Another day, another dollar not in my pocket.

I think my knitting mojo may be coming back, perhaps it regrows?

Last night I started a hat for the Guardian Angel to Mongolia program. It's a made up stripey beanie made out of Angora Supreme in a pale mauve and a (yech!) pale pink. It is going rather well, I am knitting it in the round to avoid that boogelly job known as sewing up.

Also after my shoulders started to ache I converted back to straight needles and the mystery chunky yarn and started a rib scarf for Dulaan. Originally the mystery yarn must have been in hanks, because some of it still is and some is half wound into an ball and all boogelly. I wound a smallish hank into a ball last night after I knitted up the oddment first and I am nearly out so will have to finish rolling the boogelly hank, why can't people at least finish what they've started before donating it away?

I have taken Cindy's advice and indulged in chocolate and cute wrestling men. I am very soon going to be the owner of the DVD of the first season of the Matt Hardy show.
Yes, he has his own show. How vain can he be thinking people might want to watch a show about him? About right on the money it would seem. Albeit mine comes via ebay as I have been in two minds about ordering it direct from him.
It can hardly disappoint I know since the world has already seen the public melt down followed by the premature mid-life crisis that resulted in the red corvette (ooo yes!) and the overinflated blonde (she left to go model in New York shortly after, actually she was an ex-girlfriend but it all ended when she took up with one of his firends, which incidentlly was what prompted the recent meltdown as the then girlfriend ran off with one of his friends as well. Hmmmmm? Could this be a sign?)

Back on track, I actually secured my copy on ebay, much to my surprise as given the early interest in it I never thought I'd win it. To date it's the first copy to come up since it's release, yes I know the fact that I have been lying in wait all this time for it, implies I need a life. The fact that I would want a reality showesqe dvd of someone else's life is probably indictive of the fact that I clearly need a life of my own.

But if I had one, I wouldn't have time to knit for Mongolia, read other people's blogs and generally keep adding to my list of things I am sooooo going to make!

Actually after all that editing and rearranging of my blog sidebar yesterday I needed another percentage bar for my Dulaan Cloud Hat. I suppose I really should add one for the made-up angora beanie and the mystery yarn scarf.

And because nobody loves me, and I'm all alone and my Matt Hardy DVD is away off getting to me, maybe the end of the week (maybe) I need to fill in time so I have been cruising the net working my way through Google. I love Google, I just think (insert anything at all here), type it in and away I go on my merry way through cyber space reading about (insert whatever topic you picked here), and learning many new and wonderful things.
Today from my educational foray I offer you these two hot links Emily the Strange and The Addams Family. Notice they both include links to further increase your brain knowledge by explaining about other things associated with them. I like Wikipedia almost as much as Google.

Until next time,
Suzi.
A bona fide redheaded freak and damn proud of it.

Yes, I can knit.

Yes, I could knit. But I awoke this morning with a splitting headache, where is Matt Hardy when you need him? He could have made me cups of tea and occupied the Daft white Cat who felt the need to go MEOW! at me all morning, what he wanted was apparently nothing.
I was as they say, thankful of small mercys as the DWC did not wail or worse scream at me this morning. Although he felt the need to scream at the front door last night, clearly it was doing something very, very wrong.

Mostly I have been looking at what other people have been knitting. And then I found the Department of Craft.
Ah, lots of fun and merging into that wonderful thing known as craftivism.
Then I found Skulls n Bats, how could I not go look with a name like that?

I have located some Angora Supreme in Moon (a relly bright blue), I have four balls so not enough to do the scarf for myself which I really wanted. I am going to do the smaller size for a girl and pack it off to Mongolia.
Consulting the Guardian Angel booklet I think I can scrounge up some stray balls and make a few striped hats. Some industrius people have started a jumper....

I also have some chunky yarn knocking about that I thought probably a ribbed scarf with, I know, I know, I hate rib! But I knitted myself a ribbed scarf in 12-ply in about 3 days. It should be (fingers crossed the curse dosen't strike again) be done in next to no time.

Until next time,
Suzi
A bona fide red head and damn proud of it.

Trials and Tribulations

I am a cursed sock knitter, I started my second Jaywalker with delight. Here I was actually knitting a second sock! But all did not go well, when I discovered I had inadvertently ended up with two too many stitches on each needle.

I put it to one side and finally started my first Feather and fan Sock, which was going absolutely brilliantly, and the pattern was beautiful! But I somehow ended up with way more stitches than I should have had. The curse strikes again.

I am afraid to knit anything now, and so decided to finish my Angora Supreme hooded scarf, it's only been waiting 2 years to be finished. And it is now on the home stretch, I am coming down the other side of tech scarf section. But I only seem to have one needle. Back on hold, also on hold the small sized one I was going to do for Mongolia as Dulaan will go for 2007 after all!

However, I did get a copy of the new Guardian Angel booklet today and figure I may as well attempt to make something by the end of August for them, as they are after all focusing on Mongolia this year!

Then temptation struck, a new MagKnits. I am quite enamored with Rufflette, the Market Bag and the vest.

But the question remains, do I dare knit anything at all? if so what? I fear anything that involves any lace, patterning of any sort and colour changes even if only stripes. Perhaps garter stitch in one colour? Maybe a scarf with no shaping or decreasing required?

Until next time,
Suzi
A scared red headed knitter and not afraid to hide!

It's Sunday, tomorrow then is Manic Monday...

After a lot of work that got accomplished at the market, I was able when I came home in the afternoon to finish knitting the second mitten before tea!

I am very pleased with how they came out, and even more so with how much yarn they used. I have at least half a ball of Patonyle left maybe a little less.

How many of you read the Sunday Tasmanian today? I didn't but my mother pointed out an article of interest to me and you can follow the link here.

Two words, dear readers. ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!
It's getting closer, one day I will open that pole dancing circus in Vegas or maybe I'll just take to the high seas as the all dancing all world ruling pirarte. Do you think it will matter I can't sing? Or act? Sailing on the seven seas I think will at least involve some singing and maybe the need to act brave?

Late last night I cast on my second Jaywalker. Yes, at long last I am managing to do seconds. First eh mitten, and now a sock. Only another two socks to go.

Until next time,
Suzi.
A bona fide red head and knitter who is completing pairs!

Decisions, decisions!

I'd like to offer up a thnakyou to Cathy for providing me with the corrections fro the Aran Earwarmer, it is now back underway and looking like th picture!

I have a hankering (hank! get it?) to make a project of the decade. ie something lacey and Oh My! So I have compiled a short list of possible candidates. The three catergories are Socks, Shawls/Wraps and finally Scarves.

Falling Leaves
Pomatomus
Straight Laced Socks
Happy Socks
Broadripple

Cobweb
Bloom
Ella
Leaves and Waves
Frilling
Shawl Trifecta - The Frozen Lake is my personal pick.
New Vintage Capelet

Ziggy
Branching Out

This is perhaps only the tip of the iceberg as far as potential patterns go, but I have to start compiling a list somewhere. As much as I'd like to do a wrap or shawl it would probably become a project of the centery and perhaps socks or a scarf would be better suited to a decade.
My dear readers, I'm willing to hear anybody's opinions/experiences with the above patterns or perhaps any other suggestions you can make. I do have a decade so there is plenty of time to choose!

Until next time,
Suzi
A bona fide red head who is making more UFO's as opposed to less and not to proud about it.

I haven't really progressed any furthur on the knit front since yesterday, so far today I have been to a Big Morning Tea and then to lunch with a friend and have only just got home to start rummaging through e-mail and checking in with my SNB KC contempories to see if we are onboard for this weekend for the market.

We are. And I am very excited, I like going to the market, knitting, talking, taling, talkng and of course knitting.

My new bamboo double points, actually have the sizes printed on in tiny print, in the case of the 2mm even tinier print!
Also added to my needle collection are two lovely wooden pairs of 10mm straights and a set of 4 metal double points, size so far unknown. To the needle gauge! Da da da duh da da...I picked them up in an op shop this afternoon, not much else on the knitting front in it apart form some odd metal straights and a number of plastic double point sets in varying colours.

The new Knitty surprises are up, and well, nothing excited me. The baby halter is cute but suited really for another climate altogether different to my own.

You may notice some changes to my blog sidebar, I will be doing a bit of blog maintenance ove rthe next week to make things a little more concise and elimnate a few dead links.

Until next time,
Suzi
A bona fide red head and damn proud of it.

Share and Tell

I am in a very generous mood today so I will share some of my likes and dislikes!

To start with, my long awaited bamboo double point sin sizes 2mm - 10mm arrived today, very thrilling! Then when I logged onto ebay tonight which I have been staying away from to leave feedback I discover that the seller of these nedles has slapped me with an item unpaid. I am far from impressed as I paird for this with Pay Pal and the Item paid column in the My Ebay description had a little symbol which meant my payment was being processed the lat time I was there. It is now showing up as paid and cleared through pay pal on ebay, pay pal indicates that this transaction has been paid and cleared, so I am not impressed.
And to top it off this very wonderful seller is now no longer registered!

I discovered my local Black Spot stocks circulars up to 10mm now, however their double points only go as far as 6mm. I wanted 10mm DP and circs, so I could finally start my knitting with fabric bag kit. Strangely at the time Black Spot were selling these they didn't have the needles suitable for knitting this project in the round as it was designed, namely 10mm.

My Aran earwarmer form the last, not the latest, Creative Knitting has annoyed me to no end. I have a twisty cable, where as the picture shows the design as being like inverted triangles. A twisted cable is not even close. I did see the latest Creative Knitting today, I probably should have picked it up and looked for corrections or an explination.
I also saw the new edition of Simply Knitting, I only picked up the last one yesterday. I am a little late with my knit mag purchasing, as I am as Arthur would say, a little short of the readys....I have become Terry.

Now that I have the Loopa edition of Simply Knitting, I won't be making a Loopa scarf anytime soon even though Cindy made a very nice one. As I need to fit learn to crochet into my schedule somewhere.

I collected my lay-by of two seasons of Charmed yesterday, my mother who was running my errends the day it got put away told me she had been unable to get Season2 and 3 as I had asked so had got me Seson's 3 and 4. When I collected it yesterday I discovered she had in fact got me Seasons 2 and 4.
I am quite pleased as I had wanted Season 2 as I got Season 1 fro Christmas last year. And Season 4 is the first season when Rose McGowan joined the series.

I do like Rose McGowan. There is something very elegant about her, and for a while there on Charmed she got very curvy by American tv show standerd. Where Alyssa Milano seems to have got thinner and thineer every season.....

While browsing Nocturnal Knit Witch I disocvered this Classic Pin-Up quiz and I had to try it.

What Classic Pin-Up Are You?

You're Bettie Page!
Take this quiz!








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Bettie Page? How cool! I love Bettie Page! I am thrilled that I got her.

The last two nights I have had Mushrooms on Toast from Nigella's Feast, very yummy! I have to buy more mushrooms and sour cream so I can go again on that stuff. I'm planning on trying the Bacon and Toamto Hash next, but first i have to whip up some soup. Both to eat now and to put in my freezer for later.

I'm off to to some more Charmed and hopefully some more work on my fingerless mitt, I have finished hte thumb so it is onwards and upwards with the hand section now. As it's knitted in the round I don't have to worry about sewing up, so it's partner may get started very soon after I finish it. Although if I could get he second Jaywalker underway I would also be well pleased.

Unitl next time,
Suzi
A bona fide red head and damn proud of it.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

Here is my first Jaywalker finished! And thanks to my time and money spent on being a Voguette, I discovered I could use a three needle bind off in place of a graft for the toe. This makes me a very, very happy woman indeed!
I abhorr sewing up and grafting is boogelly, but never again, all my socks (well top down) from now on will be finished with a three needle bind off!

Of course the second one has yet to be started, the only trouble with socks is once I've finished the first one, rather than knit the second matching one, I want to start a new different one.

I was very pleased with the result of how the Hot Sock's knitted up and as you can see my foot model and photographer's (budget restirctions you understand) pet also thought they were lovely and apparently tasty!

The next project on the needles is a pair of fingerless mittens from the now defunct Aussie online knit magazine Southern Cross Knitting.

I am knitting them up out of some Patonyle and if the pattern is to be believed, it will take only one ball to make one pair!

It remains to be seen if this is in fact true or not.

Also just started is the Aran Earwarmer from Creative Knitting Issue 15. The pattern so far has annoyed me, why they must write a note at the start to tell you to slip one and then write pattern instructions that do not include the slip one is beyond me.

i.e Cast on 14 stitches.

Note: The first stitch of every row must be slipped either knit or purwise.

Row 1 (RS): P3, K8, P3

Which if I am not mistaken equals 14. Now I may just be nit picking but a purl is not the same as a slip one purlwise.
How I think they should have written the pattern should have been to omit the Note and simply put the slip stitch in.
i.e Cast on 14
If they must have a note, something sensible like - Note: First stitch should be slipped purl wise or knitwise on appropiate side of work e.g purlwise on right and knit wise on wrong.
Row 1 (RS): Slip 1, P2, K8, P3

My personal opinion anyway.
Also in my personal opinion, this shrug is gorgeous! And it is going on my To Knit List.

I must get back to be a cranky old bag and knitting my mitten and seeing if one ball really does make a pair, unfortunatly on metal needles. Although I hope to get some more bamboo needles soon, I had a bit of a spend up the other week while I was still solvent part of which arrived the other day.

Until next time,
Suzi.
A bona fide red head and damn cold.

Ah me hearties, I am not hearty!

We had our SnB Knitting Coven yesterday, which was a little too exciting as I had to come home and go to bed I was so tired. And I didn't actually do anything, I was just sitting in my seat, my boogelly cold has given me a sore throat which makes have conversations longer then monosyllables difficult so I didin't even talk as much as I normally do.

I've got a boogelly bug that has made me sad and pathetic. As opposed to being just sad as a fan of Mrs Mac.

But part of the excitment came about with the arrival of some goodies from the Wool Shack that Cindy, Sharon and I went in jointly to order to combat the exorbant postage costs that charge.
I finally have my new K1 magazine with the pirate knitting and an interesting article on useful knitting phrases in foreign languages. I kept trying to recite Italian to my sister, unfortunatly my pronounciation leaves a lot to be desired and she had trouble identifying what I was on about at all. After looking at the article she was able to pronounce them for me and also the Japanese. It is very handy having a tri-lingual fmaily member.

After I had a bit of a lie down and rested my eyes, my mother rests her eyes alot, she is NOT, NOT I repeat asleep, just resting her eyes, I was able to finally have a knit with my new bamboo needles, I have started a Jaywalker sock for me out of some Hot Sock yarn, Four Seasons Print in a black, white and two shades of grey colourway and it is knitting up well. At least I think it looks good, I know looking at pictures socks others have picked don't do anything for me, but then they probably wouldn't like what I pick. It all works out in the end.

We had a new member at our meeting yesterday, Caroline, a very friendly lady. But we got to discussing knitting magazines, Caroline hasn't bought any of the recent offerings and wanted to know what we all bought and what was best.
Cindy and Sharon we're saying how they get Interweave and Vogue regulary, Cathy and Katt who sit at the other end of the table don't get Interweave or Vogue, I get them semi-regular depending on what's in them and how the budget looks however I am a devoted fan of Vogue's Knit 1 magazine which I don't think any one else gets.
Simply Knitting is another popular one, Cindy, Katt and I all get this one. Then there is Creative Knitting, which I nearly always get depending on what's in it but Cathy and Katt get this one regulary, Cindy and Sharon do also get this but I don't think all the time???
Sandra simply looks at mine and finds things for Margaret and I to knit for Christmas presents, Margaret however simply reads mine and frequently asks me to look for patterns in them for something she's planning to knit.

How much help we all were I am not certain, because I think our choices are based upon what we all most like to knit or do knit. Vogue and Interweave don't offer up as much choice for little people things as say Creative Knitting or even Simply Knitting, but they do offer more choice and sometimes a nicer variety of stuff for adults.
I think Vogue is the dividing line in our SNB, all the Vogue knitters sit at one end of the room and the non-Vogue knitters sit at the other.....Not that we're clique or ignore each other, far from it. But then it could be also the eccentrics sit together at one end and the not so eccentric sit at the other away from us?

Well, dear readers that's how I interperet it, but I would love to hear other people's ideas on what the best knitting magazines are.

Until next time,
Suzi
A bona fide red head who's sick and not happy at all.

Early Morning News Break

Cue music!

di di di di dint di di di dint!

Good morning. And welcome to this special early morning edition of the Darkside News. Today we bring you two stories of incredible knitters and their efforts to further the image of knitters.

First to the Sexy Knitters Club - their motto is to prove once and for all that knitting is not just for old ladies in rocking chairs. Quite right to! This is something Sharon is a firm believer in promoting as well.
(Alright so technically that makes three.)

Second we have the International League of Midnight Knitters, created by Two Pointy Sticks. This one comes quite close to home for me as I have been a sleepless in Launceston for far too long and often need something else to occupy myself with during the night hours. So much so I created a project and named it in honour of these hours I worked on it, the Insomniac Scarf. Which I probbaly should have been working on last week while I was up watching Buffy in the middle of the night.
Perfect to knit to is Buffy, with all those pointy sticks!

That's all we have for you today in this morning break. Join us for our next news break, whenever some news happens.

Thankyou and good morning.
Suzi

The quiz is hard? How can this be? I thought I was like an open book, that everybody knew everything at a glance.
Is it possible I have not shared enough?

Anyway, I am going to share some more now. Things I am loving at the moment.

Collecting good looking men - Now this is an ingenious concept. I like it. I like it a lot! Thanks to Ms Fortuknit for this inspiration.

Imaginary husbands - I am toying with the indecision of being Mrs Grissom or perhaps Mrs Angel, but this last one presents two problems as good Angel he's rather house broken but is inclined to slouch, as bad Angel he seems to find good posture and some very nice leather pants. Decisions, decisions! Thankyou Mrs Macgyver!

Drinking wine with friends - Mrs Macgyver is my saving grace, my mother always says to me "You shouldn't drink alone", well apart from the Daft White Cat most nights I only have the people on the tv or my collection of daddy long legs (this fluctuates as the DWC seems to think that they are something to eat).
Now I have a new plan, I shall ring a friend. Preferably also a wine drinking one....Katt will have to become a Merlot swigger with me.

Who is the wonderful Mrs Macgyver and where has she been all this time? She is a friend (possibly) of Cindy's. And the only conclusion I can draw from this is that Cindy seems to keep some strange company, I will have to discuss this with her when I see her at Knitting Coven tomorrow.

Anyway darlings, Patsy and Edie are calling, I do believe it's champers time!
Suzi.

I'm baaaaaaccccckkkkk!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I have returned. It is unsurprisingly, rather dark here on the Darkside.

I have been cxaught by a number of bugs one of which is the quiz, the other is somehting boogelly that has me laid low waiting for Death or Godo, whatever comes first.


There is more to blog about, the conclusion to the yoghurt experiment, what I have been doing that has left me no time to myself. And all manner of other odd things that go on around me weaving the tapestry that is my life.

Suzi.

Documenting an Experiment

For posterity's sake, and as a possibly handy not what to do for anybody else remotely intrested in yogurt making I write these step-by-step instructions.

1. Buy EasiYo maker from op shop - DO NOT be deterred by lack of jar.
2. Assure mother you are not mad and that supermarkets as well as stocking the maker kits, sachets of mixes also carry extra jars you can purchase seperatly.
3. Search two supermarkets and find nothing but kit and sachets.
4. Search a K-Mart and find no EasiYo at all.
5. Get highly annoyed as shops are now making you look like a liar and mother is giving you doubting looks.
6. Assure mother that in your jar collection at home you have just the right size jar, and also point out that before yoghurt makers were invented people had to make yoghurt in jars wrapped up in blankets, so of course it will work.
7. Come home and find just the right sized jar, put it in yogurt maker, reenact a scene from Frankenstein only instead of "It's alive! It's alive!" you shout "It fits! It fits!" before holding the jar triumphantly aloft.
8. The only audience for your stunning reenactment is the Daft White Cat who has not noticed any of this great artistic performance and is now staring at you with the "You stupid woman!" look.
9. Wash jar throughly and zap in microwave so you can honestly tell mother you sterilsed jar. All the while debating why nobody appreciates your true genius.
10. Before CSI, boil kettle, while kettle is boiling make up the powdered milk recipe for yoghurt. Add just boiled water to yogurt maker, place jar with shoogled ingredints into maker, put lid on and go away to watch CSI.
11. After CSI log onto blog and write specific case notes on your experiment so far and google yogurt making for more advice and ideas.
12. Start debating about if you want to make Kurma's panir.....

Until next time,
Suzi
A bona fide red head and dman proud of it.

*****Note: A big thankyou to Cindy for her advice on yogurt making!

Via Con Dios Casa

Welcome! Welcome dear readers to my casa!

There is a lot of domesticity going on today in my humble casa. I am going to be whipping up some muesli later this afternoon (from Nigella's Feast). It's actually very low effort, unlike her recipe for Granola which had almost twice as many ingredients and required a tad more effort.

Nigella writes making her own muesli makes her feel like she is living in the 1960's, throwing pottery and writing political diatribes. Mostly it makes me feel like a long haired leaping hippie and that I might on some level be making something remotly good for me.

I can not stop marveling at the world wide web and all the information you can find, useful and sometimes not so useful. But while poking about one of my new fave haunts trying to locate the post about Granola, which I did find and you can check it out here. It seems a little less effort than Nigella's, so after I have mastered muesli - i.e become a Muesli Master I shall have to move on to become a Granola General.

Anyway what I found on the way to the Granola was Ghetto Cocktails, now I can not pass up anything that offers cocktails. The offering that most captivated my attention was the White Trash Marguerita made with Corona. I am a huge fan of Marguerita's, the tequila aside I just enjoy sucking the salt off the rim of the glass. Yum!

Back to the plans at hand, aside from the muesli, also this afternoon I am going to attempt a batch of crumpets. Yeast cookery dosen't frighten me, I not only enjoy it but find it incredibly easy. Pastry making scares me however, so I always rely on prebought.

Around all this, I have been charged with the job of knitting a cosy for my mother's new mobile phone. Her old one some how died, my father who had the same model may also be in need of a new phone as his hasn't died yet but it's on the way out. I don't think he'll want a cosy some how though. Which suits me fine as I can devote my time to knitting something for me or possibly for the Mongolians.

And guess who's joined the land of Bloggers? Are you brave enough to enter the Stash Alone?????

Until next time,
Suzi.
A bona fide red head who loves cooking and is damn proud of it.

What a wicked web we crawl when we plan to seek!

It's always exciting I think when someone new leaves you a comment, because then that's someone else's blog to have a look at. And of course the potential of even more new blogs and other exciting sites that they like to visit...

Well I'm very pleased Ms Fortuknit left a comment, because I got to check out her cool blog. Loved it! And thanks to her discovered such gems as Knit It Black - another excellent blog that shall go on my regular read list.
The second find was the most incredible treasure of all, Punk Rock Domestics. I can't believe it's only now I discover this!
It's coolness aside, I include the link for PRD here mainly for if I am MIA for a number of days you'll know why and where to find me.

While cruising PRD, I was poking about he links section to see what else I could find. And I have two words for you! SKULL NEEDLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh and the book looks pretty cool as well.

On the homefront I started to organise the ironing baskets, I've actually managed to elimante a few things form them. Namely towels, so rather than ironing baskets they were more like baskets of washing that didn't get sorted straight away. I've got it all neatly stacked in two baskets waiting for me to get to work on it. I think Friday afternoon will become Ironing day.
Of course the flat stuff like table cloths, tea towels and pillow cases will get done first. Purely because they are so easy, and you can accumalate a pile of nicely ironed items very quickly which makes it look like you have been sooooo domestic.

That's my winning tip, take it, leave it or use it.

Until next time,
Suzi
A bona fide red head who does actually like ironing. Usually.

Lookie! Lookie! Again!

We had SNB today, and after much talking and knitting. Cindy was telling me the new Anti-Craft was up. Yeah!

What particulary interested me was this hat. Also being a bit of a freak about asparagus, I couldn't resist the recipes for it!

Cindy was also telling us about a motorcycle cosy. Motorcycle alone would captivate my attention! Cindy has very helpfully left me a comment with a link to it. I highly reccomend once you've looked and admired, you follow the link to the embroided tattoos.Very cool!

I have given myself a goal and reward. If I can finish something, anything, although preferably one of my UFO's, I will buy myself the yarn needed to make the yoga mat bag from Stitch N' Bitch Nation.

And what is the yoga mat bag for? Well to put a yoga mat in! Yes, I'm hoping to get back into yoga. Still the mind and quiet the soul. I never previously took classes, just practised at home with a video tape (does anybody else remember those days?). With a bit of practice at home, maybe a class, I will have to see what they offer at the gym.

In closing, apparently one of my felow bloggers feared for her mother's safety, what I meant and clearly I didn't make this clear enough wasn't that I was going to beat her mother, but rather I was offering her the tag if she was interested and her mother didn't beat me to offering it to her.
I swear on my buried treasure, I would never have threatened anyone's mother.

Until next time,
Suzi
A bona fide red head who's been put in her place.

Lookie! Lookie!

It's a new magknits, and i am very enamoured with the lace wrap.

Fickle Finger of Fate

Moved slowly across the blog land and stopped and pointed at.....ME? Yes, Katt has tagged me to do a meme thingo.

Actually I'm quite excited, as I was actually going to write a post along these lines of what I wanted to acheive goal wise since I am having my Lucy Jordan/Shirley Valentine quarter life crisis. I caught some legal program late the other night, starring good old William Shatner who has aged not all that gracefully - good on him! He plays a lawyer Denny(?) Crane. And he was saying to one of the younger lawyers "It's fun being me, is it fun being you?"


Seven Things To Do Before I Die:
1. Become a pirate!
2. Las Vegas Baby! (As Elvis sang if I only had 24 hours to live, I'd want to live it here!)
3. Own a Harley Davidson.
4. Body Sculpting - we're talking muscle tone not invisible suitcases.
5. Learn to be a pole dancer. (30/4 Added Note: I refer not to getting naked and making fauz love to a pole but rather fully clothed acrobatics that require you to be able to comfortably support your own body weight with one arm.)
6. See the Rolling Stones live in concert before they die, if it's at all possible they could go before me!
7. Meet Matt Hardy.

Seven Things I Cannot Do:
1. Be normal.
And these are more like can't do yet.
2. Drive.
3. Do pilates.
4. Do yoga.
5. Finish knitting projects in a timely fashion.
6. Wear less black.
7.Marry Johnny Depp (alright so this may actually be a never like number one.)

Seven Things That Attract Me To My Man Pirates:
I don't have one, so I am changing it to something I want.
1. Rum. But why is Rum gone?
2. Johnny Depp
3. Keith Richards
4. Treasure!
5. Jolly Roger
6. The hats.
7. Have ship, will travel, adventure!

Seven Books I Love:
1. Soul Music by Terry Pratchett
2. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
3. All Nigella's cookbooks - a must at bedtime
4. Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
5. Bubbles series by Sarah Stromyer
6. Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich
7. Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett

Seven Things I Say:
1. Excellent!
2. Woman.
3. You daft creature! (This usually follows the sound of something being knocked over.)
4. You're in my way!
5. Boogelly (Thankyou Cindy!)
6. Where is ............? (This is uaually said to the DWC, he never answers)
7. Would you like a bag? (No more! No more! I'm leaving to be a pirate)

Seven Movies I've Loved :
1. Rocky Horror Picture Show
2. Banger Sisters
3. Showgirls
4. Fifth Element
5. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
6. Any of the Rock's movies bar Doom (can you believe their trying to flog it with Serenity?)
7. Romancing the Stone

Seven lovely ladies I'm gonna tag: Alright I am going to offer this oppotunity to the following and leave it up to them to decide if they want to take it up.

Metal and Knit (now you've commented there is no escaping me!)
Msfortutknit (aonther new one!
Amanda (it's been awhile!)
Karen (it's also been awhile!)
Roberta (don't know you well, but I'm hoping to!)
That Knitting Chick (another I don't know well yet)
Little Purl (unless her mother beats me)

This is all very optional and I will not be offended and I promise I won't make anybody who doesn't want to pick this tag up walk the plank. Pirates honour.

A Trifecta Tribute

At the age of 37 she realised she'd never ride through Paris in a sports car with the warm wind in her hair.
- Ballad of Lucy Jordan, Marianne Faithfull

I owe a lot to my heros, they inspire to me to do greater things. Today I offer thanks to the Lucy Jordans, the Shirley Valentines and the inimitable Cindy who even in a futuristic dictorial world with uniform clones, would still be an individual and also single-handly organise a revolution to bring down the forces of might!

Courtesy of Cindy I present a portion of the letter of resignation I wish had handed in.

As such, I have decided to become a professional pirate. It has always been a dream of mine to live the life of a swashbuckling corsair, beholden to none and master of all I survey. Once my crew of unabashed rogues is assembled, we shall take to the capacious expanse of the high seas to pursue fortune, fame, and hair-raising adventure.

Our path may not be filled with the porcine comforts and technological marvels that ****** provides, but we shall nonetheless move forward to carve a name for ourselves in the annals of bold insurgency and death-defying derring-do. Once I have a keen blade at my hip and the Jolly Roger is flapping high above me, I believe I will find my true calling.

Please note that I am currently accepting applications for First Officer, if any of you are at all interested in applying. I will provide a full medical and dental plan, which will offer immediate coverage of all maladies other than scurvy and the occasional bout of rickets.

Sincerely

Jolly Suzi Tar

Couldn't have put it better myself. Thankyou ladies! I salute you all.

Suzi.
A bona fide red head pirete and very, very happy about it!

You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

But you can it seems teach an old knitter new tricks, thanks to Little Purl I have now got a very cool Skull and Crossbones cursor as some of you will have noticed!

Another new addition to the blog, everywhere I go I have seen these trackers that people are using for their weight loss.. I don't own a set of scales, so I have no idea how much I weigh and probably am glad of it. However closer investigation reveas that they have an Excersice and Fitness tracker. This is what I need something that will publicly shame me to getting back into the gym.




However in my defense, it may have been late last year since I set foot in the place but I am still able to fit into size 20 stuff - none of this elastic waist either, I'm talking fitted bands.
When I started I was in size 26 and well, they just fitted. I was a heifer no doubt about it.

Anyway I must get off and do some work. I have some cooking to do for tomorrow for a lunch I am going to. Then some cookign for myself for lunch, I bought the tomato and chilli pickle Cindy told us all about and am planningon tryign it out for lunch in a toasted cheese sandwich.

Until next time,
Suzi.
A bona fide chilli loving red head and dman proud of it.

As Bad As I Wanna Be!

A Diva like you can do what others say can't be done. - Daily Fortune, Bratz.com.

It all started when I saw the Pirate Bratz or as they are more correctly called Bratz Treasures. Then I saw the punk looking ones and I was even furthur enamoured.



Now my fate has finally been sealed, I now own a piece of Bratz merchandise. I am the very proud owner of a Bratz shopping bag. Unfortunatly I don't have a picture so you will have to try select Coles Supermarkets to see it, unless you were at the market with me last Saturday. In which case you will have already participated in the excitement with me.

It's all going to be down hill from here.

But I did find this article and it's the closing in it that makes me smile, very appropiate. But when I was young what I really wanted and never got was a He-Man, you know good old He-Man and the Masters of the Universe! I'm still a little disappointed about that.

Until next time,
Suzi
A bona fide Bratz-lovin red head and damn proud of it.

New Simply Knitting?

I got the new Simply Knitting today, at least I think it's new. It's the one with the stitch markers, I thought we were a month behind but are we in fact two?

Anyway some nice designs, some of the colours did nothing for me. That pink and green number, I don't know if I like it or hate it.

I went op shopping with my fellow SnBer Sandra this afternoon, we picked up two pairs of Clover needles (some sort of wood, maybe bamboo?), a pair of the Casein ones Sandra likes, two pairs of Pony Pearls, a couple of pairs of the old Beehive pearly type needles, an even older pair of 5mm, a crochet hook and what I believe is a cable needle (it's like a really short double point). How much did this full on bounty cost us?

$1.60

I kid you not, that included two pairs of Pony Pearls! These are my fave type of needle to work with but buying them now sees me forking out usually more than $6. They seem to have gone up since I first started buying them, well it was at least 3 years ago. Sandra was very pleased with her Casein ones, 4mm at that as well. There not cheap to buy either now.

However the wool front was disappointing, bags of mixed oddments and nothing under $6. I've got nothing against oddments, my stash is made up of other peope's oddments, scraps and leftovers. Sandra has been having a wonderful time knitting oddments up into hats and scarves ready to send to Mongolia.
Had they put the contents of two bags in one bag and been selling it for $6, I probably would have given it some serious consideration.

The pulse warmer from MagKnits, well my first fair isle and I mucked about changing my technique three times in the space of one design, so it's a little on the tight side. But on the upside I know now what not to do.

Having finished that I was restless to start something else, admitedly I probably shoudl have finished something else. But I wanted new! And exciting! I've started a wrap out of some blue fluffy stuff with a hint of sparkle through it. If it is what the packet says - wool/mohiar/nylon mix I think it is it should be quite nice.

Until next time,
Suzi.
A bona fide cold redhead and damn unhappy about it.

With all the rain today was perfect weather for knitting. The Dulaan Cloud Hat is a little furthur on, my hot water bottle cover now has a complete front. I need to search the stash for some suitable yarn to make a back for it. I wasn't certain what the yarn I was using was but comparing it to something similar in my stash with it's bands I think what I have used is none other than Cleckheaton Country Naturals 8-ply. I suspected it was a wool blend. I've got the magic touch! I can identify Unidentified Yarn at a mere touch of my fingertips!
It's also a possible this was a lucky break. Certain wools and cerain acrylics have a definate feel so you can tell them instantly.

I discovered tonight while trying to start Zombies Need Not Apply from the new MagKnits that when I printed the pattern I was missing a certain portion from the very far right side of the page. I thought it would be something like the ends of words or maybe a word or two. But in some cases it was the whole part of the sentance! I'm not quite sure how the computer processed it to print it but the layout is the same it's just the instructions have been altered slightly.
However when the pulse warmers get underway it will be a different colour scheme. Instead of black/grey/white, I am going with a black/purple/white. Making it a bit girly without going in for bows.

I have my fellow SnB covener Cindy to thank for directing me to a new site - For The Love of Yarn. I have fallen in love already with the Peace Jacket. It appeals to the tree-hugging hippie in me.

Until next time,
Suzi.
A bona fide hippie red head and damn proud of it.

Blast from the Past

Well today, dear readers is a slightly better day.

When in doubt, especially in the cold, it's time to dig out the old comforts. A bit of Nigella, Rosella tomato soup, ye olde wrestling (it's from 95 and that's what? 11 years ago? I was a fan then. Now I'm showing my age), then I start to Google to find out what happened to one of the female wrestlers from yesteryear - Bull Nakano. Who it turns out has lost half her weight and become a pro golfer. As you do. As opposed to Alundra Blaze/Medusa who had her implants taken out and became a monster truck driver. As you do.

Anyway back to the point at hand or the picture to the left to be exact. Back from the days when Rock was a form of music and not a wrestler turned actor (not that I'm complaining), when men had big hair and wore make-up and were still men. I give you, Bret Michaels! Lead singer of Poison. Yes, I know now I really am showing my age!


Furthur clues? Let's see Back to the Future movies, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the original Batman movie with Michael Keaton, dig a bit deeper and I offer you the A-Team and the undoubtable Mr T, Short Circuit and Benji! And now for the final nail in my coffin (won't be long I'll be popping off from old age) how can I not mention He-Man, Voltron and Transformers - the first time round as I realise they've come back a number of times.

Not hard to guess what era I am a child from is it now? I count myself fortunate I wasn't a child of the era that had Power Rangers. EWWWWW!

An action and adventure girl I am, preferably with pirates. Speaking of pirates, I still haven't sourced the new Knit 1 locally. I'm thinking of ordering from the Woolshack as I want some bamboo double points, another thing impossible to source locally.

Happy Easter!
Suzi.
A bona fide old and cold red head and not happy about it.

I hate the World!

It has just been one of those weeks, I can not wait for it to be over. I am just about ready to quit my job. Tonight is a full moon but I think the lead up to it also has an effect on people. Anything that can go wrong has, anybody who could possibly have a gripe has, and of course who could forget the vague requests or the requests for the impossible!

All I want to do is a Bernard from Black Books and suddenly decide to close the shop and chase customers out.

Since Sunday I have been hard at work making a cover for my new hottie. Can you believe after all this time and excruciating pain in my shoulders, I am finally just centimeters away from shaping the top? And changing down to smaller needles! Arrghh!

I have finished a mitten for a Toddler out of 12-ply, once I make the other half they will be ready to send away to Mongolia. The pattern calls for you to cast off the mitten and then sew it up. Which annoyed me, so I've decided to put the yarn through the last stitches and then sew it up. Less actual sewing.

Also on the needles currently is a partially finished (or partially deformed?) GLOVE OF DOOM! It is a meglomanic glove who plans to bring the knitting world down by devouring all the nice feeling yarn and leaving only boogelly feeling yarn. Because of this I plan to call it Vince.

Having said that I know Katt is the only one who will get it.

Tonight I am checking my pantry to see what I do and don't have. I am planning on making some Hot Cross Buns this year, only this year I actually will. Im going to use Nigella's recipe because it seems relativly simple - one of the things I love about Nigella's recipes is it's very hard to go wrong. And also because you can make it the night before and put it in the fridge to prove overnight. All you do in the morning is get it out and let it come up to room temp (shouldn't be long in this weather, if it's at all possible the fridge may be warmer), pop them in the oven and before you know it. Fresh Hot Cross Buns!

I'm not normally a huge fan of religious holidays, but I can't resist Easter with all it's Pagen pagentry. The equal-armed (or Equinox) cross, the eggs, rabbits and new chicks. And I suppose what I like about it is it's true to form in that nothing is ever really new new, it's something old coming back as something slightly different.

Until next time,
Suzi,
A bona fide chocaholic redhead and damn proud of it.

Not Happy Jan

I had nearly finsihed writing a post and then all of a sudden. Poof! Gone jsut like that.

Grr Arrghh! I'm now in more of a mood than I was before.

Ahhh, something not new!

We all like to think we're unique until someone tells us were different.
- ?????????????

You Are a Bright Star Soul

Like a shining star, you have no trouble being the center of attention In fact, you often feel a bit hurt when all eyes aren't on you You need to be number one in everything, no matter how trivial And it's this ego that both hurts your confidence and helps you acheive You're dramatic and a powerhouse of pure energy You posess a divine quality or uniqueness that's hard to define A natural performer, it's likely you'll become famous in some circles. Just learn not to take everyone's reaction to you so personally! Souls you are most compatible with: Newborn Soul and Prophet Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

I get weird a lot. I can't possible begin to imagine why?
Suzi.
A redheaded grade B weirdo and damn proud of it.

Do you knit dead people?

Well do you? I mean who knows out there in blogger land what you all are knitting and not letting on about. But i have to thank Margaret for sending me this link.

Dawn of the Knitted Dead, Day of the Knitted Dead and Shaun of the Knitted Dead. I can't help but admire the time and imagination, let alone the skill to knit somethign like this up. I am in awe!

Suzi.
An awed red head and and damn proud of it.

Big Day Out Tomorrow

It all happens tomorrow, my local SNB is having a stall at a new market opening up in home town.

I'm on first thing in the morning as part of the set-up crew. I'm not sure how well this will go as usually I am a bit of a cavewoman first thing in the morning. I have hair that looks like it was last modeled on the Wildman of Borneo and mostly I grunt and growl. The daft white car looks on, thinking ??????? Who knows what. I'm not even certain what goes in that mad catty brain, if anything.
Then I get out of bed.

Usually taming the savage beast first off involves caffeine, sugar or a combination of both. The DWC is content to cavort through the house while trying to trip me up, I swear he's in the coffee before I even get up or he's a morning person rein-CAT-nated. My only gripe here is, if he is indeed in the coffee, why can't he make me one?

However the ever competent Sharon will be there first up to marshall my fellow SNB'er Sandra and myself into line at the market. Later in the morning my fellow cavewoman and SNB'er Katt will arrive after her husband has got her out of her cave and into the car. Usually assisted by a cattle prod and long pole (to push the coffee close without getting too close).

I'm looking forward to Katt's arrival because I am sure we will see much cavewoman hijinks ensue. Wearing of tea cosies upon the head, chasing people with sharp pointy sticks, ensnaring possible husbands with scarves and of course the compulsory celebratory hooting upon finding a caffeine source.

Ahhh, I can see it now. David Attenbourgh presents a documentary on Cavewomen in their chosen habitat.
"Fear not market goers! At the prospect of a sale these Cavewomen can not only be civilised but polite. We will approach now carefully so as not to startle them.....Hello! I am after a knit beanie for my next documentry to filmed somewhere cold."

Until next time,
Suzi.
A bona fide red headed cavewoman and damn mad about it!

Sock Festival in all it's glory.

Today I attended the 1st Westbury World Sock Festival. I was a bit taken aback to discover that there was a $10 admission - I presume this is based on the St Patrick's Day Festival they run over three days. But had I known in advance I may have thought twice about going.

The socks were varied and interesting, not as many as I expected. I thought it would be a lot bigger with more knit related stalls and displays.

My fellow SNB'ers Cathy and Cindy won prizes for the socks they entered, Katt and Sharon's were also proudly on display. There are some pictures of all the socks over at the SNB website.

Below is some pictures of my sister and my socks getting out and about with other socks. Where will the frivolity end?

I did purchase some lovely Hot Socks wool in a grey/white/black blend. $5.00 for a 50gm ball. However they also had Hot Socks in 100gm balls which they wanted $20 for! I also got to finally see the Sirdar Yo Yo yarn up close, if your not familiar with this it comes in one big ball (about 400gms) supposedly with enough to make a sweater with out joining in lots of little balls. Not a bad idea, if only more yarn companys could come up with ideas like this.

There are no pictures, which I now regret, but there was a Giant pumpkin competion. They were massive! I don't imagine they would all be that nice to eat. As traditionally the very large pumpkins were grown as cattle feed.

Until next time,
Suzi.
A bona fide red headed sock knitter and damn proud if it!

Margaret's sock (left) and my sock (right) mingling with the other socks at Westbury. Note my fellow SNB'ers Katt and Sharon's socks in the background.

The sock wool Margaret and I bought from a stall at the Westbury Sock Festival.

It's been awhile my friends.

Well, have you ever had one of those days where you wake up and just hate everything? I've been having one of those days all week.

And to top it all off, MSN is now behaving badly on me. Grrr arrghh!

And do you know what happens tomorrow? A local election! Who are these people that make these decisions? It's my right to vote and have a say. Fair enough, we are after all supposedly a democracy. But surely then I should have the right not to vote? All politicians annoy me, I'll be glad when tommorrow is over there will be no advertising bombardment coming from all directions.

It's all too much for me, I must go now, in search of my next sugar fix.

Until next time,
Suzi.
An annoyed bona fide red head.

Surprise!

They're finally up and I rather like the jacket, don't know I would wear it though....

What am I on about you ask? New Knitty Surprises of course!

New Knitter On the Block!

How very exciting is this? A new knitter from here in Tasmania! And you know what else is exciting? She made the Alien Illusion scarf as well. And it looks super cool!

Most of you will have no doubt seen the pucture of the very cool Skully kniting tote the very clever Cindy made for me, if not scroll down and admire because it is beautiful! Unfortunatly now it is beautiful and hairy, the Daft White Cat felt the need to drag it all over my bed in the early hours of yesterday morning and jump on it and me. I don't know what came over him, but he got a lecture and now I have to hide Skully when I go to bed. No more can I leave it on my bedside table so I can decide during the night to simply pick up where I left off.
I even had a little re-opening ceremony when I came home with it Tuesday, mostly so I could unwrap it and be excited again and he didn't seem at all interested.
Wretched cat!

In all my excitement the other day I forgot to take a picture of my sock, I am now doing the Dublin Bay after 3 attempts at Sharon's lovely feather and fan socks I failed miserably. I am it appears the Inspector Cleauseu of knitting. Swine sock!

But at least I have not tarnished Team Angstlyvania's good name by being too much of a success.

Until next time, be most excellent to one another!
Suzi.
A bona fide red head and damn proud of it!

This my new new precious! This is one of the fabulous Cindy's creations! I've told her she should submit this design to the AntiCraft. Now everyone at SNB has one of these most excellent little bags and they are all very nice but mine is by far the most coolest! And that's not personal bias simply because it's mine or it has a skull & crossbones - it just is sooooo coooool!

This is my mother's new knitting bag compliments of Cindy! Sharon was the first to be gifted with one of these wonderful creations - but for all we know she may use hers to carry her Merlot around in.

The Hat Song!

I do like your hat!
She does like your hat!
I do like your hat!
She does like your hat!
Your hat! Your hat! Your HAAAAAATTTTT!

Now I can't name the tune, but it has men in top hats with canes singing the backing and dancing. You know the one I mean?

Ah Ha!

9/2/06 A quick update I have been answering the questions, I hope you are all reading! Just a few remaining....what will they reveal?

Sharon has asked of me questions, which I will answer.

But not all just yet! And I will be answering them in RANDOM order!

Here's to the questions! I will let you all ponder what NEW and AMAZING things you will find out about me. Exciting or what?

Four Jobs You've Had in Your Life:
1. Student?
2. Sales Assistant
3. Future Possibilitys? Bar Wenching!
4. And possibly more bar wenching? Or owning a yarn store with a bar? Knitting bars became very fashionable in America just recently.

Four Movies You've Watched Over and Over:
1. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
2. Showgirls (I read in the Sunday paper the other week a full page article how this now a cult classic!
3. Elvira: Mistress of the Dark
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (The original movie before the tv series.)

Four Places You Have Lived:
1. Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
2. Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
3.
4.

Four Places You Have Been on Vacation:
1. All over Tasmania (Australia)
2. On mainland Australia I have seen Melbourne and Sydney.
3. Singapore
4. Scotland

Four Websites You Visit Daily:
1. Mine!
2. My e-mail.
3. My fellow SNB'ers - I have to see what they are doing be it planning to take over the world or making hats that make me want to sing! (Cathy, Cindy, Katt and Sharon)
4. Assorted knitting sites - blogs, stores, mags and knit alongs.

Four of Your Favorite Foods:
1. Pizza!
2. Coffee
3. Carrot Cake
4. Chocolate

Four Places You Would Rather Be Right Now:
1.
2.
3.
4.


Four Bloggers You are Tagging:
1.
2.
3.
4.

So many socks and so little time!

I've been sorting my sock wool out and decided the Opal Lollipop (Turqouises) that I started I will now take back and re-start as the Cable Rib Socks that appeared in the latest Creative Knitting.

That still leaves me two balls of Regia and a sparkly Opal. I am thinking about Jaywalker from MagKnits, Broadripple or Falling Leaves both from Knitty or even the Dublin Bay Socks from Mossy Cottage Knits.

While on decision making for new projects, I wasn't going to, but I am now after noticing Team Angstylvania to take on the Knitting Olympics 2006 challenge.
I notice some very industrious people are using this time to knit more for Dulaan, I think I will how ever concentrate on doing something for myself during this time.

The incredible ankle sock saga has not finished - this is purely out of my own despair to finish the foot part now would put me in the position to pick up all the stitches required for the band and then for the roll top. I have come up with a plan where by I put it aside in favour of working with older socks yet to be knitted up, I feel by the time that they are done it will be cool enough for me to cope with the mammoth task of picking up stitches.

While looking to see what others are knitting I have stumbled upon this most excellent pattern! Pirate Mittens! And available from the same source We Call Them Pirates!

I think that is more than enough excitement for one day, so I shall end here my dear readers.
Until next time,
Suzi.
A bona fide skull loving red head and damn proud of it!

Sock yarn anyone?

With all the heat yesterday I forgot to tell you about an blah American soap about teenagers I watched yesterday morning, see what the heat has reduced me to?

One of the boys wanted to see his girlfriend and her band perfoem at this club but he wasn't old enough so his friend assures him he'll take care of it.
They go to a yarn store and this boy's friend says to the woman behind the counter "Can you hook my friend up with some Regia sock yarn?"
Which is code for can you get my friend a fake id?

Who would have thought it possible that a yarn store could be such a den of inequity! Which makes me wonder what my LYS does to really make money!
They have "knitters"signing on to do "work" for them, perhaps an escort service? Gun running? An illegal terrorist cell? The mind boggles at the possibilities!

Until next time,
Suzi.
A bona fide red head and damn hot!

Another hot one.....

Too hot!

I have soothed myself with some of Stone's (of the Green Ginger Wine fame) Ginger Beer nicely chilled and Bill Bailey's stage performance Part Troll.

Which I must confess was hilarious! I know him only as Manny from Balck Books so was dubious as to what he would be like on stage. He was an absolute scream! My favourite part was his version of the Hokey Pokey done in German to some techno-house music.

Although his mini film at the end of the show was almost as equally as amusing, he had said earlier in his show how he likes to look at his washing up under water. He does this by going to his fridge and removing all the fruit and veg from the clear vegatable crisper and then putting it into the sink and looking through it - as he mimed this he's looking in it and pointing at things and smoking.

As well as seeing all this in the film from the view point of the bottom of the sink we also saw him getting the munchies!

I'm highly intrigued, why I have I never thought of this? All those times when I've been driven mad by the heat and too hot and mad to want to do anything challenging.

My sock thanks to the ever capable Cindy (again) has progressed on, I think Cindy the pattern has passed all the boogelly bits and looks as though it will be clear knitting up ahead but if the stitches all add up when I get there is yet to be seen.

Until next time,
Suzi.
A bona fide red head and damn proud of it.

Arrghh!

Alright I think I may have made a blunder, I don't have a lot of time to rectify it tonight, but to all my fellow SNB'ers, I will see you tomorrow. And please disregard the 2005 I meant 2006....

Ladies, Gentlemen and Spiny Headed Yellow Things!

I have been Missing Without Action for a little while now and I will be back to my usual broadcast very soon. But this is just a quick note, anybody who is waiting to hear from me, I will get to you all very soon!

Until then be excellent to one another!
Suzi.
A bona fide too hot too frazzled and ready to move to the artic redhead.

Breaking NEW!

I think I am a little late reading my e-mail aout the new MagKnits.
But I think I am less late with my e-mail about Southern Cross Knitting - and when they said Mini Issue they meant Mini Issue!

I'm melting! I'm melting!

Well it certainly feels like it, and the puddle of liquid that constantly surrounds me has given me a clue as well.

The very lovely Cindy lent me her new Vogue magazine to have a look at after last weeks SNB meet-up. She also helped me with the sock from the first issue of Yarn magazine, the short ankle sock. I have come to the conclusion from trying to turn the heel that it's no longer just me and an inabiltiy to understand the patten. I think it may be the pattern. In the end all the sock was doing was making me cross so it has gone to one side to be taken to next weeks SNB meet-up to seek answers from those more in the know.

Also a hat I started out of Patons Inca, (lovely stuff to work with I might add!) made to an old Husky pattern has came to a halt after I had to take back the 7th row and take it back and ...... Upu get the picture I'm sure, I lost a few stitches but recaptured them and proceded onto the 8th row and discovered I had indeed lost tow stitches altogether. They've run almost down to the bottom of the hat, I fear I will have to rip the whole hat back (again) so I have put it to one side to take to SNB. Nothing like putting off the inevitable.

Back to Vogue, I was so in love with most of the designs this time around a very good issue that I decided to buy my very own copy and while in doing that tonight I discovered the thrid issue of Vogue's Knit 1 was out!
It has some very nice hat patterns, also a very lovely (but knit on tiny 2.5mm needles - arrgh!) corset top. However the down side - it is Vogue so there is goign to be some absolute clunker and this time around it was a strapless knit dress with argyle pattern. I think the style is very nice, but maybe in a solid colour?

There was also a picture of a knitted faux bear skin rug! This has to be my fave pattern in the magazine, strictly speaking it's only a picture in the magazine you have to log on to Knit 1's website for the pattern to make it.
While logged on you may like to check out the new Knit 1 blog - it has pictures of some of the patterns completed by knitters from out in the real world.

Sharp eyed readers while veiwing the preview of the next Knit 1 magazine due out may spot something very near to my heart!

Until next time,
Suzi.
A bona fide red head and damn proud of it.

What else can go wrong?

It has just been one of those weeks, everything that can, has!

This includes some absolute winners in the knitting department. There will be more details, provided my post dosen't get eaten again.

Suzi.

Longing for a Sea Change!

After a wonderful week away where I thought about nothing and did not much more than that aside from some knitting!

I've made it to halfway thorugh the hood on my hooded scarf with pockets - unfortuantly I don't have a picture yet so you will all just have to imagine what it looks like. Which I'm sure will be more excting than what it actually does look like at the moment.

I won't to go back, I got so much knitting done. So much staring at the ocean view done. So much more knitting. So much more staring at the view.........

Then it's back to reality at my house, with the daft white cat and housework I ignored since I was going away. I don't know who's reality this is, it can't be mine, I wouldn't be living in this house and I wouldn't have housewk to do, ever. Unfortunatly for the Daft White Cat I think he will be stuck with me, his Ab Fab mummy, in all realitys.

I'm hoping to get to Knits, Needles and Wool, my local (This shop is for locals! Are you a local?) yarn store and get some bamboo double point needles. I'm dying to knit on a pair, and I thought the ankle socks as featured in the first issue of Yarn would be a good opportunity.
I have some yarn I could use, I found it in the wardrobe. I also found myself and the DWC in there but no doorway to an alternate reality. Highly disappointing.

Tomorrow is my SNb meet-up, which I am organising. No, really I am. Don't you just love holidays? I saw the "Grandma" of our group today and she remembered without me reminding her.

Until next time,
Suzi
A bona fide red head and damn proud of it.

Lang may your lum reek!

I have to thank Cindy for pointing me in the direction of this very fabulous article on New Years Eve - Hogmanay in Scotland.

My father hails from Auld Reekie and has memories of First Footing.
Courtesy of Rampant Scotland :-
"First footing" (that is, the "first foot" in the house after midnight) is still common in Scotland. To ensure good luck for the house, the first foot should be male, dark (believed to be a throwback to the Viking days when blond strangers arriving on your doorstep meant trouble) and should bring symbolic coal, shortbread, salt, black bun and whisky. These days, however, whisky and perhaps shortbread are the only items still prevalent (and available).
According to my father first footing in his young day meant visiting all your friends and neighbours and having a drink and there were people who kept going around for days after the New Year first footing....Talk about chancers!

The reference to someone dark and the old superstition regarding blondes harking back to the Vikings raises a rather interesting point. At one point researches thought the key to red hair lay in a combination of a mixture of dark and light haired parents. Could this explain all those hats touted in tourist shops? A tartan concoction with a fringe of red hair? Could this also explain red heads legendary tempers? Could the Vikings a group of people depicted as war like invaders be the cause behind the rage? But then the early Scots whose roots lie in the Celtic people certainly wern't shy about coming forward, after all the Romans in the end thought life would be easier to deal with the Northaners if they built a wall and kept them out of England.

Another interesting point the article mentioned was the fact that until the 1950's, Christmas was banned in Scotland. It has something to do with the Protesent's seeing it as too "Catholic". My Grandmother who was originaly from England went to live in Scotland after she married my Grandfather and when she first moved up she was shocked that there was no Christmas! I have to admit I find it hard to comprehend when she told the story and since my father has since told it.

Enough food for thought tonight I think, I have a date with the Edinbourgh Tattoo and a piece of shortbread. Which brings one last point I have to raise, watching the Australian Tattoo they talked about why it was called a Tattoo (something I myself have wondered), it stems back to the 1800's and the drum beat that signified to pub land lords they must turn off the beer taps and soldiers to return to their barracks.

Learn something everyday!
Suzi.
A boan fide war like red head and damn perplexed by it.

Happy New Year One and All!

Well dear readers it's offical 2006 has started and so far the world hasn't ended.

If anybody made it to Aurora Stadium tonight I would love to hear about it I didn't make it myself and am very disappointed. Also anybody who's been to the Taste in Hobart, maybe next year for me.

Speaking of next year I'm already making notes to myself, if staying in find someone worth staying in with. Not that the complete season 3 of CSI isn't good enough - that is after all a lot of Grissom. But he's hardly going to see the New Year in with me and a bottle of bubbly. Furthur note to self, start saving now and you may be able to have a magnum of Krug for New Year 2008.

Also I received in my Inbox tonight an e-mail from Spun magazine. The new issue is up at last! Yeah!

Ona final note anybody First Footing tonight, don't forget something black!

It's his first Christmas and possibly last...we'll have to see how he behaves!

The newest addition to the family and full on time waster.

So much time, so little to drink!

Or should that be so much to drink and so little time?

Another fabulous afternoon of sampling, today was wines followed by a port and a cognac. I didn't mind the Cognac, the port I could have left as I could have done with most of the white wines. We only tried two reds and only one of them was remotely drinkable. At least I think so.

After all that excitement we had to practice opening wine bottles with the Waiter's Friend. Fool of a thing! is all I shall say on that experience.

This was followed by what was supposed to be non-dairy based mocktails. Inevitably some booze ended up in some of the drinks. Surprise surprise!
While they were few and far between, the non-alcoholic ones that were made mostly seemed to end up down the sink, I'm not talking about the remains of a drink here - were talking nearly full glasses.
I suspect it had a lot to do with people were just making stuff up, I don't think anyone really thought out what they were doing. And as for the Midori and cranberry juuice concoction, I wasn't surprised it ended up down the sink.

I made a good old stand-by the Cinderella Mocktail after flipping through the recipes supplied and not seeing it or anything like it I figured I might be able to pull some credit for something that might be "original"!

But instead of mixing the first ingredients and topping with lemonade I decided to go down the built road. I picked a hurricane glass, my personal fave glass. Added some ice, poured some pineapple juice over it, added some orange juice slightly less than the pine and then what was meant to be a dash of grenadine become more like three and promptly sank to the bottom of the glass - I wasn't expecting that! But it did as it settled make a real cool kind of "blush" at the bottom of the glass. I topped it up with lemonade which made this cool clear layer at the top and the juices sort of intermingled in the middle to make a yellow-orange colour.
Compleatly by accident I ended up with something absolutly fabulous darling!

While out doing some last minute shopping this morning I picked up the latest Simply Knitting and the new Yarn magazine.
I bought Creative Knitting the other day and I am a little annoyed it was wrapped in plastic because I couldn't see what was in it before I bought but having looked at it since it's better than last month's which I didn't buy at all.
Back to SK and Yarn, I was hoping to read them tonight after I got in from class but it looks as though my mother failed to drop them in with the rest of my shopping.

All good things come to those who wait I suppose, at least I have the newsletter from Janet Evanovich to peruse tonight, not quite as exciting or as much reading...

Until next time,
KNIT ON!

Welcome to RSG!

RSG for those of you not familiar is Responsible Service of Gambling something similar to RSA but still a whole different set of rules.

That's what I had the priveledge of doing tonight, I nearly didn't get there as I was going to trail back down all the stairs to see if I had perhaps ended up in the wrong place (which I hadn't but more on that later).

I couldn't see anybody from my class, it looked to be a whole different class so I had a minor crisis, only minor. And while starting back down the stairs I met some of my class who were all headed up so I followed back up - if I am going to barge into the worng class I'd rather not do it alone. Safety in numbers and all that jazz.
I can only presume for some reason best known to the powers to be that they would combine 2 (possibly 3?) classes together for this. The end result was total choas!

It wasn't a boring subject as I had first thought and turned out to be rather interesting but it was very hard to concentrate, most of them clearly thought this was some kind of social occasion and talked, rattled papers and generally fidgeted.

Edit: There was more here about knitting, but the daft white cat has struck again and is about to be struck!

It is, after all, Christmas I suppose....

You Are Vixen

Sexy and sultry, you're the one all the other reindeer dream about. Why You're Naughty: That fur pulling spat you got into with Dancer over Santa. Why You're Nice: Because even when you're nice, you're still delightfully naughty!

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

Day Three Bar Wenching - all is not as it seems!

I am very disappointed to report Bar Wenching is not all I hoped for.

It does I agree Cindy, imply an olde worlde, bawdy songs and those huge tankards!

I suspect under the current laws governening Responsible Service of Alcohol, Food Hygeine and OH & S I'm not gonna find it - locally anyway.
Day Three has seen us trudge up many stairs and through much theory and paperwork. Another words in theory and with Monoply money I can serve customers, handle cash and work out bassic Foreign Exchange transactions.

But this afternoon we started to move into the world of the practical with how you set up a bar and a demonstration of the various methods of cocktail making such as build, layer, muddle, shake and stir. Although after we do Responsible Serving of Alcohol we find out the legalities behind the layered drinks. Can you or can't you? That is the question!

Did anybody else watch Grumpy Old Women on Christmas on Monday night? I know my father did and he was disappointed because it wasn't as funny as the Grumpy Old Men at Christmas. Which I have to agree with him about, but it was very true in otherways or at least I thought so. I am however disappointed that the GOW didn't seem to have as much of an aversion to Xmas cards as the GOM did. I absolutley loathe the wretched things.

I must dash my dear readers and see if I can put to use some of my ill bought liquer choices - these are not so much as declasse but criminally insane. Consequentially I have a big collection and not all of it will mix - well I could mix it but......I'm sure you understand.

Until next time,
Suzi.
A bona fide grumpy redheaded wench and damn proud of it.

Christmas is coming!

I absolutley hate Christmas!

This may come as a surprise to those who know me and my obsession for all things Christmas (I secured more Christmas movies the other day!)

Mostly my obsession stems from for Christmas in the vain hope that I will actually get a cool present, something I actually asked for as opposed to those things people think you will like. Soemtimes I wonder just who they were buying for.

My Christmas request if Santa is reading goes something like this:
1. Black clothing - plain black with no print or patterns preferably! Trying to buy plain black skirts is a nightmare!
2. You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover - so I'm going to watch the DVD (hopefully) and pass judgement. Here's my pick!
3. A Christmas alone! Contrary to popular myth this is not a bad a thing. Some of us just have no patience for all the crap associated with sitting round and making polite conversation with people we see once a year. Especially when I haven't done anything different to last year, had I, they all would have heard about it a lot sooner.
4. The RIGHT to say Bah Humbug! Why must we all like Christmas? Having just read The Secret Life of Santa Claus by Jackie French I think the Feast of Saturnalia is a lot more fun. It's all about eating, drinking and orgy's which is far more interesting than church services and other people's children.
5. If I had a dollar for all the Merry Christmas! I keep hearing I would buy my own private island and ban Christmas!

Bah humbug till next time,
Suzi Scrooge.

New! New! New!

I got an e-mail in my InBox last week, letting me know the new MagKnits was up. However while I have noticed my button for Knitty has updated I still haven't had the e-mail telling me it's updated? Where is it?

I also see the Yarn magazine print issue is out! Has anyone got a copy yet? I am going to start haunting newsagents from tomorrow.

Greetings and Salutations!

Did anybody else indulge in a fun filled Christmas extravaganza tonight?

I am of course referring to the Myth Busters Christmas Special and Grumpy Old Men on Christmas. The last one I missed the end of due to my Mother ringing me up. But my father apparently was taping it so I hope to catch a replay.

I am very thrilled having seen the Grumpy Old Men I am not the only one who dosen't like Christmas. I look forward to the Grumpy Old Women on Christmas, I could do a whole episode on that. A Grumpy Old Woman on Christmas.

But on more exciting news and it kinda has to do with Christmas, by Christmas with any luck I will be a fully qualified bar wench complete with the much talked about Responsible Serving of Alcohol certification.
Hmmm, me responsibly serve alcohol? Well I do when it's mine, but that's only beacuse I'm not big on sharing. The more they drink the less there is for me!

While this decison hasn't gone down well at work, well it's not real work it has made my Job Enforcer happy. It's made me slightly happy and also slightly guilty. Bailing on work at Christmas, but I'm going to get behind a bar! How cool is that?

There is a new additiion to the family, it's only a matter of time till this new addition comes to live with me having been catnapped, Ash is quite happy to get into my handbag - all by himself I might add. I'm just biding my time.

I hope to have a pictur of the former ankle biter soon - my ankles no longer pose any interest but they do however still bear the scars. Clearly adaft white cat in the making....

Until next time,
Suzi.
A bona fide cat loving redhead and damn proud of it.