FIBRE ALIVE: Long Time Gone

I have been a 'Long Time Gone'...

I can't believe that it's been over four months since I last made a blog post, I also can't believe that people are still reading this blog... but from the number of e-mails I've been receiving from people asking after me I guess people still do check in with the blog.

So what have I been doing for four months? Not much... I resigned from my job, went to a knitting retreat that wasn't a knitting retreat in New Zealand, travelled to the United States for a Men's Knitting retreat, started a new job in Wellington meaning I'm back commuting on the train and we've done renovations to Scarlet Oak Cottage. So I think you can guess, and understand, that it's been a very busy and stressful time for me.

So what do I do when I get stressed??? I indulge in a bit of retail therapy and then indulge myself further with setting aside time to knit.

I bought this book because it intrigued me by being equal parts kitsch and clever and because Christmas is looming... sorry to scare you if you were trying to put Christmas to the back of your mind. :-).

On friday night we had the Friday Night Sock Club meet at the house and I showed the book around to much hilarity and many innuendo laced comments about balls... their firmness... their size... their shape... their hariness etc. It brought back many memories of when we were all knitting mushrooms for a charity fundraiser.

As Miss Ollie and Paisley are two very young and adventurous cats I don't want to risk putting my swarovski crystal stars on our Christmas tree this year in case the tree 'mysteriously' falls over while I'm at work so I decided that it was time for some knitted ornaments. I suggested that the Friday Night Sock Clubbers each choose a pattern from the book and knit a ball ornament for our tree and bring it along to the December meeting. Everyone seemed keen to contribute so I think the tree will look spectacular this year and I'll work on a knitted treat of my own for everyone who brings along a ball.

So I thought that I should kick off things today by knitting one for myself. I chose one of the heart designs. It is number 32 in the book and is called 'Hospitality: Room in the Heart'. It also had the comment of 'Where there is room in the heart, there is room in the home". I thought that was so fitting as Ian and I always open our home readily to people who share our love of knitting.

It was a miserable rainy day outside today so it was perfect to sit down and catch up on some of the trash tv (i.e. reality talent shows) I had recorded during the week while I made a start on my Christmas ball.

I made slow but steady progress during the day and when it came time to stuff the ball I rummaged around for some dacron filling but couldn't find where I had 'safely' stored it. As a substitute I found an old ball of chenille yarn (yes I admit I have some chenille in my stash) and used that for wadding. The pattern called for a crochet chain to use to hang the ball but you know how reluctant I am to crochet (that's why I call it the 'c' word) so I opted for an i-cord instead.

The local Christmas tree farm hasn't opened for this season yet so without a Christmas tree to hang the finished ball from I went out into the garden and hung it from one of the lilly pilly trees. It put a smile on my face seeing it in the garden so it was the perfect result of a few hours worth of knitting. I can't wait until we have a Christmas tree up and have more balls to decorate it with.

In the garden just below the lilly pilly's I spotted this beautiful fuschia popping out and demanding my attention. It's one of my favourite flowers and when I see it I always think of a danicng fairy... some might say that's quite apt! I thought you might like seeing it too.

Thanks for your patience... it won't be four months between posts again.

Comments

Love your ball mate, a great start to the tree. Fuschia one of my favourites since I was a kid too. Shall I say 'Merry Christmas' nope not quite yet . Love ya. Love to Ian.

Posted by: Dee | November 18, 2012 at 08:26 PM

James, it is nice to see you blog pop up on my blog reader again - I'm so glad I got to see you this year at Dumas Bay and I'm glad you are having fun with your knitting - I love the idea of all those Christmas balls hanging on your tree. They will look wonderful against the green of the tree. And that fuchsia in your garden is beautiful. We have a fuchsia which grows on our balcony, but it may or may not make it over the winter. If not we'll have to replace it, because they are gorgeous flowers. One day I'd love to see your garden in real life.

Posted by: Nigel Pottle | November 19, 2012 at 05:17 AM