Monday, April 26, 2010

Lego/Dr Who

The kids entered a Lego building competition during the school holidays.

Miss 9 built Dr Who's TARDIS, with the Ood at the table, and an alien sneaking up on the Doctor.


Mr 5 & 11/12ths built Dr Who's TARDIS crashing.  See, the Doctor is falling out the door holding his (enormous) sonic screw driver.  (Doctor, is that a scewdriver in your pocket?...)


We are all deeply, deeply in love with Dr Who around here.  I'm even able to accept the new, hideously young Doctor - although I did spend most of the first episode of the new series trying to get a good look at the young Amelia Pond's cardi.

Sorry, you can't really make it out in that pic, let's just say it's textured with panels of different small lace stitches, with a cream border.  Goes rather well with her nightie and red boots. 

She had a rather snazzy hat too, and gloves.  The things people obsess over... Do you know there are whole websites devoted to knits in British sci-fi TV programmes?  Well, I don't know that either, but wouldn't it be handy if there were?

What did they say about working with children and animals?

Oh yeah - never do it!
All I wanted was a few modelled shots for my Ravelry page of DD wearing her little Wisteria dress.  How hard can that be?  Warning, children get harder to photo as they get older.

First she insisted Mr Moon be in the picture....


then she wanted to play on the swing....


then she ran away....


onto the garage roof....


where she pouted....


and showed her knickers (hopefully not to the football team)....


Oh it's tough looking at these pics on a grey autumn day.


My Wisteria used 200g of Bendigo Woollen Mills Cotton in a discontinued colour called Heather.  To get a dress to fit my 9 year old out of one ball took some fiddling - I knitted the size 4 width, but longer with 2 full repeats of the lace and just enough armhole depth to fit.  The length is fine, but the open lace means it's best worn over leggings or with something underneath - if you're clever you could sew a little matching slip.  I'm not at all clever with a sewing machine so I probably won't.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Recycling....

I've come to hate the Hourglass Sweater I knitted a while back.  It was always too big, but after a few washes it ended up way too short and wide.  So when my friend Sharon mentioned she was frogging hers, I was inspired! 

Is there anything more satisfying than unravelling knitwear?  I used to love doing this as a kid, I can wind a wicked ball.  Moon enjoyed it too, although things would have gone a lot quicker without his help.  Knitting and kittens don't really mix.  for the most part my Hourglass Sweater unravelled easily even after two years, but the armpits were felted beyond help and I had to cut them apart.

Look!  Legwarmers! Ha ha.


Give it a bath, this is not new virgin wool - seriously used and kinky! But such a pretty blue.

Tools of the trade.  I don't know how I ever lived without my swift and Singer wool winder, despite winding a pretty mean handball, I love these guys.

Ta da!  All done and good as new.  Now how shall I make it a-new? 

Indulgent Nostalgic Post #1

Once upon a time I was a glamorous young thing with chic hair jetsetting around the world....

Prosecco in Sciacca

Chianti and a puppy in Tuscany

Red velvet scarf in London. 
Bought at a London market and left it in a restaurant in Paris a week later.

We had a very cool car.  It usually looked like this. 
Fortunately convertables are very light and easy to push.

Even further back in the mists of time were the Molly Ringwald years when I won a trip to Sydney by working in Payless Shoes.

A very cute attempt to pass for a cleancut couple.
The matching clothes!  The body language! 
Ripped jeans and Dr Martin shoes, must be the early '90s.
We were so not these people!