School's Out!

Well not exactly summer, maybe winter, and technically there is still exams, but I am taking a couple of days to decompress, which are very very badly needed.
I'm just a teeny tiny bit stressed and crabby, but the final assignment went in today so I can breathe a sigh of relief for the time being.

The second arm warmer is knitting up quicker than the first, I think because I have the pattern still etched in my brain. After this those leg warmers are going to fly by! Yeah! Then I can plot what to make next and buy some suitable yarn for it, double yeah!

Having seen the new issue of Family Circle I am in love with a chunky yarn rug, just the sort of thing I need now the weather is getting cooler and I have more evenings free to watch late TV! Or simply re-watch Bill Bailey DVD's. Miss Stash can't get over how often I can quite happily sit through these even though I've seen them a thousand times.
Well what can I say? It makes me laugh everytime, it's never not funny. Which is I think is a really wonderful thing.
And I am also really inspired by the Owl Song, especially as just before seeing it I spied an Owl-omtery someone had made. Very cool! I love owls they are such beautiful birds.

I anticipate to get most of the second armwarmer done tonight, just make myself at home in a comfy chair and get stuck in.

I find myself with just 2 weeks of classes left at school which includes 3 tests and 1 massive project!
Then the joy of study week, the blasted Economics exam would fall on the very first day of the exam period, fortunately not till the afternoon, if it had been 8am I don't think I would have coped at all.

I caught some of Insiders on ABC, and how scary is this, I actually knew what they where on about when they had a chart on screen talking about deficit and GDP. I can't believe I know that! Or that I can actually relate it to something in Real Life. Weird.

Writing a blog post is just another attempt to put off studying for Economics, I really don't like Economics. I'll be glad when it's all over, however I would have liked the exam to be on the very last day giving me a bit more time to revise.

On the other hand Bus Info Systems is shaping up to be my star subject, Distinction on my first assignment and then a High Distinction on my first test! I've got one test and the big project to go (and no exam another reason I love it!) so I'd like to give it more time to keep my good streak going.
I've unofficially decided (as my mind never seems to stay made up)to stay for an extra year and squeeze in a second degree, probably no surprises here, computing. Alas I fear (or should I say know) for a degree in computing at some point there is programming. Yuck.

My life at the moment is a major explosion of recipes and knitting patterns, possibly as I subconsciously seek to occupy myself with things other than school work. We had Curry in a Hurry the other day, every time I eat it I can't wait to eat it again. So nice, I'd also like to do the Irish Cream Tiramisu again.
Since I am kind of in the mood for something sweet, Instant Chocolate Mousse or the Holiday Hot Cake with Eggnog Cream would also be nice. I love steamed puddings haven't had one in years, and I just so happen to have a bottle of Advocaat lurking about in my cupboard. A lot of obscure liqueurs lurk in my cupboards.
There's just something very retro about them all, and cocktails in general and I love that! It's like cookbook's from the 60's and 70's, it's like looking at another world!
Most excellent!

Onwards and upwards! Or maybe that should be downwards?

***EDIT***Had to add the latest photo!



***End Edit!***

After handing in an assignment yesterday lunchtime I was able to go home and get stuck in to my knitting, I had Happy Days in the DVD player and I just knitted merrily away.

This is where I got up to last night by the end of Midsummer Murders...just two pattern repeats to go and then the final rib and casting off! So working down to the hand is perhaps the description I want? Or working up to it?
Mine is the one and only project for the Slinky Arm warmers pattern on the Rav. Which I am disappointed about as I would have loved to have seen other people's of this design. I may have to Google and see what turns up.
As Miss Stash said to me it is kind of an obscure book, roller derby themed knit book is not going to be as wide spread as say a SNB one. (Of which I am still waiting to hear more about the next one!)

Heres a couple of lovely shots of me actually modeling the arm warmer, the first allows you to admire the fab colour changes and the second will hopefully give you a close up of the "clover" pattern!

And does it ever feel good on! Really lovely, I can not stop raving about this yarn! I'm actually wondering (not in this colour though) how it would do for Intolerable Cruelty?

A hasty photo!

I was so enthused I had to take a photo and post it as soon as possible, I am so in love with this pattern. Although I think my hasty slightly average photo skills perhaps do not really do it justice and Ravelry does it less always cutting off the right of my photo's!
You think I would have learned to not put things in the center of the picture and more to the left.
This is Moda Vera Picchio in "Bark", as you can see it goes from green to light grey to what looked like blue last night but this morning in natural light looks like a darker grey? But having completly changed my mind again this is so the colourway I am seeking out again for Ondine.

A photo or two, and just maybe a blog post!

I have finally taken some photos of my knitting that has had most of my devoted attention, the fact that it's finished or almost finished should be the giveaway!

Anyway to start a mug I bought this afternoon in the supermarket I saw it and couldn't resist, it's called according to it's bar code sticker Merlin Cat.


These are my first pair of socks! Long time readers will be familiar with my many single socks and for once I knitted a pair! These where basic tube socks so no heel, and knitted up in no time in a thickish yarn.


This is my current project on the needles, the Easy Access Legwarmers from Knockdown Knits, almost finished the second one. Now all I need is to shop for suitable buttons!

This is the headband from Knockdown Knits in Moda Vera Picchio in the colourway "Fusion" at the time I got it I could only find one ball in this colour way. Katt told me today at the knitting coven that they have more in again in this colour so I'll have to pop in next week and try and get some more to make Ondine with.

And as for the Moda Vera Picchio in "Bark" I bought originally to make Ondine with after I could find no more in Fusion I have decided to use it instead to make a pair of Slinky Arm Socks and a pair of Slinky Leg Socks from Knockdown Knits. (4 projects so far from the book!)

Still to come I need to invest in some more Moda Vera Picchio in "Fusion" so I can finally knit Ondine and some black 4ply to make the Gothic Temptress socks! But not until after the Slinky Socks are done!
It's my new stash policy, only buy yarn for projects I am intending to start right away! Second step is finishing some of my many WIP's, third step is actually finding what's in my stash and trying to find uses for it.
I have managed so far to knit up straight away the last round of yarn I bought for specific projects and am using up some yarn I unearthed from my stash to make gloves for Miss Stash so I feel I have got off to a good start with my new approach.

This has been hard as I was in my local yarn store to buy a set of double points and was quite tempted by some 20ply they had in. I could think of at least 2 projects I wanted to do in this. Although the Patons Kalidascope was seriously tempting as an alternative for Ondine as well.
Alas my queue on Ravelry just gets longer, mostly with arm warmers. I love arm warmers! And a lot are in about 10ply so I'm shopping round for a 10ply yarn with good colour choices to keep me occupied as well.