Vintage Purls

I know that Dunedin does not have the best reputation weather wise. This doesn’t actually bother me, people think it snows all the time and that it’s miserable here on a regular basis, I know better and I smile to myself thinking how wonderful it is to live in such a charming city that isn’t overcrowded or overbuilt. But, every now and again Dunedin lives up to it’s poor weather reputation and the last few weeks have proved every weather stereotype right.

But today, at last, I can see the hills again:

That’s the view from my office - sucks doesn’t it. : )

Normally we have a pretty low rainfall (lower than Wellington and Auckland) and I’m hoping all the water we’ve had in the last wee while is it for the winter. Everything is thoroughly soggy.

Such weather does not motivate me to dye - my dye room is in our outside laundry. I like this fact on many, many fronts - it keeps the mess away from the house, I can keep my pots set up all the time and everything is within convenient grasp. Problem is that the laundry is a simple brick structure with a tin roof and a concrete floor (all built in about 1925), there is no insulation, the power to it can’t support my pots and a form of heating, so I’ve get to freeze if it’s cold out. That’s life of course and you can always lean against a simmering dye pot for a little warmth.

Sock club was all sold out the day after it opened, and I’m busy working on all the little bits and pieces that go into that, I’ve kept the numbers at 45 again since I’m not sure I can cope with too many more when it’s just me to dye and reskein everything.

I have a million knitting ideas whirling through my head but at the moment my master is sock club knitting. Mr K’s Model T is still not done, though I think I’ve worked out a way to get the neckline and armpit depth he likes without guessing - the jersey as it stands is knit up to the armpits (body and two sleeves in the round). I’m going to knit the rest from the top and then graft them together. It’s a plan and I’ll make it happen (one day). My poor niece (who has just turned one) has little proof that Aunty M knits but if she could only see what I dream of making her.

The winter sock club is about to kick off again. I’m excited and a little nervous. I like sock clubs; I enjoy making up little packages to send out, I like designing new sock patterns but I’m always a little concerned about time management and coming up with new things. Some things get easier - I’ve done this twice already and I well understand the logistics now. Some things get harder - coming up with new ideas for goodies in particular always keeps me on my toes.

The patterns from the sock club last winter will be released soon too (staring with Toasty), you’ll be able to buy them electronically on Ravelry and if you’d like a paper copy you can buy one of those on my site. I’ve been cleaning the patterns up and getting them ready for electronic release, I’m so tempted to tweak things, but I know I should really resist. It’s hard to be fully satisfied with a pattern in hindsight - I often think that this might be a little nicer like that, but if I let myself change little bits of the design before you know it it would be a totally different sock!

Sign up for the Winter 2009 Sock Club (that’s winter in NZ if you’re from the Northern hemisphere) starts on Monday at 9am.

Wow, it’s almost the end of April already, it’s been a hectic year to date, so much going on - all of it great fun.

January saw the debut of a Summer Sock Club, which meant three new exclusive club colours and three new patterns to design. In order (January - March), Blue Sky Baby, Theodora and Daphne (all links to Ravelry entries):

No rest for the wicked (that would be me) when sock club was done though, it was full steam ahead for preparation for the Creative Fibre Festival in Timaru.

I’ve only been a member of my local Creative Fibre group for about 16 months and I’ve never been to a festival. I would have liked to have participated in all the wonderful lectures and activities but I knew I simply could not be a trader and enjoy the festival’s educational offerings. I had a ball though, the trade hall was bright and warm and it was so nice to meet hundreds of like minded people. I would not have survived the weekend without help from some good friends; Ngaire from Little Radiator and KB. A special thanks to Jenni for the much needed foot rub at the end of day one (Jenni is studying massage and is always on the look out for keen volunteers to practice on - everyone should have a friend like this).

A new wheel might have followed me home from Timaru. It wasn’t an impulse buy, I had told myself long before I went that if I did alright I’d bring home a Majacraft Little Gem. So, on day two I popped over to the Majacraft stand (it really didn’t help that they were just across the way and I had line of sight to all their lovely wheels all the time), and arranged to take one home. I just love “her”, the double treadle makes for much more comfortable use for me and I’ve been spinning all sort of little bits and pieces when I can to “work her in”. Is it wrong that I now think a Suzie Pro would make a nice companion wheel to Gem? It’s ridiculous, I’m so greedy.

Looking ahead I’m preparing for the Winter Sock Club that starts in June (look out for sign up info next month is you are interested).