Suppose I never ever met you?

Ladies and gentleman, the Boteh is finished!



I apologise for the very poor photo, but here it is, finished and blocked. I'm really thrilled with how it turned out.

Now for the details:
Pattern: Boteh by Kathy Merrick, from Interweave Crochet magazine Spring 2007 issue
Yarn: Regia Silk 4 ply (55% merino, 20% silk, 25% polyamide) - thanks George!
Hook: 4 mm
Commenced: August 2
Completed: August 26
Comments: This was a lot of fun to do, and once I had my head around which direction each triangle went, things went smoothly. Steam-blocking the scarf made a huge difference to the finished shape and the drape. The Regia Silk was an absolute dream to crochet with - no splitting, no fluffing and no sliding off the hook. I would definitely make this again, perhaps using a handyed variegated sockwool for a different effect.

I think I have finished the sneaky scarf also, but I am having a dilemma about how long I want to make it. I have heaps of long scarves, so I'm thinking of making this a shorty. Still deciding.

While I have my inner conflict about scarf length, the pleated bag is progressing nicely.

I think about my fear of motion

The moment I saw my bike today at the shop, I was just like this little guy:



What I didn't tell you was that the blue bike I showed on my blog the other day was my original pick - by Tuesday I had phoned the bike shop in a panic asking if I could change my order for a baby blue bike with more gears. They said they would set both up for me so that I could choose (obviously they worked me out early on to be a complete flake). So today I chose the baby blue. Because it's pretty.




I love the basket - it's very 'Michelle'. I'm imagining piling my new crochet bag and a rug in the basket, taking off for Corroboree Park and sitting up against a tree crocheting and listening to the magpies. Which I will do the moment my backside stops aching - it's been ten years since I rode and I may have overdone it a bit today.

I crocheting news, I have almost finished the Boteh scarf, and I am finishing off the half double crochet edging around the scarf. Hopefully there shall be photos tomorrow if I can finish it and steam block it. I'm also hoping to get the bulk of the Pleated Bag done tomorrow - I'm getting anxious to start using it as my new crochet bag!

Spring seems to have hit us with full force. Yesterday evening J and I walked around Civic and Braddon for the CLAW Crawl, and even at 6.30 I was wearing only a thin cardy. Today was another warm one spent in a t-shirt and cords, and our washing dried in only a couple of hours.



I'm waiting for the frosts to come back. Surely they haven't left us already?

I've made myself so sick, I wish I stayed asleep today

In my last post, I mentioned a sneaky scarf I have been crocheting. This is a scarf I shouldn't be making - after all, winter is almost over and I have the Botteh to make. But once I washed out the excess dye from the handdyed alpaca yarn (thanks for the advice Happyspider!), and rewound it into a ball, I just couldn't help myself. It is two-thirds done and completely brainless, except for when I can't get my tension right and I have to pull out several rows, which just goes to prove how brainless I can be. The pattern is from one of those little Vogue crochet books - Scarves Two, I think.

Like Bells, I haven't wanted to bore you with the slow progress of my Botteh. So after a big break, here it is - only a few more triangles to go. It's getting quicker the more I do, and I'm also having to rip out a lot less as well.



End-of-month reporting at work tomorrow and a touch of illness is going to prevent me from going to the last ever knit1blog1 Friday knit in tomorrow. I'm not too sure how many people were going tomorrow - the last couple of weeks it has mostly been Wendy, Barb, myself and a whole plate of biscuits. But Barb, if you read this, I'm really sorry I couldn't make it. I've had a blast on Fridays these last few weeks!

Lift your feet

Last Friday the two things I had been impatiently waiting for finally arrived.



I cannot wait to start this project, but first I have to finish off both the Botteh scarf and a sneaky mindless scarf I have been doing at the same time. Starting the Spiderweb pattern will be my reward for finishing those.




This is the Amy Karol book I have been searching for in Canberra for weeks. Even stupid Borders didn't have it (it wasn't even in their computer). Eventually I gave up and went to www.fishpond.com.au. Fabulous service, fast postage and it came from New Zealand which I am still trying to figure out the logistics of.

The other exciting thing that happened on the weekend is that I ordered this...



...but with whitewall tyres, hopefully a white seat, silver mudguards and a black basket on the back. I haven't felt this excited about a bike since I got my Malvern Star at age 9. Mainly I got this bike so that I can exercise - my current state of foot crippledom has gotten beyond a joke, and this is a non-weight bearing exercise which might enable me to get my fitness back. Hopefully I'll get the bike by next weekend.

I. Cannot. Wait.

I'm very sad I couldn't get to SnB yesterday - I had intended to, but in the end life got in the way. You know how it is.

Hands off my greasy chicken wings

Look what I found at Lincraft today!! Bamboo! Well, 70% bamboo and 30% cotton, but only $3.99 for 50g! Some of the colours are scary, especially the brighter variegated ones, but in the end I chose a couple of the black as I want to eventually make a short and sweet jacket from The Happy Hooker. I'll need to get more though - 70m of yarn doesn't take you far.

Some of you asked yesterday what I was making with the fabu pink tweed. Well, here's a sneak preview on Lusty Busty Magda the Mannequin. We are still missing a stand-up collar, shortened sleeves and a hem. The button is just for show - it is supposed to go on the collar.



And lastly, because I've been feeling very wistful and sad for my Daku family (even though Susan only works 20 paces from my desk - it's not the point. I miss them), here's a photo which Helen took of George on the boat. I think there's a quilt in that.



If you want to see more Daku family photos, cleek here.

I wish I had a river I could skate away on

It's been nice doing human sewing again. Of course I ran out of pink thread and can't finish this until I get some more tomorrow. Oh dear. I'll have to go to Lincraft at lunchtime.

The roofing dramas continue. The roof itself looks fantastic, but those dodgy bastards are fart-arsing around with the shifty eave out back that they didn't do properly on Friday. I'd post photos but they make me cry.

Let's just say that a certain roofing company director will be getting a snarly phone call at 7 tomorrow morning. Mr QM is just itching, ITCHING I tell you, to lodge a dispute over payment with the bank. As far as the bank is concerned it's credit card fraud.

And let's just also say that if the bloody eave isn't fixed tomorrow, I'll be naming and shaming on RiotACT and this blog by nightfall.

Oh oh oh! And I held my first crochet workshop in the kitchen at work yesterday. I taught someone in another division how to crochet a granny square. We had spectators. I was so chuffed to be able to teach someone else the joys of the dark side.

Lots of froth please, for the photo

The quilt show was great, if not exhausting.



On Saturday we went to Sydney. I did this:


Then this:


...which was a bit dangerous as when you sit behind the goalposts you can get hit in the head by a football. Anyone who wasn't paying attention and got hit in the head ...well the rest of the fans would yell out "LOSER!!". Luckily Mr QM defended my loser-ability by catching balls as they came near. I'm so glad I married him.

Our roofing guys suck. They called Mr QM on Friday telling him the job was done (they still had to fix an eave) and that he had to pay. Poor bloke paid in good faith, but when we got home the job was so shoddy that my 14 month old nephew could have done a better job. Plus those idiots cut gouges in our driveway with their circular saw. Why is it that you can't find good trademen who you are willing to recommend to friends? Anyway, they reckon their going to "fix it" but I'm not holding my breath. They have our money - the next step for us if they don't fix it is to lodge a dispute with our bank and then the HIA and MBA and Fair Trading.

Tonight is the inaugural northside Stitch n Bitch. I cannot wait!

I just blew in from the windy city

It was an exciting day off - well, for me it was. Our roof was painted! Look!

How that man didn't blow off the roof in this wind is beyond me. (Hey Neet! My blog title actually made sense for once!)

I cut out the fabric for the jacket but didn't get much further along as other chores got in the way. Chores like cleaning the house before the cleaning lady arrived to clean the house.

But I did manage to get to Lincraft and purchase something I have been wanting for quite a long time. And no, I'm not talking about fusible interfacing.



And in Botteh news, two triangles were ripped out and put back in very little time. That's one of the many things I like about crochet.



The cotton for the Spiderweb Cardy from Bendigo has been purchased. But first to finish the Botteh, and then at least one of the WIPs. Maybe the socks. Yes.

Tomorrow I'm spending all day at the Quilt and Craft Show. I have to do two shifts at the craft show itself. With my bad foot I'm not overly looking forward to walking around the show with white gloves for 2 1/2 hours, but I'll see how I go. Apparently a good friend of mine has won a prize in the quilt show! I'm very impressed, but I'm dying to hear more information.

Ain't gonna mess around

Cable broadband was installed this morning. No more crappy 16 kbps connections! I can blog, check, comment, upload and download all in half an hour. Love it.!Gives me more time to quilt and crochet.

Botteh was going great guns. Sure I had to pull out one triangle 3 times during "What about Brian" the other night, but it was all settled by the time the girls from Farside Quilters came over on Monday night. So I crocheted and crocheted, and at the end of the night I laid my Botteh on the table ... and I've made a huge mistake. In the last two triangles. I'll have to rip it out.



And after reading happyspider's opinion of the Bendy cotton, I'm going to get some to make this.

I've managed to snaffle two days off from the new job. Friday I'll be working at the quilt show most of the day, but tomorrow is a day which is all mine. I have bought a lovely Vogue jacket pattern, and I intend to make something with it.

I know not a thing - only that the sky is blue and sometimes grey

It's been a week of distractions - new job, two days of headaches, a heap of Blythe dresses made and sold, and two quilts to get ready for the quilt show. I was really in no fit state to start the Botteh scarf, so I crocheted another Float Away scarf in the green Jet I bought when waiting in town for Scott on Monday. And here's a photo of your tax dollars at work - Al modelled it for me at the Knit In on Friday.

It's my new favourite scarf, and wearing it on Thursday night to Canberra Quilters influenced a certain non-blogging knitter to give it a go. Last text message I got today was that she was up to row 5. Yes! Another happy hooker!

In the meantime, my mood improved somewhat to start the Botteh scarf. It's one of those patterns that you think should be impossible, but when it comes together you go "oooh that's SO clever".



So the sleeves and labels were sewn onto the two quilts I've entered into the show, and a trip to the southside to drop them off resulted in my first ever trip to the Mawson wool store. Yummy, yummy - I didn't come away with much, but did find some olive coloured Country Silk on special, and then I indulged in some of Jejune's cards and a few balls of Freedom Spirit wool in a red colourway.

No photos of the yarn, but here's one of the quilts that will be on show at the quilt show next weekend.



And I'm going to have to buy me a ball winder and a skein holder. Jacqui the non-blogging knitter loaned me hers for the weekend and I am so totally in love with the concept of not having to rely on the husband for yarn-winding support. He gets bored, relaxes his arms, and you know what happens next.