Silver and gold

I've been a bit quiet this month, as I've been working on a couple of super-secret knitting projects (one of which is Very Exciting). There's been a lot of knitting going on, but not much I can share just yet! However, I do have two non-secret designs in the works which I can show you...

This is a swatch for a lacy cowl in Outlaw Yarn's Vanitas (an 8ply blend of alpaca with a bit of merino). I've been playing around with lace stitches, trying to get a cool stylised peacock-feather pattern. I'm really happy with this version, with the 'feathers' arranged in columns:

The silver colour is called 'Vanity', which is most appropriate for a peacock-themed project. I am so in love with this yarn. Soft and silky, great stitch definition, pretty colours - hell yeah!

And this is another cowl-in-progress, also in Vanitas yarn - a sandy gold colour called 'Wealth'. I came up with a surface-texture pattern of stars, which I've arranged in a grid. It's actually much simpler to knit than it looks (which is always nice).

Now back to Secret Squirrel business, tee hee... ;)

Hippo New Year!

Today Willie and I visited the Werribee Open Range Zoo, together with what seemed like half of Melbourne. It was pretty amazing, despite the crowds! The 'safari' tour was really cool - we were able to see a few animals really close up. I like the idea of the animals roaming about over a huge area and the humans being cooped up in the vehicles...

Here are a few of my photos - click to enlarge!

Pansy the baby hippo, with her mum

Wide open spaces

Hello giraffe!

I was a bit nervous of the rhinos...

Dromedaries (aka one-humped camels)

And a monkey in a tree :)

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I'm not usually into New Year's resolutions, but I do have a few "good intentions" for this year. I want to:
(1) swim more often,
(2) bake more often, and
(3) listen to more new-to-me music, in addition to my old faves.

We've also done a new-year clear-out of our old clothes, which has resulted in a large bag of old tshirts etc for the bin, plus six shopping bags of clothes and shoes for the local charity shop. It feels great to get rid of all the stuff that was just sitting there unworn, taking up space.

Next up is stash organisation! We got a bunch of airtight transparent plastic bins from Ikea, which will house my yarn, spinning fibre, and fabric stash. I won't have to worry quite so much about moths anymore. :)