http://redgumsoaps.com.au/ Latest news, tips and tricks en http://redgumsoaps.com.au/typo3conf/ext/tt_news/ext_icon.gif http://redgumsoaps.com.au/ 18 16 Latest news, tips and tricks TYPO3 - get.content.right http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Fri, 30 Jul 2010 01:50:00 +0000 http://redgumsoaps.com.au/vickis-blog/vicki-younger/article/visit-to-bendigo-woollen-mills.html What trip to Bendigo could be complete without a visit to Bendigo Woollen Mills? Bendigo Woollen Mills during my trip to the Australian Sheep and Wool Show. Part of the attraction was the famous backroom and its fabled bargains. It lived up to its reputation although I was far more restrained than some of my travelling companions. I'd gone with the idea that I wouldn't buy and carry home anything that I could order online and have delivered to my door. Since the timing coincided with our visit to the Sheep Show, shoppers were in a buying frenzy. Staff there were rushed off their feet keeping up with demand and stock and by the time I'd chosen what I wanted, there was quite a queue at the cash register waiting to pay! My modest purchase included some bright orange 5ply classic available in 50g balls (I think probably rebadged Heirloom Easy Care 5ply since that's also produced at the mill), so I felt obliged to buy 2 packs of 10 of this gorgeous, bright colour. I procrastinated over buying more of the discontinued Sequoia colour, also available in the 50g balls but I couldn't think about knitting more of it having finished my Audrey Coat so recently. The bargain of the day for me though, was a pack of 4 x 200g Luxury 8ply in my favourite Autumn colour, packaged in one pack for $32. A special thank you to Sue for meeting me at the mill, showing me around Bendigo (including some op shops) and for generally being so hospitable. My only disappointment was not spending enough time in the shop to feel all of the different yarns and have a closer look at the colours in real life since you get a better overall impression than the little samples on the shade card. I rugged up to brave the Bendigo cold and the combination of heating and frenzied crowd of shoppers saw me almost fainting with the heat, so after selecting my purchases I had to make a quick escape.]]> Knitting Fri, 30 Jul 2010 01:50:00 +0000 http://redgumsoaps.com.au/vickis-blog/vicki-younger/article/australian-sheep-and-wool-show-2010.html After a couple of years of badly wanting to attend, I finally made it this year. Australian Sheep and Wool Show over the past few years, I decided it was time for a few of us from the local area to make the trip. Let's face it, it's like Mecca for knitters. It was definitely a road trip with a difference. Getting seven women to Bendigo and back from the Bega Valley for a lightning visit isn't easy. It's a difficult and long drive, and the shortest route is via the mountains which makes icy roads and fog a foregone conclusion. So we opted for the public transport option which turned out to be a bargain basement price without the hassle that driving would bring. That meant bus from Bega to Bainsdale, then train from Bainsdale to Bendigo via Melbourne. A few hours waiting time but really, the travelling time was only about an hour longer than a stressful and tiring drive. To make it extra special, the two items I entered in the 'Handcrafted Garment for an Adult Using Commercial Wool' won prizes, first and second. First for my Kelmscott cardigan and second for my Rambling Rose cardigan which I was finishing the only days before I needed to send it away. A bit of a shock really but a delightful surprise as I had no expectations whatsoever. Things that stood out for me were the opportunity to see wool from indie dyers like Kylie Gusset, and discovering unknown or little known yarn suppliers like the Yarn Barn, where I bought some beautiful fine merino in the extremely difficult to find shade of magenta. I also got to meet a few knitters at the much anticipated Ravelry dinner after spending the afternoon shopping and lunching with the lovely Sue, who I'm so glad I finally met in person. I was fairly restrained in my spending - the most exciting purchase was a set of blocking wires which I'd wanted for some time. I wished I'd bought a wooden swift but difficulty in carrying it home won out, so it will be a future purchase for delivery to my home. Our trip also included a trip to the famous Bendigo Woollen Mills backroom, but that's another story. I couldn't resist including the photo taken outside the bakery where we ate breakfast - the kind owners include knee rugs for patrons who wish to eat outside in the freezing cold!]]> Knitting Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:58:00 +0000 http://redgumsoaps.com.au/vickis-blog/vicki-younger/article/another-teal-coloured-knit.html I'm loving this teal colour so much I ordered some in both 8ply and 5ply. Coastlines pattern book and available as a single pattern from Vogue Knitting. Since it's more a between seasons jumper, I decided to let it sit languishing on my needles until spring, and concentrate on warmer things I'd need sooner. But a long car trip and a visit to my parents saw two sleeves completed and there really seemed no good reason to delay finishing any longer. This one, like my Rambling Rose cardigan is also knitted in Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic, in Mallard, except this time it's in 5ply. I made a few modifications which I think give it a slightly neater look:

• knitting the body section in the round;
• adding a picot hem to the body and sleeves;
• repeating the eyelet row above the body and sleeve hem.

]]> Knitting Sat, 10 Jul 2010 01:12:00 +0000 http://redgumsoaps.com.au/vickis-blog/vicki-younger/article/the-magic-of-blocking.html Knitting a cardigan that only comes in two sizes can have its challenges. Rambling Rose Cardigan (you'll need to scroll about halfway down) designed by Laura Zukaite, I didn't give it a second look. You can also see a close up here. Then I saw a few single colour versions on ravelry and realised how lovely the design was. One problem, it comes in two sizes, 32" and 43", neither of which would work for me. Somehow I figured out how to add two extra scallop rib sections to the bottom half, knit it in 8ply and have it come out to the approximate measurements I needed. It still needed a bit of tweaking and for the top of the yoke section as I neared the neck, there was endless taking the stitches off the needles onto waste yarn and trying it on, over and over until it resembled a size that might work. Using 8ply meant that the sleeves were a little tight so fierce blocking fixed this.  Luckily, the lace inserts meant I was able to block it a little wider and in the end it all came out almost perfect. Stretch the sleeves by wet blocking. Insert an extra long knitting needle into each side of the sleeve and pin them in place, a little like using oversized blocking wires. Leave in place until completely dry. I have a new favourite way of doing button bands that create a firm edge. This wasn't a good project to start with - it took every night for a week to get it right. Start Sunday, do one edge, discover it's becoming tighter as you do more rows, pull undone. Repeat process every night for a week until you get to the following Saturday when you've finally figured it out. It took as long to do the button bands on this piece as it did to knit the sleeves. At least the next project should be straightforward after a steep learning curve. The button bands? Slip stitch one stitch into every row along the side front edge and repeat until the button band is the desired width. For the buttonholes, crochet chain stitches for the size you need the buttonholes and skip those slip stitches accordingly. On the next row, crochet a slip stitch into each chain and continue the slip stitch rows until the buttonhole band is wide enough. This creates a really nice, firm buttonhole and button bands that won't stretch. Best of all it looks very neat! For this project I used Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic 8ply in Mallard which is a very deep teal, with more green than blue, and extremely difficult to photograph. ]]> Knitting Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:00:00 +0000 http://redgumsoaps.com.au/vickis-blog/vicki-younger/article/this-is-what-a-devastated-forest-looks-like.html After logging, forests resemble rubbish tips. South East Region Conservation Alliance Inc (SERCA) website. The 'koala' choir comprising hundreds of locals sang the Koala Anthem, penned by Chris Allen and set to music by Geoffrey Badger, and 'Blockade - the Musical' was performed on the day. ]]> Sustainability Climate Change Mon, 17 May 2010 00:54:00 +0000 http://redgumsoaps.com.au/vickis-blog/vicki-younger/article/a-shawl-for-another-big-birthday.html Judi's birthday shawl has definitely exceeded my expectations. Gail (aka Nightsongs) shawl so when Judi's birthday was approaching I thought this would be the perfect choice for her. I found the original pattern a little confusing and I use the repeat charts made by Liz Abinante of Feministy. Liz's charts are not only helpful, they're very clear. Now, the inevitable changes I feel compelled to make with each thing I knit - at least I'm in good company because lots of other knitters have done so as well. I added a centre stitch (and used markers either side) to eliminate the double yarnover at the centre that seemed to cause so many people problems. I substituted Liz's SK2P (sl1, k2tog, psso) for S2KP (sl2 tog knitwise, k1, pass 2 slippped stitches over) to give a centred double decrease. It's been frustrating having to keep this hidden for so long but I've had to wait until I knew her package had safely arrived in New Zealand before I could reveal the final shawl. I've used Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 4ply in the brick colour which is a gorgeous, striking red with a hint of brown. ]]> Knitting Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:26:00 +0000 http://redgumsoaps.com.au/vickis-blog/vicki-younger/article/another-shawl-for-a-special-friend.html I've wanted to knit this shawl since I first laid eyes on it. Swallowtail Shawl created by the very talented Evelyn A Clark, without fear. This one is for my friend Anne, who has to spend some time in chilly Canberra, so I thought this might help to ward off chills. For this one I used 2/9NM fingering wt 5/15/30/50 cashmere/silk/cotton/merino from Colourmart in the naranja colour. If you haven't used Colourmart's yarns before, I highly recommend them. Not only are their yarns wonderful, their service is second to none.]]> Knitting Thu, 15 Apr 2010 03:38:00 +0000 http://redgumsoaps.com.au/vickis-blog/vicki-younger/article/the-ongoing-audrey-saga-is-at-an-end.html Now I have my own Audrey coat after what has taken far too long. Audrey Coat at Blue Sky Alpacas website I knew it was one of those things that begged to be knitted. The designer, Cheryl Nelson, is a seamstress. And it shows in her attention to shaping. Simple clean lines that flatter. Unfortunately I offered to knit one for my sister and I couldn't bring myself to knit another one so soon. So I've waited a whole year until I could face it again. Not that it was difficult or unpleasant, but I find it really difficult to knit the same thing more than once. Now I have my own, ready in time for winter. I used Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic 5ply doubled, in the sadly discontinued Sequoia colour. It's a little darker than it appears in these photos. Normally they supply yarn in 200g balls but these ones arrived in 50g balls. I can tell it's no fun weaving in this many ends when you're using doubled yarn. My least favourite knitting task is weaving in ends so to have twice the amount was really a labour of love. If you're thinking about knitting one for yourself you might find the following information helpful:

• Choose the yarn that will not only give you the right gauge, but also a firm fabric so it’s less likely to drop. Generally a yarn that isn’t spun as soft will stand up better in the long run than a really soft yarn.
• I used 4 buttons because if you look closely at the pattern you can see that the top of the collar is pinned even if the button isn’t there. If it so obviously needs to be pinned together, then it needs a button.
• The button covers needed tweaking to get the fabric as firm as I wanted - I used much smaller needles and incorporated more rows to get the right size. I also put a thin layer of fabric under the knitted button covers because the base colour of the buttons showed through when it was stretched tight.
• The yarn is used double for the coat and single for the button covers so if you want to substitute yarns you need to consider this (it’s difficult to cover buttons with aran weight yarn).
• Or choose a yarn that also comes in a finer gauge and buy a ball of that just for the buttons (you know how some yarn companies have thicker and thinner yarns in the same colours?). Or you could split the thicker weight yarn to make it thinner for the button covers. A bit tricky but necessary if you can't get a finer yarn to match.
• Don't opt for alternative buttons unless you're set on a different look. The knitted button covers really do make a difference to the overall look.

]]> Knitting Sun, 04 Apr 2010 23:46:00 +0000 http://redgumsoaps.com.au/vickis-blog/vicki-younger/article/some-destashing-thats-been-hanging-over-me.html This stash yarn has been like a monkey on my back and now I've turned it into a jumper I really... Jo Sharp Silkroad Ultra languishing in my stash for about two or three years now. It's a mix of 85% wool, 10% silk and 5% cashmere. In a rich, rust colour. What's not to like? It's a lovely yarn but needs the right pattern to make the most of it. It was once a jumper, briefly. Worn once and pulled undone almost immediately. Not because I didn't like the pattern, but because of the way it fitted. The reason for the bad fit? The front and back were knitted alike. When will designers realise that the front and back of a jumper need to be different. Yes, I know I could have added some short row shaping to alleviate this, but at the stage when it was sewn up and all the ends woven in, I was way past trying to fix anything. In fact, I didn't want to even look at it for a long time. So it was a matter of hanging on until I found the right pattern. Owls, by Kate Davies was it. Perfect jumper for this yarn and best of all, seamless on a yoke, so virtually no finishing. It's a fairly chunky yarn so not much detail needed. The little cabled owls around the yoke added just the right touch to an otherwise plain jumper, albeit with a nice shape. Now we've replaced our dead camera, I finally have a photo!]]> Knitting Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:23:00 +0000 http://redgumsoaps.com.au/vickis-blog/vicki-younger/article/nothing-gets-between-me-and-fresh-figs.html when it comes to my just about all time favourite dessert - fresh fig and walnut tart! taste.com.au) Cover with fresh fig halves, plump, whole walnuts and sprinkle with icing sugar. I'm not a fan of added sugar but on this tart, it caramelises beautifully on the figs. Bake in a moderately hot oven for 20-30 mins until the frangipane filling is set. Serve warm with whatever makes you happy. I'm trying to lose a little weight right now but when it comes to fresh figs and this heavenly tart, I say 'bugger the diet, figs come around only for a short time each year!' ]]> Food Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:15:00 +0000