I Spy With My Little Eye...

Did anybody else see Miami CSI last night? I do believe that was a not a Hottie Clicker or something very much like it that boy had.

I had to do a practical for my Advanced bar Wenching aka Food and Beverage Wenching course on Friday night, so my father taped Blackbeard for me, which went well till towards the end were first someoen had chnged the channel while it was recording and then it had stopped recording altoghether after giving me brief hope when someone had turned it back to the right channel.

So no I don't actually know how Blackbeard ended...

I ended up sitting next to Bill and Ted today in class, or more to the point they sat next to me. I had to work with them, I got voted 'secretary' because I was the only girl in the group.
But honestly I look at bill and Ted and I see myself as a prime candidte fro that Grumpy Old Women show. What I could say!

Suzi.
A bona fide cranky red head.

What a day!

We had originally intended to try and organise a lunch at Smokey Joes since I had a rare day of freedom and missed out on last weeks coven meeting. But Smokey Joes was not to be as they don't appear to have opened yet in their new premises. SO I thought plan number two, I would take advantage of cheap tickets at the movies and go see the much advertised Pirates of the Caribbean 2.
Dosen't open till Thursday.

But to my delight I discovered X-Men 3 had not finished but was in it's final days. 10:30 this morning I was not at the cinema. 10:40 Miss Stash and I got to the cinema
And wouldn't you know it? The movie had actually started! No never ending preveiws!
I had planned to take some pictures of Matt's day at the movies to detract form the lack of knitting but that didn't go to plan, you can't take pictures of empty popcorn boxes in empty theatres with blank screens....Poor boy, if only he had relaised it was all a lure on my part to liberate him of his bandana!

So when we got home which was very quickly, something did not agree with me. I'm blaming the cinema popcorn. Matt and his new friend Captain Kirk (so he dosen't look a total Nigel) re-enacted their day's outing. Below is the humourous story. It is very amusing, and you will find it so or you will be shot.
Now that my stomache has settled I think I can safely dash to the corner store for a packet of rice.

"Denny Crane! Beam me up some popcorn Scottie!"

"Dude, I'm THE Matt Hardy! I'm not into sci-fi so I don't know who you are, or what your qouting at me because I didn't see the Lord of the Rings!"

"Denny Crane! What do you mean you don't know who I am? Denny Crane! I wasn't in Lord of the Rings - that was some other old guy! I'm Denny Crane I was in Star Trek you boob!"

All been distracted long enough? Good, Ms Stash when she went shopping was good enough to pick me up the new Simply Knitting with the free circulars. And the circulars turned out to be the size I keep meaning to buy so I can pick up the stitches on my Aran Earwarmer. There may be knitting progress yet.

LOOK!!! ELVIS!!!

Until next time,
Suzi
A bona fide red head trying to distract people from her lack of knitting reports on her kniting blog.

The Coolest Exchange of the Millenium!!

Who haven't I told about this? Probably you my dear blog readers, I have how ever been talking people's ears off about how Che asked me if I'd like to participate in a gift exchange similar to secret pal but more suited to those of us with, ahem, similar asthetic tastes.

It now has it's own blog page, yes it has grown, evolved into it's own being, soon it will take over the world (and rightly so!). The Punk Rock Gift Exchange!
I think you all should take the time to admire and marvel at it! This is truly a revolution in gift exchanges, where would we be without the internet?

My father (who is from Scotland) talks about Anoraks - people who are obsessed with a particular hobby or collecting certain things and how the internet is like a giant anorak allowing Anoraks not only to meet in clubs and classes in their own area but converse and view pictures of what fellow Anoraks are doing on the other side of the world.
To which I say: Bloody Marvelous!!!

And in closing, Matt my little knitting helper has now got a big head and the fact that he has acquired a small number of fans. There'll be no living with him now.

Until next time,
Suzi
A bona fide red head who is going to find out exactly why the rum is gone!

Last week on the Darkside....

We acquired a new knitting bag, and Emily the strange tote. Let me count the ways I love it!















These were the goodies I picked up at he last market we attended. A couple of patterns, 3 pairs of 4mm, a pair of Pony Pearls 3.25, a 4mm circular and for sheer novelty value a 2mm circular. I may use it for socks yet.









The feather and fan sock which is now one repeat away from the heel











And would you believe here we have Matt Hardy, doing some work on the Sister sock.
Johnny Knoxville claimed ina n interview that the Rock not only knitted but made him a pair of socks on set while they were filiming Welcome to the Jungle. Would you believe that?

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's not time to party!

I didin't expect to go back and furthur my bar wenching skills would be so tiring!

Tomorrow I go on a quest to organise my unform I will need to wear out on my practical placement. Told us on Monday what we needed and that we needed it by Wednesday next week. Nothing like plenty of warning, then it turns out the reccommended supplier is closed on Mondays....
By this afternoon I was done, all I wanted was to come home, take my clothes off and have a cup of coffee before embarkign onmy homework, some light reading. I also have to read the entire Barista handbook, fortuantly it's not long. And I have of course already been through it, we start our first coffee class Friday. Oue teacher said it shouldn't tkae more than two weeks if that to read it all. I don;t have much to read up on for tomorrow so I figure I can get it started and finished by Friday.
Get it out the road. Not to mention my other text books all have a chapter on coffee making so I figure I can read all them as well to refresh my memory. I did over the weekend dig out my notes and books from bar wenching last year to brush up my skills.

Tomorrow I odn't have to be at class as it's aunit I've already done and passed, so I figure I'll go in late, after following up on my uniform. But get in early in case anything has to be ordered.
I'm hoping they will do the wine service early and then the cocktail garnishes second, my wine service, opening and doing all that junk is fine. What I would lke to do is re go over the garnishes, my memory is a little blurred about the kinds we made, fairly basic ones I think?
Ah, well it dosen't matter. I have all the books, I will just have to practice at home if they've done it before I get there.
Perhaps I should pack some knitting and go cocoon myself in the cafeteria and wile away the time if there doing the broing wine junk.

RSA which I also did is all in one day, so I guess I will just have a day off! Might have to try and schedule a special SNB meet-up somewhere. Maybe I can convince some of them to come out for lunch? Theres a few places I'd liek to try, Smokey Joes being one of them.

Anyway too much talking, I need to go make coffee and do some reading. And possibly a little knitting. However the sock curse has struck again this time it has stolen my knitting journal and sock pattern folder which I had together. It has made all sock work come to a grinding halt....

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

For whom the bell tolls....

I have been having a bit of a crisis of conscious. I have not got a lot of knitting done, I've read a fair number of Agatha Christies, spent slightly more time thinking about the very delectable Matt Hardy and generally occupying my time by discovering the most amazing things, like someone thinks I'm cool! That someone else out there wants Metallica to serve them breakfast.

As you can see I have got some more work on the remake of the Feather and Fan Socks, the lovely Sharon's pattern. I had hoped to do one of those Proof of Life photos, holding today's newspaper. But the Sock was having a Diva moment. Apprently it's trailer wasn't big enough, and there was no fresh ORCHIDS! ORCHIDS!

Well I have been wasting several hours watching my new, just arrived Matt Hardy Show Season 1 DVD. I'm not sure I actually like it, but I won't say I don't like it either. To say at times it confuses me would only be honest, how did Matt's brother Jeff get from Moses to cows in under a nano second has me lost. I did contemplate doing what the evil man with the long hair (no idea what his name is off the top my head, Bai Ling was his other half) in The Crow wanted to do with Skank, video tape it and play it back in slow motion. Well it was already on DVD, unfortunately slow mo only did my head in and I had to go lie down.

Matt Hardy, as you know dear readers is very dear to me, very dear, I put him up on the pedestal and super glued the soles of his shoes (didn't work he still got away). Do you know that moment when the perfect vision of loveliness open their mouths and speak and suddenly it's not perfect?
It all started with a discussion about trolls, I thought they were short and scaly but Matt and Jeff between them didn't seem to certain about trolls themselves. When out of Matt Hardy's mouth came the absolute clanger, someone, his cameraman I think said something about trolls in relation to Lord of the Rings. Jeff hadn't seen it, neither had Matt because he's not into sci-fi stuff.

WHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTT?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?

No no no no no no no no no no....say it isn't true! Can the greatest obsession of my life not tell sci-fi and fantasy apart? Even I can and I'm not into sci-fi and fantasy (except for Terry Pratchett but that's another post another day when I'm less traumatised).

The lovely Ms Stash has been dying me some wool, I told her something dark and stormy and the results I am sure will be spectacular. There will be some before and after pictures on her blog. Or maybe not, the sock is not the only Diva today, so I will display here the finished dyed wool. Nice isn't it? I like to call it Stormy Sisters.

Anyway I am off to get ready for tonight's viewing, possibly some more Matt, but maybe we'll go for superheros, Wolverine hasn't disappointed me yet. That man is a bad, bad man. I like that. Still to see the third instalment, I will get there, I may even take Ms Stash if she so desires and doesn’t roll her eyes. No, wait that's only when I want her to come to the Rock's movies with me...


The bell tolls for thee......


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

How Now White Cat?

Edit: Almost forgot about one of the new sites the lovely Ms Fortuknit sent my way. Punk Rock Knit Girls, pink and skulls? Strangely I am not as averse to pink as I once was, I shall balme the person who sits across from me at Knitting Coven who keeps knitting pink socks....

The Daft White Cat finds it incredibly delightful of an evening when the heater goes on, he sees it as his personal luxury to roll around in front of and generally hog the heat by sleeping right on top of it just about.

My knitting mojo hasn't returned, I can only presume it migrated to a warmer clime. I would have liked to have gone with it, but then it didn't invite me.

It's like Denny Crane getting married, my mojo and I are drifting apart. I have become an avid fan of Boston Legal. Denny Crane. And James Spader? Not the James Spader mentioned in the very first episode of the very first season of Buffy????

I'll have to consult the oracle. Cindy!!!

Tomorrow is Knitting Coven and I have no idea what I will be taking along to knit, maybe one of the socks? I am keen to restart teh feather and fan sock. It was all going so well before being struck down by the dreaded sock curse...

Until next time,
Suzi.
A bona fide red head without her mojo and damn sad about it.

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!








Quizilla |
Join

| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

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!