ConnieLene – KnitDesigner

I know I have been a bit quiet over the past 18 months or so. I am still knitting at odd times and have now set up a Craftsy Pattern Store. There are 3 patterns there so far – my Kiwi Cape, The Capelet of many Colours and the Connie Cowl. Hope you will take a look. It is free to join Craftsy and it does offer many opportunities for learning new skills, finding patterns and selling your patterns.

I guess that might well be the same for other people as well.

But in between the dramas of life as part of a large family, life on a wee bit of land, the water watching, the driftwood and shell gathering, the planting, sewing, and weeding of our large garden, the bonfires on the beach and BBQ there as well, the prevention of possum attacks, the feather pulling (plucking) of 10 Peacocks, Peahens and turkeys after some crazy youngsters went out shooting in the night. The farmers are pleased to reduce the numbers of large birds wandering over their hills, but the plucking – now that was a big job and we have many feathers to work with on projects next year.

As I was saying – in between I have managed a wee bit of knitting as you can see.

The Cot blanket and the Mohini scarf are presents – not Christmas presents though. The Neck Warmer/Cowl is on the needles now and is just because I need to be knitting.

I am hoping grandson will help with the tree if Best Beloved has remembered to purchase it today. Baking of Scandinavian biscuits will be done on Thursday now with my daughter and grandson. That is something we haven’t managed to do together in years. It was a tradition that we baked together and her friends would join in, always a great day. Maybe grandson will bring a friend to bake with us if we are better organised next year.

So we still have presents to buy, a tree and house to decorate, baking to do, and so on. But as always we will make it, somehow.

There is always a tinge of sadness and a bringing back of memories of people and Christmases past at this time of the year. This year is the first Christmas for Best Beloved and I without any parents as sadly Best Beloveds mother passed away aged 89 in August. It is amazing how that changes one.

and it made me rethink my pattern details.

My original multicolour capelet was created using stash yarns and small lengths of yarn. I weighed the completed capelet – and added 10% (if I remember correctly) and gave that weight as the required yarn for the piece.

BUT as I have discovered, and should have realised a long time ago that in the US yarn quantities is given in yards or metres. There is no way I could give the length of the yarn required for this capelet because I used many oddments of yarn to create it.

SO I have just recreated the capelet in response to the question and using only Moda Vera Bouvardia yarn, made in Turkey which is 70% acrylic 30% wool I used nearly 200 grams of this yarn. The length about 360 metres. I used 5.5 mm circular needles. The tension was 16 stitches and 34 rows knitted in garter stitch.

The result is quite lovely but I need to do further testing.

So I have knitted the capelet using Naturally Vero 100% wool from New Zealand. It is not quite finished yet – so photos to come. Sadly the yarn is now discontinued, is a standard 12 ply yarn. The amount used is approx 225 grams and the length will be about 340 metres.

So you live and learn.

When I am done testing – I will rewrite the pattern and send a copy to all those who have already purchased it.

In my 3 years in the Netherlands I added knit graffiti to several concrete balls in Haarlem and in Maastricht. I no longer search for balls to embellish in the public arena as I was doing whilst living there in the cold Northern climes.

But on Friday – I was driving through the Manukau City Centre trying to find my way home after my sister dropped me off at my parked car, and after I bought the book “Wild Jewellery” at Whitcoulls.

And I got a bit lost, you might say, trying to get back to the motorway after a wrong turn after leaving the parking building. I seemed to be driving by some tall apartment buildings and council buildings until I got onto Station Road – at least I think that is what it was called. I was crossing crossroads – from a give way sign and out of the corner of my eye I spied; you guessed it, some concrete balls (at least 6 maybe 8 from the angle where I spied them). There was nowhere to stop and so I continued onto the motorway.

I hope someone knows where these balls actually are, as I would love the circumference, cause they could need some brightening up and I have not done that to a concrete ball for a year or so now.

So I was going from the parking building left between some tall buildings heading south towards a road which I turned left onto which travelled between the shopping mall and the amusement park Rainbows End towards the motorway. If you know where that is, please let me know. If you are there and have a tape measure – please record the circumference and send it to me and maybe you will find a ball or 2 suitably attired some time in the future.

Snowing, a grey ball being disguised as a snow ball

History:

Who stole the balls of Haarlem

Haarlem, A city without balls

Ball Warmer without a home

Memorial Day Tour April 30th 2011

Lost Balls of Haarlem

Fitting a Ball Warmer

Vodafone Ball Cover Install photos

Today I drove to Mangawhai, north of Auckland, from Miranda (about 185k’s if you go the direct route) to have lunch with some terrific people that I went to primary school with ever so many years ago. I was a bit late having driven the long way there and also included Orewa and Kaiwaka on my route. The restaurant was the Frog and Kiwi, a small restaurant with interesting salt and pepper shakers! you probably guessed already but just in case – one was a frog and the other a Kiwi.

I had a great French Onion Soup and a really good long black.

But the tree, Oh Yes the tree. On the way to Mangawhai I drove into Orewa to deliver a Beanie to Karl and I also stopped to see a tree at the Estuary Arts Centre And it was worthwhile doing so as this tree is festooned with all sorts of yarny things which seems to have happened during a KIP (Knit in Public) event held there during this last week.

They certainly had a psychedelic knit in public day in Orewa. It is a magnificently adorned tree. The Estuary Knitters celebrated WWKIP (World Wide Knitting In Public) day very well indeed.