Bettylicious

Back To Work Today

And this is why the Mister throws coffee in my direction before pulling the covers off.

Hope Feel Wait

 
Generated by very cool tweetcloud.

Hope, Feel, Wait - seems about right for life at the moment.

∞ Infinity ∞

 
I bought this Manos del Uruguay yarn earlier this year at The Point in New York. I really liked that store but, sadly, it is now closed. At the time I had a definite plan for the yarn and specifically bought three skeins of this wonderful blue/teal/pink colourway. As the year went on my memory got a bit fuzzy and I totally forgot what I had planned to do with it.  So when I came across this article in the WSJ (I know, I will find knitting inspiration anywhere!) it gave me the idea of making an infinity scarf.

The pattern is the Fifth Avenue Infinity Scarf from Tentenknits. I made a few changes - I used US7/4.5mm needles and I omitted the fourth row of the pattern just because I'm lazy and I couldn't bring myself to do all of those PSSO stitches.  I only ended up using two skeins of my Manos but I love how it turned out, it is the perfect thickness and loops around my neck twice so I can really snuggle into it.  The colours are just beautiful and this was the perfect pattern to show them off. It really brightens up my ancient, and very very boring, black coat which means I'm more than happy to wear it for another season. 

Birthday Millionaire

Today is the Mister's Birthday. He doesn't really like a big fuss on his birthday and didn't want me to make him a cake, but a boy needs a bit of a treat on his birthday, so I made him millionaire shortbreads.  They are sickly sweet but pretty fabulous.

 
I'm about half way through my infinity scarf, I've modified the pattern a little to avoid doing lots of PSSO. I learnt after making my Tucson Lattice Shawl that I'm not overly fond of PSSO repeats. I'm loving the changing colours in this yarn as I knit it up,
 

Foxy Moron

 
Look who just rolled back into town, our furry friends have arrived and they are making their presence known. I wonder where they have been all this time? Wherever it was, apart from a scrape on his front right leg, this one is looking pretty good. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, in fact!

I'm kind of fascinated by foxes, you don't see them that often in Australia. We have Dingoes but mainly up north.  In fact, the first time I ever saw a fox I totally freaked out.  I rang the local council pest control in a complete flap, I couldn't remember the name of the animal because I kept thinking "Dingo" but knowing it wasn't actually a Dingo.  The conversation was very embarrassing:

Me (in a slightly hysterical Australian accent): Hello, yes is this pest control?

Very calm British Chap: Yes it is, how may I help?

Me: I have one of those animals in my back garden, what should I do?!!?!

Chap: Ahem, which animal is that madam?

Me (practically jumping up and down at this point): One of those things, you know, A WOLF!!!!!!!!!

Chap (stifling giggles): Ahhhh, Madam, I think you might mean a FOX?

Me (mortified silence):..................

Létt-Lopi Vest

 

My Vestvember project is complete and I can't stop oooohing and ahhhing, she is so pretty!

I absolutely loved knitting this and I think colour work is my new favourite thing, it is sooooo much easier than lace and looks really fancy.  It was a perfect marriage of pattern and yarn and luckily I had enough white to finish. It was also a very thrifty knit, the pattern was a free one and the yarn was purchased online in the Kemps sale. Easily under a tenner for the whole thing.

I knit the extra large size which fits me really well. I would have posted a modelled picture but that would require me to get out of my pyjamas and make myself presentable! What? I'm on holidays and its raining outside, pj's are totally acceptable attrire at midday on a Monday in this situation....at least in my house :) I might take a picture if I venture out of the house later but, for now, you can see a full length shot on flickr over here.

Edited to add -ok here I am, I even brushed my hair :) The Mister lured me out of my PJ's with the promise of Nando's for lunch. Yum yum.

Reason 101....

 

...why I love this fella, he can cook some seriously good eggs.

Vest Progress

Here is a sneak peek of the progress I've made on my Vestvember Vest. I thought I would be done by now as I powered through the stockinette body but it has been a busy week and the colour work has slowed me down a little.  I really love the colours, especially the first change from white to blue, it looks so fancy.  I am slightly concerned that I'm getting low on the white, I think I might have to hunt for another ball from somewhere as Kemps are out of stock. On the plus side I have a week off work so I have some time to look.

I started my holiday with a trip to the cinema last night to see New Moon with some girlfriends. It was packed, not a spare seat in the place! It was so much fun and lived up to expectations, quite an achievement given we had been counting down the days until we saw it! A great way to start my vacation.

Vestvember Fun

 

My dilemma of deciding what to knit post project spectrum has been solved by the discovery of the Vestvember group on Ravelry & Flickr.  I bought some Patons Jet on sale from Kemps Wool Shop a while ago with the Lett-Lopi Vest in mind.  The yarn was great value, something like 60pence a ball, and is a nice blend of 70% wool and 30% alpaca. I chose a light navy blue for the main colour and then white, green & purple for the coloured yoke.

I cast on last weekend and spent a very lazy two days watching Band of Brothers on DVD (so great) and knitting lots & lots of stockinette stitch.  I took it with me to Knit Wits on Tuesday night and finished up to where I need to split it for the armholes. It has been another busy week so I  haven't had a chance to pick it up since then, I'm very much looking forward to spending a couple of hours on it this weekend.

Coldsheep Confessions : It's all Jamie Oliver's Fault

 
I have a confession to make - I fell off the coldsheep wagon and it is all Jamie Oliver's fault. You see I saw this article in The Guardian which explains that Jamie had a fabulous idea to use the wool from the sheep he breeds for his restaurant Fifteen to produce these very cool knitting kits.

 
The yarn is spun & dyed by The Natural Fibre Company and I love the grey and pink combination of the kit I chose.  There are patterns for two different scarfs, a hat, a tea cosy and egg cosies. They are all very easy patterns so I might get a bit more adventurous.

The only thing that made me giggle a bit is the quote on the box from Laura the Restaurant Manager:  This knitting kit is a brilliant idea....(agreed)....and the best way to spend the long dark winter evenings...(yep, I'm totally onboard that train). With a glass of wine/cup of tea & the telly on.....(now you're talking Laura).....you hardly notice you're knitting!....ummm wtf? I'm guessing Laura isn't a knitter?

 
The Mr thinks Jamie Oliver is aiming for world domination and these knitting kits are just the next step in his cunning plan. I must admit I am a sucker for his books and his cookware, so we do have a lot of Jamie in the house, but who could resist a little splurge on one of these fabulous limited edition kits. Especially when the proceeds are going to support a great charity? Not this knitter, that is for sure!