About

Sunday 15 May 2011

Ah. It's a bit addictive.

It started when I saw a scarf that I really liked in a boutique on Ponsonby Road, not long before I left Auckland. It was definitely my kind of knitwear.

It continued when I discovered The Holland Road Yarn Company, while Pal Nikki was in Welly a couple of months ago. Meet me for a cup of tea, says she. When and where, says I. HRYC, says she. You're doomed, says the universe because it's a very cool store that will give you many very cool ideas.

Around that time I found out that the boutique of the awesome scarf that I loved was online, and I continued to admire it regularly, but realised as I admired that for the $135 price tag, I could very likely remember how to knit enough to make my own. Much cheaper. With my own colours. And it'd probably keep me busy for the next couple of months until Winter really set in. Then I'd get bored and that would be the end of the knitting. But I'd still be up one scarf. Excellent plan.

I was motivated as I mentioned earlier by being near-popsicle-ised on my way to the obstetrician a couple of weeks ago (I've just realised that I have an appointment next week, and that that's the end of my monthly appointments I think. I also have a hospital orientation appointment the week after. Time is short. I'm not comfortable with this).

So off I waddled, collected wool and needles, and hunkered down with my Winter project.

Except, it only took a week and it was done (and that's even taking into account that the little ginger is apparently three-quarters kitten and I had to keep wrestling balls of wool off him), which is excellent if I get a cold neck and want to use my scarf (like possibly this week, judging by the weather forecast), but it didn't take anywhere near long enough for me to get bored and never want to do it again. Which meant I needed a new project, so now I'm onto draught stops for the kids rooms with the wool scraps (which is also reminding me how to do purl stitch). But I've nearly finished those too.

And then I bought a cardi pattern. No idea how to read a pattern of course - I think I'd have more luck if it were in German or something - but I like the cardi. I'm sure I can work it out.

And I think I'll need hats too. Awesome hats that don't cost a hundred bucks.

Doomed, doomed, doomed.

Doomed.

The problem is too that I have a long-standing thing for knitwear, and now that I think I may be able to make it myself at a fraction of the cost, I'm getting a bit twitchy. And I saw a cool pattern for knitted mushrooms the other day. I'm pretty sure I have to knit a mushroom for the littlest ginger's room, which has evolved to have a vague woodland theme.

Dooooooooooomed.


(le draught stop)




Monday 2 May 2011

Much ado about nothing

Firstly though, do I get to complain that my favourite black cardi fell apart in the wash yesterday morning and it's only about 3 years old, if I probably should've been hand-washing it but I've been throwing it in the washing machine for about the entire 3 years?

I really liked that cardi.

Also, I'm going to knit a scarf. I think. I'll just have to remember how. I didn't think it'd been all that long until I did the maths and realised that I'm getting older and it's actually been a good 16 years. There are kids out there who weren't born when I knitted my last scarf that've nearly finished high school. Cheery. Aside from that though, I'm quite enthusiastic about the idea. Especially after going out in a howling southerly the other day for an appointment with my obstetrician and finding that where previously, in Auckland, a scarf has always been a handy accessory, here, in Wellington, it's a necessary means of preserving life. I'm still working out how big I want it, but based on last week I think probably if it covers me from head to toe and I can wrap it around myself about 10 times I should be good. I'll post pictures after I've been to visit this woman. Love her store.

And now, Much Ado.

With baby girl getting closer, we've been conscious that she'll need somewhere to sleep once she's done her stint in the hammock, and that the cot was still very much occupied by Cuinn. We had two plans. The first plan was the obvious and what most people would do - move Cuinn into a big boy bed. Snort. Whatever. The very thought filled us with such a feeling of general terror that we much preferred plan two which was to buy a second cot. Yes, we really are that wussy.

As it played out, last week's visit to the obstetrician indicated that baby girl will likely be needing her cot about as quickly as Cuinn did (he was about 3 weeks old from memory when he was dangling out of the hammock from the knees down) - the littlest ginger is measuring bigger even than Cuinn (big enough that my obstetrician did her measurements 3 times in disbelief) and we realised that with her only being about 14 weeks away tops, we were possibly too embarrassed to buy a second cot after all, tempting though it was, and we really didn't want to do the transition and bed-battle with the little ginger after the littlest ginger arrives (you know, why I refer to either of these gingers as little really is beyond me at this point).

So, this week, the husband has the week off, and I have a couple of weeks of putting my feet up a bit too, so we figured that the timing is probably as good as any to bite the bullet and undertake intensive kid-wrangling as we made the transition. Except, for once, we were ready, willing (in a relative sense) and braced for what lay ahead of us, but the little ginger it seems was even readier and willinger and took to his bed like a duck to water and that's been that. The husband and I have been walking around, looking at each other and grinning like (relieved) idiots at how simple it's been. How beautifully, wonderfully, unusually straight forward. Complete non-event. Blooming marvellous. Amen.

Sunday 1 May 2011

(Insert curses here)

I'd like it noted for the record that I spent nearly an hour (thank heavens for Tigger & Pooh and Mickey Mouse to keep the kid amused - awesome parenting that) trying to format the damn post and photos and my patience ran out - which is why there are gaps you could drive a truck though. It was that, or all the writing shrinks to such a teeny font it looks like it's disappeared entirely, or I end up deleting photos accidentally, or the gaps end up so huge you could drive an entire fleet of trucks through instead of just one, or I end up deleting photos by accident and have to reload them. Either way, I had to give up before my swearing got any louder. The kid is a parrot.

Adventures of a little ginger

Frolicking at Days Bay. We took a trip out a few months ago, and ended up with a completely nekkid, near-blue kid having a marvellous time on the main strip - I'd left the husband and the kid crossing the road to look at the seagulls and gone into a local gallery for a quiet nosey. I came out to passersby chortling, and the kid not quite how I'd left him. He was having a blast though which is what being a kid is all about, so what do you do? Shrug and transport the near hypothermia one home in a woolly dog-hair-covered cardi dug out of the boot of a car and send copious the-kid-has-no-nappy-on-please-please-please prayers heavenward. The next time we went back, we took togs. And a spare nappy. And took photos I could post.















The playground on the water's edge at Lyall Bay, post divine-breakfast-at-Maranui-Surf-Club-at-some-unholy-time-of-the-morning-because-it's-so-popular-you-have-to-get-there-before-the-world-including-you-wakes-up (luckily we have a 2 year old who assists us in such endeavours as getting up at revolting times).

It was absolutely freezing, and there was a southerly whipping up, but again, the kid had a marvellous time and the husband and I had had the forethought to grab a hot chocolate each before leaving the cafe, so we weren't entirely frozen solid.











The kid didn't go anywhere near this, I just remember them from when I was a kid and loved the shot.



The view from our spot in the cafe. Thank heavens they rebuilt that place after it burned down a couple of years ago. Awesomeness.










Surfer-shaped iceblocks.