Work In Progress

Day 27 - The Wrong Side

I won't even pretend that this is my knit!

In 2009, while traveling in Australia I decided to head to Katoomba, a magnificant mountain town I've written about before.  

Wholely unprepared for a cold, rainy mountain climate, I bought this sweater for a couple dollars at the local thrift store.  I thought it was too small, but it was the only 100% wool sweater.  I figured I'd use it during the trip and fully intended to rip it out and reuse the yarn.  And yet, it seemed a horrible end to something obviously so well crafted and obviously knit (because who would knit this otherwise?!?!) with love.

Now that I've resolved my body image issues (in part), I have kept this sweater and love wearing it.  It has two small holes that have developed and I need to fix them.  I've been remiss, but in prepping this picture, noticed the one had gotten larger.

I can only hope to produce something that on the right side looks as good as the "wrong" side of this sweater!

Waratah Parliment (FO)

I have more pictures from Katoomba, I promise, but I realized that it is Jan 17th and I have FOUR FOs from 2010 that I still haven't blogged.  I had this wonderful plan that this FO would come after a series of other posts, but we're going to set that aside and jump ahead of the story.

You will find that a theme on this blog is jumping on the pattern bandwagon about a year or so after others.  Such is the case with Kate Davies O.W.L.S. sweater.  The collection of finished sweaters, Kate calls her Parliment.

The problem after discovering the pattern was finding a chunky wool in Northern California.  Because, let's be honest, there really isn't a need for it, is there?  One of my goals in Australia was to find a yarn for the pattern. I finally found a nice yarn at Katoomba Knitting.

So, because I'm so far behind in posting, you get all the WIP and FO shots in one go...

A WIP shot that shows two things:

1) the attention to detail in Kate's designs -  namely in having the ribbing on the sleeves longer than the hem so than when joined up, the ribbing lines up.

2) that bras in a wildly different colors from WIPs should not be used when capturing the wonders of intricate design elements for the blog.  Especially sateen ones that catch the light through all the knit stitches.

 The moment when the reality of using 53 meter balls of yarn to knit a sweater hit home.  Weaving in ends took an hour... when I finally did it.

This is a craptastic picture, which I tried to crop, but what I'm trying to show is the back puckering.  This is a common complaint that I found on Ravelry.  To combat this problem, I ended up doing two different sizes for the waist down and the waist up of the sweater.

On the next shot, my arms are out to get rid of the back puckering.  It's really not bad, most of the time.  It's a sweater that encourages good posture.

Check out the sexy back shaping.  All the decreases and increases are in the back of the sweater.  Normally there would be equal decreases and increases.  But, I cast on for a size 4 (38") to accommodate my hips, than did extra decreases to keep it form-fitting through the waist.  I then only increased back up to a size 3 (36") in order to have two inches of negative ease through the chest to combat the puckering concerns.  Makes sense, right?

 In the middle of the FO photo shoot, I heard Partner say the dreaded words,

"Is that a hole?"

 Crap.

The sleeves and body are grafted together in the armpits.  Evidently, I didn't do a very good job.  However, I really wanted to debut this at the office Christmas party and then I was lazy, so I still didn't try to fix it before Christmas when I wore it at my sister's.  Which meant the hole above was joined by two others on the other armpit.

Double crap.

In fact, I may be courting disaster with knitting kharma by calling this an FO post.  I finally repaired the holes this weekend, but I haven't washed it and worn it.  Hopefully my completely-made-up, I-don't-know-what-I'm doing, and why-didn't-I-take-the-"seaming and other finishing techniques"-class? reinforcing will hold.

If you want a quick sweater, chunky yarn is the way to go!  I think this took me three weeks with several days of zero knitting.  Goofy full body shot to show the fitted nature of the sweater.  America's Next Top Model, I am not.  Wish the crop function was working.  No, I hadn't woven in the ends yet.

I decided to only put eyes on one of my owls.

 While on my Ruined Castle hike, I took my favorite picture of the vacation.  Partially it was because it took me nearly 10 shots to get it "just right."  And partially because "just right" ended up being better than I could have hoped.  I'm not a good photographer, I just sometimes get lucky.  This was down a hill side, hidden behind other plants and in the mist.

This is a Waratah, the floral emblem for the state of New South Wales.  Pretty much as soon as I picked the yarn, I knew...

My Waratah Parliment...

 

Comments on the pattern: The pattern doesn't seem clear on how to join the sleeves.  I assumed that I just started by joining a sleeve to the body.  But I realized during the neck shaping that I was completely wrong and should have started in the back.  I was not ripping out the entire yoke so I faked it.  I also had to rearrange the pattern of the owls so that they would be centered on the front which required figuring out the center stitch and working the pattern back from there.  I wouldn't have thought of this, but for the comments on Ravelry.  There are groups devoted to each of her patterns and I found it super useful both for the back pucker issue and the owl placement.

Pattern: owls
Yarn: Cleckheaton Countrywide - it says it's 14ply or super chunky but it knits up as chunky or 12 ply.
Modifications: Cast on for a size 4, 3 decreases past what the pattern says, increase back to a size 3.
Knitting yardage total 2010: 3,699

Katoomba - Ruined Castle

The last place I went in Australia was Katoomba.  Katoomba is a wonderful little town, hidden in the Blue Mountains.  I found out about Katoomba from my friend Chrys's mom (Chrys, who I visited in Canberra) last year.  This year, it was my ultimate destination - where i wanted to spend nearly a full week.  My goal was to relax, hike, and knit.  It's not the iconic Australia of tourism advertising, but if you ever get a chance to go to Katoomba, do it.

I've wanted to tell you guys about this lovely place but I've always been a bit overwhelmed by it all.  I literally have hundreds of pictures and so much I would say.  But, rather than risk never telling you, I'm going to take Melissa's advice - a post with a lot of pictures, and not that many words.

Last time I was there, I discovered youth hostels (a wonderful, cheap way to travel).  I love the staff at Katoomba YHA.  It's an old hotel - popular in the early 1900's when Katoomba was the place for the Sydney set to 'relax in the country.'  I met some great folks while there.  It's a quieter hostel, popular with hikers.  Though, I fear some young boy is serving detention in a French school somewhere after I turned him in for running through the halls wearing only a towel as a cape to the encouragement of his fellow students.  Not a normal occurance, I assure you.

Like quaint towns everywhere, there is a main street and then quieter residential streets.  On the main street was a lovely tea shop with a few teas to choose from and divine desserts...

a great place to knit... and eat on dark chocolate filled coconut nests (more on that knitting in another post).

And there is also the Blue Mountain Chocolate Company that makes lovely Belgium chocolates.

While I did a fair bit of eating and shopping, my daily goal was to hike.

My first hike was to Ruined Castle, a destination promising a 360 view of the canyon.  A 15 km hike described as strenuous and requiring 7 hours.  I didn't do it in 2009 because it was raining and they said at the hostel it wasn't worth the effort because I wouldn't get the views.  This time, i was determined and went the first day when the weather was forecasted to be best.

Perhaps I should have known as I broke off from the main road...
But I had been told the mist would lift...

I love the blunt warnings of Australian trails.

And down the Golden Stairs we go...

These were probably the slippery steps the sign mentioned...

Rain running through lichen on a tree...

Left or right?  Right first and then back past this sign on the way out...

This walk was ethereal at times....

There were no elves around the corner... I wasn't sure at this point...

 

Again, I love the signage... not "don't go here," just, "if you go here, don't be stupid."

though it was off putting to find this sign lying in the bushes beside the trail...

this was the path that led up to Ruined Castle (looking down, here).  After covering 3.4 km in 30 minutes, it took 40 minutes to go 600 meters.

But Beeyore and I reached the top in the "mist." I'd call it rain, but, whatever.

I climbed to the top of Ruined Castle, ready for 360 view of the canyon...

What do you think?  Stunning and worth the 3 hour walk, huh?

I found out later that behind all the mist, was this.

Beeyore and I climbed to the top... well nearly...common sense prevailed on climbing slick rocks with nobody else around.

Beeyore was very proud of our climb.

And then back down we went... one of the coolest things?  I didn't see another person for the first 4 hours I was hiking... and then only 4 Germans heading up to ruined castle... proving Partner's theory once again that if you walk 1/2 mile down a trail you have it to yourself... especially if it's raining.

The last part was to cross a rock slide from the 1920's.  I thought this was pretty simple when I started.  I didn't quite understand why they said this part was strenuous.

here's the trail... can you tell?  fortunately there were yellow poles to tell you which rocks to climb over.

there was a beautiful view of the cliffs from whence the rocks had tumbled.

but then the mist rolled back in.  I bagged it a little ways after that... I took the steepest train in the world - 52 degrees - instead of hiking the 45 minutes out of the valley.

(as a brief aside, it really did take me 6.5 hours to walk 15 km... an hour longer than it had taken to finish a marathon the week before.  if the views had been clear, it would have taken me 7 hours, stopping to take pictures and all.  I thought, being reasonably fit, I would move faster, but it wasn't the case at all).

I still didn't get those views of the canyon, but this was probably my favorite day of the entire trip....

Yarn Tourism: Katoomba

Hello all!

A quick post, continuing my Australian adventure.  After a stop in Canberra, where I was able to visit my friend, but not find yarn, I was off to Katoomba.  Katoomba is a wonderful town in the Blue Ridge Mountains NW of Sydney.  Folks basically come to Katoomba to hike.  It was a huge retreat for the social set of Sydney in the early 1900's and I stayed in the hotel of that time, though now it is a youth hostel.  Katoomba, and it's wonderful hiking trails, deserve - and will get - a post in there own right.  There are far fewer yarn shops in Katoomba than Melbourne.  As in one.  However, the LYS, owned by Jan and her husband David is lovely.

A warm and bright shop, they have gone through a tough year with a city rehab of the shopping plaza - you have to be determined to get there!  In the next two shots, you'll notice the barriers outside the door - little mazes for customers to run between the shops.  In fact, I knew where it was and almost missed it.

Both Jan and David are delightful and she carries all the Australian brands as well as the known English yarns - Patons, Heirloom, Cleckheaton, Sidhar.  She carries other brands as well, but of course, they escape me.  My only surprise was that she carried no indie dyers, as she as concerned about liability if the lot was bad.  I guess I can understand that, but I was disappointed as I'd hoped to pick up some local yarn there.  The local farmer's market - where I might have found local yarn - isn't being held until the shopping center is renovated.

So, in addition to the lovely yarn I gave away for my one year blogiversary, I also picked up a few other items (so shocking, right?)

This is where I saw some wonderful yarn I was going to turn into a Koolhaas last year.  I don't know what it will be now, but I wasn't going to miss a second opportunity.  I love these colors together.

For almost a year, I've been looking for the perfect bulky yarn for a particular project.  I thought I'd found the perfect yarn at the Guild in Melbourne, but they didn't have enough yarn for the project I have in mind.  This yarn - Cleckheaton Countrywide - is advertised as a 14 ply (super bulky) but really looks and knits-up like a 12 ply (bulky).  After much consultation with Partner on color, I went out of my normal comfort zone.  I bought 16 skeins of this:

The astute among you may notice that there are only 10 balls in the picture above.  I may have to admit to a bit of unfaithfulness to my poor forgotten Mountain View cardigan.  I may have thrown it over for Christmas knitting.  And by Christmas knitting, I meana present for myself.  I've made a bit of progress since the above picture was taken.  Here's a peak (though the color is more accurate in the picture above):

The other place to buy yarn in Katoomba is the thrift stores!  Not quite the ambience, range of colors, selection or knowledge that you get with Jan!  I've heard people tell me for years that you can get amazing deals at thrift stores, but all I normally find are sad little balls of acrylic that aren't enough for a baby hat. 

Last year in Katoomba I was woefully unprepared for the cold mountain nights or rain (it had been a last minute decision to go there).  I found an intricate cabled sweater in 100% wool for $2.00.  I'd thought it too snug for me and was thinking I'd just reuse the yarn.  But I didn't have the heart to tear out such wonderful work.  I'm also slowly coming to terms with my actual size, and not the size I believe I am.  The sweater actually fits, it's just that most of my sweaters are wwwway too big. But this isn't a blog entry about my body image issues, but about yarn!

At the thrift store this year, I found a really neat yarn:

Jumbuk wool is a lightly processed yarn from Australia.  Ravelry says it's 175 yards and worsted weight.  I think it's spun more like lace weight and has the thickness of DK weight.  I see this as a very rustic shawl.  And three skeins was the exhorbinant price of $1.50 total.  A few (hundred) more skeins at that price, and the price-per-skein ratio of my stash will seem a lot more reasonable. 

I leave you with this true story: I went into the thrift store two different days.  I decided to look for DPNs at the last minute because I was working on the Through the Loop Mystery Socks (and rav).  I don't have a lot of 0s and 1s DPNs and I wanted to do both socks at once.  In this massive jumble are needles and the box is marked, "$1 a pair." So, I find 5 0s in a bundle.  I go to check out and afterwards, realize that the lady has charged me $2.  I go back and ask and she says, "they are $1 a pair."

"But you need 5 DPNs to do anything."

"Don't worry, I didn't charge you for the 5th needle."

"Blink, blink."

Okay, it's a good deal, it's a thrift store, let it go.

When I get back to the hostel and use my own needle sizer, I realize I have 1s, not 0s.

The next day I go back (by now I'm also shopping for another bag for all my yarn loot).  I find 0s.  I decide I'm going to get 6 since they bend and, after all, they are $1 a pair.  When I go up to the register with my new bag and needles, the older gentleman says, "what are these?"

"They are DPNs, it's for making socks and stuff."

[he proceeds to start wrapping them and I say not to bother, I'll just put them in my bag.]

"Oh no, can't do that, they are sharps.  It's the law that they must be wrapped."

I'm a bit taken aback, but go with it.

Then he gives me my total.

"But you didn't charge me for my knitting needles, they are $1 a pair."

"Oh yes, but that's for proper knitting needles, not these.  I'll just give them to you."

True story.

Don't worry, I put the money in the donation tin.  I know they are proper knitting needles.

The Orchid Keeper (FO)

After my time in Melbourne, I took a train to Canberra. 

Beeyore and I loved the old train stations.
Beeyore is just excited about train rides in general...

Toot! Toot!

A long drought has finally ended in Australia.  The entire train trip was green fields and flowers.

While in Canberra, I knew I was going to have a chance for a quick visit with a sweet friend, Chrys.

Chrys and I met several years ago at a mutual friends wedding and since then she's hosted me a few times in Canberra.  She's fantastic as a Canberra tour guide - I've been all around the area, including visiting beaches, wool shops and even a couple settler's farms.

Last year, her parents were kind enough to let me stay with them for several days.  In addition to be kind-hearted and funny people, her Mom is an amazing cook!  The old Greek family recipes are mouth-watering.  And, another of her amazing talents in growing orchids.  I swore I had some pictures of her tables of orchids, but somehow managed to miss that in my mad picture taking. 

At any rate, I wanted to give Chrys's Mom a special thank you gift.  I finally decided on Green Thumb, thinking that it would help keep her hands warm while she was working on her lovely flowers, but leave her fingers free to work.

I knit these over two days - the day I saw the penguins and then finished the pair the next day on the train to Canberra. 

These are super fast.  I'll be honest and say that it's not that hard a pattern, but I couldn't have figured it out on my own.  I used only 126 yards of yarn - just 5 yards left over - so it's a great way to use up single skeins.  I bought the yarn the first year I was knitting, before I had any clue how much yarn to buy for projects.
This was a quick knit, essentially mindless and I think makes a classy last minute gift. 

The "pair," taking the train to meet the Orchid Keeper

I can't believe this is my first FO post in nearly two months!

Pattern: Green Thumb
Yarn: Lana Grossa Novella - discontinued
Modifications: I didn't do a gauge swatch, so these are slightly longer than the pattern, but no modifications.
Knitting yardage total 2010: 2,988

Kangaroos, Penguins, and giveaways, oh my!

My last day in Melbourne, I had to choose between going to SunSpun and going on a daytrip to Phillip Island.

 I'll admit that all the Collinete I saw around the SnB Melbourne girls made it a tough choice, but when would I ever get the chance to see a penguin in the wild again?  My love of nature overcame my love of knitting.

 
sorry for the blurry picture... the best you can do when you aren't the driver... those dots are sheep.

So, it was a pay tour that stopped many places for various wildlife.

We stopped in Touradin Village and ate really awful sandwiches the tour company brought. 

 
But the scenery was nice.

From there we went to a wildlife refuge that takes in orphaned and injured animals of all sorts.

I adore koalas, but didn't (pay to) pet one since I had the chance to do that in Newcastle last year.  I need to get the video of that up here some time.  Two years ago I went to the Sydney zoo and spent about two hours staring at koalas, contemplating how to get my favorite - Norman - home.

We could buy little containers to feed the various animals.  I was enamored of this little lady because she was off by herself, enjoying the sunshine.  She wasn't in the pack of kangaroos vying for the attention and food of visitors.

 
I approached her slowly in case she didn't want company.  Her nails would make you do that. 

I spent most of my time at the refuge with her, chatting and feeding her.

There was an albino kangaroo.

And emus.

And wombats.
The center also had wallabies, peacocks, rabbits, dingoes, a shetland pony, donkeys and turtles.  It was a really neat experience to be so close to the animals.

From the refuge, we headed to Woolami beach.  It was quite windy that day but beautiful. 

Beeyore loves the ocean, so he and I took a walk in the water and watched the seagulls enjoy the leftovers of a fisherman's labor.

 
This fun pair of sisters from Kansas were on vacation and they were nice enough to take my picture.

This is one of favorite pictures from the trip.  I was surprised and happy when I saw it; on a sunny day it's hard to see how the pictures truly look.

 
From the beach, we headed out to The Nobbies, a massive nesting ground for silver gulls.  I won't lie, I wondered how many people had been pooped on. Beeyore wasn't sure what he thought of it but was interested in making friends.

 
I took so many pictures, but was particularly enamored of the chicks.

 

The scenery was pretty stunning as well.  Not a bad place to grow up.

On the way back to the van, I spotted two Little Penguin chicks in a burrow.  I didn't realize at the time that this was the only penguin picture I'd get.  These chicks were maybe 2-3 inches tall.

 
Then a stop at Cowes, a beach town, for pizza that rivaled the sandwiches.  Beeyore and I decided to wash the palate with some blood orange and passionfruit gelato and check out the sunset.

Two more of my favorite shots from the trip.

 

When we were done, we met up with the group for a very nice tea and biscuits.  I think the guy driving brought the stuff along, which may explain why it was the best meal that was provided that day!

Finally it was sufficiently dark enough to head to Penguin Parade.  Each evening, thousands of Little Penguins - adults are between nine and 12 inches high - wait until dusk and then come ashore from a day of hunting to feed their chicks and bed down for the night.  Flashes cause the penguins to regurgitate their food and lead to the death of chicks and adults.  So these were my pictures from penguin parade.

 

Why yes, that is my cowl... I started to see the value of a small, compressible knit that you don't have to worry about losing.  And I really really valued it when the wind was blowing!

I thought this sign was hilarious, though I did get a little sad thinking why it was necessary.  If I'd found one, I probably would have scooped him up and brought him home.

 
It was an amazing experience!  They make a chirping type of noise and as more and more penguins came ashore, the air filled with the sound of penguins chatting.  Some penguins kept on the edge of the circles of light cast from the lighting, scurrying to get past the humans.  Other penguins were far more curious, walking right up to the ropes that corralled people.  Their feathers are gunmetal blue.  And so dense!  I have no idea what they feel like, but they look like a steel coat, they are so dense.

When the penguin parade trickled, I wandered back up to the van.  A lot of people didn't stick around through the cold.  Apparently the Little Penguins didn't get the memo about walkways being for people.  With fewer people around, the penguins wandered where ever they wanted, often crossing over the wooden walkway. If a guide was around, they would stop people until the penguin decided which way he was going to go.  But other times, it was just a few people and a penguin, hanging out.

I'm so glad I decided to do the tour, it was truly unforgettable!

And, in other news, the random number generator (my friend with a hat full of paper) picked: 5.  So Bubblesknits, send me your info at bigblueice(at)yahoo(dot)com.  Hopefully this week, I'll get a post up to tell you where your new yarn came from.

The Lovely Ladies of SnB Melbourne

Don't forget about my giveaway! Leave your comments by Wednesday. 

I understand that some folks are having trouble leaving comments (so sad as I love reading your thoughts). If this is you, just send me an email at bigblueice(at)yahoo(dot)com.  I doubt, given the upcoming holiday and my normal state of disorganization, that I will get Typepad to fix this before Wednesday.

Partner is now requesting "Awww count" updates. hehehe

I'd be remiss if, when recounting my Australia adventures, I didn't talk about the lovely ladies of SnB Melbourne.

Kind of at the last moment, I had the brilliant (obvious) idea, to suggest a get together with all the ladies that had helped me with my Melbourne yarn crawl.  Happily, the ladies were up to a "special" Friday night meet-up at Kojo Brown.

SnB Melbourne meets in the suburb/neighborhood of Richmond in Melbourne.

So, I jumped on a tram and off I went.

the U.S. could learn a lot from the Melbourne public transport - timely and inexpensive

Can I just say wow?  Okay, first we have Kojo Brown.  A bar with enough lighting to knit!  Swoon. And greek-inspired cuisine, including the rare lamb salad I had.  Yum. 

the bar at Kojo Brown

I thought that a few women might show up, a la my own (nearly defunct) knitting group.  I showed up a little before 6:30 and pulled out my knitting.  I think it's the universal invitation for knitters to join you.

I became so engrossed in conversation, that unfortunately I didn't start taking pictures until after a few ladies left.  Thank you ladies for indulging me whilst I was snap-happy.

But, at the height, I counted 11 knitters.  Awesome.  A lot of the girls were knitting with Jitterbug.  I've admired it occasionally, but never purchased.  But wow, the parade of colors I saw that night has me coveting some of it.

I brought my knitting, but not surprisingly, spent more time talking than knitting.

With the help of Padma and Pommiechick's cheat sheet (all will link to ravelry pages), here are

The Lovely Ladies of SnB Melbourne:

of course, Padma and Pommiechick, the list makers. :)
 
(L-R) Sonia, me, equine Padma, Newdknit, Susanne9

 
(L-R) DrBones, Susanne9, Padma, Sonia, me, equine, Newdknit

 
(L-R) Pommiechick, Padma, DrBones, Sonia, equine, Pransell, Newdknit

In attendance, but missing from the picture capture were Itsagift and sugarhiccup.  And many thanks to Katinspace, who provided a lot of advice, but couldn't make it to the meet-up.

Pransell and Newdknit (playing shy)

On my way to the meet up, I had to hop on/off the same tram line.  When I was first on, I actually saw Pransell.  Well, her sweater first.  And I thought, "I wonder if she is going to the meet up? Did she knit that sweater."

She was and she did.

Sonia modeling her lovely wig that was used for her office wig party.  Genius. :)
She's the unofficial hostess for the Richmond group

I finally had to leave around 11:00 pm.  My night with SnB Melbourne is one of the highlights of my trip!

Thanks again, I hope I can host some of you soon.  I'm serious, if the AUS dollar is still putting us to shame, you ought to fly in for Stitches West! 

Yarn Tourism: Melbourne - Giveaway!!

So, in the magic world that exists in my mind, this was going to be three posts. So, how about you pull up a chair and pretend with me?

As I indicated, I spent some time in Australia.  First stop was Melbourne, the first time I've been there.  After our 16 hour flight from LA to Melbourne and an overall 25.5 hour journey (but who's counting), Beeyore and I landed.  After a much needed shower, Beeyore and I set out for the town.  First top was a fun little walk from the hotel to city center through Fitzroy Gardens. 

I have two regrets from my time in Melbourne.  The first was not getting to see Captain Cook's cottage in the Gardens.

Since I haven't been to Melbourne, I got on Ravelry and found the lovely ladies of SnB Melbourne.  I asked where a yarn tourist like me ought to go.  The awesomeness that is Ravelry and the connections with knitters worldwide deserves a post of it own.  Suffice it to say, the ladies of Melbourne were wonderful yarn guides.

First stop was the Handweavers' and Spinner's Guild of Victoria.  For those unfamiliar with Australia, large areas are divided into states and territories.  Victoria is a large state in the southern area - a center for wool production and wine (Yarra valley, my vino friends). 

A few hiccups later on the tram had me at the unassuming door of the Guild, located on Shakespeare Street.

But inside... true contentment.  I spent over an hour talking to the many lovely ladies that were there that day.  Basically, the Guild seeks to bring weaver's and spinners together and provide a place to teach and socialise.  Classes are taught on a variety of topics, materials are available for sale and a store showcases the artistry of its members.

Not only were the ladies lovely, but the atmosphere was great for anyone that loves fiber.  I was definitely in the minority, not being a spinner.   I enjoyed learning about the history of the Guild and the stories of the individual women I met.  I'm sorry to say, I didn't write down the names of the lovely ladies I spoke to while I was there.  I thought I'd surely remember and I'm very sorry I didn't.  If you read this, thank you.

Check out their website, their "15 minutes of fame" section is a gas and makes me a bit nostalgic for the Greatest Generation.

The spinners store - roving and dyes, oh my!

And the yarn store... yarn spun by members as well as some finished pieces were for sale.

The yarn in the store has been raised (grown?), sheared, and spun in Victoria

A class in session the day I was there

I was struck by the older-than-average age of the attendees.  Fiber arts is a diminishing art in Australia for many reasons.  The first time I visited, I was disappointed to discover that most yarn is sent to China for processing because it's cheaper.  I had an older lady tell me in Nundle that, "[she] used to knit but it's just too expensive now."  That is infinitely sad to me, when you consider the rich tradition of Australian wool. 

Hanging above the door, a map of Australia, from (I believe) felted wool

As I understand it, this wall hanging includes the ranch symbols from every member of the Guild.
It is constructed entirely of wool.

I know you're all wondering what I got...

In my defense, it's not filled... but it is the only bag that they had that everything would fit in... I thought about buying less and then thought, "this is hand spun in Australia.  You will never see this yarn again, anywhere.  Stop being a dumbass and buy it."  And that is a quote.

silk/merino roving - a gift for a friend.  I'd be a liar if I said I haven't thought about keeping this

 
I don't like purple, but this immediately evoked ideas of flowers in a garden

Everything was listed in grams, which is meaningless to me, a non-spinner.  Most of the yarn consisted of single skeins.  This is the only yarn I bought that I think is enough to make a scarf.  I just liked the bits of color.

I chose a close-up of this yarn because I hope that you can appreciate the blues and greens.  And because I've seen some bad spinning (says the girl that has hit herself in the head with a drop spindle), I was impressed with the consistency of the spin.

Also destined as a gift, for a friend who loves pink

This was the first skein I decided to buy.  It's a baby hat.  I'll find the baby later.

 After the Guild, I set out for other yarny spots.  I got lost.  Without a map.  I asked a tram driver if I could get from here to there on his tram.  He said no; I got off the tram.  He opened the door, told me to get on, and gave me the path to get un-lost.  A well-pierced guy on the next bus also helped.  I've heard people say that Australians are stand-offish.  I suffer from no illusions that they have no losers, but nearly everyone I met was lovely.

 Next stop, Lara Downs.  The owner raises all her animals - sheep, alpaca, angora, yak, cashmere, silk.  And sells her fiber in a rented upstairs space in a fabric store. 

Her sister, Nancy was in the store the day I stopped by.  While I was very tempted by the $86 skein of cashmere/merino/yak - gasp! soft! - in the end I "nearly" walked away. 

In an as-yet-unblogged event, I've learned to drop spindle.  In the end, I decided to buy roving for a yarn I'd never pay for in the U.S. - 100% cashmere roving.  Who knows when - or if - I'll ever be able to spin this.  Keep you fingers crossed, my spinning friends.

Now we go to the only negative Melbourne experience.  It was suggested that I go to Beautiful Silks.  I won't give you a link, because I don't think they deserve one. When I arrived at their (always locked) door, I rang the bell.  A guy let me in, then disappeared.  They had lovely silk and some hand-dyed yarn, though the labeling was inconsistent - grams, but no price; price, but no grams/meterage. 

While I looked around in vain for someone to talk to, I took pictures for this blog.  THEN someone showed up.  A man that claimed to be an owner (and a lawyer, as he quite enjoyed mentioning... numerous times).  He rudely asked if i was taking pictures.  I said yes, and explained it was to document my yarn tour of Melbourne.  He condescendingly told me about international treaties regarding pictures.  I offered to delete the pictures, which he wanted me to do.  I did so and reached down to put my camera in my bag.  When I stood up, he was gone.  Apparently, he could only bother to show up to be rude, but not to help a customer.  I tried to look around, but the interaction left a bad taste in my mouth.  I left, never seeing another person.  I briefly considered leaving the door open, since I had a hard time closing it. In the end, I chose to be a better person. 

I am told the true owner (a woman) is quite wonderful.  And the range of their silk was impressive.  But I won't go back.  In my yarn tourism of Melbourne, this is a miss.  And I don't need pictures to tell people what I thought of the people that were working that day. 

In my final stop, I went to the only wool store that is a chain store.  I'd been in the Morris and Sons in Sydney.  As last year, I was drawn to the same colorway.  But it is spun in China, as is all their namebrand yarn.  I basically justified this purchase by saying I can't get it in the U.S.  But it's an oppression offset, and one I'm not happy to admit to, since I don't need yarn. 

  
Despite my best efforts, this image will not save in a rotated format.  And it's late, so I give up.
Morris & Sons, 4-ply, colorway: Plummage

 As you might imagine, after four stores, shops were closing.  My last day in Melbourne, I had a choice.  My second regret is that I didn't get to SunSpun.  They stock EVERY COLOR of Collinette.  And at a cheaper price than in the U.S.  I really wanted to get here, especially since the Melbourne crowd so highly endorsed it.  But, I chose, and I chose this:

that's me, feeding a kangaroo

But that story will have to wait.  And, as the clock approaches midnight, so will the rest of my Melbourne adventure.

I must skip ahead a little bit in the story.  Because, you see, today is an important day.  As no doubt none of you are aware - because I had to look it up myself - today (November 17th) is my one year blogiversary.  I knew when I went to Australia that this day was approaching. 

I wanted to mark this day in both normal and different ways.  Giveway - normal, check.  Something different and special (at least, if you're in the U.S., like me) - hmmm.

Later in my trip, I found the answer. I saw this yarn and thought, colorwork.  Which, given I've never completed a colorwork pattern, is a bit ironic.

A standard, soft cream, 100% merino yarn, DK weight.  Heirloom is a smaller, but well-established Australian company.  I think they offer more heathers and rustic colors than Cleckheaton or Patons.  This yarn is grown (raised?) and spun in Australia.

I tried to capture the colors, a navy blue and grey heather.  A knitterly, spinnerly, awesome-y friend was in town last week and she felt this yarn.  She said, "Oh, soft!"  Trust her.

So, leave a comment, and next Wednesday, I'll randomly pick someone to receive both skeins.  I'm thinking these two skeins will make some lovely colorwork, but hey, it will be yours, so it doesn't matter what I think.

I really didn't know where this would go when I started blogging.  And I really don't know where it's heading.  But I cherish the friends I've have made.  I appreciate your encouragement and postive thoughts on my projects and whatever else I blog about.  I'm glad for the people and blogs I've discovered - for your inspiration and the beauty of your work and the thoughtfulness of the words you share. Thank you for a wonderful first year.