Giveaway winners (LATE!)

Oh my goodness. I am very sorry everyone - this has been in the back of my (full!) brain and I kept on forgetting about it.


The two lucky winners from my blog giveaway are -


yarn/ wool - Jo


stationery - Tracy


Please send an email to me at Kimberley@atkinson.org.nz  ladies with your address and I'll post them off - hopefully these hols!

do you think??

Do you think my husband will have a good sense  of humour when I present this to him (all stitched and framed) on Christmas Day?


It cracked me up! A co-worker and I did a little bit of retail therapy today at Ribbon and Rose. We left before we spent too much money!

I also bought this gorgeous wool to knit a scarf and another Lizzie Kate kit. I think I might be back at the shop to buy a few birthday and Christmas gifts for myself...

Knitting Works in Progress

The other day my cousin wanted to know how many knitting works in progress I had. So I went on a bit of a treasure hunt and OH MY. This is what I found...

Top to bottom -


Random knee high sock pattern from a book (which I need to find to continue). Knitted with NZ wool with a decent possum content.


A Tin Can knits sock - my first ever 8ply sock (so I added some extra wool in the heel with nylon in it). I think the heel is a bit big too in this one, but I'm not going back. I don't even remember what year I knitted this one!


Polygon - bought a new e-book last weekend and I've started making this blanket.


Falling Water - started a year ago as facebook told me the other day! Yikes. Knitted with gorgeous alpaca picked up in person in Peru by my mother in law. A pattern you pick up and do a few rows here and there. Just don't get lost or you'll never be able to work out where you were...


Memory Blanket - a great one for using up lots of random sock wool remnants. I'm knitting them individually and then in several years will sew together :). A project I only ever seem to do druing school holidays... This is a multi year long project...


Retiary - once you get the hang of this one, you are off. Learning to bead was an adventure and I have not picked this up for a while, so it might be another learning curve... One of the sock club patterns - I always buy Vintage Purls clubs, but still have to knit many of the projects...


Sock - a stock standard sock. I knit socks every day. Using Dorps yarn from the Wool Warehouse


Lodgepole hat - love this, but the pattern is awol somewhere in my paper piles... ugh - the paper (university work) is quite out of control... So I'm not sure where I was up to unless I find the pattern. Using Quince and Co (I think!) bought from Holland Road Yarn.


More random socks from Blendy Knits. Both these books are my sock bibles - they are used every single day too. Amazing patterns!


and finally (well actually, I think there may be a few random one socks from a pair out there somewhere too...)  Beech Hill. A lovely brainless knit, which I started about a month ago. Not knitting as long and probably now won't be wearing until next winter either.


I've plenty to keep on going with these school holidays... how big is your WIP basket/s ??
I think mine is pretty bad really... I shall try not to cast on anything else until I'vd finished a few of these... maybe!!

end of an era

My oldest had his last day ever of high school today. He only needs to go back for 4 A level exams over the next 7 weeks (the entire year is judged on these 4 exams! Nothing else counts towards the year's marks!!) and also a prize giving in December (held in a cathedral).


I think he is even more dumbstruck than me! So very low key. In fact you could say that it really is a bit of a non event finishing high school in New Zealand!


No one graduates as such. There are no gowns or hats. There is no individual recognition of each year 13 student at all, in any way (maybe other high schools do recognise their students individually but his high school doesn't). There are no graduation photos. No gifts from anyone. No announcing to friends/the school community where you might be going to university. No phone calls from family congratulating him. No dinners celebrating.


You do your last classes and leave the school. That is it. No cheering or clapping out from other students. The principal doesn't even come and talk to the 80 odd year 13 students.


You basically walk out of the school on the last day, like any other day and only go back for the formal exams.


Done! We don't find out exam results until late January. You may pass or fail, but you have still finished year 13/high school!


13 years of school went fast! This kid has his head on his shoulders. He has basically done part time high school of 17 hours a week (at his school you only need to be in the building when you have classes) and worked part time at the cinema. Some weeks he has worked 30 plus hours juggling school work around things. He only actually needs one D grade to get the extra points towards doing a con-joint degree, as he did so well in year 12, he could have gone to university a year early. He has had a great year socialising and growing up and becoming very independent. Some days I don't see him till 11pm!


Year 0 (yes we can start at year 0 dependant on your birthday!) seems a long time ago...
(I won't get photos till the last exam day when he really won't ever walk back into his amazing school ever again. It has done him so well and he has come a long way in 7 years of being there!)

My dishcloth/ rug mug swap

It's school holidays- whoop whoop! I'm exhausted - today I scanned 2346 books to return and then promptly turned around and issued hundreds to teachers for next term... zero shelving was done, so it sits awaiting for next term...


Oh My Goodness! This swap happened a long time ago to me!! I've been clearing up my desk (I'll show you the before pics tomorrow!).


I partnered with two lovely swappers, as there was an odd number of swappers. This divine package was from Lyn in Queensland, Australia (blog-less). I adore the mug rug Lyn made - I wish I was as talented as this on my sewing machine. I drink a good 3-5 cups of tea a day and the mug is divine and from the Melbourne Botanical Gardens. I love the other kitchen bits and pieces - I can never find a cake tester and somehow my measuring cups are missing (at the scout den I think...). Thank you so much Lyn for a gorgeous package!
I took photos of what I sent eons ago, but they are no longer on my memory cards, so I will have to figure out how to extract them from the hard-drive or wherever the teen tech whizz puts my photos when he clears my memory sticks! I'll write again tomorrow (oh 15 days of freedom - yay!)

People - am I weird?! (knitters...)

I've just had a comment thrown at me, which truly has gobsmacked me!


I went out for a casual work dinner last night and took my sock knitting and knitted while talking and waiting for our meals and dessert and chat afterwards. My workmates know me well. Nobody blinks an eyelid at me and I can knit without looking and carry on with the conversation.


(meanwhile others are on their phones... seriously is knitting more weirder than people on phones? - all using our hands! Except I think I'm being way more productive and are partaking in conversation and not staring at a screen etc).


I knit everywhere - airports/planes/dentist/doctors/parks/family and friend houses/bbqs/ out for brunch/at pubs/cafes/restaurants etc. At school at morning tea and lunchtime. The students and staff love it and I've got both students and staff knitting too!  Always done it. Always with friends and family. If I turn up at your house, I'll sit down and get my knitting out...


Anyway I've just had the comment thrown at me by a person saying they would be highly insulted if I took my knitting out at their house, whether for a cuppa or dinner , bbq etc. I'm a bit gobsmacked... it really has thrown me!


Do you think it is weird? I'm so not self conscious and just get my knitting out, but it has truly never occurred to me that others would be insulted/find it weird...


Would you be insulted? Find it weird? I guess I've grown up in a family who always has something in their hands, wherever they may be!


(a really funny thing happened last night too - well everyone else thought it was funny - I was a designated driver. We went from a restaurant at a shopping centre complex to a pool hall ( we didn't get in as had to be a member?!) to a co-workers house. After I left I realised I had lost my knitting - cue me running around town after midnight trying to look for it. Found eventually in a car park! So happy I found my one plus three quarters sock!! I truly was going to be upset about it!!)

Getting my macrame on

I went to a macramé pot planter class last night. I rocked it. Ha! I started and finished my first pot plant holder and l-o-v-e it. I bought another kit to make the next one too.


Here it is! (rather hard to take photos of it really). Have you ever made some macramé?
I had the class and bought the second kit at Collected.

Sometimes...

Sometimes you just knit a sock without even realising! Started Saturday night and finished Monday after school. Using this wool.


I so donot need anymore socks! I need to knit them for other people!! (I had started this for a family member for Christmas, but rather like how it turned out... luckily I have 3 balls of the wool and should get two pairs out of it - I hope!!)

a lovely new thing

Our new long awaited couch arrived today. It has taken a few months to get made, as it is made here in New Zealand. We looked for months trying to find the perfect couch and the difference between an overseas made one and a New Zealand one wasn't too much in the end.

I'm trying to buy as much NZ made these days as I can.

It is a seagrass colour using Warwick fabric - same fabric we used for out roman blinds and curtains throughout the house.

I've banned the grubby teens from sitting on it - ha!

My old couch has been in the school library for months and another one is in a classroom somewhere too - must track that down and plonk in the library too, after a big re-arrange of furniture there as well.

Yay for weekends and glorious weather and boo hoo for essay writing which has to get done...

Art deco Napier

Knit August Nights was held at Ahuriri in Napier. I had not been to Napier for about 25 odd years! It is New Zealand's outstanding art deco capital. In 1931 the city was virtually totally destroyed by an earthquake and so was rebuilt. We had a couple of hours to run around the city centre and really admire the gorgeous architecture. We had quite a few locals stop and chat to us and tell us the history of particular buildings etc - everyone was so friendly. I love cities like this. Everything has been kept so beautifully and it is a lovely tidy city too. I'm taking the husband back one day - I was that impressed! It is only an hour flight from home (or a 6 hour car drive).

The Pania of the Reef statue was fab to see - I vaguely remember her from my childhood too.

It was so great to visit somewhere that I had not been to for so long! I've certainly seen quite a bit of New Zealand this year.

Locals tell me the best time to visit is the Art Deco weekend held every year.