tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16402631954517270582024-03-19T20:17:26.759+11:00A Stitch WranglerThreads from the rich tapestry of life: knitting, family, garden, hobbies, architecture, photography and more ...Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-50289424433211077712011-08-18T15:51:00.000+10:002011-08-18T15:51:35.368+10:00Cute As !
Baby Anna had grown out of her Gumnut Hat (see last photo) so I handed over Baby Byz earlier than I was going to.
Haven't had enough cuteness yet? Here's more ...
The hat is based on Byzantium, which you can find in my Ravelry projects here.The design is very versatile - any yarn, any gauge.
Here I've done 2 x 2 rib, sections of stocking stitch alternating with reverse stocking Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-25899370480552371362008-05-28T13:54:00.002+10:002008-06-10T21:58:26.496+10:00Knitting, There Has Been Knitting, Part 1It may not seem that way, with many of my ABC-Along posts not being knitterly-related, but There Has Been Knitting!For this post, there is a top-down in-the-round raglan jumper for JJ. He's modelling it here. One of the beauties of top-down is that the jumper can be tried on as I knit. So far it's not too bad.I will need to make sure the arms don't get too wide when I pick them up at the raglan Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-56472091505521661352008-05-21T21:33:00.007+10:002008-05-21T21:53:22.017+10:00J Is For JJHere is my beautiful boy, age about two.He was a delight at every age, although I had to work hard to stay connected during his teenage years. Watching Rage together and playing the same computer games helped.There's some more about him in the slide-show below. Let me know if it doesn't work properly.And here he is with his Choc Mudcake birthday cake, with candles, in March this year.He's just Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-47704759050994547392008-05-10T12:46:00.010+10:002008-05-12T19:44:43.049+10:00I Is For Illusions"It's not an optical illusion - it just looks like one!"I have been fascinated by illusions and optical illusions since childhood.Please excuse the quality of the top photo - it was taken forty years ago! I was mucking about with school-friends, when I spotted the possibility here. So, the snap. I didn't really have a schoolmate small enough to stand on a friend's hand!Three-and-a-half decadesSusie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-76934845346012737232008-04-17T22:57:00.007+10:002008-05-10T23:37:59.317+10:00H Is For HatOf course!I like making hats.For a slow knitter like me, they give a quicker reward.I can also experiment more easily, with less time and materials lost if it doesn't work out.This hat is the Very Versatile Toque (VVT), made for my Bag Swap swapee.It's my own design, but really, it's pretty generic for the most part. Knit a flat top, knit the sides, felt like crazy.Here Polly models the unfelted Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-83497328885443501742008-04-10T21:17:00.003+10:002008-05-10T22:04:03.480+10:00G Is For GlassI like glass. Sparkly, shiny, transparent, translucent, sometimes almost invisible.The glass sweeties were a present from my mum, who guaranteed they were zero calories. Bit crunchy, though.While I haven't set out to collect glass, sometimes it just comes my way; a bit like the dragons. I especially like the blue cobalt glass, the real stuff, but other colours (or clear) can be chosen - it's Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-36014555825937020662008-03-27T10:39:00.007+11:002008-05-10T22:13:42.159+10:00F Is For FinishedI was taking part in the Australian Bag Lady Bag Swap on Ravelry, and now that my swapee has received her bag, I solemnly delclare, "It's Finished!" Phew.Here is the Cheery Cherries BagFellow Ravellers will find the details there. But there's some here too. The pattern started out as an idea that came to me in the middle of the Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-70998523894206787512008-03-07T22:24:00.001+11:002008-05-09T22:26:43.747+10:00E Is For ExperimentsI do a lot of experimenting with my knitting. I'm probably reinventing the wheel a bit. Never mind. It's my way of hands-on learning.I'm also experimenting with this blog post. The images are in a slide show format inserted below. Will it work?Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-19308414113429702432008-02-26T23:46:00.000+11:002008-05-09T00:22:07.792+10:00D Is For DragonI have posted this picture before in the quest for dragons, but this photo gets a second airing, as it is one of my all time favourites.It's hard to say why, exactly. Possibly because it was literally a "parting shot". I had taken several photos of this dragon and was heading home, when I looked back and saw the sky had changed. I just had to take one more photo!And possibly because it remindsSusie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-58083018525750014482008-02-15T17:43:00.004+11:002008-05-05T18:25:51.830+10:00C Is For Cutie-Pie Cynthia Cloche, Part 2The next challenge was the welts.I couldn't get a colour I wanted in the Cashmino, so rather than wait for a special order to come in (what, me, impatient? Never!), I used a 4-ply held doubled. I purled a few rows and then knit-joined them, just like the hem. Well, actually, I didn't really purl those rows. I did a wrap-and-turn and knitted those rows, with the inside facing the outside, so the Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-39496920776888313812008-02-15T16:44:00.004+11:002008-05-05T18:28:16.472+10:00C Is For Cutie-Pie Cynthia Cloche, Part 1Here is a hat I designed last year. I started it late July and finished it late August.I had been knitting for about two months, when I went looking for a cloche-style hat to knit. I couldn't find one I liked.Most of the ones I came across on the 'Net were felted, and that wasn't the look I wanted. This was way before I joined Ravelry.I wanted a very tailored look for this hat, with no colour Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-23915300579622434042008-02-14T23:03:00.005+11:002008-04-23T23:49:06.740+10:00C Is For CamerasYes, that's plural! Cameras are important to me. I have been taking photos since I was a kid, and that’s too many years ago! My dad always had good cameras: I remember a Rolleiflex; but we didn’t, and we weren’t allowed to touch his. I started off with a Brownie. It wasn’t mine, it was a family camera. The first camera which I bought for myself in 1974 was a 35mm SLR Soligor. Soligor isSusie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-76358983780614965982008-02-02T09:53:00.000+11:002008-02-02T10:20:58.973+11:00B Is For BagThis is NOT the bag for the Australian Knitters group’s Bag Swap (on Ravelry). But as I hadn’t knitted a bag before, I thought I should at least try one before choosing a pattern for the swap. Neither the colours nor the style are what I think my swapee would like (but I could be wrong) I started this on Boxing Day and finished on 3rd Jan. This IS my first ever bit of (deliberate) feltingSusie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-83778237002357163452008-01-31T09:34:00.000+11:002008-02-02T09:49:23.808+11:00B Is For BrunswigiaThis beauty flowers in mid-March, but the letter “B” is now, so these are from last year. The Brunswigia (often spelt Brunsvigia) is originally from South Africa. A mature bulb can be as big as a football. They can be quite expensive – I’ve seen prices up to $100 for one bulb. You can find out more about Brunwigias over here. I'd love to know if anyone else is growing them. They can Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-49158903786912094912008-01-30T20:49:00.000+11:002008-02-02T00:07:40.073+11:00B Is For Booties These are, of course, the famous Saartje’s booties.How could anyone look at these and not want to knit them? 1221 projects, in 1868 queues of Ravelry knitters would agree with me, and that doesn’t count the non-Ravelry knitters who have knitted them. It was quite rightly voted a “Bobby” for best free pattern. I knit these because I just had to. They’re not for a grandchild, not yet anyway.Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-58493479045569308812008-01-29T21:19:00.000+11:002008-02-01T23:46:15.197+11:00B Is For BeachesSpiky Beach, East Coast, TASI love the beach, oceans, water and waves. Just drop me off at a beach in the morning (with some shade and some food, of course) and pick me up at sunset, and I’ll have had a perfect day.Here is a beach we actually did get to have a swim at on our generally cold September holiday. Forster, NSWThe eastern-most beach we've been to - Wategos, just below Byron Bay Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-59375000826099004652008-01-28T21:09:00.000+11:002008-02-01T23:18:05.322+11:00B Is For Books I love books. How could ‘B’ go by without mentioning books! I read prolifically and quickly. A standard novel might take me about three days. I usually have many books stacked around my feet, and I have several on the go at one time (bit like my knitting, come to think of it). * *This is all pre-knitting. Knitting (and Ravelry!) has severely chomped into my reading time. Except for Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-65434547113588546232008-01-27T21:38:00.000+11:002008-01-31T21:11:08.219+11:00A Is For Australia DayWe celebrated Australia Day in our typical Australian fashion:Visitors round for lunch - ham, cheese & tomato melted onto ciabatta, with avocado;then a trip to a bayside beach, a little bit of snorkelling - saw the usual toadfish, many silvery little fishies, starfish, sea urchins and a beautiful grey-purple stingray - a small one, only about 40 cm across;then a relaxed evening meal at the Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-50790735510700914492008-01-24T21:40:00.000+11:002008-02-01T10:26:43.163+11:00ABC-Along A Is For AnarchistIt's only the first letter of the ABC-Along, and already I've broken the rules!The idea of the ABC-Along, as found here on Ravelry, is to "post a photo to their blog and/or the Flickr group every two weeks to correspond with a letter of the alphabet. Photos can be related to fiber, but do not have to be; they should reflect the personality of the photographer, and something of importance or Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-19603493968687812482008-01-19T23:59:00.000+11:002008-01-20T17:35:46.232+11:00A Is For AnniversaryMr M prepares lunch A Is For Anniversary On New Year’s Eve, Mr M and I celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary. Despite that, we’re still best friends! We packed a picnic esky and went down to the beach. We had a glorious lunch, complete with champagne and peeled grapes (he DOES spoil me!) after an exploring walk around the rocks. The beach tent was essential so our salad didn’t Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-5942706142295622442008-01-19T10:55:00.000+11:002008-01-19T12:02:45.737+11:00A Is For ArchitectureRoof ridge detail, MelbourneI've joined up with the ABC-Along on Ravelry.I'm hoping it will spur me on to post to my blog a bit more frequently.My "A" is for Architecture. I've been interested in architecture since third year high school. We were given a project to do for Art class, which was to design a room in a house. I did a bedroom, with a wrap-around desk-cupboard-drawers arrangement, Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-45996411974608016062007-12-29T12:32:00.000+11:002008-01-19T00:51:17.203+11:00The Easy LifeAh, don't you just love it when you can roll over in the morning, reach for the camera, snap off a shot of dawn like the one above, and then roll back over for another few hours sleep!I didn't even have to get out of bed for that photo!After Christmas in Hobart, we took a few days holiday on the East Coast of Tas, and that was the view from our room. Spectacular.The day before, we had a little Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-5452045090680894372007-12-24T11:42:00.000+11:002008-01-19T00:20:26.508+11:00Our Kind Of ChristmasI'm not a Christmassy sort of person. The whole fuss just leaves me disgusted, especially when Christmas stuff appears in stores in September.A colleague asked, well, what DO you do for Christmas? Do you celebrate it at all?Given a choice, I would just lie on a beach somewhere and ignore the whole thing.But, yes, my extended family does have a get-together. My mum lives near Hobart, so every Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-57873371611760905402007-12-21T00:14:00.000+11:002007-12-21T01:09:49.177+11:00In The PinkThe domino effect continued. Who could believe that one small change would lead to so many others?So, I now have the new chest of drawers, flower arrangement, and curtains.Then the old rug just had to go! It was just a small one, in an aztec-southwest sort of pattern in blue, green and tan - a left-over from another time and place.. It didn't go, so it had to go!I've replaced it temporarily Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640263195451727058.post-45440341631849137692007-12-09T17:40:00.000+11:002007-12-09T18:28:41.942+11:00I Plead Temporary InsanityYes, m'Lud, there can be no other explanation.It was clearly a case of Dominos. And it started like this.Mr M and I went on holiday in September; we drove down the East Coast from Brisbane to Sydney (then a quick dash down to Melbourne).We were looking for an ideal place to retire to - near the beach, views of waves, interesting coastline with snorkelling spots, not too cold in winter.We found Susie Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16170546203280330890noreply@blogger.com1