Hills Hoists and Sock Tubes and...Crochet? Oh My!

So what has happened since last October?

Well, like I said in my last post, we’ve moved into a house! It’s a lovely little federation style home, with grass and a porch and actual hallways and windows and head space. Bascially, it’s got all those things that I learned quickly to assume I’d never have again when I moved to Sydney and learned what inner-city-ring housing looked like to an Australian developer.

To further underscore just how excited I am about being in a house, rather than some ‘boutique 2-bedroom unit’ (they mean matchbox with no ventilation and no space for amenities, btw), I did a jig when I learned we got what’s known here as a Hills-Hoist (it’s a rotating washing line, my fellow PNWers). I’ve heard some interesting stories from Liebling and some of my Aussie friends about the uses of one of these contraptions….but I’ll leave that bit to your imagination unless you ask directly. All I really thought about when I saw it was how much yarn and fibre I can dry on it!

I know I've shared this photo before, but what cat is THIS blase about yarn?!?

See, a Hills-Hoist means there is grass and yard to install it in. This means we get a yard, which means we have more places to send children to play rather than giving up the entire common area and hiding in the bedroom. (This also means I get to knit on the couch while yet enjoy the sounds of kids running through my house.)

The first time Youngling had a friend over to play hangout and have dinner I loaded them up with plates and glasses of juice and kicked them out onto the porch, and didn’t see them for ages (though I could hear peels of laughter every so often). I managed to knit an entire half sock tube while they were goofing off. It was amazing.

 You know what also rocks about our new place? My yarn storage and wheel already match the pre-existing design and decor! (Also in the photo, our Christmas tree this year. I absolutely recommend, if you are moving over Christmas and have kids, decorate your old home’s door for Christmas and then make it one of the first things you put up in your new home. That way you don’t miss out on decorating just because you’re packing stuff and it’ll help make your new space feel homey right away.) 

No this is not all of my fibre stash. I’ve also got 9 big boxes just of yarn and fibre (not including books) that I somehow talked myself into putting into short-term storage until we’d moved into the house. That’s a story for next time - trust me it’s a riot and maybe don’t do what I do.    

I also had my birthday! This included birthday yarn :-D The lovely Lisa, yes the Lisa who likes to practice knitting techniques by creating something cute for her Grumpy Cat, is the sweetest and brought me back a hank of something special from her trip to New Zealand. Here’s a piccie; it’s from Handzon in Christchurch.

The yarn is brushed mohair merino and the colourway is 105-Autumn. I just love the colours, they remind me of an Italian Renaissance banner. And the feel? Like a squishy cloud of cotton candy.  I love that it's a different mohair yarn, there's no silk core here (mohair is commonly plied around a silk thread core) and it's  weighted at a 12ply. I’m going to use it as my entry into the Kanga Kiwi KAL/CAL this year, I just need to decide on a pattern...that's NEVER hard, ha!

In other yarny news I have been on a sock tube binge. Remember all those lovely 50g zauberball gobstoppers from Wondoflux I purchased last year on my Yarncation to Melbourne? I’ve decided making sock tubes is a great way to make use of those beautiful yarns without having to bother with a scale or worrying about the socks not being even.  This also makes for super easy cinema knitting, which we all need in this ridiculous heat wave.

It isn't like the kitties are using it...

Aren’t they yummy? The middle one makes me think of fruit popsicles (that’s Ice Blocks for you Aussies) at the beach. The one on the far right is for Liebling, and yes he is ecstatic about the sparkly toes. Yarns are (left to right) Felici sock yarn from KnitPicks in Goth Kitty, Edition 3.0 by Schoppelwolle in 2296 - Englisher Garten and Regia sock yarn Allround Color in color 04969 from my Birthday Cake 2018 stash with Knitpicks Stroll Glimmer for the toes/heels/cuffs (I seem to have lost the ball band in the move, so no colourway, sorry!).

I’ve had a few requests for a tutorial for making a socktube, so I’ll be posting one very soon for anyone who’s interested. I’ve got several sock tubes knitted up, I just need to get some photos of the process before I can post.

Also, I’ve cast-on (is that the right term for starting a crochet project? I don’t know, I don’t do this very often) a new project. It’s going to be a baby blanket that can be rolled up into a stuffed animal (pattern link). I made one of these about this time last year for a friend’s newborn niece and got rave reviews from everyone who saw it in person. And, as this year it seems that all of my friends who’ve got babies have decided to make more babies, I decided I better get my butt in gear and start stitching away. This one is going to be a Narwhal whale for the baby of The Pirates. Jolie clearly approves.

What have you lovelies been working on while my head was stuck in the boxes? I’d love to see!