New Projects - inside and out

I have finally gotten around to having a go with Wollmeise.

First I swatched (but not with the colour I was going to use):

To me it feels like cotton to knit with but it came out much softer after washing and blocking.

Deciding on a project was hardest, in the end Raiun won. My project or  Rav Link

Specs:
3.25mm needles
Wollmeise twin in Petit Poison Dark
gauge 6sts/ 8 rows per inch

Things I have learnt:

Provisional Cast On.  A simple figure 8 cast on. You can just see the wonky stitches where the marker is denoting the Cast on row. It took me an hour to get this right, I nearly gave up.Looks ok though, I will try to snug the stitches up later.

 M1P = Make one purl, yep I have never done this before either. Some are a little wonky until I got it right. I bit the bullet and looked it up rather than trying to work it out myself. I couldn't decide whether to pick up the bar from front to back or back to front.

There are a few mistakes right up near the beginning of the sleeve increases. A purl that should have been a knit etc.  This is where I second guessed the designer's plan and changed a knit to a purl because I thought the pattern ribbing would not be correct. So I have learnt to trust the designer in future and just go with the pattern. I will not try to fix it by dropping it down and picking back up because I know what will happen if I drop down 7 rows and can't get back up sounds easy but it's near another lifted increase and I just know i could stuff it up really well so I will live with it. Yes, I can do that, I can live with imperfection, just watch me.
It is actually bugging me a lot but it's such a tiny thing that no-one will see because my hair will be covering it up. So shhh, no-one will know it's there but me.

Outside of the house we have been developing our veggie garden this long weekend.
So far we have planted corn, tomatoes, coloured silverbeet, lettuce, leeks, capsicum, zucchini, carrots and basil.
We also have most of our dwarf fruit trees in. We have 2 apples, 2 nectarines, peach and an orange, we are still looking for a dwarf mandarin. Most trees are full of blossoms.

Here's the resident gardener planting out the ornamentals. The veggie patch is the part covered in pea straw at the back. This is where our big double shed used to be.

We also have the formal ornamental part complete with pot:

I reckon the pot will get blown over in a strong wind gust but we will see. It looks crooked but I keep telling myself that is part of the optical illusion of the pot's design.  Either its that or already on its way over.

Must include a pic of our water feature now that we have pots next to it:

Finally the obligatory kitteh pictures.
They are sneaky, I opened the craft room door to hang up some laundry indoors (didn't want pea straw on the freshly laundered clothes) Kitty snuck in, ignored my stern NO, jumped up on the sofa and immediately snuggled in as if she had been asleep for ages.  Andy soon followed her.

They had swapped places from where they first were, my guess is that Andy went to bite snuggle Kitty so she got up and moved away from him and he took her spot - this happens a lot.

The best part is no more uni until January next year, well one more assignment to submit but it is DONE, just hanging on to it because I always think of other things to add after submitting, yay. I'm taking Summer Semester off this year before I burn out. That leaves just 4 units to go then I will be finished. Two each year as two units are full on practicums, one music which should be easy and an Entreprenurial Professional something or other.

So the next few months will be focusing on making resources for my current class- still working as a School Services Officer in Special Ed, unpacking the many boxes still in the shed, putting my craft room in order (no pictures because it is too messy at the moment) and knitting -can't wait to try out my new garnrollenhalter that came today:

It spins so quietly and effortlessly releases your yarn as you knit. A combined bulk order with a Ravelry group. I had been using this:

from here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Rotating-Yarn-Holder/
This one is noisy as the lazy susan is very rattly. However it did work quite well and the noise was ok after a while. I simply Blu-Tacked a small lazy susan spinner onto the bottom of a CD spindle, nowhere near as complicated as the linked project. It needed the whole spindle to spin and not have the yarn rotating around the stick part causing friction.

So...I have Raiun to complete then on to a Featherweight Cardi in Wollmeise lace (Im Jahr Der Ratte), Ardelise in Bendy (Red Tweed) oh and I must make a Vanadium Bendy Classic 5 ply (Cranberry) and I must make Elfe too though not necessarily in that order. What's on your To Do list?

Ahh, we're both sick here, my cold has reached the two week mark and Miss A's just started yesterday.
The lack of posting bothers me but I just can't be bothered grabbing Miss A and stuffing the yellow socks on her for a photo. Hope you understand.

The good that has come from this is that I've completed 3 assignments in this week alone. I tell ya - I've gotta do them when I get them and not leave them till the last minute!
So Communicating Electronically, Produce Complex Business Documents and Develop and Use Complex Databases are all finished (whether they are correct and I pass are another story)

I haven't been able to settle to knit much of anything. I took on a project - I think I posted about it before - a black alpaca scarf. It's kicking my butt 160cm of black 4x4 ribbing.
Each time I sit to knit my new cat jumps up on my lap and sleeps, I can't disturb him. If I start to knit he wants to play with the needles. Always wanted a cat to snuggle on my lap, none of the others are lap snugglers.


Uh Oh, this is where it gets whingy back away now.

So my list of things to do is as follows in no particular order:

1. Complete Cert 4 in ICT by end June
2. Begin Reclassification process (going from SSO1 to an SSO2)
3. Start Cert 4 in Business Administration next month
4. Fight Centrelink for benefits
5. See lawyer regarding property settlement and stuff
6. Initiate divorce proceedings
7. Knit something

Now number 4 above: Centrelink does not agree that I am separated and trying to live on my own meagre wage. They say that being separated under one roof is too hard to prove and keep sending me away. However in desperation I sought legal advice with Legal Aid here in SA. They say that Centrelink is not doing the right thing at all and I am indeed entitled to said benefits and need to keep appealing their decision. Just have to have few letters of support from like the therapist that I visited each week for over 8 months (at a cost of $50 per session) when I first split up, the teacher that supported me when I had a mini melt down at work (the students still say to me - "Remember when you cried that day? That was funny". Luckily I can counter with some crap about us all having bad days and that I can remember consoling each and everyone of them when they have cried) and my doctor who is very supportive.

Not separated indeed! If I want something for Miss A, I have to buy it and give him the receipt and he'll think about paying half!! We don't even talk to each other.

Which begs the questions -

Why am I still here?

And no, it's not because I still hope to get back together, he is a different person now and I've seen his dark side and have no desire whatsoever in that direction.

Because this is my home, my cats are here and I know I'll lose at least 2 of them, Miss A can see her dad whenever she wants (although he hasn't been here much lately and mostly just sleeps after work), I have too much on my plate at the moment, we have too much stuff to move, I love the area, but the bottom line is that Miss A and I have talked it over at length and she wants to stay. Perhaps if I keep ignoring the problem long enough he'll go away.