knitting neels

I have been thinking about it, and while I have been thinking, I’ve been knitting onto Bliss. I am about halfway through my second front piece… the more I knit, the more obvious it is that I am going to have to order more of this yarn 😉 What a shame… But I must say that I really like the drape and weight of the yarn. I think Calmer is a much lighter aran weight cotton than the Aviso. Anyway, you know that job I start on Monday? Well, we get paid weekly, so I guess I’ll be able to splash out on it. I think I’ll have just enough to get the front done and maybe a sleeve too.

In other news, I am in Galway this weekend for the Air Show on Sunday. I borrowed my dad’s 70-300mm lens for it and I’m looking forward to trying it out in a situation where I’ll need it 🙂 Check out my new camera bag here – that’s just a picture I found, my one is grey and black 🙂 I picked it up on sale in Dublin in the Lowe Pro Shop (which I never knew existed). They had a good selection of camera bags and they were priced just like their other bags, ie not overpriced like in a camera shop. I’d been interested in getting one like Alb’s, which is an Orion Trekker II. They only had the original Orion Trekker, which they were selling off because they were ordering in more of the Trekker IIs. On closer inspection, the Trekker I is slightly bigger than the II. The compartment space on the top is bigger, as is the camera space in the bottom. It was reduced to e60 and I bought it. I can fit the D70, my F80 body, my binoculars (you’d never think it, but really handy), my dad’s lens, my connection lead & charger for my iPod… and still have room without it being squished. Pretty good, no?

Of course, I can’t visit Galway and not buy wool! Some of you may be aware of Trek who makes sock and spindle bags for swap. Well, I arranged to swap four balls of Tivoli Superwash for two sock bags. I decided to get one for myself, and one for my Secret Pal. I was thinking, well she’s just expecting another big package and nothing in between, so this will be a nice surprise. Anyway, Trek doesn’t dally when it comes to posting things and I got them in the post on Tuesday. I, on the other hand, was having a real problem finding the Tivoli Superwash. I know three yarn stores in Dublin and I know they stock this stuff all year round, but NONE of them had it! Hickey’s said they were ordering in, so I went back about three times, but they still didn’t have it by the time I left Dublin. Stinky, eh? I knew I was coming to Galway for the weekend, and I know that Ryan’s stock all of the Tivoli stuff, so I am going to try there today as a last resort. If they don’t have what Trek wants, I am just going to email her and say, look, the wool that is always there isn’t in stock anywhere, I will get you an Amazon gift cert instead. I am peeved that I am being really slow on the swap and that there is nothing I can do with it. With a bit of luck, Ryan’s will have it, I can pop it in the envelope I have ready and get it off to her today. Fingers crossed! I am dying to show you the sock bags, but I won’t feel right about putting a picture up here of them until I get my half of the swap in the post. Let me just tell you this: fantastic idea.

I have been drooling over This pattern. To the point where, clutching the few euro I have left until I get paid, I am willing to part with it for some Kid Silk Haze to knit this garment. She’s crazy!, I hear you scream. I know! But it’s a mohair cardigan that’s light, fluffy, and will work in every season! But again with the three-quarter length sleeves. At least sleeves are pretty easy to lengthen. Also on the shopping list is another ball of Felted Tweed to finish off Salina which is really close to being finished! It sort of snuck on me. I have one sleeve done, but I can’t start the other because I left the pattern in Dublin … duhhhh…. but my dad said he’d fetch it for me, so I gotta have that ball out of the label and raring to go when he gets back lol… And that’s about it for the wool shopping list, but you know I am going to come back with some Kilcarra, some Laine du Nord mohair or kniterature of some sort. I’m irrepressible.

On the knitting front, I have been plowing through my Jaywalkers because 1. I am trying to space out my Knitting World Cup knitting because I’m running out of yarn (!! click on the link !! I have to finish that project on time – just look at the prizes up for grabs! omgz swoon) and 2. I can’t knit the other sleeve for Salina. I finished the first sock and I am about a third down the leg of the second. I got a fair bit done on it yesterday coming down on the bus.

At the risk of making this post even longer and scrappier, I had quite an opportunity to mull over the freshly-sheared sheep from the window of the bus yesterday evening. There is wool all around me, sheep covered in imaginary skeins, if only I knew how to get it from the sheep on to my needles! This is an issue I have developed since receiving Spin Off magazine from my (very excellent) Secret Pal. Much of the vocabulary was beyond me but was as intriguing as binary probably was to Alan Turing. So, all you spinners out there: how does one start spinning? Is a drop spindle a good way to start? Should I buy fibre or could I get away with just going out into my neighbour’s field of sheep with a scissors? Are there any little manuals explaining what to do? Or are there excellent, free sources online?

Ok. Sin é. Cupán tae anois, is dócha 🙂