Knitting. Finally.

Well, that was an unintended month long hiatus. I've mostly been working I think, and swimming, and going to Auckland, and singing along with our Christmas show that closed last night after 13 performances. And, most importantly, knitting. The knitting deserves its own post so I'll save a general update/photographic essay of the last month for next time.

The arrival of the baby for whom the Pebble vest was intended gave me a helpful push to get it finished (push, oh the comedy). So...

Voila! It was so easy to knit and I got to sew buttons onto knitting for the first time and once it was washed and blocked it looked all even and beautiful. I still love the colour and Theodore looks so cute wearing it (I haven't seen it on him in real life yet but Alex sent me a heaps cute photo). 

The buttons aren't quite what I'd have chosen if there was more choice, but I was in a hurry to get it finished so that he wouldn't outgrow it before he even got it, and Knit World in town didn't have a very big selection. They're fine though, purpley, kind of shiny and almost Paua shell patterned.

But, what's made me feel like an actual knitter is the booties. I knew when I finished them a few months ago that the bind off was quite tight, and sure enough, when Cam tried to put them on Teddy's feet it didn't seem like it was going to work. So I took them home and decided to try to unpick the bind off and bind them off more loosely. Then, I had the idea to knit a couple of rows in rib, because rib is much stretchier. And it worked! 

You can't really see the rib rows very clearly in this artful foliage photo, but they were tested this afternoon and are a success. It's like I know what I'm doing or something.

Pretty. Yum.

Yup, more photos. These were from last last Sunday when I did get to sit in the sun and do a few rows of the Pebble vest in between admiring the view from our deck.

Then I went to a rehearsal for our Christmas show which is coming along nicely, and then to Mumford & Sons at the Town Hall. It was good but by the time they came on we'd been standing for over two hours and my yam feet couldn't cope. The festoons looked beautiful though. I do love a good string of lights.

During the week I went to Safety Not Guaranteed - it felt like I hadn't been to the movies for ages, but turns out my 'ages' is actually like a week and half. I ended up quite liking it, the ending was very unexpected. I also went to a talk about la dia de los muertos at Te Papa. It made me really want to go to Mexico. And I went swimming twice this week at the Freyberg Pool - well, a mixture of swimming and aqua jogging really. I'm embracing my deep uncoolness.

On Saturday I went to a 3 year old birthday party which had a dinosaur cake and whitebait fritters. And then had THE most amazing lunch with Beth at Nam Restaurant. There's a new summer 'Wrap and Roll' lunch menu - you get fresh salad ingredients (lettuce, herbs, thinly sliced veges), different types of meats and fish, and rice paper which you quickly dip in warm water to soften and then use different combinations of ingredients to make yum rice paper rolls which you dip in various sauces.

The lovely woman who runs the restaurant talked us through all the ingredients and showed us how to make the rolls (Beth was way better at it than me).

It was so filling and THEN we got freshly made warm banana sago pudding, which I had never had before but was ridiculously good. I got jasmine tea while Beth got Drip Drip Coffee, which is a little filter contraption that sits on top of a glass quarter-filled with condensed milk. The coffee is dangerously sweet mixed with the milk and even I quite liked the taste.

So, pretty amazing.

Sickeningly hip

I'm quite in love with the Hipstamatic and Instagram apps on my new phone. I know, it's embarrassing. I'm becoming more of a stereotype every day. It's just that they automatically make everything seem more interesting/are more forgiving than normal photos. 

I started my new job this week, hence the first day flowers. I've got a new closest cafe (given I'm now down the other end of town) where I can't help but read the horoscope stuck on the coffee machine each day. I got last day flowers from my old job, which were very nice.

In between seeing the third year solos at Toi and the first STAB show at BATS and the opera tonight (which I quite liked, although it is weird hearing it sung in English, they seem to randomly repeat sentences and words, sometimes multiple times, which you don't notice so much when it's in a foreign language), I went bridesmaid dress shopping with my friend Hayley who I'm being a bridesmaid for next year (I always said I'd sing a particular song at her wedding so I'd better get practising), had Baby Knitters Club and babysat (which is where the second photo is from).

Thanks to BKC and babysitting, I have finally made some more progress on the Pebble vest. I'm really liking knitting it, it's very straightforward so far. I don't want to jinx it but I feel like it just might be ready before the baby is.

This weekend I'm going to Mary Poppins the musical in Auckland. I am very excited.

Up the Garden Path (but not really)

The path to my house is covered with pink flowers, which is very picturesque but also very slippery when it has been raining.

We had Baby Knitters Club last Wednesday. I'm making slow progress on the Pebble Vest. I feel like the finished product is going to be tiny given it's all knit as one piece, so I'd better hurry up.

Last week I went to Bill Bailey, The Keepers and Flowers From My Mother's Garden. I'm going to try to go to all the BATS shows from now on given my new job, so I might have to stop listing them or it will get boring. I also went to La Boca Loca in Mirarmar and it was yum. I'd wanted to go for a while because people had said it was good and I was not disappointed. I especially appreciated the Frida shrine in the toilet. Although, I wonder how she'd feel about her shrine being in the toilet.

I feel like I haven't been to the movies in ages, but that's not actually true. The other week I went to The Sapphires. It was bit too cheesy for my liking. The dialogue felt pretty stale. But the music was fun.

Pairing Up

I finally finished my first pair of booties! Now if Alex's baby has two feet, there will be a bootie for each one. These particular booties are actually really easy to make, once you figure out the weirdly confusing abbreviation that looks like a yarn forward (aka a yarn over) but actually means 'bring the yarn to the front between the needles'.

Anita finished a hat, which I have taken a really poor photo of. Sorry Anita. It's really cute though and that striping is impressive.

Now Anita has started a jersey (she is so winning and it annoys me), and I think I am going to start a sleeveless vest-type thing. I need to do some research. Slowly but surely we are going to knit this baby a wardrobe. It may contain only one full set of clothes, but babies can't talk so he won't be able to complain.

The Baby Knitters Club is BACK (and other less interesting stuff)

My number one comedy partner and psychic twin is currently incubating a foetus. Which sounds disgusting but is actually really exciting. This bootie was begun way back in July last year and abandoned due to PARIS. That seems like a very long time ago now. By the time I got back from my month-long holiday, the baby I was knitting it for seemed like old news and I lost interest in finishing it, let alone knitting its mate.

But now, I am going to knit so many baby things and force Alex to dress her baby in them. It's going to be great.

I had trouble with this first bootie, I ripped the first version out, so hopefully I can remember how I got it right so I can knit a matching one.

Last weekend was Queen's birthday weekend. Alex and I had a marathon classic movie Sunday -

Pulp Fiction: FINALLY. Pulp Fiction was one of the reasons classic movie Sunday started, but Ed watched the copy I bought him for his birthday without me so it fell by the wayside. Alex has seen Pulp Fiction numerous times, the first time she was aged nine, which I cannot comprehend. I couldn't cope with parts of it and I am almost 25. I really enjoyed it though, I can see why it's such a modern classic - the sequencing of the storytelling, the humorous, everyday dialogue combined with some very heavy action and events. I particularly loved John Travolta and I learned a lot about hard drugs.

The Big Lebowski: This was not a planned classic movie, we just couldn't be bothered leaving the house to go across the road to Aro Video. It is strange and funny.

Raising Arizona: I meant to go home, but this got put on and I ended up watching the whole thing (I really extended my knowledge of the Coen brothers back catalogue on this particular Sunday). Holly Hunter is so watchable. Fact: this movie was released the year I was born.

Then, on Monday, I went to the City Gallery to catch Obstinate Object before it finished. It was very cool, a pretty eclectic mix of sculptures that, it could be argued, show that anything is art.

I loved Philip Beesley's Hylozoic Series: Vesica. You went into a small-ish black room and hanging from the ceiling were all these vine, leaf, and flower-like things. It was like being in a surreal forest. And when you touched a wire hanging down from some of the flower-like things, they would light up and move, with a little engine-type thing whirring and sending a vibration down the wire. It was so fun.

Then, Kelly and I went to a Devonshire tea screening of The Queen at the Roxy. I wore my pearls and my royal blue cardigan (although, I essentially just looked like a National voter). I hadn't seen The Queen before, I found it pretty interesting - once you got past the weird casting of Prince Charles and the Queen Mum. I got a bit emotional watching all the real footage from the time of Diana's death - people crying in the streets, all the flowers. You can never really know how accurate something like The Queen is in terms of conversations members of the royal family have and how they relate to each other behind closed doors, but it would be a strange way to live. It made me think about the less endearing side of Diana and just how much the Queen has lived through.

So many movies. I don't know why I feel the need to document them all. 

On the road again

Photo by Anita Pitu Photography

Our show opened on Thursday night. People have been laughing and I am really proud of it. It's called Nucking Futs and is on at BATS Theatre until Saturday 21 April. It's pretty much been my life the last two weeks so I don't really have anything else to say. Except I have been making progress on this scarf, a little bit at a time.

I started it last year but had to frog it because I wasn't happy with the border (it's moss stitch with a border of plain). I love this yarn though, it's from Tash and the little flecks of light blue pop up rather nicely.

Found!

Yesterday and today I have been gripped by a sudden urge to knit, having not picked up needles in months. I think it's because two of my favourite blogs are American and both SouleMama and Posie Gets Cosy have been posting about winter and knitting this week. Today it rained and I've had a sore throat so I spent all day at work feeling winter-y and just wanting to get home, sit in bed, and start the scarf I frogged over again.

I have done just that, and it's great, but what's even more great is my discovery of listening to podcasts while knitting. Sometimes I feel like I'm not being as productive as I could be while I'm knitting - I'm pretty slow so I never feel like I'm making great progress with the actual knitting; I've often wished I could watch a movie or an episode of something while knitting, but I can't because I can't knit without looking and I'm not happy just listening to a movie. But podcasts are PERFECT.

Ages ago Alex told me about 'This American Life' and I've been meaning to check it out. Tonight I listened to the latest episode, a Valentine's Day special. The Valentine's thing almost put me off - I thought it might be all soppy and annoying, but it wasn't at all. It was funny and unexpected and I love hearing about people's lives so it was great.

I'm now out to find other podcasts, maybe some comedy ones. I think this whole podcast thing might mean the scarf actually gets finished before the end of this winter. But then there's Parks and Recreation (one of the greatest shows ever) to watch and a book to read and a play to stage. Work is so inconvenient.

Frogs and films

Mr. Four Square was much happier about this state of affairs than I was (the dining room table at the house I babysit at on a Tuesday night is made from a giant old Four Square sign - I don't know if I've linked to this before but there was an article about the house in NZ House and Garden a few years ago, it's a bit more child-friendly now, e.g. no more vases at two year old height, but still full of heaps of cool retro NZ things).

I decided to frog the scarf I started knitting a few weeks ago because something I had thought I could live with when I first noticed it became too annoying. What's more annoying is that I'd done the same thing before and forgotten that lesson (it was over a year ago though). Basically if you want to do a border and you're doing some kind of alternate pattern inside the border (like rib or moss stitch, which isn't so much a pattern but whatever) you need the amount of stitches inside the border to be uneven othewise the border is going to look wider on one end. I had 34 stitches and I was knitting K K (the border) K P (x15) K K (the other end of the border). Even looking at it written down, it's obvious that there are three Ks in a row on one end and ultimately that makes it look like the border is 3 stitches wide on one end and only 2 stitches wide on the other end when it's supposed to be 2 stitches wide on both ends. Are you asleep yet? I'm not, I just have a headache. I am not good at maths or imagining how things will look. Hence the ripping out. Now I need to start again and make it go K K, P K (x 14), P, K K.

In unrelated news, it seems like it has been movie o'clock lately, so in brief:

The last two classic movie Sundays have actually been Saturdays. One was Cry Baby which I didn't know anything about except that a young Johnny Depp was in it. It was strange and funny.

The other was Kramer vs. Kramer. This had a young Meryl Streep in it and she was a total babe. I also really like Dustin Hoffman, although the first scene with him and his son made me worried he was just going  to do a toned-down version of his strange character from The Graduate. I had a few secret tears towards the end when he's telling his son the outcome of the court case, even though I had already guessed what the actual ending was going to be.

On Sunday Kate and I watched Like Water for Chocolate which we had been meaning to do for ages, ever since we realised earlier in the year that we'd both recently read the book. I'm not sure what the movie would be like if you hadn't read the book first and didn't know that it's style is basically magic realism. But it's very beautiful - the landscape, the colours, some of the costumes - and in Spanish which adds to the exoticism of being set in Mexico. The trouble with seeing a film based on a book is I immediately went, 'I didn't imagine Mama Elena looked like that at all' and kept thinking that the whole way through. But it's a very faithful adaptation of the book - the book's author wrote the screenplay which always helps - and I loved the actress who played Tita. The hair of the actor who played Pedro was ridiculous.

And I can't remember when, I think one night two weeks ago, but I saw The Help at the movies and really enjoyed it. It's pretty long but even I, who am a chronic watch-checker, didn't feel like it dragged at all. I can't believe Emma Stone is only 22. She was great. Her costumes were an excellent contrast to the shiny, bright, florals of the Southern belles. And I loved the character of Minny. As for giving a child the first name 'May Mobley': Why? Whyyyy?

Up in the clouds

The view from my window seat on the 5.35pm flight from Wellington to Christchurch last night was pretty impressive.

The horizon above the clouds reminded me of a photo in a series taken at Lake Eyre, 'a flat, arid salt sink in Australia' that feature in this month's National Geographic. I'm not in the habit of buying National Geographic, I got one to take to my grandfather for my recent visit to him in hospital, and I've never appreciated just how amazing some of the photos in it are. My Dad used to have a subscription and I didn't bother looking at each month's issue because I thought it was all animals. Oh foolish youth.

I'm hanging out in Hurunui this weekend with Mum. I had the most amazing giant whitebait fritter for lunch.

YUM.

Tonight I think I'll get my knit on. I've finally started a scarf for my sister that I bought the yarn for ages ago. I'm knitting it in moss stitch which I have decided is actually my favourite ever. It's got such a cool texture. Whether this scarf ends up making it to my sister or not, I cannot guarantee...

(It's having a rest here against a cushion at the house I babysit at on Tuesday nights. They have so many cool things but this cushion is one of my favourites. The label on the side says, 'Seam'.)

Eeeeeee! But first...

This post is coming to you live from Auckland International Airport, where I am eating one of the worst bagels ever. I am both excited and nervous. The Euros in my wallet look like play money. I suddenly cannot remember any of my five years of high school French. What will the movies on the plane be? Will I cough and cough and get kicked off the plane?

With all that to think about, plus having been sick (bad, bad timing thank you office germs), I haven't had time to post these:

On Monday night I made it along to Monday night Knitting Circle for the first time in months, and it was HUGE! There were about 18 people there. Crazy! There was also a flash new chalk board sign.

I started knitting these while at Monday night Knitting Circle, which I then completely frogged (oh hi, I know the knitting lingo) and started again while I was at home sick on Wednesday because the instructions are a bit confusing. I got them right the second time around, but haven't had time to finish them. I had to pack. And I was trying to use wool I already had so it's 8ply not 10ply, therefore they are tiny and by the time I get back the baby they are for will have been born and will probably be too big for them. Am I bothered by this? No. Because I'm going to Pariiiiiiis!

One year, one month, and two days later...

A pair of socks was born.

I love them! They're not perfect, of course, but they're finished and they fit. Just in time for a particularly cold patch of weather that has seen the heaviest snowfall in New Zealand in 15 years. I was in the Wairarapa over the weekend and I am slightly sad I missed the snow that showed itself there today. I must have felt it coming though, as I was determined to get the socks finished over the weekend.

These socks have been all sorts of places with me, I've changed jobs with them, moved house with them, lots of different people have watched me knit a few rows on them - their reactions have ranged from curiousity, incredulity, admiration, encouragement and, on a couple of occaisons, slight annoyance. In many ways it's the end of an era.

When I started the socks I noted that the pattern was called 'The Happiness Socks', but that I might call them 'The Break Up Socks', because 'by the time I finish these babies I hope to feel much much better than I do at the moment!'

And you know what? I do. It's partly why they've taken me so long to finish. I have been too busy have a really, really good time. Which is an excellent thing.

*I've Ravelled them here.

Lace, movies, and a strange game

On Monday night I went to a beginner's lace class at Holland Road Yarn Company. Turns out lace itself isn't that scary at all, it's just making holes on purpose (although my first lot of on-purpose-holes can't be seen in the photo, they're quite tiny). I was surprised to see that I'd already done all of the things on the sheet before as part of various patterns. I guess lace just looks scary when it's done with fine yarn. Maybe an Ishbel isn't such a crazy knitting dream - except that I still haven't quite finished my first ever socks and have a scarf for my sister to start.

This past week seems to have been a week of movies - Bridesmaids on Thursday, The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Friday and Sixteen Candles today - with a wee bit of contemporary dance thrown in for good measure - Thricely? Precisely. A Pocket Full of Pips.

Bridesmaids was fun, I didn't have high expectations so I enjoyed the fact that it was a comedy with all female leads, most of whom looked like real people rather than botoxed supermodels. The Rocky Horror Picture Show was a very different kind of fun, it was an interactive time for which lots of people dressed up. I'd seen the stage show many years ago but never the movie, and while you couldn't really watch the movie with much focus as people were saying all the dialogue along with the characters and throwing rice and toast and streamers, getting to stand up and do the 'Time Warp' with everyone else at The Embassy was a great time. Tim Curry as Frank n Furter was awesome and I especially loved Richard O'Brien as Riff Raff and Susan Sarandon as Janet. It's such a crazy movie though.

Today for classic movie Sunday we had a birthday theme in honour of Ed's birthday tomorrow. Sixteen Candles wasn't quite what I expected. The plot was a bit all over the place and there was some quite offensive stuff in it - the 'prom king'-type guy giving his very drunk girlfriend to 'the geek' to drive her home and do what he likes with en route - which may have been considered risque for the age group it was aimed at at the time but now just seems crass. The young Joan and John Cusack were highlights.

I also went to a baby shower and played 'pinned the sperm on the egg in the uterus'. It has to be one of the stranger games I've ever played...

24

My birthday really started on Saturday when my Mum arrived to hang out with me for the weekend.

We had brunch at my favourite cafe in Newtown, Pranah. Their oat and walnut pancakes are too good.

We had dinner at The Ambeli while it absolutely poured with rain. I can't rave about the food enough, it was so amazing. Just thinking about it now makes me want to do a little shiver of yumness. It wasn't cheap but it was so worth it. It's such a cute little place as well.

While having brunch at Sweet Mother's Kitchen on Sunday we saw some knit graffiti that must have been done as part of International Yarn Bombing Day (I went back later on Sunday night to take some more photos).

And then my favourite street jazz band even made an appearance as we walked along the waterfront.

My actual birthday yesterday had some strange but nice moments (thank you Coffee Man...) and more good food followed by the Wellington finals of the V48 Hours 2011 film competition. And this cake:

Thank you Beth and Ed for the best knitted sock cake ever (when they first carried it over I panicked thinking, 'I have no idea what this is; is it a caterpillar? Why?!' but then I think I clicked at the same moment Beth cried out 'It's a knitted sock!' Thank goodness.)

Also, looking over this post, I might as well rename this blog, 'Wellington, I love you'. Because I do.