Box Ticker

I finished The Snow Child and, wow, did it tick some boxes. A really good novel - tick! A not-too-challenging read - tick! Tolerant of my flighty commitment - tick! A ripping tale - tick! Beautifully written - tick! (Oh, my, such beautiful writing - tickticktick!) Did it call out to me all day long? Why, yes. It still does.

What's more, the book compelled me to sneak pages in the car at school pick-up, and sit in unwieldy postures (think one knee and one elbow holding it open) so I could grab a chapter while knitting, snaffling moments throughout my week to read a handful of words here and there.

It came highly recommended by so many - thank you, thank you! And now I will pass that recommendation, with the greatest enthusiasm, to anyone who cares to listen.

This week, with the haunting chill still lingering, I embark on another recommendation - this one from Little Macaroon (have you visited her place? She always makes me chuckle.) I've only just started The Most Beautiful Thing. I'm promised an unputdownable second half.

And knitting? Alas, no beautiful cardigans for myself, or school cardigans for my kid (it's on the list!). Just a lovely stack of squishy soft hats for the much promised Typically Red Knits newborn range. They'll be in the shop just as soon as I can grab some photos of them on a tiny head.

Joining in with the Yarn Along here.

Yarn Along

I put out the call and you responded in kind, you good people. Michelle provided a list as long as my arm. No less than six of you recommended The Snow Child, and when lovely Lori repeated the name five times, I knew I had to act. It has arrived, and is everything promised and more - a wintry fairy tale with a slightly dark underbelly. I'm only a few chapters in, and I've only caught a glimpse or two of the child of the title, but already I'm enthralled.

I promised myself I'd cast on my new cardigan by the end of the month - last month. I chose my pattern and bought it, and today tried all day to grab a moment to wind my yarn and work up a swatch. During the dinnertime madness, I began. This is how far I got.

Am I the only one who gets to the last, say, tenth of the process before caving in and letting the yarn loop fall off and tangle beyond repair? Always within a whisker of finishing I'm left with a mess that takes twice as long as the winding to set right. I need one of these. Soon, soon.

Joining in with the Yarn Along.

Bookless on a Wednesday

It's Wednesday and I've nothing to read. Who am I kidding? I've been bookless for months. Novel-less, at least. I'm not sure what happened, but I've stopped reading. I'm still dipping into the best food book I've ever read most nights. But what's sorely lacking is a novel, a really good novel. Any advice? I can't do anything too challenging, or that requires too much of my brain. It must tolerate being read in bursts, sometimes only a page or two a night. That said, it must be beautifully written and tell a ripping tale. I certainly won't say no to un-put-downable, and while a slow-burner is fine, I have to be grabbed from the get-go. If the book calls out to me all day long, so much the better. I don't mind being taunted if the story is worth it.

I'm being taunted by this yarn. Beautiful, beautiful Quince Chickadee in richest Honey. I've enough to make myself a winter cardigan - this one, this one and this one stand out - but I need to find a break between hats to get serious about it. Winter's a few months away, and I know myself well enough to realise it might end up being for the winter after this one. But for the sake of balance, and all things good, I will cast this on before the month is out...once I decide what it will be.

I'm joining in with the Yarn Along despite the distinct and glaring absence of a book.

Also, please check out my very woolly giveaway. Two of my handknit hats are up for grabs - winners choose colour/style/size.

A Little

"Or make an omelet but leave it unfilled and unfolded. Flat, round omelets are quiet, and a little serious."

I think I might be a little in love with this book, and this writer. Tamar Adler speaks of food in a way that sings to me, with poetry and humour and great common sense. I am not yet halfway through, but already I am saving my broccoli stalks and taking pause before cracking an egg to consider my intentions.

I might also be a little in love with this yarn, soft and calm and coloured this time. I am knitting a special order of hat and boots for a baby boy in New Jersey. One boot to go and it'll be on its way, in time for the February chill.

Joining in with the Yarn Along.

Subdued

When all about is red and green, silver and gold.

When everywhere is technicolour and bold-print and sparkle-glitter-sparkle.

When everything is jingle bells, ding-dong merrily, hark the herald angels sing.

When volume levels are increased to deafening, and visuals are just as loud...

How soothing to sink into these beautiful, undyed natural hues.

As soft on the eyes as in the hand.

Wending its way into tiny newborn hats for the shop.

Like knitting with bunnies and cotton wool and creamy hot chocolate.

And reading? Nothing. Completely nothing.

It doesn't feel right.

But I wanted to post in the last Yarn Along before Christmas anyway. 

Wishing all the lovely knitters out there a soft, gentle, natural, soothing festive season.

iKnit

I had a massage today. That's not something that happens very often. It was a gift voucher given to me - wait for it - two Christmases ago. (Thanks, sister-in-law! It expires tomorrow. Nothing like leaving things to the last minute.) I was given chamomile tea on arrival and ushered into a dimly lit, near-silent oasis for an hour of pampering. Bliss.

Not wanting the feeling to end, I took my desert-lime and mimosa scented self to a favourite local cafe for a soy latte. I should probably have ordered something cleansing and herbal, but old habits die hard. Besides, I still had to survive dinnerbathbed. I sat at the window bench and retrieved my knitting from my handbag. My iPad was in there so I grabbed that too. I've been a bit to reluctant to jump on the e-book bandwagon, but I have one that I started reading on holidays and promptly dropped once real life resumed - The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.

And so I sat, sipping my glorious coffee, clickety-clacking away on another hat, and reading. Yes, reading. I'm not new to the knit-read combo, but I've always had to choose carefully. Something that lies flat. Something that doesn't need to be re-arranged every time you turn the page. Something with large-ish type.

It wasn't until I'd 'turned' three or four pages seamlessly - just a quick tap of the screen - with minimal interruption to both the knitting AND the story that I realised what I'd hit on. Are the Apple people even aware? The perfect device for the multi-tasking knitting reader. Or reading knitter.

I am delighted.

My book shelves may suffer as a result, but my 'book shelf' is about to get some new additions. What next? Audio books, no doubt.

Joining in with all the other lovely knitting readers and reading knitters here.

I did seriously consider getting my knitting out for the sitting-up foot rub part of the massage. Too much?

Wednesday

A big stack of magazines waiting for a big stack of spare minutes on a lazy afternoon, coffee in hand, children otherwise occupied. I looked at the calendar today. I think they'll be waiting awhile.

And at risk of sounding repetitive, the only thing happening in knitting news is hats. Hats, hats, hats. I have a special order for some newborn pixies, and I'm waiting for the yarn to arrive. So in the meantime, I've been making sure boys are fairly represented in the shop, tricky when all my days revolve around three girls. My funny little nephew Oscar modelled the chocolate Chubby Pixie when I visited on the weekend. He stood very still and followed direction beautifully - we'll have him back any day.

Yarn Along here.

More photos from the shoot here.

Buy the hat, or order something similar, here.

Ambition versus Reality

I have a dear friend who had a birthday just before I went on holidays. Having long wanted to knit something for her, I quickly set about choosing a pattern and yarn for my suitcase, expecting completely and without question that it would be a finished gift upon my return to Australia. I even packed two other holiday knitting projects to fill all those anticipated empty days after I finished the first. 

Sigh. There are never enough hours, even on holidays, to knit everything that needs to be knitted. I would estimate my progress on the shawl, after two weeks, to be about 5%. Oh, dear. I'm sure all the wool and patterns enjoyed their time away, even if they didn't see the outside of the suitcase.

I did finish a book on my holiday, and make hefty progress on a second. This Anita Shreve novel fit the bill perfectly for poolside reading. My attempts at poolside knitting were less successful, but at least I tried...

It's left me wondering about those tropical climates, as I sit here at home in chilly, ridiculous-for-November temperatures. Could I live in a place where knitting seems, well, crazy? Would the dumplings and noodles make up for the lack of fireside clickety-clack? I just don't know.

Joining in with the Yarn Along here.

And thanks again for your fabulous and supportive comments, both here and at my new Facebook page, for the launch of Typically Red Knits. I'm looking forward to a couple of fun giveaways in the next few weeks, so stay tuned.

Yarn Along and a Giveaway!!!

One tiny summer baby knit complete! It's in lovely, soft, drapey organic cotton, and I took a gamble and made it in the 6 month size, based on prior knowledge of the above-average height of both parents and rather hefty birth weights of his older siblings. He's only a couple of weeks old, this boy, but I reckon he'll be able to wear his new vest all summer long, even if it does reach all the way down to his skinny little knees.

Almost as exciting as a new baby in a handknit is a giveaway! I was lucky enough to be given a second copy of this gorgeous book after buying my own copy at the launch back in May. If you haven't heard of Loani Prior, she wrote 'Wild Tea Cosies' and 'Really Wild Tea Cosies', and this book, 'How Tea Cosies Changed the World', is the third in the series. It's not just a book of knitting patterns but a hilarious and wonderful read as well. I chuckled my way through it, I admit. I've heard of knitting patterns that make you cry, but how often does one make you laugh? There are 18 spectacular tea cosy patterns as well as a scarf, a beret, a bag and more. Just in time for Christmas, these would make wonderful gifts for tea-loving friends.

So I've got one copy to give away, and I hope all of you knitters, and even you mysterious and strange non-knitters, will love it. All you need to do is be a follower of Typically Red (click over there on the right) and leave me a comment here before next Wednesday. I'll happily post worldwide. Good luck!

Ravelry notes for the tiny vest here.

Yarn Along here.

My dear friend Briony, mother of Max, if you have read this far, surprise! The vest is on its way x

Series

I listened to an interview with Ian Rankin the other day. I realised I'd never read one of his novels, nor ever watched 'Rebus' on the ABC, though it seems to be on constantly. Apparently there are 18 books in the collection already. Something about working through a series appeals to me at the moment. I've read very little crime fiction in my time, apart from the Peter Corris books that line the GM's shelves. But I love Edinburgh, and reading about Edinburgh, and when the Ian Rankin book I picked up at an op shop last week happened to be the first in the series, I took it as a sign. A-murdering and abducting we shall go.

Back in the real world, there's a series of new babies - one already here and a couple waiting in the wings. Highly inconvenient, these warm-weather newborns. It makes things a little tricky for us knitters. I couldn't bundle them up in one of the gazillion hats I've been churning out lately, so I've turned my attention to what must be the perfect summer baby knit - tiny vests in organic cotton, just like this one I knit way back when. 

Joining in with the Yarn Along after a brief absence last week.

Grateful to be knitting something other than winter hats.

And so looking forward to seeing what everyone else is creating.

Seven Days

Seven days is all it would take, I reckon. Seven child-free, work-free, meal-preparation-free days  to tackle the lists. Seven days to feel less like I'm drowning under the pile of to-dos and able to enjoy things again.

Day one would be for the house. Cleaning it from top to toe, inside to out, and underneath, over and back to front. Not just gathering up the mess and shoving it into piles, not just wiping down the obvious sludge and sweeping up the blatant mounds of crumbs, but real, proper cleaning.

Day two would be for the garden. A whole day of planning the planting and then doing the planting. Pulling weeds. Turning compost. Tending to the tiny herb garden. Filling the empty pots. Talking to the tomato seeds to see if that will make them sprout, because sunshine and water doesn't seem to be doing the trick right now.

Day three we'd call ADMIN DAY. In big letters. Finally getting the last of the addresses changed after nine months in our new home. Sorting out the girls' passports. Filling out the school enrolment forms. Sending letters to tenants AND landlords. Organising for salaries to be paid into different accounts. Booking optometrist appointments. Finding a good local GP. A meal plan. Filing the great stack of papers that need filing. And perhaps doing a budget. Now, wouldn't that be novel?

Day four would be friends day. Sitting down with cups of tea and the telephone and having good chats with good friends who I've been neglecting because there never seems to be a run of enough spare minutes, or enough quiet in the background, to make a phone call possible. And then I'd gather up a pile of cards and stamps and write to all the people who I really need to say hello to, friends of my mum who would no doubt love a photo of the girls and some news. And then I'd attend to birthday gifts that have gone wanting in the great chaos of the year. There are some 18-month-olds in my life who still haven't received their first birthday present.

The sewing machine would get a workout on day five. I'd be able to finish off all the almost-finished odds and ends that need buttons or hems or elastic. I'd whizz through a stack of easy pants and skirts for the girls, the ones I refuse to buy because they're so easy to make, and yet I don't make because I don't quite get around to it. I'd get Lola's nature bag made that I've been promising her for months. And I'd at least try to make a dent in the fabric stash.

Day six would be me and the computer, tackling some writing projects that never even get a look-in these days. Perhaps I'd act all writerly and take the laptop to the local cafe so I could tap away whilst sipping lattes and feeling nostalgic about the good old days. That would be nice.

And on day seven, of course, I'd wander through my pristine house, feeling the weightlessness that comes from having checked off the last thing on a long, long list, I'd pull up a chair under a tree in my immaculate garden, and knit. Knitknitknitknitknit a whole day away. A cup of tea within reach, a magazine open in front of me, birds a-tweeting, perhaps some music drifting by and the gentle click-clack of my needles.

Just seven days. I think that's all I'd need.

I'm currently knitting tiny hats from big balls of wool (my favourite Cascade Eco), and I'm yet to choose another book having finally finished The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. Perhaps today's Yarn Along will throw up some ideas.

Spring Tee

The Yarn Along has me in its grip. I awoke was awoken early this morning, and had a busy day ahead, but most of the morning's energies were directed towards getting this little top off the needles, the ends woven in, buttons added, and the washing and blocking done, all so I could meet the Wednesday deadline.

It happened, miracle of miracles. A second version, slightly adapted, of this other little tee. I cast on fewer stitches to make the neckline less gapey, and played around with the increases because I felt the other one was a bit puffy on the yoke. The yarn is Jo Sharp 8ply wool. My Pearl thought it was itchy today, but that's because I made her wear it with nothing under it for the photos. It will no doubt spend most of its time over a long-sleeve top because, as much as I want to declare winter over after this run of glorious sunny days, I suspect it would be a bit foolish of me.

I'm still working my way through The White Tiger and, despite my incremental progress, it has become a book I want to retire early for each night. A good thing, given the early starts these days.

Ravelry notes here.

Beautiful wooden buttons from here.

Yarn Along here.

And the pattern for this t-shirt coming soon.

High

A bunch of knitted hats, stacked high for the photo.

About as high as the stress levels here today, despite our efforts to get out and enjoy the sunshine.

Not nearly as high as the high-pitched screams every few minutes from any/all of my girls fighting over this or that or nothing really at all.

Substantially higher than the amount of hours sleep I'm getting each night lately.

Far, far, far higher than my patience levels as a result of said sleep deprivation and said relentless bickering.

Overwhelmingly higher than the number of pages I'm managing to read each evening of White Tiger by Aravind Adiga.

And roughly as high as the glass of wine I'm about to pour myself right now.

Summoning one last burst of energy for the Yarn Along before collapsing for the night.

Pink Enough

It was the jumper that jumped the queue. And then the queue got its own back, and toilet-training sisters caused unforeseen delays. 

But then it was done, and it was lovely, and all was right with the world.

And there was dancing to prove it.

The pattern is Rubble by Alison Brookbanks. The yarn is Cleckheaton. The colour is pink enough to please her and not pink enough to displease me.

I'm reading a novel. About something other than parenting. It's good.

Ravelry notes here.

Yarn Along here.

Speaking of 'queue jumping', are you (Australians) watching Go Back to Where You Came From on SBS. Throat-constrictingly powerful stuff.

Stats

Number of girls being raised in this house: 3

Number of girls currently being toilet-trained: 2
Number of size 2 underpants laundered since Monday: 17

Number of girls awaiting new mama-made jumper: 1

Balls of wool purchased to knit jumper: 4

Balls of wool apparently required to complete jumper: 4.1

Chance of getting out of the house to purchase extra ball of wool whilst two toddlers are toilet-training: Fat.

Reading Raising Girls by Gisela Preuschoff.
Yarn Along here.

Bumpy Bonnets

Wow, way to make a girl feel special! Thanks so much for your beautiful comments yesterday. What a lovely bunch of good souls. Next time I feel like a little boost, gosh, I'll rattle off a few meandering thoughts about this blogging lark and hit 'publish'. As good as chocolate, with far fewer calories.

A while back, I was bemoaning the state of my working life and wondering how/why/what/when I might seek out something that satisfies my creative urge rather than just the pesky financial burdens. I think it was Evelyn who said to be open to the signs. Around that time, there had been a rush of people commenting, in real life and here on the blog, about the hats my girls were always wearing. It felt like every other day someone said, "If you go into business, I'll buy one."

Now, whichever way I look at it, knitting kid hats, by hand, just me, will never be all of the answers to all of my prayers. But maybe it's a simple answer to one of them, a supplementary one, if you will. 

With that in mind, I've been busily knittering (that's like tinkering only with knitting needles) away in the background coming up with a few little patterns that are slowly turning into a few little actual hats that sometime soon may appear in a teeny-tiny Etsy shop bearing my name. Why all this incy-wincy, tiddly-widdly talk? 'Cause I'm nervous just mentioning it...

But you know what? I'm sick of meeting new people (and I seem to be meeting a lot at the moment, such is the life of the newby in town) and cowering behind a description of what I do for a living* and yet being so tentative to tell people what I WANT to be doing for a living. More on that soon. More on a lot of stuff soon.

In the meantime, one of my favourite people recently called and asked for a hat for her baby girl. She meant for me to send her a hand-me-down. Instead, because this is a very special little girl, I knit up one of my bonnets. I dug into the stash for some beautiful Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky, because it's so soft and luxurious and I love this colour. And Stella, with the promise of a lollipop when it was all over, agreed to be my model for the shoot. I can call it a shoot now. I've been to The Nursery.

Oh, reading? Why, still 'Simplicity Parenting'. I've taken two huge bags of toys to the charity bins. The girls didn't even notice. I'm struggling a bit more with culling their books. You're readers, you understand.

Yarning Along with the best of them. 

* It's not that I do anything shameful or embarrassing for a living, it's just kind of boring and uninspiring served with a hefty dose of unfulfilled potential.

Serious/Not Serious

Some serious and some not so serious reading this week. After my plaintive cry for help a few weeks ago, a small book order was placed. I added Simplicity Parenting to the basket because it has been on my wishlist for a while and I thought it might supplement the toddler titles well. And the ideas within already make such sense to me - less stuff, less screen time, less rushing, less stress - so I'm keen to back up my own thoughts with somebody else's science and professional viewpoint. 

When the opportunity for a quick escape arose this afternoon, I popped the book into my bag with some knitting - another hat in green. But upon arriving at the cafe on the corner and ordering my soy latte, suddenly I didn't want to read about parenting, or childing, or mumming, or familying, or any other serious 'ing. And then the latest glorious Gourmet Traveller bounced into my hands...with its chocolate and banana French toast with salted caramel oozing off the cover, I mean, how could I resist...

Seriously good.

Yarn Along over here.

And when not knitting hats, I'm making merry progress on the pink queue-jumping jumper too...

Knitting/Reading for Five-Year-Olds

What's not in the picture:

- The knitting needles in the top of the unfinished hat.

- The other 14 books in the very-late-to-arrive birthday present.

- The hissy-fit she had while I tried to take the picture.

- The hissy-fit I had while I tried to take the picture.

- The unwell little sister, wailing, off to the right.

- The big pile of hats being made inspired by that texture. Next week, I hope.

Joining in with the Yarn Along.

And now I have to go and work out how this hat ends...

Remembering in Green

Thank you for your comments on this post. They were so very appreciated, and I'm pleased to report a miniscule shift away from terrible and back towards delightful in the toddler stakes. Small steps.

As you can see, I'm currently indulging in another Alexander McCall Smith novel, the second in the Isabel Dalhousie series. How lovely it is to be wandering Edinburgh's streets again. I had a short stint living there in the late '90s and so loved it. I had better read fast, because a small book order has been placed following some recommendations on the toddler crisis, and I'm sure next week's Yarn Along will reveal some much more serious, creased-forehead-type reading.

I recently told a blog friend who reckons she's not much of a knitter and can only manage knit and purl (isn't it all just knit and purl?) that she could knit a hat like the one my girls have been flaunting this winter, and I've promised to write up the pattern. That green knitting in the photo above is me trying to remember it. Hopefully you'll see it here soon.

Yarn Along here.

Oh, and if you missed it, please come and check out my book review and giveaway.

Queue Jumper

I finished a book. Given how many pages I manage each night before falling asleep, it always sort of surprises me when I reach the last one. Feels good, clean slate and all, but instead of leaping into a new one, I'm keeping things light and short and indulging in a few magazines that I've been accumulating lately. I took this photo this afternoon with every intention of sitting down with a coffee, knitting a few rows and enjoying 'Mollie Makes'. It didn't happen. Blame the toddlers.

Having rejigged the sleeves on Lola's blue cardigan, I thought I'd move onto some other things on my to-do list. And then a little jumper jumped up the queue before my very eyes. It took me quite by surprise. I had been at a big fabric store to get something spangly to make a cape for a superhero (called Jupiter Girl) when I was drawn to the yarn section. There I found some very price-reduced wool in a pink I thought I could live with and that she would love. And suddenly I was knitting another top for her.

A queue-jumping jumper.

Joining in with the Yarn Along here.