Thursday, April 4, 2013

Today

I was going to resume normal household duties today and perhaps even let the vacuum cleaner see the light of day but I looked out the window and the clear blue sky said I could surely afford one more day "recovering" from surgery






So Flynn and I enjoyed a lovely little walk around Bellerive Bluff along the coastal foreshore track. We started at the beach and headed around to catch the views of the city and then back again. 

I needed to pick up some more chook pellets, which of course is just around the corner from the Secondhand Shop where these mini glass titration beakers took my fancy and for $3 they jumped into my bag. 

They were perfect for housing the last survivors of my Hospital flowers.




This yellow dish came home with me too, at just $2 but I would have paid $5.


Back home, more important than any housework was the desire to finish a project that has been called "The tangle of guilt". 

When I picked up the needles to start knitting again a year ago, The Pianoman placed an order for a Beanie. After making 4 Beanies for the Kids I was a little bit sick of Beanies (Guilt #1). I then knitted some baby things and said I would knit him his Beanie after that (Guilt #2). And then I made something for myself (Guilt #3) and then I started my own "make everyone in the family a jumper" challenge (Guilt #4) and then I made Christmas things (#5).

Three months ago I found the perfect ball of yarn in his favourite shade of red to match his love of red wine. I took the paper tag off the skein and immediately cast on and did two rows before getting frustrated with the yarn getting tangled every few stitches. 



I sought answers from my Instagram friends who gasped in horror at my mess and informed me that I need to actually wind the skein into a ball first. Who knew? I tried in vain to untangle the mess. No use. I frogged the project and despite several attempts to try and wind it into a ball since then, I shoved the tangled mess into a cupboard in frustration where it could taunt me no more. Out of sight out of mind.



I bought some new yarn to start Jumper No. 2 knowing full well there was a perfectly good skein of tangled mess that I still hadn't dealt with (Guilt #6). I then started making things for Easter (Guilt #7). There was a comment about it getting chilly in the shed during his band rehearsals (Guilt #8) as well as a bit frosty in the morning up at the Veggie Patch (Guilt #9). And then I had Surgery and my dear Husband had forgone our Easter camping trip to spend our 6 days of Easter Holidays looking after me, the 5 kids and doing everything singlehandedly and it was then that I decided I could not be beaten by a ball of yarn. The very least I could do was make him a beanie (Mother-of-all-guilts). So I spent 2 hours last Monday painstakingly winding it up into a Ball and was just about to give up again when my friend and her Mum popped in for coffee and her Mum took it off me and finished winding it completely. How good are friend's Mums? Thanks Ann!

And, after a short two nights of knitting, I couldn't have been happier to hand over the "Tangle of Guilt" to him this evening. It is the Windschief pattern by Stephen West and I love the way it has come up. I used Cascade Yarns Cascade 220, appropriately named "Claret" and he is pretty happy with it too - immediately putting it on while cooking Bacon and Egg Sandwiches on the BBQ for our dinner (does the guilt ever end???). Details ravelled here.







And so that was today. A bit guilty that I didn't get much done around the house but more importantly I conquered the "Tangle of Guilt".

Does anyone else have "guilty" projects on the back-burner?

Anyone have breakfast for dinner?

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Mel x

PS If anyone is using Google Reader for their Blog reading, please don't forget to sign up to another service by July. Bloglovin and Feedly seem to be popular. I still do things the old-fashioned way by clicking onto the actual Blogs as I like to visit your actual Blog "home". But thought I better mention this just in case you find your Google Reader has vanished come July. I'm personally overwhelmed with all these changes and social media platforms and fear I'm going to wake up one day and my whole Blog will have vanished into thin air!



37 comments :

  1. You're too funny Mel ahh the guilt.. You did well untangling that wool it drives me crazy when yarn gets in a mess, it requires too much patience for me:) I bet your hubby is so happy now he has something made by you to keep him nice and warm it would be getting cooler down there now. Love that gorgeous big smile of Flynn's what a happy little one. xx

    P. S. I'm just like you do the click on the blog and read, never really liked reading blogs through google reader.

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  2. I think you are doing very well keeping your guilt down to single figures! I had a similar problem with a skein of wool some time back but s friend took pity on me and wound it up perfectly - she said she found it therapeutic! Well worth it though for such a lovely beanie. Love the yellow bowl x Jane

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  3. Mum will love to see it all finished already! (that was fast) And I think she enjoyed helping out to be honest, a relaxing way to spend the arvo.

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  4. Guilt hampers happiness, don't you find. What a pain that beanie and yarn have been to you for so long! It turned out great though, and your husband must be very pleased with it. Your coastal walk views are amazing btw ... what a pretty spot you live in ;)

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  5. Oh, dear, a lesson learnt the hard way. They should put instructions on the tags of those skeins for first-timers (it happened to me too once long ago...) I've made that hat before. The Pianoman looks dashing in his. May I ask why he is named so?

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    1. He's a Pianist and the first time we met he was playing the Piano at the Hotel I was staying at. He's not a Pianist professionally anymore but I thought it was a good name when I started the blog and we weren't going to reveal anyone's names or faces on here - ha!

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  6. Don't feel guilt! How could you not want to enjoy the view! I love untangling things.....next time send it over here! :) x

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  7. That pianoman of yours looks very handsome in his beanie.
    My other half has taken to wearing my colourful (with a bit of pink in there too) beanie. maybe it's time to make hime one of his own.
    x

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  8. Well done, it looks great Mel - especially as you matched it to the wine! And look at cheeky little Flynn's smiley face, gorgeous!

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  9. Love your little beakers! And well done on finishing the beanie too :-)

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  10. Thanks for the reminder. Google Friend Connect will still be up though, right? I read all my blogs through Blogger, where the feeds show up. The whole thing seems like such a mess, and none of the help pages feature any helpful information.
    In envy of your walking route, xo

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  11. I think you made a great decision to take another recovery day. Beautiful pictures! You live in such a pretty place. The hat came out great. Stephen West's designs are brilliant. And I read blogs the old-fashioned way too.

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  12. I envy you your surroundings. I hope you really are feeling better. Also, the Piano man looks like he would look good even without the gorgeous beanie *blushes*!

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    1. Hehe, I'll have to tell him, he'll be flattered as I told him he looked like he was about to rob a bank or something - Beanies seem to have that effect on some men :-D

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  13. beanies and babes! (the newborn one!! lol )and beakers!....what great oppy finds. its raining here so am loving your sunshine shots. looks like a great place to walk. and don't worry we often have breakfast for tea too!. hope you are on the mend, I think you can put the housework off for a few more days yet! x

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  14. what a beautiful day! i don't know how you get so much knitting done with 5 children, but you do a fine job of it, and i love the colour of that wool too. i wouldn't have had a clue about winding wool into a ball, so thanks for the heads up!

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  15. Well it seems like the beanie got done at the perfect time of the year. I hope you are feeling better after your op. I am sure you will be so pleased to not have to worry about any more stabbing pains in the side.

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  16. Ah, guilt! It has it way of working against us doesn't it. The beanie turned out quite lovely. Of course, your "model" doesn't hurt it. :)
    Glad you are feeling better and able to do some things. Take care and give yourself time to fully heal. Love the scenes of the ocean. What a beautiful place to live.

    Sharon

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  17. That yellow dish is divine and for $2 what a bargain. So glad to hear that you were out enjoying the gorgeous weather and not vacuuming, ignore the guilt! xx

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  18. I love those glass jars! You're so lucky to have found them!
    The beanie looks great! And if it's feeling as Autumnal done there as up here, you've got it done just in time...
    Have a guilt free weekend, won't you!
    Sarah xo

    PS I can't get over how cute Flynn is! <3

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  19. Ahh, I find your posts most amusing Mel! The beanie looks fantastic & Im quite jealous of those awesome titration beakers-what a find! x

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  20. Giggling over the river, Mel. Good on you. And to think I was waffling in your ear as you took in that beautiful walk! J x

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  21. Time to invest in a yarn winder? ;) The beanie looks great and goodness me your bubba is cute cute cute in the last photo.

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  22. Gorgeous beanie, truly (please share on the Knitso' Rav group ... I'm hoping everyone will link their projects to it so we can all see what everyone is making.)

    Bacon and egg sandwiches and a glass of the red stuff looks like suitable reward for the barbecuing to me.

    Really hope you're all better now :)

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  23. Beautiful job with your knitting Mel, your beanies are quite inspiring. I used to do that too with the skeins of yarn and a tangled mess would follow me everywhere. In the absence of one of those swift things it takes me a day or so of free time to wind it into a ball. It still gets tangled along the way though! But we get there in the end so I guess it's all good :)

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  24. Fabulous photos Mel! Loving the view for your walk, I'd find it impossible not to choose that option, over housework. Well done on the beanie, looks like a perfect fit and stunning colour for this time of year, all Autumnal and warm looking.
    I'm hearing you on the guilt, I served up noodles for dinner here tonight, after arriving home late-ish from visiting friends... see, bacon and egg sandwiches on the BBQ don't seem bad at all now do they!? xoxo

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  25. You live in an amazing spot. What beautiful views!

    Nice work on the beanie. The claret colour looks great. I need to get to work on a beanie for my husband. The one I knitted years ago is coming to the end of its useful life. A couple of years ago (!) I started knitting a scarf for him that somehow never got finished. This year. A beanie. Promise.

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  26. what a fantastic post mel (and your last too, you are THE CUTEST child in the world) loved seeing all the photos, your walk, your finds! sorry about the woolly mess, good news is that will never happen again! your knitting is gorgeous, well done, but i will admit it was a little difficult to keep my eyes on what you were sharing (the hat) when you showed it on your man. good grief, he's gorgeous. and the little one too. what a family you have!

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  27. Those beakers look so nice as a vase! What a find! Beautiful pics too! xx

    http://ecobirdstyle.blogspot.com.au/

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  28. Oh that blue sky! Just amazing! Love the beakers as vases as well. Hope you've had a great weekend Mel xx

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  29. LOVE LOVE LOVE those little beakers Mel and your gorgeous sons name. I too have a Flynn and numerous hidden balls of tangled wool in my craft cupboard. xx

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    1. Hi Sonia, welcome to my Blog! Popping over to your shortly :-)

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  30. Oh my - I didn't realize....surgery. I hope you're recovering well, it can be such a draining process and I so know what you mean about being put to sleep - once I've gone I'm OK, it's just the whole thought of it.

    take care and heal well,

    Nina x

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  31. Gorgeous sunny photos, you did the right thing ignoring the chores! The hat is really nice and your hubby wears it well. And those beakers! I love them, they make unusual and very striking little bud vases. Glad you are recovering well - don't overdo it! That vacuum cleaner can stay in the cupboard another day, surely...?

    Gillian x

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  32. Oh Mel..the guilts! Yes we all have them...but I Love this beanie...adorable pattern and your hubby looks great in his new Claret beanie, drinking his vino! Now...hope all is ok with you...no good about surgery but kudos to hubby for holding the fort! Hope all is lovely for your weekend xx

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