Filling in the gaps!

So, I was scrolling through my list of blog posts, in an attempt to find certain knitting notes I might have made previously, and had quite the shock when I saw I had, let's just say, a lot of 'drafts', i.e. unpublished posts. From as far back as 2012. If there are any regular visitors of my humble little blog out there, please forgive me for sometimes posting the start of a project but not showing the final products. I've had so many technical issues in the past 12 months, from running out of picture upload/storage quota on my Google account (integrated with this blogging platform), as well as my Drop Box, to not yet figuring out how to transfer photos from my new, fancy-pants Sony NEX-5T compact system digital camera to my laptop.

It's probably a bit silly to publish the posts from 2 years ago, which are no longer relevant, but I thought it would be nice to 'fill in the (time) gaps' with some of the draft posts I had intended to publish last year. Since it is Autumn here in Australia (according to our calendar at least), today I shall publish my unfinished post from June 2013, as a means to encourage fellow Aussie knitters to take out their ol' click-clacks, even though just thinking about woollens being anywhere near us, in this horrible heat, is probably enough to make us perspire through our forever-summer outfits. Well, in my neck of the woods, anyway.

……………………………………………………………….

Original blog post title: Winter Kn-kni-kni-knitting. Brrr! (dated 7/6/13)

Okay, maybe I'm slightly exaggerating. I'm in Australia, so Winter here is nothing compared with the chilly, snowy Winters in the UK. Still, I do feel that our winters are becoming progressively colder each year. Thankfully, it has been warming up a bit over the last few days though.

With so many yarn fibre options these days, knitted garments can be created and worn all year round. I still find, however, that traditionally being a cold-weather activity, knitting feels most 'right' during the Autumn/Winter months. Besides, I like the warmth that the yarn provides my cold fingers as I work with it. Thus, I find myself most active in this hobby of mine during this season. I finished this year's mini batch of preemie beanies to donate to one of the local hospitals last week, and I've received an email confirmation that they've been passed on to the Neonatal Intensive Care Centre. I love that I can use my hobby to do good and benefit others in society!

[Ah, you see the pretty pink wax seal in the picture below? I think there is probably also a draft post somewhere in my list, all about my venture into the Regency letter-writing world. Stay tuned. (But don't hold your breath.)

Now that that's all done, it's time to turn the focus back to my other knitting projects. As a birthday present to myself this year, I decided to invest in the special edition Symfonie Rose interchangeable needle set by KnitPro, my favourite knitting needle brand. It contains the same set of sizes as my Symfonie Wood Interchangeable Circular Needles Deluxe set, but the birch wood laminate is fashioned to have a rosewood-like finish. Being a special edition, the gorgeous needles come housed in a matching bronze-coloured leatherette box, secured with a latch on one side.

Symfonie Rose Interchangeable Special Edition Needle Set (£70.83 from Deramores)

(Pictured are some other items I got in the same order, from Deramores. I ordered the yarn to top up my preemie hat-making yarn stash.)

New needle set + more of my favourite Clover stitch holders + Deramores Baby DK yarn (in denim blue and blossom pink) + Jesse byLouisa Harding

The needle-holding tray lifts to reveal the interchangeable cables and cable end caps, which are also brown to match the rosewood colour theme. Copper-tinted connectors facilitate a smooth connection between the needles and cables. I don't know if it's just me, but the tinted metal connectors feel somewhat less 'slippery' than the standard metal connectors. 

Also included in the box is a complimentary shawl pin, also with a rosewood-look finish, of course, and adorned with a clear Swarovski(?) crystal at the top end. 

I do still prefer the good mood-inducing bright colours of the original Symfonie wood needles, but there is no denying that this special edition rosewood set is an absolute stunner, especially in its elegant little presentation box. It makes me want to put it on display for everyone to see! And there's no such thing as having too many pairs of knitting needles, right? ;)

After finishing up on the preemies beanies, I started working on a new lace project for myself - Semele by Åsa Tricosa. I am using a fingering-weight, merino 80%/bamboo 20% blend yarn called Drift, by evoke designer yarn and fabric, which I bought once upon a time, at one of those big arts and crafts conventions. This lovely 'raspberry' coloured yarn was hand-dyed by the fibre artist, and then-owner of the Lismore-based shop, Elissa.

Can you guess what kind of item this will become? :)

………………………………………………………………...

….and that's it from that June post! I will follow up soon with a post all about the Semele, which, by the way, I actually did finish knitting last year as well. Meanwhile, in case there are knitter-readers who want to know how I found the Symfonie Rose needles, and if they're exactly like the original Symfonie wood ones, this is what I wrote in my Ravelry Semele project notes last year:

"....I have changed to the Symfonie rose interchangeables that I just received in the mail the other day, because I was having problems with the yarn catching in the needle/cable joins of my usual KnitPro Symfonie ones. However, I am experiencing the same thing with the new ones. It seems to be only the 4mm ones that I’ve had this problem with though - is this perhaps the case with all the larger-sized interchangeables?"

So now I put it back out to you guys - what do you think? Have you encountered similar problems using these needles? 



Sweet yarn dreams x 

A peachy distraction

It's the first week of Summer, and I almost forgot that this means the arrival of stone fruit season! I was reminded of this when I had, not one, but TWO consecutive ripe, juicy, honey-sweet white peaches, with just the right amount of give, from the fruit drawer of the fridge. It was so juicy that juice literally flowed down my arms to my elbows as I was devouring them, one delicious bite at a time. The skin could even be peeled off quite easily, without prior poaching of the fruit. Amazing. I don't know about where you are, but here in Australia, I find that even when fruits are 'in season', they are not always perfect, like you'd imagine in-season fruit to be. It is nigh on impossible to find the perfect peach, which is pretty much of the description given above.

And yes; that is why I've decided to jump online to blog about it. I get excited like that when I come across these rare occurrences. What's more, these peaches were purchased from my local Woolies (!). Forget all the talk about mass-consumerism and big-chain supermarket monopoly; if supermarkets can provide me with a steady supply of the Perfect Peach, I will haunt their fruit and veg section. Heck, I will even buy their overpriced-with-sometimes-only-little-usable-portion leeks and defrosted potatoes.

Happy Active Nation Day, everyone!

I hope everyone made an effort to be active today :)

Lovely lace

You will not believe how many 'draft' posts I have sitting in my blogger account, waiting to be finished and published since... well, let's just say a very long time. I have completed another project during this time, but since I have yet to block it and take pretty pictures of it, I shall leave that for another day -  I will definitely publish that post and soon! - and report instead on the project I currently have at hand: I am working on my first knitting project design! yay!

Okay, so it's only going to be a small, rectangular scarf, but still! One has to start from somewhere, right? I've knitted my own scarves before, but this is different; this will be my first grown-up, elegant scarf that can (hopefully) complement a polished, dressy outfit, rather than just being a chunky winter scarf, with little technique and noteworthy detail. For this project, I will be using the 100% pure superfine alpaca yarn by Artesano, which is a lovely, 4ply fingering weight yarn. The main feature of the scarf will be a simultaneously knitted lace edging. That's the plan so far, anyway.

I am still trying to decide on whether or not to add beads to the scarf edging. I found some new packets of seed beads in my stash, 2 of which I thought might work with the red: silver-lined glass beads and crystal AB ones. My sister, who the scarf is for, can't decide either, so I guess I might resort to just trial and error-ing to see which look is best. 

I think I've overcome my fear of lace knitting, after having done a few lace projects and becoming comfortable enough with lace techniques; hence my newfound love of lace knitting. I think after I complete this knitting project, I will be ready to take on more advanced lacework, using lace-weight yarn. Bring it! 

Sweet yarn dreams x

Dudley Street Espresso & Collectables: the best caramel latte ever?

Dudley St Espresso and Collectables
494 Ipswich Rd, Annerley QLD 4103
Opening hours: 8am - 3pm weekdays

I have a bit of a weakness for caramel. Especially when it's paired with chocolate or coffee. If you've been reading my blog regularly, you'd know that I'm a relatively recent coffee convert. But even 4 years ago, I was positively addicted to the Creamy Caramel Crunch Chiller (minus the 'crunch' part) at Gloria Jean's Coffees. It didn't help that there was a shop in the food court (edit: of the shopping centre -) where I worked full-time for a year, and that there was the added incentive of a 10% centre staff discount. I would get one almost every lunch break, topped with whipped cream and drizzled with extra caramel sauce. I couldn't even keep track of the number of free ones I scored with the loyalty card, after buying x number of drinks. I'm not sure if it's the sugar or the caffeine I was addicted to, but there is no doubt that it is a dangerous combination. It's amazing I didn't, and still haven't (touch wood), developed diabetes. I've since learned the unhealthy evil of my ways and have slowly cut this beverage out of my diet.

Crème Brûlée Chiller @ Gloria Jean's Coffees

(Okay, maybe not completely. I'll admit that sometimes I am a bit naughty and still get the very occasional one; although they have since discontinued the Creamy Caramel Crunch Chiller. The closest thing to it is the Crème Brûlée one, but this has a marginally stronger coffee taste.)

I have since curbed my sugar intake, and have developed a habit of not adding any sugar, or adding very little sugar, to my tea and coffee. (Yes, it is do-able, people. No matter how sweet you like your food, if you try to abstain from it for a while, you will eventually become accustomed to the less-sweet taste, and may even prefer it. Try snacking on something healthy, like grapes or carrot sticks, to put your mind off the cravings/withdrawal effects.) It is not easy to cut out sugar entirely from our diet, and I do believe that the key to healthy, happy living is eating everything in moderation; that is to say, I think it is perfectly okay to give in to not-so-healthy indulgences every now and then. After all, we do have to look after our emotional health as well as our physical health.

Even superheroes have their weaknesses, and I think I have met my new match in the Caramel Latte at Dudley St Espresso & Collectables. The other coffee variations they make are not bad, but this is by far my favourite, and the one I keep going back for. The latte is wonderfully smooth on the palate and the caramel adds the perfect amount of sweetness to this dreamy elixir. On a reality note though, they do add a whole shot of caramel syrup to the small size, so if you're going to order a large, you may want to kindly ask the barista not to add any more than this amount (as I'm not sure if they do or not).

(Edit: 24/09/13: Of late, after having ordered the large with half a shot, I have decided that it tastes better with the full lot - and no, they don't add anymore than 1 shot of caramel syrup, and hence, the large actually tastes slightly less sweet than the small. On another note, the guys who currently own the place (one of them being the barista) have sold it and will officially stop working there at the end of this month. As such, I don't know if the caramel lattes there will ever be the same again :( But I will keep you posted.)

Caramel latte

The coffee that they use at Dudley is Grinder's Giancarlo coffee blend. While I'm not a huge fan of Grinder's coffee (I'm usually more of a Campos girl), it just seems to work so well for this caramel latte. Or maybe the barista there is just great at producing the perfect cup. I went around to a few different coffee shops to try their caramel lattes recently to see how they compare, but, thus far, I've been unable to find one almost as good. So, I guess I'll be regularly haunting Dudley for a while.

Luckily for me, and everyone who lives/works in this under-developed suburb of Annerley, where the café is located and which usually brings to mind unattractive strip malls filled with second-hand and bric-a-brac stores, rather than a place to head for lunch with friends, this funky little corner café offers good food as well as good coffee. They don't make food to order, but there is a glass cabinet filled daily with freshly-made sandwiches with delicious fillings, and a mouth-watering selection of sweet offerings (mini Baci chocolate mousse cake, anyone?). The ready-made options make it extremely convenient for those wanting to quickly buy food takeaway on the way to work, or during short lunch-breaks. Most of the sandwiches use herbed bread, which makes the sandwich all the more aromatic and scrumptious, and the sandwiches are lightly toasted, at time of ordering, to crispy-crusted perfection. My favourite is the turkey with cranberry sauce and Maleny Brie - who, indeed, could ever resist warmed, oozing, soft white cheese? No, not I. In fact, I could do with one right now.

A delicious sandwich with dill mayo in it

Quiche of the day with basil pesto
(I love the addition of the pesto, as it provides another flavour dimension)

Various sandwiches (+ caramel latte)

Besides sandwiches, hot soup is also currently available, and comes with a ciabatta roll and butter. Last week, I had their soup of the day, which happened to be mushroom soup. The seasoning was spot on, and the soup was nothing short of delicious. I love the nubbly texture of the soup, which assures one that it is full of the natural goodness of real mushrooms.

Mushroom soup with a ciabatta roll + butter
(and yes, that is a caramel latte in the background!)

Prices are quite standard at around $9 for the sandwiches and $10.50 for the soup. A small caramel latte is $4.

As its name suggests, the café also sells collectables, which form part of the shop's décor, adding a quirky charm to it, and helping it to 'fit in' with the theme of its surroundings. There are a few small tables and a bench, but these usually fill up fast at lunchtime. As such, the food in the cabinet also goes pretty quickly, so I would advise dropping in earlier rather than later for lunch, to avoid disappointment. I have read some reviews, in which there are complaints about the busy, noisy street that the café faces, but I personally haven't found the street noise to be a problem at all, in terms of affecting my dining experience or appetite. There is always the takeaway option for those who might prefer to eat in the perfect silence of their car or home. The staff at the café also seem to be lovely people.

I'm not sure how I have only just started going there in recent months, as it first opened its doors back in 2008. I would hate for others to have to wait 5 years to discover this place. In truth, I do have an ever-so-slight ulterior motive for posting this review: as much as I'd like to keep this little niche to myself, and reduce competition for sandwiches (the selfish little thing that I am), I know that the only way to ensure the never-ending availability of said sandwiches and the best caramel latte in town, in the years to come, is to promote (even) more foot traffic.

With the new, expensive housing units and property developments in the area, as well as the popping up of a few quality cafés, like Dudley St Espresso, I am sure that this long-neglected suburb will get a total facelift some time in the future, in order to meet the demands of a more becoming locale.

Who's your favourite superhero?

I've never read any graphic novels by DC comics before, bar the short comic strips in the newspaper, when I have nothing else better to read (I'm more of a Calvin and Hobbs fan); hence, I judge all superheroism of comic characters from the big/silver screen adaptations. I like the Spiderman movies the best, but - let's face it - Superman is by far the best-looking one of them all. Yes, it's a fickle world, both in fantasy and reality. 

I've never really been a sneakers kind of girl, but when I saw the DC comics and Converse collab collection last year, I had to get a pair. This is the hi-top pair I ended up choosing:

The shoes also come with one complimentary set each of blue with white spots and plain white shoe-laces. I personally like the blue laces best. I'm not too sure they really fit in with the rest of my going-out wardrobe, but I'm sure they'll look just right with a pair of trackies or super skinny jeans. I've worn them to the dance studios before, and although I don't really take hip-hop classes anymore, I think they would fit right in. In fact, which Converse shoe wouldn't?

I think they're really cool, so naturally, when I was notified that Converse had released a few more DC comics designs recently, I jumped online to see what was on offer. What caught my eye this time was a pair of pink low-top shoes with a simple design of the Superman logo and the words printed on either side of the shoe. Like the other pair, this one also comes with spare shoe-laces in pale pink and white. I rather like the low-top ones more than the hi-top ones, because I don't really think the latter suits me much.  

I will admit that they are not the most comfy pairs of shoes in the world, as you would probably know if you are already the proud owner of Converse canvas shoes (I wore the new pair to dance in recently, and let's just say it was an experience on the side of discomfort). However, I like the rubber sole and shoe cap, and I think the prints are quite funky, if you're into comics and Superheroes. Just remember to wear them with a pair of thin, cotton anklets for the most comfortable fit. :)

Ice-cream chocolate bars!

These days, I'm starting to see more and more ice-cream versions of chocolate bars available in supermarket freezers. I love homemade ice-cream, the gourmet varieties, and so on and so forth, but sometimes I feel that only the mass-produced, fun-flavoured confectioneries hit the spot. These particular ice-cream bars are fab for when you can't decide between having ice-cream or chocolate. I love all of the following, but I think the Snickers one resembles its chocolate bar version most, and it's also the one I like best, because it really feels like I'm eating the chocolate bar, but in a much bigger size, and with ice-cream :) What's not to love? 

A word of warning though: since they contain ice-cream, they are probably more fatty than their chocolate counterparts (I haven't directly compared the nutritional info though, so don't quote me). They are also very more-ish, so are probably not suitable for those counting calories!