Lilysunshine

At least.

This was not the blog post I was meaning to write today, but the hubs kidnapped the camera on Saturday and has, of yet, failed to return to its righteous owner. That would be me. So I can’t take the pictures I needed for this VIP (Very Important Post). *grumbles grumbles*

But never mind, thanks to the Internets, I can have a blog post with (one) picture. Thanks Internets.

So, the plans are as follows (please note that we are very Down Under here, and as such, entering winter, plans have been made accordingly).

It’s getting cold here (she says, as she wraps herself up in another layer), so I am in dire need of cold weather attire. I have in my possession just ONE wearable (and even that is debatable) long sleeve t-shirt and that simply isn’t enough. I’ve been eyeing up the Renfrew Top pattern for weeks now and I should really just give in and buy it. But the price + shipping is holding me up. NZ$30 (pattern + shipping) is *quite* expensive for a pattern (no matter how wonderful it may be). I will probably make a bazillion of it, but still. I could also just try to draft my own t-shirt pattern. I’ve got (very) limited drafting skills, but I should be able to manage a t-shirt (I can just start with a rub-off anyway). But yeah, I need long sleeves t-shirt like now.

Next, I need to add a couple of long sleeves (do I sense a theme here?) pullover. It’s all nice and dandy to have one kicka$$ short sleeves pullover but it ain’t keeping me warm much.

The Leaflet I knitted during my last european winter (2001-2012), which has long sleeves, had been worn a lot and is looking pretty sad. Plus the deep V on the front means I need to layer about 5 scarves and shawls to feel warm. (And before you ask about my Murcott, it’s got short sleeves too, a deep V neck and I’ve lost 7 kgs since I made it. The damn thing is WAY too big – insert cries here -)
The Classic Raglan by Jane Richmond is just what the doctor ordered, but I might just go ahead and write my own personal pattern. It is after all, just a very simple top-down pullover, I should be able to figure that out. Now, finding affordable yarn for that is going to be difficult. I WANT a machine washable yarn. YEs I can handwash (and I will probably handwash this pullover too), but for the one occasion that I am not going to take care of the washing, I do not want to get supersad and very annoyed at what would be a lovely gesture otherwise. Now, New Zealand is a country full of YARN sheep. You’d think yarn would be plentiful and cheap. YEAH, RIGHT. Wool / yarn is about 30%-50% more expensive than in the UK. If there’s one thing I regret is that I didn’t bring several pullovers quantities of affordable workshorse yarn. Wendy Merino DK and Rowan Pure Wool (on Deramores’s site) are about the same price as made in China Lincraft (cheap AUS-NZ craft stores) yarns.
I have found some affordable superwash DK on Skeinz, and that will probably be the one I’ll buy, even if the colours are not quite right. But $5 for 50g, that’s a deal.

And finally, on my plans list, there is a black cord skirt. I’m not sure why, but I’ve been wanting one for a couple of months now. I’ve got the fabric – the pitfalls of working in a fabric shop (oh yeah, I didn’t tell you about that! I’m working a couple of shifts a week at the Make Cafe, alongside running workshops there). Now, I just need to find a pattern. Now you’d think that an A-line skirt pattern would be easy enough to find. But no, not the one I want (of course). I’m really keen on getting a real fly front and button opening on the front. I’ve got a denim skirt like that (refashioned from too big / loved jeans) and it makes the process of going to the toilet much more pratical (TMI?). But fly front openings are a thing that most amateur seamstresses seem to fear (I heard they were a nightmare for the contestants on the Great British Sewing Bee). Now, my experience is somewhat (extremely) limited, but I’ve done fly fronts on a pair of pants before and it was fine? I mean, the pants were rubbish (wront fabric, size, pattern combo), but the fly front itself was quite neat. I followed this video on Threads, and it just kind of worked out in the end (I basted the thing a lot too, it helped me).
I’m also planning on lining this skirt, probably in a bright loud and crazy colour, because that’s the whole point of lining, right? (besides making the insides silky smooth and not catching on your tights)

After living in temporary accomodations for the best part of a year, we have finally moved into a (rented) house that we can call home. Best feeling in the world, I tell you that.

It hasn’t been easy to find it, and it left us disheartened on a few occasions, but we now feel incredibly lucky to have found this house. It’s exactly what we were looking for, and more.

Our new home has got 3 bedrooms, though we plan on using the 3rd one as an office. At the moment, the 3rd room is closed with all the random stuff being dumped there, as we don’t have desks and / or shelves to organise our officy stuff.
Not shown in the pic, too, are the laundry room (because really, who needs to see a pic of our washing machine?), the (huge) bathroom and the garden. The light is dreadful today as it’s been raining for the last couple of hours, so I couldn’t be bothered taking more pictures, ha!

What makes this house even more perfect is its location. It’s a 5-10 minutes walk to the shops and the library. But really, it’s a 30 second walk to the beach.

So the first thing we did on Sunday (after clearing out a few boxes and organising some of our stuff), was to take a gentle stroll on the beach.

The weather was fantastic, warm and sunny. I can see myself having a few of these walks in the next few months, even as the weather turns into winter.

What a busy week last week has been! Between my first workshop, an interview for someone else’s blog, our trip to Dunedin and our house move, last week has gone very very fast.

I’ve blogged about the workshop, so next on the list is our trip to Dunedin and the reason why we went down there. We went there for me to see Aerosmith.

I’ve been an Aerosmith fans for many many years. But when we decided to move to New Zealand, I gave up on my dreams of seeing Aerosmith again. They had never been to New Zealand in their 40 years long career, so I had no hope that they would come.
So you can imagine my incredulity when the hubs emailed me ‘Have you seent that Aerosmith is coming to Dunedin?’ a couple of months back. I just couldn’t believe it! I bought my ticket as soon as they became available and waited patiently until D-Day.

The drive down to Dunedin was rather enjoyable, especially when we followed the cost after Oamaru. The sky and sea were moody and there’s nothing like a rest stop on the beach, really. But of course, I had forgotten my camera so I’ve got no pics for you.

After catching up with friends and our hosts for the night, I was then dropped at the Forsyth Barr Stadium where the show was held. I arrived late, so I miss the first 2 opening acts, but still, there were 2 more opening acts for me to see: the Dead Daisies and Wolfmother. They were OK, but yeah, it’s kind of difficult to take the stage before such a massive band. Plus Wolfmother were plagued with technical difficulties which didn’t help. And what’s up with bands who only say 3 words during their sets?…

At 9.35pm, finally, the screens lighted up and Aerosmith took the stage. They played for 2 full hours and went over the 11pm curfew. Hooray! I dutifully wrote down the set list as I’ve always regretted not doing so in previous gigs. I think it helps with the memories, and with smart phones, nowadays, it’s so easy! So here it is:

• Love in an Elevator
• Toys in the Attic
• Jaded
• Oh Yeah (new song, which I hadn’t heard before, I’m not as keen on their newest stuff)
• Cryin’



• Living on the Edge
• Last Child
• Janie’s Got a Gun
• Interval by Joey Kramer (a five+ minute long drumming fest by one who is probably one of the best drummers around)
• Rag Doll (probably one of my favourite songs)
• Stop Messin Round (Joe Perry’s favourite blues, that they always play and that Joe always sings)
• I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing (I used to hate this song, now, I’m OK with it)
• No More, No More



• What it takes (with the beginning until the first chorus a Capella)
• Come together (a Beatles cover)
• Dude, Looks Like a Lady
• Walk This Way

And finally, the encore:

• Dream on
• Sweet emotion

Since I didn’t have my camera, all I had on hand was the hubs’ phone to take pictures. They are nowhere near decent, so erm yeah, just ignore the poor quality and try to imagine how it was, ok?

On Sunday, I taught my first workshop.

I had a blast. There is no other word for it. I was buzzing for hours after the workshop.
The people that came to my workshop had never knitted. And when they left, they were able to cast on, knit, purl and cast off. I didn’t take any pictures during the class, because I was too busy explaining, showing and chatting.

At one point, a couple of hours in, I was standin by the table, looking at what my students were doing, and they were all knitting, without me having to show them anymore. And they were chatting about life stuff. It was a grand moment for me.

I can’t wait for the next one!
(The list of my upcoming workshops can be found on the right, here ->)