Magic Ball Swap

DSCF1135[1], a photo by rose-cat on Flickr.

Finally some good news

It has been a bit of a roller coaster ride lately. Finally got some good news from the doctors about my hubby's condition. No cancer in the lymph nodes...Yay. So he will have another small procedure and be home Monday or Tuesday (hmmm, better clean the house and do the laundry).

Other news...I received a beautiful magic ball package. Wow, I am speechless. I have been so spoiled by Erika I hope she and I can become good friends) . There was a magic ball within the magic ball and many little hints along the way. A "Learn to Knit Socks" book, bamboo needles (I love bamboo needles), "knitted by" labels, row counter, yarn needles. My favorite teas (strawberry, lemon and english breakfast), a lovely coin purse, stitch markers (hidden in the coin purse), a cute little doggie which held some yummy chocolates and another surprise. Some lovely soft Zara Chine, Moda Vera Gracious, a beautiful Noro Blossom (which was guarded by a cute doggie) and a wonderful kitty card with a rose on it made especially for me.

I have finished and mailed off the Summer Swap package. I forgot to take a picture with all the stress from the medical issues with my husband. Hope my partner likes it.  Next project is the Magic Ball Swap. I have finally made a decision regarding the yarn. I have some of the bits to include and have plans to getting the rest. I hope to be able to mail it out in a couple of weeks. I doing swaps but I have decided to limit my overseas swaps to small items that can be mailed in an envelope. The only exception to that might be if there is another "Yarn in a envelope" swap. I quite enjoyed that.

What is on the needles?
Nothing...shock...horror. I am trying to decide what to work on next. A friend wants me to knit a poncho for her 5 year old daughter. My friend has been a great support to me since I have been in Australia. I have found a pattern and some yummy yarn in my stash that I think she will like. I will knit a swatch first to see how the colors work together. The hubby wants socks and I think I will use the Zara for his socks and save the Wollmeise for a shawl for myself...shhhh don't tell him. Besides he volunteered my knitting services for a beanie for a friend's 4 year old son. I really should knit something for myself. I started a scarf from the Noro Blossom last night but couldn't quite concentrate on it. But I loved the texture of the yarn as I wound it into a ball. I like winding yarn...it allows you to get touch with the texture and let it tell you what it wants to become. I think I am suppose to work in another crafting area for a while. I have been toying with making stitch markers. The owner of my LYS wants some made especially for crochet. I have a few ideas so I may work on those tonight. The other thing calling me right is doing a bit of stitchery or embroidery.

On the social commentary front...
I was absolutely disgusted by the US Congress during the debt ceiling debate. It became quite clear to me that certain factions of the Republican party don't care about anyone but themselves. Some people in the States are doing it tough. There is so much tunnel vision in Washington. I hear Republican leaders saying that the President has not been a leader in improving the economy. Clearly they have forgotten or maybe just don't want to remember that the last time the US economy was in order was before George Bush was President. Republicans seem to think that Big Business should be able to do anything it wants to do to the detriment of the common person. Oh and also, who was it it that committed the US to two wars in the Middle East...George Bush. Don't get me wrong...I think that going after Bin Laden was the right thing to do but we were lied to about WMDs in Iraq. Now the US public is paying the cost of a war waged by a man who refused to serve during Vietnam and was able to to so because his family was wealthy.

More bad news

July has been a month of ups and downs. People have done some great things for me. I received some great things from strangers. The thing that has been overshadowing this past month has been the health issues with my husband. I need help but I am alone in Australia. I have a couple of friends but I can't keep asking them for help. He is in hospital in Brisbane and I am at home in Lismore because we can't afford for me to stay in a hotel while he is there. Now the doctors are talking about doing an operation to possibly remove part of his stomach and esophagus. We won't know until Friday what they will be doing. He tells me not to worry but I don't know what else to do. It has been so hard trying to find help with transport and accommodation for each of the trips to Brisbane. Now he could staying there for a few days or a couple of months.

Karma, Good News, and Not-So-Good News

Sigh...my birthday is coming up soon. I wonder what the universe has in store for me this year. Last year I was on my honeymoon in Thailand. I love it in Thailand, the sun, sand and the ocean. It is funny because I feel more at home there (in a non-English speaking country) than I do in either the US or Australia. 

Good News: my partner visa to stay in Australia with my husband has been approved. It took one year and a week to be completed. Not-So-Good News: My son was hospitalized with high blood pressure and issues with his kidney function. He has always been very healthy and athletic so this was a surprise for all of us.

Karma: I am not having fun with a few swaps. I am trying to keep the karmic aspect in mind and let go of any anger I have regarding people not fulfilling their part of a swap. Oh well,sigh.

What I am working on now: I have made 2 bookmarks for quick bookmark/postcard swap. I have another one in the planning stage. I will mail them out next week. I am still working on the handmade item for another swap. I have frogged it 3 times but I think I have finally figured it out. I will happy when I get finished with it because I want to knit something for myself.

Yarn Wars: Acrylic versus Natural Fibers

Why is it that everything has to be a either/or debate? Why is it that if I have a different opinion from another it means that there is something wrong with me? This mindset seems to creep into every facet of life. I have started knitting again because I find crafting relaxing and because I was looking a group (online and IRL) with which to socialize. I learned to crochet and knit using acrylic yarns. I made some perfectly wonderful baby blankets with acrylic yarn that I used with my twins and then later passed down to one of my sisters. I am new to natural fibers and I am not particularly comfortable with wool or wool blends. I am afraid of ruining a project that I have spent hours to complete by accidentally felting it. I have mostly acrylic yarns in my stash because my hubby and I are on a fixed income. Another reason I am buying so-called cheap yarns is because I am still learning different stitches and techniques. I splurged and bought a skein of Noro Taiyo because I loved the colors. I released it in a swap but I got a even rarer (for me) skein of Wollmeise. I will use the Wollmeise to knit some socks for my husband. For me yarn is yarn and all of it has a purpose. It can be difficult to find strong colors in natural fibers and acrylic yarns have some of the most wonderful color combinations. Softness is important but strong colors are equally important to me.

I am back

After a gentle nudge I have decided to start writing my blog again. Currently, I am working on a project for a summertime themed swap. The hardest part is getting into the summer mindset because it is winter in the southern hemisphere. Another hard part has been finding a summer weight yarn in my swap partner's favorite colors. After much dithering I have started the project. I will talk about that later.

I have taken part in a couple of swaps. The first one was a dishcloth swap. I enjoyed that one because it allowed me to practice my knitting and become more confident in my knitting. The second swap was an envelope of yarn swap. I was 3rd on the list and was really looking forward to doing that swap. The yarns were beautiful hard to find yarns from Europe (Malabrigo, Wollmeise, Trekking Hand Art). The second person on the mailing list replaced the THA with Ice Yarn (Fiona Mohair). The Trekking Hand Art retails for approximately 20 dollars/skein and the Ice Fiona is junk yarn from Turkey that retails for 7 dollars for eight 50gm balls. Not quite an equivalent trade...oh well...karma. It might have been okay if the color had been appealing but it was a horrible green color. When I received the package I had the choice between a beautiful pink Malabrigo - Light of Love and the Wollmeise in lovely dark blue. I was tempted by the Malabrigo but decided to take the Wollmeise because the hubby wants socks and blue is a better color for him ;-). I replaced the Wollmeise with a lovely Noro Taiyo (sob). I hated to let it go but I can get more Noro and the Wollmeise is difficult to obtain in Australia.

coffee too late last night

I drank a cup of coffee last night too close to bedtime and spent half the night laying awake. I made good use of the sleepless night. I decided to make a nice close-fitting hat to wear for the Australian winter because I have decided to cut my hair very short. I found one pattern I really love but it is in German. My hubby used google translator but google translates oddly at times so the end result is bit confusing. This the link if any readers can translate for me
http://www.chemo-hut-macht-mut.de/media//DIR_37993/b7c0f8d2b42aea6affff806cffffbf64.pdf .
I found another pattern...this is a vintage one from the 1940's-50's. http://crochet.about.com/library/blhat2.htm It has a odd looking ridge across the top which is optional and I will be leaving it off but otherwise it is perfect.

Why I joined Ravelry?

I started this blog to keep track of my crafting ideas and projects. Also, I am kinda lonely since I am living in a small town in Australia and my only real friend lives 2 hours away. Most days the only person I talk to is my husband and I have decided that I need to start reaching out to find some more friends. So I joined Ravelry because I like to do crafting and thought I would look for crafty friends. I told my husband that I was thinking of going to the CWA crafting group meeting but he didn't think I would be very welcome. I think I will give it a try anyways and let you know how it turned out.