knit n bitch

Kemp Bag

Our next project is from the book by Jane Ellison, call Simply Noro. Its a cute little bag, complete with girly flower, and the yarn we are using is Noro Blossom and its divine. Super soft and the colours that run through each ball are rich and yummy. It takes five 40gm hanks, is knit up on 5mm needles and will no doubt be a rather swift project! When we wound the hanks into balls last night, each one looked so very different, despite being the same colour and dye lot. This should make for an interesting knit!

Introducing The IV's

Thought I would introduce the stunningly spectacular group of girls who make up the IV's (my knit along buddies). Firstly, I should explain the title we have given ourselves, although let me tell you, it ain't pretty!! One of our members (who will remain annonymous) suffered an itchy vulva at the time of her monthly cycle (now you know why we keep her name out of the picture). This ailment continued for years, despite attempts at cures by doctors. One of our group is a naturopath who suggested a remedy that worked instantly (Horrah!!). At a recent knitting retreat, we were discussing the joy this brought said knitaholic, in amongst our discussions on 'what shall we call ourselves'. Naturally, we had no choice but to go with IV's (itchy vulvas). Pleasant eh?!!@

Anyhow, enough about the name. The IV's meet every two weeks to knit a group project, eat cake, chat and generally do lots of girly bonding.

I will be showcasing completed and new projects that we choose, as well as any get togethers in between.

A little bit about my store!

As I've mentioned before, I am the proud owner of The Wool Shack. My business is actually home based, and has been that way for all of the 4 years (near as damn it) that The Wool Shack has been in operation. We basically have floor to ceiling storage of yarn, which takes up an entire room in our home, along with two floor to ceiling cupboards jammed full with yet more yarn, as well as books!! The trick with a yarn store is to balance the amount of stock you carry, so that you dont have too much 'dead' yarn and that order fulfilment is on track (about 80-90% of the orders can be shipped immediately).

The Wool Shack basically consists of one full timer (thats me!), as well as a part timer, that's Marge. Both of us have small people to juggle around work, but it seems to work swimmingly, especially since my business is online only so I don't have 'physical' customers browsing the yarns etc.

Here's a quick snapshot of Marge

......... and another one of me (looking heavily pregnant with a cheeky chappy - that's Joe)

To have a semi-virtual tour of the store, check out my photo album in the left hand column!

Mobius Cowl

Well, as you can see, I'm on a roll. I've had a few 3/4 finished projects that I needed to knock on the head, so here I am posting two completions in one day! This cowl was taken from an early copy of Australia's Creative Knitting Magazine. I made it out of 3 skeins of Noro Silk Garden, which is more interesting than your avergage ho hum yarn. Unfortunately, as it's heading into our summer, I won't get the chance to wear it until next year, but hey... a finished project means you can start something new!! HORRAH!!

Lauren Wrap

Ooooo I seem to have finished another project (it's very exciting when I can say that). This is a pattern taken from the Rowan Linen Print pattern book, and it's called Lauren. I didn't actually use the Linen Print yarn, but a new yarn that we have just had in at The Wool Shack from Filatura Di Crosa, called Sesamo. It's an interesting flat and curly tape yarn, which is 50% cotton and 50% polyamide. I chose the Red for dramatic effect and I am really pleased with the finished result. It's quite heavy, so it drape's beautifully, and although the yarn was tricky to knit with at times (it has double tape in parts which are easily mistaken for two stitches) it was also very forgiving (if you did split a stich, you would never know).

New Baby On The Way!

Right now, I am 30 weeks pregnant with my second baby. Official due date is 22nd December, but due to previous experience (with my son Joseph), I will be going in for a cesarean on 14th December. That gives me another 8-ish weeks to go, and I am very excited!!

I am at that 'very uncomfortable huge' stage at the moment, and spent last night propped up in bed with pillows, suffering from major heartburn, which I swear is worse than the labour itself!!

Here are a couple of photos of said small person.

Vanilla - Summer Tweed

I started this sweater over Christmas last year, and I only have the back complete. I'm not a slow knitter, I just got diverted.....you know how it is!! Vanilla is from the Rowan Summer Tweed Collection and I am knitting it in Smoulder, the deep red colour. I'll pop a WIP photo up for you soon.

Baby Cashmerino Hooded Top

My most recent completion (yes, I FINALLY finsihed one!!) was a small persons hooded sweater. It was taken from the Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino Book and it was a dream to knit with the Baby Cashmerino Yarn. As I dont know if it's a girl or boy, I went for red and white stripes. I'm desperate to knit something in 'pink', (as is Nicole) so here's hoping for a grrrrllll!!

An introduction to me!!

After being inspired and amused daily by the blog of my best buddy Nicole I decided to record the life and knitting times of Emma, the compulsive obbsessive knitter with not enough time on her hands to knit.

I own an online yarn store in Australia, so I am surrounded by yarn that I want to knit with, but am too busy developing the business to actually use!! What a travesty!! The Wool Shack is my baby of nearly 4 years. I also have aspirations to create my own label of knitwear, as well as start a UK Wool Shack (now can you see why I don't have the time to knit in the vast quantities that I would prefer?!)!

Hope you will enjoy my ramblings (daily or otherwise) and share in my knitting and life experiences!