I have been corrected in my posting earlier that Greta's was the only Aussie site for Knitpicks needles as there are others, but it was Greta's that I saw an ad from in Yarn magazine. This is by far the best Aussie knitting magazine and I am not even going to comment on the other one. I was thrilled to see the last issue feature spindle spinning which seems to have a low profile here. I spin at work but I tend to KIP more often, like while waiting to the my GP (on the agenda for tomorrow morning).

Round 7: Lost again. We didn't even watch. I really don't what their problem is because the talent is there but they just don't seem to gell as a team and make far too many costly mistakes. They play superb footy for a minute (which is a long time in an AFL match) and then blow it by missing an easy goal or giving away a free kick or lose possession. They have a home match this weekend but it is against Port and after that they will be playing here and we will be going. I wanted to go to the pre-match brunch but my weaving class is having a make-up session to cover the weeks we missed due to the storm damage to the ANU.

I have so far mananged to keep my vow on knitting fom the stash with the exception of sock yarn and I'm going to stop buying that as well because I have enough to last me for years. I have been sorely tempted by quite a bit of stuff at Elann, but then if you're not tempted by Elann you must be dead or not out in the online world. Now with these huge bags of alpaca sitting around I really must do something with them quickish. I opened one last night and it was all gorgeous soft light fawn and I have a completely full trash bag of it, plus 5 more. I cannot believe that these good people couldn't sell it. I might be forced to off-load some to other spinners, and my fibre swap buddy will definitely get some.

In weaving class I demonstrated the inkle loom and our instructor said it was the smallest she had ever seen but it's just the basic Ashford model. Our instructor is Dutch in origin and had only seen free-standing floor models. I'm still rather proud of this first sheep to product item, even tho it is not completed yet. Once I weave the warp I just put on, I'll have to see how it will all fit together and whether I need more, for instance, if I decide I want a wider bottom and sides to the theoretical tote bag. We now have to plan our course project having spent this week with the existing warp threaded differently thru the reed, to make open weave etc. I am torn between doing a log cabin colour and weave something and an undulating twill. I also need to enquire of an ex-student who is trying to off-load an 8-shaft table loom. How will this fit into the budget of all the other things we have on the go? Better now than when we are living on superannuation (pension funds to Americans).

Book report: My BBBB (almost finished) is William Warner's Beautiful Swimmers, about the blue crab industry in the Chesapeake Bay. He went out with watermen using different ways of catching these mysterious animals. While I was brought up a Maine lobster eater and still prefer them to all other crustaceans, I do like blue crab and try to have a meal of crab imperial every time we are in DC. I do not eat softshelled crabs as I can't get past the ick factor in eating a defenseless crab who has just shed its shell. The only competitor to the Maine lobster in my heart is the Australian bug, which is a crustacean about the size of the palm of your hand and is all meat, no claws and tastes like a cross between lobster and prawns (shrimp). If they are available, I will snaffle them down. I had them the very first night I set foot in Australia in Cairns in 1986, and it was love at first bite. They do look a bit like a large beetle, but they turn the lovely rosey pink of all the other crustaceans when cooked and I have never seen a live one.