Four summer items and a winter one

It's halfway through my Christmas/New Year holidays and I'm really enjoying having the time to relax, go for walks, read, knit and sew. 

This week has been one of mostly sewing (but some knitting), mostly alterations (but some new things).

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Above is the one new sewn item, my take on Butterick 4593 in navy merino. My fabric choice was pretty much down to what I have in my existing fabric stash (this merino is from a failed dress project). The orange bit you see in the left armhole is in fact binding, which you won't be able to see when I'm actually wearing it. I made this so that I'd have something to go with my three pairs of linen trousers. It's in dire need of a pressing but as I'd already spent most of the day sewing it, that's just going to have to wait.

Above is a close up view of one of my alterations. This is a fix-up of last February's attempt at a Japanese-style over-sized dress. I replaced the bodice with the one you see here (below is the full view). It's a big improvement, probably down to the more flattering neckline. 

The bodice is a stiff grey-blue cotton and the skirt is a super-soft jacquard linen. 

Below is a hat I made from a ball of yarn that I got as a Secret Santa present. It's a mixture of blues and greens mostly (though you can't really see that from the photo) plus a chunky lime green merino for the ribbing. It was supposed to be for the boy but it actually fits pretty closely on me. More details on Ravelry.

Below is the second of the alterations I completed this week. A tunic originally made from McCalls 8108 (a surprisingly well used pattern as I have several tops and dresses made from this pattern and customised), I shortened it to mid-hip, took it in at the sides and added the mini-ruffle at centre front. Now it no longer looks like hospital scrubs.

The last of the alterations is this re-interpretation of Simplicity 2927 below. I've had success with the sleeveless tunic version of this Project Runway pattern as well as the short petal-sleeve version.

But before I'd finished the elbow length sleeve version I had to stop and put it all away for a couple of years because I discovered knitting and had no time for sewing.

When I finally got it out again, lack of sewing practice made me stuff up the neckline so I'd had to change it a bit to get it to almost work. But I never wore it. So this week I replaced the neckline again and shortened the hem to mid-hip.  Hopefully this is the summer I will wear it.

Although it looks like I've used two different colour fabrics to make this, it's actually just the one. the side panels and neckline are made with the "wrong" side facing out.

Christmas in the sun

Merry Christmas everyone!

We are so lucky with our Christmas Day weather today - it's warm, sunny and there's hardly any wind at all (just enough to stop you from getting uncomfortable).

After our present-opening session (thanks to our UK family we had a stack of wonderful gifts to unwrap) and follow-up phone calls to afore-mentioned family, we set about playing with our presents.

In other words, The Little Madam and the boy both played on their respective computer games.

While they were doing that, I did the obligatory cleaning that is necessary if we want our friends to come over and not run away screaming as soon as they see the state of our living environment - mopping, vacuuming, tidying away, a spot of weeding...

TLM and I also spend time filling in our colouring-in books (which is so HOT right now) in the back yard, which I wasn't able to stop doing until I was in danger of getting sunburned.

And then I went for a walk up the hill behind our house, up to the lookout from which you can see the clear blue sky, the sea blue and blurry from the breezes, the grass and leaves still green and, and the occasional group of picnickers recovering from Christmas lunch.

Springing forward and singing in the dark

With the weather improving in fits and starts, I went for a walk with a friend one weekend and found our local version of Easter Island.

We also went up the hill last Saturday night, just TLM and I, to watch the Guy Fawkes fireworks display. What I forgot is that most people drive half way up the hill and walk the rest of the way, whereas we walked all the way up and would have to walk all the way back again in the dark (albeit torchlit). 

So, after the fireworks ended, TLM and I walked confidently down the hill - until halfway down when I realised we were all alone. Then I noticed the light from the torch was fading. do you know what saved us from panicking? Singing Maori songs at the tops of our voices and hoping the battery  didn't run out completely.

I've also been knitting. First up is this raglan sleeve denim knit with three quarter sleeves and a little lacy insert in the middle of the chest. More details on Ravelry.

Next is another raglan sleeve jumper, this time with a random-striped body and sleeves with all-over eyelets. It's a mixture of cottoned acrylic. More on Ravelry.

And lastly, in anticipation of warmer temperatures still, a singlet made from leftover denim yarn plus blue yarn scraps (hence the multi toned stripes). Details on Ravelry.

Thanks, folks, for your messages of sympathy about my mum. I still often get this feeling that I'm supposed to be somewhere, doing something. Plus I live just up the road from the rest home where she live, so there's no escape really.

Gone

When our mum died last Friday morning, my brother and I were present. I held her hand and we talked to her as her breathing slowed, slowed until it stopped completely.

I was glad that we were there at the end. But I don't know if she was aware of us.

She was probably aware of our presence the night before, after the doctor had given her something to calm her down, after she urged us to come to the rest home because this might be our last chance to see mum alive.

When we saw her that night mum was snoring loudly, sleeping deeply. Probably, it was the best sleep she'd had in weeks if not months. There was a moment when she was semi-awake and made us think she wanted to get up and go to the loo. Then we realised mum was still asleep, so we and the nurse and the carer lay her back down on her bed.

That was probably the time to talk to mum, when she was still not so deeply asleep that I couldn't be sure she was still with us.

The next morning we returned to the bedside and mum was no longer snoring, just breathing. I worry now that she was already gone by then and we were just watching her body go through the motions until it couldn't any more. By then it is too late to hold hands and say comforting things, isn't it?

a pink knit

Knit from Maniototo wool in barn red.

More details on Ravelry.

I have so many hand knits, all of which have to be dried flat after washing, that by this time of year I'm hesitant to bring out another one from my box (of finished knits) to wear. But as it's Father's Day and I was taking the family out for lunch I decided to go for it.

It is perhaps not as A-line as I'd hoped, but I still like it - mostly because I love the collar.

It's funny how it's not until I see a photo of my outfits, that I see the flaws in them. Like, in this case, how the long sleeved tee Im wearing with this has such baggy sleeves.

Full-on fair-isle part two

This is where I have go to with my boxy sweater. Since the photo was taken I've narrow the sleeves significantly so that now they are almost too tight (not intentionally). But it is now finished (unless I get around to re-sewing the sleeves).

More pictures on the Ravelry post.

Full-on fair isle

This is what I have been working on (and off) for the last couple of years,  in between other knitting projects.

And it is still not finished!

See my Ravelry post if you're desperate to see more....

Surviving a decade of parenthood

Last Tuesday TLM turned 10.

To TLM it was not a more important or exciting birthday than any other, though apparently for some it is very significant as it ends in zero.

She got a range of stationery/crafts thingies from us (the loving parents), some lovely tin flutes from Nanna and a very spendable amount of birthday cash from her Poh Poh.

Then she got to celebrate it all over again today when  her friends turned up for a birthday yum cha.

It's interested to see what kids will eat at a yum cha - the prawn dumplings went untouched, the pork spare ribs were ignored and I was the only one who lusted after the taro puffs. BUT - the kids scrambled after the spring rolls, there were never enough roast pork buns and the sticky rice was surprisingly popular. The squid wasn't that popular either but that was okay because it meant more for me.

The only downside to a social yum char - at this particular restaurant anyway - is that we were only allocated 45 minutes at our table. I guess I should have worked this out when I first called to make the booking, because they asked whether we wanted a 11.30 am booking or a 12.30 pm booking.

45 is in no way long enough for a social food-oriented gathering. Sure, we were finished eating by then. But there was no time for just mucking around with the presents (a fantastic variety, from a pink hot glue gun to a cool puzzle game with a plumbing theme) or general chatting without your mouth full.

If we do it again in the future I'd consider scheduling an activity immediately after everyone's finished eating, such as a walk to the park or something.

In any case, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and we even got to bring a few leftovers home to snack on!

Chinese authors I have loved (to read)

Temporarily on a break from Kazoo Ishiguro, I have harked back to the Chinese authors I have often sought when looking for fiction I can relate to:

Of course, I enjoy Amy Tan immensely (apart from Valley of Amazement, which to me was like a Chinese Memoirs of a Geisha). I must find myself another copy of The Kitchen God's Wife, because I lent it to my brother a decade ago and never saw it again.The last one I read by Tan was Saving Fish from Drowning. This wasn't a mother-daughter themed story - quite a departure for her - but a good read nonetheless.

I have a copy of David Wong Louie's book of short stories, Pangs of love, which are mostly (but solely) about flawed Chinese American men just trying to have relationships, good and bad. The first few are my favourites, I suppose because they confront the cultural divide rather than ignore.

Wayson Choy wrote The Jade Peony which is set in Canada in the 30's and follows the stories of three members of a Cantonese-speaking family. It forced me to learn just how hard life must have been for Chinese in Western countries and back in old China (especially if you were female). But it's not an "educational" book. They are stories of three children growing up in a particular time and place and are very accessible. The grandmother is familiar, both annoyingly old-fashioned and refreshingly wise. I also recently finished another of his books which is about the same family but from the perspective of just the eldest son.

Patricia Chao's Monkey King is a dark tale of a young woman who tries to kill herself because of stuff that happened to her as a child, and how she deals with those things in a mental institution afterwards. It's not utterly depressing though so don't let that put you off.

The above are all North American writers. Why haven't I found the works of any Chinese-British authors at my library? Or those of Chinese Australians or even Chinese New Zealanders?

(Actually I do have two books by a Chinese New Zealander - When the Moon Turns Silver by Alison Wong, plus a book of her poetry. They are great. )

I need to read fiction that feels like my kind of reality. The only way to find it these day is do what Phil Twyford did to try and convince us that overseas Chinese are buying up all of the Auckland houses - I look out for Asian-sounding surnames along the stacks.

Fuzzy slouchy beanie

I had a ball of fuzzy alpaca/merino yarn and decided to knit a hat from it. It's very light and wide so fits both TLM and me. I reckon it would fit the boy too, but he is fundamentally opposed to slouchy hats.

As TLM is the more photogenic of the two of us willing to wear it, she's the one you get to see modelling it.

I fell off the wagon

In the last couple of months it hit me that we had better rein in our spending, since we have been living off one salary since the end of January.

I went from daily visits to my favourite sushi shop for lunch, to only lunching out once per week (excluding weekends - where we transitioned from weekend lunches at "nice" eateries to alternating between home cooking and the more affordable Malaysian options.

I clamped down on clothing and yarn shopping - in the last month or so the only clothes shopping I've done has been for my mum (and on her card) who, since moving into the rest home, suddenly had a need for non-holey pyjamas and undershirts.

Even yesterday, I boasted to The Little Madam (who knows well my addiction to both knitting-related activities and sales) that in my lunch break I went to my local yarn shop where there was a yarn sale, and didn't buy anything.

But today I fell off the wagon, because I went to the Social Wool Fair and bought a scarf's worth of heathery blue merino and a stack of old knitting magazines.

I feel a little guilty, but in all I spent only a few dollars more than I did on the boy's packet of cigarettes.

My newest favourite sweater I made myself...

...is this one.

I made the sleeves a little short as this makes it less of a hassle when I need to wash my hands, wash dishes or whatever.

It's nice to have a hand knit that is light enough to wear on a not-quite-freezing day.

TLM's 2015 winter cardigan

I made this for TLM from a fair isle-effect self striping yarn which I'd been wanting to try because it's a non-scratchy mixture of wool, acrylic and cotton. If I use it again I will knit the item in pieces instead of all in one, to get the maximum fair isle effect.


I freely acknowledge it's imperfectness e.g. the way it opens out below the last button. I don't care -she likes it. See my Revelry post.

Home, but not as we know it

On Monday, the rehab unit at the hospital will discharge my mum into a rest home. Hallelujah.

I hope I'm not jinxing the whole thing by talking about it before she's actually moved in, but it has been a long and arduous journey and I can't wait to get to the destination.

First, there was the assessment at the end of last year, in which the lady from the Care Coordination team asked mum how things were and mum insisted everything was fine (until she left - then mum's tune changed).

Then there was the in-home care programme which consisted of three daily visits by mostly lovely carers - but the visits were short, often mis-timed (e.g. the morning visit at 10.30 was sometimes followed by an 11.30 lunchtime visit), and - for a period of two weeks - hideously inadequately scheduled.

Then we decided that we had more trust in mum's ability to take her meds correctly that we did in the ability of the administrator to ensure that someone would actually turn up when they were supposed to (to get mum her meds, among other things). That resulted in a reduction in the number of daily carer visits, but at least I didn't have to chase them up when they didn't show up for one reason or another. By now mum had decided she wanted to live in a resthome, but in New Zealand you don't get to live in a resthome until some authority says you need to.

Then there was the heart attack that landed mum in hospital again, and this time mum got her wish which was to be allowed to move into a resthome.

And today I got a text from my brother which (to paraphrase him) said something along the lines of "Great news! Someone died! There's now a great room available at the most recommended home in the city!"

But the best, best thing about this is that for the first time ever, my mum told me how good my brother and I have been to her. It felt good to hear.

Surfer WIP becomes Surfer FO

I did it. I knocked the b*stard off.

I have completed the Surfer top for the boy.

More than a year in the making, it is a labour of love (ok and maybe more than a little of my need to finish things). All-over cables, endless moss stitch, cotton yarn that tires my fingers and wrists - if the boy didn't like it I would have been a little upset.

But he likes it so, phew.

It fits a little baggy, and that's after I took it in at the sides and sleeves. I don't know how it got so big because I used one of his existing jumpers to check what the finished measurements should be, and I knitted a tension strip ( I don't have the patience to knit a whole square) to check it would be right.

Oh - and you know those ties at the neck and hem? I knitted those too. It wasn't nearly as painfully boring as I feared (I meant to buy some leather ties but the boy said he preferred the knitted version).

And it will be a long, long time before I knit all-over cables in cotton again.

A respiteful Easter

On Monday morning I got a call from the manager of the rest home - there was a place available for my mother.

So we booked her in for a week of respite care (she's entitled to two weeks funded). It was really short notice, as we had to confirm with them in about 24 hours or else they'd offer the space to someone else on the waiting list.

After the rigmarole of getting mum moved in, her medications list signed and faxed by her doctor, her dietary restrictions discussed and her slippers brought in from home (which had been omitted during the packing), I wondered whether it was going to feel at all like respite for me.

After all, I still had to take her to the podiatrist to get her talons trimmed and to the dentist to get her new false teeth.

But after at the first two stressful days (and the onset of a cold for me), I suddenly felt like this was actually working:

• Because she has no personal telephone (and doesn't know where the communal one is), my mother has not been calling me frequently to remind me of things I already remember. 
• Due to my cold, I'm not expected to visit every day to check on her (neither of us are, but my brother seems to be doing it anyway).
• I'm not having to chase up carers who run late or don't show up at all. This last one is a real serenity-buster.

These (especially the last one), plus the fact that I've made a conscious decision to prioritise sleep this long weekend, mean that I really am feeling rested right now.

Mmmmmm...

Another WIP bites the dust

I sewed on the buttons onto my latest finished knitting project this morning (which you saw a couple of posts ago).

I look like I'm saying "Hi" but I'm just showing you my cuffs.

The cooler weather this last week motivated me to finally get the buttons and sew them on. But of course today it is a bit humid and nowhere near cool enough to wear it. Although the day is certainly dark enough that you can't see the effort I put into the lacy yoke.

Next up I'm really close to finishing the highly cabled denim surf top for the boy - and about time too as it's been a couple of years in the making (and possibly the last all-over cables sweater I will ever make).

Autumn in my mind

Yep it's definitely autumn:

• Today I wore my new rainy day mac (left) which has the fleecy lining and I wasn't at all hot (until after work, when I warmed up as I walked home).
• Underneath my raincoat I wore one of my hand knit tops - a relatively thin 4-ply knit, but a merino/silk knit meant for cool weather - and only felt slightly too warm during those moments when the sun shone in through the window and heated up my workstation.
• On my feet I wore merino socks inside Doc Martin boots, and they didn't feel hot or sweaty all day.
• I even briefly wore one of my hand knit hat  and only took it off because I'd made it too short and every time a gust of wind lifted my hair I worried the hat would blow off.

I also had a headache, which is unrelated to autumn (I think).

I don't know whether to blame the change of season or the headache, but tonight when I was paying my bills via Internet banking I managed to massively overpay my phone toll bill but about $1300.

Mmm. The bank can reverse it no problem, but it will cost me $75. The slightly condescending tone which the customer service rep used to tell me that's what the confirmation button is for, was free.

The phone company is only to happy to refund me the excess money for no fee - but apparently they only do refunds on Fridays (?). Fortunately it will be just in time for me to use that money to pay my credit card bill (which what I thought I was paying when I had my senior moment).

In search of the perfect bra

I think it's because I'm an asthmatic, but I find bras terribly, terribly uncomfortable. Even if I can find one that seems acceptably comfortable, I can just about guarantee that by about 2pm I'll be desperate to remove the damn thing so that I can breathe fully without hearing the squeak of straining wires.

But, although it is extremely comfortable to go without, and despite the fact that - as a B cup - I think I can just about get away with bra-less-ness (depending on what I'm wearing), I feel compelled to have some kind of support on hand.

Mostly, I wear 'em for two reasons:

1. so that they don't bounce unduly when I walk gracelessly. Because then, (mostly male) onlookers notice them and stare.
2. so that on cooler days my out-standing nips are hidden. Otherwise (mostly male) onlookers notice them and stare.

So, yeah, despite being a feminist and not particularly interested in dressing to please men or conform to an idea of what a woman of my age and social status would wear, I can't always avoid wearing one.

I have som bra-lettes, but they usually turn out to be a compromise which neither discourages bounce nor hides the nips. Plus, then tend to have higher necklines that show up from under some of my (not indecent) tops.

I bought a new bra today. It's got no underwire and is only very lightly padded (for nip-hiding, no doubt). On, it still feels like a tight rubber band around the top of my ribs. But I hope that this time it will mellow and mould to my shape like a good pair of jeans is supposed to. 

I'll keep you posted (unless you don't want me to because it's too much information).

Why I'm perving

Lately I have found myself staring at bums a lot - men's and women's bums mostly; children's not so much. Trousered bums rather than skirted, pantie'd or naked bums (phew!).

But "perve" is not the correct word really because I'm only doing it to check out how those people's trousers fit.

I'm really noticing when a woman's trousers seem to fit her bottom perfectly, and silently applaud her decision to get them custom made (or for the sartorial perfection of her rump).

When I see a multitude of wrinkles all down the back of someone's trousers I shudder because even my trouser sewing efforts have been more successful than that. But the wearer doesn't look particularly mis-shapen, which makes me wonder what it is about those trousers that fit her so badly.

Anyway, there you are. You can go now, having been reassured that I haven't become cougar-esqe in my middle age.

My not-so-classic denim jacket

I finished that jacked I posted about a while back.

Although I could have done a much better job setting in the sleeves, I'm happy that I managed to reduce the width of the shoulder and at the same time reduce the amount of ease in the sleeve cap.

It's unlined but I've bound all the seams either with flat fell seams or bias binding.

And the buttons are a large version of the buttons I used for my Rosemary cardigan, but I think they work better here. On the cardigan, the list raised bits on the buttons often snag on the buttonholes.

And I think that next time I make a topstitched garment I will splash out on topstitching thread and whatever needle needs to go with it.

Everything but the buttons

Here's a knit I prepared earlier.
It's the Cocoa Cardigan from Interweave Knits Winter 2015.

I will get buttons for it as soon as it gets cold enough to wear it. It's actually navy not the royal blue that it appears in the photo.

Why was I compelled to start a winter knitting project at the beginning of summer?

A fit problem

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This is how I know that I have a long, long, long way to go before I will be able to sew well-fitting trousers for myself.

It's a test garment made from a polyester twill, using one of the Simplicity Perfect Fit patterns. According to their instructions and my measurements I used their curvy fit. But as you can see I have a flat (and possibly droopy) bum and probably should have used the slim fit version (maybe).

All I can say is, I'm glad I don't have as much trouble finding jeans that fit me well...

A Japanese influence

It all started when I looked up images of linen dresses on the 'Net and came across those super-oversized indigo Japanese dresses. They looked so cool (in both senses of the word) that I had to have one. I sewed one up and it fits - but I don't need to tell you that mine doesn't look as cool on me as those dresses look on those Japanese models.

I am thinking of chopping off the neckline section and replacing it with a new bodice that has a deeper neckline.

I was more successful in my next Japanese-style activity though...

Continuing in the Japanese vein, I re-read Kazuo Ishiguro's Remains of the Day. Great story. Sad. Perhaps a touch too much detail about butlering. A great story nonetheless - I loved the way he made it about the relationship between a super-uptight butler and a housekeeper, while in the background World War II is brewing and his employer is unknowingly becoming a traitor. (As you can tell, although the writer is Japanese this is a very English story.)

Then I read Never Let Me Go, also by Ishiguro. I'd not heard of it before the movie of the same name came out, and didn't bother to go see it. The book is marvellous. He delves into a world in which... sorry I had to delete the next two sentences in case you want to read it and don't already know the "dark secret". But the main story is about the relationship between three young people as they are schooled and grow up. The other thing is just the background, yet it's what makes this story so heartbreaking.

It's very handy having a Kindle because I can go right through Ishiguro's entire catalogue.

The next one I finished was A Pale View of the Hills. A Japanese woman living in England remembers the time in post-WWII Nagasaki when she befriended a strange woman who lived alone with her daughter. Not a lot happens, and yet the story covers a lot about surviving in the aftermath of the atom bomb. The two previous novels left many loose ends. This one not only leaves loose ends, it also throws a few extra ones right near the end. Frustrating yet compelling, it makes me want to read it again in the hope that it will make more sense the second time around.

I hear his latest novel will be out really soon.

The cost of taxis

In my rush to get my mum out of her house, down the steps and into my car, I accidentally locked my keys in her house.

Her appointment was in ten minutes.

My mum had not brought her house key with her.

So I called a taxi to take us down the road to the medical centre (that cost $8, which my mum complained about even though she wasn't the one paying), then I called my brother to ask him to come and give us a lift back and let us back into her house.

While this was happening, my mum - who is obviously feeling much better lately, because she now has the energy to complain about everything under the sun - was telling me in a loud voice that she no longer wanted to get her injections because "everybody" says you only need to get them monthly rather than weekly.

My brother couldn't leave work any earlier than 6pm, so after her appointment I got another taxi to take mum and I back to my place. We would wait for my brother there.

That taxi cost just under $20.

We got home, my brother arrived, he drove us to mum's house and let us in.

I could not find my keys. Anywhere.

Then my brother found them outside on the grass, where I'd dropped my bag while helping my mum down the stairs two hours before.

Aphids. Hate 'em.

I was admiring our swan plant and all the little monarch butterfly caterpillars feeding off it, when I noticed little clusters of tiny wee yellow bugs with lots of legs. But I wasn't sure what they were or whether they were a bad thing.

When it comes to gardening, if I'm not sure I let Nature worry about it.

A few days later I decided they didn't belong on our swan plant, so I scraped some of them off with a stick. I didn't do a great job, but then I was trying to avoid damaging the plant.

Then TLM googled "swan plants yellow bugs" (or something), and found out those little yellow things with tiny little legs that seemed wave at me were in fact aphids.

Apparently you have to kill them or they will kill your swan plant. And you have to keep at it or they will take over. Then you will have no swan plant with testicle-shaped seed pods, and you will have no  monarch butterflies or catepillars because they will have nothing to eat.

It sounds like aphids are the nits of the swan plant world.

When you crush them they leave a pretty yellow stain on your fingers...

A different standard

I've been on a bit of a sewing binge lately, because it is far, far too hot to even think about knitting. Sewing, reading about sewing, thinking about sewing, and watching the Great British Sewing Bee.

After reading many sewers' blogs about the difficulties they have with getting a good fit when using commercially produced sewing patterns, I noticed a common thread in what they said.

What I got was that, in general, younger sewers have few (if any) problems with sewing garments from commercial patterns and getting them to fit well without making any modifications.

But when they got older, their bodies changed and became "non-standard", and they had to learn how to modify sewing patterns before using them to make clothes to fit.

I can totally sympathise.

It was only while perusing an old sewing book (Sandra Bettina's "Power Sewing", to be exact) that I remembered that once upon a time sewing pattern companies used to make patterns for different body proportions.

Nowadays, patterns for adult woman are mostly categorised as "Misses" (i.e. the body proportions of a young woman), with a very few in "Petite" (i.e. for short young women), or "Plus" (i.e. too fat to fit into the "Misses" sizes).

But a decade or so ago you could also get patterns which were designed for other proportions too - "Woman" (i.e. women in middle-age or thereabouts) and "Half" (i.e. the same as "Woman" but shorties).

I looked at the measurements for each of the standard pattern size categories and realised that my body is approximately the standard "Half" size. Other women who, like me, can't find a trouser pattern that fits their bodies, are probably either also "Half" or "Woman".

And that's when the light went on for me. My body is not non-standard. It's just a different standard to the one which the pattern companies - and commercial clothing manufacturers - have decided is the only standard to use.

Unfortunately that doesn't much help me to sew trousers that fit me...unless you have a Half size trouser pattern to lend me.

The last of our summer holiday

Just before Christmas last year I had spontaneously decided to take a couple of week off in January in addition to several days over Christmas and New Year. It meant I'd have only crumbs of annual leave for the rest of the year, but while I'm on holiday at home it feels like the right decision.

We'd had restful mornings followed by leisurely lunches followed by splashing at the beach. We've had visits from TLM's friends, I've managed to cover our porch (as well as my hair, some of the concrete around the porch, and some of my clothes) in a couple of coats of paint. I've nearly finished my non-classic denim jacket and finished my Japanese-inspired linen maxi dress (to be posted here later).

Although it hasn't been all fun and games, what with my elderly mum requiring visits to the doctor, the practice nurse and the medical lab, as well as many visits to cook for her while waiting for her home health service to kick in.

At the same time, the boy was diagnosed with shingles in his optic nerve. That was pretty scary at the time but the big box of various drugs seems to have worked because he looks normal now and didn't lose his sight. He still gets a lot of pain though, unsurprisingly.

I sure hope the rest of 2015 isn't so medically stressful as it's been so far...

There's a difference between a jacket and a coat

This, I have learned, is most obvious when you are trying to sew a light jacket using a sewing pattern for a coat. There's a big gap at each shoulder which is calling out for a shoulder pad - though I really wanted to avoid using them because my shoulders are wide enough (or maybe they just look that way because I'm sort of wide overall).

Also, I get why tailors use all that extra interfacing and stiffening now - it's to fill in the gaps between your body and the jacket so that you don't get lots of unattractive wrinkles near your armpits when you wear it.

Still, I'll do what I can. This is to be my non-classic denim jacket which is definitely not a denim blazer (cos I hate those). The pattern I used is the one I used to make my spring coat a while back.

I've shortened the skirt a lot, have added rounded sleeve tabs, will add a back tab, and plan to have 3 button fastenings: where the skirt joins the bodice and; two more between there and the collarbone.  I also plan to use dark pink bias binding to cover all of the seams which aren't flat-felled.

It's been a funny old Christmas

It started with having to take my mum to the hospital on Christmas eve, because her GP was concerned about mum's blood test results. We spent all day in there.

The red-bearded Irish doctor told me my mum was cute and even went as far as asking the nearest Cantonese-speaking doctor to tell her in her own language. One day I must remind mum that "I love you" is not what you say when you want to tell someone that you think they have a nice bedside manner.

Afterwards I returned her to my brother's house, where she'd been staying. As I left, my sister-out-law said a few words about Christmas lunch - I could have sworn she said that we should turn up any time after 2pm.

On Christmas morning, we opened our presents and covered the entire lounge floor with discarded wrapping paper. The boy seemed very pleased with his manly jewellery box.

It turned out I was quite mistaken about the start time for Christmas lunch....and we'll just leave it at that...

At least, I thought, this would be one Christmas lunch when my mum won't nag us to take her home right after we've eaten, because she is already at home (albeit a temporary one). Wrong again - as soon as we'd eaten and finished shared desserts, she was nagging us to pack up her stuff and transport her away. I left my brother to sort it out, as mum doesn't listen to me anyway (I'm just her daughter).

Today my mum has been back at her home for two days, with my brother and I taking turns at 3 visits per day (which is what her home service package will be when it starts on 5 Jan). She has already rejected all three pieces of disability equipment, including the walking frame which had initially been indispensable. There is, as they say, life in the old bird yet.

I leave you with a photo of the hand made fridge magnets I told you about in an earlier post. Pretty, no?

From barfing to babysitting

The weekend after TLM came down with a vomiting bug (thankfully very short-lived), I was struck by the very same bug.

I spent all of Monday dozing, shuffling (to the loo, to the back door to gaze at the sunny day outside), and drinking Powerade. And finding out that my mum had finally been discharged from hospital, and that my brother had taken her to his place until she was fit enough to go home.

By Tuesday I was feeling a hundred times better than I had the day before. I was still cautious about eating and was avoiding caffeine for the time being, but definitely well enough to go back to work.

The same day, the boy complained of a bad feeling in his gut. You can predict how that progressed.

Also on that day, I called my mum to ask how she was doing. All she wanted to do was to go home.

"There's laundry that needs doing, and my bed is still unmade from before I went to hospital". But we didn't believe she was ready to go home yet - it took her five minutes just to get from sitting down to standing up, and she couldn't walk for more than a few metres (with a walking frame) without needing a rest.

I applied for an emergency couple of days leave to give my brother some respite.

I went in this morning and mum was already up. "Alright" I said, "if you want to go home let's see if you can make your own breakfast."

Mum got as far as putting the jug on before complaining bitterly at my lack of customer service.

The rest of the day went a lot better, especially once she realised we weren't trying to force her into a rest home - because in NZ you can't get into a restroom even if you really want to, unless either you are willing to pay unlimited costs to get into one or the local health assessor thinks there's no other way for you to survive.

And that assessor is coming over on Friday, so we shall soon see...

A bit going on

I've been a bit distracted lately, because my mum's health has been a bit of a worry. She's just spent the last few days in hospital, which frankly was a relief because that followed several days of her feeling miserable and very tired. Being at hospital meant we didn't have to worry so much about her.

Now that her discharge from hospital is imminent, my bro and I will have to figure out how to ensure that she gets all the support she needs without driving anyone insane. Seriously, she can be a terrible grump, bossy and an extreme micro-manager.

A place at her retirement village of choice became free, but the prices have all gone up so that the cost of a studio there is only slightly less than my whole house is worth - and that's not including the weekly fees and others besides. So we have to look around to see if anything comparable (and not to far from us) is available that is more affordable.

On a more pleasant note, I was able to attend my work Christmas do. We had an Amazing Race type of thing at the Botanic Gardens, and spent a good couple of hours walking about the place, trying to find clues and taking many selfies. We took more selfies yesterday than I have ever taken before that day, or ever will after that day. After lunch we had the Secret Santa gifts. Mine was a set of six handmade fridge magnets, made using a variety of surprisingly attractive recycled objects. Honestly it was the best Secret Santa present I have ever received. Thank you Santa!

It turns out that something which keeps your neck and shoulders warm is a capelet

I was thinking that it would be nice to knit an accessory that keeps your neck and shoulders warm - like a well-placed shawl (but which doesn't blow off in the wind) or well-shaped cowl (which covers your shoulders).

So I got out a couple of balls of yarn, looked through a bunch of knitting patterns, and decided to use a top-down pullover pattern to make it.

What I came up with is a caplet. Although if you'd asked me what I thought about making a caplet I would have laughed in your face before swinging my scarf around my neck and walking away.

So it will be interesting whether I actually get to wear this, as it's not the sort of thing I had in mind at the start. I call it the Counterfort Capelet, named after the pullover pattern.

Spring with a dash of winter

When I finished my Hitch pullover (from Interweave Knits Winter 2014), I thought I'd be putting it away until next April or May.

But no - I put it on this afternoon and it's is just right for today's chilly temps.

Please excuse the unnatural angle. TLM was taking the photos and decided to make like a fashion photographer (yeah baby year! Now you're a monkey!) so I indulged her with a variety of non-typical poses.

Spring hat

I started this hat because I wanted a project to take to the Knit World knit-in session a while back. But I only went a couple of times because it wasn't looking promising (four people turned up the first time, three the next).

Then I got bored with making the boy's denim surf top again and decided to finish the hat instead.

It's Kiwiyarns Knits' own Cafe Hat pattern (but I stuffed up the ribbing and used different types of yarns so it's barely recognisable). Hopefully it won't be cold enough again to wear it until next autumn!

I've also posted it on Ravelry.

Vodafone gets to live after all

In case you'd had sleepless nights worrying about how my mum is doing without her only connection to the outside world (her landline phone), you'll be relieved to know that her phone was back on around midday yesterday. So you can call off the boys with the big sticks and knuckle-dusters.

It took me three long calls and an email of complaint (and possibly another call from the sister in law)  to achieve this. While they were at it, they also put the phone account in mum's name.

If they'd only done this latter task when I first asked them to (at the beginning of this month), it would have saved us all a lot of stress, frustration, wasted time on hold and in hopeless conversation and me getting unwanted instructions from family (but not the boy because he was just lovely and supportive) on how to "fix" the problem.

But at last the problem is fixed (though I still have to check they aren't going to try and bill her for two phone accounts or anything stupid like that).

Shame on you Vodafone

Hyperventilating with frustration, I have just sent Vodafone a formal email of complaint. Do you want to know why? Because they disconnected my mum's phone which is her only way to get hold of  anyone, even though she's done nothing wrong.

It's because I have so far found it absolutely impossible to get my mum's phone account transferred to her name, from my sister in laws. It was in the sis in law's name because they lived with her for a while (before they left with the relationship between her and my mum in utter tatters) and set up her phone at the same time. Before that I believe it was in my brother's name.

They won't do it unless they can speak to both the sis in law and my mother. The sis in law spent an hour on hold with Vodes before being able to do her half of the transfer (get her name off the account).

We had trouble with the next step though. My mum doesn't speak English, I told them (more than once). They were sorry to hear that, because after another long wait they told me that meant they could not transfer the account to her name.

Transfer it to my name then, I said. After 20 minutes or so they said no, they can't. Because I am already a Vodes customer and I'm not allowed to have two different accounts with them (wtf?).

Okay, I said. I give up. Please lets go back the way it was. Okay, they said, we'll do that.

Then they disconnected my mum's phone. My mum, who is 90 years old, fairly deaf, frail, only conversant in Cantonese and mostly illiterate, needs her phone to be working. Not least because her medical alarm is connected through it.

But it has been impossible so far to get her phone reconnected.

What I would like to do is to take our custom away and go start an account up with a competitor - but it's quite likely we'd have to get the sis in law to talk to Vodafone again to do the first part!

And one last thing - they were going to charge my mum an extra $1.50 each month for receiving her bill in the slow mail. Pretty shoddy, considering she doesn't do email and is unlikely to suddenly start.

Shame on you Vodafone.

On the occasion of my fiftieth birthday...

Astonishingly (and refreshingly), there is no McDonalds on the island of Rarotonga.

If I'd been told this at the beginning of our stay, I would have expected a very un-tourist-y family holiday.

We stayed at the Edgewater, which turned out to be the largest resort on the island. With hundreds of hotel rooms and villas (we stayed in a villa), it probably covered more area and had more inhabitants than Avarua - Rarotonga' downtown. So yeah, it is touristy - but not actually not all that touristy.

Some of the resort's more charming aspects, which made our stay all the more enjoyable, include: the super friendly staff; the very attractive floral prints they wear; the free range chooks that wander about unimpeded looking for tourist-borne snacks; the tropical fish-laden lagoon and the Ika Mata (raw fish marinated in coconut cream).

The boy introduced TLM to snorkelling, which quickly became her favourite daily activity (I myself took a couple of goes to get into snorkelling - breathing through a tube whilst under water freaks me out). TLM's second favourite activity was splashing me in the pool.

I painted my own sarong, TLM and I learned how to make a head garland from the gorgeous array of tropical flowers, and we all learned more than we ever thought we'd want to know about coconuts.

We also took a tour of the sights, on our last day. I was highly amused at the "sights" that we took in - the local hospital, several schools, the Cook Island house of parliament (which looks like a low-income boarding house) and so on. But there were some highlights too - the spot where the seven waka were supposed to have launched, carrying those who would become the New Zealand Maori hundreds of years ago; the beach at Muri; and the interesting but tragic story of a particular church built from huge chunks of coral reef (sacrilege, I know), whose builders died in the hundreds from lime poisoning.

And now we are back home. It's a relatively chilly 17 degrees Celsius but at least it won't be too hot to sleep tonight.

So, a no to the Kobo glo

I went and bought the Kobo glo yesterday, thinking it would be just the thing to hold half a dozen novels for our holiday in RAROTONGA.

But by the time I'd spent a couple of hours trying to set it up, with a few restarts to fix the screen freezing on me, I was no longer very enthusiastic about my new toy. All this, and I hadn't even gotten as far as registering. Then it wouldn't turn on.

So today the boy and I took it back to the shop and got a refund.

And we got a Kindle instead. The setup was so quick! And nothing went wrong! I've already downloaded several free classics and can't wait to play with it.

e-books by gum!

I've been on a fiction-reading binge, which is really quite a change from my normal diet of knitting books, knitting magazines and Frankie magazine. And Capital magazine. (Yes, many magazines in fact).

I have, in the last few months, read a whole 4 or 5 novels, and that's a lot for me.

The one I just finished was Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok, which was really good except for the breathtaking glossing over of how the heroine, her baby and her sweatshop-worker mother managed to survive while the former gained a medical degree and surgical training.

The two novels before that were a couple of ghost stories set in Alabama (or thereabouts) by RB Chesterton (which I enjoyed except they were quite match-matchy).

The one before that....actually I'll stop here.

Because the point of this post that I have decided it might  finally be worth getting an e-reader, now that I'm consuming a respectable amount of text-heavy product.

I know the Kindle is very popular, but I don't want to be tied into buying only from Amazon. I want to be able to support local booksellers and local writers.  I also want to be able to borrow e-books from our public libraries.

So I'm think I will get a Kobo. The boy said he'll get me one for my birthday, but seeing as he has just forked over way too much money to send us all off on holiday to Rarotonga, I would be fine with buying it myself.

And then I will check whether it's worth buying knitting magazines in e-format.

My eye, my stye and I

Not much to say (I just liked the title) - a dramatic swelling on the inner corner of my right eye, followed a night of unparalleled gunkiness...then it was all over.

Just extremely impressed at how quickly it came and went.

Post-election blahs

I am still a bit depressed today, that National are not only back in government, but won so decisively. It's not so much that I think Labour would have done a fantastic job, more that I hoped more people would have voted for the Greens - and that I really hate John Key's guts.

It's not personal - our lives have been pretty comfortable and this is unlikely to change because the election results - but because in my opinion the Greens were the only party that was willing to instigate big changes for the long-term good of the country.

Also, I've seen so much evidence of dirty dealings on the Nats' part that I don't understand why it hasn't affected their popularity. Like the fact the Judith Collins had to resign because of all her dodginess while she was Ministry of Justice, yet her electorate has put her right back into Parliament!

There's also the fact that evidently the vast majority of the NZ voting public seems to disagree with me.

Blah.

There's a lot going on right now

I was kinda excited at the thought that Scotland might vote for independence from the UK (seeing as so many clever people were or are from there). I don't know how well they would have got on without England, but now we'll never know.

And tomorrow is Election Day in NZ. Traditionally either my brother or myself would take our mum along to vote too, after giving her a brief run-down on the two major parties' philosophies (really quick, as our Cantonese doesn't allow for sophisticated political discussion, nor witty dissing of those I don't approve of).

I wasn't sure what we would do about helping mum vote this election, since I'm far more aware these days of the other parties. It turns out that our mum is quite content with how things have been going re: state of the nation, though that's not surprising since her focus is on the size of her superannuation payments and whether she's able to get free stuff from the government.

So if she votes National then I will not stand in her way (in fact I will drive to her house, pick her up and drive her around the corner to her polling booth. Then take her grocery shopping afterwards). Even though I disagree with her and even though she is not exactly well informed about the political goings on etc over the last few years. I figure, even with her narrowly focussed viewpoint, she is probably about as well informed as the majority of voters are anyway.

Also....we are going to Rarotonga for my birthday!! It won't be for a few weeks yet, and is only for 6 nights, but we're all looking forward to our first holiday (barring long weekends) since our trip to the UK back in 2011 or 2012 (I forget).

After that, I have to prepare for three days in Auckland for work, then getting TLM ready for her Brownie camp over Labour Weekend. It's all on!

Listening to Louise Nicholas

I knew I wasn't going to enjoy it one bit, but I needed to watch the dramatisation of Louise Nicholas' story. I felt like I owed it to her to sit through the entire, horrible series of events, that it was the least I could do. Because I wasn't any use to her at the time when she most needed to be believed - when that news broke years ago it was just background noise, only dimly acknowledged as something going on beyond the edges of what was going on in my life.

During that scene, when she retells what happened in that house with those disgusting examples of human beings - and policemen - my gut curdled. The anger kept me up all night and swamped my other feelings, which were of admiration at Nicholas' bravery in speaking up.

I'll never be able to understand why she couldn't run away when Scholum turned in his car to take her to that house, nor why she kept it a secret for so long, as though it was something that was wrong with her rather than something that was wrong with those men. But it doesn't make what they did to her any less despicable. And if I were a man then at some point I would probably have apologised for being one.

Nine

TLM turned 9 last week, and we held her birthday party in the weekend - at home. At our tiny little working man's cottage in which our living room also houses the dining table and the fridge (they're the overflow).

8 girls all in the house at once, making lots of squeaky noise and competing at who could perform the most entertaining death scene.

8 girls gobbling packets and packets of popcorn and marshmallows (and sundry other snacks).

It was a beautiful day (considering it's mid-winter) and we were supposed to have an outdoor picnic, but that didn't quite work out so we ended up with a floor completely covered in bits of popcorn, hand-made "smores", raspberry lemonade and hundred & thousands that fell of the fairy bread.

And I hadn't spent so much effort cleaning the house (both before and after the party) since last spring. Exhausting!

A hat plus two and a half sweaters

Just a check-in on my knitting progress...

This is not a skirt - it's the body of a stranded knit jumper

a cowl in Zealana heron

the back of a surf top for the boy. It is taking a LOT of yarn and time...

A short, barn-red cardigan for me

winter white

Have you seen those personal style books which show how certain colours - or shades of colours - can affect your look, depending on your skin tone?

Well, I have. And although I can usually see the difference when I compare the before and after photos, I don't  always find it very easy to apply to myself.

I've tried draping fabrics over my chest to see whether it's "my colour" or not, and a lot of the time I can't tell.

Not so with this cream coloured cowl/scarf I blogged about recently -

When I saw the photo of the finished product in Metropolitan Knits I felt an urgent desire to possess (i.e. knit) one just like it. When I found the cream merino cashmere yarn at the Knit World sale my fate was sealed.

But when I put it on one chilly morning before work, I realised that I had fallen for that old "it looked so great on the model" trick.

Not only is my neck far too short for such a wide cowl, but the colour somehow makes my face look...unwashed. One's hand knits should not make one look fat and dirty.

Then I took it off and replaced it with my multi-coloured shawl...

...and I looked SO much prettier. And cleaner.

Blood on the trampoline

Taking TLM to my mum's place this Sunday is going to be slightly awkward, because of something that happened last Sunday.

For some reason, my niece's best friend has accompanied her to mum's place most Sunday's for the last few months. She's not Chinese and perhaps finds it a novelty to spend time at an elderly Chinese lady's house and eat her food. 

The rest of us don't mind, though it's changed the dynamics between TLM and her cousin - and not just because TLM is more likely to get left out nowadays.

When the three of them go on the trampoline at the same time, it's damned likely that someone will get hurt.

I should have been on the alert a few weeks ago when they all got on there in the dark (post-dinner) and someone landed on her face. But TLM was - amazingly - not badly hurt.

Last Sunday, someone decided to do a handstand while they were on the trampoline. And TLM's face got in the way.

There was so much blood coming out of her nose and mouth. Once we'd got her cleaned up and calmed down enough for a good look, we found a split lip and a gash across her upper gum (right where she was growing two adult teeth).

I was quite angry and worried, but not comfortable with telling off someone is not my child - especially as I didn't see it happen so I couldn't be sure who was at fault. (The lesson here, I think, is that you don't stand behind someone unless they know you're there and you're both participating in some team-building exercise.)

About a week later, I am ready to stop being angry. But it would help a lot if  just this once, a certain person didn't accompany my brother's family to Sunday night dinner.

A couple of new knits

Recently I made a scarf and a pair of socks. Here they are:

The pattern is from Metropolitan Knits, and is suppose to have buttons at one end so that it can be worn like a cowl. I haven't gotten around to getting the buttons, but suspect that I don't have quite the swanlike neck that this kind of accessory is made for.

The yarn is a lovely soft merino and cashmere blend which I bought for $5 per ball at the recent KnitWorld sale.

It will keep my neck warm, once it actually gets cold enough for me to need one.

Speaking of colds, I am home with one right now. That's why I've got time to blog this...

These socks were a year in the making. Right after I started (and restarted) the first sock last June, I got bored with it and put it away. I only took it out again when I had to go to Auckland for work and wanted a small knitting project to take with me. And I finished the pair in five days.

Too bad they ended up too big for me - but they fit the boy's size 11 feet perfectly! The pattern is from Blendy Knits Socks.

In another universe I'm a tech guru...

Unless you've been reading this blog for a long time, or know me personally, you'll know that in another life (but in this universe) I worked in IT.

And that I wondered often how it is that I managed to spend about 15 years in IT without ever becoming one of those really useful people who can help when your computer stops behaving.

I mean, until recently I couldn't even work out how to get a DVD to play in our Playstation.

And yet, when it comes to my mum's Freeview television set-up, I am the guru.

My brother, who is no techie, can't fix it when my mum suddenly loses her picture.
My mum, obviously, can't fix it.
The boy probably could do it with his eyes closed, both arms lopped off at the shoulder and only one working leg. But he doesn't have to, because I have always been able to fix it.

To be honest, there are only three "fixes" in my box of tricks:

• press the input button in case someone tried to change channels with the wrong remote
• check that the Freeview box is on, in case someone tried to turn the telly on with the wrong remote
• turn the Freeview box off and on again, in case it's neither of the above.

But so far I have been able to get the telly going again every time. it does feel nice to be the guru in my mum's Freeview tv universe.

This year's TLM knit

I made this cardigan for TLM. It fits perfectly and looks great (if I may say so myself). Which just confirms my suspicion that kids make the best models. I used a Sirdar pattern (more details on Ravelry).

Elephant girl

This is what happens when you cut up an oversized sweatshirt for your imaginative daughter to wear, because her plaster cast prevents her from wearing her normal gear... (please excuse the poor photo quality - it was taken at night without a flash)

Flying off the flying fox

TLM has broken her wrist (well, not broken exactly because being a kid, her bone has sort of bent rather than cracked - but in effect it's a break).

It happened in the school playground, and I got the call while I was chatting to the members of the board at work (specifically, I was trying to explain that my eyes were pink because of allergies, not because they work me too hard).

Saved by the phone, only to be told that my darling was crying her eyes out in the school office. I was  very kindly given a lift to the school, where I picked her up and took her across the road to the A & E.

About three hours later we emerged into daylight again (just). TLM  has a plaster cast on her right (non-writing) arm which stretches nearly to her armpit. She can't get any of her clothes on over her right arm, so it's just as well it's not that cold at the moment.

The bummer is that she was going to play her first game of netball this weekend, and now she's only able to be a supporter for the next six weeks. Plus, she's got Brownie camp in a couple of weeks so I guess archery is going to be off her schedule.

A bach by the sea

We had a lovely time at Waitarere Beach, in a bach (seaside holiday home) big enough for two families of three.

Expecting foul weather, we packed warm clothes, raincoats and enough board games to hold a convention.

But there was plenty of sun, enough to allow trips to the beach itself, walks to the playgound, and outside play on the back lawn. TLM and her friend had a go too.

There were swelter-y moments which convinced me to forget about propriety and just roll up my jeans and sleeves and show the world my manly hiking shoes - just for the sake of getting some airflow about the limbs.

I have no photos, alas. Because we were all there to relax and I was just too relaxed to get out my phone and take any.

I did learn something though. I learned that if I leave my fully-charged phone on for two days without using it at all (except maybe twice to check the time), it will go utterly flat.

An experiment with pattern-printed yarn

I saw pictures of Naturally Loyal Pattern Prints yarn in the Knit World catalogue and decided it was time to try it out. I've been interested in the idea of pre-printed yarns ever since Sirdar Crofter came out. The pink edging is a completely different yarn though.

Unfortunately I am not meticulous enough to knit two mitts which are the same size as each other - but they do fit my wrists and one day I will remember to wear them whilst knitting or typing (as a defence against OOS).

So what do you think? Is it worth trying again with something bigger? (I'm thinking no)

Slightly more detail on Ravelry.

The yellow peril

I finished my Rosemary cardigan which is, in fact, mustard.

I'm quite please with it, apart from the fact that the top button has a tendency to undo itself. It's no biggie, but a bit annoying when it happens.

I've worn it a few times already, during our hot 'n' cold autumn, and people seem to like it as much as I do.

Long tops made of very thin fabric

There's something I have learned to look out for, and that's when I'm thinking of buying a tunic-length top in one of those lovely sheer print fabrics, to wear over jeans.

For Gawd's sake take a good walk around in it before you buy it! Because if it's a few centimetres too long, that super-drapey fabric will somehow work it's way into that area between your legs and become a camel-toe flag!