Long time no wokka wokka wokka

I know, I know, long time no post and all the jazzamuffin.

Short Snacks!

*New hair - peroxided and dyed vampire red bwahahahaha. Love it!

*Have joined Ravelry and am loving it. So many cool things - so few needles and hands to hold them. Anyone interested will find me under the name of FiestyWench.

*Mayhem and Chaos is taking a very. vey. very. long time to get going, due to low time, low funds, the silly season being upon us and all that usual stuff. Hoping to look at it with fresh eyes in the new year!

*New hobby (like I didn't have enough) sewing needle rolls! Will be available on Yarn Collective soon :) Will post a link in right hand panel once they are up.

*Some finished objects for the meantime:

The tomato / strawberry beanie - needs more length added to the pattern in my opinion but looks cute and goofy anyways.

Debbie Bliss shrug, adjusted for three quarter length sleeves and in a much smaller size than the previous one I made - I had no idea the pattern was so generous, but this one is a much, much better fit.

Current WIP's are a knitted bucket type thing in Sean Sheep wool that will be felted and used for.. something. Deoending on size, either a knitting basket thing or storage for kids rooms. Also A long scarf done in 100% silk 4 ply, in a variegated red colour way. It IS lovely, but it IS taking me forever.

Other than that we are currenty working on Master Mayhems diet, to see if we can make him a little less.. errmm.. well, Master of Mayhem really!

If I don't update again before then I wish all of you a very happy and healthy christmas and new year! Enjoy the awesome food!

Finally! A new post!

Well, I have a few finished objects to share at long last. It's been a rough couple of weeks here, I started getting quite sick a few weeks ago but wasn't intelligent enough to take stock and realise there may be a reason my blood sugar levels were fluctuating. As it turns out, I had an infection in one of my teeth. While my body was fighting that though, another infection came in and king hit me - this time a UTI. For me, with a kidney reflux issue, this meant that it very quickly progressed to a kidney infection and a breif admission to hospital only to be discharged very quickly (thankfully!) with a fistful of antibiotics of a few varieties. I am on the mend now, but in the meantime, I'm trying to think of them as not-so-tasty smarties. lol.

First off, a soaker knit for a friends soon to come along wee chicken, knit in MonsterKnits 'Tiger Cub' colourway.

Secondly a beanie I made for my own gorgeous Mr Mayhem, in the same yarn. See that photogenic quality? He doesn't get that from me.

Thirdly, a soaker for Miss Chaos. Not sewn up yet, as I am still debating embellishing.

And lastly some photo's of a pair of shorties I made to take the sting out the tail of a bad situation :)

I am more than likely going to be kept busy at the moment however! I have One of my babies birthdays in two weeks time, and the other one 4 weeks after that! As much as I love the growing and exploring stage they are in right now, sometimes I wish they could stay wee and cute forever. They grow up too darn quick!

And finally, a note on why I have closed my store on WAHMania. I don't want this to start arguments all over again, but I feel my reasoning behind it has been misconstrued.

I did not close because of the administration of WAHMania. I closed because of the lynchmob that occurred.

I will not be held to be indebted to people I provided a product to - I will stay at home to care for my kids, business or no business. And I will not be told by any outside party (aside from those I have paid for the pleasure) how to run my business. I will not be held to ransom via threats made about boycotts, or bitching on public and not so public forums.

And while in hindsight what happenned was silly - that is all it was. I am not an easily offended person by any means, and I was not offended by it. There are far more important things in this world to be offended by and worried about than an internet prank. I feel much of it has been taken out of context by people who have something to gain, and I am also not much one for following blind sheep without the questioning of peoples motives.

Please if you feel the need to bitch about what I have written, take it up with me in here, please leave the people (and moderators) of Wahmania, EB and NC alone. Comments are enabled should you choose to do so.

Bits, bobs, this, that and the other.

Be prepared for a possibly rather long winded post. Some things I am sure, will be of note to some, and others, well, not so much lol. Certainly time for an update of sorts however.

Those of you playing at home will have noticed BalderDASH has dissappearred from WAHMania. And we have indeedy - but we have re opened as Mayhem and Chaos. I have a couple of reasons for that, and short and to the point they are -

*As I wasn't making any money from the BalderDASH store, I had not gotten off my ass and registered the business name. I did check it was available before opening, but that was some 4 months ago now, and in the meantime someone else registered it.

*I also felt like a new name, to show that I had decided to go in a different direction with the store. See - I am a bit, well, anal about what I dress my kids in. They don't wear merchandised clothing, and I get a little bit over all the pastel pink pink and pink available for the girly whirl. The boy looks good in just about anything, but again, there was just so much of it I didn't like. I solved this problem by making their clothes myself - my mum was a seamstress and I have helped her make everything from kids clothes, to adult clothes, wedding dresses, bridesmaids dresses etc, for years - so to me, no hassle. The problem with knitting however is, much as I love it, it takes a lot of time, that I just don't have chasing my two around. Sewing is marginally quicker, and judging by the compliments I get on my kids clothes, I figure there is a call out there for funky stuff that doesn't cost the earth. (Oilily anyone?) With Mayhem and Chaos I aim to fill that gap.

*I just like Mayhem and Chaos better lol. It's named after the kids - Mr Mayhem's nickname is obviously Mayhem, and I didn't realise until a couple of weeks ago, but you can actually get Chaos from the letters in my daughters name and she has been The Mistress Of Chaos ever since lol.

So there's the reasons. That said here are some pics of recent completions.

These are a pair of cargo longies I made for Mr Mayhem - they are a bit long in the leg, but I made tham that way to as to get two seasons out of them. They are knit from Posmerino from The Knittery, and incredibly warm. I then overdyed them in black landscapes dye and I quite like the mottled look they came out with - makes them appear well worn already.

And this is the set I currently have for auction on WAHMania under the new store name. The set is a size 1, and the bottoms are knit from 85% wool and 25% angora that I got from the Bendigo Woollen Mills. It's one of my favourite yarns I have ever used, because it knits up so unbelievably butter soft. I would say softer than the 100% alpaca I have used.



In other news - The mistress of Chaos has decided pulling herself up on her knees is a good trick. She still hasn't figured out how to get DOWN from that position, but immediately progressed to hauling herself to her feet, overnight. I am a bit aghast at that!

Mr Mayhem however decided to live up to his nickname yet again yesterday morning, by painting the entire hallway with a jar of vegemite about 5mm thick onto the wall while his (very stupid) mother had fallen asleep on the couch. Thankfully it cleaned off remarkably easy, but I can truthfully say that the smell of pink grapefruit pine o cleen 4 in 1, mingled with the scent of vegemite is right up there with the worst things I've ever smelled.

And finally, I recently purchased Regina Spektor's current album and I highly reccomend it. She has such a great voice, and I am singing along with it like summer is here already - the vocal chords are just as good as they ever were (back in the good ol' days of gigs and guitars and all the shit that goes with it) and the freedom of singing again seems good for the soul.

And speaking of good for the soul I am also working my way through season 2 of Supernatural... how good is Jensen Ackles? He can park his boots under my bed any day... mmmmm.

Thanks for the comments on the set in previous post below - very pleased with how it turned out, but the memory of it is still giving me nightmares!

I know I said I would post pics of this only once the intended recipient had received them, but I figure I can flash a few pics if she can ;)

So here is the custom Set that I have been working on every spare minute for the last three weeks plus. It is in the equivalent of a size 0.

Front:

Back:

Close Up Of Embroidery At The Back:

I am very very happy with how it turned out in the end. I had quite sometime of unpicking, re-diong, and trialling in order to get the finished result to look like what I had pictured in my head when I started it, but in the end it is spot on and I couldn't be happier or more satisfied with the result. I can only hope the recipient feels the same!

Here we are a Saturday night, and I thought I would post an update of seemingly random stuff.

First off, today saw me at the Australian Wool and Sheep show. There was loads of interesting stuff there, no doubt about it. Wool in many varieties and breeds, loads of colours, dyes, patterns, wool craft goods and exhibitors. I am not entirely sure what it was I was looking for, but no matter - I didn't find it. I left feeling a little dissapointed in the offerings, with a small scented melt for my oil burner, and a pair of stitch markers.

I am nearly finished the custom order I am doing, and looking forward to posting a few pics of it once it is finished and it's new owner has received it. I am also about one third the way through a pair of cargo style longies for Mr Mayhem in posmerino, thus breaking my own rule of only working on one thing at a time. I am 99% sure I don't have enough wool to complete them, however it is ok, as the wool is available and I am knitting it undyed and dyeing the finished product black at the end.

Also in the very soon (next week) pipeline, are two soakers for a trade I am doing, and two calorimetries for a friend.

All progress has been severely stunted however by a rabid abcess that has had me howling like a wolf throughout the night for the past week, and unable to eat properly. As a result I am feeling drained of all energy, and entirely lacking in mojo. I am hoping the course of antibiotics I am on will help with that alot.

Other ideas whirling in the dervish that is my brain include:

• Do I really want to make longies and a matching hat with the 'Turkish Delight'? What about a dress?

• A wrap style jumper for Miss Mischief in the mohair/silk/alpaca/ wool blend that I have sitting around in a deep deep burgundy. Completely forgot I had it until I went wandering into the spare room / floordrobe/ bottomless stash pit in a forage for the posmerino.

• A little under 400 grams of my current Bendigo Woollen Mills favourite - a 12 ply 85% merino / 25% angora blend, as yet undyed and squeaking in it's rabbit like way to be given love in the form of a simmering dye pot.

• I would really like to attempt to make a shawl for myself, nice and large, in a lacey type knit. I am unsure of pattern, but I definitely want it in luscious colour - not neccessarily bright, but certainly deep.

• A new type of set to go in the store, first one to be auctioned, just to see the reception it receives.

That's about it for me this evening. Lots to do, lots to do! Will be back soon with pictures, I promise!

Knitty Bit Episode 1

Just a quick update on the pastel rainbow type wool I dyed up for something I am doing.

Here is what it looks like knitted up:

I love it! Quite enjoy it when I go for a certain *look* and get it right!

So very girly girl too!

Having a ball (or two)

Finally, finished and dry and wound into balls, here is the wool I have dyed for a custom order. I started off with 2 x 200 gram balls of cream wool, then handpainted using landscapes dyes and a steaming method to acheive a very pale and subtle pastel rainbow. I'm very happy with the final result and looking forward to seeing how it knits up.

I am hoping to start on the knitting tonight - if Miss Mischief ever admits defeat and surrenders to sleep.

The First One

First post in a new blog... it's like a blank canvas really. Unlike my other blog though, this one is about creativity, rather than how my own lack of sleep is hindering creativity.

This blog is for me to post ideas, comments and pictures of items I want to start, am halfway through, have completed and also inevitably (for a shopaholic) things I have bought. There will be wool, knitting, fabric, sewing, embroidery, and probably just a few snaps of modern cloth nappies thrown in for good measure.

It's all good! And it is all an outlet of some form.

Here is my current list of -gotta get to it- items. (In no order of priority)

Mums pistachio alpaca hat and scarf - finished and posted but yet to arrive and needing follow up

Miss B's pistachio alpaca daisy embroidered wrap dress - I've started it? But thats about all I can say there

TOT's custom set, wrap dress and soaker with matching embroidery - Wool is dyed, and dried, and ready to be wound into a ball to begin

Mr Mayhem's Posmerino longies - I've bought the wool and it's been sitting there for a month!

Miss Mischiefs longies and hat set in Monster Knit's 'Turkish Delight' wool - as above - wool is bought and languishing within the stash

Mr Mayhems shorties in Monster Knits 'Artic Forest' colourway - done! pics below

Mr Mac's beanie in remnants of 'Artic Forest' - also done & pics below

Calorimetry for myself in 'Passionfruit' mis dyed wool - done, finished this afternoon - Got to say fabulous quick knit for ~squeezing~ in between projects, and very useful. Also the model this one is on - she's bloody stunning! *chuckles*

So that's that. Back soon.