My latest enthusiasm comes courtesy of elmsley_rose.

Things you can do with hyperbolic crochet.

I, a complete failure at the maths/science stream, appear to now have a grasp of what non-Euclidean geometry means. Which means I kind of have a grasp on Euclidean geometry too. All thanks to people turning it into something I might just enjoy creating and looking at for the sheer hell of it.

I've got the catalogue, but it's all in black and white, meh. However, there's plenty of stuff online. And I have plans, people! Plans!

First step: hair scrunchie for sjkasabi...

I have started a new beanie. It's in two colours (some stranding, some intarsia). I have limited experience of stranded colour knitting and zero of intarsia so it should be fun. Possibly the wrong kind of fun, but fun all the same.

And I now consider myself to have 'started' even before I can point at something and say 'here it is in progress', because doing 10 rows and ripping back because it isn't right yet is still progress.

Earlier this week I also tentatively restarted work on the lace shawl of doooom and put the first ever fitted item of clothing I've ever worked on back into the hamper for a while, still unfinished, where it can calm down and think about what it's done. There's another knitting project I've been quietly working on but you'll know about it if and when I feel like it has succeeded.

Point is, there's movement in woolly terms at least. I was going to say 'creative' but it's all about learning techniques and following patterns. No matter how much I like what I'm doing, the level of creativity comes down to how many decisions I make within the confines of the technique/pattern I'm following. And I'm not making many decisions yet, I'm following instructions and seeing what happens.

Well that's one way of looking at it anyway. Other time I figure it's down to the fact that I am putting it together, and that's intrinsically creative.

I am loving the way I learn when I knit. The way I move from going on faith, when I do something because the author knows what they're doing but I make endless mistakes, to the point where the penny drops - usually because I've done something wrong five times in a row - and I finally understand properly how something works and what the instructions mean.

This is the point where I find I know where I am in a pattern by looking at the work rather than by constant reference to the written instructions and where I start to change things to suit my own prerences. Where I can see what I'm doing and even if it's still someone else's creativity that I'm bringing into reality, I'm really enjoying doing so and thanking them for it.

A sense of comprehension is hard to come by these days, you have no idea how good it feels when it hits. Clarity, it's beautiful.

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Yeah I should probably go to bed.

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P.S.: I'm back to add more good things to the Good Things Basket.

Here's some just about today:

Today I read a chapter of a book. And took notes, because it's that sort of book. I also took some photos of the yard, admired a honking great pot that 10B bought home for me (we <3 rubbish removal, we <3 it sooo much), and spoke to Ricky on the phone.

So, memo to self: there may be some nasty shit out there, but today was a nice day.

( Further adventures of my woolly creation! )

He is now ready to go to his new home, chez sjkasabi. Happy belated birthday!

( Not so much an update as a wibble )

Bah! Why can't it all be simple and why can't I know everything? And while I'm asking, why do we have to have cockroaches? They're stupid and icky. We should have little chocolate beetles instead. Flying ones. That can't fly fast or high. It'd be great.

In other news, two days ago I did an entire repeat of my lace knitting without going nuts, it's so easy once you get used to it! I felt very proud of myself.

Then last night I totally messed it up and now I've dropped a stitch somewhere. Fortunately, only somewhere in the last 24 stitches. But it has taught me that the key to successful lace knitting is to never get too cocky.

I am so sick of pills, potions, interactions and side effects. I'm really sick of pacing and monitoring and grading activity and excercising self-discipline. And I'm even more sick of discovering, time and time again, that if I don't pay heed to these things I get very sick indeed.

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In other news, I'm trying to knit a lacy scarf. Bit of a learning curve, I must say. I realised very quickly that being on this learning curve while using the actual 2-ply, dark blue, silk/wool mix that I bought for the project was only ever going to end in tears, so I'm doing a practice run in bright yellow 8-ply wool first. This has proven to be a very sensible idea because although I'm progressing in leaps and bounds I'm still falling over quite a bit.

I have realised that I understand patterns better visually. Give me a written list of instructions and I lose count and mess up. Give me a chart and I'll still mess up every now and again but I'll progress a lot faster in between mistakes and understand my mistakes a lot quicker too.

And I'm half wondering if I shouldn't do the actual scarf in a lighter colour just to make it easier on myself. The lacy effect would be more apparent in a lighter colour too.

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I've had a strange couple of days, health's been very weird. Not great, kind of weird then kind of better, maybe, sorta. State of mind is peculiar and unpredictable. My beloved 10B has been an absolute trooper as always and even helped me tidy my desk when I had a major meltdown because it was all too hard, bless him.

Things seem to be settling now though.

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A week or so ago I finished another project (embroidery - I'm now half way through the SCA-acceptable towels for camping). I'm pleased if only because all my life I've been hopeless at actually finishing things. Unfortunately I'm not 100% pleased with the towel itself, so the feeling's not as wizzo as it could be. The next projects are towel #3 and a crocheted something for that art meme thing.

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The only reading I'm doing at the moment is a PG Wodehouse at bedtime. And the odd short story. I've done no more accounting homework and am convinced I'm missing something vital.

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Been watching a lot more telly than usual, and finding it to be a most rewarding activity.

10B has got me hooked on Trailer Park Boys. It's Canadian. It's very good. You should watch it.

I've also been heartily enjoying The Thunderbirds (TV series), and I mean _really_ enjoying it. 10B picked up a DVD for me months ago and I figured I'd look at it one night and just have a bit of a laugh at how hokey it all was, but instead I had a bit of a look, laughed and kept watching it and loving every minute and wanting to watch more (rare for me - even if I love a TV show I usually only want to watch one or two episodes in a sitting) and now I'm about to order the rest from ezydvd.com.au because I want them all, now. I want to sit in the living room for the rest of my life eating chocolate and saying "yes m'lady" and "F.A.B" and stuff, and making whirring hydraulic noises whenever they use hydraulics, which is all the time, and wondering about their sexuality and why one of them is made to live in space, and singing along to the theme song. And also I think I'll make some Thunderbird userpics, just as soon as I can get screenshots and gifs worked out.

And I'd just like to say I hope Battlestar Galactica finds Earth and soon. It's all getting a bit claustrophobic, you know? And aren't they running out of humans yet?

Incidentally, has anyone else ever watched any of The Upright Citizen's Brigade? Anyone? Just wondering...

*sticks head in bucket of truth and screams*

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Garden's looking good - photos as soon as the sunflowers come out.

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This morning I arose with a great desire to recobooborate the layout of this here journal thing. I got over it, but not until I'd fiddled just enough to accidentally remove my site meter. *sigh* I hate it when I get inspired.

FWIW, I wanted to switch to the S2 "expressive" layout - that's the one with the urban landscapes across the top, although there's a truckload of options to choose from and you can do a lot of customising. I want to create my own landscape from one of several images I've got in my head. I'm still thinking I'll do it at some point, but only when I can come up with something that is uncluttered and low contrast.

My current layout is very plain. I went to a lot of trouble to get it the right sort of plain, but gee, a header of my very own...a Melbourne panorama or something...

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