Sickness and secret projects

Urggh. What a way to spend the school holidays - sick. Miss A came down with something last Wednesday and on the weekend shared it with me. Although we did spend Friday to Wednesday curled up in bed hacking up our lungs ( and I intend to return there soon ) we managed to spend some quality time together. It was worrying - she had a fever for 3 days.

So much for seeing the new Harry Potter movie, going bowling, going to the park....

Been working on a new project, very fun and different. Will take some photos and share when I get better.

You Are Best Described By...

San Giorgio Maggiore, Twilight By Claude Monet

What Famous Work of Art Are You?

Seen better days

These curtains were made by my Mum over 30 years ago! The fabric was soo old they had started to disintegrate and some curtain rings were broken. I finally got the motivation to make some new ones.








Andy is the feline model for this shot... heaven help him if he runs up these curtains like he used to with the old ones.



I took out the small one in the middle as I wanted these to close over the door thus allaying my fear that I was secretly being spied on by the neighbours at night time (or the Boogey Man or some such creature that may be hiding out in my backyard)

Knitting Knews...

Two orders for Fetchings must be completed these holidays, funny how I couldn't stop knitting these until someone actually wanted me to make them a pair, now it's a chore to be put off until scarves are finished. Now ask me how many scarves I've made in the last 2 weeks ( the answer is 2 and a half)


Uni News...

Semester one is finished yay! Semester 2 starts on the 23rd July. School holidays are here next week and they end on the 23rd July so I have two whole weeks in which to solidly knit - that's the plan anyway.

Personal News...

Miss A goes to her Dad's for 2 whole nights - he picks her up tomorrow and will drop her back Sunday. I am still finding being parted from her very difficult. Luckily he doesn't ask her up very often. She is glad to be home too as I don't think he spends very much time with her. The girlfriend and her 3 daughters look after her more than he does. Roll on Sunday.

So what delights have I got planned for myself to tide me over?
I have Angel complete season one, Sixteen Candles, Duece Biglow 1, The Family Stone and all the Alien movies (That will go well with my new curtains cos I will wake in the night and be able to go to the loo without the monster from the movie watching me through my back door)

Oh and I have chocolate - Clinkers, Snickers Pods, Dairy Milk family block, Quatro biscuits, and Iced coffee. That should cover the five food groups ;)

Reminds me, I must set up the treadmill these holidays too.

Found It

Okay here's Miss A's Hoody...


Bendigo Rustic 12 ply in Pink Opal.


Shawl Collar Jacket in brown Shadow Tweed - the back... Go on click for the bigger picture that shows the pretty colours.



The left front...

You want pictures??

You can't have pictures!

Oohh, this morning I was motivated enough to snap some pics of Miss A's Central Park Hoodie and the back and left front of the shawl collar jacket out of Shadow Tweed, now I can't find the camera cord!!
As the camera's battery cover is split in halves and the batteries come loose, now may be a good time to think about buying a new camera - especially if I can't find the cord.

Now that my last assignment for this semester at uni is now finished ( have to submit it for assessment this Friday, so tweaking time is there) and I have only one unit left for my Cert 3 in Disability Work (lecture this week) it is much easier to breathe now. Funny that.

Life does seem good at this moment. All the crap we went through seems to have paid off.
Ahh for some prime knitting time this week.

Quickie update

Long time no blog.
Just can't seem to do anything interesting to blog about.

Miss A's CP Hoody is now almost finished with just the seaming to be done. Stuffed up the grafting on the hood and was too lazy to ungraft it and am now sorry I didn't take the time to fix it up. It has a few dodgy stitches right on top of the head!

I've taken a liking to the new Paton's Shadow Tweed and bought a whole lot when it was on special last week. I am currently making the Shawl Collar Jacket in the brown colourway, I went nuts and bought all but the orangey red colour. This yarn reminds me of the Point 5 from Colinette, it is soft but not even firmly spun so I'm wondering how well it will wear.

Another problem is that I could not for the life of me get gauge. They want 14.5 sts with 6.5mm needles and I can't get close to that with 6mm or 5.5mm so I'm doing the smaller size and 14 sts / 10cm with 6mm needles. (got 14sts with the 5.5mm too and I'm not going smaller as it will then be a too firm a fabric which I don't like)
Does that mean that I need to go down a size more when knitting the ribbing?? Hmm, will it then throw out the collar (knitted separately and sewn on later)
They want 6.50mm stocking stitch and 5.5mm ribbing so if I'm knitting my stocking stitch on 6mm needles do I then go to 5mm needles on the rib? Decisions, decisions.....It is very nice to knit with though, lovely and soft.

The teacher that I work with asked me, "Do you knit fingerless gloves?". "Why yes, I do", I replied, knowing what was coming....yep some more Fetchings, again with that lovely black alpaca. These I will knit mainly at school and still have some 'me' knitting time at home.

Not very happy today as I am sick, hit me like a brick on Friday. One minute I was feeling fine, then sneezed and within 10 minutes - seriously that is how fast this thing came on, no warning or anything!! - I thought uh oh, am I coming down with something? Just suddenly had no energy, felt dizzy etc. So Saturday was spent on the lounge knitting and feeling miserable.

Oh, I also caved and ordered some Knit Picks Needles -finally. Blame that on the fever/ PMS/ medication........

Knitting

The CPHoodie's left front is done and attached to the back.
I attempted the 3 needle bind off and when I came to bind off the last stitch I realised that I hadn't bound off any stitches as I went along. (can't blame the pain meds 'cos I didn't have any :p ) So a quick unpicking and a re-knit and the shoulders were finally attached. I'm pleased with the results, however, when held up against Miss A the part at the shoulders is not very wide....hmmmm... I'm thinking it will be okay after the hood and the ribbing is added - fingers crossed! No pictures as I am not hobbling around looking for the camera.

My ankle is starting to go down finally and my toes are looking more normal, the bruising is still a deep purple colour which is fine 'cos purple is my favourite colour. I'm off crutches and hobbling slowly and I don't need the office chair for moving around either. Yesterday I made it outside, down the step and back up again a big achievement that one.

I have lots of reading and summarising to do for uni and one unit is due on Wednesday for my Cert 3 in Disability and I just don't wanna do anything. I have to push myself to knit too.

Mr Ex is coming for some of his stuff today (not specifically to see Miss A for Easter, but to get his stuff!) I need to cut some ties there, he is no longer welcome in the house as his nasty comments on what I have bought/not done/my attitude/etc are not good to hear each time he visits. He is not happy about not being able to come inside, but I have rights and choices too.
Time to let go for good - not of him because that happened a long time ago - but of the sadness and the future that was planned but is not there anymore.

Easier typed than done sometimes :)

...grumble...

I had a bit of an accident Monday night, I fell over in the backyard - tripped over my rainwater tank pipe and then fell into the hole where my fishpond/bathtub was. Luckily the bathtub had been removed and I fell on the soft?!? ground. When I looked at my foot my ankle was at a funny angle, oooh :0 I popped it back in and called for Miss A to bring the phone out. My dear neighbour and her husband were there within minutes, they helped me up and took me to the doctors, ran around looking for crutches for me and bandages and medication. I don't know what I would have done without them....probably just gone inside and gotten out the frozen peas.

Xrays show a small sliver of bone broken off but no fractures.
So now I have the rest of the week off as well as the Easter break to recover.

Crutches are a big ol PIA - the computer chair is so much easier. The pain medication makes me feel sick so I'm not having anymore of that in a hurry (the pain isn't too bad anyway)
I won't post pictures cos it's just gross looking at the moment.

Thought of a whole week of knitting time was dashed when the pain meds made me dizzy/queazy/sick etc, I still cannot sit up for very long, let alone do anything constructive.

In other news Mr Ex now has a new g/friend and is pushing Miss A to meet her! Not happy 'bout that. I was not allowed to have anymore children I would have dearly loved to have two and now he's shacked up with a woman who has 3 girls. She has/is clearing out her youngest daughter's room so that Miss A can share the room and have sleepovers. Over my dead body!!!

What is it that now he wants to have more contact with her now that he has a g/friend??
Am I wrong to think that when I look after her 3 daughters then she can have a go at looking after my daughter?? I do not want to become the single mother from Desperate Housewives...remember her? But now I understand her so much more.

What would you do??

Where Does The Time Go?

Well not much has been happening here lately just the same old work and study routine.

University studies are going very well and I'm even enjoying it. Got some credit for my previous studies and have been successful in applying for exemption to two assignments for one unit. Phew - that means less work.

Even been allowing myself time off for knitting. No pictures yet as it's just the CPHoody for Miss A and is growing slowly. I haven't had the urge to knit anything so haven't picked it up for weeks now but it is there and this week I've been knitting a little, even if it's just one row after I've read my papers, it's starting to entice me back. I'd forgotten how relaxing it is for me. if I put it off much longer Miss A will have grown out of the Hoody!

Really - not much happening = not much blogging.

I got in!

I applied to go to University a while back and last Wednesday I got the letter.
I have won a place at Charles Darwin University to study a Bachelor of Teaching.
I'll be doing it externally which means it is all either online or posted. Yippee!

I have a fantastic learning support network and organised a wonderful mentor.

How I am going to fit it all in is something I haven't figured out yet.

At least this means that I don't have to:

• Drop 2 - 3 days work/pay to physically attend Uni. I can keep us in the manner to which we have become accustomed (late night chocolate binges and Iced Coffee always in the fridge)
• Get someone to look after Miss A while I attend. (she can sit right next to me and bug me play on the old computer while I study - yeah we'll see how long that'll last ;)
• Worry about being back in time to pick up Miss A. (As usual she'll be with me 24/7......)
• Spend $$ getting to Uni and back. (helps to pay for the new computer)

It does mean that I won't have as much time to knit, so I better get cracking on Miss A's Central Park Hoody before she outgrows it.

And because it is going to be mostly online, I've invested in Broadband which should be here by next weekend I hope and a new computer. My old one is totally full and will not stand up to the rigours of late night, long hours of studying. Can you believe I am only getting on average around 32Kbps! Damn slow. At it's worst my broadband will be 64Kbps twice as fast, kewl. Oh and have 4 connections so that Miss A can access it at the same time, Neopets here she comes.

So this weekend was spent setting up the old computer for Miss A (she has to earn her computer time mwuahaha) and the new one for myself. Vista sure is purdy. Guess what was easier....

I had a good idea to update the old one to SP2, all well and good but the installation went awry and I ended up with the computer not recognising the modem! What! no internet for 2 days!!! I have just worked out what was wrong and fixed it, phew, that only took nearly 2 full days. A quick reinstall of the Operating System and a few tweaks...

I tried to install Internet Explorer 7 and that went belly up too I think it has something to do with Windows Update ( which also went belly up but is now fixed after having half a day spent on it) So I will try again now that the updating program is working. (something about not being able to connect to the internet to update itself - I hope......)

I have integrated my antivirus, firewall and anti spyware into Windows Live One Care, not linking cos I've spent too many hours at that bl**dy website searching it for fixes, and that seems to be going well. One subscription instead of two, and it was cheaper than one subscription on its own.

So hopefully in a few days I'll be able to report a full thumbs up on the computer system here at Chez Bankrupt.

Oh my stars

Now who says that the horoscopes are all generic and broad?

How about mine, dated the 9th (Friday) which I just saw today:

Remember that material possessions are just that - material. At some point in your life, you are either going to lose them, ruin then, or throw them away. The only question is when and how. Don't put yourself through unnecessary emotional turmoil over the loss or damage of something tangible. Attach yourself to people, rather than material things. Good friends and loyal family members will be there for you until the end.

Spooky huh?
Bearing in mind a few days before it did say that my luck was going to change. Yippee I thought until I realised that luck can also change from reasonably okay luck - and you don't know that that is your good luck - to bad luck and not always to really good luck.

That scarf has told me it wants to try and be a Grape Hyacinth scarf pfft! yeah right have you seen the pattern for that? I've had three goes at just the ribbing so far. But it is looking like it needs to be this scarf so I will keep trying.

Anyway now I am sick as well as Miss A, we have a burning need for groceries and I am not feeling very well which means I have to push myself to drive the car (shudders - when I think of the car I get this funny twitch..... ) to the nearest grocery store for milk, iced coffee and more chocolate and cheese and cat food and kitty litter and...............

Of scarves and things...

Recently finished the Stress Relief Scarf, this was a kit available in stores by Patons, if I remember correctly. It came with a circular needle, a sewing needle, instructions, yarn (Zhivago) and a nifty zippered bag. I have made several of these now and from different yarns. This one is Velveteen and it was a quick knit.



I have decided not to fringe this one.

I liked being in between projects, that delicious time of choosing what's next. Maybe some Karaoke, or that nice Alpaca from Bendigo, Noro, hmm what else is in the stash?

I thought that I'd try the Irish Hiking Scarf but as I only have one ball of the Bendy Alpaca, I left off a cable repeat so this one will only have two cables. i like my scarves narrow and long, I'll see how it goes and if it likes this or wants to be something else - I was thinking of Coronet.

So far it's okay.

Oh an update on my car....
the leak is indeed fixed - a simple sump plug problem, now the skeptic in me wants to know if it was this simple to fix all along or were there really mega buck leaks.....we willl never know.

A bit sad on Friday after work when I went to my car to find that the idiot next to me had opened his/her door onto my car and taken some lovely chunks right out of my driver's door!!
Hmmm, white on dark blue does stand out terribly. So this morning was spent finding some touch up paint.

Thanks to the wonderful guy at the crash repairs who colour matched and mixed up a jar of paint for me and then asked if I needed help to apply it. "That would be great," I replied "then I can see how to do it"

After doing the door he then proceeded to check the whole car and spent some time touching it up - the car - and as he did we chatted and I told him how much bad luck I was having with it. When it came time to pay he said not to worry about it and that maybe that would help to change my luck....wasn't that nice of him? Phew something nice for a change, now if I'd just been able to get his phone number.....

Miss A is sick this weekend so we are in for a real quiet time of knitting and dvd's in bed.

Turning UFOs into FOs

I don't know what it is but lately I have felt the need to complete some UFOs.
Fetching number 3 for me is finished.
Doll blanket number 1 is finished...can't remember where or what Doll Blanket number 2 is?
Here's the pictures:



Completed blanket



Blanket in use


Here is the reason Barbie and Ken were not happy last night:



Kitty (top observation deck) and Andy (penthouse) decided they needed a room for the night.


In other news, remember that I bought a smaller, newer, modern, sleek, fantastic car in December??

Yeah, well fantastic car has had an oil leak, so after taking it back to the car yard where I bought it for repairs and being fobbed off, told it was fixed, nope nothing wrong, etc - it was still leaking so I decided to take it to the local dealer for independent tests and repairs.

After the dealer having it for 2 and a half weeks I just got my little car back on Friday. So Miss A and I took it for a drive to the beach and got a celebratory icecream, ducked into Foodland for some tea and when I came back there was a stupid A**hole parked 2 inches - I kid you not 2 inches!!- from the back of my car!!! I just got in and forgot to take his number and forgot to check for dings thinking that no, nothing would be amiss (trusting soul aren't I)....

Next day I remembered to check....yep bumper was scratched and lower down has some scratches and a chip of paint taken out of the lower bumper.

Not to mention how pleased I was on Saturday morning to find out that the car was still leaking in the exact same spot and worse than when I took it in to be repaired!! AARGGHH!!!
2.5 weeks and $1800 later I am back to square one.

They had the engine, transmission, Air Conditioner, everything, all out - rear main seal they declared - big expensive job, so everything they did to it was unnecessary because it still leaks, I paid for work that didn't need to be done because it still leaks.

They will be getting a call from me come Monday morning!
Is there no one that can find and fix an oil leak?
Is it because I am a woman they think they don't really need to fix it?
Did they just overlook it? honest mistake?

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

I know it's just a car and worse thing are happening out there.
Mr Ex thinks this is funny and taunts me about it.
This is typical of my life anything can and does f*ck up like this. Constantly. I am tired of it. I want to cry. I can feel the depression monster stalking me so don't be surprised if I don't blog for a while.

Edited to add:
Okay I've had a bit of a cry and a lay down (and some chocolate ;) )and I am feeling a little better about the whole situation. Fingers crossed we can get it sorted out soon.

More Finished Objects!

Ripping out the first lot of Miss A's Fetching's was the way to go! These babies knit up extra quick - maybe due to the fact they are one repeat less and a larger yarn than I previously used. They have turned out slightly larger than the first ones.

I am itching to make another pair for myself as these are comfy. The first ones that I made for myself I didn't bind off loosely enough and it is slightly uncomfortable, but these ones....mmmm.

Yarn: Country Silk in Pink
Needles: Boye size 4 US


Another FO is this hideous scarf in something called 'Sparkle' - thin and nubbly and sparkly - I think came from Lincraft or Spotlight. I have had it on the needles for over a year and it is good to get rid of it. I asked Miss A if she'd like it and her face lit up she thinks it's great.



After rearranging my yarn stash I have found all my UFOs. The Vest with the yarn that made my fingers peel (as soon as I find it that is - it has some good circulars and a very nice stitch marker- can't for the life of me find the damn thing) and the Eyelet Baby Hat, that would fit an adult, have gone to the frogpond. Not too bad but I don't think I'm gonna finish the Mermaid toy from the 'Knit A Square Make A Toy' book or the family of guinea pigs Miss A wanted last year - I have the yarn for them though oh what was I thinking ?!?

Here's to knocking off some more UFOs hey?

Let the Renno's begin

While I am on holidays I have been taking the time to do some small repairs to the house.

Of course I only remember to take the 'before ' pictures afterwards! But not with the bathroom, I remembered so here are some before and after pics: Eww! yucky. Now bear
in mind that Mr Ex said it was too expensive to fix, can't be done etc and for less than $150 and a week and a half and much effort it is nearly completed.

I scraped out all the old grout, siliconed around the edges, re grouted, and waterproofed the shower.
The main thing was letting every step cure. Silicone needed to be left 72 hours, new grout 72 hours and 24 for the waterproofing. Can't wait till Saturday as the shower will be back in action yay! Bathing with a shower hose has been fun but give me back the shower!

I had to redo the bathroom because I had that part of the house restumped and lifted and

the consequences of that repair was lots of cracks to the tiles, tiles falling off and gaps in the corners of the walls. Not counting the gaps and broken tiles that were there already plus a leaking shower.
Such a blast doing this all by myself, oh but Miss A did bring me buckets of water on request for wiping the grout off. Who needs a man??

Here is a list of what I have done so far and a list of what needs doing, I am so proud that I did these things by myself (I am listing them because I need a record of what I have done because fixing a house up becomes so overwhelming and it feels good to look back on completed repairs) :
*Installed a doorbell

*Pantry cupboards - painted, reshelved, new door handles
*Re mortared the chimney - a lovely bricklayer did this for me

*Fixed leaky shower taps

*Backyard cleaned up, bathtub pond,orange tree and passionfruit vine removed - thanks to a great
friend and her husband who came down one day and backyard blitzed me

*Antenna - never had a proper working antenna and can now watch crystal clear crappy tv

*Laundry tap - fixed in 5 minutes after having no tap for the last 10 years, just a broken one

*Verticals in my knitting room - thanks Vista!

*Created a knitting room - see pics below

*Purchased two comfy recliners for knitting room

*Rainwater tanks fixed to stop leaks

*Checked smoke alarms - I have 11 foot ceilings and a heavy ladder, this was no easy feat!

*New outdoor setting all set up

*Bathroom regrouted, sealed and waterproofed

Here's my backyard...a bit of a blank canvas at the moment but plans for veggie growing and flowers abound. Oops probably shouldn't have emptied the grouting bucket right there. You should have seen it when it was an overgrown jungle, this pic makes it look good!

To Do List

-Clean the gutters

-Buy a lighter ladder

-Dig the garden and make a veggie patch

-mulch garden

-Rolladoor

-Replace bull nosed verandah

-Paint house inside and out

-Curtains for computer room

-New bathroom vanity

-Resilver bathroom mirrors

-Remove rubbish behind the shed

-New screen doors

-Restump other side of house

-Make a cat enclosure down the side of the house

Knitting Room

Here are some pics of where I sit and knit:

The recliners are covered in rugs because the cats like to climb up them and scratch them and I don't want them to. Therefore the cats are only allowed in the room when I am in there too.

Bookshelf with books

Yarn stash, yep this is all of it, all in the one place, so I can look at it and it can shame me into using it up.

Here's a pic of the completed Central Park Hoodie. Yarn: Bendigo 12ply Rustic in Damson

Miss A's CPHoodie now has a completed back. Yarn: Bendigo 12 ply Rustic in Pink Opal

Miss A's Fetching went to the frog pond and was restarted with 5 stitches less and on bigger needles and now it is way easier to knit. Yarn: Country Silk? in pink

Now I get to knit them while I wait for the grout to cure before being able to paint on the waterproofing at 9pm Thursday night (The sooner it goes on the sooner we can use the shower)

First FO of the year

Hopefully it won't be the only FO this year!

I have just finished the Central Park Hoody....not totally happy with it as it is a tad on the big side but it is perfect for wearing over a jumper :( Next one will be two sizes smaller I think, I wanted to wear it over a tshirt not a jumper as well, but it is nice and warm and was cozy at the park yesterday.

Had a family reunion picnic in the city where it was cold, windy and drizzly for a bit and the hoody kept me nice and warm.

Sorry no pics as yet. But trust me it is finished.

I have now started on Miss A's CPHoody in Pink Opal from Bendigo. As soon as she'd seen mine it was like "Make me one!"

What's that? Where's the afghan I just bought all that wool for....dunno....I cannot decide between a nice cabled, single stranded throw (dammit Jess ever since you sent me that link....) which would take me forever and I'd need to sit right next to the chart, or a double stranded, garter stitched, sewn up block version - which would be a quick knit, nice and thick.

So what sort of throw should I start? Thick 'n' easy or thin but cabled?? both?
I have selected a fawn coloured shade of the Cleckheaton Country and a matching flecked one as well which I was going to make the Lion Brand Winter Night Afghan.

Bearing in mind I wanted a throw for warmth and something to chuck over me when I feel like napping on the lounge. And the fact that I am a pretty slooow knitter oh and feel the cold hmmm...I thought the blocks would make a nice portable project but having now sewn up the hoody I am not really that keen on seams.

Bendigo's 12ply rustic would make a nice cabled throw, but I have the stuff to make the thicker one. That's why there is no afghan started at this house


New Years Resolutions:
1. To not eat so much chocolate -does not include the four chocolates I just ate for breakfast this morning.
2. To not purchase more yarn - does not include the Socks That Rock Club membership I just paid for and we will not mention the cost of this again or I will have to go into a whole 'nother post about why I signed up! Nor does it include the purchase of any yarn to make an afghan of some sort when a final decision is made.
3. To never let my backyard/frontyard/side of house become overgrown again - ever! Such a pain to have to wrangle into submission singlehandedly. I wish that I had remembered to take a photo of how bad it was but I think I am ashamed of how bad it was and don't want all of blogland to know.
4. To save money - for improvements on my house. Sadly neglected for years and I mean something like 15 years! Needs TLC (Truck Load of Cash)

Doing well so far aren't I?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope Father Christmas was kind to you.

So what have I been up to for the last few months!! Was it really back in October that I last posted something?!

Well for a quick update:

I sat the STAT (Special Tertiary Admissions Test) in the middle of November and achieved good results, so now just waiting for the round of offers from the Uni in January next year.

My home loan went through 2 weeks ago.

The Property Settlement has been finalised at last and Mr Ex is now out of the house. Everything now remains where I have put it and stays cleaner for longer. Miss A seems to be coping okay. She still gets to see him on occassion.

I had been spending an awful lot of time cleaning and tidying and sorting the place out - I now have a Knitting Room complete with 2 comfy recliners and in a few weeks there will be verticals on the windows so that we can sit out there at night time and noone can see in. Must get some pics up.

Hmm what else....

There's a mouse plague in my kitchen cupboards! Eww, so far we are tigers-2 mice -0. The battle continues.

Oh, renovations - I've had my chimney remortared by a lovely old man who climbed up on my roof - in 37 degree heat - supported only by the small planks that he fashioned into some sort of ladder. I didn't breathe until he left I thought for sure he would either fall off my roof ( see I said my roof- I own a home!!) or fall through my ceiling but he did a terriffic job and now it won't fall down anytime soon.

I fixed my pantry cupboards and gave them a coat of paint - forgot to take before pictures of both of these jobs duh!

The Central Park Hoody stands at a back, 2 fronts and 1 and 3/4 sleeves. I am not knitting anything else but this and still it is not growing. Ah hopefully now that I have 5 weeks holiday I can finish it shortly there is only one thing in the way -

you can't knit and drive at the same time -

I have just bought a new to me car, a really modern car which is soo different from the Kingswood ( read tank ) that I have been driving for the last 8 years. (Mr Ex is not happy with me ;) )
I will post a picture when I can but I my batteries are flat at the moment so when I charge them I'll try to restrict myself to one or two photos.

Have a great Christmas and don't drink too much eggnogg!

I have just been gifted with these.....

Wanna closer look?

A friend's mother cannot use them anymore and was giving them away and my dear friend thought of me.

I will certainly appreciate and use it. I have a had a bit of a play and have just about worked out how to use it. It's not that much different to my Ashford.

Now today was spent knitting and the shoulder bind offs on the Central Park Hoodie had to be ripped out several times before I could complete the last cable and bind it off right. Unfortunately when I got home and had the left front and the right front sitting together I saw that I didn't have a matching cable on the left front so had to rip out again the shoulder of the right front. Are you with me? I sat for ages binding it off so that the right had a cable on the very top when I later found out the left didn't have one?!

Sheesh, now having cast on for the sleeve, the rib is not as tight as I like it. I like my cuffs to sit around my wrists snuggly and not flop about. I'm thinking of casting on a tighter cuff and graphing up the increases and adjusting them so the sleeve cap will fit the armholes. That'll have to wait till tomorrow cos I have no graph paper. I will be soo glad when this hoody is finished.

My motto: Nothing is ever as easy as it seems.

Not another update?!

Ahh so much is happening here I have limited time to actually post. Feel free to skip straight to the knitting part.

Let's see...
The Centrelink issue is now done and dusted with a resolution in my favour, worth the fight I must say.

Mr Ex is dragging out the Property Settlement. He has has it for 8 weeks now and he and his lawyer are taking their sweet time contacting my lawyer. Funny that, he always insisted on a fast and amicable settlement when he is the one doing the stalling. Let me tell ya their are dirty little tricks happening here at home. He is getting really good at setting Miss A and me up. It took me a while to realise the extent of the set ups but he is good. Lots of things that he knows will upset me.
I'm sure I'll laugh about it later but man he is doing me in. Should be all over in 6 weeks but that's what I said 8 weeks ago. sigh

Preparation is going well for tertiary entry right on track there. STAT test is in 3 weeks.


Knitting Part
Been concentrating solely on the Central Park Hoodie, which had me stumped there this week. The 2 fronts are not going to line up perfectly they are 1 row out which won't be a problem. The cables will match though and that's the main thing right?. A quick call to Jess got things sorted and now I'm on my way.

Looking forward to an afternoon of knitting with Jess and Miss B today.

Giving up on knitting group today for several reasons:

One being that on such a great day it has been scheduled for the library cafe (our winter location) and I am getting tired of going there (overpriced food, mouldy cheesecakes and not much choice in the way of food) The ones that actually attend regularly are itching to get back to the gardens and the people making the decision don't always attend.

Two: most people cannot attend this week anyway and I'd probably end up sitting there on my own. Knitting in public is fine if you are not the only one.

Thirdly: Jess is still recovering so staying home will be good for her today.
Better run I need to go and have a shower,oh and must duck to the shops for cake.

Knitting goes so much better when there is chocolate cake don't you think?

Another Quick Update...

I am soo tired...
I have spent the day at a course to help me prepare for the STAT test (mature age entry for Uni) 7 no we finished an hour early, 6 no we had a half hour for lunch, okay 5 and a half hours of test questions.

My brain is busted.

Not much knitting has taken place here lately. The Central Park Hoodie has a back, a left front and half a right front. Each evening this week I have had good intentions of picking it up but have been side tracked by one thing or another (mainly going to bed really early - at 8pm!) It's been my first week back at work this week.

Going out for tea with friends and Miss A tonight and really looking forward to a Schnitzel Parmigiana yum, my fave! Luckily I don't have to work this Sunday so hopefully I can slot in some knitting, but I really have to get stuck into my Personal Competency Statement for Uni entry.

I got word last week that I have indeed passed my Cert 4 in ICT (hip, hip) and the Cert 4 in Business Admin has been finished too. I've signed up for a Cert 3 in Disability Work and can transfer credit across from the other two Certificates lessening my workload by 5 units out of 11. At least it has paid off completing them.

My to do list now stands at:

• Property settlement, going slowly but progress is being made there.
• Uni Personal Competency Statement.
• Maths for STAT course in a few weeks.
• Actual STAT test in a few weeks too.
• Cert 3 in Disability.

'Keep yourself unstressed' recommends the instructor...ha

Addressing comments

Thanks for the comments...I've decided in future to try to reply to the comments in a post otherwise they get lost after a few days and unless you go looking for a response (I do) it's difficult to find. And I know I get excited to get a reply to my comments.

2paw : Thank you, I'm so relieved that it ended up looking ok.

Jessica : Yes, I remembered the Yarn Harlot did a post about fixing cables with pictures that really scared me. And now I have one of my own, hee hee. Must admit I was shaking the whole time I was fixing it. (and not breathing much)

somebunnysloveDOTcom : Imagine doing that with LACE? uhuh, I can't even knit lace let alone rip it and fix it like that. shudders Although I am leaning towards lace in future projects....

Now after all that fixing I'm thinking that the size I chose may be a bit big - not by much but I'm thinking as a jacket it might be ok to knit it a tad smaller than a jumper.
It works out the same size as my favourite jumpers but as Jessica suggested jackets are open in the front ( yes it did need to be pointed out to me) and it'll gape anyway. So it will be bigger because of that openness.
No drama because I've only nearly completed the back and am quite ok with reknitting it.
It's hard to judge how it's going to turn out. Deep down I've had this inkling that I should be knitting the next size down.
Should I follow my intuition or keep going? I think I'll restart it, wool stretches so it should be no problem in a smaller size. That way it won't look like a dressing gown as I fear it'll end up.

I actually thought I was knitting the 44" size all along until I checked and found out this week that I was doing the 48" one. Don't know how that happened!