on the old penny farthing bike which was on display... it was a road to nowhere though as it was fixed in place but that didn't stop Ian from going for a stationary spin. I think he was having fun flashing his legs off to all and sundry!

Sunday was such a beautiful day that we were still able to have the Knit-Tea meeting outside on the deck. To be able to do that this late in the year is quite remarkable and proof that our better than average Summer has lead into a better than average Autumn. Earlier on Sunday morning a woman had arranged to pop around and have a look at my yarns. She had bought a sock yarn blanket kit from me at the Martinborough fair and was in need of more yarn to carry on with her project...

Rather than knit up a sock yarn blanket she took the concept and went on a different path by knitting a garment... a vest in fact. I think her progress so far is wonderful and I'm sure it's going to look fantastic when it's finished. When it is finished I'm hoping that I'll be able to post a pictre of her wearing it... stay tuned I'm sure it won't be too far away.

When I saw my Doctor recently for a check up I mentioned to her that I was having a few issues with my right shoulder which seemed similar to when I had calcification of the tendons in my left shoulder. The best option was to be put on a waiting list to have an ultrasound scan to see just what was going on under the skin. Fast forward to this week and I had an appointment at Masterton hospital for the scan. The result was that I do have a bit of an issue with how my shoulder joint fits together... but there is no calcification! So no cortisone injection and no surgery... just a lot of physiotherapy ahead of me.

But the best thing about my visit to the imaging department of our local hospital was that there was a series of sheep paintings on the wall! Only at a rural hospital would you see that.

I have a feeling that I'm going to be asked to ease back on my knitting while we resolve the shoulder issue but before I get into that discussion I've made a start on a new pair of socks for myself.

When I was on holiday in the United States last year I fell to the temptation of adding a couple of skeins of Shi Bui sock yarn to my stash. The delicate shades of blue and brown drew me in and I'm loving the way it's knitting up so far. The pattern I'm using is my interpretation of the stitch pattern Dad used on the last jersey he knitted... so as you can guess I'll be thinking of him every time I wear the finished socks. I like making memory associations to my knitting projects to make them even more special. 

 

Colours of the Wind - Vanessa Williams

Autumn has well an truly arrived at Scarlet Oak Cottage. The leaves are all changing with the season and the Autumn winds have also arrived and in doing so stripping leaves from the trees.

Our Scarlet Oaks are still putting on a brave show despite the leaf drop... and I will have to put on a brave show as I rake up the leaves each weekend from now through until winter!

Every year I see the same changes and yet every year it still seems new and wonderful to me. The variety of colours always gets me... 

It's just a shame that the blaze of colour also serves as a warning that Winter is now on it's way. 

As you can see here this Scarlet Oak still has a few million leaves left to fall... and you can also see that our front hedge is overdue a good clipping.

Despite the leaves being at the height of their attention grabbing best they still face some competition from the last of the summer blooms in the garden.

And on to some knitting at last...

Progress continues with the 'Big Boys Blanket'. So far I have completed five different coloured stripes. The completed blanket will have fifteen stripes either side of the centre stripe which means that this is definitely a long term project... I say long term but I am hoping to get it completed in time for winter... next year!

Given that I'm using a modular knitting technique for the blanket there are lots of ends which need to be trimmed and sewn in... here is a small pile of ends after I did some trimming and sewing in on the weekend.

As a pet parent I can't play favourites so as my last post had a picture of Miss Ollie in it it's only fair that in this post you get a picture of Miss Paisley. Here she is pretending to be asleep on my bag... really it's just a ploy along the lines of... If I lie on Daddy's bag he can't help but see me and give me a second course of breakfast beore he heads off to work... I'm too much of a gentleman to let you know if the ploy worked or not. 

This coming Saturday the Wonders Of Wool craft market will be on at Frank Kitts park on the Wellington waterfront. It's one of the best fibre events on the Wellington Craft calendar and I'll be there with a stall selling my own hand dyed yarns... I do enjoy tempting people with yarn... and knitters love being tempted.

Don't be a stranger... come on over and say hi!

Autumn Leaves - Ed Sheeran

Autumn has arrived at Scarlet Oak Cottage...

I didn't think our exceptional summer was ever going to end... but I'm not complaining especially considering that the previous summer was such a wash out.

I've spent the end of Summer working on another Friendship Quilt for a memner of the Friday Night Sock Club. I knitted the border panels and connecting strips for all the squares and then sewed it all together.

The recipient was Vicky and she had asked for it to be in autumnal colours... this is how it ended up... very autumnal I think! It was presented to her at the Sunday Knit-Tea meeting held at Scarlet Oak Cottage last weekend.

And here is Vicky, all smiles, after receiving it. She was thrilled with the quilt and I'm sure it will get a lot of use over the late autumn and winter months this year.

This afternoon I spent about an hour playing in the front yard with Ollie... she has decided to take up the tradition I started with Jazz... rolling acorns down the driveway! Ollie is still less than a year old and she is full of energy and mischief so running back and forth along the driveway was a great exercise workout for both of us. Here she is about to pounce...

Sweet innocence with evil intent...

 

One Step At A Time - Jordin Sparks

I'm a guy... I find it hard to multi-task! Some might say that I over-commit myself to too many things and that is why I don't get certain things done on time. Some might say that I do achieve an awful lot in a limited amount of time. Either way I know myself that I am most successful when I focus on only one or two things at a time... and that's kind of why I haven't been updating this blog lately.

I got to the end of last year and thought to myself  'Another year has gone by and I'm right back to where I was again with my weight... over 100kg's and I'm not happy about it'. Fourteen years ago when I moved to Wellington with a promotion I weighed in at 68kg's. Some thought I was a little thin at the time but I was fit and healthy.  With the promotion came a lot of responsibility with a total lack of support from my regional Manager. In retrospect my time as a Manager was successful in that store turnover increased, expenses went down, staff remuneration and bonuses went up etc etc I was very stressed making it all happen. When I get stressed (or bored) I turn to food and in the three and a half years I held that position my weight went up to 103.5kg... over 10kg per year. Quite scary really! Since then my weight has fluctuated but has always crept back up over the 100kg mark.

I've dieted in the past and even starved myself to lose weight but it never stayed off for too long... I've exercised in moderation and to excess at different times and I've discovered that the more I exercise the hungrier (and heavier) I become. Sometimes I've just given up on the whole thing and gone out and bought a larger pair of jeans.

However this year I decided that it was time for a serious commitment from me to get rid of this weight once and for all. So since Boxing Day of last year my focus has been on getting healthier and losing weight. I didn't want a quick fix solution because I know they don't work for me long term... I wanted to take my time and lose the weight slowly this time so that it would stay off. I opted for the online version of Weight Watchers and it has made a huge difference in my life.

I'm thinking a lot more about the type of food I put in mouth and also the portion sizes. I still give myself food treats every now and then and I really don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. Due to my daily commute and only having 30 mins for lunch I've decided to forget about the gym once and for all and find my own forms of exercise away from gyms. My preferred option has been to go for long walks on the weekend and just try and be as active as I can be during the day.

So... I'm proud to say that I've just clocked up nine weeks in a row of steady weight loss adding up to an impressive weight loss of 11kg which is just overe 24lbs. Weight loss was my goal and because I made that my focus I've got the results I was hoping for... well actually I've lost more than I was hoping for in that time frame. I think I've almost turned a corner and I've got my new routines bedded down enough to allow my focus to broaden to things other than weight loss...

Yes that means knitting and dyeing yarn again... both almost always put me in a good mood and I've been missing that.  I'm back in the yarn saddle again so I'll have fibrous things to blog about again. Just last weekend I cast on for a major long term knitting project... a blanket for our bed. I'm using a DK weight possum merino blend yarn which I've hand dyed myself and I'm knitting the blanket in a modular style with the same pattern I designed for my sock yarn blanket. I'm hoping to get it finished in time for winter 2014... I need to be realistic here, there is no way I can get it finished for this winter now that we've just entered Autumn! Here is a quick pic of progress so far.

As it gets larger it will no doubt make a great lap rug during my winter commute on the train... and hopefully it will be so big that I won't leave it on the train by mistake.

And just because I'm sure you have missed seeing what's happening in our garden... here are the grapes slowly ripening on the vine. It won't be long before we can start devouring them.

It's been a very busy time for Ollie and Paisley... as you can see they know how to recharge their batteries to keep in tip top shape... I think we could all learn something from them!

And here's to me as I go onward and downward with my weight loss... I'm almost halfway to my goal weight and I feel like I'll actually get there this year. 

Christmas is Coming - Manhattan Transfer

The days are marching by and Christmas is getting ever closer. I went out to dinner with Mum one night last week and next door to the restaurant was a clothing store and they had a Christmas Tree in their window... 

I thought it was very clever that they had measuring tapes hanging on the tree in place of tinsel or a tree ribbon.

In a tradition of my own I've purchased the Swarovski annual edition star and this is what the christmas crystal offering for 2012 looks like... 

This is the fifteenth year that I have bought a star and when I have them all displayed on a tree together they look amazing. However... this year with two new young cats I don't trust them enough yet to put my stars on the tree. If the tree were to be knocked over, possibly by a cat trying to climb up it.. and the stars got damaged I would be a very grumpy pet parent.

With that in mind we got our Christmas tree from a local tree farm yesterday and I've dressed it with decorations which will survive intact if the tree were to topple.

It includes all the mini stockings I've been knitting over the past few weeks... and I think they look great alongside the handstitched native birds, knitted balls and crocheted snowflakes. And there is heaps of space for plenty of presents to go under the tree... I've been a good boy for most of the year so I'm sure that Santa will have a present or two for me!

We had a fun day out and about in town checking out the Craft Country annual fair in the Greytown Town Hall and then watched the Christmas parade. The great thing about having a strong Scots heritage in New Zealand is that parades often have pipers and our parade was no exception. It's great to see men in kilts in a Christmas parade!

Santa is always the highlight of the parade and here he is waving to the crowd and looking at all the kids to determine which ones have been naughty or nice.

But being in a country town things are a little unique from how they do things in the city... here Santa's sleigh is helped along by a.... tractor!

After dinner we wandered down to the Cobblestones Heritage Museum to attend the Carols by Candlelight concert. It's hard to believe that this is our ninth Christmas here in Greytown but this is the first time we've made it to the Carols. It was well worth attending to with a brass band, a local choir, a new ukelele orchestra, a dance troupe and the local Vicar who plays electric guitar and fancies himself a rock star of sorts. I'll definitely be back next year to watch the 2013 performance... and I'll brush up on my singing in readiness.

Keeping with a bit of red for Christmas here is one of the lillies which has burst forth in the past week. I can smell that Christmas is in the air!

Jamie the Laird - Carolina Oliphant

If there is one thing I'm always guilty of it's knitting things for other people ahead of myself. I guess it's because I enjoy knitting for other people and knowing that the people I knit for appreciate the effort which goes into a handknit garment or gift. However this year I did manage to knit something for myself... a much needed new pair of kilt hose!

 I say much needed because I only had one other pair of kilt hose and sadly they had an accidental encounter with the clothes dryer and I couldn't fit them anymore.

Never one to be overly traditional when it comes to sock yarns for myself I chose a colourway from the Opal Rainforest Collection called Buffalo Bill... fancy that, me opting for a green colourway!

The pattern is called Kilravock by Sharon Rose and was a relatively easy knit. The pattern had no calf shaping in it so I modified it to prevent the hose becoming baggy around the ankles.

So here I am... Jamie the Laird... well my family do call me Jamie which is the Scottish diminutive of James and I do share the title of King of the Castle that is Scarlet Oak Cottage. Perhaps I should knit myself another pair so that I have some variety and find more opportunity to wear my kilt!

Speaking of knitting for other people ... the total number of mini-stockings I've knitted so far for this Christmas is forty four... I'm on the home stretch now, less than twenty to go, but I still need to knit three a day for the next week!

As you can see from the photo above I'm getting a bit chunky again... no doubt weight loss will be one of the new year resolutions I'll make (yet again!!!) in three weeks time. Perhaps I should take advantage of all the salad greens in the garden and get better at taking lunch to work each day.

  

And with the strawberries about to ripen up there will be plenty of sweet treats if I have been good...

I'm hoping that the strawberries will be ready in time to have with Christmas bubbles... that's not really being good... but it is being festive!

You Asked For It - Mercyful Fate

Well you asked for it and so here it is... the pattern for my mini Christmas stockings.

MATERIALS:

Yarn – 8ply/ DK

Needles – Set of 4 double pointed (DPN), 4mm

ABBREVIATIONS:

CC = Contrast colour, K = Knit , MC = Main colour, P = Purl, PSSO = Pass slipped stitch over, Rem = remaining, Rep = Repeat, Rnd = Round, Sl = Slip, Sts – Stitches, Tog = together.

PATTERN:

TOP

Using MC cast on 24sts and join in the round. (8sts per needle)

Work 10 rnds of K1, P1 rib.

Change to CC and K 14 rnds, changing colour every two rnds, ending with CC.

HEEL FLAP

Change to MC and K across next 8sts and 4sts from the next needle. Spread the Rem 12sts evenly between 2 needles. With the needle holding 12sts work 7 rows in stocking stitch, starting with a P row.

1^st Row: K8, K2 tog, turn,

2^nd Row: P5, P2 tog, turn,

3^rd Row: K6, K2 tog turn.

Rep last 2 rows until 6sts rem.

Next row K.

FOOT

Using the same needle with 6sts on it, pick up and K6sts along the side of the heel. K across the next 12sts. Pick up and K 6sts along other side of the heel and K3sts from the next needle. (30sts, 2 needles should have 9sts each and the rem needle 12sts) 

Round 1: K

Change colour

Round 2: 1^st needle: K until last 3sts, K2tog, K1, 2^nd needle K12, 3^rd needle K1, Sl1, PSSO, K to end.

Rep rounds 1 and 2, 3 times. (24sts)

Next 9 rounds: K (continuing with a colour change every second row as set)

TOE

Continue with MC until the end.

Round 1: 1^st needle, K to last 3sts, K2tog, K1, 2^nd needle, K1, Sl1, PSSO, K to last 3sts, K2tog, K1, 3^rd needle, K1, Sl1, K1, PSSO, K to end.

Round 2: K

Rep last 2 rounds until there are 12sts remaining.

K across the 3sts on the next needle so that there are 6sts on each needle.

Graft the sts together.

Sew in the ends. Create a loop out of a length of yarn, knot one end and thread through top of stocking.

Knit another to make a pair. 

Use the same colour sequence or reverse it for a contrasting stocking.

So there you go...  if you know the basics of sock knitting you'll find these a breeze to knit. Each one takes me about 75 minutes to knit. I stuff mine full of Christmas themed chocolate treats... but thats because I love chocolate!

Have fun making some for yourself and let me know if you do.

IT"S LESS THAN THRE WEEKS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!

That means I've only got twenty days left to make sure that I've been more 'nice' than 'naughty' this year!

Take It Easy - The Eagles

Wow it's been quite a busy week for me and my body has told me that I've been overdoing it because I came down with a cold. Thursday morning I felt a tightening of my throat... no Ian hadn't tried to strangle me in my sleep!... and then on Friday morning I woke up with a streaming nose and a nasty cough. We're quite busy at work at the moment so I decided to go in to work on Friday and I'm pleased that I did because some extra work came in unexpectedly and I would have been swamped with work next week if I hadn't. I did however dose myself up with sudafed to get through the day... and I was so glad that it was Friday and had the weekend to relax and kick back.

 Well I thought I was going to kick back... I headed off to the post office to get some Christmas presents posted. I'm popping these mini-stockings into the presents so I'm pleased that my production line is keeping up with my tight schedule. A few people have asked me for the pattern I use for the moni-stockings. I just made it up but I will write it down and post it here in the next few days... keep watching this space!

I did have an interesting conversation with the young girl who served me because I noticed that when she printed out the postage label on three of the parcels it said American Samoa... I had clearly labeled them as United States of America so I questioned what she had done. She couldn't understand what the difference was as they were both America. I had to explain to her that American Samoa is an island in the pacific and that the USA was in North America. I guess geography is taught differently these days. Perhaps I should have said to her that the Kardashians lived in the USA and not American Samoa she might have understood... but perhaps not! :-)

One of my friends in London is receiving a pair of these socks I designed and knitted for her. Winter is cold in London so I'm hoping these will keep her feet warm and toasty. The yarn is Madeline Tosh sock. I bought the yarn in Seattle earlier this year and it was a delight to knit with. The socks virtually knitted themselves the yarn was so nice to work with. Now I know why other people rave about the yarn. You'll notice a new background for my photo's... it's the top of my new coffee table and I love it!

Saturday was also a special day because it was Ian's birthday and here's the little prize haul I put together for him. I chose the bouganvillia for him because it was such a beautiful bright colour and it was called... Scarlet O'Hara... suitably dramatic I thought! After opening his presents we had a leisurely afternoon at home and then headed off into Martinborough for a few drinks at a bar a friend of mine had recently bought. It's called Micro and it is a small but perfectly formed bar and we loved it. I can see Ian and I going there quite often!

 

Miss Ollie and Paisley were making the most of the sun over the weekend and were playing in the garden... exploring their territory and stalking everything moving within it... as cats do.

Paisley then decided to play Queen of the Castle on our new outside deck while...

Miss Ollie decided it was time to catch up on some extra hours of sleep... and didn't appreciate Daddy James waking her up and annoying her with the camera... she still looks beautiful even when she looks grumpy.

 

And now for a shot from our garden... the scarlet oaks are in full leaf again and I love looking up at them through the branches of the trees and seeing the sunlight filter down through them. It's just so nice that summer is almost here... perhaps I'll even be able to knit at the beach one day between Christmas and New Year.

 

On the Radio - Donna Summer

It hasn't taken me too long to settle back into the routine of the train commute into Wellington and it's been fun to re-establish 'train buddy' friendships from a couple of years ago when I worked in Wellington. I get on at Woodside station which is one stop before Featherston station where a group of my knitting friends get on so what I try to do is grab a seat at one of the tables then get my knitting out... this usually scares anyone off from sitting next to me. Then when we get to Featherston my friends get on and get to sit next to me and get their knitting out too! So it becomes a knitting table with the four of us chatting away and working on assorted projects for the hour in to Wellington. It's a great way to start my morning.

The reliability of the service to meet the timetable has not improved any and most mornings I have to walk quite briskly in order to get to work on time. That has frustrated me because each morning I've walked past an exhibition in the foyer of the Asteron building, just opposite the railway station, and not had the time to stop. But one day this week the train was actually a few minutes early and I got the opportunity to have a quick look.

The exhibition was promoting National Radio and on display was people's interpretations of what would make a classic kiwi themed radio. Naturally it was 'Grandma's Knitting Basket' Radio which caught my attention with knitting needles as an aerial and buttons for tuning and volume knobs... it was very clever and unexpected. A few others which caught my eye were...

Classic kiwi take-a-ways meets classic kiwi radio to create the 'Fish and Chips' radio...

From savoury to sweet... classic kiwi dessert meets classic kiwi radio to make a 'Pavlova' radio which is almost sweet enough to eat.

And finally you can't get more classic kiwi than our ultimate sporting icon... the All Black jersey... great to see it without any corporate sponsorship on it too!

Apologies for the poor quality of the photo's. The foyer only had natural lighting and I was using the camera on my phone. To see them in better detail and to see all the other ones you'll just have to head on over to Asteron House to see them in person... it's a fun exhibition and you won't be disappointed.

On friday night there was a delay with my train home due to problems with the locomotive which meant that they had to replace it half way through the journey. It did however mean that I had more time to knit my mini stockings. They caught the attention of a little girl and her family as they were waiting to get off the train at Featherston. When I explained that they would have chocolate put in them and then be hung on my Christmas tree she got quite excited but then she looked at me and said "When are you going to take the prickles off your face? Daddy has them too and I don't like them!" Everyone around us, including me, started laughing. Perhaps I'll take her advice and shave my beard soon.

So far I've managed to complete eleven of the mini stockings but I've been slightly distracted by housework and sunny weather this weekend so I haven't made much progress on more... but there's always my TV watching time tonight I can get some knitting done in too. I have also been a good boy and made a start on my Christmas shopping of course the first present I buy is always for me... as a reward for starting shopping. Incredibly self-indulgent I know but it works for me!

Our garden is a beautiul show of blooms at the moment and it's nice to be able to have so many that we can cut some to make bouquets to have in Scarlet Oak Cottage.

While I love all the flowers Ian loves his vegetable garden and is particularly proud of his peas this year... so here is a shot of his tee pee of peas. I'm a little worried though that we won't actually be able to harvest any peas for a meal... Ian keeps eating them everytime he goes outside to check on them! I must admit they do taste good fresh from the pod and warmed by the sun.

I'll leave you with a shot of an iris with granny's bonnets hiding in the background. Spring is certainly a time of colour in the garden!