How dreadfully boring it must be for you to read here that I have been too busy and not in the right frame of mind to create this week.  Although, I mindlessly started knitting a 1x1 rib scarf from some homespun yarn....  I really like the texture of this scrap of knitting.  It has soothed me.

The saddest thing is that I'm working this weekend too.  Although, for the first time in my life I am being paid overtime... normally I would take time in lieu or flextime... but I already have so much flextime accrued that it was starting to become ridiculous. And really, this is a case of a manager far removed from me making last minute decisions which significantly increased the workload of my little group at a time when I just couldn't-fit-any-more-in.  So they can pay the workerbee to make this all happen for them - they'll meet their bonus targets this year LOL.

In addition to "The Fun Adventures of Claire's Engineering Career" - we played and lost our touch football final on Tuesday, I went to an exhibition opening on Wednesday, had a hairdressers appointment on Thursday and last night watched the touch football grand final in the wintery rain, then had pizza and talkies with friends at their house.See.  The excuses never end.  I hate excuses by the way, never use them if I can help it... no one wants to hear them.  Least of all you I'm sure.

So.  Onwards.  Here are a few links I have recently enjoyed:

Meabh Warburton: A tapestry weaver who currently lives in the South of France (sigh).  Lots of glimpses of her life and artistic process.  I'm glad I re-found this blog.

Rag and Bone: Books, book art, bookbinding, paper craft, paper making, box making, journaling, design, print & patterns, textiles, origami, art events - the blog of a bookbindery.

Design?DNA: The blog of Amy from Nashville; I love the mix of stuff that has come up on Amy's blog - especially the textile and architecture related bits :-)

Last year I was so enthusiastic about entering my spinning and knitting into the local agricultural show, I even spent many weeks at Spinners and Handweavers trying to convince them all to enter as well. 

This week I was shamed to realise that I have nothing to enter this year and the show is next weekend.  So on Friday, in a weird fit of optimism, I trotted down to the showground and filled in the entry form for knited garment made from handspun wool and a skein a handspun wool.   They have to be delivered at the showground by Wednesday night.

I suppose it was not only optimistic, but foolhardy, since I had a thought of entering a knitted beanie, and I had a thought that it would be a colour work beanie, and I have never knitted with two colours before, and I didn't have a pattern so I had to design the beanie as well.I determined on Friday Night that I am capable of dealing with two strands of yarn at a time, a comforting thought given my aim. And I discovered that designing the colourwork pattern in excel is a billion times faster and better than doing it on graph paper.  I used the Bea Ellis hats and Hello Yarn's Pirate Hat as inspiration, but pretty much nutted it out for my self.  I especially like the striped top.

Saturday was taken up with Kayaking, but today, with the help of the Cricket on the telly, I sat on my bum and knitted.  I knitted until my ribs hurt (I think I hunch over or something), I knit until my hands hurt and I knit until I finished!!

The hat is sized for a small baby ... well I think it is... the last small baby I held was my sister and she is about to turn 14.  So the size thing is a guess.  If it is too small, I'll call it a doll hat and be done with it.  I dyed the orange yarn and spun both yarns.  The white yarn is from the skein that one the prize at last year's show :-) 

The next two evenings will be taken up with spinning.  I want a new skein to enter as well. 

First attempt at two colour knitting.

Needle Roll - Rolled up

 A needle roll!!

All the fabric is hand dyed, including the print which I did a few years ago, I made the flower stamp out of scrap high density foam from Clarke Rubber :-)  I had no use for it until tonight, so I am doubly happy!

The needles were a gift from Iris, a fellow member of the LV Spinners and Handweavers. She just came in one day and gave me a whole pile of dpns.  I can't wait to take the roll to our meeting on Wednesday, I hope she is there.

So this sewing means I have actually cleaned out my workroom.  I still have all our books in there and a pack of enormous paper on the floor which I have to step around, but the room is largely functional again.  Riscy poked his head in tonght and said that he could see I was way happier now... and he was right!  This needle roll isn't the most artistic thing I've ever made, but it got my brain going and the fabrics out of the fabric box.

The enormous paper on the floor of my workroom is there for a reason.  I plan to get started on the Babushka Rooms idea this week.  This is an experimental project which may not pan out, but I'm keen to give it a try at least.

I also have another tiny spark of an idea for a quilt inspired by the Latrobe Valley.  This one may be a lot more representational than The Dredger. 

This weekend I spent most of my time playing around with bird imagery.  I want to use the birds on the handbags I need to make (soon).  I should just get in and make one rather than dithering about in photoshop.  But it just isn't working for me at the moment.... no, wait... I just had an idea...

Needle Roll - Un rolled

I have borrowed this book from Dianne at Spinners and Handweavers.

I think my next project might be a boudoir jacket (aka lace cardigan).  There is a very nice half length 'Dressing Jacket on page 13 that has really taken my fancy.

The booklet appears to have been published during WW2 because, whilst there isn't a date, there is this a note explaining that Lincoln Mills supply the armed services before civilian knitters and that is why there will be shortages of worsted yarn until the war is over.

Our second Touch Footy final is on tonight.  Eeeek!

I have a very busy week coming up but I should be able to settle down into some creativity towards Friday.  I also realised that we are going to Tasmania in just over two weeks (taking the car on the overnight ferry) so I really want to have the dredger quilt finished before then and I also need to spin up enough wool to keep me occupied with my knitting while visiting rellies etc.