Band of sisters

Not just the Footballers

2009-05-31T19:10:00.004+10:00

As usual, its another week another football scandal. Mostly it been the story of the gang rape of the NZ woman, but there's been a soccer story or two. The blogosphere has written some great articles about the stories.

I recently saw Shane Warne: The Musical. I enjoyed most of it very much, it captured the highlights and lowlights of his sporting career and sometime tabloid fodder. I'd seen an interview with the man himself at the beginning of the year and he admitted that he himself enjoyed it, and that his main concern that it wasn't too hard on Simone and his family. That I would have to disagree with.

There was one song, which although it was a great song vocally for the singer playing Simone, the lyrics made her out to be very stupid and that's why she couldn't understand Shane and perhaps that was an excuse for him cheating. A few songs later there was another song that made me cringe and also remember that cricketers too could get involved in sex scandals. The casual dismissal of the women in his bed as sluts reminded me of the footballers and their attitude to women; ie. the women had no personal agency, were interchangable and were essentially 'prizes' for being a sucessful sportsman. Yet another song seemed timely and that was about Shane having to apologise to Australia for some of his behaviour. The song pointed out that everyone appreciated his ability to bowl for Australia and that should be all that mattered. That to me raised the issues of the expectations we place on our sporting heroes to be role models and to live 'perfect lives'. I'm quite willing to be OK with the drinking (as long as its not used as an excuse for other behaviour such as drunk driving or assault), smoking and partying etc, but when it involves other human beings being used for group bonding or as rewards, that where its stops being cheeky & larrikin and starts being a crime. As for the role model thing, as long as they making money from the endorsements to represent a product & brand image, then yes they are signing up to be role models.

Happy Christmas

2008-12-23T15:17:00.003+11:00

I can't believe I didn't think of doing this earlier. An off-hand comment on Friday made me realise I had patterns for knitted trees. I had to rush home and knit one in time to attach it to presents that had to mailed on Saturday. The pattern is from Nicky Epsteins Knitted Embellishments and I added beads to represent decorations. Next year I will be more organised!

As if we needed another reason to love Karen Allen

2008-05-28T18:42:00.003+10:00

I've already been to see the new Indiana Jones movies. Very flawed but still fun, and of course Marian is back. Karen Allen as Marian in Raiders of the Lost Ark was a fantastic female character. She was under utilised in this movie, but still the best match for Indy. (It would been easy to go with Kate Capshaw from Temple of Doom, after all she is married to Spielberg, but I don't think the fans would have put up with that.)

Anyway, of top of looking fabulous in all the promo pictures it turns out Karen Allen is a knitter. She has a fibre arts business where she sells knitted and other items.

I'm an aunt again

2008-05-17T17:29:00.004+10:00

One of my sisters has had another baby, her 3rd. Now I have five nieces and nephews, but this is the first one I actually made booties for.
I found an old Patons pattern in a local shop for baby items, it originally cost 1'6, so it must be pre-1966, but other than that I don't know how old it was. In keeping with the use of an old pattern I used some yarn that I received from a friend after her mother died. It is called Bimbo yarn. Most of these old yarn claim to be Moth Proofed- I never realised this is something I should be looking for in a yarn.

Another old pattern book I bought, a book of girl's wear, comes 'with TV designs'!!! Some of the patterns also claim 'Its the Jet Age'. Amongst my mother's stash is a few balls of this futuristic yarn (also mothproofed)

Two steps forward,

2008-04-21T21:43:00.003+10:00

...one step back.

Quentin Bryce will be the new Governor General of Australia, when the incumbent's term is over. This has generally been perceived positively, with most people and media acknowledging that she is very accomplished and extremely suited for the role, as well as saying how great it is that a woman has broken another barrier.

However, even when it looks like we are making progress, that it is normal for women to be considered for and obtain these roles, there's always someone who can't accept it:

...I thought the Governor-General was there for all Australians, not just women, those who live in the bush or indigenous Australians. But then what would I know? I'm only a white, male city-dweller.

This was from a Letter to the Editor in the Sydney Morning Herald. Naturally, he was shot down the next day.
Aren't there enough white, male city-dwellers in power?

The thing that struck me about this letter, was yet again the assumption made by white men that white men can represent anyone, but any non-white and/or non-man must have some agenda that means they are out to strip privilege from those who have it. As the second writer pointed out, the white city-dwelling male population doesn't have anything to worry about.

This whole concept of the 'other' not being considered able to include the whole population is really playing out in the run-up to the US election. With both the Democrat contenders being different from the traditional old white man candidate, issues of race and gender have really come to the fore. I find it amazing that a country that believes it is world leading still has problems with the idea of diversity in it heads of states.

Project Update

2008-04-05T18:39:00.010+11:00

Since I've been taking a bunch of photos to add to my ravelry notebook, I figured its a good opportunity to do an actual knitting blog entry.

Noni Majolica Bag Vases Full of Flowers Obviously a long way to go. I found a picture of one that had been done in Black & White. It is stunning.

This will be the Vogue Knitting Embellished V-neck.

It is another example of one where I have knitted all the pieces, but am avoiding the sewing. Rather than the suggested Merino I have used Bendigo Caprice, 50% alpaca, 50% wool. It's very nice, but its not included on the latest BWM sample card.

Finally, one where I actually have started the sewing - Little Miss Sunshine.

Progress is slow, I last referenced this in Jan '07, and first talked about it as a possible project in April '06. Friends and sisters keep popping out the babies, so the possible recipitents have increased.

Finally a finished object:

Some Baby Booties made from an old Patons pattern. There is no date on the book but it originally cost 1'6

Even Posties deserve Love

2008-03-21T15:23:00.004+11:00

More Knit tagging photos

International Womens Day

2008-03-09T21:02:00.004+11:00

I still have some more photos from the Knit Tagging expedition, but I wanted to write up a few thoughts about the Int. Womens Day events I attended.

Friday morning I attended the Unifem fundraising breakfast, along with 1500 other people. The two headline speakers, one from Israel, one from Palestine were awesome.

Saturday I went to the march in the city. Again, some very good speakers but a much more diverse crowd. The Friday morning crowd looked to be mainly office professional, with several corporate tables, assorted politicians and some private school students. The Saturday crowd was much more diverse, parents with children, a full age range, and assorted groups from Older Women's Network, Young Labor, Sex Workers and Asian women for better rates in the garment industry. I guess that is what happens when one event is free to all and the other costs $60 (although it is a fundraising event).

'No Bad Whores, Just Bad Laws'

Seeing the Sex Workers group made me think of another interesting point I noted regarding one of the Breakfast sponsors. Several of the raffle prizes were provided by a lingerie company. Good, lots of fun, add some excitement to the sex life of consulting adults, I'm all for that and I'm miffed I didn't win any. It just seems hard to balance with the whole way scantily clad women are used to sell things and sadly are even sold themselves. The same morning as the breakfast two people were in the Sydney courts facing charges for being part of a sex trafficking scheme. These sex workers in the March seemed very in control of their lives, but sadly some women still don't have a choice.

Died in a Knitting accident

2008-03-07T20:40:00.003+11:00

Always jumping on the bandwagon (just a couple of months after everyone else) I am adding to the rapid increase in # of times the above title phrase can be found when googling. It started with a cartoon from xkcd,
has been acquired by some (including me) as a justification for not blogging, and now has over 5200 hits when googled

Happy Valentines Day

2008-02-14T20:07:00.004+11:00

Being the bitter cynical person that I am (and usually single) I normally ignore Valentines Day. However, this year I was able to combine knitting with hearts and sarcastic love messages. A group of us went knit-tagging last night, decorating Sydney's Martin Place with assorted knitted items. Each item also had a heart with a message on it.

Essential preparation

This one is right outside the Channel 7 Sunrise studios

The tags on this one read 'Do my trotters look big in this?' and 'All men are pigs'. A couple of Japanese tourists came to take photos too. They asked us if it was an Australian tradition. Sydney SnB'ers - doing our bit for Australian-Asian relations.

Some of my other favourite tags:

'Sorry I didn't apologise earlier - John' and 'When it comes to relationships - bourbon, bourbon, bourbon'

Sale

2008-01-29T21:29:00.000+11:00

Whilst I have mixed feelings about Tapestry Craft, they are having a sale this weekend (Feb 2-3). Its at their warehouse in Erskineville. Not sure that it involves much yarn

discontinued cross stitch and tapestry samples, knitted samples, framed mirrors, and other artwork.

but it near where I live so I might check it out.

Sock Wars!

2007-12-27T15:43:00.001+11:00

I've never been into knitting socks and here's another reason - knitting them can kill you! Actually its a competitive extreme knitting sport. Each participant knits a pair and mails them to their assigned 'victim'. If you receive a pair in the mail before you've finished the ones you're making you are 'dead' and have to send your pair in progress to your killer.

Merry (Crafty) Xmas

2007-12-08T19:54:00.000+11:00

Here's a recently completed knitted object - a Christmas pudding! Pattern provided by my mother via the English Women's Weekly - they always have the most kitsch patterns.

More Christmas themed craft to come

Come on in...

2007-11-17T15:45:00.000+11:00

Next time any Mormon's come knocking on my door I'll be asking them in. Who would have thought under their white shirts and ties that they looked like this.

As well as a 12 month calendar there is also apparel for sale such as the 'I heart Mormon Boys' and Family Values T-shirts. Family values include no smoking, drinking or television, but apparently taking off one's shirts for publicity is OK.

Precious Memories

2007-11-10T19:04:00.000+11:00

I've recently been visiting my parents. Scarily they still have my early knitting projects. Even more scarily, my mother was able to lay her hands on them within seconds. Here for your entertainment are my first knitting project,my second,

and an egg cosy, that I must have come to my senses and never finished. (Or my sewing aversion kicked in)

yes, I actually wore those first two jumpers.

Yarn tales

2007-08-05T16:22:00.000+10:00

In the absence of anything meaningful in my life I will just point out a few wool related activities. On July 23, the ABC had their annual Knit-In where they encourage Knitters to gather and provide squares for Wrap with Love, who turn them into rugs for needy people. I really like the idea of this and the breakfast sounds like a fun experience. However, its that 6am start that kills me. Maybe next year, especially as they are saying they hope to attract more male knitters next year!

Until August 27 the Powerhouse Museum has a Fashion from Fleece exhibit, celebrating 200 years of the Australian wool industry.

Finally, one of the things I am most excited by - Bendigo Woollen Mills has a web-site. I'm not sure exactly when this happened, but it is fairly recent. Usually I have to call them to place an order, but now I am can do it on line - yay. My most recent purchase (last week while it was still on sale) was of the very soft Boutique, in Ruby.

Missed opportunities

2007-06-23T17:36:00.000+10:00

I' ve just returned from a work trip to the US and the UK. Whilst I was in Denver I was hoping to check out some local wool shops. I did look up some addresses, but when it came to it I got confused about the S and E street prefixes. I was hoping to get to these two shops: Lamb Shoppe and Fancy Tiger. Anyway I think I have worked out the public transport system and which buses I should take, now I just have to organise another trip to the US office. I have a colleague who arranged for the conference we've just been at to be held in Boulder so he could get some altitude training for his 100 mile run this weekend. (All right, it was close to the Denver office as well.) However, I'm sure there will be an opportunity to get back to the US office without having to be that drastic.

Tasmania yarn related experiences

2007-06-18T06:06:00.000+10:00

I finally made my first visit to the Apple Isle. My sister moved there about 15 months ago with her family, but I also have friends who moved there several years ago. This trip was an opportunity to catch up with those friends as well as see my sister, her two kids and my mum, who was visiting as well while my sister's husband was away. She lives in a place called Penguin, which is almost as cute as it sounds.

Although I didn't actively do much yarn related activities, wool is a big feature in Tasmania. Driving back from Hobart along what was labelled as an 'A' (primary road) this was the view from the car at one point.

On a visit to the Hobart markets I took this shot of the knitting needles:

Finally, here is shot of my niece wearing a experimental hat that I made. The blobby things are supposed to be little bunnies, but I need to stitch eyes & noses to make it a bit clearer.

She's baaaack!

2007-05-13T16:54:00.000+10:00

I've talked about my slackness in the past, so lets just get to the blogging.

actually have knitting content: For my birthday my sister sent me a kit of beads & tigertail which I have knitted up.

Once I get a clasp it will be a bracelet. For those who are interested in such things here is the reverse side, on which if you look closely you can see the knitted stitches.

In other knitting here is the jumper that is in progress.

The band was just normal rib, but I have tarted it up with a lace pattern. I haaaate doing plain rib!

Happy International Womens Day (Belated)

2007-03-10T14:48:00.000+11:00

Yes, I know its a couple of days late, but its less than a week since my last blog entry. The Breakfast had over 1500 attendees with several politicians and students speakers. The key speaker, Malai Joya a 28 year old parliamentrian from Afghanistan gave a great speech. It was sad but inspiring at the same time. The fact that women are no better off than they were under the Taliban shows that there is a long way to go. She got a huge cheer when she pointed out the Australian government should align their foreign policies with the aims of the Afghan people, not the US governments.

In other procrastination efforts, my internet surfing led me to a new blog carnival related to Women in Science, Technology & Engineering. Although, it has an American and slightly academic bent, with my work background there are still lots of entries that I can relate to.

Two in one day!

2007-03-04T18:22:00.000+11:00

OK, this is just a quick one. I did the conversion to Google that I was forced to do and found a bunch of new comments. I don't know why those ones hadn't come through before, when some of those others had, but if I seemed like I didn't acknowledge your comment before - sorry and great to hear from you!

Only God is perfect...

2007-03-04T16:54:00.000+11:00

Last year I went to a Quilt show with my mother, with several of the quilts being of Amish origin. The quilts were lovely and showed very detailed work.

I thought I was being smart by pointing out errors like the one below, where the centre feature looks like it is missing a red square. Mum informed me that as the Amish believe that only God is perfect, each quilt has a deliberate error.

I liked the thought, it gives a convenient out for any knitting error, especially the ones you don't notice until you've gone 20 rows past it! I also think that it can apply when it comes to blogging regularly as well!

I also got an insight into the devious minds of quilters. We went to a few different craft places that Mum wanted to check out (and Greta's wool shop in Lindfield for me) before Mum suggested Patchwork Products. Mum said it might be a bit tricky to get to, but I brushed it away thinking how hard can it be to find a shop? However, when we ended up in a residential street ending in a cul-de-sac I did question the directions. "Oh, its just a shed in someone's backyard" Mum tells me. Which indeed it was, tucked around the back along with the caravan
and small boat. Now Mum had been quite honest about what we were doing and Dad was happy to sit in the car with the paper. While we were browsing another woman came in and stated that she hadn't meant to come in and she couldn't stay long as she had left her husband in the car. Now this location was not one you 'just pass by', so I'm not sure what she had actually told her husband, especially when she took her purchases back to the car. Or maybe it was easier for her to justify her 'addiction' if the purchase was accidental.

Knitting in the Media

2007-02-04T16:20:00.000+11:00

In an attempt to gloss over my lack of knitting progress here's a couple of knitting tidbits I've picked up recently:

A knitting themed movie - Apparently the book 'The Friday Night Knitting Club' is to be turned into a movie starring Julia Roberts. Described as Steel Magnolias set in a knitting shop, it did leave one reviewer saying she wished she could knit.

In other news, a presumably well-meaning, but misguided bank decided that many of their customers were being defrauded by a Rockin Sock scam and arbitrarily cancelled all the orders. After all, why would people pay out over US$200 for socks?! Of course, what these people were paying for was to receive several sock kits in interesting yarn and other knitting related objects. Blue Moon Fibre Arts and its Socks that Rock yarns are reasonably well known amongst knitters circles, but apparently not amongst bankers. The Yarn Harlot is one of the yarn addicts affected and her post on the subject has an large number of commenters equally puzzled by the banks actions. Questions are raised about whether a group made of largely men would be so treated and of course at least one person wonders why the bankers were incapable of Googling the subject.

My New Years Resolution is....

2007-01-07T16:12:00.000+11:00

Well, its not to blog more often, because I know I won't manage to keep that. I do have some photos that need to be transferred, and I have some stories to tell of my mum's visit and her quilting (I have just packed away my Christmas corner, including two Xmas wall hangings, a tree skirt and as of this Christmas, two themed place mats, all courtesy of my mother's quilting addiction). I also have some knitting photos including one finished object (again courtesy of my mother, who I managed to convince to sew it up for me - Thanks Mum!).

However, in an attempt to have something prior to SnB starts up again for the year, I am providing a link to my current project. Again, thanks to my Mum, who on her recent quilt tour in the Eastern US found time to pick me up a knitting pattern book. Well, I can't actually find a picture of the 'Faux Cardigan' from the book, but it is similar to the picture shown on the bottom right, with the diamonds being open all the way up the front and along the arms. There's some nice patterns in the book, so I will probably knit a few.

I am also knitting a Little Miss Sunshine toy, although who will receive it is yet to be determined; one of my three nieces, or one of my friends, two of whom have babies on the way.

More Non-knitting

2006-10-30T19:45:00.000+11:00

All the fuss about Madonna adopting a young African boy has got me thinking some very cynical thoughts. Apart from the general criticism of celebrities seemingly being able to circumvent the rules, I have very mixed feelings about removing children from their cultural heritage. Especially in this case where the boy has a living parent. If Madonna was so concerned about this child in particular why didn't she help the father so he was able to support his child. If she really wanted one of her own, sadly due to conditions over much of Africa there are plenty of other children without family members left.

Anyway, the fuss has brought to mind the time Madonna wanted to bring a Chihuahua into her family. She (or her rep) contacted my uncle in London who breeds and shows them and sent a limo(!) around to collect the dog. After a weekend spent with my uncle's dog and one from another breeder she decided she preferred the other one, and sent my uncle's back in another limo. Although he never met Madonna in person she did send him an autographed photo. He also got a couple of lines mention in one of those Woman's Day/New Idea magazines, but they spelt his name wrong. Now this was more than 10 years ago, and she has shown no indication of comparing African orphans like chihuahua's, but it does strike me that the rules are different for rich people.

Lazy Blog Post

2006-10-24T19:46:00.000+10:00

How lazy is this Post? (or should the question be how lazy is this Blogger?)

I am too lazy to come up with a more interesting title
I was too lazy to write this post on the weekend after my computer had one little freeze.
I have two recent Finished Objects, but I have been too lazy to take photos of them
Speaking of Finished Objects, I have been taking the two of them to wear at work (one of the few benefits of an over air-conditioned office is that I can wear wool jumpers even in summer). Despite the fact I am calling them Finished Objects, I have noticed that both of them have several loose ends and you guessed it, I am too lazy to trim them.

Hmm, now I'm thinking I had better go do something productive, but laziness can't be all be bad. What if they had a war and everyone was too lazy to turn up!

High class knits

2006-10-08T20:15:00.000+10:00

Readers of various knitting blogs may remember a few months ago, one keen knitter's attempt to replicate the Salvatore Ferragamo knitted bag. Kate from knitlit created the fake-a-gamo to replicate the US$1650 bag. Well the original SF bag has arrived in Australia. Last time I was at the Queen Victoria Building shopping centre, my eyes were instantly drawn to the catalogue cover.

Personally, I don't find the bag particularly attractive (and definitely not worth A$2670), but it is interesting to see knitted items be 'fashionable'.

Prize Week

2006-09-23T18:41:00.000+10:00

This week I feel like I've been winning all sort of prizes! I've been in product training at work all week, and to keep us interested there have been games, quizzes etc. I won four times, once solo, twice in team based quizzes and also for a team play-dough model (don't ask). Nothing valuable of course, but stuff like a cook book and movie tickets.

Then today I went to a talk about Sydney's drinking customs, including pub architecture, stories of the Rum Rebellion and the Six O'clock swill, and the gangster connection, including the recently deceased Abe Saffron. I won one of the Lucky Door prizes, an appropriately themed prize of a card pack with 52 pubs of Sydney described (and more importantly located on a map). Our SnB pub is not listed, but the pub where we had our training group dinner during the week was.

Due to having international people flying in for the product training a night out at the Australian Hotel, at the Rocks was arranged. The organisers thought it would be a great idea to get kangaroo and crocodile pizzas, but many people were hesistant to try them. Some of the locals were hesistant to eat "Skippy" and we then had to attempt to explain the cheesy TV show to the visitors. It was quite amazing to see how a discussion of a ridiculously dextrous mammal with the ability to communicate about smugglers and mine shafts could bring together a bunch of people.

Purchases

2006-09-16T18:36:00.000+10:00

In an effort to put some knitting content to the this blog, I will mention some purchases I made at the recent stitches and craft show. Scrapbooking is the big thing at these shows, but I did buy some yarn from ecoyarns. I bought some of the soysilk, Phoenix & Oasis. This is the Oasis in the Napa Valley colour scheme.

I also bought two books that I don't really need. This one does have some spectacularly tacky items in it, such as a bead tie and a macrame giraffe (scarily similar to something I think I made once), but a few of the projects such as doilies and the sock monkey would still be acceptable now.

The second one is by perennial favourite Nicky Epstein. It has some great ideas for applique, embroidery, use of I-cords and fancy edging. When I look at it I think how good it would have been to include some of the ideas on past projects!

Pictures!!

2006-09-10T16:04:00.000+10:00

While googling I found that the phone/camera I have is known for being dodgy for downloading files to a computer (now I find out!), but that fiddling around and persistence can pay off. After several stints of fiddling around with drivers and USB connections, I have managed to download several pictures that I took months ago. Here for your delight I have included a few......

Firstly, a close-up of the flower's from my niece's cardigan.
Secondly, the beaded edging from the bolero I finished recently. Unfortunately, while I love the edging, the general bolero shape was not great.

Next a photo of someone else's work - a knitted roast dinner complete with all the trimmings (although some of the glasses and candles look a bit wobbly). This was on display at the Sydney Royal Easter show earlier this year.

Finally, because no blog is complete without the mandatory cute animal photo, here is a picture of Honeybear. She is the dog I was dog walking while one of her owners was overseas.

Hopefully, here's to more blog entries with pictures!

Lessons Learned (or Not)

2006-09-02T18:34:00.000+10:00

Three weeks into the new job and it seems to be going well. Wish I could say the same for the knitting. Just when I was congratulating myself about getting to the armhole shaping for the front of my current work, I realised that I had forgotten to increase during the first 24 rows, so I had to unpull it back to the beginning of the section. What made it worse was that I made exactly the same mistake on the back! So much for learning from your mistakes. At work one of the things I am trying to stress is that the design group learn from the production problems to make new parts easier to assemble. If I can't even institute my own lessons learned program how can I get the people at work to do it!

Geek vs. Gorgeous

2006-07-29T11:06:00.000+10:00

This is a post I've been meaning to write about for a little while. A few weeks ago, there was an article about a calendar intended to promote Women working in the IT industry and to encourage other young women to consider it as a career. The thinking behind the calendar and its images, was that many women get put off by the geeky stereotype of the industry and can't reconcile the idea that women can be both smart and sexy. I can relate to this perception. As an engineer, I've seen any number of times men's eyes glaze over (and in one case bow several times chanting "im not worthy", before hitting on my friend) and co-workers who think its a compliment to tell you you're one of the boys.

Whilst I admire the intent of the calendar and if you read behind the 'sexy' pictures, you see that they've got a wide variety of backgrounds and age groups, there's still a lot of issues with it. Mainly it doesn't address that men are often the worst offenders when it comes to accepting that women can be both smart and sexy, or even just accepting that the women they work with are capable of doing their job without obsessing about make-up/boys/shopping etc. Another personal example: A couple of months after I started a new job, one of the guys I worked with (it was all guys except for a secretary and me) started talking about the other people he'd seen coming in for the interviews. One of them was this gorgeous women that they all agreed could not be hired because she was so distracting to look at. When I tried to ask about her skills it was still just about her appearance. Of course the flip side of this, is that I was not attractive enough to be distracting. Naturally, this guy couldn't see why I felt insulted because I got the job after all. So far as these guys were concerned, me and this other woman could only be "geeky" OR "gorgeous", not both and more importantly, nor should we expect to. Maybe I or other women shouldn't be so upset about this focus on appearance, but regardless of skills the pressure is still on women to be physically attractive and desirable. There was some controversy regarding this calendar, with some people going great, good on you girls, others suggesting that it was just requiring women to conform to another stereotype and still others showing the inherent sexism in the industry. Freely admitting that he hadn't bothered to read the backgrounds, one guy stated that it was unlikely these women were real IT people, but just support staff, eg marketing, HR etc. Other trotted out the old line that women's brains weren't cut out for the work, or that obviously women just didn't want these jobs.

Women in IT. Ha what a joke! Every woman in IT is just taking the place of a
better man.
Stay in the house girls and leave the real work to the men!
Lets face it. Most guys dont like being hairdressers, its nothing to do with the image of a hairdresser & their pull factor. In fact, any male hairdresser ive known has been very popular with the ladies. Same goes for women in I.T. Most women dont enjoy tinkering with technology. Its genetic. Lets move on and stop trying to generalise the sexes too much.
"Girls and computers? I don't think so. I'd wager none of the girls in the calendar are hard-core techies. I guess IT is a wide industry but I'd speculate the ladies (or bimbos, as their calendar presents them) are recruiters, designers or otherwise engaged in creative or soft-skill fields."

However, back to the calendar, there is one photo in particular that creeps me out - the Princess Leia picture. You just know that this is the one that all the anti-social, IT, computer game playing (yes, I can stereotype too) male geeks are drooling over.

Congratulations to Me!

2006-07-26T12:19:00.000+10:00

Yay, I got the job! I will start on August 14. I have many thoughts about what I can spend my increased pay packet on and naturally many of them include yarn!

Knitting Ethics

2006-07-22T09:49:00.000+10:00

When and how should you point out to a fellow knitter there may be something about their knitting they might want to change? At our last SnB meeting we were all sharing our progress as usual. Whilst one member was getting a drink, another member admiring their work noticed that it was two different shades of black! There was a very hurried discussion about whether to tell them, whether they already had noticed and accepted it, if we did say something how to point it out politely without sounding patronising or as if we were laughing at them. In the end none of us volunteered to tell this person. Now from the hindsight of a few days, it doesn't seem like such a big deal (except it would be difficult to word it politely), but we should all be encouraging and helping each other and if there are unintentional mistakes laughing together. (Of course, this still doesn't mean I'll be volunteering to point out the colour discrepancy.)

Probable Good News! I'm almost sure I have a new job lined up. Its the one I thought in my last entry I had missed out on because they hadn't got back to me by the date they said they would. However a day or two later they rang me and scheduled a whirlwind psych test (apparently I'm not a sociopath) and 2nd round interview. I had the interview yesterday morning, and by the time I got to work at the medical centre they'd already rung the practice manager for a reference. Unfortunately I didn't have my phone with me and it wasn't until I got home after 7pm that I found a voice mail message suggesting they had good news for me. Now I have to wait to Monday to find out actual details, including specific package information and of course actual confirmation. Fingers Crossed!!

Piggly Wiggly

2006-07-16T16:18:00.000+10:00

I think it shows how tragic my life is that the high point of my life was winning a free muffin because I knew what a Piggly Wiggly was an early example of.* The coffee shop I walk past most mornings has trivia questions in its windows and this week I actually knew one.

In other news I also had an interview for a company that I would really like to work for, but the date for hearing good news has come and gone. In knitting news I am proceeding on the latest project with the bigger needles and that seems to be working out better. With the completed bolero I am debating what to do. I like the way the beaded band turned out, but it just that bit too big. I'm wondering if I can shrink it just a little bit.

*Piggly Wiggly was the name of the first supermarkets (self-service as opposed to having the grocer dish everything out for you).

Public Service Announcements

2006-07-08T15:28:00.000+10:00

Two items of interest for Sydney Knitters:

1. Its that time of year again - the Sydney Knit In is on at the end of the month (July 28). This is a good chance to use up loose balls of wool by creating knitted squares that will be made into wraps and then donated to communities around the world to help keep people warm. I can appreciate the need to standardise the squares (25cm x25cm, 8ply wool, size 8 (4mm) needles or to obtain guage), but what's with the stitch requirement - any stitch but stocking stitch? Never mind, its because SS curls. If you can't make the day itself, there are drop off points around Sydney to donate squares.

2. Sydney Stitch n Bitch has its own blog http://sydneystitch.blogspot.com/. While very much a work in progress at the moment, we hope it will encourage people to attend either the every 2nd Monday sessions at Hart's Pub in the Rocks, or every second Tuesday at the Manly Wharf Hotel. Check out the blog for more info and soon photos of the group and their projects.

Medium vs. Medium

2006-06-25T18:08:00.000+10:00

Well, as promised here is some knitting news. I have been working on the new project from the VK pattern, following the medium size. However, whilst it looks really good its looking a bit small, like it might not quite go around my middle. There's enough length now to measure the guage and yes, it looks like I should have used bigger needles. Of course that also means that there's enough that I don't really want to rip it back. I always say I should do a tension square but I never do.

While I decide what to do, I have gone back to the bolero, also knitted to a medium size - on the suggested needle size!! I've started sewing it up in preparation for adding the beaded trim. It is too big! The sleeves are too long and the body instead of being a cute cropped cardigan style is almost long enough to be a full cardigan, especially once the trim gets added. Such Drama!

I know this blog would be better with pictures - I finally tried my phone and software on a different computer to see if I could download the photos, but it still doesn't work. So I guess there is a problem with the phone/camera and/or software. Guess its time to check out an expert.

Footballer Fever

2006-06-17T15:21:00.000+10:00

There’s seems to be a lot of evidence of misogyny in the paper at the moment. The inquest for the case of Dianne Brimble has recommenced. This is a sad story of a woman who saved up to go on a cruise with friends and family, but was found dead in strangers’ cabin after the first night out. One of the persons’ of interest, a man staying in cabin where she was found and who had sex with her gave an horrific interview where he blamed Ms Brimble for ruining his holiday by having the effrontery to die in his cabin.

LETTERIO SILVESTRI thought Dianne Brimble had "f---ed up his holiday" by dying in his cabin.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, he describes her as ugly, old and fat and that he only had sex because she wanted it and he was out on sleeping pills. There are plenty of stories of that evening of this man and his friends harassing and intimidating women with offers of sex and party drugs so it doesn’t seem that far fetched that things got out of hand and Diane Brimble just got caught up in the middle of it. However, if this guy had something to hide surely he would have made some effort to sound like less of a pig. Or is his misogyny so deeply ingrained that he doesn’t realise that what he says reinforces a callous disregard for women as people and that it makes him look like a guy who wouldn’t take any notice of woman in distress and would let her die, only worrying about his holiday.

The other article that annoyed me was about women who try to sleep with footballers (of all codes). Whilst I can appreciate the reminder that even footballers are capable of acting like human beings and will not always succumb to available sex, the article focuses on making these women look like sluts and power crazy idiots. The writer mentions that football is all about men and that women’s only way to attain some power is to get close to the guys, but only glosses over this point and goes on tell the women to get over it. To me that is the whole point: both men and women are attracted to power and fame, and in football (like many aspects of life) there is no role for women to attain power directly. With society and the media reinforcing for women that the best way to obtain money and fame is to be looked at (modelling, in a revealing dress on the arm of a famous bloke, beauty pageants, even supposedly talent based singing and acting are better for young slim ogleworthy women), rather than doing something such as education or business pursuits, of course some women are going to try to use shortcuts to power. Instead of blaming these women for the way they act, we should be looking at why they feel this is their best option.

Well, that's my rave for the day. I blame the antibiotics I am on. During the review of my wisdom tooth extraction the dentist decided I had an infection and upped the antibiotic dose. As well as giving me nausea, I have broken out in a rash from knees to neck. Luckily it matches the top I am wearing today - pink with dark pink dots.

Knitting update next time - I promise

Football Fever

2006-06-14T21:50:00.000+10:00

Go Socceroos!

How good was the Australian win over Japan in the soccer World Cup! I have to admit I was a bit cynical to begin with. I had been thinking about going out to watch the game, but the hole in my gum where a wisdom tooth used to be was aching. So I popped a pain killer and tried to stay awake during the first half just watching it at home. However, by half time with Japan up one goal, I was convinced it was all over and went to bed. Of course, the news all morning was about the 3 goals in the last eight minutes.

At least I have a Socceroos flag. When the newsagent was giving them away with the paper a couple of weeks ago, he told me I was the first person to actually take one!

Job Hunting

2006-05-31T13:59:00.000+10:00

Some minor progress on the job hunting front. I spoke to one company last week and was encouraged to apply for a couple of positions. The company is currently going through a growth phase so there are several opportunities available now and in the near future. I have also been playing phone tag with another lead, a result of networking from 2-3 months ago. Again, only an opportunity for a 'discussion' but at least its putting myself out there.

I went to an interview with a recruitment agency last week too. I was specifically called in to talk about a sales roles, however there was a requirement to fill in an on-line psych test beforehand. This showed that I was not cut out for sales, which is probably true, but it also showed that I should stick to the type of roles that I have been doing for years. I pointed out to the recruiter that this test was obviously wrong because I wasn't happy in those roles and really needed a change. She just felt that my resume showed that I was an exact match to the test (and thus not good for the role she was interviewing for). When she was talking about how it looked like my preference was for things to be 'right' rather than just good enough to meet financial or timing limits, I wondered if I would have been better off providing a CV with spelling errors, or even better some of my knitting. She would have soon seen lots of dodgy finishing techniques!

In other knitting news, the cardigan is in the mail, the bolero has another seam done (good example of dodgy seaming here) and the latest project as mentioned in the last blog entry has been started. I'm doing it in a lovely royal blue colour cashmere/wool/acrylic mix. Yes, I know, but the acrylic part keeps the cost down, and its still soft. The store only had a couple of colours left (the other was insipid beige) as the yarn is being discontinued.

Finally - A finished Object!!!!

2006-05-28T16:04:00.000+10:00

Yay, I finally finished my niece's cardigan. I know it looked promising a couple of weeks ago when I did a burst of seaming. However, the remainder of the seaming and sewing on the butttons and the never-ending weaving of ends from the intarsia flowers have taken a while. I still can't get the photos to download from my phone (I choose to blame the age of my computer, rather than any lack of skill on my part), so I will ask my sister to provide one with my niece wearing the item.

I've also decided on what to do next. I've been very good, even though I bought the yarn on Wednesday I was determined not to start a new project without finishing one first. I have selected this design from the current issue of Vogue Knitting. I am also very tempted by the girly pink & cream skirt on the cover.

I do

2006-05-20T12:59:00.000+10:00

Now don't get excited. While it is true on Wednesday, I did say "I do", while holding a flower, it was the agreement that I perform the duties of Secretary for our local Zonta club. However, since I don't have any forseeable opportunity to say those words at a wedding, I have to take the opportunity when I can. It was the induction of the new Board for the year and we all got yellow roses, a club symbol.

We also spent some time talking about local and international service projects. Last year and this year our fundraising efforts have supported Elsie's Womens Refuge . We provided computers and furniture so that women staying there have computer access and training opportunities. Its so frustrating to hear some of the stories. Beds quickly fill up, so there is never enough space for women who need it. There is some ability to put some of them up in motel rooms, but that leaves them isolated and/or trying to look after children in a limited space, making it even more likely they will return home. Other women affected are immigrants who may effectively be mail-order brides. Their partner's may maintain control the women by using threats of deportation. We're still determing the exact form our support will take, but its definitely a worthy project.

One of the members also presented on the International projects that Zonta organises. A portion of our fundraising goes to these efforts, so some people protest about not seeing the results. However, as our speaker noted "If poverty had a face, it would be female". The numbers are horrifying.
- Globally, more than 80% of women do not have sufficient knowledge about HIV/AIDS and many women do not have the power to say no to sex with an infected partner.
-Every year an estimated 4 million women and girls are bought and sold worldwide.
-Female illiteracy rates remain higher than men.
The Zonta projects, often together with CARE or the United Nations are providing programs that help women gain education, access to finance and improved health, but there is such a long way to go.

I am tutoring a mature age student, who has had lots of dealing with social aid projects. She told me a story about her work that would be funny, if it didn't have such potentially devasting consequences. She was involved with a group providing safe sex and contraception education to people in the Solomon Islands. The use of condoms was demonstrated on bananas, so many of the men would place a condom covered banana next to the bed telling their partners that it was now safe to have sex. The women were left wondering why they still got pregnant.

Yes, I know, kind of a depressing post, but its also good to know that people are still out there tyring to make changes in the world and if I can contribute in some way that will be a good thing.

Decisions, decisions....

2006-05-13T14:43:00.000+10:00

What will I knit next? Now don't get excited, this doesn't actually mean I've finished anything. I did so a seaming spree on the cardigan so I could take it to SnB. Just enough to show the shape, there is still a bit to go. I also made it to the button shop and bought some cute pink flower buttons, which also have to sewn on. (I realized I have expensive button tastes - many of the ones I looked at were $3-$5 each, too expensive to have seven on a child's cardigan, but the ones I really liked were $21 each). In other progress I have almost finished the sleeves for the bolero.

Nonetheless I need to have in mind what I will do next (so I have something to work on to avoid sewing seams). I've been thinking about the muti-coloured Solstice or Millefiori from Jo Sharp's Knitting Emporium , or maybe something from the Vintage Knits book I bought last year. Of course, The Amazing Lace is starting up soon so a lace something or other might also be good. What to do?

Almost Finished!

2006-05-07T15:44:00.000+10:00

I'm getting very excited, I've almost finished my niece's cardigan. This morning I finished the neckband, so just the side and sleeve seams to go. Unfortunately, I went to the button shop today to hopefully find some cute buttons, but it was closed. I thought it was open all weekend, but apparently only Saturday. I almost went yesterday too, but after tutoring turned into three hours and I did my grocery shopping I thought it was too late. Oh well, there's always Lincraft, and at the rate I avoid seaming I doubt the cardigan will be finished before next Saturday. It will be nice to have a finished object that occurred during the (admitted short) lifetime of this blog.

While avoiding the depressing job searching I found a link to an International Knit in Public Day for June 10. Definitely something to put on the calendar.

So not a sewer

2006-04-30T16:59:00.000+10:00

When it comes to knitting, for me it is most definitely about the process of knitting rather than producing a finished item. Since finishing the pieces for the Clover Lace Wrap (from SnB Nation book) in about November, I have managed to do two seams - attaching each of the two sleeves to the back. I've now finished all the pieces for my niece's cardigan except for the neckband. However, to do the neckband, I need to attach the sleeves, fronts, back and the button bands so I can pick up all the stitches. Despite the tentative deadline of her birthday having passed this week, all I have managed is to attach one sleeve.

I hate sewing seams, but I do like trying new techniques, thus all the aran cable knits, intarsia, stuffed toys and now beaded knits that I have done . Thus I can sympathise with the Yarn magazine reader who writes to complain about the lack of complexity of the patterns in the magazine. I have to agree that none of the patterns in the issues so far have inspired me to want to subscribe to the magazine. The editor defends the magazine by saying it is about the yarn, which is a valid point, but to me, no matter what the yarn I still want something where I have to put some thought into the stitches that I am making. Knitting is something that distracts me from all the convoluted life stuff fluttering around my brain and without an alternative focus I the soothing stuff doesn't work. (Of course in theory, the complexity of seaming should also be distracting, but it just isn't the same!)

more bilbies

2006-04-17T17:02:00.000+10:00

I went to the Royal Easter Show yesterday where there some real life bilbies on display promoting the Save the Bilby fund. Here's a picture from their website showing how realistic my stuffed toy is.

While I was at the show I naturally checked out the knitting entries. Fellow SnBer Meg entered but unfortunately was not awarded a prize. First prize looked pretty good, but Meg's looked at least as good as the Highly Commended. Of course, its a bit hard to fully judge when you can't pick up and closely examine all the items.

I just checked out Rebecca's blog and she took some similar shots to me of the craft section, so to save me getting them off my phone just check out her photos. Like her, I was also eyeing off the toy section as the section in which I would consider entering the show.

Easter themed Finished Object

2006-04-14T15:11:00.000+10:00

Because of rabbits being such a pest in the Australian countryside, there is a bit of a push to buy chocolate bilbies instead of bunnies. (Actually, it doesn't seem to be as big a push as it was few years back.) Nonetheless in keeping with the spirit I present a photo of a stuffed bilby that I made for my youngest niece.

Also in keeping with the holiday I will have to mention chocolate. I have been doing some temp work at medical clinic and thanks to pharmaceutical reps I am well stocked with chocolate (also thx to my sister who gave me some as part of my birthday gift). My favourite medical juxtaposition is the chocolate from the anti-depressants group. Sometimes chocolate can be the best mind-altering drug!

Also related to chocolate, last night I went to an industry function dinner with a chocolate themed dessert. The white chocolate creme brulee wasn't anything special, but the chocolate icecream in an edible chocolate box-shaped container was divine.

Edible undies

2006-04-09T15:50:00.000+10:00

Sometimes I have to worry about my mother. She and my nanna were the ones who taught me to knit, and during the long cold Canberra winters she would knit prolifically. Now that she lives in Perth and she has more warm jumpers than she will ever need she has turned to patchworking and quilting (Again very prolific, I can always rely on a completed project as a Christmas gift). However, she still has an interest in knitting. When she came to visit last year she kept eyeing my knitting until I let her knit a few rows. She also lives vicarously by collecting all the cute English Womens Weekly's patterns for me, and by sending me internet links. Now whilst I appreciate the patterns for toys that I might one day knit , like this

However when she sends me a link to this Knitty pattern for licorice underwear you have to wonder.

On a loosely related subject, on Friday evening, a couple of friends and I went to the Rose of Australia for a girl's night/birthday dinner. The cocktails, food and service were all great, but we particularly enjoyed the Chocolate Slut (the connection - ha ha!) dessert, with chocolate tart, Belgian icecream and other samples. We didn't like the fried Mars Bar though.

Perspective

2006-04-06T11:19:00.000+10:00

Last weekend I attended a fundraising lunch organised by our Zonta group. One of the attendees was a woman from Afghanistan. She and another woman have been sponsored to come to Australia for a year to do law studies. I didn't get all the details of her story but here is the overview. She has an undergraduate degree finished when she was 22 (she is now 32), but due to conditions, eg. the Taliban, fighting etc, she hasn't worked since then, because she is a woman. She is from Kabul, and sometimes her family would go to the provinces to get away from fighting, but now the provinces are too dangerous. There is a big atmosphere of fear. As a single woman it is hard for her to leave her family, even to come to Australia. Many other young women, who may have mean eligible to make the trip were scared (or their families were scared for them). Even now, being here and seeing how nice Australians are, it is still hard, with English as her second language and being the first time she has lived by herself.

I've been going through phases of feeling sorry for myself, as I am having difficulty finding work that I enjoy, and wondering where my life is headed (and having a birthday today is also a reason for introspection), but hearing a story like that really makes me realize how relatively well off I am. I'm well educated, have worked here and overseas, and have the freedom to live independently. That's not to say there aren't still issues about women's equality in this country. I had been dealing with a recruiter who told me he had a client company he felt my background and skills would be perfect for. The feedback from the company was that they didn't even want to interview me because I was a woman and they didn't think any woman would be capable of fitting into their organisation. This is despite the fact that because I have an engineering degree every job I have ever had has been male dominated. I'm well past the stage of feeling I have to prove a point, so I wouldn't want to work for a company that feels like that. The thing that most astonishes me is not that some men still feel like that, but that they feel comfortable enough to say it out loud. Have they been living under a rock while all sorts of legislation about equal opportunity have come in? Of course now with the new IR laws sexism can be excused as just a 'personality conflict'.

Anyway enough of the bad stuff. Its my birthday (yay!) and my parents have sent me some money so I have to think about how to spend it. Also congratulations to Meg for finally finishing her boyfriend-curse-busting sweater. I witnessed the final knitted stitches last weekend, so its great to see the photos of the finished product being modelled.

Bad girl?

2006-04-04T15:03:00.000+10:00

I need to find out the source of the quote "Good girls keep diaries, bad girl's don't have the time". Not that I have been bad, but I have been out and about doing blogworthy activities instead of writing about them. My travel journals were always the same, if I was sitting writing in the journal, then I wasn't doing something worthwhile to put in them. Although, once I tried to be better by keeping my journal on hand all the time. I have one very long-winded entry that I cannot read a word of, due partly to the motion of the London tube train, but perhaps also the several hours spent in the pub with friends. At least with the computer, handwriting shouldn't be an issue.

Anyway, this last weekend I finally made it to another SSK session. Meg who has recently moved to the local area was there, as were a couple of visitors from Wollongong, including this blogger. I also met Mary-Helen, or the Witty Knitter, as I first knew her when I came across her blog a year or two ago. It was a good group of people with lots of interesting projects and yarns. I'm still working on my niece's cardigan, but several people were interested in the variegated purple Bendigo Woollen Mills wool I am using. I have to finish the cardigan before Jessica outgrows it, but going to those meetings always makes me want to get some new yarn and needles and start something else.

I am also now thinking about a trip to Wollongong. I'd been thinking about driving down, not so much for the destination, but to try out the new SeaCliff bridge (I cannot believe that was the best name the naming competition came up with!). Its supposed to be quite spectatular. Anyway, it now appears it would be worthwhile to time a visit with an attendance at the local SnB. It sounds like they have a really good turnout, and while the more cynical may suggest that is due to the lack of other activities in Wollongong, I'm sure its just a really keen group.

PS. Just did the Google thing and source of the above quote is Tallulah Bankhead.

Drinking Games

2006-03-25T15:47:00.000+11:00

Instead of doing the job applications I should have been working on I was reading other knitting blogs and came across this link to the Knitting Blog Drinking Game. Even though I've only just started this blog and this is only my second knitting entry readers would already had to have one drink.
Apologizes that there are no photos for “technical” reasons (dead batteries, missing camera cable, etc.).

Actually I probably earn another drink for the way I started today's entry.
Starts a post with “I really should be doing ____, but I’m blogging instead”.

I must agree that the game creater has captured most of the blog cliches I've noticed. I would be wasted if I had alcohol near me while I was doing my blog reading. However, I do think alcohol goes well with knitting, but then the Stitch n Bitch group I attend most regularly meets at a pub. If you're in Sydney come and join us one evening. My sister who lives on the other side of the country, went to a SnB that met at a coffeeshop, but she agrees that a beer or a glass of wine would add that little bit extra.

Still working on my niece's cardy, and my bolero.

Band's of sisters

2006-03-21T10:39:00.000+11:00

After coming up with my blog name, I googled the term 'Band of sisters' and found a lot of results. They were all very positive and interesting, women protesting the Iraq war, sisters searching for an answer for their brother's death at the hand of the IRA, references to Amazons and Women in the IT industry. However, I think my favourite was the one from Little Women. I think I will have to read this book about four very different sisters again.

Some Knitting content

2006-03-17T10:12:00.000+11:00

Well, since it is supposed to be at least partially a knitting blog, here is some knitting information. I am going to cheat to show a photo of a recently finished object by copying a photo from Rebecca's blog. Rebecca took this photo of me at a SnB evening. It is made from Katia Mississippi, a cotton blend, from a 'Sandra' magazine pattern.

I am currently knitting two new projects. One is a cardigan for my eldest niece. I am using a basic kids cardigan pattern but adding some flowers as border pattern. V. cute! The other is a bolero type top for myself. I have started with the body shape from the 1000 sweaters book, but as the suggested band is in boring moss stitch I have had to tart it up. It is now a beaded band with lace edging. To incorporate the same edging into the sleeves, I will use the wrist bands sideways, and pick up the main stictches along the side edge. (Thanks Meg!) I took a photo of the band to show the detail, but when I connect the camera to the computer it has a hissy fit, so that will have to be provided at a later date.

A beginning....

2006-03-16T12:14:00.000+11:00

Well, I have decided to start a blog. After reading so many I am jumping in and starting one of my own. The ones I read are primarily knitting and feminist blogs, where I have noticed there is a lot of overlap. The blog name incorporates these interests as well. Apart from the obvious inspiration from the phrase 'band of brothers', I am interpreting band to include the band around a ball of yarn, the bands for the wrists and waist as knitted on jumpers, etc. Sisters come from my interest in women's issues. In the past I have been involved with groups such as Women in Engineering and Women in Management. I am currently a member of Zonta, which raises money for issues affecting women. Finally the sisters influence comes from my own family; I have three younger sisters.