am i a rebel?

The last three Sundays when I've gone to church, I've sat right up the back.

My church building is kinda like two halls joined together with a big opening in between. The front half is the main area where all the pews are. The back half is our area for standing around and talking after the service with a cuppa and a bikkie. (It's also used for other things as well as a "passage way" to the toilets and the creche room.) Along the very back wall are some seats. I've been sitting there. Actually a few people seem to sit up the back. Some for more official reasons (like if anyone needs help, or someone wanders in off the street during the service...or whatever). Some teenagers come and sit with me and we have some soft chatter before they go to their group time. Sometimes parents bring their little kids up the back for a while too.

During the sermon, I've been pulling out my knitting. Now perhaps I just worry too much about what people may think of me but up the back I feel more free to just be me. To be real. Actually, it would be a pretty good guess to say less people than I think would arch up about me knitting in church than I originally thought. I've had a few inquiries--during the service--about what I'm knitting. I don't think my pastor minds. The small group I go to during the week is at his house and I knit/crochet all the time there but still participate in the discussion. It's not like we knitters can't handle some needles or a hook AND talk and listen. We're a talented bunch. ^^

Up the back, I'm not confined to a pew. I can stand or sit whenever I want without looking like a nong. I can even sit cross-legged on the floor if I wish. I also like seeing the church--the people--in the regular, everyday aspect. Up the back you see parents dealing with kids, brief, quiet interactions, people grabbing a drink of water from the kitchen or a tissue, heating up a bottle... Stuff that makes us, church, look like regular people. It makes me feel less like I need to meet some structured stiffened (self-inflicted) false idea of what kind of Christian I should be in church.

I also like it coz I can knit. I'm not a distraction to those around me. And by mid service, after the singing when it's sit and listen time, I'm hitting my mid-morning slump. Knitting keeps my hands busy which helps me focus. So I find knitting during the service helpful, productive and relaxing.

So am I a rebel?? Yeah, I'd probably say I was. But not in a bad way. And I honestly don't think God minds. I'm just trying to be me and learn how to connect with God in the reality of me.
And this is my little project carry bag. I made it a month or so ago. Made of some red cordaroy and coloured spotty fabric I had. Pouch shaped with a circular bottom, drawstring with a yellow button and a handy wristlet handle. I've yet to attempt walking and knitting but I reckon it would work well. This little bag has been to the Sunday morning church service with me. And look how long my second sock is getting. You can see I'm past the heel (pink on this sock) and knitting the foot. Two months to go.

visiting

I have been doing a bit of crafting. See my WIPs bars=> They're going up and I'm not lying about the progress. I haven't taken any photos though. My cardigan is one sleeve complete now and my special project is coming along well. Working on my socks a bit more to hopefully get them done by my birthday in May and my loop scarf is so close to being done! I'm gonna work on that tonight while I watch Twilight again and peddle the bike.

I went to my sister's today. Played with the kids. Took them to the playground and there was a community market. I let my 2.5yo nephew play on the jumpy house and bought them each a new jumper for 50c each. And for me... happily spent $10 on four great Mem Fox books. They let me choose 4 instead of being confined to what was in the prepacked four pack. Yay. I chose Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge (a lovely, cute story I've wanted for ages), Possum Magic (a good Aussie classic), Hattie and the Fox (a simple, repetative but funny story), and SailAway--The ballard of Skip and Nell (hadn't read this one before but it's good Aussie story too) and Mem Fox stories have great illustrations too. Took the kids home for lunch and bed while Tammy and I set ourselves up with fresh baked raisin bread, knitting and Lord of the Rings--Return of the King. But the nephew decided not to sleep so we didn't watch much movie. I did progress on some of my projects though.

when the store shouts

I do like Spotlight. The have a good range of all sorts of creative, crafty and homey things. Hours pass before I realise it when I go in for a quick look. And then, every so often they send me a $10 voucher! So generous of them. Well, they sent me one this week, so last night I went shopping.
This is what Spotlight shouted me. I'd already decided I was going to buy some wool needles coz I lost mine the other week and some bits and pieces to work on a present (not shown to keep them a secret). But thanks to a tip from my sister I decided to treat myself and bought some more sock wool (reduced to $7 from $12) as well. I'm gonna have some lovely blue socks at some point. And, of course, once you're in the store you are enticed to spend more than the voucher is worth. I spent closer to $20 all up but to my credit, what I spent beyond my voucher was supplies for the present. What is pictured is all I bought for myself.

I also got my pattern book back so I started the sleeve of my cardigan and now that I have a wool needle again I can finish that amigurumi that's almost done.

workin'

I've been workin' for real (as in paid job)! I got a new job which fills in my hours around my nanny work quite nicely. Data entry in an office and I'm enjoying it. It means I don't have near as much free time now that I'm workin' 32hrs a week all up. But I'm not complaining.

I've been workin' on various projects still. Always find the time for that. I just love making the yarn and hook/needles dance together. It's fun to watch a useful, beautiful creation come into existance too.

And my projects are workin'!! Yay for that.

My new-job-inspired project, my round yoke cardi. The office I work in is cold and this here is the last photo I took of my progression. Though I've been workin' on it quite a bit (coz I want to wear it already) so it's actually as long as my light grey top there now. I keep taking progression photos and before I get to putting them up here I've done a considerable amount more!! ^^ Left my patterns at my sister's though so I can't start the sleeves yet.

My special project is underway and looking good so far. I've not quite done one entire pattern cycle yet and I have no photos either so you'll just have to hang on for news about that one.

The snapdragon flip-tops are progressing well, don't you think? Work on them has slowed a little. They got sided for a while when I started my cardigan. They look like an actual glove now. Bit strange but will look awesome when the flip-top is done.
Rather happy with them except for this. It was a bit disappointing when I turned my hand over for the first time. I moved some stitches around on the needles so this didn't happen on the top but this one would have been from the start of the round. How do you stop this from happening? I tried to make sure I kept it tight but still...grr. So now I'm thinking of how to fix it. My sister suggested picking up new stitches up the ladder with a crochet hook. I think I'll try that but does anyone have other suggestions of how to deal with this frustration?

And speaking of workin', I haven't done any today. I rearranged the lounge so I could turn on the heater again and set up a cosy little corner with my lamp and yarn bag. My projects are waiting for me. I'm pretty sure they're starting to get impatient...

re-creating

The chill is here. First day of autumn and I can sure feel it. It would be a pretty decent day if it weren't for the wind. Gusty and cold. The kind that seems like it blows right through you to your bones. Brr. Well, I'm onto it with my cardigan that I'm making. Yesterday I added to my cooler weather wear. ALL my jeans have holes in them so none feel particularly decent to wear to work. (The office I work in is for a plastering business so the dress code isn't real fancy.) So I got to fixing a pair of my jeans. Creatively of course.
These ones were actually mens jeans that I bought. Nothing wrong particularly except a huge rip in the knee. But since I needed to fix them, I thought I'd just go ahead and re-create them. I shaped the legs so they follow my curves more, added a fancy patch to the knee and gave it some "wings". I wanted to flare the bottoms a bit so I added triangles to both legs. They didn't end up flaring that much and basically sit like bootleg cut which is fine too.

The patch I decided to cut in the shape of a leaf that is on the pattern of fabric I used. You can see a similar one just at the top of the triangle there. It covers the hole nicely in an interesting way. Now the shoddy looking jeans look creatively smart.