Farewell Post 2004

This is it my last post for 2004. I thought about reflecting on what a year it has been, but after watching a recap of this year earlier tonight, I'd rather not. This year I'm afraid has been a year of tragedy.

I've been sampling the cocktails, or more to the point shots. There have been two Jealousys, a Foggy Day and a Shooting Star (which is almost the same as a Foggy Day just bigger quantity. More is always better.). Then I had a Poison (it's one of those cool bluey green looking drinks), I love anything with pineapple juice in it. Yum!

And to top it all off I have made myself a Black Russian, I think one of my fave drinks of all time. I started drinking them just before my 21st I think it would have been. I was at a friend's 21st party and we were all having cocktails, mind you at the time there were only three guests game enough to try the Brain Tumour. I'd seen a picture of this drink previously so wasn't lining up, upon seeing what the first one looked like I think it put everybody else off. Ewww.

I'll call it quits here, I had intended to write this earlier. My dosen't time fly when your having a good time! Provided the world dosen't end, I'll do a first post for 2005. Stay tuned.

It's nearly a new year......

And of course that means more celebrations! I'm hunting for some yummy cocktail recipes - have to have something to serve up in my "special" glasses.

What's so special about them? There coloured plastic cocktail (margarita and martini) glasses which have a light in the base so they "glow in the dark". $2 bucks each.

But what can I say? Anything trashy, camp, kitcsh, or declasse has my name written on it. I'll post pics hopefully so you can see them in all their declasse glory.

I found a recipe online for Bailey's, until I get the recipe for the tried and tested one this will have to substitute.

And since I always talk about Matt Hardy, for your veiwing pleasure and so you can go "Oh, that's him...." Click Here.

Single and Looking v Single

After signing up for something recently I was intrigued by the question of Marital Status. I had a choice of Single or Single and looking.

Well, yes I am single and I am looking. Does it matter what I'm looking for? Because right now it's a Quarter Pounder without mustard, pickle and onion. Ten minutes from now it could be Matt Hardy (something much easier to obtain over the internet), or the next knitting project to make.

I've finally got around to downloading and reading the special mini-issue of Knitty as featured in their Fall issue. I am very keen to make the Boobie Scarf. Mainly because I'm addicted to scarves and secondly because the prospect of knitting a boobie scarf just amuses me to no end. The possibilites of KIP (Knitting In Public) are just too much with this project. No I don't have life.

After following a link from another blog (Yarnivourous I think) I discovered these over at Knitorius. Hmmm, Boobie Scarf, yes. These.....I'm not so sure about.

Stitch n' Bitch Nation appears to have reached our shores at last. I must go and look for it. If you follow this link here, you can see the pictures of the projects in this new book. I've seen some potentials already. What do I mean by some? My particular fave was the last photo in the gallery it looks like a 8-ball tea cosy. Now that would be a cool tea cosy.

I've been doing some "additions" to my blog or more to the sidebar. The knitting links are all still there, plus a few new ones thrown in. But before you get to all the wrestling links, I've included a new section that basically covers my other interests. Websites I like to visit and groups I'm part of, just to give you a little more of an idea what makes this knitter tick

On a final knitting note for today we go to a blog called Wendy Knits.
Why? Because apparently she is the mastermind behind the Bad-Ass Knitter I've come across just recently. You can find the Bad-Ass Knitters Manifesto here and while looking through the archives (July 2004) I see a Bad-Ass Kitty Manifesto was written. Being a cat owner I love it, but it kinda sounds like my cats already are.......

Blogs, Knit Alongs and Really Cool Patterns.

As some of you will have noticed, my list of favourite blogs has increased. These are only about a quarter of the ones I read, the ones listed here on my blog are the ones I try to check back to everytime I'm on. There's another umpteen dozen I try to pop back and check but not quite as regularly - not enough time!

Am I the only one addicted to knitting blogs? I love to see what other people are working on, what yarn their using and where the pattern came from. Unfortunatly this leaves me with not enough time because I keep finding things I want to make! But one of my new faves is Knitting Psychos.

I'm equally intrigued by Knit Alongs. I found a site featuring Knit Alongs for 2004 and it included a link to the site which is hosting the 2005 Knit Alongs. Where there many this year! I hope some of them continue on into next year becuase some of them sound quite cool. My personal fave, though I doubt I'd knit it - the Hello Kitty! Knit Along.

In the online magazines section, I have listed Spun which I heard about on one of my knitting lists. It's a new online magazine starting in Febuary. I can't wait to see what it is like!

Most of the yarn companys who have web pages usually provide free patterns of some sort for their yarns, I had almost given up hope that the (Australian) Patons website would ever get anyhting in their free pattern section. I checked back today and I presume they added the patterns just before Christmas. Not one, not two, but THREE Chritsmas tea cosy's. I know where I work we have a high turn-over in tea cosy's, particulary in the lead up to Christmas. But I think these would only suit someone who loves kitsch. If you know anyone who'd like one next Christmas or just to stare and think what the ......? Click here.

Something else I saw and had to investigate. Having made mittens, I'm contemplating making gloves. But I think I have found the perfect imbetween project. A Glitten - a glove crossed with a mitten. I love them they are so cool looking! You can find instructions here for them.

And last but not least, a new fave website. Jack Daniels, I so will be back. The concept of the virtual drink is just too much temptation. What has this got to do with knitting you ask? Nothing apart from the fact that I really love it and I really love knitting.

I Mock You With My Monkey Pants!

What can I say the early seasons of Buffy we're even funnier than I remember them being. But now Christmas is over, that means the Silly Season is over right?

NO! Today I bring you the weird, the wonderful and the down right wacky of the knitting world.

Lets start with this crazy fun gizmo shall we? How to convert your ordniary electric mixer into a yarn winder, you're dying to see it I know!

I think I may have featured this pattern before, but I love it so much let's bring it round again. I see New Year, New Project coming up! Mini Skull and Crossbones Tote.

A site I discovered and have come to love, most knitters are aware of Opal Sock Yarn. Here is a stack of patterns making stuff other than socks with it, my personal fave is the Choker.

And finally a knit-in I would love to have been part of - Stitch 'n Bitch with Bridget. Maybe I'll just have to put one together myself here Downunder.
 

So it's Christmas and what have you done?

I shall confess all, in the lead up to Christmas I didn't get anywhere near as much as I would have liked to get done. Not even any knitting.

Today's the day, come tommorrow it'll all be over. Have you all survived? I certainly have. I began to have doubts the week before last, but this last week I've been very comfortable with the idea of Christmas. Perhaps a little too comfortable because I struggled to get organised. Arrghhh!

My Christmas celebrations started on Tuesday when we had guests to dinner, they stayed on and we had more guests after dinner. Now my later guests I know LOVE Xmas pudding, so rather than eat it for dessest after dinner we kept it for later. This Xmas pudding, is made by me and my family (my sister and I this year) each year from our Great Grandmother's recipe. This is royalty of puddings and I say this having eaten a lot of other Xmas pudds over the years - all because I think I LOVE it. In truth I love ours, the only one I've tasted that is as good was one made by one of my mother's friends who we had shared our recipe with. This is not something we just hand out to anyone you have to understand!

Back to Tuesday night, for years I have wanted to flambe the pudding. Nobody has really been up for it, I remember once many, many years ago someone in the family tryng it and it was a bit of a fizzer. Nigella Lawson uses vodka for this procedure in her book Feast. Vodka apparently has more staying power than brandy. Translated - you get more flaming time. Now this being the first time round I have nothing to compare it to, but there was blue flames and they burned for quite some time. I was impressed, my guests I think we're impressed and perhaps slightly worried they mightn't get out alive.
I suppose this was the first time in 24 years they'd seen me with hot alcohol and matches in my hands at the same time. It was after midnight before I got to bed, I was left to be Cinderella and clean the kitchen up. Not a bad job, to the victor go the spoils. I finished off the last of the open cider and then drank the last of the champagne (an entire glass, to think it was just going down the sink! Waste of very nice champagne.).

Wednesday night we visited friends who have family visiting from England. I had coke and "a little something", it turned out to be a home-made Tia Maria. Divine! I will be asking for the recipe. Then later on I had a few (small) glasses of home-made Baileys. Also divine! Now this I have about half a dozen recipes for (which I keep meaning to try), but I think I will have to ask for this recipe as well.

Thursday I attempted to recover from two late nights of entertaining. I went to the supermarket and came out leaving my meat behind on the counter. Note to self drink less Baileys before shopping day. Better note to self, get someone else to do shopping and spend what would be shopping time at home enjoying Baileys.

Friday, Christmas Eve, I came home from work and decided that making sausage rolls wasn't likely to happen. What did happen was I had a few drinks (half a cider, half a Midori Splice and half of something begining with A that had Cointrou in it.), where would we be without RTD's? Put all the Xmas lights on and watched the Simpson's Christmas special on Ten, what fun that was! I'm serious it was.

That brings us to today, Christmas Day. I made Gingerbread Muffins (Feast) aka Christmas Morning Muffins (Nigella's Xmas Bites) this morning. They'll be a permanent fixture from now on. Did not much else apart from open presents, my sister gave me among other things the first half of Season Two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I love the early season's of that show, before it took itself too seriously.

Then we come to lunch. Turkey, ham, pasta salad, roast potato and sweet potato, cauliflower cheese and prawns with tequila mayonnaise. Somehow in the organisation we (my sister and I ) missed green vegetables. I think the trouble was we w're both meant to be buying stuff and we didn't co-ordinate very well.

We're going to have dessert now, I think there's room in the kitchen and in our stomaches now for it. Leftover plum pud and Massacre in a Snowstorm (Feast) aka Pomegranate Meringue Mountain (Nigella's Xmas Bites). Only we'll be using raspberrys.

I have enjoyed my Christmas lunch, so much so I'm looking forward to doing it next year.

Back to work I must go.

There is no getting away from it I must pick up the knitting and get back to work. I'm planning a quiet Friday night in, watch some tv and knit my heart out. Not that there's much on of late, but i am absolutely revited by a documentry made by the BBC that's currently being shown on SBS - Love for Sale.

I'm amazed by it, or more to the point, I'm amazed with how much people will pay the girls they are interveiwing. Don't they relise how much yarn that kind of money could buy?

Maybe they do, I wonder if any of them knit? But all this has got me to thinking. If I earnt that kind of money what would I spend it on? Aside from more yarn, more 4mm needles (I never have enough) and then I read about these earlier in the month over at Yarn Harlot and had to check them out for myself.

24K gold knitting needles. For the knitter who has everything and just won tattslotto. Santa I've been good!
Really good.

What was I thinking?

I know I was all for Christmas, with the lights, and the tree, and the decorations, and the food and the idea of a very good time.

But now I am having doubts. Let me put it this way.

Depression = Desperation = DVD's = Debt

Ah, yes the old vicious circle. But the less said there the better. But onto some good news, I was thrilled to discover I am listed on the blog list at The Spinning Goth. That has made my day! Maybe it's pure vanity, but I like to think someone really likes my blog that much.

The Spinning Goth is a real cool blog, Karen the blog writer describes herself as "an eldergoth (as in way too old to be interested in what I'm interested in). "
I've never heard of an eldergoth before, I will have to keep reading! Look for this blog to be added to my fave reads list very soon.

I have been very lax when it comes to my knitting of late, I hope once Christmas is over (let it be soon) I will be able to sit still long enough to enjoy it's soothing benefits.

13 days of Christmas

I can't believe it's now that close! Hands up who else isn't organised?

Since we're in the final countdown for Christmas I thought it aould be appropiate to have some Chrismassy links and ideas for you.

First off we have Sunbeam (the dried fruit company), some yummy cake recipes (choc, rum and apricot looks good) and a very cool Choc Fruit and Nut Tree. Yummo!

Second we have Nigella Lawson's site, I bought her new book Feast the other week. Just in time for Christmas, how well planned was that? So far everybody has been less enthusiastic about this recipe than I have, Sweet Potato's with Marshmallows. I think it was Woman's Day(?) who featured it in their Xmas lunch special last year or the year before? And it has since captivated my attention. And only mine.

What I'll be doing for Christmas lunch is still very much undetermined. I love my family, but I love them more when there far away and I don't have to contend with them. Does this make me Scrooge? An ogre? A really bad person? Of course not, I may be delusional but I am also liberated!
See life on the Darkside isn't all bad. Just a bit weird sometimes.

I know I need help but.....

What brand of yarn are you?

Trendsetters. You love odd, different, and
sometimes impractical things. But it's fun,
right?


What brand of yarn are you? (Knitting)
brought to you by Quizilla

There's no place like home!

It is good to be back! Yes, my technical troubles have been solved. And dear readers, I have mised you! Provided I still have you I hope you've missed my (I like to think) witty repartee about my knitting and the choas that goes on around it.

Od course now, I'm blogging again I really will have to make a concentrated effort to knit more.

In my last post I was talking about knitted decorations, I like the concept of knitted decorations because non-knitters are highly impressed because "you've made so much effort" and gift recipents are also impressed because it only has to come out once a year and if they hate it that's a good thing.

My naughty white cat (who is hearing challenged) dosen't get out much, he adores his toys, certain of my possessions and has a real passion for anything knitted. Especially small knitted things.

You can imagine how long knitted things stay on my tree. Although I have to admit he's getting better. He can get them off without knocking the tree over. But his particular fave decoration? A blue stocking. Of all of them this was the one he had to have the most. Somewhere since last Christmas it has vanished into thin air, or to that place your other sock goes. I guess I'll have to knit him another one.

Speaking of knitting for Christmas, I highly reccommend Neophyte Knitter. It's new on my to be read blogs list and while there I had to check this pattern out and it's given me cause for thought.

It's been too long!

First off, let me just say how good it is to be back in touch with the cyber world. I've made it to the end of the tunnel and found the light switch, albeit not unscathed. Someone always finds a stupid place to put a piece of furniture!

What does all this mean? Well, it means my dear readers, if there are any of you left, I will soon be back among you as my technical troubles will soon be over.

I'm hoping to add some pictures of my experiment with Biggy Print (this was a bargain buy from ebay).

Work has re-commenced on the Dr Who scarf for my sister. I know, I know, work is always recommencing on the scarf. But the end is near and I hope to have it finished soon. I know I say that alot as well, but this time it realy is near. Look for photos of that soon as well.

Yesterday was pudding making day. The Christmas puddings are made and are hanging to dry in readiness for consumption. I love pudding making day, we use my Great-Grandmother's recipe. It is by far the best pudding recipe out, no this is not just mere personal bias. People outside the family rave about it.

While on the subject of Christmas, I've been in the process of hunting down decorations or patterns for decorations that are easy to make. I figure it'll cover a host of "gifts" this silly season. Watch this space for progress!

I suppose I should be doing more knitting, sigh, these things always seem such a good idea to begin with!