500 Crochet Stitches
So, thanks to the bunny with the loops over at lupinbunny who posted about the Mon Tricot 1500 Knitting Stitch encyclopedia she purchased, I could not help myself & searched for mon tricot in ebay.. what do I find?? I find myself bidding on the book you see in the pic! I so hope I get it.. I.must.have.it.

In other news, is it so wrong to love and want to make that crochet dress ???? what's happening to me?? Once upon a time I would've laughed my ass off at this.. I'm not sure whether to bid on this 'mon tricot vintage pattern book' just for this one pattern... I'm mean really, would I ever wear it???

The short n sweet bolero is slowly getting there, it's so exciting to see it transform.. I'm really getting into crochet, it's fantastic, it grows so much faster than my knitting projects! Michelle, I will teach you, no probs! Hey if I can learn to crochet from the Happy Hooker, anyone can! Today, heading off to Busselton, a family weekend away.. hmm, nice. We'll see. Hopefully I'll get lots of crocheting in :)

clementine, i know that the suburban back yard is no place for an alpaca (actually, i don't KNOW this. i'm only assuming because noone i know owns a pet alpaca), but perhaps these might come close to having your own fleecy flock?

Hello fellow SNBers, Jasmine here.. yes yes Iknow.. I suck at this whole 'blogging' thing.. never been much of a writer myself, not like the very talented gals, Clem, Claire & Kita.. but anyhow, here goes..

Have recently dropped all knitting (I know, the shock, the horror) for crochet ! Started crocheting the inevitable bikini, god knows why?! though it's coming along nicely. Don't know if I'll actually wear it in the water, not really a big fan of the saggy bottom look :) Mind you, it's a blend of nylon & cotton, so may be ok, pics soon..well.. maybe!

I'm also crocheting the little 'Short N Sweet' bolero jacket (see pics) from the SNBHH and boy is that involved, easy enough, just taking some time... it's for mum's b'day on 1st nov.. don't think it'll be finished in time somehow, isn't that just normal though when knitting/crocheting a gift?

Next in line is a toy crochet monkey for my nephew for xmas, pattern bought from www.roxycraft.com/The_trio_info.htm so darn cute, I love it ! Hopefully he will too..

While Yarn Monkey's Sock Wars are waging strong, this little Sock Warrior is out of the battle. I was killed last week by a snuggly soft pair of bright blue socks— I guess it could be worse! To the remaining soldiers.... Stay strong, knit fast and pray for a decent postal service!

Though I have been killed in the Sock Wars, I assure you I'm not dead in real life. Sure, I haven't posted in... umm... a long time, but I have a valid excuse!! I've been too busy knitting! I've done about half of Katie's Razor Cami, and a variety of socks and I also have been spinning (so addictive!!). And probably worst of all, I've also been playing with my new toy— a brand spankin' new MacBook. Hooray! We are getting broadband installed very shortly, and between that and the Blonde's new digital camera, there should be a whole pile of of backlogged "look at my knitting!" type posts. Wheee!

because i am a knit-blog-hog i now have my own. blog, i mean.
at http://lupinbunny.blogspot.com

all my rivetingly witty posts will be made there from here on in.

i was complaining to a friend over the weekend that i wished that badly coloured boy would show more interest in my knitting (read: buy me some damn yarn. he does maintain a sufficient interest in the projects i am actually knitting).
then on monday i showed him in quick sucession some noro yarn and a rowan patternbook, emphasising how expensive rowan was.
then last night i had a terrible angst about how i was about to fail every single one of my units.
his response was to tell me to set myself a target average mark. if i met it, he would buy me a subscription to 'nnrrrow magazine'.
'you mean rowan?'
'Yeah! That one!'
*Clare freaks out about the cost and refuses* (you may berate me later)
'Well, okay. If you get 60% you get one ball of yarn, 70% and you get two, 75% and you get three. Plus some really nice needles.'

Despite the slightly deranged maths (oh, two balls of yarn. how, um, useful darling) i am very touched. And I intend to aim high and get me those damn needles (i think i will claim them no matter what my mark is). After all, i think the overarching sentiment was 'make it through the semester and i will take you yarn shopping'.
surprisingly inspirational.

so the Vogue High Neck Lace Top is done (and i am posing in badly coloured boy's unit, in front the chair i found for free in a council verge rubbish pickup. it matches the couch). it's too big (the top, not the couch. the couch is very big, but that's great)! i am soooooo distressed. it really is a size 12, not 10. the waist is a good 4 inches too big. i'll still wear it to uni during warmer months, but it isn't really form-fitting enough to be an evening top. you can see where it's loose in the picture.
it is deliciously comfy though. thoroughly recommend debbie bliss' cathay as a sub for cotton/ silk in a pattern (it's a blend of the two, plus rayon).
and i love the colour. it makes it less victoriana, more quirky. though i do wish i had a delightfully tight high-waisted pencil-skirt to wear with it, rather than the mini.

Very glad i made the armholes larger than called for - they are still as high up as i would want them to cut. if i'd followed the pattern and added the lacy in the armpits i seriously doubt i could have jammed my arms through.

well, i wore it out to dinner at the subi hotel, and in the toilet queue told my friend maddy i made my top. she did the obligatory 'oohs', but the girls in front and behind me (who had probably had more to drink) went nuts! All 'Oh my god that's aMAzing! Do a little twirl so i can see it all!' One of them's favourite part was - wait for it - the plain maroon plastic buttons that do up the neck. Ah well, can't win 'em all.

Next up on the to do list (not quite in order):
- finish anatolia
- decide which of the new vogue knitting patterns to make
- BCB's mum's scarf
- my mum's lace birthday wrap
- a scarf for the housemate for xmas?
- maaaaybe something knit for the best friend for xmas? (we are both terrible at estimating each other's taste, we are like polar opposites; but although she has never worn the scarf i knit her out of $20-a-skein-pure-silk, she was so excited that i actually knit something for her that i'm willing to repeat the process).
- maybe knit another one of these tops, in my proper size? I'm pretty tempted you know. it'd be so quick to do, now that i know the pattern quirks. A month to six weeks, i think it'd take. plus a couple of days to do the sizing maths.