American Politics and reproduction

Okay, something is up on the other side of the world. Politicians in Texas want a law that will force women wanting to have an abortion to have an ultrasound. Various states want to cut funding for contraception, family planning clinics, and sex education in schools. And yet, they say it is to "protect the unborn" - like the women don't know what they are doing.

Do they really doubt the man's involvement, here? In cutting sex education in schools, they are preventing both sexes from realising precisely what happens when they put Tab A into Slot B. They are preventing both sexes from learning about methods of preventing pregnancy.

Yet, there seems to be a spot of fuss about bringing in similar laws for men to get viagra in the USA. The men seem to take offense at having to go to the doctor every few months to get viagra, but they expect women to in order to get the pill - oh, no, wait! They want to make that more difficult to get! They also seem to protest against getting a signed statement from "at least one" of their lovers to get viagra. That seems to make sense. Get someone to agree that your pecker isn't pecking makes sense. Also, having a heart scan to make sure you can survive such things? That also seems to be a sticking point. I'm pretty sure that if a man doesn't want to show his chest to a doctor, why would he want to show it to his amour? And I'm also pretty sure that a man having a heart scan isn't nearly as embarrassing as it is for a woman. And yes, I've had a few myself.

Also, for all the Americans who keep saying that it's a part of their religion? Might I ask that you check your constitution? It seems to say that yes, you can say and do as your religion pleases - but so can everybody else. Please remember that.

AMENDMENT I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

cough cough hack - oh! beach!

Thankfully, I seem to be recovering (slowly) from my slight fit of asthma. It started with coughing on Wednesday last week, was complicated by a cold on Saturday, and now I'm back to just coughing. It may also have involved an emergency trip to a pharmacy to get a puffer (apparently I was the fourth asthmatic in search of ventolin that pharmacist had seen that day), and a trip to the GP to get an upgraded script for seretide.

 But despite my coughing (which wasn't contagious anyway), I still insisted on going out on Friday. I went to the beach with some of my friends, and although it was a bit cold for swimming (for us, anyway), we sat on the beach, walked along it, dipped out feet in the water, etc. It was a great deal of fun. and it ended like this:

I think we were a bit tired at the end, there!

Note to self...

Note to self: If you are a block student for one of the courses you are doing, and you know that you have to be at uni 3 Saturdays in a semester, please check the dates. Otherwise, you may be thinking about going to a lovely yarn/fibre store when you have to be at uni all day.

Dammit!

More Knitting!

Well, I have certainly been knitting a fair bit. I have finished my lace shawl for the Easter Show next year! Yay! I will not be posting a photo of that, though. Not until after the Show, at least. This is due to the fuss that cropped up last year about "you never know who might be a judge! And if they see it, it might cause bias! Waaaah!" issue. I can't be bothered causing panic, it's not yet blocked, and I'd prefer to keep it close to home until March next year.

I have yet to find some good silk yarn to do my next shawl in, though. I'd like to do it in a lovely silk laceweight, but the best place I've found for that in Virginia Farm - and some of my knitting friends have mentioned the words "take" and "me" when I've spoken about it. So I'm thinking maybe next Saturday for that, but in the meantime...?

I've been doing hexes. Not the witchcraft variety (although that might be fun ;-) ), but I'm now working on The Beekeepers Quilt and it's going quite nicely. I just got some more yarn for it, although it is supposed to be made of sock yarn left-overs. I have all this yarn for the hexapuffs now:

Actually, on the subject of more yarn, I also got some to make myself another pair of gloves. I made this pair...

but I have discovered something. This yarn would make good socks, but not so good with gloves. My delicate skin finds it a wee bit prickly on my hands, thus leading to uncomfy gloves. So I got some yarn to make more!

Two balls of this, in fact :-D

And a ball of this:

for the trim (not shown in photo), and maybe for the over-gloves. But then again, it doesn't quite get cold enough around here for over-gloves. So those are still an option only, rather than a necessity.

Now... continuing the knitting... ;-)

Wishful thinking coming true?

A month ago, I was saying that I intended to finish my shawl while I was staying at a house in another suburb. I did think it was just wishful thinking, but... I'm 4 rows from starting the border. I'm now wondering if I could, in fact finish it before I head home. This would be quite a surprise!

It's not as good as, say, wishing I could go overseas, but I'm happy with this. ...for now ;-)

Recently

Since the earthquake/tsumani hit Japan, I've been speechless about it. Largely because it seems that it just keeps getting worse. First the earthquake. It was first put forward as a 7.9 Magnitude, and then it was changed to an 8.9 Magnitude. Then a 10m tsunami hit, followed by a 4m wave of mud. Now they have found several hundred bodies, expect fatalities to reach 1000, and the Fukushima nuclear power plant has exploded. It has been a scary event for all involved.

I have one friend living in Tokyo at the moment. I have been in contact with him, and he's fine. His main whinge was the 16km walk home he had from his office, because all the trains and buses were shut down by the earthquake. Considering he's about 250km from Fukushima, he also won't be affected by the nuclear explosion. I know they wanted anyone within 10km of the plant to get out.

Really wishing good luck to the people of Japan to recover. This has been absolutely dreadful.

Good luck, Japan!

Year of the Rabbit

I just checked what was in store for me in the Year of the Rabbit as an Oxen. Apparently Oxen should avoid avoid overspending and definitely avoid gambling (oh, like I gamble my life away :-P ). Oh, and avoid hospitals and funerals. In matters of the heart, Oxen should be careful to avoid any misunderstandings to avoid festering harm (I'll need to find a partner before I have to worry about that). Health-wise, I need to worry about my joints and mental fatigue (but I already do that?)

On top of all that, Oxen should also seriously consider developing the habit of saving.

Pretty much, life as normal for me!

Meanwhile, Dragons get good fortune! Please tell me Oxen get a good year soon?

More info to be found at http://www.wayangtimes.com/2011-year-of-the-rabbit-chinese-zodiac-horoscope-forecast.html

Update!

My goodness! An update! It has been a while since the last one, I know. Apparently I don't get an urge to update very often, but I'm trying to improve, I swear!

Well, life in general has changed a great deal since the last update. I am no longer in MUSRA, since I am no longer an Undergraduate. Yes, indeed, I'm ready to graduate in April! I am, however, still a student. I will be starting a Graduate Diploma in Education TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at UTS in March. I am really looking forward to that, although it will require more time in transport.

As well as that, I've also decided that it is time I learned how to sew clothes. I've enrolled in a Learn to Sew class, 2hrs a week for 10 weeks, and that starts on the 7th of February. I'm looking forward to it, but it carries with it a risk - I fear I may build up a fabric stash to rival my yarn stash. This is a worry indeed. I don't only want to learn to sew, but also figure out how to make clothes to actually fit me. I could probably manage to hem slacks for myself at the moment, but anything else is a bit beyond my skills just now.

My shawl-that-swallowed-Sydney is getting closer to being finished, thank the otherworldly beings. The border is a bit over 1/2 done, and I'm looking forward to getting it done. I haven't taken a photo of it recently, but it is getting a bit hefty. I will be asking very kind friends of mine to come over for a blocking party, I think.

I'm also considering having two shawls for next years Show. I'm thinking a white one for the knitted lace animal fibre, and a black one with silver beads for the beaded knitting.

Wish me luck!

Frosty flowers...

Last week was Diversity Week at Macquarie Uni, and it was fabulous. We had a rather large number of sign ups, and we're not sure why that is. Maybe it's because knitting is so fantastic, and maybe it's because Macquarie Uni has decided to uncap the number of students who enrol. Either way, more knitting! ...I hope T2 has enough space for us all, now...

As well as that, apparently someone who decided on who would have which stall at Diversity Week loves knitting. We had prime position just out the front of the U@MQ building. If anyone wanted to go to the Co-op Bookshop, or grab a snack at uni, they pretty much had to go past us. Some sources in other clubs actually heard other students whinging about how many sign-ups we got in comparison to them! We also got plenty of requests to buy the knitting we had on display, which largely belonged to Hannah and me, and our shawls and my socks were highly sought after. Most of those people weren't so keen on doing the actual knitting themselves, though.

I work the stall with Jenny, Julie, Hannah, Mandy and Lenny, and they were fabulous, more fabulous than I could be. After full-time work on Monday and Tuesday, my body decided I'd been doing too much, and I felt like I was walking under a tonne of bricks. Seriously, it go to the point where I walked into a room and my (other) friends chorused "oh my... you look tired! ...but not in a bad way!" I figured that there wasn't a good way to look tired (unless it's with a smug smile, which I lacked), so I took it much easier the following few days. But I am looking forward to seeing some old friends as well as some new ones this week to start them on the knitting path. This should be fun!

I finally got around to sending out the welcoming message to the mailing list, or at least to those who accepted the invite. I am sorry that it took so long to send out, but I think my sinuses decided to team up with fatigue from the previous week, and was in no shape to even type an email until this afternoon!

In other news... I finally picked up my Frost Flowers and Leaves this afternoon, and I have to confess, I think it's almost time for another cable in my knitting:





I do have connectors for cables to cables in my knitting kit, but I was hoping to have a bit more time before needing them. After all, I have to go through about 3.5 balls of yarn, and I've not finished the first one so far! Ah well, all I can do is try.

That's it from me for the past week. Signing off.

Alacaeriel

Progressing

Well, I came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to get those stranded colour socks done in time for Hobart, but that was no real drama. It was actually about the same temperature in Hobart as it was back home in Sydney while I was down there.

The conference itself was good. It was fun, although we were surprised at the accommodation we got. We each had one of the lowest rooms the hotel offered - complete with it's own bathroom (with tub), kingsize bed, digital tv, etc. I went to three different workshops in the conference, and took notes, and now have to write reports on them by Thursday. Wish me luck for that!

The socks in progress are slowly moving along. Unfortunately, I'm still on the first of the stranded socks, and that one can only be done at home for the moment. The simple sock pattern is going along nicely, and being worked on at every opportunity when out of the house.

The mega-shawl is also going along nicely, but slowly. I really should get to work on that...

Problem

I have a slight problem. I am going to Hobart next week. It will be absolutely freaking freezing, so I am making myself a pair of socks. A pair of fair isle socks. For double the warmth and all. First attempt. Well, I've done one attempt to the heel, undone it, and restarted it. They are in the Wallflower pattern (yes, I know I'm nuts). But that's now going okay. So that's motoring along, but...

My problem? I just got a spinning wheel. In fact, it was delivered to my front door. It's an Ashford Traditional, and came with a set of hand carders. Yes, this is a problem. I was to play with it, learn to spin, start making my own yarns. I want to change it to a double treadle, and play with it some more. I keep looking at stuff to do with spinning online, and I really should be knitting away.

Oh. and I didn't actually buy the wheel. I didn't exactly have a choice about when I got it. I got the spinning wheel from my aunt. It kinda makes sense that she doesn't want it. She does live in Darwin, after all. Can you imagine being in all that heat and spinning?!

ETA: Or I could check the weather comparisons, and find it's about the same temp in Sydney as it is in Hobart, and it's much colder in Canberra. Suddenly I'm not so worried about these socks

Complete!

I have finished! The baby blanket, that is. Yes, it is finally done, and I think it may have reached it's new owner by now. The child it is for is still small enough to fit in it, at least. It is fabulous to have it done! I even took it to the knitting group to show it off, and it earned a round of applause.

In other news, I have also finished one of Dom's socks and am half-done on the other. I dream of doing two-at-a-time, but in this case, I'm glad that I did one at a time. But then, having one done means I don't need to borrow his feet again, thanks to a pretty clear indication in the repeats of the pattern and such. I don't have that luck with my plain vanilla pattern. In fact, I might have to search my old laptop to find out what needle size I used. Ah well, I've got a few UFOs to finish, and some new socks to start, before I'll be driven to that, methinks.

Now, to continue on the socks!

*sigh*

I have been having an okay time with my knitting, but today... I discovered something sad.

The baby blanket is making progress. And... I just started the Mystic Roses mystery shawl. And... the sad part. Today I made Dom try on the first sock I'm making for him. And... he couldn't get it over his foot, let alone over his heel. I'm thinking of adding 8 stitches and going up a needle size. That should work. Hopefully. Either way, I'm knitting away, especially since I now have freedom for 3 weeks! Woohoo! Knitting ahoy!

Oh, it's so dusty around here!

Whoops! I'm sorry, I know it looks like I've abandoned this blog. But I do remember that I have it, and I'm finally getting around to updating. Right, knitting wise...

I've been working on a baby blanket for a family friend (sorry, no photo, don't want her to see it before it's finished). It's not done yet, and the baby is due in January (whistles innocently), but I haven't been able to work on it like I should. Curse uni!

I have also been working on a pair of Francie socks but again, no photo. Maybe I should also mention that my camera has died?

I have finished the actual bag for the Cherry Blossom bag I'm making for Mum, now just needing to knit the flowers and the branch, but that's on hold until the baby blanket is finished. As, of course, are all the other UFOs I've still got lying around. That includes 2 pairs of almost fingerless gloves, a hat, and two stoles. I really shouldn't list my UFOs like that.

In life in general:

I've met someone and he is lovely (snuggles to him).

I somehow passed 3rd year Japanese this year, probably on a wing and a prayer.

My sole New Year's Resolution: learn to spin. I just bought some more fiber from Virginia Farm because it was just plain gorgeous. And also, I bought it in the hope that all my fiber will reach critical mass and I'll start spinning it. What do you think my chances are?

My laptop is slowly dying and I'm going to get a new one soonish. And also a new camera. Probably new brands of each, too.

Yep, I think that's the extent of my life at the moment. Things are looking remarkably good for the new year.

Cat: 0 Mouse: 1

We have encountered a slight problem... Normally, we are careful to make sure that any mice he catches are kept outside, but tonight? We now have a mouse loose in the loungeroom and the cat is happily settled on top of the tv cabinet. Completely ignoring the fact that there's a mouse in the same room. In this case, it is definitely Cat: 0 Mouse: 1

Black Yarn Swap

I am participating in a new swap! It's called the Black Yarn Swap, and one has to send off a pattern and the requisite yarn that is at least 50% black, needles or crochet hooks, something else knitting/crochet related that is also at least 50% black. I'm quite looking forward to this!

Ravelry name: Alacaeriel
1. Do you knit, crochet, or both? I can crochet, but I much prefer knitting
2. What do you prefer to knit or crochet? (socks? sweaters? cables?) What would you like to try to knit or crochet? Just now, I love knitting lace stoles, scarves or shawl, and socks. But I think I need sock yarn more
3. What are your hobbies outside of knitting or crocheting? External hobbies? Um... books, study, going out with friends...
4. Do you have any fiber allergies? Fiber preferances? I'm afraid I don't like the feel of acrylic yarns, especially on my feet.
5. Do you have any favourite books, music, or tv shows? If so, what are they? For books, I like David Eddings and Tamora Pierce, for tv shows, I like Midsomer Murders, Lewis, CSIs, Law and Order, for music, I don't mind, anything but rap or techno.
6. Do you have any pets? I have a cat, a blue burmese
7. Do you prefer salty or sweet snacks? I prefer sweets, my dentist is glad to know :-P
8. Do you prefer coffee or tea? either, in all honesty
9. Aside black, which colours do you like/dislike? I don't like lurid greens
10. What is your favourite time of the year? (season-wise or holiday-wise) Christmas/New Year is lovely
11. What is your favourite scent? I like roses...
12. What do you collect? At the moment, I seem to be collecting laceweight yarn, but I don't really collect anything.
13. If there's anything else you'd like your swappee to know, list them here: I can't think of anything else, but I'll let you know if I think of anything.

I'm quite looking forward to this swap. The fact that I haven't any black yarn in my ravelry stash is entirely beside the point.

An Update!

And here is your latest update on my life, brought to you by a realisation that I haven't updated in ages.

I have been knitting a bit. I've started the Entrelac socks from the Sock Knitters' Anonymous group in Ravelry and am 3/4 done on those...



And I've also been working a bit on a lace scarf that I got yarn and a pattern for in a swap...



And finally, I've also been working on my second attempt at my own Mystic Waters lace shawl...

I made one of these up to row 300 and something, but found I had too many mistakes and got completely lost. I then made one in its entirety for a family friend with no problems. Then I undid this one, washed the yarn, rewound it, and started over, and am now up to row 216 of 367 rows. I admit, the sudden coldness of the weather has made me really start on this again. I can't really wear it until it's finished, after all, and it's warm!

The sudden coolness of the weather has made a few changes around here. For a start, the cat has taken to sleeping on my bed, occasionally making me sleep around him, and I've decided to buy a new corset. I'm still trying to decide which one to get from Gallery Serpentine.

That is all from this neck of the woods just now. Have fun!

Finished!

Well, I have finished a few things since I last posted on here (sorry!). I finished the Hedera socks...



I finished these on February 29th, just in time for the January Sock Knitters Anonymous competition on Ravelry.

Yesterday, I also finished a pair of socks that have been my companions since November (or maybe October!). The Ruffled Garden Socks are finished! My family now calls this pair "celery socks" because of the green ruffle...



I was working to finish these because I needed the needles for another pair of socks I want to make. Entrelac socks, in fact. But instead, I've decided to buy a set of Knitpicks for the socks, so I'll now have a spare pair of bamboo 4 2.75mm needles, which I'm not that fond of, but can use if necessary.

The final think I finished, and only yesterday was it finished, is a hat. Knitted with a "sublime" yarn, it is absolutely gorgeous, and I'm thinking I might post it to a family friend...



And finally, I have finished my shawl for Anne (Mystic Waters Shawl) and posted it off. Anne was not expecting it, and she was pleased. She also told me that I was not to knit her anything else, and to knit something for myself. Why, thank you Anne, I think I might. But I still might send her the hat ;-)

Motoring Along

Well, my socks have made progress, although it's only a little...



I'm working more on my shawl for Anne (Mystic Waters Shawl). That's made a great deal of progress ...

I'm now on row 264 of 367 and am doing around 10 rows a day. Of course, that may taper off a little as the rows get even longer. But then, I'm seriously trying to get this finished in February. I know it's (supposed to be) summer and all, but right now the weather is comfortable rather than hot, and it's wet. I'd like Anne to have it before it starts to get cold. As far as she knows, we're just making a few hats for her to wear as she starts chemo. This shawl is a surprise for her.

I was working on one of these shawls for me, but... it was full of mistakes, and the needle it was on was incredibly irritating. It was made of bamboo, which isn't a bad thing, but the connection between the bamboo and the cable was lumpy and it seemed every single stitch that went over it had to get caught on the bump. I've ordered KnitPicks Options needle-tips and the 152cm cable, and I'm starting over. From scratch. I loved it, and I'll love it again. Just now, though...

An Update! Shock Horror!

Heaven's above, an update! I think I may pass out! But no, I'm still alive, still breathing etc., This update is long overdue and I have some news to get out of the way, first.

Okay, does anyone remember the engagement? I was engaged, but... it didn't work out. I'm now trying to get back on track, and have dived into my knitting as a result. Thus, a rather photo-heavy post.




Does anyone remember this stole, from Victorian Lace Today? Well, I finished it last year, and it is fabulous. I freely admit, I stuffed up the border, didn't do the requisite repeat adjustments at the corners, etc. but you can't really tell, to look at it.



but along with my sister, her cat decided to help with the first blocking.

I have also learned to make socks. I can do the short row heel...


And the flap heel...



And one of these pairs I've even finished!


This pair I hadn't yet conquered kitchener stitch, but I've almost got it. I shall upload photos of the current pair of socks later. I can't be bothered fussing around with my camera and uploading it right now. But that pair is currently 3/4's done.

I'm also working on a shawl for a family friend, who had some bad news late last year. I thought a lovely lace shawl she could wrap herself in (in her favourite colour) would be nice.

That's all from me just now. There will be another update within the week.

Ja mata!