Australia Day and Linen

/ wolfberryknits

Australia Day yesterday, which meant the traditional BBQ and kayak up at the bay. 🙂 Except it was hot and belted down rain for half the day, so Ma and I stayed in the air conditioning and only M and Poppy went out on the water.   
  
My steady ‘pacing myself, one a day’ plan for my Grandmother’s Flower Garden afghan failed, as expected. Those little hexies are really addictive! 🙂
 I am using almost all scraps for this, and in the end I decided on a ‘peacock’ sort of colour way, greens, purples and blues, set off by grey paths around the flowers, mainly because that’s what I had a lot of. The flower centres will be mustard.
My usual summer depression has been lifted slightly with some linen. 🙂 I am working on my Japanese top (that’s the pattern in the background, in case you thought I was joking when I said it was blurry!). It takes a bit of patience and a good daylight lamp, but it’s coming along.

  
Pure linen isn’t the easiest to knit or crochet with, but I love the end result so much that I persist. Here’s a few yarns in the current project queue. 

  
The thicker yellow is Rowan Creative Linen. In a strange synchronicity with Bekki from Dartmoor Yarns, I had a great desire to make a yellow cardy. I’ve never made anything yellow before in my life. Inspired I think by this one from Drops.

  
More project bags off the assembly line.

  
     
   
Unfortunately I can’t yet share all my weekly projects this time around, so some random pics about the place from this week instead.
Our wildlife watering stations attracted a visit from another goanna (in centre of pic by the black container).

  
Friendly chicken and camera shy M.

  
Excited to find this Lively Rainbow Skink, a beautiful example of a breeding male. 

  
Synchronised cats.

  

  
And Ravensridge, sweltering at dusk. Roll on winter!

  
I am thinking about having a ‘Finishing Off February’, to turn some of my myriad WIPs into FOs and frog the rest. I figured if I made a ‘no casting on rule’ for Feb, that would be a start. Naturally, I then totally panicked and cast on four more things. Just in case. Sigh. Still, I think I can do it. February FOs, here I come! :))

B

38 thoughts on “Australia Day and Linen”

  1. I’m liking very much the idea of making something via a hundred little hexies – the idea of mindlessly crocheting up all the little bits and pieces taking up perfectly good storage space is most appealing! The only trouble is I don’t have a friend, family member, or even a foe really, who doesn’t already have a blanket of some sort……….. Mmmm, I wonder if I could turn them into some kind of vestie jackety something-or-other………. We aren’t having summer this year. She packed a sad and has wandered off somewhere west of me I think. The cats are well synchronised and that chicken is very well balanced on M’s shoulder – quite impressive really! Good luck with the February goal 🙂

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    • Thanks Pauline 🙂 Ooh I like the idea of the vesty/jacket thing, Pauline and her technicolour dreamcoat! 🙂 yes it does feel good to use up the odds and ends in a mindless sort of way, very relaxing, I don’t really need a blankie either, but could always use one to keep in the back of the car or throw over the sofa…that chicken loves M so much, every time she is let out she follows him around and likes nothing more than to be walked around on his shoulder like some weird parrot chicken :))

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  2. I am also thinking of clearing all my unfinished projects by finishing them. 🙂 As to no cast on for a month…that could prove impossible! The heat and humidity can be oppressive. My grandmother used to say, when we were driven mad by the Hong Kong summer, that 心靜自然涼 （cool comes with a calm heart). 🙂 Beautiful crochet; lovely linen. Great bags but you wouldn’t need them if you finish all your projects 🙂

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    • Oh what a lovely quote! Calm heart, I like that 🙂 yes the no casting on rule could be a problem…I am kind of tempted by the challenge though…a little exercise in self-discipline instead of my usual unbridled hedonism!! Haha never fear, I could finish 20 things and still need a pile of project bags :)) I look forward to comparing finished projects with you throughout February! 🙂

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    • Haha thanks Bruce, big softy :)) I’m always fascinated by our weird primitive fears, amygdalae at work I guess. I hate big hairy moths, M will pick up any snake without fear but runs away screaming at the sight of a spider! 🙂 with no summer too, sounds to me like nz is the perfect place to move to. 🙂

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  4. Its so peaceful there. Looks hot but still a good time. The kitties obviously had a good nap. 🙂
    Gorgeous projects, I like the linen, although I have not yet tried it.
    All the best for Feb and your FO / frogging plans. You can do it!

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  6. Another lovely post!! Linen is indeed gorgeous and maybe nicer in that hot weather? The afghan looks amazing and I cannot wait to see it finished!! You work hard and have lots of things finished. And I am little in love with that little chicken!!! xo Johanna

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    • Thanks so much Johanna 🙂 yes I’ve only recently discovered the linen is so much more practical in this climate, I really do have enough cabled woollen sweaters to last a lifetime :)) hehehe thank you she is the cutest little chicken, soooo friendly. She is a Transylvanian Naked Neck, so she manages great in our hot weather and lays lovely blue green eggs. Also she is totally smitten with M and won’t leave him alone. 🙂 xo

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    • Thanks Andrea! 🙂 have just realised your posts seem to have disappeared from my feed….I’ll have to track you down again and see your lovely linen! Yes it is slow isn’t it…but so worth it. On the plus side it makes any other fibre seem soooooo easy to knit with when you’ve been working with linen for a few hours :))

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    • Yay!! :)) I can’t wait to see what you do! I can’t find the right pattern for that Rowan yarn….it’s an awkward amount…I’ll keep looking for a while but might have to make up my own. Am very impatient to cast on now. 🙂

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      • Cast on this morning to beat my no-cast-on February rule 🙂 couldn’t find the exact right pattern so have mishmashed a couple together. Very very weird knitting with yellow. Feel like I am making a pineapple. Looking forward to seeing your pattern, hope you still like it today. 🙂

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  10. Your hexie project looks really nice. I can visualize the yellow centers. Love that chicken and now have some idea of the difficulty you describe in patterns for M! So sad you didn’t get to go out on the water, but if you were as content as the cats it doesn’t matter.

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  12. I actually forgot it was “Straya Day”! Some kind of Aussie I am eh? It’s been Queensland down here. We should have your weather, you should have ours. I am not going to complain again as I have been doing a lot of it and it doesn’t seem to fix the problem so I am going to just think smarter not harder and bypass the problem. At least it isn’t hot at the moment. Lovely skink, Lovely M (camera shy and all 😉 ) and lovely crafting. We are in complete agreeance about winter! 🙂

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    • Straya is not currently our friend weather-wise, so not surprised you forgot the day narfie!! I could moan for days about the weather, and every year I think I’m worse. Insert massive WHIIIIIINNNNNGGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEE here!! On the plus side we’re past the summer half way point :)) yippee!!! 🌻

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      • Now THAT is something to celebrate! I love the cooler months. It’s why I agreed to move down here to Tassie but this summer we have had the full brunt of El Nino and we have only just had our first serious rain in ages. I can almost hear the garden sighing with contentment and we have thunder and lightning going on outside. Might be time for a middle aged hippy rain dance methinks 🙂

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  13. These little project bags look gorgeous! Do you sell them already made?
    How do you manage to keep linen clothes looking good after you washed them? Mine look good new and then they look all tattered 😦

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    • Thanks Noemie! 🙂 yes I sell the bags locally and on eBay. (I don’t know how to link it, but I’m sweeps06) 🙂 hmmm, gee I’m not sure about the linen….I haven’t had anything look tattered (touch wood) although darker colours do fade really quickly here…some of the thicker pure linen yarns can definitely be a little scruffy round the edges, so the cotton/linen blends are usually my choice for thicker yarns…like bomull Lin or Rowan creative linen….I use pure Lithuanian linen for the finer work and it seems to just get nicer and nicer with age… I wash all mine inside out in cold (rain) water in a top loader and never iron it. I do block out anything that needs it though. For sewn clothes that I’ll wear a lot I usually use a medium to heavy weight linen (upholstery weight almost) as I’m pretty hard on my clothes. 🙂

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  14. O.M.G!! Am jealously amazed and astounded at the VOLUME of fabulous works you constantly produce!! OMG again! The Japanese pattern is certainly on the faint side, but the result looks to be very worthy of the eye strain and the yarn works so well with it. A yellow cardie, yep, brilliant idea! Love the idea of a no cast-on Feb … just so many things you do … OK, now I’m shamed into doing more!

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    • Haha thank you very much, I think my new addiction to crochet is because it is so much faster than knitting! 🙂 I’m really in a finishing mood at the moment which is why I’m doing the February thing…trapped inside in air conditioning so there will be fewer distractions….although I cast on several things this weekend ‘just in case’ I want to work on them :))….you are doing far more interesting things with your time than I am at the moment! Hope the wa summer has been enjoyable so far. 🙂

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