On the Needles or Getting a Head Start...

 So, Masto just SUCKS!

For the third time in 2 years Geri is losing her hair. It's been happening for 6 months now and shows no sign of letting up. However this time, the hairloss is much more wide spread aka it is body wide.... Hmmmm not good me thinks.

 After previous hair dumps Geri has grown her hair back with varying success, but it's never been quite the same as it was in its heyday.

With her loss being so widespread and prolonged this time, Geri's battling spirit has taken a battering and is severely dented. You see she spends most of her life waiting ... waiting to feel better, waiting for the latest episode to abate, waiting to see doctors, waiting, waiting, waiting and waiting for her hair to grow back. Then once it approaches a length she likes, waiting for it to finish falling out once again before waiting for it to grow back in again. The current round in this cycle has been a deal breaker.

Geri wearing Heidi in Dark Rust

If Geri liked the skinhead look I guess life would be sweet ... in the hair stakes anyway. But the trouble is she loves long hair. To help her cope in the past we've bought her wigs so that she can feel a little less self-conscious about her non crowning glory. When her hair started falling 6 months ago, Geri immediately ordered a new wig - hey, what better way to experiment with a new hair colour and style! She decided to become a redhead this time. This is one of the wigs she's using at present:

Heidi in Dark Rust

Recently it became obvious that the hair loss wasn't going to stop any time soon and after a long discussion Geri came to a decision. She decided that she could control this aspect of her waiting. She could stop waiting for her hair to grow back. With this epiphany under her belt, Geri instructed me to shave off her remaining hair. I was pretty upset doing it but Geri found it empowering and indeed it was a symbolic 'flip the bird at masto' gesture for her.

Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina

The game plan is this: She will grow what's left of her hair long enough to be styled into the style that Audrey Hepburn
wore in Sabrina. Now, I think Geri looks incredible with short hair and that this style will really suit her, but Geri begs to differ because long hair is her overwhelming preference. So, on the days when she wants to have long hair aka most of the time when she is well enough to go out with me, she will wear her wigs but at least for the rest of time she will be stylish and glam in a short haired kind of way hehe. We reckon this is a win/win situation and a really positive way to deal with this nasty situation.

The other tack I am taking to help provide a third alternative is to knit Geri some more hats. She has pressed the Angora beret into service many times this winter and with 'summer' approaching some cooler additions to the hat wardrobe are in order. She rather likes the Cloche style of hat so an extensive internet search ensued. I found that Ravelry had a great range available and with Princess Geri looking over my shoulder to give each pattern the royal nod  - or otherwise,  I sifted through dozens of pages of patterns. This simple but sweet pattern is the first I am making:
 
Amelie Cloche Hat

using 4.5 mm needles and this yarn:

Jo Sparp Desert Garden Aran Cotton in Solstice

which I conveniently had lurking in my stash. It is knitting up at a cracking pace and will be finished before the weekend if everything continues to go according to plan.

Back to  my needles ... UP UP and AWAY!

Just In Time For 'Summer' - Angora adventures come to a close.

Geri's Angora scarf was a quick knit for sure. As you can see from the photos, I didn't stretch it much when I blocked it. The yarn is so soft that I figured it would just reduce back to close to its original size once the wires were removed so I only stretched it enough to open the lace pattern up enough to be visible.

Turns out I was right!




The past four days have been absolutely gorgeous here in Wellington with soft, windless, sunny spring weather so there's not been much call for such a warm, yummy scarf. However, just last week we had massive southerly; aka freezing, gales and heroic volumes of rainfall which induced country wide flooding and landslips.  If Geri had been well enough to be out the scarf would have been pressed into service pronto!

Incidentally, one of the slips was in Pukerua Bay with another just south of us. The southern slip derailed a commuter train coming north which was then hit by another commuter train that was going south ... my husband was on the next northbound train and so had a lucky escape. Good timing huh?

Communter Train Crash

I see on today's weather forecast that our short taster of Utopian spring weather is coming to an end with another 'exciting' storm system heading our way.  Time to batten down the hatches yet  again, wind the scarf around Geri's neck when we are out on Friday and ride the incoming storm out with good old Wellington stoicism. 

Hopefully, Geri won't need to use her scarf too much this 'summer' ...

Grow Baby Grow!

The kit set mini greenhouse and the two sun tunnels arrived. The mini green house sat on the window seat for about a week until I finally found the correct 'round-to-it' and put it together. I was further motivated to finally get it done this asap as the kittens had decided that the sheets of plastic that make up the wall and roof sections were great for chewing and jumping up and down on. NOT good karma for kitties!



The sun tunnels were pressed into service straight away. One tunnel is full of vege seed and the other now has flower seed in it. Some of the vege seed has been very quick to germinate, taking just 4 days! The empty tunnel; seen in front in this photo, has a couple of unique W.A.W.D.s in it ..... aka Wellington Anti Wind Devices hehehe. These old diving weights are very useful for this sort of thing here in Windy Wellington.

The mini green house went together without too much fuss and bother. It sat on top of my pattern drafting table for a further few days once it was all together whilst I figured out how I was going to stop it taking flight with the next little 'breeze' that passed through Wellington.
Silly me... I mistakenly imagined  that it would be safe from the onslaught of curious kitties if it was up on the table. HAH! Effie eyed it up, leaped up onto the table; then onto the peak of the green house, turned around and cast me an "Oh, you are joking if you think that will stop me" look and proceeded to use the lid sections as a kittie super slide. She is such a little monster and it is indeed fortunate that she is also very cute!

I'm hoping I've solved the potential; erm guaranteed, problem of flying greenhouses by building a heavy wooden base (with my son's help) and screwing the greenhouse to it. This will hopefully live up to the challenge of 120km/hr winds! The frame also provides a little more elevation for the greenhouse which means I should be able to fit 3 pairs of my Autopot hydroponics units inside it, which will be great for growing winter salad greens - or even summer ones for that matter if we have yet another bad summer.

The Autopots -

Autopot System

are something I brought back from Australia. It is a really great growing system and is perfect out on my very large front deck. I'm planning to expand the system some time next year as the units I planted up just after I got home are going really well. I use them primarily for salad greens and herbs at the moment and will increase the range of veges once I have more units.

Jen, Geri, Lyyne and 'It'

A few months ago our friend Lynne; who inhabits the same masto Facebook corner of the world as us, lost her treasured son Thomas in the most tragic of circumstances. There are no words to describe her loss and the pain and agony this dreadful event has caused her.

As I sat here on the other side of the world I felt compelled to do something more than offer words of comfort - which to be honest felt totally inadequate. Ideally what I wanted to do was to spend some quiet time with her, to wrap her up in a huge hug and to just be there. But, that was impossible so I did the next best thing - I decided that if I couldn't be there in person to give her a hug then I could be there in spirit with my arms being substituted by a shawl.

I decided to use this yarn:

Blue Sky Alpacas 50% Alpaca 50% Silk

And once again used this pattern from Knitty:

Knitty - Ella

After confirming Lynne's address I let her know that 'It' was on its way to her and awaited the day it would arrive. That was today. At last I've been able give Lynne that hug and that's a good feeling for sure.

Shawl prior to blocking

and after blocking.

Let the planting begin ... almost!

The terracing of the tyres is complete. Three Cheers for ME!! I'm now in the process of leveling the pathways, finishing the back-filling and adding compost. I'm also trying to figure out how I am going to handle a narrow strip of garden that remains along the back fence at the lowest point of the garden. It is too narrow for tyres so I'll have to be creative and come up with another option. I'm ruminating on that one at present and the solution will come to me in time I am sure. I am planning to plant Sweet Peas in this strip so I have a little time up my sleeve yet.

I am very pleased with how the vege garden is looking and have popped a few seeds and seedlings into the tyres that are filled and ready. The vagaries of Wellington's spring weather have made themselves felt this last week or so with some of the stormiest weather in over 50 years. Of course, it's not just Wellington that has been hit, the South Island is in the grips of terrible rain/sleet/hail/snow storms which are playing havoc with the spring lambing amongst other things. I really feel for all of those involved. It's pretty rough following right on the heels of the Earthquake.

With the knowledge that spring is an unpredictable and random event here with summer often no better, I decided I'd sort out some cold frames to start my seeds off in. It's also easier to keep the baby plants safe from the ravages of slugs, snails and my all time favourite - The Mystery Axe Murderer!

When I was growing food in the first incarnation of my vege garden I used to get very frustrated and was completely mystified by the fact that one day I'd have a healthy row of seedlings smiling up at me and the next morning when I went to say hello all I'd find was a row of little stumps, with the tops laying neatly alongside. It was as if some sadistic mini lumberjack had been through during the night and felled my burgeoning crops with their tiny axe. I never did work out who; or what, the culprit was and I'm not prepared to watch it happen all over again. Ergo, the cold frames. This way I can keep my babies safe through their infancy until they are ready to toddle on their own in their new homes down in the vege garden. I guess the dwarf sugar snap and snow pea seeds I have already planted are just going to have to take their chances though!

After investigating various possibilities; including making them myself, I came across a local company which manufactures a couple of products which pretty much met my criteria. The first is a cold frame:

Suntuf Coldframe

and the second is  slightly smaller model:

Sun Tunnel

They are due to be delivered today - yippee... I can't wait to get sowing.

Next up will be sorting out the hoop / cloche system for the vege beds so that I can attempt to circumvent the inclement conditions in order to convince the veges that it is warmer than they think it is!

For a bit of light relief during the construction of the vege garden I have cleared quite a bit of the bed directly above the vege garden. This is going to be a flower bed ... a lot of my gardening friends think I've had some sort of breakdown because to date my garden has been an almost exotic flower free zone; the only flowering plants in residence have been native species. In the past I've dabbled briefly with flowers, but as most of the plants I tried simply got torn to shreds in the wind I gave up. I did manage to grow a few roses in the old vege garden but they were never really happy and I ended up asking my mum to adopt them. They are all doing very well up in Auckland now and I get regular 'report cards' on their progress.

When I arrived home; after pondering and planning for 3 years about what I'd do in the garden if I was ever home for good, I could once again allow the urge to grow roses take root. This time however, I was going to be realistic and decided to put Rugosa roses in. These tough little customers not only handle the wind, but are more than happy growing in the teeth of salt laden gales right on the beach and will even tolerate poor soils. So far I've only planted three down the back. The remainder (5) are planted up in the top garden where I'm playing the 'wait and see if they will perform' game.

Myosotidium hortensia - Chatham Island Forget-Me-Knot

So, the colour scheme for this bed I'm working on is blue/yellow/white/purple/mauve - you get the picture! Already in the bed are my Chatham Island Forget-Me-Nots; which are just starting to come into flower now. They will be out of this world in a few weeks time! I've transplanted a crop of self sown seedling out amongst the roses and as more flower seedlings come on line from my cold frames I'll slowly fill the bed in. The three roses I've got in are:

Agnes

Schneezwerg and

Fimbriata which has a little pink in it but I can forgive it for that for the time being!

I am going to add a couple more roses as I slowly move the current occupants out.The roses are: 

Stella Polaris and maybe

Rugelda but she may be too tall for this location ... we'll see.

 Ok, where's my spade. Time to dig!

I'm Quite Tyred....or How to Build a Vege Garden in Slow Motion

The site before I started work - Feigoas and Lemon on the right

Now that I'm home I'm spending a lot of time; well as much as I can manage, in the garden. One of my highest priorities is to get my vege garden going again. When Geri became very ill - yikes! 5-6 years ago ... I let my vege garden lapse and before I left for Australia I planted a heap of trees in it just to fill up the space.
On arriving home, I once again felt the urge to grow food and had a good long think about how best to acheive this given the local climate and the physical challenges of the site. I also didn't want to be investing a lot of money in building the vege beds. The solution I came up with was to use recycled car tyres. These have a couple of  advantages. First off they are free and by using them I am preventing a few from ending up in the local landfill.The other plus is that being black they absorb and hold heat. This; hopefully, will mean I can extend my growing season, especially if I use cloches to turn the tyre beds into mini green houses.

The first job that faced me was to remove the trees I'd planted and to reassess the few fruit trees that had remained in the garden. Let me explain that one. Over the years I've tried many different food and fruit plants in the garden. Some have done very well but most have struggled with the challenging climate and location. The few that I had left were two feigoas - which I had shifted a few years ago with the warning that if they didn't pull their socks up and start producing they'd be on their bike. They must have headed the warning because they have produced good crops for the last 2 winters. Mmmmm I love Feigoas! 

My Meyer lemon has been successful ever since I planted it so it had a secure and guaranteed spot in the garden. I had left the Quince in when I left and although it did produce a few fruits the spring gales played havoc with its ability to set fruit so it was out! Also on shakey ground was the lime tree, which is really still in its infancy. It has had a few relocations and valiantly attempts to fruit but it is struggling. After Mademoiselle Lime and I sat down and had a heart to heart I decided to give her one last chance and moved her for the last time. We'll see how she goes over the next few years before deciding if the hatchet will fall... tick tock, tick tock ...  

Nearing the end of the list is the Avocado tree. Now, it is a bit of an anomoly to have a thriving Avocado in this climate, but the tree is tucked away in pretty much the only sheltered corner of the garden and is really thriving. Last year whilst I was home on leave for the summer I picked 52 Avocados - what  a feast! You can see the Avocado tucked into the corner behind the framework in this photo. Oh, there are also two olive trees, both of which are thriving. They do fruit but need some serious pruning - in fact one of them is just about on my hit list I think... We haven't collected the fruit so far - that's on the round to it pile. 

There were about a dozen trees to relocate, all NZ natives and some of them reasonably large. I am very fortunate to have a friend with a farm and over the years she has very willingly received the stream of homeless trees; both fruit and ornamentals, from my garden. So I gave her a call and after much digging and lugging I had a mostly clear site to start work on. This same friend traded me two trailer loads of used tyres for the latest batch of trees = good trade!

In short order, the back yard was full of tyres and I faced the thrilling aka daunting, prospect of preparing them in such a way as to make them usable as planters. I had decided to remove one side wall and to drill four holes in the base of each trye so that I could insert and secure hoop supports for the cloches.  After much discussion and deliberation I borrowed my son's sabre saw and drill and set to work.  Very quickly I discovered that removing the side wall from tyres is a nasty, nasty job! The saw and the drill ran out of battery after 6 tyres which was just as well because that's about how long my charge lasted too. 

It was frustratingly slow work and I became a tad disheartened. Eventually I admitted defeat and employed a friend of my sons to have a go at them. Pat lent a hand and between them they managed to come up with a better technique and finished the whole miserable lot of tyres in about an hour - mutter, mutter, mutter! Still, at least the job was done and I could now begin to build the garden beds. Originally I had planned to simply place the tyres on the ground, fill them and get planting. However as I pondered, planned and visualised how the space was going to work I realised that I wasn't going to be happy with how that plan would look. So muttering under my breath and asking myself why I on earth I did this sort of thing to myself I trudged up to the house and collected my spade.

Although my progress has been slow; regulated by the weather, Geri's masto, my Fibro and the visitation of various exciting virus' amongst other things, I am making progress none the less.  This photo shows the first two rows in place. Since it was taken I've managed to do another row and have 2/3 backfilled those first two rows. I've had 2m3 of compost delivered and barrowed down the back - Pat's friend strikes again! He is proving very useful and is a good investment hehe. So, I'm over half way there and am dying to get going on the final three rows.

Patience, patience ....

On the Needles ... or Another Angora Adventure

On our way back home to NZ from India we stopped off in Melbourne for a few days. I took this opportunity to pick up some more Angora yarn due to the success of the Angora beret I had knitted for Geri in the days before we left India - yes, she can actually wear it and have it touching her skin without it setting off her mast cells. I had in mind a scarf to go with the beret using a pattern from this book:

Vintage Knitwear for Modern Knitters 

This picture of the scarf isn't that good, but gives you a rough idea of what it looks like:

Orkney Angora 100% Angora 4 pl

Angora Leaf Scarf

Morris Hanspun 100% Angora

Hunting for yarn that Geri can tolerate is quite a mission. The pattern calls for the use of Orkney Angora 4 ply so I had tracked some down on the internet before we left Australia and added it to the stash to take to India.  However when it arrived Geri declared that it wasn't going to be suitable. GARG, back to the drawing board I went.



I had seen some very soft hand woven Angora at Morris and Sons so I picked up a hank and brought it home for the Geri acid test, which it passed with flying colours.  Back I went and bought a few more hanks to add to the stash for India.

Fast forward a few months and there we were in Melbourne. As the yarn had shown such promise I decided it would be prudent to add to the stash whilst I had the opportunity.

Last week I started work on the scarf but after working on it for a couple of evenings I could no longer ignore the niggle in my head which was telling me that I didn't like how it was looking. I consulted with Geri who due to having the 'flu really couldn't have cared less at that stage. I decided to make an executive decision and unraveled the whole thing before commencing the search for a pattern that would be a better fit for the yarn.
I came across this one:

Lacy V Scarf by Pegg Thomas

and it looked like it would fit the bill perfectly so I decided to give it a go.

It is knitting up very quickly and I should think I'll have it finished within the week. I love fast projects!

This is a long thin scarf and is suiting the Morris Angora much better. I'll probably just keep knitting until I've finished the yarn completely. Although ... I might do a knitted trim for the ends before finishing the actual scarf as I rather liked the look of the knitted trim on the TMS shawl... hmmmm, I foresee more scheming on the horizon.

A Shawl Well Traveled

How many countries do you think this garment has traveled to? Well, it was concieved in Australia, spent its teenage years in India, reached maturity in New Zealand and will soon emigrate to America to be rehomed at a fund raising auction for the Mastocytosis Society during its 2010 conference in October.

The shawl's pattern is a variation on a theme from a pattern on Knitty:

Lace Ribbon Scarf

I doubled the width so the scarf is around 62 cm wide and 2m long after blocking. It is knitted on 4mm needles and took 5.5 balls of yarn. I altered the gauge a little from the original 21st/ 34 rows to 24 st/ 32 rows.

The yarn I choose is deliciously soft and lovely to work with:

Eki Riva Supreme 100% Baby Alpaca # 2299 Lavender

I choose to use this particular yarn because alpaca is often tolerated better than wool as it is softer so is less likely to cause irritation. This was an important factor in my decision because many folk who suffer from Mastocytosis have issues with skin sensitivities and itching.

The edging was knitted separately and sewn on prior to blocking. The pattern is called Willow Leaf and is from one of my books:

150 Knitted Trims

As with all lace, the edging looked horribly lumpy prior to blocking and there was plenty of guestimation going on whilst I knitted it and tried to figure out long it should be, but it shaped up nicely once it had had a taste of the 'wires'!  Blocking really is akin to putting your precious work on the rack for a torture session.

I hope that whomever takes the shawl home with them at the conclusion of the conference enjoys wearing it as much as I enjoyed making it.

The Winter Garden - a potentially dangerous state of affairs ...

This morning in Pukerua Bay we are enjoying a 'refreshing' southerly blast. This wee breeze is coming from the Antarctic via the fresh snow which fell in the South Island yesterday - all 75cm of it. Brrrrr. Hence today's decision to stay inside and write about my garden rather than work in it.

I've been home from India for 8 weeks and have leaped head first back into my garden with unbridled glee. On the days when it has been too wet or cold, my Fibro or Geri's masto has prevented me from working outside I have planted myself in my window seat and tried to organise a brain which is overflowing with ideas. I have ideas sprouting left, right and centre which is exciting but at the same time a little daunting and very dangerous as I have decided to redesign many areas of the garden and am in scheming and plotting overload!

But before I show you what I'm up to let's take a moment to ponder just how gorgeous a winter garden can be. Even in the depths of winter; when one expects there to be little to admire or find joy in, there are gems to be found.

Tecomanthe speciosa

When I arrived home my Tecomanthe vines were flowering. They have hinted that they might flower over the last fews years, but I've never been home to witness it. These vines flower in mid winter and as I've made quite an effort to avoid visiting home during Wellington's winter whilst living overseas, it is little wonder that I haven't managed to catch them at it.

The Tecomanthe is a rare beastie indeed so it is an extra treat to have it flowering in my garden. This vine was found on Great King Island in the Three King Island group (some of NZ's off shore islands) in the 1940s. The specimen; discovered by Prof. Bayliss of Otago University, was the sole  remaining plant in the world. Luckliy it propogates fairly readily and is now growing with great vigour in many NZ gardens. It loves my garden because it is pretty close to the plants original home in regard to growing conditions. In fact it is so happy here that it can be a trifle too triffid-like at times! Anyway, as you can see the flowers are really quite beautiful and are a welcome addition to the local Tui population as a source of winter nectar.

Clianthus puniceus

Another native plant that flowers from mid winter through to late spring is the Kaka Beak. This showey customer is also endangered in the wild but is grown in many gardens these days so is safe from extinction. These guys can be pretty picky about their growing conditions but seem happy enough where I have them located for now. However their apple cart is about to be upset as the bed they are occupying is soon going to be redeveloped and the Kaka Beaks won't fit with the new colour scheme. Not to worry tho, they'll be moving upstairs to the top garden where I have a few gaps to fill. Hopefully they won't decide to sulk... or worse!

Fuchsia triphylla

Although not a native, this fuchsia is doing pretty well in the garden even though I've not been home to keep an eye on it. It is about to be relocated upstairs to the top garden as well, however I don't think it will be as upset about moving as the Kaka Beak might (will) be. I'll just give it a good haircut and let it get on with it.

Last but not least, we have another precious NZ native plant. This one originates from the Chatham Islands and is simply magnificent. It won't be in flower for another month or so yet, but even so its form is so striking that I think it rates a mention. This plant can be difficult to grow but if you get the spot right and it decides it likes its location it just thrives. This group is in one of the beds that I am redeveloping but lucky for them they work in with the new colour scheme so they can stay put. In fact, I love them so much that I have designed the colour scheme around them!

Lunch awaits ... as do the seed and nursery catalogues.

On the Needles ... a sneak peek ...

Now that the felted clogs debacle has settled for the time being, I am focused solely on this project. It is a gift so I'm not going to disclose anything about it other than the yarn I'm using:

Blue Skys Alpaca 50% Alpaca 50% Silk

and this photo of it taken prior to blocking. I am hoping to get it finished and posted off within the next few weeks, then it'll be full steam ahead to get the TMS shawl finished in time for the October conference.

If the Clog Fits, Wear it .... but if it doesn't fit, then what?

The knitting of the Shrek slippers was duly completed. Check.

Photo of said slippers; prefelting, was taken. Check.

Preparations for the felting sequence were initiated with great anticipation. Check.

However ... Pat and I were dubious about the size of the things ... they were simply massive! Some seeds of doubt wormed their way under my skin but I chose to ignore them ... for the time being.

We then prepared to have fun felting the clogs in the washing machine and the process of timing, agitating and checking repeatedly ensued. As it transpired, this proved to be a trifle challenging because it was so cold that night that the heat pump hot water cylinder struggled to make the water hot enough to do the job. Subsequently, after half an hour the expected felting process hadn't even been initiated and the clogs didn't seem at all keen to transform themselves into anything resembling potential feet warmer uppers!

Not one to be beaten by something as simple as a lack of hot water, Pat's 'Make it Work' gene kicked into action and a continuous round of kettle boiling and transferring said boiling water to the washing machine began.  Another half an hour elapsed. Some felting was becoming evident but not enough for our liking - those clogs were still mighty huge!  Admitting defeat we moved on to Plan B and shifted the entire operation to the kitchen. The stock pot was unearthed and filled with water and whilst we waited for it to boil we prepared a bucket of super cold water.

Pat attacked the clogs with some soap and then we plunged them alternatively into the boiling water then the cold water, before repeating the process quite a few more times. Felting magic finally became apparent and the clogs got smaller and more dense but it was hard going to say the least. Once the clogs had shrunk as much as it seemed they were going to we reassessed the situation, came to a consensus. The seeds of doubt had sprouted, grown and bloomed.  We agreed the problem was two fold. I had over estimated both the length and width of Pat's feet so those clogs were never going to shrink enough to fit. GAAAARG! It seemed as if it was time to go back to the drawing board... and also to try to find someone who had feet of truly monumental proportions!

I cast on for my second attempt; this time in a smaller size, and got knitting. Once they were ready to felt we decided not to bother with the machine and went straight to the kitchen to begin the boiling / cold water treatment. With baited breath and much anticipation we did a great job of imitating the witches from Shakespeare's Macbeth - Double, double toil and trouble ... We slaved over the boiling cauldron .... oh yeah - pot, muttering and with; in my case anyway,  the occasional manic cackle erupting in what seemed to me to be an entirely appropriate manner.

Hmm, ok .... no felting action!! What the heck ???

Pat asked if the wool had been preshrunk and I assured him that this yarn is sold specifically as being excellent for felting - but I had to admit I was beginning to wonder. We finally got them to shrink a bit but they were still way too big and Pat threw in the towel - or perhaps that should be the clog ... and resigned himself to having cold feet.

I took a few days to ponder and ruminate and then decided that there was no way I was going to let  something as simple as a pair of knitted clogs defeat me. I was going to make those bastards shrink if it was the last thing I did.

I had a load of towels waiting to wash so I decided I'd chuck the slippers in with them on a hot wash and simply keep repeating the wash cycle until I got the results I required.  SCORE! Finally I got the clogs close to what looked like the right size - after 1.5 hours of hot washing. Leaving them to cool so that Pat could try them on I finished the wash and discovered the towels were really, really clean hehe. After a fitting session we decided the clogs were almost right and I waited until I had another load of towels to wash before I started what I hoped would be the last felting session. One more 1.5 hour session of washing did the job and the clogs finally fit. Oh JOY success at LAST!

Now, I have a question .... Riddle me this ...
How come when one accidentally puts a woolen jersey in with the normal wash it comes out looking like an elf's jersey after one wash yet after hours, nay days of abuse, these clogs only very grudgingly decided to felt ????

On the Needles or OMG PAT! Put something on your feet!

We've been back home for a busy, frantic and FREEZING 15 days. When we left Gurgaon the temperature was ranging from 31c - 49c. Here in Pukerua Bay it's ranging from about 3c - 12c. Just a wee bit of a contrast there! To make life a little more interesting than it is already conspiring to be, a week or so before we got home our heat pump died. Pat had arrived home from University in Auckland to a double whammy 'Welcome Home!' First up was the pump followed closely by a really wonderful chaser of discovering that the linen cupboard had been invaded by mice...

So, his first 10 days at home were spent; and he was supposed to be on study leave for his final exams during this time, running diagnostics on the heat pump to work out if it was salvageable and doing dozens of loads of washing. Now this wouldn't have been a big problem for him under normal circumstances but it just so happened that the weather took a nasty turn just as he arrived home and it rained non-stop which made things a trifle more challenging. After Pat finally managed to establish that the heat pump was most probably terminal he called in our supply company to quote for a replacement unit. Great. Sorted. New unit ordered and eagerly awaited.... trouble is the install date was 10 days after Geri and I were due home. Hmmm. This was a problem; not for Pat, but because he knew Geri and I wouldn't cope without heating for that long.

The reason that lack of heating isn't much of a problem for Pat is that he is well known as a bit of a polar bear within our circle of family and friends. He very rarely feels the cold - and has been like that from day one. When I was pregnant with him I knitted and sewed all manner of warm baby clothing as he was due mid winter.  His unique 'antifreeze for blood' properties first became apparent a few days after he was born as he was a rather large baby; especially his head, and I had knitted a newborn size layette for him to wear home from hospital. Not one to admit defeat, I managed to cram the jacket and bonnet onto him; and it took a truly heroic effort to get the bonnet on,  for his trip home from hospital. Geri subsequently grew into this same outfit when she was one year old - my two offspring are polar opposites in so many ways!

All good? Happy baby? NOT! By the time we arrived home Pat was a beetroot red squalling bundle of fury. Being a first time mum I did all of the prescribed 'to-dos' and finally tried peeling some of his clothing off. This instantly pushed his reset button and he calmed down. Over the next few weeks I learned that Pat needed very little in the way of wrapping up. When she made her first call to see us, the Plunket nurse was horrified to find my newborn in just a nightgown and a single blanket. Inviting her to put what she thought was an appropriate amount of clothing/bedding on him, I took cover behind the door and waited with baited breath for Pat to oblige me with one of the truly remarkable performances I was coming to understand were part of his daily routine. He didn't disappoint and in short order became his own version of Mt Vesuvius until admitting defeat, the Plunket nurse sheepishly undid all of her 'good' work.

And so, we return to the lack of heating dilemma. Pat solved this by buying a portable gas heater for the lounge and borrowing an oil filled heater for Geri's room. Whilst we haven't been toasty warm since we got home we also haven't developed frostbite so I can't complain. In fact I am just so relieved to have Geri home safe that I don't think I would have minded if Pat had lit a fire in the middle of the lounge!


Wellington kindly took pity on us and for the last 4-5 days prior HPI (Heat Pump Installation) day we had a run of glorious sunny days with accompanying beautiful sunsets. As they say, you really can't beat Wellington on a good day 8-}



HPI day arrived and the new heat pump was duly installed. Consequently readings on the Geri and Jen "We are warmer and much happier" meter have risen and those on the  "We are cold and very grumpy" meter began to fall immediately, much to Pat's relief! He was his usual extremely useful self and made the installer's job a lot easier than it would have been otherwise. As you can see, ladders are a bit redundant when it comes to Pat !

Now, to get back on point ... During the two weeks we waited for the heat pump I happened to notice Pat's feet ... or rather the chilblains that were decorating his toes. YOUCH! This isn't a new issue for Pat, he's always suffered from them in winter, especially when he was a little guy when he used to play outside in bare feet during winter. BRRRRRR.

Recently, he had an epiphany and realised that the reason he doesn't wear shoes or slippers inside is that whilst his feet might be marginally warmer; and hence suffer from fewer chilblains, slipper wearing has an unfortunate side effect for him. Said side effect is rather irritating and grumpy inducing and is namely that with the addition of a sole to the bottom of his foot Pat bashes his head when he walks through the doorways. Do I see a question mark hovering over your head? Yes? Well, you see Pat is 2m (or 6'8") tall so for him head bashing is an occupational hazard and he has no room to move when it comes to doorways.

I hypothesised that there must be a solution to this problem and got to head scratching. Eventually I decided that something felted; being both thin and warm, might just do the job. I hunted around until I found this pattern -

Fibre Trends Felted Clogs

It uses an NZ wool which I sourced from an online supplier in Tauranga -

Naurally Aran 10 Ply Alpine

The colours I've chosen are 2011 Bottle; main colour, and 2016 Grey; cuff colour.







I've not knitted anything like this before and it's interesting to see how the shaping; similar to that used to knit socks I think, works. I started knitting yesterday so they are going to be a quick knit. At the moment they remind me of Shrek Slippers! With Chris due home on leave from India in September I think a pair for him may well be in the works ... and .... I am wondering if a pair of my orthotics might just fit inside them as I would like to have warm tootsies too. And Miss Geri? Well at present her feet and legs are well ensconced inside a long pair of Ugg boots which I ordered for her as soon as we got home. Maybe some time in the future a pair of tall felted boots will be in the offing - I see another scheming and plotting session coming over the horizon...

Knitting at the Speed of Light...

Well, I finished my shawl with a day to spare and I've even managed to block it. So, it looks like I might have a warm neck for our trip home ... I hope!



We will be returning home to a house with no heating as the heatpump has chosen this week to die ... oh JOY. Pat  (who has antifreeze running in his veins) informs me that even he is freezing and that the new heatpump can't be installed for around 3-4 weeks.  Talk about going from one extreme to the other. Ah well. I guess we'll be buying a gas heater or something similar to get us through once we are home as extreme cold is just as dangerous for Geri as extreme heat is.

This is the gorgeous pashmina that Chris got for me. The stitching is super fine and it's hard to imagine it being done by hand.

And last but not least - Geri's silk shawl ...

The heat is on.... or rather, it's about to come OFF in a hurry!

We've been in Gurgaon for two months. In this time, despite my very best efforts, Geri's Masto has gone from bad to appalling. Her health is very unstable and she's had the return of some serious symptoms that we haven't seen since she started her medication regime. So, a difficult decision has been made and she and I are leaving - we have three more days here.

This decision is problematic in a number of ways, one of which is that we certainly didn't plan to be going to Wellington's winter from Gurgaon's summer. The reason it's a problem is that the temp here is still in the mid 40s (c) and the temp at home in Wellington is around 5-12c. This is going to be a challenge to manage with Geri's masto, to put it mildly. To complicate things, we are having a short break in Melbourne on the way home - trouble is, we have no winter clothing with us...

So, I've raided my stash and have been knitting fit to burst for the last 5 days. I already had a number of cold weather projects planned, one of which was a beret for Geri. As she can't wear wool; as I've mentioned in earlier posts, I had found a gorgeous handspun pure rabbit angora yarn in Melbourne from Morris and Sons.

Pure Rabbit Angora

Its label suggests; 5-6mm needles / 19 st per 10cm. I used 5mm needles 18st / 26 rows to achieve the gauge that matched the pattern I was using.

Lion Brand Kim Beret

The beret knitted up very quickly and took exactly two hanks of yarn. Best of all, Geri loves it and now I know that at least her head will be warm!

At the same time as starting the beret I started a scarf/shawl for myself using the same pattern that I used to make the Green Colonnade Shawl. I'm using the same brand of wool as last time -  Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica pure merino. The colours are a bit off in this photo so check out the link to get a better feel for the combination.

The solid colour is:

Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica - Kohl

and the varigated is:

Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica - Lava

This is growing quite well, but I don't think I'm going to get it finished in time for our trip home - ah well. I should be wearing it by early July though 8-}

To compensate for the lack of something warm to wear around my shoulders, Chris bought me (you know how is goes .... I chose and Chris paid ...) a present - a beautiful hand embroidered genuine pashmina.  Perhaps it's just as well I am leaving as the choice was overwhelming. We got Geri a lovely pure silk one as well. I'll post photos a bit later as we have a massive dust storm heading our way this very minute and it has become too dark to take photos of them !