Weekending - Deep Oceans

There's something about a museum cabinet full of labeled curiosities that makes my heart pitter patter that little bit faster. I'm especially drawn to new shapes, forms and textures, like the sea sponge skeleton above. Shapes and textures that often then find their way in to my jewellery after such excursions.

Yesterday we visited the 'Deep Oceans' exhibition at the Queensland Museum, Brisbane. I was just as excited as Cohen to see the preserved giant squid and wander through the cabinets and displays with an inquiring mind. At five, Cohen is such a little knowledge sponge right now, and so eager to learn. We are endeavoring to provide him with as many opportunities as possible to see and understand the world and feed his passion for learning while he is so receptive. 'Deep Oceans' was certainly a win in that regard. He loved looking at and interacting with all the displays, and then playing on the themed playground at the end.

Next weekend I am thinking we will visit the Planetarium.

Learning the hard way...

Cohen stood by my side, Emerson in the sling, as I emptied the plants from our basket at the nursery yesterday. My phone rang, and I answered it by reflex, as the nursery woman began to serve us. I really should have waited a moment, finished the transaction and called back. I know. I usually do. I'm not sure why I didn't. But I made arrangements to meet friends at the duck pond as the woman entered our plants in the til and Cohen discovered the small $1 pot plant ornaments on the counter. I added a tiny tea cup to our total and nodded in agreement when Cohen held up a small green frog. I paid and thanked the nursery lady, phone still to ear I'm ashamed to say - incredibly rude I know - and ushered Cohen to the car. As he climbed in to his seat I strapped Emerson in to hers. Triumphantly, Cohen held up his little frog and told me how wonderful it was, then held up a small lady beetle ornament and told me how equally wonderful it was. Taken aback, brain not quite in gear, I asked where he had gotten it? After a pause, in which his four year old brain must have been working furiously, he simply informed me that he had liked it. 

"Did you take that beetle without paying for it Cohen?"

"No, I just liked it."

Thus began a conversation that was revisited throughout the day. It's wrong to take things that don't belong to us. When we take things and don't pay for them that is called stealing. Stealing is even worse than breaking a rule, it is breaking the law. I will always love you, no matter what, but I am feeling disappointed.  Beetle in hand, children in car, car thankfully parked alongside the entrance, rather than publicly shaming him, I returned to the counter and replaced the beetle. Shame faced myself, I explained what had happened. The nursery woman smiled, assured me it was not a problem and admitted that she thought he had taken one. An even brighter shade of red, I returned to the car and picked up the thread of our conversation once more.

Oh, the lessons we learn. I'm still a little shocked. My sweet baby is now a little boy, a little boy who is testing his limits, exploring the world and not always making the right choices. And as I try to guide him, I am learning lessons too, and not always making the right choices. 

Next time, I'll let the phone ring. 

Learning lately

I often find I hear aphorisms or sentiments and agree with them with my head, then really learn them from experience, then forget them and have to learn them again. Tell me I'm not alone in this? These are a few of those lessons that I have been reminded of lately.

-

Maintaining balance is just as difficult as finding it.

There are two types of gratitude; 'thinking' gratitude and 'feeling' gratitude. One originates in your logical mind and one is a heartfelt surge of emotion. Both are important, but you will long remember the 'feeling' kind of gratitude.

Give thanks with words and actions when you feel gratitude towards people.

There is good if you look for it.

Think happy, be happy.

Pick the right battles.

Learn the lesson.

Stay in touch.

Be present.

-

Perhaps you have a similar list? What else would you add?

Everyday learning

I am a firm believer in the old adage that you learn something new everyday. Sometimes simple, other times profound. Lately I have learnt that;

tomato jam is the new must have condiment in our house
you don't have to be good at everything
toddlers will argue about most things
Cashmere comes from the soft undercoat of the Kashmir goat
frozen cherry tomatoes are handy for using in a curry when there are no ripe tomatoes
two baby teeth are more capable than you would think
people would often rather be right than happy
look for the positive
a bad morning doesn't necessarily mean a bad day
a heartbeat noise emanating from the rear of the car may be a screw in your tyre

Weekending

Saturday was a glorious Winter day. The sun shone warmly in a blue sky, absent clouds. A great day to wander around the show grounds and take in the country-feel of the Mount Gravatt Show. The buildings sprinkled though out the grounds held bee displays and the competition honey, needle work and quilt exhibits, budgerigars and cottage crafts, agricultural societies and floral arrangements. While the oval was home to huge trucks (which delighted Cohen), horses, petting barns and cattle dogs. I love little shows like this. We avoided the rides and the show bags and explored the pavilions and patted the animals instead. I could have happily brought home a tiny black piglet with me.

It's one thing to teach a child something at home, and quite another to watch their amazement at really getting it. Cohen was fascinated with the bees and sheep. He knew already that honey comes from bees, just like the honey we eat at home, and wool comes from sheep, just like the wool Mama knits with. But seeing the bees and the honey, touching the sheep, seemed to bring that understanding to a new level. Well worth the admission fee.

I came home with a little bounty myself - honey comb, an African violet and potted rosemary - and an entry form for the needle craft exhibits. It had made me think. Prior to blogs, Ravelry and the like where we can share our handiwork, women shared their special projects at shows like this. Perhaps next year my work will be among the other beautiful pieces on display? 

Anyone can knit Part II

Recently Grace left a comment about learning to knit and I thought it was probably relevant to many new knitters and wanted to share it with you and respond.

"Hey Christina, I am drooling over all your wonderful knitting lately. You are doing such a great job. You made a post saying anyone can knit but when you use all this knitting 'speak' I have no idea what you are talking about. I would love to knit something, not just a square. Do you have any suggestions on an easy beginners project that will become something, like a hat or jumper/cardigan for my little ones?
Grace"

Anyone can knit for sure, you just have to learn one step at a time. I'm not an expert, but this is how I have learnt. With each step you will master a bit of the knitting speak. Knitting abbreviations looked like a foreign language to me at first, but they are just a way to condense the information in a pattern. Now I understand a lot more and this knitting short hand doesn't look so strange. Most patterns have a list of Abbreviations at the start of the pattern, so you can refer back to them. Like -

K - knit

P - purl

Sl - slip

RS - right side

CO - cast on

sts - stitches

So if the pattern tells you to 'CO 20 sts', it wants you to cast on 20 stitches. If it says to 'K10, P10', it wants you to knit the first ten stitches and then purl the next ten stitches. You will quickly pick up the abbreviations and if you come across one you don't understand, like P2tog (purl 2 stitches together) then just look it up on you tube to see how it is done. Nearly all stitches are based on the good old knit or purl. You need only learn one new stitch at a time.

Asterisks and brackets can be confusing in knitting patterns. They are used to group stitches together that are to be repeated. For instance *K2, P2; repeat from * across, end K2. This means you need to knit the first two stitches, purl the next two stitches and then keep knitting two then purling two until the last two stitches, which you will knit. Brackets are usually used if you need to repeat a section a certain amount of times. For instance (K2, P2) 5 times.

The first thing apart from squares and scarves that I made was a simple vest for Cohen. The pattern is no longer available though. I have however found some cute girls patterns that look like a great place to begin knitting something more than squares.

First things first, set yourself up a free Ravelry account. This way you can access to numerous patterns and keep track of your work, yarn, needles etc. And it's fun. :)

Then check out these patterns - 

In threes

Chloe

Like Sleeves Vest

Pick a pattern, print it out and read through it. Patterns usually have a few sizes. Like small, medium and large. So they will say 'CO 50 (60, 70)'. If you are knitting the medium size, you always use the middle number. It helps to circle or highlight those numbers before you start.  Buy your materials - use the same thickness yarn and needles they suggest. If it ends up a bit big kids will grow into it. If it ends up too small, put it away for the next baby. :) 

Then cast on and start knitting until you get to a part you don't understand, then go back to you tube. Or knit until you make a mistake. This is a great way to learn. I was so scared of making mistakes at first! One way to help avoid mistakes was never to put my knitting down in the middle of a row, but to always get to the end. The next way was to keep a note book beside me to take notes of where I was up to in the pattern. If you need to knit a certain amount of rows, make a mark on your paper each time you finish the row. Don't think you will remember when you come back to it. Print out or photocopy your pattern and feel free to write on your pattern. If a stitch was confusing I would write it out on my pattern step by step.

Count your stitches at the end of each row while you are learning. If you drop a stitch you will know before you have gone on too far and you can pick it up again. If you make a mistake you can go backwards and un-knit. That was one of the best things I learnt, how to go backwards without having to unravel everything. 

Anyone can knit! Just take one step at a time. It takes patience and practice.

Your knitting doesn't have to be perfect. It will improve with time and you will have beautiful, handmade pieces that you will want to keep forever.

-

Any other tips you more experienced knitters would care to share with beginners keen to learn?
Any patterns you would suggest?

-

Anyone can knit Part I

+

Part of the appeal crafting has for me, apart from the practical outcome and sense of satisfaction at creating with your hands, is the challenge. I find this especially so with knitting, probably because I always considered myself to be someone who couldn't really knit. But the last twelve months I have been changing that. Each new pattern I undertake is a learning curve and each achievement can then be built upon. There's still so much to learn. So many beautiful techniques that all stem from the simple knit and purl stitches. Many of which seem more than a little intimidating.

One such technique is knitting with double pointed needles. It seems like a difficult undertaking with only two hands and all those needles, added to the possibility of twisted stitches. So in order to overcome that fear I've started my first project knit in the round, a pair of wrist warmers, with thanks to Kate, who suggested we undertake this pattern together. After half an hour of fiddling this morning and the 'help' of a toddler, I managed to cast on, divide onto three needles and knit my first rows on double pointed needles. Feeling that sense of satisfaction indeed, and hoping at the same time that I can repeat those steps for the other half of the pair of wrist warmers...

Pattern: Toast

Yarn: Harmony

Ravelry.

Summer Days

Learning to scoot with Dada. 

The perfect birthday gift for three year old boys I think.

Thank you Grandpa Lowry.